Chapter 1
A nondescript teacup was sitting on the dirt away from anything so that it could be found by the right person. That person stepped up to the cup and bent down to it. She was in her late twenties, she had bronze skin with long brown hair. Her blue eyes scanned the area to see if there were any muggle onlookers.
When she was sure that the area was completely devoid of life, she reached her hand out for the cup and in seconds, her and the cup disappeared. It was a brief moment of wind blowing through her hair and the uncomfortable tugging sensation in her belly button. Traveling by portkey wasn't ideal, she would much rather apparate, but apparating across countries was risky. The women had experienced one or two risky apparitions.
She slipped the teacup into the pocket of her jacket. It would be active again to take her home after the dragon tamer seminar, although she really didn't want to return. She turned towards the direction of the Leaky Cauldron and started walking.
A room was rented for her and it was only a short walk to where the seminar was held. She glanced at the watch on her wrist, she had some time to herself to unpack before she was needed at the seminar. She gripped her bag together in her fist and slung it over her shoulder.
The Leaky Cauldron was bustling with the afterwork crew, taking advantage of the start of their weekend with a few drinks. It wasn't exactly busy but it wasn't empty. The girl weaved around the patrons as she made her way to the bar to speak to the bartender.
He turned to her with a smile, he was an elderly gentleman with glasses perched on the end of his nose. "Can I help you?"
"Erm, I have a room reserved." She said, her Irish accent coating every word she said.
The man pulled out a book and opened a page that must have been for the day's date. "Name?"
"Nora Cullen," She said, pulling off her gloves and slipping them in the other pocket of her jacket. It was quite cool outside, but quite warm in the tavern. The man took some time to find her name and look over the information.
"Looks like this is covered by the Norwegian Dragon Sanctuary." He commented before his eyes flicked to Nora. She smiled and nodded. The man reached under the bar and handed her a brass key with the number 4 on it. Nora reached for the key and the man extended his hand towards the stairs.
"It will be number 4, when you get to the top of the stairs, it will be towards the left." he said. "Dinner is served at 6 pm and breakfast is served at 7 am."
"Thank you." Nora said before taking the stairs to her room.
The rooms at the Leaky Cauldron weren't her favorite, but she wasn't one to turn down a free room. Even if that room was very dingy and could hardly pass as clean. There were cobwebs in the corner, crumbs on the window sill, but at least the four poster large bed was made with what looked like freshly clean linens.
Nora set her bag down in one of the high back chairs and walked over to the bed. She fell on it facedown, listening as the old springs complained loudly. Taking a breath, Nora was pleased to confirm that the sheets were indeed clean, even though the mattress smelled a bit musty. It was nostalgic to her after years of spending the night in the Leaky Cauldron when she was in Diagon Alley school shopping and then the journey to King's Cross Station. That was where platform 9 and ¾ was and the Hogwarts Express.
She rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling of the four poster bed. She wasn't sure why she was going to the dragon tamer seminar. She was never the type of person to take part in activities, not in school, not in adulthood.
Maybe the other dragon tamers at the Norwegian Dragon Sanctuary could tell that it was becoming her time to leave as she usually did after a few years to a few months, depending on how much she learned at each location.
Nora stood up from the bed and walked over to her bag. There was a dress in there that she was going to be wearing that night. It was a weekend seminar, that night was going to be a cocktail sort of thing. To get to know the other trainers and introduce each other before the actual seminar. It was bound to be awkward as some of the trainers from the other sanctuaries she worked at before would be there. It's not like she left with bad blood or anything.
The dress she planned on wearing was at the top of her bag. She pulled it out. It was a black, satin dress that hugged her figure. It looked like it was creased from being folded in the bag. The creases were going to show up when she wore the dress. Nora grabbed a hanger from the wardrobe and brought the dress and the hanger to the bathroom.
She knew there wasn't an iron and ironing board in the room, hanging the dress up while she showered would be the next best thing. The steam from the hot water would surely get the creases out. Nora hung the dress on the back of the bathroom door and turned on the shower. With one final look in the mirror, she got ready to take a shower.