❝ only different people change the world. no one normal has ever changed a crapping thing. ❞ — frederick backman

I held tightly onto Breeze's right arm as I felt the all too familiar pull at my bellybutton. Too engrossed in the worries of how my first interaction with mom would be after all these months, I didn't realize that we weren't even at Breeze office anymore. When I opened my eyes, my feet were pressed against solid ground, and I stood right outside the front door of my house.

My heart dropped. I hadn't stepped foot on this porch in a long time that it felt strange to even be standing on it. The weather was warm, with a light breeze—a sharp contrast from Hogwarts' snowy grounds and one-digit temperatures.

   Breeze looked down at me as if asking for permission before she knocked thrice on the door and put the kettle inside her dark cloak. I dug my nails on the palms of my hands in anticipation.

   My heart rate sped up at the sound of approaching footsteps. In a moment that felt a century long, the door got unlocked. My mother stood at the doorstep, her chocolate brown eyes the size of golf balls when her gaze dropped from Breeze's face to mine.

   "P-Polly?" she stammered. She was immobilized. Her eyes darted back and forth from Breeze to me.

   I didn't say anything. Instead, I ran toward her and wrapped my arms so firmly around her, as if somebody would force us apart. She let out a faint sob and hugged me just as tightly. I clenched my fingers around her shoulders and breathed in the familiar scent of vanilla and cinnamon from her freshly laundered clothes.

   "My baby," mom said in a breathless whisper. "Where have you been? I've missed you so much."

   I felt the sting of tears burn my eyes. I squeezed my eyelids shut and allowed the tears to stream down my face. In my mother's arms, I felt the type of comfort and protection that I hadn't felt in a long, long time. For a moment, I allowed myself to imagine I was a kid again.

   "I'm very sorry I left like that, mom," I said. "I love you and missed you so much."

   Mom pulled away, her pale face streaked with tear-stain trails. I wiped my own tears away with my trembling fingertips and smiled weakly.

   "I'm so happy you're here, honey," mom whispered. "Do not ever leave like that again, please. I was so distraught, baby."

   I looked at her for a moment. Her wavy auburn hair was pulled up into a high ponytail. The caramel freckles on her nose seemed more prominent in the Californian sunlight. She was wearing a knitted sweater and a vintage skirt, a white apron tied around her waist. Her appearance hadn't changed a bit from the last time I'd seen her, yet something felt distant about her.

   "I'm sorry," I repeated and lowered my gaze.

   Mom let out a sigh and stroked my hair gently. She then turned to Breeze, who was awkwardly standing beside us and hadn't said a word the entire time.

   "Thank you for looking after Polly," mom said, her eyes grateful. "I'm glad we're meeting again. Come on in. You must have traveled for hours." She took a breath and straightened her back, pushing the door open.

   I saw Breeze open her mouth to respond, probably to counter her statement, but I grabbed her elbow and gave her a pointed look. She nodded and decided not to say anything, so we both entered the house.

   Nothing about my house had changed from the last time I'd seen it, and yet I had the disoriented feeling I hadn't been here in decades, and was now stepping into a strange new world. Even the scent of lavender and lemongrass oil from the incense mom loved burning was still as strong.  I walked into the living room with Breeze following behind, who was looking strangely at all the unmoving portraits that hung on the walls, just as she'd done the first time she came for a visit.

   The only difference I noticed in the living room was the position of the TV, which now stood on the left and the usual vase with plastic red roses that stood on the glassy table was replaced by a smaller one, filled with violets. Natural ones.

   I smiled to myself. Violet was my favorite color.

   "Take a seat," mom told Breeze.

   Breeze gave her a small smile and sat down. I did too and then mom disappeared into the kitchen, only to reappear a minute later with a tray in her hands. She placed it on the glassy table in front of us and started filling our cups with warm tea.

"Thank you," Breeze said and took a sip of her tea. Mum sat down next to me.

As I took a sip, I remember just how much I had really missed mom's tea. It was delicious, a drastic difference from the tasteless tea that Hagrid prepared.

   "How have you been, Polly?" asked mom softly after a short moment of silence. "Do you like your new school?"

   "I've been well, mom," I said. "Hogwarts is amazing. I wish you could visit and see for yourself."

   "Well, I'm glad you are enjoying your time there, honey," she said with a smile. "Are the lessons difficult? Have you made any new friends?"

   Before I could reply, Breeze opened her mouth to speak.

   "I would assume the lessons are considerably challenging for a person such as Polly, who started school on her fifth year, but she has been keeping up impressively well with the rigor," she said. "I appreciate having her as my student. She learns with a fascination and zeal that would easily help her excel, if she weren't such a procrastinator at times."

I blushed as she gave me a knowing look. Mom let out a light laugh and lightly slapped my arm, making me laugh as well.

"She's had a lot in her plate to deal with, but she's been handling it well," Breeze continued. "Polly is daring and compassionate. I believe those traits have helped her manage to form some strong friendships."

"Now you're just flattering me, Breeze," I said with an awkward laugh. The tips of my ears burned. I always blushed each time people complimented me, no matter how rarely it happened. "Most of it has been plain luck."

"I'm very proud of you, baby," mom said and pulled me in an one-armed hug. "I'm happy you finally found yourself. And I hope you forgive me for all the secrets I've kept from you."

"Have you not read my letter, mom?" I asked. She furrowed her brows and cocked her head slightly.

"What letter?"

Just as I opened her mouth to respond, the door of the living room creaked open. I perked up to find a pair of chocolate brown eyes, identical to mom's, staring at me in shock.

"Sloth?" came the awestruck female voice.

She was the same height as me, with flowing red hair like mom's and a pale face sprinkled with light freckles. I would recognize that face anywhere. My face broke into a huge grin as I leapt to my feet.

"Roche!" I squealed as I ran towards my sister rapturously. I threw my arms around her and embraced her in a bear hug.

"Polly, oh my god!" Rochelle cried, her voice euphoric. When she pulled away, she was grinning from ear to ear. "How did you . . . this is such a surprise, wow, I- how are you? I've missed you so much."

"Well, I'm better than ever now that I'm seeing you again," I replied with a smirk. She rolled her eyes and looked over at Breeze, who was sitting opposite mom on the couch.

"I take it you must be Polly's younger sister," Breeze said and rose from her seat. Rochelle walked up to her and shook Breeze's hand with a smile.

"Rochelle Underwood," she introduced herself. "Nice to meet you, ma'am."

"Breeze McBon, deputy headmistress of Polly's school," Breeze responded.

"Your hair is hella cool," Rochelle said. Breeze arched an eyebrow in surprise, as if not expecting the compliment, then gave Rochelle one of her rare genuine smiles.

"Ro, why don't you show Polly how we have transformed her room?" mom suggested. "Polly, Rochelle will be living with us from now on. Mr and Mrs Underwood passed last month, and she has been staying with me since."

The information was too much to process at once, so I ended up staring at mom with my jaw hanging open for a moment. On one hand, I was thrilled at the idea of living under the same roof as my sister, who didn't have to hide her identity anymore. On the other hand, I was worried how her grandparents' death had affected Rochelle.

I turned to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm so sorry about your grandparents, Roche."

She breathed out a sigh and shrugged. "Me too," she whispered, then gave me a half smile. "But at least we'll be living together from now on. Let's go see our room."

   I nodded and made my way nimbly upstairs to my bedroom. As I walked in, my eyes bulged. The room looked utterly different from what I remembered. The walls were still the same light shade of violet that they were before. However, Rochelle had now placed many pictures of her and her friends all over the walls. Before, they were empty, and I actually liked it better that way.

My writing desk, which used to be full of scribbles and doodles, was now sparkling clean. I wasn't artistically inclined, but doodling was my way of passing time when I was bored, and a hobby I still practiced during boring classes like History of Magic and Transfiguration.

"Well, this is something," I said with a smirk. I took a good examination of my room, which now belonged to Rochelle just as much as it did to me. I noticed that she'd even changed the plain bed sheets to colorful ones with flower designs. "Enjoy this while I'm at Hogwarts. When I come back for the summer holidays, we'll have to share and I'll definitely make changes again. I don't like all the pictures you've hung on the walls. They're so immobile. Isn't that frustrating?"

"What, do you expect them to move or something?" asked Rochelle with a scoff. She laughed as if I had said the stupidest thing ever.

"They move at Hogwarts," I said. "Even the portraits."

Rochelle sighed and plopped down on the beanbag. I remembered how much she loved that spot. "You're so lucky that you're a witch, Sloth," she said.

"Well, I guess you could say that." I took a seat on the bed and looked at her for a moment. "I'm still not used to the idea that we're sisters."

She smiled. "When did you read my letter?"

"Not too long ago. Early November probably. Sorry, I completely forgot about your gift."

"Well, considering the fact you picked up your things and ran away without a word, like an edgy kid in some indie movie, I'm not surprised."

I let out a wholehearted laugh.

"I've been sending you over a hundred texts," she said. "Then I realized technology is probably not a magic thing, is it? I read the Harry Potter books a while ago. Dude, how do you live over there?"

I shook my head. "Believe me, now that I'm at Hogwarts, technology is not something I miss at all. Though it would be great to talk to you or mom whenever I wanted to."

My fingers reached for the golden necklace around my neck and I pulled out the heart-shaped locket from under my pullover. "Thank you for this. I love it a lot."

Rochelle's lips tugged upwards into a soft smile. She pulled back her auburn hair to reveal an identical locket hanging from her neck.

"It's been weird without you around, Sloth," she spoke after a short pause. "For a moment, I began to think that I was never going to see you again."

"Dumbass," I said and threw a pillow at her. "This is my home, no matter what."

Rochelle threw the pillow back. "So tell me about your school."

   She tucked her feet underneath her in her seat and looked at me with her big brown eyes in anticipation. I cleared my throat and begin to speak. I told her a lot, but not exactly everything. Actually, the more I talked, the more I realized just how much I couldn't tell her.

   Though it pained me to be the one keeping secrets this time around, I couldn't let my sister know my father was alive and as good as an amnesiac and that he worked to execute people of my kind, because by his real name, he'd been known as a coldblooded killer that escaped. I couldn't let her know I was the initiator of an anarchistic group and was planning to overthrow the current government regime with my friends, in order to prevent ending up imprisoned and in death row. I couldn't let her know my entire life was in danger.

   "That woman, Breeze McBon," she said after I finished speaking. "She's the one who told mom to keep us separated when we were younger. She told me she would restore mom's memory after my grandparents passed." Her voice weakened. She shifted her legs and continued, "She sent me a letter and said that. It was so strange. . . I didn't know what to believe or not. Next thing I know, mom pulls me aside after their funeral and tells me she remembered everything and that I'd be living with you from now on. Everything is so strange. Why was this necessary in the first place?"

   I hesitated before responding. Rochelle had mentioned in the letter that Breeze had told her she had kept us separated for our own good to keep Rochelle out of danger. The reason made sense in the context that I hadn't given Rochelle about my identity and my father's background—if the Ministry would come after me for my initiative, what assured us they wouldn't prosecute my sister as well? Her being a muggle would give her no means of preparing or defending herself.

   But she'd also mentioned Breeze had told her to let me know 'when the time was right'. She had restored mom's memory no longer than a month earlier. Why had she decided the time was 'right' now? Right for what? How would she know to reach out to Rochelle as soon as her grandparents passed? Had she somehow foreseen their death? What about mom—why had she not received my letter?

   "Girls, lunch's ready!" Mom yelled out from downstairs, her voice dragging me out of my thoughts. I turned to Rochelle with a smile and we both made our way downstairs.

   More than mom's teas, I had missed her cooking. As finger-licking as the dishes made by house elves were, nothing compared to mom's homemade meals. I'd missed the feeling of having lunch with her. As I sat at the table next to Rochelle, with mom and Breeze on my other side, I realized this was the closest to a family meal I had ever had—Christmas and Thanksgiving dinners with aunt Camilla and her ugly bulldog didn't count.

   Mom even asked if she wanted me to give her a call and tell her to come over so that she could meet me as well, but I shook my head firmly. Blood-related or not, aunt Camilla was not a person whose face I'd missed seeing.

   Mom had made pasta and chicken soup for lunch. I savored my meal as I talked and cracked jokes with her and Rochelle, and even asked for a second bowl of soup when I was done with the first. Breeze didn't engage in much conversations, despite mom's countless attempts to get her to laugh.

   "Don't worry about it," I whispered to mom when Breeze excused herself to use the restroom at one point. "Breeze is not annoyed, trust me, just a bit, um . . . socially inept. But she appreciates being here. It was her Christmas gift for me."

   When we were done with lunch, mom sliced some chocolate pudding for us. We watched an episode of Friends on TV, which to me felt both like the most ordinary and extraordinary thing imaginable in the midst of everything going on. I had to admit I had missed watching TV. Although nothing compared to being a witch, the wizarding world had yet to come up with an invention that beat muggle TVs when it came to entertainment.

   The sun was setting as we got up to leave. It was odd how fast time had flown by. As Breeze and I made our way to the door, I looked back at my house one last time, trying to memorize every corner, painting, and most importantly, the lemongrass and lavender scent of the incense.

   "You'll come back soon, won't you, honey?" my mom whispered as she pulled me in a hug. I felt her tears on the back of my pullover, and had to bite my lip to hold back mine.

   "Of course, mom." I squeezed her one last time before I broke apart and went to hug Rochelle.

   "Don't get yourself killed, Sloth," she said with a smirk, and wrapped her arms around me.

   I chuckled. "I'll try my best."

   Oh, Roche, if only you knew I'm not kidding.

   "Thank you so much for this lovely visit," mom said to Breeze. She shook her hand with both of hers. "I'm beyond grateful, ms. McBon."

   Breeze bowed her head. "The pleasure was all mine, mrs. Kin," she said. Mom grabbed her trench coat from the coat rack and held it up for Breeze, but she grabbed it and put it on herself. "Polly, shall we go?"

   I nodded and looked at mom and Rochelle's teary faces once more. I hugged both of them one last time.

   "I'll come back soon," I promised. "I love you both."

   Before Breeze grabbed me by the arm and the front door of my house closed shut, I was able to catch a final glimpse of the living room behind. The fresh violets in the vase, sitting atop the glassy coffee table. My favorite flower. The only piece of me that my mom and sister could cling to while I was gone; the only reminder that Polly Kin lived in that household and that someday, I would come back. Holding my dad's hand, with his memory restored, and we would finally live in harmony and peace as the united family that I'd always dreamt of having.

   Someday. When all this chaos would be over and a new life would blossom for us, just like the first violets that bloom when spring arrives.