The next thing I truly remember is lying on the cold floor. I have a vague recollection of landing on the hard, unforgiving ground. I could definitely feel an ache in my head that could surely be caused by hitting the ground, so that was a possibility. At any rate, I was uncomfortable lying on the harsh surface and I made an effort to sit up. I pressed my palms against the floor and extended my arms, pushing my body into a position allowing me to see the area I had landed in.

It was a room, a very large room at that. The walls were stone and I had the distinct impression I was in some medieval castle. That feeling was intensified by the candles illuminating the room-sort of. They were lit, but the glass ceiling was letting in the daytime sunlight, so that kind of ruined the spooky effect. There were four tables, impressively long ones that stretched from about ten feet in front of me to the end of the room. They were laden with exquisite looking food that my starved frame was desperate to devour.

There was, however, one small detail I'd left out, and that was the fact that the tables were filled with kids of varying ages, all of them dressed in the oddest clothes I'd ever seen. They looked like cloaks almost, and each table had different accents on their coverings. There was green, red, blue, and yellow. The kids all wore a similar expression though, and that was of surprise. There was absolute silence, you could hear a pin drop.

I was trying to figure out what exactly I had just got myself into, and also how I was going to break the silence when I felt a gentle tap on my shoulder.

I quickly spun around, scrambling to my feet and backing away slightly, wobbling slightly on my feet before I steadied myself. The tapper was a very ancient looking old man. His white beard extended to his waist where it was bound neatly and he was dressed similarly to the kids, wearing the robe thing, except his was a soft green, not black. He wore half-moon spectacles that rested on a wrinkled nose, but behind them were eyes that clearly betrayed his age. I knew that he may look old, but there was no doubt in my mind that this man was very wise, and should not be underestimated.

He lifted his arms clearly indicating that he meant no harm to me. I nodded slightly, trying to calm my startled, pumping heart. I could now see that behind me was a table full of adults dressed similarly to the man, some a bit odd looking, but none that appeared particularly threatening. I returned my attention to the robed person in front of me.

He began to speak slowly to me, "My dear, are you quite all right? That was an impressive fall you took, although I don't believe I saw where you fell from."

I nodded swiftly, wavering again on my feet from the sudden headrush, "Yes, I'm fine, thank you." I glanced around nervously, "And I'm not too certain I know where I fell from." I pressed my palm to my forehead, trying to stifle my building headache, "I was back-, I mean I was in my room when I tripped suddenly and found myself here," I almost admitted to being a stripper before I caught myself. Nobody needed to know that about me.

The man studied my face closely, I expected him to call me out on my falsehood, but he seemed to accept it and move on. Something told me that he knew better though. "Well, how about we figure it out in a place a bit more private, shall we?"

Before I could respond he addressed the sea of kids, "Finish your meal, and then return to your dormitories. There will be no afternoon classes this afternoon." The kids-students I suppose- let out a resounding cheer, causing me to wince and put my hand over my ears. The man spoke with two of the teachers and then began striding to a large double door at the end of the hallway. I followed quickly behind him, almost trotting to keep up. My suspicions about this man seemed to be accurate thus far, he looked painfully old, but he clearly didn't feel the effects of his age.

I stumbled slightly, my headache was pretty intense, and I was having trouble really concentrating on anything. Somebody then came up to my side and grasped my arm to hold me steady. I looked over and it was a very proper looking lady, maybe in her early sixties. Her hair was twisted in an elegant bun, and she had a stern expression. But I felt that she was capable of being a very surprising individual.

She glanced down at me, and gave me a tight little smile, "I'll assist you to the headmaster's office. We can't have you falling all over the place."

I gave her a grateful smile and murmured quietly, "Thank you very much. Ms..?"

She gave my arm a little pat, "All in good time my dear, all in good time,"

We continued down a twisting corridor, full of odd things, staircases that moved on their own, and not like escalators. Actually moving around so they had a different destination every few minutes. I almost tripped countless times, and the lady caught me every time, although she was starting to give me an odd look like there was more wrong with me than she had initially thought.

There was also another man, he was dressed in all black robes, and had shoulder length, oily, black hair. He had a sour expression on his face that made me think he would rather be anywhere but here.

We finally arrived at a statue of a griffinesque creature, and the bearded man spoke to it, "Willow whisps," The statue swung out and we filed into a comfortable office area.

Now at this point, my mind was reeling, I had just seen multiple times that can only be described as magic. That stone griffin was not on hinges, and I hadn't seen any sensors. The staircases were literally moving by themselves, and I was on the verge of having a major freakout.

The lady ushered me into a very comfortable chair in front of an elegant wooden desk which the older man sat behind. There was an awkward pause in which I started looking at the odd things lining the walls, further confirming my suspicions about the magical qualities of this castle. My examination of the room was interrupted by the man clearing his throat and addressing me, "I'm sure by now you must be very curious about where you are, and all the odd things that make up this castle."

I gave a little nod, feeling a bit pleased I'd guessed correctly about me being in a castle.

"Well, the easiest way to explain it is you are currently in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." I nearly passed out right then, staggering slightly backward at his absurd declaration, "And I am the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. This is our Transfiguration professor, Minerva McGonagall, and our Potions master, Severus Snape." He gestured to the lady who had assisted me and the sallow-faced man respectively. McGonagall inclined her head to me, but Snape made no move to acknowledge me. "And what is your name, my dear?"

I turned back to Dumbledore, "Oh, er, my name is Amber, Amber Marden. It's nice to meet all of you, and um, did you say this school was for witchcraft?"

He nodded his assent, "And wizardry."

I took a deep breath, "Right, okay, witchcraft and wizardry, naturally, not a big deal. It's totally a thing, maybe I just hit my head really hard when I tripped," At some point in my babbling I had stood up and begun pacing the room. "Yeah, that's it it's all just a dream, yup a dream, that's all."

I paused in my frenzied movements, "Or maybe I've finally cracked. After everything, it's not that far fetched, finally gone insane. Whoo-hoo, Gripe can throw a party," The adults watched me calmly, letting me work through it all, although I thought I saw Snape's lip curl.

"But if I'm not insane, and I'm not dreaming, that means all of this is real and I'm in a school for magic, and oh God, my head hurts." I sank back into the seat with my palms pressed to my temples, willing the headache to go away.

"That is quite easily fixed," Dumbledore pointed something that looked suspiciously like a magic wand at my face and before I could flinch he said something that made my headache instantly disappear.

My eyes widened in surprise and I lowered my hands, "Not crazy, and not dreaming."

Dumbledore smiled soothingly at me, "That leaves only one option, Amber."

I nodded slowly, unconsciously rubbing my right shoulder, "Okay, yeah, sorry for the manic mumbling. It's- It's been a long day," I said lamely.

"That's alright, it's a startling concept. How about this, you tell us about yourself, and then I explain some things to you."

I glanced at the other two people in the room before speaking, "Um, well my name is Amber and I'm seventeen years old, and I am from a small town in Oklahoma called Ralston. It's literally a ghost town, but it's a nice place to-"

"What on earth is a ghost town? I was under the impression muggles didn't believe in ghosts at all." Minerva interrupted me, looking confused.

I shifted in my seat, "Oh, there's not actually ghosts, it's kind of slang for a place that used to be really populated and busy, but now is rundown and very low on people living there," I explained it to her as simply as I could, then it registered, "Wait, what did you call me?"

"Oh, yes, of course, a muggle is a term for a non-magical person."

"Okay, that makes sense. But, um, anyway, I have two brothers and a mother and father-"

"Forgive me for the interruption," Snape finally spoke to me, his voice a low monotone, "But isn't Oklahoma a state in America?"

I frowned, looking over to him, "Yes, we are in America are we not?"

Snape enunciated his words carefully, "We are not. Are you so blind you haven't noticed that we are speaking in English accents?"

That irritated me, mostly because he was right, I hadn't noticed. I could either get angry or be diplomatic about it.

I took a deep breath, "No, I suppose I hadn't noticed. Thank you for making that clear to me." I tried my hardest to be polite, a skill I thought had grown rusty over the years, but I guess was like riding a bike. There was a difference between being polite and being friendly, and no one at the club demanded niceties from me.

His frown only deepened at my respectful attitude, maybe he was hoping I'd get riled up. Sorry to disappoint.

I returned my attention to Dumbledore, "So there's me, will you tell me more about where I am now?"

Dumbledore clasped his hands together and leaned forward over his desk, "You are in Hogwarts, as I have already explained, which is located generally in Scotland. I would tell you precisely where, but that goes against the rules we have followed for centuries." I nodded in understanding, "We have just started our term here, we began on September first, and today is September ninth. I daresay the students are very pleased to have received this afternoon off from studies. I'm sure many are already very behind on homework and will be in their common rooms studying. At least, that is what I would like them to be doing, but children will be children."

I quickly inserted a question before he started talking, "I'm sorry, common rooms? This is a boarding school then?"

Snape huffed at my lack of knowledge and I tried to ignore him. Dumbledore responded to me kindly, "Yes, Hogwarts is what Americans would call a boarding school, although we call it Year-Round School and it is quite common in Europe. Now, as to how you arrived here, do you have any understanding of your arrival?"

I shook my head, "No, I just tripped over something and next I knew I was in your castle."

Dumbledore looked deeply into my eyes, "Did anything unusual happen before you came?"

I started to get a little nervous, I didn't want to reveal what my life was like, but I got the feeling he would know anyway." Well, no it was a pretty average day. Oh, I did get this bruise though." I twisted my leg around to show them the purple spot on my leg. I figured I would tell the truth, just leave out some parts. Getting a bruise was kind of unusual for me. Normally I was better about not breaking Gripe's rules.

"How on earth did you get that," Snape's voice made the question sound like a statement and I realized I hadn't thought this plan through at all.

"Oh, uh, I have this chair at my house and it broke while I was sitting on it, and I fell onto a rock-"

Snape interjected, looking unconvinced, "You have rocks, in your house."

I swallowed nervously, "Well, not often, but my brother's dog sometimes bring them in, she's very stupid," I managed to stammer out a reasonable sentence as my anxiety mounted.

Snape raised an eyebrow and was about to respond, and likely call me out, but McGonagall started to fret over the state of my leg.

"Oh dear, that looks simply awful, Snape you don't perhaps have a potion to help with that, do you?"

Snape reverted his attention to her and said with an icy undertone, "Yes, but I'm afraid I don't know what that would do to a muggle's body. It might injure her severely, or perhaps," He enunciated his next words carefully, "Kill her."

My body gave an involuntary shudder, "I think I'll let it heal naturally, thank you, though."

I directed my attention towards the bearded man watching our conversation with an amused smile on his face. I crossed my legs at the ankles, trying to keep cool, "So, you'll take me back home then? Just, pop me over to America, and I'll be on my way?"

I smiled hopefully at him, I didn't really want to go back to Gripe, but I couldn't impose, and those girls need me.

Dumbledore laced his fingers together and peered over his glasses at me, "We can have you back in five minutes. What is the address?"

The words poured from me like an overflowing glass, "34 Rewing Street, Ralston Oklahoma, September 9th, 2017."

The second those words left my lips they all froze, and their gazes landed on me confusedly, and then appeared stricken as my words sank in. I glanced at them apprehensively, concern beginning to flow through my veins, starting at my head all the way through to my toes. "Is-is there a problem?" I asked them tentatively.

McGonagall bowed her head, and Snape looked away from my gaze. Dumbledore looked deep into my eyes and uttered the scariest words I had ever heard, " Miss Marden, today's date is September 9th, 1991."