Miranda Black and the Chamber of Secrets

Prologue - The Beginning

The day I received the news that would change my life forever was rather miserable. Despite the incoming summer, the sky above Kingston Upon Thames was dreary and dark grey. St Mary's Home for Children was not a bad place to live, although the windows did little to keep out the cool breeze, and the blankets were scratchy.

I had lived in the same small room for as long as I could remember. Roommates had come and gone over the years, but Sarah Crow had been here for the past two. She was nice enough but preferred to hang out with the other girls in the living room, while my spare time was more often spent curled up in bed with a book. I didn't have many friends, and I found the pages to be more of a comfort than the people I lived with. I had very few possessions, all neatly stacked in a cardboard box beneath my small bed. If a stranger had peeked in, they might have guessed I had just moved in the day before.

Mrs. Arnott was our housemother, a strict elderly woman who believed in old-fashioned, hard discipline. She had an eye that could spot a speck of dust from a mile away and made sure we all stayed in line. I had learned how to slip under her radar by just going about my days quietly and obediently. On this particular day, it was Mrs. Arnott who came to my door with her persistent knock.

"Miranda, open up," she called, her voice sharp and commanding.

I quickly put down my book and moved to the door. Opening it, I greeted her with a soft, "Good afternoon, Mrs. Arnott. Is everything alright?"

She peered at me with a stern expression, her gray eyes scrutinizing every inch of my face. "Miranda, there's someone here to see you. A visitor. Now, mind your manners and come with me."

A visitor? I couldn't imagine who would come to see me. As I followed Mrs. Arnott through the narrow hallways, my curiosity mingled with a sense of apprehension. The news she was about to deliver would indeed change the course of my life, and the somber skies above seemed to foretell the gravity of what was to come.

As we approached the common area, I noticed the other children stealing glances in my direction. Whispers and curious stares followed me, amplifying the anticipation building within me. Mrs. Arnott led me past their stares to her small office, where an elderly gentleman sat patiently waiting, a small smile on his lips. What an interesting character this man was! White hair down to his waist and a beard just as long, with spectacles shielding piercing eyes. Perhaps most interesting was his clothes - a purple robe glittering with golden stars! He rose as we approached, extending a hand.

"Good afternoon, Miranda. My name is Professor Albus Dumbledore," he greeted warmly.

I shook his hand, still perplexed about his presence. Mrs. Arnott took a step back, nodding to Professor Dumbledore and leaving me and the strange man to converse. His piercing eyes held a kindness that contrasted sharply with the stern gaze of Mrs. Arnott. "Miranda, I represent Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I've come with an invitation for you to join our school. You're a witch, and we believe you have a place in the magical world." The words hung in the air, and as I absorbed their meaning, the dreary surroundings of St Mary's seemed to fade away, replaced by the possibility of a world beyond my imagination. I quickly came back to reality.

"Magic?" I said, "Is this a joke?"

I thought of the other children watching me, and the children at school who picked on us because they had parents and we didn't.  A practical joke like this would be hilarious to them. 

Professor Dumbledore's smile remained patient and sincere. "I assure you, Miranda, this is no joke. Magic is very real, and you have a gift. Hogwarts is a place where young witches and wizards learn to harness their abilities. Your life is about to take a turn into the extraordinary."