Gillian woke up the next morning to a loud rapping on her bedroom window. She rolled over groggily, still half-asleep, and very angry with the incessant noise. She hadn't slept well the night before. She had gotten back late from her talk with Harry, and her parents had kept her up even later, yelling at her.
When she finally realized that the noise was not going away and was, in fact, getting louder, she turned and looked out the window, squinting her eyes in adjustment. There was a large white blur…an owl!
Gillian sprang out of bed, suddenly wide awake, sheets tangling around her ankles, and falling to the ground with a thunk. 'Quiet!' she thought to herself. She didn't want her parents to come running up the stairs. It couldn't be 6 in the morning, yet.

Walking over to the window, nursing her bruised knee, Gillian smiled as she recognized the bird. It was Harry's pet Hedwig. Gill opened the window, and the beautiful, snowy owl hopped in, offering out her leg, which had a piece of parchment attached.

Gillian untied the parchment from the owl's leg and looked around for something to give the bird for her troubles. Digging through yesterday's pants' pockets, she found a small chocolate candy. Could owls eat chocolate? Before she could remember, Hedwig swooped in and gently nipped the chocolate out of her hand. Well, never mind that, then. Hedwig certainly seemed to be of the belief that she could eat it.

Sitting back down on her bed and shuddering slightly in the night breeze the wafted in, Gillian opened the letter. In a frantic handwriting, she read:

Gill!
I've just received word that I'm to be leaving tomorrow! I know I haven't been home long
('Hadn't he?' Gillian thought. She realized that just because her school was starting soon didn't mean his was.) but I don't have a choice! Frankly, I'm glad to be rid of the Dursleys. I'm going to be going off to the Burrow, my friend Ron's house. It's in Devon, outside of a small town called Ottery St. Catchpole along the River Otter. I'm risking a lot sending this to you, so send me something back with Hedwig that I'll know is you, and that this letter was intercepted! Burn this letter!

Gillian sat in shock and read the letter over several times. Suddenly, in a snap decision, Gill jumped over to her closet, grabbed out her oversized backpack, and began cramming it with clothes. If Harry Potter was leaving…well then, she was leaving, too! She had already spent a year away from him, lonely and perceived as crazy. She couldn't handle that again!
After filling her backpack, Gillian stopped and took a deep breath. 'Slow down, Gill,' she thought to herself. 'You have to send Harry something back!'
Looking around her room, Gillian didn't see anything that would convince Harry that she was the one who had received the letter. 'What can I send…?' she thought desperately. It wasn't as though they had no each other very long. How could she convince him beyond the shadow of a doubt that she was, in fact, herself?

Then, it hit her.

Gillian ran to her desk and grabbed out one of the few salvaged pages from the journal she had torn to pieces. This journal entry was special. She scribbled down a quick note and called Hedwig over.

"Be careful, girl," whispered Gillian, stroking her feathers, and then sending the owl off.

Gillian watched her fly away, off to Privet Drive, before resuming her task of packing for a very long, very difficult trip.

A stag, said the note she sent.

On the back, the page read:

I played a song, today. It was silvery and wispy, and I swear it had antlers. It made me feel happy, but also a little lost. It made me think of my parents…and made me wish more than ever that I knew who they were.

After re-sorting through her bag and taking out all the clothing that wasn't absolutely necessary, Gillian tiptoed downstairs to the kitchen. It was a quarter 'til six. Her dad would be waking up soon to head to work, so she had to hurry.

Sifting through the cupboards, Gillian looked for all the non-canned nonperishable food she could: things that would be easy on the road. After she had loaded her bag full of bread, cheese, chips, and a few bottles of water, Gillian grabbed a chair and stood in front of the fridge.

The vacation fund stood in a large water jog on top of the refrigerator. They had been saving for nearly two years to go skiing this winter. The jug was full of spare change, with the occasional bill, sometimes even a twenty thrown in. It was with a very guilty conscience that Gillian pulled out all of the bills she could find. She had her own savings, but it amounted to barely a hundred pounds. She didn't know how long she would be on the road, or what she would do when she got where she was going (and she didn't exactly know where that was either), but she wanted to be sure she had enough money to take care of herself. She managed to scour out another hundred pounds. Gillian knew she could have taken more, but she just didn't feel right about it. Hopefully, after her train ticket, she would still be okay.

Pulling her backpack onto her shoulder and determinedly screwing up all her courage, Gillian simply walked out of the front door and out of her old life.

The sky was beginning to lighten as Gillian exited the neighborhood. She had spent all of the life she could remember there, but she wouldn't miss it. She was sure she would miss her parents…eventually. But right now, all she could think of was finding Harry. He probably hadn't even left yet, but he had magic to get him around. Gill only had her feet and the money in her pocket.

Walking down the main road, Gillian checked her watch outside of small, roadside diner. It was 7:30, and she was hungry. Her feet were starting to ache a little from walking on the uneven pavement. She decided to stop here. She could eat a little breakfast and then call a cab to take her to the train station.

Gillian entered the grubby place and took a seat at the bar. 7:30…they probably hadn't even noticed she was gone, yet. They'd probably think she was sleeping in. Thinking, she determined that she had until around 10:30 before her mother would send Piers to wake her up…and then they would realize she was gone.

Three hours was plenty to get to the train station and out of Surrey. Then, she would be in the clear. No one knew where she was heading.

Gillian patted her pocket experimentally, and felt the reassuring crunch of parchment. No one would know.

Gillian had not burned the note. She hadn't had time in her rush to leave, and she didn't want to forget where she was going. She would have to burn it outside.

"Can I get you something, miss?" asked the waitress.

"Yes, please. I'd like a cup of coffee, some toast, and a small bowl of porridge."

The lady nodded and started to walk away.

"Oh, one more thing!" said Gillian hurriedly. "May I have a spare slip of paper and borrow your pencil quickly?

The waitress smiled and nodded, handing the things to Gillian. Gill quickly scribbled down the address and shoved it in her pocket. "Thank you," she said, handing the things back.

Her food didn't take long, and she ate quickly. When the waitress came by with the check, Gill paid promptly, and asked if there was a phone she could use. "Of course," said the woman, pointing her over to the wall.

Gillian called the operator and was connected to a cab company. "I need a cab to pick me up at Melinda's Eatery in Little Whinging, please."

The cab only took ten minutes to get there, and she was at King's Cross before nine. Gillian paid the cab, and then went up to the ticket booth. "I need a ticket going to Devon for the soonest time, please."

The ticket man looked at her suspiciously. "Traveling alone, are you?"

"Yes sir," said Gillian. She'd been prepared for this. She had the story all worked out. "You see, sir, my parents were out visiting my grandmother in the hospitable. I was staying with a family friend. Only, I just got a call yesterday saying she had passed on," here Gillian let her eyes tear up a little, "and so my parents are having me go to Devon straight away for the funeral. The people I was staying with drove me here, but I have to get my own ticket. I'm supposed to call my parents as soon as I get the ticket and tell them what station and town I'll be getting off in and when, and they'll pick me up."
The ticket man seemed a little taken back with all of this information. Gillian realized she may have said too much, but hoped he would just take it as a young girl overcome with emotions being a little too talkative. "Oh…I'm so sorry for your loss. There's a train leaving for Devon in just fifteen minutes, so you'll have to hurry to your platform. It'll be heading to Exeter, and will be about a 3 hour ride."

"Thank you," said Gillian, paying him and taking her ticket.

Thirty minutes later, Gillian was racing off on a train, not completely sure where she was heading or what she would do when se got there. All she knew was that she was sure she was doing the right thing.