Waking Up

Andromeda lay sleeping under a huge, oak tree with the wind whipping her hair, sun beating down on her face, gently mumbling her eyes started to open and she grimaced as she caught an eyeful of the brightest orange. Grumbling to herself Andromeda covered her eyes with her hand and stood up, she looked around. Why was it this sunny but still so cold? She moved her hand away from her eyes and took a handful of hair, hmm orange today, next grabbing the little mirror from her bag she looked into it. Green eyes? This was only the second time her eye colour had changed. Most eleven year old girls would find it extremely unusual to wake up every morning with a different colour of hair and sometimes different colour of eyes, but not Andromeda, she was used to it by now, every morning for the past year she woke under the oak tree with different coloured hair.
The first time it happened now that was a shock! She was ten years old and sleeping under a huge tree in the meadow with her best friend Ashen, Andromeda had woke and was ready to brush her hair, looking into the compact mirror that she had just pulled from her rucksack, she saw a great tuft of the brightest purple resting on top of her head. “WHAT THE…” she had screamed, waking Ashen “what’s wrong?” Ashen had called from her branch on the tree, when Andromeda did not reply Ashen had flown down and saw her best friend sitting at the trunk of the tree, pulling her hair with tears running down her face. But that was all a distant memory and now that abnormality had become part of Andromeda’s everyday life. Still when her hair turned an ungodly colour such as grey or a murky mauve colour, Andromeda was put in an awful mood which lasted the whole day. Orange was good though and the wavy cut and fringe looked good with her face. Oh yeah! Not only did her hair change coloured, the shape of he cut, her eyes and her facial features changed occasionally too. Slowly and carelessly Ashen came drifting down from her branch. “Orange looks good on you, Andy”, she yawned “what’s for breakfast?” Andromeda looked at Ashen “dunno why don’t you go see what Mrs Dowel can give us?” She said with a wicked smile. “Sure, sure Andy, I’ll be back soon” ashen said as she flew away, her tiny wings beating gracefully and her legs swinging. Andy…The only person that could call Andromeda that was Ashen, personally Andromeda hated the name but that’s what her mother had introduced her as to Ashen. She felt a pang as she thought of her mother. Andromeda remembered when Ashen had come home with her mother and father with a smile. “Look what we bought you baby,” her father had smiled and showed her the tiny, sleeping fairy “this is your new friend, her name is Ashen.” A four year old Andromeda had taken the tiny creature into her hands and gently stroked its head; the fairy was about six inches big, had silver hair and wore a bright blue dress that seemed to glitter in the light. “Nobody wanted her because she can’t make fairy dust” Andromeda’s father had explained, “I don’t care she’s beautiful daddy”, Andromeda had laid the fairy down gently on her bed and flung her arms around her mother and father “ yes she is beautiful, just like you” her father said as both her parents hugged her tightly. “Your fathers right Andromeda, your beautiful darling and you always will be” Andromeda’s mothers voice echoed inside her head. Andromeda wiped the tears that were escaping from her eyes; she always got weepy thinking about her parent’s.
Andromeda sat down and listened carefully for Ashen coming back, ten minutes later she heard the fluttering of wings and saw that ashen was back, holding a loaf of pan bread, two full jam jars and a big raspberry tart. “Nearly got caught by that damn animal that, that horrible old woman keeps” ashen said indignantly. Ashen had a huge problem with old Mrs Dowel’s dog; it seemed to relish the thought of sinking its teeth into Ashen’s long tanned leg. Ashen at the present moment was 5ft 9”, huge for a fairy it turns out, but she could miniaturise herself at a moment’s notice, the thing was Ashen loved being tall, she could also hide her wings but didn’t see the point in it unless they were walking around the muggle town, it would be strange for a muggle to see a beautiful girl with huge pink wings… sitting down next to Andromeda, Ashen placed the food on the grass on top of a white and red picnic blanket that Andromeda had pulled from her rucksack. Silently they both cut off bits off bread and spread the jam generously over it. They ate without speaking as per usual, until the whole loaf of bread was done, then Andromeda lifted the remaining bits of jam and scooped it on to the raspberry tart and placed the other full jar into her bag while Ashen took the empty jar and flew with it over to the skip behind the trees. When she came back Andromeda gave her a small knife and two plates which they had taken from Mrs Dowel three weeks earlier, at once Ashen cut the tart in half and placed the pieces of tart on each plate, then she handed the plate back to Andromeda, “thanks” Andromeda said and again they resumed silence until every scrap of the tart was done. It was really good! Once they had finished they placed the plates at their sides and lay back onto the grass, groaning with the fullness in their stomachs. Andromeda and Ashen both looked at the slight bump on Ashen’s stomach which was due to how much she had just eaten. Simultaneously they both burst out laughing. They laughed for a long time, until their sides hurt and tears ran down their faces. Neither one could explain why they were laughing so much; it was just one of those things that happened when life was going great, but life wasn’t going great, yeah maybe it was good but it wasn’t great. If it was going great she’d be sitting in her house with her mother practicing her magic while Ashen sat cheering along whenever she got a spell exactly right…but she wasn’t there, she was here…in the forest…sleeping under a tree…keeping warm with the only spell she remembered…the firethorn charm – fireta mobalin – a spell which surrounded the person with an non-painful fire to heat them up when it got cold. Her mother had taught her that spell as a young child. The most useful spell to know she had called it….

Flashbacks

A ten year old Andromeda sat outside in the bright sunshine with her mother and father eating shockballs – a lemon flavoured sweet which gave the person eating it small shocks in their mouths and made red smoke come out of their nose and ears – while her father tried to charm a muggle tennis ball and two muggle tennis rackets so that he could play a game of tennis against the other racket. “Marvin, come have some Goldtea” Andromeda’s mother, Ella had called to her husband; Marvin walked over his face bright red with exertion and took the Gold tea gratefully. Goldtea was an adult drink that contained the purest alcohol that was found in the horn of a unicorn, it was called Goldtea as it was a bright golden colour. Marvin and Ella sat chattering away with each other as their young daughter walked over to the abandoned rackets and ball, Andromeda lifted her father’s wand and pointed it at the ball, instantly the ball lifted into the air, Andromeda then pointed the wand at the rackets and as the ball had done they also rose into the air, with another flick of the wand the rackets and ball began playing all by themselves as Andromeda sat on the ground and watched holding her father’s wand to bring the ball back when it got hit too hard and flew away. “my goodness, look at that!” Marvin had exclaimed as Andromeda brought the ball back for the fifth time. Running over to his daughter he scooped her up “you are wonderful baby, so talented, you’re going to make a great little witch aren’t you!” of course Andromeda had been showing signs of magical talent from a very early age, but this was advanced magic, that sixteen year olds were supposed to be able to do. Ella came over and hugged Andromeda “you make us so proud” her mother crooned. Behind them ashen shot her thumbs up and a huge grin. Then suddenly the sky turned black and the air went cold, a look of fear passed over Andromeda's fathers face “get in the house, NOW!” he ordered them “hurry up, Ashen you too, everyone get in the house!” her mother put Andromeda down and grabbed her hand. Once they were inside her father started muttering spells under his breath pointing his wand all over the house. “that won’t stop them from getting in Marvin” Andromeda's mother cried, “no but it may hold them off” her father had replied back, his face pale white. Moments later the coldness started seeping into the house “wh-what are we going to do Marvin” Andromeda's mother stammered. Merlin chose to ignore this; it looked as though if he opened his mouth he would vomit. CRASH! The door was blasted open and in came a tall man with, dark greasy hair, skin like yellow wax and trousers that were two inches too small, in his hand he held a blue piece of parchment and began to read from it “Mr and Mrs Lorr, on the orders of the high minister himself, we have instructions to take you both away with us so we can observe and evaluate the powers you both have. The minister has taken a special interest in youse and demands that you go to see him immediately, neither one of you has a choice in this matter as it is an order from the highest man known in this world, if you do not come quietly or comply with our wishes we are entitled to take you by force or kill you. The minister does not wish youse to be harmed but if needs be it shall come to that. You may allow us to fetch a small amount of possessions for you both but you are asked that you remain seated silently. We must ask to have both your wands and any other items of magic you may have on you.” Both Marvin and Ella handed over their wands to the two guards that accompanied the man that was reading from the blue parchment. When all three men went upstairs, Ella lifted out a white metal scroll and handed it to her daughter. “put that scroll in your bag and never lose it, do not follow us when we leave, Ashen shall take care of you when we are gone, be good for her and wait until we come back, then we will tell you what’s going on, I love you darling…always” Andromeda replied, her voice breaking “I love you to mummy, please don’t go, don’t leave me please, I am sorry I did magic with daddy’s wand I won’t do it again I promise, please mummy,” tears flowing hard and fast. “no.no this has nothing to do with you but we have to go baby girl, I’m sorry, but well be back, ok honey.” Ella said. “mummy please” Andromeda whispered, her voice broken with emotion. The men were back down the stairs with two small bags, “let’s get going shall we?” the man replied, his voice harsh. Looking round his eyes stopped on Andromeda and he looked straight through her as if he couldn’t see her. Of course he couldn’t see her Marvin had most likely charmed both her and ashen so that no one bar Ella and Marvin could see or hear them! Ella and Marvin both stood up and started towards the door “MUMMY, PLEASE, Please, MUMMY, don’t go.” Andromeda screamed. Her mother’s face broke and she dissolved into tears as both parents walked out the door and stepped into the portal which one of the gormless looking guards had just set up. “Mummy, no, no, mummy, please,” Andromeda begged, her voice thick, tears still streaming and an awful pain in her stomach. She watched as her mother and father stepped into the portal, the three men right behind them. As soon as all five people were inside the portal, it closed up, and flew off. Andromeda ran after it screaming “mummy come back, come back, please, why are you leaving me? Daddy…mummy…please…I love you”, the neighbours watched her with pain in their eyes. Obviously the charm had worn off, she ran as fast as she could, hoping that she could grab onto the portal and go with her parents. She kept running she could still see the portal and then it was gone “NO!” Andromeda screamed and sank to her knees, they were gone and suddenly she realised she was outside the towns portal, she was in the muggle world and now she couldn’t get back through the border…she was stuck here. Andromeda curled up on the ground and sobbed, her heart felt as if it had just been ripped apart. Ashen, with her wings hidden, knelt down and put her hands on Andromeda. After a few minutes of shushing and hushing to try and calm the child and failing to do so, Ashen picked up Andromeda and carried her through the muggle town, Andromeda lay there, arms wrapped around Ashen’s neck, sobbing into her chest. Ashen walked for a while looking for somewhere that they could eat and rest, they came to a wooded area and ashen decided that it was the safest place for them to stay, she carried Andromeda with her as she climbed the tree, at last she found a small alcove and extended it with what was left of her magic – hiding her wings drained the magic she had – and settled Andromeda down, Ashen then carried onto light a fire to keep them warm and produce a bed for them both to lie on. Andromeda went over to the bed and lay down; Ashen went over copied Andromeda's movements and lay down beside her, hugging her close. They went on like this for months sleeping in the tree, stealing food and not knowing how or where Andromeda's parents were, a few months passed and one afternoon when Andromeda was looking at the scroll her mother left her, trying to decipher what the odd language it was written in was and what it actually said when an envelope flew into the trees alcove and landed in Andromeda's lap. Staring at it with baited breath Andromeda opened the envelope and read:
Dear Andromeda,
I am sorry that I haven’t been able to write to you but I was under close supervision, its best to tell you, your mother is dead, she died due to stress, but she died peacefully. She loved you so much Andromeda you must know that, we both do, if there was any we could have stayed with you we would have and one day when you are older you will understand, do not drown yourself in your sorrows, your mother wouldn’t have wanted that, we both want you to succeed and do well in whatever life you chose to have, muggle or not, we will always be proud of you baby and I’m sorry we had to leave, like I said we had to, there was no other choice. I am glad you have Ashen to look after you. I know you will be sad reading this right now but soon you will receive a great surprise and I hope you grasp this opportunity and enjoy it like your mother and I did, I love you always and forever baby
From daddy with lots of love
PS. I have broken free of the place your mother and I were held and I am now on the run so don’t write back, do not worry about me, I will contact you again soon and tell you if it is safe to write back, then I shall come and see you, I love you. xxx
The images in Andromeda's head stopped and she remembered she was lying on the grass, sitting up she realised she was crying again, she didn’t bother wiping them away. “I’m going to bed, see ya” she mumbled to Ashen, Andromeda climbed up the tree and into the alcove, pulling back the covers of the bed she got under and pulled the covers back up until they swallowed her up. It was dark and warm, Andromeda started to fell sleepy and her eyes started to droop, within minutes she was fast asleep, dreaming of the time her father took her to pick out which dragon she wanted to have, she didn’t want the dragon instead she wanted the gold scarf that the keeper was wearing, so instead her father took her into the village and they scoured the shops until they found one with the gold scarf, she remembered putting the scarf on, her grin stretching so far she thought it would come right off her face and the warm feeling she got in her stomach. That image remained in her head for the rest of the night as if it was engraved into her brain.

The Letter

Andromeda woke the next morning, something slapping against her face, “gerroff” she mumbled slapping it away, it continued slapping away “I Said GET…oh!” it was a golden envelope with a multi-coloured wax seal. Sitting up she grabbed the letter and opened it, closing her eyes and taking a breath, when she opened her eyes a letter written in extremely neat handwriting was floating in front of face, Andromeda held the letter and read:

Dear Miss Lorr,
As you are most likely well aware there is a magical world outside the muggle boundaries, we are delighted to inform you that your name has been considered and approved for the Haylsdron School of Sorcery and Spells, and you are therefore being invited to join as a first year to our school, we hope that you will oblige to our request and arrive at the school gates on the 18th of August. The password for the boundary of Oxpott town is Defidaloos and the spell which you will need to take you to the school gates is Porta delmadus Haylsdron (pore-ta-del-mad-us-hails-drone).
On your arrival at the gates our caretaker will meet you and escort you to our fine dining hall, where you will be sorted into one of the five houses, you will then be seated and have dinner with the rest of the school. Lessons start next morning at 9 o clock sharp. You can collect your class timetable from your year head in the sitting area of your dormitory.
If you desire to come to our school, please send us a letter immediately so we can order your school books.

Hope to see you at the start of term.
Yours sincerely,
R. Shieldheart. 
Professor Rita Shieldheart
Headteacher of Haylsdron School of Sorcery and Spells
HS SS

Andromeda gasped and dropped the letter “Oh my God, oh, oh, ASHEN! Come see this, ASHEN!” Ashen flew up and saw the look on Andromeda's face it was a look she hadn’t seen for a very long time, “what is it?” ashen asked. Andromeda held out the letter, ashen read it and a smile crept up on her face “wow are you going then?” she asked “obviously” Andromeda gasped she couldn’t believe it. Just then another letter came into the alcove, grabbing it and wrenching it open she read:
Andromeda baby,
Todays the day and I know you just got your letter, are you excited? Of course you are duh! I hope you enjoy your time there and I know you will, I also know that as soon as you read that letter you decided you were going to go. Well get your stuff packed quickly and get yourself over to the border, you’re going home! I love you so much, you’re going to be a great little witch, like I’ve always said and I bet you excel in everything, maybe not flying though, you have difficulty walking let alone flying ha-ha. You still can’t reply but soon you’ll be able to. I look forward to hearing from you when the time comes. Your mother would be as proud as I am right now, and I know she’s watching over you. Good luck
Love from your proud daddy xxx
PS. Watch out for the wimblees at the school, those little critters bite, seriously. X
“Ashen we’re going home” I can’t believe it, let’s get packed!” she smiled as broadly as she could, butterflies buzzing in her stomach…

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 23.10.2011

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Widmung:
to all my family who pushed me to start writing again