The Abominations | Ilvermorny

Chapter 4

Getting to Ilvermorny is a nightmare, every year it is the same old thing. First, we travel to Vancouver via floo powder. From our house, we arrive in a shop called 'Biddle's Books' close to downtown. It's small, unorganized, and cluttered. Mother went to school with the owner, so, he lets us pop in whenever we need. Mr. Biddle is a nice enough man, but he always tries to sell us all new books. 

Julian and I think it's because the shop isn't doing so well.

"Morning." He says as each of us arrives in his fireplace. "Is it that time of year already?" 

Mother smiles. "Comes quickly, doesn't it?" 

She had just finished helping Julian out of the fireplace.

"Where's the misses?" He asks, shuffling a stack of papers around in his hands. 

After I stepped out of the fireplace, in arrives Emil. 

"She's coming, how're you?" 

"Melina left me." He says casually with a hint of despair. 

Julian and I make uncomfortable eye contact. 

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Mother replied awkwardly. "When did that happen?" 

Emil gives Julian and me a weird look, we both shrug. Every year something weird happens in this store. Then, Mr. Biddle hunches over on the counter like he was about to cry. He let out a loud sigh as Sam came through the fireplace. 

I hate this place, just once can we have a normal encounter with Biddle? Last time we were here his owl was eaten by a mountain lion. 

"She left just like that, I just don't get it!" He snivels. "Everybody leaves me."

The fireplace gushes with flames and out came Kate. She takes one look at Mr. Biddle then rolls her eyes. "Good morning Mr. Biddle."

The thin scraggly old man whimpered. 

The fireplace roars with flames one last time and Mama steps out. She smiles at us all innocently. 

"Prescott, lovely to see you." She says while dusting soot out of her thick natural hair "How are you this fine morning?" 

Mama cannot read a room. 

Before Mr. Biddle could respond, Mother broke up the conversation. "Anyway, I hate to cut the visit short, but Masara and I need to bring the kids to the bus stop."

"Of course." He mumbles. "Do they need any books? I've got all the required reading in stock." 

Mother looks at Mama who shook her head. 

"I think we are good this year, thanks." 

That was met with a big sigh. 

"Wait-" Mama blurts out. "Sam, you needed that potions book, correct?"

"What?" Sam asks, confused per usual. 

Smart, ask the one kid that has no idea what's going on. Honestly, he probably has the book in his trunk. He probably put it there himself. 

Next thing I know we leave the store with a new potions book for Sam, and a couple of interesting texts for Mama. We lug our trunks down the streets of Vancouver, the tall modern buildings tower over us, they remind us all that we are the odd ones out. There is a very small wizarding community here, and unlike other places, it's scattered around the city without order. 

Our family must be a sight to see. We are all adopted, so none of us look alike. Mama and Sam are both black, but Sam is so tall that it looks like Mama is his child. Julian looks sort of similar to Mother, but his square face and the mess on the top of his head, that he calls hair, throws people off. Emil, Kate, and I look virtually nothing like our moms. It used to bother me a lot more, I remember seeing pictures of other kid's family's and wishing I too had my mother's eyes. 

Maybe I do have my birth mother's eyes, or my father's nose, or my great aunt's chin, who knows. I've never met them. 

Great, people are staring at us. I'm used to it at this point, I mean, I look albino. But, being with my strange family, it always makes me wonder who the no-majs stare at most. Sam, the giant. Emil, the weird teethed wonder. Kate, the ugly flaky mess. Julian, the disabled. Or me, the human gluestick. 

We finally make it to the bus stop. It was on the corner of two very busy roads. People must of wondered why we were stopped there since No-majs can't see the stop or the post. 

It's shorter than the streetlights, about seven and a half feet tall, made of a green copper, and has a black sign hanging off of it that reads 'West Coast Busline - Stop 262'. 

There wasn't even a bench to sit on. 

"Should be here any minute, children." Mama says rather loudly. 

When the bus arrived, we did the usual kiss goodbye and before I knew it I was sandwiched in between Sam and Julian on the way to Seattle.