Here's the first of my Harry Potter Series, I'm currently up to the Goblet of Fire, I'll post the second book up in the next week or so as I have two exams in two weeks then I'm done for the year and can write to my hearts content.
I do not own Harry Potter it all belongs to JK Rowling, blah blag, blah, you already know this, I just own Alicia.
Let me know if you find any spelling mistakes so I can correct them, I couldn't be bothered rereading it all again.
Enjoy.
Chapter 1:
She sat on the window sill in the dinning room, a book on her lap as the sun shined in. Her jet black hair was braided to the side and her green eyes scanned the words with wonder. She was a thin girl, but not underweight, and was rather short for her age.
"Alicia!" the girl looked towards the doorway.
Alicia Evans.
She had been found on the door step of an orphanage on the 30th of October at a year old. A letter had been tucked into her bundle of blankets but Ms Bane had told her she wasn't allowed to read it. At least, not until she was older.
Alicia stood up and moved to the doorway to find Ms Bane pulling the vacuum cleaner out of the cupboard.
"Will you be a dear and go outside while I vacuum." she asked "Also, I have some news for everyone so they're to be at dinner ten minutes beforehand." Alicia glanced out the window to everyone else.
"Go on sweetie." Ms Bane smiled. Alicia turned with a slow nod and moved for the back door. Despite her assurance to the ten year old Ms Bane had watched her back, hesitating, biting her lip.
Alicia stood on the doorstep and watched as a few kids ran past.
"Alicia, do you want to join?" a girl name Maria wondered
Alicia shook her head.
"Thanks Maria, but Ms Bane asked me to tell everyone they had to be at dinner ten minutes early. She has something to say." she shrugged.
"Oh." Maria was curious "Would you like some help?"
"Could you tell everyone outside?" Alicia wondered "I'll go look through the rooms when Ms Bane's finished vacuuming?" she offered
"Sure." Maria smiled and she ran off shouting at everyone. Alicia chuckled before she walked through the garden and to the back corner.
Alicia loved the outdoors. She picked up a flower and it began to twirl in her hand. She giggled at it before it closed up and she put it in her hair. Alicia sat on the grass and a bird landed before her.
"Hey," she stroked it's feathers before it flew off and Alicia returned to her book.
Surrey orphanage was a lively place. It was filled with kids of all ages, boys and girls. Ms Bane, the owner and caretaker of the orphanage was a kind women but was strict about order. Breakfast and dinner were at the same time everyday and the rooms were to be cleaned and beds made every morning. She had a system that prevented fights over bathrooms or seats over dinner which was followed with a wary thumb by the children. Chores were taken in turns and the kids had quickly learned not to complain when their turn came around.
Most days those who past the orphanage would smile when they saw the children running around the garden happily. The sound of laughter mostly filled the air but the occasional argument appeared as well.
Alicia walked through the entire building later that day and informed everyone of Ms Bane's notice. As instructed everyone arrived no less then ten minutes early for dinner. Usually when Ms Bane asked for such a meeting she was announcing an outing or an event.
"Right, tomorrow I need everyone up and ready to leave by eleven. We're going out for the day. I've organised a bus and we wont be back until the late afternoon." Ms Bane explained to all the curious faces.
"Where are we going?" Sophie, a thirteen year old, wondered. Ms Bane smiled but didn't answer, leaving everyone in mystery.
"So what are you going to do this time, Alicia?" Matt sneered to her. She rolled her eyes
"Depends on where we're going. I might drop you in a pond." she retorted with boredom.
"Don't mess with her Matt, remember what happened when Laura did?" another girl, Opal, reminded him.
"Yeah right, Laura thought she was covered in cockroaches. She was just hallucinating." Matt was fifteen and had nothing better to do then pick on the weird, nerdy, Alicia.
"Then why are you asking if I'll do something weird if you don't believe I could?" Alicia asked simply. Matt looked at her annoyed for catching onto his slip. But he turned and didn't say another word none the less.
Weird things happened around Alicia. Once the morning dew had floated off of the grass and leaves, leaving the children in momentary surprise by the wonder. Another time she had been surrounded by squirrels for no particular reason. All the flowers she walked past had bloomed. Her hair, whether cut short or not, regrew to it's original length when she wasn't happy by the change.
More unusual things usually happened when they went on outings. A seesaw moved itself when at the park. A sandcastle at the beach, impossible to build with a bucket, was standing before her. A fire started without matches when they went camping as she watched the plain logs.
But when she was upset or angry was when it was most obvious. Things broke, people got hurt, and a few times objects went flying. Girls would scream about things that weren't there and some thought they were mad.
Alicia was one of the first up the next morning. She was ready and waiting for breakfast as everyone else filed into the room.
"You're up early." Alex said sitting beside Alicia
"I was surprised when I found your bed empty." Portia nodded in agreement
"I was curious." Alicia shrugged
"Apparently." Alex smirked.
"Quick, quick everyone. I will not be running late." Ms Bane's voice called
"Ms Bane, when will you tell us where we're going?" Maria wondered. She was always a gossip lover.
"The zoo." she said simply.
Everyone smiled and began to whisper. Alice sighed
"This'll be fun!"
"I want to see the meerkats." Portia smiled
"How about the lions?"
"They'd probably swallow you whole." Matt said as he walked past.
"Oh really?" Alicia smiled "Can we push you in and see?" Matt sneered at her and walked off. Alicia rolled her eyes
"What would you like to see Alicia?" Alex wondered
"I don't know…" she muttered thinking.
They all got onto the bus and Alicia dove into her book, Portia and Alex talking away on the seat behind her.
"Alright." the bus pulled up before the zoo and already it was crowded with families. Everyone peered out of the windows as Ms Bane tried to get their attention.
"Now then. Those of you who are fifteen and over may go and wonder yourselves, I wish for you all to have at least one person with you. Those between ten and fifteen are to be in a group of at least three." Ms Bane had her strict tone while addressing them all. "Anyone below ten are not to be alone and are to accompany me. No excuses."
Alicia let out a sigh, thankful she was old enough to not have Ms Bane breathing down her neck.
"Oh where should we go first?!" Alex asked excitedly
"How about we start at the closest things and move off towards the back?" Alicia said simply
"No way that'll work I bet there'll be paths leading around everywhere." Portia admitted
"Well, what do you guys want to see most?" Alicia wondered. The two girls stopped and thought as they strolled lazily towards the entrance.
"I think I want to see the big cats." Alex nodded
"I want to see the reptiles." Portia crossed her arms
"Alright, rock-paper-scissors to see where we go first." Alicia suggested
"What about you?" Alex wondered, her eyebrows furrowed.
"I'm not fussed." Alicia shrugged with a smile.
The two looked at one another and determination set into their faces. The two bounced their fists up and down playing the game.
Alex won and the three headed first to the big cats, stopping at all the animals along the way. When they did reach the cats, Alex was amazed. They watched the cheetahs run, the leopards in the trees, the tigers grooming themselves and the lions lying lazily in the sun.
They stopped at a cafe on their way to the reptiles for lunch, having a sandwich and drinks followed by an ice-cream in the Saturday sun.
"If we don't finish these ice creams before we reach the reptile house, I bet we'll freeze. It's got to be cold for the reptiles." Portia said as she bit the waffle cone.
"I don't think that'll be a problem." Alex smiled as she put the last little bit in her mouth.
"Just finish your cone Portia, it'll be fine." Alicia assured, she'd already finished her's as they entered the reptile house.
People walked through the dark damp house, gazing in through the windows at all the snakes, frogs, lizards and other reptiles.
Portia was immediately looking in every window at the cold blooded animals, dragging Alex with her. Alicia smirked as she watched the two, walking after them.
"Make it move," Alicia turned to see a very plump, no necked boy with his face against the window of a very large boa constrictor. With him was a very large and plump man with a huge moustache and a very tall thin lady with a long neck. A boy was next the plump one with a rat like face.
However it was the smallest boy that caught her attention. He was thin, short, with jet black hair and glasses, sellotape holding them together. His clothes were many sizes too big for him and made him look scrawnier then he was.
The boa constrictor did not move from the tap on the glass.
"Do it again," the boy ordered. His father rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on.
"This is boring," he boy moaned before he shuffled away. The rat and his parents followed but the small black haired boy stayed.
He moved in front of the tank and looked intently at the snake. The snake suddenly, after not having moved a wink from the pesky family, opened its beady eyes. Slowly, very slowly, it raised its head until its eyes were on a level with the boys.
Alicia walked towards them curiously. She swear she saw the snake wink…
Snakes didn't wink did they?
Alicia watched as the boy turned to see if anyone was watching. His eyes landed on Alicia who smiled. She walked towards him and the boa constrictor.
"I saw that." she said
"What?" he wondered
"It winked at you." she shrugged
"Snakes…"
"Don't wink." she smiled. "Obviously it's taken a liking to you, after those lot bugged it." she pointed to the family.
"They don't understand." he muttered
"Your family?"
"Aunt and Uncle." he nodded. She sighed with a nod before they turned to the snake, who watched them intently.
Alicia smiled and the boy glanced at her before winking at the snake back.
The snake jerked its head toward the family, then raised its eyes to the ceiling. It gave the boy a look that said quite plainly:
"I get that all the time."
"I know," he murmured through the glass, though he wasn't sure the snake could hear him. "It must be really annoying."
"Having people poke their heads in at you," Alicia muttered "Yeah." she sighed.
"You know how that feels?" the boy asked
"I live in an orphanage." Alicia said simply "Oh yeah."
"Me too," he turned to look at his aunt and uncle.
The snake nodded vigorously in agreement with them.
"Where do you come from, anyway?" the boy asked.
The snake jabbed its tail at a little sign next to the glass. Both kids peered at it.
Boa Constrictor, Brazil.
"Was it nice there?"
The boa constrictor jabbed its tail at the sign again and they read on: This specimen was bred in the zoo.
"Oh, I see — so you've never been to Brazil?"
As the snake shook its head.
"Don't know you're family." Alicia muttered, earning a slight look from the boy before a deafening shout behind them made both of them, and the snake, jump.
"DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT IT'S DOING!"
The plump boy came waddling toward them as fast as he could.
"Out of the way, you," he said, punching the boy in the ribs. Caught by surprise, he fell hard on the concrete floor, knocking Alicia who stumbled, on his way down.
She turned and glared at the pig-like boy before turning to the scrawny one. He looked upset and annoyed also.
What came next happened so fast no one saw how it happened — one second, the pig boy and his rat friend were leaning right up close to the glass, the next, they had leapt back with howls of horror.
The boy sat up and gasped while Alicia frowned at herself; the glass front of the boa constrictor's tank had vanished. The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the floor. People throughout the reptile house screamed and started running for the exits.
As the snake slid swiftly past the boy on the floor, and, in a low hissing voice, said
"Brazil, here I come… Thanksss, amigo."
Alicia's eyes widened ever so slightly as it slid on down the corridor of the reptile house. She turned and held a hand out to the boy.
"Thanks." he said
"Any time." she said before looking back at the glass "As long as you don't tell anyone about that." she muttered. He looked at her
"You did that?" he asked. She sighed and shrugged "I thought I did…" Alicia looked at the boy confused
"Does… things like that happen often?" she asked softly
"Sometimes." he answered. She looked him over "You?" she wondered
"Very often." she nodded
"Alicia!" she turned to find Portia and Alex running towards her, worried expressions on their faces. Alicia turned back to the boy and held out her hand.
"I'm Alicia Evans." she said
"Harry Potter." he said taking her hand with a smile. She smiled back "What orphanage are you from?" he wondered
"Surrey."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"I'm in Little Whinging."
"Really?" she said in the same surprised tone and he nodded before the plump man with the huge moustache appeared and grabbed Harry's shoulder.
"Come here boy. We're leaving."
"Bye," Harry muttered as his uncle half dragged him away
"See you later." Alicia waved as her two friends reached her sides.
"Who was that?" Alex asked
"We were looking at the boa constrictor that got out…" Alicia said slowly. The two looked at her then at one another.
"How did it get out?" Portia asked
Alicia shrugged and turned back to the exit of the reptile house.
"Shall we go?" she said. The two girls shared another look and then at the now empty cage before following.
The ride back was silent between the three of them.
Ms Bane asked a few what they'd gotten up to and seen while at the zoo over dinner. Many were happy to answer and the younger ones were most ecstatic.
"What about you Alicia? Alex?" Ms Bane asked. The three were silent for a minute before Portia, the level headed of the three, spoke up.
"We went to the big cats and saw everything along that path and then to the reptile house." she glanced at Alicia who nodded.
"Did you hear about the boa that got out?" Maria said, a gleam in her eye
"Yeah…" Alex looked at Alicia also "We were there at the time." everyone turned to Alicia who paused.
"It wasn't me." she said
"Yeah right." Matt disagreed "Only you'd let a boa constrictor out."
"The glass vanished, how could I have done that?" she demanded annoyed
"The same way you did everything else." he snapped.
"Matthew!" Ms Bane snapped. "It was an unfortunate circumstance and was no bodies fault." she gave a pointed look at Matt who eyed Alicia. Her thoughts weren't concerned about what everyone else thought, they were on the boy. He'd said he was like her, weird things happened. Could it really be she wasn't the only one?
Alicia sat in her room by the window, Alex and and Portia were in the dinning room leaving the girl in peace. She stared at the setting sun, her hands around her knees. The incident with the boa constrictor wouldn't leave her mind. Though other strange things had happened before, this time she hadn't been alone… she'd had a discussion about who's fault it actually was. And both had believed it was their doing.
He's here in Surrey somewhere… she thought. But there are so many places.
She sighed and leaned on the window sill. As the light passed through her room she held her hand out and closed a fist over the light. The sun disappeared and Alicia opened her hand and a small ball of light sat in her palm.
It quickly faded.
I can't be the only one…