A/N: I don't own Harry Potter.
Chapter 11: More Than Just a Dream
Ivy
Elizabeth Butler was nothing like her daughter.
She was quiet, and graceful. Her daughter was loud, and sporty, and often hysterical.
She was my father's best friend. They met at work, when he was 20 and she was 18.
She introduced my dad and mom to each other one year later. They introduced her to Annie four years later.
She comforted them when their dog ran away. They comforted her when her husband left.
She brought over lots of pot roasts. They brought over lots of pies.
She was my Aunt Liz. My godmother.
And she was nothing like her daughter. A fact that Maggie obsessed over.
"Everyone says I look like my dad. Everyone says I act like my dad," she cried, "But I don't want to be anything like that bastard! 'Oh, you're just like your father!'" A few tears slipped down her face, "He's never been a father to me! I haven't seen him in years, Ivy. Years!"
Maggie'd said that to me three years ago. She never mentioned it again.
"Morning, Maggie," my father greeted her as she trudged down the steps, "Sleep well?"
"Yeah, thanks."
My mom slid a cinnamon roll in front of her, and gave me another one. Annie hopped up onto the counter and continued eating.
"Knock, knock!" came a voice from the living room.
"In here, Liz!" my mother called, "Want a cinnamon roll?"
Maggie's mom made her way into the kitchen and plopped into a seat beside my father, "I ate on my way here,"
My mom sent her a look, Aunt Liz sighed, "Oh all right."
After a moment, my dad spoke up, "Girls, I'm glad you're all here, because I have an announcement I'd like to make,"
Aunt Liz smiled and popped a bite of cinnamon roll into her mouth. My mom shook her head and began loading the dishwasher, Annie and I made eye contact.
"What?" I asked.
"I've managed to get a hold of three tickets to the Quidditch World Cup." He said, holding them up for Annie and me to see. My jaw dropped into a huge smile and I started squealing.
Aunt Liz glanced at Maggie, who looked excited for us, but a bit sad. She cleared her throat and wiped her hands on a napkin, before reaching into her pocket, "Hold these for me?" she asked Maggie, handing her a couple of slips of paper.
Maggie nodded without looking, and turned to me with a smile, "Tell me how it is?"
I rolled my eyes, "Why don't you see it for yourself?"
She frowned, "What do you mean?" she looked at the tickets in her hand and screamed, "WAIT! Mom?!" she looked at her mother, Aunt Liz only smiled.
"Happy late Birthday!"
In her surprise she tipped over in her seat and hugged the tickets to her chest while rolling on the floor, squealing about Viktor Krum. I laughed at her antics, because it looked like we'd all be going to the Quidditch World Cup.
Leah's apartment was nicer than I thought it would be, although she shared it with two other people.
She ushered us in with a smile, and directed us to a threadbare couch. Clattering coming from the kitchen area stopped immediately as a girl with wildly curly hair stuck her head into the living room.
"You must be Leah's cousins! Want anything to drink?"
Annie shook her head, but I nodded, "Some water would be great, thanks,"
Leah sunk into a violently red beanbag and grinned.
"What do you think?"
I smiled, "It's nice,"
She brushed her fringe out of her eyes, before remembering something, "Oh, look at this," she rolled up her sleeve, revealing a tattoo on her forearm. I got off the sofa and leaned over her arm, which depicted a griffin.
"What did Aunt Jo have to say about that?"
Leah shrugged before rolling her sleeve back down. "She doesn't know."
Annie laughed, "I bet she'd have a heart attack."
I went back over to the couch, accepting the water from the girl as she exited the kitchen.
"Well she's still in New Orleans, so she doesn't have to find out any time soon."
"We should probably leave soon, Leah. The gig's in an hour," called the girl down the hall.
Leah nodded, jumping up, "Annie, Ivy, I need to change. If someone knocks, let them in. It's probably just Jason."
The minute she left the room, someone knocked on the door. Annie got up, letting in a boy that looked distinctly like the curly haired girl, save for his blond hair that was cropped short. He was pretty cute, in that boy-next-door kind of way.
"Sorry I'm late, Lee. Roberts wouldn't negotiate…." He looked up at Annie, "You're not Leah."
Annie shook her head, "Annie. Leah's cousin."
His eyes lit up with understanding, "I'm Jason. The drummer."
They shook hands somewhat awkwardly, before he waved to me and disappeared into the back of the apartment.
Annie sat back down beside me, with a blush burning in her cheeks.
I grinned, "I won't say a thing," I promised her.
Leah rushed back into the living room, freshly changed out of sweats and into a pair of completely destroyed jeans, and an equally as destroyed t-shirt with a skull on it. Her eyes were heavy with dark makeup. She dropped a couple of black cases by the door, then turned to us, "I need shoes. Theo might come in, don't worry about him."
She left us again, throwing her dark, sleek hair into a high ponytail. A boy burst in suddenly, startling me and Annie. I shrieked a little. He grinned and grabbed the cases that Leah'd left by the door. "Sorry," he said with a bit of an accent, running back down the steps. The girl from earlier walked back into the room, carrying a guitar case.
"D'you mind helping me out?" she asked me, I nodded and took an amplifier from her. With her free hand, she pulled out her wand and cast a feather-light charm over it.
"Take that down to Theo, would you?" I nodded and trudged down the stairs, and out into the blinding sun. Theo and one other guy, who I learned was named Miles, were loading up a van with various cases and instruments.
"What instrument do you play?" I asked Miles.
"Rhythm guitar," he muttered.
I nodded, for lack of a thing to do. Theo snorted and tossed a large bass drum into the back of the van.
"Theo! Do you have my pick?" called a voice down the stairs.
"Sorry J, check the cookie jar?" he called back.
"Found it!"
Within minutes, we were all loaded into the van. I was perched on Annie's lap to make room, and then we were off. Theo sat in the front, with his shoulder length hair pulled into a ponytail.
"I never caught your name," said Annie, to the curly haired girl.
"Jenny Jacobs," she said, "but everyone calls me Jen. Or JJ. Or J. Or –"
"I think they get it," said Jason.
Leah rolled her eyes and smiled at us, "Jason and Jen are siblings."
"Twins?" I asked.
"Oh no, he's younger than me. Twerp's only 17." Jenny ruffled his hair lightly. He ducked away from her and shielded his head.
Annie frowned, but I grinned. I knew exactly why she was unhappy; Jason was younger than her by almost three years. It wasn't that big of a difference, but Annie was a bit of a traditionalist.
"How old are the rest of you then?" I asked.
"Theo's is the oldest, he's 21. Jen's 18. Miles and I are 19." answered Leah, she turned to Miles, who called shotgun earlier, "Turn it up, would you?"
The song blasted through the car, Annie and I sang along happily as we maneuvered through the streets of Brooklyn. We pulled up to a dingy looking warehouse blocked off by wire fences, but Leah hopped out and walked right through a section, disappearing from sight.
Annie shrugged and followed her. I made to do the same, but Theo stopped me.
"Grab that amp, would you?"
I sighed and helped the band set up on a small stage as wizards and witches began filtering in. One difference I'd noticed between wizarding UK, and wizarding U.S, was the way people dressed. Wizarding Britain had a lot of quirky people that didn't understand the necessity of blending in. I knew that most of the muggle clothing they tended to wear was hilariously mismatched and ridiculously colored.
The show was absolutely fantastic; I don't remember Leah's band ever being that good, and they were good. I doubt a song called 'Sexual Medication' would be well received by a lot of conservative wizarding communities, although it seemed to be popular with the audience.
Finally, Annie and I were back at home, and grateful for it. I smelled gross. Like a five day old funnel cake. I hopped in the shower quickly and cleaned up, before drifting off to sleep.
It was going to be a good summer.
I shoved my hand into my trunk, digging around for a quill that wasn't broken. It seemed like all the ones around the house were missing. I could use pen, but it doesn't really work on parchment.
With a groan, I came back up empty handed, although the edge of something blue caught my eye.
I pulled it closer and studied the cover. It was the book Dumbledore had given me at the end of the year. I felt a little guilty. I had yet to read the thing, and I was a seer.
Emblazoned in gold across the navy leather, it read, Advanced Divination: The Unlearnable Art by Trent Trevington
An illustration of a woman with an eye on her forehead was underneath the title. I shrugged and tossed it back into the trunk, continuing my search for a usable quill.
"Ivy!"
I zipped my suitcase closed and carried it down the stairs to where my family was waiting.
"Finally! We're gonna miss the portkey!" cried Annie, before thrusting an envelope in my face.
"What's this?" I asked in confusion, raising my eyebrow at the ridiculous amount of stamps that adorned it.
"It's for you," shrugged Annie, "but you can open it later. We need to leave."
My dad bustled back into the room, "Liz is taking care of Frodo, Agnes, and Bruce. Is someone looking after Mim?"
Annie nodded, "Rhiannon Welch is."
I wrinkled my nose, deciding immediately that I did not like the name Rhiannon. My sister is so weird with naming things. She loved fantasy references. She named her owl Mim, after Madame Mim from The Sword and the Stone. If she had it her way, she'd name her kids Baloo and Aslan.
With a smile, I grabbed a hold of the shoe my dad held out. Not 20 seconds later, a sharp tug seemed to drag my navel forward, and I shut my eyes as tightly as I could. As much as I liked the sensation of flying, swirling colors made me feel sick.
My feet slammed into the ground and I lost my footing, falling flat on my face. Annie and my parents fared much better, landing softly and without trouble, although very wind tousled and disoriented.
"Nora!" came a voice from the sprawling estate in front of us.
"Josephine!" my mother approached a nearly identical woman, and embraced her.
"Is that little Ivy I see? And Annie?" she asked with a smile.
I grinned, "Aunt Jo!"
She pulled us in for tight hugs, and ruffled the tops of our heads, "It's been a while since you've seen New Orleans, hasn't it?"
I nodded, "I'm really excited."
"How's Leah?" she asked.
Annie smiled, "She's well."
"That's good. You two keep an eye on her. I worry," she turned to my dad, "How are you Mark?"
"I've been better," he admitted, rubbing his stomach lightly, "I'm afraid that Portkey trip left me a bit nauseous."
The rest of the day was spent catching up with Aunt Jo and Uncle Warren, who had been working earlier.
My mother and aunt were descended from an old, wealthy pureblood family; one of the first few Wizarding families in the states, the Crawfords. Not that we bought into any of that blood purist shit. It's actually a wonder that the name carried on for so long. My mother, Aunt Jo, Leah, Annie, and I were all anomalies in the male-dominated Crawford family. My great-uncle Thomas did end up having a son, my Uncle Franklin, but he's really arrogant. My mom didn't really like visiting him, or his stuck-up wife, Virginia. I especially didn't want anything to do with Christopher, their bratty son. The guy's only a year older than me, and he thinks he's the shit just because he carries the last name.
The only people I really like on my mom's side of the family are the Ramseys, and my grandmother. My grandfather, Robert Crawford, who died only a year or so after I was born, married a muggle woman named Josephine. Crawfords had always been accepting of muggles, so that didn't really bother anyone in the family. I spend a lot of time with my grandmother. I haven't seen her in a while because she went on a senior's cruise to Florida, where she'll be staying until October, but I'm sure I'll see her next summer.
Since my aunt was older than my mom, she inherited Robert Crawford's mansion, while my mother inherited a nice vacation home out in Georgia.
"You'll be staying in the purple room, Annie," said Aunt Jo, showing her to a gorgeous guest room with its own private bathroom. I grinned at her awe stricken face and waved to her, "and you, Ivy, get the yellow room."
I got really excited at that. Yellow was my favorite color, so staying in a yellow themed room was bound to be fun.
She pushed open the door and led the way in, but I stopped in the doorway and gaped at the room.
"Holy…" I mouthed to myself, surveying the room. White crown molding dressed the room, while the walls were painted a very pretty shade of yellow. The hardwood floors of the hallway was interrupted by plush white carpet. A huge bed sat in the center of the room, with filmy white hangings strung from the ceiling surrounding it. The bedspread matched the walls and desk chair to the shade.
She smiled at me and left me to get ready for the evening. I hopped up on the bed and reached into my pocket, pulling out the envelope from earlier. I had a good laugh about the sheer number of stamps, I mean, it was ridiculous.
Ripping open the top, I pulled it out and started to read it with a smile.
Ivy,
You probably won't get this for a week or two. Muggle post is really slow, and this is international too, so I don't expect an answer for a while.
My dad's got us tickets to the World Cup! I tried to convince him to invite you along, but we don't have enough tickets. Of course Ron gets to invite along Hermione, I'm sure he would have gotten Harry too, but Harry's going with his godfather. Are you going to the Cup? I know you mentioned that your whole family likes Quidditch.
The products for the joke shop are coming along smashingly. Fred and I've only just finished up the Ton-Tongue Toffees. We're still looking for someone to test them on. We can't think of anyone that'd be thick enough to fall for it. I've snuck one along as an early birthday present.
I peered into the envelope, and sure enough, there was a fat, brightly wrapped toffee sitting in it. How had I missed that? With a grin, I stuck it into my pocket and continued reading.
(Just in case you get the urge to prank someone.) Hopefully I'll see you soon,
George
P.S. Fred says hello.
The desk came equipped with paper and quills, so I sat down and penned a response, setting it aside to send to him later.
With a smile, I dove under the covers of the bed, and fell fast asleep.
Taking a deep breath, I opened the envelope and pulled out the parchment inside.
ORDINARY WIZARDING LEVEL RESULTS
Ivy Renee Miller has achieved:
Arithmancy E
Astronomy E
Care of Magical Creatures A
Charms O
Defense Against the Dark Arts E
Herbology A
History of Magic P
Potions O
Transfiguration O
I read through it five or six times, my heart beat becoming more regular as I breathed a sigh of relief. I handed it to my mom, who smiled at me and hugged me tightly.
"Well done sweetheart! That's eight OWLs!"
I beamed and took the letter up to my bedroom, putting it away with a victorious laugh.
"Why not?" whined Maggie,
I rolled my eyes, "Because, as much as I love Quidditch, I am not going to play a game with you."
She pouted and leaned against her broomstick. We were in my backyard, the weekend after my family and I returned from New Orleans, trying to think of something to do.
"Your boyfriend plays Quidditch,"
"Well spotted, Maggie, but I'm not my boyfriend."
She groaned and hopped onto her broom, zooming around in lazy circles.
"Hello?" called a voice just outside of the fence,
I grinned, "Gate's open!"
A boy with well-tanned skin strolled into the yard, with a broom slung over his shoulder.
"Look who it is," I said with a smile, "almost a month into my vacation and no word from you? I thought you'd been kidnapped or something."
"Sorry 'bout that, Ives," he said.
I made a gagging noise and fell to the ground dramatically.
He chuckled at me, "I'd almost forgotten how much you hate that nickname."
"Patrick! Get your lazy butt up here and play some Quidditch with me!"
He sighed and mounted his broomstick, flying up to join Maggie. The two of them stared down at me expectantly.
"Not gonna happen." I said, "Absolutely not,"
"Please? For me?" Maggie did a barrel roll and hung upside down. Her face was slowly turning pinker and pinker.
"Maggie, stop it."
"Not until you play,"
Knowing that this would not be a battle that I could win, I relented and picked my Nimbus 980 off the ground, flying up to join Maggie and Patrick in the air.
"I'll see you later, Ivy!" said Maggie two hours later. After a passing the Quaffle around for a bit, it started to rain, so the three of us trouped inside where it was warm and dry. Maggie realizing that her mother was cooking dinner that night, sped off to the fireplace and flooed away, leaving me and Patrick to clean up our half-finished game of Monopoly.
"So," he said, "how was Hogwarts?"
"It was good," I smiled, reaching under the table to grab at a blue game card.
He fell silent, putting all of the fake money where it belonged and folding up the board, before standing up again, "I should leave, I guess," he scratched the back of his neck and looked away from me.
"Are you sure? I can order a pizza or something, we can still hang out,"
He looked unsure, "Um,"
"You don't have to," I said quickly, "I just have nothing to do. We can watch a movie!"
"Alright," he said with a small smile.
"So, pizza?" I asked.
"Pizza," he nodded. I rolled my eyes and grabbed the clunky white phone off the wall, frowning at the coiled cord that was still attached to it.
"We really need to get a cordless one," I muttered, punching in the number for the pizza place and ordering a single pizza.
"What do you want to watch?" I asked him, walking over to the cabinet that housed all of our VHS tapes, "The Breakfast Club?"
He shook his head and joined me by the shelf, "What is 'Pretty in Pink'?"
"Only the greatest movie ever," I said, "Starring Molly Ringwald,"
"Then no,"
"What do you have against Molly Ringwald?"
He shrugged and turned back to the tapes, "Back to the Future?"
"No. The Princess Bride?"
"No. Poltergeist?"
"N-actually, that sounds good. It's raining," I said, grabbing the tape, "So maybe it'll make it spookier,"
"Woooh," he said, waggling his fingers at me like a really lame ghost, or something.
"Can it, Patty,"
The doorbell rang, so I handed him the VHS and went to get the door. I paid for the pizza and brought it over to the coffee table, setting it down and settling back as Patrick pressed play.
He settled down next to me and grabbed a slice of the pizza, as the opening credits rolled.
About halfway through the movie, we had abandoned watching it, because I continued to interrupt with stories about Peeves. The pizza was almost finished, so I grabbed the box and stuck it into the fridge. Patrick followed me into the kitchen and grabbed his broom.
"I really should head out,"
"Alright. It was really nice seeing you,"
He hesitated, "actually I was hoping to ask you something before I left,"
I nodded, prompting him to continue. He seemed at a loss for what to say, so he just grabbed my chin and kissed me full on the mouth.
I pushed him away immediately, "What the hell, man?!"
He looked at the ground. I sighed and ran my hands over my face.
"I'm sorry." he said, "After that party last summer, after we kissed, I stopped talking to you because… I realized that I had feelings for you,"
"I liked you for the longest time," I laughed, "I think I spent years pining over you,"
He turned away from me, "What changed?"
That made me pause.
What had changed?
"I-I fell in love with someone," I said finally, my heart swelling as I realized it.
He rolled his eyes, "You're what, 15? 16? How can you be in love?"
"I just am." I said, "I've liked a lot of boys in the past. Hell, I liked you for almost four years–"
"That long?" he asked sheepishly.
I nodded, then smiled. "It's alright. I got over you last summer. That kiss was just really awkward and not what I was looking for."
"Gee, thanks,"
I hopped up onto the counter and patted his dark hair, "Not that you were a bad kisser," I added, "I can't really explain it. There's really no telling how long I'll be with him. Maybe another month. Maybe another year. Maybe even forever, but that's not the point. Love isn't assigned to one person; you'll love a lot of people in a single lifetime, but when you find her, Patrick, you'll know."
He mulled it over and nodded, "I'm sorry for kissing you. It was uncalled for and–"
Leaning over, I kissed his cheek, "Don't worry about it. It's forgotten. Still friends?"
He grinned, "Still friends."
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" I woke up with a start and scowled at Annie, who had flung herself across my body.
"What time is it?" I groaned.
"5:30!"
"What?!"
"I'm messing with you, it's only 9." She laughed and hopped off of my bed, "Mom made pancakes,"
That definitely woke me up. Without bothering to change into actual clothing, I raced down the stairs in a pair of sweats and a stained t shirt.
"Mother dear!" I squealed and wrapped my arms around her middle. She chuckled and twisted around to hand me a plate of pancakes.
"Happy 16th Birthday, sweetheart."
"Thank you!" I said, accepting the plate from her and taking a seat at the kitchen table. I drowned my pancakes in maple syrup and bit into them hungrily. Annie came flying down the stairs, out of the kitchen, and into the entrance hall. As I chewed, I heard her groan in disappointment and she stomped back into the room, clutching the mail as well as a small package.
Bruce, my parent's owl, flew through the open window in the kitchen and landed on his perch haughtily, his enormous gray wings flapping dangerously close to my face. That bird has made it perfectly clear that the only people in this house it would deliver mail for were my parents. Hence the need for two additional owls. The rest of the animals in the house tried to stay clear of him (Not that I blamed them. He was a pretty scary bird).
"What's got you in such a fuss?" I asked Annie, who was thumbing through the letters for a third time.
"I ordered something, but it hasn't come in yet." She muttered.
"What did you order?" I asked as she dropped the package and a couple of letters in front of me.
"Some robes out of a catalog." She picked up a magazine and flicked through it with a bored expression. Swallowing my last bite of pancake, I pulled the letters closer to me and tore open the top of one.
"Mom, can we go to Bexley Village soon? I just got my supply list from Hogwarts,"
"How about after breakfast? I do need to pick up some owl treats for Brucie and a new collar for Frodo," she said. I nodded excitedly.
Annie looked up from the magazine, "Can I come?"
"Sure," said my mom.
I opened the rest of the letters, which were just birthday wishes from my friends and family, then turned to the package. Slicing it open, I grinned at the contents.
"Who's that from?" Annie's voice came out muffled because of the pancakes.
"Some friends from Hogwarts," I said, flipping through all of the letters to see who all had written me.
Ingrid, Angelina, Fred, George, Lee… I pulled put a few small parcels and smiled at the lovely notes everyone had sent. Apparently they decided to send all of the gifts together so I'd get them all at once.
Ingrid had gotten me a small compact mirror that complimented you and told you when you had food in your teeth, "There's syrup on your cheek," it said to me very matter-of-factly. I wiped at my face, and lo and behold, syrup. Annie laughed, content to watch me go through all of the presents.
From Angelina I got a rather pretty hair clip from Jamaica, where she had been vacationing earlier in the summer. Lee and Fred got me a large box of Honeyduke's best chocolates. I grinned and set it to the side, promising Annie and my mother that they could try some of it. America didn't have Honeyduke's, so they had no idea of the treat they were in for.
Mrs. Weasley had very thoughtfully included a tin of homemade fudge, which I immediately popped open and sampled, having heard so much about Mrs. Weasley's cooking.
It was as delicious as Fred and George had promised.
Finally, I unwrapped George's gift; a thin, woven bracelet – similar to the ones Maggie and I used to make during summer breaks – made of a sturdy yellow and orange twine. I grinned and slipped on, delighted when it magically shrunk to fit my wrist. My fingers tingled a little after putting it on, but I brushed off the sensation.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Maggie flung herself into the kitchen, having flooed over like she always did, and dumped a brightly wrapped present onto my lap. She skipped around the kitchen and sang, "Open it!"
I untied the hot pink bow as Maggie sat down next to me with a plate of pancakes.
Inside the box was a photo frame, featuring me and Maggie grinning like the two idiots we are. I smiled and pulled it out of the box, bringing it closer to examine it.
"Was this the day I came back?"
She nodded, "Yes ma'am."
"Maggie, are you doing anything today? The girls and I are going to Bexley Village in a bit, if you'd like to tag along," asked my mother.
Maggie nodded, "Oh, I'd love to come! Would you mind if I went and grabbed my purse?"
My mom nodded, so Maggie rushed into our living room and flooed away. I went upstairs to get dressed, and read over my school list.
One item made me stop short, "Mom?" I called.
"Yes?"
"Would you happen to know why I need dress robes for school?"
There was a pause, "Maybe."
"Could you tell me?"
Another pause, "No." I could hear Annie laughing downstairs.
I groaned and entered my room, throwing on some shorts and a t-shirt, and grabbing a pair of oversized sunglasses.
"I'm ready," I said, entering the kitchen as I adjusted my french braid.
Maggie tumbled into the kitchen gasping for breath, "I'm here!"
We flooed from our house to Bexley Village, which wasn't as crowded as I expected it to be, as it was Saturday.
"It's 10, and your father gets home from work around 1, so we have about 3 hours here." said my mom.
The bad thing about my dad's job was that he only gets one day off a week, instead of two. The Ministry always needs obliviators on hand, so he had Thursdays off.
Bexley Village is a bit like Greenwich Village, except that it's completely concealed from muggles. A large part of the magical community in New York lives there. The only way in is to floo, or enter through the inn on the east side of the district. It was full of wizards and witches alike, walking from one store to the other, minding their own business. The first shop on our right, Owl Me, was our first stop. My mom ducked in while Annie and I cooed at the owls on display outside the store. Maggie isn't too fond of birds, so she stood a ways away from us.
Within minutes, we were shopping for my school books at Obscurus Books. I'm told that there's a branch in Diagon Alley, although I've never been.
I had picked out all of the books that I needed, except for one, "Excuse me?" I asked one of the employees.
"Yes?" he set down an extravagant quill and turned to me,
"Do you carry Advanced Arithmancy, Volume 2?"
He consulted an index book behind the counter, "I'm afraid we don't sell that particular edition in this branch. I could contact the Diagon Alley store and have 'em send us a copy if you like,"
I shook my head, "I'm headed up to London anyway. I'll pick it up myself."
We paid for the books and by 11:30, had finished all of the school shopping I needed to have done. We passed by a small robe shop and I stopped, "Can we see if they've got dress robes in here?"
My mom nodded and led the three of us into the store, Rosewood and Silk.
We set ourselves to looking for the perfect robes. Annie and Maggie began loading my arms up with dress after dress after dress. They shoved me into a dressing room, calling out particular ones that they wanted to see, "put the yellow one on first!" "No, no, the pink!" "How about the green one sweetheart?"
I stepped out from behind the curtain in a long blue dress that was far too big on top.
Maggie scrunched up her nose and shook her head, "No. The color's lovely, but no."
I silently agreed with her and stepped back into the dressing room to slip on a yellow dress, which I didn't even bother showing the rest of them. It was too long and pooled all over the floor and just made me look frumpy. With a sigh, I flicked through the other dresses they had all picked out.
At the very back of the stack, a flash of orange caught my eye. It was beautiful; made of chiffon and accented with a bit of silver, including the thin straps. I smiled and slipped it on, reveling in the comfortable fabric that was such an unexpected color.
"Are you guys ready to see this one?"
"Yes!" cried Annie. I could hear her clapping excitedly, so I put my hands through the curtains and parted them dramatically, strutting out like a pompous movie star.
"No pictures, please." I fanned myself with my hand and winked at them.
Annie was nodding frantically, while Maggie grinned like an idiot.
"I love it," said my mother, "I think it's perfect."
I smiled, "I think this is the one."
"Happy Birthday, Ivy."
It was dark. Too dark. I felt my breath coming in gasps, my throat closing up in fear as I stumbled around blindly, feeling my way through the forest. "George?" I called, my voice becoming hoarse and cracked from over use, "Maggie?" my foot caught on a rock or a exposed root or something, and I fell to the ground the a grunt, touching my ankle gingerly. Pain shot through it, and I could feel it swelling under my fingers. I bit my lip and huddled on the ground, patting my pocket to make sure that my wand was still there. I gripped the smooth, cool wood tightly, while I heard screaming in the distance, and cackling.
The clearing in which I sat was suddenly bathed in green light, as there, climbing gradually into the sky, was a sinister looking green skull and snake. The screaming which had started to subside a little picked right back up again, people's terror clearly evident. I started to cry, as per usual, because I had no idea what was going on.
My eyes opened with a start. My alarm clock was blaring, the hands pointed to about 5:30 in the morning. I was shaken by that dream, the whole thing being confusing as hell. I knew that I'd have to experience it at some point, but I shoved the thought out of my mind.
Wiping my cheeks, I shut off the alarm and climbed out of bed, trudging to the bathroom and finishing my ministrations before dressing in some sturdy shorts, sneakers, and a summery tank top. Grabbing my backpack, I headed down the stairs and passed Annie, who was dressed similarly except she was clad in a worn pair of jeans. The two of us joined my father in the kitchen as he read through the paper.
"You girls ready to go?" he asked.
We grinned and nodded, "To the Cup!" we declared.
"To the Cup," he repeated, scribbling a note for my mother and leaving it on the table. She would be working the weekend of the Cup. Our Minister, Kenneth Tanning, was going to be attending the Cup so my mom had to stay to make sure the government didn't stop functioning while he was gone.
We flooed to the American Ministry and met Maggie and Aunt Liz there. Joining the small group that had shown up early for Portkeys, the five of us grabbed onto an old hula hoop, alongside a young couple. Within minutes, we were whisked off in the usual fashion. A jerk like sensation near your belly button, flashing colors, the whole shebang. When we finally landed, I fell straight onto my face again, with Maggie collapsing right on top of me. We groaned, as a voice called out: "14 past 6 from the U.S Ministry,"
I grinned while Maggie rolled off of me and helped me up.
We were finally at the Quidditch World Cup.
A/N: This chapter was a lot longer than I meant for it to be... Thank you, everyone for reading and leaving comments! You're all so incredibly sweet!
Chapter 12 is on it's way!
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