Book Walkers: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter One: A Discovery

Maddie, Julie, and Emily all stood shivering outside the abandoned library, inspecting it. Night had fallen hours ago, and the sliver of light from the waxing moon gave it an all around haunted appeal.
Most of the windows had been boarded up after teens had thrown rocks through them, or after the homeless had broken in for a warmer place to sleep. Weeds had begun over taking the cracked sidewalks. The only thing that seemed to be holding up at all was the walls, which had been built out of brick.
"I don't get good vibes off this place," Julie stated uneasily, her eyes scanning the grounds like she expected a nightmare to break loose at any second.
"I like it!" Declared Emily, bouncing up and down happily, and making her backpack jingle with all the bells she had attached to it. 'To keep away bad luck!' She had said when Julie asked why. Maddie sighed, and shifted her own pack more comfortably onto her shoulders. All three girls carried one, each packed with survival supplies. They also wore winter clothes, even though it was only mid-autumn.
"It's the only place within ten kilometers of here that isn't the freezing forest. We've been walking for hours, we need to rest and so far," -Maddie threw her hands up in a show of frustration- "this place is the best we've got."
For a few moments, no one said anything. Then, finally, Julie conceded.
"Alright," she said, resigning herself to her fate, "how do we get in?"
"Through the front door, silly," Emily told her, as she bounded to the two glass doors. She gave both of them a yank. Neither opened.
"Oh no!" Emily cried. "They're locked."
"Well yeah, Emily, you can't just expect them to leave them open," Julie muttered. Her and Maddie followed Emily up to the doors, at a much slower pace.
"Maddie, you've broken into places before," Julie casually threw out. "Um, how do we get in?" Both girls turned to look at Maddie, who's eyes darted back and forth between the two. Then, she broke out in a grin, locked her fingers together and stretched them out in front of herself, taking a deep, centering breath while she did so.
"Alright, someone give me a bobby pin," she demanded, holding out a hand, whilst eyeing the door. Julie carefully pulled one out of her blonde hair, and delicately placed it into Maddie's hand.
"I expect this back," she sniffed.
Maddie examined the bobby pin, while Julie and Emily both waited expectantly for her to pick the lock.
"Hmm, yes this will do, I think," Maddie decided, before sweeping her thick, red brown bangs out of her face, and pinning them down. She then picked up a large, heavy rock, and smashed it through the glass. She reached in, and unlocked the door from the inside. Maddie opened the doors with a dramatic, "Voila!" She was congratulated with stunned silence, and gaping mouths. Emily, regaining herself as fast as she always does, smiled happily and skipped inside, as though breaking into places was as normal as going to the park.
Julie did not share her feelings.
"What if someone heard that!' Julie seethed. "Maybe you don't care about getting caught, but I do!"
Maddie rolled her eyes. "Look around, Julie," she snapped, gesturing to the woods that were leering at them from across the deserted highway. "It's an abandoned library in the middle of nowhere! We haven't seen actual people since this morning. No one's coming. Now, can we get inside, please? Before we freeze to death?" Huffing, Julie hoisted up her oversized backpack and trudged inside. Maddie followed, but stopped and gave one last suspicious scan of the road. When she was satisfied that there were only weeds and frost outside, she turned around and closed the door.
Emily had set up camp in the sitting area, where a molded couch and a few chairs sat. The shelves had been placed around the sitting area, mostly empty. There were large gaps between some of them, showing that several had been removed for some reason.
Emily's version of setting up camp was hopping onto the couch and claiming it as her own. By the time Maddie and Julie were there, she had already pulled out her My Little Pony blanket. She draped it over her body, and rolled so that she was burritoed inside.
"Looks cozy," Maddie said, throwing her bag beside a recliner that seemed to be stuck halfway between reclining and sitting. Emily sighed deeply in response, and snuggled in deeper. Maddie grinned, and plopped her butt into the recliner, legs crossed and arms behind her head. Julie surveyed the remaining sleeping situation. All that was left was two small armchairs, and one had a seat cover that was completely missing. Exposed springs sprang out at odd angles, sharp and glinting against the moonlight cascading in through the sky light above.
"Emily, trade me," Julie demanded. Her tone left no room for argument, yet Emily didn't even answer.
"...Emily?" Julie asked, hesitantly this time. Maddie and her both stared expectantly at the My Little Pony burrito on the couch. In the silence, they heard the soft snores. Emily had passed out, and they both knew, once Emily was asleep, you couldn't wake her up. A tornado could whip her up and toss her like a salad and she'd still be dead to the world.
Maddie burst out laughing when she saw Julie's miffed expression.
"Guess you're stuck with the chairs. I mean, there's always the floor, too..." Maddie said. Both girls' eyes swiveled to the rotting rug, and watched as several beetles were lumbering their way across. Julie swung her head to look at Maddie.
"Maddie, trade me," she implored.
"Pffft, whatever," Maddie cackled. Julie huffed, and threw her backpack down. While she tried to find a suitable way to set up the chairs for herself, Maddie reached over and pulled out her own blanket. It was a simple black one, light and easy to carry. Unlike Emilys, which was thicker and took up half her bag.
Julie managed to figure out a decent enough bed. She had the chair that still had all its cushioning (for the most part) facing the one that did not side, so she could put her feet up on the arm rest without fear of tetanus. Rather than pulling out a blanket, she pulled out a larger sweater jacket that she unzipped and laid over herself. It was a dark navy colour that would be almost twice Julie's size if zipped up and still smelled faintly of spearmint and cigarette smoke.
It was one of the few things Julie had taken as a reminder of her family. Maddie always felt a bit odd when she saw Julie using it, wondering if part of Julie regretted her decision to leave. Or why she had chosen to run away in the first place, considering her home life had been significantly warmer in comparison to Maddie and Emily's. It was a topic that Maddie had subtly tried to approach only once, and she had received an icy glare from Julie in response. They haven't talked about it since.
The two girls laid in silence for a moment, allowing themselves to simply relax and decompress from the stress of the day. Julie craned her neck back to stare up at the ceiling. Finally, she broke the silence.
"I'm almost out of cigarettes." One of the ways the girls continued to earn money was by exchanging things like cigarettes for change or small favours. Having two adults who smoked in her home, Julie had collected a stockpile of cigarettes, usually taking a couple every week or so.
Maddie shrugged one toned shoulder. "We'll figure out a way to get by." She held up a hand and waggled her fingers, grinning. "Always the five finger discount, right?" Maddie, her eyes now well-adjusted to the surrounding darkness, could make out Julie grimacing.
"I've never done anything like that before," she told her uneasily.
Maddie already knew this, of course. But she gave her the same reassurance that she always did.
"I'll take care of us, don't worry." Maddie let out a great big yawn, and decided it was time for bed. The two girls said goodnight to one another, and Julie quickly passed out. Maddie however had a harder time falling asleep. She was used to sleeping in new places, even ones like these. Yet she was nervous here. Something didn't feel entirely right about this place, and she wanted to be able to keep an eye for anything or anyone that wanted to mess with them in their sleep. Nevertheless, the hard days journey was creeping up on her. Soon, her eyes were closing, and she was drifting off into a black sleep.