Katherine Greenwood: The Hidden World #11

Instructions

Katherine's POV: My eyes widened. "So... like me?" Rose smiled. "Exactly like you." I looked down at my hands. "So I'm Muggle-born because Mum and Dad aren't magical?" "Yes," Rose said. "That's what it means." I thought about that for a moment. "Then what is a pure-blood?" I asked. "A pure-blood is someone who comes from a family that considers itself entirely magical," Rose explained. "They have a long magical family history." I nodded slowly, trying to keep all of the new information straight in my head. "So there are three words? Pure-blood, half-blood, and Muggle-born?" "Those are the main terms people use when talking about magical heritage," Albus said. "Does it matter which one you are?" There was a short silence. Lily glanced at her brothers and Rose. "Some people think it matters a lot," she said carefully. "But it doesn't decide whether someone is a good witch or wizard." Rose nodded. "There are families who care very much about blood status, but lots of people don't." I looked at them. "So being Muggle-born doesn't mean I'm less magical?" "No," Rose said immediately. "Not at all." I felt a little relieved. "Good." I looked out the window again, thinking about everything I had learned. My parents were ordinary people, but somehow I had magic. Harry Potter's family was different from mine, and Rose's family was different too. Yet we were all sitting together on the same train, going to the same school. "I didn't know there were so many different kinds of families," I said. Lily smiled. "There are. You'll meet all sorts of people at Hogwarts." I looked back at them. "Do people treat Muggle-borns differently?" The four of them exchanged brief looks. "Some people might," Rose admitted. "But there are plenty of people who won't care about it at all." I nodded, although I still wasn't completely sure what to expect. I had already learned so much in just a few hours, and we hadn't even arrived at Hogwarts yet. I looked down at the remaining sweets on the seat beside me and carefully touched the Chocolate Frog card in my bag. "I think I have about a hundred more questions." Lily laughed softly. "You'll fit right in." I smiled shyly. For the first time since I had received my letter, I didn't feel quite so worried about being different. I was still a Muggle-born. I was still a girl who had never known magic existed until a few weeks ago. But now I knew that being Muggle-born didn't make me less of a witch. I picked up another chocolate frog and carefully opened the box, this time holding it tightly so it couldn't jump away. Maybe Hogwarts was going to be strange. Maybe it was going to be confusing. But as I sat there with my new friends, sharing candy, collecting cards, and asking questions, I was beginning to think that maybe strange wasn't such a bad thing after all.