The girls were tumbling around, barely able to see each other. There was color all around them; some were so bright they almost blinded them. It was hard to breathe, and it seemed like the tumbling and the swirling colors would never end.

After the first few tumbles, the four girls gave up trying to keep their eyes open; the swirling colors only made them sick. Finally, after what seemed like eons it stopped. Amazingly all four of them were able to stand although it took them a while to open their eyes. (And the only reason they did then was because it sounded like they were in Wal-Mart on the Saturday just before Christmas).

What they saw was outrageously impossible. Of course, they knew exactly where they where. How many times had they read about this place? You call yourself a HP fan and not know about it. For laid out before them was Diagon Alley- and it was utterly impossible for them to be here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dazed, Aly began looking around her, dumbstruck by what she saw. The shops were all there, though they didn't look like they had in the movie. Still they were recognizable enough.

Coming out of her daze she turned to the others, "This is so freaked out!" she whispered/screamed. (Don't ask me how that is possible-it just is.)

Karina and Leia simply stood, clutching each other's arms, gazing jaw-dropped at it all.

Catherine, on the other hand, shook her head firmly. She was a very levelheaded person who would not be drawn into some fantasy easily.

"No it's not!" she refuted, automatically reaching to push her glasses up the bridge of her nose then remembering she now had contacts.

"According to the laws of science, math, and, of course, logic, there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for all of this." She smiled knowingly.

"Yeah," Aly asked raising her left eyebrow. "Like what?"

"Just wait," was Catherine's light response, "In a couple of minute some person's going to come to us and say, "Smile! You're on Candid Camera!" She sang the last part.

Three pairs of eyes stared amazingly at her.

At last Leia broke the silence (well not really silence because there's a crowd in the background but I'm sure you get the idea.)

"You know that's a very good, reasonable theory. And it would explain a lot for a few insignificant details." Leia smiled sweetly.

Karina and Aly looked at each other and winced. Poor Catherine she was clueless.

"Really? What's that?"

"Well for one thing, HOW WERE THE CANDID CAMERA PEOPLE GOING TO SUCK US INTO A BOOK? HUH?"

"Oh." Catherine's voice was barely audible "I forgot about that part."

"You forgot that we just-" Leia was cut off by Karina.

"Leia, calm down."

"But she-fine. Be that way." She ran her hands through her blond/brown hair in an attempt to calm down.

"Okay, guys. Unless we're dreaming we're in Diagon Alley whether we like it or not."

"Well, that settles it," Karina declared, breaking away from Leia.

"Settles what?" Aly inquired quizzically.

"We are soooooooo, never ordering form that shipping company again! "she declared, pumping her fist in the air.

"Oookay." Aly said slowly.

"Well I think this sucks."

This random comment came -surprisingly- from Leia. Stunned the other three turned to look at her.

"Huh, I thought you liked Harry Potter, so how can you not like being in Diagon Alley? Aly wondered, puzzled.

" 'Cause it's not cool enough. Why couldn't we end up in Knockturn Alley instead?" Leia pouted, crossing her arms.

All stare blankly at her.

"Remind me exactly why we hang out with you?" Aly inquired.

"Because I give you all the free chocolate chip cookies you want!" Leia chirped. Then she stopped and thought for a moment, " No wait! I eat all those I give you. But it's the thought that counts."

"Hey!" Karina yelled in a startled voice before Aly had time to do some damage to Leia's throat, (she was prone to violent bursts of temper on occasion), "Does anyone know where this weird piece of paper came from." She held up a yellow piece of paper with what appeared to be writing in...Purple Ink?

"Karina, that is not paper. It's parchment." Aly was astonished that she didn't already know this. It should have been obvious, parchment being so much stiffer than paper.

"Paper. Parchment. Same difference. Anyway Catherine, what's the Logical explanation for this?" Karina waved the parchment.

"Weeell, judging by the handwriting," Catherine said squinting at it, " and the color, this is obviously someone with superior writing abilities and-" she took the parchment from Karina and looked over it quickly, " judging by the austere wordsmenship of the vocabulary, it came from someone who knows more than we-"

Realizing that the other three girls were just staring at her in disbelief she stated simply, " It is undeniable that aliens implanted this piece of parchment on us."

"Well there goes that logical explanation." Leia whispered behind her hand to Aly.

"Girl you watch way many X-Files!"

"The X-files!" Catherine sobbed, then angrily wiped her eyes. "How DARE the TV. Company cancel the series! I will make them pay!"(Evil grin. Lightening flashes behind her. Shoppers take no notice.)

Aly, Karina, and Leia stare in open astonishment at the calm quiet Catherine.

At last Karina speaks up, "Um, can anyone interpret this scribble? Its all Gaelic to me.

"Karina.. Its CURSIVE!" Aly exclaimed. "We learned that in the 1st grade... remember?"

"Heelloo! It's the twenty-first century. No one uses cursive now that we have computers!

So if I'm rusty, it's my teacher's fault."

"I use cursive and we go to the same school."

Karina thought about this for a second. "Well Aly, you're weird, so that gives you special dispensation."

"Well anyway read the letter to us, as I can't. Here." she gave the letter to Aly.

Taking it from Karina she quickly looked over it, blinked, then looked over it again.

"Well, what does it say?" Leia pressed. Sighing, Aly began to read.

Welcome young friends.

I am sure you are very shocked at being brought here. Truly, if there had been another way to bring you here I would have done so. Unfortunately, there was not so your discomfort was unavoidable. I cannot tell you directly why you have been brought here. It is not permitted. This however, I can tell you: this will be Harry Potter's sixth year at school. Today is August 2.

Enroll yourself into Hogwarts as foreign exchange students.

You each have a vault at Gringotts.

Note: Keep this letter with you at all times!

A friend

"Okay, I am so really getting freaked out now! Who's with me?" This time, even Catherine agreed with Aly. Looking over the piece of parchment again, Aly realized she had missed something. "Hang on. There's something in the bottom left hand corner. Password to Keys: Aztenemcorimed."

Karina raised her eyebrows," Shouldn't it be something Latin? That's what the passwords here usually are."

"Well, there were fairy lights." Leia reminded her, as she brushed some dust of her leather jacket. "'Password to Keys' must be the one that gets us the keys to our vaults."

"Who was the weird who gave us this?" Catherine wondered.

It had finally gotten to the point where Karina couldn't take it any longer. " Who cares! Guys we are crazy! Do you realize we have been sucked into the Harry Potter World, given money, a chance to pose as foreign exchange students, and the ability to see what every Hp fanfic person only dreams about? And all we've been doing is standing around for the past ten minutes trying to figure it all out! They are going to make a story about of this when we get back. So I say again: Who BLASTED CARES? WE ARE HERE! LET'S ROCK!" And with these to the heart words, Karina took off for Gringotts, pushing and shoving her way through the crowd of shoppers.

Leia and Aly looked at each other, then at Karina rapidly diminishing form, then then back at each other. Then, as one, they took off after her.

Now Catherine was the only one left. "I have such weird friends," she muttered, covering her face with one hand.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two girls staggered out of the bank, clutching their stomachs, faces an interesting shade of yellow-green. Leia and Aly seemed unaffected.

"That had to be the most boring roller coaster ride I have ever had." complained Aly, as she pulled her auburn (auburn not red) back into a ponytail.

Leia looked at Karina and Catherine who were moaning, clutching the pillars. She frowned, swinging her heavy moneybag. "Quit being so dramatic. Like Aly said, the ride was boring. The dumb old the thing wasn't fast."

"Define...fast." Karina moaned.

"Leia ignored her and kept on, "It should be a lot scarier than that. Like, the cart should throw someone out when we're going around that really steep curve. Then, maybe, someone die. Or at least bleed at lot. Wouldn't that be cool?"

Catherine spoke, her voice muffled by her hand over her mouth and her face still slightly green. " I don't know why you get so excited over your weird obsession with death!

"She reads waaaay to many vampire novels for her own good," observed Aly as she helped Karina and Catherine up.

"Farewell, simple-minded mortals," Leia called then, as she glide off in the direction of...

"Knockturn Alley!" the three girls screamed (not a few heads turned in their direction frowning).

"Get her!" Karina ordered. Before Leia had gone forward three more paces, Aly had grabbed her by the arms, and jerked her backwards. Catherine and Karina were assuring several elderly witches that there was nothing wrong with her besides the odd fit, and that she was going to St. Mungo's to be treated in short order.

"No! You can't stop me. I must go!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the time Aly had dragged Leia far enough away from Knockturn Alley so that the sign was no longer visible, and Karina and Catherine were done explaining to the old dearies all about Leia's "fits" Leia herself still had not calmed down.

"YOU JUST WAIT! I'M GONNA SIC ALEXANDER ON YOU! YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!"
"Who's Alexander?" Catherine asked Aly.

"Ask. Karina. No. Breath." She was holding on to Leia.

Catherine looked at Karina. Karina snorted and rolled her eyes.

"Alexander is her invisible vampire boyfriend." Then she turned to Leia in an attempt to soothe her. "Don't worry Leia. It's all right. We'll professional help-"

At that point Aly let Leia go. There was just no point in holding her any longer.

And she did seem to be getting over her temporary bout of Knockturnitis insanity and was turning back to her usual moodiness.

"Fine! Be that way! I know the real reason. you won't go down there! You're not cool enough! I'll just find another place that sells evil or destructive things. I'll you to yourselves." With that she walked off in a huff, her black clothes glaring back at them.

"You know someone should follow her and make sure she doesn't buy anything to drastic." Catherine suggested.

"I will." Karina volunteered, racing off after her.

"Make sure she gets all of her other supplies!" Aly yelled after her, "and make sure you meet us at Flury's in two hours! And remember to keep your eye on her! Don't let her out of your sight for a second!"

Running backward Karina saluted, before turning around and following their black-clad friend.

Catherine and Aly watched her for several seconds, and then Aly turned to Catherine. "How long do you think she'll last before getting distracted?"

"Less than a minute." was the prompt reply.

Aly snorted, "Come on, I'm starved. Let's get a cone. We can start practicing our foreign exchange student act.

"Great! And you can buy."

Aly gave her a withering look.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~