"Hermione, come to dinner" my mother calls from the kitchen. "Just a minute" I shout back, without thinking. I'm sitting in my room, turning the thick envelope addressed to me in acid green ink, over in my hands. The wax seal of a badger, lion, serpent and bird surrounding the large letter H is rough against my fingertips. I sigh, to open or not to open, the decision has haunted me for the last week.

So as not to annoy my parents, I join them at the dinner table ready for yet another evenings worth of them discussing the dentists surgery and their forgetful yet endearing secretary, Mrs Patterson. When Rowan was around we would roll our eyes at each other then stifle the uncontrollable giggles that followed. It made the whole rigmarole bearable, even enjoyable. I miss him so hard it hurts.

Rowan, my brother, my ex-brother now, I guess. He had bright coppery red hair, as soon as people saw him they singled him out as a joker, a trickster and more often than not a troublemaker. His brown eyes danced and sparkled constantly with emotion. His laugh was so contagious, it may well have been the plague. We did everything together, we were twins after all. We went to school with matching pencil cases, bags, rulers and notebooks. We shared a bedroom and often stayed up late talking and giggling about our secrets. I remember once we were on our annual family camping trip in the Forest of Dean. The dullest place in England really, or so I thought.

Rowan and I were sharing a tent, as always. Then he started telling me all these ghost stories about the ghosts of the forests, lost campers and hikers who had never returned to their families. I was extremely gullible and hung on to his every word. After he had scared me silly, he announced that he was going to sleep. I was tired too and agreed. I woke during the night to footsteps, not the practical, heavy hiking boot clad feet of our parents but more like shuffling with intermittent dragging. " The ghosts" I screamed and threw off my sleeping bag. In a flash I was out of the tent. The darkness enveloped me and I couldn't see a thing. I was sobbing by this point, sure the ghosts had come to get me. Then "BOO!" I nearly jumped out of my skin. I heard the laugh that I knew so well. "tricked you, tricked you" came Rowan's taunting call. I was so mad that I chased him round the tent until I had pinned him onto the ground, giggling now at my own stupidity. Our parents, wondering what the commotion was came out of their tent. Realizing there was no point forcing us back to bed, we all sat up and had a cup of cocoa, sugar free of course.

Rowan and I didn't have a special twin connection or anything. We couldn't read each other's minds. We didn't speak a special twin language. We often fought over stupid stuff like who could do a handstand for longer (me) or who had the biggest feet (him). We loved each other to bits. I punched a girl in the face who called him 'Carrot-head', he slapped someone because they said my front teeth looked like they belong on a rabbit (they do).

We protected each other from the minor dangers in life. We looked out for each other. School-yard bullies, dull teachers and strict parents were our enemies and we were the superheroes.

I know I would make a decision about the letter with the mysterious crest in a heartbeat if Rowan were here, but I have to face it, he's not.

"Hermione, Hermione" I'm shaken back to reality by my mother's voice. "Did you hear what I said?" I shrug and concentrate on pushing my casserole around the plate trying to make it look like I've eaten more than I have. " I said, we ought to take a look at some of those secondary schools, for next year. You're a very clever girl maybe you get into one of those private schools in London…"