Chapter 1

Turning 11

August 1st 2011 - Somewhere near Hornblotton Village -England

Magic was amazing and muggles; they only saw what you wanted them to see. It was a simple thing to make the outside of a home look like a rundown shack. Put a few muggle detection and muggle repellant spells; spread some stories about ghosts and most people stayed away. Those few brave adventurers that tried to explore the 'hunted hut' usually found themselves back in the village with no recollection of how they ended up there.

Inside the house was another story, Isabella did what she could to make it feel like a home. A little magic turned the tiny hut into a comfy size home on the inside. There were two bedrooms and a small little bathroom and kitchen with a fire place and a little sitting area. It was a modest home she didn't have much money. They grew most of their own food and raised their own cattle. They even had a few chickens for eggs and a rooster for breading. It was a simple farm life much as Isabella had wanted it to be.

Her daughter Kyra was turning 11 now and she had already shown signs that she had magic but there would be no Hogwarts for her daughter. It wasn't long after Kyra was born that her transgressions had been discovered. Magical Law Enforcement Officers had been sent after Isabella and while attempting to flee with her daughter, she had accidently killed several of them. For the past 11 years she had been hunted and constantly on the move. Everything from their furniture to their gardens could be packed in the wave of a wand. Of course she had kept all this from Kyra, she had told the girl as she got older that they moved because they had to, they were travelers and not like other people. She had forbidden contact with the outside world and kept her daughter safe with her.

"Kyra!" Isabella called "Kyra O'Connor get in here right this instant!"

Kyra rolled over in bed and groaned. "Yes mother" she called back. Rolling out of bed Kyra pulled herself towards her small dresser. Her room was small with very little in way of decoration. She had a small dresser, a bed, a full length mirror, and a small box the contained the very few possessions she owned. All of which were left packed, they moved so much that she hadn't bothered anymore. Her bed held a pillow and the quit she and her mother had made together. There was a small stuffed bear that her mother had made for her before she was born sitting on top of her hand made pillow. Her dresser held her simple handmade dresses and pjs. Everything she owned was handmade which was fine, she didn't mind but sometimes, she wished she could look like the girls from the village with their store bought cloths and fancy hair styles. They had such pretty shoes and make up.

She pulled on the simple green dress and her apron that her mother insisted that she wear. Walking out into the kitchen she spotted her mother by stove. She looked almost nothing like her mother, which wasn't all bad. She had dark brown hair that was at her ankles and bluish green eyes. She was short and very thin. "I'm here mother" she said giving her mother a smile when she looked up. Her mother had brown eyes with light reddish hair that was mostly grey now. She was much larger then her daughter and louder for that matter.

"Happy Birthday my sweet girl, your 11 now!" Her mother said cheerfully. Moving around the stove with a cake in hand, "Fresh Strawberry cake with a sweet strawberry cream frosting and topped with fresh fruit.

"My favorite, thank you mother" She said sitting down. She loved her birthday because her mother always let her have cake for breakfast. It was the only time in the year she was allowed to have sweets.

"Now darling I know how much you have wanted one so- close your eyes." her mother smiled.

Kyra did as she was told; she was a little confused because she hadn't mentioned to her mother that she had wanted anything.

"Alright open your eyes." Her mother said coming back into the room.

Kyra gasped, "A cat mother? Really?" she bounded from her seat and took the feline from her mother. It was a black cat with bright yellow eyes. As it hit her arms it started purring. Kyra looked her over; she wasn't pure black as she had first thought. She had a white patch under her chin in the shape of a crescent moon. "Moon Beam" she said looking at her mother.

"Really? What an interesting name Moon Beam." her mother smiled. "Now, you must take good care of Moon Beam and don't let her wander to far from the house. You know Moving day is in a few days and we wouldn't want her to get left behind."

"Yes Mother" Kyra smiled.

After stuffing herself with cake Kyra got down to doing her chores, walking out into the garden she grabbed her basket. The garden was in boxes so that it was easy to pack. Her mother had taught her about magic and shown her how she uses it but she had never had the chance to work magic herself. Her mother had told her she showed some aptitude for it but she had yet to learn anything. Kyra began pulling the vegetables that were ready from the garden and placing them in her basket. She looked down to see Moon Beam at her feet watching her every move. Moon Beam seemed to hold such intelligence in her eyes that it was almost startling. She moved on to the potted fruit bearing trees and picked the ripe apples, pears, and cherries. After she was done there she went to the hen house and gathered the eggs and then went to their cow and got some milk. As she worked she had a lot of time to think, she dreaded moving day. Her mother would have her pack up her few belongings and place them on her bed. She would wave her wand and everything would pack into a suit case nice and easy. This included the animals and garden and when they would get to their new house she would unpack everything and it would be like it had been not a missing leaf or a ruffled chicken all the eggs were there and not a single crack. She understood it was magic after all her whole life revolved around magic. Her mother would put her protective charms and they would resume life like they had never moved at all. She was sure Moon Beam wouldn't like the suit case and she had resolved to ask her mother if Moon Beam could travel in a carrier.

After chores outside she walked back in to their small home tired and hungry the cat darted between her legs and ran circles around her.

Isabella was at the fire tending a caldron. "Hello dear" she said with a smile as she watched Kyra put the veggies and fruits away. She could have done it with a wave of her wand but she was stead fast in using as little magic as possible to let Kyra have a normal life.

"Mother, do we have to move again? Can't we stay here? I want to go to school and..."

"Kyra darling we've talked about this before. We can't stay here; people don't like Witches and the longer we stay the more they will find out about us and that would be dangerous. Remember the book I showed you on the witch trials?"

Kyra sighed and slumped down in a chair. "I wouldn't tell anyone mother, I just want to be normal." she said petting Moon Beam who had jumped in her lap to comfort her.

"I know child" her mother sighed. "It's time for your lessons, hurry up now and I will make lunch" Isabella moved away from the caldron and hugged her daughter as she passed.

LILILI

Kyra sat in the garden with her books, quill, and parchment. She had learned a lot of basic things like algebra, science, history, geography, and social studies. She had also studied magical history, magical creatures, and learned all about wands, and studied a place called Hogwarts. Her mother had seen to it that she had a well rounded education from both worlds. Reading today from Hogwarts made her heart ache. Had she been a normal wizarding child she would be getting her letter and attending Hogwarts this coming school year. If she had been a normal muggle she would have started school at the age of 5. She would have friends and people to talk to, instead she was stuck talking to cows, chickens, and now a cat.

"What I wouldn't give to be normal just for a bit." She said to Moon Beam.

Moon Beam tilted her head as if to say she was listening.

"All this moving and isolation I know there are villages of wizards all over why can't we just go there and be normal? It's like my mother wants to keep me hidden from the world. I know it's dangerous out there but other people do it why can't I?" Kyra went on oblivious to the fact that her cat was staring at her intently. "What happened to make her fear the world so much?"

LILILI

"Jazmyn?" a voice whispered in the night. Moon Beam moved into the moon light and stopped, looking up at the fair skinned man before her. He was short and fat with a receding hair line. His nose was much too big for his face and he had large scars over 70% of his body. "Is it her?" he asked in a squeaky voice.

Moon Beam rolled her eyes her body began to stretch her limbs grew longer and her hair seemed to retract into her skin. She stood up as she became more human until she was practically towering over him. "What are you doing here?" she asked

"Is it Isabella O'Connor?" he demanded.

"George go home, you will ruin our operation. I don't know how you found out about this -but if you don't leave now so help me..." Jazmyn growled using her height to make herself more menacing. At 6'4"she was imposing without trying but when she did try people tended to back away. Jazmyn was athletically built with muscle's that were well defined, her dark almost pitch black looking skin and yellow eyes made her even more frightening. Not many people had been on her bad side but the former Magical Law Enforcement Officer George Herbrough was one of those lucky few. Due to his interference they had lost the well known fugitive Isabella O'Connor on several occasions. The HIT team wasn't taking any chances this time. They had placed Jazmyn, an Animagus, into the suspected residence of Isabella O'Connor. A perk of being HIT was that her Ministry registration was struck as a means for her to go undercover like this. Her only distinguishing feature was a crescent shaped scar on her chest that was a white patch in her animal form.

"She killed my friends and nearly killed me I want to see her and that wretched child brought to justice." George said sounding a little weaker now.

"That child is an innocent; she has no idea of her mother's crimes." Jazmyn stepped closer looming over him. He stepped back shaking.

"Alright! Alright I'm leaving!" he said then disapperated.

Jazmyn transformed back into a cat and went back to the garden; she leapt into the window and curled up on Kyra's pillow.