"No, dad, please!" I screamed without sound. My voice was lost, and no one could hear my cries for help. I was all alone.

"No. You're going to pay for sneaking out." He kicked me in my side. I was flipped over, and I hit the wall. I gasped soundlessly; it was a mere in take of air as far as my father was concerned. He crushed my arm under his boot, and was about to yell at me, when thunder boomed, and the door creaked, and flew from it's hinges.

A tall man walked through the door, and serious frown on his face. He glared at my father. I hit the floor with my good arm. He glanced at me, and completely forgot about my dad. "Casey?" He gasped.

I nodded, my mouth pinched tightly closed. Tears were streaming down my face, and my arm was throbbing as if it had it's own pulse. The man pulled me from the ground, and kept me from falling over.

"You put down my child this instance, or I'll call the police." The man smiled without humor.

"And admit you abuse her, yeah right." We walked out of the house, and the rest was a blur. I didn't know why. I guess maybe I had passed out, but I remembered feeling like I was flying, and the strike of lightning and the cold drops of rain as they hit my skin.

–

"She's waking up!" My eyes fluttered open to see three kids standing beside my bed. My bed? I shot up, and looked around. It looked like I was in a hospital...

"Hello, I'm Ron Weasley." Said a bright redheaded boy. I smiled slightly, but didn't say a single word.

"I'm Hermione and this is Harry." I nodded. I had to tell them my name.

"I'm Casey." I signed. I could mouth out words, too, but I was better with sign language. I was a mute after all.

Harry and Ron frowned. Hermione nodded sadly. "She can't speak. She's probably mute. Her name is Casey." I grinned, and clapped shortly. They laughed.

"I didn't know you knew sign language." Ron said. Hermione smirked.

"You got a letter, didn't you, about Hogwarts?" She asked me. I nodded, and took a yellowed, folded sheet of paper from the table. I handed it to her. She read aloud.

"Dear Casey Till, we are pleased to inform you that you will now be attending Hogwarts School of Witch Craft and Wizardry. You will not be taking the regular classes as all the first years, seeing as you are different and have a disability."

Hermione frowned. "Different? How are you different?" She asked.

I shrugged. "Hagrid told me that my parents had weld elemental magic before they had been killed. Maybe I can to, so that why I'm different." I signed.

"What's she saying?" Harry asked.

"She said she might be able to work elemental magic. I don't think that's been done before." She folded the paper back, and put it where it had been before.

Just then, a blonde boy with grey eyes walked through, with an arrogant smirk. He reminded me of my father, with such arrogance. It made me want to vomit. "Who's your new friend, Potter?" He asked snidely.

"This is Casey, Malfoy, and I bet she would appreciate it if you weren't so rude. She's mute, she can't exactly yell at you."

The blonde boy reexamined me, and grimaced. "How does she talk to you three then?" He asked, the grimace still on his face. You could still see the smirk lurking behind it.

"Sign language, you idiot. She only talks to me, but I say to the others what she said."

"Hermione, I don't like him. He's a jerk." I signed, looking directly at Malfoy with a glare. "He reminds me so much of my father with that disgusting arrogance of his." My hands were getting tired. Writing what I wanted to say was good too.

"She said you're a jerk and that you remind her of her father with that disgusting arrogance." Hermione smirked. Malfoy walked away angrily. The three laughed.

"For someone that can't speak, you sure can say a lot." Ron laughed. I grinned.