Chapter Text
Song of the Chapter: Time in a Bottle (Jim Croce)
Will Byers
The morning of July 25, 1982 Will finally got his letter. Despite being raised by a witch, he frequently used to consider the possibility of taking after his father, a muggle who left before Will was born. But now, it was certain. He was formally invited to study at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
“Mom! Jonathan! I got my letter!” the boy exclaimed, holding up the sheet of parchment like a trophy.
His mother, Joyce, emerged from the hallway, pulling Will into a hug, “Oh, my boy! I knew you would!” Her celebration was followed by heavy footsteps rushing down the stairs.
“S’amazing Will. Can’t wait to have you there.” Jonathan said with a smile.
After pancakes —Will’s favorite—, he sprinted to his room, pulling a piece of parchment from his drawer. Dipping his quill in ink, he quickly wrote to his best friend.
Mike,
Meet me at the tree, I'll be there at 12. I have news.
– Will
—
Mike Wheeler was Will’s best friend, well only friend really. They first met when Will was seven; the summer of 1978. He was exploring the meadow that surrounded his cottage, and saw a boy. The boy had a slim body, inky black eyes, fair skin, and a head of dark curls. At first, Will was taken aback. He explored the area often, but hadn’t ever seen much more than the occasional doe. The two boys made eye contact across the way, followed by a sheepish wave. They closed the distance and the boy broke the silence, “Hi, I’m Mike. What’s your name?”
“Will. Want to be friends?”
“Yeah! Are you magic or just normal? Both are fine I just was wondering. Both my parents are.”
“Mum’s a witch. Dad was a muggle.”
“Did he die?”
“Nope, j’s left before I was born.”
“Oh um, sorry I didn’t mean to—”
“S’fine Mike don’t worry about it, I’m sure he’d have been a sod of a father anyways.” Will said with a shrug.
“Well you aren’t missing much, mine is quite the skiver. Mum does most everything for us.”
As Mike looked up, Will caught his gaze. Mike smiled sheepishly at his new friend for just a moment. A moment that felt like the beginning of– “Race you to that tree!” Mike yelled as he took off towards a A large willow in the center of the field. Will cursed his lack of athleticism as he sprinted to catch up with Mike.
The boys spent the rest of the day there, talking about anything their young minds could imagine. After the sun dropped below the horizon, the two promised to meet at the Weeping Willowillow again the next day, and went their separate ways. Neither of their mothers were overly happy with their day-long disappearance, but they got over it, and the boys continued to meet nearly every day for the remainder of the summer.
That tree became their spot. Yes, they would sometimes have sleepovers at Mike's house, or bake cookies at Will’s, but the Weeping Willow became a place to escape the world around them. They could visit the tree together or alone, to say everything or nothing at all. It was a land of their own.
—
By the time Will arrived at their tree, Mike was already sitting beneath the lanky, dangling branches reading The Outsiders by S.E Hinton. Will had found the novel earlier that summer in a muggle bookstore while walking around town with Jonathan, and it quickly became his favorite. After reading it an abnormal number of times, he insisted Mike read it as well. Will observed for a moment as Mike's brows furrowed in concentration, pitch dark eyes wandering the page. Will stepped forward once more, notifying his friend of his presence. Mike’s eyes met his, and their faces immediately lit up as if they had shared the same thought.
“Get your Letter?” Mike questioned. Will nodded eagerly in response. Mike –who had already received his letter– jumped up from under the tree, throwing his hands in the air, “CHEERS MATE, WE ARE GOING TO BE WIZARDS!” he yelled into the distance, running into the open field followed by Will. He only stopped to bend over and pick something up; a long stick which he snapped in two. He handed one of the halves to Will before flicking his wrist with an “Expelliarmus!”
Will pretended to dodge his “spell” and returned a “Stupefy!” to Mike in a similar fashion. This attempt at dueling with makeshift wands and mispronounced incantations flying out of the young boys’ mouths went on for nearly an hour before the two boys found their way back to the tree, collapsing beneath it.
They laid on their backs, watching the leaves of the willow sway with the breeze. “How awesome is it that we can go to school together? Learning can be totally boring, but we get to practice magic and we will be there together. We can even be roommates–”
“Mike?”
“Yeah?”
“Not to be a downer but, aren’t there four houses we could be separated by? If we aren’t placed together then that means no sharing a dorm, our classes could be separated, and we could live entirely different lives”
Mike hesitated for a moment, taken aback by the harsh reality. “Will I–”
“Sorry” Will paused, “I– I guess I’m just afraid you are going to find someone way cooler than me and I’m going to lose my best mate.” Will said quieter than normal.
“First of all, you won't lose me, you’re my best mate. We will still be in the same school anyway, so we’ll have to see each other one way or another. And second, I find it hard to believe there is even a possibility of finding anyone cooler than you.”
“Really?”
“Really. You are the COOLEST.” Mike replied, emphasizing the end.
“How about this, no matter what happens, we come back here every summer?” Will proposed.
“Deal.” agreed Mike. “Weeping Willow?” He asked, sticking his pinky finger in the air above the two.
Will reached his hand up to meet Mikes, interlocking pinkies beneath the graceful leaf-covered branches of their tree.
“Weeping Willow.”