Chapter Two: Onward to England

Artemis was woken early the next morning by her mother. Quickly, she threw on some clothes, ate some breakfast, and got Salem into his basket, and Storm into her cage for travel. All of their other luggage had already been sent overseas, and was evidently waiting for them at their new house in England.

At six o'clock sharp, Artemis and her family went by Floo powder to the International Portkey Network.

Still slightly dizzy, she stepped out of the fireplace, Salem's basket in hand- Moa was coming with Storm. Her father Drake had gone before her, and was waiting just a few steps outside the fireplace. He brushed a bit of soot from her hair. "Traveling by Floo isn't the best, is it?" he joked.

"No, and I can't wait until I'm seventeen so I can Apparate."

"That won't be for sometime now," Moa said from behind them, stepping from the fireplace, Storm's cage in hand along with her purse. "Here, our admission tickets for the Portkey," she said, pulling them out of her purse and handing them to Drake and Artemis.

Artemis glanced at it. Fancy enough for you…? She couldn't help but think, looking at the light blue ticket with silver writing.  She put it in the back pocket of her jeans (Artemis usually wore Muggle clothes when not in school), and readjusted her traveling cloak.

Drake checked his watch. "Oh, drat! We need to find the terminal and go! We only have about five minutes, and you know how picky Portkeys are…" he trailed off, looking around the building to see which way there terminal number (which was 12) was. "Ah! There we go! One thru twenty to the right. Let's get going, Moa, Artemis." Drake led the way.

Artemis was finally able to look around. It really wasn't that exciting, she thought. She had been hoping that since this was an international Portkey station, that there'd be more interesting people. Of course, what Artemis counted as the boring people walking about, would normally be considered quite interesting by everyday standards. There was the usual variety of witches and wizards- wearing everything from traditional clothes  of loose robes, and tall pointy hats in all colors and styles, to wearing normal Muggle clothes. She had been hoping to see a lot more variety, but was quite disappointed. The building itself was rather dull too. The usual, color-coded flashing signs, and registry places weren't anything out of the ordinary at all. She allowed Drake to usher her to a counter, behind which a tall, official looking wizard with a pencil-thin blonde moustache stood.

"Tickets, please," he asked.

The Xenoi family handed their tickets to the man, who glanced at them, and then said, "Step through please, the Portkey is a teacup. And make sure you all are holding onto it, and whatever else it is that you want to take along." He cast a disapproving eye over Salem's basket, Storm's cage, and Artemis' package (which was in fact her present). Artemis scowled up at him as Moa pushed her through to the Portkey.

"Don't be rude," Moa hissed under her breath to Artemis.

"Well, he shouldn't give us looks like that. We are allowed to bring carry-ons, you know," Artemis said matter-of-factly.

Moa sighed. "Don't be difficult, Artemis."

"I'm not!" she protested, but a withering glance from her mother made her end all protests. It was that special time again, and Artemis was in a bad mood from the combined effects of that and having to be woken up so early.

In the center of the little room, there was a table, and in the middle of which stood a single, white parceling teacup. Her father snorted. "When did they get a sense of humor in the Transportation Unit?" Artemis eyed the teacup. It was rather ironic.

One other traveler was in the room; a tall teenage boy of Artemis' age, with white-blonde hair and frosty blue eyes dressed in a black cloak and robes. He was alright looking, she couldn't help but find herself thinking. If he didn't have the bored, snotty look on his face, she then added.

"Alright, about twenty seconds to go," Drake said, once more checking his watch. "Best assemble ourselves. Are you traveling alone, young man? Or are there parents or relatives with you?" he asked the boy.

"I'm traveling by myself," he said, standing up. Artemis noted his English accent. I wonder if her goes to Hogwarts, she thought.

Everyone gathered around the cup, and placed a finger on it.

"Five… four… three… two… one…" Drake counted down.

Artemis felt a strong pull around her navel as the Portkey transported her, her family, and the blonde teenage boy to England. She felt her feet hit solid ground again, and her stomach flip upside down- Portkey traveling always made her quesy.

"Hello, and welcome to England!" boomed a tall, burly black man with a heavy English accent. He came over and shook hands with Drake.

"Hello, Theo!" Drake said to the man.  Artemis assumed that this was a co-worker of her father's. She shyly stood behind her mother. Even at sixteen, she was still nervous to meet new people. She watched the blonde boy walk out to greet his equally blonde, and very pure-blood looking parents. "Well, this is the family," Drake continued, gesturing at them. "My wife, Moa."

"Pleased to meet you, Mrs.," he said, shaking her hand.

"And this is my daughter, Artemis. She'll be going to Hogwarts in September," Drake added.

"Ah, Hogwarts it is, then? I went there many years ago- in the Ravenclaw House I was. Good house, but I expect you'll be sorted just like anyone else, and then, who knows where you'll go from there?" he said, shaking her hand. He released his grip and turned back to Drake. "May as well get over to your new home," he said. "We can take the Floo Network- you do know the address, correct?" he asked.

"Of course. Care to stay for dinner?" asked Drake, as Theo led them over to an unused fireplace among the long line of them along the wall.

"I'd be delighted," Theo replied. He picked up a bag of Floo powder from the shelf above the fire and handed it to Drake. "After you."

Drake stood inside the empty fireplace with a fistful of powder in hand, and said in a clear voice, "Number 53, Squid Row," and dropped the powder on the floor, causing green flames to swirl around him.

Artemis turned to her mother. "Squid Row?" she asked.

Moa shrugged. "Those English," she joked. "Your turn, dear."

The rest was rather uneventful. Everyone got to Number 52, Squid Row just fine. The new house wasn't that different from their last one, Artemis noticed. It was out in the country, along a dusty road (she wasn't quite certain why it even had a name to it, much less why it was number 52), with two stories, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen/dining room/ living room, white walls, and in good shape.

Dinner was uneventful as well, and Theo left at 8 o'clock- Apperating home.

"Well, that was a nice dinner!" Moa said, pointing her wand at the dishes which had been gathered in the sink, and making them wash themselves. "And Theo's very friendly. Artemis, you should be getting to bed soon, tomorrow's August 31, which means it's the last day to buy your new school supplies and uniform. And we'll have to find Diagon Alley- that's what Theo said it was called, right, dear?" she asked Drake, then flicked her wand to rinse the dishes in fresh water.

"Righto. Shall I take her tomorrow, or do you want to?"

"Mom, Dad, I can go by myself," Artemis said in an exasperated tone. Honestly, she wasn't stupid, and London wasn't that far, and Theo had told them that she could just use the Floo Network to go there. "Besides, I need to get to know places by myself," she added.

Moa and Drake exchanged looks of parental worry and concern. "Well… if it's alright with your mother, it's fine by me," Drake said.

"And, I suppose if your father is fine with it, I'm alright as well. Besides, it's gonna take a bit to unpack everything," Moa said, gesturing at all the boxes.

Artemis smiled. "Solid, you guys!" And it was- she would be able to wander around, without her mother dragging her into every clothing store in Diagon Alley to try on frilly and girly colored robes, and her father wouldn't stop to google in any pet stores. True, Artemis did love animals, but when you're forced to watch them for five minutes, in almost absolute silence, then it does get a tad dull.

After grabbing a few of her boxes, Artemis went upstairs to establish which room she wanted. It wasn't that difficult, considering that they were all the same, and since her parent's had first choice anyways, she was only left with two options. She chose a room down the hall from her parents that had a large window, for sky-viewing.  Too tired to do much else, Artemis made her bed, set out clothes for the next morning, and went to bed.

***

So, that's the second chapter. Now, I'm going to be needing to ask you reviewers/readers out there some questions. First up:

Artemis is already going to be meeting X character tomorrow at Diagon Alley, (and no, it's not a Marauder, though you're free to guess who) so that's settled. But, who should the first Marauder she meets be? I kinda have an idea, but I'd like to see what other people have to say as well. Also, any good prank ideas? Send 'em this way! Thank you, and please review.