Matilde burst through the door to the little cottage. Kicking off her boots, she headed into the kitchen. She emptied the bag of freshly picked apples into the fruit bowl on the table, then went to get a glass of water from the sink. Looking out the window she could see that the sun had just risen. She smiled, enjoying the moment of calm before the rest of the family got up.
The girl spotted something just above the horizon. She grinned when she realized it was. The family owl, Bruin, swooped in through the open kitchen window. “Hi!” Matilde said enthusiastically. She carefully removed the small stack of letters he was carrying, then pet him for a minute. The oversized owl cooed softly. Matilde glanced down at the letters in her hand. There was one from her best friend Phelan, one from her brother’s boyfriend, another from one of his friends from Hogwarts, and a few others for her mother, probably from clients. She was about to rip hers open, when another owl came through the window. She jumped in surprise, having of course not heard the flap of the elegant northern hawk owl’s wings. He held out his leg with an air of superiority. Matilde could have sworn Bruin looked at him incredulously. Curiously, Matilde removed the barn owl’s letters. One of them was addressed to her, and one to Martyn. She turned them over, and her heart leapt as she registered the familiar purple seal. The letters slipped from the girl's hand, falling to the floor. She bolted out the door.
~~~
“Tilly!”
Matilde was perched high up in her favorite tree, deep in the forest behind her house. She ignored her brother, hoping he wouldn’t see her, or that he’d just go away. No such luck. Matilde didn’t meet her brother’s gaze as he climbed the tree with ease. She really needed to find an alternate hiding place. Instinctively, she made room for him on her branch.
“So…” he said, quietly.
“I take it you saw the letter?”
Matilde nodded, fiddling with the hem of her skirt. Her brother waited patiently for her to speak.
“I just…I really don’t want to leave,” Matilde said, her words coming out quickly.
“What about the farm? Who’s going to help Ma with both of us at school? And dance. I’m going to miss all the competitions, I’m going to miss oireachtas!” She said.
“I’ll miss all my muggle friends. The worst thing is, I can’t even tell them where I am.”
Martyn nodded, understandingly.
“It’s kind of horrible being a half-blood sometimes. It’s like we’re stuck in the middle…”
Matilde frowned. She’d never heard him say anything like that before.
“But it’s going to be fine. Ma can handle the farm, Da isn’t useless you know,” he joked.
“You’ll still be able to practice dance at Hogwarts! They have a rehearsal room with plenty of space.” He looked at her pityingly.
“You knew this was going to happen, remember?”
“I was hoping I didn’t have magic,” Matilde muttered.
Martyn looked at her incredulously. They both knew this wasn’t true in the slightest. Of course she wanted to have magic. It was just all the things that came with it that were hard. Growing up.
After a minute, he reached into the pocket of his jeans, and brought out Matilde’s letter. He handed it to her, saying,
“there are so many things to look forward to about Hogwarts, Matilde. I promise, you will love it. And since when are you afraid of anything?” He asked, bumping her shoulder playfully.
Matilde couldn’t help it, her brother could always make her smile. The girl took the letter. She carefully broke the seal, and pulled out the parchment inside.
Dear Miss O’Fionnagan,
I am pleased to inform you that you have been excepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…
