July 21, 2012 Joshua 8th Birthday

Dear Joshua John,

I wrote you this story as a birthday present to go with the wand that Doug made you. I know how much you like Harry Potter and so do I. Writing Harry Potter stories is something I like to do to relax and I enjoy being able to write something. I love you and I hope you like the story. Some of the things I said about magic are untrue, but I used a lot of reference books, so hopefully you'll be enlightened. If you need help reading this, I would be happy to assist. I love you my wonderful nephew.

Love Aunt Caitlin (the Author)

Chapter 1

Joshua grabbed the next present from the table. It was in a bag with a spaceship. Inside was papers, Joshua moved them around to see a wand lying at the bottom of the bag. It was wrapped in tissue paper, but you could see the sparkling end of the wand sticking out. Joshua snatched the wand out of the bag and ran it though his fingers. It truly was magical. He felt a strange pulling from behind his fingertips, like real magic. Joshua reached across the table and grabbed his Aunt's hand. He felt the power ripple into her hand, but she seemed not to notice. Uncle Douggie smiled at Joshua and explained to him that he created the wand by craving a piece of work at midnight. Joshua looked across the table at his Aunt and let go of her hand; she reached for it again and told Joshua that she had blessed the wand.

Joshua was so excited, he loved Harry Potter. The books, the movies, the stories. The wand he was given was truly amazing. Joshua smiled to himself and thought, "This is the greatest birthday ever". Joshua would be kept in the dark for a long time. There was a deep secret within Joshua, waiting to escape. Joshua knew he was going to change the world, with or without magic. Joshua continued unwrapping his birthday presents, with commenting on how nice everything was. None of them even watched up the wand. He was so amazed by his awesome present, but he waited until everyone left for the night before going to his room. Joshua sat down on the bed and put his pajamas on and waited quietly. He wanted to make sure everyone was sleeping before he experimented with the wand. He knew he would need to be quiet, otherwise he might ring the bell on his door, and Nana would come look in his room. Joshua wanted it to be his secret. Joshua listened to his sister snoring in the other room. He waited until he was sure they were both asleep and then stood up. He walked over to the window and looked out, next to the moon, was this small twinkling star. Joshua thought his most serene thoughts and wished upon that tiny star. He wished he could be a wizard and change the world, like Harry Potter.

Chapter 2

The next year, Joshua had hoped something would happen but nothing did. He had a normal birthday with his family. Nothing happened.

The year Joshua turned nine; he got a mysterious birthday card but thought nothing of it. He went on with his birthday and the whole next year; he couldn't wait for his birthday. He knew something deep inside; it was going to happen next year on his birthday. As the year went on, Joshua forgot about his 10th birthday being special.

Three Years Later, Joshua sat around the table having cake with his family when there was a sudden noise outside. Joshua ran to the door thinking it was maybe his Grandfather visiting for his birthday. Grandpa Doug was one of his most favorite people, he didn't get to see him every often or his Great-Grandparents. Joshua sometimes wondered where he had come from. Nana was adopted and he never really got to see his other family. Sometimes that made him sad, but he had come to realize it was easier to be disappointed than to be angry all the time.

Joshua continued walking to the door, thinking. He noticed a light golden envelope slipping in from under the door. He reached over to pick it up and noticed it was addressed funny. Joshua quickly opened the door to see who had left it, but there was no one there. He took one last look and shut the door behind him. He walked back to the table to open the letter. He noticed right away that the address seemed weird.

Joshua John Inhen

Nana's House, Upstairs Bedroom

Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Joshua sat down at the table and turned the letter over. How odd, there was a wax stamp and no actual stamp on the front. Joshua opened the letter and there was a puff of dust, he looked up wiping his eyes. He noticed his Aunt Caitlin smiling at him and his Mom freaking out. Mom let out a squeak and grabbed at the letter. He didn't want anyone else to read it until he had a chance. He shoved the letter under his butt and grabbed the next card in the pile. His family decided to get up at that point to get his cake from the kitchen. He got up quickly and walked to the shelf, he hid the letter under a book. He walked back to the table to get sang to. He wanted everyone completely forget about the letter. He wished that he could have some privacy in his life. He was never alone, never Joshua, always Mommy's son, Sissy's brother, the naughty kid. His family sang the Happy Birthday song to him and he opened the rest of present, but all he really wanted to do was go upstairs and read the letter. He waited and bided his time. It was bedtime on the eve of this 10th birthday; he quickly grabbed the letter and ran up to his bedroom.

He ran to his room and shut the door. He waited till his Nana went to bed and then sat down on his bed. He took a closer look at the letter. He smiled as he slid his finger under the wax seal. It feels away and the letter fell open. Joshua noticed it said wand, he went to his closet and dug around until he wound the wand his Uncle Doug had given him three years ago. The note began to shiver, Joshua picked it up again.

Dear Joshua John Ihnen,

We are pleased to be sending you this letter. You are wizard in training if you accept this mission in life. This is the Persephone School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Boston, Mass. We would like you to accept this place in our school. We will teach you to harness your power, to calm your mind and help with your deepest desires. Joshua, we are personally inviting you to join us here. Your Aunt Caitlin can answer any questions you want. She is a witch as well, she didn't find out until a few years ago. Some health issues kept her from discovering her abilities. Caitlin may also help you shop for school supplies.

Your Great Grandparents have set up a trust for you. They will be paying for your admittance to our school. Everything is taken care; our wish is that you join us.

Please use the wand your Aunt and Uncle gave you and tap the letter, a standard birthday message will appear. Please do not speak of this with anyone, expect whom we have told. We are a coveted school to attend and if you chose not to accept your place, someone else will be given the opportunity.

We will be sending another message in two week in the form of a special school pamphlet. It will contain the information that your non-magical family and friends will need from a boarding school. Please show this information to your Aunt Caitlin, so she can fill out the personality profile. This letter will erase after two days. Make your discussion and come and find your destiny.

Sincerely,

Mephistopheles Adams

Chapter 3

Joshua went to bed and had the most wonderful dreams. He wishes every dream could be that good. He woke up in the morning and walked downstairs. He waited until he was sure his Aunt was up, and then he called. He got more excited every ring of the phone and smiled when the phone answered. His Aunt Caitlin's voice called across the line and he got excited about asking her everything he had been wondering for the last few hours. He wanted to know who he was. His Aunt explained that she would be right over. Josh poured a bowl of cereal and suddenly his Aunt walked out of the bathroom. He hadn't even poured the milk into his cereal. He was confused. Caitlin smiled at him and walked over to give him a hug. She pulled him in close and he could smell her shampoo. He smiled; he loved his Aunt very much.

Aunt Caitlin said, "Joshua, I am glad you finally called. I was worried last night since you didn't call." Joshua stepped back and wondered how his Aunt Katie had gotten here so quickly. Joshua looked at his Aunt again and noticed she was smiling. Auntie grabbed his hand and in that moment, he noticed that Caitlin had a wand. She flicked her wrist and suddenly a cloud rose up from the floor. He felt a tickle in his nose and suddenly there was shaft of sunlight.

He stepped out into the sunlight and noticed again quite suddenly that there were people surrounding them. Aunt Caitlin grabbed his wrist and pulled him down the road. They stopped in front of a store that looked Walgreens. Joshua and his Aunt walked into the store and stopped. Flying overhead were brooms, birds and other things that fly. Joshua grabbed his Aunts hand again and they walked over to women holding a leaflet of paper. On the paper, when Joshua touched it, appeared a school supplies list. Caitlin smiled and grabbed her own copy and steered Joshua to the first isle. He looked down the aisle and then at the list. He needed:

School Supplies needed are as follows:

Cauldrons( One cooper, one black, one crystal)

Thick Black Cloak( It is cold in the winter in Boston)

A Pet to use as a messenger (Owl, Rat, Rabbit, Cat, Dog, and Mice)

Quill( regular pens work as well)

Notebooks (parchment if using Quill)

Robes- Black for everyday wear

Robes with changing ability

Wand( picked/ given to you)

Book bag ( Large enough to carry scrolls and books)

MP3 Player or IPod(all chargers/ports needed to be brought as well)

Regular Clothes( School Appropriate)

Small Digital Scale

The following Books are needed for Any First Year Students:

Hordes book of Spells and Incantations

Persephone School Reader

Frist Year Magic for the Muggle

Readers Guide to Magic and All it entails

Meteor's Potions and Apothecary

Hagrid's Magical Creatures

There will be another letter coming to your house, addressed to you. Once you pick up supplies, they will be checked off the list and disappear. Please get ready and excited for the upcoming school year.

Joshua was quite excited thinking about all the things he could use his powers for. He wanted to know everything. He decided that Aunt Caitlin had volunteered for this because she had always known that Joshua was special. Joshua smiled and followed his Aunt down another isle. He stopped in front of a rack of colored paper scrolls. He wondered how much money they had to go school shopping. It didn't seem any more expensive than shopping for regular school, but there were things that were not on a regular school list. Like the clothes, broom and cauldron. He would look kind of funny walking into a school and using a quill when everyone else is using a pen. Joshua grabbed regular white paper and moved on to something more exciting. Brooms.

Aunt Caitlin stopped in front of the brooms as well. She was looking at a large, golden broom. She picked it up and handed it to her nephew. He was looking at it and smiled as she put it in the buggy. Caitlin always got him the best present, take the wand for example. Caitlin smiled at Joshua and leaned down and whispered in her ear, "I am a soothsayer, I can predict the future. It was a gift given to me on my 29th birthday. My golden birthday. That is why I knew you had the dream and wanted a wand more than anything".

Joshua wondered what powers he would be given. He thought it might be cool to be able to go invisible or super-strength. Joshua smiled as he picked up a small black cauldron. He stuck it in the cart and moved onto the next aisle where all the books were. He stopped in front of the Harry Potter display. Joshua smiled and then looked at the display closer. He picked up a book that was titled "Harry Potter and the Vision of magic to the Muggle". He flipped to the middle of the book and looked at the page. It was about Quidditch, it was actual called Areal football. It was played on brooms, but the objective was completely different. Joshua smiled and put the book back on the shelf. He moved halfway down the aisle and stopped in front of the Frist Years Textbook section. He smiled as he picked up Hagrid's Magical Creatures textbook. He opened it to the front cover and noticed the authors name was Finnish McCourage.

Chapter 4

Joshua smiled as he put the book in the buggy that his Aunt had put behind him. He grabbed the next book on the list which was the Persephone Frist Year Reader. He opened to the table of context and read down a ways.

Welcome Information

Introduction to School

Dress Codes and Supplies Requirements

Books and Classes

Class for Frist Years( Pureblooded Students)

Class for Frist Years( Muggle Born)

Teachers and their Resumes

Basics of Magic

Rule for School

Rules for weekend excursions

Rule for using magic at home

Rules for using magic at school

Rules for formal gatherings

Steps for making the Transition easy

Student Life

Learning

Counseling

Family

School Requirements

Joshua picked a chapter and turned it to the page. He landed on Classes for the Muggle Born. He turned to the page where it started:

I understand that magic is something that you thought didn't exist. Magic was not taught to you from the cradle. No, you had no idea, but something has allowed you to pick your destiny, so please choose wisely.

After that Joshua stopped reading, and put the book in the cart. He turned toward his Aunt and asked if she could do a spell to make the books something else. Maybe the Harry Potter books he had gotten for his birthday, so that Nana would never know he was reading the wizarding books. His Aunt smiled and flicked her wrist; it became Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. He smiled as Harry Potter's face disappeared and the school book cover reappeared. Joshua moved on to his potions book. He grabbed the copy he needed for school and put it in the cart. He picked up an interesting one with a unicorn on the cover and opened it the first page with a potion book

Fixing Broken Items

To fix the broken items you need to access you potions cupboard and pull out the following items:

1 birch twig the original broken item 3 tsp. of powdered eel

#2 Cauldron 3 ml of distilled water 1 dash of magic glue

Stir them together in a clockwise manner for three full turns. Stir once in reverse and set to a simmer. Wait twenty minutes exactly and then pour into a crystal container. Make sure to wait two days before using the potion. This is a good one to keep in your house, to fix things around the house. There is a incantation, use while stirring clockwise: Inta median, Su Tu lana es fixelo

Joshua shut the book and put it in the cart. He knew he could use his wand to make potions, but he knew he also could use potions to make him more of a wizard. He was really going to enjoy reading these books and going to a magical school. He finished going through the store and getting all the items on the list, when he picked one up that was on the list, it checked itself off the list. He couldn't believe the Grandmother that he hardly ever saw was paying for him to go to a magical school. Joshua finished the days shopping and his Aunt shrunk the items that they had bought into a pack of gum. He only needed to use one at a time and then when he shut the back cover of the book; it would revert to the pack of gum. Joshua couldn't believe magic was so cool.

He walked in his front door and Nana handed him an envelope. She had tear stains on her face, so he thought it was bad news. Aunt Caitlin was talking to Nana over in the corner. She was whispering about a foreign boarding school and Joshua being accepted and how it was an honor. Joshua didn't understand until he looked down at the letter in his hand. It was stamped from Boston. This letter must be the one explaining to his Nana why he was going away and to where, at least, where she could know. Joshua smiled and tapped the note three times with his wand; he had taken to carrying it with him at all times. The letter changed into a pamphlet on how to exchange his plane ticket and that there would be someone coming to get him from home and take him to school.

Joshua was so excited; he never thought anything of this sorry would happen in his lifetime. He was really going to change the world.

Dearest Joshua,

I will keep working on this story for you. I can make it as long as you want. I have you going to school next, a place like Hogwarts to lose your magic. I hope you enjoy this story as much as I did writing it for you. I know I will never amount to anything special, but you Joshua, could be anything in the entire world. I hope you have the courage to reach for your dreams and when make your reality better. I love you so much young man. Keep this story, there is more coming and then when it's done, you can read it all together, like a real Harry Potter book. Remember the story I am writing is fiction. Doug, Marley and I hope you enjoy the wand. Let it become your light into your future. You can accomplish anything you put your mind to. Use your imagination and wish for the stars.

Love Aunt Caitlin… (The Real One)