Raindrops were a bit like people, not from an objective standpoint of course, but if you watched them for long enough it's easy to make the connection. They had lives in a way, it was just faster, maybe a bit happier.
Like people, they had lives based on pure chance, they could fall into a river and travel peacefully out to sea. They could create a puddle that provides water for others, or they could soak into the earth and end up as mud on a traveller's shoe. Another similarity is that it didn't really matter where they ended up in the end, eventually they dry up and are forgotten.
For this reason, Saiph decided that if she was going to be a raindrop, she may as well make a splash.
It was a hot Sunday afternoon when the idea came to her, she had heard about this thing called reality shifting from her online friends a few months back. It sounded interesting and she was bored, had been for the past week or so.
To be completely honest she hadn't really expected it to work, that's why she had put it off for so many months, it was the repeated whisper in the back of her mind 'what if' that finally made her give in.
So imagine her surprise when she woke up in a room that wasn't hers, in a body that wasn't hers.
In simple terms, she screamed. It was only after a minute of pure panic that the realisation finally set in, and then came the excitement. She screamed again, this time not in fear but in unadulterated joy.
'The first thing you do when you shift realities,' her friends had told her 'is ground yourself'. They had given her a few ways to do this, the first being touch, immediately Saiph dropped to the ground and started furiously rubbing the fuzzy carpet of the room, feeling all the texture and warmth of it. This was real, she had shifted and there was no doubting it now.
"Oh, my fucking gods" She breathed "I did it, I actually fucking did it". Wow, even her voice sounded different, it was more serene and calming than before. She was definitely going to enjoy this.
She looked down at her hands, now thin and dainty like a model. Everything was how she had scripted it. Perfection. She stumbled off the floor nearly tripping over her small brown trunk on the way and over to the conveniently placed full-body mirror. Her black hair was long, reaching to her mid back, it wasn't straight but at the same time wasn't curly. Her face which had once been soft and pudgy now looked more structured and angular, Her eyes are what had changed the most though, before, they were a dark brown colour that she had always thought looked a bit too much like faeces, doo doo brown she called it. Now they were a swirling emerald green like a forest and seemed to almost glow.
After what could have been an hour of just staring at her reflection and analysing her new body. She decided enough was enough and started to explore her new space. She wasn't very observant when she was excited after all. The floorboards were cold underfoot when she stepped off the carpet and towards the doorway of the cosy room.
"Come to think of it, where am I?". She muttered. Nothing in her immediate line of sight was an inarguable indication of where exactly she was, so she would just have to search until she found something.
That train of thought was cancelled before it even left the station as she saw what was sitting on her bedside table. How had she not noticed it before? Laying there on the dark mahogany, was a wand, not just any wand though, it was a gift from her mother. Who was her mother though? And how did she know that?
The wand was ebony in colour and had been encrusted with pearls and swirling blue metals. It was the most beautiful wand she had ever seen, not that she had seen many. Besides the wand were a black titanium ring and a charm bracelet with 10 knife charms. Not thinking much of it, she quickly slipped them on, and suddenly her mind was filled with memories of a life she did not live, of thoughts, she did not think, but somehow she knew they belonged to her. Her name was Saiph Andromeda Black and her Father was Regulus black, She was a talented witch and her mother…Her mother. She couldn't remember. It was like someone was purposely blocking the memories.
Mysterious mother aside (there was time to investigate later), the wand and memories had confirmed it. She was in Harry Potter, well, not in Harry Potter, that would just be weird, but she was in the Harry Potter universe.
The next thing on the list to investigate was the small brown suitcase lying on the floor next to the window that she had tripped over in her rush to the mirror. A sore patch on her leg was starting to form now and would take at least a few days to heal. She had at first assumed it was her luggage, but it was too small to fit all the clothes she would need for a year at Hogwarts. It had to be her luggage though, there was nothing else around the room that could be an alternative.
Cautiously Saiph opened the suitcase to find…nothing? All she could see was the black empty bottom of the suitcase.
"Maybe it's a false bottom?" She questioned, reaching into the bottom of the suitcase.
Turns out the blackness she had previously thought to be the bottom was actually a big black gaping hole of nothing. Naturally, she fell face-first right into the suitcase and was promptly knocked out.
Not even ten minutes later, Saiph woke up to the bright lights of a massive closet full of clothes and a…minifridge? Dazed, she looked up, trying to see where she fell from, only to find an opening about the size of the suitcase she fell in, that looked up to the roof of the room she woke up in.
Okay, so there was a whole-ass closet in her suitcase, guess the minifridge was for when she got hungry. Now that was cool.
In no time she was exploring the now affectionately named 'TARDIS Closet' trying on outfits and eating food from the mini-fridge. Time didn't seem to pass while she was in the suitcase, and eventually, when she found a way out (which was an obviously placed ladder) the clocks only read 5 minutes past the time she went in.
The outfit she had chosen was a fitted Emerald pantsuit with a v-neck and a black tube top underneath. In her previous reality she never really had enough money to explore her style, having to stick with what was on sale at the time or save up for the occasional shopping spree with her friends.
She pulled her hair into a quick braid and was surprised at how easy it was, normally it would take at least 10 minutes, but this world wasn't exactly normal.
After she finished her makeup and checked around the room for other belongings, she decided it was time to get breakfast and check out of the room. While this was happening there was a lot of banging in the next room and a couple of shouts. "Wonder what's happening in there…Pft", She giggled cursing her dirty thought and planning to check on the person next door on her way out.
Picking up her suitcase and pocketing her wand, she walked to the next room and knocked on the door. There was no reply. "Hello!" she called, "are you okay in there?"
A masculine voice answered back "I'm fine."
"Okay…well uhm… see ya later maybe." She called unsurely back to him.
"Yeah..uhm maybe." He replied. Feeling an awkward atmosphere start to form, she quickly scurried away from the door and down the stairs leading to the dining hall, there was a reason she was an introvert. Conversations with strangers always got so awkward and 'see ya later' really? All Saiph wanted to see right now was food. The dining hall was full of noise and people, two things Saiph disliked greatly. With her head down, she walked briskly to the bar where she recognised the owner, Tom, who was cleaning glasses. So she was in the Leaky Cauldron.
Her sharp eyes glazed over the other patrons in the room and finally fell on a family of redheads with a curly brunette tag along. The Weasleys and Hermione Granger. Saiph thought back to the books, now trying to get a read on where she was in time and seemed to recall that the only time these characters had gathered in the Leaky cauldron was at the start of the third book, Prisoner of Azkaban. A part of Saiph smiled, she would be seeing her uncle soon.
With her internal clock now set to summer 1993, she smiled at Tom and began to check out,"Here's the keys to my room, and can I please get a cup of tea and uhh," she paused to look at the menu "A bacon sandwich please."
"Hope you enjoyed your room Miss Gray, the breakfast is on me for such a loyal customer." He smiled.
'Miss Gray?' She thought 'I thought my last name was Black.' She was now very confused but nonetheless smiled and said her thanks.
Suddenly another memory hit her like a truck, leaving her winded. She had changed her name when enrolling at Hogwarts because her father was presumed dead and her uncle (who people would think was her father) was a convicted murderer. 'Huh that makes sense, I'm so smart.'
"Are you alright Miss Gray?" Tom asked, concerned.
"Hmm? Oh yeah, I'm fine, no need to worry," She breathed in response, not realising she had zoned out.
Within 10 minutes breakfast was served and Saiph made her way to one of the large tables in the centre of the dining hall. Sitting on the other end from where the Weasleys plus Hermione were.
"Seems Harry hasn't come down yet'' Saiph muttered, looking around the room once more. Saiph observed the wanted posters that were stuck on almost every wall and made note of the reward. If she wasn't already as rich as the Kardashians perhaps she would have turned in her own uncle.
"This is why I was sorted into Slytherin", Saiph sighed, catching herself on that nasty thought.
HAVE YOU SEEN THIS WIZARD?
Approach with extreme caution
Do Not Attempt To Use Magic Against This Man
ANY INFORMATION LEADING TO THE ARREST OF THIS MAN
SHALL BE DULY REWARDED
Notify immediate by owl the Ministry of Magic– Witch Watchers Department
Yep, that was her uncle. She gazed at his picture as it moved and screamed, flashing its yellow teeth. Then she imagined how bad his breath would be after 12 years and could no longer take herself seriously as she burst into snickers.
Receiving some weird looks, she took a sip of the steaming tea and continued to eat, embarrassed.
When she finished her meal she left the pub and went to explore Diagon alley. She had just gotten an ice cream at Florean Fortescue's ice cream parlour when she noticed the time, she was going to be late. Late for What?
Then she remembered, It was September 1st and her train, the Hogwarts Express, was set to leave at 11:15 am. It was now 11:11.
Saiph quickly rushed out of Diagon alley, praying to the gods that she wouldn't miss this train.
After what seemed like hours of running, she finally reached the brick wall that would lead her to Platform 9¾. Hesitating for only a few seconds, she began to walk towards the wall with a plan in mind. In the book and movies, not once did someone keep their eyes open when crossing through the platforms. So, Saiph decided that she would be the first.
Shaking with excitement, she walked forward once more and passed through the wall. In the wall, she was met with all sorts of colours swirling and dancing around her. She saw images of past travellers in the colours but recognised none of them.
It was over as soon as it began though, and Saiph suddenly found herself in a crowded platform. She quickly looked at the clock on the wall in panic. 11:14, that's…odd. She could have sworn it was longer than that, No way kings cross station was that close to Diagon alley, but she didn't have time to think it over so she simply brushed it off. Probably a bad decision in hindsight.
The train was beautiful and red, with steam coming out of the old-fashioned exhaust pipe at the front. As an advocate for the environment, Saiph wasn't particularly happy about this detail; she understood that the wizarding world was stuck in the early 20th century, but at least they could be environmentally friendly about it, especially because magic could definitely make a fuel that was less damaging. She would have to speak to the headmaster about it later.
She was snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of the conductor blowing the whistle and the train starting to move.
"Shit," She cursed, she was starting to do that more and more often. Clutching her suitcase tightly she began to run towards the moving train. The train sped up so she ran faster and faster until eventually the platform ended and she face-planted into the ground. Again.
l
She looked up hopelessly at the train as it sped away, groaning in pain from her fall. Thankfully, no one on the platform had noticed. Then another thought made its way into her brain and she began to stare intensely at the train, focusing on the thought that she wanted to be inside it. Then suddenly, she was.
Saiph looked around dumbstruck wondering how she could have possibly got there. She had just thought about being there and the next second she was. It didn't make sense.
Accidental magic perhaps? But she would have gotten control of that by now surely. Maybe if she was desperate enough, but she had never heard of a case of accidental teleportation before and apparating was way too advanced for someone her age. No. It had to be something else.
Saiph racked her brain for any information that would hint at what she had just done but found nothing.
Defeated, she stalked off to find a compartment, lucky the one to her left was empty. She placed her bag in the overhead space and lay down on the seat to take a nap.