100quills #33
Title: Watching the Birds
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters: Ariana D, Albus D
Prompt: #33 Sky
Word Count: 559
Rating: G
Summary: Albus takes Ariana to the beach for a day
Table link: http://airelement.livejournal.com/72127.html
“Look at the birds, Ari,” Albus said, holding his sister’s hand and pointing skywards. Ariana obediently gazed at the gulls circling overhead, then squealed as one suddenly dived.
“What’s it looking at?” Ariana asked, not realising in her innocence that seagulls only ever looked that interested when there was a carcass nearby. “Let’s go and see!” She pulled her small hand free of Albus’ larger one and skipped over the rocks happily, as nimble as any one of Aberforth’s precious goats. Albus scowled and followed Ariana, finding that without the small, delicate feet of a six-year-old girl it was unnervingly difficult to navigate the slippery, uneven surface.
“Wait for me, Ari!” Albus called, then cursed as the fashionable, flamboyantly stitched hem of his robe caught and tore on a barnacle-encrusted rock.
“Mummy says not to say that word,” Ariana scolded him. Albus grinned. There was nothing like being told off by a little girl to inspire easy-going confidence in any macho teenage boy with an ego.
“Are you going to tattle to her?” he teased. Ariana stuck her tongue out at him, then clasped her hands behind her back in a picture of innocence.
“Maybe,” she told him sanctimoniously. “It depends.” Albus wished he’d never tried to instil cunning in Ari. It hadn’t been very successful, but now and then the repercussions still revealed themselves.
“Alright, alright. So what do I have to do?” Albus asked, raising his hands in defeat. He didn’t really want to help tidy her toy box without magic, but it was better than the tongue-tying hex his mother would no doubt cast on him for goodness knows how long. Kendra Dumbledore wasn’t impressed when her offspring used foul language.
“You have to… make the birds prettier. They’re bored because they look all dull and grey,” Ariana explained. Albus nodded.
“Come and sit up on this rock,” Albus said, considering how best to fulfil his sister’s request impressively. Making up his mind, he scanned the deserted beach for muggles before jumping up to the highest rock with the best view of the sea to join Ariana.
A few sweeps of his wand across the seascape and the sky was changed completely. The weak sunlight of a winter afternoon in Wales was replaced by a delicate, rich sunset, and the seagulls were transformed into graceful swallows soaring up into the glowing sky.
“Look, Albus,” Ariana exclaimed, her voice loud in the sudden absence of gull caws. “Watch the birds!”
“I’m watching,” Albus assured her, wrapping a protective arm around her to keep her safe on the high rock. Ariana leaned close to snuggle against his chest, her small head a warm weight that his hand instinctively moved to and ruffled the red hair.
“You’re fun to play with, Al,” Ariana murmured sleepily, her voice almost drowned out by the sound of the incoming tide. Albus smiled softly down at her as she fell into slumber, relaxing completely against him. Right then it didn’t matter what Gellert thought or said, because as long as his little sister loved him Albus was happy. Maybe tomorrow all he’d think about was Dark magic and power and Gellert, but here and now - and, in all honesty, buried deep in his heart but always there - those things didn’t matter. Not as long as Ariana loved him just the way he was.
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters: Ariana D, Albus D
Prompt: #33 Sky
Word Count: 559
Rating: G
Summary: Albus takes Ariana to the beach for a day
Table link: http://airelement.livejournal.com/72127.html
“Look at the birds, Ari,” Albus said, holding his sister’s hand and pointing skywards. Ariana obediently gazed at the gulls circling overhead, then squealed as one suddenly dived.
“What’s it looking at?” Ariana asked, not realising in her innocence that seagulls only ever looked that interested when there was a carcass nearby. “Let’s go and see!” She pulled her small hand free of Albus’ larger one and skipped over the rocks happily, as nimble as any one of Aberforth’s precious goats. Albus scowled and followed Ariana, finding that without the small, delicate feet of a six-year-old girl it was unnervingly difficult to navigate the slippery, uneven surface.
“Wait for me, Ari!” Albus called, then cursed as the fashionable, flamboyantly stitched hem of his robe caught and tore on a barnacle-encrusted rock.
“Mummy says not to say that word,” Ariana scolded him. Albus grinned. There was nothing like being told off by a little girl to inspire easy-going confidence in any macho teenage boy with an ego.
“Are you going to tattle to her?” he teased. Ariana stuck her tongue out at him, then clasped her hands behind her back in a picture of innocence.
“Maybe,” she told him sanctimoniously. “It depends.” Albus wished he’d never tried to instil cunning in Ari. It hadn’t been very successful, but now and then the repercussions still revealed themselves.
“Alright, alright. So what do I have to do?” Albus asked, raising his hands in defeat. He didn’t really want to help tidy her toy box without magic, but it was better than the tongue-tying hex his mother would no doubt cast on him for goodness knows how long. Kendra Dumbledore wasn’t impressed when her offspring used foul language.
“You have to… make the birds prettier. They’re bored because they look all dull and grey,” Ariana explained. Albus nodded.
“Come and sit up on this rock,” Albus said, considering how best to fulfil his sister’s request impressively. Making up his mind, he scanned the deserted beach for muggles before jumping up to the highest rock with the best view of the sea to join Ariana.
A few sweeps of his wand across the seascape and the sky was changed completely. The weak sunlight of a winter afternoon in Wales was replaced by a delicate, rich sunset, and the seagulls were transformed into graceful swallows soaring up into the glowing sky.
“Look, Albus,” Ariana exclaimed, her voice loud in the sudden absence of gull caws. “Watch the birds!”
“I’m watching,” Albus assured her, wrapping a protective arm around her to keep her safe on the high rock. Ariana leaned close to snuggle against his chest, her small head a warm weight that his hand instinctively moved to and ruffled the red hair.
“You’re fun to play with, Al,” Ariana murmured sleepily, her voice almost drowned out by the sound of the incoming tide. Albus smiled softly down at her as she fell into slumber, relaxing completely against him. Right then it didn’t matter what Gellert thought or said, because as long as his little sister loved him Albus was happy. Maybe tomorrow all he’d think about was Dark magic and power and Gellert, but here and now - and, in all honesty, buried deep in his heart but always there - those things didn’t matter. Not as long as Ariana loved him just the way he was.