Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything else that J.K. Rowling created. Everything and anything else that you don't recognize, obviously, are mine.

Chapter One

IT WAS A WONDERFUL, dreary day in the beautiful rainy state of Washington where the sun rarely ever shone through the dense clouds. The walk from the park was pleasant and comfortin', the cool air like a gentle caress on my bare shoulders. It was the middle of the summer, and I couldn't help but feeling antsy, despite the weather that I'd grown to love.

I needed to run. Leave. It was that plain and simple. It was that time of year, and since my family hadn't left right after school got out, I was becomin' more and more anxious. Call me crazy all you want—hell, even I wascallin' myself crazy!—I just couldn't shake the feelin'. And it was gettin' even more insistent day after day.

As I neared our little two bedroom, two bathroom house, the strangest sight met my eyes: my parents' cars. My spirits lifted a little at the sight for two reasons. For one, it meant that I would actually get to see my parents before ten-thirty, eleven o'clock at night. For two…there was only one reason they would be home at noon on a Monday.

I walked up the steps quickly and quietly opened the door, peekin' my head into the kitchen where I heard voices comin' from. Inside, sittin' at the small island bent over paperwork, were my parents, both dressed in their army uniforms.

My mom was average height for a woman; she was thirty-two and, in everybody else's and my opinion, beautiful. My mom had clear, coffee-colored skin, ice-blue eyes, and long, wavy dark brown hair that she always had pulled up into a painfully tight bun. My dad, too, was thirty-two, and he wasn't bad lookin' either, I thought. He was dark-colored, but not like my mom; he was dark because he had spent so many days out in the sun since the day he was born. He was also a big dude. He was over six feet tall and definitely had a scary build. His eyes were a stormy blue color and he had short black hair.

My dad was the first to sense that I was watchin' them. He looked up from his paperwork and gave me a gentle smile. "Hi honey. How was your day?" His voice was soft, kind, which proved to me what was comin' next.

I sighed. "Hi dad. Hi mom. Funny seeing you here so early in the day."

"Evie…" my mom started in a soft but firm voice.

"Yeah, I know," I interrupted, breakin' into a big smile. "Where to?"

"You're not…upset?" Dad asked slowly.

"Er…no. Should I be?" I added after a moment.

"Well…maybe a little bit," he said. "We thought—"

"Thought what?" I interrupted.

"Thought that you and that boy from school were pretty close," Mom said, as always, gettin' straight to the point.

I was stunned for a second, and then burst out laughin'. "Who? Allen? No! We're…we're just…friends…" I trailed off. So. I'd finally done it. I'd made a friend, despite my best efforts to stay away from him.

"I thought you didn't have any friends."

"Then it must be obvious that I wouldn't have a boyfriend, now wouldn't it, mom?"

"Sure. Okay." Mom rolled her eyes.

"You changed the subject. Where we going?"

"Korea," Dad said, smilin' at me, knowin' how this news would make me feel.

"Cool! I've never been overseas yet," I said. "When?"

"A week from today."

"Yay!"

My dad sighed. "You're certainly a strange teenage girl," he muttered. "You should have plenty of time to pack—"

"Pack? I've been packed since school let out!" Neither of them looked surprised.

"Then go enjoy the rest of the time in your states. Trust me; you'll miss it," Dad said, and then he turned back to finish signing the rest of the papers.

"Why don't you and Allen go do something?" Mom asked, smilin' mischievously. "You never know; he may be the last friend you ever have."

"Thanks, mother, for the confidence booster."

"Any time, dear."

"Allen Allen Allen guess whaaaat," I yelled up to his open window, bouncin' up and down on his doorstep.

"Don't bounce away, Ev. I'll be down in a sec," came Allen's friendly voice.

"Hurry up boy!" I heard his faint laughter.

A tall, athletic, Hispanic black haired boy that had striking blue eyes and a contagious smile opened the door. His eyes widened and he said in a completely serious voice, "Good god. You're glowing."

I frowned, thinkin' 'bout that for a second. "Okay, that's highly unlikely 'cause there's no way in hell that I'd have had—"

"I didn't mean it like that, you weirdo," Allen said, grabbin' my arm and leadin' me inside.

"Well watch what yer words imply, then. You almost scared me there."

"Ha. Right. You almost scared me. I was thinking I'd have to go beat the crap out of some guy."

"You're sick man. Sick."

"Can't help being a teenage guy, now can I?" he asked with a smirk. "So what's happened? Did someone you hate die?"

"Allen!" This was just like Allen, I thought, smilin', Always jumpin' straight to the most outrageous conclusion that, in all honesty, would probably be true.

"What?" he asked innocently. "I figure that would make you bubbly."

"Jerk. What do you think I am? Psycho?"

"Come to think of it…"

"Shut-up, you big bully." I sat down on his comfortable desk rollin'-chair and started spinnin'.

He sat down on his bed and I felt his eyes on me. "Well? And slow down! You're in one of those moods where I can't understand a single word you're saying. Please slow down a bit. I'm not fluent in Southern-ese."

"You'd think with as much time as you spend 'round me you'd be better, but I guess you're brainless." I rolled my eyes. "Anyways, we're movin'." After a minute or so and Allen still hadn't said anythin', I stopped spinnin' and faced him. He had an unreadable expression plastered on his normally easily amused face. "What?"

Allen shook his head slowly, his eyes searching mine for somethin'. "You aren't kidding, are you?"

"Why would I?"

"And you're…happy…about it."

"Yeah." Allen was startin' to confuse me by the almost hurt look in his eyes. I wasn't sure why he wasn't as excited about this as I was.

He sighed heavily. "I see."

I got up and went to sit next to him, puttin' my arm 'round his shoulders. "You okay?"

"Yeah." His voice was flat. It then dawned on me how my words had sounded.

"Allen…I didn't mean it like that, I swear. I don't wanna leave you. But you know how it feels to be in one place for a long time." And Allen did, both of his parents were in the military, too, and they rarely stayed in one place for longer than two years. He'd told me this when we'd first started talkin' to each other; it was one of the main reasons we had bonded so easily.

"I know. I'm sorry. I just thought we'd have more time. There was a chance our parents would be sent to the same base." He looked over at me with a sad look in his eyes. "Where are you guys heading?"

I knew he wasn't gonna like the answer. "Korea."

"Damn," he said softly. "When?"

"In a week."

"Damn it all," he said under his breath. "I guess it makes what I was going to have to tell you easier."

"What?"

"We're moving to Georgia next month."

"Ha! So you're time with me will have paid off! You'll understand the langua—" I trailed off at the pained look on his face and cleared my throat uncomfortably before startin' over. "Ft. Stewart is a good place. You'll like it there as long as you can get used to the humidity and the mosquitoes…" I said, trying to cheer him up, refrainin' from makin' another joke 'bout them soundin' like me. I didn't think that was makin' him feel better at all at the moment.

He cracked a small smile. "Promise me you'll keep in touch."

"How could I not?"

"I mean it, Ev." His eyes bore into mine, pleadin'.

"I will. I promise."

He held my gaze for one more moment, then he laid back with his hands folded behind his head and sighed. "Who knows? Maybe I can even convince mom and dad to send me over to Korea on break or over the summer."

"That'd be nice," I said, smilin' down at him. This was the Allen I knew; always quick to find the bright side of the situation.

"It'd be nicer if neither of us had to move at all."

"Yeah, but we can't control those decisions."

"I know," he said softly. "I know."

A/N: "How is this a Harry Potter fanfiction?" you may be asking. Well, hold on. We're getting there. This is just a little bit of background, okay? Either in the next chapter or the chapter after that is when the wizarding world will be introduced. I just haven't decided which of those will take the prize yet. Just wait and see.

Okey-dokey, so please R&R!

Nike