“Okay. Now my skin is really prickling. I've read all the Harry Potter books, all five of them. I don't remember any half-blood prince."What's this?" Trying to sound casual, I point at the ad, "What's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince?""That's the latest book," Garth the other trainee, says. "It came out ages ago."I can't help gasping. "There's a sixth Harry Potter?""There's a seventh out soon!" Diana steps forward eagerly. "And guess what happens at the end of book six-""Shh!" exclaims Nicole, the other nurse. "Don't tell her!”

“I've taken over the guest room wardrobe too- plus, I've arranged all my shoes on the bookshelves on the landing. (I put the books in boxes. No one ever read them. anyway.)”

“The streak of bleach in my hair is as obvious as ever. Am I really going out in public like this? I push my hair backward and forward a few times - but I can't hide it. Maybe I could walk along with my hand carelessly positioned at my head, as if I'm thinking hard. I attempt a few casual, pensive poses in the mirror."Is your head all right?"I swivel round in shock to see Nathaniel at the open door, wearing a plaid shirt and jeans."Er...fine," I say, my hand still glued to my head. "I was just..."Oh, there's no point. I bring my hand down from my hair and Nathaniel regards the streak for a moment."It looks nice," he says. "Like a badger.""A badger?" I say, affronted. "I don't look like a badger.""Badgers are beautiful creatures," says Nathaniel with a shrug. "I'd rather look like a badger than a stoat.”

“Is it like a Harry Potter thing?" He turned his head then. "A what?""A Harry Potter thing," she said again. "You know, don't say Voldemort's name because you might attract his attention?"He considered it. "You mean the children's book.""I have got to get you to watch more movies," she said. "You'd enjoy these. Yes, I mean the children's book.”

“It's not just jealousy because the Jacobson's are imprinting. There's a prophecy.""A prophecy," I scoffed. "What is this, Harry Potter?”

“I remember what he was wearing. A navy-blue coat and that Harry Potter scarf.""What the heck's a Harry Potter scarf?" Jacy snorts, "Low-rent Invisibility Cloak? Only your neck disappears.”

“If I've learned one lesson from all that's happened to me, it's that there is no such thing as the biggest mistake of your existence. There's no such thing as ruining your life. Life's a pretty resilient thing, it turns out.”