Chapter One
Disclaimer: This is my own story, but it is set in a Harry Potter world and will be featuring characters and places from the imagination of J.K. Rowling.
Author's note: This chapter does not have much to do with the Harry Potter world yet, but bear with me. This chapter is necessary to develop the characters involved in my story.
Kiana raced across the field, the wind whipping the tendrils of her raven hair in her face. Her eyes shone and sparkled and her feet flew as she whipped around the final curve onto the home stretch. Racing towards the finish line, she pushed herself and gave it all she had. The finish line approached rapidly, and before she even noticed, she was done. Her pace slowed and she slowly became aware that her heart was racing. Jogging lightly over to the crowd of her classmates laying on the grass panting, she grinned. She wasn't even tired, and they looked so exhausted. The sight of the various teenagers gasping for air amused her until…
"Mrs. Kiana – report to me at once!"
Cringing, she turned to the source of the voice. A brown-haired sixty-something hag of a woman was calling her. Shriveled and pinched, she screeched her words with a voice that made nails on a blackboard seem kind upon the ears. An entire field away and Mrs. Lieze could still get her point across. She turned unwillingly to answer the call.
Walking slowly towards the door, she wondered what the problem was this time. She was always being pulled out of class at the vice-principal's every whim. She knew Mrs. Lieze was out to get her, but nobody but her friends would believe her, dismissing her complaints as typical teenage behavior. Did Mrs. Lieze suspect something? Praying that the hag hadn't discovered anything incriminating, she followed Mrs. Lieze down the maze of corridors until they came to her own locker.
"Open it." Mrs. Lieze sniffed. She had always thought that there was something odd about Kiana, but had never been able to prove it. From the moment she set foot in the school, there had been something strange about her. Maybe it was the way she tiptoed warily into the school on her first day, almost trembling with fear. On that very day, four light bulbs had burnt out, in four different classes, each time directly over Kiana's desk. That was too many to be a coincidence, but everyone in the class swore she hadn't left her seat the whole class.
But now she had something real to go on. Kiana's locker – closely monitored, of course – was giving off an odd sulfuric odor. Something within was unusual - maybe even illegal! Smirking slightly at the thought of Kiana's expulsion, she stood before Kiana, waiting for the locker to open.
Fiddling with the dial of the lock, Kiana entered the code with leisurely deliberation. After awhile, she yanked on her lock, and it opened with a deafening snap. The lock fell to the ground and Kiana was shoved rudely aside by Mrs. Lieze, who gave the door an alarming wrench. The stench became stronger – there was no doubt this was the right locker – but the entire contents of the locker included two textbooks and a pile of gym clothes with an indent in the middle. Ripping out the clothes, she shook each garment thoroughly before discarding it to the side. When all the clothes had been searched, she leafed through each textbook as if expecting a hidden chamber within flat pages. Fuming with frustration, she shoved the contents back into the locker, shoved the lock into Kiana's hand, and turned abruptly to leave. As she watched Mrs. Lieze huffing down the hallway, Kiana could not resist a parting shot.
"Did you need something, Mrs. Lieze?"
Consciously forcing her face into what she assumed was a neutral expression, Mrs. Lieze turned.
"No, thank you. Just wondering about the funny smell. Wouldn't want you to get into trouble over something you have no part in."
Yeah, right.
As Mrs. Lieze sauntered casually down the hall and turned the far corner, Kiana waited. When Mrs. Lieze had gone, she yanked her locker door open, then breathed a sigh of relief. There was a newly emerged dent in her gym clothes.
"It's OK. We're alone."
A tiny creature materialized from thin air and sent a wave of happiness to her. His scaly back shone a fierce midnight black, and his baby teeth shone an unblemished white. She giggled as it crawled up her arm, its little claws pricking, and settled upon her shoulder with a fluttering of its tiny wings. Two glowing amber eyes evaluated her, and a comforting spicy smell emanated off him. With a tiny sneeze, he sent out a tiny lick of flame from his nostrils.
It wasn't every witch who had a pet dragon.