I stomped into the house, slamming the door behind me. Today had not been a good day. I had gotten a perfect zero on my math test, there had been mystery meat for school lunch and the vending machines had broken down, and I had been sent to the principal's office three times. Once for breaking the vending machine, once for kicking in my locker, and once for beating up some jerk that tried to hit on me.
"Rachel," I heard my aunt Tammy call from the living room, "I thought school didn't get out till three."
I looked at the clock. It was two-thirty. "They had a freak accident at the science lab," I lied. I had actually been sent home early after my third stint in the office.
Tammy Phoebus wheeled into the kitchen. She doesn't look anything like me, even though she's my aunt. Tammy has red hair, freckles, and blue eyes. She has a snub nose and glasses, and she's in a wheelchair.
I, on the other hand, am pretty damn hot, if I say so myself. I have long, silky black hair, big purple eyes, perfect, pale skin, a straight nose, full lips, and I'm all curves.
Tammy gave me a long, slow look. "You got into trouble again," didn't you?" she said.
I sighed. "No, Tammy. I didn't. Look, I'm going out, okay?" I grabbed my leather jacket off of the chair and started to open the door. Then I froze.
"Will you let me go already?" I yelled.
"Tell me what happened," Tammy said. "I want the truth." I managed to twist my head around a little. Tammy was pointing her wand at me.
"Right. Some jerk tried to feel me up in bio, and I beat him up."
Tammy lowered her wand. "Fine. Go. And tell Andrew to get home as soon as possible."
That's the other weird thing about Tammy. She's a witch. And I don't mean the kind of witch that you mean when you say, "She's such a witch." Or the kind of witch that goes around talking about nature and does the maiden-mother-crone thing, either. Tammy's a real, magic witch, the kind that can slip a potion into your drink to make you break out in zits, or make you incredibly beautiful with a wave of her hand, or turn you into a frog.
Tammy can't stand Andrew because he's a Muggle. It's really not fair, since she teaches me magic and she doesn't let Andrew learn.
Oh yeah, Andrew's my younger brother. He doesn't look like me. He has dyed blonde hair, pink skin, blue eyes, a snub nose, and a very wiry build. He tends to be a bit fruity.
My mom and dad weren't killed in a mysterious car crash, or by some evil dude, or anything. My Muggle dad ran out on us a while ago with his secretary, whom Mom says was a Dark Arts witch. Mom was a witch too, but she gave it up after she got married because it was a big strain on her. She's living with her new girlfriend, who's a maiden-mother-crone type of witch.
So poor Aunt Tammy, a born-and-bred witch, got stuck with us. She's in a wheelchair because of this guy she calls Voldemort. She says he's the ultimate Dark Wizard. She broke her spine while battling him in her library. He only didn't kill her because they were once romantically attached, but she dumped him when he starting going evil. She's paranoid of him now. She hardly ever does any magic now, for fear it'll attract him.
I headed out the door to the Broken Drum (motto: You Can't Beat It), which is a cool place to go for Muggle kids who think they're warlocks. You know the type—Gothic kids, nerds and stuff. It's dark, dingy, and has video games in the corner that don't work, but they sell alcohol to anyone with money, which is why it's a popular hangout. The owner, Madame Thibodeaux, has her zombie Obsidian working as bartender.
Andrew was probably there, chatting up some headbanger chick. I quickened my pace.
"Hey Rachel! What up?" yelled Jenny Greenteeth. Jenny's a fey who lives across the street from me. She's a cool girl; most feys are.
Feys are sort of a mongrel species. They used to be made up of unlikely pairings, like elves and giants, or goblins and dwarves. Nowadays, they're a species all their own. They're like the dregs of society; can't hold down jobs, live in trailer parks on the outside of town, stuff like that. But they're fun. Every town has a few of them. Jenny's family won a football pool a few years ago, so her two older sisters, two younger sisters, three older brothers, one younger brother, one baby brother, dad, mom, and aunt moved into this enormous mansion right across the street. Jenny's probably the smartest person in her family.
I swung in with Jenny. "What's the word, doll?"
Jenny grinned. She's not that bad-looking for a fey, actually. She has lanky, oily brown hair, ears that are too big, acne, and sort of hollow eyes. She also has green teeth and a green tongue, which is her family's trademark. It's actually a very attractive combination, in fey terms. And three guys at school have raging crushes on her.
"Hogwarts be recruiting," Jenny said. "They picking up homeschoolers now."
"I know," I said. "You going?"
Jenny snorted. "You crazy, chick? Feys don't get into Hogwarts."
"Why not?" I asked. "You have magic in your blood. I've seen you turn people into frogs three separate times."
"They teach about us feys like we a different species," Jenny complained. "They got a section in the Defense Against the Dark Arts class just for us. They think we some kind of stupid animals or something, you know?"
"Geez, that sucks," I said.
Jenny nodded. "They snobby idiots. Even that one, Dumb Ass or something, the one that lets Muggles into the school, even he don't let us in. Now, that fair?"
"Not at all," I agreed. "Hey, you got any money?"
Jenny shook her head. "Nah. Madame Thibodeaux got a tab, now. She say we all pay at the end of the year."
I shrugged. "Great. I guess Tammy'll just have to pay it, cause I got no money either."
I pushed open the door to the Broken Drum. "Hey Andrew, you in here?"
Andrew threw a paper napkin at me. "Rachel. Jenny."
I nodded. "Ah, Gwen."
Gwen Lobo is this bitchy little werewolf chick that hangs around Andrew. She lives near one of the fey settlements. Gwen's family is really poor, but she always wears designer clothes and stuff. She shoplifts like crazy, and she somehow never gets caught.
Gwen is considered to be the hottest girl in school. She's practically anorexic, has absolutely chiseled cheekbones, pretty blue eyes, wispy strawberry blonde hair, and a huge *ahem*.
Andrew was leaning on the table, practically drooping into his mug of ale. Gwen was giggling at him.
I coughed loudly and slid in between the two junior lovebirds. "So, Andrew. You heard that Hogwarts is taking homeschoolers now?"
Andrew sighed. "No, I didn't. Do tell."
"All right." I moved my chair a little closer to him, ignoring the sarcasm. "See, you know how Tammy teaches me magic at home and not you? Well, apparently that's—"
"Ohmigod, I heard about that!" Gwen interrupted. "See, I was at the Blue Moon Shop, that's the one with all the security talismans, you know? And I was getting these really cool earrings, the mother-of-pearl ones shaped like crescent moons. See?" She swiveled her head to display her latest catch.
I grudgingly admired them. "Nice."
"So how much didn't you pay for them?" asked Jenny.
Gwen shot her a nasty look. "They cost me twenty-nine dollars each, I will have you know. Anyway, so I was getting these, and the security guard comes over to me. He's like, really hot and everything."
Andrew looked downcast. "You like him?"
Gwen gave a little laugh. It sounded like little silver bells. "Don't be silly! He's way too old for me. Anyway, so he comes over to me. He's like really hot, and I can tell he's a werewolf. He has sandy blonde hair, and these amazing green eyes, and he has really fine hair on his hands, and ohmigod he's so hot."
Jenny tapped her fingers impatiently on the side of the table. "Already been said, Gwen. Get on with it already."
"All right," Gwen said. "So he says, 'Hey, my name's Scott.' And I say, 'Hey, what a coincidence.' And he says, 'Your name's Scott, too?' And I say, 'No, cause it's not. My name's Gwen.'" She laughed at her own wit.
Jenny looked sour. "Ha."
"So we start talking, and he mentions that Hogwarts is taking new students now," Gwen continued. "Isn't it, like, so cool?"
I gave her a look. "Please. That's old news."
Gwen threw back her head and laughed. "Well, excuse me for not being informed about everything!"
Jenny grabbed a fried rat from a plate Obsidian was passing around and bit the head off. "Been known for ages now. You tell me you never heard?"
Gwen wrinkled her nose. "God, do you know how many calories are in those things?"
Jenny grinned at her. Pieces of flesh dangled from her teeth. "Gotta keep my strength up, babe." She picked a whisker from between her teeth and proffered the other end of the rat to Gwen. "Want some?"
Gwen drew back in revulsion. "You're gross."
I took a fried rat. They're not that bad, actually, if they're properly prepared. Tastes sort of like frog legs.
Gwen tossed her long hair. "God, you two are both disgusting." She smiled sweetly at Andrew. "Would you accompany me home, Andrew?"
I shot up from my chair. "Oh, Andrew, Tammy said that she wanted you home as soon as possible."
"But my house isn't that far away," Gwen pouted. "And it's dark out."
I looked out the grimy window. The sun was barely setting. "It's perfectly light out," I said.
"Hey, I walk you home, if you that scared," Jenny offered.
Gwen sighed. "Never mind. I'll go by myself." She pulled her Armani jacket off of the chair and swirled it around her shoulders, giving a wink to Andrew. "See you in school, Andy."
Jenny was staying to meet a guy, so we went home right away. Andrew was really pissed of. He didn't say anything until we were in the driveway.
"God, why'd you have to piss Gwen off like that?" he asked. "She was really coming on to me."
"That's why I pissed her off," I shot back. "She's a slut, Andrew. You know it. Come on, you can do better."
"You're such a jealous bitch," Andrew muttered.
I stopped. "What did you call me?" I shrieked.
Andrew quailed. "Uh…sorry."
Tammy was waiting at the front door. "Come on in, you two." Her face was white.
"This isn't good," muttered Andrew.
We made our way to the kitchen table and sat down. Tammy wheeled her way to the head of the table.
"I just got this," Tammy said, waving a sheet of paper. "An owl flew in and gave this to me."
Andrew leaned across the table. "Cool. Let me see."
Tammy snatched it out of his hand. "No! This is very bad news. Rachel, you read it." She gave it to me. Her hands were shaking.
I scanned the letter. "It's a scholarship to Hogwarts. What's so bad about that? You're always telling me stories about when you were at Hogwarts."
Tammy shook her head. "You can't go, Rachel. I'm not letting you go."
I sat straight up. "What?"
Tammy looked me in the eye. "It's too dangerous. You can't go to Hogwarts."
I gawked at Tammy. "Look, why can't I go to Hogwarts? What's wrong with it?"
"Harry Potter is there," Tammy said.
Andrew snorted. "That's the big deal? He isn't evil or anything. And he's not about to kill Rachel."
Tammy sighed. "You don't get it, do you? Harry Potter is the biggest enemy of…him. And he just came back. If Harry Potter is somewhere, then he will try to kill him. And if you're near Harry Potter, you'll get killed as well. And then he'll come after me." There were tears in her eyes. "It's for your own safety, Rachel."
I tossed the paper aside. "Screw that! I can handle him…whoever he is."
"Who is this he you keep referring to, anyway?" asked Andrew.
Tammy pounded her fist on the table. "For God's sake! It's Voldemort, you idiots! I thought I told you about him! I thought I told you about how evil he was. Don't you know anything?"
Andrew sighed. "Oh. Him. The evil guy."
Tammy hung her head in defeat. "Yes. The evil guy. The Dark Lord."
"I'm going anyways," I announced. "This dude can't hurt me. I bet I can take him on."
Tammy shot up. There was fire in her eyes. "You aren't going! You can't go! I won't let you!"
I leaned in close to her. "You know what? You can't make me stay here. In case you haven't noticed, I've gotten much older now. I stay out later. I have my own money. I wear short skirts. I don't care whether or not you think I should go to Hogwarts. I'm getting out of this place."
Tammy was white and trembling. "Then go," she hissed. "Get out of here. Go to Hogwarts. Get killed, I don't care."
Andrew stared at me. "You know, Rachel, you don't have to go…"
I stood. "Yes," I said, "I do."