Sally Riddle

Chapter two: Dragons, Tigers, and Eagles. Oh my!

               "I'm sorry there must have been some sort of mistake. It says my last name is Riddle but it's Dahl" I told Hagrid. Hagrid looked back at me and I saw there was pity in his eyes. "Yeh see I'm not sure I'm su'post to tell yeh this. Well yeh, see yer adopted." The words struck me like a blow from a hammer. "I...I'm what!? N...No this d...doesn't make any sense." But it did, it did make sense. I thought with despair. No wonder my parents looked so different from me. No wonder they always liked my older sister more than me and she never really acknowledged that I exist. And that my parents seemed to always slightly despise me.

               I opened my mouth to ask more questions but Hagrid held up a hand. "I'm sorry 'hats all I know" "that's fine," I said I felt numb and empty. Then Chattelaine and Avis told Hagrid the same thing and he replied the same. I took a look at their letters. Avis's said that his last name was Volturius and Chattelaine's said her last name was Murelegus. We all stood in sad silence pondering how and why.

We decided that we should probably open our letters now so I opened mine first. It read:

Dear S. Riddle, 

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. Since you will be coming late you will arrive at Hogwarts three days from now on Monday with Rubeus Hagrid.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

              I looked over and saw that Avis's was the same and so was Chattelaine's so I turned back to Hagrid and asked "Wait so were accepted to a wizard school? And that means were wizards?" I was so confused. "Yep!" he said cheerfully "well technically yer a witch you an Chattelaine bu' Avis is a wizard." "Excuse me," said Chattelaine in a soft voice "but does that mean we can leave this wretched place of losers?" "Yep!" Said Hagrid with a smile "GREAT!" said Avis.

               "Well we best get goin ter Diagonally," said Hagrid. We stared at him confused "oh er that's where yah get yer wand and such." He said, "buh the problem is I don' got room in me motorbike for the three of yeh." He said stroking his massive beard with one hand and patting his motorbike with the other.

               "I know," said Avis. He's always quick to think of a solution. "Since me and Sally can fly Chattelaine can go in the motorbike with you!" "Great idea!" replied Hagrid jumping on his motorbike "now Chattelaine you go in er," he said as he patted the sidecar of the motorbike. "And hang on tight yeh ready?" "Yep!" said Chattelaine as soon as she climbed in at fastened her seatbelt. "Ready!" "ok, you an Avis try to turn into yeh...well whatever it is yeh do," Hagrid said to me as he put on his goggles and started up the engine.

               Me and Avis started thinking of ways to do it when suddenly Avis shouted "I KNOW HOW!" "Geez, you don't have to shout" I mumbled. "If you concentrate our energy changing every part individually it should work!" So I closed my eyes and concentrated first on my wings, then claws, teeth, tail, and scales. When I opened my eyes I saw it had worked!

               "All righ' ready?" asked Hagrid. "Yep!" we all replied in unison and we were off. I couldn't believe it, I was flying! Actually flying. In the air! Soon we approached a market and just outside of it we landed in a hidden spot behind some bushes and we turned into our normal selves again. "Ev'ren all righ'?" asked Hagrid "That...was...AWESOME!!" I shouted "YA!" Replied Avis. Chattelaine looked sick "that...was not awesome." She turned around and puked.

               "I'm fine," she said weakly. "Eww," said Avis "let's just, go in now" so we walked into the market and Hagrid led us to a building with a sign that read: The Leaky Cauldron. The sign had a picture of a witch stirring a leaking cauldron. We stepped in and saw a bunch of people in black robes drinking a sort of foamy root bear-looking drink. I looked at the menu and saw that it was called ButterBeer. Then Hagrid went to the back, pulled out his bright pink umbrella, and tapped the brick wall with a very precise pattern, suddenly it opened and revealed a very large, well, ally with many different shops. I saw that Hagrid was headed towards one with a sign that said: Ollivanders makers of fine wands since 382 B.C.

               He stopped in front of the door and said "now only one of yeh can go in at a time so who wants ter go first?" Chattelaine slowly raised her hand "I'll go" she said in a small voice. "Alrigh' now yeh two come with me and well get yer robes." So Chattelaine went inside and me and Avis followed Hagrid to a shop called: Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions with many robes, hats, and scarfs.

               After we got our robes we went back towards Ollivanders. Chattelaine was sitting on a bench just outside of Ollivanders holding her wand. It looked about twelve inches long with a tiger's head on the front of it and tiger-like stripes all around it. It seemed to have a strong orange hue to it, and it was slick and bright like it was recently polished. "Wha did yah get?" asked Hagrid as we got closer.

               "Heartwood, twelve and a half inches, very flexible, unicorn hair core," she said absentmindedly as if she rehearsed it a thousand times. "Nice!" replied Hagrid "Alrigh' who's next?" "I'll go!" said Avis excitedly as he walked in. So Hagrid showed me the way to a bookstore called Flourish and Blotts and I went inside to get my school books as Hagrid took Chattelaine to go get her robes. I walked inside and looked at the list I needed: Unfogging the Future by Cassandra Vablatsky, Intermediate Transfiguration by Emeric Switch, The Monster Book of Monsters, and Numerology and Grammatica. I found them all easily (although it was pretty difficult to get the monster book of monsters to cooperate) then left to go and meet Hagrid and Chattelaine outside Ollivanders. We waited for a couple of seconds and then Avis burst out of the door and said. "Look look! I have a wand!" he jumped in the air and did a little dance. We burst out laughing. He blushed and said, "I uh mean umm look wow a wand so cool."

               Once me and Chattelaine managed to finally stop laughing Hagrid asked Avis what his wand was and he replied "oh umm I think it was a...umm...OH, I REMEMBER!! It's thirteen inches, mahogany wood with a little eagle head on the front of it and a umm oh yeah, phoenix feather core!" He took out his wand and showed it to us. It had an odd feathery appearance. After looking at it I said, "well I guess it's my turn." And walked in.