Okay guys, here's the next installment of my story. Hope you're enjoying it so far. I'll admit these aren't all that action-packed, but they will get better, I promise. In fact, I'll make the unbreakable vow. :) Enjoy the story, and if it wouldn't be too much trouble, take a few seconds and PLEASE review. PLEASE (or I might be tempted to withhold chapters...)
Kassia and her mother stared at the owl for a moment, too shocked to move. The owl began to hoot and hop around madly, knocking the letter against lemonade pitchers, pickle jars, and Kassia's hand. It didn't take a child prodigy to figure out that this owl was agitated about something.
"What does it want?" Mrs. Banks asked hoarsely.
"I think..." Kassia began to stretch her hand slowly toward the bird. She gently pulled the battered letter from the it's beak, and it immediately turned its back on her, pecking at the sandwiches beneath its feet.
Tearing her gaze away from the impatient owl, Kassia stared at the parcel clasped gently in her fingers. It was lovely – or, at least, had been. The front of the envelope faced her now, as did a strange, elaborate gold seal; it looked to some sort of...crest. When she turned the envelope over to the other side, her heart stopped. On the back was an address. Her address, in scrawly, carefree cursive.
Miss Kassia Banks
Upstate New York
Little Cabin in the Woods
She took a deep breath to calm herself. "Don't be illogical," she reminded herself. "There is always a logical explanation". Then again, what was logical, really?
"Pipe down, Kassia," she thought, then "So now I've resorted to talking to myself. In my head. Wonderful, I'm a lunatic".
But curiosity still drove her.
With now-steady hands, she ripped the top of the envelope open and pulled out a letter. Like the envelope that contained it, the letter was written on heavy, creme-colored paper. In the same writing as on the back of the envelope, the letter read:
Dear Miss Banks,
We are pleased to announce that you have been accepted to the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. Hogwarts boasts a large array of amenities, including a state-of-the-art quidditch field, a world-renowned teaching staff, and a lovely campus. Included in this letter is your list of materials for this year's classes. Should you have any questions, simply send me an owl.
Have a wonderful first year at Hogwarts.
Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore
Headmaster
*Should you be a Muggle in need of some assistance, kindly return the owl with this letter and a representative will collect you shortly.
After finishing the letter, Kassia passed it over to her mother. She observed her mother's reaction closely, thinking that it might lead her to a conclusion of what this all meant. She'd been accepted to a special school. But special in what sense – that was the question.
Her mother began to read the letter. Her eyebrows shot up and she bit her lip. She was stressed about something; that's Kassia could tell. So she did know something about what was going on. If she hadn't, she would have been confused, but clearly, her mother knew about this Hogwarts place.
When she had finished the letter (which, Kassia noted, took significantly longer than it had taken her), Mrs. Banks set it gingerly on the table, almost as if afraid it would explode.
"I don't know what the meaning of this is," she began, "But your father and I will definitely discuss it -".
"You're lying," Kassia said bluntly. "You know what's going on, and I'm a little insulted that you thought you could just obscure it from me. Mother, you know what's going on, and seeing as it concerns me, I really think I ought to know about it."
"You always speak so properly when you get upset," Mrs. Banks said nervously, "I think you should-"
Kassia leaped to her feet. "Honestly mother I demand to know what's going on! Your hiding it from me will be in vain; I know how to get this information – and believe me, I will, one way or another, vous ne pouvez pas cacher la vérité à moi!
After a few long moments of silence, Kassia sat down, embarrassed at her sudden outburst; she always ranted in French when she was very angry. Her mother turned to her and bowed her head.
"Kassia...I'm...not... not your real mother," she said softly. "We adopted you from England, of all places, because we wanted children so badly but we didn't...couldn't have any, and when you came we were so happy, but we knew the truth might upset you, so...". She began to cry.
"I understand why you didn't tell me," Kassia said, patting her mother's (well, Mrs. Bank's) hand soothingly,"But I think you're aware that I can handle the truth."
"Then there's something else you should know, Kas. You see, when you were smaller...what can I say, you were incredibly gifted, even as a baby. But we noticed that you did things. Unnatural things. We liked to pretend that it was just a part of your being gifted, but some of the things you did..."
Kassia nodded impatiently. She knew exactly where this conversation was going, what her mother's suspicion was; in fact, the letter had confirmed the hypotheses that she had had for years. She had simply been afraid to ask her mother for confirmation for fear of being thrown in a squishy white cell with lots of crayons.
"But I began doing some research," Mrs. Banks continued, "about some of the 'symptoms' you were having, and I finally realized that what I was seeing was magic, wizardry, things they put in Grimm fairy-tales. That, for sure, was what I was seeing. This school, Hogwarts, they contacted me when they found out what I was searching – they monitor the internet, for security reasons, you know - and the headmaster, Dumbledore, said he would help me. And so you see," she finally concluded, tears streaming down her face now, "you need to learn how to be a wizard."
Kassia took a very small moment to digest this information. "When will I be leaving?"
"Well, you see, Mr. Dumbledore and I have been in contact for a while now, and he said he would arrange all of the transportation and escorting and gathering of materials...pickup was supposed to be not long after you got your letter, but I wasn't sure how long "not long" is to him...I thought of this trip as our last bit of time together before..." she broke into a fit of sobs.
A very uncomfortable silence ensued, broken only by Mrs. Banks's sniffles. Eventually, she spoke up. "How much of this did you already know, Kas?"
"A decent amount of it, although I was in the dark about this 'wizard world'...I assumed that there were others like me, but I suppose I was questioning my own sanity so much that I never sought them out. Although, this does explain a lot of the untraceable websites that I run across on the internet...the ones with the broken connections. Perhaps they have their own complex computer code that integrates..."
Upon seeing the look on her mother's face, she stopped her rambling and smiled bashfully.
"And Kassia, I just want you to know that-" Mrs. Banks began before a loud swishing sound had drowned out her words.
A man stood at the center of the clearing between the lake and the cabin. He was tall and broad-shouldered, with short-cropped blond hair and a thin mustache. His clothes were odd; he appeared to be wearing maroon-colored robes and a matching cloak...very strange.
He approached the two ladies, then stopped at the end of the picnic table, then said "Est-ce la jeune femme J'ai été chargé de ramasser?"
Immediately, Kassia intervened, and in flawless French, she replied "Je suis désolé, monsieur, mais ma mère ne comprend pas le français."
The main raised his eyebrows, seeming a bit shocked, but turned to Mrs. Banks and in a heavy French accent said, "I am sorry, madame, I did not realize...but this is the young lady, no?"
Mrs. Banks rose and smiled charmingly. "Yes, sir, this is her. I am sorry we we are not prepared for your...arrival, but if you'll give us a few moments, we should be ready. And what was your name? I didn't quite catch it."
He took her hand and kissed it gently. "Eric Ardoin," he replied, "Now you must go get ready, mademoiselle, for we must be on our way."
The inside of the cabin was, in a word, homey. The furniture was home-made, from a wood-carver that Mr. and Mrs. Banks had met in the Philippines. Earthen-looking rugs covered the floors, and various tapestries were draped on the furniture and hung on the walls. The cabin itself was huge and filled with rooms; a gourmet kitchen, several large bedrooms with luxurious king-sized beds, and at Kassia's insistence, a large library. In various corners, equipment for recreational sports were stashed. Kassia had used her bow, quiver, and target for practice just yesterday. They now lay sprawled in the middle of the living room floor. A grand stone fireplace was the key feature of this room; the Banks had spent many nights in front of it, debating politics or talking business or just chatting. One distinct thing stood out, though; other than the lights and kitchen appliances, there was nothing electronic. This, of course, was Mrs. Bank's idea.
Kassia went immediately to her room when she entered the cabin. Through the doorway, left through the kitchen, up the spiral staircase, and left down the longest hallway in the cabin. The last door on the right. Her room.
It was a fairly cluttered space; bookshelves, a dresser, a desk, and a tiny bed covered every bit of exposed wall. A large bay window was the only space not covered by something. This was her second favorite place to read in the world – other than underneath her tree, of course. The room was decorated in the same style as the living room, littered with rich-looking tapestries and rugs. Her incense burned in the corner, giving the room a flowery aroma.
She was going to miss this.
"Deep breaths," she thought to herself. "And a clear mind." Now it was time to pack.
She did this quickly, throwing her various t-shirts and jeans and sweaters and skirts (which she knew she would never use) into her suitcase. She ran about the house, snatching up her toothbrush and minimal jewelry, whatever else she thought she might need, and shoving it into her suitcase along with her clothes.
Then, she slipped into her parent's room and over to the bedside table. In the drawer sat her computer. She snatched it up and went into her powder room, the one place she wouldn't be disturbed.
The silvery glow of the computer made her face look ghastly. Finally, the computer booted up. She was able to find an internet connection, albeit a weak one, with a bit of searching. After a few minutes of typing in passcodes, she was able to connect to a phantom website. This is what connected her to the fairy police.
The site was very similar to Skype; she had just sent a request to chat. While she was waiting for a response from Commander Root, she massaged her temples. It had been a long day, and it was only getting more exhausting.
Finally, Root's beet-red face filled the screen. "Banks!" he shouted in gnomish "Why haven't I heard from you? You were-"
She silenced the commander with a wave of her hand. "I purposely let my mother find my laptop; I knew that it would eliminate any distrust throughout the trip. This is why you have not heard from me, to answer your first question. To respond to your second and uncompleted statement, yes, I am aware that I was to give you an update. Our allegiance is an uneasy one, I'll admit, but really, commander, you know that you can trust me. Don't you?" she said, giving him a charming smile.
He just scowled "Don't let it happen again, Banks."
Kassia raised her eyebrows, but nodded her head. "Of course, commander. But I suppose I should inform you of some...interesting information. Or I suppose it is more of an interesting question. Do you know of a wizard world?"
Root blinked his beady eyes. "No. Why do you ask?"
She let out a small chuckle. "Really, commander? I don't believe you. So, you do know of such a, dare I say, civilization. And why, may I ask, have I not been informed? I do have some theories, but I would like to hear your take on the matter."
Root gaped at her. "Um, well...you see...fairies have trust issues, Miss Banks. The wizards have been our distant allies for a long time, and if you decided to, well, rekindle old rivalries, let's say, that would be bad for us."
Kassia's eyebrows shot up. "So the wizards are more powerful than the fairies...interesting."
"That's not what I said-"
"But that is what you meant."
Root sighed. "Yes. Yes, they probably are more powerful than us. They have an almost unending power supply, they're fairly technologically advanced, and they have strength in numbers...and they're very well-hidden. I'd be afraid to be at war with them, that's for sure."
"You mentioned rekindling old rivalries. What exactly do you mean?"
Root turned purple. "What is this, an interview? What do I-"
"Commander, please!" Kassia said urgently.
"All right," Root, murmured. "About ten years ago, there was this really awful dark wizard, and people were so afraid of him that they were afraid to say his name." He paused. "Voldermort." His voice was barely a whisper. "He gained lots of followers, and he was about to take down their government, the Ministry. The fairies decided to intervene. We were slaughtered. The wizards tried to help us, but they were barely surviving themselves. We knew that soon, we would have to surrender to him."
There was a moment of silence as Kassia let this sink in. Root continued.
"But then, he just...well, he was going to murder this wizard family, the Potters, and he did. Lily and James Potter died, but when he was about to kill Harry, he just disappeared. The boy was barley a year old."
"So he didn't die, then?"
"Dumbledore is convinced that he's still alive, but..."
"Shh, Root, someone is coming."
Kassia's mother knocked on the door. "Kas, honey, are you ready to go?"
"Just a minute, mom, I'm going to shower."
After a quick goodbye to Root, she shut down her computer and sneaked her laptop back to its drawer. Then, true to her word, she showered. She pondered the events of the day; surprisingly enough, she felt fairly normal, whatever that meant. She thought about her allegiance with the LEP, how she had discovered them months ago, and had discreetly made contact with them. It had taken a while to get them to trust her; as Root had said, fairies have trust issues. But she had made a promise to them, one that she knew that may endanger her life if she did not keep it.
She had sworn to keep the fairy world a secret, and to become an honorary member of the LEP, if they helped to remove her curse.
When she reached the living room, suitcase in hand, still-wet hair pulled up into a sloppy bun, her mother was there waiting for her. Mrs. Banks held a backpack in her hand and two other suitcases sat at her feet. Her face was tear stained, but she wore a brave smile.
"Ready to go?" she asked hoarsely.
"I suppose so."
And then Mrs. Banks burst into tears. She embraced her daughter, sobbing. "K-kassia I'm s-so sorry I should have told you s-s-sooner and I'm g-going to miss you so much, p-please promise you'll write..."
"I think I'll still call you mom," Kassia said after a long silence. "Because you raised me and took care of me, and...yes, I'll write."
They broke apart, and Mrs. Banks handed Kassia the backpack. Inside, she found a pouch with strange coins, a sweater, a small bag of fresh fruit, the letter from Dumbledore, and...her laptop. She turned to her mother, confused. "You'll need one, for some of your classes. The list is in the letter, so I took a look at it...I'll send some more clothes to wherever you'll be staying, and you can shop for your other school supplies later. You'll be staying at an inn for about a month before you actually start school."
"Why so long?"
"Because, I want you to get to know your people. How they live, how they act. You won't be able to do that here. All this was arranged as soon as I found out what...or who you are. Dumbledore is a great man. You'll like him." She smiled. "In fact, they say he's one of the greatest wizards who ever lived."
They stood in silence, until Ardoin strode into the room. "Are you ready, mademoiselle?" he asked. He sounded genuinely concerned.
Kassia smiled and nodded. It disturbed her a bit how easily she could lie. "I am a genius," she reminded herself, "I should not be surprised."
And then Kassia and Mrs. Banks hugged one more time, breaking apart quickly, not wanting to make a scene. Kassia was used to this; it was frowned upon for her family to show too much affection in public.
"I'll call your father, explain what's happened." Mrs. Banks said after they broke apart. Kassia felt a little pang in her chest, suddenly sad that she could not say goodbye to him personally. But he'd had so much work to do; financing things that Kassia could have helped with, had this trip not been scheduled. She understood, though; being one of the richest men in the world was probably exhausting.
"Madame, I will have to use your fireplace," Ardoin said, digging through the pack at his side. Finally, he produced a small silver pouch.
Mrs. Banks nodded. She flipped the nobs on the front of the grand stone fireplace, instantly lighting a fire. "All yours," she said.
Ardoin stepped over to the blazing fire. He reached into the pouch and pulled out a strange, powdery substance.
He threw it into the fire, and it instantly flared up and turned green. He then set the pouch next to the fireplace. He came over to where the two ladies stood, picking up the suitcases and allowing Kassia to shoulder the backpack. "After you," he said, nodding at the fire.
"Into the fire?" she asked skeptically. He nodded. She stepped toward the fire, thinking "I must be mad" But as she stepped into the flames, she merely felt a tingling sensation. "Now," said Ardoin, "take a fistful of the Floo powder, then say, very clearly, The Leaky Cauldron, and throw it down. All right?"
She nodded, and did as he said, and soon she was spinning and disoriented and missing home already.