*nitwit, oddment, blubber & tweak*
"From all the intelligence we have gathered, we believe that it's down to the choices you make along your journey." Captain Jack Harkness answered. "Where this journey will lead you, I cannot be sure but please remember this: you will always have our resources at your disposal."
"We will be with you every step of the way." Ianto added.
"But where do we begin?" Rachey asked.
"Go to the Leaky Cauldron." Jack Bauer answered as he stood up. "Tom is already waiting for you."
"How can you have a TARDIS and not know where this journey will go?" Marieke exclaimed. "Surely you're able to travel to the future and find out?"
"Yes we do, yes we can and yes we have." Jack (Torchwood) began. "But you've seen the programme right?" The girls nodded. "Then you are aware that we cannot tell you anything about what we have seen. The worlds are in too fragile a state as it is."
"You pretty much told Peter the same thing in Narnia." Rachey laughed.
Marieke shrugged. "Yes, I suppose...not even a hint then?"
He smiled. "Go to the Leaky Cauldron and start from there." He stood up and motioned for them to follow him.
They walked into his office and he picked up a broken necklace that was lying on the desk. He looked at it for a moment before handing it to them. "Here, hold this."
The two friends took hold of one end each as Marieke spoke. "It's a Portkey isn't it?"
"Yes, it's set to transport you to the bar in..." he checked his pocket watch. "5, 4, 3, 2..."
They didn't hear his last words but felt a jerking sensation from somewhere behind their navels and the world blurred. When they could see clearly again, they found they were in a familiar area. Charing Cross Road. It was daytime and crowded, although most people didn't see them. And they saw something that hadn't noticed before; between a large bookshop (one Marieke had spent a fair few hours inside, the last couple of times she'd been in London) and a record shop, was a small inn. The sign outside was faded but they didn't need to read it to know where they were. For a second Marieke hesitated, feeling the excitement of a new place to discover. Then she grinned at her friend and opened the door.
It was exactly the same as in the films they'd seen apart from the cloaked man at the bar drinking Firewhiskey. Not unusual given the place but he was humming 'Hedwig's Theme.' "Is he going to be everywhere we go?" Rachey asked, rolling her eyes.
Marieke couldn't help but copy the gesture. "I guess so." She listened to the song. "At least he doesn't stick to the "Imperial March'! That would get boring!" She laughed as they walked up to the bar, taking car not to get to the cloaked man who they now knew was Darth Vadar.
Tom came to greet them but he didn't say anything about Jack. Instead he asked if they wanted a drink.
Marieke didn't hesitate. "A butterbeer?"
"And for me?" Rachey added. He nodded and disappeared behind the bar.
"Do you think he knows who we are?" Marieke asked her friend, uncertainty in her voice.
"Doesn't look like it. Maybe we should show him the Portkey?" Marieke nodded at her friends suggestion. Tom handed them their drinks and asked for payment. Instead of handing him money (well they didn't have any of the strange coins that were used here) Rachey slid the necklace across the bar to him.
"Very well." He smiled a toothy smile. "Follow me." The girls each took a sip of their drinks before standing up. It tasted a bit dusty but, so good. A glowing sensation spread through their bodies and for the first time they realised just how thirsty they were. Darth Vadar didn't look up as they passed him and followed Tom out of the inn. He led them to the brick wall-they knew-which was the entrance to Diagon Alley. "Wait here." He said before shuffling back inside.
Rachey glanced at Marieke, a huge grin plastered across her face. "Wonder who we'll meet next?" Before an answer could be given, Tom returned. But he was not alone. Walking behind him was Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.
"Cool." Marieke muttered, trying to guess not exactly where but rather when they were. Ron and Hermione looked around their age, so she thought it might be past book 7. In a way she was glad, she didn't really feel like stumbling across Voldemort on their travels.
They walked up to the girls and grinned. "Hi! You two must be Rachey and Marieke? We were told you were coming."
They nodded. "who told you?"
Hermione answered. "Tom did. He didn't tell us exactly why though." She looked at them enquiringly.
Ron just shrugged. "We don't want to know if you can't tell." Hermione shot him a look and the girls couldn't help by grin.
Marieke spoke. "Auror training? Anyway, I think for now it's better if we just see where this leads us. Not that we don't want to tell you but, apparently things are confusing and unstable enough as it is. If we start telling the whole world what we're doing, it wont improve things."
Hermione nodded reluctantly. "Tom says we should trust you. So that's enough for us." Ron answered for both of them. He walked to the wall and tapped his wand 3 times on one of the bricks. He stepped back and an archway opened up.
"Eeee!" Rachey squealed, the fangirl inside her taking over. "I've always wanted to see Diagon Alley."
Ran gave her a quizzical 'you're a freak!' look as Hermione asked. "Always? Now I'm confused. I know you don't want to say too much just yet but I am intrigued by you. How do you know about Diagon Alley?" The 2 friends stared at each other, no knowing what to say. "If you're witches, you'd already have come here."
Marieke hesitated. "Let's say that we know of the magical world but, aren't part of it. There are things happening now that affect the magical world and the no-magical world. We need people on both sides to help solve it." At least she was hoping that was the plan. The girls watched Hermione to see how she would react.
After a while she nodded. "It still doesn't completely make sense but, I'm sure it's possible." She didn't sound entirely convinced but it was enough for Marieke and Rachey. To be honest, they were more interested in Diagon Alley!
They walked towards Gringotts Bank in silence. They were just taking in all the sights. Flourish and Blotts, Eyelops, Olivanders. Rachey wanted to rush in and buy a wand. Marieke saw her friend gazing at the shop and knew they were thinking the same thing. Flourish and Blotts was tempting enough but Olivanders... They carried on walking past the shops, in the direction on Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. As they passed Quality Quidditch Supplies, Marieke again wanted to go in and buy something-a broom, any broom! She would've settled for a Cleansweep 1 if it could just fly! Rachey grinned at her. It was all so amazing, surreal and fun. And then a rainbow of psychedelic colours hit them, "are we going in there?"
"Yes, I figured we could use some sort of HQ, unless you'd rather wander around a bit?" Hermione smiled.
"No," Marieke answered her smile, "sounds like a good plan." Then looking at the window with all it's multicoulouredness, "I wouldn't mind having a look either." Ron laughed and opened the door. There were some customers in there, looking at the array of tricks and jokes spread out over the shelves.
The woman at the counter welcomed Ron as "Mr Weasley" and Hermione as "Mrs Granger." She only smiled at the girls. It crossed Marieke's mind that she could be Verity but, she hadn't paid enough attention to Ron's reply. Instead she was looking around, amazed. Something cute caught her eye; apparently the Pygmy Puffs were still a hit.
"So that's what they look like," Rachey laughed, "I always wondered!"
"Come with us," Ron smiled. The girls followed them through the door to the storeroom, past shelves and shelves of extra stock and up some stairs to a tiny kitchen. Where, much to their surprise, they were greeted by the Weasley twins.
For a moment, they just froze. Seeing Fred there wouldn't have been the strangest thing to have happened to them over the past few days but, it just felt wrong. Marieke blinked, then realised what it was they had seen. Only George was there in the room, what appeared to be Fred had merely been his reflection. He too looked older but not in the same way as Hermione and Ron. He looked sad, even when he greeted them.
Marieke and Rachey smiled cautiously back. Even they had felt the wrench of Fred's death. And it was only a story to them...until now.
George whispered something to Ron and Hermione and they went back downstairs. Then he turned back to the girls, "Jack and Jack-I love saying that! They have filled me in on everything."
For a moment no one knew what to say so they just stood there gaping at him. Then Marieke giggled, more because of nerves than anything else, "it does have a certain poetic charm."
George motioned for them to sit down, "do you want something to drink? Tea?"
"Tea would be good thanks," Rachey replied, sitting down," so, errm...what's the plan?" she added nervously.
He didn't bother pretending to make the tea. He conjured to cups onto the table and tea poured out of the air as if there was an invisible teapot, "I didn't just magic it you know," he said when he saw the rather confused looks. "Food is the first..."
"Of the five exceptions to Gamp's law of Elemental Transfiguration," Marieke finished.
"So anyway, the plan," George continued when the tea was drunk, "well our primary objective, of course, is finding out who's behind this and stopping him or her. But to do so, we first have to establish the places where the real world and the world of fiction meet. We suspect that there might be a pattern to it, something all these places have in common, If possible we'll have to close those gateways between the worlds but, we're fairly certain that doing it now is useless. Our evil mastermind will only open them again."
"Something they all have in common? Could it be..." Rachey began.
"Go on. Tell us your theory," George smiled at her.
She continued, "this has been puzzling me since this craziness began. Could this, is this, about us?"
"It is possible," George nodded, "how and why though, we don't know."
"Well then, we'd better find out."