Chapter 1

A quite magical day

It was a dreary October day in London. The rain had poured and poured all over the city, leaving enormous puddles and soaking people. But an especially dark cloud seemed to perpetually loom over 501 Dooring drive. It was here that the West Hill orphanage resided. A tall building, and an old one as well, that always managed to look as depressed as the children living inside of it. The brick exterior of the house had long since been grown over by mold and greenery. The doorway leading inside was a large arch above an ominous set of stairs. Inside, the floorboards squeaked so horribly it was impossible to use bathrooms without waking the entire house. And the whole place smelled of old people, which was odd considering it was a home meant for children. To top it all off, there was a rumor among the children that the house was haunted by the spirit of the old man who built the place many years ago.

This was the home of a girl named Julia Alumn, fifteen years of age and older than most of the other children at West Hill orphanage. On this dreary October day, Julia found herself walking back home from school through the rain. She carried with her a bright red umbrella which matched her raincoat, Julia considered herself quite a fashionable girl and would hate to be seen in anything but her favorite colour. As she walked she grew increasingly annoyed at the mud splatters on her coat, which she had worked very hard to keep clean despite the onslaught of rain. As she stooped down to try and scrub off some of the grime, she was splashed head to toe in mud by a bus driving by. She let out a large "Humph!" In frustration and gave up trying to tidy herself. The rain began to intensify more and more, Julia tried walking even faster in a desperate attempt to get home before she became utterly drenched. She suddenly stopped as she noticed to her left an arched alleyway.

"Finally I can get out of this rain for a moment!" She thought to herself.

She hurriedly dashed inside the alley and out of the rain. Once inside she closed her umbrella for a moment and checked to see how filthy she'd gotten, she was horrified to find her normally sandy blonde hair had been caked in mud.

"That's just great." She mumbled to herself, trying to clean herself up, to no avail.

"Well, I can't stay here forever. I need to get home before I catch a cold, it's so bloody cold today."

With that she noticed it had gotten increasingly cold ever since she stepped out of the rain, and the feeling had only been getting stronger. With a shiver, she strode on through the darkness to the other end of the alley. The more she walked the colder she felt, as if the darkness was bathing her in its icy gloom. She felt a chill run down her spine and quickened her pace, it seemed as if the dark corridor was growing longer and longer, the light at the end becoming smaller and fading.

"No, that's not right."

The light was fading, growing dimmer as the darkness swallowed it up and her along with it. Her heart beat faster as she became aware of a presence behind her. She tried to run but the strength was leaving her, being consumed by the endless cold darkness. Julia stumbled and fell, her umbrella clattering on the ground beside her as the presence made its way to her. She tried to get up and crawl but felt paralyzed, the hope was quickly draining out of her. She turned around to try and face what was chasing her. What she saw made her want to scream, but no sound would come out. There was a man, or what looked like a man, covered in rags and descending upon her. All she could do was quake in fear as it laid its cold hands on her and brought its face to her own. She was overcome by the smell of its foul breath, the scent of death and rot. With a ghastly moan it reached a skeletal hand to its face and removed the rags, revealing a pale shrunken face with a gruesome hole of a mouth. Julia could feel it, the sensation of her life being drained out of her. She couldn't explain it, nor comprehend what was even happening to her as the creature seemingly breathed in her life.

She had always heard that when someone dies, their life flashes before their eyes. She didn't believe it until now. Memory after memory flashed through her mind as the creature drained the life from her. Memories of her parents flashed by, memories of her life before the orphanage. She saw herself, on her father's shoulders watching a parade go by, then the vision faded to darkness. Next she saw her and her mother visiting her uncle, and laughing, that too was swept away. Memory after memory went through her mind as time seemed to slow, as if the creature was savoring every moment. Finally all had been exhausted except one, her most cherished, the last night she ever spent with her parents.

"Now Julia, remember to clean yourself up! We have guests coming over tonight!"

Julia snapped to attention at the sound of her mother's voice, momentarily forgetting it was only a dream.

"Alright mum!" She replied.

She couldn't have been older than three, the details were fuzzy in her memory. But then again, everything about that night had always been a fog in her mind. But here she was, reliving it as if it had happened yesterday. She wanted to warn them, to scream, but she was helpless to do anything but relive the memory. The same memory that had plagued her nightmares for years. She watched as her father decorated the table, and her mother furiously cleaned the house for guests that would never arrive. She was only a child, too helpless to stop it. Too helpless to warn her mother as the doorbell rang.

"Oh, that must be them. They're early!"

Julia watched through terrified eyes as her mother opened the door.

"Oh my, we weren't expecting you! Please come in!"

Through the door came a man, tall and slender, dressed in black.

"Why thank you Abigail, it's a pleasure."

She could tell there was something different in her mother's eyes, a quiet fear as the man calmly sat at their kitchen table.

"Do you know why I'm here, Abigail?"

Julia stared at the man, she could feel something was very wrong. The air around him seemed cold, lifeless almost. As if he had brought with him something evil into the house. And there was something else odd about him, something about his face. She couldn't quite place it, something seemed wrong about it. Her memory of him was fuzzy, as was the rest of that night in her mind. She heard a sound, a door opening. Her father walked into the room, startled to see their new guest.

"Ah good, Charles. I'm glad you're here too. I'm sure you know why I've come, don't you?"

Her father straightened and a look overcame his face that Julia had never seen before, a look of fear. This is where the memory always grew hazy for Julia, everything after that was a blur. She remembered her parents talking to the man, then an argument. Then all she could hear were her mother's screams, and a blinding light that seemed to burn its way through her very eyes. A blinding piercing light that she'd never seen before. She had to close her eyes, it hurt to look at. All she could do was listen to her mother's shrieks as the light overcame everything around her. The screams sounded different this time, inhuman. She tried to open her eyes but couldn't, until she felt the icy grip of the creature suddenly let go. She opened her eyes to see the entire alley bathed in light, and the creature shrieking and hovering above her.

"The light..." she murmured, the light was driving the creature away. It began to flee down the alley as the brilliant blue light chased it. She could see it, it looked different, like it had some kind of form. She strained her eyes to try and see it. Yes, no, that couldn't be right, it was an animal. A fox. A beautiful blue fox shimmering in the light, its glow illuminating the passageway as it drove the monster off. She closed her eyes and laid her head on the ground, if she didn't think she was still dreaming, she could have sworn she had even heard it barking. She opened her eyes with a start as she felt something warm and wet touching her face. It was the fox, it was licking her.

"Now now, cut that out."

Footsteps, the voice of a man approaching her, a kind voice. The fox stopped and backed away as if scolded by its owner. The man approached and knelt beside her.

"Oh dear, it almost got you good. Come on now, let's get you fixed up."

She tried to reply but was too weak, all she could muster was a faint "Thank you." For a moment she could see his face, a gentle face that seemed almost familiar. But it faded as the fox faded away and so did its light, and with its light gone her vision faded to black.

Julia awoke with a start, and sat upright. She was laying in bed, not her own though. She looked around the room she was in, it was a small room, with a table and some chairs in one corner and a desk in the other. Every surface seemed to be covered in junk, old books, and various other odds and ends. She glanced out the window and saw it was daytime, early morning by the look of it. She got out of the bed and immediately found that she was completely clean, and wearing a fresh change of clothes, a polka dotted pair of pajamas, to be exact.

Julia walked over to the desk and picked up a book from it to examine, it was old and falling apart. She opened it and flipped through some of the pages to find a bunch of nonsense about mythical creatures. There were drawings and descriptions for all of them, along with information about their habits and where to find them. It appeared to contain everything from Acromantulas (whatever those were) to Yetis. She closed it and took a look at the cover,

"Scamander..." She said to herself, "What an odd name. All the books in this room are a bunch of rubbish."

She tossed the book down and went to take a look at the rest of the items when she heard a sound coming from the other room.

"Is that someone... singing?"

Julia walked through the door and peered around the corner, this room was larger and appeared to be somewhat of a living room. On the other side of it was an archway leading to a kitchen. She saw standing at the stovetop was a man in an apron, cooking. The smell of sizzling bacon wafted over towards her and made her stomach produce a loud growling sound, but this could hardly be heard over the attrocious sound of the man's singing. Julia crept through the living room towards the kitchen, once she got closer she took a good look at the man. The man was dressed casually and wore an apron. He was tall, had short brown hair, and was clean shaven. He looked to be between 30 and 40 years old. His features were well defined but there was a certain softness to them. Julia realized she recognized him, he was the one who'd saved her from that thing.

Suddenly the memories of the other day resurged into Julia's mind. She remembered it all, the creature, the glowing light, and that man.

"Oh no," She thought, "How long have I been here?"

She decided to walk closer and get the man's attention. She was standing a few feet behind him now, resting her hand on the archway and leaning slightly.

"Um, excuse me." She said softly.

The man didn't notice, and continue on.

"I said excuse me." She said, a bit louder this time.

The man still didn't hear her, not over the sound of the cooking and his own awful singing, "Mamaaa, life had juuust beguuun!"

"I said EXCUSE ME." She shouted before quickly putting her hand to her mouth. The man stopped and turned around, with a wide smile on his face.

"Oh look who's awake! Sleeping beauty!"

Julia stammered, "Um, if you could please-"

"Look over here I've made a nice breakfast for you! We've got bacon and eggs and even toast!" The man said proudly, "Although I may have burnt your piece a bit."

Julia was getting frustrated, "Look, if you could please tell me where I-"

The man removed his apron, grabbed his food, and took a seat at the table. Before Julia could even say anything else he was already digging into his food and talking with his mouth full.

"Well come on now, eat before it gets cold!"

Julia gave up, and took a seat at the table. She looked over at the man, who was busy shoving his mouth full of eggs. She thought to herself that wherever this man came from, he obviously had no table manners. She took a look down at her food; three strips of bacon, a slice of toast, and an egg. With reluctance she picked up some eggs with her fork and tasted them.

"This is delicious!" She wanted to shout, and quickly got to work clearing her plate, almost forgetting her own manners in the process. Within a few minutes, she'd completely finished all her food and was almost in the mood for a second course. She looked up from her plate and saw the stranger staring at her, she suddenly felt embarassed at how ravenously she'd eaten her food. The man spoke up,

"There, now that you've had your breakfast, we can talk."

Julia impatiently asked him, "Where am I?"

"Ah ah ah, first things first. What is your name?"

"I thought I was the one asking questions here!" Julia said, astonished.

"Well yes my dear, but how can you expect me to keep a guest in my house if I don't even know their name?"

Julia shrank in her seat, she supposed he was right.

"My name is Julia, Julia Alumn."

"And I am a professor." The man said, still stone faced.

"Professor what?" Julia asked.

"Just professor, thank you. And to answer your earlier question, you are at my home, that much should be obvious."

"Why didn't you take me to the hospital? If I was unconscious surely a professor like you could see I was in need of medical attention!"

The Professor broke eye contact and looked down.

"Because normal doctors can't treat what that thing almost did to you."

Julia was confused, "What do you mean? What was that thing?"

"It's called a dementor. They feed on people's happiness. Once one grabs ahold of you, it will drain all the happiness and life from you until you wish you could die."

Julia sat contemplating what he was telling her. Then she remembered, she'd heard that word before. In that crazy book of creatures she'd found on his desk, scrawled in one of the margins.

"You see Julia, I'm not an ordinary professor. I'm a professor of magic. Particularly the kind of magic used in warding off dark creatures like the one that attacked you."

Julia eyed him suspiciously,

"So you're saying you're some kind of..."

"Wizard."

Julia stood up from the table and pushed her chair in.

"That settles it then. You are completely insane."

The Professor stood up as well.

"Now wait just a moment young lady you haven't even-"

Julia turned around and walked off, trying to find the front door.

"I'm not going to listen to you anymore, I'm going to go home and forget this ever happened."

The Professor scrambled to try and follow her.

"But you saw it! You saw the dementor! You saw my magic!"

Julia turned around and crossed her arms.

"I don't know what I saw. As far as I'm concerned that was all a dream, and you've kidnapped me!"

The Professor was shocked.

"How dare you suggest I would kidnap a young girl and hold her against her will! If you want to leave, so be it, the door is over there!"

Julia turned to leave but the Professor spoke again.

"However, if I can prove to you that magic is real, and this isn't some sort of elaborate lie... will you stay?"

Julia stopped, staring at her feet.

"You've stopped. That means somewhere deep inside you is the little girl who once believed that magic is real. The little girl who dreamed of dancing with faeries, and riding on flying horses. It's still there, deep down, you know it is. You just have to find it."

Julia looked up at him.

"Why? Why do you want me to stay?"

The Professor's face grew solemn as he stared off into space.

"I'm lonely. I have no children, no family. Just me. But then, one day, I find you. As if the world saw my plea, you arrived, here, in my care." He looked back to meet her gaze. "I can show you the world you've always dreamt of. A world of magic. But only if you stay, I won't force you. The decision is yours."

Julia let her arms fall to her sides, the look of anger fading from her face.

"If what you said is true, and you can prove to me that magic is real... then I'll stay."

The Professor clapped his hands together and smiled wide.

"Do you really mean it?"

"Yes, but only if you can show me real magic."

The Professor jumped with glee,

"Splendid! Splendid! Oh that won't be hard, I'll show you the Room! It's the most magical thing you'll ever see!" And with that, the Professor sprinted down the hallway.

Julia, surprised, ran to follow him.

"Wait! What room!?" She yelled as she chased after him down the winding corridors of his house. After taking two lefts and right, she arrived at the end of a long hallway with the Professor standing next to a door. It was a fairly nice looking door, with 4 panels, an elegent trim, and a shiny brass knob. Although it didn't quite match the other doors in the Professor's home. The Professor simply stood beside it, a giddy grin on his face.

"Oh my, I'm quite excited. You see I don't get visitors very often, and I've never gotten to show anyone the Room before! Look here, this is a special door," He said, gesturing to it, "And it leads to a very special room. Nobody can go in it except for me, and anyone I bring with me. No one else could get in if they tried! The Room won't let them! See, try for yourself."

Julia slowly reached down and tried the doorknob, it wouldn't turn.

"Oh come on now, you've just locked it!"

The Professor chuckled, "Have I?" And then reached down and turned the knob, opening the door. It swung inwards, revealing inside a large circular room with a wooden floor. In the center was a large round table with several chairs sitting on a colourful rug, in several other places were desks piled high with more books and notes. Some desks were topped with beakers both large and small, and one even had a bubbling cauldron sitting atop it. The walls were adorned with colourful tapestries that looked old and as if they'd come from all over the world. Where there weren't tapestries, there were bookcases filled to the brim that stretched up to a tall domed ceiling at least 30 feet high. The one thing she noticed the room was missing were windows, and instead the room was lit by a large ornate chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

The Professor stepped inside and beckoned her in with him, Julia entered and looked around more.

"Well? What do you think?" The Professor said expectantly.

"Well," Julia said, "It is a very nice room."

The Professor shook his head, "No no no you're not saying it right."

"Saying what right?" Something about the room?"

"It's the Room, not the room. You have to say it with authority! It's not just any old room! Just like I'm not any old professor!"

Julia chuckled, "Well, the Room is quite nice but I don't see anything particularly magical about it."

The Professor walked back over to the door and shut it, "We'll see about that."

Julia turned back around to face him, "What do you mean?"

The Professor grinned, "Just watch."

With that, he reopened the door. In place of, the boring walls of his home, light shone in through the doorway and spilled onto Julia, who had to squint her eyes. She stepped closer to get a better look, but stopped dead in her tracks. The door lead outside, to rolling green hills and sunshine. She could even see a flock of birds flying in the distance, she couldn't believe it.

The Professor gave her a knowing smile, "Now do you believe me?"

Julia stood, staring. She couldn't believe what she was seeing, but she knew this time it wasn't a dream. For the first time since she was a little girl, she felt a murmur inside of her, something she'd hidden that was now rising up again. Something magical.

"Yes," She said softly, "I do."