The next morning came. All the Ravenclaws were slightly tired because of the morning party they had yesterday. Amelia and Olivia decided to come to Isabell’s house for Christmas. There was a bit of excitement for the day’s Quidditch match since Ravenclaw and Gryffindor were almost equally good at Quidditch.

‘I-I really can’t w-wait for the m-match to s-start and e-end-’ stammered Amelia anxiously. 

‘Don’t worry, you were great last time, when you played versus Slytherin,’ said Isabell encouragingly. 

‘Gryffindor is way better than Slytherin!’ said Amelia as she avoided touching her breakfast.

‘We know, but still, you’re great,’ Olivia nodded her head.

‘Take a deep breath, you are really good!’ said Isabell reassuringly.

Isabell suddenly saw her true love.

A chocolate cake.

She attacked it almost instantly. She sniffed the sweet smell of chocolate and began stuffing it in her mouth.

‘Isabell? Aren’t you going to leave some for other stude-’ Olivia began, but Isabell had already finished it. 

‘Wow Isabell... But it’s not Gryffindor I’m scared of playing against, it’s Harry,’ said Amelia. ‘I was going to the bathroom, and I saw them training, he caught the snitch in about five minutes!’

‘In training you caught it in 2 minutes!’ Olivia said, wearing her majestic eagle hat.

The eagle hat gave a loud squawk, making Isabell jump in surprise as the second strawberry cake on her fork flew up. Olivia snickered and did a spell which made the cake float and do stunts. Several students looked at the cake in amazement. Isabell crossed her arms.

‘You read too many books,’ Amelia said, shaking her head as she kept playing with her Quidditch robes uncontrollably.

‘Thank you.’ 

‘Compliment?’ Isabell asked.

‘I dunno-’ said Amelia. ‘Or at least I don’t think so.’

‘You were fast Amelia, they probably have no chance against you,’ Olivia confirmed as she lowered the cake and placed it in front of Isabell, who mumbled hungrily. 

‘Probably?’

‘I mean, you can’t be too sure, maybe Harry will catch it before you, maybe a bludger will hit you, maybe-’ started Olivia.

‘Ok, I get the point!’ Amelia said as she became more nervous by the second.

‘Besides, you caught the snitch in two minutes as we said before,’ Isabell said as she got a tissue and rubbed her strawberry filled hands. 

‘Only because someone put a jinx on my broom and it made it go faster!’ argued Amelia. ‘It could’ve been a Gryffindor to make me lose! But no- they aren’t that mean.’ 

‘Wait, the Slytherins might have done that, I saw Draco do something with his wand, how can he know such an advanced magic?’ Olivia said, thinking.  

‘Draco? Know advanced magic? Now that’s very likely to happen,’ Isabell said.

‘Why would they? He hates us! Would he really want us to win?’ said Amelia.

‘Probably to make you fall off your broom or something, I dunno,’ Olivia said, thinking hard. ‘He thought you would fall and not control the speed of it.’

‘No, I saved him! He spoke to me about it!’ said Amelia. ‘If it was him, I think he wanted to make me get the snitch faster, so Gryffindor can lose!’

‘Why would he want to help us?’ Isabell said, noticing Draco looking at them.

‘He hates Harry Potter, and he is my friend!’ Amelia said and made the point end.

‘Well, it’s cheating, surely Gryffindor won’t cheat!’ Olivia said angrily.

‘I think he really wants Gryffindor to lose!’ said Isabell.

‘Actually, he jinxed your broom, not to help you,’ Albert said, appearing out of thin air. ‘He wants Gryffindor to win, so Slytherin can go against them.’ 

‘Were you eavesdropping Albert?’ asked Amelia, raising her eyebrows. 

‘Yes, sorry. I just like to get into conversations about Quidditch, I am even sneaking out at night and train myself,’ Albert beamed, looking proud.

‘What? Do you even have a broom?’ Isabell said.

‘So it must have been you who made all that noise in the night when we visit the gamekeeper,’ Olivia said. ‘I’ve been trying to know what made such noise.’ 

‘I guess so, and I do have a broom. I bought one in Diagon Alley, thinking wizards have brooms and stuff.’

‘I thought first years weren’t allowed their own brooms!’ said Amelia.

‘You’re a first year student,’ Albert said as his kind face frowned.

‘Wha- oh yeah!’ 

‘Seriously? You forgot?’ Isabell laughed.

‘Is it me or do you think that Draco is listening to our conversation?’ asked Amelia, looking at him.

Draco was peering at them. They all glared at Draco, he was indeed trying to listen to the conversation, but when he realised they were looking at him, he pretended to be talking to Crabbe and Goyle, looking nervous.

‘Well, tomorrow is Christmas, it should be very exciting!’ Amelia said, trying to change the subject of the conversation.

‘Why are the tables now empty?’ asked Isabell, frowning.

‘Oh no! The match!’ yelled Amelia, as she hurriedly got her broom and ran to the Grounds as fast as she could.

‘Oh yeah, COME ON!’ shouted Olivia as she ran as fast as possible; she was almost running the speed of the wind!

‘Never mentioned I run fast?’ Olivia said.

Isabell took a few cookies from the Slytherin table (which was at the end of the hall) and stuffed them in her mouth.

‘No?’ panted Isabell.  

‘Well, I only run fast when I’m in a hurry, but normally, I run like anybody, really,’ Olivia said as she made a sudden stop, making Albert, who was running with them, almost falling on her. 

When Isabell, Olivia and Albert reached the stadium they spotted Amelia talking to Roger. Isabell and Olivia took their seats, while Albert rushed to the place where the commentator sat.

‘It’s Gryffindor (cheers from the corner and boos from Slytherin) playing against Ravenclaw (louder cheers from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff)!’

‘Ravenclaw team and Gryffindor team will begin the match in two minutes, everyone!’ 

‘Albert really sets the mood,’ said Olivia, looking at him in admiration.

‘Yeah, I know right!’ Isabell agreed.  

‘For Ravenclaw we have:  Davies- Stretton- Chang- Samuels- Boot- Burrow, and lastly, CLEARWATER!’ Albert said. ‘For Gryffindor we have: Wood - Bell - Johnson -  Spinnet - Weasley and Weasley - and finally, POTTER!’

‘Who are the two Weasley’s?’ asked Isabell.

‘They are from the Weasley family, Ronald’s family,’ Olivia said, cheering with the Ravenclaws.

‘Oh, but I never saw them before,’ said Isabell as she looked closer at them.

‘I saw them about a million times!’ yelled Olivia, over Albert’s commentating. 

‘Oh my! They’re identical!’ 

‘Well, of course they are, they are twins, Fred and Geor- oh! The match is starting- GO Amelia, WOOO!’

Olivia’s hat screeched a tune which made several people stare at it in surprise.

‘Johnson has the quaffle, she passes it to Bell. Bell is HEADING TO THE GOAL! OH NO! SHE SCORES. 10-0 to Gryffindor! (groans from the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff crowd, but boos from the Slytherins).’ 

‘GO Amelia!’ Olivia and Isabell yelled.

The match was very tight; it went on for fifteen minutes, until finally the teams tied.

‘And it’s seventy to seventy for both teams, it all depends on the seekers, who will get the golden snitch first?’ Albert said, his face looking anxious now.

‘Amelia versus Harry!’ Isabell whisper-shouted.

Amelia and Harry were neck and neck, chasing the snitch, but the snitch disappeared into thin air, and Amelia and Harry lost sight of it. 

‘DON’T BE A GENTLEMAN HARRY! KNOCK HER OF HER BROOM IF YOU HAVE TO!’ bellowed Oliver Wood, the captain and keeper of Gryffindor.

‘NOW IS YOUR CHANCE AMELIA!’ roared Roger. ‘YOU ARE BETTER THAN HIM!’ 

Amelia scanned the pitch, looking for the snitch, it was a frustrating moment for her, she was an inch from the ground and the snitch, but Harry saw it too and he sped after it, then Amelia rolled off her broom to the floor.

‘And Amelia Clearwater falls, but- WAIT, Clearwater looks like she has something!’ Albert said.

Amelia had caught the snitch while falling, and held it up in the air with pride. The Ravenclaw team hugged her and punched the air happily. They had won the match!

‘YES! GO AMELIA!’ yelled Olivia and Isabell.

‘AND RAVENCLAW WINS WITH two-hundred and twenty points!’ shouted Albert into the megaphone, over the shouts, screams and booing of the crowd. The Gryffindor team were devastated, they hadn’t lost a match until that moment! Yet Harry, Hermione and Ron congratulated Amelia.

One month had passed. It was finally Christmas. Students woke up and searched the dormitory for their Christmas gifts. 

‘Oi! Wake up Amelia and Olivia,’ called out Isabell, throwing hard boxes at them.

‘W-what?’ said Amelia, yawning. ‘Do you have to wake us up?’

‘GIFTS! COME ON!’

‘Really?’ Olivia said weakly.

‘Yeah, here they are!’ 

‘Ok.’

Isabell was already fully dressed but Amelia and Olivia were still in their Pyjamas. They got dressed and rushed down to take their gifts. Amelia opened a gift from Olivia, it was Bertie-Bott’s-Every-Flavoured-Beans

‘Thanks Olivia, I love it.’

‘No problem, and thanks for the book, and Isabell, thanks for the candy!’ Olivia said as she ate some chocolate frogs.

‘No problem, thanks for the little clothes for my brother,’ Isabell said.

‘We knitted them for hours,’ Amelia said, sighing.

Amelia suddenly spit something in disgust.

‘Why did I have to taste fish?’ Amelia said she still kept staring at the bean on the floor.

‘Ouch- I mean ew-’ Isabell laughed.

Amelia carried the bean with her wand and turned it into a chocolate tart, which she then gave to Isabell.

‘HOW DID YOU DO THAT?’ Isabell said as she gaped at the tart in hunger and surprise.

‘Just a trick I learnt from Olivia.’

‘Olivia will make a great chef,’ laughed Isabell as she ate the tart.

‘Oh! Look, a letter!’ Olivia said as she noticed a letter on the floor.

‘Who’s it from?’ asked Amelia.

‘DAD!’

Isabell opened the letter immediately, in the usual neat handwriting, the letter read:

Dear girls,

Merry Christmas! I have sent some gifts, the wrappings are blue of course, and hope you like them! A very good choice for the name ‘Ivan’. He was born yesterday at 3:00 in the morning! He has eyes so brownish-green like yours Isabell, he reminds me of you so much!

This is for Amelia: I sent your father and mother a letter. But they didn’t agree, well, only your father. Your mother didn’t care at all. It must have been so bad living with a woman like her. So I guess we’ll have to go along with my dangerous plan!

Love, 

Riley Bluesky.

‘Mother?’ Amelia stared at the letter.

Olivia and Isabell looked at the word.

‘Probably a mistake!’ Isabell said as she took the letter quickly from Amelia’s shaking hands.

‘B-but he said only my father disagreed a-and m-mother didn’t care at all. What d-does your father mean by that?’

Isabell and Olivia eyed each other, both looking worried.

‘I dunno- but the most important thing is you are gonna surely come to the Christmas party!’ Isabell said, trying to change the subject.

Amelia squinted at the letter just to see the word ‘Mother’ one more time. 

‘Mother…’ she whispered to herself. 

Olivia seemed to have heard her. She tried to look through her eyes. She looked at the sad blue ones and pictures started to form in her head. 

There was a little girl who looked about four years old and was lying on the green grass. She was laughing. Next to her was a beautiful woman who had similar golden-blonde hair and hazel, almond-shaped eyes. She was laughing too.

Olivia gasped. That was Amelia’s real mother.

Next to them was a handsome man whose arm was on their shoulders. They seemed like the perfect family. 

The scene started to dissolve and another one replaced it. 

The woman was screaming an ear-deafening scream and a little girl, who looked about a year older than the last scene, was crying. 

Another man appeared.

He had very pale skin, a chalk-white, skull-like face, snake-like slits for nostrils, red eyes and cat-like slits for pupils, a skeletally thin body and long, thin hands with unnaturally long fingers. His wand was emitting red sparks.

‘You do not want to join Lord Voldemort?’ The man looked cold. ’CRUCIO!’ 

The woman screeched in agony as the little girl gasped.

‘Mommy!’ 

The woman put a shaking hand on the girl’s shoulder.

‘What did I do that made me have such an amazing child like you?’ the woman said weakly to the girl and then faced the man.

‘I will never join you, Tom. Even if you kill me, my daughter will never join you. Your equal will destroy you one day… Tom Riddle.’

The woman looked weak on the outside but she was fierce on the inside. She gave the little girl one last smile.

‘No! MOMMY!’ 

The girl tried to stand in between the two and shield her mother, but the woman pushed her aside with all the strength she had left.

‘YOU DARE CALL ME WITH THE NAME MY STUPID MOTHER CALLED ME? AVADA KEDAVRA!’ 

Green sparks shot from his wand and hit the woman in the chest. She collapsed on the floor, her eyes wide open and the colour in her hazel eyes gone. 

‘MOMMY!’ The girl yelled. 

Someone pulled the girl into a hug. 

‘Ah, William… Too bad your wife didn’t want to join me, I terribly regret killing someone with pure wizard blood. But I can spare your daughter, she could be useful in the future…’ his cold voice echoed.

Amelia’s father looked pale. He looked at his dead wife and then Amelia as tears started to fill her wide terrified eyes.

‘Daddy-’

‘Shush, Amelia! (he faced the man) My lord, I will make her join you when she is older.’

‘Good, we shall see about that.’ 

The man walked away, leaving a little girl crying on the spot. Her father stroked her blonde hair, which was long at the time.

‘Daddy, mommy is gone.’

The man hugged his daughter as he looked helplessly at his dead wife.

‘I-I will try and make life better for you, but you must promise me one thing.’

‘Yes?’ 

‘You must join the Dark Lord, that man, when you grow up.’

‘B-but that m-man killed mommy!’

‘It doesn’t matter now. From now on, he will be your lord.’

The scene dissolved again, Amelia was digging a hole. Her hair was very short now, it reached just under her ears. She looked about six or five and a half, but she looked much more mature and stiff.

Olivia remembered that Amelia’s mother also had short hair when she had died. It seemed Amelia cut it out of sadness.

She was sweating and panting but she kept on going. After two hours, she finally dug a big enough hole. She was looking at something that was covered in a white blanket.

‘Can I help?’ a woman with brown hair and grey-blue eyes asked as she walked towards Amelia.

‘No.’

‘C’mon, let me help.’

‘No.’

‘Please?’

‘No.’ 

‘I can help you finish in an instant.’

‘No.’

‘Why?’

‘Go away!’ Amelia yelled. ‘I don’t need you. Get out of my life.’ 

‘Amel-’ the woman began.

‘I don’t want you! I want my real mother!’ 

The woman gave a nasty grin then stared at the muddy Amelia, who was walking towards the blanket. She got out her wand and pointed it at the blanket. She uncovered it to reveal her mother, eyes closed and was in a sleeping position. She made the body float from the damp grass. 

‘STOP IT!’ Amelia screamed. ‘Please stop!’

‘Hmm, but do I want to stop?’ the woman smirked as she examined Amelia’s mother. ‘Too bad my filthy sister didn’t want to join the Dark Lord.’

‘Please! I’ll do anything! Just put the body back!’ 

The woman put Amelia’s mother back and covered her then looked at Amelia.

She grabbed her from the throat and pinned her to the damp floor. The woman crouched as her hair slightly covered Amelia’s scared face. 

‘I am your stepmother now. You must listen to me. And you want your mother back? Fine then…’

She cast a spell on Amelia, which was Obliviate (It was a charm that could be used to erase specific memories from an individual's mind, if very powerful, it could also erase one’s memory forever) but then suddenly, a man appeared and made the woman’s wand fly from her hand.

It was Mr. Ollivander. He looked angry. 

‘Ah… Garrick…’

‘Stop this instant!’ he yelled.

‘But I already did.’ 

She looked at Amelia then at Mr. Ollivander.

He shook his head.

‘No, it can’t be…’

‘She will not remember her mother at all.’ 

Ollivander gasped and looked at Amelia.

‘Who is your mother?’

‘M-my mother?’ 

‘Yes.’

Amelia looked at the woman then at the dead body. She walked towards the dead body and examined her. Short, golden-blonde hair, very dull hazel eyes. 

‘What happened to mother?’ Amelia asked as she looked at Ollivander. 

Amelia was pointing at the dead body. 

‘H-how-’

Ollivander waved his wand, muttered an incantation then the hole Amelia dug became a grave. 

‘Leave before I call William.’ 

The stepmother disappeared but Amelia didn’t seem surprised.

‘Stand up,’ Ollivander ordered Amelia.

She stood up but her body was draped in mud. With a swish of his wand, Ollivander made all the mud fall from Amelia’s body to the ground.

‘What happened to mum?’ Amelia repeated.

Mr. Ollivander sighed and patted Amelia. 

Amelia looked shocked, for Olivia realised she was regaining little bits of memory. The little Amelia then looked at her mother, tears in her eyes. She and Mr. Ollivander carried the body (which was covered in the blanket) to the grave. Mr. Ollivander carefully placed the body in the grave and with his wand, placed the dirt on Amelia’s dead mother. Amelia found a big rock and carried it to the grave. Mr. Ollivander placed the rock and wrote on it:

Here lies Victoria Cleawater   

A caring wife and mother who fought evil with all her might

February 27th 1957 - September 4th 1981

A small boy, who looked just about the same age as Amelia, came running towards them. 

But Olivia couldn’t recognise him. He also looked about six, with dark brown hair and grey eyes.

‘Hey, Amie,’ the little boy spoke breathlessly. ‘Can I help with the grave- oh, you already finished it.’

‘Bye,’ Amelia walked away, leaving Ollivander and the boy looking at her shadowy figure.

The scene dissolved again and Amelia was looking at her stepmother, who was her mother’s sister. She gave Amelia a terrible smile. 

‘Ah, my daughter!’ the woman said as she approached Amelia, trying to hug her.

‘GET AWAY, YOU FILTHY WOMAN!’

‘Amelia! Don’t call your mother that,’ Mr. Clearwater said. 

‘YOU MARRIED HER? I HATE YOU!’

Amelia ran away from them. It was a few days later, when her stepmom was looking at an unconscious Mr. Clearwater. 

‘Obliviate. There, that should do the trick.’

The woman looked at where Amelia was, but nobody was there. 

The scene went black as Olivia’s focus went back to Amelia and Isabell, who were talking. They didn’t notice that Olivia was sweating and looked sad.

‘...but how do you work it?’ Amelia was asking Isabell. 

Olivia had no idea what they were talking about.

‘You probably have to press this button.’

‘I tried that but it didn’t work!’ 

Amelia looked frustrated.

‘Oh wait, the other button. Sorry!’ Isabell laughed.

Amelia rolled her eyes then looked at Olivia. 

‘What happened? You look like you’ve just ran two miles!’

‘Oh, I’m fine!’ Olivia smiled toothily then Amelia shrugged and continued working with Isabell on the Muggle toy that Isabell’s mother sent to Amelia.

‘Muggle toys are weird!’ said Amelia, trying to figure out how to open it.

Olivia looked at it closely. 

‘It is a wind up jewellery box! This isn’t a button, it is a hole for a key. You have to put a key in there then wind it up!’ 

Olivia looked in the box that it had come in and found a small key which she put inside a tiny hole and twisted it. It worked! The ballerina began spinning and singing a song. 

‘Cool!’ Amelia’s jaw dropped. ‘Muggle toys are crazy!’ 

‘I know right?’ 

‘Olivia! This is yours!’ said Isabell, waiting eagerly to get her gift from Olivia and Amelia.

‘And Isabell! This is yours!’ called Amelia, gesturing to Isabell to come to her.

‘Amelia, this is yours,’ said Olivia.

They all got their rightful gifts and ripped the wrapping off. 

‘My, my,’ exclaimed Olivia, though she kept glancing at Amelia nervously everytime Amelia looked the other way.

‘Cool!’ gaped Isabell.

‘Wow, Isabell! Your dad is the best!’ Amelia said in amazement.

‘What did he get you?’ Isabell asked curiously.

‘He got me a small model of my broom with me on it!’ Amelia said excitedly. ‘It actually flies!’ 

‘WOW! He sent me a letter… saying… WE GOT THE MANSION I WANTED!’ yelled Isabell,  jumping up and down.

‘Keep it down!’ said Amelia.

‘And he got me a book!’ said Olivia.

‘A book?’ asked Amelia, raising her eyebrows. ‘Seriously? I gave you a book as well but about magical creatures...’ 

‘Not just any book, a book about the Wizarding World!’ said Olivia, already reading the first page.

‘We need nicknames, you know,’ Amelia said suddenly.

‘Yes! My nickname is Izzy!’ said Isabell. ‘Dad gave it to me, or rather invented it!’ 

‘Izzy?’

‘Yeah?’

Isabell and Amelia burst with laughter then looked at Olivia.

‘So, what's your nickname?’ Amelia questioned Olivia.

‘I-I don’t have one.’ 

Isabell’s mouth dropped open.

‘Nevermind, we’ll give you one!’ 

‘Ok.’ 

‘Liv’s nice,’ Isabell said.

‘Yeah! Liv is now your official nickname,’ said Amelia, smiling.

‘I like that,’ Olivia agreed.

‘What about your nickname Amelia?’ Isabell asked.

‘Amie!’ 

‘That’s a cool nickname, who gave you it?’ 

‘Oh, it was-’ 

‘Your mother. I mean-’

Isabell and Amelia stared at Olivia as she clasped her hand to her mouth.

‘How-how did you know that?’ Amelia asked suspiciously.

‘I dunno- I guessed-’ 

Amelia raised her eyebrows, looked at the rest of the presents and unexpectedly started to rip the wrappers of the ones addressed to her.

‘That was weird,’ said Isabell, grinning.

‘Yeah…’ Olivia looked at Isabell behind Amelia then pretended to talk then pointed at herself then Isabell.