Hi y'all, this story probably won'y feature Harry Potter till the second Chapter.
Thanks! Oh, and Please R+R!
Prologue.
This story is set in another world, known as Trahdrayg. It is much like Earth, only the
names are different and they have magic and strange talents.
It is Monday. The first day of 2nd term. Serendipity Leah is standing in front of the
Main Admin., looking lost, when the fat and balding Principal spies her from his
comfy office and, with effort, walks out of the warm room and into the cold
Mantacorian winter air.
'You, girl,' he says, walking up to her, 'Why aren't you in class?'
'I'm new,' she said, as if that were all he needed to know.
'So? Whose class are you in?'
'I don't know.'
'Come with me.' He pushes her towards the office door.
The school he works at is called Shadow, and it is a school for all kids, but especially
for the strangely talented.
The office is five meters away from where Serendipity was standing, so it is not much
of a walk.
The Main Admin. consists of five rooms. There is the Principal's office, the two
Deputy Principals' offices, a waiting/reception room, and a uniform shop. Serendipity
is ushered into the Principals' office and sat down in a comfy chair.
'Now, young lady, what is your name, and how old are you?'
'I am Serendipity ShadowDancer Leah, and I am 15 on Halloween,' she said, 'What's
your name?'
'My name is Principal Blacklands, or Mr. BlackLands,' he said, taken aback at how
forward she was. 'Where do you come from?'
'I come from Mandrake,' she replied.
'Mandrake...?'
' It's in Transilvania, which is in America, which is in Earth,' she said.
'Another world?'
'Aye,' she said.
'Let me check with the secretary,' he said. 'Ms. Landra? Is there a new girl for any of
the year ten classes called Serendipity Leah?'
'Yes, Mr. BlackLands,' she called back, 'She is in Mr. Corlando's form.'
'Thankyou, Ms. Landra. Now, Serendipity : you are in Mr. Corlando's form, which is
form number 13. You may go.'
She nodded at him, and left.
Mr. BlackLands sighed. She was going to be a handful.
Seren wandered around for a while, until she found her class.
She knocked on the door, and a man with wild orange hair, emerald eyes and a
stubborn air greeted her.
'What do you want?' he snapped.
'Are you Mr. Corlando?'
'What if I am?'
'I'm Serendipity Leah, I'm new, and I'm your class.'
'Another new kid, eh? Honestly, you lot are crawling out of the woodwork like worms
or something! Come in, take a seat.'
She walked in to find a solemn class eying her with suspicion, and a cheerfully
decorated room in reds, oranges and yellows.
'You can sit next to Nealan Drumandrochit,' he said, rubbing his eyes in a tired
manner and pointing to a seat next to a kid with black hair and brown eyes. The kid
opened his mouth to complain, but shut it when he saw the look on his teachers' face.
She sat down, and immediately the whispering began.
'Class?' Corlando waited for quiet. 'It seems we have a new student, Serendipity
ShadowDancer Leah. She comes from . . . ' He looked at Seren.
'Mandrake,' she said, and the class was in uproar.
'Don't lie,' said the teacher, 'Everyone knows Mandrake is a myth.'
'That's what I said to my parents when they told me we were moving to another world.
But that's where I grew up, so don't say it's a myth!'
'Fine. Okay, Serendipity, here are your books -' she walked to the front of the
classroom and took them '- and we were in the middle of economy. Would you like to
tell us about America's?'
'Not really, I don't watch the news,' she said.
'Your economy status is shown on the news?' Neal said incredulously.
'Yeah, where else would you have the economy status?'
'It is confidential government information,' Corlando said.
'Why?'
'I dunno,' he said.
They were about to say more when the recess bell rang.
She managed to get to the canteen before she was mobbed.
'Are you really from another world?' they kept asking, and it was only when Neal and
another kid intervened.
'Hi,' said the kid, 'My name's Tacroy.'
'Hi. Mine's Seren. Thanks for getting rid of that lot back there.'
'It was nothing. What did they want?'
'Info about Mandrake, am I right?' asked Neal.
Seren nodded. 'What's so great about Mandrake anyway? It's just like any other city,
only with accents like mine.'
'I guess it's the fact that none of them have ever been out of Mantacoria, and the fact
that Transilvania is full of weirdos.'
'Oh, you mean werewolves and such-like?'
'Yeah, what else?' said Tacroy.
'Oh, they're harmless enough if'n you know how ta handle 'em,' she said dismissively.
'It's the roc-men and the Brandahls you have to worry about.'
'Roc-men? Brandahl?' asked Neal.
'A roc-man is a like a werewolf, only he/she turns into a creature like that writer
Terry Pratchett's Golems, only these are bigger and their minds get all twisted up and
evil the longer they are in Roc shape.'
'And the Brandahl?'
'A marsh monster, it is covered in slime with the biggest most sharpest teeth you ever
saw. It has huge claws and if it catches you, it'll tear you limb from limb and keep you
alive so you can see it eating you.'
'How do you know all this?' asked Tacroy, eyes wide.
'Every Transilvanian child knows,' Tory said in surprise. 'I saw a Brandahl once, but
thankfully it didn't see me, and it cannot smell or hear at all.'
Then they had to go back to class.
When school had finished, Seren waved goodbye to Neal and Tacroy and rode home.
Her house was really . . . different. The front yard was a jungle, and even had real
tigers in it. The house itself looked like one of those huts you see in movies, except it
was really big with more than one room. Try 15 rooms. There were painting studios
and inspiration rooms and other weird things. In the backyard, separate from
everything, was her room. It was high up in a huge Weeping Willow, with an ensuite
bathroom tacked on the side.
She dumped her bike at the foot of her tree, and ran inside to what was commonly
known as 'the little bit of Transilvania we brought with us'.
'Hi, Mom, I'm home,' she shouted.
'That's nice, dear,' her mother called in a vague sort of voice.
Seren swore silently. Now she'd have to clean the whole house, buy the groceries and
cook dinner for as long as her mother was caught up in her little fantasy world. And
dad wouldn't help; he believed it was women's work, she should help more and he
was probably as bad as Mom was.
'I'm goin' ta get some food,' she yelled after a quick inspection of what passed as a
kitchen.
'That's nice, dear,' her mother called.
'And my name's Seren!!' she yelled.
'That's nice, dear.' Seren ground her teeth in frustration.
Serendipity went out the back, grabbed her bike, ran back inside for some money, a
backpack and her keys, raced out again and rode furiously to the grocery store just as
it shut.
She swore every Mandrakian curse she knew, which were many.
Now she would have to go to the grotty little deli across the road.
She dumped her bike at the foot of her tree and ran across to the Deli.
'Hello, Mr. HaMinch,' she called from the door, 'Got any bargains?'
'Si, I got special one jus' for the little lady,' said Mr. HaMinch, a dishevelled, unkempt
man, almost as bad as his shop. He came from the Italian part of Switzerland,
materializing from out of the shadows.
'Well?' she asked.
'I got two minute noodles, $1.00 for two packets, and $1.50 for three.'
'What flavours?'
'Chicken, beef, and curry.'
'I'll take . . . one of each, thanks, Mr. HaMinch.'
The two walked to the counter. She paid and left.
Walking into the kitchen, Seren replaced the unspent money and went to watch TV.
At 6:00 she made dinner and called her parents down to eat.
They were worse than usual. Just sat there the whole time and stared into space while
their dinners got cold.
After dinner she went into her room to begin a journal.
Dear journal,
Hi. My name is Serendipity Leah. I am from Mandrake, which is in Transilvania,
America, Earth.
But while that is where I have spent the last fourteen years of my life, I am now in
Mantacoria, which is in Srilanka, in Tradrayg.
I have very weird parents. One is a painter and one is a writer. This is not what
makes them weird, though. No, what is weird about them is that whenever they get
inspiration it has to be written down, word for rotten word. They go all vague when
inspirated, so I have to do everything, and It's not fair. They did this at home, too.
Well, I have to go now - Dad seems to have become slightly aware of my existence
and wants me to go to bed.
See ya,
Seren.
She arrived at school late the next day, which annoyed everybody.
'So,' snarled Mr. Corlando, 'Think that because you've been here for one day you rule
the roost and can do what you want? I don't think so. One hour of detention after
school. Get to your seat.' When she was about to protest, he added, 'Now, before I add
another hour to your detention.'
And so, muttering about unfair teachers, she slunk to her desk.
But that was just the beginning.
At recess, both Neal and Tacroy refused to go anywhere near her, much to her dismay
and annoyance.
'What is the matter with you two?' she finally yelled. 'I thought we were friends!'
'Yeah - were,' said Tacroy.
'Not anymore,' said Neal.
'Why?'
'We have our reasons,' said Tacroy darkly.
She went home feeling completely flat.
Neal and Tacroy stood together, watching her.
'I wonder why we were just forced to give up the friendship of a really great kid,' said
Neal.
'Mr. BlackLands said so,' Tacroy replied.
'But why?'
'She can jump worlds, and he doesn't want anyone who can jump worlds in this school
- it would be awkward. So, if we all get her suitably riled, she'll transport herself to a
world and not know how to get back.'
'But what about her parents?'
'She doesn't have any.'
'Do you know that for sure?'
'Um. . . no,' he admitted.
'So let's follow her and see,' said Neal.
Seren dumped her bike at the base of her tree, ran into the main house and yelled, 'I'm
home!'
'That's nice, dear. have a good day?' called her mother.
'Nah,' she said.
Her mother didn't respond.
Neal and Tacroy looked at the house, then each other, with raised eyebrows when
they saw it.
'Some house!' whispered Tacroy.
'I'll say! C'mon, let's go apologise for how we were acting today.'
They walked to the front of the house, and rang the doorbell which sounded like a
tiger roaring.
'Coming!'
She opened the door, saw it was them, and went to close it. Neal stuck his foot in the
gap.
'Look, we wanted to apologise for how we acted today. It was because, you know,' he
lowered his voice and waggled his eyebrows, 'They want you to go to another world
so they tried to make you so unhappy you'd be begging your parents to move by the
end of the week.'
'Interesting. Thanks for telling me - I was wondering.'
'Why didn't your mum care when you told her you'd had a bad day?' asked Neal.
'Because she was inspired. She's an artist, and Dad's a writer, and between the two of
them it's like I'm the parent. Maybe this other world would be good. . .'
'Yeah. Well, see ya tomorrow,' said Tacroy.
'See ya,' she said.
The next day, she paid a little visit to Mr. Blacklands.
'Well, hello, Ms. Leah, how are you?'
'Not so good,' she said.
'Oh? And why is that?'
'Because you are trying to make me so unhappy I want to go to another world.'
'Well, why don't you?'
'I like this one,' she said.
'Well, I have a letter for you from a boarding school called Hogwarts. it is a school for
witchcraft and wizadry. Would you like to go there?' He saw a crafty look appear in
her eyes.
'You mean, no dependent parents? No artists and creative writers? Another world?
Magic?'
'Yes, that is what I mean.'
'Yes! When can I leave?'
'You want to go so soon?'
'Yes.'
'Well, you can go tomorrow! Just get your parents permission first. It's in London, and
term has already started, but you can get your things and be there in a shot. And can
you tell Neal and Tacroy? They are to go too.'
When she got home that day, she found her mother and father were out of the 'trance'
they'd been in for a week. She told them all about it, and then asked if she could go.
'Well, I dunno, you sure you wanna go?' asked her Dad.
'Positive.'
'But you're only fifteen. That's a bit young.'
'They start at eleven, mum.'
''Well, if you really want to go, I guess you-'
He couldn't finish, because she had already jumped up, hugged them both, and ran off
to pack.
Thanks! Oh, and Please R+R!
Prologue.
This story is set in another world, known as Trahdrayg. It is much like Earth, only the
names are different and they have magic and strange talents.
It is Monday. The first day of 2nd term. Serendipity Leah is standing in front of the
Main Admin., looking lost, when the fat and balding Principal spies her from his
comfy office and, with effort, walks out of the warm room and into the cold
Mantacorian winter air.
'You, girl,' he says, walking up to her, 'Why aren't you in class?'
'I'm new,' she said, as if that were all he needed to know.
'So? Whose class are you in?'
'I don't know.'
'Come with me.' He pushes her towards the office door.
The school he works at is called Shadow, and it is a school for all kids, but especially
for the strangely talented.
The office is five meters away from where Serendipity was standing, so it is not much
of a walk.
The Main Admin. consists of five rooms. There is the Principal's office, the two
Deputy Principals' offices, a waiting/reception room, and a uniform shop. Serendipity
is ushered into the Principals' office and sat down in a comfy chair.
'Now, young lady, what is your name, and how old are you?'
'I am Serendipity ShadowDancer Leah, and I am 15 on Halloween,' she said, 'What's
your name?'
'My name is Principal Blacklands, or Mr. BlackLands,' he said, taken aback at how
forward she was. 'Where do you come from?'
'I come from Mandrake,' she replied.
'Mandrake...?'
' It's in Transilvania, which is in America, which is in Earth,' she said.
'Another world?'
'Aye,' she said.
'Let me check with the secretary,' he said. 'Ms. Landra? Is there a new girl for any of
the year ten classes called Serendipity Leah?'
'Yes, Mr. BlackLands,' she called back, 'She is in Mr. Corlando's form.'
'Thankyou, Ms. Landra. Now, Serendipity : you are in Mr. Corlando's form, which is
form number 13. You may go.'
She nodded at him, and left.
Mr. BlackLands sighed. She was going to be a handful.
Seren wandered around for a while, until she found her class.
She knocked on the door, and a man with wild orange hair, emerald eyes and a
stubborn air greeted her.
'What do you want?' he snapped.
'Are you Mr. Corlando?'
'What if I am?'
'I'm Serendipity Leah, I'm new, and I'm your class.'
'Another new kid, eh? Honestly, you lot are crawling out of the woodwork like worms
or something! Come in, take a seat.'
She walked in to find a solemn class eying her with suspicion, and a cheerfully
decorated room in reds, oranges and yellows.
'You can sit next to Nealan Drumandrochit,' he said, rubbing his eyes in a tired
manner and pointing to a seat next to a kid with black hair and brown eyes. The kid
opened his mouth to complain, but shut it when he saw the look on his teachers' face.
She sat down, and immediately the whispering began.
'Class?' Corlando waited for quiet. 'It seems we have a new student, Serendipity
ShadowDancer Leah. She comes from . . . ' He looked at Seren.
'Mandrake,' she said, and the class was in uproar.
'Don't lie,' said the teacher, 'Everyone knows Mandrake is a myth.'
'That's what I said to my parents when they told me we were moving to another world.
But that's where I grew up, so don't say it's a myth!'
'Fine. Okay, Serendipity, here are your books -' she walked to the front of the
classroom and took them '- and we were in the middle of economy. Would you like to
tell us about America's?'
'Not really, I don't watch the news,' she said.
'Your economy status is shown on the news?' Neal said incredulously.
'Yeah, where else would you have the economy status?'
'It is confidential government information,' Corlando said.
'Why?'
'I dunno,' he said.
They were about to say more when the recess bell rang.
She managed to get to the canteen before she was mobbed.
'Are you really from another world?' they kept asking, and it was only when Neal and
another kid intervened.
'Hi,' said the kid, 'My name's Tacroy.'
'Hi. Mine's Seren. Thanks for getting rid of that lot back there.'
'It was nothing. What did they want?'
'Info about Mandrake, am I right?' asked Neal.
Seren nodded. 'What's so great about Mandrake anyway? It's just like any other city,
only with accents like mine.'
'I guess it's the fact that none of them have ever been out of Mantacoria, and the fact
that Transilvania is full of weirdos.'
'Oh, you mean werewolves and such-like?'
'Yeah, what else?' said Tacroy.
'Oh, they're harmless enough if'n you know how ta handle 'em,' she said dismissively.
'It's the roc-men and the Brandahls you have to worry about.'
'Roc-men? Brandahl?' asked Neal.
'A roc-man is a like a werewolf, only he/she turns into a creature like that writer
Terry Pratchett's Golems, only these are bigger and their minds get all twisted up and
evil the longer they are in Roc shape.'
'And the Brandahl?'
'A marsh monster, it is covered in slime with the biggest most sharpest teeth you ever
saw. It has huge claws and if it catches you, it'll tear you limb from limb and keep you
alive so you can see it eating you.'
'How do you know all this?' asked Tacroy, eyes wide.
'Every Transilvanian child knows,' Tory said in surprise. 'I saw a Brandahl once, but
thankfully it didn't see me, and it cannot smell or hear at all.'
Then they had to go back to class.
When school had finished, Seren waved goodbye to Neal and Tacroy and rode home.
Her house was really . . . different. The front yard was a jungle, and even had real
tigers in it. The house itself looked like one of those huts you see in movies, except it
was really big with more than one room. Try 15 rooms. There were painting studios
and inspiration rooms and other weird things. In the backyard, separate from
everything, was her room. It was high up in a huge Weeping Willow, with an ensuite
bathroom tacked on the side.
She dumped her bike at the foot of her tree, and ran inside to what was commonly
known as 'the little bit of Transilvania we brought with us'.
'Hi, Mom, I'm home,' she shouted.
'That's nice, dear,' her mother called in a vague sort of voice.
Seren swore silently. Now she'd have to clean the whole house, buy the groceries and
cook dinner for as long as her mother was caught up in her little fantasy world. And
dad wouldn't help; he believed it was women's work, she should help more and he
was probably as bad as Mom was.
'I'm goin' ta get some food,' she yelled after a quick inspection of what passed as a
kitchen.
'That's nice, dear,' her mother called.
'And my name's Seren!!' she yelled.
'That's nice, dear.' Seren ground her teeth in frustration.
Serendipity went out the back, grabbed her bike, ran back inside for some money, a
backpack and her keys, raced out again and rode furiously to the grocery store just as
it shut.
She swore every Mandrakian curse she knew, which were many.
Now she would have to go to the grotty little deli across the road.
She dumped her bike at the foot of her tree and ran across to the Deli.
'Hello, Mr. HaMinch,' she called from the door, 'Got any bargains?'
'Si, I got special one jus' for the little lady,' said Mr. HaMinch, a dishevelled, unkempt
man, almost as bad as his shop. He came from the Italian part of Switzerland,
materializing from out of the shadows.
'Well?' she asked.
'I got two minute noodles, $1.00 for two packets, and $1.50 for three.'
'What flavours?'
'Chicken, beef, and curry.'
'I'll take . . . one of each, thanks, Mr. HaMinch.'
The two walked to the counter. She paid and left.
Walking into the kitchen, Seren replaced the unspent money and went to watch TV.
At 6:00 she made dinner and called her parents down to eat.
They were worse than usual. Just sat there the whole time and stared into space while
their dinners got cold.
After dinner she went into her room to begin a journal.
Dear journal,
Hi. My name is Serendipity Leah. I am from Mandrake, which is in Transilvania,
America, Earth.
But while that is where I have spent the last fourteen years of my life, I am now in
Mantacoria, which is in Srilanka, in Tradrayg.
I have very weird parents. One is a painter and one is a writer. This is not what
makes them weird, though. No, what is weird about them is that whenever they get
inspiration it has to be written down, word for rotten word. They go all vague when
inspirated, so I have to do everything, and It's not fair. They did this at home, too.
Well, I have to go now - Dad seems to have become slightly aware of my existence
and wants me to go to bed.
See ya,
Seren.
She arrived at school late the next day, which annoyed everybody.
'So,' snarled Mr. Corlando, 'Think that because you've been here for one day you rule
the roost and can do what you want? I don't think so. One hour of detention after
school. Get to your seat.' When she was about to protest, he added, 'Now, before I add
another hour to your detention.'
And so, muttering about unfair teachers, she slunk to her desk.
But that was just the beginning.
At recess, both Neal and Tacroy refused to go anywhere near her, much to her dismay
and annoyance.
'What is the matter with you two?' she finally yelled. 'I thought we were friends!'
'Yeah - were,' said Tacroy.
'Not anymore,' said Neal.
'Why?'
'We have our reasons,' said Tacroy darkly.
She went home feeling completely flat.
Neal and Tacroy stood together, watching her.
'I wonder why we were just forced to give up the friendship of a really great kid,' said
Neal.
'Mr. BlackLands said so,' Tacroy replied.
'But why?'
'She can jump worlds, and he doesn't want anyone who can jump worlds in this school
- it would be awkward. So, if we all get her suitably riled, she'll transport herself to a
world and not know how to get back.'
'But what about her parents?'
'She doesn't have any.'
'Do you know that for sure?'
'Um. . . no,' he admitted.
'So let's follow her and see,' said Neal.
Seren dumped her bike at the base of her tree, ran into the main house and yelled, 'I'm
home!'
'That's nice, dear. have a good day?' called her mother.
'Nah,' she said.
Her mother didn't respond.
Neal and Tacroy looked at the house, then each other, with raised eyebrows when
they saw it.
'Some house!' whispered Tacroy.
'I'll say! C'mon, let's go apologise for how we were acting today.'
They walked to the front of the house, and rang the doorbell which sounded like a
tiger roaring.
'Coming!'
She opened the door, saw it was them, and went to close it. Neal stuck his foot in the
gap.
'Look, we wanted to apologise for how we acted today. It was because, you know,' he
lowered his voice and waggled his eyebrows, 'They want you to go to another world
so they tried to make you so unhappy you'd be begging your parents to move by the
end of the week.'
'Interesting. Thanks for telling me - I was wondering.'
'Why didn't your mum care when you told her you'd had a bad day?' asked Neal.
'Because she was inspired. She's an artist, and Dad's a writer, and between the two of
them it's like I'm the parent. Maybe this other world would be good. . .'
'Yeah. Well, see ya tomorrow,' said Tacroy.
'See ya,' she said.
The next day, she paid a little visit to Mr. Blacklands.
'Well, hello, Ms. Leah, how are you?'
'Not so good,' she said.
'Oh? And why is that?'
'Because you are trying to make me so unhappy I want to go to another world.'
'Well, why don't you?'
'I like this one,' she said.
'Well, I have a letter for you from a boarding school called Hogwarts. it is a school for
witchcraft and wizadry. Would you like to go there?' He saw a crafty look appear in
her eyes.
'You mean, no dependent parents? No artists and creative writers? Another world?
Magic?'
'Yes, that is what I mean.'
'Yes! When can I leave?'
'You want to go so soon?'
'Yes.'
'Well, you can go tomorrow! Just get your parents permission first. It's in London, and
term has already started, but you can get your things and be there in a shot. And can
you tell Neal and Tacroy? They are to go too.'
When she got home that day, she found her mother and father were out of the 'trance'
they'd been in for a week. She told them all about it, and then asked if she could go.
'Well, I dunno, you sure you wanna go?' asked her Dad.
'Positive.'
'But you're only fifteen. That's a bit young.'
'They start at eleven, mum.'
''Well, if you really want to go, I guess you-'
He couldn't finish, because she had already jumped up, hugged them both, and ran off
to pack.