I'm a Wizard?

Chapter One

"Lena! Wake up! You can't just waste the day sleeping!" I groaned and rolled over in my bed. I didn't want to wakeup. It's summer time for crying out loud! However, I didn't wish to feel the wrath of my mother on this July day, so I got up.

I walked downstairs and into the kitchen, where my mother was already working. I looked at the clock hanging above the stove; it was only 11:00 AM!

"Hi, mom," I said groggily making my presence known.

"About time you got up! Eat something then come and help me clean up in here." I groaned tiredly again and went over to the buffet on the other side of the kitchen. Hmmm, which cereal would make up for this not-so-great morning? My choices were: Special K, Honey Nut Bunches of Oats (Almond), Miny Wheats, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch. After a few moments of thinking, I decided Cinnamon Toast Crunch would be the best choice. I poured myself a bowl and sat down.

Now normally if I were home I'd be able to just sit upstairs in my room listening to my iPod and do my obnoxious amount of 10th grade summer work all day, but because we are upstate in this old cottage house, my mom has made it her business to make sure that our whole family works to make it look brand new again, even me. To be honest I didn't mind being up here in the woods, it was the cleaning part that I hated. The house is so old and dusty! It's terrible! I can't even go five minutes without sneezing!

I looked down at my bowl and noticed that the amount of cereal had decreased significantly. I sighed. I wanted to put off cleaning for as long as I could. I stopped eating my cereal for a second and looked out the window. It was a really nice day out. Maybe I could sneak out later and go for a walk by the stream.

"Lena Audrey Elizabeth Smith are you even paying attention?" My mother shrieked. I stopped planning my escape and turned toward her smiling.

"No mother dearest, I'm sorry. Could you please repeat that again?" I asked in a sarcastic sweet voice.

"Don't you get fresh with me young lady!" She warned me. I knew she wasn't really threatening me though, my mom loves me too much.

"Go upstairs and get changed into some cleaning clothes. Maybe after we finish we could go to a mall or something?" She suggested.

"Mom. We are in the middle of a forest in freaking upstate New York! The closest thing these people have to a mall out here is a Walmart! But, I guess it'll have to do, right?" She just shrugged and said,

"Whatever you want to do, love."

I put my bowl in the sink and made my way back to my room. Okay so I know what you're thinking: Wow! These Americans talk weird! But in truth, we're not totally American. Well, at least I don't count us as totally American. My mom was raised by her British grandparents because her mother and father passed away when she was little in a terrible car accident. They were actually on their way to pick her up from her grandparent's house in New Jersey when they got hit by a drunk driver and smashed right into a telephone pole. The telephone pole then fell on top of the cars. There were no survivors. From then on, my grandparents moved back to Britain with my mom where she grew up. Then when her grandparents passed away she moved back to America, where she met my father. And, as they say: The rest is history.

I changed into an old pair of jean shorts, a faded tie-dyed t-shirt, and some hightop converse. After I finished brushing my teeth and combing out my humidified hair, I went back downstairs to join my mother in cleaning.

Before I even got started on the chores I was assigned, which were to clean up all of the counters and sweep up the floors, I made my way over to the radio on the ledge above the kitchen sink. However, before I could even get my hand over to the dial, the radio turned on to my favorite station. I paused, unable to speak. How the hell did that happen? I backed away from the radio and turned to look for the rag and surface cleaner that I would use to clean off the dusty counters.

I opened the cabinet that held all of the supplies and scanned it for what I was looking for. Finally my eyes caught sight of the rag and spray cleaner, but they were all the way in the back of the cabinet. And, since this place wasn't completely cleaned out, I didn't know what could be living back there. I contemplated getting my mom and telling her I couldn't find anything, but then she might yell at me again. I sighed, braced myself, and kept telling myself that there was nothing to worry about because nothing was living back there… hopefully…

Just as I put my into the cabinet, I saw with my own two eyes, the surface cleaner and rag fly into my outstretched hand. I gasped, "This is crazy!"

"What's crazy?" My mother asked walking in.

"N-Nothing," I replied.

"Well, why are you just sitting around? Get to work!"

I got up and began to clean.

Soon, I got into the cleaning mode and was just beginning to sweep the floor when I head a knock on the door. That's strange, I thought to myself. Why would anyone come to visit us up here?

"Just a second!" I heard my mother call as she rushed into the foyer. I heard a man's voice coming from the doorway. I tried to make sense of the conversation but I couldn't, even though their voices were actually quite loud. Stupid Lena, always listening to her iPod on the highest volume, I scolded myself. I hoped that it was just someone offering to take my dad and little brother fishing. Speaking of which, where the heck were they? They were only supposed to go to the hardware store to get some nails and stuff…

"Lena?" I heard my mom call me.

"What happened? Who was that?" I responded as I put down my broom and met her in the living room. She looked confused and concerned.

"Did you apply to any schools recently?"

"What? No! I just started high school! Why would apply to some other place?" I said.

"I don't know… Did any of your friends know you were up here?"

"Um, yes they do know why?"

"Do you think they would play a prank on you by sending you a letter saying you got accepted into another school?"

"No, I don't think they know this address. I didn't tell anyone our address. As a matter of fact, I don't even know our address up here," I replied still confused.

"Well, that was the mailman at the door and he said that he found this in his cart. He said he didn't know how it got into his cart, but he asked if you lived at this address. And of course I said I was you because God knows who he was, and then he handed me this letter and left." I stood there totally confused by what just happened. Finally, I found my voice.

"But, we just got the house. We're not supposed to be getting any mail yet until, like, next week, right? Who's the letter from?"

"It's from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"What?" I shrieked. "Like Hogwarts as in Harry Potter? How? I thought it didn't exist!" I was terrified, shocked, and actually happy. It explained why so many weird things were happening to me. I felt very relieved.

"Can I open it please?" I asked my mom.

"Well… if you must," she replied handing me the letter reluctantly.

I took the letter and stared at the front. It looked just like the ones from the Harry Potter movies. It read:

Ms. L Audrey Elizabeth Smith

The Bedroom at the end of the Hall

34 Cottage

Upstate

New York

My hands trembled as I opened the parchment envelope. There was a letter inside. I opened the letter and it read:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WHITCHCRAFT

and WIZARDRY

Dear Ms. Smith,

We have been watching your talent progress throughout the years, but were reluctant to contact you because, besides being Muggle-born, you are a citizen of the Unites States of America. However, we have noticed that your powers are beginning to show more and more each day and you do not know how to control them. We also did some research on your family history and see that you do indeed have magic in your bloodline. Enclosed is a list of all of the books and things you will need for this semester. We have modified the fifth year curriculum for you so there is no need to worry about not knowing basic magic. We hope to hear your reply soon! You may send your reply back anyway you choose whether by owl or Muggle post.

Most Sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, and the Ministry of Magic

"Mom, what do I do?" I said as I finished reading.

"Wait until your father gets home. We'll talk about this later." With that she walked away seeming to be lost in thought. I held the letter excitedly and re-read the letter over again. Suddenly, I got an idea.

"MOM! I'M GOING INTO TOWN OKAY?" I announced as I grabbed my key to the cottage.

"BE BACK SOON! OH AND IF YOU SEE YOUR FATHER AND BROTHER TELL THEM WE ALL NEED TO TALK SOON!"

"OKAY! LOVE YOU! BYE!" I walked out the door and locked it behind me. Then I remembered that I had forgotten something very critical inside the house: money. My goal was to go out and buy all of the Harry Potter book series. I mean, reading those would definitely help, right? I went back inside and ran upstairs to get my stash. Finally after I was sure I had gotten everything, I got on my mountain bike and pedaled away as fast as I could. I couldn't wait to start reading.