Aspen Sunlight - A Summer Like None Other

Snape shook his head as he lowered himself into a chair. "Supposition isn't proof, Draco."

Draco put on a stubborn expression as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I don't need proof. I know. Haven't you ever just known something, Severus?" Draco sighed. "Oh, fine. What about her name, eh?"

"What about it?"

"Rhiannon happens to be the name of a rather noted Welsh witch," Snape said to Harry.

"There's no reason why a Muggle can't have that name."

Draco bared his teeth, his patience clearly wearing thin. "What's it to you, anyway? I thought you didn't care about blood."

"I thought you did!"

"You can say what you want, Harry. She's a witch and I love her and tomorrow, I'm going to go back to Exeter and find her, just see if I don't! And then you'll know. I'll have her tell you herself!"

"If she's a witch then why didn't she get a Hogwarts letter?"

"It's none of your business if Rhiannon ignored her Hogwarts letter. Not everybody goes, you know."

"Yeah, I know! Like Muggles!"

"Last time I checked, having private tutors didn't make you a Muggle!"

"Last time I checked, singing loudly in Italian didn't make you not one, either!"

Severus suddenly pinched the bridge of his nose. "I do believe that you two have done nothing but squabble since term ended. Perhaps you don't have enough to do. Harry, fetch your spell lexicon--"

"That's his way of telling you to shut the fuck up," said Draco in a thoroughly nasty voice.

"And Draco, you may your begin the reading we discussed," continued Severus without pausing.

"What? This late at night?"

"You appear to have time to fight with your brother."

Harry shot Draco a triumphant look. "Ha. That's his way of telling you-- " He caught the expression on his father's face, and instantly felt subdued.

"I'll enjoy reading some Aristotle, in any case," said Draco in a snooty voice.

Snape looked incredulous for an instant. "Aristotle? What are you on about?"

"You said--"

"I said ethics, Draco," Snape corrected in a weary voice.

"I thought you had to mean Aristotle's works on ethics!"

"No. You'll find the books I ordered in one of the magic crates. Read them all, and then come discuss them with me."

"I haven't done anything wrong! Why should I be punished by having to read musty old tomes about ethics?"

Snape's reply was mild. "You aren't being punished. Moreover, you didn't appear to mind when you thought I was assigning Aristotle."

"Well, at least he was a famous wizard and well worth reading--"

"There's no reason to suppose that Aristotle was any sort of wizard, Draco."

Harry couldn't resist. "And no reason to suppose Rhiannon's a witch, either."

"Out, both of you," snapped Snape, all mildness gone. "Work in your room so I can have a modicum of peace in my own home. And for Merlin's sake, stop this incessant bickering!"

Draco snatched some books from a crate, then walked toward the bedroom. "Here's a translation to work on," he muttered as soon as they entered the room. "How do you say complete fucking idiot in Parseltongue?"

Harry glanced at the snake etched into the corner of his glasses and said something completely untranslatable.

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Coming Soon in A Summer Like None Other :

Chapter Five: Food for Thought

Comments very welcome,

Aspen in the Sunlight and Mercredi

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Author's Notes:

If you'd like to be notified when more of this story is posted, then send an email to ayearlikenoneother-subscribe@yahoogroups.com, or go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ayearlikenoneother/join to subscribe to the Yahoo group set up to for author alerts. After you have joined the group and are choosing your options, select any email option other than "No Email" in order to receive notices about future chapters or stories in this universe.

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Chapter 5: Food for Thought

http://archive.skyehawke.com/story.php?no=13093&chapter=5

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A Summer Like None Other

by Aspen in the Sunlight

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Chapter Five: Food for Thought

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Draco couldn't eat breakfast the next morning. Too many butterflies in his stomach. How could he want food when in less than an hour, he'd be well on his way to meeting Rhiannon Miller? Miller . . . hmm, he didn't think he'd ever heard of any Millers, but that didn't mean anything. She was still a witch; he just knew it.

He curled his fingers, remembering how Harry had been so insistent that Rhiannon was a Muggle. As if he would be such an expert on the subject. What could he know of bloodlines? Harry hadn't been raised to recognise quality when he saw it. But Draco had, and one thing was certain: Rhiannon was more than merely a witch, she was as pure-blooded as they came.

Draco could hardly wait to get to know her better. Which meant that it was time to announce his plan. "I thought I'd pop over to Exeter this morning."

Harry sighed--loudly, the prat--and set his fork down. "I thought maybe a good night's sleep would cure you."

" Cure me?" Draco leaned back and crossed his arms. "I'm not the least bit ill, I'll have you know."

Severus cleared his throat. "You propose to go alone, do you?"

Draco raised his chin. "Yes, of course. I hardly want the two of you hanging about while I get to know Rhiannon." He glared briefly at Harry. "Though it would do you a world of good to hear from her own lips that she's a witch."

"She's not a witch!"

Draco noticed Severus giving Harry a warning look, and had to resist the urge to smirk.

Harry sighed again, and spoke more softly. "What are you going to do when she tells you there's no such thing as witches, Draco? If she's a Muggle, chances are she won't know a thing about the wizarding world, and when you start talking about it, she'll think you're a real nutter."

"Why is it so hard for you to believe that she's a witch?" Draco wrinkled his forehead, wondering what was really going on. "If you ask me, you're the one who's fixated, Harry. You have some deep, dark psychological need for me to be involved with a Muggle." He huffed a bit. "You think it'd be good for me, I bet. But telling me that Rhiannon's a Muggle isn't going to change the facts of the matter."

"No, it isn't," said Harry in a heavy voice. "Well, you'll know soon enough. She'll tell you herself that she's not a witch, once she understands that you really do think she's one."

Draco frowned. "Hmm. You know, this might get a bit tricky. If she's passing as a Muggle, she might not be willing to admit that she's actually a witch. So she might claim she isn't one, even though she is ."

Harry threw his hands upward. "Oh, for God's sake. Now you're convincing yourself that she's a witch no matter what she says! Don't you see that that's what you're doing?"

"And what are you doing?" Draco coolly asked. "Apart from trying to come between me and Rhiannon, that is? As if I'd ever be attracted to a Muggle!"

"Ha. You didn't have any problem finding Muggle girls attractive at the pool, did you now?"

Draco felt his lips curling. "Yes, well . . . they were flaunting themselves. And what's more, that was just physical. And a bit on the disgusting side, when you think about it. Muggle girls must be awfully hard up, to have to parade about with barely anything on, trying to entice every male in the vicinity. But what I feel for Rhiannon . . . don't you get it, yet? It's love, Harry. True love."