In the dark as everyone slept, she put on her robe and gathered her wand and books.  She crossed the swaying bridge to the common room, where she sunk into a huge comfy chair and read ‘Spirits of Witness Stone’ while she waited for the rest of Macaw House to rise.

Cecelia and Celestia wore their fine dresses and shiny jewelry to breakfast again, but today a Quidditch reserve player stood behind their table and scanned the Great Hall for any suspicous activity of the one-legged black boy who had whirlwinded through earlier.

“Condas just don’t understand Saci,” Marissa heard Tatiane say from a few rows back where she sat with her sixth-year friends.  “He’ll wait a few weeks until they’re off guard again before he pulls another trick.”

After her small meal of toast and juice, a leaping frog led Marissa off to classes again.  As Milo Timbira had said, the way to class today was different from the way yesterday.  The new route was also wildly ornamented.  Saci may not have tricked Condas today, but he had lined the hallways with  hundreds of silver spoons stuck to the wall by Jelly Slugs.  Marissa was puzzled that she ran down stairs to reach a floor that she knew was above them, but remembered the path as she tried to learn her surroundings better.

She was very glad that her first class was Charms, where Professor Galhos liked questions.  Reading ‘Magical Theory’ the night before had very much confused her about something.  When Marissa asked what was the difference between a spell, a charm, a hex, and a jinx, all the class laughed.

“Stupid Muggle,” said one Anaconda girl.  “Everyone knows that.”  But when the professor directed her to define each for Marissa, the girl couldn’t quite explain the difference either. Nor could any of the other children until Professor Galhos helped them describe examples of each.  She gave an approving smile when Marissa nodded that she understood now.  They took notes the rest of class.  Marissa tried very hard to use her quill without leaving inkblots all over the parchment, but was not terribly successful at this.

The entrance to Potions was just a common stone wall now, not a dark shadowy rainforest.  Marissa studied the symbol that the bright green tree frog hopped upon to open the passage.  Rosaria properly hid her happiness at being  forced to sit with Marissa again.  In Potions class, Celestia’s direction not to talk to the smelly girl was overruled by Katupya’s partner assignments.  Marissa was surprised at how eager Eva Paranhos was to see Rosaria.

“Is it true?” she whispered to the Anaconda girl.  “About Claudio Cabral?”

“Celly says I’m not supposed to talk about that,” Rosaria replied softly.

“Who’s Claudio Cabral?” Marissa asked Rosaria.  She didn’t know why they were talking so no one could hear, but had lowered her voice too.

“He’s Celestia’s second cousin,” Eva said.  “A pureblood.”

“He chose an international school,” Rosaria said as if repeating a line she was taught.

“Then it is true,” Eva declared quietly.

“Um… what’s true?” Marissa asked, completely unaware of what they were talking about.

“He wasn’t accepted at Witness Stone.”

“But Professor Merrythought said every magic child is…”

“He’s not magic,” Eva broke in.  “If he didn’t get an acceptance letter, it means Claudio Cabral is… a Squib!”

“Celly says proper girls don’t spread rumors,” Rosaria told Eva, but shared a look with Marissa that said they both knew Celestia didn’t follow her own rules.

“Serafina heard about another boy in Salvador and a girl in Iguacu Falls.  All Squibs.”

“What’s a…”

“Shhhh,” Eva hushed Marissa’s question as stern Professor Katupya approached.  They began their assignment of listing magical properties of each ingredient they’d prepared yesterday, and were soon too busy for Marissa to ask again what a ‘Squib’ was.

Rosaria only screamed twice in Potions.  Once when Anaconda boys tossed live beetles in Marissa’s hair, and once when she saw a moving picture of a spider in the Potions book.  Marissa wondered why she could never think to just cover her mouth when she screamed.  After the second scream, Professor Katupya made her stand in the hall until class ended to punish her for disrupting the other students.  Marissa and Eva had to complete the assignment without her, and barely finished in time.  Outside class, Rosaria tried to apologize before being dragged off by an annoyed Celestia.  Marissa joined Jaci and Mario in the frog chase to History of Magic, a class scheduled every other day when there was not a double Potions session.

“History is BORING!” declared Professor Esquecido.  “Who cares about people who died and were eaten by worms three thousand years ago?”

Surprised first-years, who may have been thinking the same thing, reacted uncertainly to the plump older witch.  She wore a long white linen gown, pleated to fit her form.  An extra length draped in folds across one arm and a wide golden sash circled her waist, but most stunning to Marissa was a sculpted gold owl symbol at the center of her jeweled headdress.  She had learned that wizardings dressed very funny, but this professor was strangest of all.  For some reason Leila Semedo was very upset by her attire and tried to avoid the sight of it.

“Ancient Egyptians, who wore clothes such as these, are part of the History of Magic,” Esquecido said. “But children who sit in classrooms are also part of the History of Magic. Why, only two years ago,  at a wizarding school such as ours, a young hero like our own Sol Braganza defeated an evil wizard who sought to rule by terror and murder.”

“My father told me about him,” said Mario Domingues.  Many others nodded and agreed that they had heard the story also.  “But that’s not history.”

“Just because it’s not printed in a fat textbook yet?” questioned Professor Esquecido.

“Well, it hardly just happened,” he replied.  “Isn't history just about old, old stuff?”

“Hmmm,” she considered.  “History is a record of events, of places, and of people.  Since there does seem to be a lot of peoplish activity still happening about the world, I would say history is still in process at this very moment.  Wouldn’t you?”

“Uh, yeah.  If you say it like that.”

“I do say it like that.  This year we will study how that old, old stuff brought us to today. But while we tediously trudge through the musty world of ancient Egyptians and Greeks, we shall also delve into some history nearer and dearer to our own little hearts.”

Marissa did not know what tediously trudge or delve were, and wondered if she should raise her hand to tell the professor that, or wait and try to figure it out herself. She waited.

“Our first assignment shall be an interview.  You shall each gather information from a family member to create a family tree of your past relatives, both wizard and Muggle.”

“My genealogy is well recorded,” Celestia said.  “And it certainly contains no Muggles.”

“This assignment is meant to show us the importance of oral history, how stories passed from generation to generation preserved a culture’s past before written language existed. You may NOT,” the professor emphasized mostly to Celestia’s Anaconda group, “simply copy your work out of ‘Nature’s Nobility’.”

“Ma’am,” the golden-blonde girl said politely.  “This assignment doesn’t seem very fair.”

“Why is that, Miss Bella de Barros?”

“A girl like me, from an important family, has to chart six centuries of relatives,” Celestia sweetly explained.  “But a girl like her,” she turned and pointed at Marissa with a cruel smile unseen by the History professor, “has to do nothing.  She doesn’t have a family.”

Celestia was trying to embarrass her again, but Marissa met her look without expression to show she couldn’t be hurt.  Every day in Sao Paulo she had to ignore mean words, and knew how to stop herself from feeling anything from them.

“Being an orphan doesn’t keep one from having ancestors, Miss Bella de Barros.”

“But she doesn’t even know who they are,” Cristiano mocked.  “Muggles threw her away in a dumpster when she was born!”

“That is enough, Mister Ferreira,” Professor Esquecido ordered before turning to Marissa.  “What is your name, young lady?”

“Marissa,” she answered the professor, who waited for a last name also.  “Only Marissa.”

“I see.  Marissa, you may create your tree from any family.  Find an adult to interview, and you can use the same list of initial questions I will provide each of you.  Since I cannot balance the number of ancestors each student can trace, Miss Bella de Barros,  I leave it to you to decide how much or little labor your family history deserves.  I’m sure your grade will correspond with whatever amount of effort you deem appropriate.”

The grey walls of History of Magic class were circled with a long continuous scroll that Professor Esquecido called a timeline.  Hundreds of dates and events through many centuries were listed above moving scenes of wizards and witches dressed in ancient fashions.  After Professor Esquecido gave an overview of what they would study, she reminded the first-years that their family tree was due in three weeks when they returned from Carnival.  Marissa was glad to know witches celebrated her most favorite holiday.

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Marissa felt a pull on the back of her collar as Fer Ribeiro and another Anaconda boy purposely pushed ahead of her outside Transfiguration class.  They stopped to block her way as a hand from behind slid across her neck and dropped something down the back of her shirt.  Cristiano Ferreira rushed past Marissa into the room and raced to his seat.  She knew they wanted her to scream in fear when she felt the squirming, wriggling things against her skin, but Marissa made herself walk into class without any response.  She had to twist around a little to catch them, so Professor Merrythought was watching as Marissa reached up the back of her untucked shirt and removed the two long, green whipsnakes.

“Marissa, what…”

“I’m not scared of anything you do to me,” she told Cristiano as she dropped the twisting serpents on his desk.  Celestia was watching a few desks away with a disappointed look.  This was probably her plan of getting even for the milk, but it hadn’t worked on Marissa. Why couldn’t they just see that she wasn’t weak and stop trying to make her their victim?

“Where did these snakes come from, Cristiano?” Professor Merrythought inquired sternly.

“They’re not mine,” he replied innocently.  “Maybe they just…”

“Then you won’t mind if I change them into owl treats,” she replied, and began to wave her wand above the snakes that had curled up tamely on his desk.  “Tesimal is hungry and--”

“Wait!” he held his hands up to shield them.  “Uh, they, uh… look like they might be Sol Braganza’s pet snakes.”

“Yeah,” Fer added nervously.  “Maybe they, uh… snuck in someone’s bookbag.”

“I see,” Professor Merrythought said.  Immediately she pointed her wand to the glass wall, where its door quickly swung open.  “Dimisi snakes!” she called out. “Dimisi,” a hidden voice echoed behind her as the two serpents were flung into the air, out the door and across the sky.  Cristiano’s eyes opened wide.

“What did you…”

“Sent them back to Anaconda House,” the professor replied.  She lowered her wand and casually laid its tip right on Cristiano’s nose with a smile.  “Which I can also easily do with little boys if anything like this happens in our classroom again.  Do we understand?”

“Uh, yes,” he submitted nervously.  Marissa smiled as she walked to her desk at the back of the room and pictured the thought of Cristiano being hurled through the sky to his house.  At least the Anacondas wouldn’t be pulling more tricks on her in Transfiguration class.

The young professor passed out matchsticks to all the class and demonstrated the spell to turn the match to a needle.  For the rest of class Marissa repeated the spell unsuccessfully.  She was secretly glad that almost no other first-year had accomplished the change either.  Only Celestia Bella de Barros had made a needle, and had also changed it back again.

“Excellent, Celestia,” Professor Merrythought commended.  “With a few days of practice, I know you’ll all have needles.  Your first parchment is due tomorrow.  Class dismissed.”

After the other first-years had gone, Marissa asked if she could leave by the glass door to the outside.  Fides, Spero, and Amor waited there in the small tree.

“Don’t you want to go to lunch with your friends?” Professor Merrythought asked.

“Only Rosaria is my friend,” Marissa replied.  “And the Anacondas don’t like her to talk to me ‘cuz I’m not a… proper girl.”  The professor frowned sympathetically at this news.

“What about Tiquinho and the Woolly girls who I saw talking to you at dinner?”

“They have different classes.”

“But everyone has lunch at the same hour,” Merrythought told Marissa.

“Oh.  I didn’t know that.”  But in truth she still did not want to go have lunch.  If she let herself be hungry for part of the day, it would make her feel closer to her boys in Santa Efeginia.  It would make her feel better that she was not having everything while they might have nothing because she was not there to help them beg or help them keep safe.

“Marissa,” the young professor continued. “About the Anacondas.  I know you’re not afraid of snakes or bugs or almost anything, but if any of the older Anaconda start with hexes and jinxes I want you to let me know at once.”

“No,” Marissa disagreed.  “I’ll show them I’m strong and then they’ll stop.”

“They usually end this teasing after the first few days.  But…” Professor Merrythought hesitated with a sigh, “they may resent you more and continue.”

“’Cuz I got a letter for witch school and a wizardings boy didn’t.”

“How did you know that?” Merrythought asked with some surprise.

“Eva Paranhos said it.  That’s what a ‘Squib’ is, isn't it?  A kid who should be magic and isn’t.  The Anacondas are mad ‘cuz I took his place.”

“No!” Professor Merrythought declared strongly.  “You took your place, Marissa.  This other boy have nothing to do with you.  It’s absurd to blame a Muggle-born for Squibs.”

“But some mean people still do.”

“Yes,” she unhappily nodded in agreement to Marissa.  “Unfortunately, some people do.” She looked out the glass wall where midday showers were falling on the wet swallows.   “Let’s bring them in from the rain for a bit,” Professor Merrythought said.  “Recludo!”

“Recludo!” came the squawking voice of the hidden macaw as the door opened itself.

“Does he say every spell?” Marissa asked as she waved to the swallows, who then glided into the room and onto her shoulders.  Slowly she walked to where she could see the large bird, but stayed back as Professor Merrythought had told her.

“Yes.  When I was a student he used to sing songs, too.  But Asuoby isn’t as happy now.”

“Is he really a hundred years old like you said?”

“Professor Amaral was one hundred and twelve, and his parents gave him Asuoby when he began Witness Stone as a first-year like you.  So yes, he really is.”

“I like him,” Marissa declared.  “Even if he does bite.”

“Oh, he does!” the professor assured her.  “But he’s unwell, Marissa.  He may pass away at any time.  One day this year you’ll come to class and Asuoby will be gone.”

“Then I should say hi everyday while he’s still here,” Marissa decided. “Hello A-su-oby.”  The large bird bobbed back and forth cautiously on its perch before squawking a reply.  Professor Merrythought smiled, then insisted Marissa share her lunch as she sat down at her desk.  Marissa accepted, and gave breadcrumbs to the swallows.  They talked a little about the stonemason ghosts Marissa had read about, and then Merrythought directed her to join the Macaws in the Great Hall so she could go to her next class, Herbology, along with the first-year group.  Marissa said goodbye to the old hyacinth macaw as she left.

Herbology was in a giant greenhouse built upon terraced hills a short way into the wet rainforest.  Marissa thought the trail there might be one that the flickering light had led her along at night, and wondered if the stables with the ghost boy and magic horses were near. It seemed funny to her that with the millions of plants growing outside in the rainforest, wizards wanted to grow more plants inside a glass building, but it was an amazing place.  Endless orderly rows of planters overflowed with wide varieties of green foliage, some bursting with flowers and some growing as high as the rain-spattered transparent ceiling.

Professor Parreira, dressed in a flowing green smock that blended in among the leaves, welcomed the first-years and explained that today they would explore the greenhouse and identify the growing forms of many ingredients they had already prepared in Potions class.  She was very excited to tell the children that Friday would be their first field trip, to a wonderful cave where they would learn about enriching the soil of the herbology gardens.  Celestia let out a disgusted groan a bit too loud as this was announced.

“I see you have already heard about our first-year tradition, Miss Bella de Barros,” the dark-skinned native professor remarked.  As Celestia’s friends whispered back and forth, “…well I’m not either,” the golden-blonde girl simply nodded.

“Then I do hope you and your Anaconda ladies will keep healthy and strong for our walk,” Professor Parreira stated.  “It would be a strange coincidence if you were to become ill and miss class on the very same day that your older sister did in her first week in Herbology.”

Celestia and the other girls gave resigned, unhappy looks.  The professor directed the class to open their book, ‘One Thousand More Magical Herbs: Amazon Edition’.  The twenty blank pages at back were to sketch leaves, flowers and roots, and that was today’s activity.  As the other first-years spread out to find the plants on their lists, Marissa told Professor Parreira that the pages of her used book were already filled.  A wand was waved and all of the old drawings disappeared, leaving the pages clean and white for Marissa to begin on.  She was very happy to use a sketch pencil instead of ink quills that were so messy for her, and by the end of class had drawn and could correctly name twelve of the thousand herbs.

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“Mount, grip, kick off.  Speed, slow, land.”  Marissa was discouraged, but hid her feeling to avoid more taunts from Anacondas.  “Mount, grip, kick off,” Mr. Cavaleiros repeated.

Rain drizzled steadily from grey clouds above the wet grassy field of Broom Flying class.  Under the covered walkway Marissa and the first-years acted out the moves to control their brooms.  Cristiano Ferreira and Fer Ribeiro were excused from practice because they had attended summer Quidditch camp, but every other boy and girl had to pass Mr. Cavaleiros’ inspection before joining the ‘approved to fly’ group.  He had quickly okayed most of his favored Anacondas, but rejected any Macaw whose handle was lifted an inch too high or too low.  Anyone who looked bored repeating his drill again and again was skipped also, and that was Rosaria Castilhos’ problem.

“But, sir, all brooms will fly like that,” she timidly replied to Mr. Caveleiros’ comment that her kick off was wrong again.  It was the first time Marissa had heard her contest a teacher.

“And you have flown how many brooms?” he asked, quite sure the answer would be none.  When Rosaria did not reply for a moment, he moved to the next student in line.

“Two hundred?” Rosaria unsurely estimated at last, and Caveleiros turned back with an annoyed look. “Papa says we should check every one before it goes to the showroom.”

Celestia Bella de Barros stepped quickly to Mr. Cavaleiros’ side and whispered in his ear.

“Castilhos Brooms?” he replied to Celestia.  “Why didn’t you tell me before?  Approved.”Marissa knew that poor Rosaria was probably in for more proper girl lessons.  She just couldn’t act snobby enough for Mr. Cavaleiros to tell she was from an important family.

Marissa was not approved to fly, but not because she hadn’t learned all the broom controls. It was because, as many times as she tried, she could not make a broom float to her hand.  Mr. Cavaleiros was too busy coaching the Anaconda boys to take any time to teach her.

They had no last hour class because Astronomy would be at the observatory  that night.  Marissa returned to Macaw House to read chapters and work on her Transfiguration paper.  She hoped if she started now she could finish some before dinner.

The other girls didn’t study.  They all chatted together on a bed as Serafina looked through her wardrobe.  Marissa listened without their notice as she read.  Everything they talked about was completely unknown to her, and this made her wonder how she could ever fit in.  What could she say about wizard beaches, magical makeup, or decorating a bedroom?

“We should all wear our dresses to dinners,” Serafina suggested to the Macaw girls.  

“Celly won’t let you join the princesses just because you have nice dresses,” Eva said.

“Well, Celly and I talked in Brooms class, and…”

“She talks to anyone to gossip,” Eva replied.  “But you have Muggle great grandparents, so...”

“Gosh, Eva.  Just tell everyone!” Serafina interrupted with a hurt look.

“Sorry, Serafina.  You know I do too,” Eva reminded her. “I just mean that Bella de Barros only really socialize with purebloods.  That means none of us.”

Leila Semedo changed the subject to boys that they liked and Marissa returned to her book.  When the older Macaws came from classes, she looked for Tatiane Timbira.

“Um… can you do magic sewing like at the robe store?” Marissa asked.

“Sure,” Tatiane replied.  “But if you just tore something, a Reparo charm is better.”

“It’s not for that,” she replied, then went on to explain what she needed. Tatiane quickly made it before they even left for dinner and Marissa put it in her book bag for tomorrow.  She was glad they reached the Great Hall in time to watch the magic food appear all at once on every table.  One day she would make witch dinners for Pipio, Nino, Tomas, and Paulinho.  She just couldn’t let them watch.  That way the magic part would stay secret.

“Are you feeling sick?” Tatiane asked later when she saw how little Marissa had eaten.

“No,” Marissa replied.  “Just… not hungry.”

Potira, Sakura, and Anna came over for a few minutes before leaving to their houses.  They listened as Marissa confirmed the rumors they had heard of snakes in Transfiguration class.

The noisy Anaconda Quidditch team, led by brawny Sol Braganza in his fat snake jersey, were shouting “Team of destiny! Team of destiny!” as Marissa walked from the Great Hall.

“Filling their heads with dreams of Quidditch glory, Ramo?” Professor Katupya remarked  to Mr. Cavaleiros at the professors table.  Grace Merrythought listened at his other side.

“No better glory out there!” the Brooms instructor and Anaconda coach replied heartily.  “But what would your Jaguars know about that?  They lose to the Anacondas every year.”

“Yet Jaguars pass their exams.  On the other hand, Professor Guerra has said your players ‘couldn’t duel their way out of a Chocolate Frogs wrapper’.  You will remind them all to study this year as well as play games, won’t you?  Half of them have N.E.W.T.s to take.”

Cavaleiros grudgingly agreed before leading the Anaconda team off to evening practice.  Grace saw that Katupya was dismayed by his lack of concern for the student’s classwork.

“Why have the Condas hired an internationally banned player as a coach?” Grace asked.

“City wizards are fanatic about their Quidditch,” Katupya reminded the young professor.  “Last year the team lost three games.  To European purebloods that is like admitting that Muggle-borns are superior wizards.  They believe Cavaleiros will help them win.”

“Help them learn mortal fouls, more likely,” she replied.

“Regretfully, our principal approved his hiring.”

“Sir, has Absencia decided yet to inform professors of the wizarding decline?”

“No,” he replied.  “Arturo will be at conferences in Brasilia until Monday.”

“But, sir, shouldn’t the professors know the truth of matters?  The children are all spreading stories.  Even Marissa had heard the talk of Squibs.”

“I believe the acting principal,” Professor Katupya smiled, “has scheduled a staff meeting Friday to provide our instructors more factual information than the rumors of first-years.”

Grace Merrythought returned his smile as they stood from the table, happy that concerns could be handled so much more effectively with Principal Absencia otherwise occupied.

Across the wide room, a well dressed group left the Anaconda section of dining tables. Cecelia and Celestia Bella de Barros gracefully ascended the stairway of the Great Hall, followed by a retinue of older Anaconda girls.  Cristiano and Fer tagged after Celestia.

“At the last desk near the corner,” Celestia replied to a question from her older sister.

“That’s where he’ll leave it,” Cecelia confirmed as the group left from dinner.

“Then we’ll see what she’s scared of!” Cristiano exclaimed.

“Their little Muggle-born gutter girl will learn never to embarrass an Anaconda again.”

“Oh, yes,” Cecelia smugly agreed with her sister.  “She’ll learn her place.”

A chorus of laughter rippled through the group as twin sneers rose on the sister’s faces.

Back at Macaw House, Marissa saw the swallows had decided not to wait to be let back in.  Outside, on a small ledge by the window, Fides, Spero, and Amor collected straw and twigs for a nest.  Marissa sat on the floor by the glass wall and read as the three birds snuggled in to sleep on the other side.  Alika Escuro woke her there just before midnight and led all the first-year girls down to join Professor Galaxia, who took the class into the dark rainforest.

“AAGGHH!” yelled a surprised Anaconda boy as a small orange creature pounced upon his head from the trees above.  Rosaria’s shriek made it race off into the dark undergrowth.

“That’s a Marzle,” Jaci turned to tell Marissa as the stone pathway emerged on a clearing.  Before them rose the dark silhouette of a building almost as tall as Witness Stone itself.  Marissa could see the shadowed stone entrance and the great round dome far above, but all the rest of the stone structure was shrouded in dense, tangled layers of bushy leaf and vine.  Another black-spotted, furry orange cat hung by one paw from branches above the door,  playfully swiping at children as they passed.  Marissa was glad the swallows didn’t come.

High in the ancient observatory, a score of  elegant brass telescopes were placed around the viewing balcony that circled the great stone dome which housed the gigantic main telescope.  Each long tube focused on a different area of starry night sky for the first-years to observe.  This was where Tatiane had said she would learn the name of all the stars.  Marissa was still unsure how she could tell one spot of light from a million million others until Professor Galaxia said they would first learn ‘constellations’.  Finding the animal and person shapes of connecting stars would be much easier.  People had imagined them a long long time ago.

“Wizards have watched the night skies for thousands of years,” said Professor Galaxia.  “For the movement of the stars and planets may show us strong visions of the future.”

“Like the Oracle’s vision of the team of destiny,” said Cristiano Ferreira.  “Our team!”

“Many prophecies go unfulfilled,” she replied, “and no future is ever certain.”

“Except this one,” Fer Ribeiro countered.  “With Sol and Stenio, Condas will never lose!”

Professor Galaxia directed the boys to save Quidditch talk for the morning, then explained to the first-years how constellations changed places in the sky as the Earth circled the sun.  Marissa had never considered the idea that the whole world under her feet was moving, or that some places beyond her city were planets so far away that only telescopes could show.  It reminded her of something Professor Merrythought had told her on the day they first met.  “Your world can be much larger than the blocks of Santa Efigenia.”

Marissa could feel her world growing.  It was growing wider and fuller of understanding.  And each part of it, Potions, Herbology, History, Astronomy, seemed to connect to another.  On the other side of the world, the Egyptians of History class had studied Astronomy to tell their future.  Now she was here, far in their future, where she would soon study Egyptians.  With every new thing she learned, her world grew bigger and bigger. To something deep inside Marissa, that was a very exciting and magical thought.

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The new hallway to Potions on Thursday passed through a dozen intersecting corridors.  Marissa tried to remember all the right turns and left turns the guide frog had taken them on, but could not understand the puzzle of the halls.  Yet.

“I like your hair,” she said to Rosaria as they sat down together.  Her braided pigtails were gone and straight brown hair was combed down in long shiny layers.

“Celly says I’m too old for pigtails,” Rosaria replied.  “And she wants me to ask Mama to send me more dresses.  But Mama says school is not a fashion show.”

“I tried to tell Serafina that,” Eva said.  “Your hair does look pretty,” she added kindly.

“Thank you,” Rosaria said, then leaned over and whispered to Marissa.  “Don’t tell Celly, but I liked that you got Cristiano in trouble for the… eew… snakes.”

“It was great how you weren’t even scared,” Eva agreed.  “I would have screamed.”

“Hey,” Marissa said, reminded by Eva’s words. “Here, Rosaria.  This is to keep you from getting in trouble.” Marissa gave her the tiny white pillow that Tatiane had sewn for her.

“How does this keep me from trouble?” Rosaria asked with a puzzled look.

“When you think you might scream,” Marissa explained, “you put it in your mouth to stop the noise and Professor Katupya won’t get mad.”

“Oh!  That’s a good idea,” she agreed.  “But… I don’t think when I might scream, Marissa. It just happens.”

“Maybe if you practice,” Eva said.

“Practice screaming?”

“No, silly,” Eva laughed.  “Practice thinking ahead of what might make you scream.”

“Oh.  I see,” Rosaria smiled, then told them she would try.  Marissa was glad that Eva liked the plan too.  Maybe if they both helped Rosaria it would work.

For the first part of class they did a true or false worksheet about real and not real potions.  Broom Cushioning was not a real potion, but Polyjuice (not Polly’s Juice) was. 

“What’s a love potion?” Marissa asked.

“Just what it says, silly,” Eva replied.

“It makes a boy want to kiss you!” Rosaria added.  Marissa did not think that was very  useful or something she would want.

“It makes him love you and follow you around,” Eva explained further.

“Like all the boys follow Cecelia Bella de Barros,” said Rosaria.

“She doesn't need a love potion.”

“Does it work on… like… mothers or fathers?” Marissa asked hesitantly.

“Why would you do that?” Rosaria replied.  “Mamas and papas already love you!”

“Puffhead!” Eva whispered and gave a sharp nudge.  “She doesn’t have a mom and dad.”

“I forgot,” Rosaria said, rubbing her side.  “Sorry, Marissa.”

“It doesn’t matter,” she replied.  Only for one moment she had thought that maybe if her long time ago parents took a love potion for her, maybe they wouldn’t have left her alone.  If  wizardings could give every parent that potion, there would never be any unwanted kids.

They completed their parchment worksheets and Eva took them to the professor’s desk.

“Do you really not have any family at all?” Rosaria asked meekly.  “Not even aunties or a grandmama?”

“No,” Marissa replied flatly.  Everyone wanted to make families be so important.

“That must be sad.  To have nobody to take care of you.”

“I take care of me,” she declared strongly. “I’m not a baby that needs to be…pampered.” Marissa was not sure where she had heard that word before, but it said what she meant.  Wizarding kids had every need filled.  They didn’t know how it felt to fight just to be alive.

“I only meant…” Rosaria said with a hurt look.  Marissa smiled to show she wasn’t mad.

“It’s okay.  But I don’t need people feeling sorry for me.  I don’t need… feelings.”

Professor Katupya gave a long lecture about brewing potions, then assigned more practice.  Just as before, Marissa worked on icky bug parts at the end of the table away from Rosaria. Once someone bumped her from behind and a dozen spilled squermites went scurrying across the stone tabletop.

“EEE…umph!” Marissa was amazed at how quickly Eva had stuffed the little pillow in Rosaria’s open mouth.

“Hey!  That works pretty good,” Eva said.  Rosaria squeezed her eyes shut and forcefully bit her scream-stopper as Marissa quickly gathered up the escaped insects. The stern-faced professor looked up from his desk to see what the disturbance was.

“It’s all right now, Rosaria. I got them all,” Marissa whispered as Eva pulled out the pillow.  For only a second an amused smile passed across the watching face of Professor Katupya.  Rosaria took a deep breath to calm herself, then all three girls began giggling quietly.

“You know someday you’ll have to chop up all the spiders and squermites yourself,” Eva said to Rosaria.  “We don’t get partners on exams.”

“I know,” Rosaria agreed almost sadly.  “Mama has already told Papa she’s afraid I’ll flunk Potions.  And Herbology too if there’s many insects in the greenhouse.”

“Don’t worry,” Marissa tried to assure her. “You won’t always be afraid of bugs.”

“How do you know?”

“Um… ‘cuz…” Marissa looked for an answer.  “Cuz I’m gonna teach you to be brave.”

Rosaria smiled as if she were very happy with that answer, while Marissa wondered how she could actually do what she had just said.  A short while later as class was ending,

Marissa went to put away potion ingredients.

“Marissa said she doesn’t need anyone to care about her,” Rosaria said thoughtfully.

“Maybe, if she lived in a dumpster, she just never had anyone who did,” Eva replied.

“Mama says every person needs somebody to love them.”

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“Does anyone else need a new match?” Professor Merrythought asked as class began. Some practicing first-years had set theirs on fire rather than changing them to needles.  Marissa raised her hand even though her own practicing last night had no results at all.  She had used her matchstick after breakfast to give Saci a light.

By the end of Transfiguration, most all of the first-years had given their match a silvery surface, and twelve had changed them to needles.  Marissa could not do anything to hers, even though she tried her wand in both hands to see if it liked one better than the other.  Professor Merrythought told her not to worry, that her magic would come in its own time.

“I think they’re going to do something mean again.  Maybe real mean,” Rosaria warned Marissa after class when she found her outside with the swallows.  Rosaria had left with the Anaconda girls, but returned by herself to get the bookbag she had not accidentally left.

“Their tricks can't hurt me,” Marissa assured her nervous friend.

“I have to go soon before Celly thinks I’m gone too long,” Rosaria said.  “Be careful.”

“I will.”

“Oh, wait!” Rosaria added.  “How do you spell your name?”

“Um… M �“ a �“ r �“ i �“ s �“ s �“ a.  Why?”

“I’m writing a letter to Mama.  I have to tell her how you saved my life from spiders.” While Marissa rolled her eyes, Rosaria took a parchment and quill from her book bag.  She laid the paper on a book and her quill quickly added more lines to a half-filled page. She wrote very girly with big loopy letters, and instead of dotting her ‘i’s she put little hearts.  Marissa watched as she finished and signed the letter.  Love always, Rosaria.

“Do you have any friends you can write letters to?” Rosaria asked as she folded hers.

“They can’t read,” Marissa explained. “Maybe I could write to… but I don’t have a owl.”

“You don’t need your own owl.  You can use a school owl.”

“Really?”

“Uh-huh,” Rosaria replied.  “Do you want some stationery?  Mama bought me tons.”

Marissa accepted a few sheets of the pastel pink parchment with fancy borders.  They came back inside and Rosaria waved to Professor Merrythought as she departed.

“Goodbye, Rosaria,”  Merrythought called after her.  “Good work on your spell today.”

“Um… Professor,” Marissa said as she stood near her desk, “is it against the witch law to send owl letters to, um… Muggles?”

“The boys?” Merrythought inquired.

“No.  Mr. Palito.”

“The owl post is a form of magic kept secret from Muggles,” the professor confirmed, “but I believe we can make a small exception for Mr. Palito.”

“Good,” Marissa smiled, and laid her pink parchment on the nearest desk.

“I’m sure they’ll all want to know you are well.  But remember, we don’t mention magic.”

She quickly found her quill.  In a few minutes she wrote a short letter which did not say anything about magic, even though she wished she could tell Mr. Palito and the boys all about Saci Pererê and many other things.

Mr. Palito,

I am doing good. I hope you are to.   Please tell my team I say hello and I think about them.  The trip to school was very long.  It is far away.  I am trying to learn very hard.  My teachers are good. Some kids are mean but some are nice.  I get to come back on Easter.

See you later,

Marissa

Professor Merrythought explained where to send the letter, then gave her treats for an owl.  She folded the letter and remembered to say goodbye to the old hyacinth macaw as she left.  The skies above were clear and blue as she ran down the stone staircase to her next class.  Her first excitement for Broom Flying had lessened, replaced in part by a feeling of worry.  She wanted desperately to be approved to fly today so that no Condas could call her weak.

“Up!” she called, but the broom did not float.  “Up. Up.”  Marissa hid her disappointment.

“Muggle-borns always take longer to fly,” Mr. Cavaleiros said offhandedly, “because all Muggles are terrified of heights.”

“I’m not terrified,” Marissa protested.

“Handling more brooms should reduce your fears,” he said, completely ignoring her words.  So Marissa sat alone and polished broomsticks again while every other first-year circled the field in flight practice.  She ignored the teasing Anacondas who swooshed by laughing.

“She can't fly,” one girl shouted, “because brooms don’t like smelly girls sitting on them!”

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Marissa plummeted into the dark abyss of Defense Against the Dark Arts and landed softly.  As other Macaws landed around her, she walked across the wide, cavernous battle room and headed to the last row of desks where she could sit away from the teasing Anacondas.

She was relieved that Professor Guerra had told them that Defense class would not perform spells until after the first two weeks, because she hoped by that time she would find how to make her wand work.   Even though they would learn spells against bad magic animals and not fight each other like the sixth-years had, she did not want to be the only one who could not protect herself with magic.  The only one not strong.

Most of the students started taking seats while a few groups stood talking until class began.  Marissa stepped to the corner desk and saw that a small ornate wood box was sitting there.  She decided it had been left by someone and thought she should take it to Professor Guerra. As she reached for the box it began to shake violently, and the moment she touched it the hinged lid flew open.  Marissa jumped back as she felt some presence move towards her, then something unbelievable happened.  Where the sixty other children had just been there was nobody.  Professor Guerra was gone too.  The room and desks remained, but not a single person was there.  Marissa stood frozen as a sudden panic began rising within her.  Her will fought to control it, but it did not matter.  There was no one to hide her fear from.  She looked left then right as moments passed, but still saw only a silent empty room.

“… is she just standing there?” came words that broke the silence.  Crack!  A loud noise sounded and suddenly Marissa saw all the children fill the desks again, with all their eyes looking toward her.

“EEEEEEEEE!”  A few desks away Leila Semedo stood screaming at the something that had turned its attention from Marissa.  It had changed form and was screaming back at her.  The shape that faced Leila was Leila herself, only this body had three heads growing from it, each with a mirror image of her horrified face.  More girls began screaming.

“BOGGART!” someone shouted, and Marissa saw Jaci Erasmi leap between Leila and her terrible twin.  Crack!  As Jaci withdrew his wand, the shape changed again.  A gigantic coiled anaconda reared its head towards him as its long muscular tail curled about his feet.

"Riddikulus!" Jaci shouted loudly as he pointed his wand at the massive curling serpent.  Crack!  Instantly its appearance changed again.  The giant snake was still a snake, but now was wrapped in half a dozen lovely silk dresses along its twisting torso.  Its head was framed in golden-blonde hair styled like the flowing tresses of Celestia Bella de Barros.  Children burst into laughter as it slithered aimlessly across the floor.

"Riddikulus!" Jaci commanded again with a wide smile.

“RIDDIKULUS!”  declared a deeper, stronger voice behind Jaci, and the comical snake blew apart into twirling puffs of smoke that disappeared in the air.  Laughter turned to surprised oohs and aahs.  Celestia had a very angry frown upon her face.

“Where did you learn that spell, boy?” fearsome Professor Guerra asked Jaci Erasmi.

“Uh… my grandfather taught me.  There’s old dark barns on the creatures reserve that are filled with Boggarts.  He thought I should…”

“Excellent!”  declared Guerra as he slapped Jaci on the back and everyone but Celestia’s group began applauding.  The professor directed everyone back to their desks and turned to examine the wooden box that lay open on the last desk.  A severe look crossed his face.

“Are you okay?” Jaci asked Marissa, who stood unmoved.  She could feel her heart racing and was still trying to force down the powerful feeling that had gripped her.

“Yes,” she lied as she sat down.  Eva and Serafina helped shaken Leila to her seat while the Anancondas in the front rows whispered amongst themselves and watched Marissa.  They seemed very disappointed that something more frightening had not happened to her.

“Boggarts,” said Professor Guerra, who now stood by his desk with the small wooden box,  “hide in dark places like closets and little boxes, and will defend themselves when revealed. It is a magic creature that shape-shifts into whatever thing the person it faces fears most.”

“Mine turns to an anaconda,” Jaci offered, “because one almost ate me when I was five.” 

“And your most frightening thought is a mummy’s curse,” he observed of Leila Semedo.

“My brother told me nightmare stories about Egyptian tombs when I was little,” she said.

“And what did you see when it sprang from this mislaid box?” the professor asked Marissa.

“Nothing,” Marissa said.  Guerra’s penetrating gaze seemed to measure her response.

“How could she just see nothing?” Celestia demanded in a frustrated voice.

“The Boggart wasn’t anything until it turned into the three-headed Leila,” Jaci attested. “Marissa was looking at something, but…”

She realized that while everyone had seen the Boggart turn to the deformed girl and the snake, they could not each see all the others gone as the Boggart had made only her see.

“So, if its shape was nothing, that means there’s nothing she’s scared of?” Cristiano asked.

“It means this girl is allowed to keep what she saw to herself,” Professor Guerra replied.

And that was what Marissa would do, because she could never let anyone know what her Boggart became.  It was not only the first-years here that it made disappear.  Somehow the Boggart had made her see more than just this room.  In her head she felt that every child and adult in Witness Stone was gone.  Fides, Spero, and Amor were gone.  In far Sao Paulo every street was empty of people.  Sister Angelica was gone.  Mr. Palito was gone.  Even Pipio, Nino, Tomas and Paulinho had all left her.  That was the shape that the Boggart had shown to her.  Everyone in the whole world was gone and had left her alone.  Not one living thing had cared to stay with her.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Marissa picked up her guide frog outside Astronomy after she, Jaci, and Mario had raced ahead of the others.  It was only after Defense that Jaci could tell her what he had seen.

“Don’t you just hate them?” Jaci Erasmi asked. He was positive some Anaconda had purposely left the Boggart to attack her, because he had noticed Celestia and the others watching her closely even before she came near the little box.

“No,” Marissa replied.  “Hating people is wrong.”

“Well, they sure hate you!”

“But I won’t be like them.  No matter what they do, they won’t make me learn to hate.”

At  the church of Nossa Senhora da Luz, she once told Sister Angelica how so many people hated street kids.  The sister had said she felt sorry for people that did not understand that God values every person, and if Marissa hated them in return it only filled the world with more hate.  But the words of Sister Angelica that she remembered most were that if you react to their hatred with hatred, you have let them control your feelings instead of yourself.  Marissa would never let someone else control her.  That would mean she was not strong.

“At least learn to laugh at them, then,” Jaci replied as they entered Galaxia’s classroom.  Marissa was a little sorry she had been too stunned at the time to enjoy his Celestiaconda.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Marissa realized after dinner that she had almost forgotten to mail her letter to Mr. Palito.  She raced down the staircase and emerged beneath the two giant wizards of Witness Stone.  It was past dusk and the great tall Owlery Tree near the plaza wall was a dark silhouette of vast spreading branches.  As Marissa approached it, she could see its massive trunk was surrounded by many wooden posts where owls would land to have their messages attached.

“Marissa, over here,” said a voice near the tree.  Sakura and Anna stood at a post, feeding a tawny owl before sending it off with their letters.  “This is Anna’s owl, Kimiko.”

“Hi,” she greeted the two Japanese girls and reached to pet the owl   “She’s very pretty.”

“Do you have a letter?” Sakura asked.

“Yes, right here,” she replied.  “How do I…”

“Just look up and ask.”

Her head tilted up to see the birdhouses far above.  “Um…hello.  I need a owl, please.”

Birds began gliding down from the high branches.  Not just one or two, but dozens.  Then dozens more. They filled all the wooden perches and more landed in the grass around her.  Sakura gasped with surprise as within moments over a hundred owls surrounded Marissa.

“How did you do that?” Sakura asked in awe.  Other students sending letters all watched in equal amazement.

“Um… birds just like me,” Marissa offered.  Trying to avoid more attention, she quickly stepped to the nearest owl and attached her letter, then fed it the owl treats Professor Merrythought had given her.  The stately bird flapped its wings and lifted upwards.

“It’s to Mr. Palito.  In Sao Paulo!” she called after the owl before turning to all the others.  “Um… I just had one letter.  I’ll give you turns the next times I write.  Thank you.”

As they walked back together, Sakura remarked how incredible the owl gathering was.  Marissa did not see it as anything special because birds had flown to her voice before.    In Parque da Luz,  dozens of swallows sometimes came when she called her three birds.  She wished that, instead of birds following her words, her wand would follow her words.  Then she could be magic.