Chapter 2 - American Skepticism
15-year-old Lee Mulberry sat in her room finishing the Fourth Harry Potter book for at least the sixth time. When she finished the book she sat thinking about the book. The more time she spent thinking about it the more her imagination ran away with her. She soon began asking questions like "Why were these books written?", "Why is it taking so long for the fifth book to come out?", and " How can one write in such detail about a world that isn't real? Or is it?" Lee's thoughts would have drifted further had she not been interpreted.
"Lee dear we need to go to the store to pick up some more things for your trip." Lee's mother called up the stairs.
"Ok...I'll be there in a second mum!" Lee yelled as she threw on her shoes and ran down the steps. At the bottom she found her mother staring at her oddly. "What mum...do I have wings growing or something?"
"Why do you keep calling me 'mum' not 'mom', but 'mum'. You're not in England yet so don't start acting it. You still have some work to do before you leave young lady."
"Sorry MOM! I wasn't trying to have the accent it's just that I was reading Harry Potter so the slang is stuck in my head."
"You're reading the books...again!" Lee's mother asked in disbelief. "What is it like your fiftieth time reading them?"
"No my sixth!"
"Oh well we have a lot to get done today so I suggest we get going or we'll never be back in time for you to get to Louise's party."
With that said Lee and her mother went out to the car and drove off to the mall.
* * *
"Hey!" Louise yelled over to Lee as she entered Louise's house. "Glad to see you could make it. I mean after all it is being thrown in your honor." Louise joked.
"Yea, yea I know I'm late but my mom insisted that we run around and get a bazillion things....TODAY!"
"It's cool. So I can't believe that you're actually leaving the goo'- ole USA for England."
"Oh shut up I've left the country before...."
"Yea for Canada!"
"You're just jealous!"
" Jealous!...Lee it's CANADA for cryin' out loud. Who in their right mind really wants to go there?"
"Alright...hint taken." Lee surrendered with a chuckle in her voice.
"So besides shopping what did you do all day?" Louise inquired for nothing more then keeping the conversation going although she already knew what Lee was going to say.
"Shopping." Both girls replied at the same time.
"Woah...that was freaky!" Jason, a recent addition to the girl's clan, observed. "Do you girls do that often?"
"Yes J we do it at least once or twice a day..." Lee responded.
"Depending on how much time we spend together. " Louise finished. "We can even..."
"Finish each others sentences."
"That's cool that you've got that mental telepathy thing going on." Jason commented. "Well I basically came over to say goodbye. I gotta get to practice or the guy's will kill me. Have fun in England Lee."
"Thanks I'm sure I will. I want you to promise me that you guy's will have a record contract by the time I get back."
"Um...sure why not." Jason answered a little unsure if Lee really meant what she said.
"Bye Jason." Louise called as she chuckled at Jason's reaction.
"Bye!"
After that the girls split up to go mingle with the other people at the party. Lee had to mingle as the party was for her but Louise just mingled to mingle. It was getting late, Louise hadn't talked to Lee since she got there, and most of the guests were leaving. Louise was saying good- bye to some people when she got the feeling that Lee wanted to talk to her...NOW.
"Uh...gotta go guy's. Lee wants to talk me." Louise said as she turned and went in search for Lee.
"How does she know Lee wants to talk to her?" The one guy asked. "They haven't talked at all for the past 3 or 4 hours."
"I dunno man." The other responded as they got in the car and left.
Louise finally found Lee sitting in a quite corner of the basement with a confused expression upon her face.
"Don't stay that way for too long. " Louise warned. "You're face may freeze in that position if you do."
"Sorry....I was thinking." Lee began.
"Wow what a concept you...thinking..."
"Let's call the New York Times...this'll make headlines." Lee finished. "You've gotta get a new comeback that one's getting kinda old."
"Shut-up. So what'd ya wanna talk about?" Lee gave Louise a very confused and lost look at her question. "I could tell that you wanted to talk to me." Louise explained.
"Ok this mental telepathy thing gets a little creepy sometimes." Lee commented. "Anyway I wanted to ask you if you have any family in England?"
"Why?"
"Well I can stay longer if I have a form signed saying that I have people, preferably family, to stay with."
"Yea, but Lee why...oh no. Lee don't tell me that you're gonna go looking to see if your 'Harry Potter' theory is true!"
"Fine I won't tell you...but do you have family?"
"Lee it's all make believe. None of it is real!" Louise tried to persuade Lee to the best of her abilities. Lee had told Louise about two weeks ago about her 'Harry Potter' theory. Lee believed that Harry Potter and his wizarding world were real and wanted to go to London to see for herself if it was real or not.
"Louise how can you tell me it's not real when you yourself believe it to be real?" Lee questioned with a stern look in her green-blue eyes. Even if Lee hadn't just 'read' Louise's mind she could see it in her honey- brown eyes that she thought it to be true.
"Alright, Alright I obviously can't keep anything from you since you can 'read' my thoughts. It's just that I wanted to find out with you." Louise explained.
"Look I promise if I find anything I'll write to you right away so that you can fly over. Ok?"
"Fine I'll give my family a call ad I'll let you know by Friday."
"Yes! Louise you're the best friend in the whole world!" Lee exclaimed with joy.
"I know." Louise responded with a fake cocky air.
* * *
Lee stepped off the plane in London hoping that her exchange family was nice and that they liked her. When Lee finally met her family though she stopped worrying if they would like her but began to wonder if she would like them. They consisted of a very thin mother with an overly long neck, a very plump father with no neck and a pink pudgy face, and an obese boy with the same pudgy face as his father. If Lee didn't know any better she could have sworn that the Dursley's were standing right in front of her, but it couldn't be her family were the Donahue's.
"Lee Mulberry." The group leader called.
"Here."
"Unfortunately the Donahue's had to back out so your new family is the Dursley's. I'm sure you'll like them just as much."
Lee stood there in shock, did she really just say that she'd be staying with the Dursley's. Maybe finding out about Harry Potter would be easier then she thought. To Lee's disappointment though there was no Harry Potter at number 4 Privet Drive. "He must have gone to the Burrow." Lee thought with disappointment as she sat in Harry's room, or as the Dursley's called it, Dudley's extra room. Three day's later the Dursley's took Lee to London and as they wandered the streets she kept her eyes open for the Leaky Cauldron. Lee started to give up on finding it when they passed a shabby building whose sign read 'Leaky Cauldron'. Lee smiled to herself knowing better then to say anything to the Dursley's. When she got home she wrote a rushed letter to Louise telling her about everything so far. The rest of her stay with the Dursley's Lee spent looking forward to exploring the Leaky Cauldron.
15-year-old Lee Mulberry sat in her room finishing the Fourth Harry Potter book for at least the sixth time. When she finished the book she sat thinking about the book. The more time she spent thinking about it the more her imagination ran away with her. She soon began asking questions like "Why were these books written?", "Why is it taking so long for the fifth book to come out?", and " How can one write in such detail about a world that isn't real? Or is it?" Lee's thoughts would have drifted further had she not been interpreted.
"Lee dear we need to go to the store to pick up some more things for your trip." Lee's mother called up the stairs.
"Ok...I'll be there in a second mum!" Lee yelled as she threw on her shoes and ran down the steps. At the bottom she found her mother staring at her oddly. "What mum...do I have wings growing or something?"
"Why do you keep calling me 'mum' not 'mom', but 'mum'. You're not in England yet so don't start acting it. You still have some work to do before you leave young lady."
"Sorry MOM! I wasn't trying to have the accent it's just that I was reading Harry Potter so the slang is stuck in my head."
"You're reading the books...again!" Lee's mother asked in disbelief. "What is it like your fiftieth time reading them?"
"No my sixth!"
"Oh well we have a lot to get done today so I suggest we get going or we'll never be back in time for you to get to Louise's party."
With that said Lee and her mother went out to the car and drove off to the mall.
* * *
"Hey!" Louise yelled over to Lee as she entered Louise's house. "Glad to see you could make it. I mean after all it is being thrown in your honor." Louise joked.
"Yea, yea I know I'm late but my mom insisted that we run around and get a bazillion things....TODAY!"
"It's cool. So I can't believe that you're actually leaving the goo'- ole USA for England."
"Oh shut up I've left the country before...."
"Yea for Canada!"
"You're just jealous!"
" Jealous!...Lee it's CANADA for cryin' out loud. Who in their right mind really wants to go there?"
"Alright...hint taken." Lee surrendered with a chuckle in her voice.
"So besides shopping what did you do all day?" Louise inquired for nothing more then keeping the conversation going although she already knew what Lee was going to say.
"Shopping." Both girls replied at the same time.
"Woah...that was freaky!" Jason, a recent addition to the girl's clan, observed. "Do you girls do that often?"
"Yes J we do it at least once or twice a day..." Lee responded.
"Depending on how much time we spend together. " Louise finished. "We can even..."
"Finish each others sentences."
"That's cool that you've got that mental telepathy thing going on." Jason commented. "Well I basically came over to say goodbye. I gotta get to practice or the guy's will kill me. Have fun in England Lee."
"Thanks I'm sure I will. I want you to promise me that you guy's will have a record contract by the time I get back."
"Um...sure why not." Jason answered a little unsure if Lee really meant what she said.
"Bye Jason." Louise called as she chuckled at Jason's reaction.
"Bye!"
After that the girls split up to go mingle with the other people at the party. Lee had to mingle as the party was for her but Louise just mingled to mingle. It was getting late, Louise hadn't talked to Lee since she got there, and most of the guests were leaving. Louise was saying good- bye to some people when she got the feeling that Lee wanted to talk to her...NOW.
"Uh...gotta go guy's. Lee wants to talk me." Louise said as she turned and went in search for Lee.
"How does she know Lee wants to talk to her?" The one guy asked. "They haven't talked at all for the past 3 or 4 hours."
"I dunno man." The other responded as they got in the car and left.
Louise finally found Lee sitting in a quite corner of the basement with a confused expression upon her face.
"Don't stay that way for too long. " Louise warned. "You're face may freeze in that position if you do."
"Sorry....I was thinking." Lee began.
"Wow what a concept you...thinking..."
"Let's call the New York Times...this'll make headlines." Lee finished. "You've gotta get a new comeback that one's getting kinda old."
"Shut-up. So what'd ya wanna talk about?" Lee gave Louise a very confused and lost look at her question. "I could tell that you wanted to talk to me." Louise explained.
"Ok this mental telepathy thing gets a little creepy sometimes." Lee commented. "Anyway I wanted to ask you if you have any family in England?"
"Why?"
"Well I can stay longer if I have a form signed saying that I have people, preferably family, to stay with."
"Yea, but Lee why...oh no. Lee don't tell me that you're gonna go looking to see if your 'Harry Potter' theory is true!"
"Fine I won't tell you...but do you have family?"
"Lee it's all make believe. None of it is real!" Louise tried to persuade Lee to the best of her abilities. Lee had told Louise about two weeks ago about her 'Harry Potter' theory. Lee believed that Harry Potter and his wizarding world were real and wanted to go to London to see for herself if it was real or not.
"Louise how can you tell me it's not real when you yourself believe it to be real?" Lee questioned with a stern look in her green-blue eyes. Even if Lee hadn't just 'read' Louise's mind she could see it in her honey- brown eyes that she thought it to be true.
"Alright, Alright I obviously can't keep anything from you since you can 'read' my thoughts. It's just that I wanted to find out with you." Louise explained.
"Look I promise if I find anything I'll write to you right away so that you can fly over. Ok?"
"Fine I'll give my family a call ad I'll let you know by Friday."
"Yes! Louise you're the best friend in the whole world!" Lee exclaimed with joy.
"I know." Louise responded with a fake cocky air.
* * *
Lee stepped off the plane in London hoping that her exchange family was nice and that they liked her. When Lee finally met her family though she stopped worrying if they would like her but began to wonder if she would like them. They consisted of a very thin mother with an overly long neck, a very plump father with no neck and a pink pudgy face, and an obese boy with the same pudgy face as his father. If Lee didn't know any better she could have sworn that the Dursley's were standing right in front of her, but it couldn't be her family were the Donahue's.
"Lee Mulberry." The group leader called.
"Here."
"Unfortunately the Donahue's had to back out so your new family is the Dursley's. I'm sure you'll like them just as much."
Lee stood there in shock, did she really just say that she'd be staying with the Dursley's. Maybe finding out about Harry Potter would be easier then she thought. To Lee's disappointment though there was no Harry Potter at number 4 Privet Drive. "He must have gone to the Burrow." Lee thought with disappointment as she sat in Harry's room, or as the Dursley's called it, Dudley's extra room. Three day's later the Dursley's took Lee to London and as they wandered the streets she kept her eyes open for the Leaky Cauldron. Lee started to give up on finding it when they passed a shabby building whose sign read 'Leaky Cauldron'. Lee smiled to herself knowing better then to say anything to the Dursley's. When she got home she wrote a rushed letter to Louise telling her about everything so far. The rest of her stay with the Dursley's Lee spent looking forward to exploring the Leaky Cauldron.