To the continued surprise of both parties involved, the truck was in pristine driving condition. The tread on the tires was like that of brand-new ones and Dad also thought aloud that he felt the brake pads also seemed thicker and newer. With the suddenly improved mode of transportation, they reached Port Angeles in almost, it seemed, the blink of an eye.
"Are you ready to leave the US for the first time, son?"
"You bet! Do they have very g-good food? I'm already s-starving."
"There are a few places that I think you'd like. Do you still hate seafood?"
"Dad, I d-don't hate it! I'm j-just never in the mood for it."
Dad shook his head at that and voiced that it's just another way of saying that one hates something.
"There's IL Terrazzo and they have some great Italian, and John's Place, which is kind of a diner, and Ithaka, where they have Greek stuff. Do you like gyros?"
"I don't really know what that is."
"You like gyros. Trust me."
They cleared the Salish Sea in record time and Evergreen had kind of a funny feeling. Not a bad feeling, not at all. Just kind of peculiar. It was a similar feeling to when they visited Mount Hood during Christmas break last year. Evergreen swears to this day that he had seen Bigfoot there. He thought that he made eye contact with him and exchanged a wave. Dad was sure to let him know that Bigfoot would never allow himself to be seen by anyone ー that was why he was a mystery. Evergreen thought that this excuse was just a copout and that Dad didn't really believe that there was a Bigfoot at all.
When they arrived at the Canadian Port, Dad showed proof of his American citizenship and mentioned Evergreen, his son, and that they had nothing in the car but luggage for a few days' trip, and they were let through to the street that ran parallel to the Victoria Harbor. Once there, they drove toward the hotel. They were to stay in the Victoria Regent Waterfront Hotel while they were there. It was just off the harbor as well and was a short walk and an even shorter drive from the town center.
Victoria, as it turns out, looked a lot like a combination of Portland and Seattle, sprinkled with hints of England, which Evergreen had only ever seen in movies and on TV. There was what looked like a large stone palace. There were totem poles in the parks, with black and blue street signs, a stark difference from the green ones that he was used to. Plus, Dad claimed the language on his Nokia had changed from English to some unfamiliar language for some reason. Dad didn't know for sure that it was French, but Evergreen couldn't be sure either. However, he knew enough Spanish from school to know that it was a different romantic language.
Pulling into the parking garage, they took some time to find parking. The weather over the next few days was supposed to be quite agreeable, so it was no surprise that the parking garage was very full indeed. When they came to a stop, Evergreen leaped out of the truck and let out a groan that sounded like opening an old door as he stretched his arms above his head, arching his back, and twisting his wrists in circles. This was something that he had done since he was a baby and it had always made Dad laugh whenever he witnessed it.
"Welcome to Canada, E.E."
"Thanks, Dad, eh?" he responded jokingly, in the stereotypical "Canadian" accent.
"Don't do that."
"Don't do what, eh?"
"You know what. Never mind."
Though Evergreen wasn't the most competitive kid, he still liked to win. He knew that this was one of those moments where he had. Dad just looked at him with an amused face as he passed Evergreen his small, black, carry-on-sized suitcase.
Checking into the hotel would have been a quick process if Dad hadn't engaged the front desk host in a long conversation about their travel plans and other irrelevant subjects, as he was prone to. Today, Dad and the host discussed Evergreen's birthday, their long drive up from Oregon, and even where in Canada the host was from — someplace called Saskatoon, apparently. They eventually got into the elevator, as their suite was on the third floor, and they agreed to rest and watch a few hours of TV before heading out for a night on the town.
The suite was quite nice. It had a king bed and a full closet. It had a sectional-style kitchen with stainless steel, a full-size fridge, and a matching oven and dishwasher with fully stocked plates and tableware. Evergreen knew to call it tableware, rather than silverware because they only made spoons and forks out of silver back when his grandparents were young. Nowadays it was like sterling steel or something, he wasn't entirely sure. The suite also had a kitchen table in the center and a small TV section in the back corner, with a couch and a sliding door that led to a small balcony. One could see much of the harbor from that balcony, even from only three stories up.
"Dad, this is pretty nice."
"I know. Your mom and I stayed in one of the sweetheart rooms here."
"You did?"
"Yeah. I was kind of an old sap even back when I met her. She would have enjoyed honeymooning anywhere."
As they spoke, Evergreen reached over and opened the sliding glass door leading to the balcony. When he did so, something flew swiftly above his head, briefly filling his ears with a great rushing sound. Dad let out a yell as whatever it was flew past him and landed soundly right in the middle of the kitchen table.
"Dad?"
Evergreen turned to look at the table. Dad was standing there, eyes wide and hands outstretched as if unsure how dangerous this thing may be. Evergreen laughed, despite himself and realized that the creature before them was an owl. It was mostly a dark gray with a speckling of white down its back, a round face with orange cheeks whose color was also apparent beneath its wings, a short, black beak, great yellow, almost green eyes, and two large tufts of feathers atop its head. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought that those tufts looked like ears.
"How did this guy get here?" Dad began.
"No idea. I d-didn't know they had owls here."
"Do you think he's dangerous?"
"No idea-" Evergreen's voice stammered slightly when he noticed the owl's leg. "Dad. Look. There's s-something tied to the owl's foot. L-like an envelope of some kind."
"E.E., stay there. Let me get it." Dad commanded as he approached the animal slowly.
The owl didn't seem to be bothered by the fact that Dad was getting closer. If anything, the owl seemed to be impatient with Dad for moving so slowly toward it. He had to let out another laugh at the funny expression that the owl seemed to communicate.
With skill and swiftness that belied his size, Dad untied the string, pulled the envelope away, and then sprang back to a safe distance. The owl turned its head to look at Dad and then held out its claw. Dad looked increasingly perplexed at this.
"I think it w-wants s-something in return," Evergreen announced.
"Like what sort of thing?" Dad asked.
"I d-don't know. Maybe a snack?"
"What?"
"A snack."
From a small paper bag, Evergreen took out a small sleeve of chicken nuggets they had brought when they stopped for lunch in Seattle. He held it up to the bird and waited for a moment. The owl scrutinized him for a few seconds and then made a sound that Evergreen took to be owl for "OK, sure". In one swift motion, the owl grabbed the nuggets and flew out the open sliding door.
It was only then that their attention went back to the envelope the bird had come with. Evergreen watched as Dad turned it over in his hands with a furrowed brow. He read the wording on the front of it and had a curious look pass over his face, not for the first time that day. He glanced over at Evergreen and then held it out to him. He grabbed the envelope from Dad's hand and looked down at it.
The envelope was made of curious material. It wasn't white but was more of a beige, and it wasn't made of paper. It was smooth to the touch and smelled of the ground of a wet forest ー a familiar smell to the boy and his dad. On the back, there was a wax seal of a deep scarlet, and the stamp depicted some kind of knotted rope. On the front, the wording that seemed to so perplex Dad was written in what Evergreen assumed to be a soft-tip fountain pen, and it said:
MR. EMINENT EVERGREEN QUANDARY
DINING ROOM TABLE
ROOM 302
VICTORIA REGENT WATERFRONT HOTEL
VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA
Someone knew that they were in Canada. This same someone knew they were standing by their table in the hotel room, and this same someone had a pet owl to make their deliveries. This trip was getting more interesting by the minute. Evergreen broke the wax seal and pulled the folded documents from the envelope. The documents, to no surprise, were made of the same material that the envelope was made of and were written on with the same steady hand and soft-tipped fountain pen. Evergreen cleared his throat and began to read aloud.
Mr. Quandary,
With great honor, we are pleased to inform you that you have been hereby accepted into the Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. We await your owl no later than July 31st.
The new term begins August 28th. We look forward to becoming a part of your story and helping you rise to meet your potential.
We will send a representative in the summer to aid you in acquiring your necessary supplies and to answer any questions you or your guardians may have. Attached, you will find a list of the supplies you will need.
Agilbert Fontaine
Deputy Headmaster
ILVERMORNY SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
HEADMASTER EDGAR VINCENT ROMULUS WASHINGTON-FROST
Order of Merlin First Class
Special Correspondent, Magical Congress of the United States of America
The second document contained what the letter had mentioned. A list of school supplies, including a cauldron made of iron, a first-year potion set, a ream of natural parchment, a variety of clothing items like cloaks and robes, and feathered quill pens and ink. It also mentioned bringing a pet of some kind. The pets listed were owls, ravens, parrot squirrels, and cats, kneazles, or jackalopes. It also spoke toward several different schoolbooks. His required texts included Chadwick's Charms, Vol 1 by Chadwick Boot; Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander; Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1 by Miranda Goshawk; Beginning Alchemy by Nicholas Flamel; The Art of Defense, Vol 1 by Glinda Quadling; and American Magic Through the Ages, Part 1 by Johanna Erek Wellington. Evergreen suddenly understood Dad's confusion. It seemed like someone was playing a clever practical joke. Sure, Evergreen loved the idea of being able to use magic, but magic was the sort of thing found only in books, like the Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, or Artemis Fowl. Those stories were only fantasies… right?
He handed Dad the letter and the supply list. His dad read over the letter and then the list. His confused expression turned into utter shock when his eyes glanced over the supply list. He wasn't sure which part surprised him so much and the look on Dad's face was almost humorous if his mind wasn't already a whirl at this interesting thing.
"Dad. What's going on? Do you know something?"
"Eminent, it's time that we had a talk."
"What's this all ab-"
He stopped speaking and he and Dad looked over at the bed as they both noticed something quickly rushing beneath it. Dad held up his finger in a kind of a shushing motion and gestured to Evergreen to follow. They approached either side of the bed almost soundlessly and Dad grabbed an empty bag from the kitchen. Dad gestured for Evergreen to frighten whatever was underneath the bed, to get it to take off running. Apparently, Dad's job would be to catch it.
Dad soundlessly counted: one...two...three! Evergreen jumped down off of the bed, making a horrid ruckus, and, just as Dad had expected, the thing beneath the bed took off. Dad was on it like white on rice and made quick work of trapping the creature in his bag. It was alive, that much they could tell, as whatever was inside the bag wiggled it frantically, trying to escape. Suddenly, however, they heard a curious sound.
"Let me down!" the bag had squealed in a mousy voice.
"What?" Dad and Evergreen said together.
"I said let me down!"
The bag wiggled once, and then the bottom gave out. Evergreen gazed in utter confusion at what appeared to be a very well-dressed rabbit holding a short sword. As it started to fall to the ground, the rabbit righted itself in the air, its velvet feet lighting gracefully upon the ground. Then, a very familiar pair of beady eyes locked with Evergreen's stormy gray ones, looking at him with the most impressive determination Evergreen had ever seen.