The Heart Is Not Black or White

Chapter 2

We had just finished dinner and my mother was cleaning the dishes. I got up from my chair to go when my mom said, "Wait, Marissa. We need to talk to you about something."

"Oh, Mom," I said. "You don't need to worry about me going all the way to Hogwarts. There's plenty of people there to look after me. You mentioned Professor Snape, not to mention Dumbledore-"

"That's not what we're worried about," Dad explained. "You see, we just think you're old enough now for us to tell you something important."

"Marissa, when you were a baby," my mother started. "We went to go get a... well, a reading, I guess? The lady we went to actually gave us more than we asked for. She even gave us a prophecy."

"A prophecy?" I repeated. "Like those things in the Department of Mysteries?"

"Yes," my father answered.

"Anyway," my mother continued. "A lot of parents got readings for their babies at the time. The readings, usually, told you what the baby's strengths were, and some weaknesses. But yours was... A little different."

The gears were turning in my head about what could have possibly happened. Surely I wasn't anything special. I listened intently to the rest of what my mother had to say.

"The prophecy said that over your seven years at Hogwarts that you would come to work with... An important, powerful wizard. And that this would come to be through - a - well, a fairly young marriage. Only Merlin knows why... But we don't want you to worry about this. It's just a prediction, and the person who made the prophecy has-"

"Let's just say that their career is in decline," my father stated. "The point is, there's no reason why you shouldn't have a good time at Hogwarts or worry about this prophecy. We thought you should know about this, but don't let it influence the desicions you make. You just need to be watching. Hogwarts is a safe place, no one can hurt you there. But you never know who's watching you."

"Married?" I questioned, tasting the word in my mouth. It didn't taste good. "When did it say I would get married?"

"Look, Issa," my father said, slightly aggravated. "Don't worry about anything. In fact, forget we even told you this. You deserve a stress-free first year at Hogwarts. McGonagall provides enough of the stress. Now run along and get ready for bed. We have to get to Diagon Alley tomorrow before the ten-o-clock rush. The Weasleys will be coming with us too!"

I quickly scampered out of the dining room and up the stairs. I was halfway up when I heard my mother call, "And don't you go sending owls to Fred and George. This information goes out to no one. Do you understand Marissa?"

"Yes," I called reluctantly. I told Fred and George everything. Why couldn't they know about this? Although I felt a feeling in my gut that this was different. Whether this prophecy was true or not, I was going to have a great first year at Hogwarts, and nothing, or no one, was going to ruin it.