I looked around me. There was a mist everywhere, but not a foggy kind
of mist. It was the kind of mist you see when you're swimming in cloudy
water. Was I under water, though? Just to make sure, I inhaled deeply, and
then exhaled. Yes, I could breathe just fine.
Suddenly, there was a bang like a cannon, a scream, a flash of scarlet light, and an evil cackle. I felt a sharp, burning pain in my heart; I hugged my knees to my chest, my face screwed up against the pain... "Good morning, L.A! The time is 6:30 AM and the weather forecast for today is partially cloudy with a high temperature of 87 degrees Fahrenheit..."
My hand automatically flung to the "off" button on my alarm clock. As soon as that annoying voice disappeared, I thought about the strange dream I had just dreamed. I had had that dream before. Every night for two weeks now, I had been dreaming the same thing. What did it all mean?
I thought back to the first time I had dreamed it. The only thing unusual that happened to me that day was right after school, when I was walking home with my two best friends, Lily and Sycamore. We were talking, mainly about our day at school, boys we liked, and most of all, Harry Potter. It was the thing that had made us become friends in the first place. If we weren't all obsessed with those wonderful books, it would've been less than likely that we would've been friends.
We were on the subject of what might be coming in future books when a glint of gold caught my eye. I walked over to where I had seen it and picked up a beautiful necklace. The charm was a crystal heart. It had gold trim on the very edge, and (it might've been the light) but I was sure it had a soft golden hue around it.
"Wow, Em, that's beautiful!" Sycamore exclaimed. Her brown eyes were wide in awe of the treasure I had in my hand.
"What do you suppose it was doing on the ground?" Lily asked. "Do you think someone dropped it?"
"Maybe," I said. "Should we take it to the police? It looks really valuable."
"We could, but I doubt they'd find the owner," Lily said, her finger twirling her short blonde hair.
"Go on, Em, try it on!" Sycamore said suddenly.
"Okay," I replied. I undid the clasp and hooked it behind my neck. Whenever the heart caught the light from the sun, it would twinkle as brightly as a star in the night sky. Lily and sycamore would "ooh!" and "ahh!" every time. "Emerald, are you up yet?" called my mom.
"Just about!" I called back. You may not think that finding that necklace was weird, but it was. When I tried to take it off that night, I couldn't find the clasp. I turned the chain around and around, but the clasp had just vanished! I also hadn't been very popular in school, but the next day, Alex, the most popular guy in school, and the guy every girl (myself included) had a crush on, came up and asked me to the Valentine's Day dance (which has past, and it was great!). I, of course, answered yes, and when he walked away, I turned to Lily and Sycamore, my mouth hanging open in disbelief. "Emerald, your breakfast is getting cold!" shouted Mom from the kitchen.
"Coming!" I shouted back. I dressed myself in a pink tank top with the word "Angel" in a cloud on it and a pair of dark blue caprice before going downstairs for breakfast. After breakfast, I brushed my teeth, put my hair into a ponytail, and put on my make-up. According to Lily, Sycamore, and me, this was the normal morning routine for a typical 15 year old girl.
I scooped up my backpack and lunch, shouted, "Bye, Mom, I love you!" and ran out the door to meet Lily and Sycamore at the corner. I had been telling them about the dream ever since the first time I had dreamed it. The only thing that was different about it was that there was a little more each time. What were new this time were the evil laughter and the pain in my heart. "You're kidding!" exclaimed Lily when I told her about the updated dream.
"No," I said, shaking my head.
"What do you think the dream means?" asked Sycamore slowly.
"I don't know," I replied, shrugging. "I do know one thing, though: the pain in my heart was right where my scar is."
"No way!" Lily gasped, her eyes getting even wider.
"Yes," I said. There was a funny shaped scar on my heart, like a little star. The funny thing about it was that I can't remember getting it. Whenever I asked my mom about it, she always said that I had gotten it when I was in an accident when I was a baby. She never met my eyes when she said this, though, and I had the funny feeling that she was hiding something from me.
"That is too weird," said Sycamore. "It sounds way too much like a Harry Potter dream thing, doesn't it?"
"You mean, like the ones he had before he knew he was a wizard?" asked Lily.
"Yes."
"Oh come on, guys, you don't seriously think that, do you?" I asked, rolling my eyes.
"Em, the dreams are really similar. For instance, yours had a flash of light; Harry's had a flash of light. Yours had an evil cackle, Harry's had an evil cackle," Lily began.
"And, you felt a pain in your scar at the end, and so did Harry!" Sycamore finished for her.
"I know they're a lot alike, but I can't possibly be a witch. For one thing, I'm 15. If I were a witch, don't your think I would've gotten notice by now?" I asked them.
"Maybe you haven't developed you powers yet," said Sycamore. I groaned.
"How about we discuss this later? We have three tests today, remember? Math-"
"Science," said Lily.
"And history," continued Sycamore. "We know, Em. We have the same classes."
"Why do they put us through this torture?" whined Lily. "Why do they schedule three tests on the same day?"
"Don't ask me how the mind of a teacher works, Lil," I said.
"All this studying is going to kill me one day," Sycamore sighed.
"I'd much rather be a student at Hogwarts," said Lily dreamily. "Wouldn't it be wonderful?"
"Ah, if only," I said, smiling. I heard a rustling behind me, and turned sharply. There was no one and nothing in site.
"What, Em?" said Sycamore.
"I thought I heard something," I said. "Probably just the wind."
"Yeah, probably," said Lily, nodding. "C'mon, we'd better pick up the pace, or we'll be late."
"Okay," I said. I slowly back around, still looking nervously behind me. For some strange reason, I felt like we were being watched. I managed to have a perfectly normal day, despite that prickling feeling I had whenever I turned my back. The tests weren't all bad, and on the good side, we didn't have any homework.
"No homework is always a good thing," said Lily, stretching as we walked home.
"Definitely," agreed Sycamore.
"Yep. No homework means more time on the web, and more time on the web means more time to read Harry Potter fanfics, which is always a wonderful thing," I said happily. There was nothing better than reading fanfics on the web, except for reading the Harry Potter books.
"Do you guys want to sleep over at my place tonight?" Lily asked.
"Sure!" Sycamore and I exclaimed at once. We always had fun at Lily's. Prank phone calls, endless hours online, you name it; we could do anything at Lily's. I was really looking forward to the furious pillow fights, games, gossiping, and anything else we might do at Lily's that night. Little did I know that tonight would change my life forever. I was peering down at the dark street through Lily's window when I first noticed something odd. A shadowy figure was lurking around the thick trees that surrounded Lily's house. It had on a hooded cloak, and it looked short.
"Lil, Sycamore, come here!" I hissed, not taking my eyes off the figure. It was now pacing back and forth, apparently waiting for someone... or something.
"Creepy," whispered Lily.
"Who do you think it is?" asked Sycamore.
"I don't know," I said. Suddenly, a second figure emerged from the trees. It was taller than the first. The two figures had a hurried conversation (we could see their heads bent together, like a two-man huddle) and then they parted. The second figure suddenly stopped, and, as though it could sense us watching it, turned its head slowly up toward the window we were huddled against. I had one glimpse of two fierce, bright red eyes before I fell to the ground, clutching my chest. My scar was burning... I could hardly breathe... darkness was closing in all around me... and then the pain diminished. I stood up and gasped for breath, clutching the window sill for support.
Lily and Sycamore were frozen in fear. Their eyes were as wide and round as dinner plates. They were staring at something behind me. I turned slowly and shakily around. "Oh my God!" I whispered, backing up to the window. The two figures we had seen below were now standing in Lily's room! They had their hoods down now. The shorter one had small, watery eyes and a pointed nose. I saw a glint of silver where his right hand should've been. The other man was taller. He had two and two wide, gleaming red eyes, and two slits for a nose. My scar seared with a sharp, quick pain as soon as I looked at him. I dropped my gaze to the floor.
"Who are you?" asked Lily.
"What do you want?" asked Sycamore shakily.
"You know very well what we want," whispered the taller figure. He had a cold, high, merciless voice. I shivered; it was like I had heard that voice when I was very young.
"What are you talking about?" I asked. I honestly didn't know what he meant. Then, it all clicked, and I knew what they wanted, and who they were. I still can't believe I was so slow at figuring it out. "This must be a dream! You aren't... you can't be..."
The taller man nodded and grinned evilly. Everything must've clicked for Lily and Sycamore, too, for they started to stutter uncontrollably.
"Ohmigod!" said Lily, wide-eyed.
"Ohmigod!" exclaimed Sycamore. "We are in trouble!"
"Very deep trouble," hissed the taller man, pulling out a wand. Before we could scream, before we could do anything, we had all been Stunned. I looked around. There was a watery mist everywhere. Not this dream again, I thought. Sure enough, a bang like a cannon shattered the silence. Then a flash of light filled my surroundings, and the scream came. This time, however, I heard something before the evil cackling. It was a woman's voice.
"Please, don't hurt her! She's only a baby!" she cried.
"Move aside and let me do what I came here to do." This was a man's voice. It sounded icy, merciless, and... deadly.
"No, please, spare her!" sobbed the woman. "Kill me, kill me instead of her!" Then I heard the evil cackling, then the pain in my heart, and I woke up, drenched in cold sweat, to find two watery eyes staring into mine. I gave a small yelp, like a puppy cornered by a man with a machine gun.
The man walked away from me... or, at least, he backed up a few paces. I could now clearly see my surroundings. There was red everywhere; red furniture, red walls, and even a red strip of carpet in the middle of the floor.
I sat up, and the room began to sway. As I raised my hand to my head, I heard the rattling of chains. My wrists were chained to the headboard of the bed I was sitting on. Then a sudden thought stuck me.
"Where're Lily and Sycamore?" I asked quietly to the short man.
"Who?" His voice sounded nervous, almost as if he were afraid of me.
"My... my friends. They were with me when..."
"Oh, you mean Lady Victoria and Lady Pristina?"
"Who?" "Let me explain," came a smooth voice from the doorway. The man jumped, turned quickly around, and bowed very low.
"Lady Victoria, Lady Pristina," he said, "may I ask you why you have come down to this level? Surely, ladies like yourselves would-"
But I didn't hear anymore. Who was he talking to? That was Lily and Sycamore standing in the doorway. They looked different, though. Their faces usually glowed with laughter, and their eyes usually twinkled, but now, their faces looked cruel and their eyes were cold. They were dressed differently, too. Instead of the p.j.'s they had been wearing when we were kidnapped, they were wearing long red dresses trimmed in gold. They were wearing identical necklaces; a golden snake with glowing ruby eyes for the charm.
"That's enough, Wormtail," said Sycamore, holding up a hand to silence him. He did so at once.
"Lil, Sycamore, what's going on?" I asked.
"I am not Lil, or Lily anymore," Lily said, a look of disgust on her face. "I am Victoria; Lady Victoria to you."
"And I am no longer Sycamore," said Sycamore. "I am Pristina; Lady Pristina to you." Despite of the fear spreading throughout my body, my face cracked into a wide grin.
"This is a great joke, guys," I said. "Now, if you don't mind-"
"This is no joke, Emerald," spat Lily, or should I say, Lady Victoria. "We are no longer your 'best friends.' Pristina and I are the daughters of the most powerful wizard in a century and heir to his 'throne' when he is dead."
"You're witches?" I said, stunned. This wasn't a joke. They would've come clean if I'd suspected a joke. "And you never told me? You know how much I love magic, and you never told me you were witches?"
"Of course we never told you," sneered Lil- I mean, Lady Victoria. This is going to take some getting used to. "It was part of our father's plan."
"Your father's plan? The way you described him, I wouldn't be surprised if he was-" "Lord Voldemort?" laughed Syc- Lady Pristina. "It took you long enough to guess."
"No way! But... as far as I know, he never had any kids. I didn't think he would want any," I said.
"That changed after he read one of the Sacred Scrolls, Emerald. The Scroll spoke of two young witches who would help the heir of Slytherin become even more powerful. Those two witches would be abandoned on a hill. Father sent his Death Eaters out around the country to search for them. They searched for months, and they had almost given up hope when a Death Eater returned to Father with... us," hissed Lady Victoria. "Oh," I whispered. "But, if he's your father, what were you doing in California? Why would you pretend to be a... a muggle's friends?"
"You are not a muggle, Emerald," said Lady Pristina softly. "You are not a native Californian. You were born in England to one of the most powerful wizarding families in the world."
"I'm a witch?" I exclaimed. A flare of happiness rose inside of me. My dream had come true; witches and wizards did exist, and I was one of them! "So I take it we aren't in California anymore."
"We aren't even in the same dimension," said Lady Victoria.
"We're in another dimension?" I asked, dumb-founded. "But why would you go through so much trouble to get me here?"
"It's a complicated story," said Lady Pristina. "I don't feel like explaining. Let's go, Victoria, I can't stand being down here for one more moment."
"Yes, let's. Good-night, Wormtail," said Lady Victoria. Wormtail bowed them out of the room. There was a moment of silence, and I suddenly realized how tired I was. I laid back down on the bed, and as soon as my head hit the pillow, I fell asleep.
Suddenly, there was a bang like a cannon, a scream, a flash of scarlet light, and an evil cackle. I felt a sharp, burning pain in my heart; I hugged my knees to my chest, my face screwed up against the pain... "Good morning, L.A! The time is 6:30 AM and the weather forecast for today is partially cloudy with a high temperature of 87 degrees Fahrenheit..."
My hand automatically flung to the "off" button on my alarm clock. As soon as that annoying voice disappeared, I thought about the strange dream I had just dreamed. I had had that dream before. Every night for two weeks now, I had been dreaming the same thing. What did it all mean?
I thought back to the first time I had dreamed it. The only thing unusual that happened to me that day was right after school, when I was walking home with my two best friends, Lily and Sycamore. We were talking, mainly about our day at school, boys we liked, and most of all, Harry Potter. It was the thing that had made us become friends in the first place. If we weren't all obsessed with those wonderful books, it would've been less than likely that we would've been friends.
We were on the subject of what might be coming in future books when a glint of gold caught my eye. I walked over to where I had seen it and picked up a beautiful necklace. The charm was a crystal heart. It had gold trim on the very edge, and (it might've been the light) but I was sure it had a soft golden hue around it.
"Wow, Em, that's beautiful!" Sycamore exclaimed. Her brown eyes were wide in awe of the treasure I had in my hand.
"What do you suppose it was doing on the ground?" Lily asked. "Do you think someone dropped it?"
"Maybe," I said. "Should we take it to the police? It looks really valuable."
"We could, but I doubt they'd find the owner," Lily said, her finger twirling her short blonde hair.
"Go on, Em, try it on!" Sycamore said suddenly.
"Okay," I replied. I undid the clasp and hooked it behind my neck. Whenever the heart caught the light from the sun, it would twinkle as brightly as a star in the night sky. Lily and sycamore would "ooh!" and "ahh!" every time. "Emerald, are you up yet?" called my mom.
"Just about!" I called back. You may not think that finding that necklace was weird, but it was. When I tried to take it off that night, I couldn't find the clasp. I turned the chain around and around, but the clasp had just vanished! I also hadn't been very popular in school, but the next day, Alex, the most popular guy in school, and the guy every girl (myself included) had a crush on, came up and asked me to the Valentine's Day dance (which has past, and it was great!). I, of course, answered yes, and when he walked away, I turned to Lily and Sycamore, my mouth hanging open in disbelief. "Emerald, your breakfast is getting cold!" shouted Mom from the kitchen.
"Coming!" I shouted back. I dressed myself in a pink tank top with the word "Angel" in a cloud on it and a pair of dark blue caprice before going downstairs for breakfast. After breakfast, I brushed my teeth, put my hair into a ponytail, and put on my make-up. According to Lily, Sycamore, and me, this was the normal morning routine for a typical 15 year old girl.
I scooped up my backpack and lunch, shouted, "Bye, Mom, I love you!" and ran out the door to meet Lily and Sycamore at the corner. I had been telling them about the dream ever since the first time I had dreamed it. The only thing that was different about it was that there was a little more each time. What were new this time were the evil laughter and the pain in my heart. "You're kidding!" exclaimed Lily when I told her about the updated dream.
"No," I said, shaking my head.
"What do you think the dream means?" asked Sycamore slowly.
"I don't know," I replied, shrugging. "I do know one thing, though: the pain in my heart was right where my scar is."
"No way!" Lily gasped, her eyes getting even wider.
"Yes," I said. There was a funny shaped scar on my heart, like a little star. The funny thing about it was that I can't remember getting it. Whenever I asked my mom about it, she always said that I had gotten it when I was in an accident when I was a baby. She never met my eyes when she said this, though, and I had the funny feeling that she was hiding something from me.
"That is too weird," said Sycamore. "It sounds way too much like a Harry Potter dream thing, doesn't it?"
"You mean, like the ones he had before he knew he was a wizard?" asked Lily.
"Yes."
"Oh come on, guys, you don't seriously think that, do you?" I asked, rolling my eyes.
"Em, the dreams are really similar. For instance, yours had a flash of light; Harry's had a flash of light. Yours had an evil cackle, Harry's had an evil cackle," Lily began.
"And, you felt a pain in your scar at the end, and so did Harry!" Sycamore finished for her.
"I know they're a lot alike, but I can't possibly be a witch. For one thing, I'm 15. If I were a witch, don't your think I would've gotten notice by now?" I asked them.
"Maybe you haven't developed you powers yet," said Sycamore. I groaned.
"How about we discuss this later? We have three tests today, remember? Math-"
"Science," said Lily.
"And history," continued Sycamore. "We know, Em. We have the same classes."
"Why do they put us through this torture?" whined Lily. "Why do they schedule three tests on the same day?"
"Don't ask me how the mind of a teacher works, Lil," I said.
"All this studying is going to kill me one day," Sycamore sighed.
"I'd much rather be a student at Hogwarts," said Lily dreamily. "Wouldn't it be wonderful?"
"Ah, if only," I said, smiling. I heard a rustling behind me, and turned sharply. There was no one and nothing in site.
"What, Em?" said Sycamore.
"I thought I heard something," I said. "Probably just the wind."
"Yeah, probably," said Lily, nodding. "C'mon, we'd better pick up the pace, or we'll be late."
"Okay," I said. I slowly back around, still looking nervously behind me. For some strange reason, I felt like we were being watched. I managed to have a perfectly normal day, despite that prickling feeling I had whenever I turned my back. The tests weren't all bad, and on the good side, we didn't have any homework.
"No homework is always a good thing," said Lily, stretching as we walked home.
"Definitely," agreed Sycamore.
"Yep. No homework means more time on the web, and more time on the web means more time to read Harry Potter fanfics, which is always a wonderful thing," I said happily. There was nothing better than reading fanfics on the web, except for reading the Harry Potter books.
"Do you guys want to sleep over at my place tonight?" Lily asked.
"Sure!" Sycamore and I exclaimed at once. We always had fun at Lily's. Prank phone calls, endless hours online, you name it; we could do anything at Lily's. I was really looking forward to the furious pillow fights, games, gossiping, and anything else we might do at Lily's that night. Little did I know that tonight would change my life forever. I was peering down at the dark street through Lily's window when I first noticed something odd. A shadowy figure was lurking around the thick trees that surrounded Lily's house. It had on a hooded cloak, and it looked short.
"Lil, Sycamore, come here!" I hissed, not taking my eyes off the figure. It was now pacing back and forth, apparently waiting for someone... or something.
"Creepy," whispered Lily.
"Who do you think it is?" asked Sycamore.
"I don't know," I said. Suddenly, a second figure emerged from the trees. It was taller than the first. The two figures had a hurried conversation (we could see their heads bent together, like a two-man huddle) and then they parted. The second figure suddenly stopped, and, as though it could sense us watching it, turned its head slowly up toward the window we were huddled against. I had one glimpse of two fierce, bright red eyes before I fell to the ground, clutching my chest. My scar was burning... I could hardly breathe... darkness was closing in all around me... and then the pain diminished. I stood up and gasped for breath, clutching the window sill for support.
Lily and Sycamore were frozen in fear. Their eyes were as wide and round as dinner plates. They were staring at something behind me. I turned slowly and shakily around. "Oh my God!" I whispered, backing up to the window. The two figures we had seen below were now standing in Lily's room! They had their hoods down now. The shorter one had small, watery eyes and a pointed nose. I saw a glint of silver where his right hand should've been. The other man was taller. He had two and two wide, gleaming red eyes, and two slits for a nose. My scar seared with a sharp, quick pain as soon as I looked at him. I dropped my gaze to the floor.
"Who are you?" asked Lily.
"What do you want?" asked Sycamore shakily.
"You know very well what we want," whispered the taller figure. He had a cold, high, merciless voice. I shivered; it was like I had heard that voice when I was very young.
"What are you talking about?" I asked. I honestly didn't know what he meant. Then, it all clicked, and I knew what they wanted, and who they were. I still can't believe I was so slow at figuring it out. "This must be a dream! You aren't... you can't be..."
The taller man nodded and grinned evilly. Everything must've clicked for Lily and Sycamore, too, for they started to stutter uncontrollably.
"Ohmigod!" said Lily, wide-eyed.
"Ohmigod!" exclaimed Sycamore. "We are in trouble!"
"Very deep trouble," hissed the taller man, pulling out a wand. Before we could scream, before we could do anything, we had all been Stunned. I looked around. There was a watery mist everywhere. Not this dream again, I thought. Sure enough, a bang like a cannon shattered the silence. Then a flash of light filled my surroundings, and the scream came. This time, however, I heard something before the evil cackling. It was a woman's voice.
"Please, don't hurt her! She's only a baby!" she cried.
"Move aside and let me do what I came here to do." This was a man's voice. It sounded icy, merciless, and... deadly.
"No, please, spare her!" sobbed the woman. "Kill me, kill me instead of her!" Then I heard the evil cackling, then the pain in my heart, and I woke up, drenched in cold sweat, to find two watery eyes staring into mine. I gave a small yelp, like a puppy cornered by a man with a machine gun.
The man walked away from me... or, at least, he backed up a few paces. I could now clearly see my surroundings. There was red everywhere; red furniture, red walls, and even a red strip of carpet in the middle of the floor.
I sat up, and the room began to sway. As I raised my hand to my head, I heard the rattling of chains. My wrists were chained to the headboard of the bed I was sitting on. Then a sudden thought stuck me.
"Where're Lily and Sycamore?" I asked quietly to the short man.
"Who?" His voice sounded nervous, almost as if he were afraid of me.
"My... my friends. They were with me when..."
"Oh, you mean Lady Victoria and Lady Pristina?"
"Who?" "Let me explain," came a smooth voice from the doorway. The man jumped, turned quickly around, and bowed very low.
"Lady Victoria, Lady Pristina," he said, "may I ask you why you have come down to this level? Surely, ladies like yourselves would-"
But I didn't hear anymore. Who was he talking to? That was Lily and Sycamore standing in the doorway. They looked different, though. Their faces usually glowed with laughter, and their eyes usually twinkled, but now, their faces looked cruel and their eyes were cold. They were dressed differently, too. Instead of the p.j.'s they had been wearing when we were kidnapped, they were wearing long red dresses trimmed in gold. They were wearing identical necklaces; a golden snake with glowing ruby eyes for the charm.
"That's enough, Wormtail," said Sycamore, holding up a hand to silence him. He did so at once.
"Lil, Sycamore, what's going on?" I asked.
"I am not Lil, or Lily anymore," Lily said, a look of disgust on her face. "I am Victoria; Lady Victoria to you."
"And I am no longer Sycamore," said Sycamore. "I am Pristina; Lady Pristina to you." Despite of the fear spreading throughout my body, my face cracked into a wide grin.
"This is a great joke, guys," I said. "Now, if you don't mind-"
"This is no joke, Emerald," spat Lily, or should I say, Lady Victoria. "We are no longer your 'best friends.' Pristina and I are the daughters of the most powerful wizard in a century and heir to his 'throne' when he is dead."
"You're witches?" I said, stunned. This wasn't a joke. They would've come clean if I'd suspected a joke. "And you never told me? You know how much I love magic, and you never told me you were witches?"
"Of course we never told you," sneered Lil- I mean, Lady Victoria. This is going to take some getting used to. "It was part of our father's plan."
"Your father's plan? The way you described him, I wouldn't be surprised if he was-" "Lord Voldemort?" laughed Syc- Lady Pristina. "It took you long enough to guess."
"No way! But... as far as I know, he never had any kids. I didn't think he would want any," I said.
"That changed after he read one of the Sacred Scrolls, Emerald. The Scroll spoke of two young witches who would help the heir of Slytherin become even more powerful. Those two witches would be abandoned on a hill. Father sent his Death Eaters out around the country to search for them. They searched for months, and they had almost given up hope when a Death Eater returned to Father with... us," hissed Lady Victoria. "Oh," I whispered. "But, if he's your father, what were you doing in California? Why would you pretend to be a... a muggle's friends?"
"You are not a muggle, Emerald," said Lady Pristina softly. "You are not a native Californian. You were born in England to one of the most powerful wizarding families in the world."
"I'm a witch?" I exclaimed. A flare of happiness rose inside of me. My dream had come true; witches and wizards did exist, and I was one of them! "So I take it we aren't in California anymore."
"We aren't even in the same dimension," said Lady Victoria.
"We're in another dimension?" I asked, dumb-founded. "But why would you go through so much trouble to get me here?"
"It's a complicated story," said Lady Pristina. "I don't feel like explaining. Let's go, Victoria, I can't stand being down here for one more moment."
"Yes, let's. Good-night, Wormtail," said Lady Victoria. Wormtail bowed them out of the room. There was a moment of silence, and I suddenly realized how tired I was. I laid back down on the bed, and as soon as my head hit the pillow, I fell asleep.