I gazed out my window, watching a couple of gnomes try to climb the fence into my neighbor's backyard in fascination. It had been awhile since I had seen a gnome. They aren't usually found in the States.

I sighed as I watched those pathetic creatures. I didn't feel like going shopping today. Sure, I love shopping like any other girl on this planet. It's just that I would be shopping with my father, and he absolutely hates to shop. He drives me insane when he starts complaining that I'm taking too long. Later on, he and Chris usually ditch me to go to a sports bar and watch football. I really don't understand why they like football so much. It's too complicated for me to understand.

"Chilly! It's time to leave!" my father shouted from the bottom of the windy staircase as I was putting my hair up into double buns.

Damn. "I'm coming!" I grabbed my red messenger bag and ran down the stairway to reach him in the foyer.

Let's hurry so we can beat the back-to-school rush," Dad said as he fished in his pockets for his keys.

"Isn't Chris coming?" I asked, suddenly noticing that he wasn't in the foyer.

"Huh? No, he isn't. What did he say… he said that he'd rather have his head chewed off by a Manticore than ride in the same car as you," he replied.

I frowned. "I didn't do anything to him."

"Don't you remember? You turned nearly all of his video games into spiders."

"So? He turned my Nintendo into a centipede."

Dad shook his head as he finally pulled out his keys. "I don't know why I spoil the two of you with such things."

"It's too late for that now. I can't live without video games," I said as I opened the door and walked out. "Which is why I don't see the point of sending me away to Hogwarts."

"We've been over this, Chilly," my father said, becoming aggravated. "I know this isn't your old school back home, but get used to it. You should be happy that you are going to such a great school. Your mother went there, you know."

I stopped dead in my tracks. "I know."

I looked over to my left and saw our neighbor, Mr. McFoogle, out in his lawn, shaking his head.

"Good morning Mr. McFoogle! How goes?" my father asked him.

"Not so good, Mr. Richardson," Mr. McFoogle replied in a strong British accent. "The gnomes are attacking my plants again. Look what they did to my precious Mandrakes!"

"I would de-gnome your garden for you again, but I'm going shopping," I said.

"That's too bad," Mr. McFoogle said.

"Maybe when we get back. It depends on if it's dark or not." I smiled. It would be my usual Knut-per-gnome deal.

Dad walked by me and opened the door to his crappy little station wagon. "Come on, now. I haven't got all day."

I pouted and slumped into a seat. Then I realized that I was sitting in front of the steering wheel. You would think that after three months, I would get used to this sort of thing. I slid over, buckled my seat belt, and pouted some more.

"Stop that, now," Dad said as we pulled out of the driveway. "You're going and that's final."

I threw my arms in the air in aggravation. "Fine. Do you mind if I turn on the radio?"

"Go ahead," Dad replied as he rolled down the windows. "God, is it always this hot in here?"

"Pretty much." I turned the knob to the right until I found a station that was playing rock music. Then I turned the volume level up.

"Honestly, Chilly. Yesterday, it was techno pop. Today, it is rock music. What's tomorrow?"

"Rap," I replied and smiled. "What can I say? I like variety."

"Chilly, do you honestly think there are any rap stations here?"

"Why wouldn't there be?"

My father shook his head. He's just having trouble appreciating other types of music. "Anyway, I can't shop with you today," Dad said.

"Really? Why not?" I asked, trying to sound disappointed.

"There's this huge case at the office I have to take care of," he replied. "A couple of Muggles saw several baby dragons in someone's backyard just before their hedge was lighted on fire by their sneezes. We have to file the case, fine the wizards, place Memory Charms on the Muggles… it's hectic. I'm sorry, I just can't go."

"Oh well," I said as I shrugged. "A disappointment that you can't see Diagon Alley, huh?"

"I suppose. Anyway, the most I know is how to get to the Leaky Cauldron. I don't know where to go after that. You're on your own."

"Gee, that's great…" I mumbled.

"Here we are. The Leaky Cauldron," Dad said as he pulled up in front.

"This is it?" I asked.

It was a small little pub that was dark and slightly creepy looking on the outside. I smiled at the fact that passing Muggles didn't even notice it was there. Their eyes slid from one shop to the next.

"You'd think that they'd have a Starbucks or something as the entrance but NO it's a creepy looking pub…" I mumbled.

"I'll pick you up around five o'clock," Dad said. "If you get lost, for Heaven's sake, just ask for directions. I know how much you like to wander and how you ARE my child…"

I smiled. "See you later," I said as I got out of the station wagon.

I watched my Dad drive away and then headed towards the little pub.

A small bell dinged as I entered. I saw a few heads turn in my direction for a brief moment, and then steadily return to what they had been doing.

The light was dim inside the pub. I squinted through the slight darkness and then headed over to the bar, where a toothless bartender was wiping out a glass with a cloth.

"Do you serve butterbeer here?" I asked him.

He smiled and nodded. A minute later, he pulled out a small bottle of butterbeer.

"Five Knuts, please," he said.

I pulled out some money from my messenger bag and placed it in his hands.

I guzzled down the butterbeer and threw the bottle away in the trashcan. As I looked around the pub for the door to the yard, I felt a slight pressure rise in my stomach. Then a couple of hiccups escaped my mouth.

"Oh, crap," I mumbled as I looked frantically around.

I hiccupped again and this time, my messenger bag began to float by my side. I grabbed it from the air and held it to my side. I saw a door towards the back of the pub and ran there before anyone could notice that there were several forks floating about in the air.

I pushed the door open and faced a rather small yard. There was a brick wall with a trashcan and a bunch of weeds. That was it. No entrance to Diagon Alley. Just a wall.

I stared at the wall in confusion. My father had not told me how to get to Diagon Alley, but I figured it would be easy. Stupid wizards have to be so overprotective-

I hiccupped again and the lids on the trashcans began to float in mid-air. I ran over to them and pushed them back into place.

Suddenly, a rather small wizard pushed past me and whipped out his wand as he mumbled under his breath about being late. He tapped one of the bricks on the wall and Diagon Alley slowly appeared before me.

The wizard put his wand away and disappeared into the large crowd that crammed the small street.

"Nice," I remarked as I slipped through the entranceway. Shops were lined up on both sides of the street and the cobble stone street seemed to stretch a long way.

I walked slowly down the street, admiring the smiling faces of the many shoppers around me. It was amazing how being here could make you so happy…

I hiccupped again and this time, the small wizard who had rushed past me was suddenly levitating in mid-air.

"Oh, crap," I mumbled as I hurried through the crowd to him. The other people must have been to heavy to levitate.

The little man was twisting and squirming in mid air. To add to that, the poor thing was squealing at the top of his lungs to be let down before he cursed anyone.

"I am SO sorry," I explained as I grabbed his arm and tried to ease him back down to the ground.

"You did this to me?" he asked in a high British accent as he continued squirming.

"Yes, I did, but it was an accident! If you would just stop squealing-"

"Let go of me, you stupid Yank! I don't need your help!"

I let go of his arm, slightly hurt and eased away from him. Some people are just so rude… I watched in amusement as the man tried to dive towards the street.

I spotted a joke shop called Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes in the corner of my eye and smiled with glee. Joke shops were among my favorite stores in the wizarding world. I pushed through the crowd of people and made my way over to the store.

The store was a little bit crowded, mostly with people my age who just love a good joke. There were at least two floors and aisles upon aisles of pranks, jokes, and candies that made you involuntarily twitch.

It was hard to decide what item I should buy, mainly because I wanted to spend most of my money on new robes. I finally decided on a pack of stink pellets and made my way to the cashier.

I had to wait in a rather long line to pay for my stink pellets. When I reached the front, two redheaded twins stood there, smiling broadly. I placed the package of stink pellets on the counter.

"Nice choice," said one of the twins. "Three Sickles please."

I pulled three Sickles out of my bag and handed it to the cashier.

"Thank you. Come again."

I hiccupped and the Sickles rose out of his hands and floated above his head.

"Uh… sorry… too much butterbeer," I said.

I smiled and quickly left the store. I pulled out my school supply list out of my red messenger bag and looked it over.

"Standard Book of Spells, Year Five… blah, blah, blah… potion ingredients… blah, blah…" I sighed and decided to head to the bookstore first. That is, if I could find it…

I put the list away in my bag and headed in a random direction. After awhile, I couldn't figure out where I was going, but I had at least gotten rid of my hiccups. Unfortunately for me, that didn't' happen until several small witches were suddenly levitating after a rather large hiccup. I then became frustrated because all I could see was the ground and I couldn't see above anyone, because of my height.

I shook my head, cursing the fact that I just barely made it to five feet.

"Excuse me," I said, tapping the shoulder of a man next to me. "Where is the bookstore?"

He looked around to see who was talking to him. Then he finally stared down at me. "Flourish and Blotts is just a bit down the street. It will be on your right."

"Thanks," I replied and walked swiftly away.

I found the store and sighed in relief. I opened the door and a small bell chimed pleasantly.

As I wandered around the store, I noticed that a boy around my age was staring at me. I made a face at him and continued my expedition for my schoolbooks.

I became frustrated with the aisle I was in, because they had run out of one of my books. Maybe it was in another aisle…

I turned the corner and suddenly collided with someone who was holding a large stack of books. I landed on the floor and my books were spread out around me.

"Sorry," he apologized, looking a bit embarrassed. I realized that he was the same boy who was staring at me. He had jet-black hair and he adjusted his round glasses, which were dangling off his nose. His green eyes were like round emeralds.

I felt my face turn red as I struggled to stand up.

"Here," he said, offering me his hand. "Let me help you up."

I hesitated for a moment and then took his head. I felt a sudden lurch in my stomach as the room around me began to spin, ever so slowly. My eyes became foggy and I could barely see.

Suddenly, my vision was yet again clear. Except… I was not in the store anymore.

I could hear faint voices talking to me, so I had to be in the store still. As soon as I realized what was happening, I felt panic rise within me.

A bright light flashed before my eyes and I was unexpectedly traveling the speed of light. Images flooded around me, all of the same person. This boy… he had suffered greatly…

Then there was a single image in front of me. He was standing alone in what looked like a dungeon. A green light flashed and I could hear someone screaming-

The room stopped spinning and I could see normally again. I tried to cover a scream as I staggered backwards into a bookshelf. Books fell around me and made a loud thumping sound as they hit the floor.

A rather large hiccup exploded from my throat and the books suddenly began to float in mid air. Several more hiccups escaped from my mouth and several more books suddenly shot off the shelves.

I rubbed my head and saw the clerk and the boy looking down at me. I smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry. I'm really sorry," I apologized as I collected my books from the mess I made. "I really didn't mean to lose my balance like that… and I really didn't mean to levitate all of those books… did I mention that I'm sorry?"

The clerk shook his head, his face becoming red with anger. Then he cracked. "YOU STUPID AMERICAN! Look what you've done! This is going to take FOREVER to clean up!"

"I said I was sorry!" I exclaimed.

The boy with glasses continued staring at me, his bright eyes showing emotion that I could not distinguish between shock and slight embarrassment.

"Oh, God…" I said. "How embarrassing…"

He then frowned and turned around to the clerk. "Bloody hell, did you not hear that she said she was sorry? It was an accident! Haven't you accidentally levitated or blown up anything in your miserable life?! You could at least have the decency to forgive her and let her help you clean this up!"

I hiccupped again and the books came crashing to the floor.

The clerk shook his head. "I don't need any of her bloody help. She's caused enough trouble already." He then turned to me. "Take your books and leave!"

The clerk turned and began picking up his precious books.

"Are you okay?" the boy asked me.

"Uh… yeah, I'm fine."

"Here, let me help you pick up your books-"

"No, that's okay. I'll manage," I said quickly as I hurriedly gathered up my things.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

I stood up and raced to the checkout to pay for my books. I felt my cheeks turn crimson and I wanted to get out as soon as possible.

I burst through the door and sprinted down the street. I didn't want the owner to come after me and make me clean up the mess. Above all, I was mortified about what happened. Usually, I don't have premonitions in public places.

"Wait!" I heard someone call.

I spun around and faced the boy from the shop. He was panting wildly and he held out a small item that I realized was my wallet.

"You forgot this," he said.

"Oh! Thank you." I took the wallet and stuffed it into my messenger bag. I forced myself to smile. "And thanks for sticking up for me in the store. No one's ever done that for me before."

The boy blushed slightly. "Sure, no problem."

Without warning, I took off down the street as he was asking me for my name. I couldn't stand to look at him anymore. I was too embarrassed.

I suddenly collided with someone and lost my balance. I was ripped from my thoughts and I realized that I was sitting on the cobblestone street.

Two other people were on the ground. They were struggling to put all of their things back into their shopping bags before they were trampled.

"I'm really sorry," I said as I helped them pick up their things. "I wasn't watching where I was going… crap, I've been doing this all afternoon…"

"It's all right, really it is," one of them said to me. As she looked at me, her green eyes widened. "Chilly?"

I took a good look at her. She had short green hair and her skin was very pale. Her nose and cheeks were hidden under light freckles and her face was rather thin. She looked strangely familiar and then it hit me. "Cela?"

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed in an English accent as she hugged me. "It's been forever since we've seen each other."

"Where's Trill?" I asked as she let go of me.

"Right here." A girl with long blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and pale skin sat up and rubbed her head. "That hurt really bad."

"Trill!" I said and hugged her.

"Chilly? Is that you?" Trill asked in an abnormally high voice as she stared at me in confusion. "Whoa, you grew!"

"Thanks for noticing," I said as I let go. I looked at my two cousins happily. "You don't know how happy I am to see you."

"Can we find another place to have a reunion?" Cela asked as she looked around. "We're going to get trampled any minute now."

"Yeah," Trill agreed. "Come on, let's go to the ice cream parlor. It's down the street."



We sat outside, eating our sundaes at small round table. The umbrella gave us nice cool shade and kept my British cousins from burning.

My cousins were among my best friends in the world. We could tell each other anything. We used to keep in touch more often, but lately, we haven't seen much of each other besides the usual holiday visits. That's how life is when you're separated from your mother's side of the family by an ocean.

"So how is Aunt Geraldine doing?" I asked.

"Mom is doing fine," Cela answered as she took some of Trill's whipped cream.

"About a year ago, she got really, really sick and wound up in the hospital. But she's all right now," Trill said.

"That's terrible," I said, feeling slightly guilty about not talking to my cousins sooner.

"Like Trill said, she's all better now," Cela assured as she stole some more of Trill's whipped cream. "Dad, however, is having a rough time. His company went bankrupt and now he has to do housework and watch our other siblings while Mom is off at the Ministry."

"It's a pity that he's not a wizard," Trill said.

"Trill! Don't say things like that!" Cela scolded.

"Sorry…Anyway, what's been going on with you? Have you had any more premonitions since last time?" Trill questioned.

"Trill, keep your voice down," Cela hissed.

"Sorry," Trill apologized.

I smiled in amusement. I had almost forgotten how different they were. Trill was boisterous and ditzy and Cela was quiet and… more aware of her environment. I believe that is what they call fraternal twins.

"I don't understand what's the big deal," Trill said. "I mean, if you've got this wonderful gift, why hide it?"

"For one thing, it's extremely rare. Another thing is that people will just come flooding in, asking for Chilly's advice about everything," Cela said. "Remember what happened when the family found out? We were so astonished and we asked her about everything."

"I remember," I said quietly. "That was when I still lived in England. Mom literally had to hide me for months away from you guys because I was so overwhelmed."

"And that is why Chilly has not told anyone else about her premonitions besides her family. People will not leave her alone. Do you think that she'd enjoy it being treated like the new Miss Cleo?" Cela concluded.

"I suppose you're right," Trill agreed.

"Hey, I meant to ask you this before. What are you doing in Diagon Alley?" Cela wondered. "More specifically, England. School's about to start, you know."

"Well… my father, Chris, and I moved here," I answered.

Trill's eyes widened. "Really? You… you moved here? Why?"

I looked down. "I don't know…"

"What do you mean? You must have some reason for coming here," said Cela.

I could tell my cousins about anything in the world… this was just the one thing I couldn't tell them.

"I'm sorry, I really don't know. One day, my dad came to me and he was like, 'Pack your stuff. We're moving.'"

"Maybe he was transferred," Trill suggested.

"You know, it's a bit strange how he's never told you why you moved," Cela pointed out.

"I think Trill's right," I said quickly. "I think he was transferred. Besides, he started feeding me this whole bit about how it would be good for me to study abroad someplace during my last few years of school."

Trill looked down at her ice cream. "Hey, did someone take my whipped cream?"

"No, you just ate it first, remember?" Cela 'reminded.'

"Really?" Trill shrugged and shoved more ice cream into her mouth.

Cela and I immediately started giggling.

"Hey, what's so funny?"



I bided good-bye to my cousins and tried to make my way back to the Leaky Cauldron. I was exhausted from all the shopping and catching up we did. I just wanted to crawl into bed.

I turned and walked down a shadowy street.

"Hmm. I think I got sidetracked somewhere…" I said to myself as I wandered around. "This doesn't look like Diagon Alley anymore."

"You…"

I jumped and looked frantically around me. Did I just hear that?

"Creepy," I whispered.

Suddenly, a man leapt out from the shadows and grabbed my arm. His teeth were yellow with decay and his hair looked like a matted mop. His robes were torn and his feet were bloody and bare.

"Let go of me," I hissed.

"You… you're brimming with power…" he whispered to me.

"Let me go!" I exclaimed, trying to yank my arm free. It was no use. His grip was too strong.

"Pretty, pretty power… everyone wants some…"

"Get off of me!" My voice was becoming high pitched with panic.

"So much power... I feel it rising with your fear…"

"Get off of me, you-"

He raised his hand to silence me. "He is everywhere. Listening… watching… he wants your pretty power…"

I finally yanked my arm free and I sprinted away from him. I felt a strong need to get as far away from this man as possible.

My legs began to feel just like Jell-O and I eventually had to slow down. When I looked up, I found myself back in Diagon Alley. I sighed with relief and leaned against a building to catch my breath.

Shivers went up my spine and I wrapped my jacket around me. I looked up at the sky. It was beginning to get dark.

I shivered as I made my way down the partially deserted street.