Life had been weird ever since I got my first taste of real magic. Between unlocking solar powers, channeling energy that felt like bottled-up sunlight, and desperately avoiding vaporizing the neighbor's cat… let's just say I had a lot on my plate.
I was getting stronger, but control? Yeah, not so much.
"Okay… focus," I whispered, standing in the backyard, palms up. The early morning sun warmed my skin, making the solar energy inside me stir like a restless dragon. "Just a tiny spark. Small. Controlled."
A flicker of golden light formed in my palm, swirling like liquid sunshine.
"Nice…" I grinned, feeling the warmth buzzing through my fingertips.
BOOM.
The spark ballooned into an orb the size of a basketball, humming with raw energy.
"AHHH! NO, NO, NO!"
I panicked, flailing my arm like I was swatting away a giant firefly.
"Dim, dim, dim!" I thought desperately, trying to will it smaller.
POOF.
The orb fizzled out just before it could set the grass on fire. I collapsed onto the ground, panting, as the adrenaline drained out of me.
"Okay… not so nice," I muttered, wiping sweat off my forehead.
I was getting better, but fine-tuning? Yeah, I was still figuring that part out. Trial and error. Mostly error.
School, on the other hand, was worse.
"How am I supposed to care about algebra when I'm going to learn magic soon?" I groaned, staring at my math homework like it had personally insulted me.
"Ethan," Mrs. Jenkins had sighed for the millionth time that semester, her patience wearing thinner than my excuses. "Focus."
"Right," I mumbled, doodling tiny suns in the margins of my notebook.
It wasn't my fault, really. How was I supposed to care about prime numbers when I had solar powers and the promise of Hogwarts looming over me?
I was zoning out more than usual. My thoughts kept drifting back to magic, Hogwarts, and what kind of adventures were waiting for me.
"Ethan, what's the capital of France?"
"Uh… Lumos?"
"Ethan," Mrs. Jenkins said, rubbing her temples.
"…Paris?" I mumbled.
"Correct," she said, but she was mentally checking out. Probably wondering if teaching was worth the stress.
Yeah. I wasn't winning any "Student of the Year" awards.
And then there was the research.
Ever since I ran into that vampire in the alley, I'd been obsessed with figuring out how the wizarding world stayed hidden. I spent hours on the internet, diving down conspiracy rabbit holes that would make Fox Mulder proud.
"Okay… think like a wizard," I murmured, scrolling through sketchy forums in the dead of night.
The Bermuda Triangle? Clearly a malfunctioning Portkey.
Stonehenge? Probably a magical power nexus. Duh.
Area 51? Ministry outpost, obviously.
But the jackpot was a post that read:
"Has anyone ever heard of a secret platform between platforms 9 and 10 at King's Cross? Tried walking through the wall once… almost broke my nose."
Bingo.
Platform 9¾.
Hogwarts was real. And I was ready.
Or so I thought.
And Then… It Happened.
Sunday morning started out boring.
Cereal. Utter boredom. Poking at soggy Frosted Flakes like they had personally wronged me.
"Ethan," Mom said, flipping through a magazine. "Eat before it turns into glue."
"Too late," I muttered, watching my breakfast dissolve into mush.
Dad was halfway through his coffee, reading the paper with his usual "let's-see-how-the-world-is-ending-today" expression.
"Okay, buddy," he said without looking up. "What's going on?"
"Nothing," I lied, offering a smile that was about as convincing as a politician during election season.
"Uh-huh." Mom didn't look convinced.
Honestly? I was just trying not to vibrate out of my chair from excitement. My birthday was creeping closer, and if the Harry Potter timeline was anything to go by… a certain letter was coming.
But I wasn't ready for how it came.
THUD.
We all jumped as something slammed into the window.
"What the—" Dad started, lowering his paper.
THUD. THUD. THUD.
"Is that… a bird?" Mom frowned, peering toward the window.
"Maybe a pigeon?" Dad guessed, his tone suggesting he was equally confused.
"Or a very angry squirrel?" I offered.
BAM. BAM. BAM.
"Okay, that's not a squirrel," I said, standing up slowly.
A sinking feeling settled in my stomach as I walked toward the window.
Please let it not be what I think it is…
I pulled back the curtain and—
"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me…"
It was an owl.
A big one.
With an envelope clutched in its talons.
And it was glaring at me like I'd personally offended its ancestors.
"Is that…" Dad blinked, his coffee halfway to his lips.
"An owl?" Mom's jaw practically hit the floor.
"In broad daylight?" Dad added, his voice full of disbelief.
"Yup." I opened the window.
The owl didn't wait. It swooped in, dropped the envelope on the table with an air of judgment, and gave me one last unimpressed hoot before flying off like it had better things to do.
"…Rude," I muttered, watching it disappear into the sky.
We all stared at the letter.
"…Is that for you?" Mom's voice was barely above a whisper.
I didn't answer. I was too busy reading the neat handwriting on the front.
Mr. E. CarterThe Second Bedroom on the Left14 Willow LaneHogsford, West YorkshireEngland
"Oh, it's happening…" I whispered.
"Ethan…" Dad's voice was cautious. "What is going on?"
I broke the wax seal and pulled out the letter, my hands just a little too shaky.
"Dear Mr. Carter,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…"
I skimmed through the rest—supply list, term starts September 1st, blah blah blah.
But none of that mattered.
I was going.
"Ethan?" Mom's voice pulled me out of my trance.
"Uh…" I swallowed hard, my brain scrambling for a believable explanation.
"Camp?"
"…Camp?" Both of them stared at me.
"Yeah!" I nodded way too fast. "A… super exclusive… boarding school. They teach… Latin. And… birdwatching?"
"Birdwatching?" Dad raised an eyebrow.
"You know," I shrugged, "so I can identify owls better?"
"Ethan." Mom crossed her arms, her 'Mom Look' locked and loaded. "Why does it look like this was written with a quill?"
"Old-fashioned charm?" I offered weakly.
"Why did an owl deliver it?" Dad asked, his expression somewhere between confusion and mild panic.
"Um… expedited service?"
Silence.
I was so dead.
"Ethan," Mom's eyes narrowed. "What's going on?"
Think, Ethan. THINK.
I took a deep breath.
"Okay… okay… You're not going to believe me, but…"
I glanced down at the letter again.
Hogwarts. Magic. The wizarding world.
"…I got into a really cool school."
Dad blinked. "What kind of school sends an owl?"
"Uh…"
"I swear, Ethan," Mom muttered, rubbing her temples. "If this is some elaborate prank…"
"It's not," I said quickly. "I mean… it's complicated."
"You're eleven."
"Exactly!" I nodded. "And… this is a once-in-a-lifetime… totally legit… not suspicious at all… opportunity?"
Mom and Dad stared at me.
The tension in the air was thicker than oatmeal.
And then—
"Fine," Mom finally sighed, looking exhausted. "But we're reading that letter."
"Every. Word." Dad added, his eyes narrowing.
"Deal," I muttered, trying not to look too relieved.
Crisis averted.
For now.
As They Read the Letter…
While they read the letter in stunned silence, I leaned back in my chair, my mind racing.
I was going to Hogwarts.
I had solar powers and the amour of a freaking demigod.
And now?
I was about to step into the wizarding world.
"Oh, this is going to be fun."