Daniel and I had been talking about a band we liked and when their next tour was when the cat from the other night ran in front of us. My mouth fell open, it was the same cat!, and I laughed. Daniel gave me a weird look and started stroking the little beast.

"Something I've missed?" His confusion made me giggle and I began to pet the cat as well.

"Nothing really, just the night I got kicked out I found this little kitty cat and now it's here too" Daniel chuckled as the cat rubbed it's head against my arm.

"Well it probably lives around here…no collar…hey not everyone puts a collar on their cats now" I nodded in agreement and scratched the cat's cheeks with both hands. The cat began to purr very loudly and I cooed at the little thing. Me and Daniel got talking again and the cat sat happily between us while we absently stroked her back. When we were getting onto the topic of classic versus glam rock the cat looked at something behind us and began meowing. I was about to ask it what was wrong when it ran off. We turned to see what had perked the cat up and saw a tall ginger boy with the cat standing against him. For some reason he was staring at me and it was making me feel uncomfortable.

"Can we help you?" Daniel must of noticed the staring too because his tone wasn't very friendly. The boy shook his head slightly and looked down at the cat, smiling.

"Yeah umm was just looking for my cat" He picked the tabby up and cradled her in his arms and scratched under her chin. The cat seemed slightly annoyed by allowed the boy to continue.

"Oh so the cat's yours? What's her name?" There was something strange about the boy but his smile was friendly and it would be rude to just ignore him.

"Misses Whiskers…my mom's cat actually, I wanted to call her Minerva" A smile tugged at the boy's lips and I giggled.

"That's a weird name...she's really cute by the way" The boy thanked me and continued to coo at the cat just like I had.

"So is that it or was there something else?" I frowned at Daniel and he just stared at the boy, challenging him. He shuffled from foot to foot and looked nervous.

"Well…actually…I'm kind of lost…me and my family just moved here that's why I was looking for Miss W; was scared she wouldn't come back" Daniel didn't look convinced and continued to stare the boy down until he went away. I rolled my eyes and smiled at him, he seemed to have trouble breathing.

"Where do you live?" The boy frowned and looked around himself before pointing in the opposite direction to us.

"Umm I ran from over there…" He looked truly lost and I felt sorry for him. I gave him what I hoped was a kind smile and pushed myself off the grass, Daniel following.

"I could help you home if you want" Daniel grabbed my hand and gave me a look that clearly said no. I pulled my hand away and looked back at the boy.

"Oh I wouldn't want to bother you…" He looked at Daniel and then back to me. The Misses Whiskers gave a low growl and I laughed.

"It's no trouble really I want to make sure this little girl gets home safe" I did a little wave at the cat and she meowed up at the boy.

"I'll come with you then" I shook my head.

"Stay here I won't be long. I promise I'll come back" I gave him a peck on the cheek and he frowned. He grabbed my arms and pulled me to him, giving me a deep passionate kiss in front of the boy. I gave a shaky sigh when he let me go and he looked me in the eyes.

"Stay safe and come back to me" I smiled and promised I would and then began walking away with the ginger boy and the cat.

As we walked through the park an awkward silence had settled and I hated them. I thought of something to say when I realised I didn't even know the boy's name.

"So what's your name? I know your cat's but not yours" The boy thought for a moment before grinning down at me. That grin was cute.

"George Weasley, nice to meet you" He nodded in a way of greeting and I nodded back.

"Carrie Monroe, nice to meet you too" He frowned for a second but then it was gone.

"Monroe?"

"Yeah…" I raised my eyebrows in question and he gave a small laugh.

"Nothing…just thought I'd heard that name before. Y'know Carrie Monroe not just Monroe" He babbled a bit and that was cute but I glared at the floor at the thought that maybe he had heard my name before. He noticed my glare and bumped my shoulder with his.

"Hey what's up? I didn't mean to offend you or anything" I shook my head and smiled.

"Nah it's not you just…don't believe everything you hear about me"

"Why not?" I had just met the guy and didn't really want to go into my social standing, but he looked confused and I suppose I wouldn't see him again really.

"My friends aren't really A grade students if you get me…were kind of misfits that the world hates" I cringed at how completely emo that sounded but George only laughed.

"Yeah I get you; me and my brother are the same…no-one really understands us apart from each other" He grinned, at a memory I assumed, and I smiled.

"You have a brother?"

"Yeah five brothers and a sister…Fred is my twin and then there's Percy, Charlie and Bill who are older than us and Ron who is younger…then Ginny is our little sister" I whistled in surprise.

"That's a lot of family" George laughed and the cat in his arms twitched her tail as if she was annoyed or waiting for something. I guess she was getting bored.

"Oh that's just the immediate family…what about you? Do you have any brothers or sisters" He seemed to be eager to know the answer and I shifted nervously. I didn't quite know what to say to that.

"Well sort of…"

"Sort of?" He sounded a mixture of worried and excited but I decided to dismiss it.

"Yeah. I was adopted as kid and I have a sister, Tasha, though I wouldn't really call her that now…the bitch kicked me out a few days ago so I'm kind of homeless" I spat the last part out and George looked shocked.

"Your parents shouldn't allow that? Uh…I mean your adoptive parents…and what about your boyfriend?" He winced when he mentioned my parents.

"I never knew my real parents but I assume they were utter dicks for abandoning me…my other parents died a few years ago…and Daniel doesn't have the room for me to live with him" George looked thoughtful for a moment. He looked down at his cat and then smiled at me. I noticed we had left the park and were now walking down a quiet alleyway.

"If I could offer you a place to stay would you accept it?" A mischievous smirk appeared on his face and it made me a bit nervous.

"That's sweet but I only just met you…and you have all that family…" George laughed and shook his head.

"No I mean I know somewhere that would accept you. I go to a castle that was turned into a boarding school" That made me laugh.

"I don't do well with schools and they wouldn't accept me anyway" He had stopped walking and I had gone ahead of him. I turned and saw him put the cat down. I don't know what it was exactly but the way that him and the cat were just watching me made me uneasy, something was off. I was suddenly very aware of how unprotected I was and how cut off we were from the streets. I cursed myself mentally at how stupid I had been to just walk off with a stranger.

"Oh they'd accept you…don't anything you can't really explain? Things that don't make sense?" He Had begun to walk towards me and I took a defensive position. He paused for a moment before cocking his head and chuckling.

"I think you should go now and find someone else to take you home" The cat was watching us as he once again made his way towards me. I took a step back and glared at him, a smirk plastered on his face.

"You have haven't you? Look I won't hurt you I'm actually here to help you…you see I'm a wizard and Misses Whiskers is actually one of my teachers that transformed into a cat. My boarding school is actually a school for witched and wizards" He gave me a large smile and I froze. He was crazy well that explained a lot. I took another step back and the smile fell from his face. He put a hand into his pocket and my blood ran cold. Oh god he was going to pull out a knife or worse; a gun. I was preparing to bolt when he pulled out a long, thin stick. I burst out laughing, I couldn't help it.

"Let me guess…that's your wand?" The smile was back and he waved it around.

"Yep. You don't believe me so I guess I'll have to show you" He looked around and focused on a metal bin that stood lonely against the wall. He pointed his 'wand' at the bin and winked at me.

"Evanesco" He spoke and suddenly the bin wasn't there anymore. I stared hard at the area it had been and my mouth fell open. I looked back at the boy and his brown eyes were sparkling with joy.

"How…" At that moment the cat stood on its back legs, that alone was not normal, and then suddenly there was an elderly woman in robes standing where Misses Whiskers stood. I began to shake with fear, what the fuck was this?, and backed away from them. The elderly woman gave me a sad look before slapping the boy around the back of his head.

"Ow! What was that for!" He rubbed where she had hit him and she pointed to me.

"You were supposed to slowly explain this to her, not force it upon her! Magic was a last resort Weasley!" Her voice was very rich and she seemed very angry at him. So this was real. Magic was real.

"Is that why…why I turned Pippin into a wolf?" They both looked at me and George tilted his head.

"Pippin?"

"Yes my dear you transformed the dog with magic. I am so sorry you were not meant to find out this way…this idiot went about it all wrong!" I took a deep breath and leaned against a wall, feeling as if I were about to faint.

"I think you better start talking, Lady" And so for the next twenty minutes that's what we did. She explained to me about my real parents and my brother, I had a brother!, and George told me all about the school of Hogwarts. They told me about the war and why it was important I go to Hogwarts and learn to control my magic.

"But what about my life here? I can't just leave everyone"

"Voldemort will destroy everything you hold dear to you, Hogwarts will protect you and that will give the dark lord no reason to harm them" I thought instantly to Daniel and then to my friends and nodded. It was about them. I had to protect them.

"So how do we get to Hogwarts? Fly on a broomstick" I laughed at little joke but the two looked unamused.

"We do fly you know but we usually only do it for quidditch" I raised my eyebrows in surprise.

"We will apparate to the school and then you will speak to the headmaster, is there anything you need to collect before we leave?" I shook my head and explained about my homelessness and how I had nothing but my phone. The two of them looked curiously at the electronic device and frowned.

"What does it do?" George asked.

"Huh? It does lots of things…lets you talk to people in seconds you can play games, go online, sort out bank accounts…" They were giving me funny looks and I just rolled my eyes. They had told me that the wizarding world was quite basic; only magic and no up to date technology.

"We better get going" The lady held out her hand and we placed out own on hers. My stomach was in knots and my heart was racing but I knew that whatever came next had to be better than what I was leaving behind. Apart from Daniel. I thought to how he was waiting for me and my heart twisted in pain. He was going to hate me, would he understand? In less than a second we were gone from Lakeland and were standing in front of a large, medieval castle. A pressure began building and I doubled over, vomiting. The lady held my hair back and George chuckled.

"Yeah that'll stop after a few apparations, don't worry you'll be okay" I nodded once the vomiting was over and wiped at my mouth. The lady began walking towards the castle and me and George followed. On the way up we spoke of many things; how the school was, what the teachers were like, a bit about the war and he seemed to love explaining quidditch to me. I didn't quite understand how it all worked but it sounded fun. In no time at all we were at the giant gates of Hogwarts and the pair turned to look at me.

"Are you ready?" George asked. I nodded but he put an arm over my shoulders to comfort me. I smiled gratefully at him and motioned for the lady to continue. She pushed open the doors and my new life started.