Magical Day
It was a warm day in April and Dr. Temperance Brennan was walking home her now 11 years old daughter, Christine from school.
"Mom! I can walk myself home! Michael goes to a private school in England and he is only a year older than me!" Christine told her mother as they turned to the street they lived on.
"England is statistically safer than Washington D.C., so you are not going home alone, Christine."
The rest of the walk was spent in complete silence, mother and daughter walking next to each other. As they reached their house, a black SUV stopped behind them and a familiar voice called after them.
"Bones, Christine! C'mon, hop in!" it was Christine's father and Brennan's husband, FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth. Christine ran to the car and jumped into the back seat while Brennan sat in next to Booth.
"What is it Booth?" she asked as he started the engine and drove away from their home.
"We got a case..."
"But what about Christine? She's too young to…" Brennan said quickly.
"She'll be staying in the lab in your office. The body has been transported to the lab already as it was found in the museum."
Brennan turned to look outside the window, trying not to shout at Booth for not being able to examine the remains at the original crime scene.
"By the way, Wendell said Christine got a letter addressed to the Jeffersonian. Weird isn't it?"
"Yeah it's strange. We'll open it later." Brennan nodded.
An hour later Brennan was about to finish the preliminary examinations, when a very excited Hodgins yelled 'Oh my God!' next to her. Jack Hodgins, the king of the lab bug guy was examining the clothing of the victim when he found a long piece of wood shaped into a strange form.
"What is that, Hodgins?"
"I know exactly what this is, but you are not going to believe it!"
"Try me then." said Dr. Cam Saroyan coming up onto the forensic platform.
"This is a handmade wand."
"A wand?" Brennan asked shocked.
"Yes! A 14 ½ in ash wand, it's pretty unyielding. I bet it has a special core." Hodgins continued still excited.
"You mean, a wand, like in those Harry Potter tales Dr. Hodgins?" Cam asked just as shocked as Brennan.
"Exactly." he took a deep breath and then turned to Brennan "I never really told any of you where Michael Vincent is..."
"Of course you did! You said he is in a private school in England."
"Yeah, well, that's not exactly the truth. He goes to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
"Don't be absurd, Hodgins, that school is not real, it only exists in that tale." Brennan laughed then continued to examine the bones.
"Ha, wait till Christine receives her acceptance letter too..." Hodgins added before running of with the wood in his hand.
Booth was sitting in Brennan's office helping Christine to open her letter. The envelope was yellowish, addressed in emerald green. He pulled out the letter and read:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHRAFT AND WIZARDRY
Headmistress: Minerva McGonagall
Dear Ms. Booth,
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 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Headmistress
Booth could not believe what he had just read.
"This is so cool! I'm gonna be a witch!" Christine jumped up and down in her mother's office. Booth couldn't say a word. Hodgins ran into Brennan's office to find Booth totally shocked and Christine jumping around.
"You got your letter, little girl?" Hodgins smiled.
"YES! I'm gonna be a witch!"
"You are going to the same school as Michael!" Hodgins smiled as Christine hugged him.
"I'm going to England?" she smiled her brightest smile.
"Hold on Bug guy, she is NOT going to England on her own!" Booth finally found his voice.
"There is no way you can stop me Dad! I wanna be a witch, I wanna learn magic and all."
"You know Hodgins, you might gonna be investigating my body in your next murder case..." Booth sighed as he realized how Brennan would react to a witch in the family. Plus, he was still trying to wrap his head around the idea as well.
"What are you all doing here?" Brennan's voice surprised them all.
"I'm going to England. I'm going to England." Christine sang as she danced around her mother.
"You are definitely NOT going to England Christine."
"I'm gonna be a witch, Mom!" she smiled and pointed at her letter in Booth's hand.
"She got her acceptance letter. Just like I told you Dr. B." Hodgins smiled and left the office to examine the wand he found earlier.
"There is no such a thing as magic, Sweetheart. So you cannot be a witch."
"I am gonna be a witch and I'm going to go to school in England!" Christine couldn't talk about anything else.
"Booth?" Brennan looked at her husband.
"Look Bones, I know you don't believe in magic, but hey, it's the same school as the Hodgins kid goes to, so nothing wrong could happen right? Give it one semester and I'm sure she won't like it."
"Yeah Daddy, 'cause I'm going to LOVE it!" Christine laughed as she took her letter from her father's hand and sat down to read the enclosed list. She started reading it out loud:
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, silver fastenings)
Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags.
"This is plain nonsense." Brennan said as she listened to her daughter continue reading the list:
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
"Okay, stop reading Christine. Where would we buy all these things at all? I'm sure you are not getting these things at a regular book shop." Brennan said as she finally realized even she couldn't stop Christine from going to that school.
"The letter says we can buy all these things at Diagon Alley, in London. I'm sure Uncle Hodgins knows where that is!" she said excitement still in her voice.
"All right, you can go on one condition."
"What is that Mom?"
"You will be sending us a letter every week. Every single week. Maybe every day."
"Deal!" Christine laughed and ran up to her mother to hug her tightly. Temperance Brennan couldn't believe that there was going to be a witch in her family. She was still having a hard time accepting that magic is in fact real.
The End