Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize. All of that belongs to JK Rowling.
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Sunlight streaming from the window next to Bryt Watkins's bed pulled her from her dreamless sleep. Bryt gave a groan, rolling over to turn her back to the window and yanked the covers over her head, not wanting to wake up yet. She was still tired from the fifteen hour flight she had arrived on just the night before and all she wanted to do was stay under her blanket and go back to sleep.
Unfortunately, one of her friends had other plans.
"C'mern, lazy-asses!" one-year-older Sofí García was speaking very loudly and Bryt suddenly felt the blanket yanked off her head, "It's eight already! Get up!"
"Sofí, let us sleep!" Bryt snapped, pulling her pillow over her head.
"We didn't get in until midnight," the voice of Bryt's closest friend, Hermione Granger, came from the bed next by and the tone showed she was just as reluctant to get up as Bryt was.
"Then you can have some coffee, just get up!" Sofí said brightly and Bryt heard footsteps across the floor, followed by the door closing.
Bryt gave a groan, knowing if she didn't get up, Sofí would resort to more drastic measures, which could include anything from simple water dumped on her to having the entire bed flipped over, with her still in it.
"Some way to welcome us," Bryt grumbled, moving her pillow off her head as she sat up, referring to the fact that Hermione and Bryt's flight had arrived so late the night before that the only person the girls had talked to was Mrs. García(who had been working that day anyway and simply stayed late at the airport to pick up the girls).
Hermione had sat up as well, looking almost comedic with her tired expression and her usually bushy hair even wilder due to tangles from the night's sleeping.
"One day I'm gonna strangle that girl," Bryt said, stifling a yarn as she swung her legs off the bed and stood up, her feet hitting the rug spread across nearly the entire of the guest room floor of the García home.
Bryt stretched her arms over her head, which allowed her to touch part of the slanted roof of the room, considering the guest room was in what was once the storage attic over the garage until ten years ago.
"We'll still have to unpack sometime today," Bryt continued, looking over to where she and Hermione had just dropped their suitcases between the third guest room bed and the low chest-of-drawers that sat against the only full wall of the room and had a wall-mounted mirror above it.
"How do you deal with these flights every year, Bryt?" Hermione asked. Obviously the girl was going to be going through a case of jet lag. Bryt hoped that Hermione's wouldn't be too bad and would be over it soon enough.
For a second, Bryt had the urge to tease Hermione. She bit it back, though, because she had learned the hard way that someone going through jet lag can be extremely irritable, plus Bryt knew from their past year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry that Hermione could be irritable enough when stressed or tired. Jet lag was only going to make things worse.
Instead, Bryt kept quiet, heading over to her suitcase and got out a pair of shorts and a tank top to change into. Once dressed, Bryt grabbed her brush and a hair band, sitting down on the unused guest room bed, undoing the braid her dark blonde hair had been in overnight and started brushing through her tangles.
"My hair's gettin' long again," Bryt said, fighting with a particularly nasty knot, "I'll need to get it cut soon."
"But your hair looks so nice long," Hermione said and Bryt looked through her hair to see she had already dressed and was brushing through her own hair.
"Trust me, Hermione," Bryt said, "With the summers here, the last thing I want is to have long, thick hair. You'll find out soon enough, your hair's probably thicker than mine."
Hermione made a noise and Bryt knew to drop it there. She had a feeling that Hermione was going to be the type who was the worst when it came to jet lag, so it would be best to be overly cautious around her.
Bryt pulled her hair into a high ponytail to keep her hair off the back of her neck before pulling on her shoes and waiting on Hermione. She grabbed her orange miniature backpack (for Bryt refused to call it a 'backpack purse') that Sofí had sent her for her past birthday. Bryt had learned it made a perfect place to store her camera, extra money, and diary, along with a self-inking quill, and usually kept the backpack with her everywhere she went.
Once both girls were ready and made sure they had their wands, they headed down the small hallway and staircase into the open main room of the house.
The room was narrow, going the length of the front of the house (at least to the wall separating the room from the garage) with dark wooden walls and flooring (as the house was quite old, built in the Colonial times, though the garage was added on sometime in the nineteen-seventies) with a short counter top—which was half taken up by the sink—a stove, and the fridge, all up against the narrow staircase. A dining table that barely sat six was sitting close to the kitchenette with a small lead-off side area where the fireplace sat with cabinets anchored on the wall above it. Behind the dining table was a short couch sitting across from TV and bookshelf, with an owl cage sitting on top of the TV where the García family striped owl, Venturo, was sleeping.
Julio García sat at the table in shorts and a tank top, his shoulder-length black hair left loose around his face while he rested his head in his hand, looking as if he were half-asleep, a newspaper laying in front of him, though still on the front page. When Julio noticed Bryt and Hermione, though, he straightened up and grinned.
"I see Sofí gave y'all a wake up call, too," he said, his voice having the same Spanish-Southern drawl-crossed accent as his sister. Julio stood up, coming over and giving them both a hug, and Bryt noticed his hug lingered longer with Hermione.
"Should've known better than to think she'd respect that we didn't get here 'til the middle of the night," Bryt replied.
"Where is she, anyway?" Hermione asked in a sharp tone, looking around. Julio blinked at her before turning to Bryt.
"Jet lag," Bryt said simply.
Julio gave a nod, accepting the short explanation.
"Sofí's probably finishin' gettin' ready," he said, "That girl takes longer each day."
"Mr. and Mrs. García still asleep?" Bryt asked, opening the dishwasher for a bowl, then going to the fridge to see if the Garcías still kept grapefruits.
"Dad left fer Quid-And-Quod 'round seven, I guess," Julio said with a shrug, "When he usually leaves. Mom's off work today, so she might still be asleep. Grapefruits are in the bottom drawer."
"Thanks," Bryt said, quickly finding the fruit and cutting it in half before grabbing a spoon and turning to Hermione, "Want some?"
"No thanks," Hermione said, sitting down next to Julio at the table. Bryt shrugged, coming over and sitting down at the table herself.
"D'yah haveta eat that here?" Julio asked, glaring at the fruit in Bryt's bowl.
"Would you rather I go sit over there—" Bryt pointed towards the couch with her spoon, "—and get grapefruit juice all over everythin'?"
"Point taken," Julio sighed, "Jus' try not to get too much all over everyhin', m'kay?"
"Can't make promises, you know how grapefruit is."
Julio made a noise, turning to Hermione, who looked like she was having trouble keeping her eyes open.
"All I want to do right now is go back to sleep..." Hermione said, stifling a yawn.
"That's the jet lag," Bryt said, sitting down, "You'll get over it in a couple of days."
"Hopefully you'll be better by tomorrow night, Hermione," Julio said.
Bryt grinned, thinking about the Fourth of July celebration that Julio and Sofí were taking them to the next night. Bryt hadn't celebrated the holiday since moving to the United Kingdom, let alone attended a celebration that would involve a large group of wizards. Bryt was really looking forward to it.
"Where's the party, anyway?" Bryt asked.
"Drakescale Shore," Julio replied.
"That's where Dad's shop is."
Bryt looked over her shoulder to see Sofí had come down, wearing her usual plaid skirt over knee-length leggings, Attitude Dude shirt, and platform boots that added unnecessarily to her already near-six-foot height. She had done her mid-back-length black hair in her usual twin braids to keep it off the back of her neck in the summer heat.
Hermione gave Sofí an annoyed look, probably still angry about being woken up so rudely that morning. She kept quiet, though, and Sofí didn't seem to notice the look she had gotten.
"What's news?" Sofí asked, looking at Julio before grabbing a box of cereal from on top of the fridge, then getting a bowl and spoon.
Bryt looked at the newspaper Julio had been reading and saw The Observer Chronicle in large letters across the top and the front page holding a picture of an attractive dark-haired man who seemed in his thirties with a gentle-looking brown-haired woman, both smiling and waving at the camera.
"Secretary Barloon's set his weddin' date fer September 25th," Julio said, "Dunno why they put it on the front page, why would people care 'bout the Secretary of Magic's personal life?"
"C'mern, gossip's always good," Sofí said.
"Fer you, maybe. I couldn' care less."
"Yeah, all yer carrin' 'bout is gettin' yer KAE results."
Julio glared at his sister, who had referred to the Knowledge Application Examinations that Julio had taken at only a couple of weeks before, which he needed to pass to continue to the CAPE (Career Application Placement Exams) levels.
"My KAEs ain't the only thing I care about," he said, "But I am worryin' 'bout them—"
"When yah don' need tah. We all know yer gonna pass everythin'."
"But Drescher Clinic has high expectations," Julio said, getting increasingly annoyed, referring to the fact that he planned to be a Healer after graduating from Salem Witch's Institute, "Though all I need tah do is pass my KAEs, Drescher's gonna accept someone with fours and fives over someone who gets threes."
"Ain't gotta worry, yeh'll get straight fives."
"How do you know?"
Bryt rolled her eyes, fighting back a laugh, being strongly reminded of Hermione as the end of term exams began to approach at Hogwarts. Bryt looked over at Hermione as her friends continued to argue to see Hermione had leaned over to read the newspaper in front of Julio, obviously curious about the current events in the country she was visiting.
"Kids, it's eight-thirty on a Saturday mornin'! D'yah have tah be arguin' already?"
Bryt looked up to see that Mrs. García had come from the door near the couch, obviously woken up by the commotion happening in the kitchenette as her long hair was still tangled and she wore a fluffy bathrobe over her pajamas.
Mrs. García definitely stood out in her family. While Mr. García, Julio, and Sofí were dark-haired, dark-eyed, and had tanner skin, Mrs. García had light brown hair, bright blue eyes, and freckled skin. Though if one looked close enough, there was plenty of resemblance in the facial structure between Mrs. García and her daughter.
"Sorry, Momma," Sofí said, grinning a bit, "Julio's jus' freakin' over his KAEs."
"No I ain't," Julio snapped.
Mrs. García looked towards her daughter and made a face before sighing and turning, informing the group to keep it down, and heading back to her bedroom. Bryt knew that Mrs. García didn't exactly like Sofí's fashion choice, but since Sofí hadn't fallen into the recent fad of tube skirts and belly shirts, she left her daughter be on her clothes.
"Weren't you running for student president, too?" Bryt asked, turning back to her friends.
"Vice secretary fer the Tumbleweed Dorm," Julio corrected, "Salem follows there bein' a Secretary of Magic, not a president like with the Muggles. Anyway, I'm supposed to find out if I won the student election when I get my KAE results."
"I don't see why people wouldn't choose you," Hermione said, looking up from the newspaper. Julio gave her a grin in return.
"Y'two gonna start kissin' now?"
Bryt fought back a laugh as both Julio and Hermione turned red as they glared at Sofí, who simply grinned back at them.
"So," Bryt started, deciding to change the subject, "What should we do today?"
"I was hoping to visit some of the sights around Charleston," Hermione said eagerly, "Like the forts you told me about once, Bryt. Fort Sumter and Moultrie, right? Or maybe one of the plantation houses. There's also that aircraft carrier, USS Yorktown, right? Oh, there are so many places. This city is so full of history..."
"Boooorin'," Sofí said, dragging out the word, "Besides, I made plans to play pick-up Quodpot with a few guys 'round here, tah show y'all a real game, not that crappy Quidditch."
"Don' you dare start on Quidditch, Sofí," Julio said, glaring at his sister. Sofí just rolled her eyes, turning to Bryt.
"How 'bout you?" she asked, "Wanna go see borin' tourist attractions or come play a real sport?"
Bryt sighed, really not wanting to get into the middle of the conversation. She didn't exactly think the history of Charleston was boring, but she had lived in the city until three years ago and she had seen the places before on school field trips when she attended Springfield Elementary School. Until she was eleven, she had heard about the places at lest daily, they were nothing special to her.
"Why don' I take Hermione out to wherever she wants, and you head out with Bryt?" Julio asked, which only caused Sofí to smirk more.
"Sounds good to me," Bryt said before Sofí could speak up herself, "But I don't have my broom, there was no way I was gonna get it through the airport, so I left it locked in my school trunk."
"Y'can borrow mine," Julio said, "It's a Nimbus Seventeen-Hundred, like yers, so it won' take gettin' used to. Hold on, I'll go get it."
"Grab mine from my room while yer up there!" Sofí called after her brother as he headed up the stairs.
"Are you sure you two are okay with this?" Hermione asked looking between Sofí and Bryt.
"Positive," Bryt said, finishing her breakfast and throwing away the grapefruit skin before rinsing out her bowl and washing her face and hands, "I've seen all of the 'big places' around here at one point or another, they're just not that much of a big deal for someone who grew up here, I guess. I haven't gotten to fly much since I got my broom, so this is great for me."
"Besides, how else would you and Julio enjoy a nice date?"
"Sofí!" Bryt hissed, glaring at the half-Hispanic girl as Hermione went a very bright shade of red. Sofí just started laughing.
"C'mern, Julio's been wantin' to ask Hermione out since last summer," Sofí said, leaning back in her chair since she was done with her cereal, then she suddenly gave a yelp and covered her head. Bryt and Hermione looked up to see Julio had come back down and had hit Sofí on the head with a broom, his face bright red.
"Er, thanks for the broom, Julio," Bryt said, taking Julio's broom from him, "Sofí, how long we gonna be out?"
"Probably all day," Sofí answered, rubbing the back of her head, turning from her brother, "Don' worry 'bout lunch, though. We'll Floo to August Jonner's house, he's one of the people we're playin' with." Sofí paused to make a face. "Who in their right mind names their kid August?"
"Hey, I happen to really like that name," Bryt said, looking over at Sofí with a slight glare, "In fact, if I ever have a son, that's what I plan to name him."
"What if the father doesn' like the name?" Julio asked.
"He ain't gettin' a choice."
Hermione and Julio both sighed, shaking their heads as Sofí laughed.
"Sorry, Brychelle, but 'August Boot' jus' doesn' sound like that great of a name."
Bryt felt her face grow warm as she glared at her friend, unable to figure out how to reply to that comment as she gripped Julio's broom tightly between her hands.
"Terry and I haven't even been datin' half a year yet," she finally managed, "Besides the fact we're only fourteen."
"Doesn' mean you can't think on the future," Sofí said with a smirk, "By the way, I think 'August Weasley' would be a much better name."
"What the bloody hell is wrong with you?" Bryt snapped, fighting the urge to hit Sofí with Julio's broom. She had hoped that Sofí would have been done with her obsession that Bryt needed to be dating Harry or Ron now that she had an actual boyfriend. Apparently, Sofí was still determined, and she seemed to find Bryt's reaction to her comment hilarious because she had begun laughing so hard that she accidentally knocked her chair backwards, falling to the floor.
"If you four are goin' tah be like this, go outside!"
Sofí instantly stopped laughing and all four of them looked towards Mrs. García, who was dressed for the day in a simple summer dress with her hair in a bun. She had her arms crossed over chest, glaring at the group.
"Sorry," Sofí said, grinning apologetically. Bryt knew that Mrs. García was the only woman who could get Sofí to settle down, even though it never lasted for long.
Mrs. García sighed and shook her head, looking at the group before going to the fridge.
"Roberto called yer parents 'fore he headed into work, Bryt," she said, "Tah let 'em know y'all got here safe."
"Thanks," Bryt said, "Um, Sofí, when do we need to go?"
"Whenever," Sofí said, "August knows we're just gonna show up sometime in the mornin'."
"Then you should get goin'," Mrs. García said, "Sooner y'all are gone, the sooner I can enjoy my day off."
Bryt grinned, giggling a little as Hermione gave Mrs. García an odd look. Then Julio leaned over to explain that Mrs. García's comment wasn't anything personal, it's just how she was.
"Then we're goin'," Sofí said, heading over to the fireplace and opening the food cabinet above it, pulling out a clear jar filled with some type of silvery powder.
Bryt already knew what to expect. She had never used the Floo Network herself, but she had heard from Harry two years before, plus Julio had given her tips on what to do and what not to do. Still, she was nervous about the experience.
"Where does August live?" Bryt asked as she moved closer to the fireplace so she had a better view of the pictures along the fireplace(which ranged from family portraits to old pictures of Mr. and Mrs. García with friends from their schools).
"Jonner Plantation," Sofí said, holding out the jar, "They know whatchya look like, so you can go first."
"Thanks," Bryt said, rolling her eyes as she took a pinch of the Floo powder and tossed it into the fireplace, causing the flames to go green. Bryt took a deep breath, stepped into the fire, and said, as clearly as she could, "Jonner Plantation."
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A/N: And here's the first chapter of Year Four. Hope you enjoy it.