Siren Call

A Hogwarts Story!

Selenity stood in her room, surveying the mess: clothes were strewn across the floor, paper littered every inch of the ancient desk in the corner, her bed covers were flung half way across the room, and her three puppies, Tater Tot, Luna, and Rory were chewing up whatever they could get their paws on.

"I really should clean this up..." she mused. "Ah well." She shrugged and flopped down on her bed, careful not to disturb the mountainous pile of books that threatened to totter over the edge. Sighing deeply, she stared up at the posters of her latest favorite band, Secondhand Serenade. 'Fall For You' floated softly over to her from her iPod, almost lulling her to sleep...

"Sel!! Dinner's almost ready! Your room better be clean!" Her mother's voice drifted up the stairs. 

Selenity woke with a start. Jumping from her bed, she looked at the clock on her wall. Two hours had passed since her mother had given her that chore. Cursing softly, she yelled, "Uh, yeah... Sure!"

Poking her head out into the hallway, she made sure she was the only one on the floor. Sighing in relief, she ducked back in and locked her door. She then turned and looked at her room. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and raised her hand. 

She pointed at the books on her bed and then swung her arm toward her bookcase under the window. Obediently, the books flew over and, one by one, stacked themselves neatly in a row. She did the same with the papers, which piled up nicely on the corner of her desk, sorted according to the information on them, and with the clothes, which sorted themselves from clean and dirty and flew to their respective places. 

Finally, she turned her attention to the blanket. When she gestured at it, it soared over to the bed and began swiftly tucking itself in. Suddenly, she heard footsteps running up the stairs. Panicking, she dropped the blanket and there was a small crash. 

Knock knock.

Selenity's mother, Aurora, opened the door to see her daughter put the finishing touches on her bed. Her gaze swept around the room, seeing everything in perfect condition. She smiled. "Wonderful, Sel. Chicken casserole downstairs." 

When she was sure her mother had gone, Selenity sighed in relief; she hadn't been caught. 

Her mother knew, of course, of her daughter's abnormalities, but wasn't comfortable when she saw her using them. Selenity tried to keep them to herself ever since the incident that had involved their former neighbors. 

Glancing around the room to make sure that no object remained floating, she nodded in satisfaction and shut the door behind her. As she trudged down the stairs, she inhaled the scent of cheesy sauce and baked chicken wafting up towards her. 

Sitting down across from her mother, she dug in, barely pausing to make conversation. When the meal was finished, they both sat their in a companionable silence. 

"So Sel," Aurora said, "your birthday is tomorrow!! I can't believe it! What should we do?"

Selenity shrugged. She didn't really like big events on her birthday, or any other time, for that matter.  Especially if that event involved other people. 

"I can't believe it!" she repeated. "My little girl, almost 14!! And it seems like it was only yesterday we were celebrating your first!" Aurora's eyes teared up and she drew a shaky breath. 

Slightly amused, Selenity smiled at her mother. "Mom, we go through this every birthday. I'm still your little girl, and I'm not going anywhere anytime soon." She stood up and gave her mother a kiss on the forehead, bidding her goodnight. 

Oh how she would end up eating those words.

[The next morning]

Laying in her bed, Selenity awoke to the fattest of her puppies, Tater Tot, landing square on her stomach. Gasping for breath, she met the innocent gaze of the Dachshund in front of her. 

"Good morning to you, too." She sighed. "Well, fourteen. Sure doesn't feel that different."

But in truth, she was lying to herself. In the pit of her stomach, she felt a knot of anticipation wiggling around, and she allowed a broad grin to spread across her face. Kissing Tater Tot on the nose, she jumped out of bed and threw on some jeans and a t-shirt before bounding downstairs. When she reached the kitchen, she saw her mother dashing through the kitchen and top speed.

Skipping up behind her, Selenity wrapped her arms around her and sang, "Good morning!!" 

Aurora smiled and replied, "Happy birthday!" She moved from where she was standing, revealing a round chocolate cake with fourteen burning candles.

Selenity looked at the clock: only seconds till 8:03, the time she had been born. It was a long standing tradition in their family that the birthday person make a wish at exactly the time of their birth. 

"Five, four, three, two, one!"

Selenity blew out the candles with one breath. 

Her wish?

'I wish I could meet more people like me.'