Chapter 1: Arrival
My phone buzzes beneath my ribs and I groggily reach for it. I look at the glowing screen and squint in order to read it. 6:50 am. I slide the snooze button and stuff the phone back under my ribs and grab for the blankets to pull them up. That's when I find them missing. Instantly awake, I sit upright and look around. Where am I?
I'm in some sort of hospital-like room. The walls are stark white and blinding as the morning sunlight reflects off of them. Beds line the walls. Apart from mine, none are occupied. The room is deserted. I stretch my sore muscles and hop off the cot. Slowly, I walk over to the far wall, which is covered in windows. It offers a beautiful view of a lake and grazing white horses. With a start, I realize they have wings. I'm in a strange place, and looking down at myself I notice I'm dressed, with magical flying horses outside. What is going on?
Just then, the door opens and in strides a stout old woman in white robes. She gives me a grandmotherly smile as she approaches. She lightly takes my hand in hers and leads me back to the bed in which I had awoken. As soon as I'm sitting, she starts jabbering to me in a foreign language, seemingly French. I interrupt her. "I'm sorry, ma'am, I cannot understand you."
"Oh, you speak Engleesh." She replies, her accent thick as she places the back of her hand on my forehead.
"Yes."
"And you have an Americeen accent." She states, smiling again at me.
"Where am I?" I voice the question that had been eating away at my mind since I opened my eyes.
"Beauxbatons Academy of Magic." She explains. "'ow did you get here?"
"I-" I trail off, trying to think of a possible explanation. "I have no idea." I settle on the truth.
She just nods. "I'll be right back." She rushes out of the room. Her speed astounds me as I never expected a woman of her age to be that quick or nimble. I lean back against the wall and think back on what I could remember.
It was a normal night last night. Nothing crazy. I had just gotten back to school that day and had gone to bed early. I had to be up and ready by about 8:30 am the next day for classes but that's all that happened. How could I have gotten half way across the world, and clothed, without realizing it?! I am a fairly light sleeper, after all.
The door opens again and this time, the elderly nurse is accompanied by a woman at least twice her height. Madame Maxime. I knew that much. I mean, I had heard of Beauxbatons. I knew of magic, though I was a muggle. I grew up with the Harry Potter books and loved every bit of them. Somehow, I had been taken into that world.
"Who are you?" She asks, formalities ignored.
"I'm Holly." I smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you, madam."
She studies me up and down and purses her lips. "And 'ow, 'Olly," she slurs my name, "did you 'appen to come into my school."
"As I told the nurse before, I have no clue." My anger flares slightly at her tone. She was obviously accusing me of something.
"Well, 'ow old are you? And where ees your family?"
Thinking quickly, because I really don't want to leave this world of magic if I don't have to, I lie. "I'm 17," which was just a year behind but I needed to be a 7th year. That's what I could pull off and I wanted to learn magic, "and my family is all dead." I look away in feigned sadness. I have always been a good liar and now I could really put it to use. "Ma'am, I can't quite remember, what's the date today?"
"Why, it ees zee 14 of June, 1994."
I stare at her in unbridled shock. I am to be born in less than a week. How can that be? I shake my head and smile up at her. "Thank you."
"You vill join the sixth years for the remainder of zee year. Next year, you can be in zee seventh year."
I jump up from my bed and smile up at the lady that towers over me. "Thank you so much, ma'am. Thank you!" I grin.
"Now, come with me." She spins on her heel and marches out of the room. I follow close at her heels.
