Chapter 1: The Letter

A ray of sunshine displayed an interesting pattern on my tiny attic floor. I sat on my bed, watching those merry, dancing lights like I didn't belong.

I never did, to anything.

I'm Everina White, your typical, boring 16 years old girl with curly hair the color of dirt. No one thought I had feelings or thoughts. Like my angelic step-mother Anastasia and stepsister Elleen Douglas. But trust me; they were the exact opposite of angelic.

I was adopted when I was only one. However, bits and pieces of memory about my memory were engraved in my head like they would never slip away: sparking lights, pure happiness, and faces all surrounding me smiling like they had the sweetest dreams. Everything was snatch away by an invisible force one day in my life, nothing except my mysterious ring and a sharp pain spreading over my left wrist.

Today, the wrist was covered with a black "W" written in fancy looking letter. The only thing that let me feel connections between my parents, yet Anastasia tried to destroy every last of it. She even went as far as giving me a tattoo removal surgery, saying "destroy every piece of evidence that she is a freak". Good thing I found the ring after months of searching it when I was five, and hid it since then. The mark grew back two days later, causing m step-mother to give up completely.

I was invisible to most of the people at my age, thanks to Elleen. I seemed out of place with girls in high heels and miniskirts. SO here I am, a socially retarded weirdo.

Trapped in this tiny attic, I always thought about having a life somewhere else, at another time, at another place.

Impossible.

Something flashed on my window.

A letter.

Addressed to me.

I opened it with shaking hands, almost dropping the smooth, white paper.

It said:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,

Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Miss White

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

The letter also came with a list of school supplies for fifth year students.

Was this a joke from Elleen to prove I am a crazy person? Witchcraft? How can I be a witch? I looked into the mirror, a pale zombie with depressed eyes that expressed her hatred towards the world. Nothing that was the least bit of magical stared back. I can't be…

Maybe I can.

All the pieces connected inside my mind like a puzzle. The cloaks, the sparkings, and the burst of light.

And my mark.

Everything was clear. I wanted to escape my jail and let the world see the real me. Not the walking zombie. I have power, I can feel it in my hands. Filling every part of me with energy and magic.

I am a witch.

I have to get out of this place that trapped me like a butterfly in a jar, unable to move, and eventually die. I had a real life outside, somewhere, anywhere but this glass jar that made me hard to breathe.

Packing everything I owned, the letter, my ring, a few old shirts, a hoodie, and some money from Elleen's room. I burst through the door and sprint for the exit door.

Anastasia was waiting for me in the living room. Her eyes stared at me like knifes.

"You are not going anywhere, my dear." The exact copy of my letter told me everything.

She knows who I am, and she hates it.