Lumos (Book One)

Chapter One ~ Brother Dearest

I sat on the fence for Flannigan's paddock. Isolt and Seamus had explained in a matter of an hour my true heritage.

"Wait, so you're telling me that my godfather is a moon-crazed wolf dude, my parents were magical, I have a twin brother, and this school will teach me how to be a witch?"

"That's exactly what we're telling you," Seamus had said. "We're so sorry for not telling you earlier. Both me and your mother thought it would be best to wait and see if you got a letter. Since you always hide from us we wouldn't know if you had magic or not."

They were right, of course. I did hide it from them. For three years I had been able to talk to animals and, not only that, but I could transform into a wolf at will, with them none the wiser. They think I had been subconsciously suppressing my magic since it started so late.

According to them, my twin brother and I were famous for surviving the unsurvivable. "The Killing Curse" as Isolt had called it.

Isolt had apparently given up magic to be with Seamus, but she met Uncle Sean, his brother, at Hogwarts. She wrote a letter to someone named Hagrid and sent it off by owl (Seriously? Are there no phones?) once we finished our conversation. Within a few hours it had returned with his reply.

Isolt,

Of course we'll Samantha get her supplies for her first year. It would be a good time for her to meet her brother, too. He's gonna be in Diagon Alley to get this year's books. I can't wait to meet her. I'll be there to get her tomorrow.

Your good friend,

Rubeus Hagrid

Flannigan almost nuzzling me off the fence startled me back to attention. I reached up a hand to scratch his ears.

"I'm sorry, Flanny," I whispered to him, "but I have to go. It's my only chance to find out who I am, ya know?"

He nickered and licked my scar. The voice of an aging but still youthful man rang in my mind. It's fine, Avery. I know you don't want to leave me. Can we go for a ride before you go?

Grinning, I clambered onto his back as he knelt. He trotted around slowly at first before breaking into a full sprinting gallop. I laughed in the wind, my hair flying behind me wildly like flames.

"Samantha!"

I asked Flannigan to slow to a walk towards the stranger who had called my name.

"Well 'ello Samantha! Name's 'Agrid. Nice ter meet'cha," Hagrid said, extending a hand. He was taller than Flannigan by a good margin. Flanny was 20 hands (80 inches/203.2 cm), and Hagrid was over a meter and a half taller!

"It's nice to meet you, too, Mr. Hagrid. Could you call me Avery? I despise the name 'Samantha'."

"O'course, Avery. Yeh ready ter go?"

I nodded, rubbing Flannigan's neck and jumping off his back. He bit my shirt lightly and tugged me back when I tried to walk away. "I'll be back, Flanny." I hugged him tightly. He curled his head around me.

I kissed his nose, grabbed my luggage off the porch, and followed Hagrid to... the side of the road?

"Uh... What are we doing standing on the road, Mr. Hagrid?" I asked, confused.

"Ah don' bother wit 'Mister'. An' ter answer yer question, we wizards 'ave a bus that we can call when we need ter go places quick-like." He raised his umbrella, which I had barely noticed he had, and waved it. A purple triple-decker bus appeared with a loud CRASH. "C'mon Avery, an' be prepared ter get sick."