This is a story I had to write in my writing class. It isn't exactly Harry Potter, because it had to be original, but it's based on it. Jaypaw is from Warriors by Erin Hunter.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Warriors. I do own Keira!
I could not believe it.
All my life I wanted to get out of that cramped New Jersey town and move on to better things. I always wanted to go to a school in a different place, perhaps another country, to meet new people and to learn new things. Well, look where that got me. It was true I moved to England and I attended a boarding school near London. It was true I learned a lot and met lots of different people. However, the me-enjoying-it part seemed to have eluded me. I was alone in that monster of a school, in a completely different country, with no one to talk to but my cat. How exciting.
I pressed my face against the cool window and looked up at the castle that loomed ahead. The train came to a screeching halt and I filed out with the rest of the students, my trunk in tow. Out on the platform, I clearly saw the huge school in front of me; it was seven stories high and irregularly shaped, with brick towers jutting from the roof like horns. I made my way up the big stone steps and through the large, wooden doors, continuing into the entrance hall. Most of the students broke off into groups, meeting up with the friends they missed over summer break. As for me, I trudged up the many staircases, alone.
The common room was empty, as was the dorm room in which I slept. Dumping my trunk at the foot of my four-poster bed, I opened the cat carrier I had brought and let out the fluffy gray tom that had been sleeping inside. He blinked and stretched, purring at my touch, then promptly fell back to sleep on my pillow. Stroking him absentmindedly, I stared out the open window.
And so begins another long school year, I thought miserably.
"C'mon, Keira, wake up!" someone whispered in my ear. "You'll be late for breakfast!" I realized the one whispering was lying on top of me. Alert, I flung said someone off me, wincing when he made contact with the floor. I looked down to see Jaypaw, my gray little tom cat, sprawled out on the blue throw rug.
"Oops," I said apologetically and lifted him onto my four-poster bed.
"Thanks for that," he muttered. "Now you ought to get downstairs before all the food is gone," I gasped, making a mad dash for the door. As the door clicked shut I heard Jaypaw call, "Bring me back something to eat, will you?"
Yes, my cat could talk. That was an odd talent of his. He was also blind, so I guessed speaking English compensated for that. He could get annoying, but Jaypaw was all I had.
Upon arriving in England, I made a total of zero friends, save the family I lived with on summer break. The Johnsons weren't very interesting anyway. That was why Jaypaw was so important; he kept me from going insane, though he sometimes was the cause of said insanity. I just wish there was someone else I could hang out with, preferably human.
I threw on the white blouse and black pleated skirt that made up my school uniform and attempted to get a brush through my long, black hair. After a few agonizingly frustrating minutes, I gave it up as a bad job and slung my black tie around my neck. While stupidly trying to brush my teeth and tie my shoe simultaneously, I lost my balance and fell into the bathroom door. I swung open and knocked my dorm mate's bird cage, successfully obtaining several bruises along my arms and snapping my toothbrush in half.
This is turning out to be a great day, I thought sarcastically.
After completing my morning routine, I started my trek down to the ground floor, moving through the busy corridors and down six flights of stairs. I arrived at the mess hall in five minutes flat, thanks to familiarity with the school that came with five years of practice. Out of breath, I took my usual seat up towards the front of the hall where the teachers sat and dug into a plate of pancakes.
My English teacher, Professor Finch, came up to me and handed me my schedule for the year. Most of the other students were eagerly comparing their schedules, but I stuffed mine in my bag and resumed eating. I was not looking forward to anything but my bed. Don't get me wrong, I loved England and the school I went to; I learned a lot. I just wished I had someone to enjoy it with.
When the first bell rang, I gathered my things and quickly headed to my first class back on the sixth floor. I'd thought the people who built the school might have the cogitation to construct the school to be more convenient to students, something with fewer stairs. Finally on level six, I navigated my way through the throng of people toward the history classroom.
Then I ran into a wall.
Well, I had thought it was a wall at first, but when I looked up I realized it was James, the fifteen-year-old boy with messy black hair (Like mine minus the messy part) and dark blue eyes. Though he was a year younger than I was, everyone knew him through his family relations. Apparently, members of his family had been coming to that school for decades.
"Sorry," we replied simultaneously. This surprised me. We stared at each other for a long time, though it could have been a split second. He smiled a very vibrant smile that I found contagious. I smiled back, trying to match his radiance. I stepped to the right and he stepped to the left, which is my right, and we bumped into each other again. This happened two more times before he lightly grabbed my shoulders and moved me to the left. Still smiling, he waved and disappeared into the crowd.
That was weird, I thought to myself, feeling a whole lot better yet stupid because I was still standing in the middle of the corridor grinning like an idiot. Shrugging, I headed off to class with a slight bounce in my step.
Back in the States, teachers never gave homework on the first day of school. Unfortunately, in England, they piled it on the students like finals were the next day. That required some students to go to the library. However, when I went into the library that night, not many kids were there, not that it mattered to me. I found a table in a secluded corner and cracked open my textbook. Luckily, I'm a quick study, so I didn't take too long.
While shelving the books I had needed for studying, I noticed a flash of black out of the corner of my eye. Investigating, I came across James reading a book on the other side of the bookcase.
Aww, he likes to read! I caught myself thinking as I watched him intently. I couldn't help it; I was like a moth attracted to a light. He looked so cute, eyes concentrating on the pages in front of him while his glasses slowly slid down his nose. Almost as suddenly as he started, or so it seemed, James closed his book and looked at his watch. Breaking out of my trance, I did the same and gasped softly. It was nearly nine, and curfew was in five minutes.
Gathering my things, I sprinted as fast as I could back to the dorms, very conscious of the fact James was just a few paces ahead of me. Relieved my dorm was empty of roommates, I spilled to Jaypaw my entire experience. I was sure he wasn't too thrilled, but he listened politely as I rushed through my amazing tale. I wasn't completely sure why this event excited me so much, but I enjoyed the thrill, something that happened far too infrequently.
"Shh, Jaypaw! Do you want to wake everyone up?"
"I can't move!" Jaypaw hissed in the darkness. "I'm stuck! Help!" he wailed quietly. Rolling my eyes, I freed his paw from the grate on the floor. He shook it and muttered a "Thank you." Cautiously peering around a corner, I continued down the corridor, heading for the kitchens. Jaypaw and I went down there every Friday night for six years; it was sort of a tradition. We were never caught, so it was easy to grab a late night snack.
Carefully opening the door, I slid into the dark room, Jaypaw at my heels. I sought out the cabinet that held my favorite biscuits and rummaged through it until I found my prize. Stuffing them into my book bag, I tapped the counter twice, signaling to Jaypaw I was ready. He scurried out the door before me, and I quietly shut the door.
The trip back to the common room was easy, because we knew which teachers were patrolling that night. Using a hidden staircase, Jaypaw and I made it back without being seen.
Well, almost.
"Who's there?" someone whispered from the shadows. I whipped around to see a tall figure standing behind me. Dismayed, I hung my head in defeat, but Jaypaw shook his head. Confused, I looked up at the mysterious person waiting for me to answer.
"James?" I asked incredulously. I totally expected to get busted. He stepped into the moonlight streaming through the narrow window so I could clearly see his face. The moonbeam had turned his hair silver and his eyes glowed like strange blue stars.
"Keira?" he asked, also surprised, yet relieved. "What are you doing here?"
"Jaypaw and I always come down to the kitchens on Friday nights; it's been a six year tradition." Amazed at my loquacity, I looked down at Jaypaw. He turned his head towards me and I silently prayed he wouldn't say anything, though I wasn't sure why; he's not that stupid!
"Jaypaw?" James asked skeptically. I picked the gray little fuzzball up to show him.
"Jaypaw," I confirmed. James gave me an odd look, and for a split second I thought he was going to laugh at me. Instead, he smiled at Jaypaw.
"Nice to meet you." He shook Jaypaw's forepaw. Suddenly, Jaypaw flicked his ears and swiveled them towards the far side of the corridor. I immediately started running in the opposite direction, pulling James along by the hand. I learned to trust Jaypaw's ears very quickly. Seconds after we rounded the corner, footsteps were heard behind us. We kept running as fast as we could until we came to a dead end.
I groaned. We were caught for sure; there was no escape. That meant detention for both of us. I never got detention; how could I let that happen?
"There goes my reputation," I muttered, leaning against the cold stone wall. Hearing this, James pulled out a black cloak from his bag and threw it over me.
"What are you doing?"
"Saving your reputation," he said simply. As he turned, Professor Finch came around the corner.
"Hey!" the man called. "What are you doing out of bed?"
Oh man, we're so dead, I thought.
"Calm down," Jaypaw breathed in my ear. "He knows what he's doing." I watched Finch approach James and put a hand on his shoulder, leading him back to the dormitories. I received a fleeting glance from the raven-haired boy before they disappeared from sight. I sat in silence for a long time.
He saved me, I kept repeating in my head. He saved me. No one had ever talked to me before, let alone take a punishment for me. He could have used the cloak so he could hide in the dark while I got in trouble.
Finally standing, I tip-toed back to the common room in a daze, Jaypaw perched on my shoulder. When we arrived, I fell into one of the squishy armchairs. Jaypaw curled up on my lap and I began to unwrap the biscuits, though my appetite was nowhere to be found. I was so shocked; I didn't know what to do. Exhausted, I fell asleep as the stars winked out from the rising sun.
The following morning I stumbled into the mess hall. My neck muscles were sore from sleeping in the chair and I was still half asleep. Bleary-eyed, I found my seat and stared around the room. There weren't many people there; most were out playing on the grounds in the late Saturday morning sun. There were, however, a few late risers present, one of which caught my eye immediately. He turned around and spotted me; it was as though he knew I was watching him. Smiling, he did the last thing I'd think anyone would do; he came over to my table and sat across from me. I stared at him, not bothering to care if I was being rude.
"Morning," he said in his lovely voice. He was much too awake at that moment, and that made me conscious of the fact that I wasn't. "How are you today?"
"M'okay," I replied almost incoherently. "You?"
"Mmm, can't complain," I nodded and realized there was food in front of me. This is weirder than yesterday, I thought.
"This is really weird." Did I just say that? He frowned slightly.
"How so?"
"Well, no one really ever talked to me before, not like this."
"I don't see why; you're a great person." This caught me off guard. He must have seen that on my face because he added, "I'm not kidding!"
"Thanks," I replied slowly. "You're not too bad yourself." He laughed. The sound was like music, a sweet melody of joy. I smiled as well. I can't believe this is happening! Suddenly, my view of James was blocked by gray fur.
"Jaypaw!" I exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing?" He grinned at me secretively and walked across the table to stand face to face with James.
"Hey there," James said, astonished. Jaypaw looked at him for a long time, not moving a muscle. Then, he started purring and rubbed his flank against James's shoulder. We both laughed again. I guess that was Jaypaw's approval, I thought to myself. I had come to a conclusion. I would no longer struggle through yet another lonely school year. I knew from that moment on I would have someone to talk to in class, sit with at lunch, and hang out with on weekends. I finally had a friend.
And that's all I ever wanted.
Review!
Note: This is a one shot and will not be continued.