Jabberwocky
by Em and Jamie
Chapter One: Of Twins, Teams, and Tie-Dye
Thursday, May 17, 2014
Mrs. Lister (or Mrs. Blister, as most of the students called her) was on the rampage again. It hadn't even been 10 minutes through Advanced Mathematics, and she had already given out three detentions, and warned the entire class with administrative referral. And, as usual, her main targets were the Lupin twins.
"James Lupin! Pay attention!" She yelled sharply from her computer. James' head snapped up from the notes he had been copying from his sister, Emily, only to look into the sharp green eyes of the resident evil. Emily, who was next to him, sighed. It was going to be one of those days again.
"Would you care to share your notes with the rest of the class?" Next to him, he felt Emily tense up.
"Go right ahead," she said, under her breath. "Read his 'juicy secrets'." James looked at his sister in surprise; though she was usually quiet and reserved, it was widely well known that she held a special grudge for Mrs. Helen Lister. He just didn't think she would ever talk back, even if it was under her breath.
"I heard that. Hold your tongue, Ms. Lupin. Let's see now..." Mrs. Lister said, adjusting her glasses so that she could read the notes more easily. "X is a variable, used to represent a number in an equation..." The rest of the class laughed at her missed judgement. She looked up sharply. "For that cheek of yours, Emily, you get detention for the next week. And so do you, James, for passing notes." The class shut up; if the two students with the highest grade just got a week's worth of detention, what would happen to the rest of them?
"That's not fair!" James said, his face turning a vivid shade of red. "I wasn't passing notes!"
"Another week's worth, James, for backtalk." Disgusted, Emily stood up and gathered her things.
"I'm not going to sit through a class where people get detention for nothing," she said. James pulled her down next to him and hoarsley whispered in her ear.
"Em...." he started.
"James, you hear the woman! Sometimes she makes me so....mad!" As she said this, she gestured with her hand over to the seething Mrs. Lister, then turned her attention back to gathering her things together. Suddenly, a scream erupted from the teacher, sending the students scattering. James looked up. Mrs. Lister had apparently caught a glimpse of her own reflection in the classroom window and was now screaming at her appearance; somehow, it seemed that her entire
personage had acquired a rather...colorful hue. James laughed. Their teacher had been mysterious tie-dyed: from bee-hived hair to orthopedic shoe clad toe. Emily was already out the door, clutching her books to her chest. James caught up to her at the double doors to the school.
"Em, where do you think you're going?" he asked.
"HOME!" she shouted back at him.
"Do you realize how much trouble we'll be in with Mum and Dad if we get home this early?"
"Mum and Dad will understand. I'm going home anyway." James sighed. There was no dealing with her when she was in one of these moods. He benignly followed his sister down to street away from the school. Emily and James Lupin made an interesting picture moving quickly up the sidewalk towards their home, just outside Cambridge, England; Emily was taking long strides, befitting her athletic build, while her twin brother was jogging lightly to keep up with his
irritated counterpart. In a matter of minutes they had reached the brick house at the end of Raleigh Street. Emily stomped onto the porch and took out her key, opening the door.
The house was absolutely pitch black. James and Emily stood in the front hallway, confused and blinking in the darkness. Surely either Mum or Dad would be home now? James lit up his watch and Emily adjusted her glasses. 12:46. They had left right before lunchtime. Mum was probably at work, and Dad was probably holed up in the computer room, checking stocks or something. Odd.....the lights shouldn't be out. Emily had dropped her books and was now heading up the stairs to her room. James decided to check the kitchen. The door was closed, though. Pulling back the handle, all of the lights went on and Emily stopped halfway up and ran to the kitchen to see what was the matter.
"SURPRISE!" The kitchen was decked out in unbelievable streamers of every color (especially tie-dye, James noted), and a most curious sight ensued...Mum and Dad were standing in the middle of the kitchen, wearing bathrobes of some sort and each holding something behind their backs. Dad gave them a broad smile.
"Happy Birthday, you two, " Mum said, kissing both of them on top of their heads. Emily was flabbergasted, and James looked equally befuddled. 'That's right', James thought, 'it's out 11th birthday...!' He must have forgotten, what with the Blister and all.
"Who are you and what have you done with Penny and Remus Lupin?" Emily said under her breath. Those robe thingies. .. Dad's being dark blue, and Mum's being red, and each was carrying a stick of wood. The things behind their backs turned out to be bulky letters written in some strange green ink. Emily turned to James and gave him a look that plainly said the same thing that he was thinking: Our Parents have lost it. Mum, reading their faces, laughed again. James gave each of his parents a puzzled grin and grabbed a cookie from the plate on the table- he had a feeling that whatever he was about to hear; he'd need sustenance for it.
"Kuk ox oufitcz." He said around a mouthful of chocolate chips and cookie.
His father winced, "Pardon?" "I said," Jamie swallowed quickly, "Kick as-" "James Nathaniel Lupin," His mother interrupted, "I want you to think carefully before you finish that statement- is it really worth what I'll have to do to you after it's out?" He appeared to be weighing his options as Emily helped herself to a
cookie and grinned at him evilly, the events of the day having been temporarily forgotten.
He apparently decided against completing his thought, because he instead grinned widely and said, "Great outfits. What's up? You're a bit early for Halloween."
"That's what we have to tell you two about." Remus smiled at the confused expression that settled on his son and daughter's face. Emily walked over and plopped down in the chair next to her father, equally puzzled.
"What, you're going to some costume party on our birthday?" "No, not exactly." He replied. "Well, go on. Spit it out." Jamie said, biting another chunk out of the remaining half of his cookie. And so they did. As Remus said "What if we told you magic was real?" Penny started, "There's a whole other world you don't know about." The statement their two children actually heard was something like, "What if a whole you world was real know about." Leaving both of them utterly mystified. "Come again?" Jamie asked during the awkward silence that followed. After a shared look with her husband, Penelope Lupin blurted out; "Wizards and witches exist. Magic is real. I'm a witch, your father is a wizard." Now it was Emily and Jamie's turn for a shared look, one where both were obviously questioning their beloved parents' sanity; but whereas Emily had a dubious, slightly bemused look on her face, Jamie was quite thrilled that his parents' sanity seemed to have finally sunken to his own self proclaimed sub-normal level. Looking from his son's face to his daughter's, Remus Lupin realized they'd need proof. He turned to his wife. "I don't think they believe us, Penny, dear. Well, you'll understand a lot more after reading these." He held out one of the thick envelopes to each of them. James tore into his letter (addressed to Mr. James Lupin, the second bedroom on the right, he noted with satisfaction), which said:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)
Dear Mr. Lupin,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted
at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find
enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no
later than July 31.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Minerva McGonagall,
Deputy Headmistress
Emily finished reading her letter first, which was exactly the same as James', save for the name and address. She looked up at them, with a smile slowly spreading on her face.
"So you're saying that we're 'wizards'....."