Quick question
Should I publish the chapters as I write them or post them all at once?
I have 10 chapters written at the moment, let me know what you want :)
Minnie
"Sign here and you are the temporary guardian of Jazmine Prewett." Aunt Lydia gestures to the dotted line at the bottom of the temporary guardianship papers.
The Minnie-something-or-other woman signed along the line.
"Very well. If you decide you want to give her back you can call the number of the first page." Aunt Lydia turned to me.
"Good bye Prewett. Don't give the poor woman too much trouble." She looked down at her papers and continued working.
"Very well. Are you ready to go?" The woman asked. I nodded. She motioned for me to follow her and we walked out the door and onto the bustling street outside.
"By now, you have the knowledge that you're a witch?" She questioned as we walked along the sidewalk of our tiny town.
"Yes ma'am." I answered as we turned down an alleyway between two fish shops.
"No need to call me ma'am. Minerva will do. Except at school where all the professors will be referred to as professor then you'll call me professor McGonagall." She explained.
"I'll never be able to remember that." I protested. "I'll call you Minnie if you don't mind." I felt her disapproving gaze on me but I want backing down. Minnie is much cuter that Minerva. She opened her mouth to rebuttal but seemed to decide otherwise because instead she said "I also happen to be a witch. This grants me the power to travel without the use of trains, cars, or any other means of muggle transportation. Did you know this?"
"Yup. Apperation right?"
"That's correct. Now seeing as you're too young and haven't had the appropriate training to do it yourself, you must hold my arm as we apperate. Hold on to your suitcase firmly."
I did as she instructed.
As soon as I did the world went black and my body felt like it was being compacted into a box. My eyes where pushed back into my skull. If I was being sucked into a black hole I'd imagine it like this. It was over as suddenly as it had started but now I felt sick. I doubled over and all my breakfast was now all over the dirt road we appeared on. It tastes even worse on the way up if that's even possible.
Just then it started raining. Nice. Minnie pulled something out of the sleeve of her robe that looked suspiciously similar to a wand. She waved it and the sick disappeared.
"We should get you cleaned up." She suggested. "Don't worry, most people get sick the first time. It gets better the more you do it." I nodded at the comfort.
"This way." She gestured.
I followed her down the dirt road I. The rain and I was able to take in my surroundings. To the right, a big green forest with trees as far as you can see. To the left, farmland all different colors of green and yellow. In the distance there are some trees that look familiar. Apple trees, with small green apples that aren't ripe yet. The sky is dark grey and big fat raindrops are falling from it.
I used to think the rain was the tears of the sky and not just a necessary natural phenomenon. I've always loved rain. The sound, the smell when it stops, the rainbows, and if you get caught in it, free shower!
The road split into two smaller roads. A big wooden sign had the town name burned into it: Caithness.
Under the sign where two more. One pointing down the road to the right reading 'Caithness rd'.
The other sign pointed to the left and it reads 'Caithness town center."
I followed Minerva who walked right down Caithness road. The rain was getting heavier.
We walked down the winding road through various farm lands. A few trees popped up along the side of the road and suddenly we were not surrounded by farmland but by a light forest.
We walked past numerous smaller paths but when we came to a stop at a path turning left. There was a small mailbox on a post in the grass beside the path. It as a red box with a white plaque with Minnie's name engraved into it . Beside the mailbox was a small white sign with the name of the path: Gonagall rd.
I'm guessing this road leads to her house, just a wild guess. Minerva went to the mailbox and opened it. The inside was empty so she closed it again.
"Follow me." She commanded. I did.
After 10 minutes down Gonagall road we came to a small cottage in a small clearing of the forest. The cottage was a low building made of logs and had a thatched roof. Two windows where visible from the front and a red brick chimney came out of the roof. Smoke was coming from it. The cottage was a surrounded by beautiful flower gardens. Roses, petunias, tulips, and many other exotic plants I didn't know could grow in Ireland. Wait, are we even in Ireland?
"Minnie?" I asked the older woman.
She pursed her lips at the nickname but answered anyways.
"Yes?"
"Are we in Ireland?"
"No. We are in my home town in Scotland."
Scotland? That explains her accent.
"It's beautiful here," I noted.
She smiled slightly at me.
"Yes," she agreed. "Shall we go inside?"
***
"You are soaking," Minnie noted, "the bathroom is down that hall to the left. You should find towels and all you need there. Your room is over the hall from the bathroom so you can unpack your things there.
I went into the room I learned was the bathroom. It was a very nice bathroom, it had a very antique feel to it. The walls where made of dark wood which was much better than the tile at the orphanage.
The floor had big black and white tiles in a pattern that mimicked a very large chess board. Every tile was as big as two of my feet toe-to-heel.
The curtains where ivory lace and covered the one window at the far end of the room.
Against the right wall there was a large white bathtub. The tap and legs where a golden color and curled and twisted like a rope.
To the left , a toilet and sink.
To her immediate right was a tall cupboard made of a lighter wood.
She pulled the brass handle and there where shelves of big fluffy towels, a whicker basket of toiletries, stacks of toilet paper, and an shelf with an empty basket like the one on the shelf above.
I sill had my suitcase so I walked out of the bathroom and into the hall. The door that led to my room was directly across from the bathroom. I opened the door and stepped in. The room was reasonably small but comfortable.
There was a large window straight forward with a window seat with deep red pillows and a off white blanket. The pillows had golden thread that was sown into delicate patterns.
To the right there was a small bed with white bedding.
To the left, a large book shelf that filled the whole wall with a few books scattered here and there.
The walls where also an off white color and the bookshelf was a dark brown, similar to the walls in the bathroom.
"It's pretty bland at the moment but I'm sure we can spruce it up later." Minnie said coming up behind me.
"Go get yourself cleaned up and I'll meet you in the kitchen." I turned to her and nodded smiling a little. She sent me a small smile and a curt nod before heading down the hallway to what I guessed was the kitchen.
I went into the bathroom and took a shower.
I wrapped myself in one of the big fluffy white towels from the cupboard. Before I closed the door to the cupboard, something caught my eye.
The shelf that used to be empty now had a small pile of clothes.
I tucked the corner of the towel into the top of the wrap, effectively securing the towel around my body.
I took the top article of clothing and held it up. It was a canary yellow t-shirt.
The next piece was a pair of blue jeans, there was also a white jumper and white socks.
All the clothes where in my size. Guessing that they where for me, I put them on.
I looked in the oval mirror over the sink.
My usually crazy hair was now more straight because it was still wet from the shower.
The yellow of the shirt contrasted well to my skin and it itches considerably less than the pillowcases from the orphanage.
I still had dark circles under my eyes but they where both lighter and smaller. I decided to make my way towards the kitchen seeing as I was starving.
I walked towards where i saw Minnie walk earlier. I walked down the hall, past pictures and portraits, much like at the orphanage. These portraits however where of people that looked muck more friendly. I stopped to look at a black and white moving photo. I remembered that pictures could do that, I thought I was insane.
The people in the photo where organized , the taller people in the back and the shortest in the front. There where 7 all together. They where all holding brooms, like the type you sweep the floor with only sleeker and the twigs at the end weren't sticking out, but rather straight out the back. Most of the people where male, they all looked about 16 or 17. Two where holding identical black bats, one was holding a big ball, and right in the center was a familiar face: Minnie. Much younger, but it was undoubtedly a younger version of the kind woman in the kitchen.
She was smiling from ear to ear holding a large trophe in her hands. Her broom forgotten to the side. When the photo moved she could be seen laughing along with her teammates. The caption below said this
Gryffindor Quidditch cup of 1952
I moved on to the next picture. This one was a still photo of a cat with square markings around its eyes sitting on a desk, licking its paw majestically. I decided I would look at more later and went towards the arch at the end of the hall.
The arch led to a living area. There where windows lining the walls and a sliding door that led to a wooden veranda.
There was a large couch, a sofa chair, a fireplace and another bookshelf. This one has many books back to back and filled the whole shelf, except for a small section that was completely empty.
To my right was another archway. And through the opening I could see Minnie's back.
I went into the kitchen. It was a very large kitchen.
Counter tops went around the room and a small island was in the middle.
There was a window to the right where a small garden of herbs grew in the sunlight.
Minnie noticed me enter.
"I've made you food." She said gesturing to the plate on the island.
"Thank you." I said and took the plate.
"Where should I sit?" I queried.
"You can sit there." She said pointing to the small table in the corner of the room. I sat down in one of the two chairs by the table. Minnie soon joined me with a cup of coffee.
The food was delicious; salmon, potatoes and vegetables.
"You have probably noticed, but in the bathroom there is a shelf in the cupboard for all you toiletries. Also, there is a shelf in the bookshelf for any books you have or anything else you want to display. In the back garden there is also an unused patch of soil if you want to plant anything. If you want to decorate your room you can do so. I want you to feel as comfortable as possible." She said with a smile at the last sentence.
I nodded as politely as I could and thanked her. For now I was going to behave myself, I liked it here and the orphanage didn't have any good books. If Zoe can visit, it'll be perfect.