"Chocolate frog!"

The big gargoyle that stood in the way moved aside after hearing the correct password, somehow, even though it changed every term, the password was always about something sweet. Cakes, puddings, desserts and biscuits seemed to be the best the headmaster could come up with for the entrance of his office.

A witch with square glasses and her hair tightly tied in a bun made her way up through the passage, up the moving circular steps into the top of the tower and knocked on the door.

"Enter" said professor Dumbledore "Good evening Professor McGonagall"

"Good evening Professor Dumbledore" she replied and made way inside the big office filled with portraits and sat in a chair right in front of Dumbledore's desk. "I have all the names and letters for the children that are to attend Hogwarts next year, but there seems to have been a mistake"

"Mistake?" Dumbledore got up from his seat and made his way slowly to one of the big windows in the office and stared at the Hogwarts grounds "My dear Professor McGonagall, the book of admittance doesn't make mistakes when accepts a name to be written in it"

"I won't deny that its magical properties should be infallible but…" said professor McGonagall while taking some papers from inside her ropes "The book has admitted a name of a child that doesn't reside in Britain at all!" McGonagall stood up and showed the papers to the headmaster.

"Ah!" exclaimed the tall and old wizard with a certain twinkle in his eyes "dual citizenship, I see, where does the child in question reside at the moment?"

"Well, the Azores Island. Even with dual citizenship, shouldn't have her name been given to the Beauxbatons academy?" asked McGonagall

"Surely there is a reason why it wasn't. What have you found out about this child?" asked Dumbledore, moving back into his desk.

"Her birth was rather peculiar I might say, she wasn't born in either Britain or the Azores Island, but during a flight between these two places! A child being born in the sky… rather reckless these muggles!" replied the witch, who had also moved back into the chair in front of the headmaster's desk. "But as far as I found, she has never lived in Britain, I don't understand how the book accepted her name into Hogwarts!"

"Peculiar indeed" Dumbledore sat back in his chair and stroked his phoenix, Fawkes, looking rather interested "What have you found about their family?"

"The mother is a muggle, the father is a wizard but he isn't in the picture anymore. Passed away not long after the child was born. He was a former student here, Elliot Fox." McGonagall took yet again more papers from inside her ropes and gave them to Dumbledore "The child has only ever resided in the Island, I don't believe she would even know our language given that after all, didn't exactly grow up with a father"

"What about the father's family? Does he still have any living relatives?" asked Dumbledore

"Yes, a younger sister, Eliana Corvin, also a former student. I could not find out if she ever had any sort of contact with either the child or her mother. Elliot and Eliana were both muggle-borns you see." replied McGonagall, pointing to the papers that contained all the information and remained in silence while Dumbledore read them.

Dumbledore sighed loudly, it was already 10 pm and he felt rather tired, but this was a problem that had to be solved as soon as possible for it was a strange case, and it was nearly the end of July, the Hogwarts acceptance letters had to be sent soon.

"I think we should contact the aunt of the child and then we do what we always do for muggleborn families. Maybe the language barrier won't be much of troubles, after all children tend of learn better and faster when they're young" said Dumbledore gently "May I ask you to take care of this case Professor McGonagall?"

"Certainly but, it will take some preparation. A translator will be necessary and I'll have to figure out a way to even visit the Island, sadly I cannot apparate so far and I doubt that the ministry would connect to a fireplace so far away…" said Professor McGonagall quickly, not happy at all that it would have to be her responsibility to do all these things.

"I advise you to contact Eliana Corvin first, it might be the answer to the problem of a lengthy trip" Dumbledore got up from his chair and accompanied Professor McGonagall to the office door "I trust you can do this, I'm sure this child will be a good acquisition to Hogwarts, or else her name wouldn't have been written so easily. Remind me, what is her name?"

"Camila Fox"

You found yourself in a busy street, filled with people dressed so very differently from you and your mother, while holding her hand you look around in awe, the buildings were tall and sophisticated, the bright colors filled the street, the only thing that was exactly like the place you were born and raised was the weather, the sky was filled with clouds, sometimes you could see the sun shine through the gaps between the deep clouds. It wasn't cold, but it wasn't as warm as it should have been for a summer day.

Everything was new, you had never set a foot outside the small cozy island that you've lived all your life, and now you were in a completely new place, and you still didn't understand why you had just taken a flight to Britain, but so far you were enjoying the vacations. If having a newly discovered aunt in such a beautiful place meant that you could see new things more often, you were glad of it.

Although your mother seemed completely lost about the situation, she had accepted the invitation of your aunt, someone who she had never talked about. You weren't sure your mother had known about this aunt of yours at all, and if she did, she had been very careful to not tell you about her. Simply put, you didn't know your aunt at all because you had never gotten to know your father either, and that was a piece of information you had always begged for.

You didn't know him, not his name, or his age, or anything at all, all you knew was that he was gone and it wasn't worth it to talk about him.

"Honey, I know this is all new but don't be scared, I'm sure your aunt will be here soon" – you understood every single word she said in Portuguese, which wasn't hard since it was your mother tongue. The unique thing that surprised you was that you could also fully understand what all the people around you were saying. For you there wasn't a difference at all in sounds, it all sounded the same to you. It wasn't the first time you realized that you could easily understand other languages, after all there was a lot of tourists in the summer that happened to casually visit the small village where you lived, and it didn't matter what language they spoke, you understood every word. You didn't know why or how, but all the sounds just clicked in your head and made sense. Even when you turned on the radio, every song, in any language at all, just made sense, like it was your own language that nobody else spoke.

You did tell mother a couple of times of these events, she looked puzzled but never tried to fully understand how you did it, somehow she just accepted that you could indeed listen and interpret everything that you heard and never tried to talk to you about it.

"Can we sit there?" you pointed to a small bench right at the entrance of the airport "I'm tired of standing. Can I listen to music?" You always made sure you had your small cassette walkman with you wherever you went, music was important to you, you even had the small hope that one day you could make music yourself. You couldn't bring the vast collection of cassettes you had at home, but you managed to pick all your favorites and stuff them in your big suitcase.

Your mother nodded and you both sat in the shade.

"Listen, Camila" she looked at you with an uncertain look "You know I told you, you might have to stay here for a while?"

You nodded, the truth is, you still didn't understand why but it wasn't the end of the world, surely you'll be back soon enough for the beginning of the school year.

But before your mother could continue, a woman approached you both, she was tall and slim, her eyes blue as the sky and had wavy blonde hair. Her smile felt warm and familiar even though you had never seen her before.

"Good afternoon" she hesitated for a bit, as if she wasn't sure your mother had understood her "Are you perhaps, Rose?"

"Rosa" she replied quickly "And you're…?"

"Eliana Corvin" she held her hand out "Elliot's sister" she replied after shaking your mother's hand.

"I wasn't expecting you'd be able to speak my language" your mother grabbed your suitcase, it was heavy with clothes and cassettes, she had packed clothes for what seemed a whole year, and yet she didn't pack much for herself, only a small old backpack.

"Well, technically I don't speak it, but I can explain that later." Eliana turned to you "And you must be Camila, pleasure to meet you!" you smiled and shook her hand, she seemed nice and welcoming.

"I have a car waiting for us, it will take us to my house, it isn't far." She led you to a large car, which had its own driver "I'm sorry if it seems a bit too much, but I never actually got a drivers license"

The travel didn't take long, but it was also silent, like none of the two adults knew how to approach each other. It was a good moment to pop up a cassette in the walkman and just stare out of the window and let your imagination run free.

The car reached a rather large home, with the most beautiful garden you had ever seen in your life, it was bright and filled with flowers, the trees were tall and cast a broad shade, it looked like the perfect place to lay down and stare at the clouds.

"Oh please, don't worry about the suitcase, Charles will take everything inside." She gestured your mother inside the house "Let's go to the sitting room, we have plenty to talk about!" she sounded more excited now, as if she was finally free to speak clearly. After you settled down in a cozy sofa next to your mother, who still looked startled about the enormous place, Eliana spoke.

"Well, Rosa, I know my letter didn't provide all the information, but I'm very grateful that you have come and brought Camila" Eliana poured some tea in 3 cups and gave you one, it tasted like honey.

"I knew this day would come, Eliana. Camila is a special girl right? Like her father was" your mother smiled but it was a bittersweet smile, as if it pained her to talk about your father.

"Yes she is, just like him. And I feel like I should apologize to you Rosa, for I did not know I had a niece until recently" she looked more serious now "I'm afraid my brother never told me about you. We lost contact for a long time unfortunately."

Your mother didn't reply, instead she kept her bittersweet smile, you just listened quietly and attentively, you really wanted to know about your father.

"I'll just get to the point, so Camila can understand" Eliana turned to you "Camila, has there been anything in your life that seemed… not normal?"

You nodded your head slowly, but Eliana didn't speak immediately, so you felt the need to explain.

"I can do some strange things." Eliana kept staring, waiting for you to tell her more even though you weren't sure you should do it, you looked at your mother and she patted your head gently, encouraging you to keep going.

"I can understand all languages, but I never learned them."

Eliana beamed at you, she had very straight white teeth.

"Have you ever done things that seemed impossible?" she asked.

"Maybe… I'm not sure" your mother was now smiling as happily as Eliana was.

"She once turned the spots of a cow blue, because it was her favorite color." Eliana gave a small chuckle and sipped on her tea still looking very happy about what she was hearing. "And when she was just a toddler, the radio kept changing by itself. I thought I was going mad, but the more she grew up, the more magic she could do."

"Magic?" you whispered to yourself, but Eliana heard it clearly as if she had super hearing.

"Yes Camila, magic." Eliana reached her hand into her dress pockets and pulled what seemed to be a long stick of wood and with a small movement of it she made her tea cup float in the air like it was weightless. "You're a witch Camila, just like me and your father."

"But… how? I don't know how to do magic!"

"That's why you're here dear, so you can learn, I couldn't keep you away from what you are and what you're meant to be" your mother gently brushed your back with her hand "I knew someday you had to know"

"So, you knew? But you never told me! Even when I did weird things, or when I understood languages I never learnt, you didn't seem to believe me!"

"It's not that I didn't believe you, I just didn't know how to tell you. How could I possibly explain magic when I was simply… what do you call us?" she looked at Eliana with uncertainty in her eyes.

"Muggles. Non magic people." After a tense small silence she quickly added "Not that I have any issue with it, mind you! Me and Elliot were muggle borns, our parents weren't magical at all."

"So, my father was a wizard?" you couldn't really believe what you were hearing and seeing, it seemed like the best news of your life, but you were eager to ask about the father you never knew. "What happened to him?" you asked shyly.

"It's a very long story, would you like to hear it?" Eliana moved her wand and the tea cup settled down on the small table between you and her.

"Yes please"

"Well, it all started when your father turned 11 years old. Like I said, our parents weren't magical at all, it was a bit of a shock when a very old man came to our door and handed him his first Hogwarts letter. Even more of a shock when he came for a second time, 2 years later with my own letter." She smiled, as if she was reliving those moments in her head "Hogwarts is a special school, for wizards and witches you see? When you turn 11 years old you receive your acceptance letter."

"But, what happened to my father?" you asked eagerly.

"The wizarding world was at war, it was tough times. Not all wizards are good people. And sadly, your father, Elliot, lost his life fighting for the greater good." She sighed deeply

"He sent me away" Your mother pressed her hands on her lap and looked down, as if she was ashamed " We were happy together, and Camila was to be born soon, but he had to send me back to the island, for safety. Camila was born on the way, right in the airplane. It was a scary situation." She sighed and looked at you with love in her eyes "I got a letter weeks after it, a friend of his, I don't quite recall his name, but he told me Elliot had died" her brown eyes filled with tears, but she didn't make a sound.

"Rosa, I'm so sorry." Eliana got up from her armchair and moved towards your mother and hugged her. "I wish I had known."

"It's alright now, I've come to terms with it, I just want what's best for my daughter"

Eliana poured more tea into yours and your mother's cup, and out of her pocket she took a letter and placed it in your hands. "Your Hogwarts letter, dear"

You turned the letter around and touched the bright red wax that sealed it and ripped it open. Inside there were two pieces of paper.

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 Ms Camila Fox,

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 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

You couldn't believe your eyes, your mouth was open, your eyes immersed in each word inside the letter.

"Professor McGonagall was meant to be the one to give you this, but I assured her that I was capable of doing it. I have some other things to explain too. Like your unique ability to speak and understand all languages."

"Can't all wizards and witches do it?" you asked with your eyes still focused on the letter.

"No, actually. That is something that only I and your father were capable of doing." She sat back down in her armchair "And you too now, we never got to know where such a power came for, but it wasn't unheard of it. The headmaster has that power too, actually. Albus Dumbledore, you might like him!"

"Can I just ask" your mother turned back to Eliana, she was no longer crying "How can I afford all the things she will need for school?"

You finally grabbed the second letter and read it carefully, it had a list of books and other equipment, it also mentioned that you could bring a toad, cat or owl with you to school.

"Rosa, do not worry about it, my brother has left quite an amount of wealth behind, his Gringotts vault is now hers."

"But I don't think I could do that!" your mother looked uncertain again "Using his money…"

"Don't be silly Rosa, I know for sure that he would want her to have it, it's all he left for her." Eliana looked at you with a warm smile, it was painful for her to remember her deceased brother "She looks a bit like him"

"Yeah, definitely has his hair for sure. Although, she might have my temperament…" your mother smirked slightly "She's a cheeky little one sometimes, can't count the amount of times I had to pull her out of fights…" you proudly grinned at that statement, if there was anything better than music, getting into trouble was the number one.

"Oh I'm sure she'll get into lots of trouble at Hogwarts" Eliana laughed for a bit "but don't worry, it is a safe place for children like her."

The rest of the afternoon passed by pretty quickly, Eliana and Rosa had spoken plenty about your father, you felt like you got to know him a little better even though he was gone, and you held tight onto your Hogwarts letter, not wanting to let go, afraid that you might wake up tomorrow and everything had been a dream.

The day turned into night, and after dinner Eliana showed you the room you would stay in till September 1st, it was mostly empty but the bed was much bigger and comfortable than the one back home, your suitcase was at the bottom of the bed and your pajamas were already laid on top of it.

But before your mother could kiss you good night, you still had some questions.

"Mom, there is still a month till September 1st right?" you asked, deep down you knew that she couldn't possibly stay till that time, she had a farm to care for, it had been lucky enough to get a couple of days off to come all the way here, it only made sense now why she didn't pack many things for herself. "You can't stay…?"

"No honey, I can't. But I won't leave till after tomorrow, don't worry. Tomorrow we're going to go buy your things, together" you smiled and kissed her good night, and she left the door ajar so that you won't be in complete darkness. That night you slept like a baby, like you were lying on clouds in heaven.

Diagon Alley was everything you ever dreamed of, filled with so many different people, their weird robes and pointy hats made you chuckle, you had no idea who could ever wear those. Clearly Wizarding fashion had not been upgraded for centuries. The long street had too many things to see in one day, but you made sure to check every single small shop while Eliana went inside the bank to get some wizard money. Knuts, Sickles and Galleons, sounded like types of sweets instead of money.

Your mother didn't see too surprised, she wore a nostalgic look in her eyes, you wondered how much had she seen before of wizards and their kind, after all she had fell in love with one, certainly she had experienced something like this before.

Eliana and your mother seemed more close than the day before, when you woke up they had puffy eyes, it seemed they had been talking all night.

You checked your Hogwarts letter, robes should be the first thing to get, and your aunt led you to a store called Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, it wasn't big but it sure was filled with so many different robes and cloaks.

"Ah! Hogwarts dear?" said a squat witch smiling "Step in here!"

You were brought to the back of the shop where the small witch took your measures for your robes, you looked in the mirror and saw yourself smiling like you never had before, it still seemed like a dream, but you had already pinched yourself enough times to believe that you were indeed not dreaming.

Behind you, both your mother and Eliana seemed proud and delighted, you couldn't hear all they were saying but you were sure your mother had just told her some of your shenanigans in school, you might have seemed shy and innocent but you were anything but it. Eliana laughed at every single story your mother told her, even the one where you spent a whole school day hiding on top of the tallest tree, which she had no idea how you had managed to do. Magic was the answer.

Throughout the whole afternoon you got all sorts of things, even some extra things that you weren't required to take, especially books. You weren't the brightest student in Muggle School but the subjects at Hogwarts were too different, you knew for sure that you would enjoy all of them and pass them with the greatest ease. Flourish and Blotts was filled with books from top to bottom, you got to choose a couple of extra books that caught your interest, especially one called "Hogwarts, a history". You still had a lot of questions about Hogwarts, reading this was easier than bombarding your aunt with too many questions.

On your way to Ollivanders "the best wand maker" according to Eliana, you were inspecting your "Hogwarts a History" while walking, not really paying attention to where you were looking. While walking you feel someone run by you in the opposite direction, which ends up bumping your arm and your book slips from your hand and nearly lands on your head.

"Oh" It was a boy with flaming red hair, he stopped in his tracks and made a surprised face, then he immediately grabbed your book and handled it to you " I'm so sorry" he looked a bit red in the face but smiled at you.

"It's all…" you started to speak but someone behind you interrupted

"FRED! Stop running around!" it was a plump witch, she too looked a bit red, she had probably been running after the boy.

"I'm George!" he laughed and kept going, his mother still chasing him down.

"Familiar faces" said Eliana behind you, your mother put her arm behind you and you kept walking. Finally going to get a wand! you thought to yourself, you couldn't wait to try some spells, maybe make some toilets blow up or transform someone into a frog.

You arrived at a narrow and shabby store, on top in peeling gold letters you could read "Ollivanders, makers of wands since 382 BC", inside the store it seemed very small and tight, and with shelves filled with small boxes.

"Ah, a familiar face!" an old man had showed up at the desk, he had very wide and pale eyes "and a not so familiar one!" he didn't seem intolerant against someone who wasn't magical at all inside his store. "Eliana isn't it? Red oak , 12 inches and dragon heartstring! Not very bendy it was" Eliana smiled and nodded. "And who might this be?" he asked looking slightly interested.

"My brother's wife and his child, Camila" she gave you a slight push in Ollivanders direction.

"I see! Chestnut, unicorn hair and precisely 13 inches! His wand on the other hand was more flexible than yours" he replied rather cheerily "Let's see, which is your wand arm, dear?" you lifted your right arm and he took some measures "let's see then what I can find for you" he went inside the back store and came out with some boxes. After 5 tries you had finally found the wand that worked just right for you, you felt your fingers warm up, the wand fit perfectly in your hand.

"Acacia wood with a Phoenix core 12 ¾" and a slightly yielding flexibility, a complex one this is! But it is most suited for great power, but ends up having a bit of a temperament. Although, since the wand chooses the wizard, I'm very sure you'll be a gifted witch" he said with a smile in his face.

You exit the store beaming and ask Eliana if you can try it out when you get home.

"Sadly no, you can't yet perform magic" you frowned for a second "I'll explain it to you when we go back home, actually there is a very important information about it that I must tell you and your mother too"

You accepted it, even though it disappointed you, but you'd have plenty of time to make spells when you got to Hogwarts. You checked the list, you had just about everything except for the last thing.

"I'm allowed to take an owl, cat or toad?" Eliana nodded "Like a pet?"

"Well, mostly as pets, but our cats and owls and toads are special you see? You don't just get a random owl to accompany you." Eliana stops near an ice cream shop "Let's get some ice cream and I can answer your questions"

After choosing an enormous chocolate Sunday you and your aunt and mother sit outside enjoying the sun, your mother looked rather pleased to be around magic.

"So, what pet should I take with me?" you ask while taking a big spoonful of chocolate sauce.

"Okay, so owls are good pets because you'll be free to send letters whenever you want and you can always rely on them to find whoever you need to contact. Cats and toads are some of the most magical familiars you can get, although maybe not as useful as owls!"

"So which one did you bring when you were at Hogwarts?"

"I had an owl! It was a beautiful eagle owl. Right now he must be on his way to Hogwarts. I had to send him with your confirmation that you will attend the school year. His name is Gorl." You chuckle a little, what a silly name for an owl. "What about my father? What did he take?"

"Also an owl, he was very fond of his one, wouldn't lend it to me at all" Eliana chuckled a bit, like she's reliving some past moments in her head "But you can take anything you want, the school owls do a great job when you need them."

"It's not like I don't like owls, but I'd really like a cat. I've always wanted one at home but mom always says no!" you look at your mother with a pouty face and she giggles

"That's because we have enough cats on our garden every single day!" she grabs a piece of paper and cleans your face, you had chocolate sauce all over your cheeks "I swear, every week there is a new cat. Our house is too small to have so many animals in there, dear."

"But I want to take a cat with me…" you replied sadly "Maybe just one magical cat is okay?" you grinned and blinked your eyes hoping that your imaginary seduction would work.

"To be fair, a magical cat doesn't need much care. They can fend for themselves, even in Hogwarts. I had a girl in my year whose cat kept going outside the common room, we never figured out how it managed to get back inside since you need to tap a barrel in a specific rhythm." Eliana looked into the sky, it was the late afternoon and the sun was already going down.

"Alright, if a cat is what you want, you can have it." You mother gave in, which made you grin with joy "After you finish your Sunday we can go buy it" she turned to Eliana "where would we find one?"

Eliana pointed to a store that was across the street "Magical menagerie, you should find a nice cat there!"

"I have more questions though!" Eliana looked at you with a warm smile, encouraging you to ask whatever you want, she looked like as if she was an open book, but would only reveal its contents if you asked the right questions, Eliana didn't seem to mind sharing anything you wanted to know, even about your father. You could see some pain in her eyes whenever you asked about him, but she never held her tongue about anything. If anything it seemed like she was relieved to finally share something about him.

"So, I was reading in Hogwarts, a history, that there are four houses right?" Eliana nodded "So which one were you in?"

"I was a Hufflepuff! The home of the badger" again she looked like she was reliving some memories in her head "Hufflepuff house values hard work, loyalty, dedication and patience. It is a very inclusive house. I absolutely loved my years as a proud Hufflepuff in Hogwarts!"

"What about my father?"

"He was a Ravenclaw. Very intelligent he was, always had good marks. He was very inspired by the wizarding world, it inspired him to learn just about anything about it. Ravenclaw is the house of wisdom." She replied, still looking nostalgic.

"Is there a house for troublemakers?" your mother asked with a smirk in her face "I feel like she'd definitely be in that one"

"That would be Gryffindor!" Eliana replied laughing "The house of the brave and daring! For all I've heard from your mother, Camila, you might just be a Gryffindor! But only the sorting hat will know for sure."

After all your questions about Hogwarts, to which Eliana responded with great pleasure, you finished your ice cream and made your way to the Magical Menagerie where you had a good look at various cats, the lady had heard your request for a cat that could definitely take care of themselves, since your mother didn't like the idea of you having too much trouble taking care of a cat while taking classes, so she showed you some Kneazles, a cat like animal that was highly intelligent, she even showed you a half kneazle cat named crookshanks but he looked at you with disdain, he didn't look like he wanted to be adopted just yet.

You ended up picking a very cute white and brown spotted Kneazle. She looked young but was already rather big, half of her face had white fur and the other half was brown and spotted, she looked pleased in being adopted, and you chose to name her Morgana.

And so the end of the day came, you had all the things you needed for school, and a couple more extra, you were filled with joy and bare farewell to Diagon alley, you'd be back soon eventually. The way to Eliana's house was very different than the first time, now all three of you could speak freely in the back of the car, until Charles himself, the driver chimed in and you weren't sure if you had messed up, after all he could be a muggle, what would he think of these conversations? Eliana kept speaking as if nothing was happening, she seemed to have a good relationship with Charles, so he must be a wizard too. But why would a wizard become a driver? Eliana looked at you and immediately understood why you looked quizzical.

"Don't worry Camila, Charles here knows everything about magic, he can't use it but I've never met a better man to drive me around."

"I'm a squib, little miss! Born to magical parents but sadly not magic enough myself, but I don't let it get to me, I'm proud of being who I am now. Finding work in the muggle world was difficult, by Mrs. Corvin and her late husband have been the best wizarding family I've ever served!" he said with enthusiasm, you didn't know that people who had magical parents could have a non magical kid, but then again, completely magic free parents could have magical kids, it seems genetic wasn't all that mattered. Eliana translated what Charles said to your mom, you might have understood it perfectly but she had no idea.

You wondered how long Charles had been there for Eliana, you asked all the questions about your father but you never thought of asking about her husband, who apparently was also gone. She had clearly lost a lot of people in her life, probably due to the wizarding war, maybe that's why she looked overjoyed to finally have someone in her life again. But soon you'd be shipped off to Hogwarts and your mother couldn't stay, you felt somewhat pity of Eliana. You decided that you would write many letters to her when you got to Hogwarts, so she didn't feel so lonely.

You arrive at Eliana's house, tired of a long day spent in Diagon Alley, but even after the huge Sunday ice cream you had, you felt very hungry. Eliana and your mother decided to prepare dinner together, their voices echoed through the house, you could her laugher and giggles, sometimes you could hear your mother say the words "Extraordinary" and "Brilliant", your aunt was probably showing off some of her magical skills, but none the less it seemed they were cooking just like normal people do without magic. It was amazing that just in two days you had witnessed the blooming of a close friendship, your mother didn't look like herself, and it was like another side to her. Maybe she missed magic, even though she could never do it herself, you imagined it might have been similar when your mother and father were together.

While they cooked, you decided it was the perfect time for music, the air outside was still warm, the sun was finally settling down but you decided you could still enjoy some moments outside so you walked through the garden and laid down under the biggest tree that had impressed you a lot when you first arrived, popped one of your cassettes and looked at the sky. You felt like you didn't exist whenever you had these moments, you got so immersed that nothing else existed besides the music, you always left the sound on max so you could hear nothing but the sounds. After a while you close your eyes, they felt heavy, and soon you drifted off to sleep while the music kept going, you felt something brush your arm and settle down next to you, cuddling you.

You were woken up after a while by your mother.

"What are you doing here missy? Back inside now! How did the cat get here?" she looked puzzled "Come on, dinner is done"

You settled at the dinner table with your aunt and mother, they had made a full course dinner, you enjoyed every bit of it, you didn't get many chances to eat so much.

"There is something I have to mention before you leave tomorrow Rosa" it finally hit you, she had to leave tomorrow, you wouldn't see your mother for a good while, you looked down to your dessert with sad eyes, you didn't want them to see.

"Camila here is a peculiar case when it comes to wizarding law, since she wasn't born here she doesn't have something we call the trace" Eliana waved her wand and a tea pot and 3 cups flew from the kitchen and settled on the table "The trace is sort of a magical charm that all magical children in Britain and Ireland have, which detects magic around an underage wizard or witch. The rule is, no children under 17 must perform magic outside of Hogwarts" your mother sighed in relief

"Now, you might not have the trace but you still can't do magic. Whenever you stay here I'll be very strict about it. The reason I'm telling you this is so your mother also knows, so when you're in the island she can also keep an eye on you." She looked at you with a serious look "Wizards and witches are considered of age when they turn 17 years old, until then no magic outside of Hogwarts!" your mother now looked in panic, she had forbid a lot of things but that never stopped you of doing things you shouldn't be doing, if anything, their first mistake had been to tell you that information.

"I understand" you replied insincerely, deep inside you were beaming.

"I'm serious Camila" Eliana looked at you with raised eyebrows "I'll keep an eye on you when you're around. You can leave the troublemaking in Hogwarts!"

You sipped your tea innocently for the rest of the evening. They had now started talking about holidays and Eliana invited your mother to spend Christmas over since you had 2 weeks off, you felt a huge weight coming out of your shoulders, it made you happy that you wouldn't be away from your mother for a whole year.

When the clock hit midnight you were sent off to bed, you didn't feel time passing by, and you dreaded the fact that your mother had to leave tomorrow. You didn't sleep right, you felt anxious, you had never been away from her, you had to say good bye and you'd only see her in 5 months.

"Camila, don't look so sad." She patted your head, it was nearly time to board her plane "I'll be here for Christmas, plus you better write to me! I'll always send an owl back to you." She kissed your forehead and turned to Eliana "Take good care of her, and please do write too. I will certainly feel lonely without her" She hugged you tightly

"Of course I'll write, I don't have many people to write to now a days, it's like a breath of fresh air." Eliana hugged your mother, she closed her eyes and sighed "I feel alive again thanks to you Rosa"

After many hugs and kisses, and a few warnings to behave yourself, she had to go. You watched her disappear among the crowd, your eyes filled with tears, and Eliana rubbed your back gently, she comforted you and assured you that you'd see her again soon. When you returned to the car, Charles was waiting outside and he too gave you a hug, you felt very lucky to have all these people in your new life, you still couldn't believe how your life had changed in less than a week.

The rest of the month passed rather quickly, you spent the rest of the summer reading your school books and playing with Morgana, occasionally you would have long talks with Eliana about Hogwarts, you got to know her a little better, occasionally she would take you to visit other places nearby, Charles was always happy to drive you two around. Your mother made sure to write every week, one letter to you and another for Eliana, your aunt always smiled whenever she read her letters, and whenever you went anywhere she'd make sure to take pictures to your mother, not regular pictures, but wizard pictures. You were completely off put when you saw the pictures moving by themselves, like the exact moment was happening over and over, almost like a TV show.

Over all the things you got to know about Hogwarts, the only thing that displeased you was the fact that muggle technology wouldn't work inside Hogwarts. "Too much magic in the air, it prevents anything like your cassette walkman to work properly" which made you sad, so you were supposed to survive a year at Hogwarts without music? But Eliana told you that you'd be too busy to even think about music, which you doubted, you had already read most of the school books and you were sure it was going to be a piece of cake to pass those classes. One thing that also didn't make much sense to you was the school supplies.

"So instead of using a ball point pen I have to use a quill and ink?" you asked "That's going to look very silly isn't it? Can't I just use my normal pencils?"

"I did think it was silly too when I started, but I guess it's just tradition. The Wizarding kind is very proud of not following the muggle trends. You are supposed to use quills and parchment."

"I'm definitely going to miss my pencils." You said and Eliana got up from her chair suddenly, you had just finished your afternoon tea but the sun was still shining in the sky, she pointed a finger up to motion you to stay where you are and went inside. After a few minutes, that you spent looking over the garden, she came back with what seemed a notebook.

"Here" she placed the notebook in front of you and moved your tea cup aside "It's a journal! Your dad had many, he enjoyed writing a lot." You opened the notebook, it was made of parchment too, no lines and it looked brand new. "Was it his? It looks like it's never been used before" you looked at Eliana, she was smiling but there was a hint of sadness on her eyes.

"Yes, it's a magical journal though, whenever he didn't need it anymore he would just erase everything in it. It might look brand new but it's got a couple years already." You flipped through the pages wondering what had been written on it, what sort of notes had he done in his time at Hogwarts?

"You can keep it, and use it for notes. It's less pricey than buying loads of parchment for notes." She replied.

"Thanks Aunt Eliana" you kept the journal with you for the rest of the summer, you couldn't wait to write on it, maybe not just notes, you thought about starting a diary. It seemed childish, but you've always wanted to have one, but you didn't trust your mother to not snoop on it, now was the chance since your life was about to change.