Chapter 4: Diagon Alley: Part 1

Jenna stared at the boy who was still holding her arm, her expression one of confused expectation. He was making a joke of her, right? He was going to say 'Joking' and the group of them would have a good laugh at her before giving her a serious answer....right?

As the seconds ticked by, and people trickled up and down the road, in and out of shops, Jenna felt terror sink into her gut. The boy holding her looked genuinely confused and concerned, and his friends all seemed completely boggled by her stretched out silence. "D-Diagon Alley." She repeated finally, feeling sick. "Diagon Alley? As in, Hogwarts, Witches and Wizards, Magic? THAT Diagon Alley?" Her voice raised as panic and a sick feeling made her stomach twist and churn. She felt like she was going to throw up. "You're kidding right? Diagon Alley is not a real place."

The group of boys started getting restless. The one she had bumped into cleared his throat, looking at the others. "Hey, uh, maybe someone ought to go and get an auror?" Jenna noticed he still had not released his grip on her arm, and she shuddered. "No, no need for that!" She exclaimed, forcing herself to fake laughter. "It was just a joke, so no harm right?" She shrugged out of the boy's grip, backing away with her hands held out infront of her.

The group of boys seemed confused by her sudden turn around. The original boy took a step towards her, smiling. "You dont have anything to be afraid of, miss. We just want to help you get back to where you belong." He explained.

'Yea, and obliviate my memories so I'll never get back home!' Jenna countered in her head, her thoughts on all of the things that a wizard or witch could do to her if they found out she was a muggle. She didnt even know who was in charge of the ministry in this demented dream, if that's what it even was.

"There ya are! My goodness, you gave me a right scare when you disappeared, you did!" Jenna suddenly felt an arm slung over her shoulders. She jumped, looking up at a strange, ginger haired boy. "Oi, thanks for finding my sister, mate. She's a bit of a wazzock, always wandering off and getting into trouble."

The boy turned to Jenna, wagging a finger in her face like one would a bad puppy. "You done put things in shambles again, what would ma and da think of you running off, eh?" With that scolding, he spun Jenna away from the boys, using her shocked silence to push her along. She took three or four steps before looking back at the group of boys. They seemed to be shrugging her off as an idiot now, all of them except the one who had held her arm going back about their business.

Jenna gulped and looked back ahead, watching people as this new boy shoved her along until they were out of sight of the group. Once they were far enough away, he shoved her into a dusty old book store, pulling her towards the back of the place with less sought after literature. Once he made sure no one was near enough to hear them, he spun on her. "The hell was that? First rule of jumping is never to mess with the characters. Did you even think about what would have happened if theyd actually gotten an Auror?"

Backing herself into a corner of the book shelves, Jenna stared at the boy who had lead her here, shaking her head in a muted stupor. She felt both relief at being away from the crowds, but the sick feeling in her gut threatened to overtake her. Sitting down, she put her head on her knees shivered as the ginger haired boy continued barking at her. When he finally took a moment to notice her again, he fell silent. Jenna sensed him coming closer, and then his hand was on her shoulder. "Hey, it's okay...I didnt mean to upset you. No damage was done, itll be okay..."

Jenna shook her head, her eyes tightly closed. "Its a dream. Just a dream. This isnt real, it cant be." She muttered to herself. Her stomach twisted as anxiety started working it's way deeply into her. "It has to be a dream. I'm still in bed and this whole day has been nothing but an illusion in my head. I havent even went to school yet, that explains everything."

Sighing, the boy sat beside her on the floor and rubbed her back. "Hey, look, I dont know who your instructor is or anything, but I dont think you're quite ready to be jumping yet. Tell me what your book looks like, and we will find it and get you out of here until your exam, okay?" His voice was soft and comforting, showing a genuine concern for her. "Itll be okay, I will help you look or it so we can be done faster, okay?"

Jenna finally looked up at him, meeting his honey golden eyes with tears in her own. "I dont understand what you're saying. None of this makes sense! I-I was in my kitchen cooking and then the book got all flashy and there was all this smoke and I left the food on the stove- Oh god my house is going to burn down-" She was suddenly cut off as the boy gave her a shake.

"You'll fall into hysterics if you keep going on, now breathe! Slow, deep breaths, that's it."

His hushed, gentle voice was like a balm on her shot nerves, and she felt tears burning her eyes as she watched him. She forced herself to focus on her breathing, her body shaking as she tried processing what was happening. Was she going into shock? Because she felt like a textbook case of shock.

The boy gave her back a rub, his eyes locked on her face. "Now look...We will get this all sorted out, okay? I wont let anyone or anything hurt you, so just keep breathing."

Jenna closed her eyes and nodded. She let her forehead rest against her knees again, her arms hugging her legs tightly as she tried to calm herself down. She tried not to think of what was happening, just focusing all her thought processes on her heart rate and breathing.

"What's your name?"

"Jenna..Jenna Michelle." She opened her eyes and raised her gaze back to the boys face. "Who're you?"

"My name is Denver Reese."