Chapter 2 – New Beginnings

July 13 - 1993

Shafts of sunlight danced across the summer fields south of Pembrokeshire, the beams of light shining through the clouds created mottled patterns over the green fields that spanned in front of a figure dressed in black. She was walking along a dirt path, to her right was a 2 foot tall stone wall that crumbled away in sections and to her left spanned a field of green.

She looked out of place in her black jeans and slayer t-shirt. Her white converse were covered in dust and dirt as she continued to trudge along the path, occasionally pulling a piece of paper out of her pocket, unfolding it, glancing at the greens and blues on the page and then replacing it into her pocket.

She felt happy where she was, having left her tourist friends back in the town. They were just getting maggot at the pub like they had been doing for this whole tour and she was sick of it. Why would she want to come to another country, another continent, just to get drunk and not see anything. She didn't want to waste this experience like the rest of them, so she had decided to go for a walk after finding a pamphlet with a map of local tourist sites at the bar. One had caught her eye, it said a stone circle was only a few miles out of town.

She pulled out the pamphlet again and looked at it closely. Number Twenty-Four. She scanned the text below the map and found a small segment next to a 24.

The stone circle of enlightenment. The original name and reason for this stone circles creation is unknown. The stone circle is thousands of years old, crafted from local stones and made by the Celts. Unfortunately, the largest stone in the centre split from unknown reasons in the mid-1600s. Many pagans believe that the stones reveal knowledge and enlightenment to those who touch the split stone.

This was what she wanted, to see the local history of the area. She did not want to waste her time here on booze. Why would she come all the way from Australia to drink, when she could drink just as much back in the land down under.

She looked further along the path and saw the stones, they had popped their tops over the hill and quickly came into view.

Arriving at the site she looked over the stones, they were small and covered in moss. One larger stone stood in the centre, it had a crack that ran down the middle and let light run in between the crease.

Something felt strange to her, her body stiffened up and as if by its own volition started to draw her toward the stone and into the centre. Her arm stretched out in front of her against her will and then she felt it, a pulsating heat coming from the split stone.

The crack started to seep light. It became brighter as it glowed an ice blue. As her body drew itself closer to the stone the light became brighter and started to spill out of the crack onto the stones surface. In a last glance she saw a glowing gem in the crack before the light was too bright and she was forced to close her eyes.

The next moment she felt the cool surface of the stone on her fingers before they shot with pain as something hit her palm like a bullet. She felt it surge up her arm and she shot her eyes open from the agony. The light had subsided, but the pain continued up her arm, through her shoulder and hit her in the chest. She was convinced she was having a heart attack. Her body collapsed into the ground and writhed in pain, her skin burned, and her heart ached. The pain was too much. She could not handle it. Her breathing hitched and then her head dropped to the ground and her eyes closed.

In the next few moments she felt like she was ripped out of her body and into a tunnel of white light. She knew she was dead, she had to be. Her mind started to churn, sound ringed through her brain becoming more and more intense as it raised beyond the audible spectrum. Then she was transported through the tunnel into an intense swarm of thought. Her brain was being pumped with thoughts not just her own but new thoughts, new knowledge and it happened all so fast. She could not process the thoughts fast enough as visions flashed before her eyes.

She stopped fighting and started to become interested in the visions, symbols revealed themselves and as if she had already seen them she knew what they were. They looked like a language, like letters. Then a world revealed itself to her. Runes. The symbols, 42 of them in total started to dance around in her vision, creating circles and patterns. She instantly understood their use, these glyphs were spells, thousands of them in different combinations and every combination could do something unique. Then she saw it, one rune held her focus. It looked like a lowercase n but was crossed like a t. This rune started to glow ice blue and filled her vision, it filled her every thought and then rushed into her body. The visions dissipated into her chest and she was left with blackness before her consciousness slipped away from her.

-

She slowly opened her eyes and was seated in a dark room. The walls were covered in smooth black tiles. As she registered to her surroundings she noticed she was sat on a dark leather lounge. How did she get here? Was she dead? Was this purgatory? Before she could think of an answer a ginger man dressed in the strangest garb entered the room, he had a brown cloak on over what looked to be a very dated business suit. He looked toward her with a smile that matched his pleasant face.

"Ahh, you are finally awake." He answered as his smile grew. "I just love muggle clothes." He stated as he looked intently at her shoes. He snapped out of his fascination and continued. "Pardon me, I'm Arthur Weasley. What is your name?" He asked as he pulled out a scroll from his pocket and unravelled it before taking a seat at the desk opposite the couch.

"Ummm, Na...zaire... Naz... Naz Atkinson" The name came out on its own, she had not formed the words herself. It was if her mouth created the name on its own. So, she just rolled with it. After she had said the name it felt... right. Strangely she did not remember her old name. It had just disappeared from her mind.

"Nazaire Atkinson, and your age?" He asked as a feathered quill wrote on this parchment. "Sorry about the questions, we don't have access to the Australian Ministry's personal information"

For a moment she was confused as she watched the quill move back and forth on its own. The moment of confusion lasted too long as he looked back up at her from the paper. "Oh um... 27" She answered truthfully this time. "Um, where am I?" She looked at him with her teal eyes.

"The Ministry of Magic of course, you got yourself into a bit of a situation here. I'm not sure how the Australian Ministry runs but here in the United Kingdom you aren't allowed to cast spells in front of muggles" She was shocked at the response, what was a muggle and what was this talk of magic and spells? She was so dumbstruck that she did not have the chance to ask what was going on. "Okay, now that we have your information I'll take you on through to your trial."

Her face flashed with fear for a second. What sort of trial is this? She concluded that this must be purgatory and that they would be determining if she would go to heaven... or hell. Her eyes betrayed her look of fear.

"No need to worry Naz, they won't send you off to Azkaban, you will probably just get a fine." This information soothed her fear. She wondered if Azkaban was the afterlife word for hell. "Come along, I'll take you through to the Wizengamot"

He lead her out of the room and down a hallway also with walls covered in the same black tiles. As he walked down the hall in front of her he continued to talk but this time with a tone of sombre.

"I suggest that you don't fight the charges, there is evidence against you and because you are foreign you won't have anyone to defend you" he stopped for a moment a looked back into her eyes. "Just plead guilty and pay the fine" she nodded in response.

They walked for a while, through halls and down stairs not passing a single soul until finally they came to a large room. The room was circular with wooden benches around a dip in the centre where a singular chair was sat. Her eyes looked from the chair up to the podium it was facing where a woman with pursed lips and a stern face sat. Her eyes drifted up to the ceiling which was so tall it sucked the warmth from the room, the ceiling looked as if it was a pool of shimmering water.

After a moment to sink into her surroundings Arthur gave her a small nudge and pointed toward the chair. She looked between him and it and then understood that she should go sit.

The hall was silent as Arthur made his way past a few dozen men in black cloaks until he passed the parchment from earlier to the stern looking woman. She nodded at him and he left the room.

"Miss Nazaire Atkinson, on the 13th of July you were witnessed by the town of Pembrokeshire, Wales producing a lumos maxima, the light was seen by 14 muggles and was covered by muggle newspapers as an 'unexplained lightning strike'." Naz sat shocked and confused by what she heard, what was this 'muggle' word, and secondly, she wondered what a lumos maxima was.

The stern woman stood up and looked toward the rest of the cloaked men in the room. "A wand was not found on her person or nearby... but we assume that because she was found unconscious that the incantation had been produced unaided" The woman looked back toward Naz. "How do you plea?"

Naz thought for a moment, then the voice of Arthur Weasley replayed in her head. He told her to accept that she was guilty. "Guilty" The word slipped from her mouth without much further thought.

The stern woman tapped a hammer on the podium. "For your crimes you will pay a fine of two hundred and thirty gold pieces"

Naz stood up and patted at her pockets before pulling out a wallet. "How much is that in pounds?"

The whole room looked toward her in shock, one man was specifically interested. He was an old man with a long beard, soft eyes framed by half-moon glasses. He looked as if something had just clicked in his brain as his eyes widened.

"I'm sorry miss, but we do not take muggle money" The stern woman said as her jaw dropped.

"I don't have any other currency" Naz responded with worry on her tone. Instantly the old man stood up and spoke.

"Perhaps she could offer community service, what do you specialise in?" His voice was loud and authoritative but still comforting. Before she knew it, her mouth started to move on its own again.

"I am a master of Ancient Runes" she answered blankly. Wondering why her mouth was saying things without her consent.

"I would request the Wizengamot to redefine the sentencing. Perhaps community service?" The old man addressed the stern lady at the podium.

"What are you suggesting, Albus?" She responded.

"I require a new study of ancient runes professor, perhaps she could serve the community at Hogwarts" He suggested with a small smile playing at his lips.

The stern woman looked back and forth between the old headmaster and the defendant. She sighed. "All in favour" Albus' hand rose among a majority of the other people dressed in black. "Granted"

At this the hammer struck again and the room started to clear quickly. It looked as if this trial had just been a nuisance for most of them.

Arthur was waiting by the door Naz had entered earlier. And behind him the old wizard was striding toward them.

"Good evening Miss Atkinson, I am very pleased to meet you. My name is Albus Dumbledore" he offered a hand to shake and she obliged.

"Albus is the Headmaster of Hogwarts school. I guess you will be working there now. You might be teaching some of my children" Arthur said happily, a smile returning to his face.

"Excuse me Arthur, I think I will be taking Naz back to Hogwarts and give her a tour of the grounds." With that he placed his hand on the small of her back and lead her swiftly, almost urgently through the halls. He walked with a fast pace getting faster up the stairs until they both reached a huge gallery. The area had a fountain in the centre and along each wall were fireplaces. People rushed around busy, paper planes seamed to zip through the air, changing directions of their own accord. Then she saw it out of the corner of her eye, one of the fireplaces had burnt green before someone stepped out of it and dusted themselves off.

All this movement and... magic was overwhelming. Albus noticed her distress and simply leaned in to whisper. "It is okay, this is all real, it's not just in your head" her eyes shot open. She looked around, at it all. Noticed so many more strange things happening. Magic was real? No. She concluded that she must have been dead, this was real... for the afterlife.

The two walked toward one of the fireplaces. Then Albus swiftly turned to Naz with a pot in his hand.

"Listen to me carefully, I want you to grab a handful of this powder" he motioned to the pot and she obliged by grabbing a fistful of powder. "Stand in the fireplace, say Honeydukes and then throw the powder down." She looked at him confused for a moment before he nudged her into the fireplace. Saying the word, she threw the powder down and, in an instant, green flames rose around her. They were cool to the touch. She felt her body jolt before she was swept up into the flames and landed in another fireplace.

She stepped out into a bustling tavern filled with people drinking. All of them were dressed in robes like those she had seen all day. The fire roared behind her and a familiar old hand held the small of her back again before leading her through the old tavern.

She saw mugs full of mead float past her to land on a table nearby. A broom in the corner was sweeping up mess on its own. Some of the strangest things she had seen but she brushed it off as normal, besides she just teleported through a fireplace.

"Albus!" A voice yelled from one of the tables. The voice was high pitched but still sounded masculine. Naz could now see why the voice was like this as an unnaturally short man with black hair started to waddle closer.

"Filius, how have you been?" Albus asked in a soft voice but continued to walk toward the exit.

"Good, good, who is this?" The small man squeaked.

"Hogwarts business, best be off" Albus continued to lead her toward the door and pushed her out of the tavern. She heard him continue before he followed her out into the night. "You will meet her later"

The old man looked down toward Naz as they walked up a path and out of the small village. "Sorry about the rush, I have something I need to... understand" she just nodded again in response, she was never good at holding conversation, so she just found silently agreeing was the best way to converse. She always liked people who were comfortable to just sit and be in company, not having to talk all the time. Frankly, chatter boxes pissed her off.

They wandered up the hill, coming toward a clearing surrounded by a dense forest and a lake. In front of them along the path was a run-down gate before a bridge. Beyond that it looked as if the path wore away to nothing. She looked at Albus with confusion all over her face. He thought for a moment and then smiled before putting his hand amongst his robes and pulling out a long thin stick. He waved it in front of the gates and before her eyes they started to change. Lichen, moss and cobwebs on the gates started to melt away, the bent bars snapped back into place. The crumbling road ahead started to shoot bricks out of the ground and beyond that a castle started to come into view.

Her eyes widened to behold the new site before her. Seeing the glint in her eye Albus' smile became larger.

He swished his wand again and the gates parted and swung open.

"You're a... wizard" She gaped.

Dumbledore laughed before he spoke. "That I am" He then started to walk through the gates and along the bridge.

She followed along looking around as if stunned. He lead her up to a courtyard and through two massive gates. The castle was empty.

He guided her up some stairs and to her amusement the paintings on the wall greeted her. Some smiled and waved. She would have stopped to chat to one who had introduced himself as a Sir William Barron. He stood over the carcass of a lion with an old safari hat on but Albus was still in a rush to get to somewhere, so she followed on. She also wanted answers to all of this. It must have been the afterlife with all this magic around her.

They went up a multitude of stairs, some even moved which at first shocked Naz. She had almost fallen over the bannister as the staircase started to move. They made their way higher and higher through the castle. But before long the two turned into a corridor and stopped at a gargoyle.

Albus cleared his throat. "Toffee Eclairs" He spoke. The gargoyle stepped out of the way to reveal a staircase which tightly spiralled upward. He lead her up to his office door and it opened at his presence.

"Please come in, I need to understand something and then I will explain everything" He stated before gesturing his hand into his office.

As she entered the office she noticed so many odd things. Firstly, cabinets were full of different trophies, treasures and some clockwork pieces she didn't even know what use they had. On top of the cabinet was a hat that looked as if it had moved to grimace at her. To the other side of the circular room was a seating area beside a warm fire with a pedestal surrounded by mirrors off to the right. In front of her, raised up on a platform, was a desk piled with papers and a huge cushioned leather chair.

The older wizard motioned for her to follow him toward the pedestal. As she drew closer she noticed that a shallow bowl was floating above it and was filled with a silvery liquid.

"I need to ask you to do something before I can tell you what you want to know" he looked at her with the most sincerity. "Please bring to the forefront of your mind the events that happened before you found yourself in the Ministry" she nodded, and he placed the long thin stick toward her temple. He drew it back slowly withdrawing a thin stream of silver. It cut off as the memory ended.

He thanked her before placing the thin stream into the bowl of silvery liquid. Nodding toward the lounge area he motioned for her to sit. Then he placed his face into the shallow bowl for a few minutes. She was surprised he could hold his breath for so long as she sat waiting for him to emerge. After a long moment he withdrew, gasping for air.

"Just as I thought" his face looked grim as he spoke. He walked over toward the lounge opposite Nazaire and sat down.

"Cockroach cluster?" He picked up a bowl and offered it toward Naz. She grabbed one of the dark shiny sweets and popped it into her mouth. It was sweeter than she had expected, and her mouth started to water.

She waited a moment, looking into his bright blue eyes before he spoke again. "First of all, you are not dead. This is real." He gestured around the room. He hesitated before he continued. "but I am afraid you will have to stay here, you cannot go home" he looked solemn.

She nodded in response, she didn't even know her way out of the castle, besides she was more interested now in everything around her. She did not want to leave. Her life was shit back in Australia anyway, basic office job, traffic jams in the morning and afternoon, no partner, no friends, no enjoyment.

He paused for a moment before he continued. "I should tell you what has happened. That stone circle that you touched was imbued with a powerful energy that you absorbed. It found you worthy of this power, but I am unsure what this power is, we will have to figure that out in time. What I do know is that you can now do everything I can, you are essentially a witch" She looked at him angrily.

"That is not a nice name to call me!" She retorted.

"No, I mean... you are physically a witch, you can do spells and incantations as I can" he implored as she considered what had been said to her.

"Show me" she ordered.

"There is more, you were a muggle... non-magic folk. Also, you can do things that I cannot, for example see that book, try to lift it with your mind... outstretch your arm if you need to" She looked between him and the book. Then she reached her hand towards it and with all of her might told it to raise... it did. It didn't just raise it threw itself into the ceiling with force.

"What... I did that?" Naz questioned her new abilities.

"Correct. But there is more, your unaided abilities are much more powerful than any wizard or witches" he gave her a small smile before his face turned dark again. "This is the concerning part, the power you hold has been forgotten about by most of the wizarding world. Therefore, the ministry thought you were just a witch, but you are more than that. You are a warlock. You cannot tell anyone this or you will be in grave danger. Neither can you use this unaided magic... we will get you a wand tomorrow." He looked at her with stern eyes.

"I... understand" She looked back into his bright blue eyes and nodded once. "I have so many questions..."

"They will have to wait for now, dear. I must discuss an important matter with one of my staff." He snapped his fingers and a strange creature appeared out of thin air. It was small with a disproportionate head and pointed ears. He whispered something to the little creature and it disappeared with a pop.

"As for your accommodation, you will be staying in a spare living quarters near the astronomy tower. I will have one of the house elves guide you there" he snapped his fingers and a different one of those same creatures appeared.

"Hello Miss, my name is Tibby" It looked up at her with huge green eyes and a half-crooked smile.

She lowered herself down to Tibby's eye level and offered her hand. "Hello Tibby, my name is Naz" The small creature hesitated for a moment, looking between the hand and her eyes, then decided to grasp hold of one of her fingers and shake. This produced a giggle from Naz as she noticed the small size of the creature's hand.

"This way Miss" he said as he walked to the door out of the headmaster's office.

Suddenly the doors burst open with force and in the doorway stood a tall man dressed in a thick black robe, it looked as if he had an excess of layers on considering it was summer. As Naz looked up from his boots, to his robes and then to his face she noticed his dark raven-like hair, it looked smooth and shiny. His face held a hardened expression that matched his crooked nose. Aside from the sternest of his face he was mysteriously attractive, especially once she noticed his black eyes, they reflected the light of the fireplace.

She stood shocked for a moment before she felt a small hand grasp hers and started pulling her along.

"Ahhh Severus, prompt as always…" The old headmaster stated before the doors closed behind Naz and were sealed shut with the sound of a lock engaging.

After Tibby the house elf had guided her to her room, it appeared again a few moments later with a tray of roast dinner, fruits, ice cream and some cheese and crackers as well as three different drinks.

"Some dinner for you Ma'am" The little creature stated before disappearing one last time.

The room was grand, not what she had expected. It was larger than her apartment back in Sydney and the huge arched window looked over the lake and part of the forest. She noticed a small hut along the forest edge and then saw the door open and a huge hairy man stepped out. She smiled and shook her head. Life was about to get so interesting she thought to herself.

She retired for the night with thoughts rushing through her brain. She was a warlock and could do magic now. It amassed her. But she couldn't tell anyone or use her magic unaided. Why? She needed to find out what warlocks were and how she got this power. Perhaps this school had a library, she decided she would need to do some research. After tossing and turning in the comfortable bed the rush of thoughts died away and her breathing slowed.