Author notes: Welcome back, everybody! What did you think of the first chapter? Let me know in the reviews.

I was supposed to wait a few days to post this one, but my excitement to finally be posting stuff after such a long time cannot be underestimated. I really want to share what little I have with the world. Who knows, maybe like this I'll be able to keep up the pace and write more often. Anyway, here's chapter 2 of Curse-Breaker: The Heir of Hogwarts.

Enjoy!

Chapter 2: Trial by Trees

"Carlos… Carlos, wake up!"

"Hmmmph"

"Come on dear, you'll be late for school." I heard mum say as she swung the curtains open to let the light in.

I groaned and turned to the other side of the bed, snuggling my bed covers tighter. Moments later, a dreaded set of heavy footsteps made its way to my room.

"CARLOS MARTIN EDWARD, YOU'LL BE LATE FOR CLASS!" A heavy chill was sent down my spine as my father's voice called me from the depths of the underworld, causing my heart to race a marathon.

"I'm up, I'm up!" I got up in a jolt, shaking off the cold sweat. "What time is it?"

"It's past 6:30 dear, you missed your alarm. Go on and get dressed, Breakfast is ready." Mum then rushed me.

What a strange dream I just had. Something about… old walls and a weird clock, as well as something called a… codex? Whatever that was. I couldn't shake the sense of unease I felt watching that last discussion unfold, like I was worried something bad would happen. My mind kept wandering about it as I got dressed for school, trying my best to make my hair presentable. I rushed downstairs, praying I didn't hear that dreaded call from my father again.

"Did you not comb your hair today?" Mum questioned, pressing her hand against my untidy hair, "Sausages are in the pan and cereal is on the table, honey. Be quick, your father is almost ready." She said as I walked past her on the way to the kitchen. If both mum and dad have already had breakfast, I must have been later than I thought.

"What about J?" I asked for my brother.

"He's gone to school early today. We're waiting on you!" She urged. I walked in a mild panic.

I got to the dimly lit kitchen as the sun was still rising out the window and walked up to the stove. I drew a soft smile as soon as I was able to smell mum's delicious breakfast sausages, as I loved the days when she made those.

"Sweet!" I uttered as I picked up the pan. Just as I was about to pour the sausages onto a plate, I heard the sound of a flame and a flash of light in my peripheral vision.

The skillet caught on bloody fire.

I audibly gasped as I watched a huge flame emanate from where there were just sausages. I waved it around for way longer than I should have, unaware of what to do in a panic, until I had the brilliant idea to throw it in the sink and pour water on it. A huge cloud of smoke rose up to my face and fogged my glasses as I waved desperately to avoid triggering the fire alarm. The end result was a bunch of crispy and soggy pieces of charcoal that were far beyond edible.

I stood there, staring at the charred remains of my breakfast unsure what to feel first, frustration at the sausages I just lost or bewilderment at what the hell just happened. I then debated myself on whether I should call my parents down and explain what happened, at the risk of getting in trouble. How would I even begin telling mum why her favorite pan now had a huge burn mark?

I eventually took a deep breath and decided to shake off the confusion, tossing the incinerated sausages in the bin. "I'll just have cereal instead," I thought to myself. I sat at the table, picked up a bowl and started pouring cereal. At that, I immediately got up and screamed.

A wave of black insects fell out of the box into the bowl, crawling around and out of it. As soon as I dropped the box, they dispersed on the table and started making their way to me.

"Honey, what is happening down there?" I heard mum ask from the upper floor as she likely heard me scream.

"It's the cereal, mum, it's…!" I quit talking as I glanced back at the table to see the bugs were just… gone. Instead, there was just regular old cereal scattered where the box was dropped.

I couldn't believe what had just happened. Did I imagine the bugs? Was I hallucinating?

"What is it, honey- Oh no, what is this mess?" I heard mum enter the kitchen and speak up from behind me, sounding upset.

"T-there was something in the cereal!" I quickly attempted to justify myself.

"Something in the cereal?"

"Bugs!"

"Bugs?"

"Yeah, I… I don't know where they went and I just-"

"Then why didn't you eat the sausages I made for you today?"

"I was going to, but the pan, it just burst into-"

Mum then picked up the skillet and made my jaw drop as she showed me perfectly preserved sausages. The same ones I'd seen burned to a crisp moments earlier and could have sworn I threw down the bin.

"I- I thought these were-"

"Right here, that's where they were. You would have known that had you listened to me earlier." Mum teased me. We could then hear Dad's heavy footsteps coming our way.

"Come on boy, time to go. We're late today." Dad hurried me. I looked at the clock and it was almost 6:45. No way I would get to class on time.

"Here sweetie, take this." Said mum as she handed me a small paper "It's a late to school note, your teachers should recognize my signature. Now go!"

She then smooched my still perplexed face as she hurried me. Okay, that was all really weird and I was still hungry, but tough luck, I guess. Wouldn't be the first time I missed breakfast before school due to being late.

As I followed Dad outside and towards the car, I happened to notice that a lovely tabby cat was sitting on top of our front garden wall.

"Aww, kitty cat!" I said.

"OI! SHOO! OUT OF THERE!" Mum stomped outside from behind me. "PSHHT, OUT!"

I looked at her in disbelief as the cat graciously got up and walked away from our homefront, seemingly unfazed by her display of gratuitous hostility.

"Was that really necessary?" I asked.

"Of course, who knows what diseases these stray cats carry? Our yard ain't no litter box!" She responded indignantly.

I rolled my eyes at her neuroticism and got into the car after my dad. We were about to leave when, for some reason, the car wouldn't turn on.

"Oh, what is your problem now?" Dad complained, taking me a second to realise he meant the car and not me as he exited the vehicle and opened the bonnet to see what's wrong.

"What in the- Where did it go?" I heard him exclaim.

I got out and, upon making it to the front of the car, noticed his disbelief stemmed from the fact the engine was no more, having somehow vanished completely during the night. Now I knew nothing of cars, but I was pretty sure engines didn't just go missing like that.

"How- when could we have possibly been robbed?" Dad wondered incredulously.

"What do you mean robbed?" Mum asked.

"The car engine, it's gone!" Dad announced, "Now how am I gonna get to work?!"

"Oh honey, don't worry, we'll just call a mechanic and figure something out!" Mum rushed outside to comfort dad.

"Figure what out, Mary? It's gone! Someone stole it." Dad complained.

"But how would someone just steal it overnight?"

"I don't know, but this car isn't going anywhere without it."

"Hum… Dad?" I sheepishly asked "How am I gonna get to school?"

I watched as my parents exchanged worried glances, unaware of what to do.

"Listen, dear," Mum spoke up, "Why don't you just walk to school? It's not that far, and it's a nice day outside."

I looked at her in disbelief. "Walk to school? Mum, it's like a three-mile walk. I'll be more than late!"

"You'll be fine, Carlos," Mum reassured me. "Just hand in the note and ask the school to call us. In any case, It'll be good exercise!"

Dad nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that's not a bad idea. It's not like we have any other options at the moment."

"But… but I-"

"Now, Carlos." They both said in unison.

I groaned, feeling like this was some kind of punishment. "Fine, I'll walk to school," I said, grabbing my backpack and shoving mum's note inside of it. Despite the proximity to school, I always dreaded having to make it there on foot. This morning it felt especially dreadful.

And off I went, venturing into yet the most boring journey known to man. My stomach and I growled simultaneously as I started mourning the sausages I lost this morning. My mind was still disgruntled at what had happened back at my house. How did that fire even start? And I can't have imagined all those cereal bugs, can I? Dad and I certainly didn't imagine the car engine out of existence.

Upon leaving Liddell way and walking down the sinuous main street of my neighborhood, I noticed I wasn't exactly alone on my trek. I looked behind me and was delighted to see the lovely tabby cat from earlier was following me.

"Oh, hello you!" I greeted the feline. "You wanna go to school with me?"

The cat sat straight and looked at me, as if it could give an answer. I then noticed the little feline had strange markings on its face, making it look like it was wearing glasses.

"That's a funny face you got there!" I commented. The cat remained serene, almost as if I wasn't there. "Well, if you wanna come to school with me, we should hurry up because - WHOA!"

I'd just about started crossing the street when I looked to the side and saw a huge, triple decker bus speeding my way. It came so fast I barely had time to react, only covering my head as it looked like it was about to hit me. The impact, however, never came, for I opened my eyes again to no sign of the bus whatsoever.

"What?" I looked behind at the cat as if looking for a witness to what I just saw, and there it was: sat up straight and watching me, just as it were a few moments before. "You saw that too, right?" I asked.

I looked around for traces of anything that resembled a triple decker purple bus, but there was no such thing in the suburban vicinity. I'd never even seen a bus like that before, how did it manage to avoid hitting me? And where did it actually go? It couldn't just vanish, right?

This day keeps getting weirder.

I continued walking, my heart still racing from the near-bus-collision. The tabby cat still trailed behind me, its eerie glasses-like markings seeming to glint in the sunlight. I decided to take a detour through the wooded path behind some of the row houses to avoid unnecessary street crossings, which, come to think of it, was not the smartest decision on my part.

"So, what do I call you?" I asked the cat, trying to make conversation to distract myself from these bizarre incidents. "You seem like an okay kitten. I think I'll call you -OOF!"

My sentence was cut short by part of the pavement giving way under my feet, in what I could only assume was the beginning of a sinkhole. I don't know how, but I managed to not completely collapse alongside the pavement, landing on my feet in a pocket of dirty water.

"Are you serious now?!" I complained as the murky water reached up to my knees, completely drenching my shoes as I searched for a foothold out of that hole. I turned around to see the cat watching me from a safe distance, still seemingly unbothered by my streak of misfortune.

Finally, I found a way out of the sinkhole and climbed back up onto the pavement. I could only think of all the ways mum would want to kill me if she saw the current state of my trousers, as they were now drenched in muddy colors. If I had a phone I'd likely call my parents over this, but then remembered they had no means of picking me up. Given my house was already pretty far behind, my only choice was to suck it up and keep on going.

As I continued down the wooded path, I couldn't shake the feeling that I wasn't exactly alone. I turned around, but saw no one.

"Is someone there?" I called out.

Silence was my only response.

I started to quicken my pace, eager to get out of the woods and back to the safety of the suburban streets. But then I heard something rustling in the bushes.

"Who's there?" I demanded, taking a step back.

Nothing.

Of course, it wouldn't be the first time that I imagined things. It was just me, a cat and my dirty trousers making a scene in a random wooded path.

With a bit of a jog I managed to reach Engel's Hollow's main street, which was uncharacteristically empty at this hour. I looked around, feeling slightly unnerved. The strange occurrences of the day had put me on edge. Was it just my imagination or was there really something odd going on?

"School is at the end of this street, now. I just need to make it there and this'll be all over, right?" I asked myself out loud, looking behind at the cat for some kind of validation.

The cat just stared at me with its big, green eyes, but then it suddenly darted off down a side street, much to my bemusement. I was about to shrug and continue on my way, feeling slightly relieved to be rid of the strange feline when I suddenly heard:

"HEY KID, LOOK OUT!" A city worker shouted at me from a distance.

I turned to see what the commotion was about, only to find a construction worker waving his arms at me. My stomach dropped as a large shadow slowly creeped my way, dragging my chin up to see a huge water tower beginning to tumble in my direction. By then, it was too late to run: the tower kept on bending until something held it back at an angle, causing a huge volume of water to shower upon me.

I gasped for air, coughing and sputtering as I shook off the drenching water. I couldn't believe my luck, or rather, my lack thereof. First, the bus, then the sinkhole and now this? What in the world was going on?

"Are you alright, kid?" The construction worker ran over to me, looking genuinely concerned.

I nodded, still trying to catch my breath. "Yeah, I think so. Just a little wet."

"You're lucky the crane held the tower back," he said, shaking his head, "That could've been really bad."

I looked up at the tower, which now stood at a precarious angle held by a crane. It was indeed a miracle it hadn't completely fallen on top of me.

"Thanks for the heads up, I guess…," I thanked him, still a little shaky.

"No problem, kid. Just be careful out here," he replied before running back to his work.

I looked down at my soggy clothes, feeling miserable. This was not how I wanted to start any day, let alone today. I sighed and continued on my journey, feeling disheartened and defeated, until I spotted the same tabby cat from earlier making its way to me.

"Oh, you again…" I said to the cat, now feeling annoyed, "Figures you wouldn't wanna stay for a bath."

I took off my backpack to check the state of my school material, trying to dry off my hands the best I could. Luckily, all my notebooks and textbooks looked intact, including mum's late to school note, not having been drenched in the shower I just took.

"Phew… at least I still have my note" I said out loud, something which I definitely, definitely should not have. For right after I uttered this sentence, an owl flew from behind me and snatched the paper from my hands, to my complete bewilderment.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" I yelled at the owl that was now standing on top of a light post, staring at me with its googly eyes and holding my note on its beak. Just as it was about to fly away, I jerked my backpack onto my shoulders and started chasing it.

"Oh no, you don't!" I hissed, gritting my teeth. I may have been nearly run over, dropped onto a ditch and soaked by a water tower, but I still had it in me to run after this god damned bird. It flew away from my school and onto a sidestreet to another neighborhood, and I trailed along after it.

"When… will… you… stop… flying!" I panted as I was starting to lose my stamina, my soaked clothes weighing down on me. The bird flew away from the street and onto a field, with me right on its tail. Was I running that fast or was the bird flying this slow? Who knows. I didn't even know how I would retrieve my note from it, at this point it was a matter of pride.

The owl then directed itself towards the weirdest looking tree I'd ever seen. Its trunk was large and twisted, its branches were thin and stood upright, with very few leaves on them. As the bird landed amongst the upper branches, I finally stopped to catch my breath.

I looked up at the tree and could just about make out the silhouette of the owl amidst the sparse foliage, deciding on what my next step would be. Given its peculiar shape, I figured that my best option would be to try and climb it. As I circled around the tree in search of a foothold, I found a spot where the trunk seemed just wide enough for me to hoist myself up. Thankfully the bark was rough so that my drenched shoes wouldn't slip, and the tree's curvature made getting up to the upper branches a feasible task.

"Huh… who knew climbing a tree was this easy?" I muttered to myself, surprised at how little effort I was making. The upper branches, however, were a bigger challenge, as they were very pointy and would start hooking onto my clothes. The wind was causing the thin branches to start shaking, and me to start shivering in my wet clothing. The owl was still perched up there, staring at me as if mocking my feeble attempts to get my note back.

Finally, the owl was within my grasp. I made sure to support my feet between forked branches while holding onto a larger one so as to not lose balance. The tree was shaking a bit, and I worried that any blunt movement would scare the owl away. I gently moved my hand closer and closer, reaching for the note on the bird's beak.

"Don't worry… I'm not gonna hurt you… I just want the paper you're holding." I spoke softly, my hand mere centimeters from the note when the tree began to shake again beneath my feet, this time disturbing my balance. The owl let out a high pitched hoot as the tree shook under its claws, and I started to notice something was off.

At last, I managed to get a hold of the note, but the owl wouldn't let go of it. I tried pulling it gently so as to not rip it apart, causing the bird to flap its wings frantically as a response.

"Come on, help me here!" I pleaded, pulling on the paper a little harder. That's when the tree decided to shake one last time, making me lose grip of the note and grab onto the large branch to not fall. That's when I realized this movement had nothing to do with the wind.

The tree was moving on its own.

"What the-?!" I held onto the branch for dear life as it too began to twist and swing about. I looked around to see the smaller branches were thrashing wildly as well, as if the entire tree had sprung to life. I could feel my heart racing as the tree continued to shake and twist, making it hard to keep my grip on the branch. Small twigs then started hitting me like lashes as the movement got increasingly violent. Finally, the tree gained enough momentum to fling me out of the branch and into the air.

I was about to hit the ground face first when, all of a sudden, my entire body ceased falling mere centimeters above the grass, staying suspended in mid air for about two seconds before being released onto the ground. Still, it wasn't enough to stop me from falling on my face, which resulted in an audible "crack" noise coming from my glasses.

"Hey, You!" I heard someone yell in the distance, taking me a while to lift my head up. When I did, I saw two blurry silhouettes running in my direction, taking me a second to realize it was actually a single figure being doubled by my broken lens. Before I could react to that, I heard another yell, "Look out!"

I looked up and saw two - no, one massive tree branch suddenly come crashing down my way. I rolled to the side as fast as I could, only hearing a hard "thud" on the ground beside me. I barely managed to dodge the two subsequent attacks, my heart pounding in my chest, when the entire tree came to a halt and started bending backwards. Little did I know, it was gaining momentum. As soon as the force was released, the tree slingshot its weight in my direction, intent on crushing me.

"Immobulus!" I heard being shouted from behind me. Just as I covered my head and braced for impact, a high pitched hush noise shot past me and then all sound seemed to stop. Upon a glance, I saw the tree was now completely still, frozen at an angle just a few palms above me.

I looked around, completely bewildered, trying to make sense of what had just happened. My eyes eventually fell on a tall, thin man with a kindly face, who was hurrying towards me. He had short dark hair, a small neat beard, and was wearing a strange, long cloak with a pointed hood that seemed out of place in this park.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his voice frantic and concerned.

"I... I don't-" I stammered, still feeling dazed. He helped me to my feet, holding me as I inevitably stumbled. I was shaking, my hands were cold and sweaty, my clothes were soaked and dirty and there were leaves stuck in my hair. Truth be told, I was feeling god awful.

"Easy… that was quite the fall you took." The man helped me steady myself before taking a step back to inspect me.

"I… that tree, it… it just-"

"I know. I saw everything." He reassured me. "You're lucky to be alive, you know?"

I swallowed hard, trying to push down the lump that had formed in my throat. I was so stunned I didn't know what to even say at this point. Everything and nothing rushed through my mind at the same time in an attempt to figure out what to do next, when all my thoughts then landed on one thing: "My note."

"What?"

"My note… th- the owl… it- it had my note!" I stuttered, trying my best to make myself understood.

The man then looked up to the skies, putting two fingers on his mouth and whistling for something. Lo and behold, the owl came flying from a distance and landed on the man's arm, still holding my note on its beak.

"Hello there, Trevor… what have you got there?" He playfully asked the bird, taking the paper from it and finally handing it back to me. "There you go."

I didn't have it in me to thank him just yet, as I was still pretty confused about what on earth was happening. He then sent the owl flying away.

"Beautiful creatures, owls are. Very smart, too!" He commented frivolously. "Do you like owls?"

"I… what?" I looked at him flabbergasted.

"Just making small talk," He retracted. "I take it you must have a lot of questions…"

"Why did your bird steal from me?" I inquired in a huff, unaware of my abrasive tone. For a second, it all seemed to be the owl's fault.

The man went quiet for a second, slightly taken aback. "I, uh, apologize for Trevor's behavior. He… wasn't exactly supposed to do what he did."

I looked at him suspiciously, unsure of what to believe. My attention then turned to my broken glasses as I took them off and examined them, feeling a pang of anxiety.

"Bloody hell…" I moaned. "What am I going to tell my parents?"

"Oh, that should be an easy fix," The cloaked man said. "Here, let me show you…"

He took the glasses from my hands and rubbed the broken lens with his thumb, muttering a few words under his breath. Before I knew it, the lenses looked as good as new. Better, even.

"What… how did you-"

"It's a little special trick I learned over the years," He explained, handing me back my glasses, the lenses looking cleaner than ever "In fact, while we're at it…"

He then reached into his cloak and took a wooden stick that looked like a wand. He waved it gently and pointed it at me, releasing a soft, high pitched whisper into the air. With that, I felt my clothes starting to dry up, saw the dirt from my jacket and trousers slowly fading and the leaves in my hair disappearing.

I was in awe. How was any of this possible?

"There you go!" He said, putting away the wand and straightening my jacket himself.

"I… Th- thank you, sir." I shyly responded, forgetting how to express proper gratitude.

"It's what I do!" He said in return before kneeling down to my level, "Now listen, I need you to promise me one thing, okay? Promise that you won't tell anybody about what happened to you today. I know it was a lot to take in but trust me, it'll be easier that way. Can you do that?"

"But… but what about-" I gestured towards the tree, its movement still frozen in time.

"Don't worry, I can take care of it!" He confidently responded. "Whatever questions you may have will be answered soon, I promise. I just need you to hold on a little while longer, okay?"

I hesitated for a moment before nodding. As much as I wanted to tell someone, I knew I'd have no means of proving any of it. Either way, why was he asking me that?

"Good. It'll be our little secret," He said with a smirk, patting me on the shoulder. "Now, you should probably get going. You got school to attend, don't you?"

"I… yeah, how-?" For a moment I wondered how he knew such a thing, only to subsequently realize it was a somewhat fair assumption given I was, well, a child with a backpack.

"A teacher always recognizes a student!" He replied. "Now go!"

I timidly stepped away, steering clear of the bent tree in case it still had some punches left to roll. Once I was sufficiently far away, I looked back in apprehension to make sure I wasn't being followed, and saw the cloaked man now talking to two other strange, cloaked people, wearing fedora hats. They appeared to be arguing. At that point I decided this whole encounter was way too freaky, so I ran.

My mind was in a haze as I made my way to school, the events of the past few minutes playing over and over in my head. What had just happened? Who was that man in the cloak? And most importantly, how did he stop that tree and fix my glasses and clothes?

Did he just… save my life?

I think I'm going insane.

I tried my best to act normal in school, despite feeling completely out of sorts. Thankfully, my mum's note was enough for them to let me into the classroom. Once I was there, however, things still seemed off. At one point throughout the morning, I couldn't help but notice a bunch of owls sitting outside the window, about four or five of them, staring my way. I'd never seen that many owls grouped together like this, let alone in broad daylight. They stood as a reminder of the freaky events from earlier that day, almost like mockery.

I kept thinking of the promise I made to the strange man. What if I didn't keep it? I mean, what could possibly happen? He wasn't gonna come after me for that, right? As tempting as it was, however, there was far too much left unexplained for it to make any sense. He said it'd be easier if I kept quiet, but it felt like torture.

The day dragged on for much longer than I anticipated, my mind clogged with questions about what happened earlier. At least I managed to finish my homework before it was time to turn it in, given I neglected it the night before. Dad would have killed me for this.

Finally, the last bell rang and the school day ended. I was surprised to see dad coming to pick me up in the car, considering it was engineless when I last saw it.

"Hey dad… How'd you fix the car?" I asked as I got inside.

"What do you mean 'fix the car'?" He replied.

"Um, wasn't the engine missing earlier this morning?"

"What are you talking about?" He looked at me in disbelief, "The car is fine. I gave you a ride to school before going to work this morning, remember?"

My eyes widened as a cold chill ran down my spine.

"Dad… I walked to school this morning."

"No you didn't? stop making things up," He ordered. "I remember this morning very well, and I took you to school."

Okay, now I was starting to panic. Not only did he not remember what happened that morning, he had a whole other recollection of events… How does that even happen?

I am definitely going insane.

I knew better than to press him further, so I remained quiet all the way home. My imagination kept my hand close to the door handle, just in case I had to jump out of the car. At that point, I no longer felt safe. We arrived home to mum sweeping the front garden's stone path.

"Hello sweetie, how was school today?" She greeted me with a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey mum, it was, um… fine," I uncomfortably responded. "So, uh… Do you happen to remember who took me to school today?"

"Your father did, of course, like he does every morning. Why do you ask?" She replied naturally.

"N-nothing, I just-" Another chill went down my spine, all the while blood drained from my face.

"Sweetie, you look so pale, what happened? Are you falling ill?" She asked

"What? No, I-" I got cut off by mum feeling my skin for signs of a fever.

"Your temperature seems normal. Did something happen at school?" She asked.

"I… prefer not to talk about it." I muttered as I walked past her and into the house, "I'll be in my room."

I went upstairs, straight to my room and closed the door behind me. I needed some time to think, to process what was happening. I sat down on my bed and stared at the wall, trying to make sense of everything that took place today.

Was any of it real? It had to be, right? I very much felt all those things, from the huge bus to the tree attack… yet I had not a single bruise or scar to prove it. I couldn't have hallucinated any of it, for I'm pretty sure that's not how hallucinations work. If this was some kind of crazy dream, I had yet to wake up.

I then remembered the dream I had the previous night. I recalled the large chamber, the clock and the four hooded figures, the details having already faded away from my mind. It wasn't the first time I had strange, ominous dreams, but it felt peculiar to remember at that moment.

I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. This was all too much for me to handle. I needed answers, but I didn't know where to turn. Who could possibly help me make sense of what was going on? The strange man from earlier seemed to know more than he was letting on, but I had no idea how to - or whether I should - find him again.

I tried distracting myself however I could, but my mind kept drifting. I couldn't focus on anything for more than a few seconds at a time. I'd try reading random books, only to remember why I hated them in the first place. I rummaged through my shelf again and again until I spotted the book Uncle William gave me. I examined it once more, my fingers twirling around the cover's embedded clock dials. I laid it on my desk and flipped it open, thinking I'd sketch some castles for a bit. I stared at the blank pages for a while, unsure how to begin.

"How about… um…" I muttered, knocking the pencil tip against my temple as if that'd make an idea come out, "No, not that… maybe I could-? No, I don't want that either."

I groaned in frustration and leaned back in my chair. This wasn't working. I couldn't focus on anything, not even my art. My mind was too preoccupied with the events of the day. I glanced over at the clock on my nightstand. It was already 5 PM. I had spent more than an hour trying to distract myself, but it was no use. I needed to figure out what was happening to me.

Before I could think any further, a sharp tap on my window startled me. At first, I thought it was nothing. Seconds later, however, the noise repeated itself rather insistently. I got up and opened the curtains to find a very surprising figure on the other side.

"Trevor?" I somehow recognized the strange man's owl as it hammered its beak against my window pane like a woodpecker. How did it bloody find my house? If that weren't strange enough, it also seemed to be carrying a letter, causing me to wonder if it had stolen it from anybody.

The owl stared at me for a moment before resuming the knocking, clearly trying to get my attention.

"What do you want?" I hushed, afraid the noise would attract my parents' attention. "Go away!"

I knocked back against the window hoping that would scare the bird away, to no avail. It only made the bird peck the glass harder, this time flapping its wings impatiently. I think it wanted to enter my room.

"Oh no, no way. I'm not letting you in here!" I warned the bird, like it could understand me "Not after the stunt you pulled on me today. You better leave."

Trevor tilted its head to the side, staring at me curiously. I folded my arms and looked away, not wanting to harness the owl's attention any further. It took a few moments of this awkward un-staring contest before I decided to close the curtains on the owl and sit back at my desk, intent on tuning out the noise. It seemed to work in the first few moments, the knocking kept on going for a short while until it finally stopped, followed by the sound of wings flapping away.

"Finally…" I sighed, relieved for not having to deal with that owl again. This relief, however, was short lived, given that a hard "thud" sound struck my window and made me jump out of my seat. I swung the curtains open to find Trevor lying down on my window sill, as well as a huge crack on the window pane.

"Are you mental?" I uttered as I pieced together that Trevor likely attempted flying head first into my window, whatever the logic behind that was. In any case, it managed to leave a huge crack in the glass pane, to my utter and absolute dismay.

"Carlos, what is happening up there?" My blood froze as I heard my father's muffled yell from downstairs.

"S-sorry, I… I hit my knee on the bed frame!" I yelled back, hoping that sounded plausible enough. I waited a few moments to make sure no footsteps were headed my way before switching my attention back to the bird that was now sitting upright again.

"What is wrong with you?" I hissed at the owl, which had now returned to pecking my window, "Ugh… okay, fine! I'll open the window for you, but you'll have to stay quiet, okay?"

The owl let out a high pitched hoot in response. I reluctantly disengaged the lock and pushed the windows open slowly, avoiding sudden movement to the best of my ability. We stared at each other for a moment once the windows were fully opened, and I wondered which of us would make the next move.

"Okay… now I'm gonna have you stand on my arm, very nice and gentle- AH!" I let out a high pitched yelp when the owl jumped and flapped across my room, landing on my desk. I was curled into a ball next to my window as the bird stood menacingly on top of my book, my room being its newest domain. I was indeed more scared of this bird than I felt comfortable admitting. After all, only one of us had claws.

Trevor released the letter it was carrying on top of my desk, and I let out another yelp as it flapped past me again and out my window, this time appearing to fly away for good.

Okay, that was odd…ly terrifying.

I quickly locked my window and closed the curtains, freaked out by yet another weird event. What the hell was happening? Why were these things happening to me? Was I not safe at my own house? Upon approaching my desk, I took the dropped letter into my hands and examined it closely. The envelope was sealed with red wax and displayed a coat of arms with a letter "H" imprinted on it, along with a banner on top with the name… "Hogwarts", however you pronounce that. On the other side there were writings in green ink. It read as follows:

Mr. C. M. Edward

The Room above the Front Entrance

42 Liddell Way

Engel's Hollow

Hampshire

My heart could have stopped at that moment, it was the very first time I saw a letter address me specifically. Even worse, jt mentioned my precise location inside the house. That felt like the cherry on top of my neurosis, making me think I was being watched inside my own home. My anxious imagination went wild before it got cut short by the sound of footsteps making its way to my room.

I shoved the letter inside my book in a panic, not wanting my parents to see it. For all I knew, they were already compromised. My bedroom door then swung open to my very annoyed dad.

"What is all this noise?" He inquired in a huff.

"Uh, sorry, Dad," I stammered, trying to regain my composure. "I... I knocked over a few things on my desk. It was an accident."

"Was it now?" He asked distrustfully, scanning over my room for signs of anything out of the ordinary. I tried my best to appear calm and innocent, despite the chaos that had unfolded. "It sounded like it came from the window…"

"T- The window's fine!" I blurted mindlessly. "I mean... I accidentally closed it too forcefully, and it made a loud noise. But everything's okay now, Dad, really!"

He eyed me suspiciously for a moment before finally letting out a sigh. "Alright, just try to keep it down. Your mother and I are trying to watch a movie downstairs."

"Got it. I'll stay quiet!" I reassured him with a forced smile, which probably raised his suspicions even further.

"And go do your homework!"

"Yes, sir…" I replied unenthusiastically.

As dad turned to leave, I couldn't help but feel a wave of both guilt and relief. I didn't like lying to my parents, but god knows how many times I did it to save my own skin. How would I even begin explaining everything that had been happening? If they had no recollection of the car incident, they certainly wouldn't believe anything else. Once he left the room, I hurriedly locked the door behind him and made my way back to my desk.

I carefully retrieved the letter from between the pages of my book and stared at it, a stark reminder of the strange occurrences that had been plaguing my day. I stared at the coat of arms and tried to distinguish the animal figures inside of it. A lion, a serpent, an eagle and… is that a skunk? Below it, there was another banner with what seemed to be writings in Latin.

"Draco… Dormiens… Nunquam...Titillandus…" I muttered to myself.

Then, I heard a click.

"Huh?" I looked at my book and saw a faint golden glow emanate from the clock figure. The inner dial began to rotate on its own before seemingly locking in place, after which the glow faded. I thought my eyes were playing a trick on me, how could a book glow?

I opened it out of curiosity, placing the letter inside my jacket's inner pocket and staring at the blank pages as if something could have changed. I wasn't, however, expecting it to have. Right before my eyes, letters began writing themselves in the book in what looked like thick, black ink. It only displayed a single word:

Welcome.

My heart skipped a beat as the word materialized before me. "Welcome?" I whispered, my voice barely audible. Below it, more words began to form.

Who wields me?

"Uh…" I hesitated, unsure how to or whether I should respond to that. My hands froze in cold sweat as I muttered "Carlos…?"

The text then faded, giving way to another message:

Welcome, Carlos.

I blinked in astonishment as the text appeared before my eyes. The book was responding to me, acknowledging my voice and presence. It was as if it had come to life, recognizing me as its wielder. Before I could freak out over this, however, the doorbell rang downstairs.

My attention turned to my bedroom door as I heard muffled conversation downstairs. I walked to my window to see if I could make out who was on our doorstep, partially hiding behind the curtains to make sure I wasn't caught snooping. Looking below, I could only see two figures in cloaks and fedoras… like the ones I'd seen earlier that day.

I promptly closed the curtains, my anxiety shooting through the roof. I didn't know who those people were or why they were at my house, but something in me sensed I was in big, big trouble. I paced back and forth in my room, wondering what I should do. Should I run away? But how would I climb down through the window? The backyard door, perhaps?

I looked at my book momentarily and noticed there was a new message imprinted on it. It read:

Establishing connection to the Codex.

Awaiting response…

Connection to… what? Codex? What was it talking abo-…? No. No, there's no way it was…

I gasped upon hearing knocking on my door, violently closing the book in response. I don't know why, but I felt an urge to hide it somewhere, anywhere. I scanned my room frantically in search of a hiding spot, my eyes then landing on my wardrobe. I swung its doors open as the door knocking became more insistent.

"Carlos, open the door!" My father ordered from the other side.

"Just a second!" I yelled back, digging through my sheets and bed covers for a place to shove my book. After that, I shut the wardrobe and tried to regain my composure before finally unlocking the door. Dad pushed it open in a huff, looking annoyed at me.

"There's some people downstairs that want to talk to you." He spoke rigidly, making chills run down my spine.

"I kno- I mean, I'll be there in a moment!" I responded awkwardly, which earned me a suspicious side glance from my dad.

He then left the room and I took a moment to release a breath I didn't know I was holding. Panicking now wasn't going to do me any good. I took a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart, and composed myself before making my way downstairs. As I descended, I could hear the faint murmur of voices growing louder. One voice in particular sounded familiar.

"Sorry I took so long, I was-" I lost my voice upon seeing who was at my front door. It was the cloaked man from the tree incident earlier that day, next to an older lady in emerald green robes and a pointy witch hat. Behind them were the two figures wearing fedoras.

"Hello there, young man!" The strange man greeted me. "I am Professor Longbottom, this is Headmistress McGonagall. We are here to deliver a very important message to you."

Author notes: Thanks for reading. Be sure to leave a comment!