Chapter 1: The Birthday From Hell
"But mum…" Will groaned. It was the day he dreaded continuously every year.
"No buts, Will. You are going to visit your aunt and that's final. Do you think I want to go? I'm fairly certain your father's whole family hates me for some reason."
"They don't hate you, they hate me. They think I did something to them somehow. I don't even remember doing anything."
Eventually, their conversation played out more or less how it did every year. Will lost the argument, he was forced to dress up, and he sulked into the family caravan. The three hour ride to the lake house was the best part for him, because he was able to lay back and rest while his father drove and his mother listened to her easy listening in her headset so she wasn't likely to bother him. What did bother him was the dream he happened to have.
He was sitting in his room, his gray eyes glistening in the moonlight. He looked around, and he remembered this night. It was a month prior to the trip, the first day that the apprehension for it had actually hit. He closed himself in his room and decided to stare out the window and wind down. He thought he had seen things, because for one moment, he saw a purple triple decker, and the next moment, it had disappeared.
He woke up, only because his mother was jostling him awake. He was still groggy, so he wasn't sure if he was seeing right. "Are we at the house?"
He scratched the top of his head and his mop top flew around his face. "No, we're not. We seem to be having some… Trouble."
Trouble was a bit of an understatement. Now fully awake, Will looked around and saw they were nowhere near the house. As a matter of fact, they were in a forest next to the far side of the lake. "We'll be here a while. The tow truck is a long ways away."
By the time the truck had arrived, it was the next day. May eighteenth.
(Happy birthday to me.) Will thought to himself. (I still have no idea why Aunt Jez insists on inviting me over for my birthday every year. I guess obligations to my dad to try and make nice…)
When they arrived, Jez was the polar opposite of herself, all because Will's father was around. He was a fairly average man, only about six feet tall. But he was so important to Jez that she would hide her true feelings for Will around him. Once he left the room, her entire demeanor changed. She became harsh and berated Will.
He began to recall what he thought when he first saw her. She appeared to be some kind of monster, horned glasses, always way too much lipstick. She was plump, but not necessarily fat, and her wrinkles spread across her face, even to places Will had never seen wrinkles before. The only close to perfect thing about her was her hair, and Will suspected very much that it was a wig.
His father left, leaving them alone, and she began.
"Six hours late. I expected you here at precisely 8:00 pm. Would you care to explain yourself, young man?"
This was another thing that bothered Will about her. She never referred to him by name. She came up with several names for him, depending on her mood. "What makes you think I had anything to do with this?"
"You know damn well why. You never want to come over here and I don't want you here. But your father does, and I expect you to respect his wishes. Not sabotage your trip here just to delay the inevitable." She huffed and left the room.
(Why must she always pin the blame on me? Even on things I couldn't have had any influence on?) Will composed himself, and thought about how his dad would feel if he made any kind of outburst. He hated being nice to her, and would very much like to punch her once for each wrinkle on her face, but he would have to be a good boy.
As it was early in the morning, Will found no need to sleep. He went up to his room, and was met by his younger cousin, Aden. He was the exact opposite of his mother. He was slender, with hazel eyes, and he idolized Will. As much as Jez would talk him down, Aden couldn't help but see Will for some amazing person. For this, Will didn't mind talking to him one bit.
"Aden, what are you doing up? It's late… er… early. It's not good for someone your age to be up so late."
"Couldn't sleep. Mummy was shouting at the door about you all night."
"Figures. Well, I'm off to bed, you should be too."
"Alright, Will."
In order to not break his promise to his cousin, Will actually tried to sleep. That night, he had the same dream as he'd had in the car, only it was more detailed. He saw a man standing on the corner where the bus was to appear. The man raised his arm, and he'd had a stick of some sort in his hand. The bus appeared and disappeared in an instant.
"CHILD!" Jez's voice came ringing clear as day, even in Will's dream state. It was only 8 in the morning, but he knew how punctual Jez was and this was breakfast time. He trudged down the stairs to the kitchen, and got himself a bowl of cereal that Jez bought specifically for him. It was one of the nastiest things he had ever had, but Will had gotten used to it by now. She bought it every year, knowing full well how bad it was.
But at least she fed him. This was the best Jez would ever do for him, and for that Will supposed he should be grateful. He forced himself to swallow a few bites before she came into the room.
"Your parents went out for breakfast. Said they thought it was better that you sleep in. So behave."
The day went on, and it all seemed pretty normal. Jez commanded Will around like a slave, doing menial chores that meant absolutely nothing to anyone, not even Jez, Will guessed. Many of them involved heavy labor that was illegal in most parts, probably here as well but Jez didn't care.
During one chore, something strange happened. He was meant to dust the bookshelf, which was huge by normal standards. Will began to become enraged with Jez at the thought of a child cleaning it, when it started to shake and eventually tumbled over. At the sound of the crash, Jez ran into the room, her wrinkles now forming a scowl larger than Will had ever seen on her.
"Look… what… you… did… BOY!"
"I didn't do anything!" Will began. Then he thought about the fact that his parents weren't home and added, "You old HAG!"
Shocked by the words coming out of his mouth and afraid of what he might do all at the same time, Jez began, "You watch your mouth! You need to learn to respect your elders! And grow up, boy, and accept the consequences for your actions. You are 11 years old for God's sake!"
"I DID NOT DO ANYTHING!" At this, the entire house began to shake.
"G… get out of my house. This INSTANT!"
"Gladly."
Will marched out of thehouse and slammed the door behind him. He didn't get halfway to the corner when a flock of owls started swarming the sky. This was odd, because Will had just learned in school that owls were nocturnal creatures, so seeing them now was just… strange. One of them approached Will directly and landed next to him. Scared out of his wits, he noticed something that looked like an envelope in its mouth. It dropped it and went on its way.
Will picked up the letter, which had a wax seal on the back. On the front was written:
Mr. W. Grayson
Outside the house
12 Jackson Avenue,
London
Inside was a piece of what looked like old parchment. On it was written:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmistress: Minerva McGonagall
Dear Mr. Grayson,
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
Headmistress
And a second page that said:
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
Will couldn't believe his eyes. There was no way he could be a wizard. But thinking back, things did tend to happen that he couldn't explain. Especially when he got angry. Maybe that's why Jez blamed him for the whole thing. Could she have known? There was no way to tell. All he knew was that he needed to go to this school. But how would he get there? He remembered his dream in a flash. It was a long shot, but it was worth a try. He held up his right hand and waited for the purple bus that he wasn't even sure would come.