Pawns of War

Every muggle-born witch and wizard remembers the day they received their first letter from Hogwarts - and I am no exception. Coming from a household of seven – Mum, Dad, my three brothers, Greg, Conner, and Ryan, and oldest sister, Grace – I was the baby of the family, which meant constant teasing about my “special abilities”. Those abilities pertaining to the times I changed Conner’s hair to the entire spectrum of colors. But on July 24, 1991, a week after my eleventh birthday, my letter arrived.

“Dear Miss Evans” it read,

“We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Yours Sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall”

I raced to my room reading the words over and over again. I was a witch. I had an ability that no one else in my family had. I was special. The idea of meeting other children that could do the things that I could, and not be called a freak because of it was a dream come true. I wanted it so much it hurt.

Before I knew it, Grace walked our bedroom we shared and found me sitting on the bed with my beautiful letter.

“Oi,” she called over to me, “what do you have there, Clare?”

I looked up at her smiling. Handing her the letter, I watched as she read over the words and then looked up at me. “Does mum or dad know?” she asked. When I shook my head, a smile still plastered to my face, a glint came to her eye as she quickly turned and darted out of the room.

She stole my letter.

I jumped off of my bed and chased her down the stairs yelling, “Grace, that’s mine! Give it back!”

I caught up to her in the kitchen and jumped on her back, trying my best to retrieve my letter from her grasp. She laughed as she kept it well out of my reach with her long arms. Conner and my dad were sitting at the kitchen table watching the affair, while mum stopped what she was doing for cooking dinner and swiftly took the letter out of my sister’s palm.

“I was just having a bit of fun, mum,” Grace said as I slipped off of her back. At age seventeen, Grace stood well above my eleven-year-old self.

Mum gave Grace a warning look and read over the letter. Grace and I sat down with Conner and our dad as he read over the paper. I waited eagerly to see what she had to say.

After a while, Mum handed the letter over Dad asking him to read it. She looked over at me with pride, as a smile started spreading across her face. She motioned for me to come to her, and I did. She enveloped me in a hug and kissed the top of my head as we waited for Dad’s response.

He read the letter over, simply saying, “Amazing… I never knew.”

“Knew what, darling?” Mum interjected with a smile. “That Clare is more than just special, she’s magical!”

I giggled at the thought of it. I was a witch. I had the opportunity to learn magic. I would no longer worry about being a freak of nature, but would be with other witches and wizards. I would finally feel normal.

My dad smiled at Mum. “I’ve always known there was something magical about Clare,” he said with sincerity, “What I never knew was that she is not the only witch of the family!”

Everyone in the room tilted their head questioningly. Another witch? That could not be right. Certainly Grace never received a letter nor Mum. But the idea was still intriguing. Could it be hereditary?

Dad finally eased all of our questioning looks. “My cousin, Lily. She’s been dead for many years now unfortunately due to a car accident, but I remember my aunt and uncle speaking about her leaving for Hogwarts. They never fully described what it was, only that it was prestigious, and their daughter was going.”

I looked at my father; I had never wanted something so terribly in my life as I wanted to go to this school. I allowed my eyes to go wide and thought of every single piece of body language that would convince him of how badly I wanted this. I finally let the question escape.

“Dad, please, can I go to Hogwarts? Please? I – I will never ask for anything else as long as I live! Just please, may I go!?”

He took a moment and looked me directly in the eyes. His green eyes piercing directly into the brown ones I shared with my mum. Finally, a yes came past his lips and an excited scream came out of mine.

My parents laughed, and as I ran out of the living room down the hall I heard Mum say, “It will be good for her, and who knows! Maybe she will finally be able to meet her cousin Petunia and Vernon have been keeping away for years!”

That cousin, as I was soon to find out, was Harry Potter. A mere two weeks younger than myself, he was already famous in the wizardry world as The Boy Who Lived. I had never met him personally until I finally came to Hogwarts. Dad’s cousin Petunia and her husband Vernon kept Harry out of sight completely during family holidays, and instead showed off their precious son Dudley.

Granted, my family never saw the Dursley’s very much to begin with. As my father put it, Petunia was disgusted when my father married my mother – a Puerto Rican from Rhode Island, USA, who moved to London as a part of a life-change. From what I know, Petunia has always had prejudice against everyone who was even slightly different from her.

But I digress, on the morning I was to leave for Hogwarts, my entire family packed into our Audi and drove to King’s Cross Station. I felt funny at the train station with my cart of various items needed for school, and my new owl Cielo. I was lucky to come in as two other wizard families were heading through the threshold of platform 9 ¾. All my family gave me one final kiss and hug goodbye before I was greeted by the Hogwarts Express.

As I passed by the compartments, I caught a glimpse of who I would soon recognize as Harry Potter. But alas, despite him sitting in that compartment alone, I followed another muggle-born girl who introduced herself as Hermione Granger.

I knew from the moment that she began to speak we were going to be friends. She was smart and extremely knowledgeable about Hogwarts already, despite being a muggle-born. We spoke about spells and charms, and subjects we would study all the way to Hogwarts.

Upon entering Hogwarts for the first time, my jaw, along with everyone else’s, dropped in amazement. An audible sound of wonder was made at the towering stonewalls, the amazing architecture, the gargoyles and torches. It was breath taking.

A woman named Professor McGonagall led us up a staircase and introduced us to Hogwarts, she explained that we were to be sorted into one of four houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. She told us to wait there on the steps before the Great Hall until they were ready to begin the ceremony. I was shaking I was so excited. I turned to Hermione, “Do you have any preference as to what house you want to be placed in?”

She smiled, “Any house is a good house. And from what I’ve read, we don’t have a choice. The Sorting Hat uses some sort of enchantment to see into personalities and then chooses the house that will play to the best of them.”

“Interesting!” I replied.

“So it’s true than, what they were saying on the train.” I heard someone say. “Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts.”

I looked around and saw a boy with platinum blonde hair leaning against the rail of the stairs. He straightened himself upright as he approached Harry.

I stayed silent as I watched the encounter. It was my first time really seeing Harry. His hair was a dark floppy mess of blackish brown, he was skinny, and his eyes were a brilliant green. Nearly the same shade as my dad’s. I realized that he was the cousin my parents had mentioned – the son of my father’s cousin, Lily.

My father was definitely correct about one thing, I most definitely was not the only one with magic in the family.

“This is Crab and Goyle, and I’m Malfoy. Draco Malfoy.”

A boy with flaming red hair snorted at the name.

“Something funny?” Draco asked. “You’ll soon find out that some wizarding families are better than others, Potter. You don’t want to be making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there.” He extended a hand to Harry, but he declined Malfoy’s offer.

McGonagall came back out then and led us all into the Great Hall. It was filled with students and towards the front there was a long row of professors in interesting robes. Hermione began telling me something about the sky in the Hall and how it was enchanted. I was so amazed by the beauty of it all. I wanted to learn everything I could about this place.

Soon the Sorting Ceremony began. One after another, we were placed into one of the four houses. Eventually, I was called up. I was so scared. My mouth had gone dry and my body began to shake. What if I’m put in the wrong house? What if I don’t like my house? What if the people in that house don’t like me?

I sat on the stool and the Sorting Hat was placed on my head.

“Hm, another muggle-born? Another difficult one to choose for. Now let’s see, hm, no I do not think Slytherin is the house for you. While you would do well, it just would not do. Where to put you? I know!”

The moment the name Ravenclaw was shouted, I knew I was alright. My first test at Hogwarts was completed.