ButterBeer
The oranges and pinks of the sunset flood the blue sky. The rush of traffic is clear. Most boaters head to port to avoid the Coast Guard's fine for being on the water past curfew. Wolf pauses the engine to watch the sunset. He grabs the strap of my backpack, and unzips the main compartment. He lifts the box of ButterBeer out of the bag. The glass of the bottles clink onto the wooden boards of the boat. Wolf flicks the cap off the top of the bottle with his thumb. He hands me the open bottle. "Here! Try this!" He smiles.
I tilt back the glass bottle so the the rim meets my lips. The smooth taste of the ButterBeer warms my body from the inside. The feeling starts in my stomach, then floats to my head and spreads to the tips of my fingers. The ButterBeer gives me the courage to ask Wolf a question.
"Why didn't dad tell me he's a wizard? Or that I'm a wizard? Or that mom was a witch?" I blurt out.
Wolf releases a long sigh. "Because being a wizard in America is dangerous! The Wizarding World has always had to hide from the No-maj World. And our family of outcast has to hide from other wizards. You were supposed to have a normal childhood. Sorry it didn't turn out that way...things got complicated fast."
I reach inside my leather jacket to examine the faded picture of my broken family. I flip the photograph, to see if a date will tell me the last time my family was whole. I discover a list of names instead of a date. More branches to add to a mysterious family tree. I stuff the photo and the family I will never meet back into the inner sleeve of my jacket. I close my eyes to flush water of my emotions out before I ask Wolf another question. "Are you ashamed of being a wizard?"
Wolf smiles, "today's my birthday. I meet both of your parents at Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Your father stole my first ButterBeer from the school kitchens as a birthday present. We got detention. It was worth it."
"Did you like Ilvermorny? How come you never talk about it?" I ask.
Wolf doesn't answer my questions. He commands, " finish your ButterBeer. We have to drop off your core so the Wandmaker can finish your wand before you head to school."
I rely on the ButterBeer to melt away my fear of the new world I am forced navigate. My watery eyes see the evergreen tree in the distance. The green glow of the needles guides our boat towards land. The illuminated shape of the heart in the bark acts as beacon.
