"Oh, how wonderful! My babies are going to Hogwarts!" Evelyn Daney squealed, clutching a clean piece of parchment between her chubby fingers. Evelyn Daney, also known as "Mum" to her children, glanced at her daughter Ava before whipping around and hurrying towards the wooden stairway beside the kitchen. Ava rolled her eyes and followed her mother who was practically making the house shake as she ran up the old, creaking stairs.
"Mum, calm down!" Ava shouted, watching as her mother marched over to the narrow closet beside the bathroom door and pulled out a large black suitcase. Dust filled the air as Mrs. Daney hauled the suitcase over to Ava's bedroom doorway. She suddenly stopped and took a deep breath, wiping the sweat from her forehead. It was perhaps the hottest day of the year and no one was free from the suffocating heat. Ava fanned herself with her hand, feeling moisture form everywhere on her body from her feet to the part in her light brown hair. Mrs. Daney turned to face her daughter and smiled sweetly.
"I just knew that my babies would get into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!" she squeaked, grabbing the handle on the suitcase once more, "From the moment that Helga Hufflepuff…such a sweet lady, she has a beautiful smile…announced that they were going to open a brand new magic school, I just knew that my children would be smart enough to receive an invitation to attend!"
"Yeah, I guess it's cool," Ava agreed, smiling back at her mother, "Why don't we wait for Tara to come home before we start to pack. I think she'll probably want to help, don't you think?" Almost like clockwork, Ava heard a door slam shut and a rumbling sound as someone hurried up the stairs.
"What are you all doing up here? Don't you know that heat rises?" Tara Daney panted, out of breath from running crazily up the stairs. Ava and Tara Daney were 15 year old fraternal twins, both born with the same creamy skin and bright blue eyes. Only, Ava had straight light brown hair that hung in thick layers down below her shoulders, while Tara had longer hair in wavy dark brown curls that twirled carelessly around her round face. Unlike most twins, both girls never seemed to fight with each other and surprisingly enjoyed much of the same things.
"Oh, Tara! We're celebrating! You and Ava have both been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! We have to pack immediately so we can go to Diagon Alley to buy some things," Mrs. Daney cried, heaving the dusty suitcase all the way into Ava's room. Tara glanced at Ava skeptically, not quite sure she wanted to move away from home to attend a stuffy boarding school.
"It's not stuffy Tara darling!" Mrs. Daney called from inside the room, having read her daughter's fragile mind.
"I really wish she wouldn't do that," Tara mumbled, angry at her mom for rummaging through her private thoughts. Tara and Ava's mother was born with a special power to be able to read other people's minds, which both Tara and Ava had inherited. Neither girl knew very many witches or wizards their own age, having lived most of their lives surrounded by muggles. Of course, they took annual trips to the newly formed wizarding town of Hogsmeade and enjoyed the sights and rumble of main street Diagon Alley, so they were not ignorant to who they were. In fact, they were actually quite good at magic and loved to entertain their muggle friends with their powers. Every one of their classmates just thought Ava and Tara were special and gifted, none of them had ever been told of the wizarding world and, according to their mother and father, they never would. It was all too dangerous.
"Get used to it sis," Ava sighed and started to walk toward her room, "After all, we are going to a magic school with other witches. I'm sure there will be other mind-readers."
"Yeah, I guess," Tara mumbled, turning to go to her room, "Will there be wizards as well?" Ava stopped and turned, a huge smile stretching across her face.
"I'm guessing by your huge rush of happiness that there will be boys there," Tara questioned, her own smile emerging. Ava winked at her sister before disappearing into her room. Tara shook her head happily and stepped through her doorway, pushing aside the real jewels and gold that hung from her door frame. The Daney's were not the richest magical family in the world, but they weren't poor either. Many of the twins' muggle friends couldn't believe all the jewels and precious metals that were hung, draped, nailed, and displayed around the Daney home. In reality, the family could pretty much turn anything they wanted into silver and gold or rubies and diamonds. Tara had once turned her old mathematics homework into a collection of sapphires, while Ava tested her abilities by transforming a broken teacup into a shiny, polished peridot, which so happened to be green, Ava's favorite color.
"Hoy! Where's the nasty little witches who live in this here house?" a male's voice echoed through the house. Tara leaped off the bed, where she had been flipping through a copy of Witch Weekly, and rushed into the hallway. There she met Ava and together they raced down the stairs and wrapped their arms around the tall boy who stood at the door.
"Aidan! Have you been accepted as well? Huh?" Ava asked, not able to hide the excitement in her voice.
"Tell us!" Tara demanded, taking his hand and urging her sister to take the other. They both gripped his hands tightly, awaiting his answer. His face fell.
"Well, Tara…Ava…"his gloomy eyes shifted from one twin to the other, "I…I…" All of a sudden his face lit up again, "Of course I'm in! I couldn't leave you girls alone to drown in your sorrows of going to a stuffy old boarding school by yourselves!"
"Fabulous!" Ava and Tara yelled in unison, hugging him again before slapping his forearm.
"Ow! What was that for? Have you two gone completely wonky?" Aidan questioned, rubbing his forearm, but not acting seriously hurt.
"You made us think for a second that you weren't accepted! I don't know what I would have done if you weren't coming with us," Ava told him. Tara nodded in complete agreement.
"Sorry Ava, sorry Tara," Aidan said, the smile on his face showing them that he wasn't being entirely sincere, "It's just so funny to watch you two get all worked up."
"You haven't seen us worked up yet," Tara told him, placing her fists to her hips, "Believe me, we can be fierce."
"Of course I know that," Aidan said, but taking a step back, "I've been your best friend since I was what? Two?" All of a sudden Mrs. Daney came down the steps, flashing Aidan a smile.
"Yep, ever since you three were babies," Mrs. Daney giggled, reminiscing, "You know Aidan, when you were three you used to run around our backyard naked when we had your family over for dinner. I do believe I have pictures." Ava and Tara giggled loudly, as Aidan's face turned a deep red. He glanced nervously at Ava and then looked to the floor. Mrs. Daney noticed this and walked over to ruffle his short dirty-blond hair.
"Oh don't worry, you were cute," Mrs. Daney said, handing him a small dusty suitcase and clapping her hands together to release the dust from her fingers, "Help them pack and don't encourage my daughters to think negatively about Hogwarts, it will be the best experience of your life. I don't know why all of you seem to think that it will be stuffy." The three teenagers watched as Mrs. Daney crossed the large foyer and vanished into the Daney kitchen.
"Maybe because it will be stuffy," Ava grunted, beginning to walk toward the stairwell, "I have to get packing. Mum said that we must leave for Diagon Alley tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?!" Tara wailed, rushing after her sister. Aidan followed the two girls, sneezing loudly from all the dust that rested like a thick blanket on the small suitcase.
"God bless you," Ava and Tara called to him together, just pausing for a second before starting to complain again. Aidan swatted the dust particles as they floated aimlessly around his head, until he finally gave up and ran up the stairs. First stop was Ava's room, where she had already begun pulling books, charcoal drawings, and magical objects off her shelves. In the middle of her room sat a huge black suitcase, already half full with all her clothes. Tara was no where in sight.
"Where's Tara? In her room?" Aidan asked, gazing at the mess Ava was creating on her bedroom floor. She stopped and wiped her forehead, where small sweat drops were forming from the excruciating heat.
"Yeah, probably," Ava answered, standing up and walking over to him, "Can I ask you something?" Aidan narrowed his eyes, wondering why she sounded so serious.
"Yeah, of course Ava," Aidan said, trying to sound casual, not serious, "What's on your mind?"
"Well…I think Tara has been a bit…sad lately," Ava confessed, sitting down on her bed and inviting Aidan to take a seat as well. He walked over and plopped down beside her, resting the dusty suitcase on the floor.
"Do you think it's because of her falling out with Jared?" Aidan asked, "Your family doesn't see him as a fitting suitor now. She really seemed to like him as a possible match some day. She hasn't seemed the same since."
"Yeah, that's what I was thinking," Ava said, sighing loudly before continuing, "I think the fact that he thought she was too weak a witch really hurt her. I mean, he wasn't all that powerful himself. We're just as good as him at magic. He just thinks he's the best because he's a parselmouth like his uncle." Ava paused and looked into her best friend's eyes, "I'm worried about her. Ever since then she's been obsessed with improving her powers and trying to meet his standards. Personally, I just don't know why she's bothering. He's nothing special, just a conceited boy who never thinks about anyone else besides himself. I will never let a guy affect me in that way if he's not worth it. In fact, I don't want a boyfriend. It's all too…annoying."
"You don't?" Aidan questioned, his eyebrow rising, "Well…anyway…I agree with you. She needs to snap out of it. But it's only been two weeks since they broke up. She'll get over it once the whole Hogwarts thing starts." Ava managed to give him a little smile and stood up.
"I hope you're right," Ava whispered, before kneeling on the floor next to her suitcase, "Well, I better finish packing and you should give Tara that suitcase. If she doesn't start packing now, she'll never finish."