Shifting to You // Draco Malfoy x OC

Chapter 4

When I finally make it home (no thanks to my parents. Shout out to my 5-star Uber driver Thomas), I'm exhausted. I get back to my parent's house, a two-story historical right on the edge of the city, and fish out my key from my purse. It's still raining, and just from standing outside for a few minutes trying to find my key I get soaked.

I finally find my key and I open the door, shutting and locking it behind me. I stand in the entry way for a minute, taking in the house I grew up in.

Every time I come home; I half expect things to change in my childhood home. For life to move on without me. But it doesn't. Time seems to stand still in my parents and I's historical home. The dark interior speaks to an old-world feel. As I walk in, I see the grey staircase that leads upstairs to the bedrooms, and the walls are covered with paintings and framed old maps. My father can't resist a good historical map. To my right is a den of sorts that acts as a library, a sort of smaller room just big enough for floor to ceiling bookshelves and a big comfy armchair. I walk in and run my hands over the aging fabric of the chair, remembering how my father used to read me stories there.

I wander to the living room to the other side, passing the staircase and stepping down a step to the warm surroundings. A globe sits on a side table besides the couch, and ancient caveman tools line a portion of the walls. I never understood why we hung them up in the first place. When I was younger, I so desperately wanted to play with them.

It's in the living room where there are three photos of my parents and me. These are the only photos of use in the entire house. One photo of me at my high school graduation, smiling with my certificate. Another photo of my parents at their wedding, my mom smiling with her eyes shining brightly and my father's glasses reflecting from the flash of a camera. The last photo is all of us together, on vacation in Spain standing in front of an old building. I remember that day; I was 13, and it was my first time traveling abroad. I was tired and was not prepared for all the walking we did around Barcelona.

I make my way back to the kitchen and dig around for a takeout menu in one of the drawers. I find several held together by a binder clip, and I separate them and analyze them. My parents were never big on cooking, and so neither am I. I decide to order pizza and call and place a delivery. I put the menus back and head upstairs to my room.

My room is the last one on the left. It has minimal décor, because my parents didn't allow me to hang too many things up. They were worried it would be too distracting for me when I studied. They did allow me to paint the walls any color I wanted, and so I chose a purple the color of grapes. Tiny silver stars hung from a clear plastic type of string, so that the stars looked like they were floating from the ceiling. The stained dark grey floors contrasted nicely with my white bed and furniture.

I flung myself onto the bed, kicking off my shoes in the process. It was silent, the house empty except for me. I could hear the rain pound on my windows and feel my heartbeat as my breathing slowed. I was home.

I picked up my phone and sent a quick text to Sophie asking what she was up to and scrolled through Instagram for a bit. Sophie texted back saying she was fine, and that she hopes I have a good weekend. I lock my phone and sit down at my desk, booting up my PC and heading back downstairs to make some tea.

Ten minutes later I head back up to my room with some chamomile tea and sit down at my desk. I sighed. I didn't check out any of the books I was reading back at UW, I put them back on the shelf instead. I did, however, have some notes that I made while reading. I guess I'll be doing some internet research tonight.

I start with Google. I type in 'shifting realities' and press enter. One of the results that pops up is from a prominent magazine, so I decide to start there. The article is all about shifting and the popular app TikTok.

"Harry Potter fans on the app TikTok have recently been 'reality shifting' to place themselves in the magical world of Hogwarts. By using the 'raven' method or 'Alice in Wonderland', Harry Potter fans claim they're entering other universes, primarily so that they can get themselves off with Draco Malfoy".

At that, I made a sort of laughing noise. Get themselves off with Draco Malfoy. Well, that's one way to put it I suppose. I think back to Sophie, and how she shifts to Hogwarts. Who is she shifting to see? Does she try to have sex with some Harry Potter character? I really have no idea.

Next, I decided maybe it's time for me to learn more about Harry Potter. I've never read the books before. I can't even recall if I've seen any of the movies. A thought occurred to me; Don't I own copies of the books already?

I stand up and go over to my white bookcase, scanning the spines of the books reading the titles. I'm almost positive my parents bought me the series when I was maybe 8 or 9. I scan the floor to ceiling bookcase, finally finding the books on the bottom shelf. They were a bit dusty, and I brushed them off. I set them on my bed. The doorbell rings, and I grab some money from my wallet to go and pay for the pizza. I bring the boxes in and set them on the counter, grabbing two slices and putting them on a plate to eat. I head back upstairs, carrying the pizza on a bed tray and head back to my room. I sit down on my bed with the tray on my lap with my pizza and pick up the first book – Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I look at the cover of the book, inspecting it for a minute. Finally, I open it and start to read –

"Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much."......