Disclaimer: Names and wizarding places are property of JK Rowling, not me.

x-X-x

Chapter One: Preparation

Evelyn Reid's parents were not what one might call close; Her parents were both lawyers and though they worked in the same building for the same people to pay for the same house parties, they detested working together. Luckily for them, they did not have to work together in the upbringing of Evelyn. She was determinedly independent and emphatically indifferent to the multiple nannies who all seemed to forget to come back to work within a week or two of being hired. At the age of seven, Evelyn's last nanny wondered off after a record twenty-three minutes. Soon after having given up on finding a responsible adult to care for Evelyn, her parents forgot about her entirely.

Evelyn's mother, Stephanie Reid, knocked on the door to Evelyn's suite, which had originally been built as an extravagantly large guest 'room', for the first time ever one morning in late July. Evelyn, now a slight and feral seaming eleven-year-old girl with long, shiny black hair and dark green eyes, opened the door to see her mother standing next to a very small, very old man. In a very high-pitched, squeaky voice he introduced himself as Professor Parker, he looked worried and distracted as he suggested they sit down. Stephanie looked vacant as she always did when she was near her daughter. Evelyn led them both to a small rectangular table in an alcove next to the kitchenette.

"Would you like anything to drink, Professor? Mum?" Evelyn asked politely.

"No thank you Evelyn," said Professor Parker, squirming awkwardly and noisily in chair which was metal and had blue vinyl cushioning.

Evelyn's mother acted as if she had not heard Evelyn as Evelyn poured a large cup of water into a small stainless-steel kettle and set the kettle on the stovetop.

"So Evelyn," Parker said uncomfortably as Evelyn sat down across from him and her mother, "There the matter I came here to talk about, and another matter which, now that I am here, I feel I also need to address. " He paused as if waiting for her to egg him on or ask a question. When she did neither he continued, "Evelyn I come from a special school, and I would like to offer you a position at this school." He again waited for a comment that never came. She simply waited for him to elaborate. "The school I teach at is called Hogwarts. It is a school where young witches and wizards learn to hone their abilities, Evelyn, You are a witch."

With this, Evelyn's kettle began whistling insistently. She stood up slowly and walked over to the stove, turning off the electric burner and pouring the boiling water into a large, cylindrical mug. She had to climb onto the counter to reach the tea, and doing so she selected a box of green tea and slowly unwrapped the teabag. As she added copious amounts of sugar to her tea, she asked, "Would you please repeat that last bit?" Though she was sure she had heard him correctly.

He did so, and then, to prove it, turned her kettle into a turnip and back again with his wand. Her explained that this was transfiguration, one of the many kinds of magic she would learn at Hogwarts. He explained that though she was the daughter of two muggles she would one day be able to do magic like this, and then explained that muggles were 'non-magic folk.' Back on the topic of magic he said, "Transfiguration is the subject I teach," He explained, "In your first year at Hogwarts, you will also take a few other subjects, and you may continue these subjects and more through your seven years at Hogwarts. A full description of these subjects can be found in this," he said, handing her a thick envelope addressed to her. "But before I explain all that, I must draw you attention to another point. Before students come to Hogwarts they are not considered responsible for anything they may have unwittingly done with their magical skills. Very few witches and wizards under the age of eleven have any control over their magical abilities. You may recall times you were mysteriously saved from unpleasant situations, or when strange things happened when you were angry or upset. At young ages, magic usually comes out in brief bursts, but you magic seems to be a little more long-winded. Tell me, how long has your mother been like this?"

Evelyn looked genuinely puzzled before asking, "Like what?"

"How long has your mother been unaware of your existence?"

"She's plenty aware," Evelyn stated, still confused. This already odd conversation had taken a turn for the stranger. "Mum, go get my the sugar bowl." Her mother did so and sat back down complacently.

"I see," Parker said, looking even more distressed than he had before. "Evelyn."He started, and then stopped, thinking. Evelyn wished he would stop saying her name every other second. "Evelyn, your mother has had a memory charm of sorts placed on her, placed on her no doubt by you." Evelyn was about to interrupt when he continued, "I know you didn't mean to, but I do need to know when the last time your mother talked to you was. Not in direct response to a question or order I mean."

Evelyn's mind was reeling. It had never been an accident, and she knew it. She had kept journals since she had learned to write and she had vivid memories of her younger days. She knew when it started. But could she tell this professor person? Evelyn was not usually a cooperative child, but she had always been a strong believer in the truth, so after a few seconds of thought, she gave him a portion of truth. "Almost as long as I can remember," she said, squinting as if looking into her far past, "No, wait, I remember when." She waited for a few seconds, contorting her face into an expression of contemplation. "Seven, I think." She knew. The story was better acted out this way, she seemed more innocent; a victim of her own power. She considered telling him about all the nannies, but banished the idea in an instant. No need to be too truthful.

Professor Parker looked slightly disturbed. "I would usually report such an incident to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, and have the healers look into the state of your mother, but in this case I do not think there is anything to be done. Powerful memory charms, or those reinforced over years, cannot be broken without breaking the enchanted as well." This hung in the air ominously. "Do I assume correctly when I say your father is similarly affected?"

Evelyn nodded mutely.

"Well, while there is considerable damage to your relationship to your parents, which I fear will be one-way, forever more, I do not think you have caused any damage to the rest of their psyche. " He continued to frown and Evelyn knew that he wanted to be able to do something.

After a few seconds a voice broke the silence, "Almost noon, time to be off," it said shrilly. It seemed to be coming from Parker's coat pocket. He pulled a small silver pocket watch out of his pocket and seemed surprised by the time.

"Well I am quite sorry for arriving late and cutting our meeting short, but I do have a staff meeting to attend." He said apologetically. " I promise to answer all of the questions you have when next we meet which should be…." He thought for a moment "Tomorrow. I will meet you in London if that is okay with you, I hate traveling using muggle transport. You will need to bring money-muggle money will do- we can convert it a Gringotts." He wrote down the address of a place called 'The Leaky Cauldron'

"How much money should I bring? And what time are we meeting?" she asked.

"The morning would be better for me, how about nine o'clock?" She nodded. "Between books and supplies you'll need at least fifty galleons to start with if you don't want to buy anything second-hand. I would suggest you bring more if you want to buy more than just what's on your list. If you bring quite a bit we could open you a vault at Gringotts."

"What list, and what are galleons?"

"A galleon is the muggle equivalent of around 5 pounds- the list and other information is in your letter. Make sure one of your parents accompanies you to the Leaky cauldron, but leave them outside. Ask for Hannah, the bartender. I'll ask him to keep an eye on you." and with that, he was gone, leaving Evelyn in shocked silence.

"Out." She commanded her mother, who promptly left. Evelyn sat down to read her letter.

xxx

The Leaky Cauldron was a small-run down pub on an ordinary muggle street in London. Evelyn stepped out of her mother's sleek black car onto the cracked cement of the curb clutching the top of her nondescript black messenger bag that held the equivalent of two thousand galleons. In a few long strides she crossed the sidewalk and opened the door to the pub, waving her mother off impatiently. The Leaky Cauldron had the distinctive look of a place that has been decaying for many years now, but has been refurbished multiple times to slow down the condemnation. It was a brick building inside and out, but the bricks on the inside had been painted a sickly shade of pale yellow, presumably to bring some color into the dreary place. There were people, Evelyn assumed they were witches and wizards, sitting on an assortment of mismatched chairs at an equally mismatched multitude of coffee tables all along both walls. Evelyn navigated her way through the middle of these tables until she reached the bar, were sat a plump blond woman, cleaning under her fingernails with a toothpick.

"Are you Hannah?" Evelyn asked, seating herself on a low backed bar stool.

"Ah, you must be Evelyn, lovely to see you. Henry, I mean Professor Parker, should be here any moment. Care for some pumpkin juice?" Hannah replied in a friendly, conversational manner.

Evelyn had never even heard of pumpkin juice, but took a tall goblet of it anyway. She was pleased to discover that she liked it. As Evelyn was taking another sip of pumpkin juice, Professor Parker apperated quite near her, causing her to spill pumpkin juice all over the counter. She jumped back before any could trickle on to her long black tank top and jean leggings. As the thick liquid began spilling over the edges of the bar on both sides, Hannah took out her wand, vanishing the liquid with a flick of the thin wooden rod.

"Happens all the time," she said, as if afraid Evelyn would feel guilty. "Ah, Henry, good to see you," Hannah commented, turning to the man who had just appeared out of thin air.

A few minutes later Evelyn and Parker were walking through a backdoor into a small courtyard. Evelyn was astonished to see a large brick wall transform into a giant archway in reaction to the short tap with a wand Professor Parker had administered on one of the bricks. The archway lead onto a long cobble-stone alleyway bordered with magnificent shops of all colors, shapes, and sizes.

"First things first," said Parker walking down the road, "We need to get you some wizard money so that you get your supplies. You did bring money, didn't you?"

"Yes- and you said I could open a vault. I brought a lot of money to change."

"How much is a lot?" asked Professor Parker as they pushed through humongous bronze doors and then through slightly smaller silver ones.

"About two thousand galleons worth," Evelyn said, staring up at the high ceiling of the large marble building.

Parker looked surprised but did not comment, instead turning to a goblin behind a nearby desk. In a half hour's time Evelyn and Professor Parker were walking out of the bank. Evelyn's vault was about six feet high, four feet deep, and two feet wide. The ride down to it had been short in a fast but terrifyingly rickety cart. In it she stowed one thousand eight hundred galleons. Evelyn's bag, stuffed to bursting with two hundred galleons, clanked merrily at her side as she skipped down the steps leading out of the bank.

"Right, well then, you've read your letter and list of supplies I presume?" inquired Parker.

"Yes," said Evelyn, more enthusiastic than she had been in a long while. She had read the letter over and over again all night until, at around three in the morning, she had fallen asleep. "I was thinking that we should get my wand first, and then buy a trunk so I'll be able to manage all of my things."

"Right then, off we go."

They soon arrived at a small shop with wands displayed in the window. The sign out front read 'Olivander's' and under that, 'Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C.' in simple gold lettering. With all the bangs and puffs of smoke issuing from every other shop, it was the most non-descript store in Diagon Alley. They entered and were greeted by a young Woman who called herself Riko, not specifying whether this was a first or last name. With a swipe of her wand Riko set a tape measure to take a large number of seemingly random measurements including the space between Evelyn's eyes and the length of both her ears. When it had finished, Riko began pulling boxes of wands of the shelf, encouraging a perplexed Evelyn to wave them each in turn. Evelyn was becoming slightly dizzy from the persistant rotation of wands when finally, something happened. Heat shot up her arm and as she waved the wand, metallic sparks flew out of the end. Riko looked positively delighted. "This wand is quite unique, you should know. One might go so far as to call the core of wand… experimental." She let this sit for a moment before barking, "Hawthorn, eleven and a quarter inches, Jobberknoll feather core… just flexible enough, quite versatile. Nine galleons if you please young miss."

Though a little worried about accepting a wand described as 'experimental' Evelyn paid for her wand and thanked Riko. Evelyn stowed her wand safely in the bag with her galleons and set off to find a place where she could buy a trunk, Parker, looking thoroughly bored, followed.

After the trunk came the robes; she got the required three black ones as well an extra set and a pair of dress robes. She then purchased a black travel cloak with silver fastenings, a plain black pointed hat, and a tough green pair of dragon-hide gloves. After stuffing her purchases into her trunk she walked down the street, Professor Parker still in tow. The place interested her far more than the clothing store had. The walls were lined with high shelves filled with the most disguising looking items. The store keeper, knowing that she must be getting Hogwarts supplies, found a standard pewter cauldron, a set of crystal phials, a pair of brass scales, and an assortment of beginners potions equipment without even asking. In the store next door she purchased a large and shiny brass telescope in a velvet lined wooden case.

At last she walked down the street to Flourish and Blots, a large and grand looking bookstore. Though Evelyn had encountered many bookstores in the muggle world, but she was particularly looking forward to this part of purchasing school supplies. She had no idea what kind of world she was about to dive into, and that bothered her. Determined to immerse herself into the wizarding world as soon as possible, she planned to learn everything she could in the short month before school began. She wanted to thoroughly leave behind the world she had grown up in and learned to loathe so vehemently.

First found the required books. Evelyn had almost forgotten about parker when he made some comment about the transfiguration curriculum. She wondered if it was really necessary for him to follow her around like a little kid following his mum at the grocery store. She managed to shake him off in the transfiguration section, suggesting that he had better things to do; he seemed to agree. She bought loads of books, many on modern history; some on less modern history, more on magic that she was sure was far too advanced for her level, a few on wizarding games and sports, and some fiction. On her way to the register she also picked up a copper chess set, an exploding snap deck, and some gob stones. At the register she picked up about a half dozen magazines and a newspaper called 'The Daily Prophet.' Her purchases rang up to over one hundred galleons. Having decided not to bother looking for Parker, Evelyn exited Flourish and Blots and walked towards The Magical Menagerie. She was painfully aware of her too-full trunk and too-light messenger bag. Her curiosity for the objects inside the interesting stores surrounding her was like a giant itch that she could not scratch. She promised herself that she would come back soon, before school started; she didn't really need Parker to 'accompany' her.

She deeply wished that she could have more than one pet, but she had already decided on getting an owl. Though Evelyn didn't really have anyone to write letters too, she was intrigued by owls' usefulness as messengers. She ended up buying a beautiful golden tawny owl with a copper wire cage and some owl treats.

It took all of her willpower for Evelyn to find Parker and leave Diagon Alley without going back to Gringottts and withdrawing more money from her volt. He was still in the bookstore, and was mildly surprised to find her already ready to go. Afraid that he would say no, Evelyn didn't ask Parker whether it was okay for her to come back on her own. Saying a quick farewell, she left him in the leaky cauldron. Slightly disoriented by the sudden change to normal she flagged down a taxi and was glad that she had not been stupid enough to change he pocket money to galleons, as she had to bribe the driver to transport her all the way out of London and back home.

xxx

Over the next three weeks, Evelyn confined herself to a strict schedule. She would wake up after four or eight hours of sleep (she rotated the two, having four hours of sleep one night, eight the night after that, four the night after that, and so on) to eat cereal out of the box and drink Earl Gray with a stupendous amount of sugar while reading. She usually read an entry in The Encyclopedia of Modern Magical discoveries or 100 Famous Witches and Wizards or some other exceedingly boring book that would have put her to sleep had it not been about magic. She would then take a quick shower, towel off, get dressed and carefully read a chapter of The Standard Book of Spells: Grade 1. She would then read a few chapters of one of the fiction books that she had bought until she felt it was time for lunch. Between lunch and dinner she would review the chapter of The Standard Book of Spells and read and re-read a chapter from one of her other school books. After she ate dinner, which was always something microwaved, she reviewed the Standard book of spells chapter once more, before reading that day's daily prophet, and a few magazines, as she ha subscribed to some of the ones she had picked up at Flourish and Blots.

A week before school was to start, Evelyn decided to go to Diagon Alley once more. Having spent the past three weeks reading all about the wizarding world, she was eager to enter it once more feeling that she at least had a basic understanding of the place. Dropping pretence, she had emptied one of her mother's many bank accounts for her own future use as a witch. She considered taking some from her father to be fair, but Mr. Reid was not quite as good at his occupation as Mrs. Reid, and his accounts reflected that. She would have left home entirely and stayed at the Leaky Cauldron had all of her books been able to fit in her trunk with her clothing and suplies. She had told a few of her closer friends that she was going to boarding school, but didn't tell them where or why; when they asked, she hung up and ignored their calls. She felt thoroughly ready to leave the mundane world she had grown up in behind her.

When Evelyn had finished depositing a very large number of galleons in her volt, and quite a few in her trench coat pockets, she stood in the long alleyway, trying to decide where to start. After a few seconds contemplation, she headed toward the shop giving off the largest number of bangs and puffs of smoke. It was called Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes and it was a joke shop briefly mentioned in the 'Diagon Alley' chapter of A Guide to Famous Magical Locations: United Kingdom. Evelyn felt immediately at ease in the large, colorful store. With black hair, a pale face, and a black coat that looked perfectly normal in almost any other atmosphere, here she stood out, though she did not realize it. This place was full of children, not to mention adults, who were staring at all manner of objects like six-year-olds in a candy shop. She felt everyone was far too busy looking at all the things they were meant to look at to notice her. She was only made nervous by the fact that many of the people here probably went to Hogwarts as she would be. She noted all of this in the back of her mind, but at the forefront she was wondering how much she could possibly carry, and how much she could possibly fit in her trunk.

Half an hour later, Evelyn was still wandering around the store, picking things up and wanting to buy them, but knowing she simply did not have enough room. She was reaching for a box of canary creams, though really she thought she ought to get more practical things, when the door of the shop opened, admitting a very large number of redheads. She gaped openly as twelve people, half of them with non-red hair colors, crammed into the already packed store, and were greeted by a man Evelyn assumed was the owner, who was also a redhead. She dropped the creams back onto the display and moved closer to the group.

The owner was being greeted by the crowd; apparently the owner's name was George. Now very close to the group, Evelyn did not need to guess the names of the others. The adults of the crowd all had photographs in Modern Magical History, and the other people were their children. Evelyn could not remember all of the names, but she certainly remembered the name of Harry Potter. His story fascinated her. The whole wizarding world had been terrified of a single man who called himself 'Voldemort', and then this boy, who hadn't even completed high school, killed him. Not to mention Pottter's earlier history: when he was only one year old he had been partially responsible for Voldemort's going into hiding. The children had disbanded but Evelyn guessed that the Redhead next to Harry Potter was his wife. His wife was a Weasley, and though Evelyn could not remember the Woman's first name, her maiden name was enough. The Weasleys were an old wizarding family, they had only wizarding ancestors as far back as anyone could know; this meant that they were pure bloods. The children of the Weasley and Harry Potter were not purebloods, because Potter's mother had been muggle born like Evelyn. A very large number of the Weasleys had played a very large part in the final battle against Voldemort.

Evelyn's assessment was interrupted by a tap on the shoulder. Evelyn looked down, very far down, to see a young girl glaring up at her. "What do you think you're looking at?" the girl asked defensively.

"A ginger midget," Evelyn replied calmly.

Someone snorted and Evelyn looked up to see a boy with black hair grinning at them.

"James," the girl whined, "she was staring at mum and dad." As if the boy needed clarification as to who 'she' was, the girl pointed at Evelyn accusingly.

"Lily, if you keep confronting everyone who stares at our parents I'm going to put a full body bind curse on you next time we go anywhere."

The girl glared.

"I swear I will." Evelyn was fairly sure that James meant it.

"You're just attention starved," accused the girl.

"I find that I get a fair bit of attention myself."

"Then you're attention hungry."

"Not denying that one, there's nothing wrong with a spot of attention."

"We never get any privacy."

"Why don't you try dyeing your hair and coming out alone?" asked Evelyn antagonistically. She was a bit put out by being left out of the sibilings' bickering.

The girl glared again.

"Just a suggestion. Maybe stilts would help too." Evelyn said this matter-of-factly and then walked off to examine a variety pack of skiving snackboxes.

Evelyn picked up a few things she felt were necessary for educational purposes in the large 'Back to School' display. These things include a few skiving snackboxes, which she was sure would come in handy later in the year. She had just begun examining the specialty quills, as she had somehow forgotten to purchase any quills on her last visit to Diagon Alley, when the boy from before, James, came up behind her.

"Those never work for very long," James said, pointing at the spell-checking quill in her hand. "George tried making new models, but the spell just won't stick."

Evelyn put the quill back on the display, not saying anything.

"I'm James by the way," he said, swinging forward his arm as if to shake her hand, then, possibly deciding this looked stupid, he gave a sort of half-wave before finally running through his messy black hair awkwardly.

"Evelyn." Evelyn said. She was amused, though she didn't show it. Even at eleven, Evelyn was the kind of person who was extremely aware of their own attractiveness, and wore this knowledge like she had earned it. She was pretty, as eleven-year-olds go, and thin and tall. She always knew when a boy, and very occasionally a girl, like liked her, as eleven-year-olds called it. She was very good at reading people in general, though she herself appeared to be an unnaturally stoic child. She could thus read, rather easily, that James was not particularly used to feeling self-concious.

James swung his arms a few times before shoving his fists in the pockets of his jeans. Evelyn had noticed the odd mix of muggle and wizard clothing throughout the store. "Where do you go to school?" he finally asked.

"I'm going to Hogwarts."

"Realy?" he asked. Evelyn guessed he was surprised because she usually seemed older, being so tall. She was actually just noticing that she was a little taller than the boy.

"Yea."

"Oh…. Well I'm there now. It's great. My younger brother, Albus, and my cousin, Rose, are just starting too."

Evelyn nodded, not sure what to reply.

"Do you know what house you'll be in?"

"No idea," she realy truly didn't know. She liked to think she had a bit of all the qualities descried, not so much easy going loyalty as was asked of Hufflepuffs, but she thought she had the rest. There were brains, for Ravenclaw, Courage, for Gryfindor, and Cunning and the implied selfishness for Slytherin.

"You should be in Gryfinor, all my family has been, including me. My brother better get into Gryfindor and my cousin probably will, though she could easily be a Ravenclaw if she felt like it."

"If she felt like it? I didn't know it was a choice."

"Well it sort of is. A choice, I mean: if you really want to go to a particular house the sorting hat, that's the thingy that decides your house, will take your opinion into consideration."

"Were you considered for any house besides Gryfindor?"

"No." He answered too quickly.

"Really now?" She raised her eyebrows at him questioningly. Despite her slight interest in his denial, it was not a particularly thought-provoking conversation. She turned back to the quill display, decided to follow the boy's advice, and walked a few steps to her left, where models of magical animals were displayed. She examined a palm-sized griffin, and then an even smaller model Jobberknoll.

"Yea."

"My wand's made with this thing's feathers," Evelyn said, pointing at the Jobberknoll model. "Well, not the model's feathers, but a real Jobberknoll's feathers."

"Realy? I've never heard of a Joberknoll wand. Mine's core is dragon heartstring."

They lapsed into an awkward silence. The Jobberknoll model wasn't particularly interesting so she moved onto a unicorn model. The model nearly impaled Evelyn's had when she tried to pet it.

"They're supposed to like girls," James comented.

Evelyn shrugged and picked up a nice, friendly niffler.

"I want a real one of those. They love shiny stuff, can find it anywhere. Mum won't let me get one though; she says it'd tear the house apart. Probably would."

Evelyn put the niffler back, bored of it. She picked up a model Jarvey, which began cursing at her enthusiastically. "I think I like this one," Evelyn said, dropping it into her shopping basket.

"The phoenix model is the most interesting, but even though they're the most expensive they're almost always sold out."

Evelyn shrugged for what felt like the hundredth time and moved onto the next display, which was just more models: broomsticks. The next model display was of famous witches and wizards.

"Most of my family's in there," said James proudly. "Here's my dad," he said taking out a miniature Harry Potter, messy black hair, green eyes, and lightning shaped scar and all. "And my mum," He said, dropping the model of his father back in the bin labeled 'Harry Potter'. His mother's bin was labeled 'Ginny Weasley Potter' the model was an exact replica of the red-haired brown-eyed woman Evelyn had seen next to Harry.

Evelyn wasn't sure what to say, so she didn't say anything. Instead she exited the model section, not bothering to look at the rest, and moved to the candy displays. She wondered when James would stop following her around.

Just then, someone just entering the shop called James' name, and he ran off, mutter a quick "See you."

Happy to be alone again, Evelyn gawked at all the candy. Fire-breath fireballs, Chuckle Chews, Gumption Gumdrops, Tail Truffles, Bug-Eye Chewing Gum, Ton-Tongue Toffee, and so much more. Most types of candy, and there were at very least fifty types, came in 'Momentary', 'Temporary', and 'Semi-Permanent' varieties.

She must have been in the store for hours; when she came out, it was dark out. She had three very heavy shopping bags slung over her thin shoulder. There was so much more she wanted to see, but her time was limited. She opted to make only two more stops. The first was at Flourish and Blots, to purchase a few more books on topics she found interesting, and the second was at The Inkwell. There she first picked out twelve simple quills, a couple eagle, but the rest pheasant. She then found a very expensive quick quotes pheasant feather quill which was guaranteed to take down precise notes on whatever had been said, in the user's own handwriting, with optional underlining feature for emphatically spoken words. She found a variety of interesting journals, scrolls of parchment, and ribbons, along with a seal-making kit. She bought a few colors of ink, including glowing-in-the-dark, invisible, and color-changing, and then left the store. By the time she was done, it was very late. She had a week left to practice writing with her quills, review her schoolbooks, and decide what she could fit in her trunk. She hauled her purchases back into the muggle world and reluctantly hailed a taxi.

x-X-x

A/N: this chapter was originally three chapters (the chapter separations are pretty obviously marked by the Xs ) but I thought they meshed well as a single chapter so I combined them. As a result, this is probably the longest chapter I will ever write, unless I decide to combine more chapters later in the story. Please review and read on- come on, you just read over five thousand worlds and you have nothing to say about them?