~I own nothing but the plot, Mirabai Palmer, Avery, Aunt Phoebe, Uncle Tom,
and the idea of the Triniti Wizards. Everything else, of course, belongs to
J.K Rowling, and Mirabai's power was inspired by Piper's from Charmed.
Steal my idea and I will have to kill you. Have a nice day. =)~
Dinner that night was an extremely enjoyable experience for the most part. Mrs Granger had cooked up a delicious three course meal ('And you did it all without magic, you say?' Uncle Tom said, in awe.) and Mirabai, Avery, the Grangers, Uncle Tom and Aunt Phoebe all sat around the large wooden table in the dining room, munching on the excellent food and chatting away happily.
Next to her, Avery and Hermione were talking loudly about the Weird Sisters, one of the wizarding music groups, while Aunt Phoebe and Mrs Granger gossipped away happily, and discussed what they both did for a living. (Both of Hermiones parents were Muggle dentists.)
Uncle Tom and Mr Granger, on the other hand, were arguing seriously about a recent article from the Daily Prophet, the popular wizard newspaper.
As Mirabai chewed happily on her vegetables, she realised that she hadn't felt this relaxed, this happy and carefree for months now. It was a nice feeling, sitting there around a table with a group of people who all seemed to care for her, despite the fact that she had only just entered their lives.
Suddenly, Avery let out a loud laugh, knocked her glass of the table and made Mirabai jump with fright. But something was wrong. It took Mirabai maybe a second to realise that everyone around the table had ceased talking - in fact, that had ceased to move at all.
They were all frozen - Avery was frozen in mid laugh. Mr Granger had his mouth open, full of food, with his fork still raised, and the glass that Avery had knocked to the floor was frozen, the shards of glass hanging in mid air.
Mirabai felt panic wash over her, her mouth dry, heart thumping, and hands shaking. It had been a long time since she had lost control and frozen something like that. She had hoped that if she just stopped using her power, it would just go away, sort if...die. But even after fifteen years, Mirabai was still getting used to control it.
There was a sudden swishing noise, and the people around her began to move, as though they had never been frozen in the first place.
The glass smashed, Mr Granger chewed his food, Aunt Phoebe scowled at Avery for smashing that glass, and Hermione rushed off to get a cloth to clean the mess. None of them seemed to have realised that they had been temporarily frozen, but went on as they normally would have done.
Mirabai, on the other hand, couldn't breathe, or think straight. Her breaths were coming in sharp and short bursts, her whole body seemed to be shaking as if it were make of jelly and she could feel a cold sweat breaking out on her forehead. She had frozen time again, after almost four years, she had frozen time.
'Mirabai!'
Avery's voice seemed so far away.
Mirabai jumped, and with great difficulty, pulled herself to her senses.
'Wow, you don't look so good. Are you OK?'
'Mirabai dear, you're so pale...and you're burning up.'
Aunt Phoebe had rushed to her side and felt her forehead with the back of her hand.
'Do you want to lie down a while?'
But Mirabai's throat had seem to have closed up, and she couldn't answer. She merely nodded, and carefully pushed herself out of her chair. Her legs still felt weak and shaken, and she noticed that everyone around the table had stopped to look at her curiously.
Avery looked a little scared, and Hermione had her hands over her mouth. Mirabai tried to tell them 'I'm fine' but the words got lost in her throat, and died before they could come out.
The truth was, Mirabai thought, as she climbed the stairs to Hermiones room a few minutes later, she wasn't fine. She would never be fine! She was a freak, and her stupid power was the reason she didn't have any parents!
*
Mirabai couldn't sleep that night, but pretended to be asleep with Hermione and Avery clamoured into bed hours later.
She tossed and turned uncomfortably, her mind filled with the horrible memories of her past. Every now and then, she would fall into a shallow sleep, only to jerk awake again after a re-occurring nightmare, a cold sweat on her forehead.
This was the nightmare that had been haunting her sleep for almost five long years now, the one about her parents - both of them, together again, smiling and hugging her. Then came a strong, sudden flash of green light and a rushing sound, that stopped just as quickly as it had come and her father was gone. Her mother would then scream and hold Mirabai, shielding her from something that Mirabai could only sense, but not see, when the blinding green light re-appeared and her Mother, too, was gone.
*
It was almost one in the afternoon when Mirabai woke to find Hermiones room deserted, and flooded with light, despite the sky being overcast and grey. She had finally fallen asleep at around dawn that morning, when the birds had started twittering madly, and the first rays of sun had begun to creep up.
Europa, Mirabai noticed, was perched on the end of Avery's camp bed, with a letter clutched in her beak, and another held in her claw. She silently fluttered down, dropped the letters in Mirabai's lap and took of again through the open window, clearly wanting to get a good nights sleep.
The first was a letter from Hogwarts, written in green ink and addressed to Mirabai Palmer, second floor bedroom and followed by Hermiones address. Inclosed was a letter which told her to take the Hogwarts Express from Kings Cross station at Platform Nine and Three Quarters on September the first. Also included was a list of her school supplies.
The second was a short and untidy message, scrawled on a crumpled piece of parchment that simply said,
'Hello Dear, Your Uncle and I have gone into Diagon Alley with Mr Granger to buy all of your school things. We're also going to create your own Gringotts back account with the money your parents left for you. We do hope you're feeling better. Love, Aunt Phoebe. Xxx'
Mirabai felt slightly disappointed, she had been so looking forward to shopping in Diagon Alley, for she had read so much about it, but she had never so much as seen it before.
She dressed quickly into a pair of light blue jeans and a navy jumper, before pulling her long dark hair into a single pony tail, and headed down stairs for a spot of late breakfast. But all she found when she came down were two more owls (a handsome tawny one, and an old grey one) each clutching a letter in their beaks.
The letter from the tawny owl was for Mirabai, from Hermione. It said,
'Hi Mirabai!
I'm so sorry that no one is home right now...we waited for you to wake up for almost two hours, but you just kept on sleeping. My Mum is at work, and my Dad has gone with your Aunt and Uncle to buy all of our school things. We really wanted to come, but instead, we were forced to shop for groceries. I think Avery is a little over-excited about going to the supermarket - she's never been to one before. Help yourself to whatever food you like, and you're welcome to take a shower if you like. We'll be back home around 2. Luv, Hermione.'
The other letter was from somebody called Ron, so Mirabai just scanned the first line.
'Hi Hermione.
Harry arrived yesterday, and no, we didn't fly another car to get to him. Anyway, any chance of meeting you in Diagon Alley on Thursday?...'
Vaguely, she wondered if the Harry mentioned in the letter was Harry Potter, and if Hermione had mentioned anyone called Ron, but the thoughts were driven out of her mind as the two owls flew away, and she decided to take a shower.
*
The next few weeks at Hermiones house were highly enjoyable, and in what seemed like no time at all, it was the night before September the first. Rain was lashing down against the windows in heavy sheets, and the occasional streak of lightning flashed outside.
Mirabai, Avery and Hermione were packing their school trunks in front of the raging fire in the lounge, chatting excitedly about the next day, when they would at last be going off to Hogwarts. It was almost 11 o'clock that night when Mrs Granger shooed them all off to bed.
'You all have a huge day ahead of you tomorrow - no, Hermione, it's late enough already! Now off you go, and I don't want to come up there to tell you three to be quiet like I always do. Just get some sleep and I'll wake you up tomorrow morning, bright and early.'
Hermione and Avery, muttering darkly, turned to leave, but Mirabai, remembering that her wand was still in the kitchen said,
'I'll be up in a minute, ok?' And she dashed down the hall, past the guest room and into the kitchen.
It was only after Mirabai had rescued her wand from Crookshanks that she heard the angry voices coming from the guest room. She edged closer to the door, which was slightly ajar, and recognised her Aunts and Uncles voices. Uncle Tom was speaking, and it sounded as though he was trying to keep his voice down.
'Damn it, Phoebe, do you realise how much danger she's putting us all in?'
He hissed, 'You know what she is! You heard what happened to her parents!'
'Of course I knew - her mother was my sister, Tom!' Snapped Aunt Phoebe.
'Look, I don't think you quite understand me. While she stays here with us, we are all in danger. We all run the risk of getting blown -'
'For goodness sakes, Tom! You can be so selfish sometimes!'
Exploded Aunt Phoebe. 'What were we supposed to do? She had no-one else left in Australia! The poor girls parents were killed, and you don't seem to care about that at all! She-had-no-where-else-to-go!'
There was a short pause, before,
'I don't think she really knows just how lucky she is. The poor dear. She seems so strong. Besides, Tom, she's going off to Hogwarts tomorrow where she'll be under the protection of Albus Dumbledore. I've written to him explaining everything that's happened recently, and he's agreed to look after her. The man has been protecting Harry Potter for five years, and he's protected Triniti before.'
'I just don't know, Phoebe. Her parents died trying to protect her...what if the same thing happens to us?'
Uncle Tom didn't seem so angry any more. ' All I know is that there are some extremely evil people out there who have already tried to hurt her. And, I mean, I know she's supposed to have this - this power to protect herself with, but she cant even control it yet, you know that Phoebe. Besides, Triniti wizards are supposed to be extremely rare and coveted.'
'I know that, Tom, and I'm sure that in time, she'll learn to control her power. It just may be difficult for her right now - a Triniti's powers are tied to their emotions, and with all she's been through recently...'
Aunt Phoebe's voice trailed off and there were a few moments of silence. 'Anyway, lets just try to get some sleep, we'll deal with this tomorrow.'
Something stirred in the back of Mirabai's mind. Just try to get some sleep. She remembered, when she was little, her Mother and Father would tuck her in at night...
'Mummy, don't turn out the light! The monsters!'
'Hush, Mirabai. The monsters cant hurt you while Daddy and I are here, remember?'
'I know, but they're scary!'
'Honey, remember what Mummy told you to do whenever you're scared?'
'Yes...I should close my eyes tight, like this...and think of you and Daddy very hard.'
'That's right sweetie. If you do that, all of your fears will all disappear, and you'll be brave enough to fight the monsters without us. Now just try to get some sleep.'
Mirabai suddenly snapped back to the present, realised why she was standing in the hallway, and remembered, with a jolt, the conversation she had just overheard...
'her parents died trying to protect her...'
'There are some extremely evil people out there who have already tried to hurt her...'
'She be under the protection of Albus Dumbledore...'
Th words swirled around in her mind, while her mind itself seemed to be sagging under the weight of them all.
Dinner that night was an extremely enjoyable experience for the most part. Mrs Granger had cooked up a delicious three course meal ('And you did it all without magic, you say?' Uncle Tom said, in awe.) and Mirabai, Avery, the Grangers, Uncle Tom and Aunt Phoebe all sat around the large wooden table in the dining room, munching on the excellent food and chatting away happily.
Next to her, Avery and Hermione were talking loudly about the Weird Sisters, one of the wizarding music groups, while Aunt Phoebe and Mrs Granger gossipped away happily, and discussed what they both did for a living. (Both of Hermiones parents were Muggle dentists.)
Uncle Tom and Mr Granger, on the other hand, were arguing seriously about a recent article from the Daily Prophet, the popular wizard newspaper.
As Mirabai chewed happily on her vegetables, she realised that she hadn't felt this relaxed, this happy and carefree for months now. It was a nice feeling, sitting there around a table with a group of people who all seemed to care for her, despite the fact that she had only just entered their lives.
Suddenly, Avery let out a loud laugh, knocked her glass of the table and made Mirabai jump with fright. But something was wrong. It took Mirabai maybe a second to realise that everyone around the table had ceased talking - in fact, that had ceased to move at all.
They were all frozen - Avery was frozen in mid laugh. Mr Granger had his mouth open, full of food, with his fork still raised, and the glass that Avery had knocked to the floor was frozen, the shards of glass hanging in mid air.
Mirabai felt panic wash over her, her mouth dry, heart thumping, and hands shaking. It had been a long time since she had lost control and frozen something like that. She had hoped that if she just stopped using her power, it would just go away, sort if...die. But even after fifteen years, Mirabai was still getting used to control it.
There was a sudden swishing noise, and the people around her began to move, as though they had never been frozen in the first place.
The glass smashed, Mr Granger chewed his food, Aunt Phoebe scowled at Avery for smashing that glass, and Hermione rushed off to get a cloth to clean the mess. None of them seemed to have realised that they had been temporarily frozen, but went on as they normally would have done.
Mirabai, on the other hand, couldn't breathe, or think straight. Her breaths were coming in sharp and short bursts, her whole body seemed to be shaking as if it were make of jelly and she could feel a cold sweat breaking out on her forehead. She had frozen time again, after almost four years, she had frozen time.
'Mirabai!'
Avery's voice seemed so far away.
Mirabai jumped, and with great difficulty, pulled herself to her senses.
'Wow, you don't look so good. Are you OK?'
'Mirabai dear, you're so pale...and you're burning up.'
Aunt Phoebe had rushed to her side and felt her forehead with the back of her hand.
'Do you want to lie down a while?'
But Mirabai's throat had seem to have closed up, and she couldn't answer. She merely nodded, and carefully pushed herself out of her chair. Her legs still felt weak and shaken, and she noticed that everyone around the table had stopped to look at her curiously.
Avery looked a little scared, and Hermione had her hands over her mouth. Mirabai tried to tell them 'I'm fine' but the words got lost in her throat, and died before they could come out.
The truth was, Mirabai thought, as she climbed the stairs to Hermiones room a few minutes later, she wasn't fine. She would never be fine! She was a freak, and her stupid power was the reason she didn't have any parents!
*
Mirabai couldn't sleep that night, but pretended to be asleep with Hermione and Avery clamoured into bed hours later.
She tossed and turned uncomfortably, her mind filled with the horrible memories of her past. Every now and then, she would fall into a shallow sleep, only to jerk awake again after a re-occurring nightmare, a cold sweat on her forehead.
This was the nightmare that had been haunting her sleep for almost five long years now, the one about her parents - both of them, together again, smiling and hugging her. Then came a strong, sudden flash of green light and a rushing sound, that stopped just as quickly as it had come and her father was gone. Her mother would then scream and hold Mirabai, shielding her from something that Mirabai could only sense, but not see, when the blinding green light re-appeared and her Mother, too, was gone.
*
It was almost one in the afternoon when Mirabai woke to find Hermiones room deserted, and flooded with light, despite the sky being overcast and grey. She had finally fallen asleep at around dawn that morning, when the birds had started twittering madly, and the first rays of sun had begun to creep up.
Europa, Mirabai noticed, was perched on the end of Avery's camp bed, with a letter clutched in her beak, and another held in her claw. She silently fluttered down, dropped the letters in Mirabai's lap and took of again through the open window, clearly wanting to get a good nights sleep.
The first was a letter from Hogwarts, written in green ink and addressed to Mirabai Palmer, second floor bedroom and followed by Hermiones address. Inclosed was a letter which told her to take the Hogwarts Express from Kings Cross station at Platform Nine and Three Quarters on September the first. Also included was a list of her school supplies.
The second was a short and untidy message, scrawled on a crumpled piece of parchment that simply said,
'Hello Dear, Your Uncle and I have gone into Diagon Alley with Mr Granger to buy all of your school things. We're also going to create your own Gringotts back account with the money your parents left for you. We do hope you're feeling better. Love, Aunt Phoebe. Xxx'
Mirabai felt slightly disappointed, she had been so looking forward to shopping in Diagon Alley, for she had read so much about it, but she had never so much as seen it before.
She dressed quickly into a pair of light blue jeans and a navy jumper, before pulling her long dark hair into a single pony tail, and headed down stairs for a spot of late breakfast. But all she found when she came down were two more owls (a handsome tawny one, and an old grey one) each clutching a letter in their beaks.
The letter from the tawny owl was for Mirabai, from Hermione. It said,
'Hi Mirabai!
I'm so sorry that no one is home right now...we waited for you to wake up for almost two hours, but you just kept on sleeping. My Mum is at work, and my Dad has gone with your Aunt and Uncle to buy all of our school things. We really wanted to come, but instead, we were forced to shop for groceries. I think Avery is a little over-excited about going to the supermarket - she's never been to one before. Help yourself to whatever food you like, and you're welcome to take a shower if you like. We'll be back home around 2. Luv, Hermione.'
The other letter was from somebody called Ron, so Mirabai just scanned the first line.
'Hi Hermione.
Harry arrived yesterday, and no, we didn't fly another car to get to him. Anyway, any chance of meeting you in Diagon Alley on Thursday?...'
Vaguely, she wondered if the Harry mentioned in the letter was Harry Potter, and if Hermione had mentioned anyone called Ron, but the thoughts were driven out of her mind as the two owls flew away, and she decided to take a shower.
*
The next few weeks at Hermiones house were highly enjoyable, and in what seemed like no time at all, it was the night before September the first. Rain was lashing down against the windows in heavy sheets, and the occasional streak of lightning flashed outside.
Mirabai, Avery and Hermione were packing their school trunks in front of the raging fire in the lounge, chatting excitedly about the next day, when they would at last be going off to Hogwarts. It was almost 11 o'clock that night when Mrs Granger shooed them all off to bed.
'You all have a huge day ahead of you tomorrow - no, Hermione, it's late enough already! Now off you go, and I don't want to come up there to tell you three to be quiet like I always do. Just get some sleep and I'll wake you up tomorrow morning, bright and early.'
Hermione and Avery, muttering darkly, turned to leave, but Mirabai, remembering that her wand was still in the kitchen said,
'I'll be up in a minute, ok?' And she dashed down the hall, past the guest room and into the kitchen.
It was only after Mirabai had rescued her wand from Crookshanks that she heard the angry voices coming from the guest room. She edged closer to the door, which was slightly ajar, and recognised her Aunts and Uncles voices. Uncle Tom was speaking, and it sounded as though he was trying to keep his voice down.
'Damn it, Phoebe, do you realise how much danger she's putting us all in?'
He hissed, 'You know what she is! You heard what happened to her parents!'
'Of course I knew - her mother was my sister, Tom!' Snapped Aunt Phoebe.
'Look, I don't think you quite understand me. While she stays here with us, we are all in danger. We all run the risk of getting blown -'
'For goodness sakes, Tom! You can be so selfish sometimes!'
Exploded Aunt Phoebe. 'What were we supposed to do? She had no-one else left in Australia! The poor girls parents were killed, and you don't seem to care about that at all! She-had-no-where-else-to-go!'
There was a short pause, before,
'I don't think she really knows just how lucky she is. The poor dear. She seems so strong. Besides, Tom, she's going off to Hogwarts tomorrow where she'll be under the protection of Albus Dumbledore. I've written to him explaining everything that's happened recently, and he's agreed to look after her. The man has been protecting Harry Potter for five years, and he's protected Triniti before.'
'I just don't know, Phoebe. Her parents died trying to protect her...what if the same thing happens to us?'
Uncle Tom didn't seem so angry any more. ' All I know is that there are some extremely evil people out there who have already tried to hurt her. And, I mean, I know she's supposed to have this - this power to protect herself with, but she cant even control it yet, you know that Phoebe. Besides, Triniti wizards are supposed to be extremely rare and coveted.'
'I know that, Tom, and I'm sure that in time, she'll learn to control her power. It just may be difficult for her right now - a Triniti's powers are tied to their emotions, and with all she's been through recently...'
Aunt Phoebe's voice trailed off and there were a few moments of silence. 'Anyway, lets just try to get some sleep, we'll deal with this tomorrow.'
Something stirred in the back of Mirabai's mind. Just try to get some sleep. She remembered, when she was little, her Mother and Father would tuck her in at night...
'Mummy, don't turn out the light! The monsters!'
'Hush, Mirabai. The monsters cant hurt you while Daddy and I are here, remember?'
'I know, but they're scary!'
'Honey, remember what Mummy told you to do whenever you're scared?'
'Yes...I should close my eyes tight, like this...and think of you and Daddy very hard.'
'That's right sweetie. If you do that, all of your fears will all disappear, and you'll be brave enough to fight the monsters without us. Now just try to get some sleep.'
Mirabai suddenly snapped back to the present, realised why she was standing in the hallway, and remembered, with a jolt, the conversation she had just overheard...
'her parents died trying to protect her...'
'There are some extremely evil people out there who have already tried to hurt her...'
'She be under the protection of Albus Dumbledore...'
Th words swirled around in her mind, while her mind itself seemed to be sagging under the weight of them all.
