The Strange Kids on Kennedy Street

This is my first (still existing) linear fic. That means I have to think up a plot.

Crap.

Disclaimer: Rowling's plots are sheer genius. And then there's me.

Chapter 1: Release the Hounds

"America? Why've you moved to America?" Lily's voice, coated with incredulity, issued through the phone and into her grandmother's ear, across the Atlantic in a small town in Indiana.

"Lily, after your grandfather died, I decided it was time to move on to new things in life," Grandma Petunia soothed, wishing she had been able to tell her young granddaughter the news before she went back to school after the winter holidays.

"But I was looking forward to visiting you now that school's out!" Lily cried, noticing the whiny quality of her own voice and deciding she didn't care.

"You can come and visit me with the others if you'd like," Grandma offered.

"The others? You mean the cousins are going to be there? Why do I never hear these things?" she mused to herself.

"I was going to tell you the last day of the holidays, but when I woke up, you'd already vanished, back to your school," Grandma explained. "Oh, Lily, I'm so sorry. We ordered you a ticket anyway, if you and Petunia would like to come. We'd love to have you."

Disregarding the fact that her grandmother kept saying "we", Lily grimaced. "Petty's not going to be… available, Gran," she explained. "She's going off with her fiancé, that horrid Dursley, for the summer."

"Oh, where will they be going?" Grandma inquired, always up for news of any of her beloved granddaughters.

"Dunno. She never told me. She hates me."

"Now, Lily," Grandma chided. "You'll soon find out that not everything in life is about the superficial things, though it may take your sister a bit longer to discover it herself. Now, would you like to accompany the cousins to my place? Plane's leaving tomorrow."

Lily deliberated for a moment. She'd be leaving her mother and father behind, but what with the poor grades and bad relationships from the past year at Hogwarts, it'd do her good to get away.

"Sure, Gran," she agreed. "I'll see you tomorrow."

If this first chapter is any indication, these chapters might be rather short. I'll try to make them frequent, though.

Off to actually develop a plot for once.