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6 July

The morning arrived far too quickly.

Krittika had barely slept.

Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the same thing.

The golden moon.

The strange symbol in the sky.

The whispers.

The letters.

The prophecy.

And every single time she opened her eyes, reality returned with one terrifying reminder—

Today was the day.

Today she will leave for Hogwarts.

For years, Hogwarts had existed only in stories.

In books.

In conversations between older witches and wizards.

In dreams.

But now it was real.

Painfully real.

The sunlight creeping through her curtains felt different.

The room felt different.

Everything felt different.

Krittika sat up slowly.

For a moment, she simply stared around her room.

The shelves.

The books.

The photographs.

The window she had looked through a thousand times.

Her desk.

Her blanket.

The tiny crack near the corner of the wall that Sanvi had somehow blamed on magic even though she had kicked it herself.

A laugh escaped her before she could stop it.

And suddenly—

her chest hurt.

Because this was home.

And for the first time in eleven years...

she was leaving it.

A knock sounded.

Then another.

Then another.

Very impatient.

Krittika smiled.

Only one person knocked like that.

Before she could answer—

the door burst open.

Sanvi marched inside dramatically.

Still half asleep.

Still holding her stuffed toy.

Still wearing mismatched socks.

Her hair looked as though she had fought a dragon and lost.

Krittika immediately started laughing.

Sanvi frowned. "What?"

"You look ridiculous."

"I look powerful."

"You look like a broom attacked you."

Sanvi gasped.

Offended.

Deeply offended.

“Haww You said that to me?”

“Yes”

Then she climbed onto the bed and crossed her arms.

"I came to say good morning."

"You came to steal my blanket."

"I can do both."

Krittika rolled her eyes.

Sanvi suddenly became quiet.

Very quiet.

Which was unusual.

Extremely unusual.

Because Sanvi was rarely quiet.

Krittika looked at her.

The younger girl was staring at the half-packed trunk near the wall.

Her smile was gone.

"Oh."

The realization hit.

Sanvi wasn't thinking about breakfast.

Or blankets.

Or dragons.

She was thinking about Hogwarts.

And for the first time—

Krittika remembered she wasn't the only one leaving today.

Sanvi was being left behind.

The room became silent.

Sanvi looked away.

"I don't want you to go."

The words came out small.

Almost too small to hear.

Krittika's heart broke immediately.

She moved closer.

"Hey."

Sanvi shook her head.

"No."

"Sanu—"

"You'll make new friends."

"I'll still have you."

"You'll forget me."

"I literally live with you."

"You'll still forget me."

Krittika laughed softly.

“How can I forget you?”

Then pulled her sister into a hug.

A proper hug.

The kind that squeezed all the air out of a person.

Sanvi buried her face in Krittika's shoulder.

For several moments neither spoke.

Finally Krittika whispered:

"Never."

Sanvi looked up.

"What?"

"I'll never forget you."

The younger girl studied her suspiciously.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Magical promise?"

"Magical promise."

That seemed to satisfy her.

For approximately three seconds.

Then—

"Can I have your room?"

"Absolutely not."

"You're leaving."

"It's still my room."

"Not if I claim it first."

"You sound like a tiny goblin."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

Their argument continued all the way downstairs.

And for the first time since waking up—

Krittika felt normal again.

Almost.

Because deep down...

beneath the excitement...

beneath the nerves...

beneath the laughter...

something still felt wrong.

Like a storm waiting just beyond the horizon.

Waiting.

Watching.

And somehow—

She knew Hogwarts was connected to it.

***************************************************

The smell reached Krittika before she even entered the kitchen.

Fresh toast.

Butter.

Tea.

And something sweet she couldn't immediately identify.

For a moment she simply stood at the doorway.

Watching.

Memorizing.

Because suddenly every ordinary thing felt important.

The morning sunlight spilled through the windows.

The wooden dining table looked exactly the same as it always had.

Sanvi's favorite chair still had crayon marks on one corner.

A tiny crack still ran through the wall near the clock.

Everything was normal.

Painfully normal.

And somehow that made leaving harder.

Anvika stood near the counter arranging plates.

She had probably been awake for hours.

Her hair was tied back loosely.

Dark circles rested beneath her eyes.

And despite the smile she wore—

Krittika immediately knew.

She had cried.

Maybe not today.

Maybe not yet.

But recently.

Mothers always thought they were better at hiding things than they actually were.

"Mumma."

Anvika looked up.

The smile appeared instantly.

Too quickly.

Too perfectly.

The kind of smile people wore when they were trying very hard not to break.

"There you are."

Krittika crossed the room.

Neither of them spoke.

Words felt unnecessary.

Anvika simply opened her arms.

And Krittika stepped into them.

For a moment—

she was six again.

Safe.

Small.

Home.

Anvika pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"I'm proud of you."

The words were simple.

But they landed heavily.

Because suddenly Hogwarts felt real again.

Not exciting.

Not magical.

Real.

And real things were frightening.

"Mumma..."

"I'm serious."

Anvika smiled softly.

"You're brave, Krittika."

Krittika laughed.

"No I'm not."

"You are."

"I'm terrified."

"Brave people usually are."

For a moment neither spoke.

Then—

A loud crash echoed across the room.

Both turned instantly.

Sanvi stood beside the table.

Frozen.

Holding half a biscuit.

A broken plate lay at her feet.

Silence.

Sanvi blinked.

"...it attacked me."

Krittika immediately burst out laughing.

Anvika pinched the bridge of her nose.

And from behind a newspaper—

Aditya said:

"The plate had a family."

"MOURN IT RESPECTFULLY."

Sanvi gasped dramatically.

"I AM THE VICTIM HERE.”

****************************************************

The drive began quietly.

Far more quietly than Krittika had expected.

Usually, family trips were chaos.

Sanvi would be singing.

Or arguing.

Or asking impossible questions every thirty seconds.

But today—

even though she seemed to understand that something important was happening.

The car rolled through familiar streets.

Past familiar shops.

Past familiar houses.

Past places Krittika had seen her entire life.

And with every passing minute—

home felt farther away.

Krittika rested her forehead against the cool glass window.

Outside, the world rushed by.

People walked along sidewalks.

Children played in parks.

Dogs chased each other through gardens.

Ordinary.

Everything looked so ordinary.

Yet her entire world was changing.

She wondered if everyone else could feel it.

That strange sensation.

The feeling that life was splitting into two parts.

Before Hogwarts.

And after Hogwarts.

Across from her, Sanvi was hugging her stuffed toy tightly.

Far too tightly.

Every few minutes she looked at Krittika.

Then looked away.

Then looked again.

As though trying to memorize her face.

Eventually Krittika noticed.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You're staring."

"I'm not."

"You absolutely are."

"I'm gathering evidence."

"Evidence for what?"

Sanvi narrowed her eyes.

"To make sure Hogwarts doesn't replace you with a clone."

The silence shattered.

Anvika laughed.

Aditya nearly missed a turn because he was laughing too hard.

Krittika groaned.

"That is not how Hogwarts works."

"You don't know."

"I literally do."

"No."

Sanvi pointed dramatically.

"You THINK you do."

For several minutes the car filled with laughter.

And for a little while—

Everything felt normal again.

Then the laughter faded.

The road stretched ahead.

And silence returned.

A comfortable silence this time.

Until—

Aditya spoke.

"Krittika."

Immediately she sat straighter.

Something about her father's tone felt serious.

"Yeah?"

For a moment he kept his eyes on the road.

Thinking.

Choosing his words carefully.

Finally he said:

"Hogwarts is going to be amazing."

A smile tugged at Krittika's lips.

"I know."

"But it won't always be easy."

The smile faded.

"You'll meet people who like you."

She nodded.

"You'll meet people who don't."

Another nod.

"You'll make mistakes."

Krittika rolled her eyes.

"I already do that."

"Frequently."

"Papa."

"Very frequently."

Anvika laughed quietly.

Krittika groaned.

Traitor.

Complete traitor.

But Aditya's expression softened.

And suddenly his voice became quieter.

More serious.

"If people judge you before they know you..." He paused. "...let them."

Krittika blinked.

"What?"

"They don't get to decide who you are."

The words settled heavily inside the car.

Even Sanvi stopped fidgeting.

Aditya continued.

"There will always be people who believe rumors."

His grip tightened slightly on the steering wheel.

"There will always be people who believe stories."

The prophecy.

The whispers.

The strange looks.

Krittika immediately knew what he meant.

"But—"

His eyes met hers through the mirror.

"Only you decide who you become."

Silence.

The kind that lingered.

The kind people remembered later.

Krittika looked away first.

Because suddenly her eyes stung.

And she didn't want anyone noticing.

Especially Sanvi.

Because Sanvi would absolutely notice.

And then she'd tell everyone.

Including future generations.

Outside, London slowly appeared.

Buildings grew taller.

Roads grew busier.

Traffic thickened.

The world became louder.

Closer.

King's Cross wasn't far now.

Krittika's heartbeat quickened.

Hogwarts.

The train.

The sorting.

The castle.

Everything was finally becoming real.

And somewhere deep inside—

beneath the excitement—

beneath the fear—

beneath the anticipation—

a single question refused to disappear.

Why had everyone been whispering about her?

The prophecy.

The bloodlines.

The warnings.

The letters.

For eleven years, adults had hidden things from her.

But Hogwarts was waiting ahead.

And somehow—

she had a feeling the answers were waiting there too.

The station appeared ahead.

King's Cross.

The beginning of everything.

Krittika took a deep breath.

And for the first time—

she stepped toward her destiny

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