Prologue: Alexa

I read the Harry Potter series the first time when I was in the second or third grade. I didn't care much. Everyone in the universe was reading the books! It didn't matter. I didn't even notice that my Mother had sort of forced me to read them. She loves those books.

I'd been visiting Bryan's side of the family at Christmas practically since I was born. We went to Grandma Helene's house every year. That's right; I saw Raymond and Lucy for years! How do you stand that? They're terrible! Aunt Jo wasn't any better. Maybe Uncle Carl was nice, but he was Bryan's brother after all. How did Uncle Carl marry Aunt Jo and have Ray and Lucy? He's so nice!

Oh, sorry, Bryan is my dad. I've called him Bryan forever. It feels weird calling him Dad.

I would always ask why we didn't go see Mom's side of the family. I didn't think it was weird that I'd never seen them before. There's always a first.

Mom and Bryan were fighting again that night. It was Thanksgiving Eve, and this was one thing that I could never give thanks for. Who wants parents that fight all the time? Not it.

Grandma Helene and Grandpa Alexander were coming for dinner tomorrow. I was dreading it, and so were Zoe (Teen) and Ben. They are really old, and old people complain a lot. That can get annoying after a while.

And suddenly Mom bursts: "This year we're going to see my family for Christmas!" And that is that. So we pack up our bags and arrange to meet up on Christmas Eve with the rest of Mom's family.

(*..*..*)

Chapter one: Alexa

We are sitting in the Mom Vehicle, waiting to get to the house of some relative. Teen's in the front seat and Ben is in the back. Bryan is sitting next to me. Ben is playing on his DSI and Teen is on her iTouch, earphones in her ears. I think she is texting her boyfriend, Dylan. He's from her boarding school.

We're almost to the city. New York City, that is. I've never been to New York. The buildings are so tall. One of my Uncles lives here. Mom says that he has a son my age. I hope that he's nice.

When we get to the town house, there is NO PARKING! Really? Really? None at all. Where do you get a square inch of space in New York? Bryan gets into the front seat and goes to find parking. We get out right in front of the house.

Before we ring the doorbell, Mom confiscates Teen's phone. Teen is always on her phone. We knock politely on the front door. Mom smiles too big. We wait a little bit.

A James Bond-like man answers. He is soooo hot! Could this be my uncle? I hope so. Teen is drooling. Mom whispers his name through her teeth-"Uncle James". Remind me to ask his last name.

"Hey Bud, how've you been? I haven't seen you since you were two! Have you gotten shorter?" he chats, mussing up my hair. I smile at him politely. I don't remember him at all.

"Lil! Hi Lil, c'mon in! You'll freeze. Alby and his kids have been here for ten minutes! Come and say hi to Dad," he continues to Mom. I give him a quizzical look. Nobody calls my Mom Lil. Maybe they call her Mrs. Santini (Bryan's last name) or at most Lilly, but never Lil. We all step inside. It's nice and cozy. I smile gratefully.

"Hey Lilly!" an old man yells from the kitchen. He comes up to her and embraces her lovingly. He has wavy salt and pepper hair that has a little more black than white. His eyes are very green and the nice color is behind a thick layer of glass from his big, round, glasses. The man is very thin and youthful looking. I am about to go away when I notice a small lightning-shaped line on his forehead, hidden behind his bangs. He catches me staring and I look away shyly.

He lets Mom go and I notice a strong glimmer in her eye that most definitely wasn't there before. She turns to me, grinning, but not quite smiling.

"Alexa dear, this is your, um, Grandfather," She says the last word uncertainly. I decide to investigate.

"Well what shall I call you, Grandfather?" I ask sweetly.

Before Mom can stop him, Grandfather blurts out: "Harpo! Grandpa Harpo!" I notice the English accent. Mom frowns a little bit, and glares at him. He shrugs, still jolly.

"Anyway, make yourselves comfy, Lilly. Meredith made her signature fudge! You know, Alby's wife. And hey, um, Gina can't wait to see you!" Grandpa Harpo leads us into the family room. There are a couple of kids over by the couch and they look my age. Mom leads me over to them while I see Teen go and hug a boy that looks like Uncle James a little.

"Hi!" Mom squeals at the boy on the couch. He jumps, surprised. I groan. This cannot in any way be even remotely good. "How've you been, bud? Are you still playing soccer?"

"Um, I quit when I was seven," he says, clearly wondering who in the world my Mom is. I mean if I haven't seen Uncle James since I was three, he wouldn't have seen Mom in…6 or 7 years?

"Oh, really? You were so good, it's a shame, Jake." Then she remembers that I'm here too. Oh. Right.

"Oh, this is my daughter, Alexa. Remember her? You used to make mud pies together in the back yard!" My mood drops fourteen stories. Oh no… the baby tales! When she mentions my name his face lights up. He remembers me! He turns to my Mother.

"Of course, Aunt Lilly. I think that Natalia wants to talk to you."

"Oh! Yes, right, well, I'll leave you with your friends," she says to me. I sigh and wave her away. She frowns at me and mouths 'be nice!'

"Hi, um, I'm Lexi and, well, yeah," I mumbled. Mom had used my full name again! Ugh, I hate it when she does that! It sounds too proper. I know Mom grew up in England and all, but still.

"Yeah. This is Erica. Erica is our age. She's Uncle Alby's daughter."

I smile at the girl. Her hair is super blonde, almost Ben's color but lighter. Her eyes are mostly blue. She seems welcoming. She isn't wearing warm clothes, just a hot-pink tank top and super-short jean shorts. She must come from someplace warm.

"Her parents are in on it, too, I suppose?" she says to Jake, rolling her eyes to the sky.

"Guess so, they came here to talk about it, didn't they?" he replies.

"Wait, what am I missing, guys?" I ask impatiently. Jake turns to me apologetically, predicting Erica's reaction on the horizon.

"Alexa—."

"Lexi," I respond on auto pilot. She glares at me.

"Lexi. Does your sister go to a snotty boarding school?" Erica addresses me like a preschooler.

"Yes, in fact, she does. St. Veronica's. Why do you ask, Erica?" I ask, eyes narrowed. I am desperately trying to stay nice.

"And are you supposed to go there next year?" she goes on.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I am. What's the problem with that?" I ask, getting more annoyed by the second. Who does this chick think she is?

"Well think about it. Are any of our families really religious in any way? I mean, really think about it. I haven't been to church in years. Jake only goes on Easter, I already asked him. I'm guessing you're the same way. So, knowing this, why in the world would our folks want us to go to a stupid Saint's school? And why this particular boarding school? I haven't seen any of you in years, so what are the chances of all of our siblings going to the same one? Also, have you ever been to this school Lexi? Well, have you? No. The school has no parent's day. Jake doesn't see any forms from the school come home with James or Jeremy. They come home by train. You see, Lexi? How do we know this school even exists?"

I guess she has a point. Sure, I hate her, but she's got a point. I've never met anyone around here that goes to St. Veronica's. Actually, I don't even know where the school is. Shouldn't I trust my parents? Mom never talks about Teen's grades. I always thought she was just and A+ student. Then again, I remember when we were both together at elementary, four or five years ago. Teen was always getting into all different kinds of trouble, and she knew Principal Jockalin's office like the back of her hand. Teen's grades sucked.

As I come back from my dazey flashback, I see Erica glaring at me, waiting. Jake is simply chilling on the couch, and it occurs to me that it is his home. He can do what he wants here. Why does he even like Erica?

Anyway.

"I get what you're saying, Erica. But why aren't we just asking our parents?" I say, staring at Jake for his reaction. He sits up, that's all.

"Uh, do you think they'd tell us the truth? Cuz if you do, you're dumber than you look." I scowl at her. I'm not dumb!

"My parents always tell me the truth, and if you think I'm dumb then—."

Suddenly, a loud buzzing noise fills the air. All of our hands fly to our ears in alarm. It's so high pitched that the schnauzer dog that was previously rubbing up against Jake's leg is writhing on the carpet. We're just freaking out. None of the kids know what to do, but the adults are all doing simultaneous face-palms, like this is ordinary and expected.

Which, of course, it isn't at all. By us at least.

Uncle James calls everything to a stop. All I can hear is the buzzing. It fills my ears and makes me go dizzy.

"Hey! All of the kids ten and under, down to the basement!" he yells at the top of his lungs. Is this a bombing? I'm so confused. "One more, um, kid ten or older. Zoe? Go with them. Harry, you go too." I look over to see Grampa Harpo get off the sofa. He stumbles over to James, and leans over as if to tell him a secret.

I can hear him in his grisly voice say it though. "7?"

James curtly nods. Every adult in the room gasps. Most of the kids just look at each other like we know what they mean. Hint: WE DON'T!

Mom, being the person she is, sighs and rolls her eyes. "The one time we come! Alright, Bryan, Natalia, Margaret, Zoe, and all of the under-tens, go down the basement. It's down that hall, third door on the left." Of course, no explanation from her either. I'm starting to think that Erica's right.

A Hispanic woman leads the way down the long stairs, followed by Bryan and everyone else. We come out on a cold concrete floor, and she leads us around the corner to a guest bedroom. All of the kids plop in and Teen too. The adults go into the office on the far end of the room. The door clicks as it locks. I hear the other door lock too, but I can't figure out how. No one is over there.

"Well," sighs Teen. I count heads. It's me, Erica, Jake, Teen, and three boy toddlers. "What exactly are we supposed to do now?" The boys are braiding each other's hair. It's just us three and Teen.

Erica tries to send Teen's attitude right back at her. "Um, how am I supposed to know? I'm not a wiz kid!"

But Teen is the attitude queen. "Don't worry, darling. I would never mistake you for smart!"

"Guys, sto-." Jake starts.

BOOOOOOOOOM!

Smoke floats out of the air vent, immediately rising to the ceiling. I pause for a second.

Out of nowhere I yell, "I WAS RIGHT!"

Teen looks at me like I'm crazy. "About what?"

"The bombs." Teen rubs her brow and stops her interrogation there. She looks up at the smoke. I think it's turning green.

"Okay. Let's start by introducing ourselves. Say your name and you age. I'll start. I'm Zoe—."

"TEEN!" I butt in. Teen is my nickname for Zoe, if you haven't noticed. She glares at me. I smile.

"Anyways, I'm Zoe—."

"TEEN!" I yell again.

"I'm—."

"TEEN!" Zoe finally gives up.

"I'm Teen and I'm a teen. Happy, Nirk?" Nirk is her annoying nickname for me. One time, when we were little, she called me nice, but hard work. Thus was born, Nirk.

It's Jake's turn. "I'm Jake, and I'm ten."

"I'm Erica, and I'm ten."

"I'm Lexi, and I'm ten." I'm sort of weirded out that they're both the same age as me. Strange, huh? I'm sure they are confused too, but I don't feel like asking. Zoe is looking oddly normal.

I hear another explosion from upstairs. Rubble spurs through the vent, and one of the toddlers picks up a big chunk of plaster.

"No, Jonah. Not a toy," says Jake. Jonah looks at him, confused. He drops the plaster.

One more explosion and the lights go out. The little one starts to cry, and the rubble stops showering from the sky. I assume that someone up there heard it.

I hear Jake reach over and grab the kid. "Shhhhh, shh, don't worry Jordan, it's okay." Jordan stops crying (thank goodness) and I see the Hispanic woman come out of the office with a flashlight (thank god!).

"Here, Natalia, take him he's—."

"I know. You and the others huddle up in the corner, I'll take them." Natalia takes the three toddlers and all of us get in the corner, terrified as can be. She walks back into the office, and without the light, everything is still. I am pressed up against Jake and Teen. I hear Erica sobbing. That cry-baby drama-queen.

For a moment things are okay.

And then that moment passes. What can we say; time goes on without you, folks.

I'm pretty sure that I hear it first, but I can't be sure. It's some kind of sniffling noise coming from the air vent. I frown and scoot back a little bit. Everyone else hears it at my movement. Jake stands up and stumbles over to the vent, quietly.

Then, with a large BANG! the vent goes flying off, hitting Jake square in the forehead. He's wobbly for a few seconds, before turning and collapsing on the bed.

Out of the AC vent crawls a large full-grown wolf. Its fur is dark black, and its snout is damp. Its beady red eyes are squinting.

It growls at us first. Then, turning its nose to the sky, it lets out a long, low, howl. My eyes are wide with fear, and I think that Erica might be frozen. Her mouth is wide open, and her eyes are bigger than baseballs. If I weren't terrified, I would tell her that she's catching flies, but I am terrified, so I stay still.

The wolf turns to glare at us again, and stalks forward. I reach for Teen next to me, longing for her heat. Then I realize: the heat is gone. I immediately swivel to my right. Nothing, just a bit of warm carpet.

So yeah, you can imagine my surprise.

Erica is still frozen. I reach over, grab her chin, and clamp her jaw shut tight.

The wolf is getting closer. I want to yell for Bryan, but he's locked in the office with the rest of the adults. Plus, things are too late. The wolf is so close that I can feel its hot breath on my face. If I yelled now than the wolf would surely pounce.

I close my eyes and turn away my face a little bit. Its breath really does smell.

I wonder where Teen is. She just kinda disappeared. Gone. The wolf puts all of its weight on its back legs, ready to jump at us. I put my face in a flinch, scared to death.

Before the pain could come though, I see Teen jump out of the shadows, a long stick in her hand. With a quick flip of the wrist, Teen yells one word:

"Deletrius!" As quickly as the wolf had appeared, it's gone. There is a bright flash and then it's gone.

Teen walks over to the bed and practically collapses.

People dropping left and right, huh?

I try to calmly walk over to Jake, who is on the bed. He is slowly waking up, his eyelids fluttering faintly. He turns to lay on his back, and I see he has a big, fat gash on his forehead. He groans.

"Shhhhh… Jake, rest. Go to sleep. I'm going to stitch this up."

I hear the adults come out of the office, and they see Jake. I see Natalia gasp loudly and run to his side.

"Oh, son of a squib! This is bad, this is so bad!" she mutters to herself. I see Bryan assessing the damage on Teen. I think she fainted out of shock more than anything else. She can be such a drama queen.

"Uh, Harry, could you go get the first aid kit in the office?" asked Natalia, caressing Jake's paling face. Grampa hesitates a minute, and then goes back in.

Within seconds he's back out with a huge white medical case. Natalia takes it and pulls out a needle and a big spring-loaded needle. Oh boy, numbing. Was it that bad? I hoped not.

"I did go to medical school for two weeks, right? Yeah, yeah…" Natalia was talking to herself. Not a good sign. She pulled on some surgical gloves.

Behind me, I hear Erica get up off the floor, finally recovered from her shock. I see Natalia plunge in the needle, emptying the contents into Jake's head.

Erica steps through a gap in the little group. "Hey, what's going—." What can I say? She sees the Grand Canyon in Jake's head.

Grossed out, she drops to her knees and pukes up her lunch. To me, it looks like tuna. She twitches and drops to the floor. A blonde woman gets down to examine her. She's still convulsing.

Am I the only one that can stay on my feet?

It appears so.

Anyway, I watch Natalia stitch up Jake's head. It is reeeeeeeeeeeealy gross, but I can't seem to look away. When she's done, she uses part of her shirt to make a bandage.

Harry finds some new, clean sheets and redoes the bed for us. The adults sit on the floor and start talking in hushed whispers.

Erica is up again, and she wipes her mouth. We curl up on the bed, struggling for the warmth of each other's bodies.

We fall asleep into a deep sleep.

Little did I know that I would never sleep that well again.