Autumn awoke with a jolt. This morning, like many others, she had awoken out of breath. It wasn't scary or anything, but it freaked her out.
She never was one to dwell on dreams, mainly because they were snatched out of her fingertips just as quickly as she had it -- which could be a good thing. Her nightmares were ones of horror.
But, in the end, she could never remember the nightmares. Just as she slipped out of the comfort of her sheets, the memories were gone.
Autumn sighed as she looked out the window. The sun wasn't shining yet, meaning it must be early. Especially since it's summer. She walked towards the grandfather clock to check the time -- 5:03.
The room that she stayed in, with every other person in the orphanage, was quite large in size. The ceilings were slanted, the smaller children having their beds closer to the lower ceilings.
Autumn was very small. Her figure was very petite and looked unhealthy. Madame Dreace, their caretaker, liked money. So, the money that the government gave them for food and supplies, she kept for herself and bought very little food. Despite that, some of the girls were born large, and they still stayed large.
Autumn silently walked towards the oldest and shook her awake, "Morning, Catherine."
Catherine had bright orange locks that seemed to have no end. If she stood, her hair would just pass her waist. Her freckles were very noticeable and were spread all across her face.
"Ugh," Catherine groaned out as she climbed out of bed. "Is it morning already?"
"Unfortunately," Autumn responded, grinning. "Did you have a good dream?"
"Did I?" Catherine asked, smiling widely. She spun dreamily across the room and clutched her book. "I finished the book last night, I stayed up until one to do it. She got the prince, she got married, and saved the kingdom while she did it."
Autumn chuckled, "So, you're making toast this morning?"
"Yeah, I will."
Autumn walked past Catherine as she stood at the end of the teenagers section, where she slept, and started to shake each person awake.
In total, there was sixteen girls living in the orphanage: four children under the age of ten, and twelve people over the age of ten. Autumn was currently eleven, being the youngest of the older kids, putting her in the middle.
Out of the kids her age, only one was nice to her -- Cassandra. The other three were plain mean, so waking them up was a nightmare.
She shook Vanessa, the meanest of them all, awake first, then shook the other two awake, not shaking Cassandra until everyone else was awake so she could sleep longer.
After the groans from the other pre-teens, they slid out of bed. Autumn shook the teenagers awake. Even though they were only older by a few years, they were used to waking up early, so they dealt with it easier.
Autumn finally made her way to the youngest ones. She found it easiest to tickle them awake.
"Well, it would sure be a shame if someone were to tickle you right now, Cayden," Autumn said, grinning as she heard giggles come from her mouth. "I guess, since you're not awake, I have to tickle you!" Autumn quickly sprinted towards Cayden, tickling her awake.
The other girls giggled as Cayden giggled.
"Maybe we should tickle you!" Kendra laughed as she spoke.
Autumn smirked, "Maybe you should. But only if you can catch me!" Autumn ran from her spot and towards Cassandra, thinking that their footsteps could wake her up. A groan from her direction signalled to Autumn that she was awake.
"Cassandra! Help!"
"No, I need my beauty sleep," she whined.
Autumn kept circling the cheap bed until she tripped, the little ones tackling her.
"Viva la Revolution!" Cayden screamed, loud enough for Cassandra to get out of bed.
Autumn laughed at Cayden's remark, then pushed herself off of the ground and onto her feet. "Time for breakfast."
>>>
Autumn rinsed the last plate under the sink water and pressed the sponge against the plate. It wasn't long before she felt a pair of eyes watching her. She began to grow uneasy. She looked around the room, only seeing Catherine putting the dishes away. Autumn stared out the window when she saw a tabby cat, staring her down. She raised her eyebrows at this but kept staring.
The cat seemed to be. . . staring at her. It almost studied her, in a way.
"Earth to Autumn!" Catherine yelled.
"Sorry, must've dozed off again. My bad."
"We only have 30 minutes left until Madame Dreace walks around the building."
"Alright. You go tell make sure everyone is cleaning the floors, then come back here. I'll keep doing the dishes," Autumn said, being certain with herself that she could finish them in time.
Catherine gave a quick response before the ran up the steps.
Autumn looked at the pile of plates that she had yet to clean. She cleaned the cups already, leaving the plates as the last thing. Autumn found herself staring at the cat again, as if it had her in some sort of trance. Something about it was intriguing.
Autumn heard footsteps go down the set of stairs and she quickly went back to doing the dishes.
"They're ahead of schedule," Catherine told Autumn, who just nodded in response.
"Good."
>>>
Catherine finished putting the dishes away, except for a tray with eggs, toast and tea on it. Autumn organised the tray, setting a small bouquet of flowers on it to make it more presentable.
She glanced back at the window, only to find that the cat was gone. Puzzled, she tilted her head and walked closer to the window, trying to get a better look. But, the cat was nowhere in sight. Autumn was shaken out of her thoughts with the mail slot clicked.
"Catherine?" Autumn asked, slowly walking towards the door.
"Yes, Autumn?"
"If we got mail, what would it be?"
Catherine paused. "We got the bills last week, so it can't be that. No one writes to any of us children, so it must be for Madame Dreace."
Autumn picked up the small letter, looking at the engraving on the wax. Then she flipped the letter over and saw the front.
Miss A. Grey
Third Bed from the End
53 Harold St.
London
"No, it's addressed to me." Autumn said.
Catherine almost dropped the vase that was holding the flowers. "Well go on, read it then!"
Autumn was about to open the letter when a loud voice could be heard thoughout the building.
"What are you doing? Going through my mail, are you?"
"No, Ma'am."
"Then what is happening here?" Madame Dreace snatched the letter from her hand.
"Actually Madame, the letter is addressed to me." Autumn said
"Oh, that's a bit strange," Madame Dreace said, shocked, "It's a shame you won't get to read it."
Catherine's eyes widened, pleading with Autumn to not talk again. But she did anyway. "Madame, I believe it was addressed to me. So doesn't it belong to me?"
"Actually, everything you own belongs to me, so doesn't it belong to me?" Madame Dreace mocked Autumn. "Actually," she dragged out, "maybe it's your dead parents." She tossed it behind her, towards Autumn. "Go ahead, humor yourself."
Autumn caught it, but at the price of a paper cut. Catherine walked up to her.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Read it!"
Autumn didn't think twice about opening it. Autumn quickly peeled the wax off of the envelope and took the letter out.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Ms. Grey,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
Thoughts ran through Autumn's brain like never before. She had never applied to a school. And of witchcraft? Must be a joke.
"Well? What does it say?"
"It's just a joke," Autumn said, "A cruel joke."
.
.
.
Hello there! This may be your first time reading any book of mine, so I will say hello! My name is Del! You don't have to read the bold parts of each chapter if you're binge-reading, it will mostly be some questions or announcements. If you are reading my books and waiting for the next update, the bolded Author's Note will probably be important news, so be sure to read that.
So, now that you know my name, I should know yours! It's okay if you don't want to comment your name -- maybe you could comment an alias. I'd love to get to know you all, so be sure to comment on each chapter.
Until next time!