Equals - A Harry Potter story

Prologue

My father, Lysander Scamander, was a dragon catcher. He often spent months at a time in various countries, but this time... this time wasn't the same.

He was about to leave on a trip to Bulgaria, he said that there was a rare dragon there that he wanted to catch. I could see the portkey, an old, rusty, watering can, in the distance.

As my father bent down to give my tiny self a hug, I felt a twinge in my gut. Not one of pain, or jealousy, or even sadness. It was more of a feeling. A feeling that he shouldn't go. Father pulled away and began to walk away.

"Goodbye, Magnolia, My darling, I'll be home in three weeks," he said in a soft voice. 

I stared up at him with fear apparent in my eyes. I could hear the crunching of the frosty grass as he walked away, slowly getting further away. I reached up, my tiny hand grabbing his large, calloused one.

"Wait! Father, please don't go. Please, please, please!"

He squeezed my hand and then released it. "It's alright, Magnolia. I'll be home in 3 weeks."

I felt tears make warm streaks on my ice-cold cheeks, and then, I watched as my father, my best friend in the entire world, disappeared.

-

I remember the day we got the news almost as well. It was April. Father was supposed to be home a little over two months prior, but we hadn't heard anything from him since the day he left. Until an owl appeared at our house with a letter addressed to my mother and I. It read:

"Dear Scamander Family,

My name is Terrance Benedict, and I was a coworker of Lysander's. I am terribly sorry to inform you that after months of tireless work, he was killed by the very dragon he came here to wrangle. I am terribly sorry for your loss, and I want you to know that if you ever need anything, you can contact me. I am sorry again.

-T. Benedict"

I remember my mother's wails of sorrow- How they filled our farmhouse, how the pain in her voice surrounded me. 

I remember the fact that I never cried. I hardly even made a sound. Just went outside and sat on the grass where I had last seen my father.

I think that was the thing that broke me. The final straw. The reason for me being so emotionally detached. 

Six years after that day, I was 13- An Ilvermorny student with good grades, plenty of friends, and finally happiness. 

It was on that day, 6 years after my father's death, that Professor Fontaine called me to his office to 'discuss personal matters.'

"You asked to see me, professor?" I said as I walked into the headmaster's office. 

"Yes, Miss. Scamander. We need to speak about your mother. It appears she's finally snapped."

I knew the day would come one day. Following my father's death, my mother was an abusive, single mom, an alcoholic, and just downright a little insane.

But she was never quite too insane to not be my mother anymore. Until then, the mom I knew growing up was still there, but judging by how Professor Fontain described her, she was Amelie Scamander, just not my Amelie Scamander. 

"Miss. Scamander, we think it would be best to send you to live with your grandparents in England. There truly is a wonderful opportunity for you at Hogwarts. I have spoken with Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall, and they agree that you would do well at Hogwarts."

I nodded. "Alright, sir. I think I'd like that."

And being my naive self, I believed that was the end- That my family problems were over and I was getting to live with my favorite people since my dad died, my grandparents.

I was wrong. 

Two weeks later, I received a letter from my mother. With shaky hands, I took the envelope from our family owl and opened it, beginning to read.

"My Dearest Daughter, Magnolia Faye Artemis,

I am oh so sorry for the trouble I put you through. For your own good, I am disappearing. I'm not dead, just gone. If I'm honest, ever since your father died, you're just a reminder of him. You look too much like him and you act too much like him. I never loved you. I loved your father in you. Good luck in the world, M, I hope I never see you again. 

-ACA"

I noted the use of her initials from before she was married, ACA, standing for Amelie Cressida Astrophel. 

By then I knew that she was really gone. The mother, The Amelie Scamander, I knew, was gone, replaced by her new self, or maybe her old self.