Chapter 1

Lev Stone walked alone down the streets of Tel Aviv. I hate this damn city, he thought to himself, it's like New York, only smaller and with less Jewish people.

He was not sure what compelled him to go to Tel Aviv. Most likely it was his overwhelming desire not to be in Jerusalem on a Friday night. Jerusalem prays and Tel Aviv plays. Previous sojourns to Israel taught Lev that he did not want to pray. Besides, he had seen far too much in the past few months to believe the way the faithful expected him to believe. Leaving seemed like the right thing to do. Of course, he wasn't particularly eager to play either.

He walked along Dizengoff Street, toward the center of town. Tel Aviv had nice beaches, but this late at night swimming in the Mediterranean Sea was probably not the brightest of ideas. Briefly he flirted with the idea of going to one of the more renown nightclubs, but decided against it. He never actually enjoyed clubbing to begin with, but in the past few months every time he went to a club it brought back too many memories. And they were all too painful. Hands firmly wedged into his pockets and shoulders securely slumped, he walked up the ramp that led the to fountain in the center of town. He was not sure exactly what the fountain was called; it seemed everyone had a different name for it. But it was the one place in the city he truly liked. When the fountain was turned on, it looked like, well, truthfully it looked a really tacky explosion of color. Its nickname (The Wedding Cake) only partially described its pomposity. But there was something entrancing about it, something tranquil.

He sat down on a bench facing the fountain and stared at the water, focusing on the burst of colors. How any Muggle could possibly design something so ridiculous was beyond Lev's comprehension. An enormous fountain set in the center of town that was suspended above the main street. But according to Bill, no wizard was behind it. Lev winced. He was determined not to think about Bill. They broke up, it was over, such is life. After all, hadn't he, Lev, initiated the break-up? It was for the best, so I shouldn't feel any regret, he thought to himself.

But the wounds were still fresh. That's why Lev came to Israel. He needed a vacation. Get away of England and the magic and memories. Going home to America was out of the question. And it didn't hurt that staying in Israel would be cheap because of the recent problems.

Still, he was there alone and he wasn't having any fun. Lev turned away from the fountain and rubbed his eyes with his hands. He wished he had brought a book to read, but he promised himself that he'd take a holiday from researching ancient witches and he felt depressed enough without the added burden of an introspective novel. He silently cursed himself for not having the foresight to pack Terry Pratchett's latest.

"Hello, stranger," said a familiar voice, "How are you doing?"

Startled, Lev looked up into the smiling face of Bill Weasley.