Disclaimer: Well,
honestly I do own these first characters, heh. The ones I don't
own will be coming later on. However, I don't own the ideas for
such things as owl post, floo powder, Hogwarts School of
Witchcraft and Wizardry, or even the Salem Witches Institute --
Joanne Rowling does. (You'll find the Salem Witches Institute
mentioned in the fourth book, during their first day at the
Quidditch World Cup.)
Author's Note: Well, my first fic, LOL. I hope
people like it. Please read & review! I am seriously trying
to work some humor into here, but it's hard with the storyline I
have planned, LOL. Thanks for reading!
Chapter One
"Cheep! Cheep!"
I groaned and rolled over -- Morgan, my baby owl, had decided to wake me up this morning. I sighed. But it was time to get up, judging from the light filtering through my window. I reached for my wand to get the light ward off of my window, and remembered that I was on probation.
Probation. What an ugly word. All I had done was try to transfigure my brother's teddy bear. And he wanted it turned into a cat! If only it hadn't turned out looking like a manticore. Mom had gotten quite upset at me for that one. But what had come from it? Nothing good. I wasn't allowed to use magic at home for three whole weeks! Very unfair.
I hopped out of bed, and grabbed my school uniform. To ordinary Muggles, the patch on the front of my vest said that I was a student of the Salem Wonders Institute for Gifted Children. To the magical world, it announced that I was a student of the Salem Witches Institute for the Magically Inclined. Big difference, eh? No, it wasn't an all-girls school, as the badge proclaimed. About fifty years ago, the school went under big renovations, and opened to the entire magical world.
Whoa, hold on. All of this explaining about my school, and you don't even know who I am!
I'm Chloe. Chloe Catherine Richardson. I live here in Salem Massachussetts, and have lived here pretty much all my life, and have gone to school here since I was eleven. Why only since I turned eleven? Well in the magical world, you can't have proper magic training until you come of that age.I live with my parents, Gem and Rocky, and my eight year-old brother, Merlin Marco. My brother and I are named after famous wizards. Merlin after the famous Merlin who helped King Arthur hundreds of years ago, and Marco Polo, of course. And me after... well, after Chloe the Crazy, who might not have been crazy after all (she did invent the Owl Post, even if she would only talk to birds), and Catherine after Catherine Parr, King Henry the Eighth's last wife, who had to use her magic to keep King Henry from killing or divorcing her.
Anyway, I am quite a hand at magic, not to brag or anything. I am top of my class some of the time, and if I'm not, I'm usually second. I certainly can't really complain about school, except for the fact that I'd really rather be studying in the UK at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. They are, after all, the best magical school in the world!
I looked around, thinking I needed something else. Oh yes, my bookbag. I grabbed my bookbag stuffed in my wand, my homework, and the few spellbooks I needed today, and headed out the door and down the hall.
* * *
"Merlin! Where did you put the flour?" my mother called, her head buried in her cookbook. She had her wand out, and was using it to open cupboards behind her back. Things were whizzing through the kitchen like crazy.
"Mom!" I yelled. "Calm down. What's going on?"
"Oh Chloe, your father had to leave for the shop, I'm going to be late for my meeting, and I think your brother has hidden the flour again so I can't make pancakes for breakfast!" she told me, looking up and starting to fly everything back to their proper places. I blinked. "Don't look at me like that Chloe," she warned. "I'm having enough problems all ready."
"Okay Mom," I agreed. "Just let me have cereal. I'll scrounge up something for Merlin, and I'll drop him off at the daycare center on the way to school, okay?" Mom sighed.
"Fine," she said, and a Choose-It cereal box flew up to the table. "I'll be home around five, so you'll have to pick up Merlin from the daycare if Dad's not home yet, okay?"
"Yes Mom," I said. "We'll be fine. We always are." Mom looked very much relieved as she grabbed her wand, and disapparated. "Merlin!" I called. "Come get breakfast!"
"I want toast!" I heard his muffled voice yell.
"Where are you?"
"In here!" he called, and burst out of the cabinet. "I want toast, and I'll get it myself," he said indignantly. "I'm not a baby." I rolled my eyes.
"Whatever Merlin," I said. I grabbed a bowl from the dish cabinet, sat down, and turned to the cereal box. "Um... Cocoa Puffs." The box tipped over, and poured Cocoa Puffs into my bowl, followed by some milk. I ate while carefully watching Merlin get his toast ready. The last time he had tried himself, I had made the mistake of taking my eyes off of him, and came back to see him take a huge bite of chocolate syrup covered rye bread. Not the best sight in the world.
After we had both finished eating, and Merlin had gotten dressed, I opened up our closet. A closet you say? Why a closet? Well for one, I am still an underage witch, and can't Apparate or Dissapparate yet. And two, we don't have a fireplace. Instead, we have a closet in our front hall, where Mom and Dad keep a waterproof, no-heat no-smoke fire. There's also a small shelf where we keep a small container of Floo powder, so we can go almost anywhere on the Floo network. Pretty neat, huh? I grabbed a pinch of Floo powder, and threw it into the fire. I grabbed Merlin's shirt collar, and dragged him in with me.
"Horizont Alley!" I called out, and the world went spinning...
* * *
Later that day, I was running from class to class. Professor Uproot had decided to run a little bit late, and if I didn't get to my next class on time, there was a large possibility that I'd fail World Magics!
Running into the room, I quickly found my seat, and plunked down. The day had gone so smoothly up until now! Merlin and I had met Mr. Figg in Horizont Alley, and Mr. Figg had agreed to drop Merlin off at daycare for me since he was headed there anyway. I had been able to run straight into Floo Connections to buy myself a Floo pellet and get dropped off at school with one of the public fires, and I made it to first class just in time.
Now that I had unluckily chanced to have a class that ran late, my whole schedule was off. I only hoped that this didn't ruin my chances for student of the week again. Yes, I know I said that I'm not totally obsessed with my grades, but it is nice to have some credit for it, right?
Professor Yorupe looked up from her papers to glance at me, and then back down at them. "Miss Richardson," she said, "I hope you know that I will have to deduct three points from your earnings for tardiness."
"Yes ma'am," I said. "I'm very sorry. It won't happen again."
"I should hope not. It may ruin your chances for what I am about to announce." My heart skipped a beat. Announce what? Another trip to the Magical World Museum? The professor stood up.
"Class, may I have your attention please?" she said, in her ever-so-quiet voice, that still got the attention she needed. The room went quiet. "This month, we will be having our annual trip to the United Kingdom, to visit our magical cousins at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am telling you this now, because it is time to fill out the applications to go if you wish.
"I would like to forewarn you, however, that only our top students may go. We will not waste our knuts on students who will disgrace this school. The top five students will be going.
"I would also like to tell you, that this is not a trip to just goof off. We are going as guests and people of learning. We are also going as part of the new Magical Cooperation service that the Ministry of Magic Worldwide is providing, starting this year.
"If you are interested, I hae forms for you to fill out right here. You may take one home to discuss this with your parents first, and they will have to agree. Any forged forms will be immediately disqualified. If you are extremely serious about this, and may wish to stay longer than the two months we will be going, you may take up an audience with the Principal.
"The people who get to take this trip will have their names announced throughout the school next week. Please hurry to get your forms in now so they may be properly recognized."
My heart was racing. Mom and Dad had told me that I could go to Europe with school if the occasion ever arose! And I so wanted to go!
* * *
Half an hour later, it was time for my study hall. I ran for the nearest Call Fire to talk to Dad at the shop. If I could get anyone to say yes immediately, he would.
While waiting for the fire to connect, I practiced my speech. There still was a possibility that he would say no, so I had to really sound convincing. I got out the form, and my latest grade card, took a deep breath, and looked back at the fire. It took another thirty seconds to connect, but finally, finally it did.
"Hi Dad," I said. "How's it going?"
"Chloe, are you at school?" he asked, sounding worried. "Did something happen?"
"Well, yes Dad, it did, but-"
"Oh no! Do you need me to pick you up? I'll be right over, I just need to finish up with these forms and-"
"Dad," I said firmly, "nothing is wrong."
"Oh. Okay then. What do you need?"
"My World Magics class is having a contest -- sort of -- and the winners get to go to Hogwarts! Can I enter?"
"Well hon, that's great!" Dad sounded happy. "I know you want to go... I guess it's okay if you enter... Can I see the form?" I took a deep breath, and tossed it into the fire. This wasn't a proven way of getting things through fast, but it usually worked. Dad's head disappeared for a second while he bent down to pick it up. "It's a little charred. Can you get another for yourself? I don't know if this'll survive another trip through."
"No problem Dad," I said. "The thing is though, that you have to sign it magically so I can go." I took another form out of my backpack. I had known that I might lose one or two, so I had grabbed five just in case. I started filling it out, when a golden ball of magic whizzed through the fire and attached itself to the paper. It was Dad's signature. I looked up.
"Thanks Dad!" I said. "Thanks soooo much!"
"No problem hon," he said. "Good luck! Over and out." And the fire swallowed up his head.
I finished filling out the form, and ran to the box outside of World Magics to put it in. I had just stuffed it in, when I heard a throat clearing behind me. I turned, to discover the one person I liked least in life.
Fantella McFay was standing behind me, a form in her hand. And she did not look happy.
