The morning air smelled sweet and fresh. Birdsong chorused through the thick New Zealand bush, and Lizzie shifted her position on the Kowhai branch she sat on, absently dangling one of the tree's yellow blossoms in her hand. A keruru landed near her, watching her through its beady eyes, and Lizzie glanced up from the thick volume on her lap to smile encouragingly at it. The bird cocked its head, then nibbled at a cluster of Kowhai blooms near it.

Instead of turning back to her book, Lizzie looked around, appreciating the nature around her. So peaceful. So pleasant. She drummed her fingers on the smooth tree bark, remembering the events of the day. Even before breakfast Dora had been arguing with her parents again. Lizzie sighed and closed the book.

England. What was it like? All that she had managed to imagine so far was a blur of accents and old fashioned buildings. There would be no familiar New Zealand bush. Just dense forests instead. And no native New Zealand birds. She felt her appreciation for the bird before her grow, and she extended her hand, offering the yellow blossoms. The keruru hesitated, then tentatively hopped nearer, until it grazed its beak across her palm, snatching up the flowers. Lizzie smiled. She was glad to be a Scamander.

But the problems on her mind didn't allow her to join in the peace of the bush, and, after feeding the pigeon some more, she slipped down from the tree and headed back toward the house. The moist dirt felt cool beneath her bare toes, and a gentle breeze sifted through the undergrowth, playing about her face. Lizzie followed the familiar trickling stream beside her until the homely form of the Scamander house appeared, slightly hidden by the bush around it, up ahead. Lizzie mounted the ivy-covered steps up to the front door, her book under her arm, yet before stepping inside, she braced herself. Already the familiar argumentative sounds could be heard from within. Sighing, she opened the door.

"No!" Dora's voice came from the living room. "No, I don't want to go, and I won't! You can't make me! I want to stay here, in New Zealand, not move to England - keep homeschooling me!"

"There is no promise of an educational magic centre establishment in New Zealand," came the voice of Mr Bellamy. "I'm sorry, Dora, but it's best. I grew up here, and I have to go too. Your mother and I cannot continue homeschooling you - we're both busy, and we can't fulfil the place of expert teachers. Besides, it's tradition for the Scamanders to go to Hogwarts - they're an English line."

"I don't care!" Dora retorted. "This is home, not some boring house in England!"

"Dora." Now Mrs Scamander spoke, her voice gentle but firm. "This house here is very much my home as it is yours, but I did come to New Zealand, and I always knew I'd have to go back to England some day. I thought you knew that. Hogwarts is the place where you should learn magic, and nothing's going to change that."

Lizzie walked down the front hall into the living room. Dora stood, fists clenched, facing her parents with a look of determined resolve on her face. Her hazel eyes looked stormy with anger, and her long brown hair seemed to sizzle with electricity (her natural magic acting up). Mr Bellamy and his wife stood opposite her, Mrs Scamander frying pancakes in the kitchen and her husband sitting on the stool at the piano and riffling through several sheets of music while he talked to Dora at the same time. Matilda, the youngest sister, sat on the sofa buried in her book, apparently completely unaware of the commotion around her.

"Ah, you're back, Lizzie," Mr Bellamy said, sighing wearily. He gestured to Dora. "The usual, as I'm sure you can see." He ran a hand through his golden hair and bit his lip. Mr Bellamy had been born in New Zealand forty-four years ago, and he was an excellent musician and the husband of Esther Scamander. He had been unaware of magic until he met his future wife, yet adapted very well to the concept of it, and when the two married, they had agreed on living in a patch of dense New Zealand bush where they raised their three daughters. Because the Scamander line was an important magical one, Esther had kept her surname, and Dora, Lizzie, and Matilda all went by it too. Mrs Scamander had moved to New Zealand fourteen years ago to study the magical creatures of New Zealand, but while on the island she met Sebastian and her plans changed. Now, however, they were changing again.

"It's not fair!" Dora said angrily.

"I'm sorry, Dora," Mrs Scamander said, flipping a pancake. "It's just the way things have to be. I don't want to leave either. We'll move back here as soon as your education at Hogwarts is finished."

"Yes, seven years from now!" Dora said furiously. "I don't want to, mother, you can't make me -"

"We don't want to leave either, Dora," Lizzie said, crouching down to pat her glossy black cat, Cornix, "But we're not making a big fuss. Mother says we can come back."

"I'm not waiting that long!" Dora stormed. "I'm not going!" And with that, she turned on her heel and marched from the room, her long hair swinging behind her. Her bedroom door slammed shut and there was a pause as everyone hesitated.

Then Matilda closed her book and said happily, "And that's the end of chapter fourteen!" She looked around, seeing everyone's weary faces, and frowned. "Is something the matter?"