Chapter One
" Bellatrix Lestrange did that?" Whispered Hermione, horrified. "That woman Kreacher's got a photo of in the den?"
There was a long silence, broken by Lockhart's angry voice . "Look, I didn't learn joined-up writing for nothing, you know!"
Faybelle closed the book, having finished chapter 23 of the newest Harry Potter book. She knew she would have to leave for school soon and didnt want to chance getting caught up in another twist. She shoved the book under her pillow and stood, needing to change into school clothes and brush her wavy, black hair. She pulled on a paisley shirt that had bell sleeves, a mix if brown and burgundy and green made up the colors of her favorite shirt, paired with a pair of baggy jeans and black converse. She brushed her hair and left it down, and walked down the stairs to join her parents.
" Got everything for school, dear?" her mother asked, standing at the counter as Faybell approached. "I dont have time to run your notebook or any homework to your school today"
"Yes mom, im just grabbing a banana and leaving now."She reached for her breakfast, only to be stopped with a hand on her wrist.
"You better check, Faye, she means it today." Her dad chuckled from beside them, holding her bookbag out to be riffled through.
"Yup, got everything, love yall, bye!" She ran out the door, pulling her bag on and eating the fruit she managed to snatch in her rush.
Walking through the halls of her middle school was a fast paced situation, especially first thing in the morning. Pushing past other students, and trying not to get trampled in the mob, Faybelle rushed to her first class of the day, english. She walked inside and found her seat, pulling out her books and getting ready to listen to a lecture or popcorn reading a story for the day. At lunch, she sat with her friends, placing her tray of food on the table.
"Hey, Faybell, how's your day going?" One of her closest friends Ophelia spoke up beside her, tossing her black curls over her shoulder.
"Its going okay, but i don't know, everything's felt off." She stabbed her fork into the limp greens that made up her salad
"What do you mean 'off' ? Like has anything weird happened? Any feelings of being followed or watched? Like a spooky ghost?"
Faybelle rolled her eyes at the suggestion, though she expected it, knowing Ophelia was eccentric and obsessed with the spirits that didn't exist. "No, nothing like that. Just been on edge all day. Like something is going to happen but i dont know what."
"Well let me know if you find out." She requested as she scooted over to make room for the third in their triad, Marianna. Marianna sat, immediately abandoning her food in favor of the latest gossip, " We need to talk about the latest with Ben and Amber!" she leaned forward, and the three spent the rest of lunch eating and talking.
After lunch, Faybelle had math and art class, and before long, school was over and she was walking through the less crowded halls, waving to people she knew, on her way out the doors. Still feeling on edge she walked home, her head swivelling around looking for anything that could explain her anxiety. Once home, she unlocked the door, and walked into the kitchen to grab a snack of gushers and make a peanut butter sandwich, already knowing her parents were still at work. She no longer needed a sitter, being 13, and felt very grown up and responsible. Being allowed at home alone for the few hours it took for her parents days to end, she did her homework for the day while she ate, and then rushed upstairs to check her Myspace page and listen to her music at full volume. She loaded up her computer and stood from her desk to turn her stereo on. The voice of Amy Lee filled her bedroom as she sat down to check the updates from her page. Today she had no new messages, though her computer screen showed a few notifications from pictures being liked. She spent the rest of her day like that, and when her mom got home and called her to help with dinner, she logged off and shut everything down before she went.
After dinner, she helped wash dishes, and then got ready for bed, hopeful that tomorrow, the feeling would be gone. As she crawled into bed, and laid her head down, her last thought was that tomorrow would be exactly the same.
The sound of a car splashing through a puddle woke Faybelle, and she groggily sat up. Looking around, she immediately realized she was not in her bedroom, or anywhere she recognized. Foggy sunlight surrounded her, as did the sounds of cars and people yelling, and she hurriedly stood up to get a better view. Her feet squelched into mud, and all she could see were people in strange clothing, all speaking with an accent she didnt understand.
"Excuse me," she had walked up to a woman, wearing a very 70's styled button up dress," could you tell me where i am?"
"Youre in london love." The woman replied, and then walked away, apparently not concerned with a lost american child.
'London?' Faybelle thought as she stood there, ' How did i get to london? i was just in my bed, at home. what the hell is going on?' As she thought, she remembered her mom telling her to find a police station, if she ever ended up somewhere and couldnt find her way home. So she started off, walking to the corner of the very long street, and wandered around, making note of the street names as she passed them.
'Charing Cross?' she read off as she crossed it, thinking about finding somewhere to sit soon, as shed already been walking for 20 minutes. She started wandering down the street, only to stop shortly after looking at the signs of businesses. One in particular caught her eye, a rather ornate, black design, with a black cauldron hanging off it.
Taken aback, she could only scream, "Is that the Leaky Cauldron??"