Fortuitous Ruminations
Disclaimer: Everything here has been brought about by the genius of JKR, so if by chance I happen to bring in characters of my own imagination…..well, she can have those too.
Summary: A Sixth Year Story Through and Through. Expect to take a while to see major h/hr interaction; though after a bit small interaction will be present. Be patient :)
Enjoy!
Chapter One
Darkness began to establish its presence around the Little Whinging. An indefinable tension in the air caused all
creatures to bear an uneasy stance. Everywhere there was a nervous feeling put into motion. Birds were continually seen
to be flying to and fro while a breeze yet unidentified by weather forecasters seemed to be ever-present throughout the
summer, flowing from an unknown direction…but always moving….Humans as well were skittish due to the palpable
uncertainty of a yet unidentified fear. Nothing could be seen to be still, but nothing seemed to be reaching the place
they were going either.
At a time when creatures begin to settle down, it only seemed as if they had just got up. Rodents and small mammals were especially active as their incessant puttering of feet was quite often brought up to day-to-day conversation. Wildlife normally considered to be rare and secretive was seen in oddly numerous sightings. Much to the surprise of the National Wildlife Committee, the first tawny owl in sixteen years was seen flying amidst the shadows in a park south of Bristol. Communities had never seen such a sight where wild animals seemed to wander aimlessly through parking lots and suburban housing areas. And had they noticed, people were doing much of the same thing. Something was not in place, and it was creating a sense of insecurity and fear throughout the entire country. Tonight was no different.
Magnolia Crescent's streets were deserted; all that could be seen was the unnatural swaying of the trees and the bristles and sways of plant life that belied the animals residing there. No one considered it abnormal in any way when a cat stealthily made its way across the street. Oddly enough, it happened to look both ways before doing so. Its sharp eyes caught the subtle movements of rodents of all sorts but it never stopped once to investigate. Anyone who had enough skill to follow a cat's movements in the dark could have clearly noticed the interesting fact that this cat had a certain destination in mind; for it traveled in a straight path, always alert, but never wavering nor feeling any uncertainty as to where he was going.
Passing underneath the newly planted hydrangea bushes, the tabby deftly ducked and smoothly eased its way onto a slight knoll overlooking the park he had just reached. Within a few seconds he had seen what he needed to and paced to an old ash tree and began to climb up disappearing in the now almost complete darkness.
Reappearing on a flat limb about twenty feet from the ground, the tabby eased over to the now worn knot where he promptly settled himself in to once more begin his nightly visual.
* * *
A crisp wind swirled, swept, and eddied through the park making all the structures sway slightly as if shivering. Except for one. A single swing stood taught and still as all the rest shook and swayed ominously. Only to the observant eye could the reason why it stood still be seen. A single, motionless figure sat on the swing totally oblivious any movement or sound. The body language of the young man spoke a story of its own. His hands were limply grasping the quivering chains while his head drooped sullenly almost to his chest. Goosebumps could be seen, when close enough, on his skin, but the youth showed no action whatsoever to signal he was aware of this. His dark hair, unkempt and tousled blew wildly as the wind flew through the swings. Once in a while, a glimmer of the moonlight would glance of his glasses sending a silent flare of light betraying a set of closed eyes and a stricken complexion. The temperature got colder and the wind picked up, yet he never moved nor showed any signs of life. He just sat, buried in his own thoughts of which none could perceive. Then again, nobody tried.
Suddenly, the youth's head craned up and smoothly pulled himself out of the swing. A part of the night as any cat, he set off towards the park exit, the epitome of feline fluidity in his movements. He still carried a dejected and defeated attitude within his body, and this coupled with his obvious athleticism brought about a dangerous tone that silently warned anyone to stick to their own business.
To Harry, this was perfectly fine. Very quickly, inhabitants of his whereabouts gained a new respect for "that Potter boy". He was, of course, still perceived as dangerous, but he now retained a profile that seemed to state "If you keep out of my way, I'll keep out of yours". Naturally, this unspoken decree was fervently obeyed by all whom Harry happened to pass. Harry's green eyes began to glimmer as he pulled himself out of his monotonous drone of brooding…though not yet breaking the casing of long-patented indifference. Interestingly enough, he concluded, the Dursleys seemed to have followed that pattern as well. They were not half as abusive nor verbal as they had been the previous years; indeed, they seemed quite passive; almost restrained. This, no doubt, had to do with him, but as to exactly why, he really didn't want to know, so he left it at that.
Still mulling over the peculiarities of the Dursleys, his eyes picked up the familiar light posts that unofficially announced the straightaway to Private Drive. Peering into the distance, there seemed to be no lights on within the house except for one. This, he mused, was probably Dudley going on another one of his smoking expenditures. Pathetic, really, considering Dudley now had to carry an inhaler everywhere he went. Not that he was sorry, for such an uptake in smoking and dramatically decreased Dudley's physical stamina making his old game of catching Harry nearly impossible. Given, he had never tried to catch him this summer, but it certainly wouldn't be pretty. Once, when Dudley had to run the mile in gym, he had such a fit of coughing, that he had to be sent to the hospital. When told their son had been smoking, Petunia and Vernon blatantly refused to accept such an "atrocious accusation upon a highly prioritized and athletic young man". No smile or sign of humor betrayed itself on Harry when considering this highly entertaining memory. To any watcher, he could have been merely thinking about nothing.
Opening the door to the house, he could not help but notice that he felt a somewhat more wholesome and pacified then he
had in a while. This summer he had gotten into the habit of taking walks or long ventures into secluded spots around
the area when he was feeling particularly emotional. At times, such as tonight, he could just sit motionless letting
all of his thoughts and feelings wash over him in a fury as he desperately tried to cope with them. And quite honestly,
he told himself, he knew he wasn't even close to helping his stricken mind, but such habits did provide temporary
help to accept some of the guilts and anxieties wracking his body. And considering what he had been feeling lately, his
walks had begun to step up in number to almost about three a day. He knew they were pivotal in maintaining a cool
temper, which in turn, he knew was absolutely necessary for the Order.
He began to harbor a great feeling of dread, as he walked up the stairs, of going to bed; for that was when all of his worries and thoughts came to bear. And such worries there were! There was his birthday coming up, which he honestly didn't care the slightest bit about, and his OWLS results would be coming soon, and frequent nightmares of various subjects which he did not feel like remembering at the moment, and the anxieties he carried when watching the news when it unknowingly belied trouble in the wizarding world, and plus, he was wondering if he could be taken out of Private Drive for the rest of the summer. Yet, it was these topics that he considered trivial to the real issues that he deemed would plague him for the rest of his life. One, he had still not yet gotten himself to come to terms with the prophecy. And most potently, he could not get rid of the image of Sirius. This was of course, due to the fact that he didn't want to. Not that he could, if he had wanted to anyhow. Sirius, he admitted, was still a highly touchy issue for him, as any mention of him in any way, aroused a blinding wave of emotion….he mustn't think of such things now. He needed sleep, and this thinking wasn't going to help promote it. Tomorrow, he would be receiving his OWLS scores.
And with that, he lay himself down upon his bed, his head a whirlwind of troubling thoughts and emotions that produced yet another sleepless night.
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