Grandpa called me to take a walk with him in the fields, a few days after we came home from London. He never took me to the fields with him. Killjoy, our pet crup, went with him usually. It was nice though, walking with Grandpa, watching killjoy running ahead wagging his forked tail.
“Did you know that your Ma went to the same school that you are going to?” asked Grandpa after we reached a little hillock that stood in the middle of our fields. We were sitting under a fig tree and munching on some crumpets Ma had packed for us. I shook my head, since I still had a mouthful of crumpet.
“Yes, she did. She was the best in her class. I went there too when I was about your age. It is a good place to learn magic. And you will be able to make lots of friends” he said, staring at our house in the distant, “You always wanted to have friends, right Iz?”
“Yes” I said nodding, “I miss going to school too. It was nice there. I could go back to my old school again Grandpa. That way I won’t have to go away from you”
“But they don’t teach magic there, my dear” said Grandpa chuckling, “Those schools are for muggles”
“What is a muggle?” I asked curiously.
“Muggle are non – magical folk. Like the people in the village. We always told you that they are different from us and that we should never do our special tricks in front of them. The fact is, we are different from them. And after a while, we must stop mingling with them” said Grandpa looking at me, “they are good people though” he added.
“Why are we different, Grandpa? How are we different?”
“We are different because we can make magic and they can’t. Magic flows in blood. It is a gift only given to a few”
“But, Ma said all gifts must be shared. Shouldn’t those who can do magic share it with people who can’t do it?”
“No” said Grandpa sternly, “under no situation you are to tell the muggles that you are a witch. They can’t accept the magic folk. They can’t accept that we alone can do magic. Many of them are jealous. And in their jealousy, they can harm us. So we never reveal to the muggles that we can do magic. When we are amidst them, we behave as if we don’t even know what magic is. Promise me Iz, that you will never reveal to any muggle that you are a witch or that you can do magic. Promise me, now”
I promised Grandpa for he looked positively fussed about it.
“Good. Now let me tell you a few things that you need to know before you go to Hogwarts” said Grandpa as he took a deep breath and continued, “The magical and non – magical folk have been enemies since a long time. Muggles do not understand that magic cannot solve everything. When they discover that someone can do magic, they pester that witch or wizard to provide them with everything they want, which is not possible. We cannot prepare food out of nowhere. Neither can We cure every malady known to humans. And most certainly, We cannot bring anything or anyone back from the dead. Do you understand?”
I nodded mutely. I remembered when old Bessie died, Ma didn’t use her wand to bring her back no matter how much Tiffany and Diana wailed. She said what’s dead should stay dead.
“What we can do” said Grandpa looking at me, “is use what we have and multiply it. We can till the land and make it grow extra crop for us. We can feed a little magic into the flowers to make them bloom bigger and faster. We can catch the fish without casting nets and we can grow the trees in hours rather than in days. But that is what was given to us. Muggles too can do these. They use their own ways. It requires hardwork and time, but they can do whatever that we can. Only they don’t realise it”.
“So, we can do everything in the easy way?”
“No, Iz. There is no such thing as an easy way out. That is why you have to go to Hogwarts. Magic flows in your blood, but it is not easy to wield it, that is use it. You can do little things like making a twig fly or getting a rose to bloom, but that will be about that. You have to learn to control how magic flows out of you. You have to learn to concentrate on the object or person that you want to use magic on. Young witches and wizards have to be trained to use magic. Or else, they will not be able to do it”
“So Ma and you went to Hogwarts to be trained? Didn’t Dad go there?”
“No” said Grandpa, again looking distant, “your Dad was home – schooled”.
“Why? Why was he home – schooled? Didn’t Hogwarts want him too?”
“It was your Grandmother’s wish that he was to be home – schooled. Great Scott! Look at the time. We must go back before the Gnomes sneak back into our garden again. Let’s get going then”.
We stood up and dusted our bottoms as killjoy wagged its tail. I lagged behind Grandpa a little, trying to get my head through what he said. Hogwarts did sound cool though – because Grandpa and Ma can do far more magic than Dad. So it must be a great place to learn magic. Moreover, if I become good with magic, then may be I can start my own school and teach the rest of my sisters so that they won’t have to go so far away to learn all about magic.
Before we entered the backyard, Grandpa pulled me aside and said seriously, “One last thing Iz. No matter what you hear or what others try to make you believe, remember one thing. Every human being is equal. Whether they are magical or not. Every blood counts the same. There will be those who think that being magical means that we are above the rest of them, but no we are not. We are just as same as the rest of them and we should treat everyone the same. Above all, we must never fail to love those, who love us dearly”.
I nodded again. And we walked into the house.
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