PROLOGUE

the childhood of summer hughes

SUMMER HUGHES SLIPPED into her bedroom, making sure to close the door quietly. She could hear the loud arguing from the kitchen — the cats were performing their daily routine of swiping at each other — aiming to draw blood, but slinking away when the words cut in too deep to lick their wounds. They must have forgotten that it was March 15th. They must have forgotten the yellow birthday cake sitting, perfect, in the fridge adorned with round rainbow sprinkles and the message "Happy Birthday Summer". However, all wrapped presents and cheshire cat smiles aside, Summer Hughes was much more fascinated by something else. 

A letter that she had received that morning from a couple of friendly owls. It seemed to be written on parchment, not paper like the bills that her parents needed to pay, and there was a red wine seal on it depicting a lion, a badger, a snake and an eagle. It was something out of a storybook and perhaps that's why it fascinated 11 year old Summer so much. She carefully lifted the seal, noticing the red circular stain on the other side of the parchment envelope and she found one, small letter sitting inside. 

"Dear Ms. Hughes, we are please to inform you that you've been accepted into . . . " Summer read aloud quietly to herself, but upon seeing the name of a school that she had no recollection of applying to and then the accompanying information about the school, she stopped short and furrowed her eyebrows. "Wizards aren't real."

She slipped out of her room to face her parents — both of their faces red as the seal she has carefully lifted mere moments before as their volumes continued to rise. Her mother's hand was firmly on the kitchen counter and her dad's were waving all around. If she had known better, she would've guessed that this was a theatrical that the community Shakespeare group would put on in July. But, she knew better. 

"It's her birthday, Richard," Sabrina yelled as she moved closer to him, "we are not doing this on her birthday."

"You are the one who started all of this Sabrina," her husband yelled as he backed up, offense lacing his facial features. 

"Started what?" She narrowed her eyes as she took another step forward.

"Everything!" Richard threw his hands up, becoming larger than her. He scoffed and let a decade and a half of resentment tumble from his lips. "All of this! The house! The kids! The 9 to 5! Settling down!" 

"Fuck you Richard." And with all of the power she tried to muster, Sabrina could only manage a whisper. However, she noticed the third presence in the room as they both turned to face their newly 11 year old daughter. Horror struck Sabrina's features as Richard let his hands fall to his sides as the red in his eyes faded into blue like a winter sunset. "Summer, sweetheart, I'm sorry you had to see that. Come on, let's watch that film that you like — Paddington. It came out last year, remember?"

"Of course I remember, mum," Summer said with a tired voice and a tight smile as she let her mother lead her into the television room, "but that's not why I came into the kitchen."

"What did you need, peach?" Richard asked in his distinctly Southern accent as he came to stand in the door way, facing his wife and child. His happy-go-lucky smile that Sabrina had fallen for coming onto his face as the lines creased around his eyes and his forehead — much more prominent than they had been in years before. 

"I got this letter in the post." Summer took the letter out of her sweater pocket, her tight smile, however, quirked up as the north star glimmered in her eyes. "Well, it didn't come in the post, but an owl that was on the gate gave it to me."

"Sweetheart, are you alright?" Sabrina asked as she furrowed her eyebrows and started to check her daughter's temperature. "Owls don't deliver the post."

"I distinctly remember that it was an owl," Summer insisted, her mood souring, as she unfolded the letter and showed it to her parents. They both looked at each other, confused as they saw the intact seal and the elegant scrawl. "What's the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?"

"What're you talking about?" Richard asked as he came to sit on the other side of his daughter as he stared at the letter. "Witches and wizards? This must be some place asking for money."

"I don't remember you applying anywhere," Sabrina mumbled as she also looked at it.

"I didn't, that's the thing," Summer replied as she looked at her mother with curiosity. 

"Hey, didn't . . . uh . . . what's her name from your school, her brother go to a fancy boarding school?" Richard asked as he looked at the two women.

"The Morcom's," Sabrina replied as she snapped her fingers at the remembrance, ". . . their son, Eddie, went. It was somewhere up in Scotland . . . hang on . . . I'll ring Sylvie." 

Summer leaned into her father's side as he hugged her side as her mum got up and rang her friend from her phone. Richard rubbed Summer's arms in an almost comforting way. In a way that was supposed to say that everything was going to be alright, when everyone in the room knew that was a false sentiment. He kissed her hair, making a smile creep onto her face as he turned on the film. 

She snuggled into his side and yawned a little — having stayed up late in anticipation of her birthday as they both watched, both feeling like drained bathtubs — warm and yet, with an unmistakable feeling of something being missing. 

Sabrina was on the phone for quite some time before she came back and rejoined her family. She briefly stopped in the doorway, watching her husband and daughter watching the film before she made her presence known. Both of them looked up at her and she smiled as she sat down carefully. 

"Summer, darling, this school is a real place . . . Eddie goes to it," Sabrina said with a careful voice as she made eye contact with Richard several times, "and it admits very special students, which would explain some strange occurrences that your father and I have noticed around the house like flowers growing within hours and dishes becoming clean instantly. That's magic. You're a witch, my darling."

"But I thought that witches were only villains in fairytales?" Summer asked, confused as she looked in between her parents.

"Well, it turns out that witches and wizards are real . . . they're heroes in real life," Sabrina corrected as she smiled. "I'm planning on having a longer discussion with Sylvie on a day that isn't your birthday about the school, but the decision is yours. You do not have to go to the school if you don't want to."

"What would happen if I didn't?" Summer asked as she took her father's hand. 

"I don't know — " Sabrina answered.

"Are you and dad magical too?" Summer asked as she looked in between them. 

"No, we're not," Sabrina replied as she looked to Richard.

"We aren't," Richard agreed as he squeezed her hand and nodded, "however, I have heard about magic running in my family, but I mostly thought it was nonsense . . . well . . . I guess until now." 

"What type of magic?" Sabrina asked as they both looked at him.

"Apparently some relative on my mother's side was in the Salem Witch Trials," Richard revealed with a shrug, "don't know much about it because I didn't really think it had an effect on my life."

"Well I want to go," Summer said resolutely.

"Are you sure?" Sabrina asked, growing concerned. "We barely know anything about — "

"I'm sure," Summer said as she pulled away from both of her parents and let out a deep breath. Her brain felt fuzzy and yet she knew that this is what she had to do. "I want to go to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."