Chapter 1:

The place was dark. There was barely any movement to be seen or heard; only a small silhouette of a little boy could be seen sprawled on the ground. Terrence Locke was lying on the grass in the darkness with his eyes closed, thinking about his empty life at Newfield, a small orphanage in the filthiest part of the modern city New York. Not that this area was anything near modern. The orphanage was situated in, was it the poorest? He wouldn't be surprised, neighbourhood in America, near lots of dirty, identical black buildings which might have once, a long, long time ago been white. The orphanage itself looked just like the other buildings, apart from the rusty silvery gates surrounding it.

The inside, however, was designed to be as comfortable as possible for the orphans living within it. The best thing Terry liked about it was the huge space outside; there were large areas of grass for the children to play on. They were often running on it joyfully, playing tug or just running for the sake of it; there was a small lake on the far left in which they were rarely allowed to swim, even in the summer. However, the best part about the outside of the orphanage was the basketball pitch. Well, at least in Terry's opinion. He was one of the best basketball players around, with his quick reflexes and excellent aims. Even the oldest boys had trouble against him when it came to basketball.

It would not be the first time he snuck out at night, trying to have some time for himself, some space, to be alone, to be able to listen to his own thoughts. Today was his ninth birthday. Well, at least he wanted to believe it was. Mrs Cole, his carer, told him that he was found at the doorstep of the orphanage when he was a baby. He was in a good state, completely healthy, not crying, just staring at her with big, intelligent eyes. He looked about a year old. They waited for someone to contact them about the child. When no one did, they named him Terrence Locke, just a name that came to their heads, a normal name, and made up his birthday. His friends called him Terry. He opened his eyes and looked up at the sky with his big green eyes. His black hair, which was cut short, was jelled up to make spikes which stood up in all directions.

He felt alone, cast off. He felt different. And he knew that he was different. He could do weird things. Or were they weird? Maybe other people could also do them. Maybe they could also make things disappear, like that time when he made his money, which was stolen, disappear when Mrs Cole suspected he has stolen it and went to look in his room, or jump high enough to reach the roof of the orphanage when Madame Gill, the cook, ran after him with a pan threateningly in her hand, after he has stolen some food from the kitchen, or make the ball soar upwards till it reached the basket and scored when his team was losing in their basketball match against the schoolboys from the rich area, not to mention the weird lightning bolt scar he had on his forehead. Well, maybe the scar wasn't that weird- he might have just gotten it from an accident when he was a baby. Maybe- that was a good one- maybe he got that from a car accident from which his parents have died. Anyway, he had a strange feeling that this scar was special. And the things he could do? He thought that it was highly unlikely that other people could do that. He was definitely weird- he could even talk to snakes. He decided that he was special. He was…

'MR LOCKE! WHAT IN THE NAME OF MERLIN DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING OUTSIDE AT THIS HOUR?!??'. In the name of Merlin? who the hell was Merlin? Terry snickered to himself as he got to his feet and brushed the dust off his cloths. He put on an innocent look which would deceive anyone but Mrs Cole. 'Hey, there's no need to shout, Mrs Cole- I was only going out for a little fresh air'.

-'fresh air, huh? At two o'clock in the morning?'.

Two o'clock? Startled, Terry looked at his watch, 'uh- oh', he said, then 'oops, I didn't mean to say it out loud, hey wait, I didn't mean to say that loud either, hey and I didn't mean to say that out loud either, and I didn't mean to s…'

- 'I think I got your point Mr Locke, now, this is not the first time you have done that. Detention! you are going to tidy up the library two hours every night for a whole week! Now off you go to bed- NOW'- she roared the last word as he just stood there staring at her. He started walking quickly towards the building before she could say anything else. Mrs Cole was the strictest person in the place- and the scariest, and that is not only because of her looks or her, ahem, overweight body.

From the inside, the orphanage looked just as plain as the outside. White walls (they have been painted recently after a donation from a rich man- Terry could not remember his name) and hundreds of red- brown doors, all looking the same except for the numbers. Terry stopped in front of door number 119. Sighing, he walked inside. His five roommates were fast asleep. Sighing again, he climbed into the one empty bed and pulled up his covers. He tried to sleep, but somehow he could not relax. Something was bothering him and he had no idea what it was. He kept tossing and turning around in his bed until finally he became so frustrated, that he jumped angrily off his bed and went to look at his wardrobe, where he kept everything he had. Surprisingly, non of his roommates woke up, he thought Josh's breathing became a bit heavier, but he dismissed the thought. Well, even if someone did wake up, the worst thing that could happen was that they would bite him… it was known to happen before in this orphanage.

He got a book and climbed back into his bed. He was going to turn the bedside lamp on but then an idea occurred to him. He was special, wasn't he? Sometimes he could do things unconsciously. What if… what if… no- that was impossible. What if he tried to use his powers? No. that was definitely impossible. He did not have any powers- it was only his imagination. Still, it wouldn't hurt to try. Then he could find out for sure if it really was real.

He started to concentrate on turning on the lamp. Nothing happened. He took a deep breath and concentrated with all his might- the lamp flicked on. Terry looked at it in amazement and uncertainty when, suddenly, it turned off. Puzzled, he concentrated on turning it on again. It did. But then it turned off again! OK, if the lamp wanted to be stubborn, he could be, too. He turned it on again with his newfound power. It turned off again. He turned it on. It turned off. On. off. On. off. On.

'STOP IT'. It was Josh. Uh oh. Did he see? 'Err… oh, good morning Josh, why are you up so early this morning?' Terry said wearily.

'That's what I was gonna ask you, you idiot, you woke me up, why did you have to come in so loudly? And then you just had to turn on the light'.

Terry looked at him, annoyed, 'yeah, but then I turned it off' he said. A very lame comeback, he noted to himself.

'No you didn't, I did. But then you had to turn it on again. Why do you have to be so stubborn?'

Terry stared at him. Then it hit him. 'oh- ha ha ha- hey, that was funny' he said, laughing as hard as he could. He fell off his bed onto the floor for some effect.

Josh stared at him as if he has gone crazy- seriously- the crazy people were always trying to make the sane people feel as though they were the crazy ones. 'Was that supposed to be a joke?' he asked, 'I didn't know wizards had such a weird sense of humour- I never knew anyone apart from myself. No wonder I never noticed you if you always do magic only in the middle of the night, hey, wait a sec, what time is it?'

Terry stopped laughing. Man, he did sound serious. In any normal conditions Terry would have been convinced that his roommate has lost it, but Terry was a… well, a bully. Everyone in the orphanage knew that and kept their distance, including Josh, which meant that Terry didn't know much about his roommate. And what Josh said made perfect sense- Terry has never tried to delude himself by convincing himself that other people were lying. He could tell when people were telling the truth. And his old roommate was telling him the truth- everything he said made sense- if Terry could do all these things, logically, he was a wizard- only wizards could do magic- right? And what did he say about Josh being a wizard himself? that part did not make complete sense. He hardly ever noticed anything strange about his roommate. Then again, despite them living in the same room, he hardly ever talked to Josh. Mainly because Josh kept mostly to himself and also because they hardly spent any time in their rooms apart from when they went to sleep or when they did their homework…

'you mean you didn't know you were a wizard?' Josh have been studying Terry's expression while Terry was musing to himself. Apparently, he was as good as Terry at reading other people's thoughts by the look on their faces.

Terry was going to snap at him- didn't Josh knew who he was? Anyone who knew Terry would have been scared out of their wits. Then again, maybe it was best to play cool- after all, he just met someone- well not exactly met but noticed for the first time- who shared some of his… abnormalities. That was what Terry called it till now- he would have to find a new name for it later. He shook his head. 'No, but I guess it makes sense. Anyway, what are we doing here if we are wizards?' he asked.

'OK, so I tell you that you are a wizard and you think that I know everything? Everything I know- I figured out by myself. It's not my fault that you are stupid enough not to know who you are-' he paused, 'sorry', he said, uh oh, he was definitely going to a soft topic. Terry hardly ever heard Josh apologise to anyone. Josh was no more an angel than Terry was 'It's just- I might have always known I was a wizard, but, apart from that I don't know anything else about myself. I don't even know who my parents were. I was just dumped onto the front door of this damn place when I was a baby and I stayed here ever since.'

Terry almost gasped, but he managed to fake a smile, 'gee, that's exactly what happened to me', he said in a cheerful voice and noted with glee the surprised look on Josh's face.

Josh didn't believe him at first, but Terry managed to convince him in the end. They stayed awake for the rest of the night, talking in whispers about everything. Terry couldn't believe he lived with this boy for years without knowing about their connection. In fact, they hardly ever talked to each other. It turned out they had some similarities between them. Josh also liked basketball. He was often playing with Terry's rival team from the orphanage. They also talked in the same manner. They were both the type to say whatever came to their head at the moment. However, Josh was a lot bigger than Terry, although it did not make him look more threatening- it was only Terry's small size which made Josh, who was a bit bigger than average, look bigger than he really was. He had big, brown eyes and hair the same colour as Terry- black, only it was cut a lot shorter.

After a long time, they even thought that they must be related somehow. After all, they did look a bit similar; they had the same hair, similar hobbies and abilities and they were both found at the orphanage door when they were about a year old. Maybe they came from a rich family who didn't want children, or maybe from a poor family which did not have enough money to feed two babies and decided it was better to send their babies somewhere else.

Terry knew these were all stupid ideas which could not possibly be real, but he liked the idea of having a brother. He could tell from Josh's face that he felt the same way. In the end, they decided that they were going to investigate about it. The first thing they could do was to ask Mrs Cole. If she did not tell them anything, they would have to break into her office and search for their files.

Seven o'clock was the time they were supposed to get up for breakfast. Terry did not know what was the point of waking up so early because they did not have school since it was summer. Not that he was not complaining today. He couldn't wait to ask Mrs Cole about the whole thing and wondered whether she was going to lie to them about it. It was not long before he found out.

Terry and Josh both walked to breakfast together for the first time. It was strange for both of them because they both kept mostly to themselves and hardly talked to anybody apart from when they had to or when it came to basketball. The meals were always eaten in a large hall which was completely empty apart from three long, brown wooden tables with the day's food. Today there was porridge, bread and jam, and the usual chatter of the orphans.

Terry hardly noticed any of the food. He just helped himself to some porridge without thinking and started eating. He noticed Josh sitting next to him and doing the same thing.

After eating breakfast quickly, they both hurried to Mrs Cole's office and knocked on the door impatiently, opening the door without waiting for an invitation. Mrs Cole was sitting at her table, tucking hungrily into a large bowl of beans and sausages like an animal. She looked up as they came in and her face reddened instantly. Terry and Josh looked at each other, struggling to keep straight faces as they tried not to laugh.

The embarrassed look has changed to one of surprise as Mrs Cole looked at the two small boys.

'Oh, hello, Mr Locke', she said. Why was she only addressing Terry? Did he do anything wrong? 'I think you came here a bit early, the detention is not until seven o'clock tonight'. Oh.

'Actually, I didn't come here for the detention. I was just wondering If you could tell me and Josh anything else about us being found on the doorstep.'

Mrs Cole's face suddenly became white. 'How did you know?' she asked

'You told me!', Terry and Josh said in unison.

Mrs Cole looked at them with narrowed eyes. 'I did not tell you that you were both found together on the same day- how did you find out?'. She looked at them with searching eyes, then, seeing the amazed looks on their faces, realised what she has just done- 'you… you didn't know?'

'No we did not know' Josh said through clenched teeth, 'but we would appreciate it if you could tell us anything else we did not know about ourselves- for instance if we are related'. Terry vaguely noted Josh's ability to say perfectly polite things, but somehow still sounding un-polite.

Mrs Cole looked a bit uncomfortable 'I'm very sorry for not telling you earlier' she said, sounding sincere, 'we just didn't want you to have some strange ideas or to try to find out about yourselves in dangerous ways and I want you to promise you will not do so. Now that you know what you know, however, I think it would not be harmful to tell you that we did a DNA test on both of you and found that you are not related in any way by your blood' she stopped and looked at them. Terry felt a bit disappointed. He never had a family and would have found it very exciting if he had a brother. 'Now, I want you both to go outside and not think about it. It would do you no good'. she dismissed them with a wave of her hand and went back to her food.

'What do you think?' Josh asked as soon as they closed the office door behind them.

'I think she was telling us the truth' Terry answered. 'But that doesn't solve our problem. Whoever left us on the doorstep was probably a wizard too. I think the best way to find out about ourselves is to find a wizard'.

'Yeah, you're probably right, but the problem is finding one…' Josh answered. Then his face suddenly lit up, 'I've got an idea. You remember yesterday, when you turned the light on?' he waited and Terry nodded. 'Well, I think I felt some kind of power in the air. Maybe that's what we feel when we use our powers.'

- 'and your point is…'

- 'we can go outside and look for some kind of power. Then find it's source and follow whoever caused it'

- 'and then?'

- 'I don't know' Josh admitted. 'But we'll probably find something useful, you never know, and, anyway, do you have a better plan?'

Terry thought for a moment, then said 'you might have just imagined it. How can we be sure we are not looking for something which does not exist?'

Josh looked at him, exasperated 'I can't believe you are such an idiot. We just have to perform some magic and see if we feel it again.'

'you mean if you feel it again' Terry muttered, but didn't push it any further. Instead he just said 'OK, let's give it a try. You try first because you're better than me- you had more practice'. Josh agreed and concentrated hard. Terry wondered what he was trying to do but tried to concentrate on feeling anything unusual. He didn't.

Suddenly, he thought he could feel something and at the same time he heard a strange noise coming from a tree nearby. He turned his head to look. There were a few kids, about their age, sitting under the tree, talking and laughing, when, suddenly, a small branch fell on the smallest kid. The boy looked up in surprise while the rest of the children sitting around him and Terry and Josh started laughing. 'Awesome, I should try it on Mrs Cole sometime' Terry said, thumping Josh on the back.

Josh just shrugged. 'I do it lots of times. I think I even did it to you once, I can't remember. Anyway did you feel anything?'

'Yeah, I did feel a sort of tingly feeling. I guess you were right. Oh, and about dropping a branch on me- you are going to pay for that' Terry answered half joking- half serious.

'Whatever' was the answer he received. 'So are we going to do it now?' he asked

'now?'

'Sure. We are allowed to go out till one o'clock for lunch- we've still got time'

They walked towards the grey gates which were now open for whoever wanted to go out. They were not allowed to wander too far- only if they wanted to buy something from the little pocket-money they received each month or if they wanted to go to the local library to borrow some books. Fortunately, none of the carers were about so they could wander wherever they wanted.

They walked in the normally dark streets of the poor neighbourhood which were now bright with sunlight. They decided to walk towards the richer area, where Terry's rival basketball team's school was situated because there would be more people in that area, going to the mall or meeting with friends.

'You sure this is the right way? We've been walking for hours' Josh complained

'Hey, relax, Josh, I can find the way with my eyes closed. The basketball matches are always in the rich kids' school coz' their pitch is bigger and I know it's that way. And, no, we've only been walking for half an hour- we're almost there. I think we should go to the mall first.'

Five minutes later they stood in front of a tall, modern building with hundreds of people bustling in and out. 'Well, I guess this is it- all we have to do is keep our eyes open.' Terry told Josh as they stepped into the building.

Terry noticed that Josh looked a bit uncomfortable- this was the first time he has been to the rich part of the area and was obviously not used to it. 'Start searching' Terry reminded him.

- 'right'

About an hour later, they still did not see or feel anything, although Terry noticed that Josh was starting to feel more comfortable and even to enjoy himself. He couldn't blame him. The place was interesting. There were people going everywhere, buying clothes, food, everything. There was a big book shop to their right. 'Hey, check it out' Terry said, pointing to the book shop. 'We didn't try there, let's go'.

-'OK'

Terry noticed that Josh hardly said anything. He couldn't believe that someone could be so fascinated about a simple mall. 'Hey, Josh, what's wrong?' he asked as they entered the book shop.

'I can feel something' Josh said distractedly. 'Be quite, I'm trying to concentrate' he motioned to Terry to follow him. He was going further into the big shop. Terry tried to see what Josh could feel, but couldn't feel anything. He concentrated harder, shutting out all of his other senses and extending his mind like a blanket over the mall, searching for some kind of power… anything… there. He could feel it now. It was in the same direction Josh was going in but it was very faint. He had no idea how Josh could feel it in the first place. He probably just had more experience. excuses, excuses.

Suddenly Josh stopped and Terry bumped into him. 'Ouch!'. The man who was standing next to the nearest bookshelf looked up to see what the noise was about. When he saw Terry he just turned his attention back to the books he was examining. The power has come from him. This must mean that this man was a wizard. Terry looked at him carefully. The man did not look out of the ordinary. Apart from the fact that he was wearing a flowered dress. How could he have missed it before? He heard Josh sniggering next to him and knew that he must have noticed the man too.

The man looked up sharply at the sound of the sniggering. Josh stopped immediately. The old man studied them carefully. He had intelligent brown- black eyes and grey hair. He smiled and offered them his hand. 'Jonathan Lupine' he said. 'You are probably muggle borns since you obviously noticed something wrong about what I am wearing. You probably understand in these things'

They looked at each other, confused. Terry could tell from Josh's look that he didn't know what muggle meant either. However, he decided to play along. 'Yeah', he said. 'I'm Terrence Locke and this is my brother, Joshua White'. They shook hands in turns.

'Nice to meet you' Jonathan Lupine smiled. He looked a bit uncomfortable, as if he wanted to say something but was too embarrassed. 'Err, I didn't see anyone from the wizarding community around here apart from you and…you seem to know a bit about muggles… could you just help me to chose normal clothes?' he asked, turning red in the face.

Terry had to fight to keep his excitement. There was actually a wizarding community! However, he managed to keep a cool face. 'Sure' he heard Josh say from beside him. Josh looked totally calm considering their situation and the "treasure" they have just found. 'There's a clothes shop right across from this one. We can come with you if you want'.

The man looked relieved. 'Thank you' he said sincerely. 'Do I look that bad in these clothes?' he added

'You have no idea.' Terry answered wickedly. Josh suddenly coughed in an attempt to cover his laughter. Lupine looked at him knowingly, but said nothing.

When they arrived at the clothes shop, Terry started leading the way towards the suites area, but Josh stopped him. Terry looked at him, confused. What was his problem? They finally found a wizard. Josh pointed towards the skirts area and winked. Oh. Terry understood immediately and led the way. 'You can chose whatever you want' he told Lupine.

'Oh, I don't know' Lupine answered. 'I don't have much experience, maybe you could pick one for me?'

'Sure.'

When Lupine finally got out of the dressing room, Terry and Josh had to fight harder than ever not to laugh:

'What do you think?' Lupine asked turning around. He was wearing a pink jacket over a tight, black shirt and a red mini skirt with black squares for decoration. He looked like some Scottish criminal. He only had to wear a gold earring on one ear. And a few missing teeth would have completed the picture.

'You look great' Terry managed to choke out.

'Fabulous' Josh added.

Out of the clothes shop walked two nine year old boys and one grown up man who was attracting lots of looks from people passing by. 'Well boys, thank you very much for your help' Lupine said. 'I guess I'll have to leave you now. It was a pleasure meeting you'.

No. they needed more information. Who knew when will be the next time they were going to meet a wizard?

Suddenly, an idea occurred to Terry. 'Err… Mr Lupine?'

Lupine turned round in surprise at being addressed in this way. 'Yes?'

Terry's heart leapt nervously. Could this actually work? What if it didn't? he noticed Josh looking at him curiously. It was worth a try. 'Well, we're kinda lost. Mother sent us to buy some potion ingredients but we couldn't find the place.' He could see Josh's eyes widening. He hoped Lupine would fall for it. He didn't even know if wizards even had potions. Maybe it was just in the stories. Or maybe only some people could make them.

Lupine looked at him in surprise. Terry crossed his fingers. 'Well, kid, you are in luck. I'm just on my way to Powell Place. I can show you the way if you want to'.

Terry let out the breath he didn't realise he was holding in relief. 'Thank you sir.' he said. This time, it was Lupine who led the way, so Terry and Josh had an opportunity to talk without him listening.

- 'way to go, Terry, I can't believe he actually believed that. What do you think that place is- Powell Place- did he say?'

- 'I think so. Maybe it's some place where all the wizards are always going to get their stuff'

- 'do you think we can find anything about ourselves if we go there?'

- 'I don't know. It seems very unlikely. Why would anyone know about us?'

- 'good point. Still, it's a start, you never know.'

Lupine stopped in front of a small shop at the corner of a street Terry have never been to, although it might have been close to the orphanage because they were back in the poor area. Could this be a wizards' shop? It seemed very unlikely- the shop looked too ordinary. They entered the shop. It was a pub. The owner of the pub was a fat man, no hair and an apron around his bulging belly. 'Hello John,' he said as they entered the pub. 'Whisky?' he asked, holding a bottle ready.

'No, thanks, Steve, I'm only here to pass to Powell Place.' Lupine answered. pass to Powell Place? how can you pass to Powell Place through a pub? 'come on.' Lupine urged him and Josh. huh? come on where? Apparently, the same thoughts crossed josh's mind as he gave him a blank look. They followed Lupine to the back door where they were met with a big stone wall. Lupine took out a long stick from his pink jacket and tapped the wall with it on several bricks. Suddenly, to Terry's, well, not amazement- he was prepared for anything, the wall separated in half and begun moving sideways.

Behind the wall there was, surprise, surprise, a wizards' shopping centre. 'Wow, this place rocks,' Terry whispered to Josh.

- 'tell me about it. I think that thing was a wand' Josh whispered back

Terry didn't bother to answer. He was too busy looking at his surroundings. There were hundreds of witches and wizards around them, hurrying in all different directions. They were all wearing weird kinds of robes. The most popular colour was black, but there were also purple, green, and even orange robes. The shops, however, were even more interesting than the people. They were selling lots of interesting stuff: love potions, socks which screamed when they started getting too smelly, ice-cream which took whatever flavour you wanted it to and, best of all, wands.

Terry noticed that they had a different kind of money. Their coins were smaller and thicker and they were made out of gold.

'What potion ingredients did your mother tell you to buy?'

Terry nearly jumped out of his skin. He completely forgot that Lupine was still with them. To his surprise, his ridiculous clothes were gone to be replaced by a long, green robe.

Following Terry's gaze, Lupine laughed. 'It's so good to be rid of these muggle clothes. You did a great job of making me look like a fool.'

Terry and Josh looked at each other, startled, ready to run, but Lupine just smiled. 'Hey, it's fine, it was just a joke, right? I'm not that stupid, you know? Even in the wizarding world pink is a girl's colour and I could tell that there was something wrong by the looks of the people. They looked at me in an even worse way than when I wore the other dress. I just can't wait to tell my brother, Remus, back in Britain.'

Terry and Josh laughed nervously and stopped pretty quickly. 'I think we'll be fine now. Thanks for your help' Josh said

'No problem.'

As soon as Lupine disappeared round the corner, they both burst out laughing. Josh laughed so hard that he was on the floor. Terry joined him in no time.

'I see my situation was worse than I thought.' Lupine was back and was looking at them with amusement in his eyes.

Terry and Josh were laughing so hard that they couldn't stop now even if they wanted. Terry could feel himself choking and he started coughing. Lupine pointed his wand at him and the coughing stopped but the laughter continued.

'I only came because I just remembered a new shop which has been opened recently where you can find potion ingredients much more cheaply than the old one. It's called "quick potion". I just thought that you will be interested.' said Lupine.

Having no other excuse to get rid of him, Terry and Josh followed him round Powell Place's streets until they came to a modern shop with the sign "quick potion". They thanked him and told him they would be fine from there. Actually, they did not want to enter the shop, but as soon as they saw it they became curious and went to have a look around.

'… some workers' Terry heard a voice say.

'And where exactly do you think we can find workers? I'll have to close the shop before it even opened, we should have thought of it earlier.' Another voice was saying.

Josh and Terry looked at each other excitedly. Terry could tell that Josh was thinking the same thing as he did. It seemed to happen a lot lately, as if they could read each other's minds. Not that it wasn't useful. Actually, it was very useful. They just had to think something and the next moment it was being done.

They both walked confidently towards the voices. Seriously, Terry would never have felt that confident if Josh wasn't around, and they've only started to hang out together about twelve hours ago. It was as if there was some strange connection between them.

The two voices belonged to two men; the younger one, about eighteen, was tall and muscular, with flaming red hair which was pulled back in a ponytail and he had one fang shaped earring on his left ear; the other man was a bit older, with greying black hair and blue eyes. They both looked up as Terry and Josh entered. The older man's eyes lit up as he saw them. 'Hello, what are you here to buy? Dragon blood? Unicorn hair? We have everything- you just name it.' he said eagerly.

Trying to look formal, Terry extended his hand. 'How do you do? I'm Terrence Locke and this here is Joshua White,' he said, indicating Josh. 'We are here for a job.'

The two men looked at each other, then at the two nine year old kids. Then they both burst out laughing.

The younger man was the first to recover and looked at them curiously. He was going to say something when the older man, however, finished laughing and started shouting immediately, shoving them out of the shop.

Outside the new shop "quick potion", passer bys were walking innocently on the calm streets, when suddenly the calm was shattered by a man's shouts from the said shop, the door opened, and two kids went flying out of the door. They both quickly fumbled to their feet and started running…

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- 'lucky that man didn't have a knife'

- 'lucky he didn't have a pan'

- 'what?'

- 'never mind'

Terry and Josh were both climbing the long- closed orphanage gates when…

'WHERE IN THE NAME OF MERLIN HAVE YOU TWO BEEN? HAVE YOU GOT ANY IDEA HOW WORRIED WE ALL WERE? WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE PLAYING AT ANYWAY?'

They both fell off the fence and onto the hard ground, grunting. Luckily, the fence was only five feet tall… it could have been ten.

Terry and Josh both scrambled to their feet and looked at each other for the tenth time today. 'Well, at least I came back in time for the detention.' Terry said weakly, too tired to snigger at the way he said "in the name of Merlin"

'Yeah, and I'm in time for dinner.' Josh squeaked.

Mrs Cole looked as if she was going to blow up any minute. 'THERE WON'T BE ANY DINNER FOR EITHER OF YOU. AND YOU, MR WHITE, ARE GOING TO JOIN MR LOCKE IN THE DETENTION. YOU BOTH HAVE DETENTION FOR TWO WEEKS STARTING NOW! FOLLOW ME!'

'She sounds like a pirate shouting follow me in this way.' Terry noted dryly. Josh agreed, too tired to add any more comments.

They both had the time of their lives writing the lines: "I will never snick out without notifying my carer" till midnight, when Mrs Cole entered and told them they were allowed to go to bed and not to forget to come to detention tomorrow.

Terry was so tired that he barely registered the unoriginality of Mrs Cole- never snick out without notifying my carer? couldn't she have thought of something better like I will always eat a snuck without notifying my carer? He didn't even notice his unoriginality as his missed meals spoke- or thought for him. He vaguely remembered that there was something he wanted to tell Josh but he couldn't remember what it was. It'll just have to wait till tomorrow.

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