It's Magic

It was a rather warm summer day with the sun was shining brightly overhead. Because of the warm day many people were out and about, trying to catch the suns rays before the weather turned nasty again.

Sitting in the shade of a large tree at the park, sat a young girl and her nanny.

The little girls honey blond hair was held back by a pretty pink bow that matched her dress. And though this girl was cute, frilly, and pink, the expression on her face was not.

She sat there, listening to her nanny’s story, with her arms crossed and a sour look on her face. Her nanny, also known as Nanny Marie, either did not realize the little girls unhappiness or simply was not fazed by it.

“…and so the handsome Prince Peter fought off the fierce dragon and rushed to the highest room in the tallest tower. His heart pounding with happiness when he reached the door, for he was going to rescue the woman he loved. He could hardly hold back his excitement as he kicked the door down. However, the Princess was not in the room. No, standing there with an evil grin on his face was the Evil Wizard Edward, the one who had kidnapped and locked the princess away in the first place-”

“Nanny Marie, this is rubbish.”

Nanny Marie stopped talking her smile fading slightly as she looked at the young girl sitting before her. “What’s rubbish, dear?”

“This story, it’s rubbish.” The little girl said, shaking her head slowly. “How would the Princess live in a tiny room without a bathroom or food? She’d die, surely.”

Nanny Marie chuckled. “Oh Madison, you’re so cynical.”

The little girl, Madison, stuck her tongue out at her nanny and crossed her arms. “Am not. Mum says that there's no such thing as dragons and wizards, or princesses locked away in towers.”

“Darling, you know I love you, but really, you need to start being a child and believing.” Nanny Marie said with a slight chuckle and drew the little girl into a hug. She patted the girls cheek affectionately and smiled sadly down at her. “Don’t listen to your Mum, let yourself believe. You’ll find that fairytales and magic - even if they aren’t real - can change your life.”

Madison bit her bottom lip and furrowed her brow as she seemed to ponder over this. However, after a few moments she sighed dramatically and rested her head on Marie’s shoulder. “I just can’t believe without seeing.”

Marie sighed, resting her chin on top of Madison’s head. All she wanted was for Madison to have a happy childhood. One where anything and everything could be possible. But instead, the little girl was almost like a little adult, only wanting to focus on reality.

“Excuse me,”

Both girls pulled apart almost instantly. Marie blinked up at the man standing before her and Madison in his odd clothes. Not that they weren’t normal, per say, but very outdated. A little red headed boy peeked out from behind him.

“Hello,” Marie greeted, a smile finally forming on her lips. The man seemed friendly, with a kind smile on his face.

Madison, however, looked at the man with skepticism, not trusting any stranger. Plus, no normal person would possibly be caught dead in such dreadful clothing. Her mother always said that anyone worth anything was dressed nicely.

“Hello,” the man said. “My name is Arthur Weasley, and this is my grandson, Hugo.” Arthur said. “I couldn’t help but overhear you talking.”

“Well that’s quite rude.” Madison said, sticking her nose in the air and crossing her arms.

“Please excuse Madison,” Marie said, wrapping an arm around the young girl. “She’s in a bit of a fowl mood. I’m Marie, by the way.” Marie cocked her head to the side. “I was just telling her a story, but she doesn’t quite believe in magic, or dragons.”

“Doesn’t believe in dragons?” Arthur raised a brow. “That’s like saying you don’t believe in goblins or pixies! Honestly, you Muggles are funny.”

“Muggles? What’s that?” Madison gave the man a curious look.

“Well, you of course.” Hugo said, as he plopped to the ground next to Madison.

“Me?” Madison scrunched up her nose. “I don’t believe I like that word very much.”

“What does it mean?” Marie asked, curiosity getting the best of her.

“It means a non-magical person, of course.” Hugo piped up before hi grandfather could.

“I don‘t quite understand.” Madison furrowed her brows and gave Hugo and Arthur a confused look.

“No, I don’t believe you would.” Arthur said, seemingly realizing something. “So tell me, why don’t you believe in magic?”

“Well, it’s not real of course.” Madison raised a brow. “You don’t believe in magic do you?”

“Of course I do.” Arthur said. “Why shouldn’t I?”

Madison shrugged. “I’ve never seen magic, and you know what they say.”

“No,” Arthur furrowed his brow and leaned forward. “What do they say?”

This seemed to throw Madison off a bit, but she quickly recovered. “That seeing is believing.”

“Now that’s a peculiar thing to say.” Arthur rubbed his chin. “But not true. Just because I’ve never seen a toatter before doesn’t mean it’s not real.”

“A toatter?” Marie giggled. “What in the world is that?”

“You know, you put bread into it”

“You mean a toaster?” Madison suggested. “But that’s an entirely different thing. Everyone knows toasters are real.”

“Are you everyone then?” Hugo said in a smart tone. “Just because you don’t believe doesn’t mean no one else does.”

Madison frowned, her olive skin turning a red shade. She looked like she wanted to stomp her feet and throw a fit out of frustration.

“Now that was quite rude,” Marie said, and began to scold Hugo.

While she did this Arthur dug into his coat pocket and pulled out what Madison thought was a nicely carved stick.

“You see this,” Arthur said, showing Madison. “This is a wand.”

“A wand, sir?” Madison’s face was starting to fade back it’s normal color. Instead she looked like she wanted to laugh at this man that she now believed was insane.

Arthur said nothing, only smiled as he pointed his wand at a rock a few feet away from them. “Evanesco.”

Madison’s jaw dropped as the rock disappeared. She blinked then rubbed her eyes, thinking that perhaps she was imagining things. “How did you do that?”

“Do what?” Arthur smiled knowingly.

“Do that - make the rock disappear.’ Madison pointed to the spot, but when she looked back, the rock wasn’t there. “But, I could have sworn…it‘s magic.”

This was enough, however, to catch Madison’s attention.

“What’s wrong?” Marie said, finally noting that Madison was looking a bit pale. But something was different about the little girl. Which seemed odd.

“You say you don’t believe in magic, correct?” Arthur said, coming to sit down next to his grandson. “Which is a sad thing, all children should have a little bit of magic in their lives, even Muggles.”

Madison bit her bottom lip and looked towards the rock then back at Arthur. “I’m not so sure what I believe in at this moment.”

“Let me tell you a story,” Arthur said with a grin on his face. “About a boy named Harry Potter.”

And as Mr. Weasley told his story about the boy who lived, Madison couldn’t help but believe.

She knew that if she saw this man 10 years from now, walking down the street, that she would stop him and thank him for bringing magic into her life.