So I really, really should be working on that summer assignment that's due in like a week or two. I really should. So, naturally, I'm starting a new fanfic:) Hope the summary did this a little bit of justice (ha, ha. I couldn't think up a good one), but I'd like to be perfectly clear, just in case. I realize the idea may be a bit hackneyed, but I'm doing my best to make it original. :)

There will be spoilers for all of the books in this fanfic. Your first one's coming up in the disclaimer :)

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Harry Potter series or any of its characters…sniffle or, well, certain things that happened in the end of the 7th book wouldn't have happened. sob REMUS! Nor do I own Star Wars, Indiana Jones, or any other thing that may have been inadvertently mentioned. Please don't sue me, I don't have money.

Well, that one really wasn't so bad…annnnnnd here we go…..

Chapter One

"It was a dark, cold, stormy, horrid night…" The brunette rolled her eyes at the terribly clichéd opening. When she'd told her friend Heather she would give her pointers on writing a novel for the ages, she hadn't exactly anticipated the worst. Not like she was any amazing writer of any sort herself but…well…

She forced her eyes back to the thin sheet of notebook paper in front of her, recalling her friend's exact words on the piece.

"I want this book to be amazing! Like, a cross between Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, and Star Wars, with some humor, and plenty of romance, and action! But there has to be suspense too, with an element of horror! And, of course, it'll have that family friendly quality that will keep everyone coming back! At least until the tragic death scene…"

At the time, Liz, a.k.a. the brunette in question, had inquired if Heather was really ready to write a novel of her own. At the time, Liz had feared for her life. Heather was a dreamer, but she was an athletic dreamer with a mean left hook. And so, there she was, stuck on that, ironically, turbulent night, reading her friend's writing attempts in her room. Liz bit her thumb and willed her eyes onward, mumbling the words she read under her breath.

"Princess Starsugar stared out the window on to the green, soft, swaying, thin grass…oh God Heather…" Liz stared sadly at the crap that was her best friend's hard effort. Maybe the blond was better suited to poetry? Just as Liz was pondering how she should break her suggestion, the phone rang. She silently thanked whomever was taking her away from her misery…at least until she picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"LIZ! So I just thought of the GREATEST plot twist ever! It's going to make my readers cry, and laugh, and smile, and be incredibly depressed, but in a good way!"

"Hi Heather."

Liz loved Heather. She really did. The two were like sisters. Every now and then, however, Heather became obsessive. First it had been becoming a famous comic artist. Day in and day out, Liz had seen sketches of 'The Adventures of Mr. Blue' and concepts for new plots. Then were the night school trips and practice lessons for when she was to become the greatest calculus professor to walk the planet. Liz had played the role of the 'eager' student. Now, Heather wanted only to be the most celebrated novelist of her generation.

"I was thinking Princess Starsugar could really be part of this HUUUGE unicorn army! Like the leader! Cause she's really a unicorn!"

"Wait…what?"

"Oh well, I'll work that out later. Anyway, I was thinking up some theme music for when my book gets turned into a major film. Something like…. BAHHHHH bah bah bah BAHHHH-BADADADUMMMMM bah bah dah dah de dahhh! Of course that would only be one of the scores, but still…"

It wasn't the lofty aspirations that bothered Liz. It was the whole 'getting carried away' part.

"That's…really nice Heather…" The dramatic interpretation from the other end of the line was difficult to make out, so Liz just did her best to give her support.

"Thanks!" Even through the phone Liz could tell her friend was beaming. A comfortable silence fell over them, as often happened with their phone conversations.

"Hey," Heather finally broke the quiet, "you want to come over and help me figure out this one chapter? I skipped ahead to the end, cause I thought of a killer ending," she added the last part as to avoid confusion.

"Oh?" Liz did her best to put on a mildly interested tone.

"Yeah!" Liz smiled at her friend's enthusiasm. Usually, Heather could read her well, but when she became enthralled with her newest activity, the ability seemed to fade. "See, in the end, Princess Starsugar falls in love with the free-riding horse caretaker, who ends up being a prince!"

"I see…" Liz had grasped her copy of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and was flipping pages, rereading bits here and there.

"Yeah, he's the prince of this far off land, where they're all a family of horse-breeders!"

"Uh-huh…" a small choke got into her voice as she re-read Sirius' death scene. It got her every time.

"I know! Isn't it so sweet?!" Heather had obviously mistaken the emotion directed towards the novel Liz was reading to her own.

"Ah, yes. Incredibly."

"So, think you can come?"

Liz looked to her digital stereo to find it was just around 11 at night. The two girls lived on opposite sides of a pretty main street, exactly across from one another. If both were to be in their respective back yards, they could easily see one another.

"I dunno Heather…" the brunette looked out the window to where droplets of rain had become sheets. "It's sort of bleak weather…"

"Aw, it's not that bad!"

Heather had a tendency to make every storm look like a drizzle, literal or otherwise. Once, the two girls had snuck into a private park after it had closed at sunset, wanting to relive their childhood by taking a quick ride on the swings. Of course the two had swung a little too high, and yelled out frivolities such as "I'M FLYING MAMA!" one too many times, and before they knew it, a night cop dressed in all black, who thought himself far too important and mighty considering what he really was (a cop on patrol duty in a family neighborhood at 2 in the morning), was nearing them. As the two had seen the light of his flashlight approaching them ominously, Heather had wildly thrown up the hood on her jacket, and yanked up her zipper. With a grin that could only be described as that of a maddened psychopath, she jumped from the swing, and gave a bellow for Liz to do the same.

Now Liz was not an adventurous person by nature. It was all easy and well to talk about sneaking out of the house one dark night and catching the next train to Nevada to become a famed Las Vegas bartender, but well, she'd be the one watching the train depart from the window.

And so, through the dark fall night the two had run, causing the overly large security guard to give chase. Liz, who in all of her 16 years had never been very athletic, and was not in the best shape of her life, had outran even Heather, the self-proclaimed high school track star of the same age, in a rush of pure adrenaline. They hopped the chain link fence as the protruding stomach of the officer came ever nearer, his resounding flesh bouncing heavily in the night. With a quick motion to Liz, Heather had sharply changed direction and led Liz to hop a neighboring fence, dash through a dimly lit backyard housing a hungry rottweiler, and finally to clamber up to her roof so as not to wake her parents with their entrance.

Once the two girls had safely made it to Heather's room on the second floor, without any indication they had left at all, Liz collapsed in a muddy, shaky heap on the nearby bed. Heather looked at her questioningly, but then smiled as she bent down to remove her shoes.

"I really thought when we hit those giant oaks we were done in for sure!" She said cheerfully with a giant, toothy grin.

"Hu-hu-huhh-haa-haaa" Liz's heaving gasps for air turned into a kind of nervous laugh. "We-almost-got…caught…by-the…police!"

At that, Heather smiled. "At least I broke in these new sneakers!" she had exclaimed brightly.

"Helloooo? Liz? Still there?"

Liz was taken from her memory abruptly as Heather called through the speaker.

"Yeah, still here."

"Pleeeeeeeaaaase come over?" Liz could tell she was getting puppy dog eyed, even over the phone.

"But…I'm reading Harry Potter. The fifth one. It's my favorite." Liz made a pointed attempt to sound sincere in her argument. It failed.

"Oh, come on. You've read it like a million times already. And I really need help getting this prince thing down."

Liz sighed in defeat. She always had a hard time saying no to Heather. As soon as the breath had escaped her mouth, Heather knew of her victory.

"Yay! Thank you! I'll wait for you out in the yard!" The line went dead, and Liz uttered another sigh. Setting down her own receiver, she pulled on her sneakers, knowing the horrid mud she would face in the current conditions. Grabbing a particularly fluffy jacket from her closet, she headed quietly for the door, hoping the visit wouldn't take very long. It was late, and she really didn't want to run the risk of getting caught.

As she slipped quietly out the front, Liz looked out from the overhang into the raining night. She could barely see two feet in front of her, it was so bad. With a small, whimpering sort of noise, she pulled on her jacket and wrapped it around her bulky frame. On the seventh count of three, she bolted into the icy night, made even colder by the piercing storm. In a small burst of energy, she ran towards the direction she assumed Heather's house to be in.

But it was dark.

And so she couldn't see the road.

Or the speeding driver tearing around the corner.

And he couldn't see her.

The headlights shone brightly into her bulging, frightened eyes, and it was too late.

A sickening thud, screeching wheels, and all went black.

Well that was a cliffhanger. And had absolutely nothing to do with Harry Potter. The next one will. After all, this is just an intro. :) Hope you all enjoyed! If you did, I'll post more :). Please review! Till next time!