The Ministry of Magic is an awfully busy place full of no rest, no relaxation, and much ruckus. Even when they eliminated the use of owls and used paper airplanes to deliver urgent messages instead, things were still hectic from the wee hours in the morning till the late nights when the moon was shining brightly overhead of the red, weather beaten telephone booth; otherwise known as the Muggle entrance. Inside the walls of this extraordinary underground building, witches and wizards from all around the country Flooed in and out, Apparated and Disapparated with small pops left behind, and hustled and bustled about, doing their best to keep every inch of the Wizarding world under control. If anyone took the golden lifts up and down the Ministry of Magic, it was more than likely that youd pass my fathers office on Level 2: Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
His office in the Auror Headquarters was just like any other: cluttered and full of junk. Some of the papers said things like "Potters Claim to Fame: The Boy Who Cried Wizard" or "New Auror Schedules in Tokyo, Japan" just in case some imbecile was wondering. Other papers were ancient newspaper articles about Bathilda Bagshot and a report on a mummified witch from the mid 1950s. My father was a packrat and he'd probably scream at your if you ever asked him to throw away a half-used box of tissues. Dont get me wrong, Christopher Jacobs is an awesome Auror and an okay dad but sometimes I wonder how his mind works throughout the day. I've only visited his office like three or four times and each time I went, the stack of whirring gadgets behind his favorite, solid gold picture frame grew to impossible heights the size of a slightly scaled down mountain in the Swiss Alps.
The solid gold picture frame must've cost a fortune...but that wasn't the only reason it was a personal favorite of mine. It was given to my dad two years ago from my grandparents living in Italy when they came to London for Christmas. The photo that was already perfectly fitted in the frame was black and white and was taken only a couple months before but that didn't make a difference to me. I remember the day we took that picture. It was August 31st, the day before my third year at Hogwarts. My dad tried convincing us to wear matching outfits but you can just imagine how I reacted. Anyway, it was just the four of us---him, my two younger brothers, Alex and Cody, and me---in front of our house in Little Hangleton. Our yard looked perfect and my dad was so proud of himself of successfully trimming the grass with a lawnmower without it looking like a blind man did it like it usually did.
It was a pretty nice looking picture but the thing that makes me love it even more than I already did was the fact that my mom, Marianne Jacobs, wasn't featured in the picture. And it made it a hell of a lot prettier than it probably would have looked with her in it. Metaphorically speaking, of course. My fourth Christmas, which was also my fourth birthday, was the year Alex was born into the family. My dad told me my mom went to the store and wouldn't be back for a while but I couldn't wait for her to come back since I was too excited to open my presents so I went on without her. I was always talking about how cool it would be if I could be a prodigy or become famous like the Weird Sisters so that year, my dad got me a toy dresser with brushes, lipstick, drawers, a vanity mirror, everything a real celebrity dresser should have. I was so excited about it and I couldn't wait to tell my mom so I waited by the door the whole day. I didn't even play with my dresser because I wanted it to look new for her...but she never came through that door that day. Or the next.
I still refused to play with my dresser and asked my dad every hour where mom went and he said that she just had trouble finding what she needed. And after two more days of waiting, my dad told Cody and I that she left and was never going to come back. I remember how much I cried about that. Every night I'd make a wish on a star that she'd come back. But not one of the wishes came true. Eventually, the sadness turned into anger. I made my dad take down all the pictures in the house of her. She'd been the type of woman you love to hate, you know that feeling? Owning my own dresser had been my dream but I never opened it. And to this day, it sits in the attic, untouched with the bright red bow still attached. The only thing that was stopping me from burning it in our fireplace was the fact that my dad was the one who gave it to me. Alex never knew my mom since he was way too little to remember that but Cody turned three that year and feels the same way about Mom as I do.
But enough about Marianne Jacobs. This story isn't about her. As far as I'm concerned, I'm glad that its not. This story is about me. Brooke Marianne Jacobs...which by the way, makes me angry to have that middle name.
It amazes me how unreal life seems. Its crazy, really. Maybe it's because my life seems so different from everyone else... what with being the only girl in the house, me being the oldest, and having two brothers screaming at me all the time. Or maybe it's just my imagination. Alex just turned eleven in June and on September 1st, he'll be riding the train to Hogwarts for the first time. But believe me when I say this: listening to Alex whine about what house he'll be in this year is the least of my thoughts.
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I was gonna put an extra tidbit here like I usually do but I decided not to[: I hope you like it.
More banners? I'll lovee you forever if you make one [:
&Thanks, Charlotte, for all your help♥
