Chapter Four
Seeing their daughter came down stairs, Dad and Mum stopped whispering. They are actually more tense than Viginia is at the moment. Although they both feel that any oddity of their daughter occurred from just now, they still reckoned that perhaps they disregarded something before. Maybe their daughter has long hid something in her heart, but she certainly pretended very well indeed, so well that until just now they haven't got a single clue.
It seems now clear to them that they had such a clever daughter that it is reasonable they haven't found out before. Dad and Mum are very proud indeed at the moment, because such evident truth is irrefutable.
They sent away Auntie Annie, and had a short discussion. They thought of the possibility of their daughter falling in love. Or maybe some kind of boy is in love with her secretly. Oh yes, their daughter is so clever and premature, but she is still a little girl, so she is bound to feel confused encountering love.
They have decided to be tolerant and let Virginia make her own decision. Their lovely little princess surely will not let them down. Although it is true that in his heart, Dad has already beaten the little boy to a thousand pieces for hundreds of times, saying indigenently that this is my little princess, he still appears smiling inadvertently, despite it was a rather stiff smile.
However, when it comes to that they have to discuss with their daughter this problem, they become really nervous indeed. They now counsciously feel how well they have been free from worrying about their little princess. They have never consumed too much energy on Virginia like other parents do. This sudden occurrence certainly has thrown them into a muddle.
But reality proves to be quite contrary to their imagination. Compare to the parents, Virginia is rather relaxed at the moment. Her adaptation process has passed. At least such a striking bolt has passed that what she now worried is how she should talk to her parents about this. How should she say so that her parents can quickly grasp hold of what is happening. Or should she maybe hand in her letter directly? Or…. Maybe…. no, because surely her parents would regard it as a ridiculous hoax.
That result may be better actually because so that she has more reason not to go.
Having reached her decision, she grinned broadly and handed in the letter, saying, "I found this letter in front of my room just now. Maybe you should have a look at it." Then she gave it to Daddy.
The development of the affair seems to go in the same direction as Virginia had anticipated. Both parents reckon it ridiculous and must be a hoax – well, a high-leveled hoax then. After carefully examining the paper and the writing on it, Dad came to the conclusion that the writer of this letter is truly imaginative, in that the writer came up with ideas such as using an owl to send letters, and all these magic books, and archaic styles of letter-writing, along with the act of using wax to seal the letter – only British royal household and nobilities do such things nowadays.
Then the parents begins to feel extremely worried that it is possible their little princess has been tailed by some unknown guy so that the letter was sent here. Virginia tried to offer solace by pointing out that there's no stamp on the letter, meaning that the letter surely isn't sent here by normal post. Dad and Mum recognized this point quickly, but they now think that the bad guy is somewhere near the house. They decided to alter their journey to leave here immediately. Still having to celebrate their little princess' birthday, they canceled the plan to stay for a day and headed straightaway to Spain.
Virginia here holds a different viewpoint. She is thinking about what the letter said, the part requiring that she return replies at the end of this month. She thinks that if they just wait till the end of the mount, maybe something will come out. But seeing the worried faces of her parents, Virginia simply cannot bring herself to say that these are not at all hoaxed; they are real. Then, how would she explain why she thinks they are real? Surely she can never say that she had read a storybook in her last life?
….She has decided to remain taciturn and say no word.
Then the whole family, taking on an innocently unwitting Aunt Annie, is now hurring toward the port of Plymouth to get on the ferry that heads for Spain.
Virginia sits on the board, watching her dad talking to the captain, and signs slightly. It is only too unnecessary to have so much trouble; the original plan is so comfortable that there's no need to change it…. Then she turns her head and goes back to enjoying the seawind.
When they finally landed on the port of SanSebastian in Spain, the sky has grown quite dark. Arriving in the cottage on the shore, all of them are exhausted. So they all went to bed seperately.
Virginia lies in her bed; listening to the sound of sea wave outside the window, she now comes to think about the magic world, which she now feels truly unreal, even absurd indeed. Perhaps it was really a hoax, thought Virginia. Then she fell to sleep and became unconscious.
The birthday week in Spain leaves Virginia a really comfortable mood. SanSebestian has the most romantic beach in Europe. And the seafood here is quite brilliant. Virginia lies lackadaisically in armchairs near the sea all day, relishing lobster while enjoying the hot seawind. It was an excellent ecperience.
Hogwarts? She now completely forgets it.
Back to London, Virginia is suddenly pulled back to reality. She realizes that she has to make some preparations in case, so she wrote a solicitous reply with formal handwriting, with content stated like below:
She is surprised and pleased indeed to receive the invitation letter, but it is a pity that she really does not have the ability to perform magic, and she does not wish to stay away from her parents, least of all leaving in a completely unknown place. So she cannot attend the magic school, and she does feel sorry indeed.
After she finishes her writing, she folds the letter in two halfs and puts it into an envelope. She seals it with glue and writes directly on the envelop:
To Minerva Macgonagall
And she threw the letter away in her drawer.
The parents haven't changed their atitude towards this affair, but they seem to pay much more attention to the security problem of Virginia. They stop letting her take the scholl bus every day. Instead, Dad takes his time to personally pick her up. Not wishing to let them worry, Virginia took no issue with this.
Time fleets and the end of the month comes. Today is Wednesday, July 31th, 1996. In fact, as it approaches July 31th, Virginia grows more curious. So when the day comes at last, Virginia gets up as early as the sky grows pale. It is just five o'clock, but she cannot go back to sleep. So she runs to prepare food in the kitchen.
After about half an hour, she hears sudden knocks on the window in her room. The knocks follow a distinctive rythem, and sounds clear in the tranquility of morning.
She has correctly guessed that it is an owl. She reaches for a piece of cheese and trots to her room. As she had expected, and owl is hovering outside her window. Virginia does not dare to allow it in, so she quickly picks up her letter from the drawer and opens the window just wide enough to thrust the letter out. She first breaks the cheese and gives a small piece to the owl.
The owl unceremoniously takes the cheese and lifts on of its legs. The small pouch on its leg doesn't seem able to take the letter. It seems that the owl is instructing Virginia to put the rest of the cheese in the pouch.
Virginia thinks it interesting indeed. Laughing heartily, she thrusts the cheese inside the pouch. The owl appears satisfied and takes back its leg. Virginia now takes out the letter and shows it to the owl – well, after loading its dice against her, it has to do its duty at last.
Obviously, the owl has realized this as well. It quickly picks the letter up in its mouth. Virginia does not loose her grip because she is a bit worried whether the owl can withstand the heavy rain outside. However, the owl pulls the letter again. Virginia watches it carefully, and it stares back, seeming to say that if you do not loose your grip quickly, I shall not serve you anymore. Virginia quickly does so, and the owl flaps its wings and takes off.
"Gini? You are up so early. Doing something there at the window?" Daddy said, watching her daughter.
"Just now there were a bird at the window side. I was wishing that I ccould come up here to have a close look. Unfortunately, it flew away." Virginia sounds pity indeed. She didn't mention the letter. She believes it best not to mention it at the moment.
"Well, come down and close the window then. Do me a favor to pick up the newspaper, would you? Daddy shall make breakfast for my little girl."
Actually, Daddy woke up at the moment of the knocks on Virginia's window. He went to her room to check because he was constantly worried these days.
But when he sees her daughter at the window side and heres the sound of a bird flapping its wings, and after the clever explanation of her daughter, he now completely believes her words.
So, thinking that everything has been solved, Virginia finishes her breakfast lightheartedly and goes to school in Daddy's car, not knowing that the deputy headmistress of Hogwarts, Minerva McGonagall, upon receiving the letter, has decided to visit the Winchester family personally.
So at noon next day, another letter appears in front of the door of Winchester Manor. At this time, Virginia is still at school, feeling a headache created by the noise made by primary school students at class intervals.
The letter is picked up by Mum, who, upon reading it, solemnly calls Dad, who rushes back at the news.
So, when Virginia comes out of her class, seeing both her parents standing there waiting for her, she feels an ill bode. But nobody says anything, and there exists a quirk ambience on the way back home.
Upon arriving home, Virginia has told the truth of her "crime" in less than two minutes, and has earnestly demonstrated that she lets the owl take away the letter out of pure curiosity.
Then she cautiously asks to have a look at the new letter. Exchanging a look between themselves, her parents give her the letter.
The letter looks exactly like the one before, except that the adress is their new home here, and recipients are the Winchester family.
Taking the letter out and unfolding it, Virginia reckons herself wise for her candidness, which makes her appear less passive.
The letter says that the deputy headmistress of Hogwarts Minerva McGonagall says that she has received the letter and feels pity about it. But she thinks it was because the Winchester family does not know a lot about Hogwarts School. So she says she is quite willing to personally pay a visit to their manor and aid them in gaining a general view of the magic world. After that, if they still holds on to their decision, she will have no opposition about it. As to the problem mentioned in Viginia's letter concerning her showing no magic talent in all the eleven years, McGonagall says she is as well a little surprised because such condition is quite rare among students; indeed she has never encounterd such a precedent before, except for Squibs. But because Virginia is Muggle-born and has been admitted to Hogwarts, she thinks the problem must have been something else. She will help to find out at noon in August 3rd, when she visits them.
Virginia, holding the letter in her hand, does not know whether she is excited or bemused at this moment. Professor McGonagall visiting her family? But surely it is the darkest time in the magic world now? And the Order of the Phoenix is pitting its best against the Dark Lord? The safety of Hogwarts is threatened, so how can such an important personage like Professor McGonagall bother about her, a child of Muggles? She cannot understand it.