Author's Note: Sorry these 3 chapters have been so short, especially
the one you're about to read. I promise the next one will be a lot
longer, though it may take me a while to get up.
Chapter 3 - A New Light
But her euphoria didn't last long. The next few days brought hours of endless packing, phone calls, and reading.
Charlotte loved to read, but she couldn't possibly see how she was going to catch up on five years of work in only 3 months.
Her mother wasn't having it any easier. She had to resign from her jobs and take Charlotte out of school. This would be difficult because she only had 2 weeks left, but didn't want to continue. She wanted to direct all her energy on her studies and learning more about the magical community.
Charlotte was trying to think up excuses for her sudden departure from 10th grade.
"Say I'm terminally ill," she said sitting on the chair in her living room, Fantastic Beast And Where to Find Them lie open on her lap.
"They'll want to see the doctor's records," said Mrs. Smith who was sitting on the chair beside her, reading some important some important documents.
"Well, I don't know what we're gonna do," she started casting her gaze down. "We could just leave now," she suggested.
"But, Charlotte, we haven't brought a house yet, and I haven't even sold this one," she replied, looking up at her daughter.
"When do you have to meet Dumbledore?" Charlotte asked.
Mrs. Smith suddenly looked forlorn. "I'm not sure," she said, looking down. "He'll be sending another owl soon, I expect."
Exactly what her mother was meeting Dumbledore in London for remained a mystery for Charlotte. Ever since she had received the letter Charlotte and Mrs. Smith had an unspoken agreement not to bring the subject up.
Mrs. Smith suddenly stood up as if she had reached some sort of decision. "You'll finish school, all right? I mean, Dumbledore said not to worry about the material, and he's a very smart wizard, he'll figure something out," she stated firmly.
Charlotte didn't like the plan. "But Mom, what if he makes me take classes with the first years? I REALLY don't want to be hanging around 11 year olds all year long," she pleaded.
Mrs. Smith looked at her sadly. She pushed a strand of Charlotte's straight blonde hair behind her ear. "He'll think of something," she cooed. "Trust me, he always does."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The next 2 months flew by fairly quickly for Charlotte. School was over ("Thankfully," Charlotte thought), and 2 weeks before Mrs. Smith had received a letter from Dumbledore telling her to meet him in London on August 29th. That would mean that they would have to be in London in 2 weeks.
Things were getting hectic around the house. Mrs. Smith had been showing the house for nearly a month and still no one had shown any interest in it.
Then, there was also the problem of how they were going to get to England. Mrs. Smith had explained to her daughter that her profession in magic paid her far better off than her muggle jobs had ever, and that she had quite a hefty sum saved up in Gringotts bank. Mrs. Smith decided to send her key to Dumbledore to have their money exchanged into Muggle money in order purchase plane tickets for the 2 of them. They were now set to fly in a week before Mrs. Smith had to meet Dumbledore.
The day before the move, Charlotte was feeling nervous. Mrs. Smith was doing too many things and looked to be on the brink of tears. The moving van had come 2 days before and there was no where to sit in the house except the reclining chair in the living room the couple who was moving in had brought from them.
The 2 of them hadn't even seen a picture of their new house yet. Dumbledore had found them a supposedly nice place in Godric's Hollow, which was about a 20 minute ride on a broomstick from London.
Charlotte was very interested in the piece of information and started to nag Mrs. Smith with questions, but stopped when she threw her a look of contempt.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Charlotte got up the next morning at 5 am with mixed feelings. She felt excited, but filled with dismay at the same time. She had her doubts about moving to England. What if she didn't fit in at Hogwarts? What if the other kids made fun of her lack of wizarding knowledge?
Mrs. Smith looked like a wreck today, more than ever. Her face was pale with a tint of green and her hands shook as she read the newspaper. "The weather's going to be nice today," she said as calmly as she could. "Hopefully, we won't have too much turbulence; I don't need any more stress."
They gathered their bags and the taxi cab taking them to the airport arrived 15 minutes later. Charlotte got in the cab and looked at the cottage one last time. To her, that cottage symbolized her old life, a life of pain and void. She turned around when the cottage was reduced to nothing more then a spec in the distance and looked at the long road ahead of her, thinking in a new light.
Chapter 3 - A New Light
But her euphoria didn't last long. The next few days brought hours of endless packing, phone calls, and reading.
Charlotte loved to read, but she couldn't possibly see how she was going to catch up on five years of work in only 3 months.
Her mother wasn't having it any easier. She had to resign from her jobs and take Charlotte out of school. This would be difficult because she only had 2 weeks left, but didn't want to continue. She wanted to direct all her energy on her studies and learning more about the magical community.
Charlotte was trying to think up excuses for her sudden departure from 10th grade.
"Say I'm terminally ill," she said sitting on the chair in her living room, Fantastic Beast And Where to Find Them lie open on her lap.
"They'll want to see the doctor's records," said Mrs. Smith who was sitting on the chair beside her, reading some important some important documents.
"Well, I don't know what we're gonna do," she started casting her gaze down. "We could just leave now," she suggested.
"But, Charlotte, we haven't brought a house yet, and I haven't even sold this one," she replied, looking up at her daughter.
"When do you have to meet Dumbledore?" Charlotte asked.
Mrs. Smith suddenly looked forlorn. "I'm not sure," she said, looking down. "He'll be sending another owl soon, I expect."
Exactly what her mother was meeting Dumbledore in London for remained a mystery for Charlotte. Ever since she had received the letter Charlotte and Mrs. Smith had an unspoken agreement not to bring the subject up.
Mrs. Smith suddenly stood up as if she had reached some sort of decision. "You'll finish school, all right? I mean, Dumbledore said not to worry about the material, and he's a very smart wizard, he'll figure something out," she stated firmly.
Charlotte didn't like the plan. "But Mom, what if he makes me take classes with the first years? I REALLY don't want to be hanging around 11 year olds all year long," she pleaded.
Mrs. Smith looked at her sadly. She pushed a strand of Charlotte's straight blonde hair behind her ear. "He'll think of something," she cooed. "Trust me, he always does."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The next 2 months flew by fairly quickly for Charlotte. School was over ("Thankfully," Charlotte thought), and 2 weeks before Mrs. Smith had received a letter from Dumbledore telling her to meet him in London on August 29th. That would mean that they would have to be in London in 2 weeks.
Things were getting hectic around the house. Mrs. Smith had been showing the house for nearly a month and still no one had shown any interest in it.
Then, there was also the problem of how they were going to get to England. Mrs. Smith had explained to her daughter that her profession in magic paid her far better off than her muggle jobs had ever, and that she had quite a hefty sum saved up in Gringotts bank. Mrs. Smith decided to send her key to Dumbledore to have their money exchanged into Muggle money in order purchase plane tickets for the 2 of them. They were now set to fly in a week before Mrs. Smith had to meet Dumbledore.
The day before the move, Charlotte was feeling nervous. Mrs. Smith was doing too many things and looked to be on the brink of tears. The moving van had come 2 days before and there was no where to sit in the house except the reclining chair in the living room the couple who was moving in had brought from them.
The 2 of them hadn't even seen a picture of their new house yet. Dumbledore had found them a supposedly nice place in Godric's Hollow, which was about a 20 minute ride on a broomstick from London.
Charlotte was very interested in the piece of information and started to nag Mrs. Smith with questions, but stopped when she threw her a look of contempt.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Charlotte got up the next morning at 5 am with mixed feelings. She felt excited, but filled with dismay at the same time. She had her doubts about moving to England. What if she didn't fit in at Hogwarts? What if the other kids made fun of her lack of wizarding knowledge?
Mrs. Smith looked like a wreck today, more than ever. Her face was pale with a tint of green and her hands shook as she read the newspaper. "The weather's going to be nice today," she said as calmly as she could. "Hopefully, we won't have too much turbulence; I don't need any more stress."
They gathered their bags and the taxi cab taking them to the airport arrived 15 minutes later. Charlotte got in the cab and looked at the cottage one last time. To her, that cottage symbolized her old life, a life of pain and void. She turned around when the cottage was reduced to nothing more then a spec in the distance and looked at the long road ahead of her, thinking in a new light.