As soon as Gavin walked in the door of his house, (Number 3, Crimson Court) he hurried up the front stairs as fast as he could, not even bothering to say hello to his mother, Clarette.

"Um… Gavin! Gavin! Aren't you going to say hello to your mum?" Clarette yelled.

Gavin paused halfway up the staircase and yelled back; "Hello mother. Sorry, I had a bad day…" and continued to his room at the end of the 2nd floor hallway.

"Well do you want to-" Clarette began to say but was interrupted by the loud banging of Gavin's room's door. He dropped his backpack on the floor, lied down on his bed and started to think. Don't worry, your summer is going to be so- but he stopped that thought as soon as he realized, he had no plans this summer. He had nowhere to go, nothing to do. Not since his best friend Luke moved in the beginning of the school year. This would be his first summer without him. At least I have Ava's 11th birthday dinner to look forward to tomorrow. Who am I kidding, it'll be boring anyways. Gavin stared at the photos of him and Luke taped to his ceiling until he began to get tired. A bit after 12:00 a.m., right before he fell asleep, he thought he heard the hoot of an owl in the distance…

"Happy Birthday Ava!" Gavin and Clarette said as Ava opened the door to her house the next evening.

"Oh thank you, thank you! I'm so very happy you could come! Oooh! That green bean casserole looks absolutely delicious Ms. Nellis! Come in!" Ava replied excitedly. (Clarette and her ex-husband, Wyatt, had gotten a divorce 2 years ago, so Clarette went by her maiden name.) They followed Ava in her floral dress into the dining room where the Dunesby's stood, waiting. Everyone exchanged the usual hugs, hellos, and eventually sat down to a wonderful meal of roast chicken, green bean casserole, and mashed potatoes. Then Mr. Dunesby brought out the cake with the words, "Congratulations Ava, on your 11th birthday!" Just as he did so, the door opened and in came Lucy Dunesby, Ava's older sister.

"I'm so sorry I'm late! The Knight Bus had so many passengers and- Oh! Hi Gavin, Ms. Nellis! I apologize, I didn't know you were in here!" Lucy exclaimed, setting down her bag. Gavin could notice some sort of decorated stick protruding out of a suitcase pocket.

We have a night bus? Hmm… maybe I could sneak out one day and take it to visit Luke…

Everyone gave Lucy greetings as she sat down across from Ava for cake. "Happy Birthday, to my wonderful sister, and may she enjoy her new school next year!" Lucy toasted. Everyone ate the cake in silence, it being so delicious, until Lucy brought up a subject…

"So mum, who's going to break the news?"

Mr. and Mrs. Dunesby looked at each other as Ava fixed the napkin on her lap, and Clarette and Gavin had confused looks on their faces.

"Alright then, we all will. I'll start." Lucy began. "Gavin, you are… different… a good kind of different. We could tell since you were two years old. You did some things that were impossible to some but… not to us." Lucy nodded to Ava, indicating she continue.

"You're a wizard! Gavin, it's as simple as that! So am I, and Lucy, mum, dad! You have magical powers! You could've known earlier, but both you're parents are… well not a witch or wizard, called a muggle… Sometimes that happens, people like you are called muggle-borns. You're going to be accepted into a-" Ava began to pour out just about every detail when…

"Okay, what are you even talking about? Wizards? Magic? Muggle? This is some kind of joke isn't it? I thought you were civilized people! But this is just… just… not normal!" Clarette yelled, rising from the table. "Gavin we're leaving." Gavin, more confused than he'd ever been, obediently followed his mother out of the dining room and through the front door.

"Could you believe them? Making that sort of speech? They think we're stupid!" Clarette yelled as her and Gavin walked down the street back to their home.

"Mum, what if they're right? I have done some unexplainable things before! Like just yesterday, I exploded a pen!"

"Things break, Gavin!" Clarette stopped and turn to face her son. "I have no idea how you can believe this, but if you want to, go right ahead!" All conversation ended there, and Gavin immediately went to bed when they got home.

"You're a wizard! Gavin, it's as simple as that!" Ava's words were still ringing in Gavin's head. He had had recurring dreams of him being a wizard for the past week, casting spells, making objects disappear… he actually believed all of it could be true.

Wait a minute…. Gavin got up from his bed and checked the calendar on his desk. June 9th! It was his birthday! He was finally 11! He eagerly ran down the stairs to find a breakfast of French toast and bacon waiting on the kitchen table, and his mother sitting in the living room, watching the news.

"Happy… birthday, sweetheart." Clarette said with a disappointed tone in her voice, not bothering to stand and greet Gavin with a hug, let alone turn around.

"Is something wrong mum?" Gavin said.

"You got a letter. It's on the table with your breakfast."