The Muggle Witch

Chapter 1

"We are now beginning our descent."

I immediately sit up straight and press my face against the small window of the plane. There doesn't seem to be any change, however; the plane is still going straight ahead. I peer down, trying to see through the clouds, wondering if I can see the ground yet, but to no avail. Sighing, I slump against my seat and glance over at the boy beside me.

"This descent is taking forever to start," I complain to my older brother, who rolls his eyes at me. We sit there for at least half an hour before I can finally sense the plane beginning to steep downwards. Soon I can see the streetlights and the tiny, fast moving cars with their headlights on, maneuvering expertly through the growing darkness.

Presently, I feel the gentle bump of the plane landing smoothly on the runway, and the plane slows as it makes its way to park by several others all lined up beside the airport.

I wait impatiently as the seatbelt light goes out and the crackle of the radio comes on overhead.

"Welcome to LA! We hope you had a great trip, and please choose United Airlines again next time..." I ignore it and check my phone—8:04.

Finally, after what seems like an hour, all the people in front of us make their way down the tight aisle and out of the plane. I quickly jump in to join the line filing out, and my parents and brother follow suit. Soon we get to the cockpit, where the pilot and the lady who pushes the cart full of peanuts and drinks smile their fake, automatic smiles and wish us a fun, safe trip.

"Yes!" I pump my fist in the air and hop up and down excitedly as we walk to the baggage claim. Dad picks up our luggage almost immediately, luckily, and we make our way to get a rental car.

"Calm down," Chris says, sounding slightly bored. "It's not like we've never been to LA before."

I turn to stare at my brother in disbelief. "Well, we're going to Universal Studios—"

"Where we've also been before."

"—to visit the newly opened Wizarding World of Harry Potter! This is so exciting!" I exclaim, trying to keep my voice lowered when I spot people glancing curiously over at me at the sound of my raised voice.

Chris rolls his eyes and retorts with, "you're way too obsessed with Harry Potter for a thirteen-year-old."

Two hours later finds my family and me at Taco Bell for an extremely late dinner. I gobble down my plain, bean and cheese soft taco and wait, eyes drooping, for the rest of my family to finish eating.

"Are we going to our hotel now?" I ask sleepily as we climb into the rental car.

"Yes. And we have to get up early tomorrow to get into the Studios before it gets too crowded," Dad answers. Chris groans, and I perk up, my exhaustion forgotten.

"What time should we wake up?" I question my dad eagerly.

"Oh, I would say 5:30-6," he replies as Chris swipes his finger across his throat with a gag.

It's nearing 11:30 when we finally arrive at the hotel. Mom quickly checks in for us, and we barely take time to unpack before washing up hurriedly and collapsing onto the freshly made beds. I rest my head onto a thin pillow next to my mom, who is already asleep right beside me, and stare up at the ceiling, too excited to sleep. My brother is right, after all; I really am obsessed with Harry Potter. The books are pretty much all I read in my free time (although I love reading in general anyway) and I spend my computer hours on Pottermore to increase my knowledge in the world of magic. I have always known that if I went to Hogwarts, I would be a proud Ravenclaw; I've taken the quiz and it told me that I would. Well, I do love learning--in fact, I've memorized every single spell from the Harry Potter books: the incantation, the use, and the wand motion. Another thing I am looking forward to at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is Ollivanders. I know that the first thing I'm going to do is get a replica wand from the movies--after trying out all the rides and having a taste of butterbeer, that is.

I finally turn my head to face the wall and start to drift off to sleep, dreaming about dragons, magic wands, and house-elves.