Thanks to all reviewers. You're the ones who make this site what it is.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A World Unknown---- Chapter Ten: Allouitious.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The dreams came again that night, this time more vividly than the others.

She was on a tiny rotting boat floating across a silent black pond. lights twinkled off in the distance through a heavy fog. A single lantern flickered feebly against the chill air on the floor of her vessel. The flame of the lantern strained against the darkness but offered little comfort to her. She was cloaked in a heavy black robe that pulled her towards the floor with its weight. At the sound of a splash in the distance, she fell to the deck and pulled her knees to her chest.

She focused on the glassy surface and wished, more than anything, that she could be anywhere except here, But when she looked around again, nothing had changed. Nothing. Then, silently a single ripple spread outwards from the fog. Its smooth silver path carved towards her tiny boat and broke as it struck the hull. Maggie leaned out of the boat and brushed her fingers against the water, only not a single ripple burs forth as she broke the surface. Her fingers, pale in comparison with the inky water, simply slipped beneath the smooth surface. Curious now, she rolled her sleeve up past her elbow and slipped her whole forearm in, swirling it around in circles. When she pulled her hand back to her chest, it was cold and numb but not wet. A dull burn issued from the soft skin near her elbow though, and when she pulled her sleeve back again, what she saw made her blood run cold.

A skull, black as night stood out on her light skin. From its mouth issued a serpent, it looked senile and harsh.

Memories of her last dream came flooding over her. She stood, clutching the mark and swerved. He was there! The man from her other dreams! She could feel it! Her heart pounded in her chest and she had trouble breathing, if she didn't calm down, she was going to pass out. A cold hand snaked around her shoulder from behind and another grasped her arm and pried her fingers off the mark. A low hiss issued from whoever it was and suddenly, she was pitching forwards into the black water. Her arms flailed about and she struggled as the sodden cloak dragged her towards the bottom. She gasped for air as her head broke the surface, it was uncannily creepy how even now, not a single ripple disturbed the face of the water.

He stood above her and again, had his wand pointed between her eyes. A shiver ran through her because she was sure of what was coming. And it did.

The harsh voice grated through her head with the words she had come to dread since this all began.

Avada Kedavra.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sunday passed quickly, with the same routines as the day before and for the first time in days, Maggie felt......normal.

She fit in here with the patrons and Rosie. She wasn't lying when she told herself that she would miss them. It was only a matte of time though before they found out about her and who she really was and if she was going to find out about Harry Potter, she couldn't risk that.

Harry seemed to be the golden boy of the wizarding world. Everyone talked about him and how he did something when he was a baby. Apparently his parents were killed by terrorists or something. She was really sorry to hear that but she couldn't let pity interfere with what she was here for. He was also pro' at something called a Quidditch match.

She didn't know how many times she had heard someone say "Harry won the Quidditch Captain slot on Gryffindor!" or "Did you watch the last Hogwarts Quidditch scrimmage? It was Harry Potter vs. Draco Malfoy!" And it was only less than a week into term! He was definitely some sort of golden boy. That would make it far harder to get to him.

Damn wizards and their ....wizard stuff.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

On Sunday night, she had actually slept without nightmares. Either that or she didn't remember them. NOT that she minded. She had already seen enough Nightmares to last her a lifetime.

On Monday morning, Business was slow. Not surprising since it was the first day of classes up at the school. Rosie gave Maggie the morning off to explore the town, as well as a tiny purse full of silver and bronze coins. Maggie refused them but Rosie said that she had earned them.

In Honeydukes, Maggie bought some chocolate frogs That actually jumped with magic, and some sort of beans that were supposed to have every flavor on earth. No lie, Maggie herself discovered when she nibbled on a purple one that turned out to be eggplant. Along with each of her frogs came a card, she got Morgan Le Fay and Albus Dumbedore. The cards Fascinated her because if she waited long enough, the people moved! Morgan Le Fay was chewing on her fingernails and Dumbledore was gone altogether. Hehehe. 'Wizards are pro-choice!' She thought.

She visited Zonkos, The Owl post office, and even Quality Quidditch Supplies to learn more about the sport. It actually sounded awesome! If she ever got the chance, she would be sure to take a ride on a broomstick.

She finally entered a small inconspicuous little bookshop. The air was musty and the store was in unkempt disarray. It was filled with shiny new volumes, dusty hardcover and even a few 'muggle' books. Maggie wandered though the towering aisles until she finally found a shelf that looked particularly interesting. (Namely because each of the books was bound in leather and chained to the shelf several times over.) She peered though the thick layer of dust that had settled over the abandoned shelf and traced a tiny star in the words of the largest selection. Through the dust, it read:

Plague Curses

Maggie reached forwards to brush her fingers along its spine but just as she reached it, a voice cut through her reverie.

"Might not want to touch that one young lady. Its full of dangerous dark magic that no one should control." Said the voice of an elderly man. "And when i say no one, I mean YOU in particular."
Taking this obvious hint to leave the books alone, she dropped her hands from where they lingered. When she looked up to find the owner of the reprimanding voice, she found herself alone in the aisle. She crept cautiously down the aisles of books and glanced down the hall. It was silent and deserted except for one thing. A single cat lay contently curled atop one of the towering piles of literature.

A cat with shaggy grey hair and amber eyes, just like the one from Privet drive.

"Allouitious?" She ventured. her eyebrows arched expectantly. "Here kitty."

The cat just flicked its tail and shot her a haughty, even look. But he did bear a remarkable resemblance to the cat she had been with the first time she met Harry. How often do you get a cat with that combination of fur and eyes?

Considering how she came across a hidden world in the midst of London, a thing like this shouldn't have put her off. But still........

She approached the cat with her hands open and reached for its head to give it a little scratch. It had to be Allouitious! It even had the same pale marks on the back of its ears!

Instead of purring and curling up in her arms as any other cat would have done, it leapt to the floor and turned to face her. Rather than the even stare she got from him last time though, he gazed up at her with something like amusement in his amber eyes. Again, she leaned down to scoop him up and again, he leapt from her grasp.

By now her suspicion had grown to overcome her curiosity and disregarding the comfort of the cat, she made a wild grab for its collar and felt her fingers brush against his silvery grey fur.

In a streak of silver-grey, it dashed off around her grasp and between her legs only to immediately settle once more on its perch atop the books.

What the hell is up with this cat?!

As she began her final attempt to lay her hands on the curious feline, she was not in the least prepared for what came next.

The tiny, shaggy form of the cat began to change.

It began with its ears, the shortened, the hair withdrew into them and they slipped to the sides of the ....whatever it was'.....head. The fur on the top of the head grew longer, paler and more wiry while the hair everywhere else receded into wrinkled grey skin. The thing was getting bigger every moment passing and the proportions were morphing into something entirely different.

A wave of numb disbelief had washed over Maggie and were it not for the deep amber eyes that the man still possessed, she would have been completely assured that the ordeal had finally become too much to bear and she had slipped into her own little world of madness.

The same voice as before which turned out to belong to this man was speaking to her. She had completely blocked out every word he had just said but The mention of her name had torn her back to reality.

The man who stood before her had to be in his late 70's. With his grizzled white hair and deep lines across his face, he still managed to give of the impression that he was a curious, amused little boy and you were a fascinating new discovery.

His face split into a wide lopsided grin and he chuckled at the startled look on her face.

"Well well." He clucked. " If it isn't muggle Maggie from Privet Drive! I think you and I are in need of a little talk."

He took a handful of a funny glinting dust from a pouch at his waist and hurled it into the fire. The flames flared up and took on a greenish hue and sparks danced across the floor. Then, the man stepped into the fire! At this point Maggie was sure that of all the things he could have done, he made sure to act on the most surprising possibility!! He looked up into the chimney, and with a clear voice, called out: "Diagon Alley!"

Then he was gone.

Maggie's eyebrows climbed up to her hairline and she glanced around to make sure it wasn't just an illusion. Sure enough, the man was gone into seeming midair. She was alone in the store and she didn't have enough time to find Rosie.
So, she did the only thing that seemed sensible in the situation. She played along.

With a deep breath, she prodded the flames with one foot. The heat was minimal but it was still there.

Bending low to avoid hitting her head on the timber bar over the fire-mantle, she planted both feet firmly in the hearth and squeezing her eyes shut, she called out.

"Diagon Alley!"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TBC

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Next chapter up soon! Thanks again to all who reviewed! You guys are boss!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Please Review

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~