11 years and 11 months ago…
The hospital walls were a bright white that bounced off the smell of sickening sweet medications and the sounds of groans and hushed doctor's voices. Even though the dawn had only just crept through the windows inside the white plated walls and floors outside the new born nursery, it felt as happy as a morgue on the entire fourth floor. 32 year old William had just left the nursery, where he and a nurse had taken his new born daughter, his first daughter, to walk to the elevator and return to his wife 2 floors below him. The nurse had walked out with him and turned off the lights saying that the baby needed rest before being returned to him and her mother. As he walked down the hall and entered the elevator beside a young man in shrubs he heard a blood curdling scream that whaled through the nursery and bounced off walls almost shattering windows. William turned to the young man dressed in the light blue shrubs; he looked at him with a smile and said: "That's my baby."
Inside the nursery laid only a single baby, a little girl born on April 6th who everyone considered the Easter baby since she was one day away from being born on Easter Sunday. The little girl had a full head of brown hair, she was small and wrinkled like most babies, but unlike most she seemed to scream louder and harder than anyone could have imagined. Just as the room seemed dark and empty of all figures, except that of loud cries of the new born, the room had light up in an instant by a bright red light at the end of what looked like a simple stick and the little girl had stopped crying. For in the silence of the room where before there was the absence of anyone who could talk, 2 very old and very strangely dressed people appeared out of nowhere. Both of these people wore very long robes that covered them completely but both were different colors. One of the robes was a dark yet glittering emerald green whose wearer was a straight backed woman with black hair in a tight bun and wore square glasses that focused in on her unforgiving eyes. The other was a shimmering purple robe that was over lapped by its wearer's long, silver beard. The man was much older than the woman and his face seemed much kinder as he had bright blue eyes that were encased by half-moon shaped spectacles. The light shimmering from the end of a slightly twisting stick was held by the man and over the young girls head that seemed to mesmerize her; all of the sudden the girl smiled showing a pair of brilliant blue eyes as she reached for the wand with a slight 'coo' escaping her.
"She's quite loud," said the older woman looking at the baby's small hands reaching for her associate's stick. Her voice had a sense ancient knowledge and higher understanding to its alto monotone. "Most babies would have gone hoarse after a minute of screaming like her, Dumbledore. I believe if we hadn't shown up and distracted her she would have shattered the windows."
"Yes," Dumbledore said as he moved his wand up and down away from the child's grasp. "She would have broken all of the windows on this floor alone without a second thought, Professor McGonagall. And that is exactly the reason why the 2 of us and Hagrid have come here."
"To stop a child from breaking windows?" Professor McGonagall eyed Dumbledore as the baby grabbed his wand with her small hand and looked at the light in 'aw'. The girl began laughing heartily and loudly and Dumbledore smiled showing perfectly white teeth. "Where is Hagrid, if I may ask?"
"Ask if you like, he should be here in a few minutes. I gave him the directions strict and straight forward: Roanoke, Virginia, United States of America at the Roanoke Memorial hospital on the 7th floor in room 419."
"As we both know Hagrid has a bit of a problem at being subtle and none noticeable around muggles ; so of course I'm worried."
At that precise moment a giant of a man had appeared in the hallway through a door at the far end and had quickly walked to the room as fast as he could. Opening the door the man tried to squeeze himself in, but the entire process looked a lot like trying to squeeze an elephant into a clown car. Once the man had squeezed through, which took much wiggling and pushing, he had staggered towards the 2 people. The man had unruly black hair with a beard to match and wore a brown coat, pants, and a pair of giant black boots as well as carrying a pink umbrella that was tiny in comparison to the rest of him.
"Can you believe it," the man said as he stopped in front of the 2 people, sweat slightly punching through the skin above his brow. "I lost me way back from Hogwarts ter here. I mean this entire statue of a buildin's just as sad and ugly on the inside as it is on the out; an' each room looked the same so I couldn't tell where I was an' where I wasn't!"
Just as he had finished Hagrid had raised his arm to wipe off the top of his forehead and looked down to see a small baby girl holding the end of Dumbledore's wand. At first the girl's face look desolated of any thought or emotion but just as quickly it had light up into a hysteric smile. Taking her hands off Dumbledore's wand she began clapping them together and laughing as she looked up at the giant man who resembled much like an un-kept teddy bear.
"Oh my goodness," Hagrid said as he carefully put his hands around the young girl and picked her up, holding her over his head as she kept smiling and giggling. "This has ta be the most happy child I ever seen. An' look at her eyes! They got the whole sky shinin' in them an' she ain't even ever seen it yet!"
"Hagrid please put the child down," Professor McGonagall says with an exasperated breath but still the same stern look. "We don't want any muggles coming in to see a stranger holding a new born baby for no apparent reason."
"Not to worry Professor," Dumbledore says, also enjoying the look of pure enjoyment on the child's face. "I have made it so that all the nurses will be busy with paper work or stopped at elevators and such other little charms as well."
"Sorry Professor," Hagrid says slightly glum as he puts the still smiling back in her small plastic bed that resembles half of a fish tank. "Just got all excited. The girl really does resemble Monterrey with them big blue eyes. But Dumbledore that's the question: Why she got blue eyes instead of green ones like her dad?"
"Her eyes will turn green as she gets older," Dumbledore says as he pets her head lightly and she grabs his hand that is bigger than her entire head. "All of the magick that comes from her is just focused in her eye color right now and as she gets older it will spread throughout."
Professor McGonagall bent her head slightly and looked down at the little girl and smiled to herself.
"She seems like a smart girl," she said in a short breath and then she looked up at both Dumbledore and Hagrid with the same stern look. "You are certain that she is in fact related to Monterrey Zummary?"
"Yes," Hagrid said in a quick bolt of energy as he fumbled through his giant coat until he rung out a yellowish piece of paper that was slightly bent and worn. "Says in here that the 2 of 'em are related from a long time back by some ancestors. Sometime a real long time ago somewhere in either Scotland or maybe even in the ancient Mezzo Americans... doesn't say where or when really just that they are."
"Who would have thought that Monterrey Zummary's powers could be connected to a child of muggles from a country away?"
"You forget Minerva," said Dumbledore as the child began playing with his fingers. "All muggles do have some magick ability if they try; just some aren't born with it. If this one grows and tries to study magick before anyone else sees her, then we shall invite her to Hogwarts."
"And if she doesn't?"
"Then her magick ability inside her will reside and not come out. It is as simple as this: If she truly wants something to happen, she'll have to try and make it happen."
"Ya hear that little girly," Hagrid said as he crouched down next to the crib to see her closer. "Ya got ta try and become a witch on yer own so we can come an' see ya again. Just go and pretend ta use a wand on yer own or read old fairy tales an' such so's you can come an' study at Hogwarts."
"She'll have to start a year late," Professor McGonagall said. "Just so we're clear, but I want her in the same year as the people her same age. I'm afraid if we start her late and keep her back she won't excel as well."
"No worries on that end," Dumbledore said as he took his hand away from the young girl and tucked a tuff of hair that stuck up on her head back behind her ear. "Besides, I expect her to make some great friends as well as do great things."
"Hopefully the American Magick Society will agree to send her to Hogwarts before any other school."
"Well o' course they will," Hagrid said joyfully as he took his eyes off the baby. "Monterrey's a genius in his house in Hogwarts, an' only a right bloke would send her anywhere else. I mean there are only a few magick schools out there an' they're all up in Europe. No American school here's got an ounce of decency or talent!"
The little girl had laid back down on and looked at the strangers in joy as they talked. One would think she could actually understand what they were saying as her smile showed her gummy mouth and the slits around her eyes stretched over to her ears.
"Yes," sighed Dumbledore once again as he looked at both Professor McGonagall and Hagrid in a silent understanding that their stay here was about to end. "The Zummary legacy is infamous, but I'm sure she will do great things at Hogwarts. If not, she'll do great things in general." Dumbledore patted her hand one last time and removed before she could grab one of his long, wrinkled fingers. "I will see you soon, Healy."
Just as one takes in a breath and does not notice it until they have exhaled it so would one believe that the light and the people had gone just as soon as they came. Little Healy's smile had disappeared in the bewilderment and been replaced by quick sideways glances with her head. Confused and scared of her surroundings she began to whimper and kick feet quickly, as if to keep her from drowning in water. But before she could demit a sound above a scared whimper a nurse had quickly rushed with the whip of the door swinging behind her as she turned on the light that seemed able to blind anyone with the brightness hitting the dark room.
-11 years, 10 months, and 30 days later-
Most people Healy's age spend gym playing basketball, talking with their friends, and running around in general. It was almost sad that Healy's choices were limited during her free time since she didn't have many friends. Sitting on the blue, side line benches of the indoor school gym Healy's nose was buried in a book entitled "Friendly spirits and terrifying apparitions" that was hidden on the inside of her large history book. Healy had had some trouble before about reading books about the paranormal before, mostly teasing, so she began hiding her rented treasures the best she could to enjoy them in public areas. Even though the gym was filled with sneaker squeaks on the wood floor, basketballs knocking into the ground and back up, and the uncontrolled volume of people talking, all of Healy's energy was focused on extracting as much entertainment from the words settled in the pages as possible.
Healy took a more than casual enjoyment with books and subjects about the abnormal as they interested her immensely and gave her a picture of somewhere more exciting and interesting to live.
"If only," she whispered under her breath as she flipped the page to the chapter entitled 'How to distinguish good ghosts from bad.' "I would trade scrubbing toilets and mopping floors for this any minute of the day."
The truth was Healy worked part-time with her mother as a house keeper at the old folks home for pocket money as her mom was a manger. Healy had been working there since last summer and did not enjoy the work very much but had a nice enough time with the people. A lover of history Healy often listened to their stories but she also felt a cringe of resentment for the fact she was mostly on her hands and knees scrubbing floors and carrying carts of sheets back and forth, room to room, to make up beds. When the chance to get a job came she jumped, but as middle school rowed on as a river of melted lead and her work often left her with a sore back, Healy came to distance herself even more.
As she continued to read on Healy felt a sudden bolt of pain leap up in her lower back, a parting gift from a weekend of scrubbing the kitchen floors and an all-nighter on her pre-algebra homework, Healy lowered her books and began to gently message her lower back to rid the evil pain. While doing so she peered over at the students on the court and studied their faces, clothes, and actions.
"All the same," Healy thought to herself as she straightened up. "Everyone here wears the same clothes and says the same thing, and they all act like it's something new and original…."
Resentment for her fellow classmates followed Healy from elementary to middle school as "has trouble getting along with others" seemed to be the label glued to her. As others liked to watch reality shows and listens to the top 20 Healy preferred books, old movies, and music that her 40ish father listened to. It was not only an inability to understand and enjoy the same activities with others that kept Healy from getting along with others but also what felt like a glass barrier to the girl. For the longest time since she could remember Healy had always found herself in and out of strange situations through strange situations. Once Healy had fallen down a flight of steps by accident while carrying a stack of books that toppled above her head and as she found herself on the ground floor, closing her eyes for the expected impact of the large books the gravity was sure to meet; she found that a minute later she all of the books had landed in a perfect circle around her. Another time she was climbing up a tree behind her family's apartment and once she reached the top her foot had slipped. Expecting to plummet to a painful ground, which at the time (her being only 7 at this time) expected to be her death she was met by just a rather uncomfortable "bumb!" and saw that she had landed on the bottom-most branch of the tree that was covered with many leaves. When telling the tales of these incidences people would call Healy a liar and tease her by trying and recreate these incidents for public display. These only went as far knocking her off the bottom-most stair or pushing her out of her chair while holding things or down a hill near the playground. Healy knew that is she told any teacher nothing would be done to help her, or possibly make her situation worse, and that the best way to stop all of it was just not tell anyone when something strange had happened. Even her parents had started to say that it was Healy's overactive imagination that created these fantastic rescues.
Soon a long, high pitched whistle had screeched through the room and Healy and the rest of the students automatically sprung up, like a half-asleep man to an alarm, and proceeded into the separate dressing rooms. Walking into the girl's bathroom Healy had felt insecure as any girl and had taken to taking her clothes out of her small foot locker and changing behind the shielded curtains of the shower room. No one truly noticed this in Healy's mind as each time people would just carry on with their conversations, unnoticing the small girl passing them by. Healy was fairly short for her age, about 4 ft. 9in, she had a mole on her right cheek next to her nose and above her lip. She had long, dark brown, curly hair that she kept down to hide her developing body (which did nothing as her hair was shoulder length). Healy was nothing special to look at, she was pretty in a very childish, cute way and since she hid herself under a jacket most of the time no one could see her developing womanly characteristics. The most striking thing about her was her big, bright green eyes that most people would agree as being her best feature.
Healy changed in the same place every gym period: behind the shut curtains in the shower room where most people were not in. As Healy stepped in she noticed 3 girls talking outside of it, each of them were extremely skinny and wore an Abrocrombie shirt and skinny jeans. Healy didn't like brand clothes. As Healy went in she picked a stall near the back and went into it while shutting the curtains, most of the stall's curtains were open and not shut unless someone came in. As Healy took off her shirt she noticed the accelerated talking and giggling coming from the door way and the sound of the girl's voices getting louder. No one took a shower after gym, it was considered rude and disgusting if someone used the school showers as rumors said that people who showered in the school were either homeless or had lice. Healy ignored it, taking off her gym shorts, as idle chit-chat to keep the girls out of going to their next class. As Healy picked up her regular school shirt, a long purple sleeved V-neck with blue butterflies all over it, the girls had suddenly pulled back the curtains of the shower and looked as if they were there to tell good news, but their stare had a menacing glare to it.
"Why not try and wash all the ugly off yourself, freak?"
At that very moment, before anything could be said or done, one of the girls reached over and turned the nozzle behind Healy on full blast and jumped back. The water that hit Healy was icy cold and made her sink to the ground from both shock and embarrassment. All of her clothes were getting wet and her wild, curly hair clung to her face as it was weighed down by the water. Healy wasn't hurt, nothing felt bad except the sickening feel of the ice water running down her spin and over her body. Once the girls stepped back from her they began laughing and pointing, encouraging others farther away in the locker room to do the same; a few girls even approached the bathroom to find out why they were laughing.
Pain and chilliness crept away from Healy as embarrassment faded away into rage. The redness and heat on her cheeks spread to her arms and chest and she could feel blood pulsating all through her body as her breath increased. Everything around her was cold, people, water, the floor, all she wanted was for these girls to pay and for warmer water. To Healy's surprise the water did start to turn warm on her back, a lukewarm feeling but better than before. But the ground was no longer just cold, it felt like static had started to run on top of the floor and pulsate around, as if searching for an outlet. Everyone saw the lights in the locker and shower room flicker for a few seconds, the shock made people stop laughing and look up. The other girls in the shower room took a few steps back, away from the running water that was still splashing on Healy, and in an instant began a histerical scream. All of the other showers in the shower room had gone on, full blast; they were spewing streams of boiling hot water around the girls and creating a steam bath that lost them all in the mist. The other girls in the locker room began to scream as well, summoning a female gym teacher from her office who shouted for everyone to calm down. The shower room girls ran out, soaked and screaming as if they were attacked instead of sprayed, and Healy stood up and glided her way out. As Healy carried her soaking wet clothes at of the shower room she felt a sly smile creep on her lips.
"Not what I had in mind," Healy thought to herself. Truthfully she wanted the girls to be more humiliated than she was to show them how it felt. "But it was still a nice treat."
Just as she stepped out of the shower room all of the shower were suddenly turned off. As if someone had turned them all off one by one in the time frame of a minute. Healy looked back at the shower, confused and trying to remember exactly how that could of happened, and then looked down in astonishment at her clothes. They were dry! As if they had come out of the dryers only 5 minutes ago! They were warm to the touch and had not even a drop of water on them. Healy quickly changed in the confusion of the moment as all the other girls were trying to figure out what had happened, grabbed her book bag, and headed out the door to history class.
"Okay," Healy said aloud to herself as she quickly walked away from the gym like a murder scene in the back of a Burger King. "That was out-of-the-usual."
Healy had stopped using the term "weird" since it was an adjective used to describe her and she found being "weird" more enjoyable than being "normal." She also never used "freaky" because it sounded 80's or "norm" because she found it idiotic not to just say "normal."
As Healy walked to her class she noticed she was the only one in the hallways.
"Right," Healy said as she stopped dead in the center of the hallways, obviously in no hurry anymore. "The bell hasn't rung yet..."
As Healy walked up to her classroom se slid down on the side of the wall and sat on the floor pulling her knees to her chest and resting her head on the back of the ball to look up at the celling. All of the windows were inside the classrooms so Healy had nothing to look at for the next 5 minutes besides her book, but her hands and hair were still wet and she didn't want to ruin the pages. Healy often felt a hopeless feeling of dread and boredom occur over her during these few, sweet moments when no one was around. She felt the constant need for stimulation and activity was the only thing that kept her from going mad. She re-ran over what had happened in the locker rooms 5 times before she could feel like she had a logical explanation occur.
"The faucets were leaky and they must have been jolted out of place by the pressure of the cold water, a small earthquake could of happened as well to explain how the hot water turned on. The teacher came out and pulled the water pressure and control to make all of the showers turn off as I walked out and nothing else happened. But my clothes..."
Healy looked down at her perfectly dry clothes, the only thing that was damp was the black jacket Healy had thrown over herself as she left and that was only because her hair had fallen over it. Healy was sure her clothes had become wet, she was even holding her wriggling shirt as the water fell on her. Then something occurred to her; the rest of the body was bone dry as she walked out of the shower rooms too. Even her underwear was dry! This is a predicament that Healy put a lot of thought into. Was there a logical explanation for all of this? Could there be one?
Inside Healy's head she searched for one in the ever closing minutes of class switches. But even as history loomed closer, the history of Einstein, Eisenhower, and Thomas Edison came closer Healy could only think of all the things that she day dreamed of. Something out of my control, something supernatural helped me.
That was the only reason Healy needed to believe it, the simple thought that she wanted it to be real made it logical enough for her. As she got up the bell rang and Healy entered her classroom as everyone else left. Healy spent the hour in class fixated on all the reasons why it had happened, how it could of, and how she could never tell anyone. This was a story she was to share only with herself; but what a story it was...