Seventeen year old Talia Shaw poked at her steaming plate of home made chicken noodle soup.

She looked around the wide, light yellow kitchen and over to her mum, who was writing a letter to a faraway friend.

"Mum?" Asked Talia suddenly "Where is Nora this evening?" Her mother liked her to be polite and use details in her

sentences, but in real life, the one outside her house, Talia wasn't like that. She was quiet and when she spoke it

was brief and scared sounding. She liked to make conversation, but it always went wrong. Her mum's reply came after

a few moments. "Nora has gone to the shopping Mall this evening. She will be back at 2:30 PM." She said with

a half smile, not looking up. Talia sighed and walked over to the shining sink, dumping out the contents of her bowl

and rinsing it off. She placed to plastic carefully in the dishwasher, and walked up the carpeted staircase to her room.

Pushing the door open, Talia looked around. Her four poster bed was a beautiful cherrywood with a matching dresser

and side table. The walls were baby blue with lime green painted around the windows. The smell of flowers filled the

rather small room. Talia flopped down onto her bed, picking up a muggle pen she had gotten on her trip to France.

She pressed the tip against a blank page in her journal. It was time for her daily writing. Okay, so it wasn't exactly

daily, but she did it as often as she could.

Today:

Nora is at the shopping mall.

I had chicken noodle soup.

Mum was writing a letter.

I painted my nails.

Holly came over.

I need to draw.

She dotted her last "i" and closed her journal. She loved to dot all her i's and cross all her t's last. Walking over to the

dresser, whee she kept all of her spare paper, Talia noticed a note on it.

Tal--

Hey, it's Nora. Julie and I went to that new shopping mall.

We are going to spend the last few days together before you leave, I hope!

Be back later,

--Nora.

Talia smiled to herself. Nora was not just a little sister to her. She was like a good friend. Someone to share everything with.

Stuffing the note into her pocket, Talia picked up a blank sheet of paper and sat back on the bed. Ten minutes later, she had finished.

She held it out to admire it. "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry" was written at the top in neat, cursive letters. For the past

six years, Talia had been practicing magic and learning new things about Witches and Wizards before her. he slept in a dorm, shared with a few

other people who he didn't know very well. She tried to avoid them if she could. Friends weren't exactly...Easy for her to find. She had had

one in her second year...Big mistake. Talia pulled out her wand. "Accio tape!" She said quietly. The tape flew into her hand and she pulled off a few pieces,

sticking them onto the paper, then to the wall. "TALIA MAKAYLA SHAW! GET DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT, YOUNG LADY." Screamed a voice Talia recognized as her

mother's. Talia ran so fast she practically flew down stairs, her light brown hair hitting her pale face. She ran into the kitchen, where her mother still sat.

"Yes, Mum?" She asked, pushing her hair away. Her mother gave her a stern look. She pointed to the window. "Go look out the window." She said, her voice

holding back with anger. Talia walked over to the window and looked through it. She groaned. Her best friend, Holly, was outside in the grass, patting the

flower bed. She had a strange love for plants and always fooled with the gardener's work. Talia' mother hated it with burning passion. She walked over to her

mum and gave her a pleading look. "Please, mum, please forgive her! Muggles..I dunno! Maybe they all have a strange obsession with touching plants and

such!" Talia's mum glared. "Go tell her to stop, Talia. Make sure you are clear this time that you would like her to stop!" At this, Talia nodded and ran

to the door, opening it fast. "Holly. Holly! HOLLY!" She yelled. Holly looked up with a yelp of surprise, sending dirt everywhere. Talia sighed and shook her

head. "Holly, my mum would like it if you would PLEASE stop digging up our garden." Talia said with a sad half smile. Holly blushed and nodded. She got up

and started walking towards her house across the street. "Muggles." Talia murmured when Holly was out of earshot. Holly Marks had been her neighbor and "friend" for

around two years. Talia didn't like Holly much, maybe it was because she was an annoying little brat. Or maybe it was because Talia couldn't handle having a friend.

Nah...Most likely the first one. Talia walked into the house and went upstairs, into her room. She took out a big, black marker and popped off the cap.

Talia walked over to her calendar and marked off the day before the present one. It was now August 27th, 1977.