The Ultimate Power

Yesterdays are gone
Memories distant past
Time to move on
Those moments have passed

A path to the future
Journey still unknown
Stumbling in search of clarity
Of seeds yet unsown

New beginnings
Full of prospect and dreams
With change comes great hope
And nothing's as clear as it seems

A new start beckons
Its calling your name
To ignore new beginnings
Would be such a shame

Opportunities missed
Loss of starting anew
Embrace new beginnings
As life's moments are few

-Leigh Goessl (New Beginnings)

New Beginnings

June 21, 1997

When she was a little girl, she dreamed of nothing more than finding her fairy tale prince and becoming part of the happily ever after lifestyle that her parents had lived for so many years. She would watch her father as he read her the classic stories of Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, and Rapunzel; watch him as his eyes lit up and she just knew that he was thinking of her mum.

As she grew older, however, she began to see that her parents' life was less like a fairy tale and more like one of those cheesy mid-day soap operas. They fought, argued, lied and her dad would disappear for days at a time without a word as to where he would be. When he would finally return, she would wait on tenterhooks for the next argument. Until the day he left and never came home.

Ten years later, Holli Fallen was seated upon her bed reading the letter attached to her seventeenth birthday gift from her father which was the only contact Holli had with him then. Holli had seen her dad twice since he finally left for good. Once shortly after her parents' divorce had been finalized; the second, on her eleventh birthday. That last visit had ended in the very last screaming disagreement between her parents. Holli had never truly figured out what the argument was about; just that it involved her. Since then, it had been nothing but letters, notes and cards.

Two days after her eleventh birthday however, Holli had received a package from her father baring a belated birthday gift; just a simple book. Since then, every year on her birthday, Holli had received a package containing a book and a note wishing her a happy birthday.

That year's gift however, puzzled Holli slightly. The package, when it had arrived, was considerably smaller than normal size as it was missing its traditional book. Instead, it had contained a small, golden key with intricate carvings at the top. The note had simply read: When the time comes, you'll know what it is for. Happy birthday, my princess. Love, Dad.

Holli had never seen a key of such spectacular design before and was lost as to what its particular use could be. It didn't look like any car or house key that she had ever seen before and her father wasn't a particularly wealthy man, so it couldn't be for anything large or flashy anyhow.

Holli contemplated asking her mother's opinion on the key. After all, she had been married to the man for close to ten years. If anyone was to know the mystery of her father's gift it would more than likely be her mum. After pondering on this thought for a moment, however, Holli quickly dismissed it. Her mother hated any mention or reminder of her father and their former life together, including Holli.

Holli and her mother did not get along and arguments and screaming matches between the two were a regular occurrence within their household. For the most part though, Hope Fallen ignored her daughter's very existence. Holli wasn't exactly sure why her mother acted this way. When she was younger and before her parents had divorced, her mum had treated her as though Holli was the light of her life. After her father left, her mother had become colder, more snappish, and slightly crueler. But, after she turned eleven, her mother became a block of ice; cruel and detached, only speaking to Holli when it was absolutely necessary and hardly ever looking at her or acknowledging her presence. All of this to the bafflement of her daughter's young mind.

Holli sighed as she placed the key back inside its protective box. A puzzle for another day it would seem, she thought as she set the box within her nightstand table drawer for safekeeping. She sighed once more as she rolled off of her bed and headed over to her monstrous bookcase in the corner of her room. Holli selected the book she wanted immediately and returned to her vacated position.

For a long moment, she studied the cover. Her long, thin fingers traced over the letters of the boy's name featured upon it; over the outline of the gleaming red steam engine; finally, over the boy himself with a lightning shaped scar on his forehead. Harry Potter.

The fictional character had become one of her best friends over the course of the past six years; a world in which to hide away from the troubles of daily life. Ever since she was a little girl she had been fascinated by fairy tales of all kinds and, to Holli, this was the ultimate fairy tale.

Holli had just started reading, 'Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive...' when she caught sight of something upon her window sill: an envelope. Strange, she thought as she rose to retrieve it.

It was addressed to her; her street, her house, her very bedroom. Scratch that; double strange, she thought to herself as she opened the envelope and read:

Dear Ms. Fallen

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Due to your rather late start, you will need a few extra supplies and you will also need to come and see me at the start of term.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Minerva McGonagall

Headmistress

P.S. Happy Birthday, Holli.

Holli was baffled. This had to be some sort of joke. Then it hit her; of course, a joke. Janie, her best friend since she was five years old, was playing a birthday joke on her. Janie knew how much Holli loved the Harry Potter books and often teased her good-naturedly about how much she read them. She knew something like this would be right up Holli's alley and would cheer her up somewhat.

Still smiling, Holli placed the letter in her nightstand table drawer beside the box containing the key and returned to her book.

Over the next week, Holli continued to receive more letters. The contents were all the same except that instead of waiting until the end of July, a response was requested immediately. And to top it all off, Janie denied having anything to do with the joke.

Needless to say, Holli was incredibly agitated when she walked into her room one night a week after her birthday to find a pile of envelopes piled upon her bed.

"That's it," she exclaimed. "This is becoming ridiculous! Where are these coming from? They don't even have stamps on them!"

She just couldn't understand it. It was one thing to play a harmless joke on a person, but to take it this far. It was absurd! Then there was the question as to how the envelopes were even getting inside her room in the first place. The first one had been perched outside on her window sill. Her windows were always kept locked when they were not open. Her mother hadn't said anything about their arrival and surely she would have mentioned something about the house being flooded with letters.

Muttering to herself, Holli walked over to the fireplace in her room and tossed all of the envelopes into the fire without opening a single one. As she stood there grinning maniacally she heard the doorbell chime throughout the house. She dropped the grin off of her face and walked out of her room towards the door.

Her mother had already answered it by the time Holli had arrived in the entryway. She was about to turn around and head back to her room when she heard a polite, yet sharp voice saying, "Hello, you must be Ms. Fallen. I am here to speak with your daughter, Holli Fallen." It was about this time when she saw the woman who was speaking and Holli stopped dead in her tracks.

Standing on her door step, with her hair pulled back into a tight bun and wearing a black traveling cloak around her shoulders, was none other than Minerva McGonagall.