Chapter One

Jadyn

As I stood outside, waiting for Jackie to answer the door, clutching the brown, weathered book, I had know clue how many changes and events it would cause.

No clue whatsoever.

Jackie opened the door, she looked extremely excited, and with good reason.

"Do you have it?" her hazel eyes gleamed with anticipation.

I smiled and held up the old, leather bound book, which was engraved with gilded letters, Hogwarts, A History.

Jackie squealed with excitement.

"I can't believe it, where did you find it?"

"Amazingly," I said, walking through the door, "In a used bookstore... Is Maggie here?"

Jackie lead me through her house, and to her room, where Maggie was sitting in a chair. I smiled, showing Maggie the book cover, and she smiled as well.

"Have you read it yet?"

"Of course not," I answered, "Jackie would kill me if I did without her... besides... I only found it today. I called you as soon as I got home... I couldn't believe it, but I knew I had to buy it. It was in the antique section of the used bookstore... I don't even know why I was looking there... I never do."

I shrugged, setting the book down on Jackie's bed.

"Who opens it?" Maggie asked, moving to see the book better. Jackie was peering over my shoulder at the intriguing tome.

"I think Jade should...she's the one that found the book..."

"Are you sure?" I asked, looking at them, one of them on each side. They nodded. "Well if you are..." Saying this more to myself than my friends.

Slowly, almost hesitantly, I reached my hand forward... A sense of foreboding? But with the eagerness of my friends, and my own eagerness, I opened the book... and everything around me disappeared.

A split second later, I was standing at the edge of a forest, faced with multicolored splashes of light exploding—and bodies. Scattered across what appeared to be a battlefield. All around were men and women, and even kids around my age, about 17 or 18, with what appeared to be wands in their hands, shouting incantations in Latin. I knew, given the title of the book, and the clothing of the people around me, what this was... but it was too unbelievable. Yet, before I could assess the situation further, or think anything of the fact that my friends were not with me, a man in black and green robes with black hair came charging at me a formed curse about to put me in a not-so-good situation, when a black-clad figure with silvery-blond hair ran between my attacker and I and shouted "Protego!" Then disarmed him, and immobilized him. I was so shocked, and very much hoping that this was some sort of twisted nightmare, that without thinking, I turned trying to go unnoticed and slink off into the forest. However, as soon as I tried to escape this frenzy before me into much wanted darkness, someone grabbed my wrist, pulling me up close to him.

"Where would you be going?" It was the person that had protected me from an impending hexing.

My breath caught in my throat as soon as I saw him. I knew exactly who he was.

"Draco Malfoy." The name escaped my lips before I could stop it. His grey eyes flashed with suspicion, narrowing. He gripped my wrist tighter.

"Just who might you be?"

I got a hold of myself, forgetting most of my fear, and put on a facade of calm and coldness.

"So I was right," I snapped back, "It's the sniveling ferret himself."

My cold laughter rang in my ears. The Slytherin's suspicion soon changed to anger.

"And what are you then? You can't be a Muggle... You wouldn't be here if you were... Where's your wand?" He demanded, and when I didn't answer, he shook me roughly, "Who are you!"

"I didn't answer the first time," I retorted, "What makes you think I'll answer the second?"

He let go of my wrist, throwing me to the ground. I simply laughed, "What? Are you going to hex me because I don't tell you my name?"

I laughed coldly once again.

And as soon as the words came out of my mouth, he threw a hex at me. It stung like hell.. But I didn't let him see that it hurt me. His steely eyes scanned me, then he looked to the forest that lay beyond the battlefield. Luckily, we were out of the battle, protected by a slight outcropping of trees. No one had seemed to notice us, or think that we were of any great consequence. Otherwise, I think I would have had more to deal with than a stinging hex.

I stared at the sky, across which clouds were crawling. Then I felt a raindrop.

"Oh lovely," I said without thinking, "I'm stuck here with Ferret Boy and it's starting to rain... not to mention... the ongoing battle behind us!"

Malfoy sneered at me.

I mockingly sneered back.

He muttered something under his breath.

I laughed.

"Oh hell... where could Jackie and Maggie be?"

I looked around, slowly standing, trying to avert my eyes from the ongoing battle behind me.

"Tell me one thing..." I turned to look at the grimacing Slytherin, "What's a Muggle like you doing here? And a bloody American no less..."

"Do I look look like I know!" I yelled at him, "All I did was open a book, and now I'm here. Not with my friends... and I have to deal with you... as well as try not to pummel you... but the fact that you have a wand stops me from doing so. I'll just say I'm not to keen on being cursed today..."

Malfoy simply raised an eyebrow and sneered.

My last words had just reminded me that the Slytherin sneering at me had in fact stopped me from being cursed...And now that I thought about it, it seemed strange of Malfoy to not have cursed me, already, or to have saved me from being cursed in the first place. I must have had an odd expression on my face, because the pureblood's eyes glinted with annoyance and sardonic amusement. Though, before I could comment upon this, I heard the snap of a twig somewhere close. Malfoy became extremely wary.

Then, "Confundo!"

Malfoy disappeared.

"Oh sh..."

And my memory goes blank.