Going to school forever is incredibly monotonous. If you’ve ever written a research paper, you’d understand why. My siblings and I recycle papers, of course, but we have to redo them every three years or so, when new events or assignments come up. Still, reviewing information that you have known for hundreds of thousands of years becomes extremely boring.
The summer had just ended when we called our nine hundred fifty-second family meeting. We rarely had these meetings, so I knew that it must be important. My sister Cielle and I walked down the stone hallway (in perfect tandem, as twins often do) to the library, where meetings were always held. My brothers Pieter and Alexsandre were already there, quietly discussing whatever the meeting was about. I got a few snatches of the conversation as I sat down.
“-only option is to start again-”
“We can’t uproot-”
“It’s the only way…”
Cielle and I sat down, officially establishing the meeting. Our parents never attended these meetings, as they promoted independence. They never really exercised any control over us, as we were free thinkers of our own, and nearly as old as they were. I took the straight-backed chair and turned so my legs were draped over one of the arms. Cielle sat on the floor, leaning against the couch where Pieter and Alexsandre were sitting. We looked at each other knowingly for a few moments before Alexsandre, the oldest at physically twenty-one years old, spoke.
“We have all come together to discuss what we are going to do at the end of this summer. We have been at our current high school for the past three years, probably a bit longer than we should have been. The Muggles haven’t noticed, being hopelessly oblivious, but we’ve overstayed our welcome. This debate is now open for opinions.”
Cielle spoke first, as she often did. My sister was hopelessly outspoken, and she always said exactly what was on her mind. “We should pursue careers now, outside of school. You know what it’s like, sitting through too many classes for too many hours repeating too many facts that we already know! I would flunk out, just to protest, but I think it’s important to be well-rounded in both the Muggle idea of education and magical knowledge.”
“Well then,” I dared to laugh, “it seems your protest has failed. But I think it’s a good idea to forget continuing with school and pursue a career finally. I sort of miss being a professor at Hogwarts.”
“I miss being a psychiatrist,” Cielle grinned. “Petty problems amuse me.”
Pieter, of course, had to state his opinion. “I say we just change our identities again, alter our appearances, and start again here. There’s no need to move us again if we can look different from one another.”
“We wouldn’t have to move if we were employed,” Cielle said. “And part of the beauty of it is that we would actually be making money. Not that we really need it, but would you rather be making money or doing simple arithmetic day after day?”
“Plus, don’t you think we already appear unrelated?” Pieter said, contradicting himself as he always did. Pieter was the type of person who had to be in agreement with other people. He was correct, though; we did all look different. For example, though we were twins, Cielle had dark brunette hair and dark brown eyes “ completely different from me. Pieter had black hair like I did, but had hazel eyes. Alexsandre had light brown hair and eyes; in all, we were completely unique.
Alexsandre stood, signifying that he had something to say. “I think we should move back to the summer home,” he said solemnly. His words seemed to have weight enough to speak a goblin down.
“I agree,” Pieter said immediately, over Cielle’s incredulous stare and preceding my disbelieving laughs.
The ‘summer home’ was our manor in the Wizarding world “ the home we had not lived in for three decades. It was, as our whole life was, discreet; it was at the base of a mountain and in a forest. I had missed it, but returning didn’t sound like such a good idea.
“You mean…return to magic?” I asked. “Are you sure? I don’t think that the last generation we were in school with has died off yet. We might be…Oh, nevermind.” I had forgotten that we could always change our appearance. Apparently, I was over-thinking this. “I agree, then.”
“As do I,” Cielle sighed, standing up “ a silent motion to adjourn the meeting. I, too, stood. Pieter shot up and his seat and Alexsandre merely nodded.
“I will go and tell Mother and Father of our plan, then,” he said. “It is important to get their opinion on our decision.”
Alexsandre was always thoughtful like that, but we all knew they would agree. We were a family, and if majority ruled, then they followed us, as we followed them. Deep inside, I knew that if our plan was to separate, they would allow us. We would never separate though. We may go to different schools and pursue different careers (which we were actually planning on doing), but we would always live together. None of us had found love, and none of us were planning on it. Love was a temporary thing.
We all disbanded to go pack; we would be leaving immediately. I would be going to Hogwarts, Cielle was off to Beauxbatons, and Pieter was to attend Durmstrang. Alexsandre and Mother were going to work at the Ministry, and Father was already employed at Flourish & Blotts.
The next day, we were ready to leave.