When we had settled down after our ill-fated trip to Flourish and Blots, the sun came out and Melinda opened a window. Mum pulled out an old, crumbling book with silvery letters off a small bookshelf. I only got a glimpse of the title; it had something to do with family genealogies. They opened it up and peered inside the cover. “Last updated… five months ago. I wonder what was added?” Melinda said. The three of us sat down at the kitchen table, with me in the middle between the two sisters. They placed the book gently on the surface turning its pages carefully. I reached out to touch the parchment, then pulled my hand back.
“What do you mean by added?” I asked curiously.
“This book has a charm on it. There are many copies, each one charmed with the same spell. Somebody, an old pureblood most likely, has the original copy. Whenever he updates it, each addition is written into each of the other books as well. It’s a good system,” Melinda explained. “We could look up Sholt. That’s your mother’s maiden name, you know. Good magic family. See, here’s the page.” Melinda folded out a thick section of parchment. She traced her fingers smoothly over several names, none of which I recognized.
“Ah… there’s Dad,” Mum put in. I looked where she was pointing. The name Gorden Sholt was written carefully. A thin line connected it to Theresa Bones.
“We’re related to the Bones family. They are also a good family. Plenty of pureblood families are good, you know,” Melinda said.
“What’s a pureblood?” I asked meekly. I realized then I had a lot to learn about the wizarding world.
“Well, purebloods are people who have full magical heritage,” said Mum. “That means no Muggles at all in their list of ancestors. Of course, we’ve been marrying into Muggle families, so there aren’t too many pureblood households left. Take our family, for example. The Sholts were purebloods until I married your father. That makes you a half blood.” I shivered. I didn’t want to be a half blood. It sounded flawed, the way Mum said it. Maybe she was thinking of Dad.
“Who else are we related to?” I murmured, trying to change the subject. Melinda brightened immediately.
“Well, you could spend hours pouring over this book. Almost every pureblood family is linked at one point. Up here, in your great-great-grandfather’s time, his brother married into the Potter family,” Melinda exclaimed. She stopped and exchanged a look with Mum. I could only wonder what happened to the Potters.
“And the Crouch family, over here?” I said quietly, pointing to another marriage into the Sholts. Mum jumped and turned to me.
“Yes. Fine, sturdy people. I believe Mum was good friends with Delia Crouch, back in her day,” Mum said. “We married into their family twice. That’s not a record, though. We’ve married into the Bones family at least three or four times.”
“That’s nothing on the Blacks and Malfoys, though,” Melinda said, rolling her eyes. “They marry every other generation. It makes me sick.”
“They’re all the same, sneaky fellows with hidden agendas. But you get used to it,” Mum said with a laugh.
“Do they have children Susan’s age?” asked Melinda. I felt worried. I didn’t want to get to know any Blacks or Malfoys. They didn’t sound very nice.
“Not quite, but pretty close, I’d guess,” Mum replied.
“Yes; I’m almost sure old Lucius has a boy a year older than Susan. Or was it two years?” Melinda wondered. I flinched, hoping it was two. Mum must have noticed.
“Let’s talk about happier things,” she said. “Susan seems to dislike the sound of them all ready.” Melinda smiled.
“You just wait,” she chuckled. “You think you dislike them now, just wait…”
Ten minutes later, Melinda closed the book. “I suppose we should be sending Susan’s letter to Hogwarts,” she said tiredly. Mum nodded.
“What for?” I asked, wondering if this was a test.
“We have to reply, saying that you’re coming to the school,” Melinda said. “We just say, Yes, thank you. That’s all.” She pulled out a small roll of parchment and a quill. Apparently witches didn’t use Muggle pens. It was odd, thinking of myself as a witch, and talking of “Muggle things” instead of “normal things.” Mum took the quill from Melinda and scribbled a short note. Rolling it up, she turned to Melinda.
“Do you have an owl?” she asked. Owls again? How exciting!
Melinda shook her head. “Never bothered, with the post so near and all,” she muttered. Mum nodded. It was sensible. “Why don’t I run down to the post for you?” Melinda suggested. “You two can stay here and relax.” Mum thanked her. I smiled shyly and she pinched my cheek. With a sudden pop, she was gone. I jumped and a small shriek escaped my lips.
“Oh, Susan I’d forgotten that you haven’t seen Apparating before,” Mum apologized. I stood up as best I could, shaking a little.
“It’s fine,” I whispered, staring at the spot where my aunt had been only a moment before. Mum steered me gently over to the small bookcase against the wall.
“Here, why don’t you read a bit?” she said kindly. “Melinda has some books that will help you understand things around you better.” She pulled one off the shelf and handed it to me.
“Hogwarts, A History,” I read aloud. Mum tapped the book lightly.
“You’ll be going there, so it’s good to know some background information,” Mum said. “Why don’t you go read in our room?” I nodded and moved into the room.
I curled up with the book and began to read. I had read only one phrase before a resounding pop reached my ears. I jumped. Melinda was back. A moment later, she poked her head into my room. “You all right?” she asked sweetly. I nodded, and turned to my book. She laughed and left, shutting the door behind her.
Hogwarts, A History…
A/N: For those of you that are confused, you might want to go back and skim the two chapters before this one to see what I changed. Sorry. --Scarlet