Chapter 2 - The Decision

Willow silently shut the door at two in the afternoon. She was trying to sneak in after her four hours at the mall, so she could run upstairs to her room and start setting up her plan: "Trick Mom" as she started to call it. As soon as the door clicked, proving it was shut Willow heard her mother yell from the kitchen. "How was the mall honey?"

"Fine!" Willow hissed knowing, that she would now have to talk to her mom, and she was quickly running out of time. She quickly worked it out in her head that she could make a website up in about two days, and that should convince her mom how nice of a school this is. "Two whole days though." She moaned silently.

"Two whole days until what dear?" Willow hadn't even noticed that her mother had finally left the kitchen and was standing only a few feet from where she stood.

Willow slowly peeled her shoes off her feet thinking of some way where she could be sent up to her room, and be given the chance to start working on her website. "Nothing important," she responded without an emotion at all. If only there was a clean opportunity to get her mom mad at her. Well that wasn't true. She could easily get her mom mad at her. All she would have to do is mention how bad she needed to get a husband so she would stop calling her all those pet names she should be calling her husband like love, and dear. "Like what in all of this land would posses my mother to call me dear! She has been scared to death by me ever since she walked in after I got a jolt of energy for a spell. She got in the wrong spot at the wrong time and took a terrible blast to the chest. I remember having to visit her in the hospital everyday for three months well she recovered from her injuries. That's it" she though. "I could mention her fake left boob, which was incinerated in the blast. That would surely get her mad at me. Could I afford my mom to be that mad at me though? No. It had to be something easily fixed." Getting off track a bit in her thinking she started to remember how she had to put a spell on her mom so she would forget Willow was a witch. All her mom remembers was seeing Willow, feeling lots of fear, and then waking up in a hospital. It made her and her mom's relationship very thin.

"So how does that school sound to you?" Questioned her mother.

"Shit," Willow thought. "I was hoping she wouldn't ask that yet!" She quickly thought of an escape root around the question, and vigorously attacked the opportunity. "I don't know I haven't researched it yet."

"Well why not you where up in your room for two hours before you left!" Her mom seemed to be mad at something, and it came out very clear in the way she snapped that last comment.

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" Willow stated, in a state of shock. She was unable to believe what she had just said to her own mother. Her next thoughts came out in more of a yell then anything, and threw both her and her mom's thoughts askew. "If so, why don't you just give me the money I need to pick up my school supplies and pay for me to stay at a school for twelve months! I'm sure there is a school that does that!"

"I would be more then glad to get you out of my house for the year!" Her mother yelled back at her after a moment of thought. "Just find me a fucking school that will do so! Show me all the information that I need to know, and u can get all your stuff yourself this year as well. If you think it is so bad to live under my roof! I couldn't stand you anyways. It'll be good to get rid of such a nuisance! Once your gone I might even be able to get a boyfriend you little brat!"

By the time her mom had even finished Willow had a fountain of tears running down her face. She could feel the anger swelling up inside of her, but if she didn't keep it at bay she knew something bad would happen to her mom. Just like what always happens to the boys who tease her at school. She couldn't afford to do that because her and her mom were already mad enough at each other. Willow was sure that if her mom got even the slightest bit more peeved at her, she would be on the street faster then she could say I'm sorry! Willow turned around and bolted up the stairs as fast as she could. She could here her mom's whimpers as bounded up the steps. She also could have sworn she heard a faint sorry as she locked her door (which she had installed after the energy incident).

Willow knew that Hogwarts would keep her for twelve months, or at least find an alternate place for her too stay. She now needed to act fast and get her website set up so she could convince her mom that it wasn't a school of witchcraft. She spent thirty-six hours straight tapping away on her keyboard; with her mom listening to the repeating rhythm that Willow's consistent key rattling had created, breaking into tears here and there. She knew what her daughter was doing; she was looking for that school that they had argued about. "She is only looking for it because you flipped out," thought Willow's mother. As she heard Willow's door finally unlock. "Mom I found that stinkin' school you wanted! It's on my computer, enjoy! Oh, and don't bug me I'm going to find something to eat." Willow slurred trying to sounds as mean as she could, holding back the tears thinking about the fight her and her mother had.

"I have spaghetti on the stove, Will." Her mother was having a hard time keeping back the tears that had weld back into her eyes. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to Will, you know that right." By now the tears were flowing down her face.

"I know mom, I'm not sure if I want to do this yet. So save the tears for something important." With that Willow's mom burst into tears, sat down on the computer and started looking at the site Willow had made up.

It was a very nice site indeed. Ms. Rosenberg didn't know a lot about computers, but she did happen to know a nice site when she saw one; and this site must have been one of the best sites she had seen in her life. The background of the site changed periodically, between shots of the school campus. It had the banner of the four house names, (Slytherin, Griffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw, which probably where the only true things about the school on this site.) It had the school motto written up at the top of the site as well, which caught Ms. Rosenberg's eye as she scrolled past it: The mission of this school is too bring out the excellence of all students. To make each student excel past what they believed possible; and bring them to know the power that dwells in each and every student.

"I like the sounds of that," thought Willow's mom. Although she was still fumbling over the word power in their motto. "I don't know if power was the right word to use here." Ms. Rosenberg thought out loud, "it gives the school an eerie sort of feeling." That eerie feeling left as she slowly read through each section on the website, studied each picture, and analyzed each testimony (which we know to be a lie.)

It seemed as though this school had everything that Willow would ever need, including a loving environment. Which Ms. Rosenberg was sure she couldn't provide. She only wanted her daughter to succeed, but had she gone too far? Had she pushed so hard that the drive was leaving Willow? Her marks had no doubt fallen in school she was only getting eighty-eight percent in her classes now instead of at least a hundred. It's true she had skipped a few grades, if you could consider being eleven and in grade eight a few grades. She was well past all the grades of her piers. Ms. Rosenberg wasn't sure what her daughter could do anymore. It only seemed that they fought every time they saw each other. Her life was falling apart in front of her eyes. If Willow decided she wanted to go to Hogwarts she would only be able to keep in contact with Willow by the computer, which supposedly Hogwarts had a great computer lab. The best of everything by the sounds of it. If only there was some way she would be able to see her more often. "Well I'm sure Willow will want to go to a school with such great facilities." Ms. Rosenberg stated out loud. "Well maybe Will, will let me go shopping with her still. I better go downstairs and try to patching things up with her. What would she say though? She had really messed things up screaming at her like she did two days ago. Would Willow ever be able to forgive her? Did she manage to teach Willow forgiveness before she started going all weird on her. It hadn't been that long ago when she started going weird on her daughter though. About four years, she couldn't remember much. She remembers walking into Willows room because she was making a lot of noise upstairs. Pain full noises too, they where the normal loud outbursts either, it sounded like screams of pain. Ms. Rosenberg bounded up the stairs as fast as she could, opened the door and al she remembers is a bright, deep blue flash. She woke up in the hospital three months later supposedly. She also needed to have plastic surgery. She shuddered at remembering how she looked when she woke up.

Since then though she had been scared of Willow, or so it seemed. She could never get closer then two feet from Willow with out getting on the edge, and only did once and awhile. It must have seemed as though she didn't love her own daughter. Her poor daughter, she was suffering from the lack of having a mother who loved her. She stood up with a new resolve. She marched down the stairs sat a chair away from Willow. Her beautiful Willow, she was at a lack for words though, even after deciding she would patch things up between her and willow. The only thing she could say was "Oh my God you're a pig. You ate a full eight-liter pot of Spaghetti yourself. I can understand you being hungry, but dear God girl! You're going to blow up!" It was true though; since Willow had come downstairs two hours ago (it was now five minutes after four in the morning) she had managed too eat a full pot of spaghetti. Which was a lot of food for the little four foot eleven, rather scrawny redhead sitting in the chair at the end of the table. Even after not eating for well over forty-eight hours. Well who could believe it but there must have been at least two liters of Spaghetti on the table and her as well. "And didn't I teach you how too eat when you were younger?"

"No actually you didn't!" Snapped Willow. "I did when I was younger. Your were to busy getting fucked by half this God Damn town!" This last comment came out a lot louder then Willow had intended, in fact this last comment wasn't even supposed to form even the slightest syllable on her lips but stay locked up in the back of Willow's mind. She was content with the damage it seemed to have caused on her mother though.

With that Willow's mom knew she had pushed it too far, and there was no chance Willow would want to stay with her now. "Why do I have to be so thick headed and ignorant" Ms. Rosenberg thought to herself. "How much money do you think you'll need for your school supplies?" she managed to squeak out squeaked.

"I have no idea," Willow stated without even realizing that she was going to be able to go to Hogwarts with out any questions asked. Nothing her mom wouldn't know what she bought or what the school was really like.

"Alright, I'll just give you my debit card when u go out to get your supplies then Will." Willow's mom sobbed out, her water works had opened up again, and Willow swore that all the salt she lost is going to shrivel up her cheek and make her look like a troll. It was only her imagination getting lose on her, but Willow believe an ugly face like that would go better with her attitude then the fair young looking princess like face she had right now. She always hoped she would look like her mother when she reached her age, at forty-three she still managed to look like she was nineteen. Her golden hair waving it's way down to where her bra line appeared on her push-up bra. It was sad she thought, her mom was such a beautiful thing but she couldn't get a boyfriend because she was so bitter, it was truly a waste of a beautiful body. She wondered if her mom treated her the same Willow was treated.

Willow noticed her hands where shaking, and they always did when she got really upset; they also shook periodically since she had quit doing the drugs she had gotten into during high school. She says she quit for Willow, but Willow believed a different story. Willow thought she quit because of how close she had come to committing suicide once. She still remembered that day, she was six years old, and her mom was going to show her how to fly. So she thought she jumped off their apartment, and fell six stories, fortunately landing in a pile of boxes. Even thought the boxes saved her fall she spent weeks in the hospital, spending day after day going through test after test. Maybe that's why Willows mom hated things out of the ordinary so much. Who knows? One thing was for sure though; Willow finally had a chance to get out of her hellhole for a home. Willow nodded to her mom and dragged herself off to her bed.

She woke up at about three in the afternoon the same day, through on her clothing and ran off to get ready to pick up her school supplies. She only managed to remember she was picking the up because she dreamed about it all, she dreamed every store she needed to go to pick up what she needed. Her mom was glad that willow had asked her to chaperone her to the stores, but was rather shocked when Willow wouldn't let her come in with her.

Willow loved her moms face when she had her drop her off in an ally, the people all looked a bit creepier in real life then in her dream too. They also tried to rob her, or some of them did anyways. In a few hours Willow had picked up almost everything she needed to, except her want. She saw and old looking store, like it had been around for a few centuries. You could see that the door was freshly repainted and the shingled roof had been redone with wooden shingles at least twenty-five years ago. The wooden shingled walls screamed it's age though. Willow thought it must have easily seen the sixteenth century, so long ago. She crept up to the building and pushed open the door. She was concentrating on the musk sent on the inside of the building so deeply that the creaking hinges gave her a bit of a fright. The ringing bell that went off as the door nearly hit the wall, echoed through the dust filled building. "Hello. Who's there?" said a kind sounding voice from the back of the shop. She recognized the man immediately as the wand salesmen in her dream.

"Hello." Whispered Willow, "I need to buy a wand for the next school term at Hogwarts."

"Ah, another Hogwarts student, well come right thi." The quick opening of the old shops door interrupted him, as an older looking fellow walked into the store ad blurted out what he wanted to say. With out showing enough decent respect to wait his turn.

"Hi mate." Said the fellow in a rather rude, demanding voice. "Mr. Ollivander, I need a bloody wand for my year at Hogwarts."

"William the Bloody, yes I talked to your father, come this way please!" Willow could have sworn she heard a quiver of fear in Mr. Ollivander's voice as he talked to this William character.

"I thought I had it cleared with you, and everyone else in this pathetic ally that I was to be referred to as Spike." William stated as he marched up to the counter, his white blond hair slicked back on his head. His face even at what Willow thought was a young age was really defined, his cheekbone protruded out the side of his face. Forming a noticeable ridge. His cheeks sucked in a bit and it looked as though he had a bump where his fang teeth out grew where they should be. He was wearing dark colours and a long leather jacket, which almost dragged it's self on the ground as he walked.

After Mr. Ollivander helped this spike character, that Willows seemed to get a rather negative vibe from, and decided to keep her distance from him, he called Willow over and helped her fit herself for a wand. It took him a good hour to finally find the right wand, and Willows wrist was tired from all the waving she had to do with each wand as a tester to prove that each on didn't work. She had tried many assortments, all ranging from six inches to fourteen inches, every kind of wood every grown on earth was made into wands with many different kinds of mystical creatures hair or feathers so the wand can achieve a different kind of spell or master in some type of wizardry. Mr. Ollivander finally pulled out a rather expensive box, whistled and said, "Well this is the last one I can think of." After Willow tried it he squealed with excitement, "Excellent, it's just weird how the magic world works."

"What do you mean?" Queried Willow.

"Well that wand was made for a master Wizard, specially designed for Rupert Giles Himself!" With that Willow let out a small sigh, "But he couldn't use it, it was too powerful. The weirdest part of that wand is it only has one double, and it's double went to the leader of the first, a great Wizard. Evil beyond reckoning, but he surely was a great wizard!" Willow stared at Mr. Ollivander in silence. "I will expect to see great things from you Willow, great things!" With that he took the money Willow had handed out and walked into the back room.

Willow left the alley in silence crawled into her mom's car without making a noise for four days. The rest of Willows summer went by as every summer did, except this one seemed to go by much faster then the others had in the past. She could hardly wait till her early school year started, and she could experience all she and anticipated. As her day of departure came closer and closer, Willows mom seemed to cry more and more, Willow went on with out noticing her mother's water show every time she looked at her daughter, and Willow also got so caught up with her friends that she never even noticed that her mom never fought with her once through out the rest of the summer holidays. Not even when Willow had gone past what Ms. Rosenberg could handle, she was to upset to care, and Ms. Rosenbergs health quickly faded away until it was almost un existent.