Summer had always felt something was different about her. All the girls at
school stared at her funny and she never quite fit in. And she always had
the strangest ideas and found herself in the strangest situations. She was
very quiet to everyone around her except for her best friend, Xander.
Xander had been the only person to try to understand her, and then he had
to move so far away. He promised to write, but deep inside, they both knew
he never would and she couldn't expect him too. It was just too much too
ask. A long time ago when Summer was a lot younger she had another close
friend, Heather. But Heather too had gone away, except that she didn't want
to. The summer before junior high Summer's parents had sent her to some
expensive boarding school in who knows where while Summer was condemned to
public school, which had never agreed with her. She hadn't heard from
Heather again either.not that she expected the girl to remember her. After
all, she was nothing special.not like her mother.
Summer's mother, Cassandra, was a woman of elegance and grace who taught her daughter to wage a quiet war with raised eyebrows and dainty facial contortions. Her parents were both French, so she was infinitely beautiful with long legs, long blonde hair, and a pristine smile. Summer often found herself wishing that she had been as fortunate. Her mother's grace and poise had lead to the beatings. They came every so often, mostly when Summer was supposed to be asleep. She didn't know, or for that matter, care what they were about. She just wanted them to stop. Summer's father seemed to always be leaving and coming back. Her mother always took him back when he apologized just the right amount of times and smiled just enough. But, it wasn't enough for Summer, she couldn't trust him. At night she could hear the sound of stiff leather hitting soft flesh and all the words her father should have never said. She could hear them arguing, sometimes about her, sometimes about her mother's family. One night, it got pretty bad. It was bad enough for Summer to curl herself in blankets at the door of her small room and strain her ears to listen to what they argued about. It was about her again, but this time, she got to hear more. About her real father. Summer's father yelled at Cassandra about the day it all happened, about the man who raped her, and about how Cassandra had too much pride to have an abortion. Summer was scared, but knowing that this horrible man was not her father comforted her somehow.
That night was the worst of the beatings. And the worst thing was that there was nothing Summer could do. She could only hold herself in the darkness and wish that things would get better. But they didn't. And that night, as Summer looked through a crack in the door, the man who she had grown to call 'daddy' hit her mother in the face. At this point, she had taken enough. She untangled herself from the mound of blankets that surrounded her and stood, staring at the door, then she burst out of her room, ready to do whatever she could to help.
"Don't hit her!" fourteen year old Summer had exclaimed. The mark on her mother's pale face deepened to a red as Summer stood, fists balled. "It's not right for you to take advantage of her that way. She deserves better.we deserve better"
"Summer, sit down," her mother instructed as Summer, much against her better judgment, had complied. Her father, still very much controlled by the poison in his system had reached out towards the bottle, now empty. Seeing that it had been drained of its contents, he raised it over Cassandra's head.
"You dirty whore, you and your daughter too. You think just because you're a witch you're better than everyone else. You're not. You're nothing. My mother was right when she told me not to get mixed up with your kind."The bottle raised higher and Summer's eyes followed it, never leaving. In her mind, she knew there was nothing she could do. With all her might, Summer concentrated on the bottle in her father's hand. Within her mind, she could see the bottle flying across the room, away from them, away from her mother. She wrapped her hands around her body and grabbed at herself for warmth, trying to do something. Under her breath, Summer cursed them all, the man who had raped her mother, and now the man that she used to call father. She just wanted them to go away. She just wanted to live her life in the not-so good school where no one could ever understand. It was so unfair. And the rage within her flowed through her veins, and though her eyes were shut tightly, all she could see was him. She fought the image away violently, screaming, "GO AWAY!" And it did. As Summer had spoken, slowly the bottle began to shake in her father's strong hands. The shaking became ever more persistent as Summer's voice became even more audible. The bottle now shook faster, and then..it exploded, sending glass everywhere except on the girl and her mother. Summer had yet to open her eyes or to stop chanting. "Go away, go away, you don't belong here. You hurt my mother." It was the same words over and over again. And as Summer repeated them more and more the wind in the small city was noted to have picked up speed. The small house where the three lived shook as the storm grew with more turbulence. Outside, a lightning bolt crackled and then struck the man who was once her father dead on the spot. Amazingly enough, Summer felt no remorse. She felt renewed and strong and powerful and.
"Summer! How did you? How could you?" her mother trailed, as if she didn't know. As if she couldn't understand why her daughter was so powerful that she could kill a man by simply closing her eyes. But, then again, she didn't know. She only knew that one night when she was younger a man had taken her innocence and she had become impregnated with her seed. She never knew what evil he possessed deep within. She would never know.
"Why? Why after all these years couldn't you tell me? I'm not a child anymore. I've seen more than so many yet you didn't feel you could tell me the truth? I don't understand." Cassandra was appalled that all these words were coming from her daughter. Summer had always been quiet.never like this. Never this assertive, never this forward.
"I didn't want it to come so soon. I wanted it to be later. I've barely had any time with you.I haven't got to see you fall in love."
"Mom, what do you mean?" she said as crystalline tears fell from her mother's deep emerald eyes.
"A long time ago I made a bargain with my life. I was dying, Summer. And, I was pregnant with you. I knew that if I died you would die with me and you didn't deserve that. So, I bargained with death to keep us both alive. I wanted to give you this gift, the gift of life. He promised that I could live until." She began to cry harder now as her body convulsed with sobs.
"Until what? I don't understand. Please?" Her mother regained her queenly bearing, stiffening her weakened form, and started up again.
"Until you gained your powers. You see, Summer, I'm a witch and so are you." Summer's eyes widened. Witches were just the stuff of fairy tales to her and now, the fact that she was one was far too much for her. Her mother continued. "And I also gave up my powers, and promised to raise you as a muggle.a non magical person.until now, when you've gained your powers. I knew.I knew it would be soon. After all, the letters had started coming." Cassandra reached within the folds of her dress and retrieved a maroon envelope with a wax seal. Summer cautiously opened the envelope as she read that she, Summer Elyse Madden had been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The note said that she would be sorted into the school as a third year because of 'special circumstance'.
"Mom.I.," she looked over to where her mother once stood and saw nothing but a mound of silky fabric and a heart locket. Summer wanted to cry...but couldn't. The tears just wouldn't come. Summer reached down and picked up the golden locket, clasping it around her neck. She looked to the doorway and saw her father. Summer didn't need to fight anymore. That was one thing her mother had taught her in the thirteen years she had known her, really known her. Summer walked out the front door, down the street, and into what would be the rest of her life.
Only after sitting in a restaurant, and having a cup of tea did she realize something else was in the envelope. A small slip of paper read:
"If you ever need help, don't hesitate to contact us. We're in your heart, your blood." Summer didn't understand this and dismissed it all as a bunch of rubbish.
Summer's mother, Cassandra, was a woman of elegance and grace who taught her daughter to wage a quiet war with raised eyebrows and dainty facial contortions. Her parents were both French, so she was infinitely beautiful with long legs, long blonde hair, and a pristine smile. Summer often found herself wishing that she had been as fortunate. Her mother's grace and poise had lead to the beatings. They came every so often, mostly when Summer was supposed to be asleep. She didn't know, or for that matter, care what they were about. She just wanted them to stop. Summer's father seemed to always be leaving and coming back. Her mother always took him back when he apologized just the right amount of times and smiled just enough. But, it wasn't enough for Summer, she couldn't trust him. At night she could hear the sound of stiff leather hitting soft flesh and all the words her father should have never said. She could hear them arguing, sometimes about her, sometimes about her mother's family. One night, it got pretty bad. It was bad enough for Summer to curl herself in blankets at the door of her small room and strain her ears to listen to what they argued about. It was about her again, but this time, she got to hear more. About her real father. Summer's father yelled at Cassandra about the day it all happened, about the man who raped her, and about how Cassandra had too much pride to have an abortion. Summer was scared, but knowing that this horrible man was not her father comforted her somehow.
That night was the worst of the beatings. And the worst thing was that there was nothing Summer could do. She could only hold herself in the darkness and wish that things would get better. But they didn't. And that night, as Summer looked through a crack in the door, the man who she had grown to call 'daddy' hit her mother in the face. At this point, she had taken enough. She untangled herself from the mound of blankets that surrounded her and stood, staring at the door, then she burst out of her room, ready to do whatever she could to help.
"Don't hit her!" fourteen year old Summer had exclaimed. The mark on her mother's pale face deepened to a red as Summer stood, fists balled. "It's not right for you to take advantage of her that way. She deserves better.we deserve better"
"Summer, sit down," her mother instructed as Summer, much against her better judgment, had complied. Her father, still very much controlled by the poison in his system had reached out towards the bottle, now empty. Seeing that it had been drained of its contents, he raised it over Cassandra's head.
"You dirty whore, you and your daughter too. You think just because you're a witch you're better than everyone else. You're not. You're nothing. My mother was right when she told me not to get mixed up with your kind."The bottle raised higher and Summer's eyes followed it, never leaving. In her mind, she knew there was nothing she could do. With all her might, Summer concentrated on the bottle in her father's hand. Within her mind, she could see the bottle flying across the room, away from them, away from her mother. She wrapped her hands around her body and grabbed at herself for warmth, trying to do something. Under her breath, Summer cursed them all, the man who had raped her mother, and now the man that she used to call father. She just wanted them to go away. She just wanted to live her life in the not-so good school where no one could ever understand. It was so unfair. And the rage within her flowed through her veins, and though her eyes were shut tightly, all she could see was him. She fought the image away violently, screaming, "GO AWAY!" And it did. As Summer had spoken, slowly the bottle began to shake in her father's strong hands. The shaking became ever more persistent as Summer's voice became even more audible. The bottle now shook faster, and then..it exploded, sending glass everywhere except on the girl and her mother. Summer had yet to open her eyes or to stop chanting. "Go away, go away, you don't belong here. You hurt my mother." It was the same words over and over again. And as Summer repeated them more and more the wind in the small city was noted to have picked up speed. The small house where the three lived shook as the storm grew with more turbulence. Outside, a lightning bolt crackled and then struck the man who was once her father dead on the spot. Amazingly enough, Summer felt no remorse. She felt renewed and strong and powerful and.
"Summer! How did you? How could you?" her mother trailed, as if she didn't know. As if she couldn't understand why her daughter was so powerful that she could kill a man by simply closing her eyes. But, then again, she didn't know. She only knew that one night when she was younger a man had taken her innocence and she had become impregnated with her seed. She never knew what evil he possessed deep within. She would never know.
"Why? Why after all these years couldn't you tell me? I'm not a child anymore. I've seen more than so many yet you didn't feel you could tell me the truth? I don't understand." Cassandra was appalled that all these words were coming from her daughter. Summer had always been quiet.never like this. Never this assertive, never this forward.
"I didn't want it to come so soon. I wanted it to be later. I've barely had any time with you.I haven't got to see you fall in love."
"Mom, what do you mean?" she said as crystalline tears fell from her mother's deep emerald eyes.
"A long time ago I made a bargain with my life. I was dying, Summer. And, I was pregnant with you. I knew that if I died you would die with me and you didn't deserve that. So, I bargained with death to keep us both alive. I wanted to give you this gift, the gift of life. He promised that I could live until." She began to cry harder now as her body convulsed with sobs.
"Until what? I don't understand. Please?" Her mother regained her queenly bearing, stiffening her weakened form, and started up again.
"Until you gained your powers. You see, Summer, I'm a witch and so are you." Summer's eyes widened. Witches were just the stuff of fairy tales to her and now, the fact that she was one was far too much for her. Her mother continued. "And I also gave up my powers, and promised to raise you as a muggle.a non magical person.until now, when you've gained your powers. I knew.I knew it would be soon. After all, the letters had started coming." Cassandra reached within the folds of her dress and retrieved a maroon envelope with a wax seal. Summer cautiously opened the envelope as she read that she, Summer Elyse Madden had been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The note said that she would be sorted into the school as a third year because of 'special circumstance'.
"Mom.I.," she looked over to where her mother once stood and saw nothing but a mound of silky fabric and a heart locket. Summer wanted to cry...but couldn't. The tears just wouldn't come. Summer reached down and picked up the golden locket, clasping it around her neck. She looked to the doorway and saw her father. Summer didn't need to fight anymore. That was one thing her mother had taught her in the thirteen years she had known her, really known her. Summer walked out the front door, down the street, and into what would be the rest of her life.
Only after sitting in a restaurant, and having a cup of tea did she realize something else was in the envelope. A small slip of paper read:
"If you ever need help, don't hesitate to contact us. We're in your heart, your blood." Summer didn't understand this and dismissed it all as a bunch of rubbish.