Burning Bright

Chapter 1: Professor Fig's Visit

Meli had been reading one of her father's medical books when she heard a knock on the front door. She heard her mother answer it, followed by the indistinct voices of her mother and a man that she didn't recognise. She heard the words 'Hogwarts' and 'Professor', and rolled her eyes; if Rowan had finally gotten himself into enough trouble that someone from the school was coming all the way to their home during the Summer holidays, Mum was going to kill him.

She returned her attention to the book, but it was immediately drawn away again when she heard the unknown professor say the name 'Melpomeni'. She frowned, confused. No one ever called her by her proper first name. She only ever used it when she was formally introducing herself to someone for the first time, and her parents only used it when she was in trouble. And what was more, she had accepted a long time ago that no one from Hogwarts would ever have any reason to speak to or of her.

Just as she had decided that she must not have heard correctly, she heard someone approaching, and a moment later her bedroom door opened to reveal her brother standing there, looking thoroughly confused.

Meli and Rowan were twins, but they were quite unalike in looks. Perhaps only a shade lighter in skin than she was, their Mediterranean half was much more pronounced in Meli than it was in Rowan, his flaming orange hair contrasting wildly with her black hair; hair that reverted to unruly curls whenever the hair potion she routinely employed began to wear off. While she had a few beauty marks here and there, Rowan had a great smattering of freckles all over his face and down his neck, all the way down to his hands. Meli's features were rounder and much softer than his, whereas he had inherited their father's high cheekbones and strong jaw. They both, however, had inherited their father's long, sharp nose, and their mother's brilliant blue eyes. They had also inherited her poor eyesight; they both wore spectacles, though Meli's were rectangular and Rowan's were round. The final thing they shared in common was their considerable height, each of them standing at well over seven feet tall.

Rowan pointed out into the corridor with his thumb, his mouth working but somehow unable to get the words out. 'There's...someone from Hogwarts out with Mum,' he said finally, speaking in their father's native Greek, as they always did when they were at home. 'He's here to see you.'

Meli blinked. 'Me?'

'You.'

'...Why?'

'I have no idea,' said Rowan. 'But you'd better get out here.'

Meli frowned and set down her book, then stood up to follow Rowan out into the sitting room, equally confused as him. When she entered the room, it was to find her mother sitting in one of her armchairs, with the Hogwarts professor, an elderly man with thin grey hair and a rather bulbous nose, sitting in one of her father's chairs opposite her mother.

The scene before her might have been comical to anyone else; even sitting down, it was clear that her mother was well over twice this man's height. Mnemosyne, known as Mona to her husband, brother, and friends, was a formidable-looking witch; with a ring of ginger hair pinned up out of the way to frame her face and the rest of it pulled up into a high bun, a stiff-bodiced cobalt-blue dress, and a steely gaze above half-moon spectacles worn on her typical chain of blue glass beads. The twins had almost never seen their mother in any way except stately and unruffled, but it was clear even through her indomitable manner that this time, she knew no more about the situation at hand, nor what to make of it, than either of them did.

The professor looked round, his gaze falling upon the twins. 'Ah!' he said brightly, standing up and approaching Meli. 'You must be Melpomeni. My name is Professor Eleazar Fig, it is such a pleasure to meet you.' He grasped her hand in both of his and gave it a friendly shake.

'Hello,' she said. She wanted first and foremost to ask what was going on, what he was doing there and what he wanted with her, but she couldn't think of how to ask any of this without sounding rude. Evidently he seemed to sense this.

'Now, you all must be wondering why I'm here,' he said. 'I admit it's all very unorthodox, and is rather new territory for the school as well. But I believe this may help make things a bit plainer.' He extracted an envelope from his waistcoat, handing it to Meli.

It was a parchment envelope, sealed in purple wax bearing the Hogwarts crest, not unlike the letters Rowan received before the start of each new school year. She opened it and extracted two sheaves of paper, unfolding them and reading the topmost one, Rowan reading over her shoulder.

Dear Miss Asimi,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as a fifth-year student.

Term begins on 1 September.

Preliminary supplies have been collected for you and will accompany you on your journey to the castle.

As you may be aware, the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery prohibits the use of magic by those under the age of seventeen outside school. However, due to your unique circumstances, the Ministry has graciously agreed to allow Professor Eleazar Fig to help you hone your spell-casting before escorting you from London to the castle for the start-of-term feast and the Sorting Ceremony.

Yours sincerely,

M. Weasley

Professor Weasley

Deputy Headmistress

Meli read the letter twice more, still not entirely certain she had read it correctly. She turned to face Rowan, who looked quite as stricken as she felt. He looked from her, back to the letter, to Professor Fig, to their mother, and then back to Meli, seemingly lost for words.

'What is it?' Mona asked, her puzzlement now tinged with concern. 'Let me see that.'

Meli wordlessly held out the letter for Mona to take. She watched as her mother's eyes travelled down the letter once, twice, three times. Finally, Mona handed the letter back to Meli, looking almost angry, as she always did when she was utterly confused (though admittedly, she was not accustomed to being confused).

'But how?' she asked. 'How has Meli been accepted to Hogwarts now? And why wasn't she accepted four years ago, when she should have been, like Rowan was?'

'I'm afraid your guess is as good as mine, madam,' Professor Fig said apologetically. 'There's no record we've been able to find of anyone being admitted to Hogwarts so late.'

'There has to have been some sort o' mistake,' Meli said, shaking her head and holding the acceptance letter out to Professor Fig. 'I'm a Squib. I've always been a Squib, I've never shown any signs o' magic. We tried.'

'The Book of Admittance has never been wrong,' Professor Fig said, smiling patiently. 'As it says in the letter, I've been sent here to tutor you, help familiarise you with your wandwork, so that you won't be at a complete disadvantage when you arrive at Hogwarts. We've devised a more in-depth method to help you catch up to your peers during the school year; Professor Weasley will explain more to you before you begin your classes. You'll find enclosed a list of all the school supplies and textbooks that we've obtained for you.'

He said all of this so matter-of-factly that Meli couldn't think of any way to argue beyond what she had already said, and simply followed along as he led her to the back garden, allowed her to choose a borrowed Hogwarts wand, and started explaining basic magical theory to her. She could barely believe it when he taught her and she successfully demonstrated a basic cast—a simple projectile of magical energy. Even after Fig had left for the day, she couldn't stop practising that one simple spell, as though afraid that if she did stop she wouldn't be able to do it again. She paused only long enough to allow Rowan and her mother to bestow upon her celebratory hugs before Rowan bustled off to send an owl to his best mate Sebastian, their mother in tears of joy.