Lincoln's School of Magic - Creating the Beast

Anna's Birthday

Today is July 27th, 1998, also known as, Anna's 15th birthday. Today is very exciting because we will receive our new uniform robes from Lincoln.

I've seen Anna's robes from previous years, they're not all that flattering but it's still exciting that I'm officially enrolled. One of Anna's friends is coming to visit today for her birthday. I've never met this friend, they just met this year.

There's a knock on the door, will it be Anna's friend or the robes? Anna opens the door quickly with me standing closely behind, to see a girl with curly brown shoulder length hair holding a cardboard box.

"This has been sitting on your porch" the girl says.

Anna replies, "Thank you Ezmerelda!"

Anna invites Ezmerelda inside. The three of us sit on the couch and mother is sitting across from us in a grey arm chair.

"Audrey, this is my friend, Ezmerelda."

"So very nice to meet you, Audrey. Anna has told me loads about you."

We shake hands and I smile. It's unfortunate that Lucia can't come over during the summer, she lives two hours away. I look at the box that Anna is now holding, knowing my robes are in there.

"Can we open the box?" I ask eagerly.

She nods her head and hands the box to me. I open the box rapidly to see a pair of robes, one with a white tie and the other with a green tie. At Lincoln, students get ties based on their year.

Because I'm in first year, I get a white tie, and Anna gets a green tie because she's in fifth year. I forgot the order of the other colours.

I take mine out of the box and run upstairs to try it on. In my room, there's a long floor to ceiling mirror next to my dresser that I stand in front of. I quickly change out of my pink sweater and jeans, and carefully put on my robes. There's a white collared dress shirt that goes on underneath, then I put on my tie.

I've never tied a tie before so I yell for Anna to come help me. She walks into my room with Ezmerelda and cover their eyes at the sight, I forgot I'm not wearing any pants yet. I grab my school trousers that were sitting on my dresser and quickly cover my bottom half.

"Don't look!" I shout as I try to put on my black trousers.

Once I get my trousers on, I assure Anna and Ezmerelda that it's okay to look. They carefully remove their hands from their eyes and let out a sigh of relief. I roll my eyes at their exaggeration. We laugh it off and I hold up my white tie gesturing for help. Anna laughs and rolls her eyes at me as she comes closer to tie my tie. I watch carefully at what she's doing, I need to do this everyday for the next seven years, and Anna won't always be there to help me.

Once my tie is on, I smile in the mirror and Anna backs away in disbelief. Her little sister is not so little anymore. It felt like not too long ago when we were in primary school, playing in the playground and singing songs.

I gesture for Anna and Ezmerelda to leave so I can continue putting on my robes. I put on the grey sweat shirt that goes over the dress shirt, and then finally, the long black robes on top.

This uniform is not summer friendly, perhaps it's cold at Lincoln?

I walk out of my room and down the stairs to showcase my new uniform. I do a little twirl in the living room so everyone can see.

My mother looks like she's about to cry, so I walk up to her and she stands up, looking me in the eyes.

"I'm so proud of you." She says before pulling me in for a hug.

She's going to be all alone in the house now that I'm gone. We only ever return for Christmas break. I will miss my mom dearly, but I am so excited for this new chapter in my life. I can finally study magic like the rest of my family. I plan to carry on our legacy, and share my father's story. He would be so proud of me right now. Growing up and attending the school he went to at my age. I wonder if I'll have any of the same professors as him. Maybe they could tell me more about my father and how brave and intelligent he was. The only thing my mother says about him is that he was a brave auror and very attractive.

I only have one picture of my father in a little frame next to my bed. He had auburn hair, just like Anna's, and emerald green eyes. He was fairly tall, probably around the six foot mark. How did my mother ever end up with such a handsome man?

There was nothing special about my mother, to be honest. Her grades were average, her magical abilities are limited, but I suppose she can be pretty when she tries.

She doesn't have much time for herself now that she works six days a week. Most of the time, her hair is not done, and her clothes are baggy and dirty.

I hope to become an auror one day, and make loads of money to support her. She needs help, but she won't admit it. I wonder what ever did happen to her.

I go back up to my room to put on my regular clothes. I can't keep thinking about next school year. I'm going to make loads of friends and become a brilliant witch. Anna and Ezmerelda follow me into my room and sit on my bed.

"I can't believe you're starting at Lincoln this year" Anna says in disbelief.

I smile at her and give her a tight hug. Anna means everything to me. Whenever mom wasn't home, Anna would be there to feed me and take care of me. She's almost like my second mom. I can't wait to spend all my days and nights with her and Lucia at school. My best friends, and family.

Tears start streaming down our cheeks. This is a huge moment for us. Ever since Anna left for school, it hasn't been easy for either of us. We need each other. We need each other's love and comfort. Anna is the only person I feel comfortable sharing my deepest secrets to, and I'm the only person Anna ever vents to.

I've heard about every single boy, breakdown and inconvenience in her life, and she has probably heard all of mine too, however, I've never had boy problems.

I whisper into Anna's shoulder, "happy birthday."

She stays quiet and just holds me tighter. If only dad were here to see how closely we've bonded. Sibling relationships were important to him, since his younger brother died when he was only five due to a Venomous Tentacula plant.

Wizards are able to cure most diseases, but if the disease was created with magic, then it can not be cured. Venomous Tentaculas are magical plants that only grow in the Wizarding World. Tentaculas became my father's biggest — and only — fear.

He would kill every Tentacula he could find to avoid his brother's fate. He blamed himself for the death of his brother. He got bitten by one of the leaves while they were playing outside, and it was my father's idea to play that day.

I know it wasn't his fault, and my whole family knows, but he strongly believed that it was. At least they are together in heaven now, playing all they want without the fear of a Venomous Tentacula plant.

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Published December 17th, 2021