Chapter Text
She twisted and twirled her fingers around. The warmth flickered in her fingertips, billowing around it like a subtle wind. It followed her movements before she flicked her wrist to the side, and it sent her marble floating gently into her desk drawer. With another flick, her drawer closed quietly.
Her gaze flitted up to meet twinkling eyes watching her from the other bed, the bed mirroring her own. Gia, her twin sister, was watching her carefully, like every movement she made was a precious lesson she had to learn from. Her eyebrows furrowed and she complained, “I still don’t get how you do that.” Rolling onto her back a pout formed, “Are you sure I have the same powers? You say you feel it there, but if that’s the case why can’t I do the same stuff as you?”
Serafina blinked at her before she averted her eyes. She doesn’t get it either. She’s tried to teach her sister multiple times, but for some reason, she just doesn’t have the same modicum of control. She knows she can do it too, because she’s seen Gia in anger send objects flying or break windows. She always feels the pulse from her before those things happen. Yet, it alludes her twin when she tries to do it on purpose.
Though, Gia can’t feel it the same way she can either. It’s this thing. A thing that lets her do things, or make things, but it’s more than that. She can feel it. She can always feel it. It could be a simple hint, or it could be a blazing inferno. Either way it’s always there. She usually calls it magic. Though… everything she’s ever learned about in school tells her magic isn’t real. Thus, it’s existence has remained an enigma to her.
She’s been able to manipulate it since she was, four? Was that when it started to click for her? She’s always been able to feel it, but she started utilizing it around then. She’s been practicing with it for years and she still doesn’t know what it is.
The only thing she’s ever figured out is that she can feel it in every living thing she’s ever encountered. With plants the feeling is almost always barely there, but there none the less. She wouldn’t be able to distinguish between them, most plants feel the same.
There’ve been a few exceptions though. Old trees tend to feel a lot… stronger? Maybe? It’s like their presence is established. They don’t have a strong feeling, but it’s more than the slight tingle she gets from grass or the occasional static of a flower bush.
There was also a really odd plant once. It’s magic, for lack of a better word, was far more concentrated than she had ever experienced in greenery. She found it while her family was visiting their cabin at Balcona Lake.
They visit almost every summer, sometimes during holidays too. On one such occasion, on her sixth summer, her and Gia were taking a walk through the woods when she felt this soft hum that didn’t suit the setting they were wandering through. She followed it, Gia not far behind, adventurous little devil she is. It hadn’t been long before they came across some leaves in the ground. They hadn’t seemed any different than all the other shrubbery around, but the humming had been coming from below the sprout.
Curiously, she told her sister about the feeling, wondering what it could possibly be. Gia, her beloved sister, always trusting her implicitly and the much braver one of the two of them, started to dig with a huge grin on her face. She joined her.
No more than 30 seconds later she felt wrinkled skin with texture like a potato, brushing against her digits, followed shortly by the shrillest shriek she’d ever heard.
Her vision blurred, and a loud thud vibrated through the ground next to her. With bleary eyes, and hopefully not bleeding ears, she shoved the dirt back into its face, because of course it had a face. Abruptly, the screeching had stopped, and she only caught a glimpse of her sister’s deathly pale face before she collapsed right next to her.
They both woke up later, back at the cabin, with their parents pacing around furiously. With their awakening was a prompt scolding and forbiddance to venture outside the cabin without an adult for the rest of the summer. While they did feel guilty, she most of all for almost putting Gia in danger, the feeling was accompanied by a bitterness for not being able to wander as they like.
They couldn’t go back to the plant back then, and when they had returned the next summer, sans their probation, it was gone. They never saw anything like it again.
Bugs were very similar to plants. An extremely weak presence. She wouldn’t be able to tell a difference between their magic. Practically all of them just feel like a flickering buzz. If there were exceptions, she hadn’t found any yet.
Animals were much more fascinating. The magic is stronger and each of them have something like a signature. While species feel similar, each animal has its own feeling. It’s the tiniest of subtle hints. She’s seen cats and dogs occasionally that have a strange amount of magic, way more than normal for animals. These pets are always accompanied by a master that also has much more magic than the people she typically sees around.
People also have this magical presence. Most of the people she’s seen or met have about the same amount of magic as animals, but it’s more complex. She’s noticed that it tends to be connected to what type of person they are. She passed someone on the street once whose magic felt shriveled and cold. Days after that, their face appeared on the news. Convicted for multiple murder cases and attempted rape. Her father had quickly shut down the TV, but her horror at the time remained in the back of her mind still.
It’s not usually that extreme though. Most of the time it’s subtle differences. One person has magic that feels like a breeze that’s freeing, another has a rippling type that’s calming, the list goes on and on. Despite being able to feel these differences, the amount of magic that most people carry is trivial.
There are a few however, like she mentioned before, that have way more magic than others. She met a man wearing a sun hat with a skimpy nightgown once. They were one of those people. He had glanced at her, winked, and then disappeared right before her eyes.
There have been other people too. A passerby, the librarian on Fletcher Avenue, the baker by Mill Lane, her younger brother’s classmate, there are plenty of them.
Though, probably most notable is herself and her twin sister.
Gia’s magic is like a burning heat. It feels passionate and wild, much like her personality. As for herself, it’s like there’s wave after wave of static, constantly thrumming in her body. Shooting through muscle and bone before poring itself out into the air when she wishes it.
If she had to describe the amount of magic that all living things hold in simple terms, she’d say it like this. Plants and bugs are like ash that’s been cooling for an hour or so. Warm from the fire, but next to nothing is there. Animals and some people have something like a match. A small fire, distinguishable, but not particularly useful. Then people with more of this magic have a campfire. Capable of providing warmth, protection, and other direfully useful things.
Though, she has yet to meet a single person like herself. If most people with powers like Gia and the librarian, or the baker are a campfire… then she’s a house set ablaze. She doesn’t know how else to say it. It’s scary sometimes, how when she gets a bit annoyed an entire tree can explode or when she’s sad a tornado bursts through town with no warning.
The only person she shares all this with is Gia, her precious twin who could never be scared of her and seems to be the only thing in existence capable of calming her when she feels the fire spread. This has happened less and less over the years though.
One of the biggest reasons she grew more accustomed to using this magic was in an attempt to make sure that she wouldn’t lose control when she did get mad or upset. This strategy seems to have worked wonders for her, thankfully.
She had to shake herself a bit when she heard her sisters voice, “You know, it’s odd, that even though you say people have this magic, or whatever, no one talks about it.” Her face is scrunched, lips puckered, and nose crinkled, “You said you feel it in objects too?”
“Only sometimes, it’s never consistent. Usually, I feel it in objects most often close to people that have a lot of the power too. But if I don’t feel it there then I usually feel it in antique shops. A lot of old stuff has it for some reason.” She shrugged noncommittally. Gia hummed, but otherwise didn’t comment.
A knock on the door sounded from downstairs, followed by a baby’s cry. Whoever’s at the door must have woken up Henry. She absently sends sparks into the air. Gia turns to watch. Their mother’s and a stranger’s voice float upstairs while Henry’s sobs taper off.
The conversation ends and the sound of quiet treads end at the bottom of the stairs. “Girls!” Their mother called up, “Come down here please! There’s someone here to meet you. She says there are letters that you need to read, apparently.”
Gia sat up, confused, but made her way to the door, “Letters? And a stranger is here to see us? What do you mean?” The child previously shooting sparks stood up as well.
“I’m not sure, can the both of you just come down for now?” Her voice also came off as quite bewildered.
Gia looked to her sister, but shrugged and the sound of soft thumps met her ears as she descended the steps. She followed after her sister, close but still lagging. She wanted to get a peek before walking into the foyer.
She heard Gia’s voice, “Hello! It’s a pleasure, my name is Gianna.”
She glanced around the corner and spotted a squat woman whose hair was short, gray, and wavy. Atop her head was a battered hat that looked like something a witch in a fairy tale would wear, and some kind of earthy green cloak was clasped around her shoulders. She could feel magic pooling around the woman. It was like fresh soil, just dug up, and seed’s that have yet to sprout. A magic that thrives on helping others grow.
“It’s such a pleasure to meet you as well, Gianna. My name is Professor Sprout. I’m excited to see your sister too.” Her voice was gentle, and her smile was positively lighting up her face.
The child’s foot met the last step, and the woman trailed her gaze to meet her eyes. “Ah, Serafina. It’s lovely to meet you sweetie.” Her voice washed around Serafina like ocean waves.
The woman pulled out two nearly identical letters and splayed them out so Sera and Gia could see.
“I’m here to tell the two of you about a magical place called Hogwarts.”