Chapter 2 A Whole New World

At first all Nova could see was a blurry mixture of colours moving in front of her face. Thinking it was a dream, Nova reached out with her hand, but just as she was certain her hand would go right through, something grabbed her wrist gently. Nova gasped as the face came into focus.

It was a woman with bright blue eyes and a good-natured face. Her wavy brown hair was tied loosely in knot. She smiled kindly at Nova and placed her hand back on her chest. She got up and turned away, muttering something to herself.

"Wha–?" Nova asked dreamily. The woman turned back and was holding a shiny, smoking goblet to Nova.

For a moment Nova stared at the steaming goblet to the woman holding it. Then, without thinking, she hit at the goblet with the back of her hand and it landed on the ground with a muffled 'thud'. The purple liquid was quickly soaked up by the carpet and left a horrid mark which looked like a bruise.

Suddenly the door flew open and a tall man stepped inside. His dark hair stood at odd ends as if he had run his hand through it many times. His blue eyes stared quizzically at the woman and then at Nova, who sat breathing heavily.

"Dear child, don't be frightened," the woman said to Nova in a soothing voice, but for some reason, Nova wasn't assured.

"I'll get that," the man said suddenly, whisking out what looked like a twig and pointing it at the stain,

"Evanesco," he said and the stain dissolved leaving the carpet as good as new. Nova looked on in awe with an open mouth. She looked up slowly to see the two adults whispering fast to one another, oblivious that Nova still sat on the bed. After a while they realised that Nova was trying to listen to their conversation, and immediately stopped talking.

"Lay down, love. You're still weak," the woman said to Nova, pushing her down gently. "I'm glad we found you, or I would hate to think what could have happened to you." The woman smiled warmly at Nova and continued.

"Now, you rest here for a while and after dinner we'll send word to your parents that you're safe. They must be awfully worried." And with another smile, both adults stepped out of the room, shutting the door behind them.

Nova counted to fifty before she tore off the covers and scrambled around for her shoes and jacket. She had no intention of staying till dinner, she thought, as she walked quietly to the door. She stuck her head out and looked around for a moment, before realising that she didn't have the cloak.

"The cloak?" she whispered to herself, "They must've taken it!" She darted around the room, trying to find the cloak but to no avail. In the end, she looked out the door once more to make sure no one was coming, and stepped out.

The dark floorboards under her feet were smooth and slippery. Luckily for her, they were well kept and did not creak unexpectedly. She looked around, and found herself standing on a balcony which enabled her to see the front door of the house and everything that happened directly underneath her. It wasn't a large house, but it made Nova's own house seem petty in comparison.

Nova frowned at her surroundings, not at all enjoying the view. It wouldn't be easy escaping, and the fact that she didn't even know where this place was didn't help her cause. She almost risked being seen by a boy who was standing in front of the front door, talking to somebody. She quickly ducked down and laid herself flat on the floor, wishing the boy to leave quickly. It was fortunate because just at that moment, the boy looked up and raked the balcony with his eyes, resting on a door to Nova's left. He stood that way for a while, his unruly black hair standing on end, his glasses reflecting light so that Nova wasn't sure if he was still looking at the room. But then, the man she had seen before came striding into view, wearing dark blue robes. Nova stared at the clothes, her brain beginning to hurt with confusion. The two soon left and Nova breathed a sigh of relief.

She got up cautiously and looked around once more. Then she headed quietly to the door on her left, certain that the cloak was in here. She peered inside and when she found no surprised occupant, she quickly slipped inside.

It was a messy room with a large window at the end. She noticed the bed was the only portion of the room not littered with clothes or books. She looked around and made her way towards a wooden wardrobe, careful not to disturb anything. She yanked it open and searched every corner of it until she was sure the cloak was not to be found. She shut the doors and looked around once more. Her eyes fell on a large poster next to the bed. It was of a blue sky with tiny black writing down the bottom. Nova rolled her eyes at it and whispered;

"Weirdos." But then, she saw something that made her heart skip a beat. For in the poster, she had just seen a man fly across on a broomstick! Nova shook her head to clear it, thinking she was hallucinating. But now, there were two of them, flying in opposite directions. She stepped up for a closer look and read the tiny black writing.

Tutshill Tornados: Five times League Cup Winners! And below it was a shield, emblazoned with a double 'T'. She stared in awe at the poster as people whisked past her face.

She was brought abruptly back when she heard a loud 'clang' from downstairs. She shook herself awake and looked around once more. Then, moving towards a large trunk that sat at the foot of the bed, she noticed a pale green book. The gold writing was peeling off as she picked it up. The cover read; 'Quidditch Through the Ages by Newt Scamander'.

"Quidditch?" Nova asked aloud, as she opened the book from the bookmark. Inside it was packed with large sections of writing, divided by moving diagrams and pictures that spoke.

"Wow," Nova whispered breathlessly. This time, she had spent too much time lost in her thoughts and it was just in time that she heard footsteps approaching the room. Snapping the book closed, she hid in the wardrobe and waited for the woman.

It was quiet for a moment and then, Nova heard the woman rush in and felt her looking around. Though, believing that Nova was not in the room, she quickly left and shut the door with a snap.

Quietly, Nova untangled herself from the clothes and stumbled out of the wardrobe. She headed for the trunk once again, and was disappointed when she found it locked. She searched the room hastily for something to pick the lock with and came across the wooden thing that the man had used on the stain. She picked it up with shaking hands and kneeled in front of the trunk. After a few minutes of fruitless tapping, she decided to jam the front of the wand into the lock. Another few minutes later, the trunk had opened with a loud 'bang' and she retrieved the cloak. Knowing that someone would've heard the noise, she quickly draped the cloak over herself and headed for the door. But it was locked. She looked around desperately, trying to find another way out, but only came upon one solution.

She swung her foot onto the other side of the windowsill and shuddered at the sight. She was terrified of heights but knew she had no way of escaping any other way. In a matter of minutes, she was climbing down the drainage pipe, thankful that there was no wind and praying to God to help her get down.

It was an agonizingly slow descent and by the time she had planted her feet firmly on the ground, her hands were red and raw. But without giving it another thought, she raced off into the streets, trying to put as much distance as possible between the house and its residents.

For days she ran, not knowing where she was headed. All she knew was that she had to throw these people off her trail so she could go home without them following. It was night when she realised she would never outrun them.

Hidden beneath the cloak, she looked for a place where she could get some food. Knowing well that no one would give her food for free, she knew she had no choice but to steal.

She walked into a late night corner store and quickly grabbed a few bags of chips. Then, she bolted out, leaving in her wake a blaring alarm and confused shopkeepers. By then, she had already settled herself in an alley way and torn off the cloak to eat. She sat on a trash can, eating her prize and staring blankly at the ground. After a few minutes she noticed a piece of paper she was staring at. She picked it up and her heart began hammering against her chest. It was not just a piece of paper, but the front page of a newspaper. She knew it was no ordinary paper because the pictures on the front were moving. The paper was titled; 'The Daily Prophet' and underneath the picture of a burning house was the headline, 'Muggle Girl takes Invisibility Cloak'. She couldn't make much of the article because it was wet and the ink had run, but she knew that they were talking about her, for beside the headline was a black and white picture of her! Now, everyone was out looking for her! Hands shaking, she folded the piece of paper and crammed it into her pocket. Then, slipping out onto the dimly lit streets, she ran once more.

When she awoke, the sun was setting and the sky was tinged with orange. She noticed the first star was out and remembered what her mother used to say to her;

"See that star, Nova? It's the first star of the night. Do you know what that means?"

"No. What does it mean, Mama?" asked Nova, staring round-eyed at the bright speck.

"It means you get a wish! Now, close your eyes and make a wish."

"For anything?"

"For anything."

Nova closed her eyes but was rudely interrupted by a chorus of voices drifting from deep within the woods. Hoping to find some food, she quietly followed the voices until she stood in front of a clearing. From behind a tree trunk, she could see a mass of people, standing in a large circle, though there seemed to be some gaps. They were all dressed alike, in black robes and a white mask. And at the centre of the circle stood a tall man also wearing black robes and a white mask.

No, Nova thought, not a mask.

And indeed, the man's pale face seemed to illuminate the darkness. At his feet, Nova noticed a sobbing person. They were pleading to him about something;

"Please, master! Forgive me! It shall not happen again! Please!" It was a woman, wailing loudly and clutching at the man's robes. He kicked her off in reply and spoke in a cold, harsh voice,

"You have dared to betray the Dark Lord, Vanora. You will be punished." At this, the woman hiccoughed loudly. "But you have been a loyal servant up till now; you will not die a painful death." The woman shrieked once more, scrambling to get to her feet. But before she could take a step, the man shot a jet of green light towards her, and she crumpled to the ground, cold and lifeless.

Nova was shaking uncontrollably and before she could do anything else, she let out a high-pitched scream. Then, everything happened in a blur; masked faces turned to look at her direction; jets of green light skimmed past her; she was running through the woods, stumbling on roots; then through a tunnel; running until everything around her was a blur and then, nothing.