a/n: This is harder than I thought it was going to be to write this short story! 

Wendy let out a strangled cry of surprise and terror, scrambling backwards until her back slammed against the headboard. Her heart thundered in her chest as she stared at the strange, wrinkled creature before her, certain she must still be dreaming.

This...this couldn't be real. She must still be dreaming - trapped in another lucid nightmare populated by the same twisted fate. She clenched her eyes shut, hoping against hope that when she opened them again, the creature would be gone and she'd awaken safely in her bed.

But when her eyes fluttered open once more, the bizarre sight remained, almost mocking her denial. It was vaguely humanoid but stood only about three feet tall, with long, floppy ears and a bulbous nose. It wore an old pillowcase fashioned into a toga of sorts.

"W-Who are you?" Wendy sputtered, unconsciously gripping her bed sheets tightly. "What's going on?"

"Calm yourself. I mean you no harm."

"But...but you're not...you can't be real," Wendy stammered, wishing she could simply will this delusion away. Her racing mind struggled to comprehend what she was seeing, side-stepping any logic or rationality.

"I am as real as you are, Miss Wendy," it stated plainly. "Though I suspect our definitions of reality may soon..." It paused, eyes glinting almost mischievously. "...diverge."

Wendy eyed the creature warily, her heart still pounding from the initial shock. "What do you mean by that? What are you going to do to me!?"

The creature made a noise that sounded almost like a snort. "Figures they wouldn't have taught you anything beforehand. Typical wizards, always doing things the hard way."

It gave Wendy a looking over, its large, tennis ball-sized eyes appraising her critically. "Well, no use dilly dallying. You're a witch, Miss Wendy. A powerful one from an ancient bloodline, by my reckoning."

Wendy shook her head slowly. "But...but that's impossible. Magic isn't real, it's just make-believe from fairy tales!"

"Oh it's quite real, I can assure you," the creature said matter-of-factly. "Name's Klorn, by the way. I'm what you'd call a house-elf, bound to serve the old wizarding families. And your family...well, they're about as old and magical as it gets."

Klorn snapped his fingers, and suddenly Wendy's room seemed to shimmer and distort around them. With a gasp, she realized her surroundings had completely changed. They were now in a dimly lit stone chamber, the walls flickering with animated shadows from a roaring fireplace.

"W-Where are we?" Wendy stammered, her voice coming out in a trembling whisper.

"The time for questions is later," Klorn said brusquely. "For now, you'll just need to trust me. Your magic is becoming far too powerful and unstable to be left untrained any longer."

The elf swept his spindly arm towards the shadows, and a wooden trunk drifted into view, old-fashioned latches clicking open of their own accord. Inside were stacks of ancient leather-bound books and odd silver instruments Wendy didn't recognize.

"We've much to go over," Klorn said, levitating one of the books over to Wendy, who flinched back as it thudded into her lap. "Your kind is in grave danger, Miss Wendy. The dreams you've been having? They're a sign of things to come - a war that will shake the foundations of the wizarding world. Unless you learn to master your abilities."

Wendy's head spun as she struggled to process Klorn's words. A war? Her abilities? This was all becoming too bizarre, too overwhelming. Some part of her recognized the truth in what this...house-elf...was saying. But another part of her psyche still rebelled against accepting the reality before her eyes.

Before she could reply*, Klorn fixed her with an intense stare. "The choice is yours whether to embrace your destiny. But make no mistake, the wizarding world needs you now more than ever." He snapped his fingers again, and a long, polished wand appeared in Wendy's trembling hands, seeming to hum with barely contained energy.

"You've been marked since birth," Klorn continued solemnly. "Your nightmares were visions - a force awakening your powers prematurely. If you don't start your teachings immediately, that inborn magic will only grow more erratic and dangerous with every passing day."

Wendy stared down at the wand in her trembling hands, its low thrum of energy sending strange tingles up her arms. This was really happening, whether she could make sense of it or not.

"But...my parents," she said slowly, realization dawning. "They're not wizards. They've never mentioned anything about magic or...or me being a witch before."

Klorn's large eyes studied her carefully. "Ah yes, well, that's to be expected I suppose. You see, Miss Wendy, the muggles you've been living with? They aren't your real parents."

Wendy felt like the wind had been knocked out of her. Not her real parents? She opened but no words came out at first.

"W-What? But...but that's not possible. My mom and dad, they've raised me my whole life! Why wouldn't they tell me the truth?"

The house-elf sighed, almost looking pityingly at her. "It's not so simple, I'm afraid. Your real parents...they were a witch and wizard themselves. Powerful ones from ancient magical bloodlines. But they got caught up in...well, in very dark and dangerous forces still at work today."

Klorn paused, seeming to weigh how much to reveal. "They knew their only chance to protect you was to leave you with a loving muggle family where your magic would hopefully lay dormant until you came of age. Your birth parents...they sacrificed everything to keep you safe, Miss Wendy."

Tears stung Wendy's eyes as she fought to process this staggering revelation. She thought of her mom and dad - the two people who had raised her and loved her unconditionally her entire life. And yet they weren't her real parents after all? Her mind spun with conflicting emotions.

"So...so they're not actually related to me? My mom and dad?"

"Blood relation means little in the wizarding world," Klorn said simply. "The family who cared for you all these years out of love and kindness, they are your real parents in all the ways that matter most."

Wendy felt tighten as she absorbed that. Of course, no matter who gave birth to her, Olivia and James were her real parents in every sense. The ones who had been there for her through everything in life so far.

A know twisted in her gut at the thought of how devastated and confused they would be when she...well, when she inevitably had to leave them to enter this bizarre magical world she had been born into.

Wendy looked back at Klorn, her brow furrowed. "But why now? Why am I only learning about all of this magic stuff at almost 18 years old?" She shook her head. "It doesn't make any sense. If I was born a witch, shouldn't my...abilities have shown up way earlier?"

Klorn nodded slowly. "A fair question. The truth is, we're not entirely sure why your powers lay dormant for so long. For many young witches and wizards, their first brush with accidental magic occurs as toddlers, when their emotions run hot and their untrained abilities spike uncontrollably."

The house-elf his chin thoughtfully. "My theory is that whatever dark forces were after your birth parents all those years ago casting powerful concealing spells to mask your magical aura and abilities from being detected. To keep you under the radar, so to speak."

Wendy pondered this, feeling her head start to hurt trying to wrap her mind around all these revelations. "And these...these nightmares I've been having? The ones with the castle and the blonde girl and those...those creature things? You're saying those were actually visions of the future? That they're real?"

"Quite real, I'm afraid," Klorn said gravely. "Though we cannot yet know the full significance of what you've been witnessing. Seers and prophetic visions are a rare, nebulous branch of magic, cloaked in many mysteries."

The house-elf fixed Wendy with an intense look. "What I do know is this - those nightmares, as terrifying as they are, were likely the first indications that your dormant powers were finally starting to re-awaken from the spells suppressing them all these years. That subconscious part of your mind was breaching the veil into our world."

Wendy shuddered, recalling the vivid images that had plagued her night after night - the flashes of blinding light, the shrieks of those dark creatures, the desperation etched on the blonde girl's face as she pleaded for Wendy's help.

"Something landed for those spells to break down," Klorn continued, almost to himself now. "Some catalyst that disrupted the concealing charms and allowed your inborn witch's instincts to finally surface, if only in your dreams initially..."

The house-elf seemed to shake himself from his reverie. "But that no longer matters now. What's important is that we've found you in time, before your abilities could become too wild and volatile to control. You're not alone anymore, Miss Wendy. From this point on, you'll have to receive the proper guidance to harness your magic."

Wendy felt a shiver run down her spine at Klorn's ominous words. She glanced around the dimly lit chamber, taking in the strange silver instruments and towering bookshelves lining the walls. "And...and where exactly will I be receiving this guidance? This isn't some trick to just make me disappear, is it?"

Klorn shook his head firmly. "Why, to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, of course. It's the finest institution for magical education in all of Britain. Where generations of your ancestors were taught to master their powers."

Wendy's eyes went wide. "H-Hogwarts? You mean, like from those letters I got?"

"Precisely," Klorn nodded. "The letter was no prank, as you suspected. Merely an invitation into the wizardly world you were born into.

"Have no fear, Miss Wendy. While the transition to the wizarding world will be...abrupt, I give you my solemn vow that no harm will come to you. There is simply too much at stake."

"What you must understand," Klorn pressed on gravely, "is that you are the last remaining descendant of your birth parents' bloodline. Your power, it's unlike anything seen in an age. With the right training, you could become a witch of such strength and skill that you could help turn the tide against the coming darkness."

The elf fixed Wendy with an intense look. "Of course, the choice is still yours whether to embrace your birthright or not. No one can force you down this path. But your parents' sacrifice would have all been for naught if you choose to ignore your calling."

Wendy felt her heart thundering in her chest as the weight of Klorn's words washed over her. A war was coming in this wizarding world, one that her birth parents had tried so desperately to shield her from as a baby. And now it seemed that same ancient conflict was threatening to burst forth again.

"But...but I don't understand," Wendy said, her voice catching in . "Why me? What makes my powers so special that I could help stop this darkness you keep mentioning?"

Klorn's large eyes studied her carefully. "Your birthright traces back to two of the most ancestral pure-blood lineages - the Dearborns and the Rosiers. Centuries upon centuries of formidable witches and wizards culminating in you."

The house-elf wa