Author's Note: I am not Cassandra Clare, Suzanne Collins, or J.K. Rowling. I do not own anything.
Clary Fray, Simon Lewis, Jace Lightwood, Isabelle Lightwood, Hodge Starkweather, Jocelyn Fray, and other characters mentioned, including, but not limited to Maryse Lightwood and Luke Garroway all belong to Cassandra Clare, who I am not.
Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark, Primrose Everdeen, Mrs. Mellark and other characters mentioned, including, but not limited to, Peeta Mellark's brothers and his father all belong to Suzanne Collins, who I also am not.
All settings mentioned from the Harry Potter Universe, including, but not limited to, Diagon Alley and Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry belong to J.K. Rowling. Minerva McGonagall also belongs to her as well does the Hogwarts Acceptance Letter.
Chapter 1: The Letters Arrive
The tawny owl flew threw the open window and landed on the small wooden table, a parchment envelope clutched in its beak. I slowly stepped away from the bird, soon finding myself up against the wall.
"Mom?" I called out, squinting my eyes at the envelope.
Ms. Clary Fray
751 Cleveland Street
Brooklyn, New York
Apartment 3
"Mom!" I called out again, louder. The owl cocked its head at me and walked towards the edge of the table.
"What?" my mom finally responded.
"There's an owl in my room!"
I could hear my mom sigh, even from the kitchen. "So let it out!"
"But-but it has an envelope! With my name on it!"
I heard a chair screech back and my mom, Jocelyn, came flying into the room. She paled when she saw the owl and slowly, ever so slowly, she walked towards it, her hand held out in front of her, ready to grab the envelope. As soon as she did, the owl turned and flew out the window. My mom stood staring at my name on the front.
"Mom?" I repeated for the third time.
Having woken from her reverie, she tore open the envelope. Her eyes flitting past the page, I heard my heart pounding in my ears. She lowered the papers and said to me, "Clary honey, there's something I need to tell you."
She walked to me, her handing grasping mine. Together, we walked back to the kitchen. We sat down at the worn-down table.
"I don't know how to tell you this but-" She stopped. I smiled at her.
My mom smiled back, taking my hand in hers again. I glanced down to my hand and then back to her. "Clary, you're a witch."
I let out a laugh. "Mom, you're so funny." I saw the serious look on her face. "Mom?"
"It's true, you are a witch. It explains all the things you can do that others can't. All the—all the strange things you can do."
"But-but, that can't be true. It makes no sense. Witches aren't real. Magic isn't real. What are you going to tell me next? That you're a witch, too, and we're secretly hiding from an evil wizard who's out to kill us?"
"Clarissa, what I say is true. Let me prove it to you." Jocelyn stood from the table, and walked over to a counter. She opened the drawer, pulling out a wooden stick.
"Mom, what are you going to do with that stick? It can't do anything."
She pointed the stick at a wooden spoon lying on a counter and said, "Accio wooden spoon."
The spoon went zooming towards her, and she caught it in her hand. My jaw dropped to the floor and my eyes widened. I sat there, just staring at my mom.
"Do you see now, Clary? We're both witches. And this letter you got, it's an invitation to Hogwarts, a school for witches and wizards, in Britain..." I continued gaping at her. "Here, I'll read you the letter. It says, 'Dear Miss Fray, we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins September first. We await your owl no later than July thirty-first. Yours sincerely, Minerva McGonagall, deputy headmistress.' Clary, close your mouth."
I obeyed my mother and took a deep, unsteady breath. "So-so this Hogwarts, it's in Britain? How am I going to get there? We live in Brooklyn! In New York. In the United States."
"Clare-Bear, Luke lives in London. I'll go with you to London to help get you situated. Like—he's a wizard. He'll be able to help you too. When the school year ends, you are going to fly back here. Do you understand?"
"Mom, this is no time for rash decisions! You can't just send me off to Britain for a whole school year." In a softer voice I said, "I'll only have the summer to spend with you. Mom, I'll miss you." I looked up at my mom, seeing tears in her eyes. My heart constricted.
"Clary, you listen to me. Hogwarts is a good school. It's probably the safest place to be right now..." She trailed off.
"But mom, Hogwarts is in Britain! Why can't I just go to another school? Something closer to you. There have to be—wait, what do you mean it's one of the safest places? What is there that would make a place unsafe?"
o.O.o
I punched buttons on the Super Nintendo controller like a maniac. Soon enough, the Lupus died and I whooped in happiness. Suddenly, I heard a scream from my kitchen. Throwing down the control, I ran into the kitchen, to see my mom backed up against the refrigerator and a chocolate owl perched on the table, a letter tied to its leg. I heard someone thundering down the stairs and I turned to see my sister.
"Mom? Everything o-" She blinked at the owl on the table. It blinked back.
"Sh—should some one take the letter?" I whispered. Painstakingly, my mom inched over to us, towards the door frame.
"I don't think it's such a good idea. It could hurt you," my mother, always the one to worry, said.
"But—but, it flew in didn't it? And if it was going to hurt us, wouldn't it have done it already?"
"We haven't given it a reason to."
The owl stuck out its leg with the tied letter. It hooted.
"Mom, seriously, I think it wants us to take the letter."
My sister volunteered. My mom held her back.
"Mom, if it tries anything I'll just come running back. And if I get hurt any ways, take me to the hospital," my sister pushed.
My mom mulled it over for a moment before slowly nodding. My sister marched towards the still bird, and, hesitantly, untied the letter from it. She glanced at it and, looking at me, said, "It's—it's for you. It says Simon Lewis and our address."
I blinked a couple of times. Finally, the realization had dawned on me. This bird, this—this owl, had brought a letter addressed to me. It seemed odd. Last I heard, owls didn't deliver letters and they were nocturnal, so what was wrong with this owl I had no idea. I held my hand out. Rebecca walked to me and handed it over.
Simon Lewis
30 Essex Street
Brooklyn, New York
"Uh..."
"Open it," someone whispered.
I turned the envelope over to see it wax-sealed. The owl hooted once again, and I looked up to see it standing on both legs once again. It blinked at me. I tore my attention back to the envelope and—my heart thudding, my brows furrowed—slipped my finger under the flap. Soon enough, the seal came undone and the letter itself was in my hands.
There were two pieces of parchment paper. Each was filled with a tidy, scrawling script. The first page was the basic. A greeting, an explanation, and a closing. The second page contained a list of supplies. All sorts of odd things, really. Words popped out at me. Standard Book of Spells, magical herbs, beasts, wand, telescope, cat, toad. I turned back to the first page.
Dear Mr. Simon Lewis, it greeted.
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins September 1. We await your owl no later than July 31.
Yours Sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
"Simon?"
I looked up at my mom. Her face was pale, her eyes wide. I gnawed on the inside of my cheek.
"What does this mean?" my sister, Rebecca, asked.
I looked at her. I blinked quickly a couple of times. "How should I know?"
"Well," my mom interjected, "we'll just have to wait and see." She was quiet for a moment. "Haven't you ever noticed that Clary can do odd things too?" She waved her hand at the letter. "Maybe she knows something about this."
I glanced down at my feet. "I suppose so. I'm going to call her."
I began walking to the phone, but my mom's arm pushed me back. "And what do we do with the bird?"
My mom couldn't be serious. I wasn't even expecting the letter. Didn't even know what this Hogwarts was. How was I to know what to do with the bird? I blinked and lazily shrugged a shoulder. "Get rid of it?"
"Maybe...maybe the owl's waiting for an answer." Her eyes drifted over my shoulder to the chocolate brown owl. I turned my head to it, seeing if it knew the answer. It hooted. I took that as a yes.
I sighed, looked for some paper and a pen, and sat down at the table. I wrote a quick letter to this Minerva McGonagall, asking what this meant, how I would get there, if the school was even real, for that matter, and asking how I would get my supplies if I had no idea how to get them. I squinted around the room for a bit, looking for an envelope. Standing to look for one, I noticed my mother and sister were still in the same positions, standing at the door. I motioned with my hands to continue what they had been doing earlier and with that, my sister headed upstairs once again and my mom sat down at the kitchen table. Opening a drawer, I found what I was looking for. I quickly scribbled a name and address. Not knowing an exact address, I just wrote the name of the school. I quickly tied it back to the bird's leg and it took off out the window, soaring through the sky.
I turned back around to my mom. "Now, I will call Clary." I strode over to the phone and quickly dialed her number.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Ms. Fray, could I please talk to Clary?"
"I'm sorry, Simon but not now. Could you call back in about twenty?"
"Sure, Ms. Fray."
And with that, I clicked off the phone and headed back to the living room.
….
"Hello?"
"Hey, Simon." Clary's voice filled my ears.
"You okay? You seem kind of worried."
"Um..yeah. I'm fine. Look, there's—there's something you should know..."She drifted off.
I slid my hand down my face. "Yeah, I need to tell you something too. Something kind of weird happened today. But, uh—you go first."
I heard her take in a breath and exhale slowly. "So, have you ever noticed that I can do odd things? Like, when I get angry?"
I nodded, quickly realizing that she couldn't see me. "Yeah..."
"Well, it's because I'm a witch. You see, today, this owl flew into my room with a letter a-"
"Wait, an owl flew into your room? With a letter? That happened to me too! Was it from some lady named Minerva McGonagall? What a whack-job."
"Well, Simon... uh, it's real. I'm a witch, my mom's a witch. Apparently, you're a wizard. Luke's a wizard too. I'm—I think I'm-"
My eyebrows furrowed. "Clary?"
"EmgongtahHogwerts."
"What?"
"I'm going to Hogwarts," she repeated, slower.
"I'm coming over."
o.O.o.
"Jace! Jace! They're here! Our letters from Hogwarts! They're here!"
I scrambled up from my seat and took the letter from Izzy's waving hand. I flipped the envelope over to see my name scrawled there:
Mr. Jace Lightwood
34 Bane Boulevard
Brooklyn, New York
My heart felt like it would explode with happiness. I looked at Izzy to see she was already tearing her envelope open. Carefully, I slipped a finger under the candle wax-sealed envelope flap and opened it. Slowly, I pulled out the letter and threw the empty envelope to the floor. I glanced at Izzy.
"Ready?" she asked.
I nodded.
"Dear Isabelle Lightwood-"
"Dear Jace Lightwood-"
We spoke in unison.
"We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins September first. We await your owl no later than July thirty-first. Yours sincerely, Minerva McGonagall, deputy headmistress."
I looked back at Izzy who gave me a wide grin that stretched from ear to ear. I smiled back. She turned around, screaming for Hodge. I followed her, my feet not making a sound.
We found him in the library. He was sitting at his desk, reading a book. Of course. "Hodge!" Isabelle screamed again. He looked up expectantly at us.
Unable to contain myself any longer, I yelled out with enthusiasm, "We got our Hogwarts letters!"
"Congratulations!" Hodge exclaimed, standing up. He came over to us and gave Izzy and I each hugs.
"Hodge, when can go to Diagon Alley?" Izzy said, exasperated.
"Isabelle, you must be patient. We still have to send an owl back. We also need to buy plane tickets. We can't just up and leave. We'll have to call Maryse first."
"Then can we leave?"
"Izzy, remember, patience. Go. Run off. I'm busy." Hodge pointed to the door.
Izzy slumped out of the room. I looked back at Hodge, shrugged, and went after her.
o.O.o
I strode into the kitchen. "Prim!" I yelled. "Get that bird out of the house!" I ran to the kitchen table, onto which the owl perched, and shooed it away. It didn't even blink. "Shoo! Go away! Out! Get out-"
"Katniss!" I looked at Prim, a face of determination upon her. "That bird has a letter. It has a letter to you. And leave it alone. It hasn't done anything to you."
"Prim, stop talking such nonsense. Why would an owl have a letter? Owls. Are. Nocturnal. They. Don't. Carry. Mail."
"Well, this one isn't. Here's your letter. It's got your name on it," Prim huffed out, shoving an envelope into my stomach and stomping out the door.
Bringing the letter to the light, I saw that it did have my name on it. I turned it over. It was sealed with candle wax. My brows furrowed. Hesitantly, I tore it open. There were two pieces of paper, each filled with neat, curly hand-writing.
Dear Ms. Everdeen, it read. We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins September 1. We await your owl no later than July 31. Yours sincerely, Minerva McGonagall, deputy headmistress.
The letter slipped from my fingers.
o.O.o
I twirled the fork around my fingers. Involuntarily, I let out a long, loud sigh.
"Peeta, finish your food," my mother repeated for the dozenth time.
"But mom-"
"Peeta."
I speared a chunk of scrambled eggs with my fork and stuffed it into my mouth. Suddenly, a brown bird flew in from an open window, coming straight for me. I scrambled up from my chair, dropping my fork on the table, It clattered. The bird dropped a letter at my feet and flew out the window. Stomping, my mom went for the open window, slamming it shut. She turned back to me, her teeth clenched and said, "What does it say?" I bent to pick it up, a queasy feeling in my stomach. Tearing open the envelope, I felt my mom's angry presence put her hand on her hip and begin to tap her foot. My breath shaky, I read the letter out to her. When I glanced up at her, I saw my mother biting her lip, her hand raking through her blonde hair. Her foot tapped no longer. "Mom?" I managed.
Her eyes flew to me. "I suppose—I suppose we should tell your father is time to go to England. We'll have to get your brothers' things too." She sighed.
I nodded numbly. Despite my nervousness, I'd been anxiously waiting for this letter the whole summer. I'd constantly pegged my father and two older brothers, asking when my letter would come from Hogwarts. Each and every time, they'd tell me to have patience, and that it would come eventually. Their answers did nothing to subdue my my anxiousness. If possible, it only increased it.
But now, with the letter clutched in my hand and phrases from the letter running through my mind, I couldn't help but feel scared. Scared at the thought of what house I would be placed in. Would I be in the same house as my brothers? Or would I be placed in another? Would others from District Twelve be there? What if Katniss was there?
Katniss...
I know, I know. Where's Magnus? Where's Alec? Where's Gale? I'll get to them, I promise. Also, I know that some/most/all of the characters are pretty OOC. Jace WILL develop a talent and he will start having a smart mouth. You'll start to see Clary's interest in art in the next few chapters as well as Isabelle's obsession with clothes and messy rooms. :) This is my first fanfic, so be harsh. Really. I could use the comments so I can improve my writing.
Also, on my profile I have some polls up about which house you think the characters should be in. You can give up to three answers if you can't decide on one. I don't think I'll have, like, 8 polls up at once though. So for Magnus, Gale and Alec, just comment on here telling me which house you think they should be in along with your review. Or no review. Just tell me which house you think Gale, Magnus, and Alec should be in.
Thanks. :)