Chapter 1 ~ Introduction
It was a bright sunny Saturday morning in Boston, Massachusetts; as Ms. Anderson bustled around tidying up the kitchen and began preparing breakfast. Elizabeth Anderson, Ms. Anderson's only daughter and most prized possession, sat very ladylike in a chair in the living room happily watching the morning news. What seemed to be an ordinary American family was far from being normal. In a split second the rare peacefulness number 6 on Acorn Street held, was about to be lost.
At that very moment Ms. Anderson had reached into the cabinet looking for flour to bake some biscuits, when something cold and slippery brushed against her arm. Screaming she jerked the flour container from the cabinet bringing a good sized blue cobra with it. Panic took her over immediately, for she began stomping wildly at the ground in hopes on injuring the poor snake. Loud shrieks startled Kali Riddle out of her peaceful slumber so that she fell off the bed and tumbled onto the floor. The screaming continued now combined with loud stomping as Kali ran down the stairs wondering what had happened. She entered the kitchen right as Elizabeth did. Elizabeth obliviously was curious to what the commotion was all about.
The answer stood before them. Ms. Anderson was screaming at the top of her lungs and stomping as hard as she could while a small blue figure wiggled, desperately trying to avoid being trodden on. Kali immediately recognized the blue figure to be Nathair, her pet cobra, and quickly reached down to pick him up. "Thanksss mistresss," Nathair hissed. Kali only nodded and stroked his head. "Kali!!!! How many times you I have to tell you not to bring that damn thing into the house! It could've bitten me or worse, Elizabeth!" Ms. Anderson yelled. "His name is Nathair and he wouldn't have harmed you in any way. He's completely tame...." Kali tried to explain, when Ms. Anderson slapped her across the face. Kali's right cheek had a large red hand print embedded on it. "Get that...that THING out of my SITE!" Ms. Anderson yelled. Kali's usually turquoise eyes flashed red for a split second, and there was a small bang followed by the sound of breaking glass. They all turned to see what had happened. One of Ms. Anderson favorite glass figures had somehow been busted into a thousand tiny pieces. "You! Get out of here!!" Ms. Anderson rounded on her. "No problem there, " Kali replied calmly, regaining her cool, though her eyes were still shining brighter than usual.
"You ssshouldn't have lost your temper missstresss." Nathair told Kali once they had reached her room, shaking his head. "I know, "she hissed back. Kali had been able to talk to snakes for as long as she could remember and had loved to befriend them. "We're leaving," she told him. "What? And where do you plan to go?" Nathair questioned. "England. I'm going to get away from here. I'll owl Mr. Dumbledore asking to transfer to Hogwarts. I've been thinking about this for a while. It's my only chance. I'm not learning anything at Salem. I know more magic than the professors do." she told him. "You are right." he replied. Kali began packing her things hurriedly. "We'll leave tonight, once everyone's asleep," she planned. "What about money?" Nathair asked, questioning her plan. "I have over $8,000 in the bank Nat,. Do you think I've been working my butt up at the restaurant for nothing?," she reminded him." Once her trunk was loaded she pushed in under her bed so no one could see it.