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It was a sunny morning when I was woken from my dreamless sleep by a faint tapping. A soft light shown in through the only window where an owl was sat, intently staring into the room. I had read several books on owls, it was unusual to see owls during the day. And in London, even more unusual.
I sat up in my bed, glancing over to Avery, my best friend. We have known each other since we were seven. For a short time I lived at the orphanage without her and it was terrible, now I could not imagine life without her. I cross the floor to the window.
"That's not creepy at all. Is that an owl?" Avery asked while still rubbing her eyes.
"Yeah it is. The blasted thing wouldn't stop tapping the window."
"I have never seen an owl in person before." Avery said
"It looks like a Eastern Screech Owl." I said.
"Only you would be able to identify owls." Avery laughed.
Tied to its ankles are letters that I didn't notice before. I slide open the window and the bird flies into the room. It lands on a desk chair sat on the far side of the room. I untie the letters and the owl flies away.
"This one is for you." I pass over the envelope with the name 'Avery Fortescue' written on the front.
Avery is sitting quietly on her bed, playing with the rings on her fingers. I sit next to her as we both look them over in outward silence while internally our minds are racing. We have never received mail before and we wouldn't have expected it to come by bird. Who would be writing to us?
"Hogwarts?" Avery mutters under her breath Stamped on the envelope were the word "Hogwarts."
We were about to open our letters when the door bursts open. Minnie, the woman who runs the orphanage shouts at us to get our arse's downstairs. We have to make the entire house's meals as our chore which usually we don't mind for it gives us something to do and we do need to eat, but now was not the time.
Avery took my letter and put it in with our other personal belongings, the ones we hidden underneath the floorboard. We loosened it up our second year living there after several of our belongings went missing. We walk downstairs to face the chaos while our thoughts upstairs thinking of the letters that little did we know would change our lives.
After we finished making breakfast and cleaning the kitchen we made our way back to our room. Avery lifted the floorboard and pulled out the shoebox that held our letters. Avery and I are sit on her bed.
I tore open my letter and began to read,
'Dear Miss Lupin,
We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl no later than 31 July.'
Yours Sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall Deputy Headmistress
Just outside the door were the screams and giggles from young children playing, shouting from Minnie telling them to shut up and banging from the older children going up and down the stairs. But inside our room it felt silent while Avery and I read our letters.
"A wizarding school?" Avery said, "but those kind of things are only in stories. How could we be invited to a wizarding school?
"Maybe because of our parents?"
I have some memories of my mum and I never met my dad, at least I don't remember meeting him and mum never talked about him.
Lucie, my mum. She was the sweetest woman you would ever know. She did always seem to have a sort of magic to her and now it could make sense. She was the life of any party. She thought of everyday is a gift that was to be cherished and every moment with those you love not to be wasted. She was a marine biologist, and the sea and everything living inside was her passion.
She would occasionally go on trips for research. leaving me with friends. Her final trip was off the coast of Ireland. She was to be gone for three weeks. I counted down everyday until she would be back, except she never returned.
There was a hurricane along the coast and her boat had sunk during the storm. I didn't like to think about her being all alone. Dying all alone. Leaving me alone. I felt sorry for thinking those things but she really had no plan for me.
I didn't know anything about my dad. Mum didn't ever want to talk about him. When I would bring him up I could sense the magic escape from her. I wondered why but never questioned it.
Avery remembers her mum, dad and her older brother Neville The two siblings were very close and they stayed that way until she was seven.
There were different stories as to what happened to her parents. Avery didn't like to think about it. She and her brother moved in with their grandmother after the 'incident.' Avery and her grandmother were very alike so they didn't get along well. Neville however didn't mind her as much.
One day Avery pushed to hard asking what happened to her parents and one thing led to another and she packed her things. Nothing her brother could say would make her stay. Avery said her goodbye to her brother and left the house swearing to never come back. She was so young but knew things weren't right. She hasn't seen him since that day.
The two of us couldn't have imagined what the next few days would hold. All Avery and I felt was an overwhelming excitement at the thought of leaving the orphanage and going to a magic school.
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A/N
Chapter one! I am already getting a lot of ideas for the story and am excited to keep writing
Edit: I realized that I wrote Neville to be Avery's younger brother and that it wasn't accurate to the timeline. I changed it now so sorry to those who read this before the edit
