Chapter 1: Faith
Faith dropped the box of stuffed animals on the wood floor of the room. She brushed her hair out of her eyes and looked out the window of the house. The front lawn gleamed green and perfect in the morning light. Across the road a fat middle-aged man was collecting his morning paper. An equally huge woman came outside to kiss him goodbye before he got into his car. Faith saw movement in one of the windows of the house out of the corner of her eye. She pulled the curtains back, but whoever had been there was gone. She dropped the curtain back with a sigh.
"Faith Renee no pouting. You know I couldn't turn down this job." Her mother said from the doorway. Faith shoved her hands in the pocket of her hoodie. She made a very pouting expression. Her mother crossed her arms. "Its not that bad." She said. Faith tossed herself across the mattress of her new bed.
"Leaving all your friends, your home, and your life behind isn't bad?" She asked grumpily. Faith flipped over and crossed her arms over her chest. "The agony of loss is killing me. I'll be dead before school starts. Dead at the ripe age of eleven." Her mother rolled her eyes.
"Okay drama queen. Right now you need to get the rest of your stuff out of the moving van." Faith moaned and climbed off the bed. This is so not fair. I've got magical power potential and what do I get as a reward? I get to move to a place where it rains all the time and they don't speak proper English. I hate England. Faith grabbed another box off the truck. She paused.
A boy with shaggy black hair was dragging a trash bag to the corner. Faith let go of the box and started to walk over to say hi. Her mom grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back. "Boxes.." Her mother said. Faith pouted even more and hauled the box off to her room. Once all the boxes were in the house she found her mother in the kitchen.
"Can I go say hi to that boy across the street now?" She asked. If I'm lucky he'll have sisters or something. Her mom was reaching over her head to wipe out cabinets. She stopped and turned to Faith.
"I don't think you should talk to that boy hunny." She said. Faith started to protest. Her mom held up a hand. "Look I know his well.the people he lives with and they won't like us okay. They hate magic-folk. I didn't know they lived here when we moved." She explained. Faith spun on her heel and marched angrily back to her room. She made sure she pounded up the stairs loud enough for her mother to hear.
Can't talk to him?! Who does she think she is! Geez.I can't even have friends now. This place officially sucks. Faith spent the afternoon getting her room together. She hung her unicorn and fairy posters. She was organizing her books when her mom poked her head in.
"How about we go get your school supplies tomorrow?" She asked. "You'll like Diagon Alley. Its quite interesting." She sat on the edge of the bed. Faith was sitting next to it getting her Animorph books in order. She nodded okay. "Plus a lot of kids from Hogwarts will be there. You're going to love Hogwarts." She kissed Faith on the top of her head and went to make dinner.
The next morning Faith got up early and dug through the boxes of clothes to find her favorite t-shirt. It had a black cat on it, and found a clean pair of jeans to wear. Her mother made her bring a robe with her to slip on once they were in the alley.
They took the train to London and stopped to look around for an hour or so. Faith was dazzled by Big Ben and the palace. Finally her mom dragged her to Diagon Alley. They walked past a shady looking place called The Leaky Cauldron. "Mom can we get a drink?" She asked pointing to the place. Her mom rolled her eyes and pulled Faith down the alley.
"That is a pub. No one would take a child into that place." She said. She pulled her wand out of her pocket. Faith looked around to make sure there were no muggles around. Amazingly there weren't. Her mom looked a brick wall over. Faith rolled her eyes. She is so crazy. "Right then let's see if I remember." her mom waved her wand around in a circle thinking. "Three up. and two across." She tapped the brink three times. Faith stepped back as there was a grinding noise. The bricks spun and lifted until a walkway appeared. Faith grinned.
"That was wicked sweet." She said. Her mother blinked. Faith rolled her eyes and started to walk in. Her mom caught up with her taking her by the hand. Faith let go as soon as she saw two boys her age walking by. Faith slipped the long red robe on and pulled her white blond hair out.
"Well let's get the stuff on your school list first, and then some lunch. Sound like a plan?" Her mom asked. Faith wasn't listening. This is officially the coolest place on earth. Witches and wizards walked by laughing and juggling purchases. Shops sold everything from books to owls to cauldrons. Faith heard one woman mumbling about the price of dragon scales.
"Uh yeah.that's cool." Faith replied. Her mom pulled her into Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. She gave Faith's name and slipped Madam Malkin some money. Then she went back to where Faith was sitting. Faith was looking at the two boys being fitted. That boy! He's the one that lives across from us! Why would his family hate magic-folk if he's one? Her mom caught her attention.
"Faith I'll go get your books and parchment while you're fitted okay. Just don't wander off too far okay." She said. Faith nodded. Madam Malkin came over as a blond boy stepped off the fitting stool. He gave Faith a look over as he walked by. Faith looked away. Something in his eyes scares me.
"Come on deary its your turn." She said. Faith stepped up on the stool as Madam Malkin draped a robe over her. The dark haired boy was almost finished.
"Um.are you going to Hogwarts?" Faith asked him. He nodded as though he were upset. "Me too. I'm Faith Evans, and I think you're my neighbor. You live on Privet Drive right?" She asked. He looked over smiling suddenly.
"Yes I do. You're the one that just moved in right?" He asked. Faith smiled and nodded.
"Yeah we just moved from the US." She said with a slight frown. The boy jumped down from his stool. He smiled up at Faith.
"It was nice meeting you. See you at school!" He said cheerfully. A huge man outside the door was waving the boy over.
"Wait I didn't get your name!" Faith protested. The boy turned in the doorway. He pushed his glasses up and Faith caught a glimpse of the scar on his forehead. Her heart skipped a beat.
"Its Harry. Harry Potter." He said, and then he was gone.
"It was so cool. He was all like, 'My name is Harry. Harry Potter." Faith gushed. She sat outside the ice cream parlor with her mother sharing two scoops of cherry sherbet. "It was like a Bond movie, except cooler." She said smiling. She licked her spoon and dropped it into the empty cup. "Now what?" she asked happily. Her mom didn't seem so happy.
"Well we still need to get your wand, and that should be it." She said. Ollivander's Wand Shop was packed with boxes. They lined every wall, and every corner. The shop was dusty and dark. Faith coughed as her mom greeted the man at the counter. He peered over the counter at the very short Faith.
"Ahh. Miss. Evans. I have been looking forward to seeing you." He said smiling. He shook Faith's hand and she was surprised by how warm his hand was.
"Let's see what we can try." He pulled a box off the shelf to his left. "Ah, yes. Oak, ten inches, heart of willow, flexable." He handed it to her. Faith took it cautiously. "Well wave it around a bit." He said with a smile. Faith flicked her wrist and a stack of boxes flew across the room. Mr. Ollivander yanked the wand out of her hand quickly. "Perhaps one that is not so bendy." He said his face grim. Faith turned red. He dug around for another box. "Try this one." He said smiling knowingly.
Faith felt something inside her move when she touched the wand. It was as though some animal growled inside her. Her skin broke out in goosebumps. Her hair lifted up and began to glow very white. Her mother gasped and there were tears in her eyes. Mr. Ollivander was rubbing his chin.
"How interesting. Well Miss. Evans I believe that is your wand. You know the wand chooses the person." He took it and placed it in the box. "Willow, eleven inches, and the interesting thing Faith, is that this is a very old wand." He handed the box to her. "You see we haven't used Gryffin heartstrings in decades. How curious..." He looked to her mother. Faith's mother was practically glaring at him.
Mr. Ollivander smiled at Faith again. "I believe this wand will be very good for you Faith. Have fun at Hogwarts." He said. Faith thanked him and the exited the shop. Her mom wrapped a hand around Faith's shoulder as they exited the alley.
"That man is still as weird as the day I got my wand." Her mom commented. Faith giggled.
"I liked him. He was cool." She said. Her mom nodded. Faith reached into her robe and touched her wand. She felt her skin crawl again. This is going to rock.