My formal introduction to the world of wizards and witches came on a typical late August afternoon. I had travelled to London for a fun two-day vacation. Dressed in jean capris and black tank top, I was ready for another day of wandering. My light brown, slightly curly hair kept flying in my face with the wind, even though it barely reached my shoulders.
I had known about the wizarding world before this day, but I never really encountered it. Had I listened to the voice in the back of my head, I might have thought twice about walking down that road. But I didn't. The slight warning was ignored as I felt confident in my ability to take care of myself if danger arose.
As I walked, I thought about the different ingredients I needed for certain potions back home. Plus, I was starting to run low on quite a few other items (parchment for spells, a decent pot for brewing potions, and some treats for my pets). I shook my head in an attempt to clear my thoughts. I was on vacation. I had specifically gone here to get away from my magical life for a short time. Travelling to London for a couple of days had been a whim decision, but I quickly realized how much I had needed it. I was content to just stroll the streets, stopping at small cafes and boutiques as I saw them.
My green eyes flicked back and forth across the street. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a strange looking pub named the Leaky Cauldron. I balked and nearly tripped as I walked past the place. Turning around, I stared at the door. No doubt about it, I could definitely sense the presence of magic here. Closing my eyes, I concentrated on the aura around the pub and determined a barrier was in place. Strange. Why would a barrier be placed around a dinky pub?
Only one way to find out, I smirked as I pushed the door open. The lighting was dim with a heavy atmosphere of alcohol and smoke. I nearly choked upon my entrance. Though it was midday, the place was populated with a fair amount of people.
The customers were as strange as the name. Old women in large brim hats were drinking interesting mixtures. A tall, pale man in a black trench coat was sipping from a shot glass filled with a thick, dark red liquid. Other customers were dressed in purple and green cloaks. I quickly realized that I was surrounded by witches and wizards, with the exception of the pale man in the trench coat-he was a vampire.
I paused momentarily as I tried to deduce the reason for such a large barrier. Now that I was inside, I could tell the pub was surrounded by several different types of barriers. Surely these kinds of barriers would not be in place simply to protect a pub for magical beings? I knew I needed more information before trying to determine a reason. Surprisingly, no one questioned why an underaged girl was here. Keeping to the shadows to not draw attention to myself, I attempted to pinpoint a stronger magical energy. There! I strode to a back door that seemed to lead to storage space.
I swung the door open, using all my effort to not burst with excitement upon my discovery. Disappointment was only the beginning of what I felt after closing the door behind me. I was facing a brick wall with a garbage can nearby. That was it. Seriously.
"This can't be all," I muttered softly. Magical energy seemed to be in abundance on the other side of the wall. The right corner of my mouth drew upwards. I raised my right hand, thought the spell I wanted, and watched as the bricks moved to form an archway into another street.
The street was lined with small shops that catered to the everyday needs of a witch and wizard. People mingled about talking with each other, haggling about prices, or running around with friends. How had I never known about this place? I could easily get necessary items for potions here as well as more books about various spells.
I stepped through the archway, my head and eyes constantly moving to take everything in. Magical energy abounded here; emitting from the shops, people, items-even the air had a magical feel. A part of me knew I had no right to be there, but I didn't want to leave; I was far too intrigued. I was different from the people around me, yet we still had magic in common.
All of a sudden, someone bumped my shoulder and I was knocked off balance. Regaining my composure, I whirled around to see who had run into me.
A red-headed teen was sprawled on the ground. He looked to be about my age. Someone who looked exactly like him was a few steps away from him. Despite being on the ground, the teen had a cheerful smile on his face.
I held out my hand to help him up. "Sorry about that, I wasn't paying attention," I stated with a smile. Grasping his hand, I was taken aback by the amount of magical power connected to his aura. I was able to read his particular magical signature while helping him stand.
"No. It was my fault," the boy said once he was standing. He was quite a bit taller than me, a fact that took me by surprise. His eyes were a chestnut brown that reminded me of the trees in New Hampshire. A light of mischief seemed to gleam in them.
"Fred, come on," yelled the other boy. With a smile and a wink, Fred took off to catch up to the other boy, whom I assumed to be his brother, and possibly twin.
I continued to stand in the street unable to move, still in shock from the encounter. That is until I noticed a small trace of Fred's magic. Confused, I searched for the cause of the magical energy I was feeling. Did wizards leave traces of their magic in the air? I spotted a wand laying on the ground. As I got closer, I immediately knew it belonged to Fred and had been responsible for the energy I felt.
The wand was 14 inches long made of dogwood. The core was a unicorn hair. Fascinated (I had never studied a wand up close), I watched as the magical energy of the wand was directly tied to Fred's magical signature. The magical energies were nearly inseparable.
Regardless of my fascination, I knew I needed to return the wand to its rightful owner. Thus, I begin the task of tracking Fred's magical signature.
I easily found him and his brothers standing outside the bookstore. I tapped him on the shoulder to gain his attention. "Excuse me, I think you dropped this earlier when you bumped into me," I explained as I handed him the wand.
He turned to face me with a look of surprise. Then it lit up as he recognized his wand. "Thanks. I didn't realize I had dropped it." Suddenly, his look-a-like brother was looking at me in confusion. Fred's face soon adopted a similar look. The way they moved in unison, mirrored each other by instinct, made me start to believe my twin theory was far more accurate.
"How did you know it was mine?" he questioned with crossed arms. His brother had rested his elbow on Fred's shoulder.
"I located the magical energy signature and traced it to the matching owner," I explained in a matter of fact tone, shrugging my shoulders. Tracing magical signatures was fairly easy for me; I'd been aware of them for as long as I could remember.
"You can do that?" the brother stated in awe.
I smirked, placing a hand on my hip. "Yup. Not that difficult really. Once you know how to do it that is."
"I didn't catch your name before," Fred remarked as he stuck out his hand.
I smiled and shook his outstretched hand. "I'm Merla."
"Fred. This is my other, but lesser, half George," he introduced the brother by his side.
"Twins. That actually makes a lot of sense. You're magical energies are fairly similar but still unique. It's nice to meet you guys."
"So how come we've never seen you around here before?"
"If you couldn't tell from the accent, I'm American."
"I was wondering about that," George replied. "Do you go to school there?"
"School? No. I got kicked out of school. Three times actually. I'm done with being stuck in a classroom behind a desk. Besides, I never actually learned anything in school; everything I know I learned from books."
"Cool," Fred and George stated at the same time.
"Have you ever thought about Hogwarts?" George wondered.
"You probably couldn't kicked out there," Fred added.
"We've pulled off loads of pranks and they haven't kicked us out yet."
"It's not really my kind of school," I said quickly, thinking on the spot. "But I'm sure it's cool. I've heard wonderful things about it." While Hogwarts may have been a remarkable school for them, it was not the place for me; I'm not exactly a witch.
At that moment, an older woman came out. I had seen her before with the group when I first ran into Fred, so I could only assume she was their mother.
"Ah, there you two are. Your father is in line paying for your books. Soon we'll be going to Madam Malkin's. You two have grown too much and will need new robes," the woman said to the twins. "Hello dearie, I'm Molly Weasley." She smiled as she noticed me.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Merla."
"Well, Merla, dear. Are you a student at Hogwarts?"
"No. I don't do school. And I live in America. I'm really just here visiting."
"All on your own?" Her face adopted one of strong motherly concern. "Where are your parents?"
"Yes. I'm alright though. I'm used to travelling on my own. My parents died several years ago. I have a wonderful aunt who watches out for me, but she's busy with her work."
"Oh, you poor dear. I'm so sorry," she gasped. Had she known me better, I felt she would have hugged me. This was a woman who quickly accepted strangers as her own children.
Soon, she was joined by the rest of her family and the two other students. They all introduced themselves to me. Arthur was the father. Percy was the third oldest in the family. Fred and George whispered in my ear that he was a bit of an annoyance. I snorted and tried not to laugh out loud at that comment. Ron was younger than the twins. The other two students were his age: Hermione and Harry. Ginny was the youngest and only girl in the Weasley family.
I knew right away that Harry was the Harry Potter. I didn't have to be involved in the wizarding community to know about him. However, I didn't comment on that fact; I knew it could get annoying having people always stop and gawk at you. Though I did stare for a moment. A strange magical energy seemed to be around him. The energy wasn't in the area, but appeared to be connected directly to his own magical signature. I had never encountered anything like it.
"Well, I'll let you get back to your shopping," I remarked. "It was nice meeting all of you."
They chorused their agreement and turned to find the robe shop. I turned and entered the bookshop.
Nearly an hour later, I was carrying four new books and a bag of potion ingredients. I walked back through the Leaky Cauldron and into the streets of London. Upon finding a dark and narrow alleyway, I concentrated on my home and willed my body there.
I stumbled around a bit before regaining my balance when I arrived back home. I set the bag of potion ingredients on a side table and headed towards my favorite room: the library. The shelves were all built into the wall and books filled nearly every available space. Each bookcase was 10 feet tall. The second story was a little shorter at 8 feet. My books were organized first by genre and then alphabetically by author's last name. I looked at the new books and placed them accordingly. If the shelf was too high, I simply used magic to float the book to the proper space.
Sighing, I sprawled out in my armchair. A raven came to perch on the back of the chair, tilting his head at me. I smiled as I summoned a little treat for him. He squawked his approval and appreciation.
"Did anything exciting happen while I was gone, Diaval?" I asked the raven. Yes, I named him after Maleficent's raven; it was fitting name for him. He croaked in response. I nodded in understanding.
"Well, that is exciting. I can't believe that people would even dare to enter this place. It is haunted after all," I chuckled. "But I have an exciting story to tell you. I met a whole family of witches and wizards. Apparently in London, there's a whole community of them. I mean, I knew they existed, I just didn't realize how many of them were still so secluded in their own world. They even have a shopping area specific for their needs."
I continued with my story and told Diaval about the Leaky Cauldron and the Weasley family. I even mentioned that I got to meet, or somewhat meet, the famous Harry Potter. As I was talking, I was reminded of the school Fred had mentioned: Hogwarts.
I knew about Hogwarts from a book about magical schools within in the world. I had often debated on attending the Salem Witch Institute in America, but my conclusion was always the same: no. I was not a witch, therefore, I had no place in a school for witches. As a sorceress, I had magic abilities; however, my magic was stronger and often wilder than the magic I had felt by the wizarding family. I did not need a wand to perform magic. Truthfully, I performed my magic better without one. I could utilize spells and enchantments, both verbal and nonverbal, of varying difficulties. Levitation, like I used for placing my books on top shelves, was quite easy and took little effort. Teleportation, was more challenging. Although, I had enough experience with it that the steps necessary for successful teleportation were instinctual. More complex spells included curses (something I never used), transfiguration (complexness depended on the object size and if it was a living object), variations of telepathy, and creating or redesigning portals and barriers (like the ones that existed around my manor).
Although I told Fred school wasn't my thing, I decided visiting Hogwarts wouldn't be bad. I could just see what all the students did on a daily basis and make some friends my age. Well, friends who actually knew about magic. I had a friend who was normal, non-magic. She didn't know I could do magic, and I knew it was better to keep it that way.
With my thoughts still on Hogwarts, I summoned down the new book I had about Hogwarts titled Hogwarts, A History by Bathilda Bagshot. The book floated lazily to me, a purple glow surrounded the book. The purple energy was a manifestation of my powers. Most spells I used resulted in the purple energy, but I could do some more difficult spells and incantations without it.
Before I settled down to read, I called out for Akela, my pet wolf. I found him as a pup in the woods neighboring my manor of a home. He had been halfway frozen to death. My guess was that he had been separated from the pack or his mother had died. Anyway, I took him and nursed him back to health. He's been by my side ever since.
"I want you to keep a watch out, more so towards the front door. Diaval tells me we had some visitors today. While that amuses me, I would prefer to be left alone now. Chase away anyone who comes close," I instructed him.
His head lowered, and he trotted out of the room to guard the manor.
I relaxed more as I opened the book and began to read about the magical school.
"Thanks for the notice buddy," I whispered to the raven when he alerted me it was nearly time for his dinner. My fingers ran down his chest, stroking his feathers. Setting the book on the table next to my chair, I rose and strolled to the kitchen.
I raised my hands and muttered under my breath. Purple energy floated around my palms and flew across the room in wisps. Cupboards opened. Pots and pans came down from hooks. Knives joined the vegetables on the cutting board, promptly starting to chop the carrots into small pieces. The potatoes were being peeled over the sink. The stove started and a large pot of water settled itself down on the burner.
I released some of the energy so that my hands were free. The items in the kitchen still had the energy around them as they magically made the soup.
Diaval had perched on my shoulder and observed the process of making dinner. I summoned some small berries to me and held them up for Diaval to eat.
"Here you go, pretty bird," I smiled at my pet.
A soft slither across the floor distracted my attention from my cooking. I bent down to the ground and held out my hand to my third pet. Her name was Titania and she was a coatl, a winged snake. She wrapped herself around my arm and rested her head, and part of her torso, on my left shoulder. Her head and feathery wings were silver, but then her scales faded into dark midnight blue that shimmered in the soft light. She whispered in my ear and told me of her most recent adventures.
"I had been wondering when I would see you again," I told her. "But I am glad you enjoyed yourself."
Titania was not full size as coatls can get up to 12 feet long. I used a spell to make her smaller; she is easier to carry when she's closer to three feet long. If I have need of her though, I can easily use a spell to make Titania her normal size which is around 8 feet long with a 6-foot wingspan.
With Titania safely on my arm, I returned to observing the cooking. The soup would be done in a few minutes; magic really helps speed up processes.
I thought back to the book I had been reading and all the facts I now knew about Hogwarts. The school was founded by four friends: Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff, and Salazar Slytherin (wizards love strange names). The four friends sought to establish a higher level of learning for witches and wizards. Their views and opinions on the character traits of the students selected to attend their school were slightly different, thus creating four different houses named after the founders. Gryffindor valued chivalry, bravery, daring, and nerve. The Gryffindor House's colors are gold and scarlet, and its emblem is a lion. Ravenclaw preferred the values of intelligence, knowledge, creativity, and wit. Represented by an eagle, their colors are blue and bronze. Hufflepuff sought students who were hard working, patient, loyal, and fair. Their house's colors are yellow and black, and their animal is a badger. Slytherin preferred students of pure-blood status with ambition, cunningness, and resourcefulness. As Slytherin was a Parselmouth, or a person who could talk to snakes, their emblem is a snake. Their colors are emerald and silver.
I also learned that Hogwarts was pretty much a castle with multiple rooms and levels, even a courtyard and surrounding forest. The castle contained staircases that moved and some secret passageways. The Great Hall, where the students ate meals, was a large room with floating candles and a ceiling enchanted to look like the sky.
A beeping noise informed me that dinner was ready, so I hurried over to the stove and scooped up some soup. I glided over to the small table I had set up nearby and sat down to enjoy my meal. Moments later, I felt Titania stir, alerted by the presence of another magical being. Akela barked with glee, confirming Titania's senses as well as telling me the person was someone familiar. Few people knew how to get to my house. I had a strong suspicion of who was about to barge through my front door.