Kathleen Riddle: Diary of a Witch
Chapter 3
Shoe Hill
As the door to the house I grew up in closed behind me, I thought to myself, this could be the very last time I see this place. I turned to face the house. It looked old in some strange way. I felt like a ghost on the outside looking in. I had never liked it here, but at that moment, I was curious of what it would’ve been like to actually explore this house. I had never been anywhere other than the living room, the dinning room, and my attic bedroom.
I pulled my glare away from the house, and looked for the pair of hooded men that came to fetch me. They were mounted on brooms watching me. I must have looked scared because Severus said,
“There’s nothing to worry about, I am a perfectly skilled on a broom.” I thought I saw the corner of his mouth twitch.
I climbed onto the broom behind him and held him tightly around the waist. He glanced back at me, then over to Albus. Then, he kicked off the ground, and instead of going up and coming straight down, we flew fast up into the sky. I hadn’t been holding on very well because I hadn’t believed anything would happen, but as the broom jerked forward, I scrambled to grab onto Severus’s robes. My legs flew behind me, and I let out a loud gasp. I quickly pulled myself back onto the broomstick, and held on for dear life. I thought I saw a small smile on Albus’s wrinkled face.
I felt as if we were flying for years. The cold air against my face was bitter, and it burned like fire. I fought sleep off by sticking my face out from behind Severus’s back every so often. That woke me up very quickly. We flew through clouds and I thought I could touch a star. I forgot all about the world for those few minutes, and just closed my eyes, but next thing I new, I was touching solid ground.
I opened my eyes quickly, and jumped to my feet. It was so dark; I had to open my eyes very wide to see the darkened silhouettes of the two men.
“Where are we?” I asked. “Are we in London? How long was I asleep?”
“We are in Newfoundland, on a hill near the ocean. You slept for about two hours.” Severus said.
“Two hours?! What did I miss?”
“Land.” Severus said impatiently.
I watched Severus and Albus march around with they’re heads facing the ground. I assumed they were looking for something, so I began to mock them. I wasn’t really looking, so therefore the item of inquiry showed itself to me first. I found it by tripping over it. I hit the ground a little harder than I had expected and let out a grunt.
“Are you alright?” Albus said as he helped me up.
“Yes, I think so. What did I trip over?”
“Exactly what we were looking over!”
I looked up from dusting the dirt off my shirt, and Albus was holding up an old shoe! I looked from Albus to Severus to the shoe.
“What on earth are we going to do with a shoe?” It sounded stupid as soon as it came out.
“It’s going to transport us to Malfoy Manor in England. It’s called a portkey.” Severus said in a matter-of-fact tone. I was beginning to think that this was his natural way of talking.
“It’s scheduled for 6:00 a.m. “ Albus said watching the horizon. He then pulled out a strange looking watch. “That’ll be in about an hour. We got here early.”
He sat down on the ground and watched the East. Severus sat down also. I looked down at both of them, and waited a minute. I thought I heard whispering, but neither of them was moving their lips. As I watched more intently, the whispering became clearer and clearer. As I looked over at Albus, a look of concern was upon his face, and finally I heard what the whispers were saying.
”I wonder when I should tell the poor girl what kind of battle she is entering. I cannot tell her now. She must learn it on her own; she’s smart.”
I stepped back away from him. Had I just heard his thoughts? Was he speaking about me? Should I tell him? No, I thought, this must be kept a secret. So, we waited, and I closed my mind. I thought over what I had heard; she must learn it on her own. Learn what? I didn’t even know whom he was speaking about. And what battle was this girl entering? I pondered this for an hour, because suddenly, Severus stood up, then Albus rose to his feet as well. I stood, thinking it was time to go. Instead, Albus shoved me to the ground and stood in front of me. They both had their wand drawn and was pointing to the other side of the hill. I peeked from behind his robes and watched the dark hill. I saw nothing until a burst of red light shot from our side to the dark side of the hill.
“Show yourself!” Shouted Severus. But no one appeared.
“Come, its nearly time.” Albus said softly.
Without taking his eyes, or wand, off the far end of the hill, Severus backed up to where we were standing. Albus picked up the shoe and held it out. Severus placed a finger on the shoe, and looked at me. I also put a finger on the shoe. We waited for what seemed forever, then the shoe began to glow a bright blue. Then, I was pulled forward and began to soar.