The world of Hogwarts, Harry Potter, the Dark Lord and all things in J.K. Rowling's magnificent books are not my invention and I take no credit for any of it bar my own new characters.
Author's note: This is my first ever FanFic, Reviews sought and appreciated! Thanks.
Chapter 1 – Out of Thin Air
It was not long after nightfall on a warm summer's night in the middle of July and Sydelle Reid was lying on her back lawn enjoying the coolness of the grass and watching the sky. The stars were thousands of bright points of light high above her. She sighed, wondering as she always did, whether there were any other worlds out there apart from her own. Surely anything up there in the endless skies would be far more interesting than her life could ever be.
She imagined the moving lights she could see which was clearly a plane descending toward London were in fact a spaceship exploring a newly found world. To her right and above, she saw another steadily moving light which she supposed was a satellite in orbit which she imagined could be a fighter, stalking its prey.
The occasional sounds of cars hummed lazily by on her little street outside the house. It was usually quiet in the little village of Hindhead at this time of night. It was just over a month left of the summer holidays before Sydelle would be returning to school. Another boring year where she would struggle with teachers she didn't like, work she could do in her sleep and children who didn't like her. Somewhere far off she heard the roar of a motorbike as she lay contemplating the dread that school brought to her.
She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to get rid of the twist of dislike in her stomach caused by the thoughts of school. Sydelle was unusual, with her blonde hair and her lavender eyes. She was unusual with her uncanny knack of knowing things before she was told and she was unusual in that odd things seemed to just happen around her. And because she was unusual, other children mocked and taunted her. She had no friends; those who might be friendly were frightened off by the bullies.
She recalled with a lurch, the last day of last term, most of the children in her year were enjoying the festivities of a day with no work and seeing their friends before the long summer holidays claimed them. Sydelle, as usual had taken solace in the library and was trying desperately to read the end of the book she had borrowed when several other girls marched in and snatched it off her.
"Hey freak, what are you reading?" the oldest girl's taunting voice echoed in her memory. "Midnight Magic? Don't tell me you still believe in that clap trap. Ohhh Syd the Kid believes in fairy stories!" and so the taunting began. Until the girl had squealed in pain and dropped the book, staring in horror at the blisters rising on her hands. It looked as though she'd been burnt. All four girls fled the library and before she knew it, Sydelle's name was called over the PA and she was sent to the Headmaster's office to explain why she had inflicted injury on another student. Her mother had been called and so had the police but when no evidence nor witnesses could come forward to prove Sydelle had anything to do with it, the matter was dropped and Sydelle left the school in disgrace and was silent all the way home. It wasn't the first time something just odd had happened, and it gave the other children all the more reason to hate and fear her.
She opened her eyes again. Suddenly, there was a distant gleam of green in the sky above her. Then red. Then a shower of sparks like a tiny, distant firework. More red and more green. More sparks. She sat up, craning her head back to see. Were they fireworks? She watched intently as more flashes and distant, barely audible cries came from above her. She squinted, had she just seen movement up there in the darkness? Amongst the clouds and stars?
There was another roar of a motorbike engine. If she didn't know how well sound could carry on these still summer nights, she would sweat the bike was above her, which was impossible. Suddenly there was a small crash in the hedge nearby and she jumped to her feet heart thundering in fright.
All was silent once again. For what seemed like hours although it must have only been a few minutes she sat, frightened into stillness, staring into the dark garden. There was no further movement or sound of any kind. The noise hadn't been a loud one so it hadn't attracted the attention of her parents or neighbors, all of whom were indoors.
Gingerly, she slid her hand to her torch and grasped it tightly.
"Hello?" she whispered, "Anyone there?" something small and white floated down softly from above. She reached out a hand as it came near. A small white feather. Several more joined it, then nothing.
Mustering her courage, Sydelle switched her torch on and crept toward the hedge. As she approached, she couldn't see any signs of life. However a golden gleam caught her attention and she shone her torch toward it. A thick stick was protruding from the hedge, with a smooth polished look about it and a small plaque on the end. This certainly hadn't been there earlier that day.
She reached forward and with a little effort tugged the thing out of the hedge. It was a broomstick. It looked quite old fashioned, a real brush broom rather than the plastic things one could buy in the shops nowadays. However it looked brand new itself, the brush tapered to a point and not a twig out of place. The handle was smudged with old handprints on its glossy veneer and the plaque read "Firebolt".
This broom didn't look like it was designed for sweeping. A funny feeling – a tingle perhaps, or warmth – spread into her hand as though from the broom itself. She turned it over, inspecting it in the torchlight. It hadn't seemed to suffer any ill effects from landing in her hedge. She looked up again, eyes searching the sky but nothing out of the ordinary could be seen. Did the broom fall? From a plane perhaps? She mulled over the odd events of the past few minutes. Feathers, lights in the sky, and now this. Very strange.
"Sydelle!" her mother called from the back door. Sydelle jumped and looked up. "Come in now, its bed time."
"Coming, Mum." She answered. This would have to wait till morning. She wondered if she could smuggle the broom upstairs without her mother knowing. She saw her mother retreat back into the house and hurried to the door.
"Could I please have a warm milk before I go to sleep?" she called.
"Alright, but you'd best get washed up first." She grinned at the reply as her mother went into the kitchen. Perfect. She sidled into the house, hurried past the kitchen door whilst her mother was pre-occupied and almost ran up the stairs, hurrying the broom out of sight. She got into her room and flung the broom deep under her bed. Washing up quickly, Sydelle then changed into her pajamas, being as quiet as a mouse lest she wake her younger brother who had the room next to hers. She then clambered down the stairs to have her milk.
"Thanks, Mum." She said, sliding into her seat at the table. Several papers were already on it, it seemed her mother had been doing some paperwork.
"Sydelle, I want to talk to you for a minute. About school." Her mother began. Sydelle's heart sank. She had another whole month or more before she had to go back to that hated place.
"I know you've been very unhappy there." Mrs Reid began, pushing a strand of blonde hair out of her tired grey eyes. She smiled at her daughter. "I would like to know what you would think of changing schools."
"Oh." Sydelle said, this was an unexpected development. "I don't know. I guess, it might help." She answered.
"This came today," her mother held up an envelope. Sydelle gazed at it curiously, it was made of parchment, and had her address written in neat calligraphy on the rough surface of the envelope. Her mother passed it to her, and Sydelle opened it, noticing the already broken seal of a school crest with a large H on it.
She took out the letter and read,
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHRAFT AND WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Severus Snape
'Dear Ms Reid,
I am pleased to inform you that you have been short-listed for a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.'
Sydelle's heartbeat quicked and her jaw dropped. What was this? A quick glance at her mother's face very quickly told her that it was not a joke. She dropped her eyes and read on.
'You are required to attend a meeting with the School Governors at 43 Diagon Alley, London to confirm your blood status at a quarter past 10 o'clock on July the twenty-fourth before you can be confirmed your place at the school. Please find enclosed your book list and directions to Diagon Alley.
We await your reply no later than July the twentieth.
Yours Sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress.'
Sydelle was completely gobsmacked and gazed up at her mother, eyes searching her face.
"Well?" Mrs Reid asked her, "Do you want to go?"
Sydelle nodded, still lost for words.
"Okay," her mother smiled, "I will let them know we will attend the meeting on the 24th. Go on up to bed now, sweetheart." She told her. Obediently, Sydelle trooped up the stairs, brushed her teeth in a daze and clambered into her little bed. She lay for hours, pondering on the strange events of the evening before sleep overcame her and her dreams were full of flying motorbikes, falling brooms and magic wands.
