Seranis Incantari: A Harry Potter Adventure

How It All Began

It was hot that summer it all began. The incident occurred in Surrey. Little Whinging, in fact. Little Kelsey Remington didn't know what happened. One minute, she was walking home, and the next she was struggling to live. Don't even get me started on the big, scary cloaked monster. Kelsey was eleven, and unbeknownst to her, her whole world was about to change.

Kelsey sat alone on the rusty old swing set in the sweltering afternoon heat. Her day had not been fun, not fun one bit. First, her favourite toy was broken by her baby brother, Everard. Then, none of her friends were able to play today. So, Kelsey took to wandering about the neighborhood of Little Whinging. An ice cream truck happened to pass by and the man inside gave her a cone for free. That's right, free, thank you very much. The bad thing was, it dropped and got all over her overalls. Dispirited, little Kelsey Remington tossed her empty cone and shuffled to the park, lonely, sad, and hot.

"Bugger," she mumbled to herself, now grumpy in the heat of the day. Kelsey kicked up the dust around herself, and stared at the other kids playing together. Her hopes climbing, Kelsey jogged over, grinning.

"Hullo!" she sang. "What are you playing?"

The six other children immediately stopped kicking their ball and stared at Kelsey. They noticed the ice cream, which had not yet fully dried, and the dust sticking to her sweaty skin and overalls. The oldest, a redheaded girl of about 13, piped up.

"And who the devil are you?" she sneered, narrowing her eyes at Kelsey.

"I'm Kelsey! Pleased to meet'cha!" Kelsey replied excitedly, bouncing on the soles of her shoes. The redheaded girl frowned at Kelsey's Cockney accent.

"Quite," she grimaced. The girl picked up the ball and turned to her friends. Kelsey made to follow.

"Um..."

The girl stopped, and spun to face Kelsey.

"You want to join us, do you?"

"Uh-huh! Uh-huh!" Kelsey spouted, nodding spastically.

Grinning, the redhead tossed the ball past Kelsey, who gasped and chased after it, thinking to bring it back. Seeing the ball land in a tuft of grass at the western end of the park, Kelsey slowed down, tired out. She picked up the ball, and breathed in deeply, catching her breath. She made a slow jog back to where the group was... or had been. They were gone. Dejectedly, Kelsey dropped the ball and shuffled away, heading home.

Tears squeezed their way out of her eyes as she walked down the street to her house. What a dreadful day! Absolutely horrid. Kelsey kicked a pebble, watched it skip, and kicked it again. She stopped. Strange, it wasn't hot anymore. In fact, it was kind of chilly. Peculiar. Shrugging, Kelsey continued walking. The girl went a few steps and stopped, frozen in fear. Why, she didn't know. All she knew was this deep-seated terror in the pit of her stomach. It squeezed her, wringing her like a wet rag. She whimpered, unable to remember how to run.

Kelsey dropped to her knees, holding her head, whimpering like a puppy. She noticed ice creeping along the ground, travelling up her legs like roots. Her breath came out as fog. She began to cry.

Suddenly, she was in the air, choking, unable to draw breath. She saw a black, faceless head, with only a hole for a mouth. It took a long, raspy breath, and Kelsey felt her life ebbing. She felt faint, weak. She heard her mum's voice.

"Don't give in, Kelsey!"

"Mum?" she rasped. Then she fainted.

Kelsey awoke on a couch, moonlight filtering in through shades. She immediately sat up, and instantly regretted it. She felt like vomiting. Kelsey pushed back the urge and examined her surroundings as best she could in the dark. A desk, a chair, an indiscernable photo. Suddenly, the light was on, and Kelsey squealed in surprise, covering her eyes in the sudden brightness.

"Sorry, my mistake," a male voice said. The light went off, and was replaced by the soft glow of a lamp. "Better?"

Kelsey nodded, and gazed at her surroundings. It was a tiny sitting room with an armchair, a side table, and a picture here and there. Kelsey's gaze travelled to a rather large portrait of a very old man with a magnificent beard.

"Is that your grandfather?" she inquired. The man laughed and picked it up.

"No, but he may as well have been. We were close enough." The man sat down beside Kelsey and handed the photograph to her. The old man in the picture had kind eyes and a sorrowful look. Then it winked at her. Kelsey gasped and dropped the photo. The man who had saved her chuckled and picked it up, replacing it where it had been before.

"I-I-It winked at me!" Kelsey spouted, heart racing.

Again, the man chuckled lightheartedly.

"He does that sometimes," he said. "Oh, I forgot to introduce us. My name is Harry Potter, and the man in the picture is Albus Dumbledore. I'm a wizard."

It was very late when Kelsey remembered that she had to be home. As she had no idea where she was, Mister Potter offered to drive her home. Kelsey told him her address, and was suprised when he told her that he lived only eight blocks away. Getting into his old Ford (Kelsey had no idea what year or model), she suddenly felt very tired, and fought a losing battle to retain consciousness.

Vaguely, as if she was in the distance, she heard the engine stop, and a car door open. Kelsey could just feel a pair of strong arms pick up and carry her to a doorstep. A sense of weightlessness, then a firm, albeit gentle, grip. A lamp-lit room, blurred in her fatigue, shifted in and out of focus. A quick whispered exchange of "Thank you, we were so worried!" and "It was no trouble. Right sweet girl you got there." There was the sensation of floating on air, then the feel of warm covers being drawn up to her chin. Kelsey felt the warmth of lips on her forehead.

"Goodnight, Kay Kay," was whispered, then Kelsey knew nothing more.

The next few days were just as sweltering, but Kelsey paid no mind. Everyday, she visited Mister Potter for teas and to listen to his grand adventures. Tales of dragons, imps, fairies, and deadly wizard duels.

And she believed.

Today, however, he was unusually quiet. Oh, he was just as courteous, to be sure! Yes, indeed, but he refrained from recounting his amazing stories.

"Mister Potter?" Kelsey said. "Are you alright?"

Harry did not immediately give a response, but pulled out one of his strange pictures, and beckoned Kelsey over. The picture was of a very beautiful young woman with long, red hair. She smiled and waved at Kelsey, who "ooh'd" in delight.

"Who is she, Mister Potter?"

"My...my late wife, Ginny..." he replied, quietly.

Suddenly, all the warmth seemed to leave the room. Kelsey felt very sad, for some reason unknown to her. She longed to hug her newfound friend and comfort him.

"She's very pretty, sir," she breathed. "How...how did she die?"

Harry seemed hesitant, as though he did not wish to tell the story, and Kelsey immediately felt awful. Harry patted the cushion beside him, gesturing for Kelsey to sit, and took a deep breath.

"It was...many years ago. Long before I settled here. We lived in the north, close to Ireland. Kelsey, do you remember the snake-like man I told you about?"

Kelsey quickly nodded.

"Voldemort?"

"Yes, Voldemort."

Kelsey glowed, jubilant at her ability to remember the name.

"Well, after he was defeated, many of his followers either reformed or turned themselves in. Others fled. One of them managed to find us, and murdered Ginny as revenge for his master's death. She was...she was pregnant."

Kelsey's heart sank. She leaned over and hugged Mister Potter, who squeezed her shoulder affectionately in gratitude. He brightened the mood by showeing Kelsey a Pygmy Puff, and she returned home.

Not long after that, the owl arrived.