Everline Collins and the Next Generation

Chapter One Truth and Don't Tell Lies

"You want to talk to Everline?" this was what Everline Collins woke up to on the first day of second month of summer after her final year of primary school.
"Yes, I need to speak with you, your husband, and your daughter." A very unfamiliar voice floated down the hall towards Everline's room.
"What about?" Her father spat in a gruff, nearly monotone voice at the owner of the unfamiliar voice.
"A scholarship option to our school." The voice replied.
"A scholarship? To your school? We never sent any sort of application out." This voice was that of Everline's mother, it had the eternal sound of nasal and annoyance.
"We have, um, our own way of discovering the type of student we want to attend our school." The voice almost laughed as he said this, as if enjoying his own private little joke.
"Everline?" Her mother bellowed down the hall towards her, "Make yourself presentable and come into the living room."
"Presentable." Everline thought with a groan, "By whose opinion?"
If it was by Everline's opinion, she would slip on some jean shorts, a tank top and wander barefoot in to the living room without another thought. But, that would be an embarrassment to her mother. Presentable by Mildred Collins standards meant Everline's best Sunday dress, polished shoes, and hair in a prim and proper bun. The question was, how much did Everline care?
Apparently not enough, because not two minutes later Everline clobbered down the hallway wearing the jeans shorts and baby blue tank top she had been dreaming about nearly the entire past school year with her dark auburn hair still in the two long braids she had slept in. Mildred let off an audible and extremely exasperated sigh. In the middle of the Collins' parlor stands the owner of the unfamiliar voice sporting bright red hair, wearing a long, black trench coat, and boots made out of some sort of green and gold lizard skin. Mildred and Harold were seated on the love seat so Everline opted for the oversized armchair which is precisely forty three degrees to the left of the loveseat. The wild red head, who Everline felt certain was nothing like the teachers she had experienced at her primary school, sat in the opposite armchair, facing the entire Collin family aside from Everline's younger by four years brother, Nicholas, who was still happily dreaming about the events of the summer to come. But even in his wildest dream he probably never would imagine what would happen in the parlor just down the hall from his bedroom.
"As I mentioned previously," the red headed man began without another beat, "I am a representative from the school I am a professor at. And my school wishes to have Everline attend at the start of term this September - "
"And you're sure," Harold cut him off, "that you mean our Everline. Like, this girl here." He jerks his thumb in Everline's general direction.
"Yes." The ginger replies slowly, "We have very reliable sources to assure that we reach the correct students. Everline Hope Collins, correct?" He inclines his head toward Everline in question.
"That's right." Everline speaks for the first time in what seems like a very long time, her voice doesn't sound like her own. It sounds distant, like it's not coming from her own mouth. For a reason she can't explain, she can't help but feel like something important was going to happen right now. Which made her nervous. And when she was nervous things usually...
PLOP!
Both light bulbs in the lamps beside the two armchairs sudden exploded into multiple tiny pieces of glass shards all over the entire living room. Mildred and Harold immediately turn towards Everline with identical expressions of horrified anger on their faces. Everline hands were already held in front of her face in defense.
"I didn't do it! I couldn't have, I've been sitting here the whole time." Everline recognizes her voice now that it is panicked and engrossed with fear. She looks to the ginger man for whatever reason, possibly hoping that he would confirm her story that there was no possible way that she could have done anything to the light bulbs. She looks, to find him grinning and holding back a chuckle. He lets the laugh out when Everline tilts her head in question of his grin.
"Everline is definitely who I am looking for." He gestures towards the glass covering the floor, "I assume this happens often."
Everline nods in awed silence as her mother groaned, "You have no idea."
"Well people that go to my school do things like this quite often. Strange things, events that can't be explained." He looks toward Everline who seems ready to leap from her chair.
"You mean other people are like this? They do things like I do? I'm not, abnormal?" Everline's voice is once again foreign as it was flowing with excitement and adoration.
"Quiet." Harold shot the single word towards Everline and then turns back towards the ginger, "What do you mean people at your school do things like this Mr...?"
"It Professor. Professor Charlie Weasley." The ginger, Professor Weasley answered, and Everline couldn't help but think that the name was exactly fitting to the man, "And I mean that the people who attend my school have special talents. Magical talents. Everline can do magic, she is a witch."
Everline jumped from her chair and nearly screamed, "Really?" at which point her parents started laughing into near hysterics.
"You have got to be joking." Harold said this in between his chuckles.
With a completely unamused face, Professor Weasley removed what was unmistakably a wand from the inside pocket of his coat. With a quick movement of this wand, all the pieces of glass return to their original places, the room goes pitch black, and the returns to normal aside from the no longer laughing Mr. and Mrs. Collins looking wide eyed at Charlie Weasley.
"No." He said shortly, slipping his wand back into the inside pocket of his coat, "I am not joking. Your daughter is a witch and bound to be an extremely powerful one as far as I can tell. At Hogwarts, we will teach her how to harness her power and to control it. She will learn proper uses and become skilled in many techniques. That is, if you allow us to have her." As he says this final statement, his gaze drifts from Harold and Mildred to Everline who was sitting just as wide eyed as her parents with her jaw dropped in awe, a grin tugging at the corner of her mouth.
"So you are telling us," Mildred began slowly and pointed her finger towards Everline, "That she is a witch, she can do magic?"
"I am." Was his only reply.
"If she can do magic, then can our son as well? Is he magical?" Mildred voice rang with excitement at the thought of her son being special.
A peculiar look passed over Professors Weasley face, a look of horrified concern and disbelief as he slowly shook his head, "I - I don't know, I don't think so. It's not exactly common for a magical child to come from Muggle parents and when it does happen their siblings almost never share the talent as well. I can think of only one family in which this was the case and we aren't entirely certain that there wasn't some magical blood in the family..."
"So Nicholas is probably magical as well." Mildred chirped as if this settled the case.
"No, I didn't say that. But even if he is, there is nothing that can be done until he is eleven." Professor Weasley insisted abruptly as he reached into the same coat pocket where he had stored his wand but instead retrieves an envelope addressed in green ink to:
Miss Everline Hope Collins
Back Bedroom of the Long Hall
27 Billows Way
Allora, London, Great Britain