There was sunlight peeking through the blinds telling Rose it was time to get up. Rose herself, on the other hand, wanted anything but to have to get out of bed. The sun, however, won over as she slowly sat up and stretched. Summer was here and she was definitely glad. She remembered something as she slowly swung her legs over the side of her bed; it was her eleventh birthday as well. She didn't feel any older. But that didn't really matter because today was her day. Energized with this new thought she quickly pulled on some jeans, threw on a t-shirt, and pulled her dirty blonde hair back into a pony tail. Rose bounded down the stairs taking them two at a time and slid into the kitchen where her mom was already hard at work making bacon, eggs, and all sorts of delicious breakfast foods.
"Well it's about time you got up," teased her mom.
"Yea it's already eight o'clock," added her dad as he walked into the room.
Rose didn't say anything but instead opted to glower at them as she picked a chair at their kitchen table. Soon her mom was bringing all sorts of delicious food to the table and before all of it was even brought over Rose was digging in. Birthday breakfasts were always the best. Lots of food; talking; and, best of all, both parents were there and not working.
Rose heard a clink that she knew was the mail. Without being asked she got up and walked into the foyer. The mail was waiting in a nice pile by the door. As she flipped through the envelopes nothing stood out, until the end of the pile. There was a letter addressed to her from someone she didn't know. It didn't look like a birthday card either. As she walked back into the kitchen, she distractedly tossed the mail to her dad but kept the odd letter for herself. It was old fashion sealed which in and of itself made the letter very interesting.
"Oh did you get a birthday card?" asked Rose's mom.
Rose hesitated before she answered, "No, I don't think so." She then, as quickly as possible, flashed the letter in her parent's direction before pulling it possessively back toward herself. She felt like the letter was something important and special just for her. Just as she was about to break the seal on the letter, there was a knock at the door.
"I'll get it," said her dad as he slowly stood while trying to read the last bit of his mail.
Distracted by an unannounced visitor, Rose momentarily forgot about the letter and listened to what was going on at the door. She heard the door slightly squeak as her father opened it. She couldn't hear any words but she could hear that her dad was talking to someone, probably female. None of this, however, surprised her as much as how long her dad and the mysterious visitor talked. After extensive talking she finally heard the front door close and realized that she had been tense the whole time. It wasn't often that they had visitors and she didn't want any bad news on her birthday.
She was immediately pulled back from her thoughts as her dad walked into the kitchen. He wasn't alone. An older woman in somewhat odd clothes with a large purse was following him.
"Guys we need to talk in the living room," he said simply before walking that way himself.
Rose looked up at her mom for guidance but saw that she looked just as confused as Rose was. Despite the confusion her mom also started to walk into the living room. Rose sat there for a moment by herself. Did she want to go in there? She had no choice. Whatever it was she would find out about it later anyway.
"Oh dear I see you've already gotten your letter," said the old woman as Rose sat down and realized she was still holding the letter.
"Um," said Rose as she tried to find words to say. A simple yes would have worked but this was getting weird. The mysterious old woman knew about the mysterious letter.
"Why don't you open the letter dear," said the lady who still hadn't introduced herself.
Rose looked at her for a second. What was in the envelope? She foolishly thought for a moment that it would explode or something before she brought her thoughts back to reality and, with only a second more of hesitation, she ripped open the envelope and proceeded to read the first letter.
"Basically it says that she has been accepted at Hogwarts," said the woman, interrupting her reading, "so congratulations."
"Um," said Rose's mom suddenly, "Excuse me but what is Hogwarts? You're going to have to explain what is going on."
"Oh of course Mrs. Locke. First of all, I should introduce myself. My name is Charity Burbage and am a professor at Hogwarts. Now Hogwarts is a school of magic," she continued on without even taking into account the looks on the family's faces. "Young witches and wizards attend to learn how to control their abilities."
"Wait, what?" said my mom. "You expect me to believe this?"
"Hmm," said Charity, "I guess not."
"I think you should leave," said Rose's mom.
"Cynthia please, just let her finish," said Rose's father.
Rose's mother looked confusedly at her husband but kept quiet as Charity said, "If I could prove it to you would you listen to everything I have to say?"
Cynthia thought for a moment before saying, "Well yes I suppose so. You better be able to prove it though."
As soon as Rose's mom had finished saying this, Charity pulled something out of her purse. Rose almost laughed when she saw that it was a stick. What she saw next, however, did not make her laugh. The old woman waved the stick around a bit and right before them there appeared another chair. It was ornate and did not belong in their living room. The Locke family let out a collective gasp and Cynthia simply stared at Charity. Rose couldn't look away from the chair. Could she actually do something like this? Could she, Rose Mary Locke, actually create a chair out of thin air? After all, that was what this strange lady was suggesting.
"Now that that's out of the way," said Charity, "let's get back to the letter. You, Rose, have been accepted at Hogwarts. I teach muggle studies there. Now, in the envelope there should be a list of things that you should need for school and also when you are to start school. It's kind of like a boarding school so you will spend the year there. Now, I am going to help you get all of your supplies and find your way to the train that will bring you to the school. So are there any questions dears?"
The family had let her explain everything mostly because they were still in shock, but finally Rose's father spoke up, "Of course we have questions. First and foremost, however, I want to know why you would wait this long to tell someone that their daughter can perform magic."
"Very good question," said the woman with a smile. "We believe that it is best to just jump in. We used to tell people much earlier but there were more cases of muggles figuring out."
"Excuse me, what's a muggle?" asked Rose speaking up.
"Oh well dear, that's a non-magic person. Speaking of muggles, someone from the ministry of magic will be in contact with you to set up how you will be explaining Rose's stay at Hogwarts. Now when is a good time for you guys to get her school supplies?" asked Charity.
"Oh… um… well," stuttered Cynthia.
Rose's father took over with his level head and said, "I don't work on the weekends unless something comes up so tomorrow or the next day would work."
He was accepting this? Rose hadn't fully grasped what was going on here. Of course her dad had gotten it though. He had seen magic with his own eyes so of course his logical mind could accept it. Rose was a different story. How could she do something like that? Never had she ever done anything that remotely resembled magic; she couldn't even do simple card tricks. As she thought all of this through, she knew that she had to go with it. Oddly enough, she wanted to go through with it.
Again she was brought back to reality, this time by Charity (or I guess Professor Burbage she thought) rising to leave, "It was a pleasure meeting all of you," she said as she shook their hands.
"So you'll meet us here at ten tomorrow right?" asked her father.
"Of course," she said as she smiled at him and then began her walk to the door.
As soon as Miss Burbage had left the tension seemed to just flood out of the room. They all just sat there in silence until Rose's father rose and left to get ready for work. Rose was left sitting there with her mother, the two of them simply staring at the chair that was still left in the room. Eventually Rose's mother stood as well and left Rose sitting there.
