The beginning of a friendship pv Scarlett A. Fin

[font=Book Antiqua]Scarlett didn't understand.

Just a few days ago, her world had spiralled into chaos. Her father had disappeared in the night. Her mother had retreated to her room. In a few days, what had her family become?

Broken. That was the word.

It was too much for the six-year-old to bear, even with her aunt Fiona to guide her through the tricky times. So here she was - dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, ready to take her anger and frustration out on the innocent oak tree, near the famous statue of the Potter family that attracted so much attention and Bathilda Bagshot's old, destroyed house. The woman had written Scarlett's least favourite textbook.

Scarlett slipped out of the villa. People in Godric's Hollow didn't like her or her family much, due to the fact that their house had been custom-built, was pretty massive and was far away from the town square with all the 'common folk'. This had been entirely her mother's fault, as it was tradition that when a Fulton got married, a manor was constructed for them. Her father hated the idea of moving from Godric's Hollow, and so the compromise was made - a large, manor-like house would be built in Godric's Hollow, but far away enough so that it could feel stately and private.

Scarlett really hated it. It never felt like home. Just an immaculate palace that she was too scared to mess up and touch.

The thing was, home is where you feel comfortable. A home where you don't feel like that is just a house (or a manor).

Scarlett started to walk over to the massive oak-tree. Fiona had suggested climbing it could release some of her pent-up emotions. Pass the statue and the ruined house...and there it was.

Eagerly, she scrambled up the hill, only to find a boy already sitting there, looking quite comfortable with his book. His hair was brown and his blue jacket was too big for him. She decided she would approach him. Maybe she would make her first friend.

Thoughts of climbing forgotten, Scarlett cleared her throat and hurriedly said, "Oh, er, hi there. I'm Scarlett. Scarlett Aden. Scarlet Evelyn Aden. How about you? Do you live here? What are you reading? Sorry if I'm speaking too fast. Er - um..."
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OCTOBER 28TH
@Henry Knight
So sorry for the late reply!

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The boy - he looked her age - seemed nice enough. He honestly looked quite surprised as Scarlett quickly spouted out a few sentences. Scarlett was kind of nervous. She was a shy little child, and hadn't yet become the more courageous Gryffindor she would soon be when she was older. That day would come soon enough anyway.

The boy placed his book on the ground. Scarlett tried to sneak a peak of the cover, see what he was reading, but she didn't manage it. The boy stood up and looked around - a bit nervously to be completely honest. He seemed slightly perplexed like he wanted to know if Scarlett was actually talking to him. Well, yes, she was. Eventually, the boy seemed to recognise her as Scarlett Aden, the daughter of that snobby aristocrat Evelyn Fulton, who the townspeople at Godric's Hollow had not heard from in months.

She listened to what he had to say, mentally making a list of everything in case she needed to know in the future. His name was Henry Knight (thank Merlin - no more 'the boy') and he lived in a small house in the main village in Godric's Hollow. It looked a bit cut off from the rest of the houses, and was pretty near the statue of the Potters.

"Yes," said Scarlett, as he finished his small ramble, stuttering quite a bit. Her voice was slightly clipped, and the tone was quite high and almost dainty. The way she said it sounded extremely posh. After all, her mother had always been urging her to talk like that her whole life. At Hogwarts, her voice and manner of speech would generally grow more 'normal' but her words would always be a little bit clipped. "I do live here. And, um, no thanks."

It was cool that the book was about Care of Magical Creatures. Phoenixes and thestrals had always been of great interest to the small girl, but she had never actually considered studying them thoroughly. And anyway, after the events of when her mother Evelyn tried to force down tons of Charms work on Scarlett, so that she might grow into an 'intelligent young lady' Scarlett had had enough books for a lifetime.

"Yes, I'm an Aden, and a Fulton," sighed Scarlett. She really wished she wasn't from either of those families. The Fultons were way too snobby in Scarlett's opinion, and the Adens...well, if her father was an Aden, Scarlett didn't want to be one. Her aunt was alright though. "Oh, and sure, we could hang out."

Scarlett shrugged, looking quite indifferent, but really, she was incredibly excited. Her first friend! How wonderful.

"So what do you want to do?" asked Scarlett, enthusiasm leaking into her words.

OCTOBER 28TH
@Henry Knight

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Scarlett thought Henry was quite over-reacting when she said they could hang out. Excitement and happiness were practically radiating off the poor kid. His mouth stretched into a wide grin and the atmosphere seemed more eager, the sun shining brighter, life suddenly looking more hopeful. Scarlett's true nature was probably starting to show - not a bad nature, just one that was more quick to judge. She was still the generally shy girl from Godric's Hollow - and she still hadn't evolved into the bold, constantly fighting girl she would be in a year or so. But sometimes, Scarlett felt like she didn't want to be shy, she didn't want to be stage-frightened. She wanted to be an Aden, her true self. But the timid, over-ruling part inside of her didn't let her change.

The only times when her dormant Gryffindor personality leeked out were usually in times when it was portrayed in the most negative of lights. The redhead was indeed quick to judge, and judging Henry at this very moment, her dark-brown eyes scanning him to see if he were a worthy friend. She had agreed to hanging out with him and was really very happy about her first friend. She just needed to see if she could trust him. After all, her father had abandoned her. She hoped her newfound friend Henry wouldn't either.

Eventually, since Scarlett was only six and wasn't decidedly patient, she stopped inspecting him to answer his question with a wide, gap-toothed grin.

"Sorry about that," said Scarlett. "I - I just had to make sure you were nice and not a bully. My auntie taught me about bullies. She said I should ignore them. And my mummy...well-"

She stopped, deciding not to tell the boy about her personal life anymore. Friends needed trust in each other, and sometimes that trust came from knowing that your friend was keeping something from you for the greater good.

"Anyway, I think we should climb the tree!" said Scarlett, eyes wide in excitement, so different from the seemingly calculated kid she was a few moments ago. "It'll be super fun! C'mon! Let's go!"

Scarlett was already off, using her scuffed trainers to scale the tree and grasp at branches. She managed to haul herself onto the first branch, which was thankfully incredibly thick. The tree was good for climbing - sturdy and strong. It was pretty massive as well.

"What are you waiting for?" the redhead said, swinging her legs round so they dangled off the branch. Just because she was shy didn't mean she didn't like climbing trees. It didn't mean she was afraid. And anyway, her shyness seemed to have disappeared with this Henry boy. She trusted him inexplicably. What could go wrong?

She then realised he had asked her about his stuttering. She shook her head and gave him a crooked smile. "Of course not."

OCTOBER 28TH
@Henry Knight

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Scarlett felt rather happy, enjoying the day as her legs dangled from the old, large oak tree. Henry - also known as her new best friend - told her that lots of people bullied him so he understood why she was generally quite distrusting, having to check to see if someone was actually trustworthy and wouldn't leave her, abandon her. Her newfound friend dashed towards the sturdy tree as Scarlett told him to hurry up (not in a mean way, of course) and the young boy managed to shimmy up the old oak, grasping on every branch and scrambled up the trunk, more skilled than any child she had ever seen. That wasn't her, obviously.

Henry started to speak - he told her they should promise to be friends forever and ever and ever. Well, the redhead accepted this offer, this promise without a doubt. Henry was a good person and she trusted him enough to even make a vow to be best friends forever on the pair's first meeting.

"And I promise I'll always be your friend as well Henry!" said Scarlett, grinning toothily at her companion on the tree branch.

How utterly miserable, then, in later years, when the two were grown up. They would separate, become bitter and everything just seemed...complicated. But for now, the duo enjoyed a moment of peace as the sun set. Nothing bad was going to happen to them - that was what they thought. Life would be perfect forever. Until the end of time.

"Scarlett!" called a voice. "Scarlett, where are you? It's dinnertime!"

The young redhead jumped in surprise at the voice of her aunt Fiona shattering the moment of serenity. In fact, she was so surprised she fell out of the branch and onto the grass, landing with a soft thump as pain shot through her body.

Her aunt heard the noise and whipped round to Scarlett, lying on the ground. She picked the young girl up, saying, "Scarlett, oh Scarlett, are you alright? Come on, why were you playing here? Are you hurt? I'll get you some supper now darling..."

The girl could only smile at her friend, still in the tree, unnoticed by her rather over-protective aunt as she left him. But there would be plenty of time to bond - months - years.

It was a shame their friendship would be crushed soon enough.

SCARLETT ADEN HAS LEFT THE THREAD

Sorry for such a bad reply, I was in a rush and had no inspiration XD