April switched on the attic light and sighed as she surveyed the contents. This was her childhood in boxes. It was the first day of summer holidays about a month before her 15th birthday and her parents had asked her to clean out the attic. Every single box was labelled, and was filled with things from her life she didn't need anymore. April headed towards a corner of the attic when she walked into an unmarked box that looked much older than any of the others. She was rather interested what part of her life was in an unmarked old box. She sat on the floor and ripped off the tape and opened the box. Inside the cardboard box was a beautifully carved wooden box with four animals carved into the lid; a lion, a raven, a badger and a snake. The cardboard box also contained what seemed like old clothes and what looked like the end of a broom handle sticking out at the bottom. This seemed weird because from the outside the box didn't seem like it was bigger than any of the others but some how it fit a broom quite comfortably inside the box. April found the wooden box more intriguing than the rest of the cardboard boxes contents and proceeded to open it.
Inside the wooden box there were a few letters and under the letters was a pile of old photographs April had never seen before. The first photo was of her mum and some girl. Without even looking at the photograph properly she flipped it over because her mum always wrote the names of people in the photos on the back. There it was written Veronica (her mum) and Lily. April had no idea who Lily was but her middle name was Lily. April turned the photograph around to have a proper look at it and she gasped. At first she thought she was seeing things, she closed her eyes, shook her head, she even pinched herself but nothing would make the two girls in the picture stop moving. There was her mum and Lily smiling and laughing in a photograph. April had never seen anything like it and was incredibly freaked out. She put that photo aside and looked at the others and thought she was going mad. The patrons of the other four photos were also moving. The second photo she looked at was of two men James and Sirius, and James was holding a boy called Harry and Sirius was holding her. Harry and she must have only been 10 months old or something. The next was of her mum, Lily, James and Sirius. Then there was a photo of just James and Sirius and a photo of just her and Harry. April sat staring at these moving photographs of people she couldn't remember meeting.
April put the photos upside so she couldn't see the moving people from a life she couldn't remember. The last thing in the wooden box was a birth certificate. It was April's birth certificate however when she looked at it she saw that her name on it wasn't April Lily Taylor but it was April Lily Black and her father wasn't listed as John Taylor but as Sirius Black, the man from the photographs. April had no idea what was going on this birth certificate basically said her whole existence was a lie. As far as she was concerned she had two options, she could take what she knew to her mother and demand answers but seeing as she had lied to her, her whole life it was unlikely she was going to share them. The other option was open the three wax sealed letters that April felt held the last piece of the puzzle.
The first letter was addressed to Miss A Black, 206 Bond Street, London. April knew that whoever sent this letter to her, must know the truth about who she is. She turned the letter over tentatively and saw a letter H stamped above the red wax seal. April closed her eyes as she ripped open the sealed envelope. Although she was determined to find out the truth she was aware that the contents of this letter would bring the last remaining bricks of her old life crashing down around her.
Dear Miss Black,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been offered a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Term begins on September 1st. We await your owl no later than the 31st of July on your decision on attending Hogwarts.
Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Yours Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore
Headmaster
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
All necessary books and equipment for first year students:
UNIFORM
First-Year
students will require:
Three sets of plain work robes (black)
One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)
Please not 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 Goshank
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling
A Beginners' 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)
1 set of glass or crystal phials
1 telescope
1 set of brass scales
Students may also bring an owl or a cat or a toad
First Years are not permitted to own a broom.
April's hands began to shake as she folded the letter back up and put it back in the envelope. April had no idea what to think. This letter said she was a witch, a witch. April didn't even know witches existed.
"When the hell was this sent?" April asked her self. She sighed and turned to the next letter.
The next letter was written in the same green ink but this time was addressed Mrs V Black, 206 Bond Street, London. April assumed this meant her mother which meant her mother must have been married to this man Sirius Black. She turned the envelope around and ripped open the red wax seal and pulled out the letter.
Dear Veronica,
Firstly I'm very sorry that your daughter didn't want to accept her place at Hogwarts three years ago I'm sure she would have been an exceptional student like you, her namesake Lily and her father.
I am not sure whether or not you have heard that Sirius is no longer in Azkaban. He escaped determined to prove his innocence. Sirius was not the one to betray Lily and James, he never lied to you. He had handed over the job of secret keeper to Peter Pettigrew.
I know we all thought Sirius murdered him but it was staged. Peter transformed into a rat and escaped leaving Sirius to take the fall. Even Remus believed that Sirius was to blame.
However, the truth has been heard and believed by the people that matter, Harry, Remus and myself. And now it is time for you to hear it Veronica and for you to believe it.
I'm not just writing to tell you the truth I'm also writing because upon escaping Sirius has learned that you and his daughter are alive and well.
He understands that you may have moved on and he said he will respect that; he would however like the chance to reconnect with his daughter.
He sends you his best wishes and hopes to at least see his daughter soon.
Yours Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore
April shoved the letter angrily back into its envelope. How could her mother lie to her about her identity, refuse her place at school for her. Most of the letter didn't make much sense but the one thing she did understand was that her mother refused her to be apart of a world where she was meant to be.
April held the last letter in her hand and she knew that this would be the final piece of the puzzle. This last letter would explain why she still hadn't been told about this other life. So more carefully April turned the letter, that was again addressed to her mother, over and slid open the red wax seal.
Dear Veronica,
Sirius is very hurt to hear that his daughter April wishes not to see him. However, he has agreed to respect her wishes. He understands that you are not going to force her to do something she does not want to do. Sirius also understands that you have moved on and that you and April have a new life without him.
He sends his love to his daughter and wishes her to change her mind about getting to know him.
If April does at any point in her life decided that she would like to get to know her father please contact me. Also if April ever wants to take up her place a Hogwarts we would be delighted to accept her.
I hope that one day April choses to get to know her father.
Yours Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore.
April had never been so upset, so confused and so angry all at the same time before in her life. Her mother and claimed she didn't want to know her father. Not only had she pretended John was her father but her mother also refused to let her go to a school where her real father seemed to want her to go.
April shoved the letter back into the envelope and then placed all the photographs, letters and her real birth certificate back in to the carved wooden box. She was taking it to her mother and demanding answers.