A Not-So-Muggle Life

The Flight

1. The Flight

It was 10 pm. I boarded the flight to Atlanta, to dad, to home. I hurt to think of it as home. I had considered Hogwarts my home for 5 years.

No! I would not think about it.

I tried to keep my attention on the surrounding, but nothing could hold my interest for long. It occurred to me that I would have a lot of free time of this flight to think about.... I sighed and took out my handbook of Biological Specimens from my bag. I had to keep myself busy.

I opened the book. There was something written on corner of the first page.

'How do you even tolerate this stuff?'

And that was it. It broke the barrier I had been desperately building. The note was written by Harry. I could never make a mistake in recognizing his handwriting. When would he have written it? Certainly not recently.

My mind was flooded by the memories and feelings, I had unsuccessfully tried to keep in check since yesterday. I remembered with sheer accuracy.

I was in the Gryffindor common room, packing the last of my things, three days after our disastrous visit to the Ministry of Magic, on the day of our departure from Hogwarts. The common room was empty except me when Harry came in, with gaunt face and empty eyes. I didn't know why, but I was suddenly afraid of him.

"You wouldn't be coming back next year, would you? ", he said in an expressionless voice.

I shocked at his question, even more at his tone. "What do you mean by that, Harry? Of course, I would be coming back".

"But you have qualified your N.E.W.T.s along with your O.W.L.s. There no more education Hogwarts can provide you."

"I wouldn't be coming back for studying. I would be coming back for you, Harry, to help you in these circumstances."

"You don't need to come back for me. I wouldn't need you."

"Don't argue with me about this, Harry. I'm coming. That's final."

"Flora, I don't want you to come back."

"What? Why?" I was even more shocked. What was happening?

"All these years, Flora, you have always been stealing the glory from me. You always 'save' me, broadcasting the fact that you are stronger than me. I am the Chosen One, not you. I don't want any help from you, anymore. I don't want you to come back to Hogwarts."

I was dumbfounded. It seemed that mind had gone numb. The meaning of his words was slowly sinking in, while I was standing there gaping at his face, which was as expressionless as it had been when he came in the common room.

My body withered with pain of my heart. Somehow even the pain felt good compared to the emptiness that I had been carrying.

How could he say that to me? After all those year, how could he?

I felt tears escape my eyes. I quickly wiped them off. This not going to work this way. I had to be strong.

I looked around desperately to find some distraction The two seats beside me were still empty. Maybe they had missed the flight.

However, just when the doors were about to closed, two passengers entered. I found myself staring shamelessly at them as they walked towards the seat. They were quite beautiful, a boy and a girl in their late teens. Both of them had pale skin, flawless and spotless, with perfect features, jet black eyes and purplish dark circles beneath them. The girl was tiny with short cropped black hair. The boy who was even more beautiful than the girl had solid built and brown hair. He was walking in front and was looking at me curiously, as if trying to figure something out. He frowned in concentration. He looked almost frustrated.

But just as he walked past the blower, his expressions changed. He stiffened and glared at me murderously. Why was he looking at me like that? What had I done?

He looked back to see the airplane door being shut. He sighed and sat down on the seat further to me. The girl who was absorbed in her own thought was oblivious to this and sat next to me.

I risked a peek at the boy and immediately regretted it. He was wearing the same expression and was looking straight ahead, as if calculating something.

The flight attendant came to offer us blankets. I accepted one. The girl was too absorbed in her thoughts to notice her. The boy refused with a stiff movement of head as if speaking would be too much of an effort for him.

Although I close my eyes, I did not sleep. I sat like that for half an hour and then opened my eyes slightly. My head was angled in such a way that I could see his fist. It was balled up tight with knuckles pointing out. I stared at his hand waiting for it to loosen. It never did.

....................................................................................................................................................................................

I woke up the next morning to the commotion of deboarding passengers. I collected my things and walked out, thinking about last night's events. I could still picture his face, to the minute details, glaring at me with those hatred filled eyes.

I found dad pacing up and down the parking lot.

"Hi, dad." I called out, walking up to him and hugging him awkwardly. I was meeting him after 5 years.

Me and dad didn't share a great relationship. I guess I never really forgave him for leaving my mom all those years ago, when he found she was a with. She was pregnant with me that time. He wasn't even aware about my existence until mom died seven years later. Me and mom had lived with grandad until then.

After that, life with dad wasn't exactly what I'd call normal. He loved me, of course but was wary about my magical powers which had started showing at that age. I had no moral support from due to which I wasn't very good at controlling my powers. Things were not easy at school because of this.

Life got better when I went to Hogwarts. My grandfather Albus Dumbledore was the headmaster. I even spent the summer holidays with him for the last five years.

We drove to Forks in silence, except an occasional remark from dad about how much I'd grown and how happy he was to have me back.

It took us 4 hours to reach home. He dropped me there and left mumbling about some important meeting.

In front of me was 25 acres of Sameer Vincey's estate. Did I forget to mention? Yup, my dad is super rich.

I recognized the housekeeper who received me and escorted me to my bedroom. Mrs. Boyle. She was here when I was young. She didn't particularly like me because of my little accidents with my magic back then. Of course she didn't know what was actually going on. She just thought I was little mischief maker.

My room was pretty much the same as I had left it. I didn't fell home. I quickly unpacked and set up my stuff and lied down on the bed, staring at ceiling. I tried to count the number of flowers engraved there. Strangely, I had never noticed them before. I admiration them now. They reminded of the engravings in my dorm at Hogwarts.

To be honest, I was trying to kill time so I wouldn't have to think the past or the future. I had reached Forks. I was thousands of miles away from Hogwarts, where I was never going back. Now what?

I had always wanted to become an Auror and had even finished my formal wizarding education two years early, but that didn't mean they'd lax the age limit for me. Maybe they had different rules here in the states, but it was highly unlikely.

So chances were, I had two years to kill, before I could do what I really wanted to. Dad would probably want me to join the Muggle high school. That's good. It would keep me busy. Maybe I could also join some vocational course. Maybe get a job.

Before I knew my conscious thoughts began to fade and I fell asleep into what seemed to me the most peaceful sleep I had in days.