Age ten, almost finished with fifth grade… I tried not to feel confused as I thought about all the things I'd learned:

"Melody, I need to tell you a couple things!" shouted mom, her British accent sounding nervous, from the living room right after dad had left on an errand.

Unlike mom, I spoke in an American accent like dad. I knew mom was from England, but she wouldn't tell me, nor dad, why she came to America. As much as I have asked while growing up, she would not explain a single word.

I came down stairs to see mom pacing back and forth, looking extremely nervous as she obviously thought hard about something. Her belly bulged with the baby that was to come out in about three months, and I watched her from the stairs for a bit, just listening to her mutter something I couldn't hear and wondering if this counted as something stressful that mom shouldn't do. Probably.

Finally I was sitting before her and listening as she told me a number of things, and I didn't cut her off once.

"Sweetie, I must tell you something…" she seemed fairly hesitant to tell me what it was, pulling the curly brown hair out of her face, the hair I inherited from her except for mine was strangely straight. "I… am… a witch. I am a witch." There was a silence before I laughed, but she stopped me with a hand. "I'm being very serious…. The reason I haven't told you before is because… well, your father isn't.. and he doesn't know that I am.. but I tell you now because you might just be one." The last few words were said slowly, uncertainly, and she waited patiently, but nervously for me to say something.

I was shocked, and then I asked. "Are you sure this isn't a trick?" Just to make sure.

"No Melody, this is no trick I'm sad to say." Mom seemed to have an idea as she took out a beautifully carved stick and waved it at my favorite story book from across the room, The Tales of Beedle the Bard.

I watched with tension as the book landed on my lap, and then I looked up at mom. She had used that stick, or wand I supposed, to levitate it across the room.

Mom looked triumphant, as I would've usually made some logical explanation for the things I saw in magic shows. But, I saw no strings attached to this, literally, and part of me actually wanted to believe this.

"Ever wondered why none of your friends know about this book? Why Beedle the Bard isn't in any history books you know for writing these stories?" mom asked, watching me closely.

"I have wondered, but I can't object, I really like the book… So a wizard wrote it?" I asked, silently in awe at what I was learning. What I had on my face was one of absolute confusion.

Mom nodded silently.

"How would we know if I am a witch?" I asked.

"Has anything happened to you lately that you haven't told me about? There may be something to show that you have magic."

My mind reeled through the years. "Well, there was that time I woke up and everything in my room had disappeared. I thought someone might have robbed me, but then I blinked once and everything was in my room again."

"When was that? You never told me about it." I could tell mom was a bit shocked, she really thought I told her everything. And I did. Just nothing that seemed out of the ordinary to me.

I explained more times where something was odd, and there were too many to count really, especially when other kids tried to pick on me and all of a sudden they came down with an illness. Or when they suddenly went into a type of vegetative state that disappeared the minute an adult came by. The only things I left out were my dreams… well, they weren't really dreams… they were more like nightmares considering I always woke up frightened. Mostly shown as some random thing chasing me, but I never complained about them, mostly because mom always said that nightmares are when you wake up from them screaming. I never did that.

Mom listened to each of them attentively and her face showed a large trace of fear when I told her one story that happened to me.

"Do you remember all those times we went to the zoo and I kept going to the reptile room while you went to get us dinner?"

She nodded.

"I would go in there and just talk to the snakes. I thought I was imagining it, that they were like imaginary friends. We would go there and it was always like I went alone just to talk to them. People would look at me and wonder why I was talking to them." I said. "I know because I could hear their thoughts when I looked at them."

Mom's face was incredibly white, and I watched her with trepidation. I had never seen her look at me, or anyone, with such fear before.

"Mom, are you okay?" I asked, prodding her arm with my hand.

"Oh," she said in surprise, as though coming out of a daze. "Why yes I'm fine, I just got caught in a daydream is all."

"Is it… abnormal for a wizard to be able to talk to snakes?" I asked, wondering with hope that it wasn't a sort of problem for me to be able to do that.

"A little… it's not something to boast about, mind, but I've heard of stranger abilities." She quickly stood to go check on the food she was cooking. A great cook, but I always knew she could do so much more than be a stay-at-home mom. Something in the wizarding world, perhaps?

However… I can't help but see that she wasn't telling the truth when she said she'd seen stranger abilities. Especially when saying that it wasn't something to boast about - it really sounded more like a warning not to tell anyone.

I sat in the classroom remembering that day, it had only been a couple days ago and mom and I never said another word about it. Dad came home that night, and I had left it alone. He gave me the usual hug when he came in the door that I gave right back to him, along with a kiss on the cheek. Mom didn't want him to know, that was her business.

"Melody Riddle?!" someone asked loudly.

"Huh?" I was taken out of my thoughts. Though I showed no surprise, I felt it. It was easy for me, for some reason, to keep my emotions in check, so everyone at school considered me to be a little dull until those times when I would crack a smile. I had no friends to speak of, so it was normal to get lost in my mind and forget that I was around other people. In a sense, my subconscious just didn't care to know the people around me anyway, especially when I first started school and got picked on.

My brown hair was completely straight, and I usually kept it out of any fancy hairstyles. Sometimes I would wear ponytails, maybe even in a braid or two, but it was very rare for me. I didn't like having to mess with it. Another addition to my outward dullness.

The person calling my name happened to be my teacher, and my partner sat next to me, watching intently. They were both looking questionable.

"What?" I asked. I didn't know why, but I had no liking of talking to anyone but my mom. Not even to my dad, really. I never said anything much to anybody else, so anyone in their right mind would keep themselves from being my partner since I wouldn't say much and because of the rumors going among the kids that I was not to be messed with (hence the magic stories mentioned earlier.) I only said something when I felt I needed to say it.

"I've been calling your name for the past five minutes," Ms. Kold told me sternly. I highly doubted she was doing that for five minutes, but she let it go to add, "You're mother has called you out of school and says it's important."

I was confused for a second and then covered my emotions, packing my stuff up quietly while my partner went to another pair to be a group of three. I went down to the main office to find mom looking antsy.

She noticed me walking towards her and instantly grabbed my hand, rushing out of the building at a speed I hadn't thought capable for exactly how pregnant she was.

I looked around the parking lot, trying to find the car, but it wasn't anywhere to be found. "Mom, where did you park the car?"

"It's still at home." Mom was looking around, and it seemed that when she spotted a person, she moved in a different direction. I was pretty certain we were moving around in circles.

"Then how did you get here?" I asked, aghast. "It takes almost an hour without the car to get there!"

"Disapparated," she said lightly, "Now hold on to my arm, and don't let go until I say so."

Tentatively, I kept tight hold on her arm as I suddenly felt like I was being squeezed through a tube. It was like now was just the right time to be screaming because I couldn't tell what was happening, until everything felt fine and I saw we were on the front step to the house.

She stood for a second, holding her pregnant stomach, "Ooh, sorry baby, had to risk it. You're okay." Then I was rushed inside to the living room.

I was unpleasantly surprised to see a visitor sitting there drinking tea. I could tell, though he was sitting down, that he was very tall.

He had silver hair and a beard, letting me know for certain that he was old, and both were extremely long. He wore long purple robes, and it all seemed to bring out his bright blue eyes, seemingly sparkling behind his half-moon spectacles. His nose was long and crooked.

"Hello, Melody," he said brightly, putting his tea cup down, "I am Albus Dumbledore; Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."