A/N Okay, so I'm just feeling really motivated. (Mostly thanks to Sue She. Thanks a whooole bunch!) I think I'm going to really set up for the next chapter here, so don't kill me if this chapter isn't action packed. Thanks to my seemingly only viewers Sue She and You-Are-A-Fridge-With-Wingss. You're the best, you know it, and you do the best hair flip I've ever seen!

Okay, now to continue the story…..

When I got home, after sharing my incredible trip with my brother, I went to my room and set everything up in my trunk. I was so excited to be going to Hogwarts. I just wished I wasn't going because of the death of my parents. My circumstances sucked.

The next day, I got up to find Taylor at work. I made myself eggs and toast for breakfast, and I cleaned the entire house. Top to bottom. Call me crazy, but that's what I do in my spare time, especially when I'm avoiding dealing with an issue.

Reading is another way I avoid my problems. I dug out my book about that girl and her sad story. I lost myself in her problems and thought about the way I would solve them. It really helped me feel like I accomplished something, even though I really hadn't done anything productive in my world.

Eventually, after I'd read myself cross-eyed and cleaned until my fingers were raw, I knew I wasn't going to be able to do it anymore. I broke. I was in my room, reorganizing my trunk for the third time, when a piece of paper caught my eye. I bent down to pick it up, and I read it. It was my list of things that were crowding my brain. That's what broke me, seeing the thing that I had been trying to avoid all day, written down on paper in my handwriting.

I sat down on my bed and started crying. I cried and cried, my body shaking with sobs, until it seemed a greater force had shut off my tear flow. I kept crying without the tears. I must have cried like that for an hour. When I was finished, my face was flushed and my mouth was dry. The tear trails had dried on my face. I had refused to wipe them off. I was told to never wipe them away when you weren't finished crying.

I got up and went to the bathroom mirror. I saw my red, irritated eyes, and my red cheeks. My mouth was slightly open, and my fingers touched the sore skin around my eyes. Right where most people get bags under their eyes when they don't sleep, my eyes get sore after crying. I took a deep breath and walked out of the bathroom to get some water.

I tramped into the kitchen and ungracefully threw open the cabinet and grabbed a glass. I filled it all the way up with water, and I downed it. And I did it again. And again. And again. When I get anxious, I drink TONS of water. After I had finished my binging, I washed the glass and placed it carefully back where it was.

I felt better. Letting it all out really just makes the load feel lighter. As much as I don't like crying, I had to admit that.

I went back to my room, and I sat down at my desk to write Emily. I poured out my heart, like I always do to her. I can't help it. I wrote down all about my trip to Diagon Alley, living with Taylor, and how I was feeling about my parents. That took up about 2 hours and 3 sheets of paper.

I decided to get a head start on dinner for Taylor. He figured that a grilled cheese on a paper plate was good for dinner, and maybe it was. For a 20-year-old. But me? I had grown up with my mother's cooking, and even if she was gone, I wasn't about to give it up.

I set out real glass plates and glass glasses. I started boiling angel hair pasta and thought about what I was going to make with it. I decided on some garlic and butter noodles (since I wasn't a pro yet) and some garlic bread. I really love garlic. I put the garlic bread in the oven and grabbed the garlic powder and butter. Once everything was cooked, I mixed the butter and garlic in with the pasta and served it up.

When Taylor walked in, I was putting a heaping pile of pasta on his plate. He smiled and hung up his robes.

"Shoes off", I said play-sternly. He laughed and put his hands up in surrender.

"Okay, okay, no need to get your wand in a knot"

He sat down and wafted the fumes over toward him. "Now this I could get used to".

I smiled and dug in. I hadn't eaten lunch, and crying takes a surprising amount out of you.

"How was work?" I asked hoping he wouldn't go into an entire speech about it. I mean, I love my brother, but I was only doing this to be nice.

"Well, the minister is frantic about the whole deal at the World Cup and with his house-elf being charged, he's really stressing out…."

At this point, I really started to zone out. This is what I had been hoping to avoid. I started day dreaming about Hogwarts. Then I started daydreaming about meeting the "Golden Trio", while mechanically eating my pasta. I was so excited.

After dinner, I cleaned up and did the dishes. Taylor and I watched the little TV set he had until about 7:30. From there, I got up and went to my room. I gathered my letters and sent them off with my brother's owl Harold. He was a cute, tawny owl that was really dependable.

After that, I got in the shower and washed all the stress of the day away. I got out feeling clean, happier, and ready for a nap. I changed, hopped in bed and glanced at the clock. It was about 8:15. I blinked, and the next time I opened my eyes it was daylight.

I jolted awake. I was sweating and panting hard. I sat up and glanced around. Taylor was at work again. I swung my feet over the edge of my bed and figured I would get a start on the day.

The next day passed with an almost exact agenda as the day before. I cooked, I cleaned, and I read, I cooked again, I cleaned again, and I showered again. The only thing different, is I didn't cry. I think (and hope) I got that all out of my system yesterday.

When I went to bed that night and I couldn't stop thinking about the next day. I would be boarding the train. I would be going to Hogwarts. I already had everything packed and had quadruple checked it. I was so nervous. I really hoped I would fit in. I really hoped the curriculum wouldn't be too difficult. But with me being in Ravenclaw, it shouldn't be too hard to keep up. The thing I was most worried about, however, was knowing I wouldn't have my mom to confide in when I was having problems. I fell asleep thinking about hidden passages in a castle somewhere hidden.

I woke up to Taylor yelling at me to get up. He had told his boss he would go into work late, so he could take me to the station. He grabbed my trunk, threw my clothes at me and rushed me to get dressed. I glanced at the clock. It was 8 a.m. We had three hours before the train left! And he was rushing me! I walked into the bathroom and locked myself in there.

From there, I spent about an hour and a half mentally and physically preparing myself. I started off slipping on some darker jeans that hugged my hips. I then slipped on a black hoodie sweatshirt. I grabbed my straightener and flipped my hair out the way I like. I have charms that do it, but straightening it is so much easier. Plus, I was out of school. I slid on my combat boots and got to work on my makeup.

I put a bit of blush on to accent my sharp jaw line, first. Then I put on eyeliner with slight wings to bring out the point to my eye shape. I put on mascara to thicken my long eyelashes. I put on my strawberry chapstick for good luck and walked out the door.

Taylor was drinking his soda with The Daily Prophet. You could tell he was nervous as well. "Are you all prettied up now?" he asked tapping his foot.

"Yeah, I'm ready. How long will it take to get there?"

"A minute at the most. We're apparating to the alley next to the train station. We'll then put you on the Hogwarts Express and send you off."

"Alright then. When are we leaving?"

"We're going to leave around 10:30, just in case we get slowed down for some reason, or something."

Now it was my turn to tap my foot. "Okay, so I just got up at 8 to catch a train that doesn't leave 'till 11? I could have slept in!"

He smiled. "Well, we all know how long it can take you to put your face on, and I didn't want to be late".

He was referring to my makeup. My family is convinced I wear pounds and pounds of makeup, when I really don't!

"Whatever. I'm going to do some double-checking." I said rolling my eyes.

"Haven't you done enough of that already?" he asked incredulously.

"You can never be too sure", I replied.

I went back into my room to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything. I double-checked my trunk to make sure I had all my pictures, clothes, books, and anything else I might forget. After I'd done that, I tried to keep my mind occupied. If I don't keep my mind occupied in a situation like this, I start to make myself really nervous.

I paced, and listened to my brother's little radio. Finally, he called me out to grab his arm. I reached out with one hand, holding tight to his forearm and my trunk. I had that terrible tube-slide sensation again, and when I opened my eyes, we were on the busy streets of the train station where I would be taken off to Hogwarts.

I looked up at Taylor, and he smiled down at me encouragingly. I smiled back and we walked in together. We walked to a trolley for me. I never let go of Taylor's arm.

We wheeled the heavy, shiny trolley all the way down to platforms 9 and 10. I looked up at the clock and it said 10:40. We still had plenty of time, but I couldn't see the platform that we were supposed to be on. I looked up at my brother, confused. He grabbed the trolley and said, "Follow my lead".

I watched with interest as he looked around him, and then started running too fast towards the pillar between the platforms. Honestly, I didn't think my brother could be dumb enough to run straight into a wall without stopping, but if he was, I wasn't about to stop him. Right when he should have been running straight into pure brick, he seemed to melt into it and go straight through. My mouth opened, and I looked around. No one else seemed to notice.

I made a quick decision and set myself up to follow my brother. I looked around to make sure no one was watching, and started speed walking straight toward the wall. I looked right at it and it looked dangerously solid, but I kept walking. I broke into a run, hearing my steps pound on the pavement. When I got to the wall, I put my arms out, but they went right through. And so did I.