Chapter 1: The Secret of the Squib

Mr and Mrs Kyle and Harriet Langford of number 17 Elm Square, Chester, were perfectly normal people, at least as far as their neighbours were concerned. Mr Langford left the house every weekday at eight thirty in the morning to drive to his job as a history and sociology teacher at a nearby secondary school, and arrived home at five forty-five every evening. Mrs Langford taught piano and singing, and the two of them together raised their young daughter, Liane.

Liane Langford, age ten and eleven months, was tall for her age, and her dirty-blonde hair spent most of its time braided. Where casual acquaintances remarked upon her as a quiet, polite and soft-spoken child, her friends and parents knew her to be a voracious reader and keen intellect, stubborn and outspoken, rarely budging from a position when she held it until shown irrefutable proof that she was wrong. Those that saw both sides of her would marvel at how swiftly she could transform from the angelic child in public to the sharp-tongued wit in private.

Things amongst the Langford's home were peaceful and unexciting, for the most part, and yet Harriet Langford looked at Liane's upcoming eleventh birthday with increasing trepidation. This is because, unbeknownst to her husband or her daughter, Harriet Langford was a squib.

A squib is a person born to a wizard and a witch who is unable to perform magic on their own. With Kyle Langford a Muggle, a more general term for people without magic, and unaware of Harriet's magical parentage, magic was never spoken of in the Langford household except in terms of the realms of fantasy fiction. When Liane proved to be very adept at writing fantasy herself, and very critical of the mountains of fantasy stories she read, it became increasingly clear to Harriet that, although it may have skipped a generation, there was magic in her daughter's blood. Perhaps even enough for her to be offered a place at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, where her parents had met.

Tradition dictated that the letters were to arrive for prospective first year students some time leading up to their eleventh birthday, provided it fell before September first in the year, or else in May for students who turned eleven during the school term. As Liane's birthday was August 20th, she had scarcely more than a week before school started, and Harriet did not know whether she ought to tell her daughter of the possibility of a magical school enrollment before the letter arrived or risk waiting until the last minute. If she did not wait, and Liane was not accepted, Harriet believed it would break her daughter's heart.

Liane stood in front of her mirror, staring at her fringe. It was too long, and fell over her eyes no matter what she did with it; somehow no pin or clip would hold it in place, and no gel or hairspray would mold the errant strands into place. In one hand she held a pair of kitchen shears, determined to rid herself of the constant twitching she had been forced to endure while her hair had insisted on obscuring her vision. If it came down to it, she would cut it all off. As she raised the scissors up towards her face, however, a deep, booming bark made her jump.

"Rollo!" she chastised, turning to her tibetan mastiff, his big, furry head poking through her door. Despite almost being as tall as she was, the massive hound looked up at her and whimpered.

"Oh, don't give me that," she scolded, "I could have really hurt myself."

Rollo answered by pushing the door open entirely and rolling onto his back, his tongue hanging from the side of his maw and lolling about as he panted expectantly. Liane rolled her eyes and put the scissors down on the dresser, walking over to the dog and scratching his belly, digging her fingers in as hard as she could. Rollo wriggled around blissfully for a moment before twisting back around onto his front, looking up at Liane and wagging his tail.

"Oh, come on then; breakfast it is then," she said, stepping around Rollo as he leapt excitedly to his feet.

Together they made their way down into the kitchen. Liane kissed her father's cheek hello as she made her way over to the kitchen, grabbing a box of cereal from the cupboard.

"I think your mother had something special planned," Kyle said over the top of the morning paper. Liane looked up confused for a moment.

"Oh," she said as she realised what day it was. She was eleven years old, and she'd forgotten about it entirely somehow. Putting the cereal box back in the cupboard Liane wandered over to the box of dry dog biscuits and poured some in a bowl for Rollo, then made her way back to the table and sat down.

As she did so, Harriet appeared coming from the stairs leading down into the basement, in her hands clasped a box of frozen blueberries and a box of frozen raspberries.

"Morning, birthday girl," Harriet said, bending down to plant a quick kiss on Liane's head on her way past.

"Morning. What's with the berries?" Liane asked, rising up in her seat to tuck her legs in underneath her.

"I was going to turn them into a mixed berry compote to have with pancakes; how does that sound?" Harriet said, depositing the boxes on the bench and bending down to retrieve a saucepan from the cupboard beneath the benchtop.

Liane shrugged.

"Sounds great, thanks," she said, her eyes following her mother. Liane had noticed Harriet had been behaving oddly over the last few months, nervous and worried about something Liane couldn't quite work out. Whatever was the problem, it clearly wasn't something that was also affecting her father, however, as he seemed utterly indifferent to the change in behaviour.

"Why don't you go and check the mail, love?" Kyle said as he turned a page of the paper, "your Auntie Rita might have sent you a card."

Liane nodded and bounced off her chair, missing the nervous glance Harriet gave to her oblivious husband. Sure enough, there was a small pile of envelopes at the foot of the door, beneath the slot. Liane picked up the bundle and shuffled them into a slightly neater pile as she walked back into the kitchen.

"Two for you, dad, one for me, looks like you were right about Auntie Rita, mum, mum, and…" Liane stopped, looking at the brown paper envelope she held in her hand. There, in emerald green writing that seemed to shine, were the words;

Ms. Liane Amelia Langford, second bedroom, upstairs, 17 Elm Square, Chester, England, UK.

"What's that love?" Kyle asked, his eyes not leaving the paper.

"It's a letter, for me," Liane said in a small voice, not seeing the almost guilty look on her mother's face as she turned it over to see the envelope was sealed with a wax blob marked with a crest stamp, bearing four quadrants, each with their own animal sigil. Tucking her thumbnail under the wax seal it came away in one piece, and Liane slowly pulled out the letter, which had come on two pieces of paper. The second piece looked like a list of some kind, and so Liane ignored it for the moment, reading over the first page.

Dear Ms. Liane Amelia Langford,

We apologise for the delay in getting your letter to you, however as I'm sure you are aware there have been difficulties in maintaining records relevant to the turn of the century.

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted as a student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, beginning term September 1st. Attached you will find a list of your required school books and materials, which can be purchased from Diagon Alley or other magical suppliers. We also remind you at this time that prior to the beginning of term you are to perform no magic, as per the Ministry of Magic's regulations on underage magic. The Hogwarts Express departs from Platform 9 ¾ at King's Cross Station in London at 11:00 AM precisely on the first.

We look forward to seeing you in September.

Yours sincerely,

Deputy Headmaster Neville Longbottom

Headmistress Minerva McGonagall

"It's nothing, Dad, some kind of weird joke. I bet Penelope's behind it; she's always poking fun at me for liking fantasy books," Liane said, tossing the letter aside. As she went to reach for the other envelope from her aunt, Liane stopped suddenly, startled by the sound of a metal mixing bowl hitting the tiles in the kitchen. She looked over to her mother, who was shaking, gripping the bench in front of her.

"Mum? What's wrong?" Liane asked.

"I… I'm sorry, I'm so sorry… I should have told you sooner," Harriet muttered, and Liane's eyes widened.

"Darling?" Kyle said, standing up. Harriet looked over at them both.

"I'm… I'm sorry… But, Liane sweetie, it's… It's true. All of it… It's real, it's for real…" Harriet stammered. Liane stepped away from the table, staring at the letter as though it had abruptly come to life. Which, if she believed what her mother was telling her, it might.

Kyle grabbed the letter and scanned over it, his brow furrowing.

"Uh, darling I think you might be confused, there's no way this could be-" he began, but Harriet had already pulled her phone from her pocket and was sending an sms message. When she was done she put the phone down and stepped away from it, looking at the small iphone in much the same way Liane was looking at the letter. There was an abrupt crack, and Rollo started barking, mimicking the confusion and alarm Liane and Kyle were both experiencing. There, suddenly standing among them, was Harriet's cousin and Liane's occasional babysitter, Susan Bones. Although unlike every other time Liane had seen her, she was dressed in flowing black robes and carried a long, carved piece of wood in her hand.

"Harriet, what's going on? You said it was an emergency?" Susan said in a low, authoritative voice, before she realised Kyle and Liane were looking at her.

"Oh," she said as she noticed them both, deflating.

"Oh?" Liane said dryly at the same time Kyle let out a bellowing "what the bloody-"

"You told them?" Susan said, turning to Harriet. Harriet nodded.

"Liane's letter arrived," she replied. Susan's face broke into a wide, ecstatic grin.

"Oh! Oh, Harriet that's wonderful; you weren't sure she'd even be considered, and she's been accepted!" Susan said, placing her wand into the sleeve of her robes and turning to face Liane

"Been accepted? Accepted into what? Harriet what the hell is going on?" Kyle erupted, his eyes wide.

"Another witch in the family; well, this is cause for a celebration. Er," Susan said, spotting the spilled bowl of pancake mix on the floor, "let's just clean that up shall we." With a flourish the wand returned to her hand, and the bowl lifted back into the air and onto the bench.

"Scourgify," Susan said, and with an oddly satisfying slurp the pancake mix all disappeared, and more flour and eggs floated over to replace the mix.

"Okay," Liane said, sitting back in her chair, "could someone, please, explain to me what on earth is going on?" she asked.

"Well, if it's alright with you, I think this is probably more my field," Susan said, gesturing to Harriet, who nodded. Susan sat down opposite Liane and smiled.

"You know your grandmother and my mother were sisters? Well, both of them were witches, and I am one as well. A witch isn't a bad thing like in books; it simply means a female-identifying person who can perform magic. People who identify as male generally go by wizards, and agender and non-binary people are usually just called magus or magi, although that's pretty recent in the scheme of things. There's a school, somewhere up in Scotland, called Hogwarts, and it's the best school for magic in the entire United Kingdom. Most of the magical children in the UK attend there, although there's also Myrddin's Public Academy in Manchester. At Hogwarts you'll learn all sorts of amazing things about magic, how to cast it and how to work in the magical world," Susan explained, before drawing her wand out again.

"Wands are the most common way witches, wizards and magi cast spells; it carries a small amount of magic within it and it bonds to the user, making spells easier to cast and more effective. And, with study and practise, you can do just about anything," she explained, before pointing her wand at the letter in front of Kyle.

"Wingardium Leviosa," she said with a swish and a flick of the wand, and the piece of paper lifted up off the table and floated over to Liane.

Liane picked up the letter and read through it all again.

"So… I'm a, a witch? And I can do magic, if I go to a special school in Scotland to learn how?" she said haltingly, "and I can buy all this junk in London?" she said, holding up the letter, listing off items such as "a small pewter cauldron" and "robes, black".

"Oh! Yes, oh Harriet you have to let me take her to Diagon Alley; I can take the day off and show her around and everything!" Susan said, turning to Harriet, who shrugged.

"I suppose so; I've never been, so it would be better for you to come along if she has any questions or anything," she said. Kyle gaped, everything flying passed him far too fast.

"And how many pounds is it going to cost, some special school up in Scotland?" he asked. Susan waved her hand dismissively.

"Oh, the wizarding world doesn't use sterling, but it's fine; the Ministry salary is more than enough for me and she's practically a Bones anyway, we can pay for tuition and books and stuff out of the family vault. There'll be plenty of time to talk all about it when we go to Diagon Alley. Meanwhile, I'm actually running late for work; I'll be back around tonight if that's okay?" Susan said, standing up. Harriet nodded, and Susan smiled and nodded back in return. Turning back to Liane, Susan rushed around the table, leaned down and gave her a tight hug.

"I'm so happy for you, Liane; you will love it at Hogwarts, I know you will. I'll send an owl to Neville as soon as I can to let him know you're accepting," she said, before standing back up straight and vanishing with another loud crack.

The remainder of the birthday did not go entirely as planned. While Kyle and Harriet attempted to make the day special for Liane, they were clearly on edge. When they thought she couldn't hear, harsh, whispered comments were passed back and forth, with Harriet attempting to explain why she had covered up the truth for so long and Kyle trying to understand. Thankfully Liane was going to be spending that afternoon with her friends Lisa Pritchard, Penelope Folke, and Mitchell and Cassandra Monroe at the movies, although when the movie finally came to an end Liane wasn't sure she could remember any of it, her mind too busy turning over the news.

Magic, she almost wanted to laugh, and had she not seen it with her own eyes she might well have done so. When the five of them went out to pizza for a late lunch, Cassandra sat down next to Liane while the others went to the all-you-can-eat buffet tables to load their plates down with food.

"What's up, birthday girl? You've been distant all day," she said, nudging Liane.

"Oh, sorry. It's… It's nothing, really. I just got some… interesting mail today, that's all," Liane said, shrugging in a way that she hoped appeared casual. She was stunned then when Cassandra turned in towards her, dropped her voice down low and said,

"So you got yours too, then? The acceptance letter?"

Liane's eyes widened and her brow went rigid as she turned and stared intensely at her friend.

"What?" she said in a low voice.

"Hogwarts," Cassandra replied, "Mitchell and I got ours in May, cos we turned eleven last year."

"And you didn't tell me?!" Liane growled, and Cassandra grinned.

"We didn't know if you'd get one; your mum recognised our folks as a witch and wizard as soon as she met them, she made them and us promise not to say anything. She didn't want to get your hopes up in case you weren't accepted. Plus, we're sort of, not really allowed to tell non-magic people unless they have a magical family member or spouse," Cassandra explained. Liane leaned back against the wall of the booth and crossed her armed.

"Still, I'm not happy. All those times Penny poked fun at me for liking fantasy and magic and you two were sitting there knowing you were only a few years off getting your own wands. You could have at least stood up for me," Liane pouted. Cassandra shrugged.

"We didn't want to run the risk of slipping up and letting something out. But come on, Li, this is such good news! You'll be with us at Hogwarts; we can show you around, practise spells, sit together, it will be fantastic! I don't know what house I'll be in, but I hope it's Gryff-"

"What's up, nerds?" Penelope said with a mock sneer as she sat down, sliding down the booth to let Lisa and Mitchell in.

"Nothing; I was just telling Cassie about the new sketching pencil set Dad gave me this morning. Pass us some pizza," Liane said, flashing a smile at Penelope and reaching for a slice.