CLARODON LANE
A/N Thanks everyone for reviewing the first part!!!! *grins like a maniac* You guys rock!! I'll go into more detail at the end…
At 9 o'clock on Tuesday morning, Jack was standing in front of the fireplace, as Miranda had directed him to. As to the other things Miranda had said (something about Floo network and Clarodon Lane) Jack had no idea what she was on about.
Jack jumped when someone tapped him on the shoulder. It was only Alicia.
'Is she going to turn up? What time did she say?'
'Um 9 o'clock' muttered Jack. They both looked at the clock. It was 9:15.
Nick came into the room and yelped. Jack and Alicia whorled around and looked at him. He was staring at something over Jacks right shoulder and pointing. Jack turned around. Stepping out of the fireplace was Miranda. She straitened up and looked at them smiling.
'Floo powder!' Alicia said amazed.
'Hello. Yes, Floo powder. You're a bright one. Here you are Jack. How are you? Hope I didn't frighten you too much' she laughed, looking at Nick. Someone coughed behind her and a girl with flaming red hair and freckles stepped out from behind Miranda. She was covered in soot.
'Ah, yes. This is my granddaughter, Rosie. So she is your cousin of sorts. Rosie, this is Jack, Nick and Alicia. Jack's coming with us today.' Rosie smiled nervously at Jack. ' Well that's it. Better get going. Lots to do today.'
'Wait. Mum wants to talk to you. She's in the kitchen.' Said Nick, pointing to the doorway behind him.
Miranda nodded and went into the kitchen.
Nick gave Jack and Rosie a strange look and followed Miranda out. Jack looked curiously at Rosie, but she just looked at her feet.
'Are you a witch?' asked Jack breaking the silence
'Yes.'
'Have you met Harry Potter?' Burst out Alicia. Rosie looked at her.
'Read those books have you?' Alicia nodded. ' Well I haven't met him. He lives somewhere in Britain. I've heard a lot about him though. Everyone knows about him. Even Muggles.'
'I wish I were a witch. Then I could go to Hogwarts with Harry and Ron and Hermione.' Alicia sighed dreamily.
Rosie laughed but not unkindly.
'You wouldn't go to Hogwarts. You'd go to Tembara. Anyway, all those people have left school.'
'Huh? But they just finished there fourth year!' Alicia protested.
Rosie smiled at the younger girl.
'Harry Potter and his famous sidekicks finished about 3 or 4 years ago.'
All through this conversation Jack didn't really know what they were talking about. He had heard of the books but had never read them, unlike Alicia, who was obsessed with them.
'Then…then that means you know what happened! Wait! No! I don't want to know!' Alicia was practically dancing in her excitement.
Rosie laughed and asked Jack if he had read them.
'No…I always thought they sounded dumb…wizards and stuff…' he mumbled.
Rosie and Alicia both rolled their eyes.
Miranda and Liza came back into the room.
'Right we'll be off then. Liza, are you sure you want to come?' asked Miranda.
'Yes.'
'Is Mum going? Can I come too? Please???' Alicia begged.
'Oh alright.' Liza said smiling half in amusement and half in exasperation at her youngest daughter.
Miranda started explaining how to use Floo Powder:
'Ok when you step into the fire, say very clearly where you want to go, in this case Clarodon Lane. Tuck your elbows in - '
'And shut your eyes, the soot - ' advised Rosie
'And don't fidget,' said Miranda ' because you might fall out of the wrong fire place.'
Liza looked anxious. ' I hope we remember all that.'
'Oh I'm sure you will' said Miranda reassuringly. 'Here Rosie can go first and show you all what to do.' While she said that she took out a small silver pouch and opened it. Miranda offered it to Rosie and she took a pinch of glittering powder and stepped up to the fireplace and threw the powder into the flames. With a roar, the fire turned emerald green and rose higher than Rosie, who stepped right into it and shouted, 'Clarodon Lane' and vanished.
'You go now Jack.' Said Miranda offering the pouch to him. Jack looked at his mother who looked bewildered. He took a pinch of the powder and threw it into the fire. It turned emerald green again and rose higher than his head.
'Mind you speak clearly, dear' said Miranda encouragingly. Jack took a deep breath and stepped into the fire. It felt like a warm breeze. He opened his mouth and shouted ' Clarodon Lane'.
It felt like he was being sucked down a giant plughole. He seemed to be spinning very fast; the roaring in his ears was deafening. He was spinning round and round in a whorl of green.
Suddenly it stopped and he was thrown forward, out of the grate and landed flat on his face on the ground. He groaned and rolled over. Looking down at him was Rosie.
'Are you alright?' she asked.
'Yeah I'm fine.' Jack said as he stood up, brushing the soot of his clothes. Alicia was now getting out of the fireplace.
'That was so cool!' she said excitedly. Yeah, if you like being dizzy and falling flat on your face, Jack thought grimly. Rosie just laughed.
Liza stumbled out of the fireplace. She looked a bit green.
'Wasn't that fun Mum?!' Alicia asked her mother.
'Yes Lis, whatever you say.' She said, brushing the soot of her pants.
'Where's Grandma?' asked Rosie.
' She said something about disappearing or something and that Floo powder doesn't agree with her.' Liza said sounding slightly puzzled. Rosie tried to hide her laughter, unlike Alicia.
"I think she meant Disapperating, Mum.' Alicia had taken the knowledge that everything in those books she had read was real very well and used her knowledge. Jack was a bit jealous of her. It was him that was meant to be the wizard wasn't it? And he didn't know anything about this new world he had been thrust into.
'Oh,' Liza mumbled sheepishly. There was a faint 'pop' and Miranda's voice called out;
'Welcome to Clarodon Lane!'
For the first time Jack looked around at his surroundings. They were in a small bare room, at one end was the fireplace that they had just come out of and at the other end was an archway that said 'Clarodon Lane' in gold letters. Outside was a sunny street filled with shops and people wearing a wide variety of coloured robes.
'Right then, we'd better go to Gringotts - wizards bank' Miranda added to Jack and Liza's inquiring faces.
"Do they really have goblins there?' whispered Alicia to Rosie as they set of down they long street. Rosie nodded.
Goblins! Jack thought. Ok, as soon as we get home I am reading those books!!
Jack looked around him. The sun shon brightly on a stack of cauldrens outside a nearby shop, with a sign saying Cauldrens – All sizes – pewter, gold, copper, brass – Collapsible – Self Stirring.
A wide variety of noises came from a doorway that said Minola's Magical Menagerie above it. Jack peered in the door, trying to catch a glimpse of some magical creature, but it was to dark inside. They kept walking down the street and Jack wished he had about eight more eyes to see the shops, the things outside them and the people doing their shopping. Most of the people wear dressed in the same sort of clothes as Miranda: long robes. They passed another shop with broomsticks in it.
