~*The Strange Building*~
A/N: Hope you enjoyed the Prologue! Here is the Story in First Person.
I walked through downtown London, with $500 in my pocket. I felt really good, like I never had before. I stopped at the big bookstore, Book Passage. All of a sudden, Oreo began to meow. I stared down at him. He was meowing really loud. I put him on the ground and latched on his leash. Oreo went right past Book Passage and stopped right before the old record store. Then he ran the other way so we were in between. I opened my mouth. I had never seen anything of the sort. It was a grubby looking old pub. I couldn't believe I had never seen it before. Everybody seemed to slide right by it without noticing.
I scooped up Oreo and took off his leash. I put him right back into the pouch and I stepped inside. It was a dark shabby place, dimly lit. But there was some light chatter as I stepped inside. In a corner, an old lady and an old man were conversing quietly. A man in a pointed hat sat by the bartender talking to him. And a young girl was chatting with her mother. I stood there, by the door, not sure what I should do. Right then a tall, dirty blonde haired boy stepped in with his parents. He had no glasses and he had a hawk on his shoulder. I felt Oreo curl up in a ball in his pouch. He was shaking.
I timidly stared up at the boy, took a deep breath and asked, "What is this place?"
He stared down wickedly at me. Then he frowned. "It's the Leaky Cauldron. Why? Aren't you a ~" He stopped in mid-sentence. His brown eyes grew wide, and he asked, "You're a muggle aren't you?" Then he turned around, talked to his parents and turned around again. This time a wide smile smothered his face. "Hey, my names Ryan Matthews. What's yours?"
"Mine?" I asked timidly. "Arabella, but everyone calls me Bella. And this is my cat, Oreo!" Oreo was still curled up in a ball. I shrugged and put him back in his pouch. I felt him relax.
"Hi Bella, this is my hawk, Alyssa." Alyssa took flight. She swooped around and around my head and landed on my outstretched arm.
"Wow! That is so cool!" I exclaimed.
"Come on, lets go to Gringotts," Ryan said.
"Where?"
"Come on, I'll show you!" Ryan ran out of the Leaky cauldron and was tapping the bricks right above the trash can. The bricks wiggled and grew bigger and bigger right before my eyes. My mouth fell open as I saw a bustling city street full of people. I blinked, shook my head, screwed up my eyes and looked again. People in robes and pointed hats with sticks in their hand and books under their arms were running all around the place, some appearing and disappearing right before my very eyes. Ryan pulled on my sleeve.
"Come on!" He yelled.
I ran after him, accidentally bumping into a couple people on the way. Ryan seemed to run along fairly well. I then crashed head on into somebody.
"OUCH!" I yelled. Oreo tumbled out of his pouch and into the boys lap. The boy had untidy black hair, was short, and had a lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead, and glasses that seemed to have broke a few times during his life. I sent his books sprawling. "Oops, I'm sorry, I didn't mean~" I stopped in mid-sentence. His stick was sparking and glittering! My mouth went wide open and I fainted. Except, something broke my fall, I just didn't know what.
***
My eyes fluttered open, and I saw Ryans grinning face right next to mine.
"Eep!" I screamed. I held my hand to my heart. Ryan jumped back, obviously surprised.
"So your awake. I exchanged your muggle money and got some wizard money for you. I got all your books, and all you need now is a wand," Ryan explained so quickly I barely caught a word.
"Huh?" I asked very confused. "Wand? Oh my god!! Where's my mom?"
"Huh?" Ryan asked confused too. "Hmm… Anyway, that boy you crashed into was Harry Potter. He is the so-called savoir of the wizarding world. But don't you worry. I gave him a nice pounding. Poor kid. He'll have that black eye for months. Sometimes it seems like everyone will fall on the mud so precious Harry Potter can walk across their backs. I'd never have Pothead walk across mine. If he dares I'll pound him into bird seed!" At this, Ryan began to laugh harshly.
I scratched my head. "Hmm?"
"Never mind," Ryan said briskly. "Let's go get you a wand."
"Okay…" I said weakly. Ryan dragged to Ollivanders. It was a small shabby place with peeling gold letters that said, "Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands Since 382 B.C." In the display case was a single wand on a faded purple cushion in the dirty window. Ryan dragged me in and talked to the man. He had silver eyes that gave me the creeps. He glanced down at me.
"A muggle eh? Let's see if you have the witch in you. He pointed his wand straight at me and began to walk slowly toward me. I gulped, scrambling for the door. Ryan stopped me.
"Ryan!" I managed to squeal.
"Shh!" Ryan said sharply.
I groped for the doorknob, but Ryans hand stopped me. He had a strong grip and pushed my hand away. I began to whimper, my face screwed-up in fear. I walked to the left, away from the man. I squealed and ran into a corner. Trapped! I closed my eyes and shielded my face. The wand touched my shoulder and a bright light swarmed through my body. I blinked. I looked at myself all covered in sparkles as if somebody threw a huge bag of glitter over me. I laughed and twirled around in circles.
"She is a witch. But why Hogwarts or any other school has not contacted you confuses me," the man, Mr. Ollivander went behind the desk and reached under it. He pulled out a ticket, which went into my pocket with a letter. "Give this to the teacher that greets you in the castle"
I nodded. He brought out a measuring tape and said as if nothing out of the ordinary had just happened in the room we were standing in at that very moment, "Now which is your wand hand?"
"Er… You mean my writing hand? That would be my right." I said unsurely.
"All right then, let's get your measures," Mr. Ollivander said. It took me a minute or so to find out that the tape was moving by itself. Then, it stopped, and I put my arms down. Mr. Ollivander walked to the back of the tiny little store. He took out a box and laid it down. He took off the top.
"9 ½ inch, willow, unicorn hair, flexible, good for charms. Give it a wave," he said.
I nodded. I waved it around, and a small lamp shattered into tiny pieces. I jumped, startled. I placed it back in its box.
"Definitely not!" Mr. Ollivander said, rather loudly. He went back into the mess of boxes and managed to come out with 5 long, rectangular boxes. "Try this one. 11 inches, redwood, dragon heartstring, rather swishy, good for transfiguration."
I nodded. I had no idea what Transfiguration or Charms was, but I took the wand and gave it a small wave. This time a spindly chair broke in half.
"Nope! Let's try this one!" Mr. Ollivander shouted. He reached out and grabbed one more box. "Try this one. 10¼ inches, a bit more powerful than the others, phoenix tail feather, mahogany, also a bit swishy. Go ahead, try it."
I reluctantly reached for the wand and waved it. I felt a warmth glide through my body and violet sparks danced around me.
"PERFECT MATCH!" Mr. Ollivander cried. I paid for my wand and stepped out to see Ryan with another hawk in hand.
"Whats~" I began
"Its your hawk. It's a red tailed hawk, one of my favorites. Alyssa is a red tailed hawk. This one is male, he's black, not your regular kind of hawk," Ryan explained quickly.
"You shouldn't have had!" I cried gleefully. I took my new hawk on my arm. "I think I'll call him, Midnight."
Ryan shrugged. "Good name."
END OF CHAPTER ONE
Review thankies:
Thanks MoO KaWaIi MoO: I don't know if I have the Sweetest Kiss… I've NEVER KISSED ANY GUY FOR GOODNESS SAKES!! *pauses* _ I think gave away too much… BAII!!!