A NEW BEGINNING -- 2011

ACT I – SCENE I

INT – DUMANCAS CASTLE – LONDON

Inside a rather luxurious castle, warmly lit and welcoming, we see A WOMAN age around 41 and A TEENAGE GIRL age around 13 standing around waiting for someone. THE GIRL looks at her watch and shows it to THE WOMAN.

THE WOMAN, dressed in robes of scarlet with golden trimmings with short black hair, walks over towards a stone stairwell and hollers upwards towards the second floor.

WOMAN:

Scott! Ronda! Bernie! Beth! Jessie! Deborah! Get down here now, its time to get going.

After several seconds a stamped of feet is heard. Suddenly, five young girls and a tall young man are standing beside the woman.

SCOTT, 25, is dressed in colored robes similar to his mother. His hair is long and black, a stark comparison to his ghostly pale complexion, tied to fall down his back. He wears shaded glasses and a smirk on his face.

SCOTT:

(walking over to kiss mother)

Sorry, Mam, we were just talking. Ronda, Bernie, Beth, and I were getting the young ones ready for their first year of Hogwarts. Last minute warnings and all.

One of the youngest and the most scared of the lot takes a step towards her mother. She is slightly over-weight, with bushy tightly curled dark brown hair and green tinted glasses. Her robes are a pale yellow with green trimmings which compliment her caramel complexion. She grabs her mothers robe and pulls gently.

DEBORAH:

Mam? Why am I always the last to be called?

Two of the sisters, both already dressed in their Hogwarts uniforms, both in Slytherin House, walk over and pull on their younger sisters curls while chanting:

BERNIE & BETH:

Oh look, Whiny Baby Debbie is cryin' about getting' called last again.

SCOTT:

(slightly disgusted)

Grow up!

BERNIE & BETH:

(dancing around SCOTT, sings)

And that's about the time she walked away from me

Nobody likes you when you're 23

And you still act like you're in Freshman year

What the hell is wrong with me?

My friends say I should act my age

What's my age again?

And that's about the time she broke up with me

No one should take themselves so seriously

With many years to fall in line

Why would you wish that on me?

I never want to act my age

What's my age again?

What's my age again?

SCOTT walks away and they begin to turn on DEBORAH who is watching slack-jawed. BERNIE, the shorter of the two with long black hair and chubby little cheeks, is on the ball and ducks seeing HANNAH come across in defense of DEBORAH. BETH, taller and thinner is having too much fun with the taunt and is grabbed by her hawk-ish looking hair and pulled backward.

HANNAH:

Hey, you. Back off. 'Tis your family your bullying.

BETH:

(blushing, shamed)

Easy Cuz. I'm just playing.

ASHLEY:

(looking stern, while comforting daughter)

Well, you shouldn't be that horrid to anyone, let alone your own sister.

BETH:

(astonished)

I'm just tryin' to prepare her for life at Hogwarts. She's such a whip. You know she's not going to end up in Slytherin with us. She'll be alone most of the time.

RONDA steps in, a bodacious beauty in her Hogwarts robes, Gryffindor House, she takes a hand to sweep back her long black braids before commenting

RONDA

That's not true. She could end up in Gryffindor House with me.

(pulls DEBORAH closer)

And there is nothing wrong with being in Gryffindor.

BETH

(smirks)

'slong as its not in Hufflepuff. God, I would die if either one of my sisters, or my cuz wound up in there.

HANNAH looks at her watch again.

HANNAH

Um, looks like its time to go. Mr. Tom may give up our room if were not there on time.

ASHLEY

(smiling)

You know he wouldn't, but you are right. It's time to go. Girls, do you have your things?

RONDA, BETH, and BERNIE turn behind the plush Renaissance style sofa and return with their trucks, each color-coded to compliment their houses. JESSIE and DEBORAH stand waiting to be told what they should do.

ASHLEY

(smiling proudly)

All right children. Scott, you go first. Now don't take to much this time, I know you like the explosion but last time you nearly nicked Lil', er, Deborah.

JESSIE

(whispering to sisters)

She nearly said, "Lil' Debbie."

BERNIE

(whispering to BETH)

Did you get the cakes?

BETH

(chuckling evilly)

Of course.

ASHLEY

All right. Beth, Bernie, your turn.