Chapter One

"C'mon Selena, wake up! You have to Floo over in one hour!" yelled my alarm clock. He was so annoying in the morning.

"I groaned and rolled over to face him. "I'm going, I'm going," I said as I grabbed my 11 and ½ inch oak wand and tapped him "off" button. I stretched and slowly got out of bed and walked to the bathroom to brush my teeth. I quickly got dressed, having showered the night before, brushed my hair, and pulled out my huge mahogany trunk from underneath my bed. I opened it and tossed the spellbooks I had been reading last night before I fell asleep. I was so thrilled to finally be leaving this boring (to me anyway) city of Virginia Beach, Virginia to go to the historic (or so Hogwarts, A History told me) wizarding school in Britain. I wouldn't be going alone of course, my best guy-friend (NOT boyfriend!) Jeff would be coming with me! I was kind of sad because his twin (but not identical) brother Sam (NOT my boyfriend either!) wouldn't be coming too because he wasn't a wizard. He wasn't jealous or anything, though. On the contrary, he found the idea a little bizarre, but he didn't hold it against me, he was happy for me because I was happy. Isn't that awesome? ANYWAY, I finished putting in some last minute things into the large, heavy trunk and started to drag it downstairs, reminiscing about the day when I found out I was a witch…

"Hello Ms. Gonzalez. How is your day going?" the friendly mailman asked as he handed me today's mail.

"Good. Just hanging around the house, reading," I replied politely as I flicked through the letters and magazines, looking for anything with my name on it. He didn't say anything, but continued to stand just outside the doorway, and though I wasn't actually looking, I could sense that he was watching me. I ignored him and continued to flick through the mail until I came upon the last one, an envelope made of heavy, yellowing parchment with curly green letters on the outside. In the upper left-hand corner were the words:

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

On the bottom right-hand corner were the words:

Selena Rosa Gonzalez

United States of America

Virginia Beach, Virginia

3189 Ashcraft Road

The Doorway

What the heck? I remember thinking. Who could possibly know I was in the doorway? It was then that I realized that the mailman was still staring at me intently. I gave him a confused and suspicious look, but he simply gestured for me to open it. I flipped it over and noticed an old-fashioned wax seal, possibly the "school's" emblem, sealing the letter shut. I used my fingernail to break the seal and began reading. As my dark brown eyes progressed down the page, they grew wider, and my mouth fell open in shock. It couldn't be true, could it? No, it must be some kind of prank, probably sent by Jeff or Sam. That sounds like the kind of thing they would do, I thought. What else would explain the fact that, according to this letter, I was a witch?

It was then that the mailman decided to speak, "I know this is a lot to take in, and I know that you probably won't believe me, but everything in that letter is true. I'm the representative stationed in your local post office that goes to the houses of other Muggle-Borns and explains the letter. May I come in?"

I almost shut the door in his face. Almost. But there was something intriguing about the letter, something mysterious and exciting. I let him in without a word and closed the door behind him.

"Quien es, who is it, Sel? Who was at the door?" said my mother from the kitchen.

"Es el cartero, the mailman," I responded in Spanish.

"Oh? And did my new magazine arrive?" she asked, not looking up as I escorted him through the clean house.

"Ask him yourself," I responded nonchalantly. She suddenly stiffened and turned in surprise as she realized what I meant.

"Selena Rosa Gonzalez, explain yourself!" she said, her face turning red with anger.

I held up the letter and she grabbed it from me and began to read. Her eyes grew wide like my had but she didn't look confused or as shocked as I had been. Her shoulder began to slump and her face grew sad.

She regained her former expression and addressed the mailman. "Are you the man?" she said curtly.

"Yes. I assume you have had previous experience with this?" he replied politely

"Yes, it has happened before in my family," she said, just as polite.

"Woah, woah, woah. Let me get this straight, you knew about this and never told me? Why?" I said to my mother. How could she keep this big a secret from me?

"It was for your protection, m'ija. I didn't want you to get your hopes up that you may be a witch, and then have you disappointed if you were not one," she said sadly. "But apparently there was no need for such worry. Venga, come, and sit at the table. Paco here and I will explain," she said as she turned off the stove and headed toward the table. I cautiously sat down in between her and "Paco" the mailman. "It happened first with your great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother, Claudia. She never knew she was a witch and when her abilities grew and became known, she was accused of being a witch, and was burned at the stake by her own family. It was not their fault of course. People in Mexico at that time were very religious, and any hints of supernatural things, such as witches, were taken as the truth, and if it was a witch or wizard, they were burned. Of course, most witches and wizards at her age would have been able to protect themselves, even at that time, but she had never gone to school and was herself afraid of her abilities, but the magic was passed on through to her children, yes she did indeed have several children before she was burned!, and it has continued in our family ever since."

I was silent for a few moments, until my brain became functional again and started spewing questions from my mouth at a thousand words a minute, "But how come you are not a witch? Does Dad know? What about Miguel, is he a wizard? Do you know any other witches or wizards? What about this letter? Do I really have to go all the way to England to study magic? How will I get these materials? Who will I even live with while I'm in England?"

My mother held up a hand for silence before saying, "I do not know why I was not born with magic, yes, I do not know because he is not old enough yet, yes, you do not have to go if you do not want to, I will have a wizard friend help you get them, and if you decide to go, you will probably live with a foster family. Any other questions can be answered by Paco here because I need to finish lunch." And with that, she got up and went back to the stove to finish the soup she was making.

I don't know how long I was sitting there talking with Paco, but I sure did learn a lot. I also decided that I would attend this, Hogwarts, and that I would stay with a foster family. Paco even offered to help me get my spellbooks and things. It was truly a life-changing day. And now I was off to Hogwarts with my books and cauldron and things all packed. I had asked if I could contact Jeff and Sam to tell them and after Paco made a call, he told me I could, on the condition that I not tell anyone else, except family. I had run up to my room and called Jeff using my new cell phone and told him everything, only to be surprised when he told me that he had been accepted also, followed with the news that Sam was not a wizard. I talked to him about it and he was totally fine, and told me to write to him a lot once I left. I agreed and all the plans were made. Jeff would be coming over and we would both use the Floo Network to get to the foster family that we would be sharing during our stay in England.

I finally managed to get the trunk down the stairs and into the living room, where I would wait for Jeff. Five minutes before we were supposed to Floo over, he arrived with his trunk being carried behind him. He was not alone however, Sam was standing just behind him, carrying Jeff's new owl. It was tawny and flecked with black spots. I was very jealous when he told me his parents let him get an owl, but he had agreed to share it with me to send letters back home. I helped Jeff put his trunk next to mine and gave him a hug, and then gave Sam one once he placed Jeff's owl on top of my trunk. Sam's hug was longer and a lot more meaningful, since I wouldn't be seeing him again until June.

My mother walked in a moment later, her arms outstretched for her own hug. She was a little teary, but otherwise fine. Miguel wasn't there because he had opted to spend the night at a friend's house rather than get up early to see me off. He had said goodbye the night before and my dad was at work, also having said a very teary goodbye yesterday. I looked at Jeff and he nodded his head. The grandfather clock in the kitchen rang seven times, signaling that it was time to go.

I stepped into the fireplace with my trunk and my mom handed me a handful of the dusty substance that I would use to transport to England. I threw it at my feet and yelled, "Harry Potter's house, England!"