Chapter 3—HOLY CRAP! IT'S YOU!
I burst through the door and practically slid to a halt in front of another bed with a curtain drawn around it.
"She's just woken," Madam Pomfrey said. "Do you know her?"
I stared at the curtain. "I…I think I might…but I'm not sure." I took a step towards the curtain and reached out, my hand trembling. What if I was wrong? What if it was one of the spies who had followed me, if that was a spy? My hand recoiled a moment, but thinking I was being stupid, I reached out my hand again, but before I could even grasp the fabric, a large shape tumbled out and launched itself at me, dragging me to the floor.
I cried out as I landed on the floor, someone straddling me. I stared into jolly blue eyes and a smile that were familiar to me. I hadn't seen it in almost seven years, but I could still pick that smile out of anywhere.
Taylor giggled at me. She too was an eleven year old.
"Taylor!" I said, trying to sound angry, but it just didn't show. "You scared me to death!" I said, a big grin spreading over my face.
Taylor stood and helped me to my feet. "I was wondering if it was you! How did you get here?" she asked me.
I frowned. "How did YOU get here?"
"Cloaked men and a potential Voldemort type-person?" she asked.
I nodded. "Yeah."
She smiled. "Well, I can't say I'm not glad now!" she said with a smile.
I sighed. "There's a problem."
"And that is?"
"How do we know if we can use magic?"
"Kristin, would we be here if we weren't capable of using magic? It's in the laws of fantasy novels—you don't get transported into an adventure unless you have some kind of special powers."
I smiled. "Optimist."
She grinned, pleased with herself. "Don't worry about it," she said. She sighed down at her night dress. "I'm more worried about how we're going to pay for everything."
"Another valid problem," I said, crossing my arms and bowing my head.
Taylor giggled.
I looked up. "What?" I asked.
She continued giggling a moment. "You were doing that the first time we met and the last time that we saw each other," she said with a wide grin.
I grinned in return. "I was, wasn't I?"
"Girls," came a quiet voice.
