"Hazel!" Dad shouts. I sit up abruptly, reluctantly set down the book I was currently reading and glance at Cherry. She is my best friend, despite being a mouse. Cherry has been a constant source of comfort and companionship for practically all of my life and my life... it hasn't exactly been easy. From an incredibly young age - basically for as long as I could remember, I've been tormented by a series of terrifying hallucinations and during this that have caused ridiculously high amounts of magic to spark off me. Dangerous amounts. So dangerous, that I had to be completely isolated during them. Saint Mungo's Hospital were at a loss for words and they were unable to diagnose my condition. They couldn't even find a cure or even something to loosen my pain or dilute the amount of magic that sparks in jagged bolts out of my body. My parents had to adapt... and they struggled doing so. I made their simple and rather care free lives difficult. These moments were far worse for me than anybody else. Nobody else could even imagine how excruciating and agonizing they are. It was pure hell to feel magic burning through your body and tearing outwards. The hallucinations... they're far worse. They torment and terrorize me to the point of insanity. I fail to comprehend what any of them mean. They certainly confuse me something rotten.
"What do you think he wants?" I inquire in a curious demeanor.
"I don't know..." Cherry mumbles, still clearly fixated on the nut that she was currently eating. I roll my eyes at her. When Saint Mungo's informed my Mum and Dad that I was to be confined to the house and that I couldn't attend school because of my potentially dangerous magic when I went through a faze, Mum had realized how lonely I'd become and bought me a Yu-Jin mouse. They're a magical Japanese breed of mice that have the ability to understand their owner... basically the one that they're loyal to. So I can easily communicate with Burakku but I can't talk to any other animal. She can't understand any other human... but me.
I stumble down the staircase and open the door to see what exactly he wants.
"Hazel..." Dad says slowly, as if he doesn't quite know what to say.
"Yes?" I respond, rather mystified by his aberrant manner. He is usually a very straight forward person.
"I noticed that you haven't had one of your... moments... recently." he says delicately.
I nod slowly, intrigued as to where he is going with this.
"I talked to Doctor McKenna at Saint Mungo's Hospital today and she said... she said that according to your report... your condition is starting to stabilize. So basically she said that you could start attending Hogwarts!
I gasp, clearly astonished.
"Are you really being serious?"
Dad looks amused.
"C'mon, Hazel." he says. "I know how long you've been waiting to go there! Why would I joke about something like that!?"
I resist the urge to scream. Or dance. Or jump up and down like a kangaroo or some other type of bouncy animal. Instead, I settle for throwing my arms around Dad in my bliss.
"Thank you!" I say, my voice completely filled with emotion. "I really can't thank you enough!"
"Awh... You deserve to go, Hazel!" says Dad, equally emotional "Doctor McKenna thought that it would be good for you to make some friends and start to develop a social life. It's not exactly healthy being cooped up in here practically every day. Of course... if you start experiencing any symptoms of an attack then you must talk to Professor Dumbledore immediately! He'll send you home until you're well enough to come back."
"Mhm... Yeah... I LOVE YOU, DAD!" I holler in a wild torrent.
I bound up the staircase and burst into Cedric's room who is currently fixing his hair in front of the mirror... Typical. I suppose that's how he gets all of the girls at that place to swoon over him.
"Cedric! I'm going to Hogwarts! Can you believe it!? I'm going to Hogwarts!" I lament.
"Really?" he gasped, utterly shocked and completely failing to notice that one piece of his hair was still sticking up at an awkward angle.
"Yep!" I say eagerly.
"That's brilliant, Hazel! What house do you think you'll be in?"
"No idea." I say airily. "It's usually down to your family... isn't it? But our family has been quite a mix."
"Yeah." Cedric responds. "Mum was in Ravenclaw and Dad was in Hufflepuff. Apparently Uncle Tony was a Slytherin! You'll probably be in Hufflepuff."
"Probably. That's the house that you're in. Isn't it?"
"Yeah..." says Cedric absently. "A lot of people think that we're a load of old idiots. We're not! We're just really nice people!"
"Hufflepuff sounds awesome!" I say with a grin. "So does Gryffindor. Slytherin though... Ew... I'd kill myself if I got put in there! Anyway... It starts in about two weeks doesn't it? I'm more than ready to go. You won't believe how bored I've been being stuck at home being tutored instead of going to Hogwarts with you. Cherry's awesome but I really wanna make some more friends!
"It must be hard..." says Cedric sympathetically. "You'll have a lot of stuff to buy. We're going to Diagon Alley next Wednesday. That's a week after the Quidditch World Cup!"
Ah... The Quidditch World Cup... How could I forget? It'd been all that Dad and Cedric had been talking about for the past month! When Dad had first bought the tickets, I'd been just as excited and exhilarated as everyone else but now the subject bored me. Don't get me wrong... I do love Quidditch but I was sick of hearing about the Irish's new Firebolts or whether Viktor Krum had managed to perfect his Wronski Feint.
"I can't wait!" I sing, darting up my little staircase leading up to my room and opening the door.
"Cherry? Cherry! Guess what!? I'm going to Hogwarts!"
"So I heard." she says wryly. "I could easily hear you from all the way up here!"
I grin and scoop her up off of my desk.
"Do you reckon there'll be any good looking mice there... for me?" she attempts to look disinterested but I can tell that she clearly isn't. I know her too well.
"Maybe..." I grin. "Do you think there'll be any good looking... boys?"
"No doubt about it!"
"We're going to get my supplies on Wednesday... y'know." I say.
"Mhm... You're not getting another pet, are you!?"
"Yeah..." I tease her. "I was thinking of getting a nice cat... preferably one that likes to eat little Yu-Jin such as yourself."
"Hey!" she says indignantly. "That's not very nice."
"I was just teasing!" I protest, giving her a playful poke. "I would never replace you and you know that! I'll borrow Cedric's owl for deliveries and that'll be it!"
"Good!" she huffs.
"Anyway... change of topic. Do you think you'll enjoy Hogwarts?"
"It would be interesting to have such a big building to explore... but I think I'll miss this room." she says, nibbling on her tail.
I look around the small attic and I realize that she's right. I've spent most of my life here and I have grown rather fond of my bedroom. It's an interesting little room with slanted walls and windows with rather extraordinary views. If I crane my neck then I can almost see the sea! I can definitely say that I'm going to miss it.
"We'll be back here every summer!" I reassure her. "Christmas and Easter too!"
She nods solemnly and jumps of my hand in an acrobatic fashion to the end of my pillow.
"I'm exhausted." she murmurs, curling up into a fetal position. "Good night, Hazel!"
"I might as well go to sleep too... seeing as it's the Quidditch World Cup tomorrow. Good night, Cherry!"
As I wrap my duvet around my body, I wonder what tomorrow would bring. Dad said that we would be travelling with the Weasley family. Four of the Weasley children currently attend Hogwarts. Hm... Apparently there are twins that will be in my year. I wonder if they're good looking? Yes... I'm a teenager. Despite being quite abnormal, I do think things that other girls my age do. I turn over into a more comfortable position and gradually fall asleep.