Our story begins in a small town called Acton. There resides two young girls, named Elizabeth Mubarek and Katie Peters. It was midwinter, January to be exact, and the two girls were bored. Now, these weren't two ordinary girls. They were super high tech uber-muggles, whose knowledge of Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings was more detailed and obsessive that even the late J.R.R Tolkein and J.K. Rowling would be impressed. But, I digress.
Now, Katie's cat, Beast, who we shall herein call Felonrod, had recently gone missing, and the two super-girls wondered why.
"Maybe he's wrestling badgers" thought Katie
"Maybe he's admitting entrance into the whomping willow to students!" thought Elizabeth. Elizabeth was soon to find out how right she was.
Just then, Katie was awoken from her computer-induced coma to hear a scratch on the door. She walked cautiously over to the door and looked outside. There stood Felonrod, with all his purple mountain majesty, holding a dead badger and two envelopes. Two harangued looking owls were staring malevolently down at Felonrod from their perches in the tree. Obviously they didn't approve of a cat carrying messages, when that niche clearly belonged to owls. Katie opened the door, happy to see Felonrod again, and let him inside. He tried to make a noise, but he apparently held too much in his mouth so it sounded more like "Hnngh". Katie relieved him of the two letters, but let Felonrod take care of the dead badger himself.
Preeoooow, Katie, how have you been
"I've been good, Felonro…wait…did you just talk?" Katie was dumbfounded, and justly so, this was a thing unheard of!
Course I can, all cats do, but its just the owners are too thick-headed to hear us.
"Well, that's weird, but what are these letters about?"
Why don't you read them and find out yourself said Felonrod exasperately.
So Katie hesitantly opened up one of the letters and read:
Dear Cute Muggle:
You have been cordially invited to attend a Whomping Willow "Rave", as it has so inappropriately been called. This party is to celebrate the 111th birthday of Hogwarts. Actually, its been around longer then that, but all of the students agreed that number was much more attractive then 125797 years. And anyway, everyone's been itching to party. Keep in mind that you are only being allowed to come because your incredibly intelligent cat, Felonrod, insists that there is nobody who deserves to come to this party then you and that friend of yours, Elizabeth Mubarek. You need not eat or drink before you come, there will be pumpkin juice, chocolate frogs and treacle tart. The Weird Sisters have been booked as well. We expect your arrival at 8:00 sharp on February 14th. Make sure to have your tickets to present to the bouncer. He's a very antagonistic sort; you don't want to get on his bad side. Until the 14th, then.
Sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Well, Katie and Elizabeth being full of knowledge and obsession of the world of Harry Potter, as was said, were thrilled at the idea of being invited to the Womping Willow for a Hogwarts party! The time between mid-January and February 14th elapsed extremely slowly for the two girls. But, it came, eventually. The morning of the big day, the girls were chattering about how wonderful it would be, when suddenly, Katie thought of something that she could not believe that she had not thought of before.
"What should we wear?" Katie thought out loud.
McGonagall told me to let you know to come in Muggle clothing. That's what all the students wear nowadays, she says. Supposedly, the newest fashion is Muggle-wear… go figure. voiced Felonrod in a thoughtful voice.
Since the girls were at Katie's house (as they often were on Friday nights), they bounded up the flight of stairs to Katie's room to look for something to wear. Katie decided to go more dressed up, and so she chose a pale green halter dress, and Elizabeth, who was a bit more casual, chose a pair of khaki pants and a pink-red polo for her shirt (these were the outfits that they had worn for Weapotger Night at school, as well). Elizabeth helped Katie straighten her lovely, strawberry blond locks, and Katie curled Elizabeth's hair and called her "a cute little princess."
"Well, I suppose we're ready to go," stated Elizabeth.
"Yes," said Katie, looking at a tray of brownies on her counter. "It's a shame that food will be provided, because I made these brownies just for you—sprinkles and all."
Suddenly, it dawned on Elizabeth. "How are we supposed to get to Hogwarts?" she asked Felonrod. "The Hogwarts Express is not running at this time of the year... did McGonagall mention this to you, Felonrod?"
Cats have rather sly smiles when they are normal smiles, but Felonrod smiled an especially devious smile now. Your dates shall be here at 7:00. That is, they will arrive in approximately ten minutes.
Elizabeth and Katie jumped in surprise. "Ten minutes?" shouted Katie. "Who are our dates, Felonrod? I know you know!"
Ah, that I do, dearest Katie Peters, Felonrod let on. And I am sorry to announce that I am not about to divulge that information to you. You shall have to just find that information out for yourself in… five minutes and counting.
The girls fussed a bit more over their appearance, Elizabeth added a bit of eyeliner while Katie applied some mascara and pale pink lipstick. Felonrod slinked his way up the stairs and appeared in the doorway of the bathroom.
Girls, your dates have arrived. I suggest you grab your invitation and head for the door. You don't want to keep these two young men waiting.
"Oh, my!" exclaimed Elizabeth. "They're here already!"
"I do hope they chose good dates for us. I don't know why we could have just met everyone there. But this is very exciting!"
Katie rushed down the stairs, her dress trailing behind her, and Elizabeth followed close.
"Are you ready?" Katie asked, as they reached the door.
"Just do it," replied Elizabeth.
Katie took a deep breath and opened the front door. The girls stepped out onto the porch. There was a blue Ford Anglia sitting in Katie's driveway. As Katie and Elizabeth walked down the sidewalk, two handsome boys stepped out of the car—the last two boys that Katie and Elizabeth would ever have expected to see.
"Oh my god, Elizabeth, is that…is it…" Katie stammered. Both girls looked at each other and said simultaneously "Holy cricket!"
None other then Harry Potter, the boy who lived, and Ronald Weasley, the boy who lived to be the boy who lived's sidekick, had stepped out the infamous Ford Anglia, and were walking casually up the walk to Katie's house. Harry was dressed simply in a white collared shirt, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and slightly faded jeans. Ron was going for the more casual style, as was Elizabeth. Ron was wearing a dark green T-shirt with the words "Dumbledore's Army" written in faded gold lettering on the front, and lighter colored jeans. Both looked smashing.
"But whose date is whose?" asked Elizabeth to Katie in an undertone.
"I suppose they know, I mean, we certainly don't" replied Katie. However, from their long, never-ending conversations about them, each girl knew who they wanted for their date that night.
Yes, actually they do know. I've been watching you for some time now, and I've think I've picked the correct boy for each of you. said Felonrod, who was sitting up in a tree nearby, watching them. Sure enough, as the boys approached, Harry proceeded straight up to Katie and Ron to Elizabeth. Katie and Elizabeth shared a relieved and joyful glance at each other before turning their attention back to the boys they always hoped to meet.
From behind their backs, the boys presented Katie and Elizabeth with flowers. A single red rose for Elizabeth and a white rose for Katie. They accepted the roses gracefully.
"Are you guys ready for a rousing party? Should be a blast, as long as Seamus comes through with the Firewhisky." said Ron, with a roguish look in his eye.
"Hmm…I wonder what Hermione would say if she heard you talk like that, Ronald." said Harry lightly, but with a matching look in his eye.
"Who cares about her?" said Ron, "she won't be here tonight, she claims she's too busy studying, but I think she's just depressed she doesn't have a date." Elizabeth and Katie laughed, knowing full well the long-winded lecture Hermione would give to Ron about the dangers of alcohol.
"Getting dates wasn't too hard for us though. Of course, we did have to fight through a massive sea of boys to get you too lovely ladies." said Harry, extending his arm to Katie as Ron did the same for Elizabeth. Katie and Elizabeth blushed slightly, before taking their arms and walking back to the car.
As Ron opened the passenger door to Elizabeth, and Harry opened the back door for Katie, the girls gave each other a slightly apprehensive look. Ron noticed.
"What's the matter girls? Never been in a car before?" he said jokingly.
"Oh, sure, we've been in a car before-" said Katie
"-but not a flying car" finished Elizabeth. Harry and Ron laughed at this and beamed at the girls.
"Told you they'd recognize it" exclaimed Harry. "Ron didn't think it possible that two girls could know so much about our lives. But I've learned to accept that anything is possible…" said Harry wryly to Elizabeth and Katie.
"Well, of course we recognized it, Ron" said Elizabeth, "it got you into so much trouble with your mother in second year, what with the Burrow and the Howler."
"Hmm, did come in handy with Aragog, though" said Katie thoughtfully. And with that, the girls scooted into the car, leaving the dumbstruck boys outside. Smiling and shaking their heads, they entered the car, and Ron put the car in drive.
Elizabeth and Katie had their noses pressed against the cold windows as they looked down at their familiar town. It was like a dream come true for the both of them. Ron was steering easily with one hand, and, with the other, he reached over and entwined his fingers with Elizabeth's. In the back seat, Harry had proceeded to put his arm around Katie's shoulders as he saw that she was shivering.
"Let's turn on some music, shall we?" suggested Ron. His hand left Elizabeth's for a brief moment so that he could find the appropriate station. Instantly, music filled the car's interior.
"These days are dark, but we won't fall
We'll stick together through it all
These days are dark, but we won't faaaa-aaaaa-aaaalll…"
"Oh, I love this song, Ron!" called Katie from the back.
"Yes, excellent choice, mate," Harry chimed in.
In a few moments, Elizabeth spotted lights up ahead. She smiled widely. "Ron, is that?"
Ron chuckled. "Why, yes it is." He turned and smiled at Harry. "Girls," he continued. "Welcome, welcome, to Hogwarts!"
Apparently, Ronald had had a bit more practice at landing a flying car since his last incident, because, as they neared the brilliant lights of the castle, the car drifted softly towards the ground and landed without a sound.
"Oh, Ron! That was marvelous!" Elizabeth said in a complementary tone.
Ron beamed and turned off the engine. Immediately, Harry hopped out of his side of the car and ran around to the other to open Katie's door. "M'lady," he said, and bowed, extending a hand. Katie took it daintily and lifted her dress so as not to trip. Ron walked casually over and did the same for Elizabeth.
Katie and Elizabeth, meanwhile, were taking in everything around them. Suddenly, Katie spotted a large tree in the distance with small jars hanging from nearly every branch. In these jars were small, glowing pixies. It gave the whole night a romantic setting. "It's the Whomping Willow?" Katie asked Harry quietly, and he nodded and smiled. Again, he wrapped his arm around Katie, while Ron took Elizabeth's hand. They proceeded to the Willow.
As they neared the site where the party would take place, they began to hear the familiar music of the Weird Sisters. ("I prefer the Odd Brothers, myself," joked Ron.)
They finally reached the entrance at the base of the tree. Harry informed the girls that they were to climb through the entrance and that the actual party would take place in the newly remodeled Shrieking Shack. They were beginning to wonder who it would be that would take their tickets, as they had been warned that they would not want to get on his bad side, when a familiar voice was heard coming from towards the ground
Tickets, please, children.
The girls gaped. "Felonrod?" Katie asked, though it was obvious that it was in fact her cat that was taking tickets. "But you were just—how did you—?"
Never you mind. Felonrod cut in. We cats have other ways of getting to Hogwarts than by your flying cars. Now, tickets? Don't tell me you forgot them, now.
Katie and Elizabeth assured them that they had not forgotten their tickets. Katie removed the tickets from her green, silk purse and showed them to Felonrod, though she did not see why he needed their tickets since he had, in fact, delivered them. Ron and Harry also had their tickets, which they showed to Felonrod.
Alright, girls, now have fun. said Felonrod. And boys he said, indicating Harry and Ron, you be sure to keep them safe, and treat the with utmost respect.
The two boys laughed. "You can count on that, Felonrod, mate," said Ron. "Come on, Elizabeth, we don't want to miss the pumpkin pasties!" He grabbed her hand and lead her through the door. Katie took on last look at the night sky and then let Harry take her hand and lead her into the Whomping Willow, as well. What a night this had turned out to be.