5 June, 2024

Sadie was rightfully worried when she walked inside that day after a whole morning of playing by the river. Galway was a fair-sized city, but without money, Sadie usually spent her days walking along the river and people-watching with Miles. They usually came home when their legs were tired to the beaming smile of their parents, who would ask if they saw anything interesting on their walk. Today, no such question came. Instead, Sadie's dad was leaning on the kitchen counter, staring at an envelope with a peculiar wax seal. He didn't even look at her.

"Dad?" Sadie asked, kicking her shoes off and peeking over his shoulder at the envelope. He tucked it away before she could see it.

"Sadie," he said, before realizing Miles was in the room too. "Miles, go clean your bedroom. Sadie'll be up soon to help you."

It was Sadie's turn to clean their shared bedroom, but the seriousness in their dad's tone left no room for argument. Miles walked upstairs, but he offered a sympathetic look toward Sadie as he went. Sadie didn't know what she'd done, but it was clear she was in some kind of trouble.

"Dad, I-"

"Has anything strange happened to you, Sadie? Anything at all?" he asked before she could say anything.

She thought about it, trying to figure out what he could be talking about. Was this a puberty thing? Surely he knew that she'd learned all about that in school. She really didn't want to listen to this talk from her dad.

"No. Nothing," she said automatically, shaking her head emphatically.

"Nothing at all?" he asked. He knelt down to her eye level.

She thought even harder, trying to figure out what he could mean. He was asking leading questions, so clearly something had happened. But what? Sadie hadn't hidden anything from her parents in years. The closest she'd come to doing so was...

"The window," she gasped. "I - I broke it. It was an accident, I swear!"

Dad's gaze darted to the window, and Sadie could see the memory behind his eyes.

"That day you tried telling us you broke it, but it was fine? We thought you were playing a prank," he said thoughtfully, standing up and pulling the letter out. Sadie still couldn't read it from here. "But it mended itself, didn't it?"

Sadie's cheeks flushed slightly. She had a strange feeling. It was a bit of self-consciousness, a bit of fear, and just a general sense of nervousness.

"Yes. I swear I'm not mad. I really did break it. Miles was there too!" she argued defensively.

Her dad ran a hand through his hair, but when his hand dropped, he was smiling. He looked happy. He held the envelope out to Sadie, and she quickly accepted it. She tore it open without even looking at the outside, which was a horrible decision in hindsight, but the first line of the letter only served to confuse her. This had to be a joke.

"Dear Miss Murdock," she read the letter aloud. "We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." She looked at her dad, and his smile was even brighter. "What's this all about, dad?"

"Your new school," he said, gesturing for her to keep reading.

Her jaw dropped even lower as she finished the letter and reached the supply list. This was all some elaborate joke. It had to be.

"I think it's time for you to know where you really come from, Sadie," her dad said. He sounded relieved.

"What do you-"

"Let's start with a story. The story of your grandparents. You see, once there was a lad here in the Emerald Isle, and he fancied a young woman..."

The rest of that afternoon bled into the evening as Sadie learned of magic, of Veelas, and, of course, of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Miles cleaned their bedroom all by himself.