Author's Note:
Simply enjoy. Oh, yeah, almost forgot – feedbacks, please!

"The gods never let us love and be wise at the same time. (Amare et sapere vix deo conceditur.)"
Publilius Syrus, "Maxims"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Thursday passed in a blur.
The volleyball game was great, and we won 20 to 18.
Friday came and passed in a blur, as well. As I came home, I finished all my homework – and fortunately, I didn't have any projects – and put everything back into my backpack once more. There were two whole trunks of my clothes and I carried a suitcase that contained two changes of clothes and passport, stationery, all my expensive accessories, and a thick novel. I was going to buy another suitcase and put all the books and invisibility cloaks and all the magic sorts of thing inside it when we get to London, so that it'd be easier to carry around. The two trunks, of course, go to the airplane's belly, and the suitcase and my handbag are my hand-luggage.
All the girls, my parents, Darien's parents, and Tricia wished me luck at the airport. I bid them goodbye and clutched at Darien's hand.
"Jake's going there, as well," he told me stiffly.
I looked at him in surprise. "Oh," I said and shrugged.
"Why don't we get something to eat? We've got an hour and half before we actually board the plane. Come on," he took my arm and we walked toward the food plaza.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Would you like some newspaper?" a female attendant asked us.
"Oh, no, thank you," I answered and she moved away. "Another thing that we have in common is that we both don't like anything that has anything to do with news," I said to him.
He merely smiled at me.
I sighed and leaned my head against his shoulder, closing my eyes. This was the second time that I'm sitting in the first class section on an airplane. The first time was a domestic trip from Tokyo to Kyoto back in Japan. "Serena?"
"Yeah?"
He looked seriously into my eyes and bent to kiss my forehead. We've been a lot closer than we were, and these small gestures were so common that the girls had let us off the hook. "I'll protect you and guide you, I promise," he whispered softly.
I smiled. "Thank you. I needed to hear that."
He smiled again. Just then, the captain's voice carried to us and we fell silent, listening not necessarily attentively but paying attention, nevertheless.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I have a Beginner's Witchcraft Guide that I'd borrowed from Katie, a thick volume filled with spells and potions, in my suitcase. But I think it'd be really risky and strange for a woman to read a huge volume on witchcraft while onboard a plane. So I took out my novel and put it on my lap, staring outside the window. I've been on planes more times than I can count, but it was still exciting for me to look outside while the giant metallic thing rose into the air and the clouds, leaving behind cities and towns.
Darien was listening to his Walkman, and I plugged my earphone into the second earplug, frowning deeply. Then I took off my earphone and his as well to talk to him, and said softly so that no one else would be disturbed, "How can you listen to this stuff? It sounds like death music to me," I said, glaring at him.
He grinned. "Really, Serena? I thought so, too. Let's hear something else – what do you suggest?"
"What do you have?" I asked skeptically. "I didn't have time to collect all my favorite CD's yet in this hurry to pack. Looks like I'll have to listen to whatever other CD you have."
He produced a CD holder from his suitcase and handed it to me. "Go ahead. Find a CD."
I smiled at him. "Thanks," and dug into the collection of CD's. "Frank Sinatra…Rod Steward…Elton John," I wrinkled my nose. "Don't you have any new songs? Oh, here it is – Nickelback…Avril Lavigne…Celine Dion! Oh, let's listen to her!" I took out Let's Talk About Love and put it into his Walkman, our fingers brushing gently.
"Which one do you want?" he asked me.
I looked at the song list. "That's The Way It Is."
"Okay."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After bombarding through Darien's CD collection, I felt tired and rubbed my temples. Then I took the earphone off from the earplug and put it back into my handbag.
"What would you like for drink, ma'am?" a male attendant was asking me.
"Coffee, please. Double-cream and no sugar," of course, coffee has never been at the top of my list called "Drink List," but I needed some caffeine fast, and the plane's quite cool.
"All right," the man said and began to pour the coffee to a cup, and handed it to me along with two small cups of cream.
"Thank you," I said.
"You're quite welcome, ma'am," the attendant replied with a smile and turned to Darien. "And you, sir?"
"Regular coffee, please."
"All right. Here you go, sir."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
I sipped onto my coffee, beginning to read my book.
His hand found mine and I held it tight.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I stared helplessly around the airport in London, England, with my suitcase and handbag and two trunks (can't really be called trunks, since they aren't made of wood).
I felt his hand tighten around mine and smiled weakly up to him. I was wrong. I wasn't helpless. He's there.
"Come on, we're delayed already. I don't want us to miss the train," he was saying.
"The train?" I felt my heart speeding up. Train?
He smiled kindly at me and stopped. "Yes, the train. We'll be taking the train to our destination."
I felt my eyes grow wide. Trains? "Darien Shields, you have got a lot to explain," I looked sternly at him.
He merely smiled and tugged at my hand.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I took a deep breath and sat down on the bed in the compartment that our tickets had saved for us. But then I stood up, eager and excited, and looked out to the countryside, now flashing endless fields of yellow filled with wheat.
"Calm down, Serena. Everything's fine," he said softly, squeezing my hand.
I flashed him a smile. "I know. I know. But – oh, Darien, I'm not known, am I? I mean, I hope I'm not known, because if I am, I can't – oh, I don't know anything!"
He pulled me down beside him and wrapped his strong arms around my body, pulling me into his embrace. "I'm sorry to have to disappoint you, Serena. But you're known. Maybe people wouldn't recognize you, though – after all, they only know what you look like as a baby."
I nodded. "Maybe I really should dig into Katie's Beginner's Witchcraft Guide,"
"If you want to," he answered me, brushing a strand of hair from my cheek.
I blushed and reached for the book, sighing. This was going to be a long reading. The book contained five hundred pages and was as huge as the gravestone in the cemeteries. Plus the printings were tiny.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I must've fallen asleep reading, for when I awoke next, I was curled safely in his arms, the book opened to the last page that I'd read, laying on the bed opposite this one.
Of course, the bed was big enough for the two of us, and I smiled as I saw his calm and childish expression on his sleeping face. Then, I snuggled closer and closed my eyes, going back to sleep.
If sleeping meant this, I'd sleep half of the day.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I was groggy and a headache was coming in.
"Easy there," he whispered in my ear.
I smiled and leaned closer, putting my head to the crook where his shoulder and neck met. Then, I noticed some dark shadows standing behind him – in the narrow aisle between the beds – and felt a calm exhilaration and contentment welling up from my heart.
Wait – dark shadows? I bolted up, clutching his hand, and saw six girls looking at us, some sitting and some standing.
I choked back a laugh and a sob. Couldn't they just leave us alone? "What?" I said, eying their cross armed attitude.
"Why are you two sleeping together?" Raye asked suspiciously.
"Umm…girls, we really shouldn't be here…" Amy began uncertainly.
"Bless you, Amy," I said meaningfully.
"Yes, bless you, Amy," Darien agreed, holding my hand tighter now.
"And why are there rings on your fingers?" Mina eyed our hands.
"What? We don't have–" I stopped short when I saw the ring on my wedding ring finger, thunderstruck. I lifted my eyes from the sapphire ring to look up to him, only finding his face as bewildered as mine.
Out of the corner of my eye, however, I thought I saw Molly swallowing her laughter. "You did it!" Darien and I said at the same time. We tore off the rings and threw it back at them, angered.
"And leave us alone!" I felt the annoyance and anger starting.
Darien never does anything with magic unless it's absolutely necessary, or when he's emotionally challenged. In this case, it was the latter – and he swept his right hand at them and they disappeared.
I blinked in surprise.
"I sent them back to New York City," he said, smirking. "It takes them a long time to come across the ocean. It serves as a very good penalty."
"But – but you don't – you don't have a wand," I stammered, staring up at him.
He bent closer – oh my goodness! – and kissed my cheek more lingeringly than he'd ever done before. I felt my stomach twisting and myself shivering and shaking. "Usually, wizards and witches need their wands to perform magic at the beginning, but as time goes on and we get more advanced, the magic just simply flows into our body."
I looked down in shame. I bet I couldn't even perform magic with wand, let alone with just hands.
"You'll catch up soon," he whispered to me soothingly. "I will personally see to that," he added.
I blushed at how well he could read me and snuggled into his embrace.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It did take a while to get through to the magic world, since the barrier was closed on accident.
Darien shook his head as we climbed down the stairs. "One of these days, they must get another technician," he mused quietly.
"What about our luggage?"
"Oh, don't worry. There are address tags on every one of them, and they'll send it all to my house," he smiled at me and took my hand. "Come on, let's take a carriage and drop off at my house first before going downtown to buy all your things."
I asked him, "Are there many cities in this world, as well? Like the other one?"
"Yes," Darien nodded and offered me his hand to go up to a carriage.
"And why are we here, some hundreds of miles away from London, while we can just go through in the U.S.?" I asked again as I took his hand, boarding the carriage.
He came in after me and closed the door, and then the carriage rolled away. "Because you can get all your stuff here – your parents' money, your wand, books, robes, information, etc."
I clutched his hand as the carriage came at a trench and jerked. "Gees, I thought carriage rides would be smoother," I shook my head.
He chuckled. "Do you want to rest for today and get your things tomorrow or just today?"
"Well, it's still morning, so I might as well get it today," I shrugged.
"Okay. And how's your reading coming along?" he pointed to my suitcase.
I made a face. "So far, I've learned all the basic information – like the relationship between mandatory and charge, how one mandatory may have several charges, etc., etc. I learned how wands are supposed to work, and how to choose them, and wizardry and witchcraft schools, and the greatest wizards and witches, and the potion and some simple spell stuff."
"Have you tried any of the spells, though?" he asked me curiously.
I shook my head. "Don't have a wand yet."
"Well, you should try," he said, smiling. "Come on, just try it."
I was reluctant, but I complied without another word. "The only spells that I remember that are appropriate in this carriage is a…simple movement charm," I frowned and concentrated all my energy on the bench opposite of the one I was sitting one. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and pretended that I had a wand in my hand (which was a bit difficult to do, since I'd never held a wand before) and cleared my mind of all nervousness and questions.
Slowly, I brought my right hand down and pointed at the bench with my index finger. Then I shut my eyes quickly, knowing that it didn't work, and blushed. "I know it didn't work," I whispered shamefully.
But that was drowned by his delighted, wonderful laugh. "Oh, Serena! Serena! You're wonderful! You're fabulous! You're totally talented!" he kissed my forehead and hugged me tight.
I was in a state of confusion. "What?"
"Open your eyes, Darling," he was saying – oh my goodness! Darling!
I opened my eyes abruptly and saw his merry face, pointing to the bench that I'd tried my spell on. I turned to see it, and – oh I couldn't believe it!
The bench had suddenly gotten its eyes and nose and mouth and arms and body and feet – it just transformed into a living bench! I squealed in happiness. Oh, I'd done my first magic trick! The bench was staring at us, blinking in surprise. Then it bowed slightly and kissed my knuckles. "Oh! So gentlemanly," I gave its head – which would've been the flat surface were it not alive – a pat. It grinned a toothless grin and nodded eagerly.
"Oh, Sweetheart, you're wonderful!" Darien was hugging me so tight that I thought I might just melt into happiness.
"Hello, ma'am, sir," the bench spoke.
I was absolutely thrilled!
"I'm not sure what had happened…but I'm very honored to meet you," then it did a dramatic bow (as much as a bench can bow).
I smiled widely. "Oh – oh! Can we keep you, please?"
"Keep me? Of course, ma'am. I'm your bench," Bench said happily.
"Amazing! I'll just pay the driver some extra money, that's all," Darien was hugging me and kissing my face and clutching my hands and speaking at the same time.
"May I know your names?" Bench asked politely.
"Of course! Of course!" Darien answered. "My name's Darien Shields, and this is Serena."
"Nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Shields."
I would've flushed red and feel a thrill down my spines, but because we weren't married, I looked sideways shyly at him.
He shook his head and leaned closer, kissing my ear. "I wouldn't mind if you don't mind," he whispered to me.
I could feel my heart leap from my chest to my head and then back to my feet and then leaping up to the skies again. I shook my head, smiling widely. "No – no, I wouldn't mind. Of course I wouldn't mind."
He seemed happy to hear this.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

We had a hug-a-thon as soon as we were at the gate of Shields' residence. Darien had paid the driver an extra twenty dollars (it was a small, gold, glittering coin) to buy a new bench and Bench came down, stretching, sniffing at the air.
And then my parents were hugging us, the girls were hugging us, Uncle Charles and Aunt Melissa were hugging us, and then I was so dazed from all the hugs and I leaned against Darien in support.
He took me in his arms and grinned at all the others. "Oh, you won't believe it! Serena performed a Movement and Living Charm!" he said excitedly, pointing at Bench, who was being hugged by everyone.
It giggled and smiled at us. "Oh, thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Shields!" it said.
And then everyone was staring at us.
"No, we're not married, nor are we in any way at all planning a marriage," Darien said gently. "We thought it'd be fun to let Bench call us that."
I nodded eagerly.
"Anyway," Darien changed the subject quickly. "Serena and I will freshen up and then we'll go into town to buy everything. And you won't need a wand anymore, Serena. Purely talented,"
I blushed, but nodded in agreement.
He let me go and kissed my cheek. "I'll go and check on the luggage."
I nodded and smiled up to him. "Go."
He grinned at me crookedly and left.
"Not after this right now – just don't ask. I need some answers, though–" I smiled at Bench. "Won't you come with me, Bench?"
"But of course, ma'am," it said happily and walked beside me as we all got into the house that looked more like a castle.
It looked grand outside, with no guards – but that was probably because they already have protection spells all around – and there was a fountain in the garden, that oh-so-beautiful garden. There was no electricity whatsoever in the house – mansion – only lamps and oil and wood. I could hear myself gasping as I stood inside the sitting room. It was a wide and grand room with carpets, paintings, photos, pictures, a stone fireplace, armchairs, coffee tables, and two huge pane-windows, allowing the sun to shine through.
Aunt Melissa smiled at me pleasantly. "Come on, dear, I'll show you to your room and the bathroom, so that you can freshen up."
I nodded gratefully and patted Bench. "I'll be right back," I said to it.
It nodded and smiled, standing back a little.
Then Aunt Melissa was leading me through a doorway, and then the hall – and the stairs – and the second floor – and then the third – and she stopped at one door.
"This is your room," she said, smiling. "Darien's just down the hall–" she pointed to the door further down, and gestured toward the last door, past Darien's. "And that's your Uncle Charles and mine. Katie's room is across the hall from you. The girls are all behind us, where we'd came from," she pointed vaguely behind her. "There's a bathroom inside. I believe you'll find everything convenient enough. If you have any questions, just ask Darien."
I nodded, smiling widely. "Oh, thank you, Aunt Melissa!"
She hugged me. "Thank me later, dear. Darien would probably show you every room in here after we settle down."
I nodded again. It sounded wonderful.
"Serena, it was a very complex charm – that Movement and Living Charm – did you know?"
I shook my head. "It was the only one spell that I remembered from Katie's book where I don't actually have to set the carriage on fire or anything."
She laughed but then sobered once more. "Serena, Darien had never used a wand, either. Magic came naturally to him – in fact, it came so naturally that he'd never held a wand."
I smiled and nodded. "Expectedly."
"Just like you, my dear."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

My two heavy trunks and suitcase was already in my room. I was shocked at first to see such a grand room – even for a bedroom. There was a canopy, four-poster bed that could easily fit four grown adult, and the big pane-windows, and an enormous closet, a big bathroom with everything, and a dressing table, and another wardrobe that I expected to be containing my most wore clothes, and there were two oil lamps on each of the bedside tables. I expect most of the day would be spent downstairs, and the room is so bright in the daylight, and in the evening, I would probably only write my diary – so the lamps are more than enough. There was a balcony, connected to the room by the means of a French door, and heavy floor-length curtains stood at the sides of the door to the balcony and the windows. The floor was carpeted, and the whole room's color shades were of pastel colors, which I liked very much.
I should probably change into a skirt. I found some people staring at me as I exited the train station with Darien, and Mom had told me that females always wore skirts and dresses.
A knock came at my door after I'd taken a hot shower, dried my hair, and changed into my new attire.
I was excited, not exhausted, and went to open the room. There he was, in another perfectly white shirt and black pants, and he was leaning in to whisper something in my ear–
"You look very fabulous," he said softly.
I felt myself shivering. "Thank you. You, too."
He smiled and kissed my cheek. "Ready?"
I nodded. "Just one question, though – I'm going to stay here for a while, so–"
"Make yourself at home," he said quietly, smiling. "Put everything in your closet and your wardrobe. It had been your room when you were small and came over. And it's still yours."
I smiled and blushed. "Thanks."
"And here's the key to the door. If you want it locked, it's perfectly fine. There's a spare one in our Key Room, just in case if you lose it or anything. Of course, it's all protected with a Protection Spell, so you don't need to worry after your valuables. However, if you wish to put it into what would be called a safe here, you can – just ask me for one," he kissed my forehead.
I blushed again. "Okay. Thanks." I dropped the key into my handbag and locked the door. He knew exactly what I'd needed – I don't want to lose anything right now. Everything was valuable, and if there, indeed, would be a thief, I don't want to lose anything.
He held my hand and kissed my cheek. "Come on," he led me away.
I went willingly with him.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I clutched his hand and walked closer beside him. Why was everyone staring at me like I'm a monster? Why was everyone bowing or nodding their heads at him? Is holding hands by a female with a male so unusual in this world?
He squeezed my hand and smiled assuringly. "Don't worry. Nothing's wrong," he said comfortingly.
I nodded and cast glances around me uncertainly. It didn't look harmful or dangerous to me, but it certainly looked like curious and afraid – of me? Why me? I can't do any harm – I can barely do a Movement and Living Charm, and I hardly know how to do Protection Spell.
All along the streets as we walked on, there were people, and it began to look more like a crowd than some on-lookers. "Do you have any servants in this world?" I whispered to him.
"Mostly rich ones," he replied, smiling at me. "And the servants are mostly the Dobby kind of creatures – you know, in Harry Potter?"
"What about your family? And mine?"
"We could've had some, but our parents preferred their own workings," he said dryly. "Which, I might add, often resulted in a never-ending cycle of cleaning."
I smiled. He had a way of cheering me up.
Finally, stores began to appear by the street that we were walking on, and more people started to appear.
"Where are we going first?" I asked, looking up to him.
"Where do you want to go first?"
"The book store," I said immediately, blushing. "I definitely need to dig into magic right away."
"You probably should go to a witchcraft school," he remarked as we walked on.
"Did you ever go to one, though?"
"Yeah," he grinned at the memory of it. "For one year."
"I read most schools take about eight to ten years to finish."
"I kind of finished the ten-year-long course in one year," he smiled, embarrassed.
I had stopped in the middle of the street. "In one year," I said, choking.
"Yes, and that's why I've gotten assigned to you so young. Most mandatory start their jobs at least from twenty-five-years old."
I could hardly breathe. "Ten years? How am I ever supposed to finish it?"
He smiled charmingly. "We'll see, Serena. But for now, let's get you some books, some quills and parchments – yeah, we use those like in Harry Potter – and a cauldron and a broomstick. As for the potion stuff, Mom's got two rooms full of them in the dungeons. You're welcome to use it at any time."
"Did J. K. Rowling write Harry Potter with this world in front of her or something?" I mumbled.
"Actually – yes, she did. She's a witch. A sixty-seventh-level witch," he explained to me.
"And the Council actually allowed her to do that?" I questioned as we moved along again, incredulous.
"Well, she did get into some trouble for it," he said, shrugging. "But they let it go. No one suspected anything, anyway. But she dropped from sixty-seventh to first. She has to start all over again – they did a Magic Ability Spell on her. Oh, and, there are one hundred levels altogether, and it's based purely on the magic things that you've learned."
"I'm probably a first," I said, sighing shamefully.
He smiled. "No, Serena. You're actually a third-level witch if you can do that Movement and Living Charm."
I wrinkled my nose. "And I've got ninety-seven more levels to go," I shook my head. "That's a long way. What's your level?"
"Seventy-fourth. And why do you want to go up to the highest, anyway?"
I stared at him in shock. "I always go for the best. Why, is that impossible?"
"No," he answered with a small, encouraging grin. "It's just that few ever reach even eighty. From eighty and up, they're classified as the greatest wizards and witches in history."
I paled. "You're almost there," the whisper came from my mouth.
"Nah. I haven't done any proper studying or traveling in the last year. Still got a long way to go," he winked at me, squeezing my hand. "Come on. Here's the book store."
I saw a wooden board, carved and painted, showing fancily the name of the store: The Wielding Place. I looked at the display window and saw two huge volumes of books, and suddenly became reluctant. I could see how big the store was, how much time it'd take for me to learn them all. Then, with a blush, I realized that I haven't been to the bank at all.
"Serena?"
I smiled at him. "Can we go to the library? I don't want to spend too much of my parents' money. I probably can just check out some basic books."
He shrugged, nodding. "Why don't we get a personal cauldron for you? And you need a broomstick. And you need an owl…cat doesn't go far distances. Owls are better. As for quills and ink and parchments – there are two bookshelves stacked with them at home."
"Let's get the owl first, and then the cauldron, and then a broomstick, and finally the library," I said in a decisive voice. "I want to get a Hedwig. She looks more beautiful than Errol. And she knows how to fly without running into windows and posts."
He chuckled. "All right."
We turned around the corner and went in. Instantly, every possible owl and cat and rat and other animals or creatures that can deliver messages picked themselves up and fixed their eyes on me.
The shopkeeper, an elderly man with gray hair and a gray beard, came out and beamed at Darien. "Young Mr. Shields!" he said and bowed. "And your lovely lady!"
I could feel myself blushing.
"Yes, thank you, Mr. Blot. That was a very good word to describe this lady here – yes, you are, indeed, very lovely," he bowed over my hand and I felt myself blushing deeper.
"And who might her be, Mr. Shields? I have never seen her, nor have I seen you with a lady so close," Mr. Blot was saying and looking at me curiously – and friendly.
I opened my mouth to say my name, but Darien interrupted. "Please, let me do the honor,"
I blushed deeper still and nodded. "All right, if you want to."
"And such a lovely voice!" Mr. Blot exclaimed.
Oh, if this goes on any longer, I'd have to run–
"Mr. Blot, meet the legendary–" am I legendary? "–Lady, Serena Merritt."
Mr. Blot stared at me for a moment, knowledge dawning over his small, wrinkled, and old face. Then, with a joyous cry, he threw himself on his knees and began to kiss my hand over and over again.
I looked to Darien. "Am I supposed to use Merritt instead of Kensington?" I mouthed to him.
He nodded.
"And why is he like this?" I nodded toward the old man, still kissing my hands.
He shrugged. "Very loyal and respectful to your and my family."
The owls, cats, rats, and other animals or creatures that can deliver messages began to scream joyfully in their different languages.
"Sir – Mr. Blot – you don't have to do this – please, do sit down somewhere – how does a cup of coffee sound to you – please, sir, I'm not really worth this – please–" I was saying desperately, trying to pull the man up.
He stood and sat down in a chair behind a counter and brushed tears from his eyes, and then he drank from a cup. "Not really worth that?" he asked, his wrinkled face smiling kindly. "The same as young Master Shields had said the first time – oh, that had been so long ago. You two are alike in many ways," he finished with sipping his drink, and then continued. "You're worth anything, Lady Merritt. Anything. Everything. Just like Mr. Shields here."
I blushed and glanced up at a smiling Darien, who was walking toward me. "And Serena, this is Mr. Henry Blot," he finished his introduction.
I doubted I even needed so say this, but I nodded courteously at the man and smiled. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Blot."
The man jumped up suddenly. "You must be in a hurry! How can I help you? Did you want another owl, Mr. Shields?"
"Yes," Darien answered, "for Serena."
"I'll have just the one," Mr. Blot smiled and swept his arms over the whole shop. "Just look around, Lady Merritt, look and see which one you like best."
It was strange to hear myself being called Lady Merritt, but I shook the feeling off mentally and looked around the small shop. Every owl was hooting, trying to catch my attention. For a moment, I was dizzy with all the noises, but then I was able to detach myself from it, and looked from one owl to the next, taking my time.
My eyes settled on a quiet, snowy owl, whose eyes were looking intently at me. I smiled and pointed that one out to Mr. Blot. "I'd like that one, please, Mr. Blot."
"Ah! Good choice, Lady Merritt. She's a very rare one, that owl," the old man stood onto a chair to bring down the owl and handed it to me.
She looks like Hedwig. I smiled and whispered softly, "Hello, there."
The owl hooted.
"We'll take that one, Mr. Blot," Darien said and paid for it.
As we walked down the street once more, I turned to him and said, "I'll pay you back when we get to the bank."
He shook his head. "Nah, that's fine."
"But–"
"Just listen to me," he cut me off with a small smile.
I hesitated, and then nodded. "All right. If you say so."
He grinned and led me down the street once more. "You shouldn't mention anything about Harry Potter, though," he whispered to me. "There isn't a written law against saying it, but it's best that you don't say anything about it."
I nodded. "Okay. What name should I name my owl?"
He shrugged. "What name would you like?"
"It's whether Minerva or Athena. They're both the goddess of wisdom and domestic arts. Minerva's the Roman name, and Athena's the Greek name," I smiled down to the owl. "Minerva?"
The owl just stared at me.
"Athena?"
The owl hooted.
"Okay. There we go. Athena."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

When we returned home, I was exhausted. I pushed every book that I had borrowed from the library, along with everything else, into my room and fell onto the bed.
"Do you want to stretch your wings, Athena?" I asked her.
She stretched out her wings and I smiled. "All right," I unlocked the cage and let her fly in the room.
I fell asleep somewhere along the way, just like that – sprawled on top of all sheets and comforters and blankets. Athena, somewhere along the way, got tired of flying, so she snuggled closer to me and we both slept.
When I woke up, Darien was looking at me with a lazy smile on his face. "Good-evening,"
I smiled in turn. "Good-evening. Come on, Athena. Back to your cage."
"The dinner's about to start. Did you want to wash before that?"
I nodded. "Thanks for waking me up, by the way," I rolled onto my stomach, collapsing into bed again. "Oh, I'm tired."
He was holding my hand, and pulled me into his embrace, comforting me. "It'll be exhausting the first couple of days. And then it'll be fine."
"I know," I mumbled and shifted my position so that I was closer to him.
"Come down to dinner, all right?"
A thought suddenly occurred to me, and I spoke it before considering it. "Only if I get your hugs every time I'm tired," I cocked my head to the side, waiting for his reply.
He was surprised at first, but then smiled and nodded. "Of course."
I blushed and glared at Athena as she hooted in snickers.
"I'll see you later," he whispered and pressed his lips to my cheek, and didn't draw away until ten seconds had passed. Then he was closing the door quietly behind him.
I touched my breast, where my heart was beating fast. He's the only person so far to make me feel like this, all comfortable and all uncomfortable at the same time. "Oh, be quiet, Athena," I muttered and locked her cage before standing up, stretching, and starting to think.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Darien held out the chair for me – beside him, of course – and I smiled. "Thank you, sir."
He grinned. "You're welcome, ma'am."
I smiled at everyone at the table. "What did you do today?"
Mina made a face. "Getting ready for school,"
"Oh? Which school?"
"Lagans School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Mina smiled. "The term starts soon. We're all going there. You wanna come?" Lagan was the best school.
"Which level are you on?"
"Thirty-seventh," she replied, taking a sip from her drink.
"Which year are you at that school?"
"Fifth. Halfway through."
I ate my dinner halfheartedly, not really listening to the conversations, letting Darien to do all the talk.
Then I excused myself from whatever they were about to go after dinner to hide in my room and dig into the books. I still had much to learn, not to mention I had to learn to fly, and – oh there are just too many things to learn!
I tried a Water Spell on the empty bowl where Athena had drunk all the water. But I overdid it, and the water splashed onto Athena, who glared at me. "Sorry," I said apologetically. "I'll give you a Dry Spell," I tried it, and it worked.
Athena hooted thanks and settled back into her trance once more.
"Okay, let's try that again," just as I was about to bring the water out, the door opened and I was so startled that I brought the Spell down on whatever or whoever was there.
Which, I cursed myself, turned out to be Darien. "I'm sorry!" I gasped. Then I did a Reverse Spell and slumped onto my bed. "Next time, mister, don't forget to knock."
He grinned. "No problem. I changed Bench back to a bench."
"Reverse?"
"Yeah."
He sat down beside me and held my hand carefully. "Do you want to go to Lagan?"
I shrugged. "I absolutely have no idea where to start."
"Well, you're very good if you can do Reverse and Water and Dry," he leaned closer to me and whispered softly: "I'm there most of the time helping teachers and students. I don't have much else to do, so I'm somewhere between a teacher and a student."
"Really?" I asked, even though I know it was true.
He nodded. "I don't want to be there if I don't see you every day."
I blushed and held my breath. "You really want me to go?"
He nodded, his expression solemn. "It'll help with your witchcraft, after all."
I shrugged. "I guess so. Okay, then. When does the term start?"
"Next Monday,"
"Today's already Tuesday…yeah, I probably should get all my books and application forms and all that."
"I'll help you."
"Yes, wonderful. Thank you. Athena, go back to sleep."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Darien held my hand. "Sorting Hat–"
"Like in Harry Potter?"
"Yeah. And the Houses – there are five, and the names are different."
I rolled my eyes at him. "Would you be so kind to tell me what the Houses are?"
"Oh, right. Sorry. Serpentine – that's like Slytherin, people who want to show off – Lore – that's like Ravenclaw, knowledgeable kind, talented – Fidel – that's like Hufflepuff, loyal, faithful – Valor – that's Gryffindor, courage, bravery – and lastly, it's Acumen, and it's courage combined with talent, with a little bit of everything else, including loyal and showing off."
I was worried. "I'm not brave, I know that…as for knowledgeable, that's a no-no…I don't much like showing off, either…I guess I'm the loyal, faithful type."
Darien was smiling. "We'll see. Now go."
"Is there a Professor McGonagall here? Professor Dumbledore?"
"No. But it's something like that. Go."
I kissed his cheek. "Thanks for everything," I turned and hurried toward the chamber where first-years stood anxiously.
I felt as lonely as I could ever be. My friends were in fifth year, and Darien's already graduated, and I'm only starting. I wish everything would go according to plan. Now I knew why Molly insisted for me to read Harry Potter books. Totally.
I was relieved to find that some of the first-years were actually older than me. At least I wouldn't be feeling too old or anything.
"Hi," a girl said beside me. "I'm Lilac Thomas."
She held out her hand, and I accepted. "Serena Merritt."
Lilac stared at me. "You mean, the Serena Merritt?"
I blushed. "Yeah, that's me."
Lilac grinned. "Oh, my gosh! I can't believe it! Serena Merritt!"
In a moment, everyone was swarming toward me. I looked helplessly from one face to the other, and looked to the door, where Darien was winking at me. I glared at him.
He only grinned.
"I'm Professor Bartlett, the Deputy Headmistress of Lagan School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," a woman said sharply.
Eventually, everyone quieted down around me, even though some were still looking at me curiously and admirably. Finally, the Sorting ceremony came – exactly like in Harry Potter – and I stood in time, waiting quietly beside Lilac.
When I had the hat on, I knew exactly what Harry had been feeling – too big a hat, small voices in my head, and my praying for who-knows-what. The hat paused for so long that I thought it was sleeping, but then a voice said in my head, "You're so difficult to place, Serena Merritt…"
"What about Fidel?" I asked the voice in my head.
"No, no. You're very loyal and faithful, that's for sure. But you've gotten talent as well, and courage, and good at showing off…people noticing you…I guess you'd be in Acumen. ACUMEN!"
I pulled off the Hat, patting it lightly, and gave it to the next person. Lilac was far behind, smiling at me. Only Katie and Molly belonged to Acumen House, and I was happy to sit down beside them and just listen to the conversations and look around.
It wasn't exactly like what the Harry Potter books had described, but it was close.
So my studies at Lagans School of Witchcraft and Wizardry began.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It turned out that my roommates were Lilac, Melanie Howard, Rachel Wit, and Ellen Antonio.
As I sat at the edge of my four-poster bed in the first-year dormitory, while the girls around me were all hurrying to hang up their dresses, skirts, robes, and everything into the wardrobes.
"Hey, Serena, are you okay?" Lilac asked me worriedly.
I smiled at her. "No, I'm fine. It's just…it's been a very weird day," I sighed and opened my trunk, starting to hang up my clothes, as well.
As I finished hanging up my clothes and piled the stack of books in my bookshelf, I heard a knock at the door. We stared at each other, but couldn't figure out who it might be, so I called, "Come in!"
It was Katie. "Serena, you have got to see this–" she was pulling me toward the door.
I flickered reassuring glances to my roommates. "Katie, slow down, explain – what have I got to see?"
"My brother's downstairs in the common room–"
"Darien? What's he doing here?"
"He was in Acumen before he graduated, so it's very common for him to come here. He said you've got to see–"
"See what?" I said, rushing down the stairs behind Katie.
"I don't know. He just said to get you."
"But why is he here this late? Where does he sleep usually?" the stairs were definitely a bother.
"He usually sleeps in the boys' dormitory here, in Acumen," Katie threw over her shoulder. "As to why he's here this late, I have absolutely no idea."
Darien was there, pacing the room, something clutched in his hands. Everyone else was frowning and looking at him in surprise, not knowing what was happening.
I stopped at the door to the common room, heaving, staring at him.
He came over and hugged me. "Take this–"
"What is it?"
"Your mother's wand."
"Why?"
"Can't tell you yet. Read this," he handed a piece of paper, torn from something else, and was holding my hand tight.
My face paled. "But – but how? When? Graves, of all place!"
The paper stated clearly that Paige Joyce and Ken Merritt's grave has been opened.
Darien looked grim.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I didn't mean any offense to J. K. Rowling, and I didn't mean to base this on Harry Potter, but it just came. Just in case anyone sues me, I disclaim here that I do not own any of the Harry Potter plots, though I wished I had written it, and it belongs to J. K. Rowling. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this. Feedbacks, please!

Crystal Selena