A/N: I have no ownership of the Harry Potter series. The contents of this fanfic are original properties of J.K. Rowling, excluding my own OCs.
Since day one, Sean and I would get up when Jerry was about to leave for work. With each moment, we tried to slip up with our backgrounds, leave the last of our wizarding sweets in random locations, or talk about Quidditch. Mom always managed to squash our attempts by shooing us outside or talking over us.
Before leaving Texas, she managed to get our magic wands packed with the regular things. The painful memory of parting from my other arm made me nauseous, a rare experience for my body. It was the main reason for our anger and feelings of insecurity- we had no protection.
There were stories heard everywhere about Dark witches and wizards rising... But that's all they were. Stories. Random acts of violence would be reported in the papers back home, but the tabloids were controlled by needy, desperate journalists, willing to write anything for publicity. The students at High Pointe learned to ignore the words of our North American reporters.
And so, due to our inability of introducing Jerry to another world, Sean and I would walk outside all over the neighborhood. Within three days, we had the entire map memorized. We were tempted to walk all the way to the touristic part of London, but the time it would take in one direction would use a better part of the day, leaving none to admire the surroundings.
It wasn't long until the day arrived with the truck and our personal belongings.
I stood in the living room, watching with my white and tabby marked cat as she purred contentedly in my arms. Mysti apparently forgave me for leaving her a full week.
As two movers carried the last of our stuff upstairs, the third man who looked to be in his thirties, stopped to look at Mysti.
"You have a very unusually cat there, I hear." His voice was rich with his nation's accent. I raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? How so?" I clung her body closer to mine. The purr volume increased.
"The boys told me the cage busted open while they were unloading here from inspection. She got loose and no one could get close enough to catch her. Not until her cage was reassembled did she return. The weird part, they said, was that she jumped into the open cage on her own!" The man started laughing over the crazy story of his co workers. Jerry had shown up behind from the stairs and laughed with him. I couldn't help grinning with shared amusement.
"I wouldn't doubt it. She's very clever animal, weirdly enough."
"We look forward to the adventures she has to offer." Jerry piped in cheerily. Clapping the mover's shoulder, he asked "You know the address for Burnburry Street?" They continued their conversation fast. It was hard for my untrained ears to keep up. Stupid British accents! So hot but so hard to understand sometimes!
Bored, I walked to the kitchen with Mysti now sitting on my shoulder.
"Hey, they're done moving things up. You may wanna jump into the truck before they leave without you." I warned Mom.
"Thanks Hon. Are you kids sure you'll be fine while I'm at the other home?"
"Sure, we're just going to check and see if everything is in order and grab our wannnwalkie-talkies." Sean changed his word halfway as Jerry walked in.
"Sorry for interrupting, Sean." Jerry had an apologetic look as he nodded, clueless. Then, facing mom, " They're waiting inside the truck when you're ready. I should be by the place after work to pick you up."
"Hey, Sean and I were planning on going for a walk to that lake west of here. So if we're not back by the time you guys are, we'll certainly be on our way at the very least."
"Sounds good! Darling?" Jerry held the door open for Mom. She led the way with Jerry following close behind her. They went out of sight as the door closed. Sean and I gave each other excited looks.
"Ahhh, I want to hold my wand. I can't believe it's been a week since I've held it!" Sean was dancing around the kitchen.
"I see." I snickered, leaving the room. Sean first frowned with confusion, the scowled.
"God, Alex, you're disgusting."
Mysti purred in my ear as I laughed. My desire to skip was quickly killed as there was an angry commotion coming from the tiny hallway.
"Holy hell!" Sean exclaimed. Before us was Jerry yelling with his hands covering the top of his head as two blurs of brown and grey flew around, hooting and squawking loudly.
"What the bloody hell is going on?!" Jerry hollered. Mom just stood in front of the open front door, eyes wide.
Mysti hissed and leaped off my shoulders back towards the kitchen, leaving painful scratches on my upper back.
Huffing at the current complication, I raised my right arm and gave a short whistle. The brown bundle flew straight for me and perched on my wrist- an elegant owl stared at me with bright yellow eyes. The grey owl continued to twitter in the hallway.
"Get over here-" Sean began to jump into the air with his arms stretched up.
"Sean, you're making it worse! The poor bird is scared even more now!"
"Well if he'd just GET DOWN, he'd be less scared!" He yelled back.
"Good gosh. C'mere, little grey!" I offered my left arm as a landing point. With a distressed hoot, the bird flew just out of Sean's reach and took place on my remaining wrist.
"Really, you'll have to show them more respect." I scolded as I swung the grey to my right shoulder. Both birds looked on edge, and I wasn't sure if it was from the recent stressful flight or the smell of Mysti on me.
Realizing I was being stared at, I looked back at Jerry. His face would have been amusing had the situation not been serious. His hair was disarrayed, glasses were even more lopsided, his face nearly as red as his hair and beaded with sweat.
"Would someone like to explain what just happened." Each word was pronounced slowly.
Sean sighed. Looking at Mom, then looking at me, he said "Well, it was bound to happen."
"We don't have time." Mom hastily rummaged through her purse pointlessly, avoiding eye contact with the man standing next to her.
"She's right." I sadly admitted. My arm was starting to cramp. "We'll explain everything tonight. I promise, Jerry. But right now the movers are waiting and you're late for work."
Jerry glanced at his watch. His eyes still wide with adrenaline, confusion, and now suspicion, he took a final look at us then walked out without a word.
Mom stood in the doorway for just a moment more. The stress made her age lines more visible than usual.
"Are you really going to tell him everything?"
"If you're going to marry him," Sean was sounding stern. "Then yes. We like Jerry. He's a great guy, he deserves the respect to know." The truck driver honked once. Mom, nodding only slightly, finally left.
Sean exhaled heavily as he closed the door after her with relief.
"We'll keep it shut until we know the coast is clear for them." He directed to the birds.
"Good idea." I carried the two animals with us into the kitchen and placed them both on the back of a chair. The proud looking brown clicked its beak impatiently, offering the thick scroll tied to the right leg.
As I untied the letter, the grey hopped back and forth from his space on the chair. Nervous hoots were made as he eyed Mysti sitting atop the fridge.
"If you wanna get rid of that letter," I started. "You best keep still so its recipient can get it. You're jumping around like a finch."
Being compared to a twittery bird caused enough offense to earn a glare wishing me sincerest misfortune. My brown fluffed. From amusement?
"Sorry about the wait, Brownie, but you'll have to hang out another moment or two before heading out." I spoke casually. Sean was used to me having one-way conversations with animals connected to magic, so just ignored me. "We'll get you some water while things cool down, how's that?"
"I just love how they seem to know exactly where we are." Sean said with admiration. The water faucet almost drowned him out as I filled a bowl.
"I find it annoying." I sniffed. I found myself jealous that my brother had already opened his letter, and instantly wished the Grey had bit him. "It's like you have no privacy at all."
"You have only, what, three months until the Under-Age Trace is removed? That's not so bad." Sean tried to reason with me. He knew how paranoid of a person I was.
I didn't bother to correct him that becoming of age doesn't keep you from being trackable via Owl Post. I placed the dish on the table next to my scroll.
"Anything good on the list? When do we start?" I changed the subject. I began opening the scroll myself, addressed to
Alexis Fletcher
365 Lovelace Ave
London, England.
"Looks like regular books to me." He shrugged. Let's see... 'Dear Mr. Fletcher: We are please 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 no later than July 31.'" I watched the birds preen themselves, no longer concerned with us.
"Oh hey!" I suddenly felt excited again. "Our wands are still upstairs! Let's go get them, and grab a quill so we can reply the letters."
Sean's face lit up and we both ran up the stairs with giddy anticipation.
Our wands were extensions of a witch and wizard's body. Being without one once it has chosen its magical partner, you felt vulnerable. Helpless. A witch without purpose... It was a part of you like an arm, a leg or a neck. You can NOT function normally without one.
Each of us hurried to our own trunks- Sean to his stained pine, myself to the cedar chest.
I tapped the right front corner three times with my finger gently. A one by two inch compartment was revealed, showing a key inside. I felt I was moving too slowly. I couldn't grab my key quickly enough, nor could I insert it into the keyhole sooner.
On top of my collection of school books, scales and broken quills, was a forest green felt cloth. Unraveling the soft fabric, my wand fell into my hands.
The touch was warm, like embracing a long lost friend. My eyes closed, I felt I was breathing correctly for the first time in what felt like eternity. Everything that had happened seemed silly now, comical and adventurous. I was at peace with the world at last.
"So." Jerry started when we all sat at the kitchen table that evening. The mood was an interesting combination of awkwardness and eager anticipation. "Please explain to me why there were nighttime birds of prey flying around my living room in the middle of morning. Explain what you have been hiding from me up to this point from day one. Something is going on, I'm not stupid. What's happening under the roof of my home that I have openly invited to you?" It sounded like he'd been practicing that all day.
Sean and I shared a glance. We had been waiting for this moment, but did not know how to proceed anymore.
"Well," I began slowly." We've been trying to figure out how to explain, however there's no easy method since at this time we can't offer much proof."
Jerry's eyebrows rose. "You've lost me."
"We can do magic." Sean began. "Alex is a witch, I'm a wizard. We've been practicing magic since we each turned eleven years old. We were taught each year ever since, at a school called High Pointe Rocky Academy that's located in the Rocky Mountains of Canada. Now, since we're across the Atlantic Ocean and residing in jolly ol' London, our new school is Hogwarts of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
"Waitwaitwait. Witches? Wizards? What sort of joke is this?"
"It's no joke." Mom said quietly. "Kenneth and I both didn't believe it at first either when we got the letters. But a representative, the principle of the school, arrived himself to prove that that society does indeed exist."
Jerry stared for only a moment. Rubbing his hand on his face then through his hair, the man gave a feeble laugh.
"I can't believe I'm hearing this..." Making eye contact with me, he then asked "So pretty much anyone can be, well, do magic?"
"No," I gently shook my head. "Usually, wizards are born from wizarding families. Every now and then, they're born from Muggle parents. Although this is uncommon, it's far from unheard of."
"I- What? Did you say puggle?"
"Muggle. Someone who can't cast magic." Sean explained briefly. Another pause from everyone while Jerry thought.
"It would have been easier to believe if you said you were drug dealers. Or, or were circus performers... Ok, say I agree to this cock-and-bull story. What's to be done for me to really believe? Is there any proof you can provide? A staff or toad or something?" His arms crossed. It was evident Jerry was losing patience.
"We have wands," I suggested. "However, we can't perform magic. More like not allowed to. We're not suppose to practice magic outside of school until the legal age of adulthood. In our world, that's seventeen."
"But we can go get them! Since you're non-magical, you're not allowed to touch it, but there's still nothing wrong with looking."
"We'll scrounge around some more for- Oh! Sean! Do you still have your sneakoscope? And our brooms, they automatically use magic, so he can check those out, too."
"I'll help you kids carry-" Mom began to stand up.
"No, I think it'd be best you stayed here for now." I did my best to not glare. "You are, after all, the one who insisted on us keeping quiet about it. Sean and I wanted to tell him from the start."
"Use this time to explain why the truth would have been too much for you to share about your two freak kids." Sean snorted and lead the way out.
"That is absolutely not fair for you to say that-"
"Mom." I said quietly. "If we were going to be that much of a hassle, Sean and I could have easily stayed with friends for the remaining summer and holidays. Bringing us along meant you were accepting responsibility for whatever might come our way. So please, have a talk with Jerry. He deserves that much. We'll give about ten minutes I guess, so you can get the basics out of the way."
When I left the kitchen, Sean was already out of sight. Arriving in our shared room, I gave a low whistle.
"Oooh, that was nice and harsh! I'm both shocked and impressed!"
"Can you blame us? Jerry was thrown into this with any options otherwise, same for us. Treating us like we're something to be ashamed of- by our own mother, nonetheless!- is something I refuse to stomach." Sean pulled out his wand and twirled it.
I gave a heavy sigh. "You and I both know that Mom loves us. She really does. All this change is putting a lot of stress on her too, and I'm sure she's trying to protect everyone. It's just... It seems like she's trying too hard, trying to shoulder everything at once in an attempt to keep us safe. Yet it keeps backfiring..."
"I didn't think of it that way," Sean admitted with an uncomfortable, guilty expression. Looking away from me, he was back to digging in his trunk.
"That's why I'm here," I smiled slightly. "I really doubt Mom would do a complete one-eighty on us. She's probably as confused as we are." Taking a seat on the futon, Mysti immediately jumped into my lap.
"Cat, I need my lap! Unless you plan on functioning as my desk?"
"Desk? What is it that you're planning on doing?" Sean asked.
"I was going to start writing to Liz since I gave Mom and Jerry about ten minutes to chat. Would you by chance have some candy left in there? Not for myself, but to share with Jerry."
"If I do," His voice was muffled. "The rest of them are either real old, melted, or squished in general." He pulled up a brown gooey wad by what looked like a strand of hair attached to it.
"Oh shit, gross! Get rid of that!" I gagged as Sean pretended to throw it at me.
"Chill," He laughed. It was nice to see him act normal. I've missed my crazy, weird brother this summer. He tossed it back into the trunk (Ew) as I grabbed paper and a quill.
Elizabeth was my BFF. She was an extremely outgoing girl who seemed to be talented in everything she tried. Due to her shining presence, I was usually overshadowed. Which was totally cool for me and my naturally introverted personality. We had what appeared to be an usual friendship seeing as we were practically opposites. She excelled in her studies, I had mediocre grades (except for Potions, in which I always kicked her butt). Liz reveled in crowds, I happily sat in a quiet corner in the library or my dorm. The only thing we seemed to have in common was Quidditch where she was Keeper and I was Beater for our team, and that we were both from Muggle families. Our personalities balanced each other out, she was the Yin to my Yang. My bestie.
The letter I wrote covered from when we last said our goodbyes, up to the very present. Running out of ink, I decided to finish the letter until we managed to make a trip to a wizarding shop.
Giving a lonely sigh, I rolled up the paper for later.
"Do you think Jerry will still want to marry Mom after all this?" Sean asked when he noticed I was done.
"I don't know." I felt cold all of a sudden. "I've been trying to not think about it, but I suppose today is the ultimatum."
Biting the nails on my right hand, a habit I had had for as long as I could remember, I placed my items on the floor. "What time is it?"
"I dunno, I don't have a clock."
"Damn, because mine's missing... You think we should head back down? I'm sure it took several minutes for me to write that letter."
"Yeah, let's get this out of the way." Sean already had his broom and sneakoscope sitting out.
Getting onto my knees, I reached under the futon to pull out my own broomstick. I felt the handle vibrate just slightly with energy, as if eager to go out into the sky again. I've never wanted to fly so badly before in my life. Soon. I thought. We'll fly again soon...
Wand in one hand and broom in another, we made our way downstairs to the kitchen. The voices inside were low and quiet. When I knocked, the talking stopped immediately followed by Mom's invitation.
"Come in," I nervously poked my head through the door. The two of them were holding hands, Jerry's eyes were wide. At least he doesn't look angry anymore.
"Neither of us have a way to tell time, so we weren't sure whether it was safe to return or not," I answered sheepishly so as to make them less inclined to feel I interrupted their conversation.
"Sure," Mom waved me over. Nodding slightly, I awkwardly walked into the room with my belongings. Jerry started to laugh.
"I still think 'drug dealers' would be more believable."
"Trust me, you won't want to pass this up." I smiled. "Not many Muggles get this opportunity."
"So if I'm a Muggle, is there a special term for you? I mean, besides just 'witch' or 'wizard'."
"Yep! Sean and I are Mudbloods!" My brother gave a loud burst of laughed at my enthusiasm.
"Alexis!" Mom scowled at me. Jerry looked more confused.
"I think I'm missing something..."
"Mudblood," Sean began explaining as he placed his sneakoscope on the table, "is a term used for Muggle-born witches and wizards. An insult, more like. Those from so-called 'pure-blood' families tend to think of themselves above everyone else. We're dirty blood. In America, there really isn't a lot of that kind of prejudice. We heard from our school principal that the Old Land- Here, the U.K.- is much more old fashioned and tend to not refrain themselves."
"You never told me a thing about that." Oops, looks like we forgot to tell Mom.
"Don't worry. Your little Texans will be perfectly fine." I couldn't stop giggling from the image in my head of me and Sean in cowboy suits. "As long as you'll let me take a shotgun, I doubt they'll bother with me.
"Now!" I clapped my hands and changed the subject. "Demonstrations! Let's start on the first thing you requested, our wands." Seand and I held out our wands for Jerry to see, but not touch.
"Each wand is different, much like people, to match its owner. They say the wands choose their owner, but I don't think they know how that even works. For example, my wand is fourteen-and-a-half inches long, made of cherry wood, very flexible, and it holds one strand of unicorn hair in the core."
Jerry's face showed the strongest desire to talk, but refrained himself. I was grateful, since I didn't want to explain about magical creatures yet.
"Mine is made of oak, so it's really strong. Fifteen inches with a dragon heartstring."
"Dragons?"
"Yes, dragons. And unicorns. All those stories with magical, mythical creatures? Most of them are true.
"This here, on the table, is my sneakoscope. It's a cheap lie-detector, pretty much. If someone is lying or not trustworthy, it'll go off real loud.
"And here's the best part of the evening." Sean continued. He now had a malicious grin on his face. "Our broomsticks. They are actual tools for transportation, but not a first choice. Usually it's for sports. This here is the only form of magic we can demonstrate since we are not the ones actually doing it."
"Just be careful..." Mom again.
"Oh Mom, we've been dealing with brooms for at least five years. We'll be fine."
"Let me show you, Jerry." I held out my still fairly new Skyrider broom in front of me at waist height. When I released the handle, it continued to stay floating in the air. Jerry gave a gasp.
"No way in bloody hell!"
"Come on over! Check it out for yourself that there are no strings, no nothin'."
"N-no, I'm fine. I don't think I could stand if I-" Jerry's voice was cut short as I felt a sharp hit on my shoulder.
"Ow! What the-" Behind me, Sean was floating on his broomstick already. His head was barely touching the ceiling.
"Sean! Get down- you don't have to give the poor guy a damn heart attack!" I grabbed his ankle and tried to pull him down.
"What?" Sean laughed with glee. "It's been forever since I've been on this thing. Pity we're not outside..."
"You're just showing off."
"Wellllll it's fun. And you know it. Admit it, you've been itching to play some Quidditch too!"
"Sean Matthew, we are inside. Get down right now!" Mom was back in control.
"Shaking my head at the sudden chaos, I checked Jerry. His face was pale, sweating and breathing heavily.
"I... I don't believe what I'm seeing or hearing-" he stuttered. WHIIIIRRRRRRRRRRJerry jumped about a foot into the air as the sneakoscope spun like a top and flashed.
"Stupid piece of shit, don't do that now." Sean was back on his feet and grabbed the item, stuffing it under his shirt in an attempt to mute it.
"We'll take everything upstairs now," I said hesitantly.
"Yes, please do so." Mom was sounding annoyed now. She got up and walked to the pantry, appearing to start the process of making tea.
"Just please consider this, Jerry." I began quietly. "You don't have to like it, just accept it. Believe it. This is who we are. Mom has been having to deal with this alone for five years now, this will be the sixth year. I'm going to graduate this year, Sean will have one more year after this before his education is complete. Mom needs- No, she deserves to have some normalcy in life. You won't have to deal with us for long. Just please try and see the bigger picture, of everything that has happened and will happen."
Grabbing my broom from mid-air and stuffing the wand into my back pocket, I left the room wondering if we might have made things better or worse.
A/N: It's still moving slowly. I know. T_T But stick around! Next chapter you'll start to recognize some old characters! 3