Chapter 1- The Letter

Jamie looked at her hands. They were smeared with dirt from scrubbing the basement floor, as ordered, which hadn't been cleaned for over a decade. After dunking them gingerly in her pale of soapy water, Jamie observed the callused skin under the dim light of the basement bulbs. She picked a large splinter out of her skin without wincing and returned to work. They needed a new brush, but Madam Alden didn't seem to think that getting Jamie a new scrub brush, on top of everything else, was top priority. She sighed as she threw the deteriorating brush into the bucket of suds and hurried outside to watch the sun rise.

She yawned as colors streaked the sky. A brilliant orange popped from the east as if it had been smoothed out by a butter knife into the horizon. Jamie stared back at the mansion. She had lived here her entire life, her chores, changing with the times. She had no memory of her father and her mother had escaped some years ago, leaving her three older brothers and herself behind. She had been nine at the time. She quickly reminded herself that her mother had not escaped as her brother, Ben, always told her, but had gone mad and left when not in her right mind. The last time she mentioned the word "escape," she had been scolded by Madam Cox. As the lady had duly reminded her, it was a privilege to live on the manor where she was given food, clothing, and shelter each day. The least Jamie could do each day was work for all she was given.

Still, no matter how much Jamie was told not to think about her mother, her thoughts would often drift to the only conversation she clearly remembered which had been just days before her mother's departure. She had learned how to cook a chicken. Of course, she had eaten an animal before, but the experience made her wonder what happened to the animals. They were living just like her, right?

"Mama," she asked, "What happens to the animals we eat?"

"What do you mean?" Mama asked, looking up from her sewing.

"What happens to animals? Where do they go?"

Her mama sighed. "When we take what we need from them, like meat for food, and everything that's left becomes part of the soil. Their bodies help keep it fresh and new."

"What about us? Are we eaten and used for crops when we die?" She couldn't imagine eating Barbara Harken, the old woman who had died just a few months ago.

"Certainly not. We don't eat our own kind." Jamie let out a breath of relief. She didn't want to be eaten when she died.

"Then, what's gonna happen when I die?"

"Well, we'll dig a hole, deep in the ground, and lay you down there. You'll be covered in nice fabric, not your old burlap rags, and we'll put you with the things you like, like cinnamon or a doll you favor." Jamie only had one doll she had once gotten for Christmas and it was deteriorating quickly, certainly not something she wanted to be buried with. "We'll gather around you and say how much we all loved you." Jamie wondered who the "we" was. The only person who had ever told her that she loved her was her mother. Then again, Jamie wasn't completely sure what love was. She loved eating peas from the vegetable garden when no one was around and watching the dew roll off leaves early in the morning, but somehow it didn't seem like the same thing as a two people loving each other.

Her mother finished, "Lastly, we'll cover you in soil and plant a tree right above you." Jamie nodded and walked away, returning to her chores. It sounded lovely. She wasn't sure about nice fabric or being buried with something she liked. What good would that do once she was dead? Jamie liked the idea of a tree being planted above her. It was like sprouting life from death. She would be like a seed in the ground. A little entity that helped her tree to grow. When it got older, after decades of standing patiently in one spot, watching critters pass by and the seasons change, people would climb it, or use it to shade them from the hot sun. Maybe lovers would sit by the trunk, sharing stories and holding hands under the study leaves. Jamie wasn't quite sure why people did this, but she had seen older folk under the canopy of a willow a few times by the pond when she was sent to the market. It must've been enjoyable, otherwise, why would they bother?

Jamie cleared her head of the memory, still engraved in her mind from two years ago, as a familiar mail boy ground into the dirt with his shoes, skidding several feet from his destination. She giggled, "Good morning, Gregory. Still haven't fixed your brakes, I see."

"Morning Jamie," he said, backing up on his bike. "Here you are." Gregory handed her a rubber-banded wad of letters.

"Thanks," she smiled, looking down at the mail. After a moment, she noticed that there was no familiar hustle of sound to leave. She looked up at him. He was staring at her with hungry eyes, but quickly started down the road on his bike once she noticed his interest. Gregory was over two years older than her. Why was he staring at her like that? Then, it hit her. The veela enchantment must be kicking in! Jamie didn't know much about the veela enchantment, just that every baby girl born on Alden Manor received it and it could never be taken away. Ben had explained that it was a habitual and heinous way to make her look pretty, so the corrupt "dogs" of the Alden family could obtain money by bastardizing decent citizens like the destructive, vile, and nefarious beings they were. Jamie thought that it was an awfully rude way of putting it, but she got the point. For some reason, the Alden family wanted her to look pretty as she got older.

Walking in toward the house, Jamie untied the bundle of letters and shifted through the bills until she found one that made her pause along the walk. Never had this ever happened. How could it? No one outside the manor, aside from Gregory, some village children, and a few of the shop owners, knew of her existence. Still, there it was. It read:

Miss J. Chadwick

The top bunk of Shack Number Two

67 Cadburrow Lane

Bradmore

She stared at the letter for a moment, not understanding entirely. Not even everyone on Alden Manor knew she slept on the top bunk in her shack. Had Nathan sent her this as a joke? Being the youngest and least matured of her three older brothers, he often played pranks on Jamie. He was the same age as Gregory and quickly maturing physically while keeping his boyish mind set which worried Jamie.

She began walking into the mansion, reminding herself to scold Nathan later for stealing paper to make such a foolish document. It was silly, she had to admit. She might have even laughed were it not for the trouble her brother would get in should anyone have found out he stole parchment from the Aldens. Quickly, she stuffed the letter in her burlap rags and entered the kitchen.

She held her breath, watching Madam Alden sip her coffee. The older woman looked to her, Jamie set the letters on the table, and curtsied as she was taught by Madam Cox. "Good morning, Madam Alden. May I make you any eggs?"

The brunette scoffed, "And have you burn them again? Feed that trash to people who don't mind eating it. I have had my breakfast. Run along." Jamie nodded and hurried out, into the garden. She did not like Madam Alden, but luckily, she only had to sped mornings with her. It was a rare occasion that the madam would let her get an early start on her chores.

Sometimes, she would spend the morning searching for small holes in the ground she had discovered long ago. It seemed as if an entire race of beings had once lived deep beneath the flowers and vegetables, carving out intricate tunnels and caverns that lay deep beneath the ground, but, for some reason, they had been abandoned. Today, Jamie crossed the yard to shack number two and burst inside, requesting Nathan.

"He's in the back, why?" her oldest brother, Tony asked.

"He stole paper!"

"Now, Jamie, I know he likes to play, but I don't think he would take it that far. He could get into serious trouble for that."

"Like they don't have plenty of parchment," Ben sneered from outside. "Why have they got to punish us for taking a little?" The two rolled their eyes.

"What did he do?" Tony asked.

"He sent me a letter," she responded, handing it to him.

"That certainly is a bizarre prank," he mused, "but I don't see anyone else doing it, sadly. I'll talk to Nathan."

"Talk to me about what?" Nathan entered, his blonde hair, greasy and out of place.

"Nathan, you stole paper!" Jamie accused.

"I did not!" She tore the letter from Tony's hands and held it clear for him to see. "I didn't write that, although, it's kind of a good idea. I'm a little upset someone beat me to the punch." Jamie looked at the letter, perplexed. She had experience with getting the truth from Nathan. It wasn't hard. Usually, he'd burst into a frenzy of laughing and get reprimanded in the first few seconds. He genuinely didn't appear to have any idea as to what the letter was. She made a decision. Jamie took the glued flap of the letter and tore it open.

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," she read aloud. The room was silent and Ben poked his head into the small shack. The four looked at each other seriously. They had all heard of Hogwarts, but they were the only people on the manor who knew of it as far as they were concerned. Their mother used to tell them stories about a magical place where young witches and wizards learned spells and made potions and read from newspapers where the pictures waved back at you. They were bedtime stories that they had all remembered well from when their mother was around.

Ben hurried into the room and closed the door behind him. "None of you sent that?" he asked. They each took a turn shaking their heads.

Nathan swallowed. "You don't think it was…it was mom, do you?" No one spoke. They didn't know what to think.

Jamie continued to read. "Headmaster: Richard Darby, Order of Merlin, Second Class, International Confederation of Wizards." She paused, gazing at the letter as if it had turned into a fish. It all sounded like a load of nonsense, but she kept reading. "Dear Miss Chadwick, We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. We await your owl by no later than July 31. Yours sincerely, Chase Douglas, Deputy Headmaster." As she read the letter, excitement built inside her. She wasn't sure what this was. Maybe a letter from her crazed mother? It had to be. She knew that the letter confirmed her mother's state of mind, but just hearing from her was a blessing. It didn't matter how insane she was. This meant she was still out there!

"I could very well be our mother," Tony agreed, "but we shouldn't jump to conclusions."

"Then, what?" Ben laughed. "You think a school of magic sent Jamie a letter so she could pack her bags and head off to learn spells? Anthony, we're the only ones who know about Hogwarts."

"I didn't tell anyone," Nathan added.

"Let's think logically, if our mother did send us this, what could it possibly mean? We need some time to deliberate."

"There a list of supplies," Jamie said absently. Whoever had written this letter had certainly taken their time and known all about Hogwarts. It sounded so nice to go to an actual school. Jamie had been home-schooled her entire life. She barely left the manor. The only time she ever got to play with children her age was when she went to the market. She would get punished if anyone found out she had been lollygagging instead of going straight home from her food shopping. Imagining being in a school full of children every day made her heart swell. She wanted to learn with people at her side instead of being in a bare room with Madam Cox.

"Say," Nathan started, trying to sound hypothetical, "if there were a Hogwarts, wouldn't a representative give her the letter? I mean, seeing as she's not part of a magical family and all. That's what mom said happens once. A person comes and explains it to your parents."

The three stared at him for a moment. Tony shrugged, "That's only if you're muggle born. If you're from a family where one parent is magical, the school might assume you already know the drill."

Nathan nodded. "So, say Dad was a wizard…"

"Are you seriously considering this is real?" Ben asked, aghast.

Jamie was surprised to hear herself ignoring Ben and answering Nathan. She was just as excited as he was. "If Dad were a wizard, that would make us wizards!"

"Unless one of us was a squib," he pointed out.

"Guys! You can't be serious!" Ben said, astounded.

"Squibs are rare," Tony reminded them. "Unless all three of us are squibs, we should have gotten letters years ago."

Nathan deflated like a bike tire. "Oh," he remembered.

Jamie looked desperately amongst her brothers. She did not want to lose this flow of conversation so quickly. She wanted to go to school! "But, I wasn't monitoring the mail, then, I was too little," she jumped in. "Remember, Madam Alden used to get it herself each morning until she wanted to give me a job to do this year. She could have just thrown the others away, unaware of what they were."

"That wretch!" Ben shouted, suddenly considering that Hogwarts might be a real place if it gave him another reason to hate the Aldens. "How dare she toss our mail!"

"Perhaps we should ask her if she's ever seen mail for us before," Jamie suggested.

"No!" Ben spat frantically, slightly scaring Jamie. "If we ask her about those letters, she'll get suspicious and figure out you've got one!"

"You think she knows about Hogwarts and is throwing out our mail just to get us to stay here?"

"Yes! Jamie, our complete purpose here is, so we can be primped and prepared for when, one day, we become the Aldens' cronies. Imagine us going away to a school of magic and becoming powerful enough to go our own way in life. All that hard work, down the drain!" Ben started pacing, looking a little too much like a painter who had drunk too much absinth. "Think about it. We were all told that Jamie got that veela enchantment put on her when she was a baby and Mom always used to talk about a class in Hogwarts called Charms where you learned stuff like that, remember? We've all been brainwashed into thinking that this is some normal thing that all girl babies get, like a shot, but what if it's not? I was talking to a guy in a village about it once and he looked at me like I was crazy! I didn't understand it at the time, but now I get that not everyone knows about the veela enchantment, just those at the manor."

Hearing Ben talk, Jamie thought that even if he hadn't mentioned the veela charm to her on the street, she would think he was crazy, but she didn't say so. His ideas sounded like they were right on the money.

Tony listened intently to Ben. "You know, for the first time ever, Ben, I think one of your conspiracy tales might be true."

"If it is true, we've been robbed," Nathan whined. "A school of magic sounds so far out!"

"I'm going," Jamie alleged. The group of three looked at her.

"Sis," Nathan said, "you know, it all sounds cool, but we don't actually know if it's true. Besides, Mom said that kids need to travel to London. Even if you did manage to get there, where are you going to find all the wizarding money necessary to buy all of your supplies?"

Jamie was hardly listening. She was trying to remember how to get to Diagon Alley from the Leaky Cauldron. Her mother had told her a time or two, but it hadn't completely sunk in. "Where there's a will, there's a way," she said, determined. Her brothers exchanged a worried glance.