Our Endless Numbered Days

Chapter 1-The Start of Something

May 31, 1981

Staring out the window of the train, Josephine Flanders scowled at the English country side passing her by. She was pissed off at her parents, at her friends, at her former school, at the world. Nothing could make Josie Flanders smile at this moment. She should have been at Haven Secondary School celebrating her graduation with her friends and peers. But she had been barred from going by the administration after her last run in with them. In her opinion, it was unfair! She hadn't been the only one involved in the incident. And it really wasn't the worst thing she'd ever done. It was only skinny dipping in the school's fountain! Everyone did it before they graduated. But she had been the only one not allowed at commencement.

It was the first time in a long time that she actually cared about the outcome of her actions. While she liked being rebellious, liked doing what she wanted, when she wanted, she would have given her right arm to be allowed to celebrate graduating with her best friends Lisa, Donna, and Mary. The quartet had said goodbye earlier that morning, Lisa, Donna, and Mary dressed in black graduation robes, Josie in her white uniform shirt and grey skirt. The trio had walked away, getting into line to graduate and Josie, bitter and disappointed, frowned, turned on her heel and left for the train station. Her luggage had been sent home yesterday and would be there when she arrived.

Josie didn't really want to go home to number ten Downing Street. Her parents at the moment were less than pleased with her. She dreaded the punishment she knew was coming and the unbearable lecture her father would give her in regards to her unladylike behavior. It was the typical thing that happened when she misbehaved. Just because she was used to it doesn't mean she liked it. Inevitably she would be grounded, probably for the whole summer, but if she managed to behave herself she was sure that it would be cut down. She would manage to "behave" while they were looking. It wouldn't be hard as Mary, Donna, and Lisa were all going on vacation with their families for most of the summer.

She had stopped trying to impress her parents years ago. She had learned the hard way that no matter what she did, they would never give her the attention she wanted. Now, she did things for her, and only for her. If she wanted to go out drinking all night, then she would. She didn't give a shit about public image, but that seemed to be the only thing that her parents did care about. So she used that against them in the worst way possible. Their concern with how the family looked spurred her to do more things openly and publicly. It was her little bit of revenge.

As the train slowed down and arrived at the station, Josie sighed, worn out emotionally from the events of the past week. Being angry this long took a lot out of anyone. Standing up and grabbing her purse, Josie made her way to the front of the car, ready to get off the blasted train the minute it stopped moving at King's Cross Station. It screeched to a halt and Josie trotted down the stairs and off the train that arrived at Platform 9 and into the hustle and bustle of the crowd, making her way out of the station and into the street looking for a cab to take her back home.

"Oi! Josie! Over here, love!" Josie whirled around and squealed in joy as she saw Matthew Reynolds leaning against his black car. She ran over to him and jumped in his arms, showering kisses all over his face. Matthew Reynolds was what one would have considered to be her boyfriend. He was a tall boy at about five foot eleven inches tall with dirty blonde hair and clear blue eyes. He had known Josie since they were children; his father was a colleague and friend of her parents. Having been such close friends, both sets of parents knew that it was only a matter of time before they got together. In all honesty, Mr. and Mrs. Flanders hoped that he would straighten Josie out. They perceived Matthew to be a nice, respectable boy. They weren't aware of just how similar he and Josie really were. But as close as they were, Josie wasn't in love with him. Yeah, they made a good couple, but they were better friends with benefits than anything else; if he ever asked her to be his girlfriend she might just laugh. Matt and she just weren't that way.

"I've never been more excited to see you in my life Matt! I've had the absolute worst bloody week of my life."

"Aye, so I've been told by your parents. I'm supposed to bring you right home, but we could always say your train got delayed," he winked at her and Josie laughed before placing a longer kiss on his lips.

"I think I would be very much inclined to do so." Matt smiled widely at her, pushed himself off of the car, and opened the door to the backseat for her.

"After you, Mademoiselle." Josie slid into the car and Matt followed her, a wolfish grin on his face.

Josie sat in the front seat, the car parked outside number ten Downing Street, the visor down and opened, applying lipstick to her plumped lips. She raked her hands through her hair and frowned slightly. Smoothing the wrinkles out on her shirt, she turned to Matt, who leaned against the steering wheel in the seat on her right staring blankly into space and asked, "Do I look as though I've just been shagging in the backseat of a car?" Matthew snorted.

"We were just shagging in the back seat of the car." Josie rolled her eyes.

"I know, you git. But it's not exactly something I want to broadcast to Daddy Dearest when he's pissed already at me. Besides, I don't think it'd be good for you if he ever realizes that you've been deflowering his little girl in the back of your car. It would ruin your image if he ever knew you didn't splurge for a hotel." Matthew chuckled but leaned forward and placed a kiss on her lips. "Oi! Watch it! You'll smudge the lipstick. Then I'll look like I've been snogging in the back seat of a car." He kissed her again which made Josie roll her eyes and hurriedly wipe away the smudge marks. He smiled at her and leaned back against the driver's side door.

"Alright, love. Are you done trying to look presentable?" Josie sighed and nodded.

"I s'pose."

"Just get it over with. It's like ripping off a bandage; doing it quickly hurts less than when you drag it out." Josie opened the car door.

"Alright, I'm going already." She leaned back into the car, the door only half way closed. She blew Matt a kiss. "See you soon love, wish me luck!"

"You'll need more luck than the world's got, Josie, my girl." Giggling, Josie shut the door and then walked up to the house and entered. Matt watched her go in and looked at his watch. He would wait for five minutes before entering himself. He'd be out of the firing zone by then.

Closing the door softly behind her, Josie stared into the empty, silent, parlor. She expected her parents to be waiting for her at the door, especially because she was late. But no one was there, not even the housekeeper, Mrs. Pierce. Taking a deep breath, Josie walked down the hallway, straining her ears to hear some sort of voice that would lead her to where her family was. Then she heard it. The faint whisperings coming from her father's office. Leaning her head against the door, Josie tried to hear what was going on. She could make out bits and pieces, but even they weren't making much sense.

"He's a dark…wants to…muggles," a female voice, aged and throaty, said. Then her father's voice, deep and commanding,

"What…do?...world…magic….not exist. Violate….laws…" A male voice that she didn't recognize, gruff and worn with age snapped back.

"Constant…danger…protection…better manners!" The door flew open and Josie stumbled backward, taking in the image of the hunched over man with scraggily grey hair and a fake eye that moved on its own. She let out a slight scream of surprise and quickly covered her mouth with her hands as if to take back the sound. Behind the man, her father, tall and intimidating, stood from behind his desk and sighed.

"Mr. Moody, please forgive my nosy daughter. Josephine, I'm rather busy at the moment. Go to your room, we'll talk later." He walked to the door and began to close it.

"But Dad, what's going on? I think I have a right to know."

"Not now, Josephine." Joseph Flanders ground out. "Just go to your room. I have bigger things to worry about than lecturing you." The door closed in her face and Josie stood there, paralyzed with shock for a moment before she turned back around and walked to the parlor. As she mounted the stairs, Matt came in from outside and smiled at her.

"Well, you seem to be no worse for the wear. How'd it go? Grounded?" Josie shrugged.

"He's busy. Said he would deal with me later."

"Where's your Mum?" Matt asked.

"I don't know. Upstairs probably." Matt looped his arm through hers.

"Let's take a look then shall we?" The two climbed the stairs to the second floor of the house. The further up the got, the stronger the smell of cigarette smoke becomes. Josie frowned.

"Mum's smoking again. Did something bad happen that I don't know about?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," he responded, puzzled. Hesitantly, Josie knocked on her parents' bedroom door.

"Mum?" she called. "Is everything alright?" The door flew open and Flossie Flanders, a mess of thin limbs and blonde hair, enveloped her daughter in a hug, cigarette still in her hand.

"Christ Josie, I've been worried sick. Where've you been? Did something happen to you?"

"I'm fine Mum. My train just got delayed," She said, sticking to the story.

"Oh thank the Lord you're alright, my precious little girl." Flossie finally let go of her daughter and took a long drag on the cigarette in her hand.

"Is everything okay Mum?" Flossie waved her hand dismissively.

"Everything is fine darling. Why do you ask?"

"Mum, you're smoking. You only smoke when something bad has happened."

"Nonsense! I smoke all the time, you know that. Oh Matthew, it's so good to see you," Mrs. Flanders exclaimed, changing the subject. She hugged the boy tightly before letting him go. "I think you've grown since the last time I saw you. Thank you so much for picking Josie up at the train station. It's a pity you must have had to wait much longer than expected."

"Ah, it's not a problem Mrs. Flanders. These things are out of our control." Flossie smiled.

"How many times do I have to ask you to call me Flossie? Mrs. Flanders makes me feel so old!" Matthew glanced at his watch, slightly uncomfortable.

"I should get going, Mrs. Flanders." He said, ignoring her previous instructions. Mrs. Flanders frowned and quietly shook her head, as if to say 'oh that boy is a lost cause'. "It was good to see you."

"I'll walk you to the door," Josie offered and a moment later, the two of them were back down in the parlor. "Was it me or was that really strange?" Matt nodded.

"Something's definitely going on." Josie agreed. Opening the door, Matt stepped outside.

"Give me a call when you get the verdict, yeah?" Josie smiled.

"I will. Bye Matt." She gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

"Bye Jose." Josie closed the door and sighed, leaning against it, reveling in the quiet of the house for a moment. In her mind, Josie debated going upstairs again and trying to get something out of her mother. The poor woman was a nervous wreck. It was only a matter of time before she cracked. Footsteps hurried down the hall and Josie straightened up and walked towards the stairs. Her father was most certainly walking his guests to the door. Going halfway up, Josie peered down at them. Joseph Flanders shook hands with the man he called Mr. Moody earlier and with an elderly woman.

"Thank you for your time, Minister Bagnold, Mr. Moody," he expressed

"I'll be sending Black to you tomorrow morning," was Moody's gruff reply. Mrs. Bagnold merely nodded her head.

"Until next time, Prime Minister Flanders," she announced and with that, the two strange people left the house. Joseph Flanders sighed heavily and wearily rubbed his temples.

"Didn't I tell you to go to your room Josephine?"

"I was walking Matt to the door."

"Is there a reason why you didn't continue on your way up the stairs?"

"No." Mr. Flanders frowned.

"Just…go up now. I'm not in the mood to play your games Josephine. I'll see you in my office after dinner." Josie smirked.

"Aye, aye sir." She replied cheekily and saluted her father before continuing on her way up the stairs. Ignoring her father's orders, she didn't go into her room. Instead, she peered into the room of her brother Henry, all of seven years old. He had a mop of unruly sandy brown hair atop his head and the deepest blue eyes that Josie had ever seen.

Josie loved her brother because she knew no one else would. He was technically a "mistake". The Flanders had only ever planned on having one child. But eight years ago, when Flossie had suddenly found herself pregnant again, that had changed. But when Josie, all of nine years old at the time, heard the news, she couldn't have been happier. Perhaps it was some old misguided desire to have a doll to take care of, but she knew that Henry would be all hers. Perhaps it was that she knew that Henry was doomed to a life of more inattention than she ever had to endure. He was not wanted, and while loved, their parents would always resent him slightly for changing the dynamic of the family. But Josie never did. When her parents brought Henry home from the hospital, Josie didn't think she'd ever laid eyes on a more beautiful thing.

"Jojo!" Henry called out, leaving his comic books on the ground and running over to his sister. "You're home!" Josie smiled widely and hugged her brother.

"Yes, yes I'm home. Did you miss me?"

"I missed you lots, Jojo. Mrs. Pierce doesn't like to play games with me and mommy and daddy are too busy have fun. But now that you're back, we can play all the games I've been wanting to since you were home over Easter."

"Well, not tonight buddy. Tomorrow, I promise, we'll play, but tonight Daddy needs to talk to me after dinner. But until then, let's get you cleaned up and ready for dinner." She scooped the seven year old up in her arms and he squealed with delight as she brought him into the bathroom and began to run a bath.

Josie flounced into her father's office and plopped down in a chair and waited for her father to catch up. She wondered how long she would be grounded for this time. Usually something that wound her up in the headmistress's office warranted a month of grounding. Her father entered slowly and shut the door behind him quietly. He sat down and stared at his desk, his face set in a frown. His glasses were on the desk beside him and sighing, he ran a rand through his thick, brown hair that was starting to gray. Josie waited for him to start, to lecture her, to tell her what she did was wrong. In a twisted way, she craved it. Anxiety grew in the pit of her stomach as she realized that her father wasn't going to say anything. Had this been the last straw? She had to break the silence.

"So what's it gonna be this time Papa?" Mr. Flanders sighed.

"Tomorrow, Mr. Moody is going to be bringing by a colleague of his named Sirius Black. Mr. Black is going to remain with us indefinitely." Josie's scrunched up her eyebrows as she thought about what her father was saying.

"Okay?"

"Mr. Moody, whom you were eavesdropping on earlier is the head of the Auror Department of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement—"

"Wait, magic?" Josie interjected. Her father held up a hand and gave her a warning look that clearly said to not interrupt him.

"He came by with the Minister for Magic, Millicent Bagnold, to talk about security for our family. There is apparently a dark wizard on the loose, the darkest all times have seen, who is trying to rid the world of all those who are not of a pure magical line. He has the entire population so scared of him that they dare not speak his name. He is referred to as 'You-Know-Who'. Now, normally, I wouldn't be telling you any of this. But you were right earlier; you have a right to know. I know this is a shock, Josephine, but magic does exist and for our safety, the Ministry has come forward to warn us about it. We are prime targets for an attack.

"This is not the first time I've had to deal with these people and let me tell you, they only involve us when it's absolutely necessary. They're rather private. I'm sure you understand that all of this information stays in the family. You cannot tell anyone. Not Lisa, not Donna, not Mary, and especially not Matthew."

"I won't tell anyone," Josie replied, subdued. Suddenly, a thought came to her. "Does Mum know about this?"

"Yes, she does." Josie chuckled.

"Of course. That would explain her smoking like a chimney." Joseph Flanders raised his eye brows but chose not to comment.

"I wouldn't be telling you this if I didn't have to. You have enough to worry about as it is. I know that things here and at school have not always been…perfect, but you're almost eighteen, Josephine. I need you to be responsible, to understand the danger we're all in. We both know that I can ground you until the sun burns out, but you'll still find your way out of the house. So I need you to promise me that you won't leave the house without accompaniment."

"Dad! That's unfair!" He sighed.

"I don't care! Contrary to what you believe, Josephine, I love you. You are my daughter. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"But Dad—!"

"No buts. This is the way it has to be. Besides, from what I understand, Mr. Black is about your age. He shouldn't be too much of a hindrance when you go out with your friends."

"Wait, you're letting me go out of the house? I'm not grounded?" Mr. Flanders shook his head.

"Not unless you want to be. I've talked with your headmistress about this latest stunt you pulled, and besides the absolute lack of decorum involved, quite frankly, I think we both know that you've done worse things. I feel that the school has punished you enough for your childish antics."

"I'm seriously not grounded?" Josie clarified.

"Yes. Look, Josephine, I've a lot of work to finish." Knowing a dismissal when she heard it, Josie nodded and stood, slowly making her way to the door, closing it softly behind her. With a sigh, she leaned against it, the weight of what she was just told finally hitting her in the face.

Magic was real? It couldn't possibly be real, could it? This could just be a big joke that her Dad was trying to pull on her to get her to behave. But that thought was quickly disregarded. Her father had no sense of humor. And as much baggage as there was between them, he had never lied to her, not even about Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy.

So magic was real—oh the possibilities. If magic was real, what else was? Unicorns? Aliens? Bigfoot? She felt like the world she knew was gone, pulled out from underneath her like a rug. Everything was topsy turvy, upside down, and sideways. What on earth was she going to tell Matt?

Shaking her head slightly, she tried to shake the thoughts from her head. She headed to her room to head to bed. She was exhausted, her mind was reeling, and all she wanted in that moment was to have her head hit the pillow and forget about everything that had happened that day.

As she shut off the light and curled up in her bed, her eyes closed, and her breathing beginning to even out, her last intelligible thought was that if she was magical, she'd use her powers to be invisible.

A/N: Finally satisfied with this. I've been playing with it for a long time. I can assure you that Chapter 2 will not be out nearly as quickly as this chapter. For one, it's always easier to go back over an already written chapter and make changes than it is to start from scratch. Number two, school's starting back up in a couple days. So I'll work on this when I can, if I can.

Thanks to those of you who reviewed and added me to your alerts. Especially Solitaireclay07. Without her, I'd never have the guts to post this story in the first place. Read her stuff, if you haven't already. It's fabulous.

NaP