Finally Summer

Natalie skipped down Diagon Alley to Florean Fortescue's, stopping every once in a while to do a cartwheel or say hi to a flower. Thankfully, there weren't too many people hanging around since the new batch of Hogwarts letters hadn't been sent out yet.

A bad landing gave her a small scrape on her right hand, but she brushed it off. It was hardly something to worry about.

She entered the shop and almost immediately spotted Landon. She bounded over to him, glad to see him, since it had been a while. "Hi Lando!" she said loudly, earning her a few unfriendly glares from other people in the shop, which she ignored.

She sat on the seat beside him and pulled him into a tight hug, then released him. "Man, it's hot," she said, grinning at him.

Natalie giggled at Landon's awkward demeanor. He'd been like this a bit before, but it was nothing compared to this, although she wasn't sure why he was acting that way.

She didn't really want a whole ice cream but she thought it would be rude to refuse him. "Ice cream is good. Surprise me," she said with a smile. "And I might take you up on that last offer."

Natalie smiled when Landon returned. "Thanks," she said, picking up a spoon and taking a small taste, just to see what he had chosen. "Mmm... good choice."

She took another bite, then looked at Landon. She wasn't quite sure what to say to him, especially since they hadn't talked about what had happened in the corridor the day they had met. She wondered if that was the reason he was acting this way.

"Is this because I kissed you?" she asked. She would fee a little silly if it wasn't, but she just wanted to know.

Listening in silence, Natalie nodded at appropriate moments. Then, she laughed.

She wasn't laughing because she thought he was being silly, which, he was a little. She was laughing because she had never met someone who worried so much at such a young age.

Not wanting him to get the wrong idea, she calmed down as best she could and grabbed his hand. "Lando, like you said, we're young. It's okay to not quite understand everything," she looked him straight in the eye and smiled. "Like it or not, you're my best friend and you're stuck with me. We can worry about everything else when we're older."

She let go of his hand and went back to her ice cream. After a few bites, she added, "And for the record, it was nice to kiss you, too."

Natalie was caught off-guard by the sudden kiss but enjoyed it just as much as she had the others.

"So what have you been up to so far this summer?" she asked as she took another bite of her ice cream. She scooped more ice cream onto her spoon and held it out for Landon. "Go on, try it. It's good."

"That sounds like fun!" Natalie said. Her family didn't really do things like that, especially since her father and sister were muggles.

She shrugged when he asked about her. "We went to go see my aunt and my cousins in France for a bit. They're no fun at all. I asked them if they wanted to go look for Knobmongers and they looked at me like I'd just sprouted wings and told them I was the Fairy Queen," she shook her head. "It's completely ridiculous. I've met the Fairy Queen and she looks nothing like me."

Natalie nodded. She knew the feeling. Her and her cousins fought a lot but she still missed them now that she was in England. "I can't tell you, you have to see her for yourself. But I promise that whatever you're expecting is nothing like the real thing."

She got an idea, but she wasn't sure if her parents would approve or not, but she was sure that they would get over it. "Would you like to come hang out at my house some time? We have this awesome forest by us that desperately needs exploring," she offered. She hoped he would say yes, otherwise she would feel like a ninny for asking.

Natalie knew Landon was joking, but she was a little jealous; she hoped that he wouldn't be finding anyone to replace her anytime soon. She knew she was being silly though. No one could replace their best friend that quickly.

"Brilliant!" she said when he agreed to visit, jumping to her feet and holding out her hand for him to take. "Come on then!"

"We can do it again in a week or so, but I want to get there before my parents go off somewhere," Natalie said. "They said they wanted to meet you."

She left the shop with Landon's hand in hers and took him down to the Leaky Cauldron so they could Floo to her house. "I promise, they're going to love you."

The fireplace was large, so she dragged Landon in with her, telling it to take them to her house.