Fan Fiction ❯ Harry Potter and the Oracle of Bedlam ❯ It all started with a portkey ( Chapter 1 )

Chapter one

It all started with a Port key

"So, you're telling me this thing can travel us to some place instantly?" Connor took the weird book from Willow's hand and observed it intently. Never had he seen such an eccentric object, and to think that it could actually transport things in just a snap.

"Yup! The port key as what everybody in the Wizarding world calls it. Convenient, huh?" Willow smiled with satisfaction. It's really nice to share some knowledgeable facts with others. Especially to Angel's son and the new trainee slayer, the chosen one to replace Buffy. She's really just wondering why they needed the port key.

"Thank you, Willow. I know we could count on you." The new slayer returned the smile, really grateful for Willow's aid. Since Buffy and Spike established a Boot camp for new Slayers, this 18-year-old girl decided to leave her normal life and face a very paranormal one instead. Her name is Abigail Marie Jones/Abby, studies in Yale University in BS Psychology, 5'7 of height, has dark hair from her Italian blood and English accent from her British kin. She had deep chestnut eyes, piercing and guarded. From the 15 slayer trainees, she's the sole one who finished the last two levels. Guiles once said he felt the vibes of a true demon killer from her from the first day he saw her. Buffy too fancies the girl's strength and courage. Spike was impressed with her wits and abilities from passing all the levels. Willow and the rest believed that Abby could carry on Buffy's unconventional job, and that is to hunt demons and all other malevolent creatures lurking around. They all decided to choose Abby as the new slayer, much to Faith's dismay. Her dislike with Buffy and the new slayer became broader that ever.

Since Buffy and the Scoobies eradicated most of the demons in Sunnydale, Guiles decided to leave Abby in the hands of Angel. Which to conclude that Abby was the newest member of the Angel Investigations team, knowing that the team was still incomplete from Weiss' death. Only a month had passed since Abby's transfer, and everything seems to work so well. Killing vampires in the night had always been a habit, and also having a fine argument with Connor who had always been stubborn and mean to her since the first day she came in Chicago.

Only faith has it that she needed to work on an assignment with him right now. Doyle and Cordelia must have planned this since they could not stand the tension happening between the two during patrols. Angel on the other hand, did not careless. As long as they help him with his job, everything's fine.

"Exactly, what are you going to do with the port key, Abby? Are you both taking vacations in Mongolia?" Willow curiously asked, at the same time eyeing suspiciously on the two.

The two looked appalled making them both shriek, "Hell no!"

"Sorry, just askin'." The redheaded witch could not believe that both Connor and Abby still hate each other. The thought of these two youngsters having an escapade was far more better than seeing them brawling.

"A man came into the agency complaining about a Mongolian Shaman stealing his jewel. Everyone thinks the complain was trouble-free and effortless, that's why Angel decided to send us, the "Young ones" as what they call it." Abby was quite annoyed by this term. It seems Angel still could not trust her from bearing any hard missions, so he chooses the simple ones instead. It even maddened her when Cordelia asked Connor to accompany her. It's not like she's a weakling who needs a baby-sitter or something. Well, how long would it take for Angel to trust you anyway? She thought bitterly.

"Well, maybe Angel thinks it's safe for you to manage. He and the gang can always handle the biggie demons here, you know that."

"Yeah, I know." Abby nonchalantly answered.

Willow glances down at her watch, her eyes getting wide in stun, "Oh, I'd better go. I promised Xander and Anya to show up with the baptizing house thingy. I'll see you guys later."

"Ok, bye." Abby waved back.

"Take care." Connor said as they both watched Willow strides out of the house and jumps up to her car.

Once the red-headed witch was out of sight, Abby let out a sigh and said, "We'd better get through with this."

"Do you know how to use it?" Connor asked, forgetting the part of asking Willow the instructions.

"Yeah. I can still remember Willow's babblings about port keys and magical stuff."

"Then, how do we use it?"

"It's a key Connor, we use it to unlock doors, remember?" she sarcastically replied.

He scoffed and rolled his eyes, "I'm not dumb, Abbykins, this thing doesn't resemble any key at all. And it's rather not that easy to use it, does it?" he snap back.

Abby placed her hands on her hips and stared at him wide-eyed, "First of all, don't bloody call me Abbykins! And second, let me finish explaining first before returning a sarcastic remark back, ok?"

"Well Ms. Jones, time is running out. We'd better use this now or continue to exchange insults with me for the matter."

"Fine! Give it to me." she immediately took the book and held it atop her palm. She looked over to him and signed him to move towards her. Connor gave her a hesitant look, completely not getting the objective of this particular action. "Well? Don't be a bloody stubborn git, Connor! Come here."

"Alright! Quit whining." He walked towards and stood beside. "What now, know-it-all?"

"Place your hand on top."

"What?"

"Just bloody do it!"

Connor groaned irritatingly and did as what he was told to do. He really hates it when somebody dares to boss him around. And to think that that somebody was the new slayer from Sunnyhell.

"Here we go." Abby placed her own hand beside his and promptly they were thrown in a dark dimension. She could feel herself being tugged from the ground, lifting her through the air as a fierce force tries to suck her out. Connor had felt the same too, and the next thing he knew, he fell onto the ground so hard he could have sworn his backside would ache for a minute or so. He also heard a loud thud beside him and when he opened his eyes to see what it was, a sprawled dark haired slayer was visible in his eyes. "Nice landing." This comment made Abby glance behind her only to see a Connor sneering over to her direction.

"So do you." She lifted herself from the ground and started to dust off the dirt on her shirt. Connor did the same, only he did start to observe the place they have landed. "Is this how Mongolia looks like?" absently asking since the cobble stonewalls and dusty old books surrounded them started to bother him.

"Huh?" from hearing the uncertainty tone from his voice, Abby started to observe the surroundings as well. "Wait… where are we?" the place looks like a dungeon room only having a small window to allow the sunlight and air surpass.

"How am I supposed to know? You're the one who's holding the book!"

"I just did what Willow told me to do!"

"And that's by locking ourselves in a cell?"

What in heaven's name?? I have heard the instructions well, what have I done wrong? Willow told me to hold the port key then place my hand above and then… oh blimey… Abby's thoughts were disturbed by Connor's voice when he asked, "What? What is it?"

"What are you talking about?" she asked back.

He eyed her inquiringly, "You said `Oh blimey'. Is something wrong?"

Abby knew she looked guilty; it was definitely obvious since she's trying to avoid eye-to-eye contact with him. "There's this one tiny detail that I forgot to say…"

I knew it. Connor was starting to get angry right now. Something was wrong, and worst the thought of being lost and failing the mission was pissing him out. "Spit it out." His voice was so sturdy, exasperation was really perceptible.

"Willow said that through traveling, we should think about the place we wanted to be at so it could lead us promptly to that location… or else it would escort us back to where the book came from."

"What??"

"This could have been the place where Willow got the port key." Abby started to pace nervously back and forth, placing a hand on her forehead as anxiety started to fill in. "We're not supposed to be in here!"

Angel's son started to fill in everything and when the realization kick in, he too started to worry as his brows furrow deeply. "This is not happening… What have you done??"

"Don't worry, we can still get out of here. We'll just have to start all over again, that's all."

Connor seems to regain calmness again and nodded, "Ok. We'll just have to travel again and think about Mongolia."

"Yes." Abby smiled at this although her beam immediately faltered, "Wait a minute, where's the book?"

Again, his brows started to crease, "Again, you're the one who's holding the port key. Don't ask me these questions."

"Bloody hell!" she scurried along to where they fell and started to search for the port key. Connor did the same, throwing scattered papers and dusty old books aside, desperately trying to find the blasted book. "It's got to be here somewhere!" Abby cried in frustration, covering her nose in the process just to avoid the grimes freely floating in the air.

"I knew it. I shouldn't have trusted you. I should have called Willow and asked her instead."

"Well, you yourself forgot to ask her so don't put all the blame on me!"

"This is useless!" he throws the last parchment away and looks over to the slayer who was still trying to locate the missing book. "You said the port key has gone back to where it belong. Positively its not here."

"Connor, what are we supposed to do now? That Mongolian guy might have gone away with that blasted jewel!"

"And it's all your fault." He coldly replied.

"I know, ok? Just shut up!"

"Good, at least you don't deny your mistake."

"Ugh! I bet you're enjoying this."

"Enjoying what?"

"This! You like to see me fail, right. Here's you're moment."

"Will you just calm down? Nagging won't help us at all."

Abby knew he was right. She took a long deep breath and sat down beside him. Connor saw her face, and no doubt she was really sorry for the slip-up she did. He sighed and allowed eyes to observe the place once more. He then saw the huge door, hidden behind the huge bookcases around the room. "Let's get out of here."

The dark-haired slayer looked up to him curiously, "Then what? We don't know this place, Connor. We can't just get out and stroll."

"Well, I would rather do that than stay here and mope." He stood up, not minding if the young slayer was offended or not. He walked towards the door and gently opened it. Abby watched him with tentative eyes, looking out for danger just as what Connor was doing. He then looked at her and signaled her to follow him. But she was still unsure with his scheme so she did not dare to move a muscle. Connor noticed this and glared at her, "Don't be a bloody stubborn git, Abbykins. Come here!" whispered he, quite intending the déjà vu phrase Abby just parted a few minutes ago.

She was annoyed with him although she did stood up and followed his side. They both walk cautiously through an abandoned hall, speculative as ever. A few minutes they finally found a stair leading downwards. Both decided to take the risk and walked to the first floor of the building.

What they saw was rather surprising. The whole floor was filled with people and children with weird robes and crests of different forms and colors. They took this as a chance and quickly exited the crowded area. It staggered them more when they reached outside. More people in bizarre clothes wandered around freely than ever. "I'm starting to hate this place more and more." Abby muttered as she examines the people they pass by.

"I hate to say this, but you're right." He too shuddered from the looks these people were throwing at them, as if they were the ones who look strange.

"Diagon Alley?"

"What?"

Abby pointed on the large sign on the far corner and said, "Diagon Alley, that's what it says."

"What the hell is Diagon Alley?" he never heard of a place called by this name. Definitely they weren't approximate from the United States.

She looked thoughtful for a moment and mumbled; "I've heard it once from Willow. She says this was the place where she shopped all of her school things before she went to that Wizard School."

"You mean that red-headed witch had been here? No wonder she's weird." He scoffed off and started to pace again. The slayer on the other hand stood rooted on the spot. That same contemplative look was still evident from her face. Connor turned around to see what's taking her so long to follow. He sighed and crossed his arms as he awaits for Abby to regain her ability of moving. "What is it now, slayer? We can't waste much more time with your reveries."

"I've got an idea." She suddenly snapped out from her thought and took Connor's hand. It was more like a drag than a pull since they were now striding rapidly than before. "Maybe we could get ourselves out of here if we pay Willow's school a visit."

"Are you nuts? How are we supposed to find Willow's school if we as well have no idea where we are?" Connor asked in disbelief.

"Willow told me there's a train that will lead the students to that school."

"Are you even aware of the School's name?"

"Hogwarts."

Connor looked at her in an astonishing manner, "You have a vast memory there, Ms. Jones."

She made a fleeting look over to him with a smug grin tugging on her lips, "I know."

It didn't take so long in finding the King's cross train station. It was just right in front of the busy streets of Diagon Alley. As they walks along in finding the right train, their eyes were suddenly caught by a strange sight unfolding forth them. Three students with strollers just gone through a brick wall with ease.

"Did you see what I just saw?" Connor asked in disbelief.

"There's magic implanted on that wall. I think we can find the train in there."

"Are you saying that we'll cross that charmed wall just like what those kids do?"

"Yes."

"Then, let's go." It was his turn to grab Abby's hand. And as he did, he hauled Abby behind him and ran to the brick wall's direction. Both had closed their eyes as they neared to hit the hard bricks. And as they opened it, they saw themselves standing in another train station named platform 9 and ¾. Students were all embarking a particular train as it hoots out signaling for departure.

"That must be it." Abby said.

"Are you sure we can hitch a ride on that train?" Connor looked at her questioningly.

"We can always sneak in, right?" she answered back.

"100 percent of those students wore their school uniform. We can easily be spotted."

"We'll find a way." As she started to ponder of what to do, something quickly caught her eye. "Connor, look!" both stared at the luggage compartment of the train where all the student's things were placed. Both grinned at each other with this sudden discovery and hurriedly ran to the compartment.

After a few minutes, both emerged in Hogwart's school uniform and stride along to join the other students inside the train. As they walk along, some of the students watched and looked at them suspiciously. Their faces were not familiar causing them to wonder who these strangers were. But at least everyone's starting to enjoy their arrival. Girls could not help not to look dreamy when Connor passed by and so as the boys who looked dumbstruck from Abby's looks.

They could hear whispers and soft voices around them which made them much more tense. Abby have thanked the Gods when Connor finally found an empty compartment. They settled quickly inside and shut the door from continuous prying eyes.

"Tell me exactly what you're planning to do." Connor plummeted down on the seat before Abby's. He was still clueless about the slayer's plan. "Why are we going to Hog… something school?"

Abby sighed and leaned back leisurely, "Hogwarts." She corrected, "It's the only place where we can contact Willow. She once studied there, no doubt someone knows her."

"And what about the port key? She's gonna kill us if we don't return that."

"Of course we'll find it. But not now. We have to settle matters first of how to get out of here. We don't even know where we are."

"That's the whole point. Gladly Willow told you stuff about this."

"Yeah. Thank God I at least knew something about this world."

"But still… it's your fault." Connor implied.

Abby rolled her eyes and looked away. She was too tired of hearing any more accuses right now. Being transported to a place you didn't know was way too much. She admitted that she was guilty about it, why would Angel's blasted son reprimand her more?

Connor on the other hand took a large intake of breath and sighed. He turned to look over to the glass window beside him. Never did he imagine himself being stuck with Abbykins and her little tactics of being a complete nuisance to him. What bothers him most was the mission they should have been handling right now. His father and the others might have been really worried. That is if ever they found out that they were missing.

All their thoughts were distracted when they heard a sudden knock on the door. Both shared a horrid look in fear before Connor stood up and opened the door. A rather old lady was standing in front of him in a black dress and pointy hat. She looked at them in mix suspicion and apprehension, "I believe I haven't seen you two before. Who are you?"

Both looked at each other asking a muted question of `What now?'

TBC