Something hit my arm, pulling me from my wonderful dream about my favorite movie and being part of the cast. I groaned at being awakened and squinted at my clock. It was just past midnight, so I turned over to go back to sleep.
"Get up!" an unfamiliar voice yelled at me. I bolted upright, now aware of someone else in my room.
"Who's there?" I asked. I heard my drawers being opened, and looked past the person in front of me to see another person throwing my clothes into a suitcase.
"Never mind that, get up!" I was preparing to scream for help when a hand clamped down over my mouth. "Ready Fred?"
"Ready George." Before the two strangers could do whatever they were ready to do, another shadow suddenly appeared in my room.
"NOW!" Fred and George shouted simultaneously.
A strange green light shot past me just before the room disappeared from around the three of us. All at once everything went black, and my body felt like it was being squeezed to death. I couldn't breathe, though I tried to take deep breaths. Just when I thought I would suffocate from my body becoming paper thin, we appeared in another room, and air rushed at me from all sides. I took several deep breaths, all the while preparing to scream.
"Good, you've returned," a new voice said. I looked around the dim room, barely big enough to fit three of us, let alone a new stranger. "How did it go?"
"We got her just like you asked," the one holding me said, though I was sitting on the ground.
"But He showed up just as we left," the one with the suitcase said, completing the other's thought.
"Thank you. Leave her with me and wait outside. You can eat breakfast with the rest of your family in just a moment. Your mother's been worried sick about you, so I won't keep you waiting long." The two left, and sunlight illuminated the room for a second when the door opened.
I now knew I was in some kind of tool shed, and it appeared to be morning rather than the middle of the night. Pots and tools of various sizes littered the floor and dilapidated shelves, leaving little floor space to stand. My brain struggled to comprehend what had happened, but the stranger in the shed with me interrupted my thoughts.
"I'm sure you're wondering what's going on," he said, his voice betraying his age. "I'm afraid I can't answer all your questions, but I will tell you this: you've been brought here for protection. These people will help you while I look for more answers. Now if you'll follow the two young men outside, they'll introduce you to everyone."
The old man took my hand and gently pulled me to my feet. He opened the door and gave me a gentle nudge outside. The sunlight blinded me momentarily, and when I opened my eyes again the old man was gone. I stood alone with Fred and George on a dirt pathway that led to an unstable, yet interesting, looking house. I also realized Fred and George were twins, and I could only tell them apart because Fred was still holding the suitcase with my clothes.
"Come on then," George said.
I followed them to the house and was grateful when I got indoors again and out of the sun. Inside, sitting around a table with breakfast food, sat six people. The twins introduced everyone: Ron, their brother; Harry, Ron's friend; Hermione, also Ron's friend; Ginny, their sister; and their parents, Arthur and Molly. Each person in turn greeted me. Their mom got up and insisted I sit down and eat some breakfast with them. As I was squeezed between Harry and Hermione, I realized what I must look like.
My blonde hair would be falling every which way off my head since I'd been sleeping on it, my blue eyes were probably blood shot by now thanks to being pulled from a deep sleep, my dad's old t-shirt was fraying at the seams, and my sweat pants had a hole in the right knee.
Molly put a plate of eggs and burnt toast in front of me and then started interrogating Fred and George. Their conversation was hard to follow and they used many words I'd never heard before. I poked at my eggs and ate a few bites to be polite. Having eaten a late supper before bed, I wasn't all that hungry.
"Where are you from?" Hermione asked me, forcing me to look up from my plate. I told her the name of the city I lived in, unsure of where I was now. She didn't recognize the name, so I tried my state. She still didn't know, so I finally said my country.
"The United States."
"Oh, that explains your accent." It was my turn to look at her funny, because to me everyone else had accents. "You're in England now."
"England?" I whispered. I'd always wanted to go to Europe, but to travel there in the middle of the night by what I can only describe as magic wasn't how I'd imagined it. I giggled at the insanity of everything, an unfortunate tendency of mine when extremely tired.
"Are you okay?" Harry asked me. I nodded, trying to stifle my giggles.
"You must be exhausted," Hermione said as if suddenly realizing something. "America's seven hours behind us," she told Harry. "It's still the middle of the night to her."
"Oh my dear, you should have said something," Molly told me. She pulled me out of the chair and led me upstairs. She opened a door and pushed me inside. "You go back to sleep and just come down when you're ready." I only saw the bed and headed straight for it. I curled under the covers and fell asleep.