Hey yall. Thank you so much for your feedback, it really made my day! I will keep the author note up for one more chapter in case anyone wants to share their opinions and thoughts. I'm glad to see that you guys enjoy Maggie! This chapter came out a bit early since I felt the sweet freedom of being done with midterms. Once again, thank you all for your reviews!
Thank you to Vadimmom, stoneley, Pdk, LolitaDoII (don't worry about the long review, I enjoy worried them!), Guest, Littlecosma001, and SweetieCherrie for your reviews and feedback. And thank you for stoneley for catching a small slip up.
Maggie sat on the wooden chair, fidgeting slightly back and forth as she tried to find a comfortable position as she kept her head in her potions book.
For the past week Maggie stayed home at the motel instead of going to school. She managed to convince her mom that since she was going to Hogwarts, there was no need to continue to go to class. Well, by "convince", her mom went down to the school to see if her grades were good enough to pass the fifth grade. And of course they were, despite the constant moving around and different teaching curriculums, Maggie kept her grades rather high. It just came somewhat natural for her. This was the way she now spent her time reading her textbooks before going to school. After all, since she was a muggleborn she must be far behind those who had magic families.
Plus, the reading and rereading of these texts were the only thing that was able to get her mind off the destruction of her friendship with Harry. After Harry stormed off and left Maggie sitting there alone in the park, she wasn't sure it scream in anger or to break down crying. She felt stupid for getting so attached to another person especially after the constant moving school to school, leaving friends every time to the point she just decided to give them up. She should've kept doing that because then she wouldn't be feeling like this. She remembered feeling the anger she felt towards Harry turned into anger towards herself. Her mother was worried when she came back to the motel that day as she has been for each day since.
Even though the incident only happened a week ago, the pain and hurt still linger. Her mind kept drifting back to her friend which didn't help. Sometimes Maggie found herself tearing up at night and would wake up to a wet pillow. Her mom must've known something happened but Maggie was grateful she never pressed for any details. Instead, she would just comfort her, which was all Maggie needed.
On the bright side, when she wasn't wallowing in self-pity and anger, she was enlightened by the subjects she will soon be dealing with. Out of all the subjects, charms and transfiguration caught her interest the most. Though that was not to say the other subjects did not, in fact, she was equally excited to see how they all function. It just seemed that charms and transfiguration involved the most magic used.
When she wasn't reading all her books or fiddling with her wand, she played with the shadows. She was able to practice more with the shadows due to her newfound isolation. There were times she swore she saw something more in the darkness. Something that comes and goes too quickly for her for her eyes to clearly make out. The greatest achievement she reached was bringing the shadows out of thin air and changing Shadow's form. She managed to conjure the shadows with a wave of her hand instead of relying on existing sources to turning her dog companion into different animals.
The more she trained her ability to manipulate the more Professor McGonagall's words echo in her mind. What she can do was unnatural, even within the world of magic. What did that mean for her?
Perhaps she could push the topic on McGonagall when she was at Hogwarts. She had a suspicion that McGonagall might've known more than she let on.
She buried those thoughts. As much as she would've loved the distraction, that distraction she didn't need. She rather stick to reading and practicing simple wand movements.
Soon it was June 29th, her birthday. Maggie was surprised by how quickly the weeks went by. It felt like it went by so quickly that it took her mother surprises her with a large homemade chocolate cake (which explained why her mom was up so early) to cause Maggie to remember what day it was.
Her birthday was a quiet affair at first. After blowing out the candles, her mother took her out several clothing stores. While some of the clothes caught her eye, she never said anything. It wasn't like they had enough money to spend. However, her mom must've been watching her like a hawk and ended up buying her a blue and white checkered dress with two good size pockets as well as a black and white tank top with matching loose fitted shorts.
The day ended with them in London and Maggie couldn't help but notice the Leaky Cauldron sign creaking in the wind. She contemplated bringing it up, but after seeing the carefree look on her mother's face she decided not too. Maggie knew for a fact that her mom was paranoid by magic and the world that went with it. She never said anything about it, but Maggie could tell by the wariness look in her eyes when she watched her reading. So instead she turned to her mom and was about to suggest going home when she was knocked on her butt by two taller redheaded boys.
"Fred! George!" a loud woman's shrilly voice shouted out, causing the two identical twins to pause in their steps.
"Oh honey are you okay?" her mom asked, her eyes filled with worry as she brought Maggie to her feet and sternly glared at the two boys that basically ran over her daughter.
All Maggie was able to do was nod as she watched a plump redheaded woman rushed towards them. Behind her trailed a group of redheads. In all honesty, this was the most amount of redheads Maggie had ever seen. A part of her was envious of the vibrant coloring of their hair. While Maggie and her mom both were considered redheads, their shading was far more subtle compared to this family's vibrancy.
The shorter woman gave her and her mom an apologetic look. Her colorful orange and pink robes brought out the warmness in her brown eyes. Maggie couldn't help but wonder if she was a witch as well, after all, they seemed to enjoy those types of clothing.
"Oh dearie I'm so sorry about that. Are you okay?" she asked, her voice much calmer than it was seconds ago.
"Uh yeah, it's fine," Maggie mumbled, the many eyes staring at her was bringing on a wave of claustrophobia.
The woman glared at the twins, "Fred. George," she said slowly, her voice slightly beginning to raise.
The twins, Fred and George, sighed. "Sorry for running into you. In our defense though, you are quite tiny. Who would've been able to see you anyways?" one of them said, causing Maggie to glare at him along with the two mothers.
"George!" the woman admonished, smacking the boy over the head.
"Oi mum, but I'm George," the other twin said. He sounded like he was offended but the grin on his face said a different story. If Maggie didn't find the two twins annoying and rude she might've felt bad for them. After all, it must hurt if your own mom can't tell you apart. Yet the dreadful apology and the stingy pain from the scrap on her palms merely made her glowered at them in disdain. She clenched her hands, her fingers accidently touching the open wound. Her nose crinkled in pain, but she refused to show any discomfort.
The twins noticed her glare and opened their mouths. No doubt to make another jeer at her before their mother stopped them with a warning look.
"Once again, I'm so sorry for those two. But we really must be going," she said before waving along her family. Her mom placed a hand on her shoulder and begun to guide Maggie back to where they left the car as Maggie watched as they headed towards the Leaky Cauldron.
"Are...are you all magic as well?" Maggie said quickly, causing her mom to go pale as well as stopping the other family still. The mother turned around with a grin along with a taller man who Maggie figured to be her husband. Similar to his wife, he had flaming orange hair, but unlike his wife, his eyes were a light blue color.
"Ah another Hogwarts student, not going to Illvermony eh?" the man asked, as the group walked back towards them. The twins groaning while the other children stayed quiet.
Maggie blinked at the foreign name and gave them a confused frown. She glanced at her mother, watching her look at the other family with caution. Maggie wouldn't be surprised if her mom was formulating a plan on how to get out of this situation as fast as possible.
She turned back to the man, "I'm sorry, but I don't know what that is."
The two adults eyes widen in understanding. "Ah muggleborn then?" the man asked.
Maggie nodded, her eyes glancing at her mother's hand that started to grip her shoulder tighten.
The man's eyes turned towards her mom. "Muggles, such a fascinating group. May I ask some questions. You see I-" the man started talking to her mom causing Maggie to turn her focus to the woman and her children.
"Oh Arthur, don't pester the poor woman," she sighed before leaning down towards Maggie. Arthur gave Maggie's mom a sheepish smile and apologized.
"Are you a first year?" she asked.
"Yes. I just turned eleven today," Maggie admitted.
"Ooh another firstie," Fred or George sung before squishing a lanky boy whose face was turning a light pink.
"How wonderful, my son Ronald is starting his first year as well. Oh Ronald dearie come say hi, you might be seeing a lot of each other."
The lanky boy turned a brighter pink as he shuffled forward. He glanced at Maggie and gave her a weak smile. "Hey," he mumbled clearly not used to this amount of attention.
Maggie gave him a small smile in return, "Hi, I'm Maggie."
Ronald opened his mouth to say something before one of the twins yanked him back. "Mum, I thought we were going to buy Charlie a new wand and Mr. Percy Prefect some new robes," one of the complained.
While their mother scolded them for their rudeness, Maggie took the time to observe the group. Other than Fred, George, and Ronald, there was a smaller redhead girl with her mother's brown eyes whose face flushed red when Maggie caught her staring at her. Next to her was a taller boy with curly red hair. His back was stiff and straight giving Maggie the impression of him being on the more pompous side. Lastly were two taller boys who seemed to be the oldest of the kids. Both of them had shoulder length red hair and seemed at peace talking to each other. They gave her a teasing smile when they caught Maggie gaze lingering on them making Maggie's face warm up.
"We actually must be going as well," her mom said stiffly, causing the other family to go silent.
The mother gave them a smile. "Oh of course. And Maggie, if you these two give you trouble you just owl me," her voice was kind yet stern.
The fact she was going to the same school as the twins brought her a sense of dread as well as a headache.
"Of course," Maggie said despite not knowing what she meant by owling her and was too tired to ask, "Thank you Mrs…"
"Weasley my dear. Now you two have a good day. And Happy Birthday Maggie," Mrs. Weasley said as they departed into the Leaky Cauldron. The last two to leave were the twins who gave her a mischievous look.
"See you in school Mago."
With that Maggie and her mom were alone once again. God, she hoped she didn't run into those two at school.
Her mom finally released her grip on her shoulder, her body finally relaxing. "Well, that has been enough excitement for today," her mom said slightly as they walked away from the Leaky Cauldron. Maggie barely realizing the scrap on her palm was gone like it never existed in the first place.
That night Maggie laid in bed with a sad smile on her face. She was glad to meet another magical person, excited to see an entire family of them.
However, it still stung that Harry didn't come over to say Happy Birthday.
I hope you all liked this chapter. Next one will involve the good old Hogwarts express and sorting! Let me know what you guys think! I love reading your thoughts.