This story has been kicking around in my head for a while, so I've decided to give it a try. It centers around Erin, a muggle woman who has lost everything. Then, when things are at their lowest possible point, her life takes a strange and intriguing turn when she suddenly finds herself stuck in a world of magic and mystery.

This first chapter tells about the sad, miserable events that eventually lead to the adventure of a lifetime.

Enjoy!

(Please leave a review and tell me what you think!)

...

A Date with Destiny

Erin Sharp drove home in a haze of misery. This had undoubtedly been the worst day of her life; and that was saying something considering that the last two years had been pretty damned horrible. It was nearly impossible to stop the flow of tears that ran down her face as she slowly made her way to the house she had spend some of the happiest times of her life in. It was the first real home she had ever had.

As she pulled onto her street she fell into remembrances of the first time she had seen it. She and Jack had been married for only a year when they'd discovered she was pregnant. They had some money saved and they realized that their little apartment would soon be too small for their growing family. It had seemed to take forever to find a large enough house in their price range; they had inspected more than two dozen properties, but each one was either in too great a state of disrepair, or they were in bad neighborhoods. Then they had found this one. It was a fixer-upper, but it was certainly livable and it had a spacious back yard. She took one look at it and fell instantly in love. They quickly signed the papers and moved in just in time for their first beautiful daughter to be born.

At twenty four, Erin thought her life was as perfect as could be. She was happily married to the man she had loved since she was seventeen; she had a beautiful baby and a good job. How could things get better? Four years later she gave birth to her second daughter and quit her job to raise her family just as she always dreamed of. She truly thought her life was complete, but then things began to change.

Jack got promoted and he began to spend long hours at the office. She missed him being with her and the kids, and told him as much. He explained that with him being the sole bread winner that she should be grateful that he was working so hard to bring home the bigger pay checks. It made sense, but it didn't stop her missing him. Nor did it stop her from falling into a depressive slump. However much she loved being with her children, she still missed the warm, intimate company of her darling husband.

She tried to keep busy. During the day it was easy, what with the kids, and the house to keep her occupied. But at night, when she sat alone with only the soft drone of the television and her own thoughts to keep her company she felt the dark pull of loneliness creep in. There were really only two things that really kept her going during those long secluded hours while she waited impatiently for Jack to come home; Food and her favorite series of books.

By the time the baby turned three Erin knew that something was seriously wrong with her marriage. Whereas before Jack would come home late only to take solace in her arms, now he barely looked at her before falling into bed. When she attempted to rouse him to love her, he would mutter that he was far too exhausted and then roll over and immediately begin snoring again. Soon his whole demeanor changed. She could hardly remember the last time he called her beautiful. Now when he looked at her he seemed mildly disgusted.

She knew she wasn't as sexy as she used to be. She rarely wore make-up, or gave much thought to her hair as she had done before the children were born – after all, who was there to impress? And she was well aware of the fact that her body was no longer the sleek, smooth form it had been when they were first married, but she knew she was not unattractive. She could still turn heads; even if it was only the occasional bag-boy at the super market.

She had no idea how wrong things were until one fateful night about six months back. Feeling that things were quickly going awry in her life, Erin decided to plan a special evening for Jack. She made him promise to come home early and then she began the preparations. She super cleaned the house, made a superb dinner, bought a new dress and completely did herself up, and then shipped the kids off to her in-laws. It was all in vein. By the time Jack came home (four hours later than he'd promised) the dinner was cold, the candles had burnt out, and she was asleep on the couch. When she awoke and confronted him he snapped that he'd gotten swamped at work and couldn't get away and then he complained about how much money she'd wasted on a dress that she'd probably never wear again.

The dam of her silence broke then and the fight that ensued was so loud she was later surprised that the police weren't called. Finally Jack had thrown his jacket on the couch and stomped from the room. She snatched it up intending to demand that he hang up his own clothes once in a while when something caught her attention.

The sweet smell that emanated from the jacket was not a scent she was familiar with. It was far too light and flowery to be his cologne, and she knew it was not similar to any perfume she had ever owned. Then she saw the red smudge at the collar. Her whole body went still when she realized what she was seeing, and even though her mind screamed denials at her, she could feel her heart shatter.

She walked in slow motion to the bedroom where jack was undressing. He asked her snidely what she wanted, but she ignored him and picked up his white dress shirt from the bed where he'd left it. There, on the collar, was the confirmation of his betrayal. The red lipstick stains were like bullets straight to her soul. She turned to him and she saw all the needed in the flash of guilt that passed across his features. He didn't even try to deny it as he told her all about the affair he was having with his co-worker. He said he had been planning on telling her for a while, but that he'd needed time to prepare. She hadn't understood what he meant by that for a while, but too soon it all became clear.

When the affair had begun more than a year before it had been quite casual at first; He and his slut would meet for quick rendezvous while they worked alone into the midnight hours, but after a few months they got together more and more often. Even when work had slowed and the crazy overtime was no longer mandatory they continued to meet up in seedy motels or the back seat of his car. He realized he was in love after only six months, and together they began to plot.

He told Erin he wanted a divorce. He said that although he had saved plenty of money that she would never see any of it as he had moved it all into accounts under his mistress' name. He said they needed all of it as they were planning on getting married as soon as the divorce went through. Then he dropped the biggest bomb of all on her. He told her he had no intention of letting her keep the house or the kids. He knew the courts would make him pay alimony and child support if they stayed with her, and he had no intention of letting her leech off of his hard earned money any longer. He said it was really all for the best; she had become fat and lazy since she had quit working and maybe now she could get off her ass and do something worthwhile with her time. Besides, his mistress wanted kids, but he didn't want her to get pregnant and become all bloated and stretched out like Erin had and forbade it. This way, he said, they would both get what they wanted.

It seemed like she was living a nightmare since then. She swore she would fight him, but she couldn't afford the top end lawyers he had. She held out hope to the very end, but it was for naught. She stood in the courtroom and watched as everything good in her life was taken away. The judge granted Jack everything from the house to the furniture and then he ripped her heart out completely when he granted him sole custody of the children. Sure, she had weekend visitation rights, but they only went into effect when she had a decent job and a place to live. She was left with absolutely nothing.

When court was dismissed Jack approached her and said he wanted the kids dropped off to him by the weekend. Then he told her to start looking for a new place to live because he wanted her out of the house within 30 days. He said his fiancé wanted to start redecorating right away because she refused to live in such a tacky, unappealing home. Erin was so numb she couldn't even respond.

That week was the fastest of her entire life. She spent most of it hugging her children and trying to get in as much quality time as she could. She tried not to cry in front of them, but that turned out to be a futile effort. She never once bad mouthed their father in front of them, though she really wanted to, but she did explain that she couldn't be with them very often anymore. She assured them that it was not what she wanted; that if it were up to her, they would never leave her side. She told them again and again how much she loved them even as she packed their bags to send them away.

Finally the fateful day came. She loaded the girls into the car and drove as slowly as possible to their destination. Jack had been living with his whore in her apartment since the day after the big fight. Erin had never been inside, but she knew from the exterior that it was a very posh place. She prayed that the kids would be happy there, if only for their sake. She thought seriously about simply taking them and running as far away as possible, but she knew that she'd never re-gain custody if she did something as illegal as that.

The apartment complex had an elevator which thrilled the children. Erin was just happy to see them smile. Finally they made it to the sixth floor and the knocked on the door. Both Jack and his painted harlot met them at the door. The kids were very excited to see their father as they had missed him terribly and they ran over and leapt into his arms. Then Jack told them to kiss their mother goodbye. They happily gave her great big hugs and kisses and then the seven-year-old, Andromeda, asked the question Erin had been dreading. She had tried explaining that she wouldn't get to see them for a while, but she knew they never quite understood. So, when now Andromeda asked her when she would be coming back to pick them up she knew she had to make them understand.

"I don't know when I'll be back," she said. "Mommy has to find a job and a new home before I can come get you and that could take a while. You and sissy are going to live with daddy now, but I'll come and get you as soon as I can."

She saw the moment the information finally sunk in and both girls began to cry. They ran to Erin and hugged her as tightly as their little arms could.

"No, mommy!" Andy cried. "I don't want to live with daddy! I want to go with you!"

"Me too!" Three year old Cassie wailed.

"I know, my babies," Erin murmured into their hair as she hugged them. "I want you too, but the court says you have to stay with daddy for now. I promise I'll do my best to get you back, but this is how it has to be for now."

"Nooo!" The little ones howled, as they clinged tighter to her.

"Okay, that's enough of this nonsense," The harlot snapped, grabbing the baby by the arm and yanking her back, making her loose her balance and fall to the floor.

Erin saw red. She bent over and pulled the baby to her feet. After checking that she was alright, she turned to the strumpet and snarled, "You will keep your filthy hands off of my children!"

"Oh, what are you going to do about it?" The skank taunted.

It happened so fast that Erin didn't even have time to consider what she was doing. She felt herself draw her arm back, and then the bitch was on the floor, holding her bloodied nose between her hands.

"Jesus Christ, Erin!" Jack gasped as he crouched by his pitiful lovers' side. "What the hell do you think you're doing!"

"Oo'll e' earing rom by lawyer, bith!" The tramp screamed from behind her blood soaked hands. Though her words were muffled, Erin knew instantly that she had just made the biggest mistake imaginable and she felt a strange mixture of regret, fury and the urge to hit her again…only harder.

"Give me a kiss, darlings," she said turning back to the kids who had stopped crying to stare in shock at what had just happened. "I have to go now."

They each kissed and hugged her even as they continued begging to go home with her. Erin stoked their soft hair and gave each one a final, sad kiss before turning and walking out of the scene of chaos. She was halfway home when the true impact of what she'd done hit her. She'd likely never get her children back now. Hell, she'd be lucky if she wasn't arrested for assault. The desolate misery she had been holding inside her all these long months finally hit home and she had to pull over as gut wrenching sobs shook her body. It took several long moments for her to get enough control to finish driving home. Once there she collapsed on the floor and hugged her arms around her chest as she continued to wallow in grief and despair.

The sun had long set before she once again had the strength to stand. There were no rational thoughts in her mind as she walked from room to room in her dark, empty house. She didn't know what she was looking for, but she knew that whatever it was, it could no longer be found here. Eventually she settled enough to shower and put on her most comfortable nightgown. She tried to sleep, but her mind, which had been so numb until now was racing and she found that her eyes refused to stay closed.

With a deep sigh she went down to the kitchen and made a snack which she didn't really want, and subsequently threw out. She wandered the house for a while searching desperately for something to take her mind off of her problems, but in the end there was just one thing that appealed to her. It was the one thing she could always lose herself in; the one thing that always made her feel better. She looked at the series of books and simply couldn't decide which one she wanted so she closed her eyes and picked at random.

She made her way back up to her bedroom and settled down into the large, empty bed. Then she opened the book and began to read the familiar story about a world of magic and adventure revolving around the life of a young boy named Harry Potter.

Reading these books always made her feel nostalgic about her own youth. She was just slightly older than Harry Potter was supposed to be, and although she was an American, reading about his school day adventures made her reminisce about her own high school career. She had met Jack when she was just a sixteen-year -old sophomore, and by her seventeenth birthday she knew he was the man she wanted to marry.

Erin came from poor beginnings. Her parents had died when she was young and she spent her childhood being passed from family member to family member, whereas Jack came from a stable home with decent money. His family wasn't rich by any standards, but they had enough to live comfortably and still have fun. Because of that, Jack was often able to buy her presents and take her out to fancy dinners. Through him she was able to experience new and exciting things and it made her esteem of him grow. That his family seemed to accept her as well only increased her devotion to him. They often invited her on family vacations and because of that she got to visit places she had only ever read about.

They finished high school together and went on to college, and when Jack proposed when she was just nineteen, she quit school to begin working full time so that they could live together while he got his degree. The understanding was that he would do the same for her after they were married, but they never seemed to have enough money and then she got pregnant and her dreams changed and began to revolve solely around family.

Now, though she wouldn't trade her kids for anything, she wondered what might have been. If she had to do it all over again, what different decisions might she make? If she hadn't dated Jack, and instead went out with one other the other boys who vied for her attention back in the day, where would she be now? As she thought about the care-free days of her youth her eyes began to drift shut.

Erin didn't know exactly when she finally fell asleep, but as she floated weightless in the darkened sky she knew she must be dreaming. She looked lazily around and realized that she was hovering high above her own neighborhood. The houses were pretty much all dark with only a few lights shining on porches and in bedrooms and she could see the headlights of a few scattered cars as they slowly made their way along the quiet streets.

Erin watched the scene below with mild interest for a time until something else caught her attention. From somewhere in the distance she heard a loud and echoing 'CRACK'. She twisted around to try and locate the sound, but saw nothing unusual except for a dim light far off in the distance. She wondered idly if perhaps it was a plane, but it seemed to be flying too low for that. It also appeared to be moving very quickly. As she watched the light seemed to grow brighter, but perhaps that was because it was getting closer. Soon it became clear that whatever the light was, it was heading straight for her.

She was surprisingly unconcerned as the bright light soon bathed her in its sparkling brilliance. It felt warm and comforting on her skin and she actually giggled as it seemingly engulfed her. Then Erin heard another loud 'CRACK' and she felt her body begin to move. She flew forward slowly at first, but soon she began to pick up speed as the light shifted and pushed her downward. She worried that she would crash into the ground, but there was never any impact as she continued to fall. The light then began to change again and bright colors flashed all around her as the world seemed to melt away.

Erin felt her body pick up speed again and she tried to slow her decent, but nothing she did seemed to matter and in fact all she managed to do was send herself into a spin. She felt the first tremors of fear race down her spine as the twirling colors grew darker and began to form a cylinder or tunnel around her. She thought she saw objects whizzing by in the distance, but she was moving so quickly that nothing could catch her eye for more than a second. She wondered when and if she would ever stop falling and almost instantly she felt her body slam into something surprisingly soft. It took a moment for her head to stop spinning, but when it did her eyes snapped open and she bolted upright in the darkness.