Lindsey flattened her black robes nervously. She was in the headmistress's office. Her trunks were sitting happily next to the fireplace. Athena, her brown owl with one large white spot on her stomach, hooted softly. It was almost time for her to leave. She was leaving everything behind. That's how she felt anyway. She was truly leaving everything behind but she was definitely leaving her heart. She ran her fingers through her hair one more time and looked down at her watch. There were five minutes, only five minutes! She looked around at Maria, her teacher, her coach, and her friend. They embraced.

"I'll miss you Nanna!" She said and her voice quivered. Lindsey could hear the tears coming. She didn't want to cry though. She couldn't cry anymore, she done that too much.

"I'll miss you Rah!" Lindsey replied. Maria gave her one last squeeze and let go. Lindsey turned to her best friend Zoë. Zoë already had tears in her eyes and was sniffling.

"Z," Lindsey started, "You promised." She smiled and laughed.

"I can't help it," Zoë replied. "You're moving to England, you know how far away that is!?" She wrapped her arms around her friend. "I mean, I couldn't get there on land, I'd have to swim."

"Don't worry, I'll write a lot and I'll see if maybe my uncle will let you come stay for a little during the summer and if he says no, you're coming anyway." Lindsey said reassuringly. Zoë laughed and they broke apart. Lindsey sighed and looked around the room one last time. She'd been in the office a lot over her past five years. Not that she was a troublemaker but all the organizing for the Kitty Cats.

"Well, you'd better go, you don't want to be late do you?" Headmistress Carlson interrupted. She ushered Lindsey toward the fireplace and reached for a wooden box. There were carvings covering the entire box. The lid was opened and Lindsey reached inside. She got a pinch of the powder and threw it into the fireplace. The flames roared and turned green. Professor Carlson shoved Lindsey's trunks and owl in and stepped aside.

With a final wave to her friends, Lindsey climbed into the flames. Her eyes welled with tears and she sighed heavily. She heard a voice yell, "Snape Manor" yet she hadn't felt her mouth move. The headmistress's office dissolved as Lindsey spun around. She clenched her eyes tight waiting for the spinning to stop. Yet part of her wished she'd just keep spinning and she never wanted to stop. When she stopped she knew it would be a different world with new rules and new people and she just wasn't ready for that. It wasn't enough for her parents to die but she had to move to a new country, with a new school where no one knew her. She had pictured her uncle in her head as a handsome, smiling middle-aged man who was only so happy to meet her. She expected him to be neatly groomed as well. She imaged a man much like her father.

The spinning stopped and Lindsey opened her eyes. There was a kitchen, alive with sunlight. There stood a man with chin length, greasy black hair and a scowl. Lindsey stepped out of the fireplace with her belongings. A smile was stretched wide across her face. The man in front of her remained unchanging. He scowled at her.

"Hello." He offered a cold greeting. His outreached hand proved to be as cold as his greeting. They shook hands for a brief and awkward second. Severus crossed his arms across his chest once more. Lindsey was feeling uncomfortable.

"I'm Lindsey." She said feeling the need to say something. "But you probably already knew that." She could have kicked herself. The first thing she says to her new uncle, and it makes her sound like a ditz. She knew the horrible impact of a first impression. She'd never let Jared live down the impression she first got from him. She'd always consider him an arrogant son of a monkey. She'd never let herself get to know him any better.

"So." Severus said after five minutes of staring intently at his niece. "I guess I should show you to your room then." Lindsey merely smiled and nodded. Severus levitated her trunks and led the way out of the kitchen and into the foyer. It was very dark and lined with photos of the various family members. They all muttered to one another as Lindsey carried Athena after Severus. He led her up a set of narrow, dark stairs that climbed five floors. He then opened the last door on the fifth floor.

There was a dimly light, plain room. A single four poster bed with green hangings was placed on the far wall and a wooden wardrobe stood next to it. Hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the room was a chandler lit with six candles. In another corner of the room, there was a desk and chair. A small window was opposite the desk but was covered by green curtains. Lindsey forced a smile onto her face.

"I'll let you get settled in. I have some business to take care of right now so I'll be gone for a few hours." Severus announced. Lindsey just nodded. She was afraid that if she said anything, it'd be stupid and embarrassing again. He swept out of the room and shut the door.

Lindsey looked around once more with despair. Athena hooted softly. Lindsey set her cage down on the desk and quickly unlocked it. She rummaged through her trunk and got out some parchment, a quill, and some ink. She began a to write two notes, one to Maria and one to Zoë. They both said exactly the same thing. When she was finished, she addressed the letters and called Athena over. The owl stuck out her leg.

"One goes to Professor Ruehr and one goes to Zoë." She instructed as she tied the letters to Athena's leg. The owl hooted in comprehension. Lindsey walked to the window and threw back the curtains. The window was grimy and didn't open easily but it opened all the same and Athena flew off into the day. Lindsey walked to the bed and lowered herself slowly thinking of the events of the past week and all the emotions that had run so highly.

I officially hate this. I miss you guys already and I haven't even been here an hour. I can already tell that I won't like my uncle. I think he thinks I'm a ditz too. I wanna come home and live with Zoë. The room I'll be in is very very plain. I want school to start again, as strange as that is. At least there I won't have to be alone with my uncle. I'll be able to make new friends. He's creepy and he didn't even stay every long! He said he had business to take care of! How lame is that? He can't even take the day off to spend some time with his new niece. I'm counting down the days until I can come back home and be with you guys!

Help!

Lindsey

A/n: sorry it took so long for me to update! Please review for me!