A Different Viewpoint: My Muggle Eyes

The summer afternoon was fading into evening in Cradley Heath. Vacation had just started and the children's' new routine was beginning to sink in. For Amanda Ashton, however, this summer was to be different. Normally an afternoon would have involved her being outside with some friends-- but today she was writing hurriedly in her diary.

Amanda, who was entering into her teenage years, had owned the diary since she was able to write, and had kept it in good condition for almost ten years. She was writing in an effort to make the time pass faster-- her brother Richard was coming back and she could barely contain her excitement. She hadn't seen him for three years. Ever since he started to work he had been mysteriously absent; but Amanda tried to understand; she imagined hunting dark wizards must be hard at times.

Her purple ballpoint pen stopped as Amanda looked down at her handiwork.

Dear Diary,

Richard is coming today! It's about time too, what has he been doing that he couldn't write to me? Anyway, I hope he brings me some magic stuff... maybe from a wizard store, or something. Last time he brought me an issue of the Quibbler-it's this wizarding magazine--that is kind of like a tabloid but much cooler. What other magazine mentions nargles? I wonder what those are anyway...

I should be getting ready...but I'm so excited. Three years is a long time to not see your only brothe,r you know? Maybe I can convince him to take me to Diagon Alley! Not sure if Mum would let me though...

Amanda laughed out loud and grinned at the thought of going to Diagon Alley with her brother. Suddenly, a knock on the door threw Amanda out of her thoughts. Amanda shoved her diary under her pillow and ran to her dresser, giving her short dirty blond hair a look over. She could hear faint voices outside, she recognized her mother's but there was another voice, a deeper male sounding voice. Amanda dashed out of her room.

"Richie!" she exclaimed at the sight of her brother Richard in the doorway that led inside their house.

Amanda's brother turned around from talking to their mother and his face was barely able to register his surprise as Amanda leapt into his arms, dirty blond hair flying everywhere, forcing him to stumble back a few steps. "H-hullo 'Manda!" Richard said laughing as Amanda flung her arms around him. "Long time no see!"

Amanda's mouse brown eyes narrowed suspiciously. "It's been three years!" she pointed out, pouting. "What happened, did you forget about me? Do you have amnesia or something?"

With a dramatic sniff, Amanda turned her head away from her brother, nose upturned. Richard grinned slyly. "I can't remember, my memory is a bit foggy at the moment."

"You're serious?" Amanda had turned back to stare him in the face, a worried expression wrinkling her face.

When she saw that her brother was screwing up his face from laughter, she punched him playfully on the shoulder. "You git," she said. "Put me down--put me down, not throw!" Amanda yelled as Richard threatened to throw her across the room.

Richard set her down lightly on the floor, much to Amanda's relief. A sniffing sound turned Amanda's attention towards her mother, Cecilia. Her mother's eyes were misted over. "All right, Mum?" Amanda asked, raising an eyebrow.

"All right." Cecilia Ashton shook her head, smiling at her children. "It's just been ages since I've seen you two together."

Without any warning, Cecilia ran towards them, hugging the both of them tightly. Amanda could have sworn her mother was cooing with pleasure. The siblings grunted, trying unsuccessfully to wrestle out of their mother's tight embrace.

Their mom finally let them both go after a few seconds. Amanda collapsed onto the sofa with a look of pain on her face. "You nearly suffocated us, Mum." She sighed with relief.

"Want to go out for a walk?" Richard asked, changing the subject. "I want to see the old haunts again."

"Sure!" Amanda got out of her seat. "We can go to the park, remember it?"

"Supper won't be ready for a while," Cecilia said to them, heading towards the kitchen. "Go on ahead, but Amanda, wear a jacket; it's getting cold."

Amanda didn't need to be told twice; she soon was gone.

* * * * *

The sun was slowly setting, the sky a brilliant, deep maroon, the two siblings were walking together. They were alone; everyone was inside getting ready for tea, and the only sounds were birds calling out to each other. Amanda felt safe, after all-- her brother was there.

However, it seemed that as the sun set, Amanda's initial happiness lessened. He's changed, Amanda thought looking at her brother gazing around at the images of his past. He was still the same height, since he had stopped growing a while ago; Amanda was probably five or six inches shorter than him. His short brown hair had gotten longer and was now tied in a ponytail, hanging slightly past his shoulders. His face was rough, and it looked as though he had shaved right before he came.

She barely recognized him.

"When did you turn into a girl?" Richard asked, breaking the silence.

He coughed. "I mean- when did you start...er...dressing so...nicely?"

Amanda was caught off guard by the sudden and strange question. "Oh, this?"

Amanda had spent little more than two minutes dressing up, but she had a bit of a knack for it. She never really paid much attention to it, although of course, she had not always been that way. She had not been reminded of her abrupt shift in fashion for a long time

"Y

eah," she replied hesitantly. "I guess I did kind of turn into a girl."

Amanda stopped, her face clouded, eyes narrowed in concentration. Richard noticed that no one was walking with him and stopped, turning back to face his sister. "How come you didn't come home sooner?" she demanded in a rising voice.

Richard looked taken aback for a second, then his face set in a small smile. "I've been busy."

Amanda frowned, her stare deepening. She hadn't seen her brother for three years; she hadn't received any letters, not even one! He could have been dead. She would have never known.

"Hey!" Richard responded to Amanda's silence. "I know it's been a long time and I'm sorry but-"

"No, its okay." Amanda cut him off, forcing a smile.

The silence rose again as the two started walking once more, each dealing with their own thoughts. Amanda wanted to say something, anything, because she knew that she had a lot to tell him-- but she didn't know where to start.

Finally she spoke up. "Richie, I-"

"Avada Kedavra!" A harsh croak pierced the serene silence of the park.

"Duck!" Richard yelled, throwing himself on her.

They both hit the floor hard and Amanda felt her hair rise up on end as though something, like a sudden gust of wind, breezed past them. "W-what was that?" Amanda managed to gasp through the throbbing pain in her head.

"Try to get out of here," Richard whispered. "Just run."

"What?"

Her brother had gotten up and was on his feet. "Move!" he hissed, reaching into his pocket for something.

Amanda stumbled onto her feet. "What are you talking about?" she asked. "What's going on?"

"Obrigesco!" A man's voice was heard, and then a blue stream of light headed towards Richard.

Richard dodged it easily, jumping to the right. The stream of icy blue light flew on, hitting a tree. The tree shriveled, leaves falling to the ground. "What is the meaning of this?" Richard demanded, as he walked towards the source of the light.

Amanda looked in the direction of Richard's gaze and saw a man hidden in rags. What looked like black stringy worms poked out of the top of a balding head. Two dull green eyes glinted malevolently and she could barely make out a half mad, lopsided grin on his face. "I'll kill you!" he croaked, rising up his arm.

"Avada Kedavra!" Another green light shot towards Richard.

"Richard!" Amanda screamed.

"Manda be quiet and get out of here!" Richard insisted as he leapt out of the way.

Amanda fell silent, although her eyes were still wide with shock. Her legs seemed to have grown roots, she couldn't move from where she was standing. Amanda had never expected anything like this to happen, but she had forgotten something very important about Richard.

Her brother was a wizard, and this magic was real. "Stupefy!" Richard arched back his arm and whipped it forward shooting out a red beam.

The man moved and the spell hit another tree, splintering it. "Bastard," he snarled. "I'll kill everyone, you first!"

"Stop it Jean," Richard moved closer to the man. "You'll regret this, just turn yourself in."

"Die!" The man roared. "USTULO!"

Amanda expected to see a jet of light heading towards Richard, but she didn't. Were there such things as invisible spells? "AMANDA!!" Amanda heard her brother yell.

"What?" She looked at him, confused. Richard was running towards her and Amanda turned around. Her mouth dropped open-- there was an orange streak of light was heading straight at her.