Under the Moonlight

One Month Away

      Hearing a loud bang resonate from the house, I bolted awake, my eyes wide, and my hair splayed around me. Sitting up, I immediately grabbed my wand from the bedside table, throwing the blankets off of me as I did so. Quietly making my way over to the door, I held my wand out, not even knowing how to use it. Silently gliding across the floor into the dimly lit hallway, I could feel the chill of the wooden floor, which sent tingling sensations up my feet, causing me to involuntarily shiver. Making my way down the stairs, my left hand resting upon the banister. My wand lay in my right hand, with my looking around, as I cautiously made my way down the stairs. Hearing another loud bang from the direction of the living room, I made my way over there on the tips of toes, trying to be as silent as possible. Peeking around the door, I saw my mother trying to lift up a box, only to drop it once again. So, that was the loud bang.

      "Mum, what are you doing?" I questioned her, lowering the hand that held my wand, and rub my eyes, sleep starting to evade me again as my adrenaline stopped pumping. Looking at me sheepishly, my mother gave me a lopsided grin. Rubbing my eyes once again, I trudged over to the love-seat, curling up into a little ball on top of it, my head resting on a pillow that sat there. Looking over at my mother, I saw her again try to pick up the box. She stumbled slightly before regaining her balance. With her back arched, she carried the box over to the corner of the room, setting it down with a loud thud. Eyes turning gray with confusion, I watched as my mother opened the large box, pulling out pictures after pictures. "Mum, what are the pictures for?" I questioned her once again, my eyebrows furrowing. Instead of answering me, she grabbed a hammer and some nails. She began nailing the pictures to the wall, first hammering the nail in, and hanging the pictures on top of it.

      "Roselina, you are leaving soon for a private school. You'll only come back to visit on holidays. I'm going to miss my baby!" my mother exclaimed, tears welling as the corners of her eyes, ready to fall like raindrops from a gray thundercloud. I stood up from my comfortable position, while my mother began walking to me. She enveloped me in a giant hug, my head resting upon her shoulder. She was so small without her shoes on. Now that I thought about it, it was August first, a month until I started Hogwarts. The sudden realization that I would barely see my parents hit me like a full on freight train. Tears slipped out of my eyes, leaving tracks down my cheeks, only to descend to my arm. The hot, salty tears splashed my arm, bouncing back up, only to descend once more. We heard footsteps approaching the living room, looking up when we heard my father ask why we were crying. Untangling myself from my mother, I ran to my father, wrapping my arms around his waist, with my head buried into his chest.

      "Roselina, what's wrong?" my father asked, concern evident in his voice. He wrapped his muscular arms around my shoulders, pulling me closer to him. I felt my father look around, and felt the slump of his body as a loud sigh escaped his lips. "I'm going to miss you to, my daughter. But you will do great things and meet new people, Roselina. As much as we don't want you to leave, this is a great opportunity for you." As my father said this, he sat down upon his knees, looking me in the eyes. I could hear the almost-silent sniffles of my mother in the background, mixing in with my own sniffles, and the strained voice of my father. I nodded, my nose beginning to run, still looking at me. My eyes changed to a dark blue with sadness, as I thought more and more about leaving my parents. My father again wrapped me up into a hug, whispering into my ear that it was going to be alright, while my body began to shake with sobs.

      "I'm going to miss you so much, papa and mama!" I cried out, as my mother hugged me along with my father. I heard them whispering to me that they loved me, and that they would miss me also. As I calmed down, my eyes changed to a light blue, my throat raw and sore from crying. As I looked up at my parents, unshed tears glistened in their eyes. I began hiccuping, the silence that surrounded us breaking as laughter filled the air. I hiccuped once again, laughing at the garbled sound. Standing up, my father walked to the kitchen, throwing out the question of breakfast ideas over his shoulders. Looking at each other, my mother and I simultaneously called out pancakes, resulting in us laughing once more. I wiped away stubborn tears that continued to fall from my eyes. My mother came up to me, hugging me once more, before leading us both into the kitchen. I sat myself at our kitchen table, watching my father make the pancake batter, listening to him hymn under his breath. I smiled at the familiar tune, a lullaby that used to lull me into sleep, memories of the times my father sung it to me every night. I remembered him sitting by my bedside, pulling the blankets up to my chin, insisting that the quilts and comforters kept the monsters away for just the night.

      The smell of pancakes cooking, and the sound of sizzling brought me out of my reverie. With my mouth watering, I made my way over to my father. Grabbing a plate off of the granite countertop, the chill of it making me calm. I held the ceramic plate in my hand, waling over to my father. Sitting upon the griddle was the perfect pancake, many of which were to follow. It had the perfect crust, a dark golden brown, almost to the edge of burnt but not in a bad way. The middle was a lighter gold brown, fluffy and light-looking. Bouncing in the tips of my toes, I willed my father to cook faster. All of a sudden, I hiccuped, causing me to jump in shock. I groaned, thinking that my hiccups were over. My father paused cooking, turning around to look at me with one eyebrow quirked in a teasing manner. A small smile sat upon his lips, while I was biting my cheek, trying and failing to hold back laughs. Not being able to hold it any longer, I burst out laughing along with my father, my eyes squinting shut as I leaned against the countertop for support. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my mother simply shake her head, and grab the daily newspaper before sitting down at the table.

      "Here you go, Rosie," my father exclaimed, small chuckles still escaping his lips, after we had calmed down. Holding my plate out eagerly, my father grabbed my plate, picking up too fluffy pancakes with the spatula and placing them onto my plate. Briskly walking to the table, I grabbed a fork of the kitchen island, a tugging sensation on my knuckles. I set my plate on the table, before perching myself into a seat the was by the window. Using my fork, the pancake cut away easily. Resting my hand on my left hand, I slowly placed pieces of plain pancake into my mouth, seeing as I didn't like butter or syrup. Gazing out the window, I began to think of Hogwarts, and the mysterious place I visited in my dreams. Could that place be Hogwarts? I asked myself. I surely hoped it was. That place was magnificent, with it's winding hills, and glorious lake. The castle itself was beautiful, the brickwork, and layout of the artwork simply breathtaking. I couldn't believe school was only a single month away. A single month. Continuing to eat, I began wondering how life at Hogwarts ould differ from here at home. Would I make new friends? Do well in classes? I could only wait to find out. I wonder if Remus would be going to school there. I mean, I did see him at Madam Malkin's. He knows about magical things. I hope you does go to Hogwarts. He'd most likely be starting school with me.

      "Now what is going on inside that head of yours, Roselina?" my mother asked, pulling me out of my daydream. I was thinking about Remus, and why he was so frightened. Well, seemed to be frightened. Smiling sheepishly, I looked up at my mother, who, like myself, was eating pancakes. The only difference is that she has butter on hers. My father, too, was sitting there, looking curiously at me, with his head cocked to the side. He tried to keep a somber look, but it was difficult, seeing as he was also trying to eat breakfast. I laughed lightly at him, continuing to eat my pancakes which had laid there for a few minutes, I guessed.

      "Just school, mum," I replied, smiling at my parents. Gasping, I remembered regular school. My parents looked at me wide eyed. "What am I going to do about regular school?!" I demanded, my breakfast forgotten to the side, as I stared at them. My eyes had gone dark gray as I became more confused, with red specks as I became angry with myself. Why hadn't I thought of this question earlier? Laughing lightly, my parents looked at me.

      "You'll obviously be going to Hogwarts instead," my father told me, in a calming voice. "This is a huge opportunity for you, Roselina. I know you'll miss your school, most likely your Spanish teacher, and your friends. But you'll make new friends and new memories learning magic." I thought again of Remus, calming down to that fact and my father's voice. Sighing, I began eating my pancakes again, shoving pieces into my mouth. My mother and father laughed once more, causing me to look up with chipmunk-like cheeks. I laughed with food in my mouth, which was most difficult. I again started thinking about Hogwarts, Dumbledore, and Remus. I couldn't wait for this month to be over.