Author's Note: Yay, new chapter! That wait wasn't too long, right? To celebrate the new chapter I'm giving everyone that reviews a chocolate chip cookie! Keep reading and reviewing!

Disclaimer: If I was J.K. Rowling I definitely wouldn't waste my time here.

Chapter Three:

House or No House?

The birds stopped singing. The grass stopped growing. The trees stopped whispering. The clouds stopped their evening stroll. Or so Chloe thought. All that was heard was a strangled sob.

No, this can't be happening! Chloe thought, hurrying towards her house carefully. She stayed in the shadows, just in case, and stopped before the pile of wretch. Mum! No, I must be dreaming! She pinched herself--hard--and almost yelped in pain. Okay, not a dream then. Crawling under a nearby bush, Chloe settled down to wait and see what would happen. Someone would come soon, but she did not want to get caught and go to an orphanage. In her anger and grief a blast of magic escaped her, blasting the back door open.

Slowly, carefully, Chloe stepped towards the door, ever so softly. She was amazed at what she saw. The cabinet doors were open, some of them off the hinges. Broken pieces that somehow used to represent drawers littered the floor. Everything was a mess. But that is not what surprised her so.

A door, closed, unharmed, stood proudly. And it wasn't just any door; it belonged to Chloe's room.

She pressed her ear against the keyhole, listening. Nothing. She looked through the keyhole. Nothing unusual. She touched the doorknob softly before turning it and pushing the door. Nothing. It was locked. It seemed she had used her magic somehow to put a spell on it; who else could have? I told it to stay closed and not let anyone open it. Sunny calls me Mage Girl; I have magic. Maybe I controlled it enough to save my room! She looked at her drawing of an 'S-shaped' snake. :Open up: she said, surprised that it came out as a hiss. The door did so. She stepped in, closing the door behind her.

"Chloe?" a shaky voice asked softly.

Chloe stood still, pausing for a moment. "Mum? Is that really you?"

"Thank God you're safe!" Chloe's mum emerged from her hiding place under the bed. Chloe stepped forwards, into a wordless embrace. They just stood there, holding on to each other, for what seemed like hours.

"What happened, Mum?"

"I wish I knew. I heard voices outside and the door was opened. 'Intruders,' it screamed. I tried your door but it was locked. I tried knocking but you didn't open it. So I went into my room, in to the closet with the fake back, you know the one I told you about in case of emergencies." At a nod from Chloe she continued, "I opened the back in the way I showed you and went through, but I couldn't find you, obviously, as you weren't there. I had to stop searching so I wouldn't make any noise even though I doubt they would have heard it with the racket they were making. I wonder why it was so loud and why they didn't even enter this room!"

"I suppose you haven't seen the rest of the house? It's a total mess. Come." Chloe got up and opened the door. Stepping out of the room, her mom gasped.

"Chloe, what happened here? We'd better get out before the house collapses! Hurry!"

I guess now that I removed the spell on my room--or maybe I just removed the one on my door--the house has no reason to stand. "Yes mum, let's go!" They walked out the back door, the same door Chloe went in, and were bathed in an eerie green glow. "Careful!" Chloe whispered, leading the way, walking in shadows, towards the front of the house.

It was first then that they noticed the sirens, and a police car driving up along with an ambulance. "Come Chloe, we'd better go meet them."

"Of course, Mum." Chloe stepped out of the shadows towards the police car, not making a sound. Her mother followed.

"--can't possibly be any survivors," one man in white was telling another.

"I don--" the other broke off suddenly as the house collapsed with a mighty CRASH!

"Hello," Mrs. McDonalds said pleasantly, holding out her hand. "I'm Sarah McDonalds and this is my daughter Chloe." Chloe smiled softly.

"Pleasure. I'm Dr. Kingsley Shacklebolt." (a/n: familiar name?) The man smiled grimly. "What happened here?"

"I'm not sure. I heard voices outside and then I..." Mrs. McDonalds retold the whole story.

"The room was standing, the door closed/locked and they didn't enter? Why?"

"I don't know. I think they tried, but somehow didn't manage."

"They didn't manage? Then how could Chloe enter?" Dr. Shacklebolt asked, baffled.

Chloe watched him carefully, as if trying to decide wether to tell him or not. She looked into his eyes and he seemed a bit uncomfortable. Leaning forwards, she whispered one word; "Magic."

He stared at her, surprised. "Ssh, there are muggles around," he whispered back. Glancing apologetically at Chloe's mother, he said, "I'd like a private conversation with this young lady, if that's ok?"

"Of course," she replied, giving Chloe a Look. Chloe smiled reassuringly before following Dr. Shacklebolt.

Once they were out of earshot she looked at him curiously. "What's a muggle?"

She surprised him again. "Muggles are non-magical people who we, the magical people, try to keep magic a secret from."

"Ahh, I get it. I haven't told anyone, though."

"Then how did you know I was a wizard?"

"I Saw it."

Dr. Shacklebolt looked at her in surprise. "Tell me why the door stayed closed."

"I told it to in the noble language of snakes," Chloe said proudly.

"A parsel-spell?" he asked, paling considerably.

"So that's what it's called!" she exclaimed, failing to notice his expression.

"Yes, if you spoke in parseltongue, what you call the noble language of snakes, it would be a parsel-spell."

"It's the snakes that told me it was the noble language of snakes, not me!" she remarked. "Parseltongue. I like the sound of that. Do you speak it?"

"No, Chloe. A wizard or witch that speaks parseltongue is said to be evil. I would advice you not to tell anyone."

"Okay. So what will happen to the house? To me and mum?" Chloe asked. She realised that the green glow was still around them and looked up to find the source of it.

Above the house there was a green mark, a green skull with a snake protruding from it. Chloe froze.

-:-

This chapter is dedicated to kay2164 for being my first reviewer and adding this to her story alert list. Please review!