ok, well obviously i do not own the harry potter series.
Salem opened her eyes to start the day with dull acceptance. Nothing ever changed at the community home where she lived. Everyone got up, went to the mess hall, went to school, came home and did their assigned chores for the week, ate lunch, had social hour, finished homework, ate dinner, then got ready for bed. Same routine, although during summer when there was no school, most of the kids just lounged in the common room. Salem got up and got ready for another bleak day. It was the first of July and they had about two months before their school started in the fall. She got dressed and went down to the kitchen for a small snack.
The cook, Ms. MaryAnn, was the only person in the Home who Salem considered a friend. She was a sturdily built lady in her mid 40's. She had light brown hair with a touch of grey, watchful blue eyes and soft features. They were completely opposite in this way. Salem had long, straight, silky jet-black hair with dark green eyes and aristocratic features. Her face was angled and looked like a panther poised for graceful action. She was very skinny and not very tall, though she was not the shortest of her age group. She smiled and greeted Ms. MaryAnn. The cook returned the smile and handed the young girl a warm piece of cinnamon bread wrapped in a napkin to take back to her room although it was technically against the rules to take food into the dorms. Salem hid the warm treat in her sweater pocket and quietly returned to her room.
She did not share a room with anybody. After all, who would want to share a room her? Most people in the Home had a room to themselves, but people with the bigger rooms were the ones to share if someone new came. It was extremely empty when Salem was brought to the community home. Eventually, when she was allowed out of the nursery and told to pick a room, she had gotten the idea and picked a small room with a door almost unnoticed by anyone who was not familiar with the hallway. It was a good spot. It allowed quick enter and exit and wasn't too far from the bathroom. The hallway and the common room was on the second story, while the offices, kitchen, and mess hall was on the first story.
She closed the door to her room and sat down on the bed. She looked at the book she was reading before she fell asleep, "Barley and Mart's guide to animal behavior" it was really her only possession and she cherished it dearly. It was a present from Ms. MaryAnn for her 8th birthday. It had been wrapped and delivered with a chocolate cupcake with a candle when she woke up. That had been the day that Salem had realized she could call the kind cook a friend. She still had the card in the cook's swirly handwriting, and had it taped to the inside of the cover. She had read it at least fifty times, never getting tired of it. She loved to go to the library, and whenever the time came when the children were allowed to walk the four blocks down to the quiet building, Salem would check out arm loads of books, as many as she could carry, and return to the Home and start reading. This had allowed her to stay busy during the summer, since she could not do any school related work since her summer reading was not a large list and as a result, she had finished it within the first two weeks of school being released. She was a good student, and always did all her work, but she wished she had more of a challenge, but her teachers insisted that she stay with the group.
She stayed in her room for almost eight hours, skipping lunch, and when she came down to set up for dinner, which, along with washing dishes, was her weekly chore, she bumped into three kids who blocked her way. She looked up, and not to her surprise, saw Ingrid and her two henchmen, Jasper and Jared. She sneered and said, "Where are you going freak?" her two body guards found this very funny and started snickering to themselves.
"Kitchen duty" Salem replied in a bored tone, she knew all too well where this was going. She was almost rid of the bruises and scratches from last time and got the feeling that there would be more where they had come from.
"Having a good chat with your only friend? The cook? Still cant make any real friends? Ha! No wonder you haven't gotten adopted yet!" she taunted.
"Oh? And you are still here cause….?" Salem asked calmly. That only gained her punch to the ribs from the goon to her left.
" I happen to be here because I am waiting for the best possible family to adopt me, where as you, would be lucky if any family wanted to adopt you"
"Yeah, cause who wouldn't want a bossy, sassy, high-maintenance daughter like you?" she said, voice dripping with sarcasm. Sometimes she couldn't help it. Her mouth had a mind of its own. It would probably get her into real trouble one of these days.
Ingrid's face turned flushed with anger and she snapped her fingers and almost at once her two goons had her almost a foot off the ground and dragged her out into the ally beside the building. Salem was slammed into the stone wall and landed with a small thud. Ingrid had really long nails and dug them down her shoulder and whispered, "one of these days, you are going to say something, and my restraint will snap. On that day, you will be very sorry. You will wish you had just taken my offer the day you met me." And with that, they reentered the Home.
When Ingrid had first come to the home, she had offered the job of personal assistant, in other words her slave, to Salem. She had refused and Ingrid had been furious. And that was when the harassment had begun.
Salem had her nails at points, however she didn't have the time to use them today. 'Next time' she vowed. Picking herself up. She snuck into the garden gate, and then through the back door. Ms. MaryAnn gave her a questioning stare but didn't say anything. Salem just gave her a casual shrug. The cook new about the abuse that Salem took but at her request, said nothing. She also never said anything about Salem being outside the community home grounds without permission. Seeing as she was only ten, she was not allowed to go outside at all without permission from and adult. Ingrid and her goons were fourteen and therefore, allowed out on the street before dark unless told otherwise. Wordlessly, Salem started setting up for dinner. She helped with everything that needed doing, even though it was not required of her. After dinner, she washed and put away all the dishes and helped clean and sweep the kitchen, another un-required job but Salem they both enjoyed the company. When they were done, Salem headed up to bed.
The next week was much like that day, and not much happened. Their library day was canceled due to rain, so everybody with books due, gave them to Mrs. Murry, who took them by car to the old library. There wasn't much to do after that, so Salem just looked out her window and watched cars go by.
July 8th started off as a very dull Thursday morning. The weather was starting to clear up, and everybody was sick with cabin fever. Eventually Salem got a knock on the door from a blonde boy about a year or so younger than her. He handed her an envelope with a wax seal.
"You are Salem Silverthorn yeah?" He asked.
Salem nodded and accepted the letter. Odd, she thought. She never got letters. From anybody. She sat down on her bed and broke the seal. On the flap, she noticed, was a shield in green ink, with four sections. In each section was a different animal. There was a badger, eagle, serpent, lion and a capital H in the middle accompanied below with a phrase saying "Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus" which she eventually translated to mean 'let sleeping dragons lie'. She opened the letter and read it out loud to make sure she wasn't imagining things. The letter read:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Mss. Silverthorn,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
Salem took a deep breath. Surely this was not real. But really, could anybody make up something so close to what Salem had been wishing for so deeply? She remembered the time when she was seven, Ingrid had written a letter to her pretending to be her real parents. After she had figured out it was a fake, Salem hadn't come out of her room for a week. And when she finally did, it was only because she had gotten pneumonia and had to be taken to a doctor. But this was written so neatly, and was very formal. It was hard to believe that someone like Ingrid or her goons could come up with something as elaborate as this. She read took the second sheet of parchment and read it. It stated:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL
of WHICHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
UNIFORM
First-year students will require:
sets of plain work robes (black)
plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)
Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags.
COURSE BOOKS
All students should have a copy of each of the following:
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)
by Miranda Goshawk
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling
A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi
by Phyllida Spore
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
by Newt Scamander
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection
by Quentin Trimble
OTHER EQUIPMENT
1 wand
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set glass or crystal phials
1 telescope
1 set brass scales
Students may also bring and owl OR a cat OR a toad.
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS
The last line made Salem chuckle to herself. 'Yes, because of all the things I might take to school, a broom would of course be the most important…" she thought with heavy sarcasm. Then she realized what the broom would be for and almost shrieked with delight. If this was real she would learn to actually fly on a broomstick! She clutched at the pieces of parchment and held them tightly to her chest and ran downstairs.
Ms. MaryAnn was working about to go down to the market to get fresh ingredients for supper when Salem almost crashed into her at full speed.
"Ms. MaryAnn! Ms. MaryAnn! Look what I have got!" she said and pushed the first letter into the cook's hands.
Ms. MaryAnn took the letter and got a thoughtful look on her face. "My my, isn't this interesting." She said.
"I am going to go show the warden!" The warden was the name that everyone called the woman who was in charge of the community home. she was kind, but strict. Salem knocked on the front door to her office and heard her call: come in.
Mrs. Murry was sitting at her desk looking at some files and turned her attention to Salem. "What can I do for you Miss Silverthorn?" she asked.
Salem handed her the papers and the envelope to the warden and sat in a chair across the desk.
After a few moments she looked over the desk and said in a clear but not unkind voice "I do not know who sent this letter, Miss Silverthorn, but I doubt that there is such thing as a school of witchcraft and wizardry. I am sorry to have to tell you this, but this is probably someone's stupid idea of a joke. I would kindly ask that you pay no attention to it until I can look into it further when I have the time."
Salem felt the back of her eyes get tingly, but she refused to cry. Crying did nobody any good in the Home and she would not waste time shedding tears. "Thank you Mrs. Murry. I wont. May I please have the letter back?" she asked.
"Once again, I am sorry, but I will be keeping them in order to try and find out who sent them and why." Came the blunt reply.
The sting behind her eyes where becoming worse so she quickly dismissed herself and quickly walked up to her room and closed the door. She hated her life. She hated the community home. She hated everyone in the Home for making her an outsider, even at school. Salem had never felt so much furry inside her body before. Before she knew what had happened, she was shielding herself from shattered glass from the window that had broken for no reason. She smiled inwardly, she knew the letter was real. She had made the window shatter. She was a witch.