Chapter 9 A Magnet Again

I stared at him in shock. It seems as though I've been doing a lot of staring at people lately.

The professor went on, "We'll experiment with what you can do later. For now, let's start with an exercise."

I nodded slowly.

He explained, "Concentrate on doing a certain thing. Don't try to make a portal. Try something simpler such as moving a book with your mind. Okay? Ready? Try it."

I concentrated on a book floating. I could see it in my minds eye. I heard a gasp. Was it working? I eagerly opened my eyes, but to my disappointment all the books were staying put. Professor Potter was staring at me, openmouthed as if her were frozen. My vision began to fade. I heard a shout. The classroom dripped out of sight. Blackness then overtook me.

I opened my eyes but still saw nothing. Something hard slammed into my stomach. I grunted, clutching my stomach so I wouldn't barf.

"Don't kick it." Growled a man's voice. "He wants her in good condition. Just pick up the sack and let's scram." Someone lifted me into the air. I once again had to keep myself from throwing up. Now I knew I was in a sack, but how?

"How did you get me?" I tried to ask. I can only say I tried because no sound came form my mouth. I screamed. No noise.

"I guess this portal magnet thing really does work then. The boss wasn't lying." Said a second voice that sounded like a gangster.

So that was how they got me. I must've created a portal by accident. I felt a jolt of fear. I had to get back to Hogwarts! The man which these kidnappers work for must've been one of the 3 evil wizards after my magic. Was that even possible? I almost laughed. Anything was possible. Why in less then a month I had gone from a book-loving muggle girl to a girl with magnificent powers straight out of a Harry Potter book. Then a though I hadn't considered came to mind. What if this was all a dream? After all, I had always longed for adventure. Couldn't my imagination create my dearest wish in a dream?

The guy carrying me threw me over his shoulder. My teeth banged together with extreme pain. It wasn't as intense as the pain in my arm though, which had hit something and felt useless and broken.

"Hey! She hit me!" Complained the man carrying me.

"So hit her back then."

His hand slapped me harder then a baseball hitting a window and breaking it. Coincidentally, he hit me right on my weak spot, my broken arm. I cried out in pain, but no noise came out of my mouth. Tears were streaming down my face. Once again I was helpless.

I sat huddled and bunched up, crying for about half and hour. Nobody spoke. Only footsteps, which were barely audible, could be heard. Finally, I was placed gently down onto the floor. I reached up with my good hand (luckily it was my right one) and tried to find a knot or a hole in the sack. There was nothing I could get to form the inside. I couldn't even poke through the sack because the material was so thick.

A portal! The second the thought entered my mind I knew what I had to do. Why hadn't I thought of it before? I concentrated on making a portal. With no image to go by, all I got was headache. But charms class! I remembered how I had seen the room and was instantly there. I pictures Professor Potter's room. A second later I felt myself flying through nothingness.

Then, with a grunt, I found myself kneeling on hard ground with the wind knocked out of me. Someone grabbed my shoulders.

"I thought I said don't make a portal! Are you okay? What happened?"

I forced myself to open my eyes and found Professor Potter kneeling in front of me looking concerned. Behind him I glimpsed Dumbledore and two ladies. One was in her 20s or so with long, bushy brown hair. The other was tall and slim with less bushy brown hair and deep-as-a-well brown eyes. They both looked worried.

"Ashley, what happened?" Professor Potter's voice shook me back to reality.

Staring at nothing, open-mouthed, I shook my head. "I…I'm not sure!" I stuttered. "Some guys…a magnet…in a sack…what happened? I made a portal…? I rambled on, so very unsure of what I was saying.

"Start back at the beginning." Said Dumbledore, calmly.

So I explained, best I could, what had happened.

The bushy brown haired girl gave a weak laugh when I had finished. "Sounds almost like your life, Harry."

"Hermione, stop." He said, distracted.

'Hermione!' I thought. 'I can't believe I'm in the same room as my idol! But who's the other lady…?'

"It's okay, Ashley." Said Dumbledore, reassuringly, his eyes serious. "You just need to be more careful."

"Who was that?" I asked, my thoughts still confusing.

"The man who summoned you?" Asked Dumbledore faintly. "Probably one of the 3 known wizards after your magic. I'm not sure how they all know. Something about the prophecy told them, I guess. I don't yet know the exact words. The wizards after you? Oh yes, the first one is a lunatic practically. He is referred to in the prophecy you're mentioned in as the "One with the laugh." Very odd name, isn't it?" Dumbledore sighed. "If only I knew the whole prophecy."

"Go on, professor. Who are the other wizards?" Asked Hermione.

"Ah, yes. The second wizard is the "One who does nothing." He's the one who had others do everything for him. Except for plotting, of course."

I nodded. "That was probably the one whose men just…took, me. The "One with the laugh" would be the one right after the Charms class."

Dumbledore nodded. "The third is the One whose father fell." He supposedly will try to take revenge on the student of his former rival."

Harry laughed. "Sounds like it could be Malfoy."

Dumbledore eyed him knowingly.

The tall and slim girl with the straight brown hair and the deep eyes, who seemed to be unnoticed by everyone else in the room, stepped back quietly, her eyes widening.

"Oddly enough, Draco Malfoy hasn't been heard from in weeks. And no-one knows where he is."

Harry choked. "You mean…?"

Dumbledore replied solemnly, "Yes. The third wizard may as well be Mr. Malfoy. He would've been the first wizard to summon Ashley. Or, if I call her by her name in the prophecy, the "One who can save us all or grant to evil, horrible power.""