She rolled off the top of the car, throwing Echo's cage high up into the air so she could catch it as she landed.
Dropping her trunk and getting to the feet, she raced to where her owl's cage was to land, catching it safely.
Echo hooted up at her, still remaining quiet even as she fluttered her wings angrily.
"Would you have preferred I throw you instead?" Amisty asked scoldingly, meeting the bird's black eyes.
She just turned her head to the side. The girl rolled her eyes, picking her trunk back up and setting a brisk pace back to her camp. There was a long summer ahead of her.
-=+=-
Amisty was bored. Very bored. She sat outside of her camp, basking in the sunlight of the summertime sun and waiting for Harry to come outside.
It was his birthday today. He had been talking about how he never had a proper birthday before and Amisty was planning on changing that.
With the little amount of resources she had gathered over the years, Harry had forced her to promise that she would stop stealing, she had put together a small table covered in sweets and pastries.
All from a local bakery. The owner's daughter had taken a liking to her and she had smuggled out a few spare treats.
She lifted her head at the sound of a door creaking open, and raced to the source. Harry was sitting on the garden bench, looking utterly miserable as he sang 'Happy Birthday' under his breath.
She couldn't blame him. It was as if they both had been cut off from the magic world. Even with Ron and Hermione's promises to write, there were no letters to be found.
She was almost convinced it had been a dream.
Quietly, she sat down next to him, waiting for him to notice her presence. He didn't.
"Happy birthday!" She grinned, tapping him on the shoulder to get his attention.
He jumped, spinning around to face her.
"You remembered!" He exclaimed, a smile spreading across his face.
"How could I ever forget!" She replied, relaxing back onto the bench.
A comfortable silence fell over the two of them, until Harry started.
Amisty got to her feet, looking around wildly. The hedge in front of them had a pair of glowing green eyes within its leafy depths.
Harry followed in suit, his eyes wide.
"I know what day it is," A voice sang.
Amisty flew behind a bush, taking care to make sure it was nowhere near the mysterious hedge. Harry's cousin, Dudley, waddled into view, his blue eyes glinting with malice.
"What?" Harry asked, distracted by the eyes.
Amisty's gaze didn't leave the hedge, though she kept her ears pricked for their conversation.
"I know what day it is," He repeated, waddling up to Harry.
"Well done. So you've finally learned the days of the week," Harry replied sarcastically.
Amisty covered her mouth with her hand, muffling her laughter.
"Today's your birthday. How come you haven't got any cards? Haven't you got friends at that freak place?" He shot back.
Amisty shifted in the bush, glad her movements hadn't disturbed the branches and given away her hiding place.
"Better not let your mum hear you talking about my school," Harry avoided his question skillfully, his voice cold.
"Why're you staring at the hedge," The fat boy switched his attention to Harry's transfixed gaze.
"I'm trying to decide what would be the best spell to set it on fire," Harry shrugged, as if what he just said wasn't utter nonsense.
They were banned from using magic over the summer.
"You c-can't -- Dad told me you're not to do m-magic -- he said he'll chuck you out of the house -- and you haven't got anywhere else to go -- you haven't got any friends to take you --" Dudley stammered, stumbling over his words the same way stumbled away from Harry.
"Jiggery pokery! Hocus pocus! Squiggly wiggly!" Harry spat, taking slow, menacing steps toward the shivering boy.
Amisty was rolling around in the bushes with laughter, impressed with her friend's impressive acting skills.
"MUUUUUUUM! MUUUUM! He's doing you know what!" Dudley yelled, racing back into the house fearfully.
"You can come out now," Harry chuckled, watching the dreaded boy trip over his feet as he ran wailing for his mother.
She fell out of the bushes, choking on her laughter as she walked back over to him.
"That was amazing!" She exclaimed, dropping back down on the bench next to him with a thump.
"Thanks, though it was hard to keep a straight face with your antics," He replied good-naturedly.
"Can you blame me? He believed that rubbish!" She doubled over with laughter again, the memory of his terror stricken face floating across her thoughts.
"Oh... I'm going to pay for that, it'll be worth it though," He got up, looking slightly discouraged. "I'll talk to you later, Amisty. Better get my punishment over with sooner than later."
"Alright, don't let them push you around too much," She replied, getting to her feet and making her way over to her camp.
-=+=-
Harry was right. He was being punished.
He cleaned the windows, washed the car, mowed the lawn, trimmed the flowerbeds, pruned and watered the roses, and repainted the garden bench while all Amisty could do was watch.
She had thought of helping out before putting the thought in the back of her mind. The risk of them sending her to the orphanage was too great.
So instead, she sat in the shade of her camp, munching on a fruit tart. She had set aside several treats, planning on giving them to him the second he was done working.
Echo had returned from Hermione's and was perched in her cage, still without a single hint of a letter.
The sun slowly sank below the horizon, and Harry was still working away.
Orange and red bled across the sky like watercolors, sending the blue away.
Quickly, before the sun disappeared completely, Amisty scampered over, sweets in hand.
"Here, before you go inside," She whispered, pressing the bag into his hand with a smile, "Happy birthday."
"Thanks," He grinned back, exhaustion dimming his brilliant green eyes.
She nodded, racing back to her camp before they could spot her.
After a few more hours dragged by, Harry finally disappeared inside the house. Moments later, a fancy car pulled into the driveway and two smartly dressed figures walked out.
Amisty wandered further into her camp, doing some last minute tidying up before finding the makeshift bed she had made.
Now she had a thin blanket made of spare fabric she had found to keep her warm, though it was unnecessary for the warm season.
Lying down, she looked up at the holes through the roof at the glinting stars above her. She didn't understand why there had been no letters from her friends.
Had they forgotten about her? Had they decided she wasn't worth writing to?
Questions whirred through her mind like frantic birds. She closed her eyes, trying to shove the thoughts away.
They were probably too busy with homework, that's all.
Curling up into a ball, she felt herself slowly drift off to sleep. Her dreams filled with her friends ignoring her as she called out to them.
-=+=-
When Amisty woke the next morning, the sun barely peeking over the hills, she immediately set to work.
Grabbing her collection of knick-knacks, most would refer to it as trash, she and the baker's daughter saw them as art.
There were shards of multicolored glass, opalescent rocks, and even a few wooden charms she had carved in her spare time.
She was far from an artist, but they got her the food she needed. Slipping the pieces into her pocket, she made her way over to the bakery.
"Lily, you awake?" She whispered, knocking softly on the back door of the shop.
Though his daughter could be qualified as her friend, the baker himself was not too fond of her.
"Oh, hey Amisty! I'll be out in a minute, just finishing up this batch," Lily's familiar hazel head peeked out of the side window, her brown eyes shining.
Amisty nodded, making herself comfortable on the grass just outside the door. The muffled sound of clinking pans and metal made their way through the small crack beneath the door, a soft orange glow spreading across ground.
"What did you bring today?" Lily asked, slipping out the door with quiet feet.
"The usual, glass, rocks, charms," Amisty shrugged, pulling out the said objects from her pocket and holding them out to her.
Lily took them excitedly, her brown eyes glowing as she gazed down at the pieces.
"Tell you what, I'll take the two bird charms and the yellow and red glass for two bread rolls," She offered, looking up at Amisty expectedly.
"Deal," Amisty replied, shaking her hand.
The brown-haired girl got to her feet and disappeared within the bakery. She could smell the hunger-inducing rolls and the heat of the oven through the slightly cracked door, her mouth watering.
The rolls were tasty, but she still longed for the decadent food of Hogwarts.
Lily walked out of the bakery yet again, this time with two caramel brown rolls in her arms.
"Here you are, now hurry back. My dad just woke up," She shoved the pastries into Amisty's arms before shooing her off.
Amisty gave her a small smile and turned to race back to her camp.
The last encounter she had with Lily's father was far from pleasant, she didn't wish for it to happen again.
The summer wind rustling through her black hair, with the sun's rays peeking over the horizon and warming her back, she felt free. A small smile made it's way onto her face as she ran. Her camp came into view and she slowed her pace to a slow jog, ducking under the entrance and dropping the rolls down on a box.
Breaking one in half, she dropped it on the bottom of Echo's cage.
The owl hooted contently, nibbling at the bread with a glow in her coal-like eyes.
Her happy mood continued until she noticed the man hammering bars on Harry's bedroom window.
She shot up, looking up in confusion. What had happened?
She made a mental note in the back of her mind to pay him a visit later in the day once the man had left.
She sat down on a small ledge, scarfing down the remainder of the two rolls while keeping a close eye on the house.
Once the man drove off in his car, she waited a few minutes longer, finishing off the rest of her 'breakfast' and running over to Harry's window.
With a few swift glances around the street, she scaled the wall, knocking against the bars.
"Harry! What is all this!" She whispered, keeping her voice down just incase the rest of his family was nearby.
The black-haired boy came into her view, his green eyes lighting up at recognition.
"Long story, don't really have enough time to explain now. Thanks for the birthday treats, though," He grinned slightly, leaning against the barred window.
She laughed lightly, digging her toes into the small ridges of the wall.
"It's a little excessive, don't you think?" She commented, tugging on one of the bars.
It didn't budge.
"They're planning on keeping me locked in here forever, not let me go back to Hogwarts," He replied, hesitance clouding his gaze.
"Hm... well I'm sure we'll find a way out! Magic or not," Amisty replied hopefully, almost slipping off the wall.
"You're going to fall if you keep this up!" He exclaimed, getting up suddenly and peering out the window, "Get down!"
"You sure? I think I could hang out for a little more," She joked, shifting her footing so she was less likely to fall.
"Amisty, go. I'll be fine," He shook his head, laughing before making a shooing motion with his hand.
She cracked a smile, dropping off the wall and landing softly in the grass below. Looking up, she spotted him waving at her from the window. She returned the gesture, walking back over to her camp.
-=+=-
Three days had passed.
Three boring days. Amisty was getting restless yet again, still counting down the days for school to start up.
Harry still had the bars on his window. Lily had helped Amisty out to keep her from the clutches of boredom, but it wasn't much.
She was so busy working at the bakery now that the colder season was inching forward that they barely had time to talk before her father called for her.
It was the middle of the night, but she couldn't sleep. Energy pulsed in her veins, leaving her jittery and wide awake.
She had a feeling that something would happen that night, so when the faint roar of a car engine cut through the silence of nighttime, she shot from her bed.
Gazing around at the inky, star speckled sky, she caught sight of a turquoise car zooming towards her.
Squinting up at it, she noticed the familiar fiery red hair of the Weasleys. Immediately, she lifted her hand in greeting, a smile spreading across her face.
The boys had clearly seen her as the car dipped lower, soon landing right outside her little camp.
"Amisty! So this is where you live!" Fred grinned, looking around with glowing brown eyes.
"Mhm! What're you doing here?" She asked, leaning forward with interest.
"To come get you two, of course! Neither of you have replied to my letters all summer!" Ron replied, hopping out of the backseat and pulling her trunk into the back of the car.
She looked around at all of them, not a trace of jokery on their faces.
"So you're serious about this?" She laughed, taking down Echo's cage from the stack of boxes it was perched.
"Dead serious," George nodded, pressing a button and swinging open the back doors.
Amisty's grinned matched their owns as she hopped in. Another adventure.