Warm light filtered through the leaves as a young girl peered up at the sky, her caramel curls splayed out beneath her head. She had been lying in the grass for an hour, trying to ignore the discomfort of the sweaty clothes clinging to her body. The summer had been nothing but extreme heat and today was no exception as the dry patch at the back of her throat reminded her. But, even if she was drowning in her own sweat, it was better than being back inside with her family. Her fingers twirled in the air slowly as she hovered some leaves above her head and weaved them in outlines of animals.
"Ella!" The grass hissed a little as her body shifted. Ella did not want to go back into the house and ignored the calling, hoping the backyard would swallow her whole as she continued to play with the leaves.
The voice called her name again and she heard a door slide open knowing someone was coming to get her since she was stubbornly refusing to answer. A boy with copper hair rounded around the tree and stared down at her with a small frown on his lightly freckled face.
"Ella, come on back. Dinner is about to start and grandma and grandpa are asking about you." His grey eyes clouded with concern. "It'll be okay."
A small sigh left her lips as she sat up, resting her arms on her knees as she peered up at him, the leaves she had played with floating down to the ground. "It's not going to be okay. Unlike you, my magic keeps messing up. At this rate both grandma and grandpa will have their full minds wiped away completely."
He shrugged. "At least you can use your magic since you haven't started school yet," he said.
"This isn't funny, Ulrich!" Her voice rose a little. "Dad is going to punish me again if I can't stop!" Ulrich held his hand out to his sister and she hesitantly took it, letting him help her up. Her fingers ran through her hair nervously. "I don't want to cause another incident.." Her father, a muggle, had decided in recent years that he didn't like lying to Ella's muggle grandparents about how he married a witch. The children couldn't help that they were born with magical abilities, but he still seemed to hate those sides of them.
They headed back to the house together and Ulrich closed the door behind them when they stepped back in. "Don't think about it," he suggested. "Just try to enjoy being with family. Or at least appreciate that Sebastian is here and we haven't seen our brother since Easter."
Even with the scent of roast hanging in the air, Ella wasn't hungry enough to sit at the dining table for fear of ruining the meal. She could hear the voices of her grandparents coming from the dining room and took a few deep breaths before she followed Ulrich to their seats.
At the head of the table Ella spotted her father whose jaw was set and his dark eyes narrowing at Ella's older brother who was talking happily. "Last week we caught a criminal who was notorious for attempting kidnaps. It was exhausting because we had to stake out his place after we received a report from one of the neighbors."
Both her grandparents sat together and looked impressed with their eldest grandson. Her father hated how Sebastian worked for the magical law enforcement and could pretend so easily that he worked for the muggle police department. But, what could he do? He didn't want Ella's grandparents to know anything about the wizarding world. Sebastian didn't ever let that stop him from talking about the work he loved.
"I didn't see anything like that in the papers," her grandfather had replied as he grabbed for a roll. "What was his name?"
"Cole Xana. He's now in custody, so you might see it later this week."
A woman with brown hair tied back strolled into the room with a two year old boy on her hip and a bowl of mixed veggies in her other hand like a waitress. After setting the boy in a chair between Ella and Ulrich, she set the veggies down and took her place next to their father. "That was the last thing I had for everybody! Dig in!"
The Mansfields all began to pass the food dishes around, taking helpings when the plates reached their hands. Ella's grandmother was the first to compliment the woman who had prepared the meal. "Lynn, this food is wonderful."
"Yeah, mum," Sebastian said around a mouthful of food. "The mashed potatoes have gotten creamier since I left."
Lynn smiled. "I'm glad you're all enjoying it. It wouldn't taste nearly as good if my dear mother-in-law hadn't given me that recipe book," she nodded her head towards Ella's grandma. "Ella, would you mix Danny's food for him?" She nodded to the toddler besides Ella.
"So, we've heard about Sebastian's work and Ulrich going to school but we haven't heard anything from Miss Ella," Her grandfather grinned at her. "We almost thought you had disappeared on us didn't know if you were coming back."
Embarrassment glowed in her stomach. She didn't mean to ignore her grandparents when they arrived and hoped they hadn't felt that way. Throwing her father a nervous glance, Ella replied, "I just got lost day dreaming in the yard. What would you like to hear about?"
"Ulrich's told us about his school experience," her grandmother said after swallowing a bite of roast. "Tell us how school is going for you."
Mixing the food for her baby brother to focus, Ella said hesitantly, "I.. well I am switching schools and joining Ulrich come September. So I'm excited after hearing about all of the friends he's made and it sounds like the classes are wonderful." A small smile spread across her face. She was going to join Ulrich at Hogwarts in a little over a month. The date couldn't arrive any sooner.
"School, is wonderful," Ulrich chirped, his grey eyes lighting up. "All of my professors are excellent."
"What's your favorite class?" Their grandfather asked.
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see her father's knuckles turn white as it gripped a fork. His jaw set again and he had stopped eating. The sight made Ella feel nervous.
"I'd have to say.. Chemistry," her brother decided. "We make different potions- well experiments. Our professor likes calling our experiments 'potions' for fun. I think I've got a natural knack for it."
"I loved gym," Sebastian said. "When I went to their school I was best at learning.. defense." Ella knew he was talking about Defense Against the Dark Arts which was nothing at all like a muggle athletics class.
Their grandfather smiled. "You must take after me. I was always a top performer. Did you ever join a sports team, Sebastian? Or you, Ulrich? I'd love photos of them in their uniforms if you have any Stefan," he addressed the frozen statue that was Ella's father.
His face had finally moved. He glared at his wife across the table before saying, "No photos. Lynn and I.. keep forgetting to purchase any photos for our children."
Everyone looked uncomfortable as husband and wife seemed to stare each other down. Lynn's eyes never faltered and she seemed to be communicating silently to him.. Ella's plate rattled a little, causing her to flinch and hold it in place. Don't lose control, don't lose control, don't lose control. She chanted in her head, as she took deep breaths. Dad can't punish me if grandpa asks questions we can't fully answer.
Someone cleared their throat, breaking Ella's thoughts and she returned her attention to her family. Her grandfather furrowed his brow at his son before turning back to his grandchildren and asked, "Ella, will you be in sports, too? What class will be your favorite?"
The plate stopped moving in her hands and she wiped her palms clean before helping her baby brother eat again. "I'm not sure which class will be my favorite but I'm not planning to join the Quidditch team-"
"Quid ditch?" Her grandmother asked, brow furrowing. "What in heavens is that?"
She bit her lip, realizing her mistake. She could feel her father's eyes fixed on her as if he could fix her slip up with his glare. "It's.. er.."
A fork clattered as her father freed his hand to pinch his nose. Her grandfather frowned and said, "Son, you feeling alright?"
"Yes," he said through gritted teeth.
"We could just tell them," a voice said quietly. Sebastian, Ulrich, and Ella turned their heads sharply to their mother. "They want to be a part of their lives," Lynn continued. "Maybe telling them would bridge that gap."
Their grandparents opened their mouths, faces clouded with confusion until a the firm slam! of Stefan's hand crashed into the table causing the dishes to quiver and the children to flinch.. "Absolutely not!" He practically shouted. "My parents don't need to know about any of their nonsense!"
"Dad!" Sebastian snapped. "Calm down!"
"What's he talking about?" Their grandmother asked. "What are you hiding? Is it something to do with the kids?" From beside Ella, Danny's plate began to hum.
"Nothing mother," Stefan huffed. "Nothing that you need to worry about."
"It's not fair to them or the children," Lynn started again but Stefan silenced her.
"It's not fair to me that all of my children are bewitched!" He spat back.
Ulrich was covering his ears as their parents began to shout at the table. Their grandparents were yelling, too, trying to stop the argument. Sebastian took out his wand out from his trousers when their father grabbed his knife.
Ella's chest tightened and she felt like she was being absorbed into the noise of fighting and now Danny's crying. She hugged herself and shut her eyes tight, but felt her sanity slipping and before she knew it all of the dishes began to hover off of the table. They shouting died down immediately as everyone stared, the table beginning to rise with the dishes.
After what was happening registered, he father started screaming at her to stop, but all Ella could hear was her ragged breathing and the thoughts she was desperately trying to cling to of not losing control. She felt someone shake her and heard the dishes clatter together and forced her eyes open to watch the dishes whirling in the air as if a twister had entered the room.
Ulrich was shaking her shoulders, begging for her to calm down, but she felt too stunned. The dishes whirled faster causing the door to fling against the walls and the table was suddenly swerving through the air, making a beeline for Danny.
"IMMOBULUS!" Lynn cried at the same time as Sebastian, both of their wands drawn. Immediately the dishes and tables came to a halt, hovering in the air. Lynn took in a deep breath and let her wand cut through the air, allowing the dishes and table to come back to the ground.
Her father's harsh voice finally got through to her as he said, "Ella, what is wrong with you?"
Tears stung at the corners of her eyes as she peered at her father who looked like he would like to send her to the farthest corner of the earth. "I.. Dad, I didn't mean-"
"You never mean it. But that doesn't stop you from causing accidents now does it?" He spat.
"Stefan!" Lynn cried, her mouth gaping open. "How dare you say that to her!"
"Wh-what just happened?" They looked at Ella's grandparents who were backed against the wall, faces pale. "Why was everything flying?"
Lynn sighed and glared at her husband. "I'll wipe their memories and clean this up."
"Just like last time," Stefan muttered furiously and left the room in a hurry to get away from them.
Ella had started crying silently, looking away from her grandparents. Someone grabbed her hand gently and lead her away from the dining room. She heard Sebastian say, "Stand still, grandma. This will only take a sec."
Ulrich had Danny on his hip and pulled Ella up to his room. They didn't say a word to each other and climbed into bed together, Ella holding Danny and Ulrich running her back. The shock of the incident left her feeling numb and her older brother soothingly rubbed her back, not pressing her to come back to herself.
Eventually they heard their other saying goodbye outside of the windows and muffled voices calling back cheerily. It was clear that their grandparents' memories had been erased of the entire incident and they were leaving without the kids saying goodbye. But even though they left, Ella and Ulrich remained in his room, laying Danny between them on the bed until he fell asleep. It wasn't long before screaming resumed from downstairs and they could hear the distrusted voices of their parents going at each other.
"I'm sorry for what happened," she whispered to Ulrich, her voice shaking a little. "I don't know why this happens and I wish I was different."
Ulrich tried to smile reassuringly at his sister. "No one got hurt. And you know this wouldn't have happened if Dad didn't hate that we're wizards. He treats us all badly."
"But mum had to clean up my mess and then grandma and grandpa were exposed to magic."
"Ella," he said quietly. "It's going to be okay. We're going to be at Hogwarts soon, and you can do all of the magic you want there."
"Will they let someone like me in? Someone who can't manage their magic?"
She felt his hand squeeze her arm comfortingly. "Of course they will. They'd be crazy to pass up on allowing a bright witch like you learn at school. Just think about being at Hogwarts."
Once again they stopped speaking, their parents still screaming at each other. Lately the arguments had increased and it wasn't hard for any of them to fall asleep. Ulrich began to lightly snore and Ella drowned out her parents' voices as she concentrated on Hogwarts. The place that would soon be her new home. The place where she could start fresh. As her eyes dropped Ella decided to let her worries go for the night, the last thought she had were of leaving this house and escaping to a new home where she could be herself.