Jewel: The Beginning

CHAPTER 3: The Truth

It took what seemed like an eternity to cry myself dry. During this time, I was unintelligibly repeating all the different questions I thought of before but wasn’t waiting for an answer. I expected that they were thinking all the same things. I was finally quiet, no longer crying, but still curled up and clutching onto my uncle.

“Honey,” Glenn started, “we need to talk to you. This is some serious stuff, and may be an overload, but we can talk about it more or again later. But this needs to be said now. We can’t stand keeping this from you anymore.” I was shocked by this….keep this from me anymore? “Are you saying you have kept a secret from me? You and Abbey? The twins and Irina? …Mom and dad?”

It took a moment before he could answer, “Yes, everyone. Everyone but the twins actually, they don’t really know. I think they suspect, but they don’t definitely know for sure like the rest of us.” They let that sink for a moment before I said, “Okay, spill then.”

“Okay,” Glenn started, “Jewels, tell me what you know about…Harry Potter?” Confused, I reply, “Whatever I could. They’re my favorite books. We read them like…like they were as important as school and homework. Like they were our lives. But Glenn, I don’t see how this has to do with anything.” Abbey responded before Glenn could, “Jewelie, they have everything to with our lives.” I looked back and forth between them, definitely more confused.

“What?” is all I could stammer. “Darling,” Glenn said, “In Harry Potter terms…I’m a squib, but we’re called Neuizze. Abbey is a Shwaganer, or a muggle, and…and Irina goes to an American version of Hogwarts. Your parents met at the school Irina goes to now. Briana was a witch, and Will a wizard.” What? I remember back to just to my thoughts two nights previous, how I remembered always wanting to be a Hermione. Apparently I’m a Harry. That’s depressing.

Seeming to be quoting Harry from the first book, I say, “I think you made a mistake. I don’t think I can be a witch.” Looking up at Glenn, I see him pulling a little smirk before replying, “Oh girlie, if only you knew. I believe you will be. You’ve been showing signs of it for a couple of years now. I’m surprised you hadn’t noticed having those books ingrained in your head since you’ve been born. Your parents were very much so magical. My whole family and your father’s have been magical for centuries. I was, unfortunately, the third neuizze in our family for that time. But it looks like the magic just passed on to Irina, and it looks like the twins are showing signs as well.”

Thinking about it now, I, like Harry Potter, did, have had unexplained things happen to me. And I remembered back to when I said when I got my ring, After all, what’s life without a little magic. And my parents looked like I said something wrong.

I wasn’t curious back then, but now I am extremely curious. “Uncle Glenn,” I started, “how does this have to do with…what happened? I have never seen them do anything with magic or anything. They just worked at home, doing stuff on their computers. They even hardly left the house.” I looked back and forth between Abbey and Glenn again; they were giving each other a significant glance. “What? What did I say?” I looked directly at him, signifying that I wanted him to tell me.

After a moment, Glenn spoke. “Jewelie, you know the men that were at our house tonight? The ones that told…told us what happened? The ones from the Magical Protection Agency?”

“Well, I saw them across the street yesterday when we were playing. Irina kept looking at them but never said anything. It was like she knew them. I guess she kinda did, didn’t she? She knew they were…wizards, didn’t she?”

“Um, yes, she did. But, do you have any idea why they would be at our house?”

“No.”

“Well, your parents were working on something that would have Shwagers and the wizard-kind work together. So far, there has been wizard-kind working in the muggle world, but it’s been secretive. Your parents were trying to have it so we could come out in the open and not be against each other. Since London is where the main political power of wizard-kind is, they were going there to present their plan. However, there is a man who is very much against this. He has been fighting against this for years and years since your parents have tried to start this. Your aunt’s and mine guess is that his men….well, you know.”

“The man’s name is Cecil Carey. The MPA has been protecting both my family and your parents and yourself from this man and his followers. They will….they will kill whoever is trying to do what your parents are doing and their families. And since your parents were the ones starting this plan and trying to push it through, they were obviously the number one priority on Carey’s list.”

“Glenn,” I said, “hold on, let me make sure I got everything right. This bad man... Cecil Carey? He had…my parents killed because they were trying to have it so muggles, I mean, Schwagners or whatever, and wizards could live in peace, without wizards having to hide themselves. He’s after us and will kill us if he finds us?”

“Shwagas...but, yes. Also, since next year you will be eleven, I figured you would want to go to the school Irina goes to, and well, we registered you yesterday; I figured that I might do it just in case anyway because, your parents were going to do it when they got back. But it’s a good thing that Briana gave me that envelope you guys saw her hand me yesterday. Don’t deny it, we saw you guys look out the window... because it was your parent’s will in case anything happened to them. Well, in the will, your aunt and I were given guardianship over you.”

I was thinking through everything that was said tonight. I have the potential to become a witch; I have even shown signs of it. There’s a man that killed my parents because they are trying to make a more peaceable world without anyone hiding. The man will kill every family member of the people who are trying to accomplish this. Thus, my uncle’s family and I, now also being in their family, are being sought to be killed. “I can’t go to that place, and Irina shouldn’t be going there either. Finding us at that school will be so easy for them and bad for us.”

“Well, that is logical in some sense Jewels,” says my uncle, “but because of Irina, and other students whose parents are doing what your parents were doing, there’s the protection of the MPA there. Irina actually came home for Halloween by request of the MPA so that in case anything was to happen and the family had to flee while your parents were gone, we all could be together and hidden. The school is safe, honey.”

“I don’t care,” I shout. “I’m not going to that place!! NEVER! I won’t ever be a witch! If I don’t become a witch, then they can’t find me, and I won’t be killed!!!” I stop for a second, scurry out of Glenn’s lap, rip the witch’s hat off my head, and throw it into the fireplace and dart out the door into Irina’s, now mine too, bedroom. I ran to my bed, crying again, vowing that I kill this man, by any means possible, EXCEPT magic.

TERMS:

▪︎Neuizze: born of magical parents, not magical themselves. Pronounced "new-iz-ee".

▪︎Shwaga/Shwager: non-magical person. Use the latter term when the former sounds funny/ awkward. Pronounced "sh-way-gah" / "sh-way-ger".