FAMILY TIES
by
Crescent Dreamweaver
email: [email protected]
Disclaimer: I don't own Mutant X, Harry Potter, blah blah blah, etc., etc. The only character I own any rights to is Adrianne Mandori, 'cause I invented her. Mutant X belongs to Marvel and Tribune Entertainment, and Harry Potter belongs to the great muse J.K. Rowling.
Synopsis: Adam's niece comes to stay with him during summer vacation, and she brings along some of her friends from the private school she goes to in England.
* *= indicates emphasized words
** **= indicates telepathic communication
-- --= indicates a person's thoughts
Let the story begin!
* * *
Prologue: Going To America
Fifteen year old Adrianne Mandori ran to the Hogwarts train, dragging the trunk that was filled with her belongings behind her. Another school year had ended, and she was going home.
Except that the home she was going to wasn't her own, but instead was her uncle's home. Her parents had decided to go on vacation for the entire summer, and so Adrianne was going to stay with her Uncle Adam in America. She hadn't seen him in almost six years, ever since her parents had decided to relocate to England.
--And it's a really good thing that they decided to relocate, too-- she thought, smiling happily. --Otherwise, I wouldn't be a student at Hogwarts, and one of the best Chasers on the Gryffindor Quidditch team.-- She sighed as she realized she wouldn't be able to talk with Uncle Adam about Quidditch, or anything even remotely like that, without confusing him. Suddenly, she had an idea. --In his letter, Uncle Adam said I could bring some friends. I'll invite Harry, Ron, and Hermione to come with me.--
Adrianne spotted her friends up ahead, putting their belongings on the train, and rushed towards them, dragging her trunk behind her.
"Hey, guys!" she gasped. "Can I ask all of you something?"
Fellow fifth years Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger turned to look at her.
"Hey, Addie," said Ron. "You okay? You look as though you've just had several pieces of Breathless Butterscotch."
"Breathless *what*?" Adrianne asked, momentarily forgetting what she was going to ask them.
"Breathless Butterscotch," Ron repeated. "It's Fred and George's latest invention. It makes you feel out of breath. Wears off in a couple of minutes."
"No, I haven't had any. I just wanted to ask all of you something."
"What?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Do you think any of your your parents would object to you guys coming with me to stay at my uncle's house in America for the summer?"
"I doubt the Dursley's would mind," said Harry in a low voice. "They'll take any opportunity to have me stay somewhere else for the entire summer."
"I'll have to ask my parents," said Hermione. "But I think they'll say yes."
"I don't think Mum and Dad would mind," said Ron. "And I think they would mind less if we took Fred and George with us. Mum's been furious that they've started working on several new inventions at school, and I think it'll do her a load of good to have them out of the house for a while."
The four friends got onto the train, and headed to an empty compartment. A few moments later, the train started, and headed for King's Cross.
After the train left Hogwarts, Fred and George Weasley, Ron's older twin brothers, came down to the compartment that Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Adrianne were staying in.
After Adrianne had explained everything to them, they nodded.
"Yeah, I think Mum and Dad would agree," replied Fred.
"It'll give 'em some peace and quiet around the house," agreed George.
"Great! Uncle Adam will be meeting me at King's Cross. We can ask your parents for permission when we get there. Oh, and Harry, if the Dursleys refuse to let you come with us, I'll threaten to force-feed Dudley a dozen Ton-Tongue Toffees. That should convince them, don't you agree?" she asked innocently.
Everyone in the compartment laughed, knowing what would happen to Dudley if he ate a dozen Ton-Tongue Toffees. With that discussion closed, Adrianne pulled out a pack of Exploding Snap, and the six of them enjoyed several games during the trip.
* * *
Emma deLauro walked down the steps to the living room of Sanctuary, looking for Adam. The leader of Mutant X had been acting weird for the past couple of months, ever since he'd received a strange letter.
"Adam?" she called.
"Over here, Emma," came his muffled voice. Emma walked in the direction of Adam's voice, and saw that he was underneath a computer. She could hear him banging on the underside. Suddenly, he yelped, and let loose with a torrent of obscenities that made Emma cringe. --God, I didn't even know he knew those particular words-- she thought.
"Are you all right, Adam?" she asked, concerned.
Adam crawled out from under the computer and dusted himself off. "I'm fine, Emma," he replied, throwing the computer a hateful look. "It's just that this computer has evidently decided that it hates me and wants to eat my fingers."
Emma smothered a laugh. "Well, it could have been worse. It could have tried to drown you in oil." Adam gave her a withering glare.
"I'm going to go change. I have to meet someone in a few hours." Adam glanced at his watch, and made a face. "On second thought, I'll just change on the jet."
Emma blinked. "Who are you going to go meet?"
Adam cocked an eyebrow at her. "That's my secret."
Emma made puppy-dog eyes at him. "Please tell me."
Adam gave her a Look. "Let me phrase it a different way: None of your damn business."
Emma crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm making it my business."
Adam gave her an annoyed look. "It's still none of your damn business." He stormed off towards the hanger bay, and Emma glowered after him.
"Computer," she said, "lock the door to the hanger bay, and answer only to me."
"Yes, Emma," responded the computer, and a moment later, the doors locked.
Adam reached the hanger, and tried to open the doors, but found that they were locked. He swore under his breath. "Computer, unlock the hanger doors."
"Cannot comply," came the computer's prompt response. "Responding only to Emma."
"Computer, unlock the damn doors right now!" snarled Adam angrily.
"Cannot comply," repeated the computer. Adam began to swear loudly.
"You're not going anywhere until you tell me who you're going to meet." Adam turned around and saw Emma standing behind him, arms crossed over her chest. He glared at her.
"Emma, tell the stupid computer to unlock the damned doors," he demanded. Emma shook her head.
"Not until you give me an answer," she replied coolly. Adam didn't respond; instead, he stormed off towards his room. Emma stared after him, and sighed. --That man is so stubborn-- she thought.
Then a voice inside her replied, "Yeah, but that doesn't stop you from being attracted to him."
--I'm not attracted to him!-- thought Emma.
"Bullshit."
--Shove it before I shove my fist into your face-- Emma thought angrily.
Her inner voice shut up.
* * *
Adrianne felt the train come to a stop, and she stood up. She, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the Weasley twins got off the train, and went to claim their belongings. When they went through the barrier, the first person they saw was Mrs. Weasley, who waved at them merrily.
"Hello, Mrs. Weasley," said Adrianne cheerfully.
"Hello, Adrianne," Mrs. Weasley replied.
"Mrs. Weasley, may I ask you something?" Adrianne asked.
"Certainly."
"Is it all right if Ron, Fred, and George come to stay with me at my uncle's house for the summer?"
"Yes, they may." Mrs. Weasley gave Fred and George a scathing look. "Boys, I had better not get any owls about Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, do you hear me?"
As one, Fred and George let out groans of disgust. "Aw, Mum, now you've gone and taken half the fun out of our vacation already!" complained Fred, looking dismayed. Mrs. Weasley started to reply, but Adrianne cut her off.
"Don't worry, Mrs. Weasley," she replied. "I won't let them cause any trouble in America." She crossed her fingers behind her back, and the twins fought back snickers. Mrs. Weasley walked away with Ginny, who had just gotten off the train with her baggage, and Adrianne turned to Harry and Hermione. "All right, Hermione, let's ask your parents next." Mr. and Mrs. Granger were all too willing to let Hermione stay with Adrianne at her uncle's for the summer. The only person left to ask was Harry's uncle.
"No, you may not go to America," snapped Vernon Dursley. "If you think that Petunia and I will let you spend the summer with your freakish friends again, you've got another thought coming!"
Harry's eyes practically glowed red-hot with anger. But before he could say anything, Adrianne spoke up, her voice laced with scorn.
"Mr. Dursley, you've got a lot of nerve calling us freaks," she snapped. "If the term 'freak' applies to those who aren't normal, then your son Dudley is overqualified for that title. And yet, you refer to anyone who has anything at all to do with the wizarding world--" Vernon's face turned purple with anger.
"How dare you mention that abnormality in a public place?" he hissed. "You have no right!"
"AND YET YOU REFER TO ANYONE WHO HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE WIZARDING WORLD--" repeated Adrianne at the top of her lungs, causing everyone passing by to stop and stare at her. "--a freak," she finished in a calm, controlled, and normal voice. Vernon stared at her in horror, glancing at the passerbys fearfully. "Your son is bigger around the waistline than you are, and he's only fifteen. Is that normal?" But before Vernon could answer, Adrianne pulled out her wand, and aimed it at him. "Now, are you going to let Harry come to America? And if you say that he can't come, I'll hex you so badly that it'll make your ancestors dizzy!"
"You--you'll get in trouble if you use magic outside of school!" said Vernon fearfully. "You're underage! They'll expel you!"
"Damn it, you're right," Adrianne admitted reluctantly, and put her wand away. Then her eyes lit up, and she looked over at the Weasley twins, a smile appearing on her face. "Fred? George?"
"Way ahead of you," said George, smiling grimly. As one, the twins pulled out their wands, and aimed them at Vernon.
"Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Adrianne may be underage, but we're not," said Fred, giving Vernon an evil grin. "We graduated this year." Vernon swallowed hard, a look of absolute terror on his face, and Adrianne crossed her arms over her chest.
"Now, will you let Harry come to America with us or not?" she demanded, a dark look on his face.
"All--all right," said Vernon shakily, and walked away. Adrianne turned to Harry, an unhappy look on her face.
"God, Harry, you weren't kidding about how horrible your relatives were," she said, looking stunned. "If the rest of your relatives are anything like your uncle, I'm glad that you're not going home to them this summer." Then she changed the subject. "I wonder when Uncle Adam's going to get here? He should have been here by now."
* * *
Adam stormed into his room, and slammed the door behind him. He crossed the room and sat down at his desk, scowling. He had never been so angry at anyone in his life. Emma had made him this angry only one other time, and that had been when he and the rest of Mutant X had had to rescue her a second time from the same people that had tried to abduct her the first time. But even then, he hadn't been so angry at her.
Suddenly, he realized that Adrianne would be expecting him to arrive at any time. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed the number of King's Cross. It rang once and then was answered.
"King's Cross Train Station, 'ow may I 'elp you?" came a perky-sounding voice with a Cockney accent.
"Could you see if Adrianne Mandori is at the station?" Adam asked.
"Certainly. One moment, please." A few seconds later, Adam heard the person announce over the intercom, "Would Adrianne Mandori please come to the front of the train station? She 'as a phone call." A few minutes later, Adam heard an all-too-familiar voice in his ear.
"Hello?" came Adrianne Mandori's voice.
"Adrianne, it's Uncle Adam," he replied.
"Hi, Uncle Adam!" said Adrianne joyfully. Then she demanded, "Where the hell are you?!"
Adam made a face, even though he knew that his niece wouldn't be able to see it over the phone. "Adrianne, something's come up, and I can't come and pick you up."
"Don't worry, Uncle Adam," replied Adrianne. "We have an alternative mode of transportation. Several, in fact. Is there a fireplace at Sanctuary?"
Adam blinked. "Yes."
"It's not blocked up, is it?"
"No."
"Good! That's all I needed to know."
"Oh, Adrianne?"
"Hmm?"
"What do you mean, 'we'?"
"Well, you'd said that I could bring some friends with me, so I invited my five best friends, and they've all been given permission to come."
"All right. Believe me, we have plenty of room."
"Okay. Bye, Uncle Adam! See you in a few minutes!" A moment later, the line went dead, and Adam put away his cell phone, confused.
What had Adrianne meant by "See you in a few minutes"?
* * *
Adrianne walked back to where Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the twins were waiting.
"Turns out that Uncle Adam can't come get us, so we're going to have to get there by another mode of transportation." She turned to Ron. "Hey, Ron, do you know if there's someplace nearby where we can travel by Floo?" He nodded.
"Yeah, we can travel by Floo from the Leaky Cauldron," he replied. "But how are we gonna get all our luggage there?"
"That's easy," said Hermione brightly. She pulled out her wand and pointed it at her trunk. "Shrinkus!" A yellow light shot out of her wand, and a moment later, her trunk was small enough to fit in her pocket. Adrianne and the others followed her example, and when they were done, they picked up their miniaturized trunks and put them in their pockets.
After that had been done, Harry let his snowy owl, Hedwig, out of her cage, and Adrianne let her barn owl, Jemima, out of her cage. "Jemima, I need you and Hedwig to fly to my uncle's house and wait for us there," Adrianne said, stroking Jemima. Both owls hooted in reply, and they flew off. Then Harry, Ron, Hermione, Adrianne, and the twins headed towards the Leaky Cauldron.
When they got there, they were immediately shown to a fireplace, and the owner of the pub threw a pinch of Floo powder into the fire that was crackling there. The flames turned emerald-green, and Adrianne stepped into the fireplace. "Sanctuary!" she said, and began swirling around. A moment later, she fell out of the fireplace, landing on a hard floor and bruising her kneecaps. Nearby, she heard someone scream shrilly.
* * *
Emma stared at the fireplace, scowling. Suddenly, emerald-green flames appeared in the fireplace, and a moment later, a person fell out of the fireplace, landing on her knees. Emma took one look at the person, and screamed shrilly.
Upstairs in his room, Adam heard Emma scream downstairs in the living room, and he jumped to his feet. His anger at her was completely forgotten as he ran out of his room, practically flying down the stairs, just a few steps ahead of the rest of the team. "Emma, are you all right?" he called worriedly. Emma turned around and ran towards him and the rest of the team.
"Adam, that person just appeared out of the fireplace," she said frantically. Adam glanced at the fireplace, and to his amazement, saw that there were emerald-green flames in it. In front of the fireplace crouched a small figure with long, dark brown hair, wearing a dark grey sweater trimmed with red and gold stripes, a white blouse underneath, a red and gold striped tie, a dark grey skirt that ended just a few inches above her knees, white knee socks, and black Mary Janes.
"God, I *hate* traveling by Floo," she said disgustedly, her voice slightly muffled. She got to her feet, and Adam gasped when he saw her face.
It was Adrianne.
She turned back to the fireplace. "Hey, guys, it's safe to come through!" she shouted into the flames. A moment later, a boy with messy black hair, green eyes, and glasses landed in the same place that she had, and she helped him to his feet. "You okay, Harry?"
He nodded. A moment later, another boy fell out of the fireplace. He had bright red hair and hazel eyes. Harry and Adrianne helped him to his feet. The next person to fall out of the fireplace also had bright red hair and hazel eyes, but he was older than Adrianne by at least two years. Then another boy who looked to be his twin fell out of the fireplace. Finally, a girl Adrianne's age fell out of the fireplace. She had bushy brown hair and brown eyes.
"Well, that was less than pleasant," she said disgustedly, brushing the soot from her skirt.
Emma, Jesse, and Shalimar stared at the teenagers in front of them in shock, not saying anything. Finally, Emma spoke. "Who the hell are you guys?"
The black-haired boy started to reply, but before he could say anything, the girl who had come out of the fireplace first let out a squeal of delight. "Uncle Adam!" She flung herself at Adam, hugging him tightly.
To the amazement of the younger members of Mutant X, Adam enveloped her in a huge hug. "It's great to see you, Addie."
"It's great to see you too, Uncle Adam," she said, her voice slightly muffled.
Adam looked up, and saw the rest of Mutant X staring at him and Adrianne in shock. He smiled faintly. "Addie, I'd like you to meet Shalimar Fox, Jesse Kilmartin, Brennan Mulwray, and Emma DeLauro. Shalimar, Brennan, Jesse, Emma, this is my niece, Adrianne Mandori."
to be continued...
* * *
A/N: Well, that's the end of the prologue. Now to start working on chapter 1! As always, please R&R, but no flames, 'cause otherwise I'll have to kick your sorry arses from here to Middle Earth. See ya!
by
Crescent Dreamweaver
email: [email protected]
Disclaimer: I don't own Mutant X, Harry Potter, blah blah blah, etc., etc. The only character I own any rights to is Adrianne Mandori, 'cause I invented her. Mutant X belongs to Marvel and Tribune Entertainment, and Harry Potter belongs to the great muse J.K. Rowling.
Synopsis: Adam's niece comes to stay with him during summer vacation, and she brings along some of her friends from the private school she goes to in England.
* *= indicates emphasized words
** **= indicates telepathic communication
-- --= indicates a person's thoughts
Let the story begin!
* * *
Prologue: Going To America
Fifteen year old Adrianne Mandori ran to the Hogwarts train, dragging the trunk that was filled with her belongings behind her. Another school year had ended, and she was going home.
Except that the home she was going to wasn't her own, but instead was her uncle's home. Her parents had decided to go on vacation for the entire summer, and so Adrianne was going to stay with her Uncle Adam in America. She hadn't seen him in almost six years, ever since her parents had decided to relocate to England.
--And it's a really good thing that they decided to relocate, too-- she thought, smiling happily. --Otherwise, I wouldn't be a student at Hogwarts, and one of the best Chasers on the Gryffindor Quidditch team.-- She sighed as she realized she wouldn't be able to talk with Uncle Adam about Quidditch, or anything even remotely like that, without confusing him. Suddenly, she had an idea. --In his letter, Uncle Adam said I could bring some friends. I'll invite Harry, Ron, and Hermione to come with me.--
Adrianne spotted her friends up ahead, putting their belongings on the train, and rushed towards them, dragging her trunk behind her.
"Hey, guys!" she gasped. "Can I ask all of you something?"
Fellow fifth years Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger turned to look at her.
"Hey, Addie," said Ron. "You okay? You look as though you've just had several pieces of Breathless Butterscotch."
"Breathless *what*?" Adrianne asked, momentarily forgetting what she was going to ask them.
"Breathless Butterscotch," Ron repeated. "It's Fred and George's latest invention. It makes you feel out of breath. Wears off in a couple of minutes."
"No, I haven't had any. I just wanted to ask all of you something."
"What?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Do you think any of your your parents would object to you guys coming with me to stay at my uncle's house in America for the summer?"
"I doubt the Dursley's would mind," said Harry in a low voice. "They'll take any opportunity to have me stay somewhere else for the entire summer."
"I'll have to ask my parents," said Hermione. "But I think they'll say yes."
"I don't think Mum and Dad would mind," said Ron. "And I think they would mind less if we took Fred and George with us. Mum's been furious that they've started working on several new inventions at school, and I think it'll do her a load of good to have them out of the house for a while."
The four friends got onto the train, and headed to an empty compartment. A few moments later, the train started, and headed for King's Cross.
After the train left Hogwarts, Fred and George Weasley, Ron's older twin brothers, came down to the compartment that Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Adrianne were staying in.
After Adrianne had explained everything to them, they nodded.
"Yeah, I think Mum and Dad would agree," replied Fred.
"It'll give 'em some peace and quiet around the house," agreed George.
"Great! Uncle Adam will be meeting me at King's Cross. We can ask your parents for permission when we get there. Oh, and Harry, if the Dursleys refuse to let you come with us, I'll threaten to force-feed Dudley a dozen Ton-Tongue Toffees. That should convince them, don't you agree?" she asked innocently.
Everyone in the compartment laughed, knowing what would happen to Dudley if he ate a dozen Ton-Tongue Toffees. With that discussion closed, Adrianne pulled out a pack of Exploding Snap, and the six of them enjoyed several games during the trip.
* * *
Emma deLauro walked down the steps to the living room of Sanctuary, looking for Adam. The leader of Mutant X had been acting weird for the past couple of months, ever since he'd received a strange letter.
"Adam?" she called.
"Over here, Emma," came his muffled voice. Emma walked in the direction of Adam's voice, and saw that he was underneath a computer. She could hear him banging on the underside. Suddenly, he yelped, and let loose with a torrent of obscenities that made Emma cringe. --God, I didn't even know he knew those particular words-- she thought.
"Are you all right, Adam?" she asked, concerned.
Adam crawled out from under the computer and dusted himself off. "I'm fine, Emma," he replied, throwing the computer a hateful look. "It's just that this computer has evidently decided that it hates me and wants to eat my fingers."
Emma smothered a laugh. "Well, it could have been worse. It could have tried to drown you in oil." Adam gave her a withering glare.
"I'm going to go change. I have to meet someone in a few hours." Adam glanced at his watch, and made a face. "On second thought, I'll just change on the jet."
Emma blinked. "Who are you going to go meet?"
Adam cocked an eyebrow at her. "That's my secret."
Emma made puppy-dog eyes at him. "Please tell me."
Adam gave her a Look. "Let me phrase it a different way: None of your damn business."
Emma crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm making it my business."
Adam gave her an annoyed look. "It's still none of your damn business." He stormed off towards the hanger bay, and Emma glowered after him.
"Computer," she said, "lock the door to the hanger bay, and answer only to me."
"Yes, Emma," responded the computer, and a moment later, the doors locked.
Adam reached the hanger, and tried to open the doors, but found that they were locked. He swore under his breath. "Computer, unlock the hanger doors."
"Cannot comply," came the computer's prompt response. "Responding only to Emma."
"Computer, unlock the damn doors right now!" snarled Adam angrily.
"Cannot comply," repeated the computer. Adam began to swear loudly.
"You're not going anywhere until you tell me who you're going to meet." Adam turned around and saw Emma standing behind him, arms crossed over her chest. He glared at her.
"Emma, tell the stupid computer to unlock the damned doors," he demanded. Emma shook her head.
"Not until you give me an answer," she replied coolly. Adam didn't respond; instead, he stormed off towards his room. Emma stared after him, and sighed. --That man is so stubborn-- she thought.
Then a voice inside her replied, "Yeah, but that doesn't stop you from being attracted to him."
--I'm not attracted to him!-- thought Emma.
"Bullshit."
--Shove it before I shove my fist into your face-- Emma thought angrily.
Her inner voice shut up.
* * *
Adrianne felt the train come to a stop, and she stood up. She, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the Weasley twins got off the train, and went to claim their belongings. When they went through the barrier, the first person they saw was Mrs. Weasley, who waved at them merrily.
"Hello, Mrs. Weasley," said Adrianne cheerfully.
"Hello, Adrianne," Mrs. Weasley replied.
"Mrs. Weasley, may I ask you something?" Adrianne asked.
"Certainly."
"Is it all right if Ron, Fred, and George come to stay with me at my uncle's house for the summer?"
"Yes, they may." Mrs. Weasley gave Fred and George a scathing look. "Boys, I had better not get any owls about Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, do you hear me?"
As one, Fred and George let out groans of disgust. "Aw, Mum, now you've gone and taken half the fun out of our vacation already!" complained Fred, looking dismayed. Mrs. Weasley started to reply, but Adrianne cut her off.
"Don't worry, Mrs. Weasley," she replied. "I won't let them cause any trouble in America." She crossed her fingers behind her back, and the twins fought back snickers. Mrs. Weasley walked away with Ginny, who had just gotten off the train with her baggage, and Adrianne turned to Harry and Hermione. "All right, Hermione, let's ask your parents next." Mr. and Mrs. Granger were all too willing to let Hermione stay with Adrianne at her uncle's for the summer. The only person left to ask was Harry's uncle.
"No, you may not go to America," snapped Vernon Dursley. "If you think that Petunia and I will let you spend the summer with your freakish friends again, you've got another thought coming!"
Harry's eyes practically glowed red-hot with anger. But before he could say anything, Adrianne spoke up, her voice laced with scorn.
"Mr. Dursley, you've got a lot of nerve calling us freaks," she snapped. "If the term 'freak' applies to those who aren't normal, then your son Dudley is overqualified for that title. And yet, you refer to anyone who has anything at all to do with the wizarding world--" Vernon's face turned purple with anger.
"How dare you mention that abnormality in a public place?" he hissed. "You have no right!"
"AND YET YOU REFER TO ANYONE WHO HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE WIZARDING WORLD--" repeated Adrianne at the top of her lungs, causing everyone passing by to stop and stare at her. "--a freak," she finished in a calm, controlled, and normal voice. Vernon stared at her in horror, glancing at the passerbys fearfully. "Your son is bigger around the waistline than you are, and he's only fifteen. Is that normal?" But before Vernon could answer, Adrianne pulled out her wand, and aimed it at him. "Now, are you going to let Harry come to America? And if you say that he can't come, I'll hex you so badly that it'll make your ancestors dizzy!"
"You--you'll get in trouble if you use magic outside of school!" said Vernon fearfully. "You're underage! They'll expel you!"
"Damn it, you're right," Adrianne admitted reluctantly, and put her wand away. Then her eyes lit up, and she looked over at the Weasley twins, a smile appearing on her face. "Fred? George?"
"Way ahead of you," said George, smiling grimly. As one, the twins pulled out their wands, and aimed them at Vernon.
"Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Adrianne may be underage, but we're not," said Fred, giving Vernon an evil grin. "We graduated this year." Vernon swallowed hard, a look of absolute terror on his face, and Adrianne crossed her arms over her chest.
"Now, will you let Harry come to America with us or not?" she demanded, a dark look on his face.
"All--all right," said Vernon shakily, and walked away. Adrianne turned to Harry, an unhappy look on her face.
"God, Harry, you weren't kidding about how horrible your relatives were," she said, looking stunned. "If the rest of your relatives are anything like your uncle, I'm glad that you're not going home to them this summer." Then she changed the subject. "I wonder when Uncle Adam's going to get here? He should have been here by now."
* * *
Adam stormed into his room, and slammed the door behind him. He crossed the room and sat down at his desk, scowling. He had never been so angry at anyone in his life. Emma had made him this angry only one other time, and that had been when he and the rest of Mutant X had had to rescue her a second time from the same people that had tried to abduct her the first time. But even then, he hadn't been so angry at her.
Suddenly, he realized that Adrianne would be expecting him to arrive at any time. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed the number of King's Cross. It rang once and then was answered.
"King's Cross Train Station, 'ow may I 'elp you?" came a perky-sounding voice with a Cockney accent.
"Could you see if Adrianne Mandori is at the station?" Adam asked.
"Certainly. One moment, please." A few seconds later, Adam heard the person announce over the intercom, "Would Adrianne Mandori please come to the front of the train station? She 'as a phone call." A few minutes later, Adam heard an all-too-familiar voice in his ear.
"Hello?" came Adrianne Mandori's voice.
"Adrianne, it's Uncle Adam," he replied.
"Hi, Uncle Adam!" said Adrianne joyfully. Then she demanded, "Where the hell are you?!"
Adam made a face, even though he knew that his niece wouldn't be able to see it over the phone. "Adrianne, something's come up, and I can't come and pick you up."
"Don't worry, Uncle Adam," replied Adrianne. "We have an alternative mode of transportation. Several, in fact. Is there a fireplace at Sanctuary?"
Adam blinked. "Yes."
"It's not blocked up, is it?"
"No."
"Good! That's all I needed to know."
"Oh, Adrianne?"
"Hmm?"
"What do you mean, 'we'?"
"Well, you'd said that I could bring some friends with me, so I invited my five best friends, and they've all been given permission to come."
"All right. Believe me, we have plenty of room."
"Okay. Bye, Uncle Adam! See you in a few minutes!" A moment later, the line went dead, and Adam put away his cell phone, confused.
What had Adrianne meant by "See you in a few minutes"?
* * *
Adrianne walked back to where Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the twins were waiting.
"Turns out that Uncle Adam can't come get us, so we're going to have to get there by another mode of transportation." She turned to Ron. "Hey, Ron, do you know if there's someplace nearby where we can travel by Floo?" He nodded.
"Yeah, we can travel by Floo from the Leaky Cauldron," he replied. "But how are we gonna get all our luggage there?"
"That's easy," said Hermione brightly. She pulled out her wand and pointed it at her trunk. "Shrinkus!" A yellow light shot out of her wand, and a moment later, her trunk was small enough to fit in her pocket. Adrianne and the others followed her example, and when they were done, they picked up their miniaturized trunks and put them in their pockets.
After that had been done, Harry let his snowy owl, Hedwig, out of her cage, and Adrianne let her barn owl, Jemima, out of her cage. "Jemima, I need you and Hedwig to fly to my uncle's house and wait for us there," Adrianne said, stroking Jemima. Both owls hooted in reply, and they flew off. Then Harry, Ron, Hermione, Adrianne, and the twins headed towards the Leaky Cauldron.
When they got there, they were immediately shown to a fireplace, and the owner of the pub threw a pinch of Floo powder into the fire that was crackling there. The flames turned emerald-green, and Adrianne stepped into the fireplace. "Sanctuary!" she said, and began swirling around. A moment later, she fell out of the fireplace, landing on a hard floor and bruising her kneecaps. Nearby, she heard someone scream shrilly.
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Emma stared at the fireplace, scowling. Suddenly, emerald-green flames appeared in the fireplace, and a moment later, a person fell out of the fireplace, landing on her knees. Emma took one look at the person, and screamed shrilly.
Upstairs in his room, Adam heard Emma scream downstairs in the living room, and he jumped to his feet. His anger at her was completely forgotten as he ran out of his room, practically flying down the stairs, just a few steps ahead of the rest of the team. "Emma, are you all right?" he called worriedly. Emma turned around and ran towards him and the rest of the team.
"Adam, that person just appeared out of the fireplace," she said frantically. Adam glanced at the fireplace, and to his amazement, saw that there were emerald-green flames in it. In front of the fireplace crouched a small figure with long, dark brown hair, wearing a dark grey sweater trimmed with red and gold stripes, a white blouse underneath, a red and gold striped tie, a dark grey skirt that ended just a few inches above her knees, white knee socks, and black Mary Janes.
"God, I *hate* traveling by Floo," she said disgustedly, her voice slightly muffled. She got to her feet, and Adam gasped when he saw her face.
It was Adrianne.
She turned back to the fireplace. "Hey, guys, it's safe to come through!" she shouted into the flames. A moment later, a boy with messy black hair, green eyes, and glasses landed in the same place that she had, and she helped him to his feet. "You okay, Harry?"
He nodded. A moment later, another boy fell out of the fireplace. He had bright red hair and hazel eyes. Harry and Adrianne helped him to his feet. The next person to fall out of the fireplace also had bright red hair and hazel eyes, but he was older than Adrianne by at least two years. Then another boy who looked to be his twin fell out of the fireplace. Finally, a girl Adrianne's age fell out of the fireplace. She had bushy brown hair and brown eyes.
"Well, that was less than pleasant," she said disgustedly, brushing the soot from her skirt.
Emma, Jesse, and Shalimar stared at the teenagers in front of them in shock, not saying anything. Finally, Emma spoke. "Who the hell are you guys?"
The black-haired boy started to reply, but before he could say anything, the girl who had come out of the fireplace first let out a squeal of delight. "Uncle Adam!" She flung herself at Adam, hugging him tightly.
To the amazement of the younger members of Mutant X, Adam enveloped her in a huge hug. "It's great to see you, Addie."
"It's great to see you too, Uncle Adam," she said, her voice slightly muffled.
Adam looked up, and saw the rest of Mutant X staring at him and Adrianne in shock. He smiled faintly. "Addie, I'd like you to meet Shalimar Fox, Jesse Kilmartin, Brennan Mulwray, and Emma DeLauro. Shalimar, Brennan, Jesse, Emma, this is my niece, Adrianne Mandori."
to be continued...
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A/N: Well, that's the end of the prologue. Now to start working on chapter 1! As always, please R&R, but no flames, 'cause otherwise I'll have to kick your sorry arses from here to Middle Earth. See ya!