The Little Lightning Girl

18-Making Mischief

I had actually liked talking to Kaley. Some of the things I told her I'd scarcely even thought of since escaping. Like the darkness of those dungeons. Unfortunately, the fact that I'd talked about the darkness of my cell made me think about it for the following hours, and I couldn't get to sleep. So I wandered down to the common room and turned on the lights. I'd brought my homework with me figuring that I might as well get something done if my brain wasn't going to let me sleep.

I sat down on the faded red couch and pulled the coffee table closer to me. The first thing I worked on was an essay for Herbology. Professor Longbottom had assigned it to be two feet long and about a list of the most venomous plants found in Western Europe. I already had it halfway done, and with my textbook open next to me on the couch I finished in no time.

Next I worked on combining wandless magic with the charms that we'd been learning. He wanted us to use the charm Aqua Eructo, which summoned a controlled jet of water. So I first summoned a bucket. Of course, since I had a small background in wandless magic, I managed to complete that task the first try. For no reason at all, I decided to try the same charm nonverbal and wandless. It wasn't as easy, and I didn't get it on the first try. My face was no doubt purple with strain. But by my seventh try, I managed a weak stream of water and I nearly threw a party.

"That's some pretty impressive magic, Captain."

I turned in my seat to see Henry, Gryffindor's newest Seeker, walking down the stairs towards me.

I smiled at him, "Couldn't sleep, thought I'd at least get something done."

He nodded, "I couldn't sleep either, it's not rare for me though."

I tilted my head and looked at the young boy. What could he have to worry about that would keep him up at night? I knew more than anyone that you can't judge people when you first look at them. Often, it's the people with the brightest smiles who have seen the most pain. Alana had taught me that.

So I motioned for him to come sit, and as he walked closer, I broached the subject, "What's keeping you up, Henry?"

He sat in the chair next to me and stared into the flames of the fireplace, "My family."

"In what way?" I paused and silently cursed myself for being nosy when his small smile melted, "I'm sorry, you don't have to tell me. I only want to help if I can."

He shook his head, "It's okay, I don't mind telling. I'm at Hogwarts because I ran away."

I nodded, "I see. Were you being mistreated?"

He shrugged, "I guess. I didn't realize it until I met someone from England. Her family was staying for the summer and she was out for a walk when she saw my father hit me."

I didn't speak, just let him talk.

"She saw me again later in the garden and came to say hello. We talked while I did the weeding and when I told her that my dad was going to be gone the next few days, she promised to come back. And she did. She invited me over to her house for dinner and when I saw how she lived, how her family lived... I knew something wasn't right with mine. I ran away in August, and made it to my aunt's house in London where I got my letter to Hogwarts."

"I understand. And you were right, Henry, the way your father treated you is not how it's supposed to be. Is your aunt... better?"

"She's wonderful! She makes breakfast every morning and helps me do the chores and takes me to Diagon Alley every so often."

I put my hand on his shoulder, "Well, it seems like you've found a real family. And now that you're at Hogwarts, you can make friends for life."

His face brightened, "I'm really trying to make friends, that's part of the reason I tried out for Quidditch. I met a girl named Lily yesterday, she seemed nice. She's in Gryffindor too, and in my year."