Life, or Something Like It

Chapter 1: Questions

Ahh, September 1st. The day school starts. Of course, I have to go to King's Cross Station so I can catch the Hogwarts Express from Platform 9 ¾. The same happens every year. I didn't always go to Hogwarts, though. Well, actually, no one does, but especially for me. I didn't start going there until last year, in what would have normally been 4th year. I probably sound really confusing, so I'll start my story at the beginning.

It was a typical summer day- typical, meaning that I was sitting at home with my brother, being bored out of my mind, and watching T.V. Oh, and of course, the dog barking like crazy. But then again, seeing as how he's always barking, I really didn't think much of it, thinking it was probably the neighbors. Even so, I still got up to see just what it was, because it was really starting to get annoying. I looked out the front window, expecting to see the neighbors or their dogs, but I saw nothing.
"Dog, you're nuts," I said, then stopped. I could have sworn I saw something. All of a sudden, I saw a huge barn owl fly away. Well, I finally figured out what the dog had been barking at. But, seeing as how it had flown away, I shifted my focus back to what I had been doing- watching T.V. Reruns were the best.
After a while, my parents came home. Well, actually, the more accurate statement would be my mum and step dad. They got married when I was four, and I started calling him Dad the day they got married.
"Ánië, get the mail," he said now.
Grumbling, I got up to go and get the mail. I reached the end of the driveway, opened up the mailbox, and pulled all the envelopes out. While walking back up to the house, I checked to see if I had any letters. I usually didn't, but I always looked nevertheless. At the bottom of the pile, I saw a strange-looking envelope addressed to.me!
I came back in and handed all the envelopes to my mom, except for the one addressed to me.
"Who's that for?" she asked, pointing to the thick envelope in my hand.
"Uh, me. It's from Jojo," I said, wanting to go to my room and open it.
"Oh, okay," she said, allowing me to escape to my room.
Sitting on my bed, facing the window, I slowly turned it over and opened it. Inside, there were a few sheets of.parchment. How odd. I opened the paper, and started to read.
Dear Ms Byrne, We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I remember thinking, "What is this?" I honestly had no idea. For a moment, the idea of a joke flitted across my mind, but it was banished with a single thought. No one would do something like that. So, for the time being, I had to assume it was true. But, if it was true, why didn't my mother say anything to me before? Unless.she didn't know. I then thought of my father's side of the family- my real father. I really didn't know much about his side. I mean, I hadn't seen him in 3 years, and I only saw my aunts, uncles, and cousins at Christmas. I saw my grandparents more often, but not that much. But I loved them, and trusted them. Glancing at the letter, I tried to figure out what to do. For some reason, I didn't want to show my mum. I figured that the only person I could talk to was my grandmother. Luckily, my brother and I were going to camp with them that weekend, so I would just ask about it then.