September 13th, 2004
Today was hot and sunny in Phoenix, Arizona, like always. The sky was blue, no cloud on the horizon. My mom briefly looked out the window with a happy expression and then she continued making dinner. Today the dinner was supposed to be special. Today was the only day in a year when I and my parents are together, pretending to be a happy family. Today was September 13th and I celebrated my eleventh birthday.
While my mom was finishing dinner, me and dad set the table. I knew she made me a cake too, or rather had a friend of her do it since she couldn't bake, but I couldn't have it until after dinner.
When we were eating, dad told us the newest Forks gossip, including a horrible accident near the La Push reservation, where some kid had fallen off a motorbike and nearly got killed. Mom told him off for talking about these things at dinner and with me at the table.
Right at that moment the door bell rang.
"Are you expecting someone?" dad asked.
"No," mom said and I shook my head. She got up and went to answer the door, me right behind her. I was naturally curious.
There stood a strange looking woman. She was quite young and had a short blond hair and blue eyes. She wore a long-sleeved black dress that looked more like some sort of a robe and over it she had a long, black cloak. In this heat.
"Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Swan," said the woman after dad had joined us. "And you must be Isabella," the woman went on and smiled at me.
"Excuse me," said dad, "but who are you and how do you know our daughter?"
"My name is Evelyn Sunshine. I came here to talk about your daughter's future," she said slowly, like she wanted to prepare us for something.
"What do you mean?" asked mom with panic in her voice. I tried to remember if I had done something that could have gotten me in trouble. I'd gotten good grades at school and there had never been any complaints about my behaviour. Well, except the one time when Danielle McWhite had accused me of causing the ugly pimples on her face, but seriously, how could I have done it? No one had believed her anyway.
"May I come in?" Mrs. Sunshine asked with a patient smile. "What I want to tell you is a very sensitive topic and I wouldn't want to be overheard."
Mom started panicking even more but dad opened the door wide to let her come in. He closed the door again but he didn't invite her into the living room.
"So," he said with arms crossed. "What do you want to talk about?" I was standing next to mom, who stared at Mrs. Sunshine, leaving all the talking to dad. He was a policeman after all.
"I think you'd want to sit down. It's quite a shocking news," Mrs. Sunshine suggested but no one moved. "Very well," she said, shrugging. "I'm from the Magical Congress of the United States of America and I came to talk about the magical education for your daughter. She's a witch."
There was a complete silence. Then mom burst out laughing and dad's face went red with anger. I stared at the woman quietly with wide eyes.
"Did you come here to make fun of us?" Dad growled while mom was still giggling.
Now was the time for me to say something before dad threw Mrs. Sunshine out.
"So, the things that sometimes happen to me… it's magic?" I said quietly but it was loud enough for my mom to stop giggling and dad to stop trying to kick Mrs. Sunshine out of the door.
"What things, honey? What are you talking about?" asked mom, sounding slightly hysterical. I tried to ignore her and looked directly at Mrs. Sunshine, who smiled, nodding.
"Yes, it's magic."
"What things?!" Mom stared at me, wide-eyed, her eyes full of fear and anxiety.
I took a deep breath and started talking.
"Sometimes… when I trip over something or am about to fall or get angry or… I'm scared… strange things happen. Dad, do you remember when we went fishing and I slipped on the mud?"
I looked at Charlie, who had been watching me the whole time, and I knew he remembered.
"You… you didn't fall. You were… sort of levitating in the air and then you… you landed on your feet," he said, his eyes flickering between me and Mrs. Sunshine.
I suddenly realized that maybe I really had something to do with Danielle's pimples. I suppressed a grin and turned to look at mom.
She looked like she was about to faint. Mrs. Sunshine must have noticed because suddenly she pulled a thin wooden stick out of her cloak pocket and waved it in the kitchen direction. A second later there was a loud noise and one of our kitchen chair flew in the hall and landed right next to mom. She gasped and collapsed in the chair.
Mrs. Sunshine pulled a small vial out of her other pocket and handed it to mom.
"Drink it. It will calm you down. And no, it's not a poison," she added when she saw dad's expression.
Surprisingly, mom took the vial from her with a shaking hand and slowly took a drink. A few seconds later she looked much more relaxed.
"So." Mrs. Sunshine clapped her hands once. "Back to business. I hoped we would go to the living room but it would be bettter for Mrs. Swan if she didn't move right now." She waved the wooden stick again and three more chairs flew in the hall.
We sat down hesitantly and the whole time I was watching Mrs. Sunshine with excitement. She pulled a few sheets of paper and some brochures out of her cloak – it must have had a lot of pockets – and then she took the cloak of and sat down too.
"So," she said again, "as I already told you, I'm from the Magical Congress of the United States of America and I came here to talk about Isabella's future. But first, I believe I owe you an explanation. Apart from the world you know, there is another one, a magical one. But you're not supposed to know about it because we live in hiding. Some wizards and witches even live among you without your knowledge. There's a reason for it and it's called the Statute of Secrecy. First and the most important rule is that we have to stay hidden from no-majs or muggles, as the British call them. It means people with no magical powers.
"Sometimes it happens – like in this case – that a child with magical abilities is born to two no-majs. You'd probably like to know how is that possible. There must have been a squib in your family – that means a child with no magical powers that is born to magical parents – who carried the gene. The squib could have lived a few generations ago and for the whole time the magical gene ran in your blood without notice and then suddenly resurfaced in your daughter."
I listened to it all with my mouth open. It sounded absolutely incredible.
"Young wizards and witches are usually educated in magical schools all around the world. Their training usually starts at eleven or in some countries even sooner. The moment Isabella was born, her name was enrolled at the British school. But since you moved in America, you can choose if you want to attend the American or British school. I've brought some materials about both schools with me."
I looked at the brochures Mrs. Sunshine had handed me. They weren't made of paper but of something that looked like parchment. There was a picture of a castle on the front of both brochures. Underneath the first one there was the word Hogwarts written in green letters, the other one was called Ilvermorny.
"You have a lot of time to decide which school will suit you better," said Mrs. Sunshine with a smile. "You were born in September so you missed the beginning of the school year. You will have to wait for the whole year before you can begin your education."
I felt a sting of disappointment but it wasn't that surprising. I'd always been the oldest in my class and it hadn't always been an advantage.
"What if she stays at home?" my mom said suddenly. I looked at her with surprise. "She can just stay here and pretend she's norm… I mean, she's like us."
I couldn't believe it.
"But mom! I want to go!" Now it was me who was panicking.
"I'm afraid that's not possible, Mrs. Swan," said Mrs. Sunshine and I breathed out in relief. She looked suddenly stern. "Untrained young witches and wizards can be dangerous. Their magical ability can't be suppressed. They have to learn how to control and use it. Of course, when she's finished her education, she can decide if she wants to live as a witch or go back to live without magic. But she must learn first."
Mom looked like she wanted to protest but eventually she gave up trying to argue with Mrs. Sunshine. I turned back to the witch.
"When do I have to decide?" I asked.
"I'll be back at the beginning of January. If you choose Ilvermorny, we'll need some time to arrange a place for you."
She stood up then and put her cloak on.
"I have to go now," she said and smiled at me. Then she turned to my parents. "Remember what I said. You can't tell anyone about our world. Do you understand?"
She looked stern again and my parents nodded mutely.
"Good." She smiled again and opened the door. "I'll see you in January."
She winked at me, turned on her heel and with a loud crack! she was gone.