Beginning

On December 25, 1986, my twin brother Ernie McMillan's Christmas present was the latest Comet broom model. He proudly mounted his broom, flying several times over the garden, and finally, when he was ready to come down, he looked at his lovely sister, whom he had ignored until then.

"Sunny, Sunny! If you want to ride a broom, your good brother can help you!"

At first, I was going to say no, but I couldn't resist Ernie's excitement, so I agreed. That day must have been Ernie's most unforgettable Christmas, because at the age of six, he ended up locked up for two months—all because he turned his lovely sister (me, who was also six) into a pitiful mess... a patient with a broken leg.

Yes, Ernie was fine flying solo on his broom, but once he decided to take me with him, he got so excited that he forgot I was behind him. I couldn't hold on properly and ended up falling, hitting my left leg on the fountain sculpture. The "crack" sound was both my bones breaking and Ernie's broom being broken by my father.

"My Sunny..." my mother's eyes were swollen from crying. I told her not to be sad or blame my poor brother Ernie, because I was so dazed from the pain that I barely remembered falling into the water and almost drowning. With a dark expression, my father extended Ernie's punishment from one month to two.

I swear it wasn't my intention... that's the strange thing.

I stayed in St. Mungo's for half a month, not because I needed it, since magic is very powerful. Still, my parents were worried, so they decided I should stay a little longer. During that time, the old Mrs. Longbottom brought her grandson Neville to visit his parents and also stopped by to see me.

"Poor girl," she touched my head gently. Although she was strict with Neville, she was very kind to me.

Neville, pale with fear, kept asking if I could walk. I got out of bed and walked toward him to reassure him, and he finally relaxed.

Since we were both out of bed, why not lie by the door and eavesdrop on the adults' conversation?

"He's a bit shy," we heard Mrs. Longbottom say to my dad. My mother commented that Neville was only like this now, but that one day he would become a brave hero.

The old lady suggested, "Perhaps you should hire a tutor to teach both children."

"Do you have someone in mind?"

"Yes, a good friend of Alice's at Hogwarts and Neville's godmother, Miss April White. Do you know her?"

"Who is Alice?" I asked Neville in a whisper.

"She's my mother," he replied in the same tone.

Mom and Dad seemed to have heard of Miss White and accepted the idea immediately, though Dad added, "But it all depends on whether Ernie and Sunny get along with Miss White."

After hearing this, I felt like running out of the hospital to tell Ernie. Well, to tell him that our parents had hired a tutor, and that if he caused trouble again, the teacher would teach him a lesson.

The day I came home from St. Mungo's, Ernie was released to see me. He gave me a joyful hug and apologized profusely.

I told him it was okay, but to not squeeze me too hard. He was relieved to see me walking, as he thought I would end up like Mad-Eye (he had heard that Mr. Moody had a wooden leg), so Ernie spent his solitary time studying How to Care for a Disabled Wizard Baby.

I was so mad. Ernie must have been a pig in his past life to be my brother. I'm much better than Mr. Moody!

In mid-March 1987, on a sunny spring day, Miss White came to our house. She looked to be in her twenties, wasn't tall, seemed somewhat fragile, but was very friendly with us.

Miss White asked Ernie and me what subjects we liked. I noticed that when Ernie said "flying," Miss White looked a bit melancholy and slightly trembled.

Could it be that she didn't like flying on a broom?

Being perceptive, I immediately said, "Miss White, I prefer potions to flying."

Miss White became even more melancholy. I guessed she wasn't good at potions either. What should I do? Should I change my interest to charms?

However, she pulled half a book out of her bag; yes, half, because it was very thin and had no cover. She gave me this notebook and whispered, "If you really like potions, Professor Slughorn's notes will definitely be useful to you in the future."

"And, by the way, Miss MacMillan... my best subject is Charms," she said, winking at me.

I looked at the notebook and found a very complex potion formula in it. I didn't even recognize the name of the potion, let alone who Professor Slughorn was. But I was grateful for this special gift.

"Mom and Dad, Ernie and I want to learn charms from Miss White," I smiled sweetly at them. Ernie was about to interrupt, but I looked at him, and he fell silent.

Miss White seemed very pleased and asked me, "Little Sunny, why do you want me to stay?"

"Because your name is April, A-P-R-I-L, and you're the April that's coming. Of course, I want you to stay."

Miss White... well, April, smiled and, touching my head, said emotionally, "Dear, you must love sweets. Merlin, I bet no one will be able to resist you in the future! You're very good with words!"

Wow, she's very observant. I love sweets, especially pudding, cookies, and strawberry yogurt.

Everyone seems to like me: Mom and Dad, Ernie, the Longbottoms, and the Abbotts.

"No, no, no, I mean... you'll definitely make very close friends, like I and..." April suddenly stopped talking, hesitating a bit.

Then she changed the subject, "Dear, you're so thoughtful that I think many children will like you. Tell me, do you like Neville?"

Remembering that April was Neville's godmother, I understood her question. But what's the difference between "like" and "like"? I thought about it, and noticing the golden glow of the sun, I replied:

"I like him a lot, just as I like sweets, although I do have my favorites. I prefer pudding with syrup. Maybe Neville... would be better if he dyed his hair golden," I said, pointing to the sun's color.

"Kids these days are quite precocious," April commented.

Am I mature? I don't understand much about that.

I only know that, even though there are many types of sweets, the only one I could never eat is pudding with syrup.

April's charms are truly powerful. The first spell I learned with her wand was Lumos. She told me that the "flashing" spell is essential for those who love adventure, as many secret passages are dark.

"Are there secret passages at Hogwarts?" I asked, curious.

Judging by her surprised expression, I thought there were, and that there were more than one.

"You're a very perceptive girl," April exclaimed. "Oh, if you're assigned to Gryffindor, maybe you could inherit the map."

"Gryffindor?"

"Yes, it's one of the four houses at Hogwarts," she explained, describing the traits of each house. Then she added, "But you don't seem very Gryffindor. Sometimes I think you're too sensible... maybe Ravenclaw?"

"But that doesn't mean you're not brave," April quickly clarified.

"You don't want to lose your job, do you?" I replied playfully.

"You're very astute, little Sunny!"