Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, places, or copyrighted material in this story. Everything (Except for Regina) is Miss Rowling's property.
Hawkin's Academy for Arcane Studies was bustling from head to toe on the last day of school; the children were packing their trunks and saying goodbye to their friends. Two girls walked with each other through the great halls of their Island castle. They said goodbye and told the other to call them during the summer, hugged and parted in front of a shy Brunette's Sanctum.
The Brunette inside scurried from one side of the room to the other, packing away her things and stuffing them in her trunk. Finally, after several minute's more of this, she slammed the trunk shut. Just as she sat down on it and took a deep breath her Muggle Studies Teacher came in with a knock.
"Knock knock! Anybody home?" Mrs. Beresford stuck her head around the door. "Hello, Regina! All packed to go, I see? Good! Good, very nice." She waltzed over to Regina's armchair and plopped down on it. "Happy to be going home, Miss Welmore?"
"Aw, well, I'm going to miss the place. But I'm happy to be able to see my mother for a while." She smiled at her teacher. "What about you? Any major plans this summer?"
"Oh, yes, Mr. Beresford and I are going to Florida for a few weeks… Sounds exciting, I've never really left the northern states…" she looked into space with a dream look in her eyes and Regina smiled at her.
"Well I'm glad, Professor. Happy you're going to have fun." She smiled at her teacher once more and walked around her trunk to her bed where she sank her face into the pillow. "Ah… I'm going to miss it here…"
Mrs. Beresford looked around to her and grinned. "Well now, girl! Brighten up! You're fourteen; you should be out having dates, hanging out with friends… Your life shouldn't revolve around studies! Cheer up! When I was your age, I had all the boys chasing after me…" She chuckled and stood up. "Now I'm not so lucky." She smiled and grabbed her stomach. "I didn't have quite as much belly as I now do. Ah, oh well, I have Thomas, and he doesn't care about a little weight." She walked over and patted Regina on the back. "Well girl, you know you're my favorite student and I love talking to you, but I'm afraid I have to go hunt Gregory Eichensehr down… He's flooded the bathroom again, you see." She winked at Regina and left the room.
Regina looked around the room again to see if she'd forgotten anything, and, of course, she hadn't. A few minutes of just wandering through her Sanctum, somebody knocked on the door. She opened it to find the technology professor standing with a clip board and a pen.
"Alright… Welmore, Regina… Got it." He threw the pen into his pocket and smiled at her. "Your stuff's on the ferry. Go out to the docks and wait for instructions from the dean." He sighed. "Have a nice summer, Welmore. I sure am gonna miss you around. I have to stick around and teach summer courses to graduate's. I wish they could behave as well as you."
"Why, thank you Mr. Chris. See you next year!" After a clap on the back, she left him standing in front of her sanctum and left the castle and onto the beach where the Ferry's waited. She saw Mrs. Beresford again and approached her. Now she had a clipboard in her hand, as well. "Hey, again, Professor. Which ferry am I to take?"
"Ah… Welmore, Welmore, Welmore… Ah, here we are: Ferry sixteen. Have a nice summer!" She called after her and Regina waved as she ran to the Ferry dock.
She showed the captain her student ID and boarded. She sighed in relief as she found the last empty compartment. She took her rob's off and shoved them overhead. It'd been a long time since she'd been able to wear jeans and a tee shirt. Hawkins had strict rules on what to wear (Robes: normal wizarding attire) despite their love of Muggles and technology.
She sighed and laid down across the cushioned bench as the Captain's voice sounded over the intercom:
"Hello, student's, hope you had a great year at Hawkins Academy for Arcane studies! We are now officially sailing. We should get to the mainland in about Oh-three-hundred hours. The snack bar is located at the end of the hallway, and you are more than welcome to buy something. We'd ask that you stay in your compartment if you are not using the restroom or going to the snack bar. Have a nice day, and we hope you have a good ride on Ferry sixteen."
Regina snuggled into the cushion and closed her eyes. She had apparently fallen asleep because the next thing she knew she was thrown off the bench and she was wrenched awake. "Sorry about the not-so-smooth landing, there. Anyway, if you would please wait for a ship member to come and excuse you, you will find that your luggage is waiting on the dock. Hope you had a nice day sailing with us, and see you back next year." The captain's voice went out with a feint click.
Regina gathered up her bags and waited for somebody to come by. A man walked by and knocked on the door, so she took that as a green light to exit.
She found her trunk on the dock as the captain said she would and she walked up the road to find her mom waiting on the sidewalk. "Mom!" She yelled and ran up to hug her mother.
"Hey! Kiddo! So nice to see you! How was your year?"
"Aw, it was good, mom! And yours?"
"Miserable with no kids running around the house." she chuckled and they walked up the road to the car.
It had been days since she had come home, and she sat alone in her bedroom, hanging upside down off the side of her bed.
"Hey, Hun, you want some pancakes?" Her mom poked her head around Regina's door and smiled.
"Aw, no thank you ma, maybe later, 'kay?" Regina turned her head and smiled, which probably looked really goofy while being upside down.
"Ha, no problem, at all. I just wanted to get rid of some batter." Her mom left the room with a nod to Regina.
Regina flung her feet over her head so she was right side up, and crouching on the ground. She heaved herself up and walked across the hall to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror.
She had a slight case of acne, but no more than the usual teenager, and nothing to really be concerned about. She was deathly pale, but she always had such a blush in her cheeks that it didn't make her look too unhealthy. Though not skinny, she definitely wasn't fat… More curvy than anything else. Her hair was straight until the tips when it waved.
She sighed again and walked to the shower. After testing the water and stripping down, she stepped in and started shampooing her hair.
After conditioning, shaving and washing, she stepped out and dressed again. Pancake's sound good now, she though and headed out to the kitchen.
"… honestly, I see no reason why I should. She's doing so well at Hawkins. I don't want to move her all the way to London." Regina assumed her mother was talking about her, so she mischievously stopped in the hallway and listened.
"It's in her blood. Don't you want her to attend where your whole family has? I wouldn't suggest it if I didn't truly believe it to be a good idea, Paige." It was a man's voice that responded and Regina's curiosity peaked. "It seems as though she's listening to us, now, Paige. Why don't we invite her in, and run the idea passed her, why don't we?" Regina gasped as the man called her in "Regina! Will you come and join your mother and I?" Regina obeyed and stalked slowly into the room.
"Reggie, this is Professor Albus Dumbledore. He teaches at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." She gestured to the man sitting on the couch. He had such a long, white beard, but it only made him look more old and wiser. He had a warm face and shocking blue eyes beneath half-moon glasses.
"Pleasure to finally meet you, Miss Welmore!" He stuck out a long fingered hand and Regina shook it shyly.
"And yourself, Professor. I've heard of Hogwarts a few times in my textbooks… Must be a very lovely place to teach?" She felt herself becoming more comfortable around the stranger.
"Ah, I enjoy my job very much, thank you for asking. But now to you!" The old man smiled again and clasped his hands together. "You come from a very powerful family, Miss Welmore. And your whole families, including your mother, have attended Hogwarts. I think it such a big shame to break the tradition." He grinned even wider underneath his long braided beard. "Would you like to come and attend it, too?"
Regina gasped. Change schools? "Ah… Erm. Well, it's very kind of you to offer, and I think it sounds very nice, but I'm just not sure… about anything, really." She sank down onto the floor and crossed her legs. "I… I think I… Well. Hmm… I'm doing so well and Hawkins… would my grade's be transferred over?" She looked up again at the old man sitting on her mother's flowered couch.
"Yes they would. And I understand completely if you don't want to decide today." He smiled and rose from the couch. "Just send an owl when you choose." He turned to Mrs. Welmore and stuck his hand out. "Au Revoire, Paige. Hope to hear from you soon. And you, Regina." He tipped his hat and seemingly floated out of the room with his robes flicking around his ankles. Regina heard the door click shut.
Authors Note: I'll try not to put too many of these things in here, but it's the first chapter, so I thought it prudent.
Anyway, tell me what you thought. It's going to get better, and it's going to be a Quadrilogy. (not four chapters, but four parts.) Please review and tell me what you thought. And I found Hawkins Academy for Arcane Studies on some site, and I'm not sure if it's something Miss Rowling thought up, or some fan, but I thought it was interesting, so I put it in.
A tout a l'heure, A beintot. ( Sorry 'bout that if you speak French, but I believe it says "See you later"
Hannah Malfoy27