The morning of Melody's birthday dawned and she was up extra early to celebrate her big day. Her mother always said turning eleven was a very important time in your life, so Melody had been very much looking forward to it.

She quietly walked downstairs into the living room. She came to a stop in front of the large-ish stack of presents on the wooden coffee table. She smiled widely at the colourful wrapping and left to make herself some cereal, careful not to fully look in the fridge where she knew her cake was waiting to be devoured.

After finishing her small meal and rinsing her bowl, Melody made her way into her parents room. Opening the door slowly so it wouldn't creak, she snuck inside. With a mischievous grin she took a running jump and leapt on top of them, startling them both awake. In fact, she startled them so much that her father fell onto the floor, clutching racing heart. Melody burst into silent laughter and Dea joined in loudly.

"What a wonderful family I have. Here I lie dying from a heart attack and my babies laugh at me."

Still grinning, she signed to her father. "Sorry, dad."

Charlie waved her off and pulled himself off the floor. He then proceeded to scoop Melody into his arms and sling her upside down over his shoulder. She squirmed as he tickled her sides lightly.

"Come on short stuff, let's open up your presents!" He began to walk out of the room before he stopped. Pulling his daughter off his shoulder, he held her in the air with his arms outstretched, his blue eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Did you open them already?" He asked, to which Melody shook her head. "Peek at your cake?"

"I have a cake?" She responded in mock surprise. She was rewarded with more tickles and being thrown back over his shoulder.

The small family spent the rest of the morning opening Melody's gifts. She loved every minute of it. Her Poppy, on her dad's side, jokingly gave her a small whiteboard and marker that she could carry in her pocket. She laughed silently and tucked it away for later use. She got books and clothes as well as an assortment of various small gifts and trinkets. She made sure to thank her parents and write letters to her other family members that had sent her something.

At lunch time, her cake was brought out. It was decorated to look like a starry night sky, and Melody loved it. The three Jones' were just finishing their pieces of cake when something tapped against the window. Curious, Melody got up to investigate only to stop dead when she saw a brown screech owl sitting on the windowsill with a letter in its beak.

Slowly, the redhead approached the window, green eyes watching the owl carefully. Her dog, Badin, came out from the kitchen and sat at her heels, cocking his white head sideways at the large bird curiously.

Melody carefully slid the window open and allowed the bird to hop inside. It shook out its feathers and extended the letter towards her. She took it gingerly and looked down at it. It was a small white envelope made from odd paper with a red wax seal, her name written in neat script on the front in green ink. She saw the crest, but didn't understand the words underneath it. Breaking the seal, she opened the letter, pulling out three folded sheets of paper and a train ticket.

Unfolding the first paper, she read:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Ms. Jones,

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 on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress

She read through the letter twice, her frown deepening as she did. It didn't make sense. The contents reminding her of the stories that her mother had told her before she fell asleep as a young child. She made her way back towards the kitchen to ask her parents about it.

"What's this?" She signed to them as she sat back down at the kitchen bench. Her father frowned at the letter in confusion but her mother froze in shock.

"No... oh Merlin! How- I don't understand!" Dea quickly took up the papers, ignoring the confused looks she was receiving. She read through all three letters, the third being one saying to send the owl back with a letter if assistance was required to explain the Wizarding World to her husband and daughter.

"Oh goodness." Dea sighed. She got up from the table and quickly wrote a letter asking for help as soon as possible. On her way past, she grabbed a glass of water for the owl to drink, thanking it for its time and giving it the letter.

"Alright. We need to have a talk. This is going to be a long day..."