I felt the rain drench my clothes as the portkey led my family and me to our new home in England. Gliding smoothly to the ground, I laughed as my little sister, Cassandra, 11, landed on her butt. Once I touched down, I got a glare from Cassie and a high five from my brother, Matt, 17. My father sighed as he looked at us, probably wondering how we had managed to survive as long as we had without any of us ending up in a hospital.
The sun, though barely visible through the dark clouds, shone down in pink rays, casting odd looking shadows and lighting. The mascara that was running down Cassie's face was looking particularly odd and I was about to comment on it before my father reached down to grab her hand, helping her up and shooting me a look that said I'd better not mention it.
"There is our new home," Dad said, pointing to the only visible, quite large, house in the area. "What do you guys think?"
"I think I want to get inside before I turn into a water fountain," Cassie spoke up, to which Matt replied with a wave of his wand, forcing a stream of water to come flowing out of her mouth.
Matt and I shared another high five before he waved his wand once more to reverse what he had done. "If it's any consolation," I spoke up, "You make an adorable fountain."
"Thanks Emily, it's not."
"Children, please." Dad turned and started up the path to the front door.
Obediently, we followed him up the stairs and into the house that was already much warmer than it was outside. I could see the light from the fireplace in the other room leaking out into the hall, but that was the only light we had when the light in hall refused to turn on.
"I suppose I'll have to change a few light bulbs tomorrow," Dad sighed, pulling out his wand and lighting up the dark area. "Your things should be in your rooms if you want to go check them out, I assume you haven't forgotten where they are."
"Dad, it's been two weeks, not two years, I'm sure I remember that I called the one with view of the lake out back." I said with a grin, pushing Matt out of the way and running up the stairs to the third floor, beating my brother by a good few seconds.
Sure enough, as I opened the door, my bed was set up in the large room with a desk and and few bookshelves and a dresser next to the closet. I turned around with a large smile on my face and pointed to the door, "Maybe next time, bro."
"Hey, that's okay, I'm not mad." Matt had a a look of defeat on his face, as he shuffled slowly to the door directly across from mine, "I can always get even." A devilish smile spread across his face before he drew his wand, waving it mockingly before he turned around to look inside his room.
"Dad wants us downstairs," Cassie said coming up on the landing. The mascara that had lined her cheeks earlier was now no where to be seen.
"Don't you want to see your room first?" I asked, nodding to the door next to Matt's.
"But dad said he wanted to see us."
"Just take a quick peak," Matt said, smiling at me.
We had made sure to surprise her with a small bag of make-up and a vanity set. Cassie had always been the girly one of the family and loved to wear make-up. Even though I knew how to wear it, and I was good at doing my own, I never felt the need to put it on every single day. I had promised to teach Cassie how to properly apply make-up, so that she didn't start off her first year at her first Wizarding school looking like someone who didn't know what they hell eye liner was for.
She walked slowly over to the door, possibly afraid that we were setting her up for something, but the biggeset smile spread across her face when she saw the small white vanity sitting in the corner of her room, with brand new, kid friendly make-up that Dad would not kill me for purchasing for Cassie.
"You two did this?" She asked incredulously.
"Just because we tease you, it doesn't mean we don't love you." Matt said, before throwing her over his shoulder and heading downstairs.
The dining room table was set up for five, Just as we always had it, even though Mom wouldn't be arriving for another couple of weeks. Dad walked through the swinging kitchen doors carrying a pan of what smelled like American chop suey, but looked like something entirely different.
"Who is ready for dinner?"
"Are you sure that's food?" Matt asked, Cassie still hanging over his shoulder.
"Put your sister down," Dad set the food onto the table and took off the oven mitts setting them next to the pan. "American chop suey. I even followed Grammie's recipe, I know it doesn't look the same, but it does taste the same, I promise. Matt."
Matt set Cassie back on her feet and we all promptly took our seat at the table. Cassie raised her water glass, and the rest of us raised our wine glass, though mine held considerably less wine than Matt or Dad. "To new adventures." Dad cheered.
We echoed our excitement before taking a sip and beginning dinner. After eating silently for a few minutes, Dad spoke up again.
"So school starts in about a month, as you know, and just like Ilvermorny, Hogwarts has a sorting process for first years, which Cassie will attend on her first day, but you two," Dad looked at Matt and me, "will be headed to the school tomorrow to be sorted so that you can meet the Headmaster and your head of house. You will floo there tomorrow at noon and I will stay home with Cassie and do some house keeping."
"Okay, Dad." Cassie spoke through a mouthful of macaroni.
"Why do we have to go so early?" I asked,
"The Headmaster will give you the list of school supplies you need and I suppose he wants to see what houses you will be in to introduce you to a some students who will be able to lead you around. I have already owl'd over your transcripts and he would probably like to sign you up for some classes."
"Well anything but No-Maj studies." Matt replied.
"They are called Muggles over here, and I happen to find them very interesting." Cassie said looking pointedly at Matt.
"Whatever, I've taken that class before and it sucked, I didn't learn anything that I couldn't have found out by visiting a library, or watching a TV show for that matter."
"So Dad," I said a bit louder than necessary, "Are you excited to be working in the Ministry of Magic finally?"
"Muggles are very interesting, and you should be very curious as to how they come up with the things they do." Cassie interrupted before Dad got a chance to answer me. "Electricity, Science, Mathematics, Robots..."
I managed to tune out the rest of their No-Maj conversation and promptly left the table after dinner. There was no way I was going to listen to an argument between two people who knew nothing about the points they were trying to make.
I made my way up to my new bedroom and sat down at the same desk I'd had since I was ten. Pulling out the stationary from the drawer, I planned what I was going to write to my friends. It wasn't until then that I started to miss them more than I thought I would.
I wrote up a few notes before setting them aside to get ready for bed. It was still early, but the travel was tiring, and I needed to be up early enough to grab a shower before Matt could take over the bathroom.
I crawled into bed, and snuggled up in my blankets as the wind howled outside my window making me feel colder than I really was. It didn't take long to fall asleep, and once I did, I was out until the small alarm clock on my bedside table went off.