It's Not a Joke, Really Solo

Lucille's 11th birthday was fast approaching, and the girl couldn't be more excited. She had been counting down the days for a month now and, although Lucille always celebrated her birthday with a bang, this one was different. This was when she would finally go to Hogwarts like her siblings. No more boring Muggle school for her, with their regular old classes with teachers that were as interesting as a bowl of dirt. No, now she was going to go to Hogwarts, where teachers taught you to transform one thing to another, or to cast spells, or fly, or take care of screaming plants, and the list goes on. Every year, during the holidays, Lucille would plop down on the carpet, happily listening to her sister's latest Quidditch endeavors, or her brother's latest Care of Magical Creatures class. Now, their stories were beginning to grow old and stale, as of course, they had both graduated a while ago, and Lucille no longer had a regular source of information about the new interesting things happening in the castle.

And this made her all the more excited to go herself. Although she was confident that her letter would come soon, she couldn't shake the memory that both her siblings had received their letters much earlier than their birthdays. In fact, she was even beginning to think that perhaps her story of accidental magic hadn't been magic at all. Perhaps it had been her mother's doing, or maybe they both remembered the situation wrong. It had been quite chaotic. These were the thoughts that had now made their home in her mind, and she could never quite get them out.

Every day, Lucille was out with the dog and a horse, riding through the expansive property, staring up at the sky hoping for any sign of an owl. Every day, she came home in disappointment, just at mealtimes, before hurrying back out. Her father would say that it's probably better to wait inside, since that was where the owl would be heading, but Lucille was adamant. Besides, sitting still at home had never really been her style, and it would've eaten her up to be sitting idle during this time.

Today, like all those other days, Lucille had been outside, staring at the sky. She was feeling a bit hungry, and it was almost time for supper anyway, so she headed indoors to wash up. She walked in, massaging the back of her neck, which felt like it was beginning to cramp from being bent up to the sky the whole day.

As she entered, she looked up and felt something was amiss. Both her parents watched her expectantly, as if waiting for something. "What?" Lucille asked after a moment, confused. They exchanged an amused look, and Lucille crossed her arms in annoyance. She had a feeling they were gearing up for some sort of joke.

"Oh, you've got mail," her mother said dismissively and reached for the TV remote, but Lucille could see her watching Lucille from the corner of her eye.

"Now that's just cruel," Lucille pouted. She was sure this was an April Fool's joke now. She wasn't expecting any mail except for her acceptance letter, and she would've seen an owl come in, she was sure.

"What is?" Her father chimed in. Lucille opened her mouth, ready to have a bit of a tantrum about how this really was not amusing at all, but he held up his hand and continued. "Check the kitchen counter. You really have mail."

Lucille sighed, annoyed, but she might as well go look and let them have their laugh. She walked over to the counter, still passing angry glances at her parents, who were both watching her intently now. A sight made Lucille stop short. An envelope, still sealed, sat on the kitchen counter. And, all of a sudden, all her accusations were forgotten.

"IS THIS IT? IS IT?" She exclaimed, rushing over and snatching up the envelope. "There's a--" her mother started, but Lucille had already ripped open the envelope. "--letter opener beside you," she finished, trailing off. Lucille looked over and, sure enough, her mother had set out a letter opener ready for her to use. "Oops," she said sheepishly, now slowing down her scrambling.

She carefully pulled out the parchment in the envelope. Sure enough, this was what she had been waiting for. "DEAR LUCILLE ROSENHART," she read excitedly, her volume and pitch both high. Her parents were far too happy for her chastise her for it, and instead listened patiently as Lucille read the entire letter aloud, her speed increasing with every word.

"It's here! I'm going to Hogwarts!" Her voice wasn't so shrill and ecstatic now, at least, by Lucille's standards. "I'm going to Hogwarts," she repeated, softer now, and collapsed into her parents' open arms, closing her eyes and simply taking in the moment.

She felt their arms wrap around her as they returned her hug, just as happy as their daughter, but perhaps a bit less expressive. "Yes you are, Lu. Yes you are," her mother said, as Lucille already began thinking about what her own Hogwarts experiences would be like.