Author's note 1: Callie, David, and Susanna Warbeck are my original characters. Everybody else belongs to JK Rowling.
Author's note 2: There are certain bits of dialogue that are taken directly from the books. I do not claim ownership of these words.
1. The Wall Between Worlds
On an ordinary street in an ordinary town in central England, there stood an ordinary house in which David and Susanna Warbeck had been raising their daughter for the last eleven years. She was a lovely child, as neighbors and school teachers would say. Bright and outgoing, a little bit precocious, well-behaved and a delight to be around. Lovely, yes, but at the end of the day, just as ordinary as any other young girl growing up in suburban Britain.
Susanna was a physician. David worked in finance. The two had been happily married for thirteen years and had made a nice life for themselves and their only child. The family was well known in the community, accepted by their neighbors, invited into their homes. Little Callie Warbeck had gone to school with their children, played with them, enjoyed sleepovers at their houses. The Warbecks were good people, a perfectly normal, nice family.
Just as David and Susanna had intended for them to believe. For there was nothing "perfectly normal" about the couple or their daughter. In fact they were so very unordinary that, if their secret had come out, nobody would've believed it. The truth was that the Warbecks were a magical family, and the private boarding school that little Callie was about to be heading off to was the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
"Twenty galleons." David Warbeck held up a pouch filled with gold coins, as he sat across from his wife at their kitchen table. "More than enough to hold her over until Christmas," he said.
"Do you think fifty muggle pounds will do?" Susanna asked.
"I don't see why that's necessary," David said, stashing the coins inside his daughter's carry-on.
"She ought to be prepared in case she winds up in muggle territory."
"She won't," David assured her. "Students aren't allowed off school grounds until third year, and even then it's only for occasional trips into Hogsmeade."
"Even so," she said, swiping up the bag to slip the banknote in, "anything can happen."
"Not under the watchful eye of Albus Dumbledore. I promise you, Suzy, she's going to be fine."
"And you don't have to worry," Callie Warbeck called out as she pranced down the stairs to join them. "There won't be any streets I'll have to look both ways before crossing." The girl had just come from the shower, her hair dripping wet. She stood with her back to her father, who picked up his wand and ran it slowly over her long, dark locks. This was routine; it was quicker than a blow dryer. "Tell me mother, when did you become so over-protective?"
"When I found out my eleven-year-old daughter would be moving five hundred miles away by herself."
"You knew it was coming," David argued.
"True. That doesn't mean I like it, though."
"What could be safer than being stuck in a castle all day every day?" Callie asked.
"Yes, think of it as prison," David said. "Perfectly secure." He ran a hand through the girl's hair, checking its dryness. "You're good to go," he said, and Callie ran off the way she had come.
"Should I wear my robes?" she called back.
"You can change on the train," David said.
In her room, the girl changed out of her bathrobe and into the Hogwarts uniform - a black skirt, white blouse, and grey sweater vest. She then turned her attention to a suitcase that was filled with all her school supplies and books, checking once again to make sure everything was packed.
There was a knock on the door. "Come in," she called out, and her mother entered carrying a silver-wrapped package with a blue bow.
"I have something for you," Susanna said. "A little going away present."
The "little present" was actually quite big. Callie moved the suitcase from her bed to the floor so the two could sit down. "You didn't have to do that," she said. "Daddy already got me that moving model of the solar system we saw in Diagon Alley. Plus all my birthday stuff." Callie's birthday had only been a month ago, and this year she'd been particularly spoiled with gifts.
"Yeah, well, this is something special," Susanna said. "For you to remember me with while you're off doing all your witchy stuff."
Callie's magical blood only came from one parent - her father. Susanna, on the other hand, was muggle. David had told her the truth about himself before they got married, and although it had taken a while to get used to the idea, she eventually embraced magic as though she'd belonged to the wizarding world herself.
Callie tore open the wrapping and unfurled what turned out to be a large quilt.
"Made it myself," Susanna said with a hint of pride. "Your dad offered to do it magically, but I wanted you to have a little muggle something to bring with you."
"Wow!" Callie exclaimed. She'd never once seen her mother sew anything. Perhaps it was the years of stitching up patients at the hospital that had left her with this skill. In any event, her work was impressive. The quilt was divided into four sections, each of them designed with the colors representing the four houses of Hogwarts, as well as each house's signature animal - the Gryffindor lion, the Hufflepuff badger, the Slytherin serpent, and the Ravenclaw eagle. "This is amazing," Callie said. "When did you do this?"
"I've been working on it the last couple of months. To keep you nice and snug up in that big old castle."
Callie smiled down at the beautiful gift, and was overcome with a wave of appreciation for all the hard work her mum had put into it. Suddenly her eyes began to water, and she blinked back the tears that threatened to fall. "I love you, mum," she said, looking up at the woman. "I'm really gonna miss you."
"You're really gonna to write me every week," Susanna reminded her. "And if you need anything, you'll let us know. Your dad can be in Hogsmeade-" she snapped her fingers "-like that if he needs to."
"I know."
Susanna tucked a lock of Callie's hair behind her ear, before pulling her in for a hug. "I love you, baby," she said, her own eyes glistening with wetness now. "I love you so much. You're going to do great, I know it."
"Thanks," Callie said, reminding herself that it would only be four months until the Christmas break.
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"One more surprise," David said as he hooked an arm around his daughter's shoulders.
"The train leaves at eleven, don't forget," Callie reminded him.
Smiling to himself, he replied, "You seem to forget that I spent seven years at Hogwarts myself. I know the drill."
"So what are we doing in Diagon Alley?"
"I wanted to have some good old-fashioned father-daughter time. I'm not going to see you for a while."
He came to a stop in front of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, and held the door open for the girl. "My treat," he said, and gestured for her to go in. A few minutes later they returned to the outdoor patio to enjoy their treats - a dragon fruit milkshake for him, and a bowl of mint chocolate frog for her. Callie was delighted by the little hopping candy pieces, though it was a struggle to keep them on the spoon.
"Dang it," she muttered as the one of the chocolate creatures bounced off the table and onto the ground. "Ah, well," she sighed, taking a bite. "So anyway, what was your favorite subject in school?"
"I was always a history buff," David replied. "Surprisingly, considering our history professor was so mind-numbingly dull."
"Who was it?" Callie asked.
"Professor Binns. I wonder if he's still around. He was a ghost."
"A ghost?"
"Hmm."
Callie considered the subject and asked, "How come we never see ghosts at our house?"
"They don't like to linger around the non-magical. Mainly because the non-magical don't often sense them."
"Will I see any at Hogwarts?"
"Oh yes. Each of the houses has their own, and there are plenty of others."
Having never encountered a ghost before, Callie was very excited at the prospect of meeting one. She'd seen plenty of horror films with her muggle friends, and was fascinated by what her father called "the macabre."
"Speaking of houses..." Callie said after a moment.
David smirked. If there was one thing his daughter was most looking forward to, he knew it was the sorting ceremony. "You know I can't say," he reminded.
"Yeah, but if you had to guess."
David sighed. "Well, there is a bit of a trend towards Ravenclaw in our family," he said. He himself had been a Ravenclaw. "But it's not about heredity. One of the biggest factors is a person's values, and family members tend to share similar values. Nevertheless, every house has been represented by a Warbeck."
Callie's shoulders sunk. The two had been over this many times in recent months, and she could never get a straight answer out of the man.
"Don't look so disheartened," David said. "After all, you've only got a few more hours to wonder."
Callie's spirits lifted at the thought, even as the last of the frogs leaped from her spoon to its death.
"Dang it."
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About a half hour later, Callie and her father made their way through King's Cross Station, coming to a stop between platforms nine and ten.
"All right," David said, "you know what to do. Simply run to the wall, and don't hesitate. You'll come out on the other side." Patting her shoulder, he finished, "I'll be right behind you."
Callie took a breath, preparing herself for what she was about to do. Despite her father's assurances, there was still the fear that she would crash into the solid brick wall instead of going through it. Wrapping her fingers securely around her luggage trolley, she braced herself and started off. As the barrier between the muggle and magical worlds grew closer, she squeezed her eyes shut and prayed to make it out all right.
It was the strangest feeling, going through that wall. Almost like running through water. It only lasted for a second, and when it was over Callie figured she was through and opened her eyes.
The platform was packed with families hugging and kissing their children goodbye, old friends reuniting with excitement. Owls hooted in cages, while cats ran to and fro. An orange tabby jumped up onto Callie's luggage, and she gave it a pet as her father appeared at her side.
"See?" he said. "Nothing to it."
"That was so weird!" Callie exclaimed.
"You'll get used to it." David escorted the girl down the platform, craning his neck to try and find an empty compartment. "Right here," he said when he finally found a place, and grabbed his daughter's bags to store under the seat.
"All right, then," he said, turning back to the girl. "I guess this is it."
"Yep. You're not gonna cry are you?" Callie teased.
"I think I can control myself," he replied with a smirk. "By the way, I put twenty galleons in in your burgundy bag. Don't spend it all on the food trolley."
"Thanks."
"Study hard, behave yourself, mind your professors..."
"And no potions experiments," Callie concluded.
"Right. Save that for the chemistry set your mother gave you."
Callie chuckled at the memory of the minor explosion she'd created with that set. And despite the mess it had made, David couldn't help but hide his own amused expression. Looking down at his only child, about to enter into the world of magic for the first time in her life, he was overcome with pride. "Come here," he said, pulling her in for a hug.
"I love you, Daddy," Callie said.
"I love you too, kiddo." They broke apart, and David reached into his pocket. "Here's five more galleons," he said, dropping the coins into her hand.
"Thanks," Callie replied with a smile. She boarded the train and turned back to him. "Bye."
"Good luck."
She took her seat and the two waved goodbye through the window. Soon the train began to move, and as it turned a corner she looked back to find that her father was still on the platform, watching her go.