CORA

It was the end of August by now, and Cora was already preparing all her school stuff. In a few days, she would have left for Hogwarts. Strange things she had to bring, in her opinion: quills instead of pens, parchments, old books… The only thing that made sense to her was the robe. She opened her trolley bag and started to put all her stuff inside it.

"Mum!" she called from her room. "How am I supposed to fit a cauldron in here?" 

"I told you to buy a trunk like the list said," her mother said back, making Cora roll her eyes. Her mother loved to say, 'I told you so'; it was her favorite sentence. Sometimes, the girl thought that maybe her aunt was related to her mother instead of her father.

"I think it's pointless to buy a new trunk, which is old, by the way, when I got a comfortable and modern trolley bag," Cora argued back, trying to make the cauldron fit. Vivianne appeared at the door, looking at her daughter.

"Yeah. I can see all the modernity you are heading to by looking at your quills," she said sarcastically. Cora glared at her mother before pushing the cauldron inside.

"See, it's perfect," she said. "Now I just have to put on my clothes." Vivianne walked behind her daughter, looking at the trolley bag full of uncommon things.

"Where?" she asked, frowning.

Cora looked at her mother with her hands on her waist.

"I'll just stuff something here and there, something in the cauldron, my socks inside the books, my trainers away from the ink and everything. It's going to be fine," Cora answered coolly, shrugging her shoulders.

"And your robes?" her mother asked. Cora went over to her wardrobe, opened it to reveal her camping backpack, and nodded proudly.

"I'll stuff it here with everything that doesn't fit in the trolley bag." Vivianne looked at her for a moment with crossed arms.

"We've still got time, Cora," she said. "Maybe we can go back to Dieagon… Diragon…"

"Diagon," helped Cora.

"Diagon Alley and by the trunk. It's larger," Vivianne said.

"But so much more uncomfortable," Cora insisted, walking back to her bed, where her trolley bag lay open. "See! This even has wheels!" Vivianne laughed at her daughter.

"Alright. I get it; commodity first."

Cora nodded. "Always first." Then she saw her mother looking in her trolley bag.

"Is that the Arsenal poster?" Vivianne asked.

"I can't move without it," she said, shrugging with her shoulders again. Then her eyes fell on her clock; it was almost 3:15 PM, and she had to meet Tyler in ten minutes.

"I have to go, Mum," she said, kissing her mother's cheek.

"To Tyler?" she asked, following her daughter, who was putting her trainers on.

Cora nodded. These would have been the last days of summer she would have been spending with Tyler. She still didn't know how she would keep away from her 'Hogwarts' secret.' She and Tyler told everything to each other… well, maybe not exactly everything, but he was her best friend, and it was still difficult to think of starting school without him around.

"Slow down, Cora," she heard her mother say behind her.

"I'm not even going to run," Cora said. "See you at dinner." As usual, she waved off her mother and then her father's photo before walking on the same path to Tyler's house.

Privet Drive was crowded during summer, with children running around, and she liked that. There were a lot of people to play with. And that summer was even better. She heard that Dudley Dursley had gone to the hospital for minor surgery so that he couldn't walk out of the house that much. 

Dudley was a bully. He and his friends usually tormented everyone around them just for fun. Cora wasn't scared of them. She usually intervened when she saw them bothering someone; it had happened with Tyler and even with Harry, Dudley's cousin. 

Harry was a quite boy, he usually spends time on his own and one time she had seen Dudley pushing him to the ground; so, she marched to him and his friends and defended Harry. That was the only time they had talked. Harry was in Tyler's class, and he even said that Dudley's cousin usually stayed inside his house. She couldn't believe he was a wizard too, maybe he had already started to show his capabilities, maybe he was scared by them.

Well, he didn't have to worry. She knew what it was like to make a mess because of magic.

She stopped at number 4 of Privet Drive. The Dursleys had returned from their vacation, and Harry was probably inside. She was sure Tyler wouldn't mind if she invited him over; Tyler had always said that Harry was nice at school. 

She ran to the Dursleys' door and rang the bell. She didn't have to wait long before Petunia Dursley opened the door. She was a tall woman, skinny as a paper, and with dark eyes that studied everyone who came close to her house.

"Hello," Cora greeted coolly.

"You're Mrs. McGonagall's daughter, aren't you?" she asked, studying the girl up and down. "You are in Dudley's class," she said with a small smile. "He is inside."

"Good for him," Cora answered with a little nod. Is Harry home?" She noticed Mrs. Dursley go rigid for a moment, and her smile fell from her face.

"He--- is not here," she said, almost panicking, making Cora frown.

"He is not."

"No," Petunia kept saying, forcing a smile again, but she almost seemed terrorized. "He went to--- school. Filling the last applications," that made Cora frown even more. What application? Hogwarts didn't have applications.

"Alright," Cora said, unsure. "Then I guess I'll go now." 

"Yes, sure," the woman said, closing the door without even saying bye. Cora's mother was right when she said that those people were strange. 

Of course, Mrs. Dursley didn't know that Cora was a witch, either, but even if Harry had gone to buy his last things, why was the car parked in the driveway? How did he go to Diagon Alley?

She tried to look through the living room kitchen, but the lace curtain made it almost impossible to see inside. Mrs. Dursley loved to look in others' houses, but she apparently didn't want others to do the same.

Since she couldn't see anything, Cora took some steps back and started to study the house in front of her. It was so strange. Then something caught her eye, in one of the windows upstairs she saw owl wings in what seemed a cage. She looked at the door once again, and quickly, she ran into the garden. She took some crumples from the flower bed and threw one of the little rocks at the glass. She waited a moment, and since no one opened the window, so she threw another and then another. She didn't wait long before a boy with messy black hair and round glasses appeared at the window. Harry looked at her with his green eyes widened. So, he was inside.

"Cora?" Harry said, surprised. 

"Hey, there," she said coolly, hands on her hips. "Are you alright?"

"I'm alright," he answered, nodding his head. "What are you doing here?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I'm just passing by. I'm seeing Tyler. I wanted to know if you want to come with us." Harry smiled at that. He was about to answer, but she heard Mrs. Dursley's voice calling for him.

"Thanks," he said kindly. "But I can't; I--- have to help my aunt." Cora nodded her head, studying his face. Why didn't they let him out? He may have caused some trouble because of the magic, but she bet it was nothing that bad. She had always caused trouble.

"It's alright. Another time, then," she said, smiling. "See you, Harry."

Petunia called for Harry again. He turned for a moment before looking back at the girl. "Bye, Cora," he said kindly before getting back inside.

Cora and Tyler met just a few minutes later. They walked to their favorite park to sit on the swings like they often did. 

"School's starting in a few days," Tyler said at some point, making Cora stop swinging. "You said you're going abroad?"

"Well--- not exactly," she said, looking at her feet before turning to Tyler. "It's--- more like a boarding school."

Tyler nodded with a frown. "So you've been staying there all year?"

"Probably," she said, "But probably I'll be back for Christmas." Her aunt had always told her that students could go back home during Christmas break, or they could choose to stay at Hogwarts. Cora didn't know what she would have done; she still didn't know if her mother would be working. But she didn't want Tyler to feel bad. When she told him that she wouldn't go to the same school, he became sad, and so did she. Cora was used to spend the afternoon with Tyler.

"You'll call me? Or will I be able to call you?" Cora bit her lips at that. No, he couldn't call her, but how could she tell him? She really hated that she had to lie to her best friend; it wasn't right. It had been already challenging to hide her tricks from him. Friendship was honesty, and she couldn't do that to Tyler.

"Come with me," she said, standing up. Tyler looked at her surprised but did not move, so she took him by the wrist and led the two of them to their hidden place.

Their hidden place wasn't an actual secret place. It was a camping tent that Vivianne had set in their garden, where Cora and Tyler stayed when they wanted to play or talk alone.

"Alright," she said, zipping up the entrance of the tent. "I lied to you, Tyler."

"Lied? Why?" Tyler asked with a frown. Cora nodded.

"What I'm going to tell you is very secret," she said. "You can't tell anyone."

Tyler looked at her confused before nodding his head.

"Promise," Cora said, extending a hand. He took a breath before doing their secret handshake. When they did that, it meant total honesty and secrecy. He couldn't roll his eyes; he invented it.

When she was sure, Cora started telling him everything. She told him that she was a witch and that there was a community of magical people and creatures. She told him that her father was a wizard, and even her aunt was one, and that she had to leave to study magic at Hogwarts. 

When she was done with her story, Tyler was looking at her like she was crazy.

"You are joking," he said. 

Cora was about to answer when he stopped her. "No, wait! Don't tell me. Because it would be so cool if it were true," he exclaimed.

"Then it's the coolest thing ever because it's true," she answered, looking at her friend, who was getting excited by the minute.

"So, you are a witch?!"

Cora took a breath. "Come with me." 

They quickly ran into the house and went upstairs. When Cora opened the door of her home, Tyler gave out a loud laugh. He moved to her bed, where her trolley bag was still open. He looked at the cauldron and the books.

"History of Magic," she said when he took a book in his hands. He laughed again, taking another one. 

"That should be Potions book," Cora said again.

"Potions…" he muttered with a huge grin on his face. 

Cora then moved to her wardrobe, opening it to show him her robe. Then, she opened the drawer of her bedtable to show him her wand.

"What's this?" he asked.

"My wand," she answered, handing it to him, but he was unsure. "Don't worry. You are a Muggle; nothing is going to happen." 

Tyler frowned. "Muggle?"

"Normal human being," she explained. "Like you and my mum," Tyler laughed once again.

"It's real wood?" he said, looking closely at it.

Cora nodded. "Cypress and dragon's heartstrings," Tyler's eyes widened once again.

"Dragon? An actual dragon?" Cora nodded one more time.

Then Tyler started to ask about everything that came to his mind, and he was amazed by everything. But his favorite thing was how wizards sent their mail.

"That's why you have an owl," he exclaimed, understanding Marshmallow's presence.

"And you'll be using him too," Cora said, making Tyler frown. "We won't be able to call each other, but we could send letters, and Marsh will bring them to us." 

"This is a lot," he said, sitting almost exhausted on Cora's bed. "I can't believe my best friend is a witch! I know a witch!" 

"And a wizard, too," she said, sitting next to him.

"What?" Tyler asked, full of energy again. "Who?"

"Harry Dursley," Cora answered, but Tyler only frowned.

"Who?" he said. 

"Harry. Harry Dursley," she insisted. "Round glasses, black hair. Dudley's cousin. He's in your class."

"You mean Potter. Harry Potter," Tyler said, giving out a laugh.

"Wait, what did you say?" asked Cora. Now, it was her turn to widen her eyes. "Did you say, Potter?" She couldn't believe it. Harry wasn't just a wizard; he was Harry, as in Harry Potter. The boy who had defeated You-Know-Who. Her aunt had talked about him. She had lived next door to Harry Potter all those years, and she had no idea.

"Harry Potter…" she muttered.

"He is a wizard, too?!" Tyler exclaimed enthusiastically, "This is crazy!" 

"I know," she said, looking ahead of her.

I wonder if Aunt Minnie knows about it, Cora thought. 

Harry Potter was her neighborhood. That was something that really took her by surprise.