Chapter 1

Elisa

As moods go, I currently found myself in the foulest.

Shielding my eyes with one hand against the blazing sun and holding my bike with the other, I tried to estimate how long it would take me to get back to the house. If I would be able to actually ride my bike, it would probably take me 15 minutes, 20 tops. I glanced at the flat tire on the rusty looking front wheel and sighed miserably. On foot, it would take me more than double. The frown on my already scrunched up face deepened and I swore not so silently and not so under my breath. If I could just use my wand and magically repair the stupid flat …

"No," I tried to tell myself firmly, "the Ministry already sent you enough warning owls. One more illegal spell, and you'll find yourself facing the entire Wizengamot in a hearing."

I sighed again, possibly even deeper than the first time, and, not seeing any other option, set for the house on foot.

Making my way down the dusty road which ploughed through field after field desperate for a drop of rain, I kept an eye on the magically enlarged reusable tote dangling from the bike's handlebar. In it was a giant, with magical long-lasting fireworks equipped, cake. "Happy birthday Julie!" was the glittering message it carried.

Julie is not my name, in case you were wondering. I usually don't carry around a cake for my own birthday. Julie Hastings is my cousin, and she would turn 17 tomorrow. The lucky bint would finally be able to use magic outside school walls.

My father and I were temporarily living with her, her parents and her brother Max until we found a place of our own, and I had decided to order a cake at Merryweather's. It's the nearest magical bakery, just about two villages over from Wimbourne and the house in the Dorset countryside where the Hastings live. And in order to keep the cake a surprise, I'd taken the old rusty bike out of the barn behind the house and had gone for a ride.

Technically however, I wasn't really allowed to leave the Hastings' land, as there remained some practicalities to be settled still, regarding the problem that was my mother. All paperwork though, as I had repeatedly told myself while I nervously made my way to Merryweather's. Besides, Max should be covering for me, so I could be back before anyone (meaning darling Dad) noticed I'd left the premises of the old farm turned chic rustic house that was the Hastings' house in the first place.

That plan had, of course, had been formed without taking a possible flat into account.

"I knew I should have bloody flown there instead", I grumbled, pushing a strand of hair that'd been sticking to my slightly sweaty forehead behind my ear.

Mid-August, and according to the weather reports, the heat wave that had been raging on for the past two weeks would culminate tonight, with an enormous thunderstorm. I could feel it approaching. Not only was the air heavy with the sickly sweet smell of honeysuckle growing near the sides of the road, the atmosphere also felt too warm and clammy, I could literally feel its weight pressing down on me.

I glanced at my watch. Normal magical teenagers get one for their seventeenth birthday, but Dad gave me mine a couple of years ago. The little stars and moon around its edge told me it was almost half past 7 pm. I really needed to be home before that storm arrived, or Dad got off his shift at the hospital, so I quickened my pace, passing under a beautiful weeping willow.

And then, out of the blue, a boy jumped out of the tree.

I almost dropped my bike in surprise at any other human stupid enough to brave this pre-thunderstorm heat. Thank Merlin I didn't, because the consequences for the birthday cake would have been utterly disastrous. The boy was about my age, which is 16, maybe a few years older. Wearing a loose striped shirt, and his blonde hair sticking up in a nonchalant way. I thought I saw the corners of his mouth twitch at my unusual clumsiness, but his face grew smooth again in no time.

"I'm sorry, did I startle you?" he said in a cool voice.

"Startle me? You fucking nearly scared me to death!"

I didn't actually say that out loud, but it took a great deal of self-control not to.

Instead I narrowed my eyes at him, and replied:

"I'm not used to people randomly jumping out of thin air," trying, and of course failing, to imitate his cool tone.

"What were you doing up there?" I asked while gesturing towards the willow's thick branches above our heads.

He shrugged.

"Just some thinking."

"Right."

An awkward silence fell.

"Well, I better get going." I said, and wanted to take off again, so Socrates here could go back to contemplating the meaning of life.

I had already passed him when he opened his mouth again.

"Perhaps you need help fixing that flat tire?" he asked, his voice still cool as the stream running in the Hastings' backyard.

I stopped, interest definitely peaked. Weird Startling Muggle boy knew how to fix my bike?

"Oh, do you know how to? That'd be brilliant!"

"Of course", he said, "let me take a look".

He kneeled beside my bicycle and focused on the flat tire.

"It is just the air valve that got a bit loose", he looked up at me.

He had piercing blue eyes, and after a couple of seconds, I looked away. I suddenly wished I had taken a jacket or sweater with me. Despite the heat, I was feeling quite cold wearing only a thin summer dress and my favorite Greek looking golden sandals.

"Easily repaired."

He chuckled and focused on the tire again. Then I noticed something. He had a wand in his hand. To an ordinary Muggle, it might have looked like a small and very smooth twig, but I saw it for what it was. A wand.

"Alright", I thought, "Weird Startling Muggle Boy isn't a Muggle at all. You've got yourself a wizard fixing the stupid thing".

He pointed his wand nonchalantly at my tire, whilst pretending to fix the valve with his other hand.

"There," he said, "all fixed", whilst the tire was almost invisibly inflating itself.

"Oh, that's great, thank you so much!"

How daft of a Muggle did he think I was? Who in their right mind would just believe a tire previously flatter than medieval wizards had believed the earth to be, could possibly be fixed and completely inflated by merely tightening the air valve?

I wished I could wipe that smug look off of his face and tell him that I was a witch myself, perfectly able to magically inflate tires had it not been for the Track, but of course I couldn't go about telling random strangers who I was. It would only draw unnecessary attention to my Dad and me, which was about the last thing we needed. Thus, I pretended to be the very grateful and completely clueless Muggle he obviously thought I was. I honestly was grateful, though. He'd saved me a probably very unpleasant walk through a surely very unpleasant storm.

"Thank you, really. I would have had to walk about another mile or three if it weren't for you," I said in a more genuine tone.

"It's a good thing you don't have to, with this storm coming."

"Yes, I best hurry, or I might still be in it," I said, plastering a polite smile on my face.

"Well, good-bye then"

"Bye, and thanks again".

I hopped on my bike and headed for the Hastings', resisting the urge to look back at the boy, who, despite the misplaced smugness, had been leaning towards very fucking handsome.

Julie

23h59.

In exactly one minute, Julie Hastings would be an adult. In exactly one minute, the world of unlimited magic would open its firmly locked to minors' doors.

Julie was sitting cross-legged on her immaculately made bed, listening to the heavy raindrops and occasional booming thunder, and staring at the vintage clock on the opposite wall. Her 12 inch hawthorn wand was in her hand, ready to perform, even though she wasn't sure with which spell she would inaugurate her newly acquired magical freedom. Julie was contemplating using her first official spell out of school to record the vocals to the new song her best friend Daniel had written, when she heard two short knocks on her bedroom door.

She pulled the elastic from her ponytail, and then draped her now loose wavy blonde hair over her left shoulder before calling:

"Come in".

The door opened, just as the clock sprang to midnight, and two people stepped into her room, both grinning broadly. Her younger brother Max and her ridiculously long-legged cousin Elisa, with a truly enormous cake in between them.

"Surprise", they whispered simultaneously.

Julie couldn't help but smile toothily. Elisa and Max started whisper-singing Happy Birthday, but Julie elegantly jumped up and threw her arms around the pair of them before they could finish.

"Urghhh, leggo!" Max whispered, trying to wrestle his way out of his sister's surprisingly strong embrace.

"Thank you thank you thank you" Julie said, hugging her surprise visitors even tighter.

"Candles. Your hair." Elisa was able to blurt out while trying to free herself as well.

Julie let go of her family quickly, going through her blonde locks with her fingers. Satisfied to see that it was still full, wavy and beautiful, she took a step back to take a good look at the cake.

"Merryweather's Magical Mouth-watering Macaroon-cake at midnight" Elisa grinned, "what do you think?"

"A lot of M's there," Julie laughed, "but it looks positively delicious."

"Let's dig in then!" Max said impatiently.

"How did you manage to get hold of it?" Julie asked after blowing out the candles, "with your indefinite house-arrest", she gestured towards her cousin with a perfectly manicured index finger "and you being… you", she gestured towards her brother.

"Oi, I'll have you …" Max started loudly, but Elisa quickly silenced him.

"Shhhh, mind the parents!" she whispered while putting a finger to her lips.

"Even though I'm quite certain they can't hear us over this humongous storm, we better not underestimate Dad."

She then turned to Julie.

"I understand your concern regarding Max's mental capacities and other obvious shortcomings, but I'm not grounded. I'm just…" but Elisa did not know how else to put not being allowed to leave the house under any circumstances.

"Being held home for safe-keeping?" Max offered helpfully despite the girls' previous teasing, while eagerly cutting the cake.

"Yes, being held home for safekeeping. I like that. But to answer your question, I took your rusty excuse of a bike to Merryweather's and Max rather successfully covered for me, it would seem."

"Hmm, simple but efficient," Julie nodded approvingly while scraping a bit of icing off of the generous piece Max had just handed her.

She licked it off her finger before continuing.

"Which reminds me E…" she grinned at Elisa and then graciously got up to fetch something that was lying on her desk.

She tossed it at her cousin, and Elisa effortlessly caught it. Max nodded approvingly at his cousin's usual almost superhuman reflexes. Elisa ignored him and looked at the tiny object that was now in her hand. A crystal phial, and in it a single long and wavy blonde hair.

"It's Isa's. You remember her, my cousin from my father's side of the family? She visited last Christmas, but now she's back in Oklahoma, so she obviously can't make it to celebrate my birthday tomorrow. But with this," Julie nodded at the phial "and a little help of your father's inexhaustible supply of Polyjuice Potion, you can…"

"Seriously, how can one Muggle-man own that much Polyjuice Potion," Max side-commented.

Elisa looked away from the vial and up at her cousin.

"Max will cover for you," Julie continued, "he's had his practice today."

"Today it was period cramps, but tomorrow, you are going to have a very serious case of unreasonable teenage dramaqueen-itis, which unfortunately includes not wanting to see anyone, especially your Dad," Max chimed in again, with a very serious and very fake look on his face.

"Even though he'll probably have to work late again, so he won't notice you're gone during the day anyway," he continued in a more genuine tone.

"So you and I, my dearest Elisabeth, can go on a shopping spree and meet up with my other friends in London to celebrate my freshly acquired adulthood."

"Simple," Elisa said, while balling her right hand into a fist and reaching out to Julie.

"but efficient," Julie completed, while bumping her own fist to Elisa's.

Elisa

Most people find storms frightening, but I never really understood why.

I like how they wash away the old, how you can almost smell the freshness of the new the morning after. Tonight's storm would be no different. Lying in bed with my eyes closed, I could picture its force cleansing the roads of all dust and dirt, and washing away the heat and dullness of the past few weeks.

I had been stuck in the Hastings' house far too long, its walls were starting to close in on me.

So naturally, I was looking forward to going to London with Jules tomorrow. The plan was to go shopping in the Muggle part of the city first, then pass through the Leaky Cauldron to get to Diagon Alley and meet up with some of Julie's Hogwarts friends. All under the pretense of being Isabelle Hastings of course.

Doing all of this behind my father's back, however, made me slightly nervous.

He had sacrificed practically everything for me. His friends, his job, his home,... All but his sister Victoria, which is aunt Tori to me, and Mum to Julie and Max.

All that however, was finally about to change. For both of us. And hopefully for good.

After the Ministry finally arrested my psychopathic mother last June, my Dad and I have been taking our lives back, step by step. First, we sold the house in Northern France we've been living, or should I say hiding, in since I was about one and a half years old. We temporarily moved in with the Hastings, until we find a new home in England for ourselves.

Then, Dad got his old job back as a surgeon in the Muggle hospital of Charing Cross, even though his old colleagues and friends don't recognize him, due to the powerful memory blocks the Department of Mystification performed on them over 14 years ago. And in September, after being home-schooled by a Ministry of Magic appointed teacher named Monsieur Meunier for the past 5 years, I would finally start at Hogwarts.

"Hogwarts", I said out loud. The word was full of promise, of finally taking my place in magical society instead of hiding from it.