Chapter 3: Jake and Ed aren't actually in this chapter. Has anyone seen their agent?

Susan shook herself. Whoa. How long had she been daydreaming?

She smiled at Ellen and said, "Okay, let's go. But just to warn you there are a few purebloods that don't like muggle-borns like I do. There might be open hostility against you."

Ellen nodded. She wouldn't let herself be frightened of some stupid dream… even if it was strangely lifelike towards the end there. After all, what's the worst that could happen?

"Now, let's fly to my house. First, grab a pinch of this floo powder I brought with me for emergencies. Then, you say, 'Susan's house' or 'Susan's room' right in the flame."

Ellen took a pinch of the weird looking powder and walked to her fireplace in the living room. Then she screamed out the destination, while giving Susan a weird look. A huge green flame swallowed her whole and she disappeared. Susan went in next and called out the destination and walked out of the fireplace with well-practiced grace.

Images flew past in dizzying order. It was hard to figure out where anything was. Finally, after a couple minutes of confusion, there was a bright light at the end and pain crashing down on them…

Ellen still sat on the floor mumbling, "I still don't understand why a simple carpool or taxi ride can't suffice." She rubbed her bottom. "Ouch. This is slightly more painful than that dream I had."

Ellen looked disheveled with her hat crooked on her head. Ellen looked at her friend's room and was surprised to see that it was green with silver stars everywhere. She also had posters of Japanese anime all over her walls (some were moving, if anyone can believe that. Ellen had to blink a couple times before moving on), and a couple Star Wars posters here and there (they were also moving, even though they were supporting a completely different concept…). Plus, there were magazines strewn all across the room with a wide variety of topics. Indeed, most of the magazines involved something about potions, but the bulk of them seemed to be wizard news.

The pictures in the magazines moved just like the posters on the wall.

The question was whether Ellen would get used to this sort of behavior from inanimate objects. She quite liked having solid pictures and solid items. Also, she enjoyed playing 52 pick up with her cards with her own hands, not having a deck of cards do it for her. (There were a couple decks of cards exploding around the room then gathering themselves back together.)

Then she realized that there was a fire place in Susan's room as well. What in the name of sweet Aunt Petunia was a fireplace doing in her friend's room?

However, as quickly as Ellen had realized it, it disappeared. It seems the fireplace was only there for mailing purposes, as well as for traveling.

Susan laughed and said, "Hey, it beats taking the knight bus or flying on brooms. The Knight Bus is too intense for my stomach, and flying on brooms makes us easy to spot by muggles. Come on, I have to talk to my mom for money and then we can go to Mystic Pizza, find the secret room for only wizards, and then shop in Laci Alley."

Ellen got up, tried to imagine what the heck a Knight Bus was, then got off track and started thinking why it was called that. Does it come only at night or something? Or is it a bus driven by people who have been knighted? There was also the prospect of broom flying. Wouldn't flying on a broom be a little too similar to bad wizards and stuff?

Susan cleared her throat.

Ellen smiled and straightened her hat. She then dusted herself off and followed Susan. Going down the stairs, the two girls smelled something good. Ellen asked, "Susan, what is that smell?"

Susan smiled, "It smells like either pancakes or blueberries muffins. I wonder who's coming over. Mom only cooks for guests…"

They made it downstairs and walked into the kitchen. Susan's mom surprised them both when she screamed, "Susan Diane…" She looked from Ellen to Susan the whole time. And with good reason, seeing as the table was setting itself, and the pancake batter was flipping itself.

Susan interrupted, "Mom, don't worry—Ellen and I got our Salem letters. I was just wondering if I could get my key or borrow money from you to pay for the supplies."

Susan's mom let out a breath of relief. She muttered something about muggles and seeing her using magic and Susan's brother bringing in a muggle friend by accident.

She wiped her forehead with a clean napkin, and then reached into her jean pocket and relinquished a small golden key. Ellen eyed it with curiosity. She had never seen such a marvelous design before.

Next, Susan's mom started writing a note to the goblins (this confused Ellen, who was very certain that goblins were mythical creatures) that she had permission to take up to 2,300 galleons each for her and her friend Ellen.

Ellen was grateful. She wasn't sure that seventeen dollars and twenty-three cents would cover her school expenses.

"So, Ellen, is it?" Susan's mom looked up at Ellen for the first time. Well, first time in the house, that is. Ellen had seen Susan's mom loads of times at their Muggle school, SB Butler Elementary School.

"Yeah…" Ellen nodded.

"We have some relatives who are supposed to come over this morning," Susan's mom nodded over to the pancakes, which had now settled on a serving plate and flew to the center of a table. "Seeing as it's nearly eleven thirty, I can safely assume they won't be coming. Would you like to stay with us?"

Ellen grinned. Well, the pancakes and muffins did smell delicious. "Sure!"

When the table was all set, it was covered with many plates of food, including a mound of pancakes, dozens of muffins, neatly laid out bacon, and a glass of orange juice at every seat. Susan's brother, CJ, sat down with them to eat.

"Yeah, I'm starving," he grinned maniacally before loading his plate with breakfast materials. CJ looked very similar to Susan. They had the same mouth and the same color eyes. Also, their faces were the same shape. However, CJ had short brown hair, whereas Susan's hair reached her shoulders. CJ was also similar to a stick, in waist length.

Susan stared. "Didn't you have breakfast this morning?"

"Yeah," CJ nodded his mouth full of pancake.

Ellen gazed at his plate to his mouth. He sure was eating a hell of a lot. And he was like what—eight years old? Something like that?

"Pleasure," Ellen replied. She tried to make it obvious that she was eating with table manners, whereas CJ was not.

This obvious motion went unnoticed by CJ.

"You ready for school, Ellen?" Susan's mom asked pleasantly. She too was eating more politely than CJ.

"Yeah, I guess…" Ellen said. She thought about Salem . She had never been to a boarding school ever. She also had no idea where Salem was…Somewhere in Massachusetts … but where? In the woods? How is it a secret?

Susan's mom put on a kind smile. "Don't worry. You'll be fine. It wasn't so long ago when my husband and I were at school together. We had loads of fun at Salem , and I bet you and Susan will as well."

Susan nodded at that. "Amen!" she lifted her glass of orange juice and took a sip. Personally, Susan couldn't see how Ellen could be nervous about Salem . They had each other. It was a new experience, and Susan knew Ellen liked adventures.

After breakfast, Susan and Ellen left to go to Mystic Pizza, which had an inn for the wizards who want to stay over night in Laci Alley. It was also the secret entrance to the wizard town.

The muggle part of Mystic Pizza did not seem that friendly at all. The waitresses were snobby, and seemed to have too much fun not serving customers. A couple people were sitting at the bar, enjoying a nice stiff drink and having some pleasant conversations with the bartender.

Ellen thought all about this until they came to some stairs, and then into a rest room. After watching Susan flick it to 'occupied' Ellen said sarcastically, "Now what?"

Susan merely picked up a stick which was lying around hitherto unnoticed, and poked at a couple tiles on the wall.

Ellen was confused once again. What on Earth was that supposed to do? Then the tiles rolled outwards to form a sort of archway. Susan grinned at Ellen's confused look and motioned for her to follow, "This is the way. Ellen, welcome to Laci Alley."

Ellen was astounded. She had never expected that to happen. Of course, she wrote about far off places in her stories which she had stocked up in her room… but to actually see something like this… it was amazing.

Susan, on the other hand, kept walking since she had seen Laci Alley so many times that it lost the fascination a long time ago. She didn't spare a second glance at the many different people of witches, wizards, Goblins, and house elves. You see them once, you see them all, was Susan's motto.

Susan grabbed Ellen's wrist to keep her from straying off. Then decided to go to the bank, which was the center business in town. Also, it was probably one of the largest, what with its incredibly tall columns. It also was incredibly white, and practically glowed in the sunlight.

Susan said, "Ellen, Retarch is the most protective bank in the world, now that Gringotts in London was broken into twice, the second time having a bunch of things lost and stolen. It too is run by goblins, which are said to be the greediest creatures in the world. There are also some rumors that dragons guard the treasures in the lowest levels of the banks. I don't want to meet them… anyway; Retarch is the safest place to hide any valuable possession. Well, besides Salem , that is." Susan put her hands in her pockets and looked up at the magnificent building. Ellen shrugged and did the same.

A girl with honey-brown hair passed the two of them and said, "Sue, are you showing muggle-borns your valuable insight of the wizardry world?"

Susan turned around and said, "Tessa, this is my friend, Ellen."

Ellen curtsied. "Pleased to meet you."

Tessa smiled, "I'm Tessa Wright." She decided to join Susan and Ellen on their shopping venture.

The three girls went to get their money. It wasn't as hard as Ellen thought. They walked right in there, asked a goblin, waited a few moments, and got their money at last.

Susan bent over to whisper to just Ellen and Tessa, "They must've changed the rules here. I don't blame them—they have a reputation to keep after all…"

"What did they used to do?" Ellen whispered back.

Tessa was the one to answer this, "Well, you used to be able to take a cart ride all the way down to your vault. Now it appears that the goblins do it for you, to prevent more robberies, I suppose."

"Ah," Ellen said. "Well at least the sun's going to set!" She pointed to the sun randomly.

"What the hell does that have to do with anything?" Susan snapped.

Next, Susan decided to go get wands since she felt it was the most important to get first.

They entered a small shop. The first thing they saw was a desk. Ahead of that were rows and rows of shelves with narrow boxes. Those must be the wands, Ellen thought.

An old woman with long white hair ducked out from behind her desk. She smiled at the three girls as they entered. Tessa stood back, saying that she already had her wand. It was a hand-me-down from her mother—her mother had just gotten a new one.

The woman greeted Susan and Ellen, and introduced herself as Olivia. "Two young witches! Two young witches! And you must be seeking a wand! Why, young Susan! I remember when your mother and father came in here to buy their very first wands. Nice young people they were!" Susan smiled in acknowledgement.

Ellen didn't know what to say, so she stared at the old woman. Olivia merely turned to her next and said, "I have not seen you before! A muggle-born we have here, don't we? My my!"

Ellen nodded. "Yes, ma'am. But I don't think that is bad or anything…"

"No! Heavens me! It's not bad at all! I was merely pointing it out, that's all. " Olivia laughed. She shuffled off down one of the aisles. Ellen noticed she was limping, though from old age or an injury, she could not tell.

Olivia plucked out two boxes and handed them each to Ellen and Susan. Ellen took out a long elegant looking wand while Susan took out a short stubby wand.

Olivia encouraged them to, "Give it a wave!" Susan did, and a glass vase nearby exploded. Olivia muttered, "No, not the one…" Ellen waved hers, and all the boxes in one of the aisles flew out of their places simultaneously. Olivia shook his head, bewildered.

This time, she went down a couple more aisles, emptying their contents, all the while muttering, "The wand chooses the wizard… but does the wand have to put up such a fuss?" Ellen and Susan tried different wands for what seemed like hours. Ellen didn't think it would ever end when Susan was handed a wand that was 9 and a half inches long and made of rowan wood with unicorn hair in the core. The wand emitted golden sparks as soon as Susan touched it.

"Ah, finally. That would be eleven sickles." Olivia added, awed by Susan's finding. "By the reaction of your wand, I can tell that we can expect many things from you, Ms. Theime. A great deal of things…" After Susan paid her, Olivia turned to Ellen. "Now, to find you a wand…"

"What happens if I can't find a wand?" Ellen asked. She didn't want to lose her opportunity to go to Salem ! She wanted to be different. She did!

"Nonsense. We will find you a wand also, Ms. Russell. Here, try this one." Ellen had to try a great deal more wands than Susan ever did. Right when she was about to lose hope, Ellen was handed what seemed like the very last wand in the store. It was 11 inches long made of holly, with a phoenix feather in its core. When Ellen touched it, there seemed to be sunlight from all around the room

"Interesting, interesting…" Olivia muttered.

"Err… What's interesting?" Ellen asked. She was bewildered and happy that she had at last received a wand.

"It is interesting you should be destined for this wand because phoenixes are indeed very rare finds, and only some can relinquish a feather. I believe I found this feather up towards Canada when I went hiking. It is curious you, a muggle-born, should be destined for this phoenix feathered wand…" Olivia explained. Ellen gaped at her wand. Is it possible she could be the next great wizard? But Susan got golden sparks from her wand. Surely that was more special? Ellen paid for her wand and left the store with Susan and Tessa.

After that, the three young witches decided to go get some other supplies. The cauldrons and the gloves were easy enough to find, and the silver scales. After that, they entered the book store at Ellen's will. "I really want to check out your books! They must be really interesting!" she kept repeating.

Susan merely rolled her eyes.

When they entered the book store, Ellen dashed from bookshelf to bookshelf. She seemed to pick up every book there. Susan and Tessa decided to be rational and collect the books on their booklists. But Susan couldn't resist all the potions books seemingly lying around… and at good prices too!

So Susan got a few extra potions books.

As they lined up to purchase the books, Susan peered down at Ellen's cauldron, which contained all her books.

"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find ThemQuidditch through the Ages… Ellen, what do you need these books for?" Susan asked. She picked up the books as she read the titles.

Ellen snatched the books back from Susan. "They looked interesting, okay? And besides, if I'm a muggle-born, I'm going to have some serious competition to try and match magical powers with you guys!"A voice erupted behind them. It was Tessa's mom. Well, Ellen guessed it was because of the resemblance she had to Tessa.

Tessa glanced at her mother, and then looked at Susan. "Sorry, guys. I guess I'll see you at Salem ?" she hurried after her mom.

Ellen and Susan watched her leave the shop. Then, after they purchased their store books, Susan suggested, "Okay… Let's get a pet. It's the only thing left for us…"

Ellen shrugged and followed her friend out the bookshop.

They headed down the alley toward what Susan was confident was the pet shop.

"A wizard pet is a companion for life," a witch happened to be standing where the two young witches entered the room. Ellen grasped onto her cauldron, which contained her books and robes and other items.

Susan piped up and said, "Which one would be the best one for us?" There were rows of animals. Some were squawking owls, and squeaking mice, and mewing cats, and other strange creatures Ellen had never seen before.

"If it's any consolation, the sun will set in a few hours," Ellen suggested. Susan glared at her, before nodding at the witch to continue.

"Judging by the energies you and your wands emit, I can tell what would be perfect for you. Here in the shop, we can find the right companion for anyone, given the time and…patience." The witch continued. Ellen was thoroughly amused by all this. She bought into it right away, and even tipped the witch to get her a good pet.

Susan walked over to one of the snakesuntil she saw a snake that was light green with a dark green diamond "I like this one…" She said.

"10 galleons for every snake, except that one… it's 20 galleons." The witch replied. She turned down another aisle, with Ellen's tip in hand. When Ellen saw her again, the witch was carrying a beautiful red bird. It looked like it was on fire—it was so bright!

"Oh, it's beautiful!" Ellen gasped.

"It's a phoenix. One of the last of its kind…" The old witch explained. The young phoenix cooed in a most majestic manner.

Ellen ended up buying the phoenix. The witch said its name was Fawkes. Ellen thought that was a weird name, but stuck with it. Susan's snake was named Tobias.

After that, the day was pretty uneventful. They completed the rest of their shopping, which consisted of looking at different wizardry items. Ellen was sad that first years were not allowed brooms.

Susan, and Ellen watched the sunset at the end of Laci Alley. It was so pretty, with its vast colors and everything.

"We're going to have a wonderful time at Salem …" Susan was saying, the golden light setting on her skin perfectly, "Me for my family, and you for…"

"Hey look! I was right about the sun!" Ellen pointed to the sunset.

The two young witches were ready to go to Salem , a school in Massachusetts for witches and wizards. That's right. Read on and maybe you'll find out what will happen at this school in America .