Author's Note: If you want to get to the chloe/albus ship, go to chapter 3, it's when she finally gets to Hogwarts. Please review and fav or follow, can I have at least one review? Motivation can make me do so much better.
I was cuddled up on the couch with my younger brother Jake, watching a random movie we came across on HBO. It was a classic horror movie that Jake was forbidden to watch, but he begged and badgered me for an hour until I gave in. If Mum found out, she would probably start lecturing him about it being inappropriate for his age; that horror movies would leave him with nightmares, possibly even scar him for life. I would also be lectured for being an uncaring and inconsiderate big sister.
When suddenly, there was a knock on the front door.
I groaned, not wanting to get up from the couch.
"Go and see who's waiting for you outside, Chloe!" Mum called out loud and clearly from the kitchen, as she was preparing a tomato ham sandwich for lunch.
"How do you know that whoever that is outside is waiting for me?" I questioned, as doubt infused my words.
"Oh I dont know, maybe it's because Kylie and Tina comes over everyday!" Mum replied sarcastically, as she sliced the ham on the chopping board. She cursed in pain as she clumsily cut her index finger with the knife. She sucked on her finger; trying to prevent the blood from spewing out. She shot me a glare, obviously thinking that it was all my fault that she injured herself because she was preparing the sandwiches for me and Jake.
My mother is so clumsy and irresponsible to the point where our family is practically a mess. Last year, she forgot to mail my tuition bill and I was denied attendance at my school. I was utterly dumbfounded at that moment, wondering why mum didn't confess about her forgetfulness earlier. When I got home that day, she started asking me about how school was and when I told her what happened. She widened her eyes in shock, remembering signing the school fee but not mailing it over the summer holidays. She even started blaming me for not reminding her to mail it when I thought she could handle it.
Then there was this time where she forgot to extinguish the fire that was heating a pot of soup, luckily we came back before our house lit on fire. She then started blaming me again for not preventing the incident from happening by examining every room in the house before leaving. I wish she took responsibility for the mistakes she made and that she was more reasonable. I sometimes can't help but wonder how our family would've been if our father didn't leave us, maybe he would've opposed of mum's blaming and defended us instead. Or maybe he would totally agree with mum and make every punishment ten times worse. Either way, I'm still curious.
Now that you know that my dad left our family, you might be wondering why. He left us when I was only four years old and when Jake was barely one. According to mum, he was an extensive womanizer, he began having an affair with another woman and couldn't care less about staying in contact with his own kids. Judging by why he left us, he seemed like an amateur, so I guess even with him back in our lives, our family will still struggle to run normally. But I still wish for a father, Kylie always babbles on an on about her dad does nice things for her and occasionally, she rants about her father being protective of her and how annoyed she is. But I wish somebody cared about me, I wish that somebody was as protective of me. I wish that someone accompanied mum to complete the responsibilities of a parent, that way she wouldn't be as stressed and she would spend more time with us. Being a single parent is tough and challenging, especially taking care of two kids, and I'm perfectly aware that she's trying, but I just wish that she paid more attention to us. But I have to understand that life is unfair, and that 'life isn't a wish granting factory'.
For now, we don't have major financial problems, because she found a decent job and none of us were extravagant money spenders. But with her work and us to take care of, she struggles to actually spare time for us. She arrives home at midnight and leaves right after we go to school. So on work days, the only chance I get to see her is in the morning.
The only thing he left us was a posh and fancy looking house to live in. Which I would've gladly preferred his actual company instead. Which also teaches people not to be gold digging, fantasizing that someone so selfish and conceited would bother taking care of the kids you gave birth to together. And certainly, I hate being dependent so marrying some rich douchebag and not having to work for a living disgusts me.
"Not on Sundays." I answered.
"For heaven's sake just do me a favor, can't you see that I'm making lunch for us to eat?" She shot back, chopping a tomato into slices and messily putting it between two pieces of toast.
"Alright alright." I rolled my eyes in annoyance as I strode towards the front door, I peeked through the window seeing an old lady dressed in a long black dress robe wearing a pair of glasses with these glass pieces that gave her eyes a magnified effect. She stood in between the rose bush surrounding our house. She lightly patted the petals of a bright fuchsia lily in our front porch, admiring the beauties of nature.
I grabbed the doorknob and flung the door open. As her attention turned to me. "You must be Chloe Finnigan." She greeted me in a monotone voice as she handed me two letters.
I stood there perplexed not knowing what to say. Who was she? And how did she know my name? And where did she get the last name Finnigan from? "Um.." I clutched the letters tightly with my sweaty palms.
"This must've been a mistake, are you not Chloe Finnigan?" She questioned, looking confused and troubled.
"I'm Chloe Parrish." I answered. "And that's my mum over there cooking." I pointed at mum as she placed the sandwich she was preparing earlier on to a plate which was sitting on the black marble kitchen table, rinsing her hands in the sink in a thorough manner and storming over giving me a look of frustration.
"What is all the fuss about?" She crossed her arms.
"Ms. Parrish, I would like to speak to you privately." The old lady said as mum seized the letters.
"And who are you?" Mum raised a brow, giving a slight sceptical look.
"I'm Minerva McGonagall. Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." She gave a sheepish look, like she slipped out too much information.
"I'm sorry what? Did you just say witchcraft?!" I frowned at her. What I didn't know was that my life was going to start spinning in circles in a matter of ten minutes.
"I would like to speak to you in private Ms. Parrish." She repeated, slightly impatient. Mum walked out to our front yard and shut the door behind her.
I tried to eavesdrop on their conversation but all I heard were a couple of shrieks and yelps and gasps. Ten minutes later, mum had a more understanding look on her face. "Well Chloe, hope you and Jake have fun at Hogwarts."
"Wait what? What's Hogwarts?" I asked, still extremely bewildered at my mother's sudden approval to something entirely new to her. Or perhaps she was keeping something from me.
"I suppose you will know in the future." McGonagall gave us all a curt nod, then she disappeared into thin air. I blinked rapidly in shock, my mouth hanging open.
Mum looked slightly guilty. "It's this thing called apparatation I think, which you would learn at school later."
"What?" I asked, thinking that I hallucinated. 'Learn at school later?' What did she mean, I thought, utterly dumbfounded.
"It's a form of teleportation. Apparently in the Wizarding World, there are multiple ways to travel around. There is floo-ing through the fireplace, flying with a broomstick and something called a portkey or a vanishing cabinet."She answered. "Look I know this sounds crazy and rushed but..." She continued. "I was told that you and Jake were both welcome to join Hogwarts."
"What and you're just gonna trust a random weirdly dressed old lady that casually stumbled upon our house?" I retorted, not really in a mood for my mum's nonsense.
"You'll be boarding the train from King's Cross Station on the 1st of September along with Jake. You'll be attending fifth year, and he will be attending first." She ignored my response. I can't believe how serious she was, this didn't sound like mum at all, she sounded like she was reciting a speech from paper.
"Hold on, I'm going to this boarding school in such short notice? What about my friends here?" I complained, getting a bit nervous and paranoid.
"I'm positive that you'll make new friends there Chloe." She reassured, but I didn't feel relieved at all.
"But why am I shipped off so suddenly to a mysterious school that I've never even heard of? This just doesn't make any sense." I gave her a stern look. "What are you hiding from me?"
"Look, I have something important to tell you." Her voice was still, yet there was a bit of worry and remorse clamming inside of her. "Your dad didn't exactly leave us." Her voice was barely audible.
"What are you talking about mum? You always told me that he dumped us for another girl..." My brows knitted together in confusion and in anxiety.
She stuttered. "I said that to protect you..." I just stared at her flabbergasted, how can she lie to me like that? What could she've meant? Does this mean that my father wasn't the douchebag I assumed he was? "I know this might me hard to believe, but your dad was a wizard. And both you and Jake, well, you two inherited his magic. This explains why random house objects always goes out of control whenever you get mad. And you'll have to learn how to control it."
I was speechless for a second or two. But I chose to ignore all of the sense she was actually making from what she've told me. Whenever something or someone irritated me, I've always felt a sense of power on objects near me. Like an authority of being able to control my surroundings. And they always tend to move around for some reason whenever I was extremely annoyed or angry.
"But this doesn't explain why he left us." I chose to change the topic, not wanting to admit defeat.
"He left us because I.. because... it's all my fault I'm sorry Chloe." Her eyes started watering. "I called him a monster, I told him to never come near you or Jake ever again and to get lost. I wish I haven't, I regret it so much and I feel so guilty about it. I think about it every night, what we could've been if he didn't leave us." I could see pure grief swirling in her chocolate brown eyes. I might've agreed to go just for the sake of learning how to control my powers and because I sympathized with my mother but she completely ruined it by saying "I threatened to put a restraining order on him. Though he didn't seem to know what that is." She chuckled lightly.
"How can you just laugh it off like that mum? This is serious! All my life, you've been feeding me with lies, and you choose to blame my father when all of this is clearly your fault! " I suddenly felt a rush of anger exploding through my veins as I slammed the table, a few of its contents falling to the furry rug we were both standing on. "Our father left us and its all your fault! You practically excluded him from my life when it wasn't even your choice to make! You even lied to us, how pathetic can you get? If it weren't for you being whiny and unforgiving, I would've went to this wizard school earlier and it wouldn't've been so much easier for me!" Hot flaming anger started rushing through my veins, as I felt this unleashed rage erupting out of me. It felt wonderful expressing my anger like that, I felt so much more relieved. Although I did feel slightly guilty about blaming everything on my mother.
There were loud thuds and bangs as a few pots and pans came clashing onto the ground. Jake backed away panicking as a pot fell right next to his foot.
"Chloe, calm down. It was just a joke! What are you all mad about?" Her tone suddenly turned a lot deeper and more serious.
"You think it's okay to joke right now?!" I raised my voice, feeling adrenaline rushing through my veins, as I felt my spine tingle and my chest contract. Causing Jake to scurry over frantically trying to stop us from arguing. "Yeah so tell me about it, how many secrets have you kept from us?" My temper started becoming uncontrollable, as the room started trembling as a whole, a family portrait of us playing in a waterpark shattering into pieces.
A few glass cups that were placed neatly and accordingly inside a cabinet started juggling back and forth shaking slightly. Luckily, mum closed the cabinet shut so none of the contents came splattering to the floor.
"What exactly is happening right now?" Jake interrupted, trying to keep mum and I as far away as possible before things started getting physical.
"Our mum is a liar Jake, get away from her!" I accused, pointing at my mom with an exasperated look on my face.
"Liar? How dare you speak to your mother with such an attitude! I'm not lying to you! You're the one who is being unreasonable, Chloe! Sit down and I will discuss this with you after you calm down!" She exclaimed, infuriated, like she was one step closer to slapping me right in the face. But under all that rage, I still felt the sorrow and despair crammed up inside her.
"Just when I got use to everything and I started settling down you just had to ruin that for me did you!" I lashed out on mum completely.
"It's for the best Chloe! You're still young and naive, you still don't know anything." She replied.
"Young and naive? Since when were you so wise and responsible? For my whole life, you've been disorganized and our family is a complete mess! At least I have my future planned out unlike some kids at school who are most likely going to end up unemployed and jobless!"
"I've been trying so hard to support this family and you don't even care about the effort I'm putting into this! I care about your future, that's what makes it important for you to go to Hogwarts."
"Well if you really cared about me, you would let me pursue the career I want! And this nonsense about magic won't lead me anywhere more than a career path of an unsuccessful magician wandering around the streets performing weird magic tricks and earning less than a dollar everyday." My anger blasted out in a frenzy, the room vibrating slighty as mum shot me a look of worry.
"It's not that simple Chloe, you need to learn how to control your magic before anything severe happens!" Mum still looked fumed, but her expression was clouded with worry more than anger.
"What do you mean severe? I haven't caused any problems so far, why can't you trust me?" I respond with a venomous glare, standing there crossing my arms like a grumpy toddler.
"You'll understand when you get older." She simply said.
"We're switching schools?" Jake interrupted, trying to pull us away from each other.
"I'm glad that at least one of you are excited about this." Mom replied, gratefully looking at Jake.
Well that was because Jake didn't have any proper friends, he was inhibited. His coyness always took the best of him. I find it hard to believe, but around kids at his school, he literally acts like he got duck tapped in the mouth, he turns hesitant and recoils nervously around other kids. I personally thought that he was just lonely and was in need of somebody's support. And deep down, he's actually a really thoughtful, smart and also a really devious person, but the only people he reveals his true nature currently was to me and mum. Partially also because he was diagnosed with a mental disorder, he is really reserved around average people and he rarely opens up to anyone.
"What is it like there, mum?" He asked, dancing and jumping around in euphoria.
"I'm not sure, but I hope you two will have a great time there." She gave him a vague smile. "And I'll have to bring you guys spell book and wand shopping before boarding the train." She reminded.
"Well I won't be going, so Jake, do me a favor and have a good time." I muttered.
"Be reasonable Chloe." She fretted, as I rolled my eyes at her. "Please Chloe, do it for you father." I saw regret and fear in her eyes. But I wasn't going to fall for it. All of this was just an act! Her feelings were never sincere. She could be irresponsible and unreasonable one minute, then she acted like she genuinely cared about us one minute later!
"How does this have anything to do with my father? And also, I don't have a father." I spat.
"Yes you do. And he wouldn't want to see you like this." She said, defiantly. As I responded by scowling at her and dashed up the stairs, heading up to my room and banging the door loudly behind me; hearing a sigh coming from my mother.
I buried my face in my pillow, clutching it tightly as a drop of tear came rolling down my face. Traveling down the bridge of my nose and landing on my pout. I licked my lips, as I tasted a surge of saltiness in my mouth.
I can't believe her! All those years, keeping something so important from me, I was fed with a lie over another. If I knew, my life would've been different, and I can't help but wonder how it would've been like if my mother took my father's confession lightly and he stayed with us instead. All of this just makes me more curious of my father's current whereabouts. Did he have another family? Could he've passed away already?
I heard a knock on the door. "Go away!" I shouted, rolling around my bed in anxiety, pillow still wrapped around my arms.
There was a silence as I dug my face deeper into the sheets. All I saw was utter darkness as I drifted off to dreamland unconsciously.
My mind felt fuzzy as I blinked tiredly, wondering how long I've been sleeping and what time it currently was. My stomach grumbled as I smelt a really familiar scent of fish and chips wafting through the house. Since I skipped lunch, cereal was practically the only thing I ate today.
I forced myself up with a eager shove with both of my hands as I groggily stared at the clock, it was precisely 8:09. Meaning I took a five hour long nap. I darted out of bed, desperate to have a nip off of some crispy fish fillet. I ran down the stairs, forgetting the row I had with my mother previously.
Mum was relaxing on couch, chewing on her classic peas and carrots maintaining her vegetarian diet at all cause, while Jake was munching on a whole lot of fish and chips.
"Are we having fish and chips? I asked full of bliss and glee in my voice.
She stared at me as she crinkled her forehead in confusion, widening her eyes which I saw a tint of pink and puffiness in.
That was when it hit me hard, I remembered every detail of the huge quarrel we had. I mentally slapped myself and headed back to my room.
I jumped right back into bed and sighed. Covering my eyes with my palm and gently massaging my eye balls in a circulating movement. It was a weird habit I performed whenever I felt hopeless or thought stupid of myself.
I laid in bed, wrapped up in my fluffy and thick blanket. Even though it was the middle of my summer vacation, I still felt comfortable and cosy whenever I was cuddled inside of it.
As I heard strange hooting sounds coming from somewhere in my room, I peered around my room startled, not expecting to see a shadowy figure sitting on my window sill looking like it was patiently waiting for someone.
Slowly, I tiptoed over to the window sill, feeling agitated, imagining a ghost suddenly creeping behind me. I heard another hoot as I practically jumped up in fear not use to having another presence in my room. I pulled the curtains over, my finger tips trembling in intimidation.
I sighed in relief as I figured out that the shadow belonged to an owl, turning out that it wasn't the strongly evocative and frightening haunting ghost I was expecting. Though I do have a slight dread of nocturnal creatures or anything night related as they reminded me of the haunted house I was deliberately pushed in to by one of my friends around five years ago. It scared the living hell out of me and I'm definitely not going into any more haunted houses for the next few decades of my life.
It's beaks were clamped onto a rolled up parchment that was tied with a magenta ribbon. I carefully gripped onto the edges of the rolled up parchment, attempting to pull it away from the owl. The owl opened its mouth as the parchment fell to the ground. I bent over and picked it up, removing the ribbon and flattening the curled and crumpled parchment with my palms. The owl stared at me creepily with deep intensity in it's eyes. It seemed like it was still waiting for something.
I quickly straightened the letter, and started reading it. It said:
Dear Chloe,
I'm sure that you're really new to the idea of owling letters but later on, it'll be the only way you can contact people that are not in Hogwarts. I'm overjoyed to know that you're really coming to Hogwarts. I swear to you, it's a wonderful place and no doubt you would love it here! The school contacted me about the enrollment of your brother so I had a little chat with your mother. She told me about your sudden outbursts of magic so I suggested that you come here to learn how to control your magic.
Usually, students start from first year but the ministry seemed to have full confidence in your magical potential, and thus didn't think it would've been necessary to put you into Hogwarts when you were a First year. Though I managed to convince Professor McGonagall to let you come along with Jake because your magic can be extremely dangerous if you don't learn how to control it.
I can't wait to meet you and your brother!
Sincerely, your father
Seamus Finnigan
Basically, my biological father sent me a letter through an owl, which is still slightly unbelievable and strange to me. And then he started babbling about how awesome Hogwarts was. At first I thought it was another one of mum's little traps to get me into Hogwarts. But right now, all I think about is my father and the fact that I have this weird urge of excitement to meet him.
I was in some sort of a quandary. Maybe going to Hogwarts wouldn't be that bad after all, but what about my life here?
I mean I did over exaggerate a little back there with my mum, but it was just too much for me to take at one moment. I was overly wretched and unable to contain my emotions. And I actually do worry about my magic going a little bit overboard sometimes. But it was also unbelievably renegade of my mother to not trust us with important information like that.
The owl was still sitting on my window sill waiting for me, staring at me with those big round yellow eyes of its.
It took me a good five minutes to realize that it was waiting for a reply. I quickly scribbled down a few sentences on how excited I was to finally be able to meet my father but that I had slight doubts and worries about attending Hogwarts. Then I rolled the parchment back up and returned it to where it use to be.
The owl flapped it's wings and departed into the starry night. As it flew farther and farther away from me, I saw it's shadow camouflaging into the darkness of the night. As I gazed into the gloomy night, I saw an uncountable amount of stars floating in the sky, shining brightly like diamonds.
I spotted the greatest and most luminous star, illuminating and flashing behind an isolated foggy grey cloud that merely covered a tiny bit of the infinite sky.
"What should I do?" I chanted in a whisper-like manner, closing my eyes and clasping my palms together in concentration.
"Well I guess that's your choice to make, not mine." I might've heard the star advise me on what to do. Or maybe it was just my imagination.
I was interrupted by the ferocious grumbling of my stomach, indicating how voracious I actually was. I searched through my backpack and my drawers but I didn't find anything edible.
I guess the only option I really had was to join Jake and mum for supper. I grunted, cursing myself for eating the last few granola bars that were lying around in my room. The last thing I wanted to do right now, was to shamefully apologize and to confess directly that I actually wouldn't mind going to Hogwarts.
That was when I heard tiny footsteps approaching my door.
"I left you some fish and chips and some hot cocoa" Jake called, knocking on my door.
"Thanks Jake, you're a life saver!" I grinned widely, snatching the plate and the cup from Jake. I ravenously chomped down mouthfuls of fish and chip while swallowing huge gulps of hot cocoa at once. I burped loudly.
"Woah slow down sis." He laughed.
"Imuah hungwee orrkai." I replied, munching on my food.
"What?"
"I shwed aam hungwee." I glared at him playfully as he cracked up laughing.
"You know you should talk to mum." He suggested out of the blue. Why did he have to bring that up, I thought. "I just think you should talk to her, she's been crying ever since." He repeated, looking slightly anxious.
I felt culpability swelling in my gut, like I got punched right in the stomach. I was still sort of debating mentally whether or not I should just apologize and nod my head in a hypnotized manner like an obedient little girl or to rebel against the entire idea and start shouting at her again. But I guess she was right about me having to control my magic, though I was still completely infuriated by the fact that she lied to me about my father. I mean he isn't exactly an iconic figure in my life but he was rather important to me, the fact that I've been thinking badly of him for my entire life just because I trusted my mother with what she had to say about him just drives me insane.
I stared blankly at him. "Fine."
I paced down the stairs, skipping a few steps just for the fun of it. Jake followed behind me, cautiously looking at his footsteps as he was the more perceptive one of our pair. As I was about to trip and practically topple over the staircase, he tightly grasped my hand. and placed it onto the handle bar surrounding the staircase. "Be careful!" He alerted me, giving me a concerned look.
He was also always more of the problem solver or my helping hand and I was extraordinarily grateful yet I felt slightly bad, since I was the big sister, I should be the one assisting him. But I was rarely the sister everyone wanted, I seemed to have taken over mum's clumsiness.
I gave him a thankful look and tapped mum on the shoulder, she was currently washing the dishes. She rinsed off the remaining soap on her gloves and slipped them off, shaking it dry and hanging it next to the microwave. She turned over to face me. "Yes?" She crossed her arms.
"Look, I owe you an apology for yelling at you like that, and I guess I was being a little bit unreasonable. But why did you have to lie to me about dad?" I inquired, actually curious on what she had to say about it.
"I know you'll never understand but I did it thinking I can protect you by hiding the truth from you. I'm very sorry Chloe. I thought that if you never knew, you can live on happily without worrying about it..." She replied, wholeheartedly, as I saw misery clouding her eyes. "Will you forgive me? She asked me, since I didn't give her a response.
I nodded. "I'm sorry too mum."
She pulled me closer to her, hugging me as I felt a welcoming warmth coming from her. I can feel the gentle pounding of her heart against my chest as I felt the bonding of our souls.
Jake stood in the corner of the room, a proud and triumphant smile on his face. Always the problem solver.
