Chapter 1 Explosions, Birthdays and Letters
Disclaimer: Nothing you recognise is mine.
The small stone cottage sat one house from the edge of the terrace. It had a small front garden, with a winding cobbled stone path that lead to the peeling red door. The gold mailbox was tarnished with age and the hinges on the
wooden gate were rusting. The grass had not recently been cut and the roses in the flower bed were wild and unkempt. There was a peaceful stillness that clung tothe home like a spider's web, and the warm summer sun was making an effort to break through the thin layer of clouds that coated the blue sky. The calm and quiet was a peaceful mask to the mania that was concealed behind the peeling red door and stiff windows.
'Ava Arianna Fielder, give me back my book or I'll chop you into a thousand pieces and scatter them into the ocean for the fish to eat!' yelled Ellie. Maia sighed and rolled her icy blue eyes at Leala who giggled nervously; Ellie's threats
were getting more creative. Ava came to a sudden halt and spun around to glare at Ellie. 'Don't you full name me, Eleanor Arda Fielder,' she hissed narrowing her icy blue eyes. Ellie mimicked her. 'Then give me back my book,' she demanded. Ava tossed the book into Ellie's hands. Ellie glared at Ava withicy blue eyes before storming into the bedroom at the end of the hall and slamming the door loudly, the windows rattling in complaint. Ava continued to glare after her sister, her eyes steely. She kicked a plant pot that was sitting one the beige carpet, muttering to herself before retreating back down to the opposite end of the hallway, and into her bedroom, her jet black curls bouncing with each angry step.
Maia sighed again and cast a tired look at Leala. Leala smiled helplessly and shrugged. Like her siblings, Leala had icy blue eyes, but they seemed softer, probably because she didn't lose her temper the way they did. Leala was the gentle one. Despite the constant bickering, which was mainly between Ava and Ellie (who didn't like to be called Eleanor), the girls were close. Understandably really, being quadruplets. At a first glance, they didn't appeared very different. They were all the same height, with the same icy blue eyes and face, pointed chin and rounded cheeks. But it was their hair and personalities that set them apart.
Maia was the confident one, with flaming red curls that cascaded down her back. Her face was dusted with light freckles. Her eyes shone warmly, despite their icy hue. She was kind but strong, well able to stand up for herself but with hurting anyone else. Maia was the first born, a whole three minutes before Ava. Ava was the scary one. Her hair was jet black and curly, and framed her face in such a way that it made her seem threatening. Her eyes, though icy, undeniably burned, particularly when she was mad. Ava was dangerous when her temper flared. She was obviously well able to stand up for herself, but it often resulted in someone getting hurt. The sisters were all bright, but Ava in more of a devious and tricky way. And yet, Ava managed to be lovable, especially when she laughed, and her pale face glowed. Ellie was born less than a minute after Ava, and Maia sometimes wondered was this why they clashed so much. But more likely it was because Ava and Ellie could not be more different if they tried (and it sometimes seemed that they did), and yet oddly similar. Ellie's hair was as white blond as Ava's was jet black, though it was just as curly (another feature the sister's had in common; madly curly hair). Her eyes were very bright, but not fiery. Ellie was unbelievably intelligent, always scoring ridiculously well in exams. She was never to be found without a book in her hand. She was clever and quick, but not in a sneaky way. Ellie too was able to stand up for herself, but in a different way from Maia and Ava. Ellie was more likely to either just laugh a taunt off, or come up with a logical and carefully planned way to get her own back, but without hurting anyone. Ellie hated to see people suffering. Leala was the youngest, by five whole minutes. Her curly hair was a soft, light brown, her eyes were gentle and kind and her cheeks were always dusted with a soft, rosy hue. Leala was the least independent of the sisters, and liked having them around. She had sometimes been teased in school for being quiet, but only until Maia or Ava sorted the culprits out. Leala adored all her sister's, but especially Maia. She always refused to take sides when her sisters were arguing; she didn't pick favourites, she loved them all. Leala sometimes felt mad with herself for being too shy to stand up for her sister's the way they did for her. So she made up for it by always being there for them when they needed comforting, or if they just needed someone to talk to. She didn't realise how good she was at making her sisters feel better. The girls' mother always remarked how funny it was that the girls' hair was so different; they had apparently all had the same hair colour, a medium shade of brown, until they were about a year old.
As Maia and Leala sat on the stairs giggling about their sisters, they heard a loud bang, followed by a deafening crash from Ava's room. Dropping the school books they had been sorting, they raced down the hall and threw the door open. Ava was standing in the middle of the room, looking utterly bewildered, the floor covered with splinters of wood and torn pages; Ava's bookcase appeared to have exploded. Maia raised her eyebrows at the still shocked Ava, as Ellie appeared at the door. 'What was that- Whoa, what did you do?' she asked Ava, sounding half critical, half astonished. Ava shot her a disparaging look. 'I didn't do anything idiot,' she snapped, 'It just… exploded.' The girls were silent for a moment, just staring at mess of wood and shredded books on the floor. Finally Ava spoke. 'I- I was really mad… and then everything went white and… boom,' she finished helplessly. Ellie snorted. 'Well good look convincing Mum and Dad,' she said, 'And the day before our birthday.' Ava reddened dangerously, and Maia intervened. 'Shut up Ellie,' she commanded, and Ellie did. 'We have to clean this up, or at least hide it.' But the girls couldn't work out how to fix it, so they settled on sweeping it under a loose floorboard, deciding to keep their parent out of the room, at least until after their birthday.
Once they had hidden what was left of Ava's bookcase, the sister's filed downstairs and collapsed at the kitchen table with glasses of ice cold juice. 'Ah, summer at last,' breathed Ava as she swallowed a gulp of grape juice. 'I wonder what classes we can take in secondary,' said Ellie thoughtfully as she sipped her cranberry juice. Maia snorted into her orange juice. 'Please Ellie, we just got off today!' she pleaded. 'I hope it won't be too busy in secondary,' said Leala as she swirled her glass of apple juice. Ava and Maia groaned in unison. 'Both of you put a sock in it. Now,' ordered Ava. They did.
Once they had finished their drinks, the sisters went back to their rooms. The rooms were quite small. They had previously been two bigger rooms, but as the girls got older, their parents had had them split into four smaller ones so the girls could have their own space. The girls' bedrooms were the only rooms in the upstairs of the little cottage, asides from the small bathroom at the end of the corridor. The stairs came up to the middle of the hallway that was the upstairs. Maia's bedroom was the farthest to the left, Ellie's was beside her, then Leala's and then Ava's.
The sun remained trapped behind the thin clouds for the rest of the afternoon, so the girls pottered lazily in their bedrooms. But as Maia watered her cactus collection, and Ellie alphabetized her bookshelf, as Leala worked on the cushion she was sewing, and Ava polished her snow globe collection, their minds kept drifting back to the incident with the bookcase. It wasn't the first time something like this had happened. Their hair had changed colour from an ordinary, mousy brown to bright, shocking and beautiful flaming red, warm brown, white blond and jet black, quite unexplainably. When they were five Maia was climbing a tree when a branch snapped. She was at least ten foot up and should have fallen and seriously hurt herself. But as she plunged towards the ground, Maia suddenly felt light and when she hit the hard ground there was no impact, it was as though she fell onto a soft, invisible cushion. There had been the time when two children at their school had been taunting Leala and shoving her against the wall, when suddenly they had been flung backwards and landed flat on their backs on the concrete with a thud, leaving Leala standing flat against the wall looking and feeling completely shocked and bewildered. Ellie had been astonished when she leapt from a swing into a bed of angry nettles and emerged without having been stung once. Ava had once found herself on the roof after an argument with her mother, with no recollection of how she had gotten there. The bookcase wasn't the first thing the sisters had managed to explode either; many a glass or flower pot had been lost to burst of excitement or anger, and once even a fish bowl (fish and water included).
When their parents came home that night, the sisters managed to keep them out of Ava's room. After an uneventful dinner, the girls gradually migrated back to their bedrooms. Maia collapsed onto her bed, exhaustion sweeping over her. She let the bookcase disaster slide from her head, letting her mind drift to thoughts of the activities the summer would hold. Next door to her, Ellie was propped up on her bed, her nose buried in a thick book. Leala lay under her pale yellow quilt staring at the ceiling, ideas of how they could fix the bookcase swirling in her tired mind. Ava was sitting upright, her slim legs crossed, staring into space. It bothered her that she didn't know what had happened to the bookcase. All she could remember was being flooded with anger, everything going white, and then suddenly being swallowed by the deafening bang and flying shards of glass and splinters of wood. Ava fidgeted unhappily; she didn't like not feeling in control. She sighed as she flopped down onto her cold pillow, waiting for sleep to overpower her upset thoughts. As each sister slipped into a deep sleep, none of them had any reason to suspect that their eleventh birthday would make for such a hectic, strange and wondrous year.
Maia awoke the next day to the blinding sun seeping through a gap in her light green and blue striped curtains. She rolled over onto her back, dozing lazily, planning to take full advantage of holidays. Then she remembered what day it was. She bolted upright and threw off her light blue quilt, raced to the door and through it open. The warm smell of sizzling bacon and fresh hot pancakes wafted into her nostrils. She inhaled deeply as Ellie emerged from her bedroom, rubbing her blue eyes tiredly. She smiled at Maia. 'Happy birthday,' she said grinning. Maia grinned back. 'Happy birthday Ellie. Come on, Dad's making pancakes!' Maia and Ellie tore down the stairs and into the little kitchen. The walls were a light cream with matching cabinets that had a polished wood surface. Their father was standing in front of the stove, whistling as he cooked the bacon, his sandy hair unbrushed. The girls' mother sat at the round table, Leala perched on the chair opposite her, wearing a pale yellow sun dress. They all looked up as Maia and Ellie entered. 'Happy birthday, sweethearts!' exclaimed Mrs Fielder as she leapt up to hug her daughters. 'Yes, happy birthday girls!' exclaimed their father pulling them both into a one armed hug, 'Eleven already, where did the time go?' he grinned. Maia and Ellie grinned back. Both their parents were quite young, only thirty five. Mrs Fielder, or Beth, was short with shoulder length light brown hair that she wore in a ponytail and hazel eyes. Mr Fielder, or Ben, was tall with messy sandy blonde hair and warm brown eyes. Where the girls had gotten their frosty eyes was a mystery.
Leala smiled at Ellie and Maia as they sat down at the table and poured themselves glasses of juice. 'Happy birthday guys,' she said smiling. Maia and Ellie grinned. 'Happy birthday Leala,' they said in unison. 'And surprise, surprise, Ava's the last one up,' grinned Mr Fielder as Ava appeared at the door looking tired and grumpy. Maia, Ellie, Leala and their parents laughed; Ava was notorious for sleeping late. Ava frowned and collapsed into a chair, seemingly exhausted as her parents wished her happy birthday. 'Happy birthday,' she mumbled to her sisters, her eyes half shut. Everyone grinned.
Soon they were all sitting around the table, chewing happily on steamy pancakes and crispy bacon, their traditional birthday breakfast. At one point, Mrs Fielder told Ava to get the mail. 'Make Ellie get it,' she said. 'Make Ava get it,' Ellie shot back. 'Make Ellie get it.' Maia rolled her eyes. 'I'll get it,' she declared before Ellie could retaliate. She pushed her chair away from the table and slipped into the hall. There was a letter for her father, probably bills, two envelopes address to Maia and her sisters, which had to be birthday cards. But at the bottom of the pile, there were four odd envelopes. They were identical, made of a brown parchment, making them look aged and old fashioned, as though they had been sitting in the sun for decades. There was one for each of the sisters, addressed in an emerald ink. Maia examined the one addressed to her and flipped it over. It was sealed with red wax, with an 'H' stamped into it.
Maia frowned at the letter as she wandered back into the kitchen. She closed the door quietly and dropped the pile of mail into the middle of the table, interrupting a debate Ellie had been having with her father. 'Thanks Maia,' said Mr Fielder as her retrieved his bill. He glanced curiously at the mysterious letters. 'What are those?' he asked, 'Birthday cards?' 'I-I don't know,' said Maia as her sisters each took their letter and examined it carefully. 'Well, open them!' exclaimed Mrs Fielder. The sisters glanced at each other, silently daring the others to go first. Eventually Ava shrugged and tore the letter open. 'Dear Miss Fielder,' she read aloud, 'We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on 1st September. We await your owl by no later than 31st July. Yours sincerely, Filius Flitwick, Deputy Headmaster.' There was silence for a moment. Then Maia, Ellie and Leala frantically tore open their letters, reading them hurriedly, not sure whether they should be ecstatic, terrified, or confused. Maia settled on confused as she discovered her letter read exactly as Ava's had. Witchcraft?
Leala glanced up to see a horrified expression on her parents' faces. 'This is ridiculous!' Mr Fielder said, his voice shaking. As though on cue, a giant tawny owl swooped down on the open window. Mrs Fielder screeched as the owl soared onto the table, dropping a tightly rolled piece of parchment. As if instinctively, Leala found herself feeding the owl a piece of bacon from her plate. The owl chirped happily, giving Leala an affectionate nip, before hopping to the edge of the table and sailing back through the open window. Leala looked up to see her sisters staring at her with questioning eyes. 'What?' she asked, 'She looked hungry.' Maia and Ava laughed, Ellie shook her head smiling. The girls glanced over at their parents; their father was unrolling the parchment with shaking hands. 'Read it out Dad,' Ava suggested. Their father cleared his throat. 'Dear Mr and Mrs Fielder,' he read, his voice shaking, 'We are pleased to inform you that your daughters have been accepted into Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. However, not being of a magical background yourselves, we are aware that it is important for you to understand the workings of our world, and that assistance be offered to your daughters in preparation for attending Hogwarts. To explain all this to you, a representative from Hogwarts School and the Wizarding Community shall visit you at your home this day. I look forward to meeting you in person. Sincerely, Professor Filius Flitwick, Deputy Headmaster.'
No sooner had Mr Fielder finished reading the letter, than a loud knock came at the front door, making them all jump. 'I'll get it, shall I?' asked Ellie nervously, standing up and racing from the room. Muffled voices could be heard from the hallway as Ellie opened the door. She soon reappeared in the kitchen, with a kindly looking man in tow. The man had sandy blonde hair and a round face. He was wearing a long, deep blue cloak that fell around his ankles. He smiled warmly at the sisters and their parents. They stared at him open mouthed. 'How do you do?' he asked, extending a worn and scarred hand to Mr Fielder. Mr Fielder took his hand numbly and shook it without a word. The man laughed. 'Excuse me, I haven't even introduced myself. I'm Professor Neville Longbottom, herbology teacher at Hogwarts.' Then he laughed again. 'But of course, you don't know anything about Hogwarts! But that's what I am here to explain! May I sit?' he asked politely. Maia nodded when no-one said anything. 'Excellent, thank-you!' exclaimed Professor Longbottom. He reached into the pocket of his cloak and pulled out a beautifully carved wooden stick. He flicked it in the direction of a spare chair that was resting by the window. The chair came flying over to him, and he plonked down into it, looking alarmingly relaxed. He smiled upon seeing the look on the sisters' face.
'It's a wand,' he said grinning, 'So you must be the quadruplets,' he said to them, 'I take it you got your letters then?' After a short silence, Maia, who tended to become the spokesperson for the siblings, spoke. 'Yes, we did,' she answered slowly, 'Is it true? There's really such a thing as… as magic?' Professor Longbottom smiled again and nodded slightly. 'Indeed there is,' he told Maia, 'Can I ask you, all four of you, have you ever done something remarkable that you can't explain?' The sisters' eyes widened in unison as their minds shifted to the bookcase incident of the previous day. Professor Longbottom smiled again. 'Well there you have it! Now, moving on. I'm sure you and your parents have questions about Hogwarts?' It was Mr Fielder who spoke now. 'So, you're telling me that my daughters are- are witches?' The excitement in his voice was obvious, no matter how he tried to hide it. Professor Longbottom nodded again. Mr Fielder's grin widened, and the sisters could feel excitement bubbling in the stomachs. 'And they are going to this school, Hogwarts, to learn real magic?' he continued excitedly. 'No.'
The sisters and their father and Professor Longbottom turned in surprise to see that it was Mrs Fielder who had spoken so sharply. 'What?' Mr Fielder asked his wife. 'I said no,' she said, her voice edging towards anger, 'My daughters are not going to this Hogwarts,' she said the last word as though it was a gruesome disease, 'They're going to secondary school. Ellie is going to be a scientist, and Leala a teacher. I won't let them throw away their futures to be magicians.' The sister gapped at their mother in horror, never having heard their mother this angry. 'But Mum!' exclaimed Ava in horror, 'That's not fair, we're witches!' Mrs Fielder opened her mouth to retaliate, but Professor Longbottom intervened. 'I must tell you that it is extremely foolish to leave children with the level of magic your daughters' possess untrained. Magic is a dangerous ability if uncontrolled.' Mr Fielder turned to face his wife. 'You see! It's for their own safety! They have to go!' he exclaimed. Mrs Fielder leapt up abruptly, sending her chair flying backwards and clattering to the floor. The sisters and Professor Longbottom found their eyes flickering back and forth between Mr and Mrs Fielder. 'If you are going to allow our children to be raised as freaks, you can do it without me!' screamed Mrs Fielder manically before storming from the room and slamming the door with such force that the windows rattled in complaint.
The sisters stared in shock at the fallen chair their mother had just vacated, as they heard an engine rev outside. They couldn't believe what had just happened. Had their kind, gentle mother, who had tucked them in every night, who cried at the end of their childhood plays, who just that morning called them sweetheart, really just abandoned them? Was that woman who had just sent a chair flying, and slammed that door really their mother? The deafening silence was shattered by their father's now hard, determined voice. 'I'm sorry girls. You will be going to Hogwarts. With our without your mother's approval,' he told his daughters determinedly. But as Maia looked up now, she could see the fresh pain in her father's liquid brown eyes. 'So where and when am I to bring the girls to get their school supplies?' he asked Professor Longbottom, his voice shaking slightly through his faltering smile. Professor Longbottom cleared his throat, looking slightly uncomfortable. 'Ah yes. Diagon Alley, nowhere better! I can escort you, it may be hard to er- find on your own.' Mr Fielder nodded, his smile returning. 'That would be wonderful. When shall we go?' he asked. 'Does today work? I'm meant to be meeting my family there anyway.' Ellie looked up now. 'Do you have kids?' she asked curiously, 'Do they go to Hogwarts?' Professor Longbottom nodded proudly. 'Indeed they do. My son, Frank is going into fourth year and Sage into first like you four. My daughter Alice is only ten,' he said fondly. 'Right then, you four had better get ready. Busy day ahead of us!'
Obediently, the sisters rose from their chairs and raced upstairs and into their bedrooms. Maia didn't know how to feel as she pulled on dark jeans, a t-shirt and a big, loose, deep red knitted jumper and red high-tops. Eventually her excitement managed to defeat her unrecognised fury at her mother, and consume her. In the next room, Ellie was tugging on a demin skirt that fell to her knees and a purple t-shirt and purple shoes with a buckle. Her mind was going a mile a minute, attempting to comprehend the morning's events. Learning she was a witch, she would be going to a magical school and her mother walking out on the family; it was a lot to take in, even for Ellie. The room beside her, Leala's hands were trembling as she attempted to button her pale yellow cardigan over a short sleeved white shirt and white skirt that fell to just below her knees. Her mother had abandoned her. And she doubted any amount of magic could bring her back. Ava on the other hand, wasn't thinking about their mother at all. If she was only going to stand in their way, what did they want her for anyway? But deep inside a small part of Ava was seething at the betrayal, and she was subconsciously ignoring it. But as she tugged on black jeans and grey high-tops and a baggy grey t-shirt, her mind was stuck on the fact that she was a witch. A real witch. Cool.
Like clockwork, the four sisters tumbled into the small bathroom. Mechanically they brushed their teeth and washed their faces. It wasn't until they were combing out their curly hair did the thoughtful silence snap. 'How could she leave us?' Leala sobbed, collapsing onto the edge of the bath. Maia, Ava and Ellie al glanced at each other, finally forced to except what had happened; their mother had abandoned them. Instinctively, the three of them gathered around Leala. Maia and Ellie sat on either side of her and put an arm around her and Ava sat on the floor at her knees, folding her arms across them and resting her chin on her hands. 'I don't know,' Maia said slowly, 'but we'll be okay. We've got each other and Dad.' Leala sniffed and dried her eyes. 'Do you really think it'll be okay?' she asked her sisters in a whisper. 'Definitely,' Ava said determinedly, 'Besides; we're witches! What could be bad?' They all laughed before exiting the little bathroom and heading down stairs. 'There you are!' exclaimed their father, pulling them into a one armed hug, trying very hard to smile. Professor Longbottom smiled at them. 'Ready to go?' he asked. The sisters nodded; they were ready.
AN: Hi :) Hope you liked it! Reviews would be nice, if you can. Thanks. xxx