CHAPTER 4

Abbey slowly started waking up, the mid-morning sun brightly coming through the sheer curtains on her hotel room window. She had a moment of uneasiness, realizing that she hadn't pulled the regular curtains and anyone in the building across the street around the 4th floor could have watched her sleep. That feeling passed as her mind cleared from the just-awake cloudiness and she realized she was still in the clothes she wore yesterday while she was out and about in the city. She had worn jean shorts yesterday, and just spent the night sleeping on that button. She started to feel that pain and sat up just enough to slide the waistband of her shorts down a little bit. Never having been a morning person, she fluffed her pillow and lay back down for a few minutes.

What a dream last night, thought Abbey as she reached for the nightstand to check her cell phone. When she landed at Heathrow, she had changed her clock to reflect local time, and it was three minutes after nine in the morning. Meeting Harry Potter…, thought Abbey with a small smile as she lay back down. Being in London –and the land of Harry Potter- must be doing wonders on my imagination. It felt so real. I've never had such strong feelings in a dream before. Abbey usually had the power to realize that she was dreaming in her dreams and woke up from them knowing they weren't real, but this dream was different.

Abbey continued to lie in bed, retracing her steps in her mind because she couldn't honestly say what she did yesterday: it was a blur in her mind and she couldn't remember much of her day very clearly. She had planned to just walk around the city with no itinerary: if she saw something interesting, she would stop and explore. She remembered ending up at a public sitting area with trees after lunch, deciding the area was a nice environment to write a letter home to Gwendolyn. She decided that she had dozed off (since she remembered getting situated under a tall, shady tree,) and then had her dream about meeting Harry, Ron, and their children. "Yeah," she said out loud, trying to justify why she had memories of meeting fictional characters. "I fell asleep. I'm still trying to get used to the time difference and took a nap."

After wracking her half-asleep brain to decide why she couldn't remember walking back to her hotel (other than being escorted by Harry Potter), Abbey tossed her body to rest on her other side. She was frustrated that her brain wasn't awake enough to make sense of all the thoughts going through her mind. She all of a sudden didn't feel sleepy anymore when she saw her dresser. In fact, she almost felt ill.

Standing on the top of her dresser like a greeting card was the crayon drawing of her disarming Ron that Lily had given her right before she and Harry left The Leaky Cauldron. Just as she remembered it, she could see the depiction of Ron, with a circle for a mouth (to express the shock he had) and hair colored in with a bright red crayon, and the purple hearts colored in around "To: Abee". Abbey had been surprised that a 6 year old had drawn an event with a point-of-view other than her own and the adorable way Lily had misspelled her name. Next to the picture was the ordinary stick from the courtyard that Rose had presented her "to practice with before she went to Ollivander's."

"It wasn't a dream," whispered Abbey as she stood up and went over to the dresser. "I met Harry Potter… and I'm magical!" She picked up the drawing and stared at it, knowing this was the proof that this wasn't a dream. She had the actual drawing that Harry's daughter gave her, and the pretend wand that Ron's daughter had given her.

She picked up the stick after she put the drawing back down. She examined it, not sure what she was looking for. She knew it was just an ordinary stick that the children had found in the courtyard of The Leaky Cauldron while she and their parents were discussing the day's events. To keep her word to the 8 year old girl, she "practiced" her wand-waving for a few seconds after she closed the curtains to her room (she didn't want anyone see her wave a random stick around!) Before long, the knots of embarrassment and silliness in her stomach started to overwhelm her. As she put the stick back next to the other memento of her adventure yesterday, she saw movement on the bed from the corner of her eye. She whipped around just In time to see the pillows zoom off, only stopping and landing because they hit the wall.

"Woah," said Abbey, quietly. She started to walk to where they were on the floor and remembered that she could do magic.

She also remembered that magic could be done without a wand and the "Accio" spell…

A cheesy grin spread across Abbey's face. She walked as fast as she could to the head of the bed and concentrated on the pile of pillows. "Accio pillows!" she said.

She waited and nothing happened. Maybe I can only do one at a time, she thought. "Accio green throw pillow!"

The pillow she was referring to didn't come to her, but flipped over as a result of the spell. Her eyes widened as a result, and the cheesy grin was now downright dorky. The girlish giggle that escaped was as high as the accompanying smile on the Dork Scale.

After all these confirmations that what happened yesterday wasn't a dream, she remembered that she was to meet Harry in the hotel lobby after checking out at 11. That gave her enough time to leisurely shower, and even grab a complimentary hotel snack from the mini-fridge after getting dressed and packed. At the moment, adrenaline was fueling her to the point where she couldn't feel any of the hunger pangs she normal felt not too long after waking up in the morning.

Showering and getting ready was a blur to Abbey. She felt giddy and excited that she was going to be a guest at Harry Potter's house, and all thoughts of what was to come clouded her memory and those 45 minutes of preparing for the day had all been completed on auto-pilot. She had chosen to wear a coral sundress to her first Diagon Alley trip (partially just to feel cute as a confidence boost, but also for the forecasted 37 degree Celsius day.)

When the time came to pack her bags, Abbey's excitement spilled over into the little jig that is the result of those chills going down the spine and spreading throughout the body. Abbey was never sure if this happened to other people as often as it happened to her, but normally these happy little episodes passed with no event. But now that she had magic with no outlet coursing through her veins, that magic decided to show off after being dormant all these years.

The drawers pulled themselves open as if 5 invisible hands attached to angry people had all jerked them open at once. The folded clothes flew across the room to the suitcases sitting on the open bed, much as the bed pillows had done earlier that morning. When those articles of clothing had haphazardly landed in the suitcases, the closet door noisily slid open along the track and her dresses, jackets, and shoes did the same thing as the tees, jeans, socks, and other clothes in the drawers had done. When she checked on the quality of the packing job, she saw that most of her clothes had landed willy-nilly with no sense of organization and without being at least semi-folded. She did notice as she went through and folded and organized the contents of the suitcases that her socks had matched themselves, went in the suitcase's inner pocket, and even zippered themselves in. Her shoes were also paired and lying neatly on the bottom of the largest suitcase, right where they were supposed to go.

After going through all the contents of the suitcases and repacking her clothes neatly by hand, Abbey made it down to the hotel lobby with about ten minutes to spare, according to the large clock on the wall across from the elevator. She looked around the sofas and armchairs in the seating area for Harry, the thought that it had been a dream creeping into her mind once again. She reminded herself that there was still ten minutes until their scheduled meeting time and joined the line for the front desk.

She stood a little too rigid to probably be considered natural, nervous about what was going to be happening later in the day. There was no turning back now: she was checking out of the security of her hotel room to go stay with the man who claimed to be Harry Potter. Even with all the evidence that supported their claim and her now obvious magical abilities, there was still a small piece of logic reminding her that all of this wasn't normal and that she was nuttier than a jar of peanut butter to believe and accept all of this as truth.

But she was brought back to earth at right about 11:00, when it was her turn to approach the front desk of the hotel.

"Good morning, Miss Holland," said the usual morning clerk with the bright and cheery English accent that he gave her the past couple of mornings when she would see if her room was available for another day. When planning her trip, Abbey couldn't pick just one hotel! She had decided to just play each day by ear in terms of lodgings and found herself compelled to stay here because of their great service and friendly atmosphere. "Your room is still available today if you are still interested."

Abbey indicated the luggage by her feet with a nod and slid the key card across the counter. "I am actually checking out this morning," she said.

"I hope everything was to your satisfaction?" he asked with a tone of concern.

"Yes, most definitely!" she blurted out. "I just… um… decided to stay in a different area of the city. You know… to discover the different cultures and stuff." She was proud of the fact that she hadn't actually lied! She had told the honest truth of why she was leaving. She really was going to explore another culture of London… even if he wasn't aware of the culture she was going to be a part of…

"I see," he said, taking the credit card Abbey was holding out to him. "London has a lot to offer to our visitors, and I think you will enjoy yourself."

"I'm positive I will. I imagine myself learning so much during my visit," said Abbey.

The clerk held out a very fancy pen that Abbey wasn't accustomed to seeing yet and a slip of paper to sign. "I'm happy that you enjoyed your time with us."

"I did, thank you," she said, scribbling her loopy, yet legible "Abigail M. Holland" on the designated line.

The two of them swapped the pen and receipt and the credit card with her check-out paperwork. "Thank you very much for the pleasant stay," said Abbey as she stuffed the lot into her purse.

"You are most welcome, Miss Holland," replied the clerk with a kind smile.

Abbey gathered her bags and started to pull her wheeled suitcase behind her. The air-conditioned lobby was causing her exposed skin to break out with goose bumps, so she decided to wait outside for Harry. She chose the bench closest to the entrance of the hotel after she did a quick visual scan of the lobby in case he came in while she had her back turned from the door while she was checking out. After setting her luggage down, she sat down beside it and checked her cell phone. It was only 3 minutes past 11.

She tried to sit as naturally as she could, but still be on a vigilant look-out for Harry. She was worried about sitting there looking too excited, nervous, fidgety, or in some other fashion that would cause passerby to take a second look. She tried to remain calm so her magic didn't cause her luggage to spontaneously open or some other unimaginable occurrence that couldn't be explained away. No more than a few minutes later, she saw a familiar head of untidy black hair coming down the sidewalk.

Trying not to act as excited as she was feeling, Abbey stood up and gave a wave in his direction as he got closer. He appeared not to have seen her and was about to go inside the hotel, but her rapid movements caught his eye. Despite being one of the greatest wizards of the time, he blended in very well with the Muggles in his gray tee shirt, Bermuda-length navy blue shorts, and an aged pair of athletic shoes. He looked extraordinarily… ordinary.

"Sorry I'm late, Abbey. Parking was harder to find than I expected," he said.

Her face contorted in confusion. "Parking?" she asked.

Harry looked at her, unclear of what he said that confused her. "I can't exactly fly my Firebolt Five through London, can I?" he said.

"You have a car?" she asked in the same tone that she had used just prior. "There are other forms of transportation other than flying you can use, right?"

"Well, I am not a fan of Disapparation or Floo Powder. Even after all of these years, I still have trouble with that feeling of leaving my stomach behind. I'll use them if absolutely necessary, but prefer driving, walking, or public transport if I can. We live in London, so Muggle ways of getting around are very accessible." He said, hoisting her duffel bag on his shoulder and picking up her suitcase, leaving her with just her purse.

"I can carry one," said Abbey, knowing her rolling suitcase was probably the heaviest of the two. "I can carry more than my purse."

"I parked only a few blocks away," he said, shaking her head no. "Then we'll park closer to The Leaky Cauldron."

Still baffled by the fact that a wizard owned a car, she readjusted her purse strap on her shoulder and followed Harry, still not comfortable with having him carry all her things. She wondered if he silently put a spell on them because he didn't appear to be struggling under the weight. But he started a conversation with her before she could dwell on the question too much.

"I trust you had a pleasant evening after I dropped you off last night?" he asked.

"Well…," she started.

Harry turned to her, looking concerned.

"I don't remember going to bed," said Abbey. "I woke up this morning, still in my clothes from yesterday. And this morning, I thought yesterday was just a dream, until I saw the drawing and stick from Rose and Lily."

"But you kept your magic under control?"

"For the most part," said Abbey, with a grin.

Harry's concerned look at Abbey turned into one of alarm. "I don't like that grin. What did you do?"

"Nothing bad," said Abbey. "I was playing with the stick that Rose gave me. I wanted to tell her that I had practiced, and my bedding flew off my bed."

Harry looked relieved as he hoisted the tote bag on his shoulder.

"And I almost did a Summoning Charm. The pillow I was referring to flipped over."

"That's actually quite remarkable, since you are inexperienced and wandless," said Harry.

"And when I had a burst of excitement when I was about to pack my things, my drawers and closet flew open, and my clothes went straight into the bags," said Abbey.

"Probably not very neatly," said Harry.

"Oh no," said Abbey. "But my shoes were matched and laying at the bottom of the suitcase, and my socks matched themselves and even zippered themselves into the pocket."

"Really?" said Harry, reaching into his pants pocket and taking out a set of keys. "You are doing some really advanced magic for someone with no experience."

Abbey smiled proudly as she heard the beeping noise from a nearby vehicle parked on the street, as if the car had been unlocked with a keyless entry device. She looked up and down the row, seeing the quick flash of the yellow lights from a newer model black Toyota Sienna a car and an empty spot down the street from where they were. The hatch started to lift up too, and Harry started making a beeline toward the van.

Bewildered, Abbey stopped. "A mini-van?" she asked.

Harry didn't understand her confusion. "Do vans have a bad reputation in the U.S.?"

"No, I just didn't picture you driving a mini-van." Said Abbey, following him to where he was putting her luggage in the cargo area. "I pictured you in something sportier… and more..." She couldn't choose the exact word she was looking for. She didn't want to use the word manly, but seeing The Chosen One driving around London in a mini-van didn't seem right!

"Well, I have three children I need to cart around the city," said Harry. "A sports car isn't going to do that for us. And it is the same make, model, and year as the one on our street, so if our Disillusionment Charm ever malfunctions, our neighbors will just think it belongs to that family."

"Why do you need to hide your car?" asked Abbey.

"Just get in. We need to get going and meet the others at Diagon Alley. Other side, Abbey. You're in Britain, remember," he added when she started to head to the right side to get in.

The two of them had a laugh as she jogged to the other side. Being a passenger on this side was awkward, but that feeling quickly faded away. The excitement of going to Diagon Alley took over again and carried her to where Harry stopped and parked. Judging by the designer dress shop she remembered passing yesterday while walking to The Leaky Cauldron, they were parked about two blocks from there.

"Do you have all your Muggle money with you? Is there any in your luggage?" asked Harry as he was locking up the car.

"All of my money is with me," she said, giving her purse that was slung across her body a pat. "But I don't have much. I just brought enough for souvenirs and stuff. I don't know if I have enough for a wand."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there," said Harry.

Now that money had become a concern, Abbey's excitement for the day ahead in Diagon Alley was starting to fade. She started to worry about what would happen if she couldn't afford the wand that chose her. What if she had to go with a cheaper one that she didn't have a connection with? What if she left without one at all? How would she control her magic? But she remembered that she had lodging with the Potters, who most likely wouldn't charge her the same rate as a hotel! With this in mind, her brain and the worries slowed down, just in time to see Ron and Hermione standing outside the pub.

The four of them exchanged hellos before entering The Leaky Cauldron. All of the children were at the Burrow with their grandparents for the day, explained Ron, leaving the adults to introduce Abbey to the Wizarding World in peace. "But Rose made me promise to ask you if you practiced. You know, with the stick she gave you yesterday. Don't feel bad that you didn't-" added Ron.

"But I did," said Abbey. "You can also tell her that I made my bedding fly off the bed."

Ron laughed and Hermione gave her a small smile.

"Tell them what else happened," said Harry, sounding like a proud parent nudging his child to brag about her accomplishments.

"I tried a Summoning Charm, you know, just for fun. Just to see what it sounded like to say it, and the pillow I was referring to did a flip."

"Without a wand?" asked Hermione, surprised.

Abbey nodded.

"Sounds like Abbey is giving you a run for your money, doing magic on her own before she's taught anything," teased Harry.

"I'm not a child anymore, Harry. I'm not jealous of her obvious skill," said Hermione. She did add, in a mutter, "Even though the Summoning Charm took me several tries that I had to concentrate very heavily on."

Ron shot Abbey a grin as they entered the pub, to which they were greeted with unintelligible shouting from upstairs. What sounded like a woman shouting started to get louder as they heard footsteps coming down the stairs. All four of them watched as a man with a wood crate came into view. He gave them a small smile, as if he knew them and was embarrassed by the woman's behavior. He turned around and stood on the stair as Hannah Longbottom came into view.

"Are you mental?" she yelled loudly. She had the same blonde hair that was mentioned in the books and depicted in the movie adaptations. "I still can't believe that you quit the Ministry to take a teaching job! "

"Yes, Hannah. I've explained this to you so many times already. We discussed it," said Neville, remaining calm. "Pomona decided to retire in June, and mentioned me to Minerva as her replacement. I decided to accept her offer weeks ago. You knew this."

"I thought it was just a part of your phase! Your "I'm bored with being an Auror" phase! Harry, did Neville really quit?"

Harry slightly jumped, surprised to be dragged into this conversation. "Gave me his notice earlier this month," he said cautiously, hoping none of his words were going to light her fuse.

"And you let him?" shrilled Hannah.

"Well," said Harry, sheepishly, "as his boss and his friend, I'm sorry to see him go. The Auror Division isn't going to be the same without him there. We're going to miss his skill and expertise, as well as having a good friend to work with. But as his friend, Hannah, I think the change will be nice for him. He's been doing this job for over fifteen years, and you know as well as I do that he has an interest and a talent for Herbology. He always has. And now that the opportunity to share that talent and interest with others… Well, I'm happy for him and am glad that he took the job."

Hannah's jaw dropped, shocked as if Harry had just spat profanities at her. She turned back to Neville. "And I almost took you back. If you were going to stay at the Ministry where you belong, I wasn't going to move forward with our divorce. But you leave me no choice, Neville. Go stuff all your things in that dreary little faculty cabin in Hogsmeade! I don't want to be associated with a man who gets paid to garden! That's what you are now, Neville: a glorified gardener with the powerless title of professor!" She pursed her lips and stamped her way up the stairs and out of sight.

"Sorry you had to witness that. And Harry, for being dragged in," apologized Neville as he came down the stairs to be on the same level as the others. "And you," he said, looking at Abbey. "You probably have no idea what is going on here."

"She knows more than you think," said Ron. "This is Abbey. We met her yesterday by Westminster Bridge. She's new to the magical community and we are taking her to buy a wand."

"You've been walking around without a wand all these years?" said Neville. "I don't mean to be impolite, but you look much older than eleven."

"Well, she just discovered that she could do magic yesterday," said Harry. "She saw a man try to jump off-"

"It was in the Prophet this morning," said Neville, eyes widening. "The Muggles thought it was an acrobat! You made him bounce off the water?"

Abbey nodded shyly.

"And you've never done magic before?" asked Neville, his interest in Abbey's accomplishment seeming to grow by the minute.

"No," said Abbey. "I thought the magical world was all fictional. Until I met Harry and Ron yesterday, I was just a huge fan of the "Harry Potter" series."

"So, you've been a Muggle all these years. You never showed any signs of magic until yesterday?" asked Neville.

Abbey shook her head. "None at all. I'm twenty-five, and… nothing until yesterday at the river."

"Too bad you took that offer to teach Muggle Studies this term, Hermione. Sounds like she'd be a perfect fit. The Muggle world still fresh in her memory… and the international color she'd bring to the course, being American," said Neville.

"You teach?" asked Abbey, surprised.

"Not normally," said Hermione. "I'm taking a hiatus from the Ministry for this term. Minerva was in a bind, practically begging me. I'm sure you've read about the troubles with Ukraine, Russia, and Crimea lately?"

Abbey nodded.

"The current teacher decided to go to an anthropological study of the Muggles in that region. I'll return to the Magical Law Enforcement Department in January, when she comes back."

Neville readjusted the crate he was holding. In doing so, Abbey was able to see some of the contents. Inside was what appeared to be cactus (but after reading about some of the magical plant life in the books, she knew there was a strong possibility that this plant could burst out of its terra cotta pot and strangle her at any second.) She saw some loose gardening tools, a magic wand, a small cauldron, and inside it, a framed photograph. She had a suspicion that it was of his parents, and not a reminder of his time with Hannah. He had seemed unaffected when Hannah had mentioned not taking him back.

"Well, I better get going before Hannah attracts any other negative attention in her place of business. Abbey," said Neville, holding his hand out. "A pleasure meeting you. Enjoy Diagon Alley and getting your wand. Really no experience like it, trust me."

He turned to Harry and Ron. "I will see you at work tomorrow. And I will see you in a couple of weeks at school, Hermione. Going to be just like old times, right?"

Hermione smiled, shrugging a little. "Well, I hope it isn't exactly like old times." She said.

"Right," said Neville. "Goodbye."

They watched Neville take the handle to a trunk by the doorway to the courtyard and drag it outside. Harry gave him enough time to Disapparate without interruption before saying, "Are you ready, Abbey? Ready to go get your wand?"

She smiled and nodded looking around the trio.

If Abbey had known Hermione more than a day, she would have caught a twinkle in her brown eyes before she turned and started heading to the courtyard. Harry and Ron had noticed the gears working as they followed Abbey, hanging back a bit and giving her inquisitive glances because they weren't sure what was building up in that extraordinary brain of her's.

"Later," whispered Hermione as she broke away from the men to catch up with Abbey.