Chapter 1: Secrets about Me

Amber McKinnon leaned against the sill of her open bedroom window, looking out to the sea wishing for something extraordinary to liven up her boring life.
Even though it was summer a cool Nova Scotian breeze blew softly against her rosy cheeks, and although she delighted in the wind's touch she loathed summer as it made the days longer.

To Amber longer days meant more time in which she had to waste away her boredom, and since her 11th birthday was last week there was nothing left to really look forward to. Christmas was still 5 months away and she'd have to get through another term of school first before she could enjoy that.

Sighing, Amber gathered her thoughts and decided that the best way to entertain herself was to find something to eat. Closing her bedroom window slowly as to allow one last gust of wind to blow through her chestnut coloured hair, Amber headed down stairs in search of food.

The only thing that Amber liked about her house was that her room was on the 2nd story giving her a beautiful view of the sea. Aside from that everything else was boring, no ornate furniture to sit comfortably in, and no colourful pictures to brighten up the walls but most importantly of all was the annoying creek that half the floorboards in the house made when stepped on.

"Hi Mum." Amber said to herself when she passed by her Mother's picture, before opening the fridge and pantry simultaneously to spy the contents within.

As expected both the fridge and pantry both held nothing within that an eleven year old would deem worthy of eating. The leftover cake was missing which likely meant her Dad took the last of it with him to work, and all that really remained that looked edible was an apple or carrot.

"Fine, I'll go to the milk bar." Amber said to no one in particular. She picked up her bag and headed out the front door being sure to lock it behind her. She then grabbed her bike and set off.

The ride to the milk bar took all of 10 minutes and although she was still bored at least it was something different, plus she was really looking forward to getting some skittles and sour gummy worms. Everything was going well for Amber right up until she walked back out onto the street and saw Jacob with his little gang of miscreants ridding straight towards her. Although Amber was bored, she wasn't bored enough to want to deal with Jacob or anyone else from his pose.

"Well, well, boys if it isn't the little freak Amber." Jacob laughed as soon as he and his friend where within earshot.

"Buzz off Jacob; I'm not in the mood."

"Oooo….The little lezzie is trying to fight back." Jacob laughed hauntingly. Amber groaned and attempted to ignore the boys whilst mounting her bike.

"Awww, is the poor little girl upset that her feelings are hurt, do you want me to go get Hannah so she can come back and kiss it all better for you, I'd bet you'd like that wouldn't you?" Jacob continued whilst making mock crying gestures.

Amber tried to hold herself back but was failing. Ever since they played spin the bottle at Hannah's birthday party all any of the other kids would talk about was how she was madly in love with Hannah. Whilst she to found it amusing for the first day or two, three months later it was no longer a joke. She somewhat regrated going through with it and playing in that silly game.

"Oh look she's actually crying!" One of the boys yelled which just started another round of laughter.

Amber finally managed to get onto her bike and start riding away but the boys just started following her, all the while throwing insult after insult. But like a lot of things when people are pushed too far they find they are capable of things that they otherwise wouldn't be able to do, and Amber was no exception.

Slamming on her breaks, Amber turned on the boys following her and screeched at the top of her lungs.

"LEAVE. ME. ALONE!"

The scream was loud and rang in everyone's ears, including Amber's for a few seconds afterwards. She was turning back around to continue ridding home when she noticed.

All of the boy's bike chains were now completely detached from their wheels and hung loosely from the peddles. Not letting this chance slip by Amber kicked the ground and made her best speed home, whilst the bewildered boys sat dumbstruck trying to figure out what happened to their bikes.

Amber had mostly calmed down when she finally reached home. Dismounting from her bike to walk down the drive way just as her Dad was returning home.

"Hey Gemstone, you okay?" Mr McKinnon asked once her had pulled into his parking spot.

"Yeah… I'm fine, just had a little run in with Jacob and his cronies at the milk bar." In all of the excitement she had completely forgotten about the uneaten lollies sitting in her backpack, but honestly she wasn't feeling all that hungry anymore.

"I hope you aren't blowing all that birthday money on candy." Mr McKinnon joked. "Why don't you grab the mail whilst I go get started on Lunch."

"Okay Dad."

Absently grabbing the letters Amber hardly looked at them until she walked back into the kitchen, dropping them onto the bench.

"So what kind of mail we got? You should be getting a birthday card from Grandpa sometime this week. He'll probably send you pounds again for a bit of a laugh." Mr McKinnon chuckled whilst he put together some sandwiches.

"I don't know, just some junk mail addressed to you…. Wait, maybe this funny looking one is it?"

Amber began to unceremoniously tear through envelope of the mystery letter whilst her Father popped the first couple of sandwiches into the toaster. Amber didn't even check to see if the letter was addressed to her or not, nor did she notice the wax seal on the back. She did however notice that the handwriting was a lot neater than Grandpa Bill's.

"So how much did Grandpa Bill send you?" Mr McKinnon half-mindedly asked. It was clear he was fully engrossed in the sandwiches he was making; he had barely looked at Amber since she had dropped the mail on the bench.

"I don't think this is from Grandpa Bill Dad. It says it's from someplace called Hogwarts? 'Dear Miss McKinnon we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into Hog…'" Before Amber could read another word her Dad had snatched the letter straight out of her hand, crumpled it and threw I into the shredder. "HEY! What was that for?"

"It was probably just junk mail… nothing worth reading" Mr McKinnon replied and Amber's anger flared in response.

"How did you know it was nothing? I was reading that! It was addressed to me!" She ended the sentence with a surprised squeak as the sandwich toaster at that exact moment shorted out, leaving both father and daughter with slightly burnt sandwiches.

"Now look what you have gone and done!"

"That wasn't my fault!" Amber screamed.

"Don't you raise your voice to me young lady, you know what you.… Never mind!" Mr McKinnon stammered, abruptly ending his sentence.

"How can I break the Toaster without touching it?"

"I said never mind Amber. And lower your voice!"

"NO! That's not fair! You did the wrong thing not me, you threw away my letter. I shouldn't be the one getting in trouble!" When tears started to flow freely down Amber's cheeks she hopped down from the bench and headed off to her room leaving her slightly charred lunch back in the kitchen.

When she finally reached the sanctuary of her room she kicked the door closed and flopped down onto her bed. Hugging her pillow close to her chest Amber realised that she was hungry after all.

Amber didn't come down from her room for the rest of the day, only briefly leaving her room to collect her dinner and to use the bathroom. Her father had the good sense to leave her alone but Amber couldn't tell if that made her happy or not. It was days like this that she really missed her Mum.

The rest of the week saw Amber falling into a strange sleep every time she tried to rest. It was strange because her dreams woke her up throughout the night. She dreamt of a huge house that had paintings that moved and of strangely dressed people that made things fly around. The dreams where so real to her, so clear, almost…. like a memory.

Every day since the argument with her Dad she would go a meet the postman by the mailbox at 12pm sharp hoping to anything that another one of those strange letters would show up. Alas each day would pass and each day there would be no new letter.

Amber would spend most of her days sitting in her room or down by the shore thinking and day-dreaming to herself what this 'Hogwarts' was. Why had she received a letter from this mysterious place and what had she been accepted into? She thought and pondered until she becoming dizzy, then would do it all over again. But not in her wildest dreams could she imagine what was in store for her.

On one late Friday afternoon whilst Amber was quietly sitting on the couch absentmindedly playing video games on her PlayStation, there was a light knock on the door.

"Amber! Can you get the door please I'm just finishing up cooking dinner."

With a grumble Amber obeyed her dad dragged her feet to the door. Upon opening it all Amber could do was stare at the strange lady standing on the front porch. The lady in question looked to be in her mid-thirties and wore dark blue dress adorned with various buttons and pockets, with the top of her boots meeting the hem of dress. In her arms folded neatly was a long black robe with blue trimming that matched her dress. A wide brimmed pointed hat with a rather large red and gold feather sticking out of it sat on the lady's head. Strange but beautiful is how Amber would have described this lady.

"Hello, is this the home of Amber and Gregory McKinnon?" The lady spoke with a clear but educated British accent that slightly resembled the Queen of England.

Amber was struggling to form words in her mouth, but managed to at least slip a few on by. "Um… yes… that's us…. Ah…. Dad! You might want to come to the door!"

"My name is Professor Annabelle Hackleworth , I have been very much looking forward to meeting you again Amber." The lady extended her free hand to shake the girls.

"Errrrrr….. Hi, I guess?" Amber said uncertainly, returning the handshake.

"Who is at the door Amber?" Mr McKinnon came around the corner and took one look at the lady in question before going white as a sheet.

"Mr McKinnon it's a pleasure to meet you again, I'm Profes…" Before Professor Hackleworth could finish her sentence she was cut off by Mr McKinnon.

"No." The word was clear as crystal.

"I'm sorry?"

"She's not going."

"Mr McKinnon please let's not jump ahead of ourselves I only…"

"I said, No!"

"Dad who is this person? What's going on?" Amber finally asked after getting her head around the confusion.

"She's nobody. Why don't you go upstairs until I've finished down here okay Gemstone?"

"NO! This is just the same thing that happened with the letter! Something is going on and you won't tell me what it is!" When Amber finished her sentence Mr McKinnon's car alarm went off causing him to grumble under his breath while he fished his keys out of his pocket. Madly hitting the unlock button on the remote to no success. Professor Hackleworth took this moment to kneel down in front of Amber.

"Amber sweetie, I need to you clam down for me, you're causing this but you can make it stop if you calm down." Professor Hackleworth spoke with a soft voice and after a few short breaths Amber calmed down and the car alarm went off. "Very good Amber, Magic is all about control and your emotions can drive it just as much as your thoughts."

Amber was in a state of shock. She wasn't sure if she heard it right but this Professor Lady just said the word Magic and in reference to her. But there's no such thing as Magic, right? She would have continued this train of thought but just then Professor Hackleworth produced an exact replica of the letter that she handled not 5 days ago.

"I believe this will answer a few of your questions". The Professor said with a nice cheery smile.

"No, NO! Enough of this talk I would like you leave me and my daughter alone." Mr McKinnon growled before trying to grab the letter.

Mr McKinnon couldn't even get a hand to the letter before Professor Hackleworth had stood up and pulled the letter up behind her ear.

"Now Mr McKinnon, I know you are not very fond of our world but your daughter has a right to know who she is and where she comes from. I will not be leaving here until I have told her that much." Professor Hackleworth s tone of voice stayed even throughout her sentence only for her smile to return after she had finished. Amber was amazed that there was someone who could actually silence her Dad. The two adults stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity.

"Fine. It's not like I could stop you anyway." Mr McKinnon relented, moving into the living room to sit down in his reclining chair.

Breezily the Professor walked into the room, took a seat on the coach, whipped her hat off, and draped her belongings over her lap whilst Amber followed close behind after shutting the door.

Amber's mind was still reeling from the past few minutes and was struggling to keep up. Entering the living room Amber took a seat on the opposite side of the coach and looked intently at the women in question.

"As I was saying earlier my dear, my name is Professor Annabelle Hackleworth , however Professor Hackle is perfectly fine. I teach Muggle Studies at Hogwarts."

Amber's Dad gave a loud snort at the word Muggle but otherwise kept his mouth shut.

"What's does the word Muggle mean?" Amber asked curiously.

"A Muggle is person with no magical abilities, like your Dad".

"So what am I?" Amber wondered not realising that she hadn't just thought that thought but said it as well.

"You Amber, are a witch just like your mother."

"What!? I'm a witch? But that doesn't make any sense…. wait; you said my Mum was one too?" This was getting to be a lot for Amber to take in. She stared at the wall whilst her mind tried to play catch up and process all of this. "But I can't be, wouldn't I have had to use Magic or something?"

"Amber, my dear you have used your Magic twice since I have been here and I am willing to bet your father has noticed you use it too." Mr McKinnon uncharacteristically said nothing to any of this and just continued to fidget uncomfortably in his chair.

"The car alarm." Amber whispered.

"Yes and also when we came into this room."

"I didn't do anything when we came in."

"Amber I do not believe the lighting in this house is automated." Professor Hackle spoke with a light laugh. Amber then realised that neither she nor anyone else had touched a light switch and everything was starting to become a bit overwhelming. "Here, I think it's time you read this for yourself."

The very letter that Amber had been so desperate to read was finally being handed to her freely. With shaky hands she took the letter from Professor Hackle and read it. To Miss Amber McKinnon, 2nd floor - Bedroom at the end, 18 Anglo Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmistress: MINERVA MCGONAGALL (Order of Merlin, First Class, defender of Hogwarts)

Dear Miss McKinnon, 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 1st. We await your owl by no later than July 31st.

Yours sincerely,

Fillius Flitwick, Deputy Headmaster

The letter did answer a few of Amber's questions however a dozen more quickly replaced them. Her head swam to trying to keep up with the information that was being presented to her. She lost count of the amount of times her month had opened to ask something only for it to close a second latter.

"If you have any more questions I'd be more than happy to answer them." The Professor said snapping Amber out of her reverie.

"How does…. How does my Mum fit into all this?" Amber asked shakily.

Professor Hackle was about to begin answering her question before she was once again cut off by Mr McKinnon.

"Stop." His voice was tired and strained but anger was still evident.

"Mr McKinnon it is important that we…."

"NO!" Mr McKinnon bellowed. It was so loud that even Professor Hackle recoiled in shock. "No… please, not now it's too much. Please leave us be."

The contrast of both sentences was stark. One commanded the room and could be heard from the roof whilst the other was quiet and distant. Professor Hackle moved to protest but something stopped her. The challenging look she had been giving Mr McKinnon since she got here was gone only to be replaced by sincerity.

"Of course Mr McKinnon. I apologise if I have offended you. How about I come by tomorrow after you both have had a good night's sleep?"

"What! No please don't go." Amber inserted feeling like everything was about to run away from her again. She was close, she was so close to getting answers and now they are about to slip away.

"I'm sorry Amber but I think it's best if I leave for tonight" Professor Hackle rose gathering her things together.

Amber then got up and grabbed her. "Please don't go miss, PLEASE! I have so many things I need to ask you. You can't leave, not now." Tears were forming in Ambers eyes and the glass in the room started to shake.

"Amber don't cry, I'll be back tomorrow. Besides if you desperately need a question answered you can ask your Dad." Amber was shocked to hear this. How much did he know?

With that Professor Hackle rose quickly and made for the door with Amber begging her not to go.

"AMBER!" Mr McKinnon shouted. "Let the Professor leave in peace."

Amber had only turned around for a second to look at her Dad and by the time she turned back around Professor Hackle was gone.

"She…. She's gone? Where did she go?" Amber said in a panic as she rushed to look out the front door to no avail. She realised she hadn't heard the front door open.

"It's probably for the best."

"What! How could you say that? This is the first time anything in my life made sense and you go and ruin it!" Amber wailed.

"Amber I'm just trying to protect you".

"No! You're preventing me from being myself. You have known for all of these years haven't you? You knew I was a witch."

"Amber.… I.…" Mr McKinnon tried to counter.

"Did you know?" Amber coughed through her sobs, glass around her started to crack.

"Amber, please understand." His voice failing.

"I HATE YOU!"

Amber's bedroom door slamming was like a thunderclap.

You could hear it from the end of the street.