I saw Alvin and the Chipmunks today! It was FUNNY! I bought The Witch Doctor on my iPod. :P OK, Bry was bugging me to put the new chapter of Lauria Penbrook on here so here it is. :roll:

Chapter 2: The Letter

The letter came early on Saturday morning. Ben Penbrook had already left for work. Emily was making her three children a pancake breakfast. Luke and his cowboy and Indian plastic figures were sprawled all over the living room floor, while Leena was helping Emily and Lauria sat comfortably in the living room in Ben's colossal, over stuffed chair reading a book on magic folk.

"Luke, dear, get the mail, please!" Emily said when she heard it come through the slot in the door. "My hands are full!"

Luke scowled. He was in the biggest battle he'd had with his toys yet! But he did as his mother asked. He shuffled to the door and picked up the letters.

"What is there, dear?" Emily asked.

"Let's see, a letter from Grandma for Mommy, two bills, a letter for Leena from some girl named Carrie..." Leena ran from the kitchen eagerly and squealed as she snatched the letter from Luke's hands.

"My pen pal," she explained to her family as she tore opened the letter. "Carrie lives in the states."

"Anything else, Luke?" Emily called.

"Just a letter for Lauria."

Lauria looked up from her book. "For me?" she asked. She had not been expecting anything.

"That's what it says," Luke said as he handed it to Lauria, who read the envelope out loud.

"Miss L. Penbrook

The Second story bedroom, first on the right

Country Road, Outskirts of Town.

Wow, that's oddly specific on the bedroom part."

Emily darted into the room and seized the letter from Lauria. "Can it be?..." she asked under her breath.

"Can what be, Mommy?"

Emily started to open the letter, but stopped and handed it to her oldest daughter instead.

"Here, Lauria. It's yours. You should open it."

"Um, OK." She carefully tore off the envelope, in case it contained something of great importance and value.

"What does it say? Read it out loud, dear. Please," Emily said with eagerness in her voice.

"It's from some guy named... Albus Dumbledore..."

"What kind of a name is Albus?" Leena asked with an obnoxioustone in her voice.

"Hush!" Emily said harshly and gave her middle child a sharp look. She immediately transformed back into the "sweet and caring" mom with the kind of oh so sweet smile that made you wonder if you would catch diabetes. "Continue, dear."

"Dear Miss Penbrook,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,

Deputy Headmistress," Lauria finished reading the letter and looked up at her mother in confusion. "Is this some sort of a joke?"

Emily clapped her hands in delight. "On the contrary, my dear! This is a wonderful opportunity for you! Your father and I both attended Hogwarts! That's where we met."

"You told us you and Daddy met on a trip to London!" Leena exclaimed.

"Well, we had to tell you children something in case you weren't accepted to Hogwarts. We didn't want to expose any of you to magic until we were sure you would be admitted. Of course, just because Lauria has doesn't entirely mean that Leena and Luke will... But Squibs are extremely rare, so I doubt that will happen."

"Mommy, what's 'Hogwarts'?" Lauria asked.

"Oh, Hogwarts! Of course! That's the school where they train young witches and wizards. It's like a... A boarding school, if you will."

"Boarding school?" Lauria said in distaste as she crinkled her nose.

"Oh, not some stuffy old thing like your Aunt Clara went to. No, this is a special school where you will learn all different types of magic."

Lauria's eyes lit up. She was always eager to learn a new magic trick, or two.

"I'm so delighted! I must go call your father right this minute!: and with that, Emily rushed off into the kitchen to pick up the phone.

Leena looked crestfallen. "So you're going away for school this year?" she asked.

"I guess so."

"I see." Leena turned and went up the stairs to her room.

"Leena, breakfast is almost ready!" Lauria called after her.

"Not hungry."

Lauria watched her leave. Emily returned.

"Oh, Lauria! Your father is just as thrilled as I am!... Where's Leena?"

"Upstairs."

"Oh dear, she's not sick, is she?"

"She said she wasn't hungry," Lauria said and looked away.

"Well, we'll have to get you your school books and such. We'll go shopping tomorrow, all right, then?"

"OK."

"Can I go too?" Luke piped up.

Emily patted him on the head. "Oh course, dear. We'll all go."

Tomorrow came a bit faster than Lauria would have liked. Leena hadn't spoken to her at all the day the letter arrived. In fact, she hardly spoke to anyone at all. But, she willingly came on the trip to London with them.

"We'll have to start in Diagon Alley," Ben said. Sunday was the one day of the week when he didn't work. He worked up at the local book shop, Prints.

"Where?" Lauria asked.

"Oh, it's in the Wizard's section of London. You'll see when we get there, dear," Emily said as she held onto Luke's hand. "Children, we're going to be traveling by Floo Powder. Your father will go first, so you can watch him. You stand in the fireplace and take a handful of this green dust, Floo Powder, and you shout the name of your destination in a calm, clear voice, and then you drop the dust. Does everyone have it?"

Lauria, Leena, and Luke all nodded.

"Well, we best be off, then," Ben said as he scooped up the green powder in his hand. He stepped into the fireplace. "Diagon Alley!" Ben tossed the dust to the ground, and with a sound that was like an explosion, and he vanished.

"Where did he go?" Luke asked, his eyes wide with fear.

"Don't worry, dear, it's nothing to be afraid of. He's gone to Diagon Alley. So will the rest of us. Luke, would you like to go next?" Emily offered as she held out the sack.

"Oh yes!" Luke greedily stuck his little hand in it and withdrew a fist full of the stuff. He eagerly ran to the fireplace. But when he reached it, he stood there, wondering what to do.

"It's OK, Luke, dear. Just do what your father did."

Luke nodded. "Diagon Alley!" He too, vanished.

"OK, girls, which one of you is next?"

"I'll go," Lauria spoke up.

"All right, then. Grab some Floo Powder and off you go."

As Lauria reached her hand into the sack, she noticed that the Floo Powder didn't feel at all grainy like sand. In fact, it was smooth. Silky, even.

"So I just shout 'Diagon Alley' and throw the stuff, then?" Lauria asked as she studied the green dust.

"Yes."

"All right, here goes nothing." She stepped into the fireplace. "Diagon Alley!"

Lauria seemed to have been sucked into the fireplace. The next thing she knew, she was in a swirling vortex of light and color. Then she was spat out into what she guessed must have been Diagon Alley.

She landed on the ground with a giant thud. Ben held out a hand.

"It's a rough landing. I should've warned you."

"Yeah, well-"

Lauria was cut off by Leena emerging from the vortex and landing on top of her. Emily came out a few moments later, only managed to land gracefully.

"Come on, girls. It's time to go," she said as she helped the two up. "You'll just love shopping in Diagon Alley. It's simply marvelous!"