Miracles Happen

Chapter 4

Audrey Weasley got up early on Saturday. She got dressed in a T-shirt, jeans, sweatshirt, and sneakers. She brushed her red hair and put it up in a pony-tail. She grabbed the duffel bag she had packed the previous night, and quietly walked to the kitchen. She grabbed a cereal bar from the counter, and sat down at the kitchen table.

Audrey was now fifteen, and still lived with her mother Ginny, in the same apartment she had lived in her whole life. Ginny and Harry Potter had broken up on Audrey's thirteenth birthday.

She took a piece of paper and pen and started writing her mother a note:

Mum,

Please don't freak out when you find out that I'm not here. I'm fine. I haven't been kidnapped or killed or anything. I've just gone to look for my dad. My real dad. Draco Malfoy. Don't try to stop me. Don't follow me. I'm bringing my cell phone and maybe you and Dad can talk. Come to an agreement. But I just wanted to tell you that I'm leaving to find out who my dad is. Don't worry about me.

Audrey

Placing the note on the table, she grabbed her cereal bar, bag and went out the door.

()()

Audrey rushed over to the red, two-deck bus that she was supposed to be taking to her dad's. It was about to leave, so she ran over and got on just in time. She searched around for a seat and found one next to a girl about her age, maybe a year or two older. She sat down and glanced at the girl next to her.

The girl had short, curly blonde hair, brown eyes, a pointed nose and nose, eyebrow and lip rings. She had what seemed to be a backpack or something covered in blankets on her lap. The girl must have seen Audrey glance at her because she said:

"Erin Heartly," and stuck out her hand.

Audrey shook it and said, "Audrey Weasley."

"Nice to meet you," Erin said.

"Yeah, you to," Audrey said uncertainly.

"So where're you heading?" Erin asked.

"Um, a place called Malfoy Manor," Audrey told her.

Erin nodded. "People say weird things go on in that place. No one ever goes there except people dressed in long black coats. It a huge place built of black stone but people say only one guy lives there."

Audrey's heart jumped. The "people dressed in long black coats" would be wizards and witches and the "one guy lives there" must be her dad!

"Really? I've never been there; just heard of it," she said.

"Never been there myself. I've seen it but I don't have any business going there anyways," Erin said.

There was a few minutes pause when Erin asked:

"So, not to be nosy or anything, but why are you going there?"

Audrey chose her answer carefully. "Um, my mum is friends with that man who lives there. She wants me to get to know him. Maybe have him come over our house."

"Ahhh. You're mum a single parent?"

"Yeah. Why?"

Erin smiled. "Me too." Startled, Audrey watched as Erin pulled the blankets off her lap to reveal a little girl about two years old.

"Oh!" Audrey felt stupid. She hadn't expected this.

The little girl opened her eyes. Erin picked her up and sat her on her lap.

"This," Erin said, "is my girl, Via."

"Hi Via," Audrey said, and smiled when the girl hid her face by pressing it into her mom's side.

"Let me tell you something," Erin said. "You never want to be a single parent. It's just hard for you and harder for your kid. If you want a family make sure you get married to someone you love and know you'll be with forever. It'll be easier for you and your kid."

"Um, thanks for the advice," Audrey said.

"No problem," Erin smiled. She paused then said, "My stop is the next one."

"Oh! Um," Audrey started, "I'd like to keep in touch. Do you have a number?"

"Yeah, I do."

"I have paper and a pen," Audrey said, fishing in her bag for some paper and her pen. She took them out and handed it to Erin. Erin wrote something down then handed it back. Audrey read it:

Erin Heartly

564-9087

Audrey then wrote her name and number down on another piece of paper and gave it to Erin.

"Thanks," Erin said, and slipped it into her pocket. The bus stopped and Audrey got up to let Erin by.

"Thanks for the chat! And I'll talk to you later," Audrey said.

"No problem, and if you ever need to talk, just call!" Erin said, then made her way off the bus.

Audrey slid into the window seat and stared out of the glass. She was thinking about all that Erin had told her. It was true. Her mom had often said those same things. She was lost in her thoughts and didn't hear someone trying to talk to her.

"Sorry?" she said as she turned.

"Is anyone sitting here?" a young man asked.

"No." She looked over at the man. He was six feet tall, with short brown hair, and was wearing a pair of khakis and an unbuttoned, blue plaid button-down shirt over a white T-shirt. He's cute, she thought, as she looked out the window.