Life is all about moments of impact and how they change our live…forever. – The Vow
Carina Lewis stared down at the item in her hand. Sparks had ignited from the small little stick where two red lines had appeared; the word positive floating across the magical little screen. Her hands were shaking as she continued to watch the small lettering bob up and down in front of her eyes. She felt sick. How could she have been so reckless? So selfish?
She wasn't sure when she had become this person. It was a darker shadow of her former self. A person who was silent yet acted impulsively. Everyone knew she was damaged since the end of the second wizarding war. Once she had been happy, sensible and filled with imagination. Her mind tried to comprehend how she ended up a broken mess. Thoughts, faces and memories whirled around in her head. What was the exact moment where she had slipped off the course that was set up for her? Somewhere along the way she had hit a downward spiral and remained helpless to try and get it back together. Yes, she had a job in the Ministry of Magic, but she held that by its very last string.
Her plans had been so different. She was going to be married, respected in her job, with children – not out of wedlock- and still be reading her silly romance novels. She couldn't even remember the last time she had picked up a book because she wanted to read it. Honestly, she didn't even remember the last time she believed in love. All her friends had their lives together; married, children and great at their work. It only made her feel worse. It made her look pathetic to everyone else.
Now, here she was standing in her bathroom and holding a stupid magical pregnancy stick. It was confirmation of what was residing in her stomach. The little bundle that was going to grow and grow until she would no longer be able to hide her little secret. It was going to be born only to cause more trouble and more heartbreak to those around her.
It was all him.
Carina dropped and sat on the edge of the bathtub, her fingers curled around the stick. The same question burned inside her head. How did she end up here?
Carina Lewis, sat on the edge of the banking with a book splayed open on her lap. She altered her glasses, pressing them against the bridge of her nose. Just beneath her, a few fields away, she could see The Burrow. The building resembled a lopsided house that had added extra rooms on all sides throughout the years. It looked like a patchwork quilt; each room a different shade of brown or the bricks a slightly different colour. It was magical. The little home was often infested with little gnomes (actual living breathing gnomes) that looked like miniature brown trolls. She could see the small little gnomes from her spot on the bank trying to sneak back into the Weasley's garden. The Weasley's lived in the Burrow, a wonderful family of red heads and several children. They were like Carina's family and like her, they were wizards.
Ron Weasley was the same age as Carina, just turned eleven and eagerly awaiting the arrival of his acceptance letters to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The sun was beating down on her back and she could feel the thin layer of sweat grazing between her skin and shirt. Her fingers tapped against the pages of her book as she gazed down into her neighbour's garden. Had Ron received his letter yet? Her nails scratched against the ink of the pages as she wondered. It was a muggle book her mother had given her; Wuthering Heights. Carina loved stories about romance and her favourite were the tragedies; where two people loved one another, but couldn't be together.
Carina wasn't like Ron. She wasn't a 'pureblood'. Her mother was a muggle, Adriana, who had married Jonathan Lewis, a wizard who worked in the department of Improper Use of Magic at the Ministry of Magic. It was fascinating belonging to two worlds; having the knowledge and culture of the two residing inside you. Carina smiled to herself. She was proud of her heritage.
"Carina?" Her mother popped her head out of the window. The same fiery red hair that Carina had inherited herself brushed against the white powdered cottage. "Ron is here to see you."
Carina rose eagerly from her favourite spot and raised her eyebrows at her mother. The book on her lap fell to the grass, the pages now wet with the fresh dew, forgotten to Carina. She pushed her glasses onto the top of her forehead, her bright blue eyes glancing at her mother's face. Did this mean her letter had finally arrived? Was she finally about to receive the letter she had waited all her life for? Ever since she was a child she remembered her father telling her stories of his days at Hogwarts where he blossomed as a wizard and made lifelong friends. He always used to tell her: "there's no place like Hogwarts."
"Has the post been?" Carina asked, coming to the cottage window.
"Why don't you come see for yourself?" Adriana Lewis gave her daughter a soft smile.
Speeding around the little family cottage and sliding through the front door, Carina came to halt in front of her best friend. Ron Weasley stood before her, flaming hair like her own, and freckles dotting his face. He was grinning like an idiot at her, his ears and cheeks were tinted with pink as he waved a yellowish parchment in the air. His tall and awkward frame meant that she couldn't reach to see if the letter was hers or his own. She was much shorter than Ron and had no chance of getting the letter he held in his hand.
"Is that yours?" She asked excitedly. "Is that the letter?"
"Yeah, "Ron nodded. "Errol just delivered. I opened the letter with Mum and she told me to run up here and tell you straight away. Fred and George congratulated me by saying they thought I was a squib and glad that I hadn't let the family down."
Carina laughed. She could imagine the twins mocking their younger brother as he received his letter, both calculating their next prank.
"Have you opened yours yet?"
"No. I think Artemis just delivered it too. Mum just called me."
"Get a move on then!"
A laugh escaped the two young children as they headed into the kitchen. Artemis the family owl was resting on the window sill, letters at her feet. Mrs Lewis was washing the dishes and placing them back into the right cupboards. She looked up when Carina and Ron arrived.
"Hi, Ron." Mrs Lewis smiled. "Got your letter, I see? Bet Molly is proud. We will have to have a family dinner to celebrate. All of us. Would you and your family like to come? It would be lovely for us all to celebrate."
"Yeah, that would be lovely. I'll ask her when I go home." Ron smiled but his eyes sparkled with his confusion as he noticed that Mrs Lewis was washing the dishes by hand and not with magic. Carina shook her head at him. Her mother had never quite gotten used to the idea of magic but Ron never quite got used to seeing something done without it. The two of them were quite funny together sometimes; opposites coming together.
Carina, however, ignored them as she heard her mother explain to Ron how washing the dishes worked without casting a spell to do it for you. Usually, Carina would just stand there and watch them as they talked but right now she wanted to open her acceptance letter. It was her dream to go to Hogwarts and it was finally a reality. She stroked Artemis and the little owl leaned into her touch. Picking up the letter in the same yellowish parchment that resembled Ron's, she leaned against the kitchen counter to open it. There was green scrawl across the front:
Miss C Lewis
Thornhill Cottage
Ottery St. Catchpole
Devon, England.
Her fingers run over the bumps of the Hogwarts crest, her fingertips brushing against the animals of the four houses; the badger, the raven, the snake and the lion. It was beautiful. It felt like the history of Hogwarts was right beneath her fingertips. She pulled out the first piece of paper, excitement bubbling in her chest. This was happening. She was going to be attending Hogwarts!
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
Headmaster; Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump,
International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Miss Lewis,
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 1ST September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.
Yours Sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
Carina squealed clutching the papers in her hand. She couldn't believe the words in front of her. It was finally happening.
"What does it say?" Mrs Lewis appeared over Carina's shoulder, her eyes scanning the green scrawl on the page. With each flick of her eyes to the next word, her mother's smile grew wider and so did Carina's. Ron's ears grew pink as he began to reread his letter. His eyes growing wider and wider as he read the words. Carina recognised that look of panic on her best friend's face. he was worrying about the cost of the equipment. Her mother and father would offer Mr and Mrs Weasley money if they needed it but they always refused. Carina admired them for it.
Uncurling the second letter in her hands, she read;
Uniform
First year students will require;
Three sets of plain work robes (black)
One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
One winter cloak (black, sliver fastenings)
Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags
Set 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 Beats and Where to Find Them by New 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 an owl OR a cat OR a toad
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS
"That's so many books!" Carina squealed clutching the letters against her chest. "And I get a wand! Aw, Mum can I have my own owl? Please? Ron, we will have to go shopping together!"
Ron laughed at Carina's excitement. Her happiness seemed to radiate around the small little cottage and his once flushed face seemed to regain natural colour. The two young children began discussing what they thought Hogwarts would be like, which house they would be in, the feasts and classes. They couldn't wait to go. September was just too far away.
Carina glanced in the mirror; the small stick now resting between the taps on the sink so she didn't have to look at it anymore. This had been the first step; the letter. The acceptance letter had been the very beginning. The start of her friendship that would one day be famous, the start of the rise of the Dark Lord and the start of everything with him. Receiving her letter at eleven years old was the very moment that began her journey to nothing.