Chapter 11: The Nightmare

Maeve was buried under a pile of laundry. Not like that was anything new. She smiled bitterly. This is what her life had come down to, from star student and favorite child to mountains of laundry and mountains of homework, and only a mole hill of time to do it all in. Her Muggle friends from grade school had long ago given up trying to do things with her, and weren't even emailing her anymore. She sighed as she stared at the black screen of the TV. She wondered for a moment what her brother Jason was doing and immediately regretted it. He was always out with his friends, and her parents weren't much better. This couldn't last, she was going crazy, cramped up in the house. Well, only a few more weeks, school would start soon!

The night before Newtgalls started. Maeve's bags had been packed for months. She headed down stairs in the best mood she'd been in since she LEFT school. Her parents were talking in whispers and looked up when she walked in. Odd…normally they didn't really notice her unless she didn't do something right…

"Maeve! Erm…sweetheart!" the word sounded awkward on her mother's lips.

"Darling, we need to talk to you about something," her dad said, giving her mom a look that said "Are you sure about this?"

"Um, sure, what's up?" she asked nervously, something was wrong.

"Sit down, kiddo," her dad said. He was always nice to her, if it weren't for the fact he never stood up to her bullying mother, she might think he actually cared a little bit.

"Maeve, its about your school…" he started.

"Oh, what about it? Is it gunna start late? Its ok if it is, maybe I could meet up with Gretchy or Stace or someone." She said, perkily.

"You're not going back!" he mother declared harshly.

It took a minute for the words to register. And when they did, her smile slid off her like a water balloon down a Slip N' Slide.

"W…w…what do you mean? You're joking, right?"

"Of course we're not joking! Its wrong, this school! You're so smart, why waste it learning magic? We've decided you'll start high school this year, like a normal girl!" the woman spat.

"But…you can't! I'm a witch! You know I couldn't ever…never…not after everything…" her mother's face was hard and pitiless. Her dad at least looked sorry that he was tearing his daughter's life to ribbons.

"Your brother's not going to that school," she said it like it was poison, or something nasty tasting, "and he's doing just fine!"

That was it. Her little brother was jealous he didn't have the talent, that their parents hadn't had any magic left for him. He'd been denied at Newtgalls…at all the magic schools in the States, and even some outside it. She finally exploded.

"HOW CAN YOU?! HOW DARE YOU?! You know…you know how awful it was…what I went through. I WONT LET YOU!" she yelled, standing up so fast her chair fell over with a clatter in the large kitchen.

"I think you won't have much of a choice, you live under our roof," she said in a calm voice, like she was discussing the weather.

Maeve drew her wand, breathing heavily. "Just try me, bitch! I won't stay around here to do your bidding anymore! I'm done, you hear?!" she screamed.

She started to mutter a curse, a curse that would free her forever, but her mother was faster. There was a blinding pain. Someone yelled, it sounded like her dad, but why would he bother now? It was too late…she didn't care if it was a Forbidden Curse as she fell into darkness. Her life had already ended. Not letting her go back was as good as muttering those two words that would kill anyone. She slipped into a fitful darkness.