Chapter 1
Orange County, California
Early in the morning, on June 29th, Rachel Haney was carrying her suitcase down the stairs of her house, planting it down by the front door, where Mr. Haney was carrying suitcases out to the two taxis they had called. Her twin brother, Lukas, was chatting excitedly with twelve-year-old Jeremy about their upcoming eleven-and-a-half-hour flight to Los Angeles.
In just a little over a week, Rachel's older sister Jane would be getting married to her fiancé. They lived in Los Angeles, California, and they had to be there early, for Rachel was a bridesmaid and her brothers Lukas and Jeremy were groomsmen.
Jane was ten years older than Rachel and Lukas, being twenty-five years old. Rachel never got along well with her, the two always clashed, but Jeremy was very fond of Jane. Still, Rachel loved that Jane wanted her to be one of the four bridesmaids, and Rachel would be the youngest bridesmaid.
Finally, when Mr. Haney had lugged all the suitcases into the back of the taxis and Mrs. Haney had come outside with a very sleepy Alexis Haney, who had turned one a few days ago, they split up into the taxis and headed off to the airport. Rachel sat in the taxi with Lukas and Mr. Haney, bouncing with excitement and nervousness. She'd never been to America, and she'd never been on an aeroplane before.
The ride to the airport wasn't too long, and the entire time, Rachel was asking her father's ears off about California, for he had been there before. She'd miss England quite a bit, and she'd miss her pet cat Remo, who would be staying with her best friend Ron Weasley until she would get back for the Quidditch Cup. Lukas' owl Adam would also be staying with Ron Weasley.
Rachel and Lukas weren't your ordinary twins, and their brother Jeremy wasn't ordinary, either. They were witches and wizards, and attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to learn all about magic. Their friend Ron Weasley was a wizard as well, as were Hermione Granger and Harry Potter, their other friends. Rachel was closer with them than Lukas.
Finally, they reached the airport. Rachel stepped out of the taxi, hearing an aeroplane take off in the distance. She bounced with excitement.
"Rachel, you're sure you've packed your dress in your carry-on, right?" said Mrs. Haney, exiting her own taxi and taking Alexis out of her child seat in the back. "And Lukas and Jeremy, you've got your suits, right? And your dress-shoes?"
"Yes, Mum," said Rachel, Lukas, and Jeremy.
Mr. Haney got trolleys for them to put their suitcases on. They thanked the taxi-drivers and then headed into the airport, where they checked in and loaded their bigger suitcases with the flight company and then Mrs. Haney suggested going for some breakfast.
They headed to a nearby restaurant and got some food, which they ate very quickly before they went to security. Once they passed through that, they had to wait about an hour longer before the aeroplane would take off.
Finally, they were called to board the aeroplane. Rachel sat with Lukas, Jeremy sat behind them with Mr. Haney, and Mrs. Haney sat with Alexis in front of them. They had window seats, so they could look out of the window as they rose into the air, which was the strangest feeling Rachel has ever had.
Since they left near ten o'clock in the morning, they would arrive around one in the afternoon, so Mrs. Haney suggested that all of them get some sleep in so they wouldn't be too tired when they landed. Rachel and Lukas, however, were too excited to sit down and close their eyes, so they spent most of their time playing card games and doing their homework they had been assigned for over the summer.
They put away their stuff when lunch was served; there was the choice of a basic sandwich or cold pasta salad. Rachel chose the pasta salad, which wasn't too bad. There was also a cookie and a container of yogurt and something to drink.
"Can you believe this," sighed Lukas, looking out the window as they flew over what Mr. Haney said was New York. It looked gorgeous, and in the very distance, they could see the buildings. "It's so beautiful…"
"I know," said Rachel, pushing her brand-new glasses further up her nose. Last year, she'd noticed that she had to squint more and more to see things in the distance, so her mother took her to get glasses the day after they had returned from Hogwarts.
She wished she could look out of the window forever, but eventually, clouds covered their view and they went back to reading and doing their homework and discussing who their new professor would be, for their last Defense Against the Dark Arts professor had sadly quit his job after being outed as a werewolf.
Finally, five hours after passing New York, the captain came on the intercom and told them that they would soon start lowering back to the ground. Their ears popped as they went lower and lower and the whole plane shook as it hit the ground. They taxied to the airport in Los Angeles, and Rachel was already getting quite hot in her jeans and jumper (it had been cold up in the air).
It took almost two hours to finally get out of the airport, all their luggage picked up and Alexis thoroughly cried out from the popping her ears had done upon landing.
"There she is!" said Mrs. Haney excitedly, pointing down the street that was in front of the airport at where Jane stood, hair cut into a pixie-cut and wearing dark sunglasses on her head. She wore jean short, a pretty and flowy tank top and slippers.
"Jane!" cried Jeremy, running forward to hug her tightly. Jane laughed and hugged him back.
Rachel and Lukas greeted her with hugs, too, as did Mr. and Mrs. Haney, and Jane was introduced to Alexis, who reached out with stubby hands and screeched, "Jabe! Jabe!"
They got into the large truck Jane had, their suitcases stuffed into the back. Rachel watched Los Angeles pass by as they drove about forty minutes to Orange County, where they parked at the large house Jane's fiancé had bought them. Their two Pomeranians greeted the guests with barks and yips.
"Where is Brendon, Jane?" said Mrs. Haney, putting Alexa down on a nearby couch.
"He's at a business meeting," replied Jane. "Do you want anything to drink?"
Jane's fiancé, Brendon Smith, was the CEO of his parents' beauty-company. They owned several large labels and had many beauty salons spread out over all of America and Canada.
"A margarita would be fine," said Mr. Haney, taking a seat on a barstool after giving Alexa some toys to play with.
"One for me, too," said Mrs. Haney.
"Great, I'll get that ready," said Jane. "I'll have Jordan show Lukas and Rachel and Jeremy to their rooms—JORDAN!"
Jordan Smith, Brendon's younger brother, was twenty-one, with tan skin and brown, curly hair that reached to his shoulders. He looked hot, Rachel thought, but she wouldn't ever date him, for he wasn't her type. Besides, she had somebody else on her mind nowadays.
"Hey," grinned Jordan. "Cool to meet you. I'm Jordan."
"I'm Lukas," said Lukas. "That's Rachel, and that gremlin there is Jeremy."
"And the little one?" said Jordan, as Alexis chewed on her doll's arm and looked up at Jordan with big, curious eyes.
"Alexis," said Rachel.
"Ah, she's sleeping in your parents' room, isn't she?" said Jordan, picking up Rachel's suitcase and beginning to carry it up the large, marble stairs that spiraled up to the second floor. "Just this way, guys. Be careful not to scratch the stairs or the floor, we just got them polished."
Rachel grinned at Lukas and Jeremy, who had to carry their own suitcases and carry-ons while Rachel only had to shoulder her rucksack and follow Jordan up to the second floor. The hall that met them there was large, with light wooden planks and a railing on the balcony, which looked out over the first floor. There were plants and white couches that stood between doors.
"That room's for the lady," said Jordan, pointing at a nearby door, the first to the left. "And the one across it is for the gentlemen—don't worry, there's two beds. Rachel's getting the luxury here."
"Why?" whined Jeremy. "I wanna see!"
"She's only got a bigger bed, don't you worry," said Jordan, laughing. "Go ahead and check it out, I'll be right there, you guys."
Jordan lead Rachel into her room, which had the same light wooden planks and white walls as the hall. In one corner stood a collection of plants, and right beside that was a glass door that lead to the bathroom. Beside it was a glass door that Rachel saw a mostly empty closet through. A large mirror stood against the wall right next to the door that Rachel and Jordan came through, and a large bed with grey coverings and fluffy white pillows stood against the wall to the left. There was a bookshelf with books and glass windows opposite of Rachel and Jordan, and a door that opened out to a balcony with a chair, but that was it.
"I like it," grinned Rachel. "Is this a standard for your family?"
Jordan shrugged and put Rachel's suitcase down on her bed as he said, "I'm quite used to it. We used to live very poor, until Dad's company took off, and now we can afford all this…"
"I'm very sorry to hear about them," said Rachel, for Jordan's parents had passed away in a car-crash a few years back. "Even this long after it happened."
"It's fine," said Jordan, waving away Rachel's apology. "You didn't crash your car into theirs. Anyway, you'll want to watch out with the shower, there's a steamer-option but if you get too close to where the steam comes from you might burn yourself. There's jet-streams in the bath, too, they're real nice."
"Thanks," said Rachel.
"No worries at all," said Jordan. "Make sure to hang up your dress, I don't think Jane or your mum would be too happy if it was all wrinkly and needed to be steamed. Brendon's going to be back soon and he and your dad are going out for some coffee, and Jane's taking us to the beach while they're doing that, get your swimsuit ready."
Jordan winked and left to check on Lukas and Jeremy. From their room, Rachel could hear loud arguing over who would get the bed closer to the windows. Rachel quickly upturned her backpack onto her bed, watching her books and parchment and ink and quill tumble onto the grey sheets, and she managed to catch her bridesmaid dress before it fell in the heap as well.
Rachel hurried to the closet, opening the door as she unrolled the dress, which had been neatly rolled up to prevent folds or wrinkles as much as possible. It was a light salmon colour, with a flowy and long skirt and a bejeweled top. Jane had loved it when they had written to her about it (all of the bridesmaids could choose their own dress, and they would match the colours with the ties of the groomsmen).
After Rachel had hung up her dress, she returned to her room to find Jordan standing by her bed, reading a letter Rachel had been sent and that she had packed in a hurry.
"Who's Harry Potter?" asked Jordan, smirking, "And what's the Quidditch Cup?"
"Shoot—" Rachel hurried for the letter and took it from Jordan. "That's just my… friend. He imagines these things and thinks they're imaginary—Quidditch is just another stupid thing he came up with," she said quickly, folding up the letter with a red face. "Nothing you should worry about."
"Ah," said Jordan. "Well, I'm going to go back down, I just wanted to make sure you were settling down all right. I think Jane had food and drinks to pack for the beach…"
Jordan wandered off again and Rachel released a tense breath, glad about the cover-story she'd come up with about Harry and Quidditch. She quickly shoved the letter in between her Herbology book and stuffed her books in a drawer underneath her bed, making a mental note to be more careful with who sees them. Jane knows that she and Lukas and Jeremy have magic, and Rachel wasn't exactly sure if Brendon and Jordan knew.
Rachel threw open her suitcase and dug around for her swimsuit, a mint green one-piece, and changed into it, throwing on a flowy white dress. She stuffed her feet into her slippers and went into the bathroom to grab a fluffy white towel, which she put in her rucksack, along with a normal Muggle book to read. For good measures, she took her wand with her, rolling it in a spare shirt and tucking it carefully into her rucksack as well.
"Rachel! Lukas! Jeremy! We're leaving for the beach, get ready!" called Mrs. Haney from the bottom of the stairs. Rachel finished up packing her things with some sunscreen and then left the room, heading down the stairs where Mrs. Haney and Jane were waiting with Alexis. Jordan was lounging on the couch. All of them had changed into swimwear and had put normal clothes (or just a shirt, in Jordan's case) over them.
The drive to the beach was short, and it was very relaxing to lay in the sun and do nothing for some time. Rachel made sure to put on sunscreen so that she wouldn't get a sunburn before Jane's wedding, and she had a fun time splashing about in the water with Lukas and Jeremy, and the twins had gotten a good laugh when Jordan dove into the water underneath Jeremy and picked him up and threw him further into the sea, wetting Jeremy's long hair so that it fell into his eyes.
"Feel my pain!" Rachel had called, gesturing to her bangs, which she had clipped to the side so it wouldn't bother her.
They got back well before dinner time, meeting Brendon, who looked like Jordan but taller and with his hair cut short rather than long. Brendon had started up the grill for a barbeque, and Rachel and Lukas helped him set up two tables for the two families to sit at.
"So," said Jane, when they were finally settled down into their seats and were starting at a large steak. "How was the flight here?"
"It went all right," said Mrs. Haney. "Alexis wouldn't stop crying, though."
"I don't doubt that," laughed Brendon. "How's work going, Barbara?"
"Oh, fine," said Mrs. Haney. "Business is going well, as usual, and the kids are at school most of the year so they aren't a bother when I have clients over."
Mrs. Haney worked as a massage therapist, and they had a newly built, separate room just for her job.
"Ah," said Brendon. "And how's school going?"
He directed his question at Rachel, Lukas, and Jeremy, who, all three, froze in their seats, making uncomfortable eye contact with their parents. Luckily, Alexa started crying and throwing her food at that precise moment, so Brendon quickly stood up and went to get some napkins.
This gave them enough time to come up with something to tell him, and when the food had been cleaned up, Lukas told Brendon that school was fine and interesting, and that their history classes were the only boring class.
That night, Rachel went to bed and fell asleep right away.
A/N; idk if this'll be any interesting for some of y'all, but I feel like Jane would look a lot like Reed from Grey's Anatomy. If you don't know who I'm talking about, look her up!