Walk With Me

Chapter One

I loved her from a distance, without hope of reciprocation. My unrequited love floundered in its secrecy like a loose thread in the wind for years.

Her name was Hope Lily Potter, and she was unattainable, from her long, flowing black hair and deep green eyes, to her alabaster skin and graceful figure. Daughter of the famous Harry Potter, she had an air of being in a separate world, surrounded by a bubble of something that none of us would understand.

Her brother, Sirius James, was another matter. Secretive and sullen during his teenage years, his fair skin erupted in acne at age fourteen that didn't recede until he was well into his eighteenth year. His hair he let grow almost to his shoulders, periodically chopping most of it off, and often left it unwashed.

But enough about other people. I went and still go by the name Caractacus Cooper. Son of a famous witch and a carpenter, I had a foot in two worlds that seemed incompatible. It would be inevitable, however, that given my magical ability I would end up basing my life in the world of magic, which was an exciting and intimidating prospect for me.

I was quiet and unobtrusive during my early teenage years; a boy with a subdued but amiable nature. These traits (not necessarily the geniality) made me an attractive friend to Sirius James Potter, who was both in my year, and had also been an erratic companion during my childhood.

From a distance, Sirius James' withdrawn nature seemed not far away from my reserve, but in reality our manner to those we communicated with were quite different. There was a similar coincidence physically; we were both pale with black hair, and aside from my brown eyes and his green, we had one marked distance. Whereas he was unkempt in his appearance, I was well turned out and groomed; my hair was neatly combed, my cloths seldom messy or dirty, and even my posture was straight and smart. I also lacked his problem with spots, and my looks had a distinct wholesomeness that his lacked.

I seemed to have painted Sirius James in a bad light. But I believe that I can change the picture you have of him with a single sentence: Sirius James was a Hufflepuff. But houses don't mean everything.

Like Slytherins. People always expect the worse of them, but often they come out fine. Ambition doesn't always mean heartlessness. Take Laura Longbottom, for instance. She was beautiful, kind, smart and hard working. Everyone loved her, and admired her, and even found it hard to be jealous of her. She did what she put her mind to, did it well, and she put her mind to a lot.

Laura was star seeker in the school, represented us in the Triwizard Competition in her sixth year (although she came second), and was made Head Girl. She would also help anyone who asked (she was much more approachable than Hope Potter) with saint like patience, got top marks in her OWLs, and her boyfriend Alex Bones, was Captain of the Quidditch team in which she played, and an amazing beater. Bones had been tipped for Head Boyship, but it went to a Hufflepuff boy, Hugh Diggory.