I stirred slightly and felt a new sense of peace. My sleeping drift drifted on its own and I opened my eyes slowly to the waterfall of sunlight flooding my room. I smiled lightly and sat up. Over my desk/makeup chair was a white summer dress and a pair of white Mary Jane's. I smiled and stood up, and went into the bathroom across the hall. I looked in the mirror and smiled. I couldn't help it. I did this every single morning. I set my clothes out the night before, got up in the morning and went to the bathroom to shower. Then I went back to my room to dress and do my makeup. I loved the routine and I loved even better the fact I could be independent. I wasn't wondering what to do all the time because I had solid options. I had a day by day plan and I was being a kid. I wasn't running, I wasn't alone, and I wasn't worrying about food or clothes or shelter. I got in the shower and scrubbed my short bobbed hair till it was foamy and then I rinsed it till it was untangled. When I was done, I went back to my room, a towel wrapped around me and sat on my desk chair. I powdered my face, applied a thin amount of eye liner around my lash lines and a gentle layer of mascara. Then I put on a bit of lip gloss and let my hair down so I could dry it. After my hair fell practically perfectly around my chin and framed my perfect square jaw, I stood up and got dress. The particular dress I had had a blue ribbon around the waist and tied, not in a bow but just cross down against my back. I looked in the mirror and noticed how I gleamed. My gentle cappuccino colored eyes looked surprisingly good with my hair so blond and the white dress. I looked good. I turned on a heal and went into the hall and downstairs into the kitchen. Miss Maudie was slaving over a stove of brownies, chocolate chip cookies, and breakfast that consisted of sweet, flavor rice and toast with butter. I sat down next to Lucas, who was reading the Daily Prophet, and I served myself to some pumpkin juice. "Good morning, Kimber." "Good morning sir. Anything good in the Prophet?" "Just a bunch of hogwash about the Ministry." "Same as yesterday," I said as I stood up to help get the breakfast ready. "How was your night dear," Maudie asked as we worked. "Fine." "Any nice dreams?" "Hmm," I shrugged, "not really." She smiled and nodded, "Well, maybe tonight. You know, dreams are the only place we can do anything, be anything." I laughed and nodded, "I know. But I'm already a witch. I have magic and can do things that no ordinary person can do. What more could I want?" We sat down and so began our morning conversation between the three of us. "What about a car," Lucas asked first. "A car. No thank you. In a good while, I will be able to apparate anywhere and walk the ways I can't. I don't want to use a car to pollute the air and our earth." "Okay, good point," Maudie inquired, "And what about a boyfriend?" I smiled a bit bigger, "In time, I'm sure I will have a boyfriend. Right now, though, I like being my own person, not having anyone but myself to worry about." "Maybe even Harry Potter would be with you," Lucas said with a humored twinkle in his eye. "Right, as soon as I become president will I get together with my best friend." "Well then, why not pretend to be president," Lucas said happily. "No," I said with a giggle as I buttered my toast, "I would rather be someone frivolous and daring without making a hard decision." "What about a family," Maudie asked quietly. I hesitated on this question. Instead of answering immediately, I took a bite of my bread and then a sip of my juice. "No. I have the two of you. That's all." They both looked at each other and then Maudie back at me, "What happened to your family?" I bit my lip and looked at them, "My biological mother and father died. I don't know how and I don't know when but I was…one. Maybe two. My adopted parents died as well. Then I just ran. I didn't want to go into a home and I was too old. It would have taken me forever to be adopted again." We didn't really talk about this. I mean, we talked about how I felt sometimes but we never talked about my biological parents, ever. I was just now talking about it. "I didn't know them so it doesn't really hurt. I have a place to stay now and two care takers who are willing to keep me as long as needed. Right?" She smiled and eyed Lucas then nodded, "Of course." After breakfast, I went outside and to the large oak tree that was sat out behind the house and perched myself under it and opened one of the many story books I had collected in my room. This one was Alice in Wonderland, a classic I had read already six times this summer. I had read it so many times but it was one that I had a different view on colors and characters every time I revisited it. I was just ready to see it. I was ready to renew my visions and seeing the way they look. I opened the book and off I was. A girl stuck in a repeated world of bore and pain. Then a rabbit, a hole, a small door and a talking handle. A cake to make you grow another to make you shrink. A key, a cat that isn't completely "there", and a caterpillar that is so illiterate it's irritating. The Mad Hatter, the loud mouth brown bunny, the drunken mouse. The queen, the cards, the twins. It was all so familiar and yet I was rediscovering like I had no clue I knew them. I was wrapped up in Alice and the Unbirthday Song when a pop shocked me harshly out of my vision. I stood up and after marking my place, I closed my book and walked into the house through the back. The back led into the laundry room and that lead to the hall that led to the kitchen that wrapped around to the living room. In the living room, Lupin was shaking hands with Lucas and hugging Maudie. He had a thick envelope in his hand and was wearing seemingly the same things he always wore. "Hello professor," I said with a smile. He turned around and smiled, "Hello Kimber." "What brings you all the way out here on a Wednesday?" "Actually, she does." He pointed out near the open door where Lyra swooped in and dropped a letter on the table next to me. I recognized the green ink almost instantly and I picked it up, turning it over to see the red Hogwarts wax seal. "I knew letters would be being received today, I was needing to go to Diagon Alley for some things, I figured I would ask if you would tag along. Maybe we could have lunch out." I smiled and nodded, suddenly feeling very excited. "Oh yes," I said happily, "Let me go get my bag." "Alright." I ran upstairs and after getting my bag, Lupin and I walked to town together. "Sir, don't think me bold," I said as we walked, "But I think you take a stronger liking to me than to other students." I peered up at him and noticed he looked amused. "Really? And what makes you say that?" "Well," I kicked a rock and thought, "You don't see other students like you see me. Meaning, Harry has awful guardians, just horrid. Miss Maudie would have been more than eager to take me to get my things whilst Harry is most likely can't get his things till last minute and he will probably be alone when his out to get it. Why would you come for me and not for him?" He chuckled and he beamed at me, "Quite an observant young witch aren't we? Well, just so you know, Harry is in safe hands. He was collected by the Weasley's the other night and is staying with them the rest of the summer. He will get his things. And if he wouldn't have, I or Hagrid or another adult would have gotten him his things. But if you want the truth, yes I do take a liking to you, quite a bit more than others actually." "Why?" "Well, I connect with you more. You remind me a bit of my wife and I am rather fond of you. You are sharp witted, very bright, wise, quick to the point, and you are funny. You speak your mind no matter what or who it is and you aren't in the least bit pushy with anything. You are also very pretty mind you being pretty is always a good back up quality." I smiled and laughed a little, "Is your wife all those things?" "Ah, yes." "And pretty?" He chuckled and nodded, "Yes, very pretty. She is an Auror." "What's that?" "Sort of like a wizard bounty hunter." "Oh ok." "Yes. Now don't go telling anyone this. I wouldn't want to have a riot of favoritism on our hands, would we?" "No sir." As we walked, I replayed the conversation in my head. I wonder what the Miss Lupin was like.