A/N: Hello everyone and welcome back! As you can see, I am continuing on with Alexa's story and I hope you all enjoy it!
Disclaimer that I don't own anything but Alexa, Jo, Liam, her parents, yada, yada, yada...
Alexa Lott sat beside the telephone, debating with herself on whether or not she should just go ahead and call her best friend. But the silence she had received after every other attempt to talk to Jo had failed.
What was the point?
Alexa sat for a moment longer then shot to her feet.
Stepping outside, she made straight for Jo's house.
She stood at the end of the street, the sweltering summer sun at her back as she looked towards Jo's house.
She hadn't seen Jo since last summer, hadn't spoken to her since the Christmas holidays. Jo had refused to speak to Alexa whenever she called and had ignored her letters. This was going to be Alexa's last ditch effort to salvage their friendship and she was dreading what might happen when she knocked on the door.
Taking a deep breath, Alexa started forward, her heart hammering in her chest.
She understood Jo's anger at her, truly she did. Alexa had blatantly refused to speak about Hogwarts, never even mentioned her teachers by name. She never spoke about the subjects taught, never said if she had made any friends. Her letters were short and to the point, never talking about much of anything. Of course her best friend would be angry at her when Jo described everything down to the tiniest of details.
Alexa strode up to the front door, braced herself, then knocked quickly on the dark blue door.
She stood back and waited with bated breath until – to her immense relief- the door swung open.
Mrs. Davis stared down at Alexa in obvious surprise.
"Alexa," she cried, stepping aside to let her in, "I wasn't expecting to see you today. Does Jo know you're coming?"
"Oh, yes, of course," Alexa lied quickly.
She took in her familiar surroundings, of the television tuned in to Mrs. Davis's favorite midday talk show, the faded blue sofa and chair. The fireplace was empty, its mantel laden with photographs of Jo as she steadily grew up.
"Well, go on up, then," Mrs. Davis said, smiling warmly. "She's up in her room just now, watching a Disney movie."
Alexa frowned slightly, confused. Since when did Jo watch Disney movies? She had always teased the girls at school for watching them and laughed every time she saw someone sporting some item from the films.
But she mounted the stairs and hesitated outside of Jo's door.
From within, she could hear a song with Jo singing along at a moderately good pace.
Alexa knocked and heard Jo call, "Come in."
Turning the knob, Alexa peered inside and saw the movie reflected in the mirror from Jo's vanity.
"What is it, Mum?" Jo asked and, in the mirror, Alexa saw that Jo hadn't bothered to look.
"It's not your mum."
Jo shot up in her bed, startled.
"Alexa?" she exclaimed, leaping out of her bed. She reached out for the remote and paused the film. "What on earth are you doing here?"
"Well, you wouldn't answer any of my calls or my letters, so I thought I'd just…drop by." Alexa rocked back on her heels, feeling awkward.
"Clearly my message wasn't obvious enough for you," Jo said angrily. "You thought I wasn't good enough to stay in touch with while you were away at your school, so I'm giving in to your wishes. I'm done being your friend."
Alexa fought the urge to roll her eyes. Jo always jumped to the worst conclusion first.
"Jo, listen, if you could come over for dinner tonight, I can explain," Alexa said quickly, but Jo shook her head fervently.
"No, Alexa. I'm not going anywhere with you." She stood tall with her hands on her hips, a look of resolution on her face.
Jo had grown several inches since Alexa had last seen her and her brown hair was nearing her elbows. She had even started to develop the curves that seemed to be avoiding Alexa like the plague.
"Honest, Jo, if you come over, I can tell you all about my first year at my new school," Alexa pressed. "And besides, Mum and Dad would love to see you. And so would Foxes. He and Morgana don't get along very well, so she stays up in my room most of the time."
Jo's brows knitted together and Alexa knew she had gotten Jo's interest.
"Morgana?"
Alexa nodded, taking a cautious step forward. "My cat. I got her before I went off to school. We're allowed to have them, you see. But if you come for dinner, I can tell you more."
Jo seemed to be debating with herself then, finally, she sighed. "Alright," she conceded and Alexa grinned widely. "I'll come. Just…let me finish watching this first."
"Yes, what are you watching?" Alexa wanted to know as Jo resumed the movie.
"The Little Mermaid," Jo answered. "A girl at school got me to watch a few of them. She's obsessed," she added with a roll of her eyes, "and, actually, they're pretty good. A bit childish, but still good."
"What's it about?" Alexa asked as she sat on the edge of Jo's bed.
"This mermaid wants to be with a human and so she goes to this evil sea witch and gives up her voice to be a human," Jo explained. "The prince – the human she fell in love with – found her on the beach and thinks she washed up from some wreck and he's taken her in. Right now, they're spending the day out on the village. She has to get the prince to kiss her, otherwise, she'll turn back into a mermaid and never see the prince again."
"How many times have you watched this?" Alexa wondered as another song started to play and Jo began humming along with it.
"More than I would like to admit," Jo replied, turning pink with embarrassment.
Once the movie had ended and Alexa and Jo were on their way to Alexa's, Jo said, "So why is it that I have to be at your house for you to tell me about your school? Couldn't you have told me at home?"
"Because it's easier for me to show you," Alexa replied vaguely. "And like I said, Mum and Dad would love to see you."
Alexa entered first and called out to her parents just as Foxes came running.
Stooping low, Alexa rubbed his offered belly then made her way into the sitting room where her parents sat.
"Would you like tea, Jo?" Mrs. Lott asked as she got to her feet to greet her.
"Oh, no thank you," Jo said politely. "Alexa, here, just told me that she'll be telling me about her school."
Mrs. Lott glanced at Alexa then looked back at Jo, smiling.
"Yes, I'm sure it'll be great fun." She looked pointedly at Alexa, who nodded. "Well, let me know if you need anything."
Alexa took Jo by the hand and dragged her up the stairs while Foxes, who stayed below, yipped cheerfully at their retreating backs.
"You lot are up to something," Jo said distrustfully as Alexa opened the door to her room and let Jo in.
"We are," Alexa agreed as she followed Jo in and shut the door behind her.
Morgana lay curled up, fast asleep, in the middle of Alexa's bed, but at their entrance, she opened her eyes and stood up. Stretching, she meowed then made her way over to Jo, who stood staring up at the Slytherin flag hanging above Alexa's bed.
"What is that?" she asked, pointing at the green and silver flag. "It's got a snake on it."
"Mmm-hmm," Alexa said, sitting on her bed. Morgana immediately made her way over to Alexa, who began petting her absently.
"So you've got houses, then?"
"Yes."
Jo began to look around the room, her eyes drawn immediately to Alexa's desk at the window which was covered in her school books.
Reaching out a hand, Jo picked up the top book, A Beginners Guide to Transfiguration, and flipped it open.
"What on earth is this?" Jo asked as she paused to read one of the pages. "There's a picture in here of a mouse being turned into a snuffbox!"
She looked up at Alexa with a mixture of shock and disbelief.
"What is this?" she asked again, slamming the book shut and dropping back onto the desk as if it had scalded her. "Are you playing tricks on me?"
Alexa got to her feet, shaking her head. "No, no! I promise I'm not. I can't – I can't say it outright, Jo. You've got to guess."
"Guess what?" Jo asked, exasperated. "That you're a lousy friend who can barely write five lines to me? That you would rather drag me here and make me guess what you've been up to since last summer? Well, I won't do it, Alexa. This is ridiculous. I'm going home."
Jo started for the door, but Alexa reached out and snagged her arm, holding her in place.
"No, Jo, don't leave," Alexa begged. "I can't tell you – you have to guess. It's forbidden for me to say anything. I can't even show you properly what I'm talking about."
Jo wrenched her arm free and glared mutinously at Alexa, who tried to keep her expression innocent.
"Keep looking at the books," Alexa insisted. "Read some of them. Go through my trunk, too. There's more in there."
Jo eyed her suspiciously but moved back towards the desk and grabbed the next book, The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection.
"There's stuff in here about spells," Jo said slowly, her brow knitted together as she made her way slowly through the book. She closed it, set it aside, and grabbed the next one. "And what are these? These aren't real! Hinkypunks? Redcaps?" She looked up, confused. "What is a kelpie?"
Alexa nearly laughed. "Read it and find out."
"'This British and Irish water demon can take various shapes, though it most often appears as a horse with bulrushes for a mane,'" Jo read and she looked up in amazement at Alexa, who was grinning now. "But this stuff isn't real, Alexa. These things don't exist."
"Did you know that there are twelve uses for dragon blood?" Alexa said casually, hopping back onto her bed, swinging her legs back and forth. She was amused at the dumbfounded expression on her friends' face. "I don't know what they are yet as I haven't learned about it, but I can't wait. Ooh, and in that book, they talk about all the different kinds of dragons. There's the Welsh Green and Herbidean Black, both of which are native to England. There's the Peruvian Vipertooth and the Ukrainian Ironbelly. There're loads more, of course, but those are the ones that I can remember right now."
"You're mad," Jo breathed, closing the book and letting it drop to the floor with a dull thunk. "And your parents let you carry on like this? They actually let you think that you're a – a – "
But she couldn't seem to say it.
Alexa beckoned her on with a nod.
"Go on," she urged eagerly. "What do you think I am?"
"Mental," Jo said weakly and Alexa laughed aloud.
"Perhaps," she agreed with a nonchalant shrug, though Jo's refusal to believe in the impossible stung a little when all the evidence before her pointed to it existing. "I mean, I spent the last year learning all about these sorts of creatures that I thought weren't real. I learned how to make a pineapple tap dance, how to brew potions – which I'm quite good at – and that my History of Magic professor can make anything exciting sound dull because he's a ghost who has no idea how to not speak in a monotone."
Jo was shaking her head, backing up towards the door.
"You've gone mental," she kept saying. "You are completely mad."
With a sigh, Alexa got off her bed and made her way over to her trunk.
Opening it, she rummaged through, pulling out her robes, quills and ink, parchment and, finally, her wand.
Jo eyed it curiously as Alexa straightened.
"It's made of ebony with a phoenix feather for its core," Alexa explained and she held it out. "It's pretty good with charms, or so Mr. Ollivander, the wand-maker, told me when he gave it to me last year."
"Is that a…wand?" Jo reached out and let her fingers just barely brush over it.
"Yes," Alexa said proudly. "It's loads of fun and I get to spend nine months with kids just like me."
"You did mention once that you said you made the books in your room move by themselves," Jo said weakly as Alexa began replacing everything neatly in her trunk. "What's the school called, then?"
After closing the trunk and putting Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them back on her desk, Alexa turned to Jo, her expression serious.
"If I tell you any more, Jo, you have to swear to me that you'll not say a word," Alexa warned. "No one can know about it. Muggles aren't meant to know at all about our world and if the Ministry found out that I'd told you, well, I don't like to think what they might do."
Jo looked nonplussed, but then she nodded.
"I swear on my mum and dad's life that I won't tell a soul, not even them."
Satisfied, Alexa said, "I go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry every year on September first. I go from King's Cross, step through a barrier to platform nine and three-quarters, and get on the Hogwarts Express. I cross the country to get to Hogwarts and learn all that I can. Though I will freely admit that I don't care very much for Herbology, but the rest is pretty fun."
"This is mad," Jo said as she dropped into the desk chair. "There's a whole world right next to ours, where magic actually exists! Why can't you show me?"
"The Statute of Secrecy forbids me from showing you," Alexa answered quickly. "They send out a letter at the end of term reminding us that we can't do magic outside of Hogwarts or anywhere where magic isn't allowed. I suppose that, on the train or in Diagon Alley, I could do magic. But here? I can't. Not until I'm seventeen, at least."
"Weird," Jo said after a moment, frowning slightly. "I used to always believe in magic when I was little."
"Everyone did," Alexa said. "No one likes to believe that the world is as mundane as it appears."
But Jo was shaking her head. "No, you don't understand. When I was six, I swore I saw this lady flying around on a broom on Halloween, but when I went to show it to my mum, the lady had disappeared. Mum thought I must've seen some kind of decoration, but the lady was flying right over the houses! I put it to me having a wild imagination, but now" – she looked up and beamed at Alexa – "now I know that I was right in what I saw. I mean, they do have flying brooms, right?"
Alexa laughed. "Yes. And they've even got a sport called Quidditch where everyone flies around on brooms. There's hardly enough time to explain the rules of Quidditch today, but at least now I can tell you all about school from now on."
"No more secrets?" Jo asked, getting to her feet. She held out her pinky and, without hesitation, Alexa wound her own around it.
"No more secrets," she promised.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter and I hope that I can have more up soon! Currently, still novel-writing, but I'll work on this as often as I can. And "Stone Cold" is a temporary name and it might stay or it might change. I haven't decided yet. As always, please review! I read them all! And have a wonderful day and, if I don't post before Thursday, have a happy new year! May 2016 be kind to us all.