Chapter 2: Wishing Well

The next event of any importance I can remember in my early years was when I was 7 years old. Oliva was 10 and Becca was 9.

7 is normally the age when wizarding children start to show signs of magic. Olivia was 6 when she first did magic and Becca showed magic on her 7th birthday. This made me eager for my 7th birthday to come so I could finally prove to be magical and be fully accepted into the wizarding world.

My parents were trying not to get my hopes up as they knew full well that it may still be a long time till I showed magic. Yet I was adamant that when I was 7 I would be magical. Becca was telling me that it would happen on my 7th birthday as it happened for her but Olivia wasn't so sure.

'You're just getting her hopes up. You herd what mum and dad said.' Olivia would always protests as Becca and I would fantasize about what kind of magic I would perform.

'Don't be like that Liv she's just excited,' Becca would retort.

'Well don't come crying to me when your disappointed Alyssa,'

Then she would always saunter off smugly as if she knew she was right yet there was no proof.

When it finally reached my 7th birthday I sprinted down the stairs more excited than usual. I sat at the kitchen table while mum cooked breakfast moving my hands around desperate to perform some magic of some kind.

My mum came up behind me and put her arms round my shoulders and kissed my cheek.

'Happy birthday sweet heart,' my mum whispered in my ear.

Olivia then came into the room and sat beside me. 'No magic then Ally,' Olivia asked.

'It's only the morning Liv it could still happen,' I argued.

'Don't get your hopes up Alyssa. It could happen today but you never know,' mum said.

Dad and Becca then came in and greeted me with a happy birthday.

My birthday was pretty good overall, besides no magic yet I was very disappointed. 'I told you so,' Olivia said in a sing song voice. I kept myself together at that point, apart from showing the disappointment on my face but at that point I completely lost it. I burst into tears.

Becca put my arms around me and scowled at Olivia. My dad got up from his arm chair and put his arms around me as well.

'That's enough Liv,' my mum said in a quiet yet strict voice.

Half an hour after that I went to bed still upset and convinced that I was a squib.

A week after my birthday my sisters and I were playing in the forest outside our house. In the forest was a clearing with a small well in the middle. Muggle children would call it the fairies well or the magic wishing well and would drop muggle money down it and make a wish.

At this point I was so desperate to be magical and I was convinced that I was technically a muggle that I decided to try it. I asked Becca for a knut, knowing that she wouldn't laugh or make fun of me when I told her why but she didn't have any so I had to ask Olivia.

'Liv,' I called across the clearing.

'What do you want?' she asked

'Can I borrow a Knut?'

'Why?' she asked suspiciously. Hear it came the laughing and mockery was about to begin but at that moment that was the most important thing in my life to I carried on.

'To make a wish at the well.' I said slowly

Olivia burst into laughter.

'That the stupidest thing I've ever herd, why do you want to make a muggle wish?' she replied.

'Let her do it Liv it isn't going to do any harm,' Becca piped up.

'Fine,' Olivia said and tossed the Knut across the clearing.

The Knut hit the edge of the well then fell down it.

'No! I haven't made my wish!' I cried running to the well and reaching my hand down. But it was too late I heard a faint splash that told me that the Knut was far out of reaching distance.

Then something miraculous happened. I felt a tingling sensation in my arm and it stretched. Right down the well until I could feel the cold water and lots of muggle money. My hand was attracted to one coin in particular and I grasped the coin in my hand and felt my arm start to contract.

When it was normal length again I pulled my arm out of the well and held up the wet Knut in my hand and turned to my sisters grinning.

They stared back at me gobsmacked.