The Muggle Intruder

Chapter 15: Memories & Lemon Drops

Pain radiated through my body like all my bones had been violently twisted in the wrong direction. The light that had blinded me seconds ago was gone and darkness surrounded me. There was no moon. No Tower. And no Oliver.

Professor Trelawney had been right; It did end in pain. And not just physically.

I opened my eyes to realize I was back on the ride. Well, I was no longer on it, but lying beneath it, looking up at the carts as they flew through the air above me. I was also alone, no Oliver.

I'd never see him again. Or hold his hand. Or see his smile. Or kiss him. His part of my story was over. So was Hogwarts and everyone there.

Tears poured from my eyes as I yelled for help. The ride attendants must've already realized what had happened because within seconds someone was there, hovering over me, calling over their radio for help.

I'd never felt so many emotions at once. I was glad to be home but already missed Hogwarts. When my mom, dad, and Apple showed up at the platform I'd fallen onto, watching paramedics put me on a stretcher so they could haul me out, I was so thankful to see them but missed Oliver. When they loaded me into the ambulance, I thought about how free it felt to fly on a broom instead of being trapped inside a mobile box. And as I lay in my hospital bed, looking out the window at an overcrowded city, I missed the magical view I had when I was in the hospital wing.

"How are you feeling?" Mom asked when I woke up the next day.

I shrugged. "Alright, I guess."

She leaned forward. "Are you in pain? Do you need more medicine?"

I shook my head, knowing pain medicine wouldn't help the hurt I was feeling. I'd broken two ribs and my right leg, sprained my left wrist, and was bruised up, sporting a nice black and swollen eye. I also had a mild concussion. Even so, my heart hurt a bit worse.

I hadn't told anyone about my adventures at Hogwarts, if they were even real. The more I replayed everything in my head, the more I assumed I'd dreamed it all. I did hit my head pretty hard, and considering where I was, it was the most plausible explanation. It all happened inside my head.

Then I thought about one of the famous Dumbledore quotes: "Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?"

Regardless, I never told anyone about falling into the Harry Potter world, being mischievous with the twins, almost being killed by Voldemort, or falling for (and having my first kiss with) Oliver Wood. Why should I? It was just a dream, anyway, so....

Once we made it home a few days later, I hobbled straight to my, got comfy on my bed with Crookshanks, and started rereading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. This time, though, it felt different. It felt like finding a part of my heart that I hadn't realized I'd lost.

"Hey," Mom said as she walked into my room carrying a pair of my jeans. "You left something in your pocket and it melted in the dryer, so the inside is all sticky." She tossed them onto the foot of my bed. "This was in there, too, but it got shredded and fluffed, so you can't read what it said." She sprinkled the pieces into a pile on my dresser. "Probably candy and a ticket or something from Universal."

"Can you hand me that?" I asked, motioning toward the paper.

"Sure." She picked the mangled pieces up and dropped them into my hand. "Do you need anything while I'm here? Thirsty? Hungry?"

I shook my head as I slowly sat up and grabbed the leg of my jeans. "I'm good."

"Okay, just yell if you need me. I'm getting things unpacked and our clothes washed up." She looked around, picking up a pair of dirty socks off my floor and a dirty glass off my nightstand."

"Thanks, Mom."

"You're welcome."

"No, really..." I said, causing her to stop and look at me. "Thanks... for everything."

She walked over and hugged me. "I'm just glad you're okay. That scared us to death."

"Aside from the broken bones, it wasn't that bad." It had been rather great, actually, at least for a little while.

"Well, I'll check on you in a bit. It's almost time for lunch, so think about what you may want that sounds good to you."

I nodded as she walked out, then reached into the pocket of my jeans. She was right, whatever I'd left in there was incrusted to the inside of my pocket in an icky wad that I had to pick at to pry loose. Once I pulled it out, my heart almost stopped beating because I knew exactly what it was.

"Oh, my gosh! It's a lemon drop."

Had I gotten some while we were at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter? I know that Mom bought us Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, but I couldn't remember....

I reached for the paper. Picking up a small piece, my fingers tingled as soon as they touched the parchment. "There's no way...."

It looked just like--

"There's no flipping way!"

I picked up more pieces and knew exactly what it was. It was impossible, but I was holding it in my hand. I meticulously scanned it to try to make out any words. I wanted to prove to myself it was what I thought it was, which was the note Professor McGonagall had left on my bed shortly after I arrived there.

After being washed and dried, the parchment was stiff and stuck together, and the ink was smeared and faded. Even so, I could make out part of one word, where the letters were curved in precise loops. It was the last three letters of where Professor McGonagall signed her name ~ all.

Aside from the paper she'd written her note on, that's all that was left. I had stuck it in my pocket, along with one of Dumbledore's candies, and they were real. I couldn't wrap my mind around it.

How? There's no way I fell off that ride and onto Oliver's broom in a magical world of fiction. Right? There's no way.

I laid back on my bed and thought about everything that had happened. I didn't recall much of when I came to once I returned, just that I was in pain and confused. I also don't recall anything about my transition from the ride to Oliver's broom, just that I fell. I was falling and falling, then I wasn't.

All the thoughts dancing in my brain started to give me a headache, so I picked up my book and continued reading. It wasn't long before I read one of Dumbledore's famous quotes that was like a lightbulb shining light on my confusion.

"To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure."

Could that be it? Could I have died? Even if it was only for a split second? Was that my adventure?

It still didn't explain the candy or the note I'd left in my pocket while I was there, which somehow ended up here. If it only happened in my mind, or wherever death happens, how could...?

"Of course it is happening inside your head... but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?"

I couldn't explain it and would never be able to understand it, which is why right now is the only time I've spoken of it... to you. This is my story of an unexplainable adventure that I got to go on and someday, hopefully in the distant future, I may get to go on again. When death does call, I won't be afraid, especially when I find myself, once again, sitting with Oliver at the top of the astronomy tower and we get to finish that kiss.

***

Many, many years later, when Willow's time came to an end, her family was glad she wasn't afraid. Little did they know, she was getting ready for her next adventure. Through the years, she'd gained much knowledge and knew her adventure, this time, would be even more grand. And as she slipped away, her family could hear her whisper...

"Amazing... this is just like magic!"