magic • j. hale [✓]

two

Ariella smiled as the plane finally landed on the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Stepping out, she walked towards the exit of the airport and saw her father waiting for her. A huge grin appeared on her face and she tackled her father into a hug.

Pulling away, Ariella smiled brightly at her father. "It's been so long since we've last seen each other. I've missed you!"

"I know, darling girl. You've been away on that school for so long!" Charlie said, smiling at his daughter as well. Charlie knows about the existence of wizards of witches, as Ariella had told him once through an owl letter. The Minister of Magic had made an exception, and had allowed Ariella to break the International Statute of Secrecy. Of course, things like this don't come easily, and it had taken Ariella at least five or so months to convince Fudge to let her father know. He had agreed when Ariella vowed to obliviate her father if ever news gets out about their existence.

The father and daughter were in the cruiser, spending the three and a half hours catching up on each other's life that they had missed from being apart for so long.

"So your best friend, Cedric, died?" Charlie asked his daughter. "Oh, honey, I'm so sorry."

Ariella smiled meekly, the image of Amos Diggory crying over his son's death flashing through her mind. She winced slightly as she said, "It's alright Dad. It wasn't your fault."

Charlie held his daughter's hand in an effort to make her feel more comfortable. Ariella smiled at his efforts. They remained silent afterwards, basking in each other's silence. After a few hours of driving, they had arrived at the small house in the small town of Forks.

"It would be smart to enlarge your suitcase now, since Bella doesn't know yet." Charlie said.

Ariella nodded her head and took out her mini-trunk. She took her wand, which she stuck in her hair, and quietly muttered, "Engorgio."

The trunk became life-sized before their eyes and Charlie shook his head, amused. "I will never get used to that."

"No one ever does. Even me." Ariella laughed slightly. "And I've been surrounded by magic for about seven years now."

Ariella and Charlie made their way towards the house, and as Charlie opened the door, the brunette witch caught a glimpse of the brown hair of her twin sister, Isabella Swan. She was with a man, someone incredibly pale. Ariella paused, her steps faltering when the man that Isabella was talking to turned around. Her heart was beating quickly in her chest, just about ready to jump out.

That face.

It was no mistaking it.

"I'm sorry." Ariella choked back a sob, turning away from the man who had a look in his eyes that she couldn't exactly decipher. "This may sound absolutely ridiculous . . . but could you be Cedric Diggory?"

"No." Bella said, glaring at her sister. "His name is Edward and he's my boyfriend."

The brown eyes girl blinked back her tears when she saw the familiar kind face of her best friend staring at her. The harsh words of her sister barely even registered in her mind, and all she could focus now was that she had somehow found a doppelganger of her deceased best friend.

She had left Scotland to try and escape the horrors of her past. Why was this happening to her?

"Okay." Charlie said, helping Ariella. "That's enough fighting, girls. Bella, your sister will be living with us from now on, be civil to her."

Bella scoffed snobbishly before turning her head and walking out of the house, looking back at her boyfriend who was staring at Ariella once again. She cleared her throat and glanced at the vampire expectantly, making him snap out of his thoughts and walking forward to catch up with Bella. There was something about Bella's twin that he couldn't exactly understand. One of them was her thoughts. It was just . . . not there. It was just absent. But it wasn't exactly like how he couldn't read Bella's mind, it was almost as if there was something that was preventing him from doing so. He shook away his curious thoughts and exited the house.

Ariella nearly collapsed to the floor when she saw that the couple had finally left. Charlie glanced at his daughter sympathetically. He had personally never seen this best friend of hers, but he knew enough to know that Cedric Diggory was someone very important to his daughter, and if she had asked Edward if he was Cedric, then they must have looked alike.

The father of two knew nothing of comforting people, having lived alone most of his life, or at least until his youngest moved in with him. Ariella already knew this, so through her teary eyes, she grabbed her trunk and smiled wearily at her father, trying to silently tell him that though she wasn't fine now, she will be fine. The girl walked towards the house's attic, which would be her soon-to-be room.

She frowned when she saw that the room was dusty and had plenty of boxes and unnecessary stuff littering on the floor. Ariella glanced at her wand, remembering that she was now seventeen, which meant that she had free reign over her magic as long as no muggle would see her performing the spells.

Ariella sighed before sweeping away all the dust and using 'scourgify' on every corner and inch of the room. At long last, the room was decently clean, but there was still something missing.

The room still looked blank.