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Logline
A young witch must learn to harness her out-of-control magic in order to save her friends after putting her faith in an evil wizard.
Blurb
For students of Morgan le Fay Institute for Magic, life isn't easy. The wizarding world rejects them because their magic is "weak". Despite their hard work, they never get the same chances in life as Hogwarts graduates do.
Ravenna is different. Her magic isn't weak at all; it is so strong that she cannot control it. This puts not only herself, but everyone around her in terrible danger.
After being attacked by a group of Hogwarts students while shopping for school supplies in Diagon Alley, Ravenna unleashes her powers on the boys and scares them off. Afterwards, Ravenna receives a letter from a man who'd witnessed the attack, asking if she'd be interested in teaching elitist wizards like them a lesson in a different way.
Desperate for the power to change the way she and her schoolmates are viewed by the Wizarding world, Ravenna and her friends go to a secret meeting set up by death eaters. But the change this man is looking for isn't what Ravenna had in mind.
While struggling to control her magic, Ravenna must make a decision: are the harsh methods of the death eaters simply a "necessary evil"? Does the end justify the means, if it means Morgan le Fay graduates are finally accepted into the wizarding community?
First 1,000 Words
The wizarding world was falling apart.
Yet days like these almost made it feel like a wonderful place. Diagon Alley, the shopping hub for witches and wizards, was busier than ever now that the start of term was around the corner. The sun shone down on children laughing and playing in the streets, as their parents exchanged gossip outside every store front. The sweet smell of pumpkin pasties mixed with the heavy, bitter odour drifting down from the apothecary. Antique bullhorns floated around in front of their shops, calling potential customers in and advertising their wares.
The smile on Ravenna's face faltered. Too bad it's all a facade.
"What else do you need to get?" her best friend asked, grinning down at her as they dodged a group of students racing past Ollivander's Wand Shop and into the broom shop.
For the umpteenth time that day, Ravenna noticed just how good Dan looked. The summer had been kind to him. His shoulders were broader than she remembered, as if he'd been working out. His tawny hair was shorter, as it always was during the holidays. Once they got to school, it wouldn't be long until it fell over his ears again, which he much preferred. Despite his eighteen years of age, one year Ravenna's senior, his face was round and boyish. Very fitting for the permanent grin adorning it.
"Just some new robes. You?"
Dan shrugged. "Parchment, maybe. B-but I can always get that in Dawnwich."
The corners of her lips tugged upwards as she followed him through the busy street. A boy on the corner of the street sold the Daily Prophet, his voice competing with that of his own bullhorn which drifted a few feet away. The newspaper showed the Minister for Magic, Harold Minchum, waving at potential buyers. The headlines screamed Brand New Minister Minchum Places More Dementors at Azkaban.
Dan skillfully dodged a plump woman who'd just emerged from the Magical Menagerie carrying two huge straw baskets, each covered with a black piece of cloth. It couldn't mask the vile, rotting smell that oozed from the baskets.
"Come on, let's get this done, so we can go and get ice cream. My treat."
Ravenna shook her head. "You and your ice cream."
"What can I say?" His sea-blue eyes twinkled when he glanced over his shoulder. "I'm absolutely addicted."
"Merlin's beard! We're not even at school yet and you've already started with the alliterations?"
Dan laughed, before taking her hand and pulling her into Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. A bell above their head jingled, but it was redundant because the shopkeeper, a squat woman with a pointy hat on her head, was already in the front part of the shop helping three teenage boys.
Ravenna immediately recognised them as students of Hogwarts, the most popular school for witchcraft and wizardry in all of Britain. Their logo, a large red or blue H, shone proudly on their black robes.
The measuring tape vigorously continued taking measures of one of the boys while Madam Malkin turned to her new customers. "Ah, welcome, dears! Please, have a seat, I will be right with you. Hogwarts as well?"
"Er, no." Ravenna did her best not to look at the boys as she muttered her answer. "Morgan le Fay."
Even from the corner of her eye she could see them nudging each other and snickering.
"Oh! Well, that's okay, dear. The Morgan le Fay robes are in the back, I'm afraid."
The boy with a maroon and gold tie fixed Dan with a disgusted look. "Mulberry? Is that you? I thought your mother kept you locked up, like the ape you are."
Dan's cheeks turned crimson, but his perpetual smile didn't fade. "I d-d-don't know what you're talking about."
The boy's grin widened. "I'm sure you d-d don't."
His friends exploded with laughter. Ravenna's pulse thudded in her ears.
The stocky shopkeeper ignored the entire exchange, sticking two pins in the sleeve of a robe. As if it was nothing but banter among old friends. "Have a seat, dears. I'll get to you two when I'm done with this lot."
Dan shot her a meaningful glance as they sat down on the wooden stools, their backs against the dusty window. "That w-w-was awfully awkward," he whispered.
She snorted despite herself. "I think you mean awful. Who does he think he is?"
Dan merely hummed in response, staring down at his shoes as they awaited their turn. It wasn't long before the boys finished up and paid for their new robes. They stared at her and Dan as they made their way out of the shop, not one of them taking the time to thank the shopkeeper.
"Alright then, you two, come on up." Madam Malkin looked at them with obvious pity dripping from her face, making Ravenna itch to get out of this place.
"Just me," she muttered, climbing onto the small, round platform.
The measuring tape immediately jumped into action, while Madam Malkin herself went into the back to take out some robes. She came back with her arms full of royal-blue robes with a lilac M on the chest. One of them flew up and pulled itself over Ravenna's head.
As the shopkeeper flicked spells from the tip of her short wand, adjusting the robes to fit her, Ravenna stared at herself in the mirror. Her brown eyes stood wide open and alert. Her shiny black hair failed to hide the old scar on her cheek. Her gaze lowered, lingering on her collarbone.
She peeked at Dan, who was busying himself browsing through the brightly coloured belts with wand holders - not that his parents would ever let him wear those. Much too flashy for their uppish taste.
Slowly, she pulled down the hem of her robe. The wound above her collarbone was already starting to scar.
Another one for the collection, she thought grimly, pulling the robe back up.
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