Only Time Will Tell

Chapter One: Only Time Will Tell

Hurry up, Mom! I'm going to be late! Adam's mind raced; his heart was pounding and his stomach was flipping. He couldn't catch his breath, his feet felt numb and his mother was nowhere to be found. His championship game was in ten minutes and their captain was M.I.A. Just breathe, Adam!

"Honey, what are you waiting for, we're going to be late," said his mother as she entered the hall.

Just Breathe!

"I'm ready, Mom. Let's do this!" Adam knew the uselessness of getting into an arguement with his mother, seeing as it would only suspend his arrival further, and cause his body to become fired up with nervousness and tension instead of the desired adrenaline.

They arrived at the stadium eight minutes later after speeding down Beaver Boulevard and just missing an old lady with aalker. The car pulled quickly into a parking space and Adam rushed into the stadium. I hate those goddamn cars! Adam wished he could just use the easier method, but his parents refused. "If you live in a muggle world, you will use muggle transport!" they repeatedly stated. Focus!

His mind was wandering; not focusing on his game, as it should have been. A lot was riding on this game; what next year held and where his future could take him in sport. If Adam won this game, he would be moved to England to play for whichever team felt him to be a great potential asset. Could you imagine, Adam Stock, a young teenager from Ontario, Canada playing in Britain's most renowned amateur league? I can't even imagine what playing in England would be like!

Scouts from everywhere filled thetands, watching and critiquing his every move. This was the game he had waited for since he was eight.

"And here comes the Guelph Dominators, lead by team captain Adam Stock!" called the announcer.

Here we go!

*****

Castles! That word held a different meaning for Adam now. Castles for Adam used to be all about tales of the legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. As well as an alternate world with dragons and beasts your dad read to you as a bedtime story. Now, he would be living in a castle in the highlands of Scotland. He was moving into a castle and calling a place where he knew no one, home. It was odd to think that he would finally be living in a wizarding world and would have the ability to do all those things he was prohibited from doing whilst living in the muggleworld. He was nervous, oh yes, but it was nervousness laced with excitement.

Diagon Alley was a sight to see, but he really wished that Anthony was there to see it with him. He missed his best friend incredibly, but he knew (or rather hoped and prayed) that new friends would come along quickly to take the sharp edge off missing his best friend. His new attendance at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was only a day away and he was still without eight of his required twelve-itemed list. Better hurry!

*****

I'm late!

Hermione Granger was racing through the London rail station of King's Cross, thinking that she would only be a mere four minutes early instead of her usual eight. Her lateness was the responsibility of Ron and Harry; those two seemed to be getting worse with age! O man, finally! she thought as she approached Platform 9 ¾ at a run. Suddenly, she felt herself being grabbed from behind and dragged to the ground. What in the name of Merlin?

"Ron, I am not in the mood - " she tried, but stopped short. As their limbs untangled, Hermione found herself face to face with - well he definitely was not Ronald.

"Hi, are you okay? You were headed straight for that brick wall!" enquired the stranger, and a rather handsome stranger at that. Hermione took his offered hand and pulled herself off the ground; coming face to face with this stranger who spoke with an accent.

"I - um - thanks," Hermione stammered as she studied his seemingly endless, dark-brown eyes.

*****

Adam was walking briskly through the station, his confusion growing with every step. Platform 9 ¾? These British folks sure are weird! That was when he spotted a young brunette girl racing full throttle at a solid brick barrier. What is she thinking? Deciding on a quick course of action, he took matters into his own hands and somehow ended up on his butt in the middle of the walkway.

"Hi, are you okay?" he questioned as he stood and brushed himself off before extending a helping hand to the shocked and stammering girl. "I'm sorry. My name is Adam, I hope I didn't hurt you."

"Hermione," she stated, "and I'm fine, thank you."

"Hermione, eh? Well now that we are formally introduced, I was wondering if you could direct me to Platform 9 ¾? I seem to be a little lost."

*****

Hermione's jaw dropped. He isn't a muggle and he is going to Hogwarts? Well that is interesting! God is finally paying me back for putting up with Harry and Ron for so long. Hermione's head was zooming; she had many questions for this Adam character.

"I'll show you the way. I was in fact going in that direction myself, before I found myself on the ground that is," she smirked, feeling her voice finally return.

Adam nodded his gratitude and followed her lead. He stopped dead in his tracks as she vanished through the solid brick wall that he had saved her from crashing into only a few minutes before.

Hermione did not need to turn around to see his astonished face and as she entered the platform and spotted the boys waiting for her; the giggling of a giddy schoolgirl look that she had always refrained from making appeared on her face. Maybe this year will be different than I thought!

At the same time, Adam was thinking that he had a lot to learn!

TO BE CONTINUED......