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Disclaimer: See that cute little boy with black hair and green eyes? He's kind of mine and kind of not mine too. See that big black dog? He's not mine but I wish he was. See all that money made on the series of story this story is based on? None of it is mine. Bummer.

Bad Author Notes: Battle screaming Money Demons and Depression Demons made this chapter the hardest to write in a long time. And now that the holidays are behind us and US income tax season is coming around the corner. I am actual able to relax enough to write and edit.





Hanging Around

By Lady FoxFire

December 31, 2004





"They're just weird," a blond boy sporting a buzz cut stated as he climbed up the bars of the jungle gym at Leith Primary School. "All they do is giggle and play with dolls."

"My dad says they improve with age, whatever that means," a dark skinned boy said as he swung from ring to ring on the monkey bars. "I don't see how they could improve. My sister is a brat and she will always be a brat."

"Maybe when they get older they start liking boy things, Alex," a dark haired boy suggested as he hung upside down by his knees. "Maybe they start to like things like frogs, crabs and robots. I know my mum does. She thinks they're cool. She doesn't even have a problem putting a worm in the hook when we going fishing."

Alex snorted. "Your mum is different, Harry," he said. "My mum won't even touch a worm. She thinks they're gross and disgusting. She even makes my dad kill any spiders she finds."

"Alex is right, Harry. Your mum is different from other mums. Your mum doesn't even mind if you get dirty," the blond boy suddenly spoke. "My cousin, Melissa, hates getting dirty. One day while she was following me and crossed a creek by jumping from stone to stone, well she fell in and go all wet. Of course she ran home screaming, saying I pushed her in. Got punished for it too, and I didn't even do it. If she doesn't get her way, she starts to cry about it until they give in. She's such a whiny baby"

"I am not a whiny baby," a girl with blond pig tails order. "You take that back, Joseph." The girl stomped her foot in anger, her eyes narrowing and her lips pouting out. "You stop telling lies about me."

"I am not lying. And you are a whiny baby," Joseph said in a mocking tone. "Melissa's a whiny baby. Melissa's a whiny baby."

"No I'm not," Melissa shouted at her cousin, stomping her foot once again. "You take that back or else!"

"Or else what?" Joseph asks as he looked down at his cousin from high up on the jungle gym. "You'll go back crying to your mummy?" Joseph mocked her by rubbing his eyes with his fists as if he was crying.

"I'll... I'll..." Melissa stammered as she tried to figure out what to do without proving her cousin right. Suddenly, her eyes widened and her lips cracked into a mischievous grin. "I'll tell Heather McLoud that you like her."

"I DO NOT!" Joseph shouted. "That's a lie! I don't like Heather. She's bossy and she... she smells funny too."

Melissa stuck her tongue out at the boys as she turned and ran off towards a group of girls on the far end of the playground. "I'm going to tell. I'm going to tell."

"Stop right there, Melissa," Joseph shouted as he jumping from the jungle gym and ran off after his cousin.

"He's mental, " Alex said as he let go to the monkey bars and fell to the ground.

Harry snorted, "You just figured that out?" he said as he watched Joseph chase after his cousin as he hung upside down

Alex stuck his tongue out at Harry.

"Harry, I got a question for you," Alex said as he bent down and tied his shoelace.

"Yeah?" Harry replied as he twisted so that he could get a better look at Alex.

"Why do you always hang upside down?" Alex asked as he finished his shoe and started to climb the monkey bars once again.

"I don't know. I just do," Harry replied with awkward shrug. "Why do you always play on the monkey bars?"

"'Cause they're fun. And because my dad says I'll get muscles like his if I keep doing it," Alex explained as he swung from ring to ring without a pause.

"Alex!" a tall, stately woman called from gate next to one of the teachers.

"My mum's here, Harry" Alex said as he grabbed his book bag. "See you on Monday! " he yelled back to his friend as he ran off towards hi mother.

Hanging upside down, Harry watch as one by one parents arrived and left with their children in tow.

"Do you know what the boy bat said to the girl bat?" an older voice said from next to Harry.

Harry turned and looked over at the voice. There hanging upside down by his knees was his father, Sean O'Connell, the top of his head barely missing the ground as he hung from the highest bar.

Harry's face split into a grin, his green eyes spark with mischief. "I don't know, what did the boy bat say to the girl bat?" he replied his amusement clearly evident in his voice.

Sean's face mirrored that of his son. "Hang around here often?"

Harry closed his eyes in dismay and groaned at the joke before he swung himself so that he could right himself and drop to the ground.

"It wasn't that bad," Sean said as he did the mirroring his son's actions.

"Yes it was," Harry replied as he grabbed his book bag. "It was almost as bad as the zebra joke."

"That's a great joke," Sean said in outrage as he tried to defend his jokes before he allowed his face to morph into a pout. "Your mother laughed at it," he added as he kicked a small rock with the toe of his shoes.

Harry snorted. "If I remember, you were tickling her at the time," Harry commented cooly.

Sean crossed his eyes and stuck his tongue out at Harry for his comments.

Harry shook his head at his father's antics. "So why were you late?" Harry asked, his head down as he tried to hide the fear of abandonment from his dad. "Alex already left, and normally his mum doesn't come till after we've left.

"Sorry about that, kitten," Sean apologized as he ruffled Harry's hair, pulling him closer to give him a one-arm hug. "I would have been on time, but there was a problem at work, and they need my help."

"A problem?" Harry jerked his head up to look at his father, his eyes widening slightly with worry as he pulled away from the man so that he could give his father a quick look over.

Sean looked around quickly to see if anyone was watching them or listening in. Seeing that no one heard what he said, Sean leaned down and whispered into Harry's ear. "Houdini escaped again."

Harry's shoulders slumped in relief as he hit his father lightly on the shoulder for worrying him. "Whoever named the station cat after the most famous escape artist in the world was asking for trouble."

A guilty look came upon Sean's face. "Can't disagree with that," he said bashfully as he signed Harry out of school. "So how was school today? Anything interesting happen?"

"Mary Jane came back today," Harry explained. "She has to wear a wig now."

Sean blinked at Harry's statement. "Why does she have to wear a wig?"

Harry looked up at his father with a look that said 'I can't believe you don't remember.'

Taking in his son's look, Sean shrugs his shoulders in amusement. "You know what your mum says."

"Swiss cheese for brains," Harry sighed. "Last week, Mary Jane's hair turned green suddenly. Bright lime green. Her mom tried to dye it back to its original color but it turned a ugly orange instead."

"Oh, I remember now," Sean said, "she was the one who was teasing you and the others."

Harry nodded his head. "She called Alex a bad word 'cause he's black, and she teased Sally because she has a problem talking."

"She sounds like a bad little girl," Sean said. "Did anyone figure out what made her hair green?"

Harry shook his head. "No. But she says it's my fault."

Sean stopped in mid-step and looked at Harry. "Your fault?" Sean exclaimed. "How could it be your fault?"

Harry shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know."



~*~

The two O'Connells continued to talk and to tease one another as they walked down the road towards their home, never noticing a dark shadow detach itself from between the school face and a line of scrubs, tailing their every move.

~*~



Officer Sean O'Connell pulled the collar of his jacket together as he tried in vain to block the cold November wind that was blowing through all of his clothing.

"I'm not getting out of bed tomorrow," Sean grumbled to himself as he wiped his red, sore looking nose with the back of his hand, "even if Her Majesty herself is at my door."

At that minute a cold rain began to fall.

Sean looked up at the turbulent and tempest clouds before closing his eyes wearily. "Can this day get any better," he sighed as pulled his hat down around his ears.

Sean continued on his patrol, being careful as he walked on the rain-slick, cobble stoned road.

Less then a block behind him, a huge black dog with matted fur and ribs stuck out in hunger stepped from the alley it had been hiding in. The dog's untrimmed nails clicked softly against the stone road as it trotted after the officer.



~*~



"Now, who can tell me what the answer is to number seven?" the petite teacher asked her Primary Three class as she pointed to a math problem on the blackboard.

Immediately, a sea of waving hands appeared above the heads of her students.

"Matthew?" she said as her eyes rested on the cubby blond boy on the far side of the room who had raised his hand tentatively.

Matthew lowered his hand in dread as his fellow classmates turned towards him waiting for his answer. Matthew licked his lips nervously. "Umm.... Thirteen, Miss Carnahan," he said.

"Very good, Matthew. Annabelle, take the pencil out of your mouth," Miss Carnahan ordered the young girl in front of Matthew before turning her attention back to the class. "Now, who knows the answer to number eight?"

Miss Carnahan looked out at the sea of hands once again. "Harry?"

Harry sat ramrod straight in his chair with eyebrows scrunched and eyes clenched shut, his knuckles white as his fingers tightly grasped the sides of his desk.

"Harry?" Miss Carnahan made her way over to her normally lively student and knelt down so that she was eye to eye. "Is something wrong, Harry? Are you not well?"

Harry shook his head slowly, slumping so low in his seat that his head barely rose above the edge of the desk.

"What is it?" Miss Carnahan asked, placing a gentle hand on Harry's shoulders. "Is your tummy upset?"

"Something bad happened," Harry whispered as a tear escaping his tightly closed eyes.

"Something bad?" Miss Carnahan asked as she reached out and gently brushed a straight out hair out of Harry's face. "What is it, Harry? What is bad?"

"Don't know," Harry said his voice breaking up as he fought not to cry. "But it's bad."

Miss Carnahan opened her mouth to ask Harry more but she was stopped by a knock on the door.

Standing in the doorway was Miss Potter, The Headmistress of Leith Primary School.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your class, Miss Carnahan, but could I have a moment of your time?" the Headmistress asked sternly, her face pinched as she looked over the students.

Miss Carnahan nodded before turning back to Harry. "I'll be right back, Harry," she said. "Perhaps you might want to put your head down for a moment." Straightening out of her crouch, Miss Carnahan looked at the faces of her students. "As for the rest of you, I want to you work on the rest of the problems on the board. I expect you to be able to answer them when I return."

As soon as Miss Carnahan stepped out of the room, the students immediately started to whisper among themselves.

"Harry," the student who sat behind Harry whispered, poking Harry in the back.

Harry turned in his seat just enough to look at the other boy

"Are you all right?" Alex asked in a loud whisper as he took in Harry's pale complexion and glazed eyes. "Sick?"

Harry shook his head. "Something bad has happened, Alex," Harry said in a lifeless tone. "Something very bad."

"Harry," Miss Carnahan called as she stepped back into the room, the Headmistress at her heels. "You need to gather you things and go with the Headmistress."

"I was right wasn't I? Something bad happened, didn't it? Something happen to my dad," Harry babbled as he grasped his desk as if his life depended on it.

The entire room was silent as they waited for their teacher to answer him.

Miss Potter looked at Miss Carnahan. Miss Carnahan looked at Miss Potter. Then they both looked at Harry.

"Is he going to be alright?" Harry asked his voice raising as he began to panic, when they did not immediately answer him.

Miss Potter stepped forward and gathered Harry in her arms. "I don't know, child. I don't know."



Post Author Notes: Before you start asking... No Headmistress Potter is NOT related to Harry Potter in any way with the exception that they shared the same last name. I just felt that there should be at least one Potter in this entire fic.