Disclaimer: We don't own anything except any of the original characters. They all belong to other people.

Author's Notes: Here's the next chapter. Have fun.

Chapter Two: Absolute Awesome-ness

"I've never made pizza before," Bridget was saying amiably (and slightly vaguely) and she poked at the dough in front of her. "I'm not a bad cook—much better at baking, though—but I've never seen the need to make pizza before. We usually just go to the pizza place a couple o' blocks over."

Kagumi stood before a kitchen counter, her thin hands working the tough dough easily. Jet stood beside her, watching and continuing to poke absently at her own portion of dough. Kagumi scooped it up, tossed it expertly once and slammed the ball back on the counter, effectively knocking the air bubbles out of it. Jet's eyes widened as comprehension dawned on her.

"Dude, I so get it, that's how you got strong, isn't it?"

"What?" Kagumi asked blankly, still kneading.

"This. This is how you got as strong as you are. I mean, for someone as tiny as you, you pack surprising strength." Kagumi laughed richly, throwing her head back and accidentally wiping flower on her nose. "It's all freaky-like."

"Well, I guess. I mean, after…when it was just dad, the boys, and me, I was the one who cooked a lot. The boys love pizza, and I like to cook, so we worked out an arrangement: if they could take their pocket money and give it to me whenever they wanted pizza, I'd make it. Besides, pounding out some tough pizza dough is one of the best ways to relieve tension, which is one reason I chose it instead of something sweet."

Jet's eyes widened and she hesitantly picked out the gooey dough and slammed it on the cutting board the way Kagumi had; the work flowed through her muscles and, smiling now, she imagined Kawena's face on the mass of lumpy dough. Kagumi giggled when she saw Bridget punch the dough, and scooted her friend over with her hip, taking her place in front of the dough.

"You take the one I was working on. It'll be easier to work with, and far stretchier."

Bridget sighed somewhat despondently as she switched places with Gumi. "I would so do an evil laugh thing now, but I suck at it."

"How tomato-ey do you like your sauce?" Kagumi called.

Jet, who was slicing pepperonis for the toppings, shrugged. "I dunno. Enough to make it just the right level of tomato-ness."

She gave Kagumi a mischieviously innocent smile. With a sigh, Kagumi tasted the mixture again, and added a few more spoonfuls of water. Gathering spices without looking, a quick glance at the label being all Kagumi needed, she grinded them in her palm and sprinkled them into the sauce.

Wiping her hands free from spice residue, Kagumi sat down and pulled the grater and block of soft mozzarella towards her. She set the grater on top of a plate and skillfully ran the cheese down the grater's face until only a small piece of cheese was left. Moving the grater away, she randomly took two pieces of the shredded cheese and measured them, apparently happy with whatever she'd found.

"Dude?" Kagumi followed Jet's wide-eyed stare to the stove and a second later, the smoke curling up from it caught her attention as well.

"CRAP!"

She ran over to the smoking pot, yanked the lid off and thrusted a spoon down into the bubbling mixture to see what damage had been done. It wasn't much, luckily, but some pure tomato paste had been left on the side and had cooked to a black crust in one spot.

"It's okay. Nothing too horrible, but I was wondering if you had a washcloth around here?"

"Yeah, I'll go get one." Jet scurried off, coming back a second or so later with a thick washcloth. Kagumi lowered her covered hand into the deep pot, carefully scraping the black part off into the washcloth. She sighed with relief as she went to extract her hand, when a bony elbow was suddenly driven into her back. Kagumi bared her teeth at the pain of her burning hand (the washcloth had slipped, exposing bare flesh), but to her credit, didn't cry out. She did, however, take the washcloth and smack the person behind her with it.

A boy's voice cried, "OW!"

One of the twins had ran into the kitchen and accidentally fallen onto Kagumi. He had a scrape down one cheek and dirt in his blonde hair. Kagumi turned around and tapped his cheek three times before smacking him again.

"Mattias! Go bother Alexi. I'm trying to cook!"

"Trying being the key word there," her brother quipped. Another sharp smack with the washcloth shut him up.

"Now, what are you doing in here? Where's Alexi? Where's Dad for that matter?" Kagumi wrapped her burnt hand in her shirt, which was still damp from when she did the dishes. Matt drug his toe across in the ground in a surprisingly good imitation of a cartoon character, and blinked twice. An eyebrow rose on Kagumi's face, and Jet was completely lost.

"Dude, what the hell's going on?" She whimpered somewhat pathetically. "I'm so confused."

"I'll explain in a minute. Mattias Pheonix, what happened out there? What kind of accident?"

"Well…" The boy's discomfort was obvious to Jet, as he shifted his eyes down and then back up. "Well, me, Alexi and Dad were exploring the island a bit. And we came to this cove, not too far of a bike-ride from here. And well, there was this hill. And Alexi hit a rock, and fell from the bike, over the handlebars. Dad tried to catch him, but he couldn't! It wasn't my fault, Sis!" Tears welled in Matt's eyes and Kagumi crossed the room, kneeled down in front of him and hugged him.

"Shh…It's okay. Tell you what, Bugger. You take Jet and me to this cove you found and we'll take care of Alexi and Dad. Alright?" The boy nodded and sniffled once and Kagumi kissed the top of his head softly. Jet looked blankly at Kagumi as she sent Matt to the brothers' room and then washed her hands, pulled the saucepan from the eye, putting a cover on it and setting it on a towel on the counter.

"So here is what we're doing, in order. I'm putting the pizzas together. Then I'm putting them into bake. After that, I'm gonna go see my little brother, Mattias. Then the three of us are going to ride down to that cove, see what's happened, I'm going to do anything I can to help. And then, good thing we got all of the costumes done, we're going tonight to get The Book." The girl's voice sounded very strained, and as she pulled the half-done pizza crust from the oven, Jet noticed that her knuckles were white.

"I have a first aid kit around here somewhere," Bridget said quietly, "I was always a rather adventurous child, always got into scrapes. And, I'm pretty sure I know where that cove is, but I'd rather Matt come. Better safe than sorry, right?" She frowned and spoke (more to herself than anyone else, but who was counting?) "What about the pizzas though?"

"I'm sure that Kawika or someone here won't mind watching after it for an hour or so. I'll set a timer, so that they'll know when it's done." Kagumi forced a smile and wrung out a dishtowel hanging over the sink. Wrapping it around her burnt hand, she tucked the ends in and ladled sauce onto the crusts. Arranging the pepperonis to get the maximum amount of coverage, Kagumi brusquely spread the cheeses over the top.

"Jet, can you hand me the garlic salt? It's the spice with the bright green top." Bridget wordlessly handed her the seasoning (restraining herself from saying that she knew very well what garlic salt was, thank you very much) and Kagumi took it, sprinkling a little on the outside of each crust. Without an unnecessary word, the black-haired girl put both pizzas in the preheated oven, and set the timer for 65 minutes. Then without a backwards glance, obviously trusting Jet enough to follow, Kagumi sprinted up the stairs and into the boys' bedroom.

Matt was lying on the bed nearest the window, turned away from them. Kagumi sat on the bed and ran her fingers through his hair, letting him know that she was there. He sat up and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, shaking slightly. She lifted his face to look at her, wiping away his tears with her bandaged hand.

"Hey…Shh…It's alright. I promise, Alex and Daddy are going to be all right. But I need you to be strong for me. Alright? Nothing bad is going to happen, Matt, but I need you to take us to the cove. I need to check on Alexi." The boy nodded solemnly and sniffled once before getting up. He strapped on his shoes, and led Kagumi out the door and down to the garage, where Bridget's family stored their bikes.

Bridget was waiting for them there, wearing protective gear ("If it's the cove I think it is, it'll be safer for someone to have this on, and I can still ride fast with it. And don't say a word, I know I look stupid.") and holding a bright green messenger bag with a large orange cross on it. Kagumi grabbed the bag out of Bridget's hand, ignoring her protests and mounted the closest bike.

Kagumi peddled hard to keep up with her brother, who was racing down the thin trail. Bridget was ahead of Kagumi, beside Matt. Every once in a while Bridget would pull ahead of the younger boy and have to slow down to let him catch up. Kagumi had the heavy pack filled with the first aid kit inside, as well as spare towels and washcloths. She peddled swiftly, trying to catch her breath and not think about the danger that may lie ahead.

Matt's signals indicated that something serious had happened, and that Alexi and their father were in grave danger. This thought sped her feet, and she easily caught up with Jet and Matt. Adrenaline pumped through her veins and her heart was pounding as they banked a sharp curve and slid to a stop at the top of a small trail. Following Matt's pointing finger, she saw now where there were two skidding tire tracks, going down into the semi-steep ravine. Without hesitation, and indeed, without Jet or Matt, Kagumi plunged down the nonexistent trail, sliding to a stop and hopping inelegantly from the seat. Inside the small cave, she saw two abandoned backpacks, along with two slightly beat-up looking bikes. A bloody shoe lay on the ground.

Kagumi drew a deep breath, vaguely aware of Jet and Mattias entering the cave behind her. A surreptitious glance around the dimly lit cavern revealed two vaguely human forms over in the corner, one missing a shoe. Kagumi gasped and rushed over, dropping to her knees beside the forms. Jet bit her lip, and watched slightly anxiously as one of the forms twitched slightly.

Suddenly, without warning, the smaller body leapt at Kagumi, knocking her down as she screamed. A blonde head poked from the black sweater that Alex had been wearing, and he grinned gleefully at the stark white Kagumi. A split second later, the girl's hands had grasped Alexi's shoulders tightly.

"Are you hale? Wholesome? Uninjured?" The boy nodded cheekily and a flash of anger crossed Kagumi's face as she tightened her grip.

"Good…Cause I'm gonna KILL YOU!!" The girl's scream of rage was completely understandable, and Jet couldn't help but laugh as Kagumi chased the two boys around, her bandaged and burnt hand long forgotten as she whipped the washcloth off and smacked both boys around. (Not in a violent way, like "Oh, I'm gonna beat you!" but in a "Goddammit you had me so friggin' scared" way) Jet wasn't the only one who couldn't stop laughing, as Mr. Pheonix was sitting up, laughing helplessly as Kagumi chased the boys around the cave.

"Kagumi, this is really good pizza. It's very, um, pizza-y…" Jet tried unsuccessfully to bring Kagumi out of her brooding. Twenty minutes after returning to the house, and finishing the pizza, Kagumi still had a dark shadow hanging about her petite features. The girl angrily brushed tendrils of wispy hair out of her face and leveled a glare at her twin brothers, who were sitting beside their father, who was nervously fidgeting under the fierce glare of his daughter.

"Kitten, you know…They're just—"

"Yes, Daddy, they're just 'boys' and 'boys will be boys' and that's how you've covered up for them since the day they came out of the womb! They're not babies anymore, Daddy, and you can't let them get away with stuff like that."

"Kitten, why does this bother you so much?"

"Because!" Kagumi slammed her cloth napkin on the table angrily, directing her poisonous gaze onto the two boys, who were actually tied to their chairs so that they had to listen to what their sister was telling them. Kagumi gave a deep sigh, visibly trying to recollect her infamous and previously unshakable patience.

"Daddy," she tried again. "I don't mind their normal pranks. I don't. Well, except for the Noodle incident, which I'm still not sure how they managed. But, they really scared me. Badly. I thought you were hurt, or dead, and we are in a foreign part of the country, no way to get back home quickly, running out of funds," the girl's pinks gained a pink flush at this, but she resolutely continued, now ticking things off on her fingers. "I'm going to buy my book tonight, so I'm going to be bushed tomorrow…I was terrified, Daddy. And…given past events, I just…don't want a repeat of that. Alright?"

Jet looked from father to daughter, then to the boys, the hand holding her slice of pizza hovering in the air uncertainly. She had no idea what they were talking about, but still, the fact remained that her friend was upset, and she was caught in the middle of a rowing family. She tried not to groan aloud, merely settling for taking a bite out of the pizza (quite honestly, she had no idea what it tasted like—she could be eating chicken for all she knew— fights had seemingly always made her nervous and jumpy), she really hated situations like this.

Kagumi fastened the last button on her white Oxford blouse; her nervous fingers slipped a bit as they anxiously flattened the collar around the red and gold Gryffindor tie. Jet zipped up her own skirt, checking her blouse in the mirror (she looked like her normal slightly-disheveled self, just in Hogwarts clothes) before both girls pulled their cloaks on. Kagumi was wearing knee-high white socks with black shoes, giving her schoolgirl look, which was the intended affect. Looking down, green eyes surveyed the Gryffindor patch that had been sewn onto the Robes over her arm and the end of her tie.

"Well? Did I do a good job?"

"Yeah, we did do a good job. I haven't seen you in those freakin' dress robes you insisted on making, so I don't know how well you did on those, but on the uniforms and school robes, I'd say we look pretty believable. Would you agree?"

"I would indeed!" The pair cracked identical smiles, and then went downstairs with their new "school" bags over their shoulders. Kagumi's carried her mostly-complete dress-robes and matching cloak, as well as notebooks, several of the "guide" books and all of the books from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Needless to say, both bags were relatively heavy. Kagumi only tripped once going down the stairs, thankfully, and approached her father with a determined step.

Bridget hurried to stand next to Kagumi. "You sure you don't want someone else to drive us? It wouldn't be a problem."

The other girl didn't bother responding, and said, "We're ready, Dad…"

Bridget stopped walking for a moment, her rolling her eyes and sighing. She really hated being in these sorts of situations.

"C'mon, then…" Kagumi's father walked a little stiffly, as he had for the past few hours since the row and Mattias watched from the doorframe as the trio passed out the door towards the car Bridget had managed to beg off her parents. Alexi scampered out of the way of the car door and went inside, strangely silent. Kagumi gave a long sigh and sat down, her fingers restlessly playing with the pleated edge of her skirt.

With both Mr. Phoenix and Kagumi stonily silent and Bridget chattering on about some nonsense or another to stop herself from thinking, the car ride to the local bookstore was what only a blind, deaf, and dumb person (possibly insane, too) would call comfortable.

As the moon peeked her head out of the bed of clouds she had gathered around herself, the long line shuffled forward about a foot. Kagumi's nails were constantly near her mouth; it was only her sheer power of will that kept her from biting them off. Jet hid a yawn behind a forcibly-manicured hand, turning to face Kagumi.

"You know, you didn't have to make me get a manicure…" she grumbled.

"No Hogwarts student ever looked like your nails did; no offense, but nails make a big impression on people! I mean, when you go to shake someone's hand, would you rather feel rough, torn, jagged nails, or soft, clean, smooth and well-kept nails?"

"I live in Hawaii, people don't shake hands, they hug each other. We're a very touchy-feely type of people," she muttered. Kagumi gave her a tired glare and Jet reluctanty grumbled her agreement, but still didn't say any more as the line shuffled forward another six inches. Kagumi used the time of her friend's silence to survey the extremely long line; she and Jet were lucky, as it turned out, because they were in the upper-middle of the line…that happened to stretch around two blocks down the road.

There were several people in line ahead of her; many, like herself and Jet, were in costumes, most handmade. A few store-bought costumes stuck out like eyesores among the throng of Harry Potter fanatics. Kagumi found herself appraising the costumes she and Jet were wearing as opposed to everyone else. Though many had chosen a grayish-black material, only a few wore school uniforms, preferring instead the easier-to-make solid robe that one just slipped over the head.

Some, like Kagumi, had made dress robes; almost all had cloaks of some sort or another. Most carried a respectable wand, but some fans carried only a magician's wand, with both ends of the black plastic dipped in a white cap. The ones wearing store-bought costumes carried many of these "imposter" wands. Almost all fans in the line that Kagumi could see had on some sort of pointed hat, whether it was the stuffed-vulture topped hat so much like the one Snape was forced into during Prisoner of Azkaban, or even just a plain black school cap.

However, Kagumi's hair was free to wander as it might in the cool night's breeze. Jet's was in a ponytail, as it almost always was. Kagumi pushed her thin glasses up her nose; it was one of the few similarities between her and the main character of her hero-worshipped book series: green eyes, black hair, glasses, thinness.

Anticipation was running high; Kagumi gripped her customized wand tightly, as if wishing she could actually do the magic she longed for. The tension was palpable in the Hawaiian air; several small scuffles had broken out already, what with greedy fans trying to cut line without being noticed. In fact, Kagumi had had to strong-arm a young man from cutting in front of her and Jet; a few whispered threats to something very "precious" had stilled his attempts to be unfair.

The line hobbled forward another foot; this was the pace that had been set for about the past hour and a half. Kagumi was getting vaguely irritated…

Another foot, and Jet stood with Kagumi, not six feet from the door. Her breath hitched in her throat as Kagumi looked at the green covers lining the walls behind the thin glass; the scene depicted Headmaster Albus Dumbledore leaning over a basin of sorts with Harry, and green light spilling forth.

A vague unease settled in her stomach as the line pitched forward a few more inches, and the ticking of the clock that had been set in the plaza square slowly created more pressure. Finally, a young girl couldn't take it anymore, and she ran at the doors, hand-made robes and Gryffindor scarf flying out behind her; with a sickening thump, she hit the glass hard and sprawled out across the concrete, dazed. Two thin hands pressed themselves over traditionally wine-red lips as Kagumi sought to stifle the inappropriate giggles trying to burst from her mouth.

Kagumi doubled over, pretending to tie her shoelaces as she desperately tried to control the giggles. Finally, the Potter fans were shook out of their stupor and two older fans rushed forward to help the crying girl onto her feet. As she was carried back to her place in line, Kagumi looked at Jet.

"I've been through…several…book lines. And yet, I have never seen someone lose control like that."

Bridget shrugged. "Only in Hawaii."

Bridget was bored. She was very, very bored. She idly fiddled with her wand, wondering why in the word she had chosen to pre-order her book at this store. Usually, she would go to a smaller shop where they would have a release party and food, but she had decided on this one because it was an hour closer to her house. She was beginning to regret that decision.

It wasn't that the wait was horrible—it was just bad. The crazy girl from earlier had provided some entertainment, but that had been short lived and Kagumi wasn't in the mood for conversation. She sighed to herself again. What was she supposed to do for the next two hours?

A slow grin crept over her face as she caught sight of a familiar person fast asleep a bit farther back. Apparently not everyone had made it to their normal hangout. Maybe she could have some fun with this.

"Oh, Luke-y!" she called cheerfully. "I need something to do." The boy in question groggily looked up before deciding to ignore her. It didn't work. "Let's go make some trouble while Kagumi zones out. You have met her, right?"

He nodded, still completely silent, and stood up, stretching before turning to his friend. "So, what do you want to do? Start some sort of Harry Potter feud like at the movie release?"

At long last, just as the aching in Kagumi's feet became unbearable, her part of the line hit the bookstand. She was so close that her eyes could make out the detail of the front cover, though it wasn't really a reassuring sight. The cover was a vaguely hazy green, and depicted Dumbledore and Harry leaning over something. A Pensieve, perhaps? Kagumi wondered briefly. As the book was thrust into her hands and she paid the thirty-odd dollars, she felt a small tingle. Turning the book over, cold dread filled her heart at the sight.

Jet stopped right beside her, having finally returned from the impromtu and nonsensical Muggle Quidditch/Harry Potter Trivia game she had begun at two minutes before midnight. (Kagumi, not knowing that she rarely did so in the first place, just couldn't understand how her friend could focus at a time like this)

"Jet…look at the back cover."

Jet's hands carefully turned the book over, and the girl grinned: There lay the Dark Mark, hovering over what one could easily presume to be Hogwarts. "Absolute awesomeness."

Kagumi lay on the guest bed, which she had dragged closer to Jet's bed. They both lay in their newly bought pajamas, having already put their costumes into their new bags, along with all of the books they weren't reading. Kagumi flipped her book closed after the second chapter, already feeling vindicated and somehow disappointed. After three minutes of staring at the glowing clock (it read 12:35 P.M.), Jet closed her own book and sighed deeply.

"Well…that was oddly unexpected, I had to read it twice. It was awesomely awesome."

"I don't know if I wanna even continue reading. I feel…let down."

"Hey! You're one of the biggest Snape fans out there, Gumi. If you lose faith in him, then he's screwed. Besides, who says that he's on Voldie's side."

"Yeah, I know. But still, an Unbreakable Vow, to do something for Voldemort! How could I not lose faith that he's good?"

"Hey, don't forget what you told me before!"

"Oh, the Foe Glass theory? Yeah, I know," Kagumi said reluctantly as she fiddled with her book she looked up at her friend with a sad frown, "But you had a good argument for it."

Bridget gave her a blank look before shrugging. "So?" When Kagumi didn't respond she sighed. "I could make a good argument for almost anything. My debate coach says I have a way with words; I can make them say whatever I want them to say." She opened the book back up and determinedly flipped to the third chapter. "Come on, let's keep going. It's the second chapter and we haven't even seen Harry, yet."

"Yeah, maybe he'll redeem himself," the girl's disappointed voice was struck silent with a small scuffling from under the beds. Reaching down quite calmly, and indeed, reaching down without pausing in her reading, Kagumi pulled the blonde head of Alexi Pheonix from under the pale blue covers.

"Out!" without looking up, she pointed her slim finger at the bedroom door, knowing full well that he'd leave. Reaching down again, she pulled up her other brother's head and gave him the same treatment. Identical scowls adorned their faces as they left, slamming the door.

Kagumi suddenly sighed deeply, flopping across the pale blue bed and staring up at the light-mottled ceiling. Her arm was almost touching the floor, and Jet picked her hand up and placed near her head, stretching out to where their heads were almost touching.

Longing, sorrow and a little wishful thinking filled the deep green of Kagumi's eyes as she let out another sigh. "Merlin, Jet…I wish it were true…I…I wish I could just escape this friggin' world…I don't fit in here…"

"Quite honestly, Gumi, neither do I… Still, it's not real, no matter how much we both wish it were." Bridget sighed. "Merlin, life sucks."

Cordan's face was pulled taut with intensity. Raminus' cool green eyes followed him as he paced before the inter-dimensional Pensieve, muttering to himself and apparently forgetting that Raminus was there. It had only been a few minutes since Cordan had finished the spell that would, quite possibly, rip the girls' world apart.

"So, I understand why we're doing this---I do. But..."

"But what?" Cordan growled at his best friend.

"But why the bloody hell do we have to do it in a broom cupboard?"

Kagumi's eyes fluttered once, twice. The last sentence she had read should have been hilariously funny, and yet…her sleepiness seemed to be taking precedent over her sense of humor. A lazy image floated in her head of Vernon Dursley, as portrayed by Harry Melling in the Potter movies, having a wine flute bounce up and down on his head; a burst of drowsy laughter escaped her lips.

Bridget seemed to be having similar problems. She had to reread each sentence more than three times for it's context to sink in, which (even with her fast reading pace) made for slow goings. She rubbed her eyes furiously, and took to the book again with a determined yawn.

Cordan threw his hands up in the air, growling in frustration. Sweat was pouring down his face, stinging his eyes and still his magic wasn't working. His dark blonde hair was plastered to his forehead; Raminus laughed quietly.

"GAH! All of my skill in Sleep and Dream Magic and they're still fighting me! Either they're incredibly powerful, or else they really, really want to read." His sturdy hands brushed through his soaked hair, as if wanting to pull another idea out of his head.

"Cor, maybe it's both." The blonde stopped pacing, turning to look at Raminus.

"Huh?" he said blankly.

"Maybe they are really powerful, and they really want to read. I mean, The Prophecy calls for true devotion…I'd say this is true devotion."

"Merlin and Agrippa, but that means that I can't possibly take them both down so that the spell can work!" Raminus chuckled at his friend's hysteria, and stood, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Maybe I could help…and certainly, their own power can help us, if we can just figure out how to tap into it." Cordan nodded slowly, Raminus' unshakable calm washing over him and helping him regain his reason. Together, they looked into the somewhat silvery depths of the IDP (Inter-Dimensional Pensieve) and began weaving their spells.

Kagumi's book closed with a snap. She curled around a pillow, arms tightly clasped as her lips formed words that would never have been known to her, had not a certain two Founders been toying with the very real fabric of time and space.

Jet had long since fallen asleep, with Half-Blood Prince sprawled over her stomach. Her breathing was slow and even, though a bit faster than Kagumi's own. They still lay in a polar fashion, with their heads almost touching, though Jet was still on her back and Kagumi had turned to her right side. The bolt slid shut on the door in the dark, of its own accord. Strange ozone-tasting air began to fill the room, the occasional crackle of static electricity adding drama.

A thin line of green flames slowly made their way around the two girls, not caring what the flames had to crawl up to complete the ring. Another tongue of flame did a second lap around the room, this one red. Slowly, the bolt slid backwards, unlocking the door. The ozone smell leaked out into the rest of the house, slowly infiltrating the senses of the occupants like a stealthy shadow.

Thoughts were changed, memories modified. The very framework of reality was slowly being manipulated and shifted. And slowly, ever so silently, the two lines intertwined, culminating in a fiery blast. Had anything living been in that room, save for Kagumi and Bridget, it would have been blinded instantaneously.

As it was, Kagumi and Bridget were no longer there. All that was left were two human-shaped scorch marks where they had been a few seconds earlier. The clock read 1 A.M.

Author's Notes: There's the chapter. Um... I promise next chapter we finally get to see some of the actual HP universe, and it should get much more interesting. Please review, especially if you have any questions or concerns. Both Gumi and I are more than happy to talk with you. -Jet

Thanks again to FoxLuvr, and Yemi Hikari for reviewing the last chapter. I hope you keep enjoying it.

Next update should be up sometime next week (which would be um... July 2, 2007).