The Chronicles of James Pete Smith and Alysia Urie-Ross

It was late at night, and you could hear the results of her dark dreams from rooms away. It was worrying, how loud she was, how troubled she seemed. Her parents were worried, watching her toss and turn. It looked as if her sheets had her in a chokehold, but whenever you got close to her, tried to pull them off, she'd scream, and that scream was piercing; it was eardrum-busting. They didn't know what to do, until she started chanting something. And that chant became easier to understand each time it was spoken.

"One boy born at the end of September
To protect their belief in cold December
Only he can defeat a dark lord and thief
To open the book and pen a new leaf.
Both can live while the other survives
But neither can dream while the other thrives."

There was only one thing to do. One person to call.

***

She'd been sitting by her blue phone for a good 15 minutes. She knew it would ring. She knew why. And when it finally did ring, she answered quickly.
"I'll be right there."
And she was. She'd been dressed and ready to go, all she had to do was step out that door and into the cold wilderness that surrounded her mansion. As she stepped into her car and drove off, the trail of steam that was left behind it twisted and turned, just like she knew the future was doing. She was going to meet the child that shared the fated prophecy with her.

When she arrived and her steep heels hit the concrete, she could hear the chanting from outside of the charming townhouse. Her pace didn't quicken, however, she knew there wasn't much wrong. She entered the doorway of the girl's room, all the doors had been unlocked. When she entered the room, the girl stopped chanting and her parents stepped away from her, just as they were expected to. And with a nod, a certain look in that woman's eyes, they knew that when she took their daughter into her arms, she wouldn't be coming back for a while.
As the woman's heels clacking against the hardwood floors signaled her exit, the girl's mother grabbed her shoulder.
"Gaga, please take good care of my Elaine."

Gaga turned around and smiled sweetly.
"She's in good hands."

***

First Uncle Bill's ninja wizard powers, and then Jimmy's Belieber friend Elaine having visions stronger than mine. What a magical fucking week.

Yes, ninja wizard powers. I don't understand half of the stuff that happens when I'm around my uncle, and I'm me. I mean, me.

But Jimmy was right. If he was going to be teaching us, Biebermort really was fucked.

Which he was really teaching us, so, uh, fuck yes.

I'd called everyone on the contact sheet to come to my house--which made Daddy uneasy--and when Uncle Bilvy got there, so many girls started squealing and feeling faint, I couldn't help but face palm. But what bothered me most is that I saw that same BOTDF shirt-clad douchebag and his mousy girl in the crowd, although I hadn't even invited them.

Uncle Bill said he'd be teaching us Defense Against The Dark Arts and suddenly I felt like fuckin' Hermione.

"So, as you all know, Biebermort's on the rise," he started. Everyone who was squeezed up together on my couch was silent as he continued. "He's picked up quite a few spells, gotten his own wand, the works, the everything to being a wizard, knowing magic, the whole nine yards." His voice had this slight English accent to it. Caught me off-guard. "Years ago, I remember, when he released his perfume line, he even used a potion that stuck its buyers into a trance and sent them into Bieber Fever." He seemed to shudder at the thought. "But I'm here to teach you how to use his own power against him." A sly grin spread against his features. "Just a series of spells, charms, and such to get him shook up, oh you know, no big deal." Everyone in the living room grinned at him. Except Jimmy. He seemed uneasy, or something. He'd been kinda out-of-it ever since the Smiths passed away. He didn't miss them, but he was sure sad to see how horrible the Beliebers and the Animal Corps were. Just how low they'd stoop. And what bothered him most was how close his dads could have gotten to being dead, how it was all his fault. But it wasn't all his fault, he-

My thoughts cut themselves off when Uncle Billy tapped me on the nose with a wand that he thought would be perfect for me.

"Hazel, 10 inches, hippogriff talon, ornate, it just screams your name to me." He grinned at me and placed it in my hands smoothly as he continued. "Normally I'd enforce the entire 'the wand chooses the wizard' thing, but fuck it."

I grinned at him and looked at it. It was beautiful and it looked quite easy to hold. "Thanks," I glanced at it and flicked my wrist, looking as the wand swished in the air and it made something in my chest happy. But it didn't make the vase on the bookshelf happy. It fell off and shattered into shards, and Bill sighed, pointing his wand at the mess.

"Reparo."

And suddenly, the pieces formed back together flawlessly. Everyone stared at him with awe sparkling in their eyes. Suddenly everyone had sparked an interest, asking questions that he couldn't quite answer.
So he started giving everyone their wands. There was a bit of chaos as people were trying out the different types, seemed he really did believe in "the wand chooses the wizard." He also wouldn't say anything about the type of wand one would receive until they'd been chosen by it.

"Pine, 11 1/4 inches, dragon heart string, strong."

"Ash, 8 1/2 inches, unicorn tail, supple."

"Vinewood, 9 inches, dragon heartstring, sturdy." Bilvy was poking a wand in Jimmy's face. He was grinning dorkily, and when he took it, nothing could have made him seem happier. And I could see Ani smiling and stealing glances at Jimmy. I smiled at them and thought about how-

"Stand up!"

Uncle Bilvy pulled me away from my thoughts once again, and everyone stood right up, as they were expected to.

"Wands at the ready?"

Everyone stood up straight and gripped their wands firmly.

"Good," he said, "relax."

Hands fell to sides as he continued.
"You're all going to need to get used to that wand for the weeks to come. Calm your mind entirely and look at me."

Eyes fell on him and I could hear deep breaths all around me, but my brain couldn't clear up. No matter how hard I tried. Because I could hear something speaking in my head. Something whispering softly from my brain.

"Ally..."

I was lost in a trance.

"Expelliarmis!"

And my wand went straight into that same vase. Bilvy glared at it.

"Reparo."

And it seamlessly repaired itself. All eyes were on me, now, however.

"Um."

"Ally, focus!" Bilvy handed me my wand again and I nodded, closing my eyes, ears, nose, nerves, and mind, swatting the voices away. They ran away with the word "dream" swimming on their breath.

When I finally opened my eyes, my mind was white noise on an old TV.

He continued with a grin. "The spell I just demonstrated on Ally--that's the first spell you're going to learn." He put his wand in his pocket. "If you can use Expelliarmis before your opponent uses Avada Kedavra, it could save your life."

"Avada Kedavra?"

Connor. Of course.

"The Killing Curse," Bilvy explained with a dark look. "One of the three Unforgivable Curses."

The room fell silent; he continued.

"That's not what we need to focus on as of now. We just need the basics. Choose a partner and try it out."

Naturally, Jimmy and I exchanged looks, and when we were all lined up, he was the first to disarm me. My wand ended up flying towards that vase again, and Bilvy growled at the shards before fixing them again, without words this time.

I saw wands flying out of grips all around me, and finally, Uncle Bilvy cut them off.

"That's it for today."