Disclaimer: The world of Harry Potter belongs to J. . I do not claim ownership. The remainder is my original work. I have taken some lines from the work of J. , however the majority of the story is my own written work. I take no credit for the full extent of this story. No reproduction allowed without my written consent.
A Muggle Potter Story – Chapter 1
Emma Bradley, an almost-eleven-year-old, opened her eyes to almost blinding sunlight, one of those rare, bright summer days in England. Blinking to adjust to the sudden brightness, a stark contrast to the dark and strange dream she was having; full of flashing green light, and tall, cloaked men slashing at the air with wooden sticks like they were magic wands. This was an important, albeit seemingly normal, day in mid-August. She didn't yet know it, but once the midnight black owl had arrived and delivered one very unusual letter, her life would be changed forever.
"Emma, Love, are you up yet? We need to get going to your Aunts. You know how she gets if we're late"
Emma's outlandish, but loving, father called to her, beckoning her downstairs with the sumptuous, tempting smell of slightly overcooked pancakes topped with bacon and summer berries. Not forgetting the maple syrup, one of the only things her father doesn't forget nowadays.
Robert "Bob" Bradley is an eccentric man, with a taste for mis-matching clothes, addictive books, and junk food. He is often living in the world of one of his latest books, causing him to seem unfocused and an inattentive father. However, he is the best father Emma could have dreamed of. His love of books is one of the only things that Emma inherited, along with his ability to get lost in a dream world, and his sky-blue eyes. Everything else is "all her mother" according to Bob.
Emma clumsily climbs out of her bed, one of the many qualities she inherited from her late mother, covered with fluffy pillows and multi-coloured blankets. Hope Bradley was a kind and caring soul, who passed before her time.
She worked in a bakery on the corner of the high street, bringing home treats that were left unsold. She then spent her free hours reading to her daughter, or baking some yummy concoction of her own imaginings, with Emma perched up beside her, often seen spooning left-over mixture into her already chocolate covered mouth.
One unfortunate day, Hope Bradley was victim to a drunk driver, returning home late from a mysterious meeting, preceded by an unusual letter with a purple wax seal bearing an unusual coat of arms. That unknowable letter has forever haunted Emma. Whenever she thought of her mother, she remembered that odd letter, that fateful day that shattered her dreams. Ever since then, she had the same recurring nightmare, of curious and perplexing figures cloaked in impenetrable darkness.
As Emma stood next to her unkempt bed, trying fervently to purge her mind of that impervious darkness, the post arrived through the royal blue front door. In that pile of utility bills and company endorsements, there lay one letter. One that stood out from the rest; the envelope was thick and heavy, made of yellowish parchment, and the address was in emerald-green ink. There was no stamp. On the back of said envelope, there lay a purple seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake surrounding a large letter 'H'.
Unaware of how her life was about to change, Emma stumbled her way out of her room, which is as equally unkempt as her bed, into the shared bathroom. After completing her morning routine, and throwing on the first garments her hands touched, she meandered downstairs in search of the promisingly delicious pancakes.
Instead of the expected sight of her father beaming at her with a plateful of scrummy gooey goodness, Emma found Bob slumped in a chair at the dining table, glaring at an important looking letter, thick looking and made of a yellowish parchment.
"Dad? Is everything okay?" Emma tentatively stepped off the stairs, pausing after one short step towards the kitchen where her father was sitting.
"Huh? Yeah, fine. Sit down and eat your breakfast" Apparently out-of-it and fed up, Bob lifted himself out of his chair, as if all the air in his lungs and energy in his body had suddenly disappeared.
"What is that? Is it for me?" Emma had just noticed the offending object left by her father on the table, innocently looking up at the ceiling with Emma's name written in emerald-green ink.
"What? No! Don't open that! It was sent here by mistake. I'll put it in the recycling in a bit." But, as he was stumbling along his words, Emma had made those final steps into the small and bright kitchen, reaching forwards to see the letter more clearly. Before her hand could even move an inch closer, however, Bob had snatched it up off the table and tucked it away into one of his pockets.
"No!" He practically boomed. "If you ever see one of these letters again, promise me you'll give it to me, and not open it. Promise me!" Emma had never seen him like this before. It was like a completely different man was standing before her, half-crazed and barely aware of what he was saying.
"But, Dad, what is it? What could be so awf-" Before she could finish her sentence, Bob cut her off with another booming rejection.
"No! Promise me, Emma!"
"But, why? What's it say?"
"Just, don't"
With that, he dragged his feet back to his study, tucked away between the kitchen and living room, taking with him the curious letter that had cause such a dramatic change within him. Emma was left standing next to the table, staring after her father, and wondering what could possibly be so terrible, contained within that letter that disallowed her to read its contents.
As she heard her father pottering and banging around in his study, Emma slowly sank down onto a chair at the table, starting to pick at her now cold breakfast. She tried with all her might to forget about the forbidden letter, knowing that whatever her father kept from her was for her own good. But, try as she might, she could not dispel the image of that innocent-looking letter lying on the table, calling to her to open it and unlock the secrets held within.