English Summer Rain

[Landon Dalton]

"Landon, what on earth are you wearing that for?" Olivia Dalton was stood at the front door, a brown handbag hanging limply from three of her fingers. She was staring up at her son with his dark red hair on display. It had lost a lot of its red colouring in recent years.. Much unlike her husband's or her daughter's hair. Olivia Dalton, herself, had great flicked locks of red hair, dancing around her shoulders. She was a naturally thin woman with emerald green eyes and a smile like pearls from an oyster. These good looks and the positive, loving attitude that went with them, however, did nothing to silence her raised eyebrows at the sight of Landon.

Landon was watching his mother's reaction, with less concern than usual- His mind was elsewhere. "I just thought," he paused, meeting Olivia's eyes with his own, "that I wouldn't get cold while we're leaving, and hot when we're arriving." He smiled in that way that clearly said he had thought this highly logical. Olivia rolled her eyes, pressing down on the door handle, hearing that delicate click and opening it. She went to leave, but stopped to eye him. Landon remained still on the staircase. "What's in the bag?" his mother asked curiously. Landon simply shook his head. It was at this point that his father came running down the stairs, passing him by with a quick "Morning" before he flew out the the front door and into the boot of the car outside, his head becoming submerged between bags as he rummaged. Landon's mother sighed, glancing at Landon, fixing him with that look, daring him to cause trouble. And the she was outside, too.

The bag that Landon carried did, in fact, contain a rather old-fashioned looking camera, a magical camera that he had once purchased. He intended to capture the memories of this holiday, for the sake of showing Lucy. Oh, how he missed Lucinda with that brilliant mind of hers. In his mind, they were inseparable- a match made in heaven. His parents still didn't know and he had yet to tell them. Landon was going to use this holiday as an opportunity and his mind had just drifted to what he would say, when a crashing noise emanating from his sister's room, told Landon that Hayley was attempting to gather more toys for the trip. Landon rolled his eyes, smiling, he walked back up the stairs and pushed the door open, hardly raising an eyebrow. "Mum says it's time to go."

 

[Hayley Dalton]

She just had to bring that cuddly elephant with her; it was now the most important thing in the world, solely because her mother wanted to chuck it out. Hayley Dalton did not give up easily, and though the toy elephant was on top of the wardrobe, she was determined to reach it. She was a very single-minded little girl and would do what it took to get where she needed to be. This little girl was the vessel of a much darker soul, though she did not yet know it.

It was convenient that her father had bought her this raised bed with room underneath for a 'playhouse', and Hayley set about piling up books, clothes and toys until they were too high for her to reach. She then climbed up onto her bed, bracing herself, leaping onto the pile, hands clutching the top of the wardrobe. Holding. Holding. The pile collapsed. She would have to drop down. Hayley managed to twitch her fingers, to gently pull the elephant's foot.. She could nearly grab it.. Nearly.. She suddenly leapt forwards, one-handedly snatching up the elephant. The tall wardrobe began to rock. It was going to fall. Onto Hayley. She had not a moment to think, releasing her hold on the wardrobe, the clothes 'pile' padding her fall. There was a slight creak. Hayley watched as the wardrobe swayed dangerously, drifting towards her. It was moving. Suddenly, it was almost upon her. Clutching her toy elephant to her chest, Hayley managed to roll off the 'pile', dropping slightly with a 'thunk' to the ground.

The crash resounded through the house. Hayley grimaced as her brother opened the door. Fortunately, Landon liked her and he didn't plan to dob her in before they left. She watched his face, blinking. "Awww.." Hayley moaned in complaint, "why do we even have to go on a stupid holiday? Nobody asked me if I wanted to go!" Hayley folded her arms, pouting. Her brother laughed. It was him who convinced her to leave, in the end. They walked to the front door, together, climbing into the car with their parents and leaving the wreckage behind them.

 

[Landon Dalton]

Fortunately, the car journey was not long. Landon didn't mind, though; he enjoyed traveling the muggle way, watching the buildings they passed, the muggle children playing and laughing, the people shopping, the muggles driving.. It was incredibly interesting, and Landon remained silent for the rest of the journey- much unlike Hayley who was getting bored. They'd bought the car because they lived in a muggle neighbourhood and the family going long distances for days out, looked a little odd without a means of transport. And, seeing as the Daltons had never used taxis, a car seemed like a good idea. It was Mrs. Dalton who took the driving test, Mrs. Dalton who had taken the time to learn to drive a muggle car. Mr. Dalton was clueless, favouring the broomstick over all other means of transport. Olivia Dalton was the one who ran the house and kept the family going.

They were taking a muggle aircraft to get back to England. Landon, like his father, was fascinated by aeroplanes. For the muggles, flight was not something easily achieved and yet.. And yet, as Landon boarded the plane with his family, he had to admire just how magical it all was. Once the family was seated, that strange, sick-feeling began to creep up Landon's throat. The plane was tipping backwards as it lifted from the ground. The force pushed him back into his seat. Hayley was cuddling her elephant with one arm, the other being held by a relaxed Mrs. Dalton. Mr. Dalton was several seats away, talking to a muggle woman who had confessed to being an off-duty pilot. Naturally, Mr. Dalton was drowning her in questions as to the workings of a plane. Landon shut his eyes, taking three deep breaths.. And he drifted into a deep slumber.

Landon sat in a café, breathing in the scent of coffee, tea and hot chocolate. It was snowing outside and the room was warmed and lit by a crackling fire. He was staring at it as he waited. She was going to be there any minute now. The fire began to crackle louder. This was a muggle café and a witch was about to walk out of a fireplace, in front of them.. But muggles didn't see anything, right? And, in a flash, she was there; Lucy stood before him in a white fur coat, her eyes were bright, her lips were the perfect shade of red. She was smiling at Landon and he invited her to sit down at the table. Suddenly, all the muggles were gone, light piano music played and the two of them were seated beneath a spotlight. Landon was wearing a suit. He reached out his hands, taking hers across the table, beaming at her. "I'm so glad you're here," he said, a strange echo to his voice, "I've missed you so much- I know you've been busy, but-" Lucy had silently released a hand, lifting a finger to Landon's lips, silencing him. "Shall we dance?" She asked as she stood up. Landon stood up, too. The table and chairs disappeared and in their place was tiled floor, a chandelier hanging above them. They were both dressed in their clothes they had worn the first time they attended the Yule Ball together. Landon took Lucy's hand and they began to dance.

It was a slow tune that played, echoing around the room. Landon could see other students dancing together, laughing and smiling- but they were all ghosts, a faint blue, echoes. Landon watched them for a moment, seeing who was who, seeing.. Seeing Jareth and Artemis dancing together. He felt sick. He hadn't thought about Jareth in a long time, but it had been bothering him. Jareth was the only true dead one among the students dancing about. Jareth was the only one who kept eye contact for a long time. Staring. Landon turned to Lucy "I'm sorry.. I just need to.." He gestured to Jareth. Lucy nodded, smiling, and walked off to speak with a group of girls. The room had grown, momentarily, but now it shrank and as Landon approached Jareth, Artemis disappeared. It was just the two of them, one dead, one alive. "I wish it hadn't happened," Landon began, his throat tightening. "I wish you were still here- you were a good friend, and a great love to Artemis.. She grieved and cut herself off from the rest of us. She loved you more than anything.." Landon sighed, watching Jareth as he just stood there, a cruel imitation of his former self. He said nothing. Landon felt his heart sink. "Please, Jareth! Please just say something!" Jareth still said nothing. Landon could feel himself becoming increasingly worried. He reached out a hand to take Jareth's shoulder, to hold it, to make him speak- but his hand just fell through. Jareth opened his mouth to speak, but the words were not his own. "Landon" a girl's voice echoed, "Landon, wake up!" Landon tried to touch the face, to stop him talking like this- but a bright white light poured from Jareth's mouth.

Landon awoke to the sight of his sister pulling his eyelids open. "Argh!" Landon hissed, clasping his hands over his sore eyes. "What is it, Hayley? What's the matter?" He looked around; the plane was dark and quite. Mrs. Dalton was asleep in her chair, her arms positioned as though she had been cradling Hayley. Mr. Dalton was over the other side of the plane, examining the headphones built into the arm rest. He was listening to music, smiling to himself. The poor muggle woman beside him had conked out, her head right back, a pillow hiding her face. Most of the passengers were fast asleep. Landon peeped out the window beside him, staring out at the blackness. He had no idea where they had got to.

 

[Hayley Dalton]

Hayley stared at her brother for a moment or two. "Can't we do something fun?" she moaned through the constant hum of the engines, which meant her normally loud voice, was softened. She had been bored for so many hours, now, her mother having attempted to entertain her with stories and pictures and colouring. That sort of thing didn't stimulate Hayley's brain enough, anymore- she was a big girl, now, and wanted to be treated like one. In fact, though the family did not realize it, Hayley was beginning to display her magic. Only little, barely noticeable things, but things that someone like her brother, would notice.

As the people on the plane had slept, Hayley had showed one of her first signs. Though it was only small and no-one else had noticed, Hayley had felt different: The plane had had no turbulence and nothing interesting was happening. Landon was asleep in his chair, smiling. As there was nothing else to do, Hayley had begun drawing with plain pencil on paper. It was a picture of her, riding a unicorn- though it was originally intended as a dragon, and so flames were draped from its nostrils. She was pleased with the picture.. Until she noticed an ugly smudge, staining the top right corner of the page. She had looked for something to rub this mistake out with, but she could find no rubber, no tape, no pen, nothing. It was infuriating for the little girl, because if there was one trait she had already developed ahead of time, it was that of perfection. Everything she drew, everything she wrote, had to meet her current standards of perfection. This picture had been one of her favourites until the mark had been drawn to her attention. What happened next, however, had shocked her so much that she had felt the need to wake her brother. As Hayley glared at the smudge in the corning, she felt a sudden buzz, a wave of something. Her head seemed to wake up for a moment, with more consciousness than normal.. The corner of the page before her, curled round, turning black. This was not amazingly noticeable at first glance, but it had been enough to worry Hayley, who had woken her upset-looking brother, hoping that he would save her from whatever had just happened.

Hayley lifted up the sheet of paper and handed it to Landon. She watched him sleepily looking at the picture, before turning to her and clearly pronouncing the words "Very nice." He had not even looked at the picture, trying to hand it back to her so that he could continue sleeping. Hayley glared. "No, Landon, look!" She forced the paper back towards his face, pointing out the black corner. Landon stared at it for a moment, before lifting a finger to prod it- the blackness crumbled away like ash, leaving a piece of paper with three corners. Landon looked inquisitively at Hayley. Hayley looked back. There was silence between the siblings as Landon furrowed his brow, too dozy to make a formal conclusion. "What is it?" Hayley inquired. Landon shook his head. "I don't know.. Ash, maybe? Probably touched the fire before we left, or something." Landon shrugged and relaxed back into his seat, giving Hayley the drawing, having looked at the picture, this time. "Why's that unicorn breathing fire?" He asked as his eyes began to close again. Hayley smiled, reassured by her brother's 'relaxed' attitude towards the corner of the page. "Because it was a dragon." She answered, simply, taking back the drawing and tucking it into the back of the seat in front. Landon nodded his reply as his eyes shut tightly.

Hayley had eventually fallen asleep, and properly. But now she found herself staring at the fold-out tray before her. It was breakfast time and they been given a couple of piece of toasts with one tiny pot of strawberry jam and a flimsy plastic knife. Hayley was not pleased with the small selection of what to eat- so she just opened the packet of jam, poking her tiny pink tongue inside and gobbling up the contents. Mrs. Dalton had just returned with two plastic cups of orange juice, and one empty cup, waiting for the stewardess to pour the tea. She sat down in her seat passing one orange juice along to her son, and placing one in front of her daughter, whose behaviour she suddenly noticed.. "Hayley!" Mrs. Dalton hissed snatching the jam from her. It was almost empty. She sighed. "Oh, Hayley.. Please.. Just eat some toast." Hayley glared, folding her arms and pouting. She wanted her jam back. It was going to be a long day.