On December 19th, the first snowfall of winter fell over Thorne Point like powdered sugar on Agatha's almond cakes, coating the city in a white silence that stretched for miles.

For the first time since they'd known each other, Cora invited Eva over, with a promise from her family that they'd be on their best behavior. When the doorbell rang, announcing Eva's arrival, she leapt from a chair in the kitchen, nearly knocking over the two cups of hot chocolate that were cooling on the island.

"She's here," she alerted her family, as she bounded to the front door, nerves creating a host of feelings in her belly. There was always the possibility that Eva wouldn't like her family and the other way around.

Cora peeped through the glass window in the door. Eva waved. From the looks of it, her arms wrapped around her, she would rather be in the warmth of the Emersons home.

"It's about time," Eva said with a wide grin when Cora opened the door.

"Hey there, Eva." Strands of Eva's hair brushed Cora's cheek as they hugged. "Your hair's all wet from the snow," Cora said, pulling away to lift a strand of Eva's straightened hairdo.

"I know but getting invited to my bestie's house for the first time is totally worth it. It shouldn't revert too much anyway." Eva stomped her feet and shivered. "Are you going to invite me in or what? It's a full-on blizzard out here."

She wasn't lying. Cora closed the door behind her. "You should wear it curly more often, E. I think you'd look so cute."

"Yeah, well," Eva said, as Cora took her coat to hang in the hall closet. She then led her down the hall, into the kitchen to warm up. "Your house is amazing, Cor." Behind her glasses, Eva stared—thunderstruck.

Cora beamed. "It's my great-grandmother's. She's kind of the fashionista in the family, besides myself." She tossed her hair over her shoulder jokingly. "I wish you could meet her, but she's hard to keep track of."

Eva laughed. "She sounds fascinating and has fantastic taste. I see where you get it from."

"Do you want something to drink?" Cora asked. "We have hot chocolate."

"Yes, please," said Eva. When she'd been seated at the center island, Cora placed a cup of hot chocolate in front of her. She watched as Eva took a sip. She wore the same expression she'd had stepping into the Emersons home, one of curiosity and awe.

If only she knew the truth, the Emersons were wondrous women.

"How is it?" she asked, wondering if she could taste it, the magic. Cora had decided that gingerbread stood for friendships and memories to be made.

Eva held up her thumb. "It's delicious."

Cora had asked her grandmother to help her do magic in other ways, creating tasty meals was one of them. Gingerbread hot chocolate was her second foray in the kitchen, if she counted her grandmother's birthday cake.

"A good meal can cure any heart," Agatha had said.

And Cora believed her. She'd felt it whenever she'd had one of Agatha's meals and hoped her friend would feel it too. Her love, her trying to be the person she was meant to be all along, not the girl who ruined lives, but the girl who made others feel loved.

"Are you ready to get to work on our assignment?" Eva asked, as soon as she'd finished her cup of hot chocolate.

Cora brought their empty cups to the sink. "Everything's set up in my room. Can you believe I organized my notes for once?"

Eva giggled. "You're such an enigma, Cora Emerson."

"Hmm." Cora tapped her cheek. "I wonder who I get it from?"

"I'd love to know too," Eva admitted.

"Well, if you want to meet the rest of the Emersons, you better come on." Cora gestured for Eva to follow her. "Willow and my grandmother are in the living room." She pressed her finger to her lips. "I think they're watching a movie."

Eva nodded. "Oh, okay."

They paused at the living room on their way to Cora's room. Agatha and Willow were nestled on the couch, a bowl of buttered popcorn between them. "Grandma," said Cora, startling Agatha who evidently hadn't heard them come in, her gaze snapping in their direction. "My friend Eva's here," Cora said. "I thought you'd want to meet her."

"Oh, Eva. How are you?" Agatha smiled up at them from the couch.

Willow, on the other hand, didn't spare them a glance, though Cora bet the movie couldn't have been that engrossing. Typical Willow.

"I'm fine, Ms. Emerson," said Eva. "Just hoping the weather lets up."

"You can call me Agatha, and I'm surprised you even made it here in all this snow."

"Getting to meet you guys is kind of a once in a lifetime opportunity."

Willow snorted.

"Hi, Willow." Eva waved. "I've heard so much about you."

"Hey," Willow deadpanned.

Cora tugged Eva's arm and tilted her head. They left Agatha and Willow to their movie, taking the stairs up to her room. "You definitely weren't kidding about your sister, were you?" Eva said. "She sure is something else."

"She sure is," said Cora, because what else could she say about Willow.

The first thing she noticed when they entered her bedroom was that Eva couldn't take her eyes off the poster that hung above her bed.

"Not every sorceress carries a wand." Eva tapped her chin. "Different but I don't get it."

"What do you think about the rest of the room?" Cora asked, changing the subject. Her bed today was dressed in white sheets with an orange polka dot pattern.

Eva ran her fingers across the bedding. "I like." She roamed over to Cora's desk, peering at the corkboard pinned with the latest fashion trends. "I like even more." But her gaze kept wandering to the poster that Cora didn't quite know how to explain. She was so fed up with lying.

Maybe it's time.

The thought terrified her. She couldn't bare it if she lost her friend. Cora took up the notebook on her desk where she'd scribbled down notes for the written part of their project. She flipped it open, stared at her messy scrawl, not reading the words, but trying to make up her mind on what she should tell Eva. She drew a deep breath.

"Listen, Eva," she said, scooting into the chair at her desk. "There's a reason why I never invited you over before and it's not what you think."

Eva scrunched her nose. "I don't understand."

"I know you don't. It's kind of hard to explain."

"You know me, Cora. I'm a fast learner so shoot." Eva crossed her arms, her bottom lip poked out as she waited.

Cora lowered her gaze, curling her toes in her socks. "I've been lying to you. All this time I've been afraid of what you'd think of me if you knew the truth."

"The truth about what? Cora, what are you saying?" Eva's tone was taut, her expression fraught. She sat on Cora's bed; setting her purse beside her, hands clasped in her lap.

"The truth is..." Cora paused and gripped the edge of the chair. She couldn't meet Eva's gaze as she uttered the words she'd been too afraid to say. "I'm magic, Eva. My whole family is."

A silence so hushed dropped between them that Cora heard the snow falling outside the windows. Eva stood, drifted away from her. Cora wished she could make out her face, but she'd turned her back. "Look, I can explain," she began.

Eva held up her hand. "What does that mean exactly?"

Before Cora could respond, her bedroom door opened, and Stella peeked into the room. "Hey, girls. Hello, Eva, I wanted to pop in to see if you need anything."

Eva waved halfheartedly. "Hello, Ms. Emerson."

Cora shook her head. "We're okay, Mom."

Stella must have picked up on the tension in the room, so perceptive she was. With a pursed mouth, she scrutinized her daughter. "Okay, I'll be in my room if you need me. For anything," she added, eyes still on Cora as she shut the door.

Cora stood once her mother left. "What I'm trying to say is that I come from a long lineage of women who can do things like this..." She snapped her fingers and Eva gasped behind her hands as Cora's twist-out had gone from its normal shade of black to a bubblegum pink color. She grinned. "Do you get it now?"

Cora wafted to the mirror, hardly noticing that Eva had stumbled away from her. She fluffed her new coiffure.

Eva dropped her hands away from her mouth. "How did you do that?"

Cora shrugged a shoulder. "Like I said, magic, E."

"But... but... There must be some other explanation. People can't just do what you just did."

Cora tucked a strand of her pink hair behind her ear, considering whether it could be a new holiday look. She quite liked how the sweet, pink shade looked against her brown skin. "They can when they're a sorceress," she said.

"A sorceress?" Eva squeaked. "How? Why"

"It's like how some people are born with certain traits that others might call a blessing, like how some are born with exceptional good looks, or can sing, dance, and act, or have a flair for sports. It's like how you're super smart, E. My family was blessed by Our Father..." She gazed at the ceiling when she said this. "To simply do magic."

Eva pinched the bridge of her glasses as if that would help her steady herself. "That's crazy," she said, drawing out the letters in the words.

Cora put one hand on her chest. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to tell you. I feel so much lighter now."

Eva's eyes widened behind her glasses. She held up her hand again. "Believe me, I can understand why you didn't."

Cora watched as Eva lowered herself onto her bed, the feeling of relief fading in her belly second by second. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I think so."

Cora edged onto the bed beside her, carefully, fearing Eva might flinch away, but she didn't. "It's okay if you can't deal right now. I'll understand if you need a break from me." In her heart, she wished Eva would accept this, accept her for who she was.

It surprised her when Eva leaned in closer, inspecting her hair. She lifted a strand, eyed it, and tugged hard.

Cora yelped, hopping to her feet. "Ouch, E. That hurt."

"Sorry." Eva smiled bashfully. "Wanted to make sure it wasn't a wig."

Cora wiped her watery eyes, while Eva gazed up at her. "It's strange. I never noticed anything different about you. I mean, shouldn't I have been able to pick up on this stuff?"

"Sometimes people would rather not notice," said Cora. "It makes them feel surer about themselves, about everything really."

Eva worried her bottom lip between her teeth. "So," she said finally, scooting forward on the bed, "what else can you do?"

Cora laughed. "Just you wait and see."

The afternoon went by with them preparing for their history assignment, typing all of their notes into a document on Cora's computer, which Eva made her promise she wouldn't forget to email to her later.

Eva also didn't fail to notice Cora glancing at her cell phone periodically. "Thinking about Beau?" she asked, once Cora had finally abandoned her notebook to check her text messages.

She sighed, resting her phone in her lap. "I thought things would be better by now," she admitted.

"What happened between you guys anyway?"

Cora swallowed; glad she'd gotten the part about her being a sorceress out of the way so she could better explain what she'd done to Beau's grandmother. When she'd finished the arduous tale, Eva placed her hand over hers.

"I'm sorry, Cora, but you have to remember that things take time," she said. "I bet he's kept away because he's trying to sort it all out in his head."

"I thought he'd want to see me by now. It didn't take you that long to forgive me."

"I've known you for years, Cora. Of course, it wouldn't be hard forgiving you. You and Beau have only known each other a few weeks. Besides, we all know boys are airheads."

Cora tried to mirror Eva's grin. Her mouth twitched but she only managed a grimace.

"I say, if you want him so much then you make the first move."

Gears turned in Cora's mind. She had the perfect idea. Leaning closer to Eva, she slung her arm around her shoulders. "Where would I be without you, E?"

"Hapless, wishing you had a personal matchmaker like moi to lone you my genius."

"You're right." She hugged Eva closer, tighter. "I totally would be."

Cora shut her eyes, her mind drifting into the near future. Who knew, maybe she'd get to wear that gown she'd imagined and have a dance with Beau after all.