Hey all! I had this kinda weird idea just pop into my head, so, naturally, I wrote it out.
I do not own any Harry Potter characters, Hogwarts, the Hogwarts Express, etc... I do, however, own Ella, her family and all her home-theatre equipment!
I've no idea of what else to write here, so... on with the show!
Please review. They make me happy. Even the bad ones.
Note: Like all my other stories so far, this is a one-shot. I don't intend for there to be any more chapters.
I hope you like it!
Ella was one of those kids who had all the latest technology. She had a huge home theatre system, a top-of-the-range computer with a super-fast internet connection, an iPod (with millions of accessories for it), and all kinds of other cool gadgets.
She was seldom seen without her mp3 player and she was a regular user of msn. She had a massive library of DVDs and her parents had installed pay-TV the previous year. She loved it.
One day, Ella was holed up inside her bedroom, sitting in front of her computer and tap-tap-tapping away (with her iPod earphones in, blaring out the latest chart hits), when there was a knock at her bedroom door.
The first time around, she didn't notice because she couldn't hear it, but slowly she became aware of a tapping that didn't belong to the drummer she was listening to.
Scowling, she flicked off her iPod and set her msn status to 'be right back'. She stood up and flung open her door to come face-to-face with her mother.
"Honey, don't you have some homework that needs to be done?" her mum inquired pleasantly.
"No," snapped Ella, "I didn't get any."
Her mother cast a doubtful look over to Ella's bulging schoolbag that was lying in the middle of her room.
"Well, it's such a lovely day outside. Why don't you call up some friends and go out to town or something?"
"Why should I?"
Her mother sighed. "Because it would be nice for you to go out for a while and stop getting so square-eyed for once, Ella. It's not healthy to be cooped up in here all the time."
Ella made a great show of humming and hawing.
"Ella, please…"
"Fine, then! Jesus, Mum, you don't own me…" and with that, Ella stormed out of the room, forgetting about her msn, but with her iPod firmly in hand.
A while later, Ella's father walked into the lounge room and spotted Ella sprawled across the sofa, her iPod earphones in, and Mean Girls playing on the massive television.
He walked over, nudged her feet aside and sat down next to her.
"What're you watching there, El?" he asked.
No response. He leaned over and pulled out one of her earphones.
"Earth to El," he said. "What are you watching?"
"Movie," she grunted.
"Is it good?"
Another grunt.
"Is that supposed to mean yes?"
"YES, already!" yelled Ella. "Now can you please let me watch it!" She grabbed her earphone back and stuffed it in her ear.
Her dad rubbed his temples. No wonder he was going grey.
After a fairly quiet and uneventful dinner that evening, Ella was once again in front of the TV. Her parents were somewhere else in the house. She didn't know – and didn't really care – where. She was watching The Simpsons.
At the start of an ad-break, her parents came in and sat down on either side of her. Her mother was holding a fat-looking letter and smiling a bit.
"This letter came for you this morning, Ella," her mother said. She held out the letter to Ella, who snatched it away and inspected it.
It was an envelope of thick, yellowish parchment, and, written in green ink, it was addressed to: "Miss E. Mitchell, At Computer In Bedroom, 76 Railroad Ave., Gnarl Heights, Melbourne, Australia".
She tore open the envelope, pulled out one of the pieces of parchment inside and began to read. Her eyebrows slowly began to crawl up her forehead.
"Dear Miss Mitchell," the letter read, "this letter is to inform you of your place at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry..."
The letter was quite long, explaining about the school and when the term started and how she'd be able to get there, seeing as she lived quite a fair distance away.
"Whoa," she said, and grabbed the next piece of parchment from the envelope. It was a list of all the books and equipment she'd be needing at her new school.
"It's got cauldrons on it and everything!" she exclaimed. "Here, look," she handed the letter to her mum. Her dad was already reading the first letter.
"I'm a witch! Ha! That's so cool!" said Ella as she danced around the lounge room, the other contents of the envelope forgotten. She put a celebratory song on her iPod and started grooving away.
A bit over a month later, Ella found herself saying goodbye to her parents and boarding the Hogwarts Express at platform 9 ¾.
"Darling, here's the letter in case you need it for verification," said her mother, handing her the envelope that started it all. Ella grabbed it.
"Bye," she said, and went to find a seat. She had packed all her books and clothes and had managed to fit her portable radio, portable DVD player and DVDs and iPod in her trunk as well.
She located a seat, sat down and felt the train begin to move. Ella observed the envelope in her hands and had a rummage through it to make sure the letters were all there. Like her mum said, it might be needed for veri-whatsit or something.
Mid-rummage, she stopped, noticing a slip of parchment that she hadn't seen before. She pulled it out and began to read. Her eyes widened in horror.
"As a note to all first-years, the amount of magic in the air at Hogwarts affects all electronic devices and thus causes them to stop functioning.
Such affected devices include; Walkmans, Gameboys, radios, DVD players, mobile phones, iPods, Palm Pilots and portable televisions. Students are advised not to bring such objects as they will cease to work while at the school and will only serve to occupy space in your trunk."
"Aaargh!" Ella yelled as she dropped the parchment, and ran frantically out into the narrow corridor.
"STOP THE TRAIN! LET ME OFF!"