CHAPTER ONE exordium
Author: Serene Chaos
Category: Humor, Drama, Romance
Keywords: Tom Riddle, chamber of secrets, grindelwald
Spoilers: All four books as well as QTTA & FB&WTFT
Rating: PG
Summary: What if you could enter the Harry Potter world? Well, three "Muggle" girls randomly end up doing so. One problem: the year is 1942. The Chamber of Secrets is open and one of them has a mad crush on Tom Riddle. How the heck will they get out of THIS?
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. I own Kierra Warren, Rose Javenson and Natalie Gregory. Oh, and I own Mapleneige. The X-Files are the property of Chris Carter & Fox Networks.
Author's Note: Title means "Hidden Strangeness" according to the Latin-English dictionary I use. And the title of this chapter means "The Beginning". Thank you and remember to review! And I do hope that no one has used this idea before!
"C'mon guys, hurry up!" fifteen-year-old Kierra Warren said impatiently. She tucked a loose stand of red hair behind her ear as she waited for her two friends to catch up.
"I don't understand how you can walk so fast through this forest while wearing three-inch heels." Rose Javenson shook her brunette head in wonder.
"Well, there's the fact that she's completely off her rocker." Natalie Gregory muttered, rolling her hazel eyes.
"It's a blessing." Kierra grinned, swinging the flashlight around so that they could see more of the forest.
The three teenagers had decided that it would be a fun experience to explore the woods behind Rose's house. Well, Kierra had thought it would be fun and had persuaded Rose and Natalie to accompany her.
"Remind me why we decided to come out here." Rose muttered.
"Because Kierra wanted to go Lupin-hunting." Natalie replied.
"Nattie, it was your idea to go Lupin-hunting." Kierra reminded her.
"Well, can't we just go back? Lupin is a book character and anyway, there's no such thing as werewolves." Rose shivered slightly.
"Go back?" Kierra pouted, "Where's the fun in that?"
"We'll be in a nice, safe, warm house." Rose said.
"So? You can go back. We'll stay out here and explore some more." Natalie said cheerfully.
"Yeah. And when my mother asks where you are, I'm sure the news of you two exploring the woods alone will please her." Rose rolled her eyes, "And anyway, Kierra, you have the flashlight."
"Whoa!" Kierra stopped, shining the light directly in front of the three girls.
"What, in the name of all that is holy, is that?" Rose breathed.
"No idea." Natalie replied, emerald eyes widening at the sight.
"It's right out of The X-Files ." Kierra muttered.
In front of the three girls was a seemingly endless wall...except it wasn't made out of wood, stone or brick. It was semi-opaque with a soap-bubble sheen. It also seemed to be glowing in the dark forest.
"Guys, maybe we really should go back?" Rose suggested uncertainly.
"No way." Kierra said flatly. Rose and Natalie looked at her. The red-head had a slightly maniacal gleam in her turquoise eyes...one not unlike one that her favourite character on The X-Files, Fox Mulder often had.
"Kierra, you're not an X-Files agent. We should just turn around and come back in the morning when it's light out." Natalie said firmly.
"I don't think so." Kierra scoffed. She stepped up to the wall and held out her hand, close to touching it. She grinned at her two friends, "Dare me?"
"Dare you to what?" Natalie raised an eyebrow.
"To touch it." Kierra's said mischievously.
"No. We're going back to the house, now." Rose said, stepping forward to grab Kierra's arm.
Kierra grinned disarmingly and plunged her hand into the - what now, they deemed unsolid - wall.
Natalie screamed at the shock of seeing her friend's hand enter a solid wall.
Kierra's grin widened and she walked right through the wall.
"Good Lord." Rose swore under her breath.
"Should we follow her?" Natalie asked uncertainly.
"Yes, she has the flashlight!" Rose said, running into the wall after her friend.
"I hate this." Natalie groaned before walking through the wall herself. She screwed up her eyes as she passed through. Walking through the wall made her skin tingle, like a tiny electric shock. She opened her eyes on the other side to see Kierra and Rose standing there.
"Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore." Kierra said in a low voice, swinging the flashlight around.
The trees on this side of the wall were clearly thicker and more gnarled, like they were ancient. The forest floor was now littered with dozens of dead twigs and leafs. They could not see the sky above, as the trees were too tall and thick.
"Where the hell are we?" Natalie found herself murmuring as she stared around, fascinated.
"Not in my backyard." Rose said, "And look, the wall's gone." she muttered as the flashlight in Kierra's hand went out.
"So's the light, apparently." Kierra said dryly, "Rose, when did you last put batteries in this thing?"
"Five minutes before we left." Rose replied promptly, "They should be working."
There were bangings, which evidently were Kierra, trying to get the flashlight to work again. "Well, they aren't. So where the hell are we?" the red-head repeated Natalie's earlier question.
Natalie thought as she squinted, trying to see in the dark, "We're in a forest, on a full moon, without any light. The flashlight simply died, even though there were fresh batteries," she thought out loud, "So, we're in..."
"In where, Nattie?" Rose asked.
"Well, the flashlight won't work, so..." all that Natalie could think of was Hogwarts...damn books, they're addicting. Can't find a situation where I don't think about them. she stopped cursing the Harry Potter books and began to think. Muggle items, such as the flashlight didn't work there...she swallowed before continuing, "Guys, I think we're at Hogwarts."
"Da-amn." Kierra whistled.
"Well, I think we've found a place where your bank card won't work, Kierra." Rose said dryly.
"That's why I have something called cash, Rosie." Kierra said. Natalie squinted once again, she could see faintly in the dark now.
"How much?" Natalie asked.
"Four hundred and fifty." Kierra replied.
"Where did you get it all?" Rose cried.
"Withdrew money from the ATM, got paid for baby-sitting the two brats who live next door, collected my allowance from my parents which, they hadn't paid me for a month." Kierra said, "And I think I can see again."
"Shut up, you and your stupid hyper-night vision." Natalie said grumpily.
"Great, that sure helps me." Rose muttered.
"Shut up!" Kierra hissed sharply.
"Don't tell me to shut up!" Rose said in indignation.
"Shut up!" Kierra repeated, "Some one's coming!"
Natalie froze, "From what direction?" she whispered.
"My left." Kierra said, listening hard. She could hear footsteps, light as they were, "I'm going to check it out."
"Kierra, you're insane!" Rose whispered loudly, "This is the Forbidden Forest - if Nattie's correct - and there are monsters in here."
There was no reply. Kierra had evidently gone to see what the sound was.
"Damn!" Rose swore loudly.
The footsteps stopped. Kierra's ears perked, waiting for another sound. She had turned towards the footsteps and they had stopped right in front of her.
Kierra, you know, sometimes maybe you should listen to Rose and Natalie? a voice chaisted her. Yeah, and what fun would that be? the red-head kept her attention focused in front of her. Hope they don't flip out too much when they realize I'm gone she thought, diverting her attention from whatever was in front of her.
That momentary lapse in concentration cost her a bit.
Suddenly, a figure came flying at Kierra and knocked to the ground, and she landed flat on her back. That's gonna hurt in the morning, she thought. However, her fight-or-flight reflexes were kicking in. Unfortunatly for whoever had tackled her to the ground, it was the fight part. She pushed the figure up off of her and scrambled up off the ground.
She heard breathing from her right side and before whatever it was could tackle her again, she flung her foot out to the side. It connected with something and she heard a groan.
"Flaera!" an English-accented male voice called out and Kierra flung her hands up to protect her face. Even though that spell hadn't been in the Potter books, she knew that it evidently was to cause harm. She was right. Pain spread across her palms and she gritted her teeth to keep from crying out. Her hands had been burned; that spell had obviously been a fire one.
Kierra kept her ears perked up, for her attacker. But, there was no noise. Either they've gone away or they're gonna attack me again. she thought. However, the fifteen-year-old was at a distinct disadvantage.
Suddenly, a pair of arms grabbed her from behind, holding tight to her elbows.
Guess they've attacked me. Kierra thought ruefully. Okay, this is a good time to remember those martial arts classes from gym . . .
"I'm not going to hurt you." her attacker said softly.
"Really?" Kierra asked sardonically, "I've found evidence to the contrary." she pushed her attacker's arms apart, freeing her own. Then she stepped hard on his insole (wearing heels made this ten times more painful for her attacker), pivoted and swept her attacker's ankle, causing them to fall to the ground.
"Good God, you fight like a wildcat," her attacker muttered, "Lumos." a light blossomed from the end of Kierra's attacker's wand. She could now see, thanks to the wandlight, that her attacker had been a male.
He had slightly over-long hair that was so black that there was blue in it. The blue closely matched his violet eyes and was those eyes were startling against such pale skin. He was about a head taller than Kierra (who was currently five foot five with the help of three inch heels) and wore long, black robes with a silver badge pinned to his chest.
Student at Hogwarts, obviously...wonder who he is? Kierra thought, "Well, you attacked me first!"
"That's because I thought you were some dangerous creature." the boy said.
"Do you burn the hands of 'dangerous creatures'?" Kierra asked, holding up her hands, showing the burns across her palms.
The boy winced, "Ouch. Here, let me heal it."
Kierra held out her pain-filled palms and the boy tapped his wand to them, muttering something.
"Kierra! KIERRA!" Rose came running up with Natalie. They both looked pale and worried in the wandlight.
"We heard fighting sounds and wondered what was going on." Natalie said. Then she noticed the boy, "Who are you?"
"Tom. Tom Riddle." the boy said coolly, inspecting Kierra's hands. "They're healed."
Kierra just stood there, not moving her hands, eyes wide. Good Lord, we are at Hogwarts...in the 1940s!
"Now, who are you? You're wearing Muggle clothing, so you aren't students here, are you?" Tom asked suspiciously. There was silence as Natalie and Rose were at a loss for words.
"I'm Kierra Warren, that's Rose Javenson and Natalie Gregory." Kierra introduced, carefully avoiding Tom's second question.
"Very well." Tom said, still suspicious, "You are Americans, I presume?"
"We're Canadians!" Kierra protested.
"So you don't attend Hogwarts."
"Umm...well..." Natalie said nervously.
"We're transfer students!" Rose blurted out.
Memo to self: smack Rose upside the head later. Kierra thought, wincing.
"As far as I know, Hogwarts doesn't accept transfer students." Tom said coldly.
"Our school was levelled by Grindelwald's flunkies." Kierra said quickly, Oh, we really could've used some info about Tom Riddle's time at school, J.K. Rowling. she thought, mentally re-reading the parts about when Tom was in school.
"Mapleneige?" Tom asked, surprised. He thought for a moment, "Yes...it was in the Daily Prophet...one of those freak attacks by his followers in North America..." he mused.
Thank the sages, Kierra's lucky guesses are pay dirt! Natalie sighed in relief.
"Yeah, Mapleneige!" Rose said enthusiastically. Wherever that is...
"So, where are you wands?" Tom asked, slipping back into suspicion.
"We lost them?" Natalie asked hopefully.
"Lost them?" Tom raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, we lost them." Rose repeated.
"He's not believing us." Kierra whispered to Natalie.
"That's obvious." Natalie said, becoming slightly uneasy every as Tom's expression became more suspicious. "What're we supposed to do?"
"I haven't taken Advanced Drama for nothing." Kierra smirked, "Just keep Rose quiet and follow along with the story."
"Okay. This better not flop." Natalie said dubiously.
"So, you lost your wands, eh?" Tom asked, raising an eyebrow, "I find that very hard to believe."
"Okay, you want the truth?" Kierra blurted out, looking quite pissed off.
"Kierra!" Rose exclaimed.
Kierra shot her a look as Natalie whispered, "She has a plan, trust her on this." in her ear. Rose's eyes widened, then she looked at Kierra warily.
"Yes, I want the truth." Tom said icily.
"They took our wands away from us." Kierra said, biting her lip.
"Who is 'they'?" Tom asked, still suspicious.
"The people at the orphanage!" Kierra blurted, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Orphanage?" Tom asked, wincing slightly.
"Yes! Orphanage! We're orphans; me, Rose and Nattie!" Kierra said, "When Mapleneige was destroyed, we were sent back to the orphanage. They had thought it was a normal, ordinary school. But then the headmaster - " (hopefully, it was a headmaster and not a headmistress, Kierra thought) " - send letters to everyone's guardians, including ours. Then the head of the orphanage found out and took away all of our magic stuff!" by now, the tears were sliding down her face, uncontrollably.
"So how did you get here?" Tom asked, no longer quite as suspicious.
"We stole our wands back and made a Portkey, to get to Hogwarts. It was set to work at exactly ten minutes ago, but when we went to get it and our wands, the wands were gone." Natalie piped up, trying to be helpful.
"So we used the Portkey to get here and we don't even know if this is Hogwarts or not and we're stuck in the middle of the woods on a full moon!" Kierra finished up, tears still falling from her eyes.
And the winner of the Academy Award for best actress goes to...Natalie thought, amazed at her friend's ability to act and lie.
"Yes, you are in Hogwarts. Here." Tom said, handing a handkerchief to Kierra, who wiped the tears off her face, "Though I'm not sure they accept transfer students."
"They don't?" Rose cried, looking crest-fallen.
"Maybe Professor Dippet'll be lenient." Tom mused. He then shrugged, "I'll see what I can do - maybe get them to accept transfer students for once."
"Tom Riddle, you're the best!" Kierra said happily, throwing her arms around the Slytherin's neck.
"Erm...yeah..." Tom said nervously, unsure what to do with the over-emotional red-haired teenager. "Uhh...let's go up to the castle now."
"Thanks a bunch!" Kierra exclaimed, the tears long forgotten. She let go of Tom's neck and the quartet began to walk up to the castle, Natalie and Rose hanging a bit behind Tom and Kierra.
"Oh, God..what is she gonna do?" Natalie muttered to Rose.
"No idea, but I'm sure she'll gonna make the most of her time here." Rose said, rolling her eyes, "What are the odds of us being dumped in the 1940s at Hogwarts."
"Don't know." Natalie said, "But she's gonna be in over her head if she gets involved with him."
"I agree. Let's catch up." Rose said, quickening her pace.
"So, what year are you in, Tom?" Kierra was asking as Natalie and Rose caught up.
"Fifth." Tom said shortly.
Fifth...the year of the Chamber of Secrets...oh, goody, there's a Basilisk on the loose. Kierra thought sarcastically, "What were you doing outside in the forest?"
"Prefect duty. I get the honour of patrolling the edge of the Forbidden Forest every Saturday night." Tom said, smiling wryly.
"We had Prefects back at Mapleneige. They were fifth year and above." Rose said, smiling wickedly, Kierra's not gonna have all the fun in making up our 'life stories'.
"Yeah, all of us were Prefects." Natalie added.
"Really?" Tom asked carelessly. They approached the edge of the forest, "Here's Hogwarts."
Just like it was described in the books! Kierra thought, staring at the large castle. Natalie gasped and Rose's eyes widened.
"I'll bring you up to Professor Dippet and he can decide what to do with you."