Chapter 9: A new days dawn
Jenna woke up to the sunlight pouring in through the window. As her dry and tired eyes squinted through the light to look around the unfamiliar room, It took her a minute to remember where she was. When she did, she quickly reached out for the wand box that she had held all night, opening it up to make sure her wand was still there.
She withdrew the wand and ran her finger over it, inspecting the wood and just enjoying the feeling of it in her hand. Of course she, like many other kids who had grown up reading Harry Potter, had a toy wand back at her house that she used during Halloween and for cosplaying. But this wand was the real deal, and it just felt so different then the piece of wood back at home. She could feel something from the wand she held, an energy and magnetism that drew her to it and tied them together. Jenna didnt think she would ever want to part from this wand, even though she had yet to even produce any magic with it.
Getting out of bed, Jenna held the wand out in front of herself and tried to breath slowly and calmly. She ad wanted to be able to do this for years, and now she finally could. Not wanting to let the chance slip away, Jenn closed her eyes, searching for a strong, happy memory that she could use. She thought of the halfway okay times when her mom still lived with them, but shoved them aside just as fast. Even if they were okay times, the memories of her mom were always tainted with the darkness of her addiction.
Jenna frowned and thought back, past birthdays and childhood playmates. Before things had gotten so hard at school, back before the bullying had started, and stopped at the memory of baking with her grandmother when she was just 7 years old. She remembered the smell of the gingerbread and sugar cookies when they came from the oven, remembered the feeling of her grandmother's tiny house when it was filled with family, and her grandmother's smile.
A tightness grasped at Jenna's chest like it always did when she remembered her late grandmother, a bittersweet sadness for the past, and yet out of that memory she pulled the happiness that she had. The feeling of love, the warmth of family and bonding before things had fallen apart, before grandma had died.
"Expecto Patronum." She said, giving her wand a wave. She cracked an eye open, looking at her wand. Nothing happened. Frowning, she took another breath and tried again. And again, nothing happened. She wondered if she wasnt pronouncing it correctly, or perhaps her wand form was off. Either of which she suspected could cause the spell not to work. Straightening her back, she recalled her memory again, focusing heavily on the smell she remembered and her grandmother's smile and love.
"Expecto Patronum!" She called out firmly, opening her eyes to see a small white vapor emerge from the tip of her wand. She gasped, her heart jumping in her chest with excitement and joy. It may not have been a full animal patronus like she wanted, but she had actually produced a small result! She gleefully hugged the wand to herself, smiling ecstatically. She was a witch!
Suddenly, she started feeling extremely nauseous, and Jenna sat back down on her bed with a groan. She remembered that she had been so disappointed and saddened by Denver's adamantly stating she couldnt go to Hogwarts, that she'd actually forgotten about eating all together last night once theyd arrived. Jenna groaned again, holding her stomach. She was starving.
Jenna got up again, putting her wand up her shirt sleeve so that she could feel it against her arm. She didnt really have anywhere else she could put it, as women's jean pockets back in her world were about useless for anything kore then chapstick, and she had been stolen away from her home without a hoodie. Pulling her shoes back on, she tentatively opened her door.
No one was in the hallway, and Denver's door was closed. She stared at it for a moment, then scuttled out of her room and scurried down the staircase back into the pub area. Even early in the morning, there were already numerous witch and wizards passing through or coming in for food and drinks.
Jenna supposed today was going to be as hectic as yesterday for the pub and Diagon Alley. She also didnt have any money in her. She was starting to look around for the man working the pub she had seen Denver talking to the night before, when someone whispered in her ear, "Morning."
Jenna jumped, a screamed "Eek!" escaping her before she spun around to glare at Denver. "Dont DO that!" She hissed, her hand covering her heart. Lord almighty, he had nearly given her a heart attack!
Denver laughed, waving her over to the table he had apparently been sitting at. How she had missed him when she came downstairs, she didnt know, but she was delighted to see that he had ordered food for them. "You're my hero!" She said in relief as she sat down in one of the chairs around the table.
On plates infront of her were fresh scrambled eggs, sausage links that were still steaming with heat, black pudding, some english bacon that smelled absolutely divine in her starved state, along with baked beans, grilled tomato, sautéed mushrooms and breakfast potatoes. She had never actually had black pudding, but she quickly dug into the eggs, sausage, and bacon.
"Bit hungry are we?" Denver teased, though he too had quite a loaded plate.
Jenna merely nodded, not wanting to stop eating to respond. The bullying at school had made her shy and made making friends hard, but she had never developed the fear of eating in front of people that some girls in her grade seemed to have, and today she was especially thankful for that fact, as this breakfast tasted like one of the best she'd had in a very long time.
"What will we be doing today?" Jenna asked once she had sufficiently filled her stomach to stop the queasiness she had felt when she'd woken up.
"We will be looking for your book to get you home." Denver answered as he sipped at some coffee.
"We have to find a book. A single, specific, nondescript, bland black book. A single book out of this entire world. How in Merlin's beard are we going to do that?" Jenna asked, crossingher arms over her chest.
"I see what you did there." Denver smirked, acknowledging her attempt at Wizarding lingo before he himself sighed. "But you're correct that this isnt going to be easy. Our books are our gateways in and out of the story realm. When you opened your book, it must have latched onto one the more important books to you and just thrust you into it. But our books are usually transported with us. The fact yours wasnt with you must mean that it was dropped somewhere nearby. Possibly one of the stores around here or somewhere of significance to you from the story."
"Does that mean we can go to Hogwarts to search for it?" Jenna asked, perking up as she looked across the table at her companion.
"Only if we cant find it in Diagon Alley." Denver replied sternly. "We need it to get you back home, so we will have to search everywhere of importance...And wipe that grin off your face, you look insane."
Jenna giggled manically. She was going to Hogwarts!