A Spark of Magic - Year One (Magical Hybrid)

The Vanishing Glass

10 year old Ember Potter tossed and turned underneath her thin blanket, whimpering from the nightmare she was currently having. She gasped awake, her eyes flying open. The girl sat up, her trembling hands going straight for the pocket watch sitting on the wonky shelf. She clutched it tightly to her chest, taking deep breaths as she did so. Her fingers relaxed around the cool metal as she slowly calmed down.

It had been a while since she'd had THAT nightmare. What could've possibly...the hybrid jumped as a loud rapping on the cupboard door startled her. "Up! Get up!" the ginger heard her aunt order through the wood. Ember stuck her tongue out at the barrier between herself and her no so pleasant guardian, putting the watch back as she did so. Even though the Dursleys were her only family...she utterly hated them! They never treated her as one of them. To the trio, she was merely someone to push about...someone who had little choice but to obey lest she be tossed out onto the street. Like it or not, she didn't have anywhere else to go. If she did, she'd tell them all where to shove it. "About time", Petunia said, looking down at her as Ember pushed open the door "get breakfast started".

Ember reluctantly shuffled into the kitchen and proceeded to make breakfast as ordered. "Hurry up girl!" Vernon barked. The 10 year old's green eyes briefly flashed red gold in annoyance and her grip tightened on the handle of the pan. She was sorely tempted to dump the bacon over his head or better yet, burn it to a crisp. However, she resisted the urge knowing it would earn her a few days locked up in her cupboard.

While the ginger was dishing up the bacon and eggs, her oversized cousin waddled into the room. "Happy birthday, my darling!" Petunia cried, hugging her son happily. She then placed her hands over his eyes and manoeuvred him into the living room where a large pile of presents sat.

Petunia removed her hands from Dudley's eyes, allowing to see his birthday gifts. He stared at them for a moment before turning to his father. "How many are there?" he demanded.

"36. Counted 'em myself", Vernon replied.

"36?!" the birthday boy exclaimed "but last year last year I had 37!"

Ember rolled her eyes as she dumped the pans into the sink. Her cousin didn't seem to understand the concept of being grateful. She chalked it up to the fact that his parents spoiled him rotten. "Err yes, well some of them are quite a bit bigger than last year", Vernon quickly explained, using his hands to emphasise his point.

"I don't care how big they are!" Dudley shouted back.

"Oh, now, now, now. This is what we're going to do, is that when we go out, we're going to buy you 2 new presents", Petunia said gently "How's that, pumpkin?"

"So I'll have...39", Dudley said slowly working out.

"That's right sweetheart", Petunia said with a smile, patting his shoulder.

About half an hour later, they were heading out of the house to go to the zoo. Before Ember could get into the car, Vernon shut the back door, blocking it with his hand. "Any funny business, any at all and you won't get any meals for a week", he threatened. The girl stared back at him defiantly, not at all scared of him. "Now get in". He stepped back, allowing the ginger to get into the vehicle.

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Ember hung back while the Dursley's went on ahead, looking at the different animals. "Unbelievable", she muttered as she watched her cousin and uncle rapping on the glass to the Python's home.

"Move!" Dudley ordered but the snake didn't move "he's boring", he complained and moved away from the glass with his father.

"Sorry about him", Ember said, approaching the enclosure "He doesn't understand what it's like, lying there day after day, having people press their ugly faces in on you" the python raises its head and blinks, much to her surprise "Can you...hear me?" the snake nods "It's just...I've never talked to a snake before. Do you...I mean...do you talk to people often?" the snake shakes its head "You're from Burma, aren't you? Was it nice there, do you miss your family?" the snake turns its head in the direction of a sign, the girl following its gaze "Oh..." she breathed "I completely understand. I never knew my parents, either".

Dudley suddenly rushed over, shoving her aside. "Mummy, dad, come here! You won't believe what this snake is doing!" he cried happily. The boy pressed his hands on the glass, unaware that his cousin the glaring at him. Ember's eyes flickered red-gold and the glass disappears, causing Dudley to wretch forward, losing his balance. He screamed as he landed into the water. The ginger grinned as he coughed and spluttered.

The python slithered out of the enclosure, stopping by her feet. "Thanks", he hissed.

"Anytime", the girl said and it slithered away, earning screams from the other visitors. Dudley stood up and was about to get out when he discovered that the glass was back. Terrified, he pounded on the glass, shouting for his mother.

"Mum, mummy!"

Petunia screamed, seeing him trapped inside the enclosure. "My darling boy! How did you get in there?! How did you get in there?" she cried. Ember's grin faded when Vernon levelled a glare down at her. That look meant that she was in very big trouble.

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When they got back to the house, Petunia took a bundled up and somewhat distressed boy into the living room. Vernon slammed the front door and shoved Ember aginst the wall, grabbing her hair. "Ow!" the girl cried.

"What happened?!" Vernon demanded, his face bright red with anger.

"I swear I don't know!" Ember exclaimed and her uncle snarled, tightening his grip on her ginger locks "One minute, the glass was there and then it was gone! It was like magic!"

Vernon scoffed at her response and dragged her over to the cupboard, pushing her inside. "There's no such thing as magic!" he shouted at her before he shut and locked the door.

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It wasn't long after the zoo fiasco that Ember started to get letters. She didn't know what was in it and she wasn't about to find out anytime soon since Uncle Vernon kept destroying them. He even went so far as to boarder up the letter box! The girl would've been highly amused if she wasn't so anxious as to get her hands on one of those thick cream envelopes, fastened with a red waxy seal. Seemed like whomever the mystery sender was pretty keen for her to get a letter since Petunia got some rolled into half a dozen eggs!

When Sunday rolled around, Vernon was utterly delighted. He even took pleasure in pointing out that there was no post. Ember's jaw clenched in annoyance and she was incredibly tempted to upend the plate of biscuits that was currently in her hands. Suddenly a letter shot out of the fireplace, zipping across the man's face. All three Dursleys and Ember stared at the fireplace as a rumbling sound could be heard coming from it. Then a huge flurry of letters burst out of the fireplace. Uncle Vernon flapped his arms around, trying to beat away the letters as they flew near him. Dudley had climbed onto his mother's lap scared. The only person who was overjoyed to see so many letters was Ember. This was her chance to grab one!

The ginger jumped up onto the coffee table and snatched one from the air. "Give me that letter!" Vernon shouted as Ember clambered over the sofa to escape the room so she could read the letter in her cupboard. The man chased her out of the room managing to grab hold of her before Ember had a chance to unbolt the door to her tiny room.

"They're my letters! Let go of me!" the girl shouted wriggling in her uncle's hold. Vernon somehow managed to keep a hold on her despite being pelted by letters from all sides.

"That's it! We're going away! Far away! Where they can't find us!" he declared.

"Daddy's gone mad, hasn't he?!" Dudley exclaimed to his mother. Petunia didn't say anything, she just looked at the hundreds of letters flying around her house with this look on her face like she was very scared.