A Long Expected Letter
The front door of 1456 Weatherby Lane where the Messers lived was not particularly known for its cat flap, that is to say, it was not possessed of one. Sure, the Messers had Tybalt, a half-kneazle, but Tybalt had never been an outdoor cat, and so there had never been much of a need for a cat flap and they had never been in the market for one. So it would have seemed strange to most to wake up one morning with a cat flap in their prior cat flapless door, almost as though it had been built into it overnight. The Messers, however, were not most, and the sight of the cat flap in their hitherto smooth front door elicited nothing but excitement in the Messer family as they came down to breakfast that morning.
They knew what it meant, had been expecting it, anticipating it, for a while. The oldest children, twins Connie and Evie, had turned eleven in April, some four months prior, and had been impatiently waiting for it for days. Evie Rose had almost screamed with joy when she'd discovered it, while Connie had just eyed it in his own quiet way. They both knew what it meant, knew it was only a matter of time.
Unfortunately, a matter of time, still could feel like forever. Early morning turned to late morning, turned to noon, turned to lunch, and still, the cat flap remained, though no one, cat or otherwise, had come through it. The mailman had come and gone, seemingly oblivious to the Messer's new cat flap. No one in the family seemed particularly interested at all in the mail the man had brought, as the only mail they were interested in was destined to come through the flap.
As noon inched closer to 1:00, the tension hanging in the room like smoke only seemed to grow denser. Evie was beginning to fidget, as was her youngest sister, Gracie, who tried to copy everything her older sister did, and who was fidgety herself by nature. Dewey was shuffling a deck of cards he kept on hand, in order to entertain himself, indeed, the only one out of the Messer siblings who seemed calm was Dottie, whatever emotions she might have been feeling unable to pierce the gentleness of her face .
Turning, she glanced up at her mother. "Tell us what Ilvermorny was like, Mama."
The girl's words worked like a charm, as four other pairs of eyes swiveled to meet her. Even Jack, her husband, turned his attention away from the front door.
Colette chuckled, shaking her head. "I've already told you guys, hundreds of times."
"Tell us again!' Little Gracie wheedled. "Please!"
Her mother waved her down, as Tybalt leapt into the woman's lap. "All right, all right. If it'll help pass the time."
She settled deeper into the chair, her voice softening as it took on the tone of rote repetition. "The first time you'll see it is when Mount Greylock comes into view as you finally break free from the forests surrounding it. It'll be night, so the only hint you'll have that the spires of the castle aren't just more outcroppings will be the lights shining from the windows. The train pulls right up to the castle, and so you'll disembark, under the watchful eyes of Isolt Sayre and James Steward, the founders' likenesses carved from marble. Once inside the castle you'll find yourself in the entrance hall, where you'll be surrounded by statues representing the four houses, a Thunderbird, Wampus Cat, Horned Serpent, and Pukwudgie, older students watching your sorting from a balcony high above. You'll step into the center when your name is called and…"
Gracie almost fell over herself in her excitement. "And what? What happens then?"
"Well, then…." Colette grinned as she reached over to tickle her youngest daughter. "You're just going to have to find out when you get there."
Her gaze turned to her two oldest, who had leaned forward in their seats, hanging onto her every word. "That goes for you two as well. It's longstanding tradition to not tell any new students anything about the sorting ceremony, or anything else that happens that first night."
She indicated Dottie, Dewey, and Gracie with her eyes. "So no telling these three. It's a pretty magical moment, no pun intended, and should be experienced completely blind, no piror experience or anything."
The twins nodded dutifully, Evie no more placated than she had been, as the two continued to wait. It would, she wagered, feel like an eternity or two.
Finally, after what seemed like three eternities, when Evie was about to give up hope, Connie looked for all the world like someone had stolen away his Christmas presents, and Gracie's fidgeting had turned from excitement to boredom, the cat flap opened.
Two Abyssinian cats, as dark as the night with white rings around their muzzles strode through, eyeing the Messer family with a sort of keen intelligence far beyond the rest of their kind. They stood, the entire house draped in an almost unnatural silence before the first cat, the one on the left, spoke.
"Evelyn Rose Messer."
He was followed a moment later by the one on the right.
"Conrad Everett Messer."
Another pause, and then both cats began to speak. "You are hereby invited to attend Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry beginning in August. Enclosed you will find a list of supplies and other necessities for your first year, to be purchased before the train departs from Grand Central on Sunday August 17th at 11:00. I hope you will enjoy your first year, and find Ilvermorny to be like a second home to you. Sincerely. Eulalie Hicks, Charms Professor."
With that, the white slid from the cats' muzzles, becoming two letters sitting pristine on thee Messer's foyer floor, as the two Abyssinians turned, making their way out the cat flap. As the last of their tails swished through, the cat flap sealed itself back into the door, becoming one whole piece once more.
The breath that the whole of the family seemed to bee collectively holding was expelled at once from seven different sets of lungs as they visibly deflated. Moments passed, and then Evie began fidgeting again. The wait for the letter was over, but now a whole new wait had begun.
She could hardly stand the months she had to wait until she got to step aboard that train, and start her life afresh at Ilvermorny.