Nebula

Her mother cried when the letter arrived. That was a month ago. She didn't understood at first, she was just shaking like her mother. Minerva had never seen Isobel act like that before, and it scared her. 

“For Merlin, I'm so proud of you, my little girl.” Tears were falling down her cheeks. Minerva was in shock.

“I don't… I don't get it. Is this the Hogwarts you've talked about? The same place you'd spent a lot of years?” 

The first time her mother told her about the place, a special gleam came into her eyes. She spoke of it as if it was her home, as if it was the only place where she felt safe, alive, as if she felt like herself. That's why Minerva didn't understand why her mother had given up the magic inside her. 

For as long as she could remember, she had never seen her use such magic, and she believed it was because her father could not do the same things as them or her two younger brothers. 

He's a muggle, her mother told her once. A muggle. A human without magic.

But he was fine with it. He was totally fine with the whole thing about his family knowing how to do magic, even if at first his mother tried to hide it from him.

So in that month Minerva had been learning about Hogwarts, the wonderful school of magic that had been so highly praised by everyone who had gone there. Armando Dippet was the headmaster, and her mother had told her that he was a very wise and mysterious person. 

“Tomorrow will be the first day of your whole life, Minnie.” Isobel was more excited than her. 

They went to Diagon Alley a couple of days ago, and she couldn't believe that the whole world had been hidden from her for so long. She felt a connection to the place, as if she belonged there. But then she realised something, that she really did belong there. Always had, always would.

Her mother took her to Ollivanders, where a rather nice man waited on her and made her try almost ten wands before finding her own. It was strange, very strange indeed. That stick held all the magic she had inside her. But it was her wand. Hers. She had never had anything that belonged to her before, not really. 

“Do you think I'll be okay, mother?” She asked, terrified. She had never been separated from her family in that way, never had she had to face a new world full of possibilities alone.

“Of course you will, my precious daughter.” 

Her father and siblings had not told her anything about it, and she believed that her parents were hiding from her siblings what they had kept from her - the truth. It didn't seem right to her, but she didn't dare say so. She always had a lot to say, but she never said it, she just kept those thoughts to herself. Still, it hurt her that her father hadn't told her that he was as proud of her as her mother was. 

In fact, her mother didn't seem proud, well, she said she was proud, but to Minerva it felt like she was dumping all the shortcomings and pain she had from having to give up magic on her. It wasn't pride, it was despair. Desperation to have magic in her life again. 

It was a very silly conclusion for someone who hadn't even turned eleven yet. To have a lot to say but not to say it. Eventually the words would kill her. 

She was tired of her mother pestering her so much, but she liked having her close by. They had never been as close as they were at that moment, when there was one day left before she was to be gone for months. 

That's why she couldn't sleep. She hadn't slept a wink all night, and all she could think about was Hogwarts - what it would be like, the people there, the classes, how she would fit in. Her heart was pounding, and at any moment it was going to burst out of his chest. She couldn't. She needed it to be time. She needed it desperately. 

So when it got light, she didn't even have to wait for her mother to wake her up. She got up, got dressed and went downstairs, where her family was having breakfast. Malcolm and Robert Jr. were her younger brothers, the first a year apart and the other three. They had always got on very well, but since she had received the letter, they had barely spoken. That made her sad. She would rather have her relationship with her brothers back than go to Hogwarts. 

“Good morning.” She said, taking a seat and putting a piece of bread in her mouth.

“Hello, my little princess, how are you? Have you slept well?” Of course, it was her mother who broke the silence. Everyone looked at her.

“Good, but I'm a bit nervous.”

“Don't be! Everything's going to be fine.” I doubt it, she wanted to say. But she didn't.

“Will Dad and Robert and Malcolm accompany us to the station?” Minerva asked, wishing it would be a yes.

“No, dear.”

“Why don't they answer me, why do you speak for them?” She did not use an accusatory tone. She did not speak badly to her. She did not raise her voice. It was an innocent question, a question with pain. “What is wrong with me?” 

“Nothing's wrong with you, Minnie.” Robert said. It was the first time he had spoken to her in days. And above all, it was the first time he had dared to look at her in days.

“So why don't you talk with me, Rob?” 

“It's just that I'm going to miss you so, so, so much.” He sobbed. She was a little heartbroken. “And father said that if we avoided you, we would miss you less.”

“Father said that?” She looked at her father, waiting for an answer. She felt betrayed. 

“Yes, I said that. You are my little star, Minnie, and I don't understand the world you're gonna be in. It's painful to think that you are going to disappear.” 

It was the first time his father had spoken to her with such sincerity. He was a serious man, correct, with a peculiar sense of humour and at times, affectionate. But he didn't usually say that things. He never did. And it was inevitable that Minerva would start to cry, because she was going to miss them so much that she couldn't even describe it in words.

“She won't disappear. She can send letters every week.” Her mother intervened, defending the world of magic. But she didn't want to know anything about magic at that moment, she just wanted to hug her family.

And she hugged them. With all her strength. She cried when Robert Jr. kissed her on the cheek and cried even more when Malcolm told her she was the best sister in the world, and even more when her father told her he loved her. She cried until she was dry.

She was waiting for them to drive to the station. Or by train, considering they had to go all the way to London and they lived in Scotland. But her mother led her to the fireplace in their house, and told her to go inside. Minerva thought for a second that her mom was mental.

“Mother, are you okay?” 

“Love, I promise this is normal. You have to get used to it.” Isobel laughed, but Minerva didn't understand a single thing. “Just go inside, take this and say loud and clear "Flitwick's house" and throw away the dust.” 

“Who are the Flitwick's?” 

“Friends of mine. Their son it's going to Hogwarts like you and they live in London.” Isobel gave her the dust.

She didn't know her mother had friends of that crazy magic world. And she would never have suspected that she would meet someone her own age who was also going to start Hogwarts. 

“Flitwick's house!” She said loudly, and suddenly she felt her whole body moving but not moving. As if her muscles were twitching but at the same time, as if she was perfectly fine. When she opened her eyes again she was very dizzy.

“That must be the little Minnie!” 

She heard a woman's voice. She opened her eyes and found a lavishly decorated room, as if it were a very luxurious place. There were three people in front of her: the woman who had spoken, who had the most beautiful face she had ever seen, a man, who looked older, and a smaller boy, who must have been their son.

She came out of the fireplace, grabbing her boot and feeling completely out of place. She didn't know what to say, and she always had words for everything; she looked at them, expectantly, waiting for them to say something, or waiting for her mother to appear at any moment.  

“Don't be afraid. It's a pleasure to meet you.” The woman spoke again, smiling at her. 

“The pleasure it's mine.” She dared to speak, trying to sound as friendly as the woman. However, she couldn't take her eyes off the boy next to her. She was curious to know his name, and without a doubt he had inherited his mother's handsome face.

“Oh! And this is Filius, my shy and little son.” There was one thing remarkable about all of them, and that was that they were all very short. Not like the kind of people who were short, but to the point that Filius was about the height of his mother.

“Mom! I'm not shy!” He said, looking at the woman. “I'm not shy, I promise, Minerva.” 

“That's not something to be embarrassed of, I'm shy too.” She laughed, and immediately she knew that they were going to be friends.

Before he could answer her, Isobel appeared behind them. She wondered why it had taken her so long to show up, and thought it was probably because she and her father had talked about something.

“Isobel! You are incredible as always, it's so nice to see you.” 

They started talking, and Minerva stopped paying attention. She noticed that Filius's father had left at some point, and she also noticed that Filius was holding his mother's hand, like a frightened little bird. She thought it was adorable, and wished she had something to say to him.

“Kids, are you ready? We have to go to the station.” Her mother said, and suddenly her heart stopped. 

The walk to the station was silent, except for the copious chatter between the mothers of the two children. Filius did not have an emotional farewell with his father, and Minerva felt bad for him. Perhaps not all parents loved their children in the same way.

 King's Cross was full of people. She didn't even know how they could fit through all the crowds. It was the first time she had ever been to such a station, and she certainly didn't like it. She was starting to feel crowded, she was starting to feel short of breath. Then, all of a sudden, they were in front of a platform.

"You have to cross it." Filius' mother said. He didn't seem surprised, but Minerva looked at her as if she had said something crazy. 

Filius and his mother started running towards the platform, and just as she thought they were about to collide and fall to the ground, they disappeared. She thought she had seen wrong, that her eyes were lying to her.

"Mom, what just happened?"

"Magic, my dear daughter. Magic."

"I'm afraid to cross."

"Hold my hand."

So, holding her mother's hand and closing her eyes, they both crossed and appeared on platform 9¾. Magic, just as her mother had told her. Magic and how powerful it is.  

It was as if they had stepped into a completely different world. You could breathe the build-up of magic everywhere, you could see it, you could feel it. And Minerva felt more alive than ever, at eleven years old, when she realised she was a witch. That she really was. 

They stopped in front of the train. She knew she was going to cry again. Her mother hugged her, stroked her hair and whispered that she loved her, that she would always love her. There she broke down. When she got on the train with Filius, she still had tears on her face. She looked at him and realised that he had tears too.

"Let's go and find an empty carriage." He said, and she just followed him. 

They found a carriage in which there was no one and decided to go in. At first they didn't speak, they weren't able to say anything. Reality suddenly hit both of them, who until that moment were unaware that there was no turning back. 

From that moment on, they would begin to live.