Riptides (Fred Weasley Fan Fiction)

Chapter 8

Fleetwood Mac - Seven Wonders

Lyssie's fifteenth birthday came quicker that she expected. She still remembered the day when she found out that she was a witch, and she couldn't believe that the years flew so quickly. She remembered the letter she got from Professor McGonagall and her first trip to the Diagon Alley. All the shops she visited were so wonderful! She's been shopping many times before but the street has never made such an impression on her, as when she visited it for the very first time. They came home that day and she couldn't wait to start learning magic. They had their first Potions lesson then as well. It was just a quick introduction, but everything seemed so fascinating! Lyssie loved learning magic to this day, but she was kind of getting used to it all.

Everything happened almost five years ago, and she still remembered it as if it was yesterday. She would be starting her fifth year at Hogwarts next month, if her father hadn't locked her at home when she was eleven. This thought made her a little uneasy, but she was still hopeful that some day she will be able to join other wizards and witches at school. Her dad promised, after all!

She was laying in her room, thinking about the old days, and not expecting what was going to happen that day at all.

She went about her regular daily routines, like always. She had breakfast, read some pages of a novel her dad got her some time ago, had a bath and watched an episode of one of her favorite shows on TV. She heard that there was no television in the wizard world and thought that it is the only thing she would miss. There were no lessons on this day, because Anthony decided that she should celebrate her birthday, instead of studying on her special day. She didn't celebrate, however, since she's spent most of the day alone. Her dad had to go somewhere to work but assured that he will be back in the afternoon.

Before she realized, it was three o'clock and he was nowhere to be found. Lyssie changed the channel and started watching a documentary about whales. If only they knew about all the magical creatures, she thought and smiled.

"Here's the birthday girl!" Anthony said and sat down next to Lyssie in the living room. She was changing the channels on the television mindlessly and didn't hear him coming home. Anthony was dressed all in black. He had black trousers on, and a long, dark coat. She has never seen him in such an outfit. "I'm sorry it took so long, but it turned out that Miss Turner needed more help that she claimed when she called me."

"That's all right," she said and smiled at him. She wondered why would he need this type of clothing to help their neighbor fix the piping under her sink, but decided not to ask about that. There were more important matters to be discussed. "What time are we going?"

"In an hour or so," he replied looking at the watch on his wrist. Anthony bought them some theater tickets, which still managed to become their tradition, even after the eleventh birthday flop. "But I have something for you first."

He grabbed a little box from behind his back and handed it to his daughter. It had a shape of the box she got when she purchased her first wand but was way smaller. It also seemed that Anthony wrapped it in a hurry. There was just one small piece of clear tape on the back, so the packaging was barely hanging on. She didn't worry about that, though, because she knew how little time her father had during the holidays.

There was no ribbon, so Lyssie ripped the paper carefully and opened it. Inside, there was rolled piece of paper. This time, there was a red ribbon around it. She untied it and put it back to the box. Then, she unrolled the paper and saw some nice handwriting, which reminded her of the letter she got five years ago. It was impossible to forget it since it was hanging above her bed the whole time.

"Read it aloud," Anthony suggested. He was smiling the whole time and couldn't wait to see her reaction.

"Dear Mr. Black," she read. "That's for you!"