Chapter 2: Persuasion
I realized about two seconds after Mr. Weasley took me home that there was no way I was going to be able to buy all the school supplies Mrs. Weasley had mentioned unless my parents were on my side. I had a little bit of allowance saved up, and Dumbledore had mentioned a fund if my parents were opposed to me attending Hogwarts, but while I really did want to go, I could never accept his charity, and there was no way I could leave my parents if they decided they wanted me to stay, so I decided to spend the rest of the day cleaning, and then most of the next day as well. Then, I cooked dinner so that it would be ready when my parents got home from their meetings.
My mom walked in the door first. She noticed the clean house and the dinner on the table, and she warily kissed me on the cheek.
"Cassy, is there something I might need to know?"
My mom was used to my antics. Just a few weeks earlier I'd gotten my tongue pierced. When I came home after that, I'd unpacked a few of the boxes that she still hadn't gotten to and dusted some knickknacks. The day before they'd left on this business trip, I'd cleaned all the windows after coming home with a fat lip from fighting with some prick who tried to cop-a-feel at a pub. I can only imagine the horrific images that must have started to reel through her mind when she realized the entire house had been cleaned, table set (with the fine linen cloth and Grandma Sue's good china), and dinner cooked.
Before I could direct mom to the table, dad walked in. He paused for about a whole minute in the entrance to our dining room before finally following mom and I to the table, wearing a wary smile. I served them, causing them both to furtively share fearful looks and wide eyes.
After giving them a few minutes to eat a little, I let them know that my world had changed. "Mom, Dad. I'm a witch...like the magical kind."
They both stared at me for several seconds and then each other, and then, when they looked back at me, my mom said, "Sweetie, are you feeling okay?"
I rolled my eyes and decided to forge on. "Look Mom, there's this school called Hogwarts, and I met with the Headmaster today, and he says they'll train me. They're going to cover the tuition since they feel I'm owed it because most magical children start training at eleven, but I fell through the cracks. I just need some money to buy supplies."
My mom leaned forward to feel my forehead and dad went to grab his cellphone from his briefcase in order to call the doctor. I had thought Professor Dumbledore was a lunatic when he first told me too, but I'd refused his help explaining to my parents. I decided to try a different tactic.
"Mom, you know how you say it's really hard, telecommuting all the time so that you can homeschool me? Well, Hogwarts is a sort of boarding school. You'll be able to go into the office, and you won't have to worry about me." I tried to put things firmly into a realm that she would understand. She didn't take it well.
"Honey...? Is this just an elaborate way to say that you want to go to a boarding school? You know I don't mind staying home with you when I can, and don't you remember the reason I started homeschooling you in the first place? It was so hard for you when we'd move so often and you'd have to find a new school. You don't want to go through that again do you?"
"Mom, I'm serious, Hogwarts is a school for witches and wizards, and I've thought it through. I want to go. They can teach me to control the flash attacks."
I knew if I could convince my mom then dad would follow suit. He was listening quietly to everything, but I could tell he wasn't buying a word. Mom looked at him, and she was agreeing with him with her eyes.
I sighed. I'd never have believed any of it either, even though I'd seen it with my own eyes. If I hadn't been able to "see" (that's what Professor Dumbledore had called it) I would probably still be insisting the old man was a lunatic.
"Look, I know it sounds crazy, but just think about it for a minute. Dad, do you remember when you scared me at Halloween when I was eight? I turned invisible. You weren't seeing things. That was magic. And mom, you know how you call me your little Caller ID? Knowing that someone is going to call is a part of a branch of magic called Divination. Do you guys remember when I was six and you made me go to that slumber party in Denver...how I cried so loud you heard me eight miles away? That was magic. You've got to believe me. I'm not making any of this up, and Professor Dumbledore says Hogwarts can help me learn to control it and harness it." I left out the part where I felt like it would be quite the adventure. My parents felt that at sixteen I'd already had too many adventures since I seemed to get into trouble anytime they left me alone for even a few hours.
My mom looked me over critically. I could tell she was looking for signs of outward trauma. It's not the easiest thing to accept...one's world tipping over to where magic suddenly exists beyond Disney. I put on my very best begging pout and mom shook her head a little. I wasn't sure if that meant she was starting to believe or telling me no.
"Mom?"
"I don't understand why you're being like this. Did something happen this weekend? We know that you've done drugs before. Did you get into a bad crowd...find something...laced?" She almost choked on the word. "What's wrong? Your father and I can't help unless--"
"Mom! I'm telling the truth!" I interrupted, yelling. I took a few breaths when she scowled at me, and I managed to be calmer when I said, "Look...Friday, I went out to walk around, and I was going to hitchike into London," I rushed on when mom looked like she might interrupt, "but I had an attack...a bad one, and afterwards I saw someone flying above the treetops, so I went to investigate, and I met the Weasleys, a family of witches and wizards, Professor Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Hermione, a Muggleborn witch, and this Harry Potter guy, a wizard who's famous or something."
Mom sat down and started to rub her temples. She sighed before whispering, "Muggleborn?"
"Someone who's not magical." I grabbed my arms across my chest, looking down at my toes. This wasn't going well. "Mom, do you want me to get you an aspirin? I know this is a lot to take in." My dad was rubbing her shoulders, and she waved me off.
"Honey, your mom and I just need a little time to process. How about you go to bed, and we'll discuss this more in the morning."
I nodded silently and made my way up the stairs to my room. Not long after I got there, an owl flew in and perched in the window. Mr. Weasley had explained to me all about owl post. I carefully approached the bird and snatched the envelope from its beak, backing away quickly once I had, watching the bird take off. I opened the seal on the parchment envelope and found my formal Hogwarts letter and list of supplies and another envelope with "Do Not Open!" scrawled across it. Looking at the letter, I almost felt like just sneaking out, going to the Weasleys and going to Hogwarts, with or without my parents' permission, but I couldn't do it. What if they moved again? They wouldn't know how to contact me. I'd get left behind. I wasn't exaggerating when I told mom I'd thought my decision through, but that didn't stop me from being afraid. If I got there and things worked out, and then one of them got called back to the states or something...
I read the list of supplies, distracting myself from my musings. Professor Dumbledore had briefly explained to me about wands and how they focus the magic, but I'd never had a wand before, and I'd done magic anyway. What if I could somehow do magic on command without one? Maybe then I could convince my parents to let me go.
I concentrated really hard and tried to will myself to become invisible.
The next morning, I disappeared for my parents for half a second, and that evening, Arthur Weasley came back to check on me...just like he'd promised. My parents let me go with him.
