The morning reined with a bright and glorious sunshine. Its solar rays gleamed brilliantly through the lace curtains of a large russet house, waking the groggy female inside.
Natalie woke reproachfully and ambled about the unfamiliar room of the Meadowes' residence in search of clean garments. Dorcas' parents, Laurence and Gisela, were more than willing to give her a play to stay in their luxurious guest bedroom, but Natalie suspected they just wanted to keep an eye on her.
It had been three weeks since the funeral of her mother, Mariel. The anguish from the incident was repetitively on her mind, dampening her spirits and thoroughly making her miserable.
Dorcas was also constantly at her side, reading books or playing games to try and keep her mind focused on other things. Even in the midst of all this kindness, Natalie couldn't ignore the fact that this wasn't her home, and the Meadowes weren't really her family.
She knew they were only trying to help, but sometimes it was irritating to see them spending so much time worrying about her when they had so much to do already.
Laurence and Gisela both Healers at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries and had full time jobs evaluating patients. The added affliction of a guest couldn't possibly be helping.
Life seemed so dreary and insignificant to Natalie these days. It was as if she really didn't belong anywhere. She had no mother. She had no family, and it disturbed her to think she was living off of the Meadowes' generosity. She didn't want to be their burden; she wanted to fend for herself.
Natalie sighed; life was so much simpler before. There was so much less to worry about back then. She had never imagined life without a mother, and now that it happened, she had trouble grasping the fact that she would truly never ever see her mum again.
A soft rap sounded on the door, and Natalie stood to open it. She grinned as she spotted her friend Dorcas yawning in pink fleece pajamas.
"Morning sleepy head," Dorcas grinned lazily as she entered the room. "Mum said to fetch you for breakfast."
"Sure thing," Natalie smiled, "I'm coming."
"Its bacon and eggs if your wondering," Dorcas wriggled her eyebrows animatedly.
She smirked, "I honestly wasn't."
"Ahuh-," the blonde narrowed her eyes doubtfully.
Blearily, the two girls drifted down the steps and into the kitchen where the lovely Gisela Meadowes was placing clean dishes on the table.
"Morning Mum," Dorcas said in a suddenly cheerful mood.
Mrs. Meadowes eyed her skeptically, but smiled when she spotted their guest trailing behind her, "Morning dear," she beamed, flushing away her golden locks. "Sleep well?"
"Yes," Natalie muttered and took a place next to Mr. Meadowes, who, by the looks of it, was reading an entrancing article in The Daily Prophet.
"Good," Mrs. Meadowes smiled favourably, and took a place next to her daughter.
"The post came in today," she twittered her eyebrows in a very Dorcas-like fashion while Natalie bit back a smile. "There was a Hogwarts invitation for each of you."
Dorcas squealed in delight, snatching the letter from her mum, but Natalie sat flabbergasted, her mouth agape, "Me?!" she asked bewildered.
"Of course, dear," Gisela laughed, handing over the letter. "You did plan on continuing your education didn't you?"
Natalie blinked, startled, "I suppose," she mumbled, examining the envelope in disbelief.
Wordlessly, she opened it to reveal a page of intricate writing.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc, Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Ms. Doge,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment for the 7th year.
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall,
Deputy Headmistress
Natalie gasped as she finished reading the post, and turned her attention to Dorcas.
"It says 7th year," she contemplated.
Dorcas looked up from her letter, "Really?" she laughed. "Then you'll be in my year," she squeaked in delight.
"Yes, but I've never been to Hogwarts before," Natalie frowned. "How can they place me in 7th year without even evaluating me before hand?"
"I spoke to professor Dumbledore," Mrs. Meadowes spoke up with a wry smile. "I explained your situation, and how your mum taught the first six years of your schooling."
"And he was fine with it?" Natalie asked perplexed.
"The Headmaster is fine with a lot of things," Dorcas grinned affectionately. "He's a fair man; of course he'd let you into his school. You're brilliant!"
At these words, Natalie rolled her eyes, yet she couldn't help but muse at the fact that she and Dorcas would be going to Hogwarts together!
"I've arranged a trip to Diagon Alley on the first of August," Mrs. Meadowes clarified. "So don't be nagging me about it until then." She turned her eyes explicitly on Dorcas, "By the way, dear, how are your grades?"
Dorcas looked up from her paper nervously. "My grades," she repeated with a crimson blush. "Oh, they're just dandy mother," she grinned false-cheerfully.
"Dorcas Serenity Meadowes," Gisela said her name harshly. "You bring me that report at once."
Dorcas winced at her using the 'full name-theory' and handed over the manuscript. "I told you how I feel about Arithmancy," she whined. "How can I do well at something that I hate?"
Natalie stifled her laughter as Mrs. Meadowes eyes' bulged at the paper before her. "You failed!" she groaned. "Dorcas, how could you have done so poorly?"
"Keep reading," she mumbled irately, folding her arms across her chest.
"I see you passed Divination," Mrs. Meadowes muttered, obviously annoyed. "Barely…" After glancing through the entire document, her face emitted into a sudden grin, "You received an Outstanding in Defense Against the Dark Arts?" She whispered in awe.
"Laurence!" Mrs. Meadowes waved the paper in front of her husband, who looked up and grinned profoundly impressed.
"Our little Dorcas has finally achieved an O," he smiled, "and in Defense, no less."
"Yep!" Dorcas flushed in vain. "So can I get a new owl this year?" She pleaded. "Pretty please?"
"What's wrong with your old one?" Gisela demanded.
Mr. Meadowes chuckled quietly and went back to his paper, not wanting to be involved in the dispute.
"Whimsy?" Dorcas protested. "She's so scrawny she can barely hold up her own weight. Let alone a single post."
"Then it'll have to do," Mrs. Meadowes said decisively. "Besides, I said no nagging until August first."
Dorcas sighed, "Yes, mother." She grinned. "So I shall hold it off until then."
Mrs. Meadowes waved her hands in dismissal, "Eat your food and go out to play," she ordered. "I need not hear another word about Hogwarts or your owl until next month."
"Yes, Ma'am," Dori beamed in satisfaction, and began to once again, devour the plate of bacon before her.
Natalie shook her head amusedly at her friend's antics and quickly finished off her breakfast as well.
She would be going to Hogwarts. She couldn't believe it. For as long as she could remember, she had imagined how it would be to attend the renowned boarding school, but the more she thought of it, the more frightened she became.
Her nightmares were continuously haunting her at night, and more often than not, she would wake up screaming. It had only happened twice in her stay at the Meadowes', but that was enough to keep everyone on guard and alert for her cries. Natalie hated her dreams. They always seemed so real, but in the end, she had to convince herself that that's all it was; just a dream.
She scoffed. It seemed like after ten years she would have gotten used to the horrors of the night, but she couldn't. She would even go to sleep expecting to have a nightmare and convince herself that it was only a dream. But when it actually happened, her thoughts fell on nothing but what she saw in the vision, whether it was dead faces or tainted blood.
As soon as the horrors looked her in the eye, she found herself lost, alone, and afraid. Her mind couldn't comprehend that it was all a delusion, so her body would grow cold and break out into a sweat.
It was so unnerving to wake up screaming with someone other than her mum at the edge of the bed. It exhausted her when she had these dreams. Being totally frightened out of your wits can have that effect on a person.
And Natalie could only begin to imagine the ruckus it would cause if she attended a boarding school. If she resided at Hogwarts, she would be made fun of, and treated as an outcast at the first sign of a nightmare. She didn't know if she was ready for that.
Yet even if she didn't have these 'weird' dreams, Natalie had never attended a class with more than one pupil present at a time. It was all too awkward for her. She didn't know how she was going to survive an entire school year living with roommates and studying with strangers. It was too far out of her comfort zone. She wouldn't do it. She couldn't do it.
Could she?
Natalie groaned in aggravation. This was all so messed up.
"Are you alright, my dear?" a melodic voice suddenly interrupted her thoughts.
Natalie looked up into the familiar blue eyes of Mrs. Meadowes. "Oh, …yes," she spluttered, putting on a fake smile. "I'm fine."
Dorcas looked at her quizzically, and Mrs. Meadowes still looked doubtful. "Are you sure, Nattie dear?" she asked, looking her over.
"Yes," Natalie grounded firmly. "I am absolutely wonderful." She grinned. "Now, Dorcas isn't it time we go and play?" She hinted her plea, and her friend smiled at the cover up.
"Oh my, look at that," Dorcas muttered, examining her wrist where a watch would have been placed, if she had one. "It is time to go and play, isn't it?"
Natalie rolled her eyes, and scooped up the last of her breakfast. "Thank you so much for the food, Mrs. Meadowes. It was all absolutely wonderful." She smiled her pleasure, and Dorcas nodded in correspondence.
"Why, your welcome, my dears," Mrs. Meadowes said suspiciously. "Do have fun whilst you play."
"Oh, for sure," Natalie affirmed.
"Of course we will, mother," Dorcas rubbed it off. "Do make sure you have fun at St. Mungo's today," she grinned. "Good bye, Dad, good luck with the patients."
"Sure thing, dear," Mr. Meadowes, put down the morning's paper, and sauntered away, mumbling something about where his wand had gotten lost to.
Dorcas and Natalie soon fled the kitchen and ambled outside in search of their favourite worn down 'play-house' located on the outskirts of Rural Forest.
Natalie smiled when she spotted the abandoned shack they had so frequently occupied for the last six years.
"So, what's up?" Dorcas asked, as they entered the one room cabin. "Gobstones, Exploding Snap…?"
"Let's play a game." Natalie smiled as she thought of her favourite wizard game, "Gobstones."
"As always," Dorcas clapped her hands in glee.
Habitually, they began, Natalie propped comfortably against the window, and Dorcas strewn lazily across the floor, munching on her favourite flavour of trail mix.
"It'll be so exciting," Dorcas shrilled in thought. "You'll have so much fun at Hogwarts. Everyone will love you." She beamed.
Natalie ignored her, paying attention to the game. "Nice one," she smirked as Dorcas was sprayed with a disgusting liquid from her marble as she knocked it off the field.
"Disgusting," Dorcas grimaced, wiping at her clothes. "But think of it!" she reminiscened "You'll love Lily to death, and I have been telling her all about you for the last six years," Dorcas giggled. "I'm sure she'll be infatuated to finally meet you. And the Marauders! Oh, you'll have so much fun with them."
Natalie smiled as she remembered the stories Dorcas would tell her from the grand escapades of the four boys.
"Oh my!" Dorcas exclaimed, abruptly sitting up. "I need to send them all an owl to tell them you're coming."
"What?" Natalie protested. "Why?"
"To give them the heads up, of course," Dorcas ogled her as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "They'll never forgive me if my long lost best friend of six years shows up without them having a clue." She grinned. "Yes, I'll write them today. Ooh, they'll be so excited." She squealed.
Natalie smiled, and turned her gaze towards the window. It was all going to be so different. Her life was changing, yet she didn't know if she was quite ready for it.
What if Dorcas' friends didn't accept her when she went to Hogwarts? What would happen then?
"Oh, you'll just love Remus," she rambled on. "He's so polite and the most sane of the Marauders, but I'd bet my sunflower seeds that the wit of most their pranks are compliments of him," she said confidently.
"Dorcas-" Natalie shifted uncomfortably.
"Yes, luv?" She grinned dreamily.
Natalie bit her lip, "What if…-well-…they don't like me?" she asked, feeling like a total idiot.
"The Marauders?!" Dorcas asked skeptically.
"Well," Natalie stuttered, "Anybody. What if no one likes me? I'm six-teen years old, and I have never attended an actual school."
"So?" Dorcas protested. "What's not to like about that? It's interesting. You're interesting. What do you mean, 'what if they don't like you'? You're brilliant you boarhound!"
"No Dorcas. I'm not," Natalie snapped. "What about my dreams? What will they think of me then? Huh?"
"What about your dreams?" Dorcas questioned nervously, a faint blush working its way up her cheeks.
"When I have a 'dream', I'll wake up screaming, and then how's everybody going to treat me?"
Dorcas shook her head in perception, "Love, I don't know how everyone will treat you." She glared defiantly. "But my friends won't treat you any different."
Natalie eyed her hesitantly, and then broke into a laugh. "How I love you dear." She grinned affectionately.
Dorcas chuckled at her hysterics, and shrugged her head. "It'll be fine," she said. "I promise."
Natalie nodded in affirmation, yet bit her lip. "Alright…but what should I do about my dreams?" she asked, baffled.
"Nattie, luv, it's a magic school. I'm sure we can come up with at least some kind of silencing charm for your nightly furies."
"You just might be right," Natalie contemplated. "I do remember reading something like that in one of my books…"
"'Course I am, and," Dori continued, "We can try making a Dreamless Sleep potion similar to the flasks in my mum's medicine cupboard."
"Why can't you just get one of hers?" Natalie asked. "I'd feel a lot safer swallowing something made by a professional."
"Sorry, no can do," Dorcas frowned. "She keeps the cupboard locked at all times, and it's not likely she's just going to hand it over if we ask her too. We can find out how to make our own. I'm sure of it…." Dorcas frowned in thought.
"Well then, you better have a darn good knack for Potions." Natalie said warily.
"I don't know about me…" Doricas grinned. "But I do know someone who is excellent in that particular area of study."
"Now hold up!" Natalie stood up. "You can't be going around telling people about my… condition."
"Yeah, that wouldn't be a very bright idea at all." Dorcas acknowledged.
Natalie rolled her eyes exasperatedly, and then made her move. "I win, again." She smirked referring to their contemporary game of Gobstones.
"I guess you did, love," Dorcas frowned. "You always do. I suppose it's because you're brilliant."
Disclaimer: Everything recognised belongs to J., and that's a fact. ^_^
A/N: *All comments welcome!