There once was a girl by the name of Sarah. Sarah Metaviel.
She was a fairly odd girl, and she didn't play well with others. She preferred the company of books, real books, unlike the old book her parents lived by. Toys bored her, as did television. On one day, she sat in a fort made of a blanket and pillows in her bedroom, secretly listening to songs she'd never tell her parents about, Highway to Hell by an awesome death metal band called AC/DC, as she read Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. She didn't like this book very much, it was boring as hell and she was starting to regret stealing it from the library. She turned the page and saw that stupid John Galt character was STILL ranting. She stopped caring about who John Galt was a few moments after he started talking, and now, she was wondering when John Galt would shut the hell up. 1984 was so much better than this whiny pile of crap.
"Sarah! Letter!" She heard her fake mother, Marianne Keaton, yell.
Sarah hit pause on her CD Player, took out her earbuds, hid them and her book under the blanket-pile her fort easily collapsed into when she knocked the pillows over, and ran downstairs to see the front door left unlocked, a letter halfway through the letterbox.
"What is it?" Marianne yelled.
Sarah read the letter. Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry, addressed to... her? Nobody ever sent any letters to her. "It's just spam, mum! For new boilers!" She lied.
"Bin it like the rest." Marianne shouted, and then her dad opened the door, as if he smelled something rotten. That was the way he usually looked at her. "Give it here." He demanded. "Give it here, so I can burn it!"
She thought of the letter in her hand, and what was in it. Nobody had ever sent her a letter before, and she wasn't going to give it up. She shoved it down the front of her pants and ran out the house's front door while screaming, attracting the attention of all the neighbours and all the people walking around. She kept screaming and ran away from the house, and her father ran out, then stopped when he saw everyone stare at her. He stood at his house's front door and glared angrily at his fake daughter, as if he was hoping he could scare her into running back. But she was never scared of him, she hated him from the first moment she could think. The only reason she acted afraid of him normally was because she wanted to feed his pathetic ego to avoid that overweight manchild beating her. And she knew... someone that cared so much about what people thought of him would never risk his reputation by trying to take that letter in public.
She kept screaming and running, and didn't stop until she was several blocks away from her father. There, she stopped, sighed, and leaned against a wall. Her throat and lungs hurt, and she kept walking, refusing to go back. When she'd gotten far away enough, she took out her letter and opened it up.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Minerva McGonagall
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Mr/Ms. Metaviel.
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Headmistress
The second page said...
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
UNIFORM
First-year students will require:
1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)
2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
4. One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)
Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags.
COURSE BOOKS
All students should have a copy of each of the following:
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)
by Miranda Goshawk
A History of Magic
by Bathilda Bagshot
Magical Theory
by Adalbert Waffling
A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration
by Emeric Switch
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi
by Phyllida Spore
Magical Drafts and Potions
by Arsenius Jigger
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
by Newt Scamander
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection
by Quentin Trimble
OTHER EQUIPMENT
1 wand
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set glass or crystal phials
1 telescope
1 set brass scales
Students may also bring, if they desire, an owl OR a cat OR a toad.
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS
ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICK
Yours sincerely,
Lucinda Thomsonicle-Pocus
Chief Attendant of Witchcraft Provisions
"Huh." She said, surprised. She'd just risked a beating for a prank letter. She probably wasn't going to be fed tonight, and she'd have to steal food again.
...That's what she wanted to think. But instead, she felt something within her, a feeling. It wanted to believe in this magic. It wanted to believe she could go to Hogwarts, and the power inside her, the power that her classmates feared, the power that whispered the answers to questions to her in class, the power that made her fake father think he'd finished beating her and go back to bed when he actually hadn't touched her, the power that let her turn invisible and take whatever she wanted, the power that made bad things happen to anyone that crossed her... it was magic, all along.
She took out a pen and wrote down that she would like to go, but she had none of the Wizard Supplies she needed and didn't know where to get them.
She began to walk home, wondering how she'd get an Owl, and how she'd send that message back to Hogwarts...
She had an idea. She went to the local pet shop, and imagined herself fading out, willing herself to become sneakier. She crouched and felt her heartbeat get slower, and now that she was forcing it, she noticed her body start to fade out of visibility, becoming harder to see. Silently, she snuck into the pet store, and touched an Owl's cage. It was a big white one, and when she touched the cage, it and the bird became as almost-invisible as her. The bird seemed confused, and screeched, but nobody heard it except for her. She took the birdcage out, and walked out of town in that invisible state, ignoring its annoying screeching. When she was alone, she relaxed, and became fully visible once again, the cage and bird doing the same.
"Hey!" She shouted at the bird, showing it her Hogwarts letter. "Can you take this letter to Hogwarts?"
It screeched in confusion.
"TAKE THIS LETTER TO PROFESSOR MCGONAGALL!" She shouted, and she felt her magic activate. She felt it enter the bird's mind, its eyes flashing purple for a moment to show her how much power over it. The bird easily opened its cage door, took the letter, and it flew off to Scotland.
"Great." Sarah said happily, starting to walk home. And then, she felt her magic activate again. Her body felt lighter and faster, and the world around her slowed down. She ran home, feeling herself speed up and run faster than she ever thought possible, easily passing cars and getting home in seconds. She opened the door, and let the time-controlling spell turn off.
She saw her father slam the door open. "YOU!" He yelled.
"GO TO SLEEP." Sarah ordered.
"Okay." He said stupidly, eyes flashing purple. He went back to the couch, and went to sleep.
"Sarah?" Her mother asked fearfully.
"GO TO SLEEP!" Sarah shouted.
"Goodnight!" She said happily, and went into a coma.
"Much better." Sarah said as she went back to her bedroom, rebuilt her pillow fort with her magic, and sat back in it, determined to finish the book. She put her earbuds back in, and resumed listening to Highway to Hell on loop. And there, she would stay, until she wanted a new book or someone showed up to help her get Wizard Supplies.
It didn't take long before an old woman appeared in her bedroom, looking down at her pillow fort in surprise. "Seraphina Metaviel?" She asked.
"Yeah, that's me." Sarah said, getting up and taking out her earbuds. She knew Sarah was short for Seraphina, but she usually went with Sarah, it sounded more normal. Then again, Seraphina sounded a lot cooler.
"I'm the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Professor Minerva McGonagall." The old woman said.
"...Cool." She said, not sure what to say. "Are you going to help me get Wizard supplies?"
"Of course. Come with me." McGonagall said, holding out her hand. Sarah took it, and they teleported out of there, leaving the CD player behind, still playing.
I'm on the highway to hell... On the highway to hell... Highway to hell...