Waking up was not a pleasant experience. My whole body positively ached, deep down to my bones. I wanted nothing more than to go back to that blissful darkness where there wasn't any pain, but unfortunately it seemed like that wasn't going to happen.

Stiffly sitting up I looked around and saw Basil laid out on the ground next to me. I scrambled onto my knees and carefully picked her up. She was limp in my hands, but thankfully conscious. She gave a weak hiss as she flicked out her tongue.

I put her on my shoulders so she might be allowed to rest as I shakily stood up from the ground. I closed my eyes and leaned against the iron gates next to me to catch my breath. My eyes then snapped open and I stumbled away from the gate that shouldn't be there.

I looked up at the wrought iron gate. Two winged gargoyles standing guard on top of them. Looking through the gates I saw the most beautiful stone castle. The grounds around it were made up of mostly trees, but in one section of the grounds looked to be a giant stadium like buildings. There were three hoops on each end of the field. They were so high up that I wasn't sure what they were for. They look like the quidditch fields from Harry Potter, I thought.

I walked up the trail to the large oak doors. I politely knocked before pushing one of the doors open. When I closed it behind me I couldn't help but think these people really need to be better at locking their entrances.

Looking down the hall I heard nothing but silence. I glanced around before continuing my journey through the castle hallways. I reached the end of the hall and looked up to the spiraling marble staircases. The moving staircases.

Impossible! I must be dreaming. But how could I have been dreaming? I don't even remember falling asleep.

And I don't. I remember leaving the library and heading back to the orphanage in the pouring rain and…nothing. I thought harder, but I could only recall a flash of light. So I wasn't asleep. A coma maybe? I thought a little longer and gasped I could've died and gone into the Harry Potter universe! If it's even possible. I looked around me at the moving stairs and the portraits, just now noticing the portraits were moving as well. It could be possible.

The possibility that this could be real brought a grin to my face. I walked over to a portrait of, ironically, a man painting a picture and asked him, "Excuse me, sir?"

The man looked towards me and seemed to finally realize I was there, "Oh, hello my dear! Who might you be?"

I figured it wouldn't hurt to give my own name, it's not like anyone would know it. "I'm Danielle Abby, and I'm looking for the headmaster. Could you tell me where he could be?"

"Well I should think the headmasters office!"

I gave a small smile to hide my annoyance, "Yes I thought so as well. But you see I don't know where the headmasters office is and I was hoping you could help me."

"Of course, of course! The office is…" he gave me the directions to the office and I politely thanked him.

But naturally when I made it to the statue guarding the office I realized I didn't have the password. I huffed and started naming off random candies, hoping one of them would be the right one.

When I said Lemon Drops a voice startled me, "Those are my favorite."

I jumped and looked over to see a rather old man in magenta robes with silver moons stitched all over them. I surveyed him some more and saw he had a long, slightly greying, auburn beard, the same color as his hair. I looked at the mans twinkling blue eyes and saw a pair of half-moon spectacles sitting on the bridge of his nose. I gaped slightly when I realized it was Albus Dumbledore. A young Albus Dumbledore.

"Are you in need of the headmaster?" he asked.

I nodded my head, unable to speak. When I fully processed what he said, I realized he wasn't talking about himself. He walked up next to me and spoke the password, but I was too confused to pay attention to what it was.

He led me up the spiraling steps and into the office. Portraits along the wall turned their attention to us as we walked through the door. Sitting behind the large desk was a nearly balding man, scratching away at a piece of parchment with a quill. I realized that I may be in Harry Potters world, but not his time. If I was right then this must be Armando Dippet.

Dumbledore lightly cleared his throat and the man looked up. He set his quill down and said with a smile, "Albus! What brings you here?"

Dumbledore moved aside to reveal me awkwardly standing behind him. He gestured to me, "I found this young lady standing outside, trying to get into your office."

The man behind the desk then began to closely examine me. It made me want to squirm but I held my ground and returned the stare. "Hello young lady. I am Headmaster Armando Dippet and this here," he gestured towards Dumbledore, "Is Albus Dumbledore" he then leaned towards me, "and who would you be?"

I flicked my eyes up to Dumbledore and saw he was looking at me just as curiously. I quickly looked back to the ground because I knew he could look into people's minds. "My name is Danielle Abby."

"Well miss Abby," Dippet was the one who spoke, "why did you need to see me?"

Think Danielle, think! "Well…" coming up with an idea I made a pitiful sniffling noise and rubbed at my nose. "I'm rather lost you see." I made my voice thick, as if I was holding back tears. "And I don't know what to do!" I allowed my fake tears to fall and called it a success when I felt Dumbledore take me gently by the shoulders and sit me down in a chair. He handed me a handkerchief and I uttered a small "thank you" as I blew my nose.

When I seemed to have calmed down enough to speak Dumbledore spoke in a gentle voice, "Why are you lost miss Abby? It would help if you could start from the beginning."

I nodded and told them nothing but lies. "I'm from America you see." Maybe not all lies, "I lived with my mother and father. But at some point, when I was young, my father started acting different. He started drinking and became abusive towards my mother and I." I made sure to have my voice crack at the word abusive. "I don't know why he was like that." I shook my head and looked at the professors with tears in my eyes, "Why was he like that?"

Dumbledore patted my shoulder, "Please continue, my dear."

I nodded and did as he said, "One night a couple weeks ago my mother woke me up in the middle of the night and told me to quickly pack anything I would need. I did as she said and we quickly left the house and took the next flight here to Britain. I understand now what I didn't then," I looked up at Dumbledores twinkling eyes before looking down at my lap, "that my mother had had enough of my fathers actions and left him. Taking me with."

I gave a nostalgic smile, as if thinking of a fond memory. Which was hard because I don't really have any. "Everything was going great you know? We lived in a small apartment in London, my mom got a job and everything was perfect. Nobody was there to hurt us." I dropped the smile and picked up my breathing, "But he found us. I don't know how, but my father found us. He burst through the front door one day, totally drunk, and when he saw us he started yelling and swearing. I had screamed while my mother fought back against my father," I shook my head, "but he didn't like that. He went into the kitchen and came back out with a knife and…and…"

I was really getting into the story, and it caused me to choke up and begin crying again. But I knew it was all fake so I pulled myself together and continued, "He killed her. He killed her!" I yelled out in anguish and curled into myself, letting the tears fall as if they were real.

"Everything is alright, my dear. He is gone now, he can't hurt you." Dumbledore rubbed soothing circles on my back as I nodded in acknowledgment and lifted my head from my knees, wiping the tears away from my eyes.

"After he killed my mother I ran from the apartment. I kept running and never looked back. That was about a week ago. Ever since then I had been living on the streets until my father had somehow found me again. He chased me through the alleys, and I was desperate to get away from him. The next thing I know I'm at your front gates."

I sat there and waited for one of them to say something. It was Dippet who said anything first, "You say you just appeared at the gates?"

I nodded, "Yea."

Dumbledore was petting his beard and sounded thoughtful, "It seems to me you apparated."

I looked at him with confusion, "What's apparate?"

His eyebrows raised with surprise, "You do not know what apparition is?"

"Isn't that like a ghost?"

Dumbledore chuckled, "No, my dear. Apparition is a form of teleportation."

I shook my head at him, as if I didn't already know what apparition was, "Teleportation isn't possible, sir."

Dumbledore and Dippet shared a glance. "Then how do you believe you got here, miss Abby?" Dippet said.

I shrugged innocently, "I'm not sure, sir."My dear," I looked at Dumbledore, "you used magic."

I looked at him like he was crazy, "Mr. Dumbledore, magic isn't real." I said it slowly as if speaking to a child.

"Has anything ever happened around you that you couldn't explain?"

I shook my head again, "No, this was the first time."

Dumbledore seemed to think of something and took out polished stick from inside his robe. He waved it at me and I realized it wasn't a stick, it was his wand. I suddenly began glowing a light blue color until it faded into my skin. I looked at Dumbledore with confusion and saw him smiling at me with his twinkling blue eyes. "It seems my dear that you really do have magic, and quite a bit of it too. I'm surprised you've never done any accidental magic before!"

My jaw dropped, "Me? Magic?! Don't be silly, magic doesn't exist!" Dumbledore pointed his wand at a quill on Dippets desk and I watched as it transformed into a glass rose. He picked it up and handed it to me.

Taking it I inspected the detail in the rose, and dropped it when it suddenly turned into a quill again. I looked at the feather sitting innocently on the floor, and switched my gaze into the two elderly men before me. "But…that's not possible. How…?"

"Miss Abby," I looked at Dippet. "this all must be quite a shock for you, and it may be best if you were to get some rest."

I nodded my head, dumbfounded that I had seen magic done right in front of me. "Seeing as summer has just begun, I believe it would be alright for you to sleep up in one of the dorms."

I paid no attention as Dumbledore led me out of the office and through the twisting hallways. We reached a painting of a fat lady and Dumbledore spoke, "Hippogriff Hooves." The portrait swung open and Dumbledore turned to me. "These are the Griffindor common rooms. When you enter go up the staircase on the left and that will lead you up to the girls dormitories." (AN: Idk if it's the left but whatever).

I thanked him and I entered the common room. I paid no attention as the portrait shut behind me. I looked around and saw the room was decked in red and gold. I went up the staircase and looked down the hallway lined with doors. I chose one and entered to find four, four-poster beds circled throughout the room. Between each bed was a window.

I saw a pair of clothes folded on one of the beds and realized they were pajamas. I smiled and quickly threw them on and jumped onto one of the softest beds I've ever had the pleasure to lay on. I took a deep breath and smiled. If this was real then I was actually in the Harry Potter world, and thanks to my acting skills they believed my story.

I felt a little bad for lying but I didn't feel comfortable saying I was from another universe. Especially with Dumbledore in the room. I read some fanfics with him being all manipulative, and whether or not that was true I don't know. He might have started asking me questions about the future, and I could end up mentioning the Harry Potter books. How was I supposed to tell them Tom Riddle was going to be a future dark lord!

I sat up with a gasp Am I in Riddles time? I slowly laid back in thought. It's possible I suppose. Dumbledore does look younger and he's not the headmaster. But why would I have been sent to his time and not Harrys? I closed my eyes and began falling asleep. I can think about it tomorrow.