Cissy and I talked aimlessly until the car finally came to a stop. I glanced out of the car window to see a small apartment building. I sighed figuring that it was a normal building. I opened the car door and stepped onto the sidewalk. Cissy and her parents got out of the car and stood beside me.

For the first time I got a really good look at Cissy's parents. Her mother was tall; she had a long sandy brown hair that was full of waves and soft blue eyes. Cissy and her mom shared the same nose; Cissy got her lips from her father though. He was tall as well, with short dark chestnut brown hair. He appeared to be masculine, but kind at the same time.

He walked forward and let out a strange whistle. The whistle carried to an echo. The apartment building began to shake. I took a step back thinking it was an earthquake. Then I noticed that the building seemed to be pulling apart. It was growing diagonally. I stared in amazement that none of the muggles seemed to even notice what was going on. The building broke apart to reveal a small house in the center. I just stared with my mouth agape.

"Pretty amazing isn't it?" Cissy asked me teasingly.

I merely nodded then walked behind Cissy's parents. We walked onto the front porch, and walked inside. As soon as the door closed behind me, I heard the building returning to normal. I had to continue to remind myself that the building wasn't going to close in on us, and crush us. After all this was the wizarding world and this was magic.

I glanced around. We were in a narrow hallway that was covered in a dark blue wall paper. A small desk stood against the wall that held letters and other papers. A hat and coat rack hung on the wall. I noticed pictures of Cissy and her family hanging on the wall. I glanced forward to see a large stairway at the end of the hallway that stood to the right.

I walked forward, and saw a curved opening in the wall. It led to the living room that looked very welcoming. A large sofa sat in the center of the living room and atop a large round rug. Two chairs sat facing the couch at the other end of the rug. A small oval table stood in the center of the rug. A television rested atop a large table against the far wall.

I saw several moving pictures hanging on the walls. There shelves full of books. I noticed a large orb that rested atop the large table. I walked towards it. I wasn't sure why, but I was drawn to it. I knelt down and stared into the orb. At first I didn't see anything, and then something began to form. It was blurry at first, but it became clearer the more I stared into it.

The image was of a large stone building that stood on an island. I saw things moving around the place, I couldn't quite make out what they were. They looked like grim reapers. Then I saw a boat that stopped on the island's shores. It was a stormy night there, and the tiny people made their way towards the building. I squinted my eyes for a better look; I was finally able to recognize them. It was Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape, Minerva McGonagall, some other person and me.

"I see you have an interest in fortune telling," someone said behind me.

I turned to glance behind me. A tall girl stood against the wall. She had her arms folded across her chest. She had long wavy sandy brown hair; she also had her mother's nose and her father's lips. She unfolded her arms and walked towards me. She held out her hand and smiled.

"My name is Talentha Portello, but most people just call me Tally," she said", Cissy's older sister."

"Oh," I said shaking her hand. "I'm Marina," I told her. I made sure to leave off my last name intentionally.

"That's nice name," she said pulling her hand away", you the friend I've heard so much about."

"She's been talking about me?" I asked mostly from surprise. I wasn't used to having friends, so it was all new to me.

"Of course she has," Tally said. "I'm sorry that I didn't get a chance to meet you last year. My sister and I don't usually talk while we're at Hogwarts."

"Why?" I asked curiously.

"Well," Tally wasn't sure how to respond. "We're in different houses, and we just figured it best to not talk to each other."

"Oh," I responded.

"I'm glade you two met," CIssy said walking into the living room. "Marina, do you want to see my room?" Cissy asked.

I nodded and said farewell to Tally. I followed Cissy into the hallway again. We passed by another curved opening that lead to a large kitchen on our right. We walked up the stairs and walked through the upper hallway. I was led to the end of the hallway, to the last door. A large wooden sign read 'Cissy's room, enter at you own risk'. Cissy opened the door and walked inside. I followed behind her and glanced around the small room.

A small television sat on a large desk. I saw a self filled with books, and statues on display. A small nightstand held a table lamp and a picture of Cissy and her family. I saw several posters that covered her bedroom walls, and the floor was littered with random papers, clothes, and other objects.

I did my best to keep from stepping on anything. I walked towards a small chest that rested atop Cissy's large desk. I was about to lift the lid off the chest.

"Don't open that," Cissy shouted.

It was too late. I had opened the chest and was squirted with a black ink. I stood up straight and wiped the ink off my eyes. I glanced at the chest. The lid of the chest opened slightly and seemed to give a slight evil chuckle. A red ribbon stuck out at me, and instantly pulled itself back inside the chest.

"I'm sorry," Cissy said", it's my private chest. I put my most private things in there. Um, the black ink is a protection thing. I used a spell when I was younger to keep my older sister from peeking inside it."

"I see," I responded. "Is there a place that I can clean the ink off of me?"

"Yea," Cissy said", I'll lead you to the bathroom."

I followed Cissy down the hallway. Cissy opened the door and I walked inside. I turned the sink on and splashed water on my face. The black ink was hard to get off. Something about it made it stick. I used a light green cloth. It helped, but not much.

"You we're trying to look in Cissy's chest weren't you," Tally scoffed.

"Leave her alone," Cissy said walking into the bathroom. "She didn't know any better."

"Well, you have a month left to learn all about us," Tally said. "This should be fun." She finished and walked off.

"A month," I said. "I thought school was going to start in a few weeks?"

"What do you mean?" Cissy asked handing me a purple cloth.

"Well, I received a letter from Dumbledore, and Snape brought me to London," I responded.

"Oh," Cissy said smiling", that Dumbledore. He's always two steps ahead of everyone else. Well, I wouldn't think too much on it. You're here and everything is going great."

I continued trying to wash the ink off. The icy cold water caught me by surprise. I had ruined the light green cloth already, and was about to ruin the dark green one. I put it back down atop the counter.

"I know our house isn't like the other wizard's and witch's houses, but still its home," Cissy said shrugging her shoulders.

I glanced up at her and smiled", believe me it's the best house I've ever seen."

"Thanks," Cissy responded. "Listen that ink isn't going to come off without some hard scrubbing. You can take a shower in the tub; I'll bring in an extra pair of clothes for you."

"Thanks," I said.

Cissy walked out of the bathroom, closing the door behind her. I glanced up at a large mirror. I turned behind me and pushed a white curtain out of the way. I turned the mock crystal knobs and turned the water on. I glanced around the bathroom. Cissy's house seemed just like any normal house; unless you took a closer look at the smaller details. I smiled to myself. This was going to be the best month of my entire life.