A/N I own nothing! Enjoy!
Chapter 1
Ever since I was eight years old strange things have been happening to me. Things like objects disappearing when I want them to or making people do things that I want. Most of these weird things are directed toward my 5 year old sister Jaimie. If she is making me mad and I want her to be quiet, I think it and all of the sudden she is unable to talk. When I want her voice to come back it does. Nothing weird ever happens to her though. My mom Lauren or my dad Darren either. I always wonder why these strange things happen to me and not to them, but maybe one day I'll know.
That day just happened to be today. I woke up this morning wanting to get out of bed but not really wanting to. Of course I had to when my blanket flew of my body. That is another weird thing that occurs often. I walked downstairs to an empty living room. My house is made up of three very small bedrooms; mine being the smallest, and a conjoining living room and kitchen. I remember that today is Friday and I will be home alone until five 'o' clock tonight.
I walk outside to get the mail in the hot August sunshine and stop right outside my door when I realize that there is a dark brown barn owl sitting on my mailbox with a letter in its beak. I rub my eyes to make sure that I'm not seeing things and open my eyes to see the bird is still there. I look up and down the street checking to see if anyone is looking out their windows wondering why there is an owl on a mailbox in the suburbs of Southern Australia. I get the mail from the mailbox and run inside as if the bird could attack me at any moment. I sit the mail down on the counter in the kitchen and go to the window to see if the owl is still there. To my relief the owl is gone, but then I realize the owl is not gone it has moved from the top of my mailbox to my front door step. I walk over to the door and cautiously and slowly open it. Before I can even realize what going on the owl is in the house and on my kitchen table with the note still firmly in his beak. I realize that this owl is not going anywhere until I read this letter. I walk slowly over to the owl making sure I don't scare it and slowly reach for the letter. The owl drops the letter on the table and steps back so I can grab it. I pick it up and read
Ms. Jana Lynch
The smallest bedroom
75 Lincoln Street
Broken Hill
Australia
The words are written on the outside of the envelope in emerald green ink. There is no return address just these five simple lines. I decided I'll put the letter aside until later. I coax the owl back outside and watch it as it flies away. About an hour later I hear a sort of pecking sound at the door. I get up and open the door and see that there is another owl outside. This time it's a light brown and white Eagle owl. I take the letter and put it on top of the other one that I left sitting on the table. I sit on the couch for a little bit and realize the owl has not left yet. I decide I must have to open the letter in order for him to leave.
I walk over and grab the envelope and tear it open and begin to tear it open then I stop.
This letter could mean anything. I mean an owl gave it to me. This could say I'm sorry but all of your family has been killed, or you broke some kind of law and now you have to spend the rest of your life in prison. I don't know what I'm going to see but I decide to open it any way. I take the letter out and it reads:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL
OfWITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Ms. Lynch,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
I put down the letter in astonishment. What does it mean Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? Is Hogwarts a school? Am I a…..
I grab the closest piece of paper I can find and begin to write:
Dear Minerva McGonagall,
There must have been a mix up. I'm not a witch. Nobody else in my family is. You must have sent this to the wrong person. I'm sorry that I now know about this school even though I shouldn't.
Jana Lynch
P.S. It is past July 1st so I am sorry that I will not be attending anyway.
I secure the letter to the owl's leg that he kindly extended for me and watch him fly off in the same direction as the other owl. I sit down on the couch and think. Maybe there wasn't a mix up. Maybe I am a witch. No, that can't be true, but that does explain all the weird things that happen to me. All of these thoughts circulate in my head as I drift off to sleep.
I sleep pretty much all day until I am awakened by the sound of my little sister.
"Jana! Jana! Are you dead?" She screams in my ear.
"No, Jaimie I'm not dead," I say, "I was just sleeping."
Just as my dad is getting ready to come through the door I realize the letter is still on the table. I jump up as fast as I can grab the letters and throw them away just in time.
"Hey Jana, how are you?" My dad comes through the door and asks the same question every day when he comes home. He tries very hard to sound friendly and happy after a stressful day at work. He works in a hospital and is always on call for emergencies. He will sometimes get called as early as 3 'o' clock in the morning.
"Good Dad, How about you?" I say in return trying to sound cheerful so I can brighten his day little.
"I'm all right," he replies. He looks at me with tired brown eyes and ruffled his shaggy auburn brown hair.
"Tough day at work?" I ask.
"Yes, a man that I knew very well, who I thought had a chance, who was so close to recovery, passed today," he adds.
"I'm sorry Daddy."
"It's alright, well I'm pretty tired so I'm going to take a nap," he says, "Your mother should be home shortly." Almost the same second he says it my mother walks through the door. My mother works as a waitress for some extra money at a small diner just outside of Broken Hill called Andy's place. My mother is just a little bit shorter than my dad and she has dark blonde hair just like my sisters. She has blue eyes, and is always smiling. My mother and I share the same features so if you put her face with my dad's auburn hair you'd get me. My mom usually smiles a bit more than me though.
"Hey Girls!" She says and she walks over and gives my dad a kiss. "What do you say to Vitigni Rossi for dinner?" she asks. Vitigni Rossi is the best Italian food place in all of Australia.
"Yeah!" My sister and I both say at the same time.
"You guys go I'm going to go take a nap," My dad says.
"Alright do you want us to bring you something back?" Asked my mother.
"No, it's alright I'll eat some leftovers or something, don't worry about me," He says.
"Aright girls let me go get changed and then we'll go."
The drive to Vitigni Rossi is only about five minutes but beings I haven't eaten all day it feels like forever. We go inside and the hostess automatically says "Hello there Lauren! Jana, Katrina, how do you do?"
"Fine," I answer. My sister says the same.
Almost every worker here knows me and my family. We come so often it would be crazy if they didn't know us.
"How have you been Catalina?" My mother says to the hostess. Catalina is an old woman who is probably in her late 60's but acts like she in her late 20's. She is tall and thin, and she has long black hair with streaks of silver that she ties up in a bun for work. But when she doesn't have it in a bun it goes to about the middle of her stomach.
"As good as I can be," She replies, "well do you want to stand here and chat or get some food into your girl's skinny little bodies," She says with a wink, "Alright follow me." She puts us in our normal back corner booth where we normally sit. "Helen will be waiting on you guys tonight." Helen is a short black woman, with crazy wild dark curly hair and always has a piece of gum in her mouth. She waits on us almost every time we come here so we have gotten to know her. I can see her coming from across the restaurant with that wild hair. "Well hello there haven't seen you in a while," She says with sarcasm because we were just there three nights before. "Will it be the usual?" We have come here so many times they know what we order. I would be surprised if they didn't automatically start cooking it when they see us coming through the door.
After Helen leaves I excuse myself to the bathroom. As I walk in I notice something in the widow. I look to see the Eagle owl that I sent back to Minerva McGonagall with yet another letter in its beak that is also addressed to me. I open the window, retrieve the letter, it reads:
Ms. Jana Lynch,
I can assure you this was not a mistake. You are indeed a witch and have been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Today being August 28 your letter will be late but I'm sure we can make an exception since it's our fault your letter came late.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
I put the letter in my pocket and walk back to the table. When I get back I sit down and try to drown out my mother and sisters conversation about ponies and think. Wow I'm a witch. How should I tell my parents? Maybe I won't have to. Maybe I'll just tell them that it's a boarding school. A regular boarding school that has nothing to do with magic at all.
I finish my meal in silence occasionally nodding or smiling at my mother and sister acknowledging their presence. I need to write back to Minerva McGonagall.
…
After everyone was asleep I snuck downstairs to the kitchen and pulled the letter from Hogwarts out of the trash can. I wrote another letter to Minerva McGonagall.
Dear Minerva McGonagall,
I accept your letter to Hogwarts. Now all that I wish is that my parents don't know that I am a witch. I will just tell them that Hogwarts is a boarding school in….where exactly is Hogwarts? Anyway I will need accompanying to get all my school things though I haven't looked at the list yet I can guess that I can't go and get them from the local supermarket. I would be honored if you could accompany me. Send me the date, place, and time and we'll make it happen.
Jana Lynch
Now here lies my problem. Where do I get an owl to send this back? As if like magic an owl flies out of the sky and lands on my doorstep. I open the door as quietly as possible and let the owl inside. He puts up a fight against me as I try to attach the letter but eventually I get it on him. I Open the door and watch him fly out the door toward Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.