An old clock was just above the fireplace. It looked like a box. A nicely polished wooden box with different cat figures carved around it. Three more hours and it'll be midnight. I looked at my almost finished sketch. I sighed heavily.
Maybe I should just go to bed. I doubt Dumbledore will send a reply. In fact, I don't think he's the type to send notes. He's more the type to show up in person. But still, I kind of expected something from him, anything.
I sighed again. What was I thinking? With Harry in the tournament, he already has his hands full. Besides, I just sent the letter this morning. I shouldn't expect him to zap here. I should stop worrying, it's Dumbledore, he's always one step ahead. Well, usually.
I gazed at my sketch.
"What do you think furball?" I grinned as I showed the kneazle its portrait. He just curled up on my lap. "I like it too" I smiled as I petted him, earning a purr. I understood why Hermione and Mrs. Figg were fond of them. Kneazles were charming, but also very perceptive.
"Rare sight that one" Mrs. Figg spoke clearly amused. She was sitting across from me, on an armchair of the living room, knitting…uh a scarf or something.
"Really?" I asked confused. I think he's quite friendly. Cats are usually lazy and love to be spoiled.
"Oh, yes. Barely let's anyone touch him. I say you are quite gifted with kneazles" she explained still pleased at as she stared at her favorite kneazle.
"Well, I do love animals" I chuckled.
Looking at the wooden clock for the second time, I signed my sketch and bid good night to Mrs. Figg. After a shower, I went straight to bed. Though I didn't get much sleep as I was awoken by Mrs. Figg a few hours later, insisting I had a guest.A guest at one in the morning. Of course, I didn't ask any questions and simply dashed out of bed.
Is it Dumbledore? Will he take me away? Probably, I can't exactly stay here, too risky, considering Mrs. Figg watches over Harry. Still, where am I going to go? What's going to happen to me? Will he send me to Hogwarts? The Burrow? Maybe Grimmauld Place?
Worry and anxiety consumed me, as I followed her down the stairs towards the living room, Mimi and Perdy trailing behind me.
As I entered the living room, I noticed a tall, slender woman with dark brown hair.
"Miss Samantha Bennett?" she asked politely, curiosity and doubt embracing her brown eyes.
"Y-yes?" I stuttered nervously as I faced the woman who looked to be in her late forties. She looked familiar.
"My name is Emmeline Vance and I've come by the request of Professor Dumbledore" she explained as a matter of fact.
I stood there for a while thinking of her last name. Vance, sounds extremely familiar. Emmeline Vance….Emmeline Vance. Oh! Of course, she's member of the Advanced Guard that rescues Harry from Pivet Drive. I felt a smile formed on my lips cheering for my amazing memory, though I immediately regretted as I noticed Mrs. Figg and Mrs. Vance staring at me amused.
"O-oh, H-hello" I stuttered embarrassed as I extended my right hand. Way to go Sam, a perfect first impression.
She stared at my hand for a moment. Her brown eyes looked dazed, though she seemed to snapped out of it when she smiled politely and shook my hand gently.
"Pleasure, Miss Bennett" she greeted politely. I nodded. "Now then. Let us go. We have a long drive ahead of us. Arabella thank you and I apologize for the late visit" she spoke sincerely.
Wait, did she say drive? Why would she need a car? She's a witch, right? Wouldn't be alright to apparate or use the floo network? Maybe I heard wrong.
I stole a glance towards the window to erase my doubts but right there, parked in front of the house was… a car? Oh…it really is a car. A simple AC black car. But…how would a witch know how to drive? Maybe it belongs to the Ministry.
I peeked once again to the parked car. But, were ministry cars that, uh, humble looking?
I paused my thoughts as Mrs. Vance rushed me to follow her. Briefly and extremely grateful, I hugged Mrs. Figg, petted for the last time my furry savior and followed the tall lady into the black car, clueless to what was to come.
During the first twenty minutes of driving, silence surrounded the vehicle. Don't get me wrong, I had so many questions to ask. But something told me to wait. So, I simply stared through the windows watching houses zoomed by, while petting Mimi and Perdy to my sides. Soon, the neighborhoods were replaced by trees and by an endless highway that seemed to be embraced by nothing but darkness. It was peaceful and it was somehow making me drowsy.
"Pretty…" I whispered dozily.
My cheeks flushed as the words had unconsciously left my mouth. I felt Mrs. Vance eyes on me. "Uh, the, sky, I-I mean, night is-yeah…" I trailed off embarrassed. Nice Sam. What is wrong with you?
"Hmmm, perhaps it'll be clear, tonight" she said her serious gaze concentrated on the road.
"Oh, i-it has been raining?" I stammered nervous and whao did I just ask about the weather? Maybe I should take a nap, before I start mumbling nonsense.
"Hmmm yesterday night did" she answered casually.
"Oh…" I trailed off, clueless of how to continue the conversation. "Um Mrs. Vance…" I dawdled once again as I tried to strike a conversation though failing miserably. "I-its…nothing" I forced a smile.
"Get some rest, Miss Bennett. It will take a while to arrive to our destination" she said as she met my gaze through the rear mirror. Exhausted and knowing now was not the time to look for answers; I nodded. Shortly, I drifted to sleep to what felt like a couple of minutes only to jolted slightly as I noticed an illuminated gate. It was elegant and definitely luxurious. Tall too, heck at least 12 feet high. As Mrs. Vance approached the car, the gate opened revealing some sort of pavement.
Where are we? I gazed through the window and curiously stared at an elegant black address plaque by the brick wall of the gate. 7714 Virginia Water spelled in its golden letters.
Virginia Water as in Surrey? Wait, what time is it?
I turned my attention towards the car radio. I blinked as I read four in the morning.
Whoa, some nap I took. I wonder if it takes longer to get to London. I turned my gazed towards the driver. Luxurious gate, Virginia Water? Where exactly am I going? And just I was already speechless with the gate and address plaque, I was stunned as we drove in front of a huge three story brick house and parked inside of one of three garages.
Where am I really?
I was getting scared, what if it belonged to the Malfoy family? I scoffed internally. Don't be ridiculous, Sam. As if Dumbledore would place you in the Malfoy Manor. Then again, I thought the Malfoy and the Black family were the only wealthy magical households, right?
"Here we are" Mrs. Vance broke my thoughts as she turned the engine off and walked out of the car. Reminding myself that she was loyal to Dumbledore, I followed her out of the car, Mimi and Perdy trailing close to me. I was uneasy at first, but seeing my dogs relaxed, so did I. Animals tended to be more perceptive and usually Mimi and Perdy were sensitive to this kind of thing. I hope. So, I simply enjoyed the night scenery, admiring the sight of the house. It was covered with French windows. A huge wooden door was guarded by two columns, right by the entrance. Then behind my back, were the three garages while a soft crème…sort of grayish stone pavement leaded you towards the gate, while trees shadowed the house from any unwanted attention. It was peaceful and isolated and from what I saw through the drive, I don't think there were any neighbors nearby. Well, if we really are in Virginia Water, then most houses will be separate from each other from a considerable distance. They take privacy quite seriously, especially when it's a neighborhood with houses of the royal family. At least that's what it looked like when I visited it four years ago with Nana and grandpa.
I followed her inside the beautiful house and looked confused at the state of it.
Well, I certainly didn't see that coming.
Dust sheltered the walls, bed sheets covered most of the furniture and well pretty much it smelled dusty and old and moldy. It wasn't that the house was completely abandoned, but it seriously needed some clean up. Well, at least it wasn't falling apart. Then again, how come the inside was like this when the garage, the gate and the pavement were in perfect shape?
"I apologize for the untidiness, but nothing a little magic can't fix, can it?" Mrs. Vance smiled genuinely, as she pulled out a light brown stick from her black vest. With a flicked of it, the room began to clean itself, dust was floating out through the windows, sheets were uncovering by themselves and brooms were sweeping the floor. "Now then, let's get you settled" she politely beckoned me to follow her.
As I trailed behind her, I admired the work of magic tidying everything in its path while she gave me a tour of the house. It was not a mansion, but it was definitely a huge with a beautiful colonial staircase in Pasadena. As we reached the middle of the second floor, she opened a door that led to an empty room, quite spacious. It had double French doors that led to a balcony plus an open small room towards the right corner.
"Hmmm" Mrs. Vance scanned me, looking from my toes to my head and with a flick of her wand she cleaned the room. Then she held her fancy black purse and with her wand and an softly spelling unknown incantation, shrunken white wooden furniture started floating out from the bag into the room. A queen bed landed in the middle of the room followed by two night tables, a big wardrobe, a delicate vanity, a desk, a dresser, heck even two armchairs, curtains, carpet and a big bookshelf.
"This is your room. Use it to your liking" she grinned discretely with satisfaction.
I gaped at the room; it was almost the size of my room, back home. Not to mention, everything looked expensive, from the furniture, the bed sheets, the carpet heck even the lamps. Just who exactly is this lady?
"Now get some rest. Tomorrow we'll get you some clothes and a wand" she sighed, not trying to hide her exhaustion, while heading to the door.
"M-Mrs. Vance" I called to her worry and curious. How much did Dumbledore told her?
She turned around as she held a hand in the door knob and faced me.
"U-uh, um" I stuttered nervous. Go ahead, Sam. Just ask her. "W-well, um, thank you…" I trailed off, forcing a smile.
She gazed at me for a few seconds as if knowing I hadn't voiced my real thoughts but she nodded and replied a polite "goodnight". Great job, Sam.
I sighed heavily as I plopped down on the comfortable bed. I had so many questions to ask and yet I didn't want the answers to any of them. Feeling my eyelids dropped, I lay in bed, and before I knew it I drifted to sleep.
I woke up around midday by Mrs. Vance rushing me down for some lunch. After eating some Chinese take-out, apparently she wasn't the type to cook, I took a shower. Good thing, she let me borrow some of her clothing. Mornings were still a bit chilly and at least the clothes fitted, sort of. She was taller than me.
Ready to go, I met her in front of the garage waiting to get on the AC black car.
"Take my arm, Miss Bennett" she commanded me offering her left arm.
I shifted my attention from her to the offered arm. Oh, I got a bad feeling about this.
Hesitantly, I grabbed it and by the second, yep, we had apparated. Lucky for me, we landed in alleyway saving myself from embarrassment as I stumble straight to the ground, trying to keep the Chinese food from flowing upstream. Now I understood how Harry felt when he side-apparated with Dumbledore. Definitely not pretty.
I took a few deep breaths as I tried to settle down my stomach. After a few more minutes and with Mrs. Vance help, I was able to stand.
"Thank you" I smiled grateful for her support as I was still a bit tipsy.
"Rather rare. People usually throw their guts out" she explained in a matter of fact.
"I reckon…" I panted. "I'm not the usual kind" I grinned weakly.
"Definitely not" she spoke in her serious tone. "Now let's get you something decent to wear" she said as she walked through the alley. I followed her and soon we stood in the middle of Oxford Street.
"Um, Mrs. Vance, I know this thrift store just a couple of minutes by bus. It has some really nice stuff and very cheap" I pointed out, clearly stating that I didn't need that much clothes, just the basics.
"Thrift store? Ha!" she scoffed.
I blinked. Whoa, scary she sounded exactly like Nana for a moment.
"My goddaughter having clothes from a thrift store, absolutely not!" she explained arrogantly as she rushed me to follow her to a store, which I knew really well and Nana loved. Topshop stood there with its seasonal clothing in display. Wait…
"Goddaughter?" I asked skeptical.
"The professor saw it fit and personally I think it's wise to hide you for now as my goddaughter" she clarified as she led the way through the alley.
"But I'm American, and a muggle and aren't godparents supposed to uh, well" I trailed off, once again, worried. Goddaughter? Is that even believable?
"My husband was American and a muggleborn, Miss Bennett. Therefore, we can always supply to the Ministry you're from his circle of friends" she further justified in her matter of fact tone.
"Oh" was all I could say. If was she said is true then, this can we really work. I hope. I mean, I can be honest about my parents and my muggle life, except maybe skip the parts of the IPhone and the Plasma TVs and pretty much everything that screams future.
"From now on, you are to refer to me as Aunt Lin and we are most definitely not going to a thrift store. If we are to make anyone believe you are my goddaughter and responsibility, you are to get the best of the best and that's final." she scolded me sternly, almost sounding like Professor McGonagall, to which I flinched at her new attitude and side.
"But…" I tried to reason with her.
"Not another word, Miss Bennett…" she scolded me one last time. Finality edging in her voice.
"Yes, Mrs-I mean A-Aunt ….Lin?" I smiled sheepishly as she sent me a glare.
"Now, less talk and more action, we must make it to Ollivader's before six" she stated as she lead the way inside the department store.
By late noon, I had from cosmetics and miscellanies, to shoes and undergarments, shirts, blouses, dresses, pants, winter clothing, accessories, even stuff for Mimi and Perdy. It's a good thing she shrunk all the shopping bags into her purse or it would had been physically impossible to carry them.
Thankfully, I did change into the bought clothes before we exit one of the department stores. I grabbed some jeans, a long sleeve blue shirt, ankle stacked heel brown boots, a brown denim jacket and a white scarf. Then, we had grabbed a taxi to the Leaky Cauldron. I couldn't help but awed at the close resemblance to the movies. Diagon Alley had the same dark cobbled street, which stood in between the crooked shops. Few wizards and witches walked around doing their shopping, holding cauldrons or brooms. Owls were on sale. I had to remember to close my mouth before Mrs. Vance would reproach me.
I chuckled.
She was similar to Nana. Classy, organized, sharp and people just respected her. What was exactly her profession to have so much money? Heck even the managers of the department stores greeted her and assisted her. Maybe she's a politician, like Lucious Malfoy. She does have this aura of respect and diplomacy. But then, how come so many muggles knew her? Even more, how come she knew how to drive and had cell phone? Funny looking mobile phone, by the way. I couldn't help but stared at it, whenever she got a phone call, which she had almost every twenty minutes. What kind of person is she? She's a witch no doubt but how come she has a strong presence in the muggle world-
My thoughts froze as I almost bumped with her back. She had stopped right in front of a shop, quite a small one and familiar by its display windows. Curious, I peeked across her right shoulder and blinked as I saw a purple cushion with a wand on top of it.
I held my breath.
We were here.
Excited yet nervous, I gazed upwards. Ollivander's Wand Shop, Makers of Fine Wand since 382 B.C was written in the familiar peeling gold letters.
This was it. I was getting my wand today.