CHAPTER TWO
ACQUAINTANCES
Miriam continued to pound the door, making Natalie feel as though a hammer were being
knocked into her head. What she really wanted to do was shout back at her stepmum, but she
knew better than that.
"Don't you DARE fall back asleep! I am not coming to wake you up again, young lady! You've
got chores to do. . ."
Natalie muttered her apologies, just to shut Miriam up. But Miriam was never satisfied until she
got the final word.
"You damn well better be sorry! I could be doing your laundry right now. Not that you're
thankful or anything,"
The voice of Miriam droned on and on, while Natalie untangled her long legs from her bed sheets.
She mimicked her stepmum, because this was the speech she heard every time she had The
Dream. She blocked out Miriam, and wiped the drool crowding around the corners of her mouth.
The Dream...
So clear and vivid, as though it were yesterday. She remembered every leaf that fell that cold,
heartless night. Every word her father uttered, lost, and so afraid. She could recall her feelings as
though she were still six years old. The memory of the werewolf still lingered in her mind as well.
Those yellow teeth were hard to forget. . . so frightening. . .
Natalie shook her head, trying to clear the memories clinging to her brain.
"Girl, do you hear me?!" Miriam shouted.
Natalie thought that for all Miriam was worth, at least she helped block her horrible memories.
Natalie got the feeling that although Miriam was acting aggravated, she actually enjoyed
exercising her lungs while blowing out Natalie's eardrums.
There's a hint of pride in her voice when she yells, thought Natalie. What a prat. I don't know
how her kids can stand her!
Instead of voicing her opinions, Natalie shouted back, "Yes, Miriam!"
Natalie heard a satisfied snort of pride when Miriam walked heatedly away. Natalie went on with
her morning routines, as if nothing happened at all. She started to walk into the adjoining
bathroom when she gave a yelp.
"Oh, my God. I'm so sorry, Dennis!" Dennis was her older half-brother. She had walked in on
him while he was starting to undress for a shower. She covered her eyes and walked straight out
of the bathroom. Dennis's room also had a door into the bathroom on the other side.
"Oh, it's ok, Natters. I've only just started getting undressed, after all. It's not like we expected
to get privacy when we both claim the bathroom! Hell, I shouldn't even be living here," Dennis
told her calmly.
Natalie was filled with relief. She felt that it was too good to be true that Dennis was actually
nice to her. She expected him to blow up on her at any moment, just as Ben, the second oldest
brother did commonly.
"All the same, I'm glad you haven't moved out yet. With me absent-mindedly walking around the
place, I'm surprised you haven't thrown me out yet!" Natalie said.
"You're only absent-minded because of my mum. But watch out, I might throw you out if you
keep taking up the bloody bathroom counter! Look at this: makeup, makeup, hair accessories,
and whaddya know, more makeup! If some evil wizard ever tries to take over our household,
he'll have a hell of a time trying to curse you! I bet you'll scare him away with your girly stuff,"
he said disgustedly.
"Dennis?" Natalie inquired.
"Yeah?"
"Shut up!"
Natalie heard an assortment of snorting, then the shower being turned on. She knew her nineteen
year-old wizard step-brother desperately wanted to move out, and that she should feel sorry for
him, but she couldn't help feeling like he was the last shred of sanity left in the house. If he
wasn't nice to her, and if her father didn't allow Miriam to punish her too often, she would curse
herself.
Of course, since she hadn't attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry yet, so the best
she could do would be to run away. But she couldn't leave her father alone in the house with this
Miriam beast. Although, if that was how her father looked at Miriam, then why did he marry her,
two years ago? He had only been a widower for three years, marrying Miriam when Natalie was
nine years old.
The two had met at the Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley. It was the anniversary of Allison's
death. Every year on that date, her father would go off and drink to her mother's spirit, getting
more drunk by the minute.
Maybe that's why he supposedly fell in love with Miriam. He got drunk, and she gave him a love
potion, Natalie had thought wildly, when she first met Miriam.
For certain, Natalie and Miriam hadn't "hit it off" as well as Charles McKennon, Natalie's father,
had planned. Or maybe not planned, but hoped. Charles always had a gleam of hope in his eyes
every time Natalie and Miriam were in the same room. He loved Natalie like no other person, but
for some reason, he evidently loved Miriam too. Or perhaps he was just trying to fill that empty
hole in his heart where Allison was concerned.
Natalie's thoughts were interrupted when an owl suddenly tapped on her window. Natalie's
thoughts were converted to opening the window so the owl could come through.
"Hey Mr. Fuzzles," Natalie cooed, stroking her best friend's owl. "You have a message for me
from Lily?" Natalie continued, talking to the owl. Mr. Fuzzles hooted softly, then stuck out his
leg so that Natalie could take the small letter from his fuzzy leg. Owl post was the way wizards
and witches communicated.
Natalie unrolled the parchment and recognized the tidy scrawl to be Lily's handwriting indeed.
Although, she couldn't imagine who else would be sending letters to her with Mr. Fuzzles.
Lily Evans wasn't an only child, but her god-forsaken sister made anyone wish that she was. Lily
and Petunia: sisters by blood, beasts by eyesight. Although Lily never showed it, she always
wanted to turn Petunia into a bat, just like she saw magicians on the television doing. She
figured, since she got the Hogwarts letter a few days before, she should start thinking about
magic. Little did she know.
Natalie started to read Lily's letter.
Natalie met Lily the a few days before, actually. She was out in the garden, getting ingredients to
a potion that helped her werewolf transformations seem more bearable. Lily had passed by, heard
Natalie muttering to her herself about how she was going to curse a lady named Mary, or Miriam
when she got the chance. Lily decided to take a wild shot and said, "Hogwarts?"
Natalie's head had shot up, and she gave Lily a quizzical look.
"How long have you been standing there?" she asked.
"Long enough to hear you talking about curses. Are you from Hogwarts?" Lily said calmly.
"I haven't gotten my letter yet. I expect to get it soon....wait, aren't you a muggle?" Natalie was
suddenly scared, as though she had told a terrible secret.
"A what?"
"How do you know about Hogwarts?"
"I got my letter today. I'm on my way to the post-office. I assume I reply?" Lily sought.
"No...there's no way to, I don't think. Listen, what's your name?"
"Lily Evans,"
"That's a pretty name," Natalie mused. "My name's Natalie." She had gotten to like this girl
over their past five minutes of conversation.
"Thanks. Hullo, then, Natalie. I suppose I'll ring you up then when I get back to my house?
What's your telly number? I can't stay too much longer,"
"My wha..? Ring me up? What on earth are you jabbering about?" Natalie said fervently.
Lily looked startled. "Ok, then. How shall I contact you to keep in touch?"
"Oh," Natalie replied, somewhat happily, not used to the idea of having friends. Then, "Listen,
you don't want to be my friend," she said slowly and sadly, the full weight of her abnormalities
hitting her.
"Why ever not?"
"You just...don't."
"Unless you plan to ridicule me in front of thousands of people, stab me in the back, or try to kill
me, then I don't see why I wouldn't want to be your friend. So how shall I contact you?" She
asked with a defiant look on her face.
"Owl me, of course!" Natalie said happily.
"Owl you? Is that a form of walkie-talkies?"
"No," Natalie said slowly. "It's where you get an owl, and it brings me a letter you write."
"Ooh. Where, by chance, do you get an owl?" Lily asked. "Are the woods full of them?"
"Diagon Alley," Natalie told her, glad to know something she didn't. This eleven year old knew a
lot of big words.
"Ok, I'll buy one and send you a letter. Do I need your address?"
"No. It knows where to go," Natalie laughed, seeing Lily's startled look. "You must be rich!"
Natalie exclaimed.
"Am I, really?" Lily asked.
Natalie gave her an odd look.
"Oh, I don't think I'm that rich. I just thought 'rich' was another code name for something." Lily
explained.
"I hardly know anyone that can just buy an owl. Oh, well. I don't plan to go into Diagon Alley
myself until the week before I leave."
"Father and Mother told me they'd take me tomorrow, so that I can learn what I need to.
They're so proud of me! I'm the first witch in the family. I'm pretty pleased myself."
Thus, Natalie and Lily became friends that day. As far as Natalie was concerned, their
conversation was still dwindling on.
The note said:
"Dear Natters, (Can I call you that?)
Today my parents took me to....to....Diagonally Alley. I got all my spell- books, and looked at
fascinating stuff like magical frog spawn. I must say that this wasn't exactly like what I
expected.
I can't wait until September the first! I hope you've gotten your letter. I don't want to go to
Hogwarts alone.
By the way, Mr. Fuzzles liked the corn muffin bits you gave him yesterday. I was surprised that
he came back so quickly! It's amazing the things these animals can do.
Since you explained in the letter yesterday what a Muggle was, what am I? You're a pureblood,
correct? Or half-blood...? I'm obviously not any of those.
Our spell-books look confusing. Can you help me out once we get to Hogwarts? I'm thinking
we can help each other out.
See you soon!
~Lily"
Natalie smiled to herself. So this was what having a friend was all about. She decided to write
back. But she suddenly frowned when she realized that she hadn't gotten the letter to Hogwarts
yet. Was it because of her being a danger to other students?
Lily -
I'll be going to Diagon Alley soon. Mr. Fuzzles is real cute! I could tell he liked the corn
muffins. I hope you don't mind, but I fed him some more.
I haven't gotten my letter yet.
She paused, and left the subject there. She hadn't told Lily of her being a werewolf yet. She
resumed,
I'm a pureblood, and you're of muggle parentage. If anyone calls you a Mudblood, tell me, and
I'll personally hang them by their ears. That's a mean way of saying your family isn't magic.
I'd love to help each other at school.
I'll talk to you soon!
- Natters
She didn't mind at all that Lily called her Natters. It was a friendly sort of name that she was used
to only Dennis calling her. What she did mind, however, was that she hadn't gotten her Hogwarts
letter yet. It was dwelling heavily on her mind
ACQUAINTANCES
Miriam continued to pound the door, making Natalie feel as though a hammer were being
knocked into her head. What she really wanted to do was shout back at her stepmum, but she
knew better than that.
"Don't you DARE fall back asleep! I am not coming to wake you up again, young lady! You've
got chores to do. . ."
Natalie muttered her apologies, just to shut Miriam up. But Miriam was never satisfied until she
got the final word.
"You damn well better be sorry! I could be doing your laundry right now. Not that you're
thankful or anything,"
The voice of Miriam droned on and on, while Natalie untangled her long legs from her bed sheets.
She mimicked her stepmum, because this was the speech she heard every time she had The
Dream. She blocked out Miriam, and wiped the drool crowding around the corners of her mouth.
The Dream...
So clear and vivid, as though it were yesterday. She remembered every leaf that fell that cold,
heartless night. Every word her father uttered, lost, and so afraid. She could recall her feelings as
though she were still six years old. The memory of the werewolf still lingered in her mind as well.
Those yellow teeth were hard to forget. . . so frightening. . .
Natalie shook her head, trying to clear the memories clinging to her brain.
"Girl, do you hear me?!" Miriam shouted.
Natalie thought that for all Miriam was worth, at least she helped block her horrible memories.
Natalie got the feeling that although Miriam was acting aggravated, she actually enjoyed
exercising her lungs while blowing out Natalie's eardrums.
There's a hint of pride in her voice when she yells, thought Natalie. What a prat. I don't know
how her kids can stand her!
Instead of voicing her opinions, Natalie shouted back, "Yes, Miriam!"
Natalie heard a satisfied snort of pride when Miriam walked heatedly away. Natalie went on with
her morning routines, as if nothing happened at all. She started to walk into the adjoining
bathroom when she gave a yelp.
"Oh, my God. I'm so sorry, Dennis!" Dennis was her older half-brother. She had walked in on
him while he was starting to undress for a shower. She covered her eyes and walked straight out
of the bathroom. Dennis's room also had a door into the bathroom on the other side.
"Oh, it's ok, Natters. I've only just started getting undressed, after all. It's not like we expected
to get privacy when we both claim the bathroom! Hell, I shouldn't even be living here," Dennis
told her calmly.
Natalie was filled with relief. She felt that it was too good to be true that Dennis was actually
nice to her. She expected him to blow up on her at any moment, just as Ben, the second oldest
brother did commonly.
"All the same, I'm glad you haven't moved out yet. With me absent-mindedly walking around the
place, I'm surprised you haven't thrown me out yet!" Natalie said.
"You're only absent-minded because of my mum. But watch out, I might throw you out if you
keep taking up the bloody bathroom counter! Look at this: makeup, makeup, hair accessories,
and whaddya know, more makeup! If some evil wizard ever tries to take over our household,
he'll have a hell of a time trying to curse you! I bet you'll scare him away with your girly stuff,"
he said disgustedly.
"Dennis?" Natalie inquired.
"Yeah?"
"Shut up!"
Natalie heard an assortment of snorting, then the shower being turned on. She knew her nineteen
year-old wizard step-brother desperately wanted to move out, and that she should feel sorry for
him, but she couldn't help feeling like he was the last shred of sanity left in the house. If he
wasn't nice to her, and if her father didn't allow Miriam to punish her too often, she would curse
herself.
Of course, since she hadn't attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry yet, so the best
she could do would be to run away. But she couldn't leave her father alone in the house with this
Miriam beast. Although, if that was how her father looked at Miriam, then why did he marry her,
two years ago? He had only been a widower for three years, marrying Miriam when Natalie was
nine years old.
The two had met at the Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley. It was the anniversary of Allison's
death. Every year on that date, her father would go off and drink to her mother's spirit, getting
more drunk by the minute.
Maybe that's why he supposedly fell in love with Miriam. He got drunk, and she gave him a love
potion, Natalie had thought wildly, when she first met Miriam.
For certain, Natalie and Miriam hadn't "hit it off" as well as Charles McKennon, Natalie's father,
had planned. Or maybe not planned, but hoped. Charles always had a gleam of hope in his eyes
every time Natalie and Miriam were in the same room. He loved Natalie like no other person, but
for some reason, he evidently loved Miriam too. Or perhaps he was just trying to fill that empty
hole in his heart where Allison was concerned.
Natalie's thoughts were interrupted when an owl suddenly tapped on her window. Natalie's
thoughts were converted to opening the window so the owl could come through.
"Hey Mr. Fuzzles," Natalie cooed, stroking her best friend's owl. "You have a message for me
from Lily?" Natalie continued, talking to the owl. Mr. Fuzzles hooted softly, then stuck out his
leg so that Natalie could take the small letter from his fuzzy leg. Owl post was the way wizards
and witches communicated.
Natalie unrolled the parchment and recognized the tidy scrawl to be Lily's handwriting indeed.
Although, she couldn't imagine who else would be sending letters to her with Mr. Fuzzles.
Lily Evans wasn't an only child, but her god-forsaken sister made anyone wish that she was. Lily
and Petunia: sisters by blood, beasts by eyesight. Although Lily never showed it, she always
wanted to turn Petunia into a bat, just like she saw magicians on the television doing. She
figured, since she got the Hogwarts letter a few days before, she should start thinking about
magic. Little did she know.
Natalie started to read Lily's letter.
Natalie met Lily the a few days before, actually. She was out in the garden, getting ingredients to
a potion that helped her werewolf transformations seem more bearable. Lily had passed by, heard
Natalie muttering to her herself about how she was going to curse a lady named Mary, or Miriam
when she got the chance. Lily decided to take a wild shot and said, "Hogwarts?"
Natalie's head had shot up, and she gave Lily a quizzical look.
"How long have you been standing there?" she asked.
"Long enough to hear you talking about curses. Are you from Hogwarts?" Lily said calmly.
"I haven't gotten my letter yet. I expect to get it soon....wait, aren't you a muggle?" Natalie was
suddenly scared, as though she had told a terrible secret.
"A what?"
"How do you know about Hogwarts?"
"I got my letter today. I'm on my way to the post-office. I assume I reply?" Lily sought.
"No...there's no way to, I don't think. Listen, what's your name?"
"Lily Evans,"
"That's a pretty name," Natalie mused. "My name's Natalie." She had gotten to like this girl
over their past five minutes of conversation.
"Thanks. Hullo, then, Natalie. I suppose I'll ring you up then when I get back to my house?
What's your telly number? I can't stay too much longer,"
"My wha..? Ring me up? What on earth are you jabbering about?" Natalie said fervently.
Lily looked startled. "Ok, then. How shall I contact you to keep in touch?"
"Oh," Natalie replied, somewhat happily, not used to the idea of having friends. Then, "Listen,
you don't want to be my friend," she said slowly and sadly, the full weight of her abnormalities
hitting her.
"Why ever not?"
"You just...don't."
"Unless you plan to ridicule me in front of thousands of people, stab me in the back, or try to kill
me, then I don't see why I wouldn't want to be your friend. So how shall I contact you?" She
asked with a defiant look on her face.
"Owl me, of course!" Natalie said happily.
"Owl you? Is that a form of walkie-talkies?"
"No," Natalie said slowly. "It's where you get an owl, and it brings me a letter you write."
"Ooh. Where, by chance, do you get an owl?" Lily asked. "Are the woods full of them?"
"Diagon Alley," Natalie told her, glad to know something she didn't. This eleven year old knew a
lot of big words.
"Ok, I'll buy one and send you a letter. Do I need your address?"
"No. It knows where to go," Natalie laughed, seeing Lily's startled look. "You must be rich!"
Natalie exclaimed.
"Am I, really?" Lily asked.
Natalie gave her an odd look.
"Oh, I don't think I'm that rich. I just thought 'rich' was another code name for something." Lily
explained.
"I hardly know anyone that can just buy an owl. Oh, well. I don't plan to go into Diagon Alley
myself until the week before I leave."
"Father and Mother told me they'd take me tomorrow, so that I can learn what I need to.
They're so proud of me! I'm the first witch in the family. I'm pretty pleased myself."
Thus, Natalie and Lily became friends that day. As far as Natalie was concerned, their
conversation was still dwindling on.
The note said:
"Dear Natters, (Can I call you that?)
Today my parents took me to....to....Diagonally Alley. I got all my spell- books, and looked at
fascinating stuff like magical frog spawn. I must say that this wasn't exactly like what I
expected.
I can't wait until September the first! I hope you've gotten your letter. I don't want to go to
Hogwarts alone.
By the way, Mr. Fuzzles liked the corn muffin bits you gave him yesterday. I was surprised that
he came back so quickly! It's amazing the things these animals can do.
Since you explained in the letter yesterday what a Muggle was, what am I? You're a pureblood,
correct? Or half-blood...? I'm obviously not any of those.
Our spell-books look confusing. Can you help me out once we get to Hogwarts? I'm thinking
we can help each other out.
See you soon!
~Lily"
Natalie smiled to herself. So this was what having a friend was all about. She decided to write
back. But she suddenly frowned when she realized that she hadn't gotten the letter to Hogwarts
yet. Was it because of her being a danger to other students?
Lily -
I'll be going to Diagon Alley soon. Mr. Fuzzles is real cute! I could tell he liked the corn
muffins. I hope you don't mind, but I fed him some more.
I haven't gotten my letter yet.
She paused, and left the subject there. She hadn't told Lily of her being a werewolf yet. She
resumed,
I'm a pureblood, and you're of muggle parentage. If anyone calls you a Mudblood, tell me, and
I'll personally hang them by their ears. That's a mean way of saying your family isn't magic.
I'd love to help each other at school.
I'll talk to you soon!
- Natters
She didn't mind at all that Lily called her Natters. It was a friendly sort of name that she was used
to only Dennis calling her. What she did mind, however, was that she hadn't gotten her Hogwarts
letter yet. It was dwelling heavily on her mind