PROLOGUE
It was weird. Too weird. Things like this didn't just happen. It had to be someone playing a very elaborate, well-thought-out prank on her. At any moment, someone was going to jump out from somewhere and yell, "Gotcha!"
It was all just too much for little eleven-year-old Jane Hensworth to comprehend. Witches and wizards didn't exist. Magic didn't exist. However, around a month ago, two very strangely dressed people came knocking on her door and told her that she, of all people, was a witch.
She and her parents were shocked to say the least, but her mum told her that she always knew that she was special, and that made Jane smile. Mostly because her mum was doing good. She had been worried that her going away for the school year might make her mum bad again, but she seemed really happy. And for those moments when she was with her, Jane thought that maybe her mum wouldn't have any more bad spells and that she'd stay happy this time.
Jane looked at all the stuff that she'd managed to cram into her suitcase and vaguely wondered how she was going to get it closed. From the floor below, there was a faint knock followed by the sound of footsteps and a door being opened.
"Janie!" called Jane's mother. "Sarah's here!"
Jane frantically shut the suitcase (which held all her spell books and other freaky school stuff) as best she could and shoved it under her bed. As much as she wanted to tell Sarah about Hogwarts, Jane knew she couldn't. The people who had come before were very adamant about keeping it all a secret, which sucked because Sarah was her best friend, her only friend, and Jane didn't like keeping secrets from her.
Sarah had moved to the neighbourhood four summers ago only a couple of houses down from Jane's. They became inseparable after that. Especially last summer when Sarah's dad left, and it seemed like she was always at Jane's. Jane was kind of worried that summer because her mum was doing bad again, but Sarah didn't judge.
They talked to each other about their problems and how sometimes they wished they could fly away. In short, they were really close, and different schools or not, Jane intended to keep it that way.
"Jane!" Sarah squealed as she burst into Jane's room.
They hugged, and Jane laughed.
"You sound like you haven't seen me in forever. We saw each other yesterday, remember?" Jane said.
"Yeah, but you're going to be going to this new boarding school, and I won't see you until, like, Christmas!" Sarah half-whined.
"True," Jane replied.
Sarah dropped her bag and flopped down on Jane's bed and stared at the ceiling.
"How am I supposed to survive school without you? You're my best friend! Seeing you on holiday isn't enough!"
"I know," Jane said. "I'm going to miss you a lot."
Sarah rolled over and propped herself up on her elbows to look at Jane.
"Don't go," she said.
Jane smiled sadly.
"I can't just back out now. It's kind of a done deal. Plus, my parents are making me."
This was a lie, but she felt it was better than explaining why she really had to go.
"Who am I supposed to talk to?" Sarah asked.
"We can write letters," Jane suggested.
"Well, where am I supposed to send it? You haven't told me where this place is," Sarah said.
Jane thought for a second.
"You can give the letters to my parents, and they'll send them with what they send me. And you can pick my letters to you up from them," Jane proposed.
"Oh, alright," Sarah said. "But you have to promise to write at least once a week, no matter how busy you are!"
"I promise," Jane said. "Now, why don't we enjoy the rest of the summer we have together?"