Unexpected

“So how do you think these things work?” I asked eyeing my wand suspiciously as I held it in front of my face.
“Magic,” Cat answered and I snorted, “What?”
“I was able to conclude that much on my own actually.”
“Then why did you ask?” she smirked at me and I felt my eyes narrow and my eyebrows pull together, “What?!”
“I love you!” I chimed and let a wide grin spread across my face.
“Mood swings much!” Cat laughed while twirling her wand around in fingers.
A silver jet of light shot out of the end of it and bounced off the small mirror that was on the wall before heading straight towards me. I screamed before rolling off the bed and onto the hard floor just in time to have the jet of light miss me, fly between the cages that held our birds, and out the open window.
“What was that?!” I yelled as I held my head between my hands.
“I have no clue!” Cat replied while holding her wand by the tip at arm’s length.
“What on earth is going on in here?” Mom asked opening the door to see me trying to steady my spinning vision and Cat holding her wand as far away from her as possible, “You didn’t hit her did you?”
Mom was at my side in the next second looking over every visible inch of my body.
“No, she got off of the bed and out of the way in time before it hit her. It flew out the window after narrowly missing the birds,” Cat explained before shuddering.
“I thought I told you not to practice spells until we got home!”
“You did, but I didn’t-“
“You’re very lucky it didn’t hit your sister, Cat!”
“She didn’t mean to do it mommy, it just kind of shot out of the end of her wand,” I explained as I sat up.
“You’re probably going to have a bump on the back of your head sweetie,” mom sighed before getting up from beside me and looking out the window, “Oh my!”
“What?” Cat yelled half panicked as she ran over to stand next to mom and struggled to look out of it.
“Stand on the bed halfwit,” I said before heaving myself up and stumbling over to the window as the world started to stop spinning.
“Right,” she half laughed before climbing onto her bed and looking out of the window, “Oh no! What is that thing?”
“I think it’s a Patronus charm sweetie,” mom answered and ran her fingers through her hair anxiously, “The Ministry is going to have a field day with this.”
“Ministry?” Cat and I asked together while looking up at mom.
“The Ministry of Magic. They’re not going to be too happy with the fact that your Panda Patronus is parading around a street packed with muggles, Cat.”
“But-but I didn’t mean to do it. It just happened and-mommy what are they going to do to me?!”
“They can’t do anything to her right mommy! She didn’t mean for it to happen!”
“Chances are you two aren’t going to be able to touch your wands again until school starts but that’s the best I think they can do since you still haven't gained control of your powers.”
“Well that’s not so bad,” I said while nervously twirling a piece of hair around my finger.
“Yes well, I better go sort this out. Cat please put your wand back in the box that it came with and Mollie,” I looked up at her and tried to get my eyes to focus in, “leave yours in the box please.”
“Yes mommy,” Cat and I replied together before mom walked back out of our room and closed the door.
I fell back onto my bed before picking up my wand and stuffing it back into the box hoping mom didn’t realize I had mine out too. I let out a low groan as I hit my head on the wall.
“Are you okay?” Cat asked softly as she sat down next to me, “The spell really did miss you then?”
“The spell missed me. Unfortunately, the floor didn’t,” I smiled crookedly at my sister and she rolled her eyes, “So do you think mom can get you out of this?”
“I wouldn’t dare think she couldn’t,” she replied and I looked at her curiously, “You saw how everything in Diagon Alley treated us, aside from the Malfoy man.”
“But this is the Ministry of Magic we’re talking about; do you really think that’ll matter to them?”
“Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”
“I guess so.”
“Girls! Can you come down here?” Mom called from somewhere down by the bar and we exchanged worried glances, “And Cat, bring your wand!”
Cat got up before me and grabbed the box that held her wand before linking elbows with me as we walked out the door and down the stairs.
“Cassidy, do you really expect us to believe that an eleven-year-old girl-“
“They’re still ten Minister. They won’t turn eleven until after term starts,” mom corrected him.
“Even more a reason to not believe this! How on earth could a ten-year-old girl who had never performed magic before with a wand be able to conjure a full Patronus Charm?” asked a small man that was sitting in a chair near mom as he twirled a green hat in his hand.
“Well the three of us were the only ones upstairs at the time and I certainly didn’t conjure it,” mom replied bitterly.
“Wait, I conjured a what charm?” Cat asked and the small man looked over at us as if he had just realized we were there.
“My dear child, most adults cannot conjure a Patronus Charm. I hardly believe that you would be able to-“
“But I did,” Cat protested, “I didn’t mean to but I did.”
“She doesn’t like being told she can’t do things Minister,” mom smiled at Cat gently and the short man, who I now guessed to be the Minister of the magical world, let his eyes flash to mom before staring intently at the two of us again.
“Lady Mollie,” he said, “Tell me what happened please.”
I looked at mom and she nodded.
“Well, we were in our room and Cat was twirling her wand in her hand and this really bright silver light just sort of sprang out of the end of it and it bounced off the mirror before heading for me and then once it missed me, it flew at our birds and then out the window after missing them.” I explained and he stared at me for a few more seconds.
“Let me see your wand,” he sighed while staring at Cat and she silently replied with a look of upmost loathing, never tell Cat to do anything unless you make it sound like it was her idea to do it.
“Cat, give the Minister your wand,” mom whispered to her and Cat edged forward a few inches before throwing the box onto the table and then stepping back next to me again and taking my hand in hers.
The Minister opened the box and pulled out Cat’s wand before examining it closely.
“Prior Incantato,” he muttered causing Cat and I both to gasp as a silver light erupted from the wands tip before forming into the shape of a Panda, “Well…yes, it does seem as though that…”
“That what Minister? My daughter did actually conjure a spell that some grown wizards have never bothered to perfect in their life time,” mom spat angrily.
Cat and I exchanged glances again, we had never seen her angry like this.
“Next time I just hope you’ll be a little more open minded,” she continued on and the Minister looked at her indifferently.
“My dear Cassidy I do not hope that you’re implying that there will indeed be a next time,” the Minister smiled crookedly and mom’s eyes narrowed in response, “For you know that it is Wizard law that-“
“That no underage wizard or witch is to perform magic out of school as soon as they had indeed learned had to control their powers. And as you perfectly know my daughters have not yet entered their first year at Hogwarts yet so there was really no need for you to turn up here today. Besides you don't know my girls, I believe you know Molly and Aurther Wasley's twins? Well my girls are worse then them, be warned.” Mom interrupted him again and he seemed to be twisting his hat even faster.
“Yes of course, I know that your daughter meant no intentional harm. It’s merely protocol that we investigate-"
“Investigate what exactly? You have indeed confirmed that the spell came from my daughter’s wand and as I’ve already pointed out, neither of my daughters have yet to learn how to control their magic.” Cat and I hid smirks by turning away and pretending to cough. He was SO scared of mom it was sad!
“Still…Cassidy I’m sure you understand when I say-“
“When you say what? That you want to prosecute a young girl even though the Wizarding Law clearing states that-“
“Cassidy, I have no intention of prosecuting anyone! I clearly know what Wizarding Law states-
“Then I see no reason for us to continue here. Once all of the muggles memories have been modified there will be no record of this accident,” mom said before grabbing Cat’s wand out of Minister’s hand and placing it back in the box before handing it over to Cat and then ushering us back up the steps and into our room, “Do keep your wands in their boxes until school girls.”
“Mommy, who was that man?” I asked staring up at her.
“That my dear was Cornelius Fudge; he’s the Minister of Magic.”
“If he’s the Minister, then why is he afraid of you, mommy?” Cat asked as she gaped up at our mother with the same expression that I was most likely sporting.
“Like I said before Cat, our family is the closest thing that this world has to Royalty. Even though I don’t have the magic, I still have the name and even though it doesn’t amount to much for me, it’s enough to deal with matters like these most of the time,” she answered and smiled at us both, “Now, I suggest you keep your wands put away and head to bed. I want to leave tomorrow morning before the Underground gets too crowded.”
“Night mommy,” Cat and I both called to her retreating back and she turned in the doorway before blowing us each as kiss and then shutting the door.
“Remember to lock it!” she yelled from the hallway and I hurriedly ran to the door before bolting it shot and turning back to Cat.
“Going to bed so early?” I asked her teasingly as she put her wand down on the small table that sat between our beds and held the cages to which our birds were perched.
“Of course not,” she scoffed and slipped the cover off of her cage, “Hello Artemis.”
Artemis made a small sound that sounded like an excited greeting as Cat opened the cage door and let Artemis hop onto her arm and hobble up onto her shoulder.
“Aren’t you going to get Apollo out?” Cat asked as she stroked Artemis’ feathers.
“Mom told us to go to bed,” I answered while pulling my night clothes out of my back pack and looking up at my sister in time to see her roll her eyes, “I’m sorry, I was under the impression that you didn’t want to deal with a grouchy Mollie tomorrow.”
“Face it Mollz, you’re grouchy no matter what time you go to bed,” Cat replied and I smiled before dropping my night clothes onto my bed and ripping off the cover that was on Apollo’s cage.
He made the same sound that Artemis had made when she had seen Cat and I let out a light laugh before tugging out the door and letting him step up onto my shoulder.
“Do you think they do anything?” I asked Cat as I stared at Apollo in a daze.
“I dunno, guess we could read the book,” she answered causing me to look at her before we both started laughing.
“Since when have we read the directions to anything?”
“Never.”
“Exactly!”
I smiled before bending over to untie my shoes. Apollo let out a cry of shock before hobbling over onto my back. I heard Artemis let out the same laugh-like noise we had heard earlier and I joined in as Cat did.
“I think I’m going to like having Artemis and Apollo,” Cat laughed as I pulled my feet out of my brightly colored converse and then peeling my socks off.
“Me too,” I agreed and stood up so I could put my dirty socks into the bag, “Oh crap!”
“What?!” Cat yelled and jumped up before looking around the room.
“I think I stepped on something,” I whined before plopping back down and bringing up my foot to my lap, “Yeah, I definitely stepped on something. My foot’s bleeding.”
“Well what did you step on?”
“I think some of the wood in the floor is old and coming apart-Apollo stop it,” I scolded Apollo as he tried to walk down my arm while I was holding my foot with it.
He squawked unappreciatively before continuing down my arm and stopping to look at my foot.
“I think these birds are as crazy as we are Cat,” I laughed.
“Mollie, look!” Cat stared at my foot while pointing at Apollo and I looked down before gasping.
Tears were falling from Apollo’s eyes and landing on the spot that was bleeding.
“I don’t believe it,” I muttered under my breath as I wiped away the spare blood to see that the seemingly long gap in my foot had now healed without so but as a mark.
“I think we should read that book Mollie,” Cat said and I looked up at her excited and surprised expression before nodding and letting Apollo climb back up onto my shoulder.