daughter of wands (d.m)

XXVIII

I came home for break a little early, my suitcase making the familiar noise on the airport tiles. I hop in a cab and utter my familiar address, excited to surprise my mom. I place my head on the window and watched as New York City rolled by and we made our way into the quiet surrounding suburbs.

The trees were turning a bright green again and the flowers were blooming along the road, spring flexing in it's full force.

I close my eyes, a sense of routine washing over me as we turn onto my street. I pay the cab driver and grab my suitcase out of the trunk, dragging it up my stone driveway.

When I get closer to the entrance I notice the door is hanging open, the handle busted and chunks of wood lying on the ground. I walk in quietly, panic rising up into my chest.

My mom has always been a stickler about keeping the doors locked, even going as far as sealing it with a charm when she walked to the end of the driveway to get the mail.

I place my suitcase at the bottom of the stairs in the foyer and peak my head around the corner and into the dining room.

"Mom?" I tried, my voice coated in nerves. "Are you here... Mom?"

The house falls eerily silent, the only noise being the curtains in the living room bustling from a draft. I walk farther into the house, my heart pounding against my chest.

Nothing seems out of place, no chairs were overturned, no books or papers were strewn on the ground. But then why was the door shattered? Who tried so hard to get in?

The floor boards creak below me as I slowly make my way around the kitchen and onto the porch. The back door was swung wide open, dirt caking the floor by the exit to the garden.

"Mom, are you out back?" I shout.

Finally she responds, her head poking up from behind some rose bushes. "Everett! What are you doing home so early?" She says anxiously, her voice going up an octave.

"I thought I'd surprise you..." I say, stepping into the backyard. "Is everything alright, what happened to the door?"

She doesn't meet my eyes, her mouth moving to talk but nothing coming out. She shakes her head furiously and digs her hand into the dirt beneath the bushes.

She must have been doing this for some time, a few kitchen utensils laid around her and the hole deep.

She burrows in further and after a few seconds a wooden box begins to take shape. An excited gasp escapes her lips as she pulls it out and races past me back into the house.

I follow her, my brow furrowing in confusion. "Mom, what's going on? Are you okay?"

She ignores me again, her hands fumbling through one of the drawers. She produces a large butcher knife and hacks at the wooden box.

"Mom!" I shout, reaching for her shoulder and holding on tightly. She yelps as I grab her and pushes me to the side, the knife slicing into my left forearm.

I let go of her and grip my wrist, the blood trickling through my fingertips. I wince in pain, the sting making my vision blurry.

This somehow takes her out of her trance as she crouches down next her me and whispers, "Vulnera Sanentur." Her wand tracing over the cut and leaving behind a long pink scar that fades with every passing second.