Chapter 1 -The Outsider
Laura had always felt like she didn't belong. Here she was sixteen years old and just starting her third year of high school. Laura never really fit in, she had only a few close friends. She would rather sit and read a good book or watch a good movie, then say go to a football game. Her parents Chuck and Shirley weren't much help either, they were always fighting amongst themselves and never really had much time for her. Most weekends would find Laura in her extra room watching TV or reading, or possibly talking on her phone with her best friend Heather. Today she was doing just that, talking to Heather and complaining, "I really don't want to go back to school tomorrow, I would much rather stay home. I hate school, I'm tired of being made fun of." "Come on, high school is almost over, only two years left to go. And besides this is our junior year, maybe things will be different", responded Heather. "Heather you know things will be the same. Oh well, no use getting worked up, I think I'm going to get off the phone and start reading "The Goblet of Fire" again." Heather responded, " see Laura that's part of your problem. Always reading those Harry Potter books. I mean what is this, the 20th time or something. Oh never mind, I'm not going to start with you, I can never win. I'll see you in the morning in junior hall. Can't wait to get back into these uniforms again. I hate plaid wool skirts! See ya later Laura." "Bye Heather." Laura hung up the phone and curled up on her couch with "The Goblet of Fire", knowing that she would read it through till the end no matter how late it kept her up.
Laura's alarm went off at 6 A.M. the next morning. Laura smacked the clock and groaned, and just rolled over. Her mother, Shirley, yelled up the stairs " Get out of bed, it's time to get ready for school! Let's move it!" To which Laura responded," I'm coming, give me a minute will ya!" Laura sleepily walked into the bathroom and jumped into the shower. While in the shower she thought back to the book she had read last nigh, Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire. She had stayed up till midnight to finish it, because it is her favorite book out of the series, and her 10th time reading it. As she was standing under the water, washing her hair, Laura couldn't help repeating her favorite lines from the story, and wishing that, that world was real and she could be in it. If only there was such as a place as Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Oh well thought Laura as she finally turned the water off, giving herself a mental shake, if only dreams could come true. "Well it's about time, sleepy head. It's already 6:45, and you know if you want to get a good parking space you have to leave the house by 7." "I know mom, it's just that I stayed up late rereading a Harry Potter book, and I'm really tired," responded Laura. "You and those Harry Potter books, that's all you ever seem to read anymore. You need to get your head out of the clouds, there is no such things as witches and wizards. Concentrate on your schoolwork this year, that's all that really matters. You only have 2 years of high school left and then it's time for college. If I find you reading those books again late into the night, I will throw them away. It's not healthy this,this obsession you have with Harry Potter stuff. All those posters in your room and those magazines you collect. Laura you are 16 years old now, time to stop daydreaming and get into the real world!" "Mom, you don't really know that there is no such thing as a witch or wizard. I can't help that I love that stuff, I wish I go away to a wizards school and learn to do magic. I hate going to school here, most people think I am a freak;" stated Laura. "Honey if you stopped reading all that junk and started going to games and hanging out with people, that wouldn't call you a freak anymore. I do have to agree with them, you are a bit strange ,always talking about magic and stuff," said Shirley. "Whatever mom, you just don't understand. I gotta go. Where are the car keys?" asked Laura. As she was driving to school, Laura starting thinking about all the things her mother had said to her. Maybe there is no such thing as magic, maybe it is time I grew up? Laura managed to get to school by 7:10 and found a pretty good parking space. She thought to herself," Man, maybe this will be a good day after all." As she was getting out of the car, Heather walked up. "Hey Laura, good morning." "Yea, I guess it's ok." replied Laura. "What's up with you? Did you and your parents argue again?" "Of course a day wouldn't be complete without it", said Laura. All of the sudden she turned around and looked behind her, scanning the area. Heather looked at her funny saying," What are you looking for?" "Nothing I guess, I just had this feeling all of the sudden that I was being watched." There was nothing in the area except an owl, which appeared sleeping in a tree nearby and another student walking towards the school talking on his cell phone. "Yeah, I'm sure that owl is stalking you. Ha Ha. Come on Laura lets get inside." "Okay, I'm coming", said Laura. She was thinking to herself, "I know what I felt, it felt just like someone was watching me. I even got goosebumps., but Heather's right, there is no one there. Besides owls don't spy on you, infact they sleep all day, just like that one in the tree was doing. Everyone is right, I gotta slow down with this imagination of mine or it's going to get me into trouble, maybe in the loony bin." St Edward's Catholic High School looked and smelled the same as it always had. There was hardly anyone in the school yet, being that it was still so early. Laura and Heather walked down to their lockers, which happened to be next to each other due to their last names. They put their backpacks away, and sat down on the floor talking, wasting time until the bell rang. Little by little the students started filing in until the halls were packed. For the most part Laura and Heather were ignored, due to their status at the bottom rung of the popularity ladder. Finally the 5 minute bell rang and students starting heading towards their classrooms. Laura and Heather had all of their classes together, and the day started with advanced chemistry. The girls headed upstairs to the lab, and took seats at the back of the classroom. Mrs. Culver walked in and class started with rollcall. After that the teacher started right in with lecture, on the first day. Laura's mind started daydreaming right away, zoning out the sound of Mrs Culver's voice. She was imagineing that she could fly, when all of the sudden a students' book fell. Laura sat up straight and woke up real fast, that noise had scared her out of her wits. Out of the corner of her eye Laura saw something flutter by the window. She looked out and in the tree an owl was sitting, seeming to be asleep. The owl looked familiar, Laura could swear it was the same owl that she thought was watching her by her car. Instead of being able to ponder it further, the teacher started giving instructions for the first lab experiment. Laura forgot all about the owl for the time being. Before Laura knew it, the first day of school was over. She said goodbye to Heather and headed home. She couldn't believe the amount of homework they had been given already. When Laura got home, she noticed that the mail had already come, so she went and grabbed it. There was a strange looking envelope, that happened to be addressed to her. It said: To: Miss Laura VanGelder
352 North Cross
Elgin IL 60123
USA Without hesitation, Laura opened the letter, she was so quick to do so, that she missed the seal on the back. Pulling out the letter, Laura started to read: Dear Miss VanGelder, We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted as a transfer student to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. We will be sending a representative by later this evening to speak to you and your parents. Everything will be explained at that time. Welcome. Sincerely, Professor McGonagall (Deputy Headmistress) "Okay, whos' big idea is this? Some joke! I bet it was Jason or maybe Heather. I can't believe they would mess with my mind like this. Hey, maybe my parents did this to teach me a lesson. NO way, they don't have a sense of humor, they could never pull this off," thought Laura angrily to herself. She went inside, thought about tearing the letter to shreds, but didn't. Instead she went up to her room, shoved it in a desk drawer and started working on her homework. Both of Laura's parents got home at 5:30 that evening. Shirley went and started dinner right away, and Chuck did his usual. He plopped into his recliner and turned the TV on. Shirley called the family to dinner at 6 sharp. After dinner was over, Laura had to cleanup. Just as she was putting the last dish in the dishwasher, the doorbell rang. Everybody turned to look at the front door. Chuck from the recliner, Shirley from the couch, and Laura from the kitchen. Nobody could see much though, because the light bulb outside had burned out a week ago, and it had never been changed. Laura started thinking to herself," Maybe it's the person who sent me that joke letter. Well I guess I'll go see whose there, so we can finish this charade." Out loud all she said was," I'll get it." As Laura go to the front door she could tell that there were two figures standing out there. One of the figures appeared to be quite huge, in fact he was so big he was blocking off the street behind them. The other figure appeared to be of normal size. When she opened the door she said," Hi, can I help you?" To which the smaller figure replied," Yes you can, we have come to see you Laura." And she stepped into the house. Laura gasped when the lady stepped inside and said, "You are Maggie Smith, the woman who plays Professor McGonagall in the Harry Potter movies!" "Well, actually that's why we are here," she replied. "Who is with you?" asked Laura. "Ruebeus Hagrid's the name. Nice to meet ya Laura," replied the other person in the doorway. Laura just stood there dumbstruck, for several moments and then blurted out," Did I just win some sort of contest, where I get to meet cast members from the movies? I see that both of you are wearing your costumes. What in the heck is going on?" Just then Laura's parents walked into the room. They were both staring at the new strangers with a look of utter confusion on their faces. Neither of them had ever seen the movies, so they had no idea who these people were, that were standing in the front hallway. "You must be Mr. and Mrs. VanGelder.it' a pleasure to meet you," said Professor McGonagall, finally breaking the ice. "Yes, I am Mr. VanGelder. How may we help you, miss?" replied Chuck. "Let me introduce myself, I am Minerva McGonagall, deputy headmistress at Hogwarts. And this is Ruebeus Hagrid, keeper of keys and grounds at Hogwarts. Please let us sit, we have much to discuss regarding Laura's future." Everyone went and sat down in the family room. Chuck in his recliner, Shirley in the glider, Laura and McGonagall on the couch. Since Hagrid was so large, and there wasn't much room left, he just stood in the doorway. Shirley was the first one to speak," What exactly is going on here? I know, from always listening to Laura talk about it, that Hogwarts is a made-up school for witches and wizards. What could she possibly have to do with it?" Before McGonagall could reply, Laura jumped in the conversation with some questions of her own. "First off, how can you be McGonagall, and you Hagrid? They are just made of characters. I though your names were Maggie Smith and Robbie Coltrane. I mean, I've seen you each in several other movies. I'm so confused right now, I don't which end is up or down." "Well I guess I'll start with those questions first. My name is really Minerva McGonagall, and that really is Hagrid. The names Maggie Smith and Robbie Coltrane are our made up names, strictly used for our acting. Both of us love acting in muggle movies, it's a lot of fun plus it brings in some extra money. So as long as they don't interfere with our duties at the school, we make movies. See Laura, there are such people as witches and wizards, there always have been. A lot of us live and work in the muggle world, it's just that muggles would want is to help solve all their problems with magic solutions, if they knew about us. It all started a few years back, when a witch by the name of J K Rowling, yes the author, decided to write some books on the life of one young wizard, Harry Potter. She had to get special permission from the Ministry of Magic to write them, but they figured why not. Muggles would just think that they are good fiction stories. None of them would ever believe them to be real. And they were right. Muggles fell in love with the stories, never really stopping to think that maybe just maybe they were real. What I'm trying to say to you, Laura, is that everything in the books is real and true. All of it. Each one is from a significant episode in Harry's life. You-Know-Who is a real person, and yes he has recently come back into power. Laura what I am saying is that you have been accepted into Hogwarts, and we hope that you decide to join us." All Laura could get out was," Why me, I'm not a witch. I'm just a regular old muggle. I don't understand what you want with me?" "I can only tell you part of it Laura. Let me ask you something..you just turned sixteen right?" "Yes. Just three days ago I did. Why?" asked Laura. "Laura you are not a muggle. You are a very special witch that we have been searching for, for many years. Your powers are just are just starting to awaken, because you didn't have them until your sixteenth birthday. That's why we are just getting you now. It's time to start training and using those powers." "But how can that be? I don't understand?" blurted out Laura's mother. "Like I said, there is not much I can tell you. All that I know, is that it was prophesied many hundreds of years ago, that there would be a witch with special powers. It has taken us many years to find her, and she is now sitting across from me. Let me prove it.Laura do you have a birthmark on the inside of your right wrist?"
"Yes I do. I've always hated it. Almost got it removed once," replied Laura.
Laura had always felt like she didn't belong. Here she was sixteen years old and just starting her third year of high school. Laura never really fit in, she had only a few close friends. She would rather sit and read a good book or watch a good movie, then say go to a football game. Her parents Chuck and Shirley weren't much help either, they were always fighting amongst themselves and never really had much time for her. Most weekends would find Laura in her extra room watching TV or reading, or possibly talking on her phone with her best friend Heather. Today she was doing just that, talking to Heather and complaining, "I really don't want to go back to school tomorrow, I would much rather stay home. I hate school, I'm tired of being made fun of." "Come on, high school is almost over, only two years left to go. And besides this is our junior year, maybe things will be different", responded Heather. "Heather you know things will be the same. Oh well, no use getting worked up, I think I'm going to get off the phone and start reading "The Goblet of Fire" again." Heather responded, " see Laura that's part of your problem. Always reading those Harry Potter books. I mean what is this, the 20th time or something. Oh never mind, I'm not going to start with you, I can never win. I'll see you in the morning in junior hall. Can't wait to get back into these uniforms again. I hate plaid wool skirts! See ya later Laura." "Bye Heather." Laura hung up the phone and curled up on her couch with "The Goblet of Fire", knowing that she would read it through till the end no matter how late it kept her up.
Laura's alarm went off at 6 A.M. the next morning. Laura smacked the clock and groaned, and just rolled over. Her mother, Shirley, yelled up the stairs " Get out of bed, it's time to get ready for school! Let's move it!" To which Laura responded," I'm coming, give me a minute will ya!" Laura sleepily walked into the bathroom and jumped into the shower. While in the shower she thought back to the book she had read last nigh, Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire. She had stayed up till midnight to finish it, because it is her favorite book out of the series, and her 10th time reading it. As she was standing under the water, washing her hair, Laura couldn't help repeating her favorite lines from the story, and wishing that, that world was real and she could be in it. If only there was such as a place as Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Oh well thought Laura as she finally turned the water off, giving herself a mental shake, if only dreams could come true. "Well it's about time, sleepy head. It's already 6:45, and you know if you want to get a good parking space you have to leave the house by 7." "I know mom, it's just that I stayed up late rereading a Harry Potter book, and I'm really tired," responded Laura. "You and those Harry Potter books, that's all you ever seem to read anymore. You need to get your head out of the clouds, there is no such things as witches and wizards. Concentrate on your schoolwork this year, that's all that really matters. You only have 2 years of high school left and then it's time for college. If I find you reading those books again late into the night, I will throw them away. It's not healthy this,this obsession you have with Harry Potter stuff. All those posters in your room and those magazines you collect. Laura you are 16 years old now, time to stop daydreaming and get into the real world!" "Mom, you don't really know that there is no such thing as a witch or wizard. I can't help that I love that stuff, I wish I go away to a wizards school and learn to do magic. I hate going to school here, most people think I am a freak;" stated Laura. "Honey if you stopped reading all that junk and started going to games and hanging out with people, that wouldn't call you a freak anymore. I do have to agree with them, you are a bit strange ,always talking about magic and stuff," said Shirley. "Whatever mom, you just don't understand. I gotta go. Where are the car keys?" asked Laura. As she was driving to school, Laura starting thinking about all the things her mother had said to her. Maybe there is no such thing as magic, maybe it is time I grew up? Laura managed to get to school by 7:10 and found a pretty good parking space. She thought to herself," Man, maybe this will be a good day after all." As she was getting out of the car, Heather walked up. "Hey Laura, good morning." "Yea, I guess it's ok." replied Laura. "What's up with you? Did you and your parents argue again?" "Of course a day wouldn't be complete without it", said Laura. All of the sudden she turned around and looked behind her, scanning the area. Heather looked at her funny saying," What are you looking for?" "Nothing I guess, I just had this feeling all of the sudden that I was being watched." There was nothing in the area except an owl, which appeared sleeping in a tree nearby and another student walking towards the school talking on his cell phone. "Yeah, I'm sure that owl is stalking you. Ha Ha. Come on Laura lets get inside." "Okay, I'm coming", said Laura. She was thinking to herself, "I know what I felt, it felt just like someone was watching me. I even got goosebumps., but Heather's right, there is no one there. Besides owls don't spy on you, infact they sleep all day, just like that one in the tree was doing. Everyone is right, I gotta slow down with this imagination of mine or it's going to get me into trouble, maybe in the loony bin." St Edward's Catholic High School looked and smelled the same as it always had. There was hardly anyone in the school yet, being that it was still so early. Laura and Heather walked down to their lockers, which happened to be next to each other due to their last names. They put their backpacks away, and sat down on the floor talking, wasting time until the bell rang. Little by little the students started filing in until the halls were packed. For the most part Laura and Heather were ignored, due to their status at the bottom rung of the popularity ladder. Finally the 5 minute bell rang and students starting heading towards their classrooms. Laura and Heather had all of their classes together, and the day started with advanced chemistry. The girls headed upstairs to the lab, and took seats at the back of the classroom. Mrs. Culver walked in and class started with rollcall. After that the teacher started right in with lecture, on the first day. Laura's mind started daydreaming right away, zoning out the sound of Mrs Culver's voice. She was imagineing that she could fly, when all of the sudden a students' book fell. Laura sat up straight and woke up real fast, that noise had scared her out of her wits. Out of the corner of her eye Laura saw something flutter by the window. She looked out and in the tree an owl was sitting, seeming to be asleep. The owl looked familiar, Laura could swear it was the same owl that she thought was watching her by her car. Instead of being able to ponder it further, the teacher started giving instructions for the first lab experiment. Laura forgot all about the owl for the time being. Before Laura knew it, the first day of school was over. She said goodbye to Heather and headed home. She couldn't believe the amount of homework they had been given already. When Laura got home, she noticed that the mail had already come, so she went and grabbed it. There was a strange looking envelope, that happened to be addressed to her. It said: To: Miss Laura VanGelder
352 North Cross
Elgin IL 60123
USA Without hesitation, Laura opened the letter, she was so quick to do so, that she missed the seal on the back. Pulling out the letter, Laura started to read: Dear Miss VanGelder, We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted as a transfer student to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. We will be sending a representative by later this evening to speak to you and your parents. Everything will be explained at that time. Welcome. Sincerely, Professor McGonagall (Deputy Headmistress) "Okay, whos' big idea is this? Some joke! I bet it was Jason or maybe Heather. I can't believe they would mess with my mind like this. Hey, maybe my parents did this to teach me a lesson. NO way, they don't have a sense of humor, they could never pull this off," thought Laura angrily to herself. She went inside, thought about tearing the letter to shreds, but didn't. Instead she went up to her room, shoved it in a desk drawer and started working on her homework. Both of Laura's parents got home at 5:30 that evening. Shirley went and started dinner right away, and Chuck did his usual. He plopped into his recliner and turned the TV on. Shirley called the family to dinner at 6 sharp. After dinner was over, Laura had to cleanup. Just as she was putting the last dish in the dishwasher, the doorbell rang. Everybody turned to look at the front door. Chuck from the recliner, Shirley from the couch, and Laura from the kitchen. Nobody could see much though, because the light bulb outside had burned out a week ago, and it had never been changed. Laura started thinking to herself," Maybe it's the person who sent me that joke letter. Well I guess I'll go see whose there, so we can finish this charade." Out loud all she said was," I'll get it." As Laura go to the front door she could tell that there were two figures standing out there. One of the figures appeared to be quite huge, in fact he was so big he was blocking off the street behind them. The other figure appeared to be of normal size. When she opened the door she said," Hi, can I help you?" To which the smaller figure replied," Yes you can, we have come to see you Laura." And she stepped into the house. Laura gasped when the lady stepped inside and said, "You are Maggie Smith, the woman who plays Professor McGonagall in the Harry Potter movies!" "Well, actually that's why we are here," she replied. "Who is with you?" asked Laura. "Ruebeus Hagrid's the name. Nice to meet ya Laura," replied the other person in the doorway. Laura just stood there dumbstruck, for several moments and then blurted out," Did I just win some sort of contest, where I get to meet cast members from the movies? I see that both of you are wearing your costumes. What in the heck is going on?" Just then Laura's parents walked into the room. They were both staring at the new strangers with a look of utter confusion on their faces. Neither of them had ever seen the movies, so they had no idea who these people were, that were standing in the front hallway. "You must be Mr. and Mrs. VanGelder.it' a pleasure to meet you," said Professor McGonagall, finally breaking the ice. "Yes, I am Mr. VanGelder. How may we help you, miss?" replied Chuck. "Let me introduce myself, I am Minerva McGonagall, deputy headmistress at Hogwarts. And this is Ruebeus Hagrid, keeper of keys and grounds at Hogwarts. Please let us sit, we have much to discuss regarding Laura's future." Everyone went and sat down in the family room. Chuck in his recliner, Shirley in the glider, Laura and McGonagall on the couch. Since Hagrid was so large, and there wasn't much room left, he just stood in the doorway. Shirley was the first one to speak," What exactly is going on here? I know, from always listening to Laura talk about it, that Hogwarts is a made-up school for witches and wizards. What could she possibly have to do with it?" Before McGonagall could reply, Laura jumped in the conversation with some questions of her own. "First off, how can you be McGonagall, and you Hagrid? They are just made of characters. I though your names were Maggie Smith and Robbie Coltrane. I mean, I've seen you each in several other movies. I'm so confused right now, I don't which end is up or down." "Well I guess I'll start with those questions first. My name is really Minerva McGonagall, and that really is Hagrid. The names Maggie Smith and Robbie Coltrane are our made up names, strictly used for our acting. Both of us love acting in muggle movies, it's a lot of fun plus it brings in some extra money. So as long as they don't interfere with our duties at the school, we make movies. See Laura, there are such people as witches and wizards, there always have been. A lot of us live and work in the muggle world, it's just that muggles would want is to help solve all their problems with magic solutions, if they knew about us. It all started a few years back, when a witch by the name of J K Rowling, yes the author, decided to write some books on the life of one young wizard, Harry Potter. She had to get special permission from the Ministry of Magic to write them, but they figured why not. Muggles would just think that they are good fiction stories. None of them would ever believe them to be real. And they were right. Muggles fell in love with the stories, never really stopping to think that maybe just maybe they were real. What I'm trying to say to you, Laura, is that everything in the books is real and true. All of it. Each one is from a significant episode in Harry's life. You-Know-Who is a real person, and yes he has recently come back into power. Laura what I am saying is that you have been accepted into Hogwarts, and we hope that you decide to join us." All Laura could get out was," Why me, I'm not a witch. I'm just a regular old muggle. I don't understand what you want with me?" "I can only tell you part of it Laura. Let me ask you something..you just turned sixteen right?" "Yes. Just three days ago I did. Why?" asked Laura. "Laura you are not a muggle. You are a very special witch that we have been searching for, for many years. Your powers are just are just starting to awaken, because you didn't have them until your sixteenth birthday. That's why we are just getting you now. It's time to start training and using those powers." "But how can that be? I don't understand?" blurted out Laura's mother. "Like I said, there is not much I can tell you. All that I know, is that it was prophesied many hundreds of years ago, that there would be a witch with special powers. It has taken us many years to find her, and she is now sitting across from me. Let me prove it.Laura do you have a birthmark on the inside of your right wrist?"
"Yes I do. I've always hated it. Almost got it removed once," replied Laura.