A great brown owl flew steadily through the rolling hills of Scotland, a cream letter tied securely to its leg, and a destination set firmly in its mind. It flew over lakes, forests, mountains, through storms, rain and wind. Its mission never faltering in its mind. The cotton clouds promptly parted, and the great green highlands were revealed to it. A single stone house, no, it was far too big to be considered a house, a mansion sprung up through the thick trees of a vast forest.
Though it was small to eye of the bird, a puff of bright red hair could plainly be seen bouncing around the roof of the magnificent house. With a low hoot of relief the owl began its descent towards the ground.
"Oh!" exclaimed the puff as the bird landed lightly on the edge of the flat roof. Its voice was loud and boisterous, its face positively human.
"Hello!" said Merida, "Is that letter there for me?" Without waiting for an answer she untied the soggy envelope from the owl's clawed foot and tore it open, dropping the shreds of parchment which floated like feathers to the ground.
"Yes! I knew it!" Merida threw her hands into the air, red curls sprawling across her face. Her outburst startling the magnificent owl, its wings flapping fearfully, accompanied by its piercing shrieks of alarm as Merida moved towards a trap door, waving her thanks in exaggerated movements. "Mum! Mum!" she yelled, her feet moving faster than a cheetah after it's prey as she galloped down the winding stairs. The owl only stayed for a few more seconds to know that its job was completed, before flying back home to its comfy nest where it could sleep happily for a few hours.
"For Merlin's sake Merida, a Lady doesn't screech!" scorned her mother, the Duchess Elinor with a set frown on her face. Worry lines etched into her face clearly showing through unfinished make-up and tightly tied, slightly grayed, hair.
"Mum! It's Hogwarts!" Merida panted, jogging to a stop in front of Elinor her outstretched hand still clutching her letter, her freckled face slightly flushed from both excitement and fatigue; running down three flights of stairs takes more out of you than one would think.
Duchess Elinor's face transformed, as if in slow motion, from a disapproving scowl, to pure delight, small dimples propping up on her face and a glint in her eyes that made her seem ten years younger.
"That's wonderful news!" she proclaimed, clapping her hands together lightly. Her long nightgown swaying gracefully, the small embroidered pockets glinting in the sunlight that seeped in from the open window.
"We will have to go to diagon alley immediately! Oh! And select a familiar to take with you!" Elinor began hurrying around the west wing, collecting her wand, a powder, and several other objects that didn't have a clear purpose. The Duchess began dressing once again, but with a new found energy and a tune on her tongue.
"Go get dressed, we will leave after breakfast," announced Elinor "tell Maudie I cancel all meetings in favour of family matters." Merida nodded, too ecstatic to protest her mother's order.
"Dad!" she shouted, as she bounded into the dining hall, "Dad! I got a letter from Hogwarts!" she said, smiling giddily.
"What's that?" he asked, a mouth full of bread muffling his words slightly. "Sounds a bit strange…" he murmured, stuffing even more bread in his mouth than one would think humanly possible.
"It's… It's a school," she stumbled, careful to avoid mentioning the word 'magic' or something akin to it "the same one Mum went to! It's very exclusive, and they teach you to fight!" she half lied. At this Duke Fergus looked up at her fully, a small twinkle of pride evident in his eyes as he wrestled his food down his throat.
"That sounds very…" he swallowed the last chunk of food with an audible gulp, "sounds very interesting." He finished, not caring to elaborate, being the simple man he was. However, Merida could see the genuinely inquisitive spark in his eyes, and the eager smile through his beard.
A loud, frustrated shout echoed through the mansion, followed shortly by three small redheads who burst into the room carrying handfuls of cakes in their arms. "Boys!" each turned to Elinor with a look mixed with fear and frustration, before guiltily dropping their prizes at their mothers approaching feet. "I expect better from sons of a Duke!" She began, lecturing the triplets on wrongs and rights as Maudie, the house maid and nannie, came sprinting into the room, frantically collecting the discarded cakes from the stone tiled floor.
"Merida!" Elinor called, causing the red head to cough and splutter out a mouthful of food, Fergus roughly patting her on the back. "Finish your breakfast quickly," Elinor turned sharply, her back now turned to the boys, "we'll need to leave for diagon alley in a quarter of an hour if we're to beat the rush!" she swept her way out of the room as if she were gliding on ice.
Merida snorted inelegantly, cramming more bacon and eggs into her mouth as if it was oxygen. "Boys!" called Maudie for the hundredth time in hours, "Come back here with those deserts!"
When Duchess Elinor said in a quarter of an hour, she meant in a quarter of an hour. Not five minutes before, not five minutes later. And certainly not half an hour later. This was the reason why Elinor was very frustrated, very miffed, and surrounded by half a billion people in one alleyway. Merida, being at least three feet shorter, ducked and weaved through the bombardment of people, struggling to keep the flustered woman in her line of sight.
"This is exactly what I was trying to avoid!" she expressed, throwing her hands into the air, "Fifteen minutes! How hard is it?!" The flames roaring in her eyes practically engulfed her, throwing off an aura that kept shoppers two meters from her person. Almost like an invisible bodyguard with unbreakable shields.
"Ugh! Look!" she uncharacteristically folded her arms across her chest, puffing it out in a snobbish way. Her eyes firing laser beams at a small store with a queue that reached half-way down to the bank. "Now we'll have to wait for another hour to get anywhere!"
Stumbling up to her mother, Merida directed her eyes to the store and decided, it was quite out of place. The walls were made of naked wood, etched into its skin were many small carvings encircling the plain doorway-currently crowded with witches and wizards. Each carving depicted a scene in a story, if one were to look close enough they might see a beast of a man and a demonic bear in a great battle that looped continuously.
A sign hung lopsided from the wall held up by the oldest of chains, their black paint peeling off to be replaced by an infection of rust. And it carried the symbol of a bear holding a long stick above its head, reading 'Heckles' wands and magical conductors' in worn black paint.
"Why do we have to do this first?" grumbled Merida, stuffing her hands in her jean pockets, "Why not go to a different store first?"
Elinor looked shocked, her eyes wide and their fire quelled, "Because this is where you get your wand!" she proclaimed, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "A Lady cannot even begin to think about her next step without a wand first"
With that Elinor marched Merida to the very back of the queue and waited… And waited… And waited. Until finally, they reached the till-clustered with carvings and boxes-behind which stood a short old woman with a hunched form.
"What can I do for you?" she questioned, stepping onto her stool to reach their approximate height.
"My daughter, The Lady Merida Dunbroch, is in need of her first wand." Elinor politely, though boastfully answered. Arising a deep glower in Merida's face, offended at her given title. So leant her arms lazily on the till, revelling in the frown it brought to her mother's face.
"Yes, yes," the woman smiled, wandering off into the maze of boxes behind the counter, dismissing Elinor's description of her nobility entirely. "Let us try… this wand" she threw down a box onto the till and nodded to Merida, a crow perched on her shoulder.
Grabbing the wand she waved it around as though it were a sword, cleaving a table in two as she did so. "No, no, not that one!" said the woman snatching it from Merida and scurrying off behind more boxes. "Try this one" she said harshly. Another box landed in front of Merida. She again picked it up and simply flicked it, setting a single carving alight, though the woman stared at it closely she did not scold.
"Ah!" she snapped her fingers and danced her way to the boxes, chuckling as she did. "How about," she laid a box lined with silk on the till, "this one?" she stepped back, "Go on. Try it"
Merida cautiously lifted the wand from its box, and tapped it against the till. Immediately a burst of red and gold ribbons flew from the end. "Perfect!" cackled the old woman, "Cedar wood with a phoenix feather core," she took a breath and studied the wand, "12 and a half inches... pretty rigid, you're not exactly the most adaptable are you?" she noted slyly.
So, my first story in what, two-three years?
For those who may have read my other (two) stories, both were written when I was 12, I am now 14 almost 15, and I have since improved somewhat.
IMPORTANT-ISH NOTES TO CONSIDER:
I will update every one to three weeks depending on time and inspiration.
This is a story set in modern day, not the past.
Chapter length varies depending on the content intended to belong in them, i.e. I leave them where an ending presents itself.
I will answer comments and queries at the bottom of the chapter always.
I DO NOT beg for reviews, favorites, or follows though they are HIGHLY appreciated.
I DO NOT put a disclaimer as this is written on a site called FANfiction.
EDIT:
I changed a few typos and added to the description if you were interested.
BY THE WAY:
Fanfiction doesn't know that the word 'favour' 'leant' 'revelling' 'nannie' and 'heartstring' exist... Well done.
