Chapter One
There was one thing in this world that Adria Hopkins never thought she'd ever had to question, and that was that the world was a very ordinary place. She was nothing special, and never had been. She always loved to just be normal, to have a normal and uneventful life with her parents and her siblings.
It made her feel safe, and comfortable to know that in some sort of way she could hide in the life she lived. Truthfully, these types of thoughts were rather unordinary for a girl as young as eleven to think, but that never really crossed her mind.
Her talents lay outside the world of ordinary, though, in fact, her mind was her true real talent. Nothing quite as outstanding than the mind of a child. Especially one with bright eyes of wonder and an imagination that could rule the world...but regardless, she didn't want to rule the world.
She liked normal; it was a solace to herself that she would never grow up to be president of the world. She liked her home. She liked that she lived in the smallest village near the city of Glasgow, but her life was not extravagant enough to truly live in Glasgow.
The only thing to truly set her apart from the kids around her was her brother and the fact that they were twins. They were best friends through and through and practically joined at the hip all of their lives, but she could say that with all of her siblings. All three of them.
Regardless of all of this, only recently did the Hopkins family understand that maybe Adria was not as normal as she very clearly wished to be. Her parents had always thought there was something peculiar about their family home...telling silly stories of ghosts and objects moving throughout the night and turning up somewhere else.
Though, perhaps ghosts had never been the case in the first place.
You see, these thoughts placed in Adria's parents head came around mid-summer between the holidays of Adria finishing her last year at primary school. She'd soon be attending the local town high school around twenty minutes away from their village and she was terrified. It was a rather long way to walk, but her oldest brother Alfie had promised to walk with her and her twin, Benji.
The day that ordinary became unordinary, as said, was in summer. A random day at the end of June when a loud knock filled the home and the family who sat at the dining table for their breakfast seemed rather surprised.
"Well," said Douglas, ready to tuck into the morning eggs he had made for himself and his wife, "I suppose none of you lazy sods will get that."
Angry chatter broke out around the table with baby Alina practically shouting, "I got it last time! It's your turn!"
Baby Alina wasn't really much of a small baby anymore, but due to her shortness in height, the phrase very fittingly stood.
"Oh...hello," said Douglas after messing up his youngest daughters hair when he passed her seat at the dining table and soon made his way to the front door. The man who stood in front of the door seemed nothing short of...peculiar, to say the least.
He was adorned in robes. Dark grey robes that stopped just above his ankles, and atop his head he wore what seemed like a witches hat. Douglas wasn't sure if this was some sort of...new religious thing that he was not aware of, but regardless, he continued, "Can I help you?"
"Oh yes!" exclaimed the stranger. Douglas took note of the two sealed letters that the man had clutched in his left hand, "I am here to deliver some letters to your most humble abode!"
Douglas wasn't sure if this was a joke...or maybe some sort of school event the kids had for Halloween coming up in a few months but alas, his morning had been rather uneventful up until that point, "can I take your name, please?"
"Oh yes!" The man nodded a tad overenthusiastically, "yes, of course. My name, Sir, is Professor Horace Eugene Flaccus Slughorn. I am here to deliver two letters from the esteemed Hogwarts itself!"
Douglas thought by now that this had to be some sort of joke, "Hogwarts?"
"Oh, forgive me!" Horace let out a loud belly laugh, "I always forget with you muggles. It is quite amusing to see your face right now, I must admit."
Too many questions floated around Douglas' head, and unbeknownst to the two, it seemed they had an audience from the dining table.
"Oi mister!" Alfie Hopkins bellowed, "don't think you've quite got the date for Halloween just right."
"That's enough, Alfie!" Judy Hopkins gasped at her son's irresponsible comment, even going as far as to hit his arm with the end of her tea towel. She gave him a stern look when he went to open his mouth again and soon joined her husband at the door.
"Honey, what is going on?" asked Judy, her arm slipping around her husband and politely smiling at the man on their doorstep, "who may this be?"
"Horace Eugene Flaccus Slughorn!" Judy took the mans outstretched hand with the same polite smile as before, "as I have told your kind husband, I am here to deliver some letters!"
"Oh...well," Judy gestured to her home, "would you like to come in?"
"Oh, yes please!" Horace nodded, "I do not think this is the type of news to hear on a doorstep!"
Neither of the Hopkins laughed at Horace's joke, and it seemed the Professor had already forgotten that they were muggles.
"Hello, children!" said Horace, "it is very nice to meet you!"
Adria stood from her seat with her siblings following tow, a curious look on her face as to why a man dressed as a wizard stood in their living room. As much as Alfie's comment wasn't very nice, Adria couldn't help but think it true...it definitely seemed as though he was dressing for Halloween.
"Who are you?" asked Benji, standing closely beside his sister.
"I am Horace Eugu-
"This is Horace," Douglas patted the man's shoulder, not needing to hear the full name once again. He gestured for him to sat down, offering him a cup of tea which the man gratefully accepted, and Douglas rushed to the kitchen. He was rather thankful to be out of the living room.
"I have some letters here," said Horace again, as though if he didn't, he would simply forget. He patted the inner pockets of his robe, looking for the letters until realising with a loud chuckle that they were still clutched in his left hand, "oh look at that! I simply think I'm losing my marbles!"
"Now...where were we?" his eyes squinted as he read the first letter, "ah yes. Addressed to one Adria Hopkins. Upstairs, first room on the left. Is that correct?"
Adria could feel a sense of nerves bubbling in her stomach when the man read her name out. It was even more strange that he knew exactly which room was hers. Regardless, she took a step forward and grabbed the letter from the man's grip.
She wondered why she out of all of her family members be the one to get a letter, but she had yet to open it. Instead, she was even more curious as to who else was receiving a letter.
"This one," said Horace, "is addressed to one Benjamin Hopkins-"
"It's Benji!"
"Oh, I am so very sorry about that. Will have to take that one up with Dumbledore won't I!" Horace exclaimed. The very thing that happened next was something none of the Hopkins would have ever expected in all of their lives.
Horace very casually pulled out a long wooden twig-like thing and tapped on the letter in front of him. The end of the twig glowed a gold hue and in seconds, the Hopkins watched "Benjamin" turn into "Benji."
"What the fu-"
Judy's voice was silenced by the shattering of the mug once clutched in Douglas' hand. He had managed to drop it in sheer shock of what his eyes had witnessed, and the tea once for Horace now ended up spilt all over their living room floor.
"One Benji Hopkins. The second room on the left!" Horace beamed, gesturing for the frozen Benji to take the letter from his hand, "are you alright, boy?!!
"I don't know what kind of thing you're playing at here," said Douglas, "but we don't want any business in it!"
"Please forgive me, Mr Hopkins I am perhaps a little confused..." Horace seemed rather flustered, "I am here to help."
Adria looked at the wax-sealed letter in her own hands. She wasn't sure exactly what she had just witnessed but it was very far from ordinary. She took a deep, shaky breath and ripped open the letter, it proved a struggle with the wax seal, but she finally unravelled the letter in her hands.
Dear Adria Hopkins
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 September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31st.
"Witchcraft and Wizardry?" repeated Adria with an uneasy stomach, "that can't be...this is all some silly prank, I bet it was those boys down the road."
"A prank?" repeated Horace, "oh no, you have this all wrong, my dear!"
"You expect us to believe we're some sort of wizards and witches?" Benji practically scoffed, strangely calm. Though it appeared he was still in shock.
"Hold on just a second here," Judy piped up, the same similar shake to her voice as her children. Douglas would admit that his morning had been very uneventful, but he would never guess anything like this would happen to shake things up.
"Do you know anyone by the name Henrietta Price?" asked Judy. It was a mere shot in the dark, but her stomach dropped when Horace's eyes lit up.
"Oh Henrietta, oh yes of course!" he beamed, "You may find this hard to believe but Henrietta and I attended Hogwarts together!"
Douglas looked between Judy and Horace, "Henrietta...as in your great, great grandmother Henrietta?"
Judy nodded. It was always a wonder how her great grandmother was still alive and well. The women had a very private life, and Judy had not spoken to her in years. Her mother always told Judy tales when she was much younger of the life Henrietta lived...she would always add in unbelievable side notes of magic and spells and fights.
Judy always believed it was to add to the story, and well Judy's mother thought the same when Henrietta would tell them to her.
"Oh, it all makes sense!" Judy shook her head, hand on her forehead and a wary look from her husband to the twins standing in the middle of the living room and both still staring hard at the letters, "well, it makes some sort of sense. How could this be? Magic is real?!"
"Yes...yes, I know. This is of course very hard to comprehend," said Slughorn, "I will leave you to process all of this wonderful news. Of course, if you have any questions contact me. Just leave your letters by the kitchen window and they will find their way to me!"
"You're leaving?" Adria piped up; her voice still quiet.
"Oh yes I must, Miss Adria. I will be back at the end of July to take you and Mr Benji to Diagon Alley. I trust you shall need my help to receive your belongings!" he grinned at the family, waving his hat as he neared the door, "please say the kindest of hello's to Henrietta for me, will you dear?"
Judy silently nodded, still trying to come to terms with the events that just happened in her rather messy living room.
Perhaps normal would not be the correct word to describe Adria's life now.