The Hatstall

Scarlett Mihera

Hogwarts isn't all that different from what I had expected it to be.

Sure, talking potraits who guard the Houses weren't on my list, but apart from that, everything - wand, spells, charms, magical food, magic stairs, and other enchanted stuff - were almost predictable. I didn't grow up reading fantasy books for nothing.

Sometimes, I really wonder if that's what Mum had intended by her last wish - "Let her read books. Any book, as many books. Don't ever say no to that. Please," she had said. I remember Dad's sad laugh when he repeated her words to me. "Your Mum was a strange lady," He had said.

He was true though.

I wonder why Mum hadn't told him all that. Dad wasn't the one to freak out over these stuff. To be honest, he's one of the biggest fans of magic. I still remember his face when he read my letter, which was dropped on his head with a loud squack by one of those Hogwarts' owls. Rude of it to do that.

I still find it hard to believe that I am a witch. One of those magical beings I grew up reading about.

I hope I can honour that, myself and my parents. I hope I find a stable life in the Wizarding World, with good friends and a nice job. I feel like it's too much to hope for, but now that I am a witch like in one of those books, I may even have a chance of getting a happily ever after, or atleast something similar.

I've never missed Mum so much.

Now, I don't want to be whiny and wish for something I know I 'll never have, but still, watching everyone so prepared, so free, so confident, while I don't even know the way to my house dormitory, is sad. I hate not being prepared.

That doesn't mean I don't like surprises - please, who doesn't ? - but I prefer to be prepared for all the competitive fields like school, studies or examination. These are sensitive areas where I would rather maintain peace and balance. This is a mess.

A loud hoot pierces my train of thoughts. I startle, look around, before it suddenly occurs to me just where I am, under what situation. I guess owl hoots are a common thing here. The other girls in my dormitory don't even open their eyes, fast asleep under the covers. Well, at this point, I should consider myself equivalent to those owls - a night wanderer.

I should be asleep. I know that I should be asleep. My classes are going to start shortly and the best I can do now is to get some good sleep, calm myself down, eat properly and study. But sleep just doesn't come, and I'm already feeling so overwhelmed.

The creepy silence of the Hogwarts night also doesn't help. Back in my home, I could hear the noises made by the cars', the loud honks, sounds from the neighbors' houses, distant barking of a dog, and countless other random noises. They used to annoy me to no end - I remember asking Dad why people had to be so chaotic in the middle of the night - but I'd never realized when they had become a comfort. The 'nightly noises' were annoying, but atleast they were not creepy.

If Dad would find out I am up at one in the night, dreaming about home, the first thing he would do is give me a good scolding. The second thing he would do is tuck me into bed, switch off the lights, and sit beside me until I fall asleep.

I shake my head. I am a witch now. I shouldn't be crying over such a silly thing. I'm pretty sure I would get over homesickness in about a week. Until then, I just have to focus on happy things.

It seems the word happy itself has a different magic to it. Like a loving embrace on a dark night. Like a familiar face among the unknown. Like a beam of light in a world of shadows.

My hand goes to the chain hanging around my neck, on its own accord, as if enchanted. Her feel is still there, like whispered praises, tender kisses, warm hugs. I wonder, now that I know a little bit about the secrets of the world, if Mum had put some kind of a magical lock on the pendant, like a lock, as if my touch was the key.

Anyways, she succeeds in doing what she was supposed to do, alive or not. She always does.

I smile. "I'm going to find out the truth. I don't know why you hid the truth from me, and I probably don't even care anymore. I am going to find out, and neither you nor Dad are going to stop me this time."