Chapter One: Back to the Start
No one's life is ever perfect. That's inevitable, really. But, looking back, my life has been overly… imperfect. Too much so for my liking. Most people go to school, make friends, and maybe fall in love. Then they go off to work, get married, and raise a family. Or live alone and become crazy cat people, whatever suits their fancy. However they went about it, they sure didn't have to save the world. But that's not the point. The point is to tell you about myself, who I am, and tell you how in the hell I'm connected to Harry Potter.
Well, to start, my name's Mildred Glass. Most people call me Millie. Except for maybe Draco Malfoy, who called me Glass until fifth year. I was 11 years old when I started going to Hogwarts. That was normal. The thing that wasn't so normal was that I actually went to Hogwarts. You see, I had lived in America since I was nine. I was planning to go to Herlujium, a wizarding school in Colorado, but things… Took an unexpected twist.
Maybe I should just start the story.
I opened my eyes and looked around the room. What day was it today, anyway? I felt like I was forgetting something… I groaned and rolled out of bed, not bothering with my slippers. I took a glance at the clock and sighed. It was 9:48 a.m. How come no one woke me? I quickly brushed out my hair and went into the washroom to clean up my face and brush my teeth.
As I started down the stairs, I vaguely picked up the smell of banana pancakes. Ah, my favorite! But, wait, we never had pancakes for breakfast. Mrs. Longbottom said they were far too sugary. I smiled and face palmed myself for being so silly. How could I forget! Today was August 17th; I'd been waiting all year for today! A new sense of excitement filled me. I bound the rest of the way down the stairs, readjusting my tank top's shoulder strap. I was about to enter the dining room when I heard Neville and Mrs. Longbottom whispering. I pulled myself back behind the wall as quickly as I could.
"Just don't tell her,Gran!" I heard Neville say at his grandmother. She snorted.
"Fine, you do it," she replied bitterly. What were they talking about? Tell me what, exactly? I backtracked up the stairs a little bit and made sure to take heavy steps on the way down this time. Sure enough, they stopped whispering. I walked into the dining room and smiled at them.
"Happy birthday, Millie!" both Neville and Mrs. Longbottom said at the same time.
"Thanks," I replied. I walked over to the table and sat across from Nev, too excited to touch the food in front of me.
"Has my acceptance letter come in yet?" I asked eagerly. Neville looked like he was just about to say something, but his Gran cut in.
"No, nothing yet," she said. I looked at her closely. She was smiling in a funny way, and her hands shook as she cut her pancake. I guess I should've known then that something was wrong.
- 2 Weeks Later -
"Did it come yet?" I asked Mrs. Longbottom as Neville and I walked into the house. We had been out flying Neville's old Cleansweep for the morning. Well, Neville just tried to get it off the ground the whole time. And failed.
"No," she said, not even glancing up from the Prophet she was reading. I crossed my arms and stared at her in disbelief. She slowly and nervously looked up.
"Mrs. Longbottom, it has been exactly two weeks since I turned eleven. They know they were supposed to send it here instead of my house. So I want to know; what is going on!?" I snapped, growing angrier by the moment. Mrs. Longbottom shrunk in her chair, and I had to try hard not to show I felt bad. She shakily held out the Prophet, and I grabbed it, confused.
"R-Read the s-side column," she instructed. I unfolded it and did as I was told.
The Ministry has recently confirmed that the wizarding citizens, Robert and Barbra Glass, have gone missing.
They have yet to be found by neither the Ministry nor anyone else.
They were last seen in Lecturn Boulevard, America.
If you have any information involving the wizard Robert Glass or the witch Barbra Glass, please contact the Ministry immediately.
Whoever can provide information will be granted a sum of 50 Galleons.
Neville, who was reading over my shoulder, spoke up before I did. "Gran, this is from my birthday! Why didn't you show it to us?" he said, somewhat angry.
"I'm sorry. I know I should have told you. And I have your acceptance letter, Mildred. Here," she said, pushing a sealed envelope across the coffee table. The thought of finally getting my acceptance letter made my heart a tiny bit lighter, at least. I quickly snatched it up and stared at the wax stamp, but it wasn't Herlujium's seal.
"There must be some sort of mistake, this… This is a Hogwarts acceptance letter," I said. Neville sighed.
"Well, we're going to the same school now," he said. I knew he was trying to be optimistic, but I wasn't really in the mood. I slid into the armchair by the door and held both the Prophet and the letter firmly in my hands. I let out a choke-like noise that would make you think I just had my throat slit if you didn't know any better.
"Mildred, please, I-" Mrs. Longbottom began.
"Mrs. Longbottom, that means you already told them I'm going? They... they need the answer by..." I was having trouble speaking.
"July 31st, I'm aware. Yes, I did, Mildred. I'm sorry I said nothing sooner," she apologized.
"Who would take my parents?" I asked, staring vacantly across the room. I was too shocked to do anything else. When she didn't respond, I snapped out of it and looked at her. She had a grave expression and she, too, was staring at something on the other side of the house. Neville was trying to follow her intense gaze, but he eventually became flustered.
"What are you staring at?" he asked. She turned her head to him and closed her eyes for a moment.
"The only people who would take Robert and Barbra, if that is what's happened, are the same people who would torture them into insanity," she said. I knitted my eyebrows and looked at Neville. He seemed just as confused.
"Gran, why would Death Eaters take them? They weren't even part of the Order of the Phoenix!" he said, and I could hear strain in his voice not to cry. It happened whenever someone but himself brought up his parents. I only made the mistake once, when we were seven.
"I wasn't part of the Order, either! They didn't tell me anything!" she said snappily. She refused to answer anything more after that, whether it be a question or not.
As you could imagine, I didn't sleep easy that night. And so I stayed awake, staring out the window, just wondering where Mum and Dad were right now. Were they safe? Better yet, were they still alive? For a moment, I was even hopeful they'd just gotten lost while on vacation to Europe. Nothing made sense, not at all in any way. Why would Death Eaters want my parents? And then I got around to thinking, what if they didn't want my parents? What if the person they really were after was me? But no, that would just be crazy... Right?