Thunder shook the walls and lightning struck someplace nearby. Wind beat against the sides of the house while it croaked and moaned as an old ship would, threatening to capsize momentarily. Jason felt the intensity of the storm through his bed, only he wasn't in one. He was laying on the floor. And he wasn't in his room. He was in a cave. No longer in his Grandmother's house, he was surrounded by rock, in a place he had never been. Jason tried to remember if he'd ever even been into a cave.
The night was dark as he put his hands in front of him. He couldn't make them out as he focused intently. Out of nowhere — BANG! Jets of water turned on all around him as water began to surround him where he laid. The water was ice cold, sending shivers through his spine, causing his teeth to chatter and his body to tense.
Sitting up, he realized that the water level was rising as he sat in his spot in the deep dark damp cave.
Scrambling to his feet, his foot knocked into something. Reaching for it, he picked it up: a long stick. Rubbing his hand along the seam, it bent and curved just like the wand he had bought at Ollivanders. He shook it like he did in the wand shop, and a ball of light appeared from the tip of the wand.
The water wasn't sprouting from actual jets, it seemed to just be appearing from a hole in the wall next to an iron door.
He looked behind him, near the jagged walls of the cave and gasped— Lucy Gardener laid their— she was face down in the water, her school robe floating out wide around her with her light brown hair hanging in all directions. If he had to guess, she was dead.
Suddenly then, a deafening blood curdling scream broke echoed through the cave, reverberating off the walls.
The rocks began to crack, the roof of the cave began to fall, rocks landing next to him, threatening to crush him as Jason covered his head with his hands. A pile of rocks buried Lucy who was already dead as Jason suddenly woke up from his sleep and realized the screaming was coming from downstairs!
Jason bolted upright and flew out of bed, almost falling down the stairs, still in his pajamas. The screaming had stopped and now all Jason heard was grunting and muffled yelps.
"Get off of me you fiend!" Freya screeched.
Reaching the sitting room now, Jason froze for a split second taking in the attack. A short, disgruntled, disgusting looking thing dug its long dirty fingernails into Freya's neck as she squirmed and attempted to throw the goblin off her. In the midst of choking her, the goblin whipped it's head around, having seen Jason enter the room from behind.
It's wicked, bulging, crazed eyes locked with Jason's for a split second. A terrible scar ran across its face, which looked like it was ripped apart by a mad dog, and his yellow jagged teeth clenched tightly. It had wisps of hair running along the back and top of its head, a bald spot growing in the center.
After the split-second of shock, Jason rushed over to the chair, grabbing hold of the goblin's trousers and neck. Using all his strength, he heaved the intruder as it squirmed and slashed at him with its fingernails, he grunted," GET— OUT!" and promptly slammed him onto the hard-wooden floor. Jason stumbled down with it, falling onto his chest right on top of the goblin. It was much lighter than any human being, otherwise Jason would not have been able to throw him as he did. The walls and furniture shook upon impact, but the goblin, not done yet, quickly scrambled onto his feet as Jason rolled over. Only then had he noticed what the goblin had pocketed: His grandfather's emerald necklace hung around the grubby monster's wrist. Jason was almost on his feet when the goblin backed up to the side of the room, squaring up with Jason again. He assumed a wrestling stance, ready to grab hold of him and win back what was his, when it flung itself towards the open window, diving out headfirst into the front lawn.
Staggering, Jason faltered with confusion. Gaining his wits, Jason sprang out the front door and by the time he got outside, the goblin had disappeared. The night must have masked his fast exit as the street lamps solely illuminated Shadow Drive. Panting, Jason jogged up to the sidewalk, reaching the street. No cars rolled past at this late hour, while the green grass danced in the wind, like they were being blown back by such haste. Jason took a good look around but the goblin was no where to be found. He did a loop around the house to see if it was hiding somewhere, but after 10 minutes of searching around, he decided it must have left.
Re-entering the house, he locked the door behind him where Audrey kneeled near Freya.
"Nan, are you alright?" Asked Jason concernedly.
Freya rose from the chair," I'm all right Jason, he only knocked the wind out of my pipes. Thanks for your help, if it weren't for you he might have killed me!" Freya briskly walked over to Jason and gave him a pat on the cheek.
"Why was a goblin in our house?" Audrey now stood, cross-armed and angry.
Jason now began to think the same question. "I don't know but it took Grandpa's necklace."
Audrey scowled," This is exactly why I didn't want anything to do with all this... this magic nonsense. Not one day and Mum's almost killed." Audrey's expression softened and she covered her mouth with her hand trying to hide herself as she tried not to cry," I— I — I think you'll be a great wizard one day Jason," She rushed over and gave Jason a hug, which Jason gladly returned. He could hardly imagine how devastating it would have been to lose both parents in the same week.
But why would a goblin want to steal the necklace so badly? Jason knew they were supposedly greedy creatures but never expected something like this. "Nan, why is it he wanted the necklace?"
Freya looked confused," Truthfully Jason, I'm not so sure." she sighed disappointedly. "The necklace your grandfather once owned was one of his family's treasures that he inherited after his mother's death." Freya paused and thought for a few seconds," It is likely, however, that this particular artifact may be goblin-made."
Jason's eyes glazed over the fireplace. Wouldn't he have known if the necklace he'd been wearing his entire life wasn't made by humans? The more he thought about it, the more he supposed he had absolutely no way of knowing that. "Why would that matter?"
Freya then began to explain goblin philosophy, and how that everything that was made by goblins and sold to wizards, goblins felt they ought to be returned after the wizard's death.
Livid with anger, he tried to do everything in his power to stop his face from contorting in a menacing looking way in front of his family. All he could picture was the goblin's crazed eyes and terrible face. The goblin looked more like an animal than anything else and Jason suddenly loathed it. He never thought of himself to be attached to material possessions, but this, was his necklace. His one and only worldly possession with any meaning, directly after his grandfather's passing had been ripped from his Grandmother's hands. And now, it's likely it'd never be seen again.
They couldn't call the police, his mother said, because they'd never believe what they told them. Freya would inform the Ministry of Magic the next day, and as Jason stomped up to his room and tried to go back to bed, he couldn't stop thinking of the wicked creature. He hated it, its bulging eyes, its dirty fingernails and horrible teeth. No wonder they aren't allowed wands. Jason couldn't fall asleep that night, his thoughts swimming, and desperately wanting it to return.
The next day was his grandfather's funeral. Jason somberly moped about in his black suit, sitting in the same red sitting room chair the goblin had been in the night before until they were all ready to leave.
Jason was in the clouds throughout the entire day. His mind couldn't get off the theft, mixed of course with the jumbled emotions of seeing his dead grandfather.
Approaching the casket for the last time, Jason couldn't help but let out a few tears as he placed his hand over his grandfather's chest. For the first and last time, Jason surveyed his well-dressed relative in the flesh and blood. His eyes were shut as he lay in the casket. Jason was shocked at seeing his facial features. Somehow, his grandfather laid to rest with the same scrunched up face that Jason always made. His eyebrows bent annoyedly, lips raised to his nose and nostrils flared. His cheeks and lips were pulled in tightly, making him seem anxious, almost.
Jason muttered his last prayers for Marius Briggins, formerly known as Marius Black, and couldn't help but wonder why he had given his most prized and valuable necklace to Jason as a child. Although he only ever spoke to Marius a number of times over the phone, he must have really cared and loved Jason, to have given him such a valuable family heirloom. Trying to mask his watery eyes, Jason kept wiping them with his sleeve.
There weren't a whole lot of people in attendance at all, and none the Jason knew. The ones who did come seemed to all know Freya and also gave their kind regards to Audrey and Jason.
The one mourner Jason did recognize however, was Professor Sprout. After the casket was buried, Sprout and his grandmother were speaking to other. Jason didn't try to join in, feeling to down for chit-chat.
Once the black band of mourners began to drift away from the cemetery, Professor Sprout approached Jason.
"Hi Professor," Jason squeaked.
"Hello Jason, I'm so sorry for your loss and for what happened last night. We've informed the Ministry but I heard you were very brave." Sprout beamed, nodding towards Freya.
Jason didn't feel very brave. He felt more like a loser that was robbed of his only valuable possession by a grungy little goblin half his size. "Thanks."
Sprout didn't have much more to say, opting to leave Jason alone before saying that she'd see him again at school, and wishing him well.
The next few weeks buzzed by. Jason spent most of his time up in his room, reading through textbooks, trying to gorge as much information as possible so he'd be ready for the start of term. He could do a few basic spells at this point. After weeks of practice Jason leapt up in joy as he had performed his first levitation charm, floating an apple up into the air, then accidentally dropping it onto his own head. Progress was slow, but he was also teaching everything to himself. He even figured that there was a chance he'd be ahead of his peers once the term started, seeing Sprout gave him special permission to use magic, which apparently all other underage wizards were forbidden of doing outside of school.
The only piece of magic that Jason seemed to get right away was transfiguration. Based off his textbook,' A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration' by Emeric Switch, transfiguration was:
Perhaps the most advanced and difficult branch of magic. From all of the magical disciplines, transfiguration is the most similar to a science. Transfiguration requires a focused and concentrated mind and precise wand movements, while also taking into account the intended transformation of the object and its mass, biology, mechanistic functions, and volume.
Jason immediately resonated with transfiguration because you couldn't just transfigure something randomly, you genuinely had to understand what you were transfiguring the object into, which seemed like a tangible idea at first. For example, after successfully transfiguring a toothpick into a needle, and a butter knife into a fork, he decided he'd attempt transfiguring a shoe into a television remote. Of course, this was unsuccessful presumably because Jason really couldn't explain or know how a TV remote performed its functions, being the advanced piece of technology it is.
Constantly spiraling, Jason thought deeply about how wizards and witches were able to transform objects into animals if they didn't understand every biological function within the animal itself, like it's skeletal structure or digestive system, as an example. He figured it must be because animals, unlike a TV remote, are not man-made. Jason only became more confused because man-made objects like going from a toothpick to a needle was so simple. At the end of his long-thought session, Jason figured if you understood the function and basic mechanics behind the man-made object, it'd be easier to transfigure then one you understood little about.
Jason spent many nights like these engrossed in his learning, which he thoroughly enjoyed. As August waned, it eventually dawned on him that he would not be going back home to his apartment for a long time, nor seeing his friend Alexander for a while.
Suddenly feeling guilty for having forgotten about his friend, Jason fetched the phone one night in the kitchen and rang for him.
"Hello," Alex sounded a little unenthusiastic.
"Hey Alex, it's Jason."
Alex's voice picked up, "Whaaat! Jason! How have you been?"
Feeling guilty about having to lie to his friend, Jason gritted his teeth as he told him about England, not mentioning Hogwarts or magic.
Alex was very pleased to hear about the places Jason had gone too, like London, where Alex had never been. "Wow, I wish I could go there too, that sounds like a blast seeing Big Ben and the Queen's Palace!"
"So what have you been up to?" Jason asked doubtfully.
"Oh well not too much to be honest. I've been waiting for you to come back so I can go back to the pool and not get thrashed by Levitt's gang. It really freaked him out, that snake, he thinks you're some sort of sorcerer now, which I wouldn't be surprised if you were," Alex laughed loudly into the phone. "Wow the look on his face was priceless!" Jason envisioned Alex doubled over with laughter as his snorts echoed through the speakers. "So when are you coming back?"
In the midst of the conversation Jason had almost forgotten that he would not be coming back to reunite with his friend. "Uhm well you see Alex." He was not sure if he should tell him about Hogwarts, or if he'd even believe him. But, he figured that Alex saw him turn a ball into a snake, and he might have accepted that so he went ahead with it," I'm going to school in England now."
Silence.
"Oh." Alex's voice cracked through the phone. He picked himself up though," Why's that?"
Jason burst into everything that had happened in the past few weeks, including Sprout's visit, Diagon Alley, his great-aunt Witch, and Hogwarts. After a long-stretch of talking Jason gasped for breath, wondering how badly Alex would take this.
The moment he finished Alex spoke again," No way."
Jason's stomach dropped, he'd just made a big mistake, he thought. But then Alex continued "That. Is. AWESOME!" he screamed into the phone with his chest. "DUUUDE! You're like a superhero now! And I get to be the best friend that can't spoil his secret to anyone!"
"Except no one would believe you if you did," Jason grinned wildly, ecstatic at this reaction. Jason now felt relieved and that it would have been much worst to lie.
"Wow, that's so cool, just absolutely unbelievable. But I do believe you, for real. I'm really happy for you." Alex seemed to have regained his composure. "That really sucks that they don't have a school here though, then you could stay at least."
"They do actually," Jason had read about Ilvermorny being the magic school in America," But they thought I was too old to start, so Hogwarts sent their delegates instead to recruit me."
Alex kept asking about all the different types of magic Jason would be able to do and Jason told him everything he could learn. Alex couldn't seem to get enough of it, with magic and everything, but then eventually they said their goodbyes.
"Make sure to call me! And visit during the summer! You can just apparate to America if you ever want to visit so no excuses!" Alex said merrily, then hung up the phone.
All things considered, that went pretty well.
Ever since his grandfather's funeral, Freya Briggins had been living life quite well, Jason thought. She was out in the garden everyday, and enjoyed tending the plants in the lawn. And Jason learned quickly that his mother had not learned how to cook so wonderfully on her own, and that it was his grandmother that instilled her culinary expertise into her. If she was not doing that she'd be cleaning, or she'd go out into town. She was even part of a book club. Jason frequently went out to town with her, exploring all her restaurants and favorite book shops.
Audrey, on the other hand, wasn't as well accustomed to the setting. She was looking for a job, but had so far found no luck.
On the eve of Jason's first day of school, Audrey and Freya prepared a going away dinner, with all his favorite food and desserts.
The kitchen table had a special aroma of pasta with shrimp and garlic, Jason's favorite dish. There was also garlic bread, steamed broccoli, and freshly grown spinach from Nan's garden.
"Thanks a lot for this dinner, these are all my favorites!" Expressed Jason delightedly.
"We're not going to see you until winter, so I figured we'd send you off with something special," Audrey said endearingly.
Jason wasn't so thrilled about the prospect of leaving his Mom for almost four months. He'd never went to a school away from home, not even a summer camp for that matter. And the knotted feeling in his stomach had grown over the final week leading up to Hogwarts. What if he had no friends? He couldn't just come home if he needed something either. Despite not being in love with his city apartment, he always appreciated it as his place that he can escape too. He tried pushing those thoughts aside.
"So you're not going back to the states are you Mom?" Jason clarified.
"No, not permanently at least. I'll be going back in September when our apartment lease expires and I'll sell off all the stuff we don't need, then bring the rest over here." Audrey looked over to Freya who had the biggest smile he'd seen her make.
"I'm so glad you're coming back for good this time Audrey." Freya beamed at her daughter," You'll find a job soon enough too, they're opening a new restaurant downtown, and they'll need someone with experience."
As they moved onto dessert Jason drooled over the peanut butter pudding his Mom made. She knows peanut butter is Jason's favorite flavor of anything in existence so she usually tries to put it into desserts for his birthdays.
Jason scarfed it down and went for seconds. His stomach was beginning to feel a bit upset now, all between the food, pudding, and the knots. Jason could hardly believe that in less than a day, he'd be in a wizard school. Something about this made Jason extremely anxious.
What had Ollivander said about Jason's wand? He remembered that Ollivander described the wand as wanting to pair with an adventurer. Jason scoffed, there must have been some mistake then. Jason rarely adventured. Before a month ago, he'd never even left the country. It's not that he didn't want to, but they never had money for fancy vacations. Heck, they didn't even have a car.
As Jason finished his second helpings Freya got his attention," Now I want you to have a good time at school Jason, make some friends, and have fun," Freya smiled lightly, but then her wrinkles hardened and her voice became hard as rock," But don't think now that since you have these powers you're someone special." Jason sat still and didn't dare move, for his grandmother's eye sockets turned hollow and her tone dead serious," I don't want you getting into any trouble at school, boy. Don't do anything dangerous, or stupid. We put you into school and we'll pull you right out if it all goes to your head. Understand?" Freya stared Jason down, unblinking.
"Yes Nan I won't get into any trouble." Jason said quietly, looking down at his feet.
"Good boy," Freya turned to Audrey and gave her a smile and Audrey nodded in agreeance. Audrey never had the heart to be strict on Jason but Freya had no such difficulties.
Jason didn't have any problem agreeing to this. He rarely got into trouble at school anyways so he figured there's no way he'd end up doing anything even remotely dangerous.
He could hardly sleep that night. Alternating between excitement and anxiety, Jason couldn't help but wait until his adventure began tomorrow.