FAGE⦠The 13th.
Title: Anywhere But Now
Written for: PurlySurly
Written By: SopranoStewart
Rating: T
Summary/Prompt used: "Legend has it, if you stand in front of a mirror holding a cup and a candle you can jump between dimensions." AND "it's just an ordinary mood ring...or is it?"
If you would like to see all the stories that are a part of this exchange visit the facebook group: Fanficaholics Anon: Where Obsession Never Sleeps, or add the C2 to get all the stories direct to your inbox.
I have to give a huge shoutout to four lovely ladies for helping me with my story process. To Sarah (Mariescullen) For the B-E-A-utiful banner she made for this story. Thank you so much my dear! To Tammy (TammyVlcek here on FF) for being my wonderful BETA and helping me out immensely even when it was down to the wire. To Miss Trinity (who I love to call mom, being my best friend's mom.) Who gave me the moral support and helped push my muse along and helped immensely. And finally, I must give a huge shoutout to my dear friend Denicia (Nicia here on FF) Who I've known for about 10 years now for taking time out of her days to also overlook the story and help me with the American english to British english translation. :) again you four, thank you so much! 3
I do not own anything related to the Harry Potter series, I just enjoy playing around with J.K Rowlings awesome characters. Any original characters mentioned in this story do belong to me* :)
Anywhere But Now
She had heard a strange noise coming from the upstairs of her home. The woman had just finished brewing a cup of tea down in the kitchen when she heard it. As if on cue with her head looking up to try and figure out what it was she had heard, the power in the home had gone off.
"Oh, bugger all. . ." she huffed to herself. She scrambled around to find the matches in her kitchen drawer, finally managing to snatch them up and light a candle she had nearby.
"Ah! Ouch!" She hissed, unable to keep from burning herself a little in her attempt to light the match and candle. Careful not to spill, she took the candle in her hand and her tea in the other, slowly making her way upstairs to her bedroom.
"So much for a little light reading before bed. . ."
She entered her bedroom, passing the floor length mirror as she crossed to her bed. She was just getting ready to set everything down and climb into bed when she felt a shudder, a strange presence that something had changed. She glanced back at the mirror, slowly turning to approach it. She stopped just a couple feet in front of it. Eying it carefully, she was taken aback when she watched as the mirror glistened and moved, almost as if the glass had turned to liquid. Setting the cup and candle onto the floor, the woman slowly reached a hand out, and when her fingers met the surface, it rippled. She jerked her hand back and gasped, looking on in astonishment.
"How. . .peculiar. . ."
She was even more surprised when she could hear someone on the other side, a voice she recognized.
Herself.
She took a step forward, reaching both hands out this time, watching in amazement as both of her hands were dipping through the mirror. Looking back once more at the room behind her, she took a deep breath before taking that final step, disappearing into the mirror.
"And no one has seen or heard from her since! The legend says because of the cup and candle that she had been holding, it was some weird way that she was able to travel through that mirror!"
"And where on Earth could she have gone?" Hermione asked, slightly annoyed by the silly reason her friend had said this mysterious woman was able to go through the mirror.
"Dunno? Maybe some different planet?" That caused the rest of the girls to burst into a fit of giggles, except for Hermione, who just crossed her arms and huffed, rolling her eyes.
"Felicity that is absolute rubbish!" Hermione chided. "That's just as bad as that Bloody Mary foolery you had us try at your house."
"This is different, Hermione! They never saw that woman again! This was an actual woman that lived in England! Near us here in Hampstead of all places. C'mon, we have to try it."
"If she disappeared then how in the world would anyone know what she did if no one else was there to witness it?" Hermione's questions didn't seem to have any effect on everyone else's mindset. They all just looked at her, waiting for her to give in, as she typically did.
"Fine," Hermione huffed. "But don't stop me from saying I told you so when it doesn't work!"
The small group of friends made their way inside. It was a beautiful evening. The weather was beginning to cool, being just two days shy of the autumn. Hermione Granger had been seated in a circle with some neighbourhood friends outside, laughing and playing and telling each other stories. They were celebrating her 8th birthday, and it was Hermione's very first sleepover at her house.
They made their way upstairs to the loo, the group of girls standing in the doorway staring at the floor length mirror at the far end of the room. After having no such luck with the old Bloody Mary urban legend, Hermione's friend Felicity had told them the story they had just heard in the hopes that this one would convince Hermione that it most certainly could work.
"Well c'mon then. . . .who's gonna go?"
"Not me."
"Definitely not me."
"Oh, come on!" Hermione cried. "You all were the ones that wanted to prove to me that this worked, so someone has to do it."
"Why don't you?" Felicity asked.
Hermione almost looked offended by the request. 'Because it would be nothing but silly to even attempt to do such a thing."
"Or you're just scared."
"I am no such thing!"
"Are too."
"Am not!"
"Oh please," Hermione's friend Amelia chimed in. "will someone just go?"
"Don't we need the cup and candle Felicity was talking about first?" Another girl whose name was Layla spoke up.
"Oh yeah. . ." They all said, almost in unison.
"I'll go get it!" Felicity stated and she bolted down the stairs. She returned just a couple minutes later carrying a light blue pillar candle already lit in one hand and a china tea cup in the other.
"Be careful with that cup!" Hermione cried, taking the cup from her hand. "That's a part of my mother's china collection, she'll have my head if we break any of those!"
"Hermione calm down, don't get in a paddy. You have it now, so here. . ." Felicity said as she handed Hermione the candle, "go on then. . .try it."
Hermione turned around and took a few more steps towards the mirror. She gazed at it for several moments, trying to look and see if she noticed any obvious changes. After a few moments in quiet, save from the occasional breathing you'd hear from one of the few girls, Hermione finally broke her gaze, looking back at her friends in annoyance.
"See? Nothing is happening, Felicity." Hermione said.
"Well. . .maybe you're holding it wrong! Or maybe the lights need to be off! Here." She reached up and flipped the light off and then shut the door, the only light coming from the hallway that peeked under the bathroom door.
Hermione once again turned back towards her mirror, staring intently at her reflection. The sound of her friend taking in a breath startled her for a moment.
"I think I saw it move!" Felicity said in an intense whisper.
"Nothing moved, Felicity. I didn't see anything from where I'm standing and I'm closer," Hermione replied.
"I think Hermione was right, Felicity, this is rather pointless."
"You were just as excited as I was to try it, Amelia!"
"Well, it's clearly not working. Can we just go back to playing outside before it gets too dark?"
"Ugh. Fine." Felicity huffed as she flipped the light back on. Hermione blew out the candle, leading everyone out of the bathroom and back downstairs to put away the cup and candle.
The girls made their way outside, and as the others were trying to decide whether to play "What's the time, Mr. Wolf?" or "Oranges and Lemons", Hermione walked over to a clearly upset Felicity, who sat at the outdoor table with her knees brought up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them.
"Don't let this get you down, Felicity. It was just a silly urban legend people like to tell in the hopes of either scaring others or making people think it's true."
"You make me sound like I'm daft for thinking it would work, Hermione. Thanks a lot. . ."
"You're not daft, you were just curious, that's all. You weren't the only one. C'mon, don't let this ruin the evening, let's end my birthday on a much happier note!"
Felicity glanced at Hermione and smiled. "You're right. I'm sorry Hermione. I didn't mean to be such a sourpuss on your birthday."
"No harm done. C'mon, let's go join the others. I'll be the wolf!" Hermione said as she dashed over to the other girls.
"Okay!" Felicity said as she followed suit.
The group of girls enjoyed the rest of their evening, running themselves ragged until they couldn't do it anymore. Every single one of them fell right to sleep that evening all curled up in their sleeping bags.
If only there was a world like that where things like that story could really happen. . .Hermione thought to herself before drifting off to sleep.
