Christmas Holiday couldn't come soon enough. I had been literally counting the days down to when I could talk to people who made sense and eat food with a flavor. If truth be told, I was beginning to forget what flavor actually was.
The one thing I would miss from Hogwarts was the incredible views from Ravenclaw Tower. The windows were all frosted the morning I was going to leave for home. The moment I wiped the frost away, my eyes beheld a wonderland blanketed in white. It had snowed the night before, so it covered up the tracks of the body cart. There were still flakes of snow falling gently to the undisturbed ground. The flakes danced and flitted about in a way that kept my attention for a good while. It's almost magical, in a way, that the falling snow can create the illusion of perfect quiet and even a little joy during the holiday season. The one thing that broke me from my trance was Pipsqueak's twittering and nibbling on the cage bars.
I picked up his cage and propped it up on the window, "Look at that, Pipsqueak! Isn't that lovely?" Pipsqueak wasn't at all interested in the scenery; he just wanted me to feed him, "Alright, alright, I'll get you your breakfast."
The jar of mice was nearly depleted and was only down to two. Pipsqueak was a bit upset at that because he usually eats three, "I'm sorry, but that's all we have. If you hadn't been such a little pig up to this point, you would have more to eat."
I got dressed in a whole bundle of warm clothes because the tower had become quite drafty. When that still wasn't enough, I used the incendio charm to re-kindle the fire from last night. Oh, this reminds me of the diary entry I wrote the night before then. I'm sorry about going a little out of order here!
December 8, 2008
Dear Diary,
Yesterday, I learned the incendio charm. That's the one that lights things on fire. You know, diary, fire is what proved I was a witch when I was younger. Whenever I wouldn't get my way, I tended to light things on fire. That's why Mom always had to do grocery shopping after my dad came home because she couldn't take me to the store and risk destroying something. It's a bit embarrassing, really.
It's also kind of ironic, in a way. People used to burn witches, you know. I bet those perfect students here would burn up nicely because I think they're made of wood. It would explain why they're so perfectly cut and don't have a single blemish on them because skin gets blemishes. I also bet they're hollow on the inside because some of them don't seem to need to eat. That would make them a lot easier to burn too. One of these days I think I'll try
I stopped writing in my diary mid-sentence because my thoughts were beginning to scare me. However, that wouldn't be the first scary thought I'd write down. Some of my later entries still disturb me to this day.
Anyway, let's get back on track again. It was about noon when the bags were being loaded onto sleighs drawn by these beautiful, white horses. I remember a conversation between Filch and the games keeper. I had no one else to talk to, so that was what drew my interest.
It apparently started when Filch noticed the games keeper drinking as usual, "Get a hold of yourself, man! You've been drinking like a fish since the school year started!"
"I can't help it!" the games keeper slurred, "I need this to drown them all out!"
"What's so different anyway? I've put up with the same rubbish since I started working here!"
"It's not the same rubbish! It's not the same at all!"
"Who cares if the rubbish has changed? Rubbish is rubbish is rubbish, that's what I say!"
"I miss the old days, Filch! I miss the days where I could understand what they're saying! Back when everything was normal!"
"You're awfully hard to understand your own self. Now dry up and drive the damn horses!"
There were very few sleighs as there were very few people leaving school over Christmas Holiday. I was seated next to whom I assumed to be a Gryffindor girl. As the sleigh slid along, I was sincerely hoping she would ignore me like she would the rest of the year. Thanks to my streak of bad luck, she did talk to me.
"OMG!" she squealed in a shrill, irritating voice, "I totally can''t waite till Christmas! You no wht my parants are gioing to geet me? A CAR!11111111 I also know its gionng to be pink owith cool fuzzy seats on the insinde! Do you know howe I know that?."
"Let me guess. You're clairvoyant aren't you?" I answered morosely.
"NOOOOOO!11111 I m psychic!11 Thiers a differencde!" she responded. My knit-covered palm collided hard with my face.
That Gryffindor girl would not stop talking the whole sleigh ride to the platform. I tried to drown her out by going into my head; however, my thoughts would always go back to pushing her off the sleigh and onto the ice-covered lake. Fortunately, my goody-goody nature kept a resilient grasp on me before I could take any brash action.
It was quite lonely in the train compartment because Lauren decided to stay at school for holiday for some insane reason. That was fine by me, though. I was getting absolutely irritated with her. In fact, after that sleigh ride, I was perfectly pleased with having peace and quiet. I dozed off through the train ride and awoke when it came to a stop. I looked outside my window, and saw my dad standing on the platform, waiting for me. I grabbed my carry-on bag and ran out to greet him.
"Careful there Ida, you don't want to trip," he embraced me in a hug, "After all, you are my little Ravenclaw!"
"I missed you too, Dad!" I felt so happy that moment that I almost wanted to cry. It's funny how after a long period of sheer gloom, the littlest bits of happiness seem to deserve tears.
Finally, he let go, "Grab your stuff, dear. We're apparating home."
"Why? Did Mom not want to drive the car?" I asked.
"Actually," Dad hesitated, "your mom slipped on a patch of ice and fractured her wrist pretty bad. The doctor said she's lucky it wasn't broken, but it still hurts a bit I imagine."
"That's terrible!" I exclaimed.
"Yeah, I know! I could probably fix it in a second, but no, she always wants to do things the 'proper way' as she calls it! I've been married to her for fifteen years, and she still doesn't trust magic!" Dad regained focus, "Now go grab your stuff. We don't want to stand around here all day chatting!"
I gathered my luggage as quickly as I could. I simply couldn't wait to go home. Apparating, although it's a quick means of travel, it certainly isn't a comfortable one. It feels like all the air is being sucked out of you as you're squeezed through a tiny space. I often get dizzy after traveling like that and sometimes I get sick. This time, it was only a brief coughing spell and then I breathed in the familiar scent of home. The smell of our houses is one we usually take for granted, but it's very comforting when you've been away for so long.
Almost immediately, I felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around me, "Welcome home, dear." My mom then brushed a curl of hair away from my forehead and gave me a little kiss.
"It's good to be home, Mom," I looked over at her braced hand, "I'm sorry about your wrist, though."
"It's alright. The doctor said I'll be right as rain in a few months," she said.
"You can be right as rain right now if you'd just let me handle it!" Dad piped.
Mom gave him a reproachful look, "Yes, but I've gone my whole life without the aid of magic, and I intend to keep it that way, thank you very much! Besides, you might accidentally turn it into a parsnip or something!"
"Charm and transfiguration spells aren't the same thing, Marion," Dad said, "Even Ida can tell you that!"
At the sound of my name, there was a loud thumping sound coming down the stairs. Maddie ran into the room and started hugging my legs, "Ida! You're home! You're home!"
"Yes Maddie, I am," I rubbed her head between her curly, red pig-tails, "Could you please let go of my legs. I'm worried I might fall over."
The child obeyed and then started tugging my hand towards the Christmas tree, "Look at how many presents I got! Santa is going to bring me even more soon!"
"That depends if you've been good," I said slyly, "because Santa knows when you haven't been cleaning your room."
The smile was immediately removed from her freckled face. She immediately started running upstairs yelling, "Don't look yet, Santa! My room isn't ready!"
I grabbed some of my bags and started ascending the stairs, "I have some unpacking I need to do. Call me when dinner's ready."
I had barely put all my shirts away when I heard a knock at my door. My dad walked in beaming wide from under his reddish moustache, "I forgot to ask you Ida, how was school? Was Hogwarts as grand as I told you it would be?"
I made the mistake of answering honestly, "More like a grand mess if you ask me."
A look of concern crossed his face, "Well what's wrong with it? Come on, you can tell me."
"The problem is the people there," I flopped down on my bed.
"The people? Has someone been bullying you?"
"No, it's not like that at all! They just don't act like people! In fact, I don't think they are people!"
"What do you mean by that?"
"It's a little hard to explain, but they act too perfect to be people! I'm not sure about how much longer I can stand it! I don't even want to go to school there anymore!"
"Don't want to go to Hogwarts? But Ida, you were so excited at the beginning of the year."
"Things change, Dad! This isn't the Hogwarts you knew anymore! Please just pull me out now before I go mental!"
"Now you listen here! I'm not pulling you out and that's final!"
"But Dad, I can't stand it there at…"
"Do you understand how hard I worked to get you in there? I'd been saving up that money since you were a baby to give you the best education I could! Are you really going to pull back after all that money I saved for you?"
"You can just get a refund and I can go to some other, smaller, cheaper school!"
"It's not that easy, Ida! So you're going to stay in that school whether you like it or not! Am I clear?"
"Yes Dad."
"Good," my dad exited the room, "I had better not hear any more talk about wanting to leave, or else you'll be in serious trouble!"
It's a rare thing to see my dad that angry. Considering how much the entrance fee cost, it's not surprising that he'd react that way. If only my Hogwarts experience was like his, then I wouldn't have anything to complain about.
