There was a flash of purple and I found myself falling, crumbling to the floor like a ragdoll. All the air and light had been sucked from my body and I was suspended in the grey- between being asleep and being awake. The sounds of the battle, raging around me, slowly became more distant and muffled as I lost touch; everything was slowly slipping through my fingertips like water. I hit the floor with a thud but I didn't feel any of it. I was numb, from head to toe; reality was slowly becoming a distant memory. As my mind slipped into a swirling mass of never-ending grey, I remembered it all- all that had lead me to this point.

###

It all began with the rain. Rain- a seemingly normal occurrence in England where it was said to rain everyday- which it doesn't- but not a normal occurrence when you are indoors. I had been sat at my table in class, swinging my legs absently beneath the desk as I listened to the teacher talk to us about World War Two and how the children were sent to the country side- like our own little village- to be safe. We were all paying a lot of attention- at that age, you have the urge to learn new things and it was during this long talk when things were turned on their heads.

It was only when Isabel screamed at the top her lungs and another boy on my table shouted "SPIDER!" did I even know there was an eight legged creature crawling its way across my exercise book. I took one look at the spider and joined in the chorus of girlish screams as the teacher turned to us all, bewildered. She asked for everyone to calm down, that it was alright and that it was just a spider, and was met by a diminishing amount of screeching girls. That's when it started to rain.

Not outside- outside was sunny- but inside the class room. There were no clouds but a great downpour began at the roof and proceeded to rain upon the entirety of my class who began to scream again- girls, boys and our teacher- as the mysterious bout of rain drenched them. It did not take long for everyone to lead from their seats and run from the classroom, screaming at the top of their lungs in a mix of fear, confusion and excitement for some. I followed, a bit bewildered at how it could be raining inside- it just wasn't scientifically possible.

"There's been a burst pipe!" Exclaimed my teacher, Miss Bows, to another one of the teachers on our floor- who had come out to see why so many children were screaming.

I paused mid crowd of running classmates to look back at the doorway to the classroom I had just hurried from. The desks had a thin layer of water on them, the walls dripped with the stuff but it was no longer falling from the ceiling. I frowned hard- how could a 'burst pipe' stop so suddenly? Surely they'd not fixed it somehow or turned the pipe off or something, it had barely been 4 seconds. I thought nothing of it, shrugging it off as Miss Bows ushered me down the stairs after the rest of the children to the gym where we would have to wait for a bit while the teachers sorted the problem out.

Needless to say, school closed early that day and I found myself in the back of my Dads car and telling him all about the exiting day I had had. I grinned, hair still slightly damp "It started to rain inside Dad!"

"It can't rain inside Katlyn" My Dad chuckled, turning the car into the drive

"But it did! And it stopped really quickly!" I said annoyed "Like those Monkeys weddings in summer"

"It was a burst pipe darling," my Dad said, turning to me with a comforting smile. He knew how big my imagination was "Nothing more"

I frowned, annoyed that he did not believe me. I knew what I saw, it had begun to rain inside the classroom and it had stopped when everyone had left. The teachers weren't even sure how the pipe burst, or where the damage in the ceiling was- I had heard them whispering about it. I had no explanation other than the rain and nor did the teachers- the could not use the excuse of burst pipe. It was only a thought of theirs, a rational thought of how water could've started pouring from the ceiling. As I climbed out the car and made my way to the house, I wondered if that spider was okay.

I couldn't stop thinking about the rain, I was still thinking about it at dinner. I pushed and prodded at the peas and rice on my plate; I was not very hungry for food at all. Meanwhile, my sister Natalie told my mum and Dad about how they had Non-School uniform day coming up. My parents hadn't yet noticed I had left my pork chop half eaten and my peas and rice untouched until Faith- my other sister- glanced at my full plate.

"Mum, Dad" Faith shouted over Natalie's tiny voice "Katlyn hasn't finished yet"

Mum turned to me frowning slightly "Eat up Katlyn"

"I'm not hungry…" I said, prodding at my pork chop

"Eat your dinner-" my Dad said as he stood to clear up his empty plate. He went to continue but there was a knock on the door which cast a shadow of silence and confusion over the dining table. I peered round my Nanny at the front door. My Dad frowned and spoke again "I'll get it"

I watched as he disappeared into the hallway before I looked at my plate, picking my knife up to cut into the pork chop so that my parents would stop pestering me to finish it. However, I was distracted by a lively discussion occurring at the front door. My Dad sounded very confused and almost angry, while the other voice remained calm but sounded slightly strained regardless. Everyone at the table seemed to also forget their dinner and turn their attention to the conversation outside. Standing, my mum went to join my Dad at the door. Me and my sisters saw this as a cue to go see what was going on, we jumped to our feet, excusing ourselves from the table, and rushed to the door.

While we were not quite tall enough to see over my parents to the other person who stood in the door frame, I was just about tall enough to see the top of the woman's head and she was wearing a black witch's hat. I found this odd since it was not normal for someone to wear a witch hat at any other time than Halloween and it was the start of July. I frowned a little- thinking that today's events were all seeming a little odd. First the rain and now a strange woman at our house with a witches hat? Very odd. I thought to myself as my parents conversation came to an end and they stepped aside to let the strange woman in.

She was a fairly old woman, but not as old as my Nanny, dressed in long green robes. She had crow lines on the corner of her eyes and some wrinkles on her forehead but other than that, she had flawless young skin; her eyes glistened a bright green in the light of the hallway behind her round glasses. Her hair was tied back into a bun, not a single brown strand out of place. Despite her bright eyes, they looked scrutinizing down at me and my sisters as if she were trying to figure out our names without even asking us. When her eyes fell on me, she smiled lightly and turned her head to the side gently.

"Are you Katlyn?" she asked softly- her accent Scottish and brash.

I nodded looking up at her bewildered to how she knew my name and what she was here for.

"This is for you…" she said, a hint of excitement on her voice, handing me an aged enveloped with a red sticker like thing keeping it closed.

I looked up at her and my shocked parents, then I turned my attention to the letter I held in my hands. The red sticker felt rubbery, waxy and had an odd crest on it with a large H in the centre of it. Turning it over in my hands, I saw that it had been addressed to me in green ink, the same green as the odd lady's eyes. A bolt of excitement shot through me as I stared at the odd letter in my hands- a tingling sensation beginning in my stomach as I carefully opened the letter. I let the envelope fall to my feet as I held two sheets of old paper in my hands. The first page almost took my breath away as I read it out loud-

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,

Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Ms. Woodford,

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.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

I looked at the letter again and then the woman and my parents- I was in a state of shock and confusion. "Witchcraft? Wizardry?" I asked, looking back at the letter I held in my hands. What did it all mean? I thought to myself as the lady in the witch's hat smiled warmly at me.

"Let's sit down and I will explain everything…"

Five minutes later, my sisters had been put to bed and I found myself sat in the living room next to my Dad waiting for Mum to bring Minerva- or Professor McGonagall as I was to call her- a cup of tea. Minerva had taken off her hat and had taken quite an interest in our cat- Fizz- who'd sauntered into the living room upon the strange woman's arrival. A few second later my mum hurried in with a fresh cup of tea for the lady, who nodded a thanks before taking a quick sip. Placing it down on the coffee table beside her, she turned to me and my parents who now sat either side of me.

"As you may know….Katlyn's school experienced some disturbance today due to a burst water pipe, well I can tell you for starters that it was no burst pipe or the like. In fact, it was rain." The woman said, almost laughing at the schools confusion between rain and a burst pipe

"I told you!" I shouted excitedly, quickly quieting down when I realized that I had interrupted Minerva but she didn't seem to mind.

"Rain?" my Dad frowned "It can't be"

"Not possible" my mother added

"Well…it was." Minerva said "and Katlyn was the cause of it- I know, that sounds bizarre but you must know, this is not some freak incident that will only happen once. You see, your daughter is a witch…"

My parents stared at her in shock- quite not sure whether to start an argument with the woman or not. My Dad turned pale as a sheet, trying to gasp what she was saying, whereas my mum bit at her fingernails and looked nervously at the floor as if she would find the answer there. I frowned slightly at Minerva who took the opportunity of my parents shock to take a sip of tea. I was about to ask her a question when my Nanny wandered into the room and gasped in surprise.

"Hello there Minerva!"

My mum, Dad and I all turned to my Nanny at once, ignoring the fact that I had just been told I was a witch with magical powers.

"Ah!" Minerva smiled wildly, placing her cup of tea down, rising to give my Nanny a hug "Gail, it is good to see you!"

"You know each other?" My mother asked, confused and shocked at the same time

My nanny turned to my mum and laughed "Well, yes, we went to school together- I haven't seen her in years because I married your muggle of a father"

"You went to Hogwarts?" I asked excitedly, wanting to know about the school I had been invited to attend but my Mum overpowered my voice with an angry rant- about how could my Nanny keep this secret from her- as she stormed from the room in tears, overwhelmed by all this news. With my Nanny gone, Minerva sat down and explained that we couldn't tell anyone about me being a witch or I'd be expelled and I would have to remain a muggle (which we learnt was the word for a non-magical person) for the rest of my life. My father and I agreed to this vow of silence- my Dad told Minerva he would tell mum about it and that they would have my Nanny take me to get my school things.

Once she had finished her conversation about the basics of the wizarding world, she took one last sip of her tea and stroked fizz again before standing and placing her hat on her head once more "I must be off now, it is late"

My Dad nodded "Ill showing you to the door… Katlyn, go upstairs and get ready for bed"

I nodded and hurried to my room but rather than getting ready for bed- I was far too excited to sleep yet- I climbed onto the windowsill of my bedroom and peered out the window to watch Minerva McGonagall leaving. Perhaps she would fly off, or vanish into thin air but she seemed to do neither. Instead, I saw no one leave the drive. I heard the door close but saw no one walk down the driveway to the street. Instead, I only saw a mysterious tabby cat, walk gracefully along the fence around our house. I could have sworn the cat was wearing glasses but it must have been a trick of the light.