The next thing I knew, I was standing in my living room.
"Chloe? Is that you?" My mum called from the kitchen.
"Yes, mum." I replied as I stepped out from the fireplace. My mum came from around the corner and sat down on the couch, and motioned for me to do the same. I put Cinder and my bag down and sat down opposite to her.
"Well? How was it?" She asked, smiling. I was relieved to see that she seemed to have finally accepted the idea of me being a witch.
"It was really fun! Would you like to see what I've bought?" I asked happily.
"Sure! But by the looks of it, it doesn't seem to be much." She said, looking at my small bag. I got down on the floor, opened the bag and reached my arm deep inside. Her eyes widened when, soon, my entire arm was reaching inside, searching around for stuff. I finally got hold of something, and I pulled it out. Soon, a large cauldron was sitting in the middle of our living space.
"Goodness, Chloe. What ever is that for?" She asked.
"Why, for making potions of course!" I said triumphantly as I pulled out my telescope, brass scales, glass phials, my robes, textbooks, and finally my wand. I crawled over to her.
"Look, mum! It's my very own magic wand!" I held it up to her and beamed. She smiled back.
"Congratulations, Chloe. I'm so proud of you." She wrapped me up in a warm hug.
"Oh! Looks like your fathers home!" She released me and stood up. "Chloe, I want you to be here while we explain everything to your father."
I felt a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I'd been worrying about how my father would take it. We both stood there in silence while he walked up to the house. It seemed like forever, when finally he opened the door.
"Welcome home, dear." My mum walked over to him and kissed him.
"Welcome home, dad."
"Hey dear, hey Chloe. What's all this?" He walked over to the pile of my school supplies still on the floor.
"Um... dear? Would you mind having a seat? Chloe and I need to tell something to you." She looked pointedly at me and I stood up and walked over to the couch and sat.
"Alrighty." He sat on the couch next to me. My mum walked over to the recliner and sat. We all sat there in silence for a moment before finally, my mum took a deep breath.
"Honey, I'm not quite sure how to put this so I'm just going to say it. Chloe is a witch." My dad looked at her.
"Darling, I know she can be a pain in the rear sometimes, but that's a little harsh don't you think?" He looked at her, confused.
"No, not like that. I mean she's actually a witch. Like, she can do magic. She's been accepted into a school for magic folk and these are her supplies for school." My mum said everything without pausing to breathe. Panting, she looked at my father.
"Oh, really? Congratulations, sweetie. I'm glad to know we have another wizard in our family." My dad patted me on the back in congratulations.
"Wait... you already knew about this whole magic thing?" My mum asked, her eyes stretched wide.
"Oh yes, I forgot to mention. My whole family are wizards, but I'm what you call a squib. That means that I was born non-magical." He explained.
"But, why didn't you tell us?" I asked him, slightly hurt. He smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head in embarassment.
"Well, I wasn't sure if you would be a witch or not, so I didn't want to get your hopes up or anything. I'm also glad that Hogwarts sent a messenger to you. I guess it makes sense, seeing how I didn't go to Hogwarts so naturally I wouldn't know much about it. But don't worry, your mom and I will definitely go with you to see you off. Right, dear?" He cocked his head at her and smiled. She smiled back.
"Of course. Now dear, would you mind telling us what you do know about Hogwarts? I'm afraid Mr. Hagrid didn't really do much explaining. Rather rude of him if I do say so myself." She scowled and in a hut on a rock in the middle of the ocean, a certain giant sneezed, and a certain young boy said bless you.
"Well, Mr. Hagrid had said that he had to go help out another boy by the name of Harry Potter, so he was probably rushed." I said defensively. My father looked at me.
"Harry Potter? As in, THE Harry Potter?" He thought about it for a bit before saying "Oh, I never realized that you two would be in the same year." My mum looked at him in confusion.
"Another time, dear. Now, you want to hear what I know about Hogwarts right?" We nodded.
A/N- This whole dialogue below reveals that Mr. Butcher's brother and mother were in Ravenclaw, his father in Hufflepuff, and his sister in Slytherin. Other than that it's just an explanation about the different houses and the house cup. Feel free to skip it if you want.
"Well, like I said earlier I don't know too much. My brother and sister were both magical, but I was the only squib. So all I know is what my family has told me. Let's see... Well, to start, there are 4 houses at Hogwarts. Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Each house has their own unique traits that define them. Gryffindors are brave and chivalrous. Ravenclaws are witty and eccentric. Hufflepuffs are loyal and fair. Slytherins are cunning and ambitious. My brother and mother were in Ravenclaw, my father in Hufflepuff, and my sister in Slytherin. When you arrive at Hogwarts, you will each be called up one by one to be sorted. From what I've heard, one of the professors will place a magical hat on you." I giggled at that part and my mum shushed me with a stare. My father chuckled. "I know it sounds silly, but it's true. This hat has the ability to see deep inside you. It will decide which house you truly belong in, and there you will stay for all 7 years. Any questions?" We both shook our heads. "Alright. Now let me explain house points to you. Whenever a teacher feels you have made a great accomplishment, they will award your house a certain number of house points. However, if you are caught causing mischief, then you will lose house points. Then, at the end of the school year the house with the most house points will receive the House Cup. It's a great honour, so make sure to try your best no matter what house you end up in, alright Chloe?" My dad grinned.
A/N- The boring explanation stops here.
"Okay, but you won't get mad at me if I end up in a bad house, will you?" I asked, worried.
"Of course not! All of the houses are great in their own way. They're all equal." He reassured me. I smiled and gave him a hug. My mum stood up.
"Alright. Now that the explanation is over, please take all of your things up to your room. And, who is this pretty girl?" My mum reached down to Cinder's cage and opened it. He let out a grateful girly sounding meow and ventured outside his cage.
"He's a boy, and his name is Cinder. Mr. Hagrid bought him for me as a birthday present!" I sat down on the floor with him and scratched him in front of his ears and he flopped down on the floor and rolled over onto his back, exposing his vast, sand colored tabby belly. My father laughed at the silly cat. I rubbed his sandy belly and he wiggled all over like a dog, purring like crazy. When I finally stood up to take my things up to my room, he looked up at me while still laying on his back and meowed again. My dad carried my cauldron to my room while I grabbed my assortment of trinkets. As my mum reached for my textbooks, she frowned.
"You know Chloe, I really think you should start studying for school. You don't want to be the only one there who doesn't know about all of this magical stuff."
"Oh come on, honey. Chloe has always been a top student. Although, it isn't a bad idea to learn the basics. Speaking of school, what are you going to do about muggle school? Won't you miss your friends?" My dad called out from down the hall.
"It's alright, I was too busy studying to maintain my marks to really make any good friends. I can study the muggle subjects over the summer as well as my magic. But I think it is a good idea to start studying for Hogwarts." I replied, placing down my trinkets on top of my desk.
"Oh, I forgot to mention. Chloe, outside of school you are forbidden to use magic. You can still study spells, but no casting them, understood? This is not my rule, but Hogwarts' rule." My dad said seriously.
"Alright, I won't." I promised. Not that I would have tried. After the lightning that I caused in Mr. Ollivanders shop, I didn't think I was going to be trying spells on my own for a long time.
"Alright, now I guess we'll be leaving you alone now. I'll call you when dinner is ready." My mum and dad smiled and left Cinder and I alone in my room. I flopped down on my bed and took a deep breath and grinned. I looked at the clock and it read 2:48 PM. It's amazing how much happened in such a short time period. Cinder jumped up on my bed and sniffed at my face. He stood there kneading the bed before finally turning around in a circle and laying down with his paw placed on my arm. I scratched his favorite spot right in front of his ears and he love bit my hand and I chuckled.
A few minutes of belly rubs passed, and he stood up and walked to the edge of the bed. He flopped down and had his head hanging off the bed. He wiggled closer and closer to the edge, before he finally started to slowly slide off the edge of the bed head first. Thankfully, he managed to flip around and land on his paws safely. He then jumped right back up to my bed and did it again. He definitely wasn't the brightest cat in the world, but he was amusing enough.
I sat up on my bed and looked around my room. It was a pretty average looking room, but it was still my own. My twin sized bed was against the far wall, with the only window in the room right next to the headboard that way I could look out into the beautiful night time as I fell asleep. In the summer I would count fireflies rather than sheep until I fell asleep. I wondered if I would have a window to sleep next to at Hogwarts. Next to my bed was my dresser, and next to that was my vanity. I got up and sat down in front of the mirror. I grabbed my hairbrush and began to brush out my wavy mouse brown hair. My hair had gotten long. It now reached the middle of my back. I stood up and walked over to my desk at the opposite wall and sat down. I opened The Standard Book of Spells: Grade 1 by Miranda Goshawk and began reading and taking notes to review later. I practiced reading the incantations out loud, but made sure not to touch my wand. Not long later, I had finished the book and sighed contently before flipping to a new page in my notebook and grabbing the next book. I went on like this and before long I had finished five of my textbooks, and taken notes on all of them. Just as I was about to start on the sixth, my dad knocked on my door.
"Chloe? Dinner is ready." I sighed, frustrated that I couldn't read any more.
"Alright, I'm coming."