Loser - g. weasley

1: witchcraft and wizardry?

It's funny how the smallest of things can change your life. Like the doorbell, for instance. On the particular morning, my birthday, for that matter, it rang.

"Reese!" Marge growled over the barking dogs. "Get the damn door, would you?"

I rolled my eyes and walked into the foyer of the small house. Opening the door, I saw my neighbor, Shelley Grey. The woman was a disgusting brute, ugly too, just like my mother. It wasn't a surprise they were friends; they both were obsessed with dogs, they hated their kids, and they both were around forty, to name a few.

"Is your mum up yet?" Shelley asked. "I've been meaning to tell her about a dog that's on the market." Her eyes flitted down to the packages lying on the porch mat. "Haven't you gotten the mail, child?"

Marge stumbled into the kitchen behind me in a pink robe. "Is that you Shelley?" she said, sounding hungover. She had an appointment with a client last night, or so she told me.

"It's a new client, now quit. There's frozen chips in the basement, the instructions are on the bag. Don't trash the house while I'm gone, either." She was dolled up in a way that seemed more special than work.

"It sure is Marge," Shelley said, brushing past me. "Honestly, your girl has turned out alright. A bit of a priss, but nothing a good beating doesn't fix, am I right?" She snorted like an asthmatic pig.

I sighed and turned back to the mail on the doorstep. Bending over, I sifted through it. A couple bills, one magazine, and a letter. Addressed to me.

Looking around, I took the letter out of the pile. It read

Reese Dursley, 5 Cholla Drive, Taunton, England

The weirdest bit was there that there was no postage stamp, and no indication as to where it came from except for a wax seal with some sort of fancy crest on the back. Hogwarts, it read.

"What in the world is a Hogwarts?" I said to myself. "I don't know, Reese, maybe a—"

"Reese? What's in the mail?" Marge called from inside, peeking her head into the foyer.

"Nothing of interest, Mum!" I yelled, shielding the letter in my hand with my body.

I looked outside, to see if anyone saw me get the letter. The only movement in sight was Ripper the bulldog, barking at an elegant tabby cat perched on the fence with a curious pattern around its eyes.

- - - -

I paced the length of my room. "How am I supposed to get to these places?" I whispered. As I turned around, my toe hit the bedside table. "Oh for Pete's bloody sake," I complained. I sat down on the mattress on the floor. "Okay, how about this— I tell Marge that I'm going on a shopping trip. I take my money, catch the bus, then from there—"

Then, for the second time that day, the doorbell rang. I paused, listening. I heard the door creak as Marge opened it, then and unfamiliar but regal voice say, "Hello, you are Marge Dursley, correct?"

I ran down the stairs as Mum answered with a rude, "Yes, what's it to you?"

I passed the cracked mirror on the wall, the photos of her dogs, and finally got to the front door. On the porch stood a black-haired woman, dressed in formal black robes. She had on a hat I typically saw around Halloween, one of those pointy witches' hats. There were wire glasses in her face too, that she was looking over to inspect me. "H-Hello," I said cautiously. "I'm Reese Dursley, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

The woman smiled. "My name is Minerva McGonagall, but you will refer to me as Professor if all goes well," she said, smiling down at me. I gaped at her.

"Are you from—"

"What's this all about?" Marge interjected loudly. "Reese is going to the Castle School; it's right down the road. I don't believe you work there, do you, Ms. McGonagall?"

"You are correct in your assumptions, Ms. Dursley, I do not work at this Castle School that you are speaking of. I work at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." She paused dramatically.  Marge's face contorted in confusion, twisting her ugly features into something not unlike a deformed pug.

"Excuse me, did you say witchcraft and wizardry?"

"Yes, I did, ma'am. I understand that this is a lot to process, but you must hear what I have to say before you decide if your daughter shall go or not."

Marge rolled her eyes and went back into the house. I watched her leave, then turned to McGonagall. "Welcome to our humble abode; I'm Reese Dursley. I believe that there's tea brewing, if you'd like to come inside." I beckoned her in with a sweep of my arm, shutting the door behind her.

"I must say, you have brilliant manners." The strange woman said as she looked around.

"I get that a lot," I said with a smile.

A/N Okay, this was a short beginning chapter, I know.