Harry straightened out the letter. He glanced at me once, and let his eyes meet mine. I gave him a smile, and a nod of encouragement. He began to read aloud.
"HOGWARTS SCHOOL
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Mr. Potter,
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.
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress"
Harry flipped the page over and continued reading, leaving me no time to ask the millions of questions I had. I frowned at him, but with his gaze locked on the letter he was reading, he didn't even notice.
"HOGWARTS SCHOOL
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
UNIFORM
First-year students will require:
1.Three sets of plain work robes (black)
2.One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
3.One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
4.One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)
Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags.
COURSE BOOKS
All students should have a copy of each of the following:
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)
by Miranda Goshawk
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling
A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi
by Phyllida Spore
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
by Newt Scamander
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection
by Quentin Trimble
OTHER EQUIPMENT
1 wand
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set glass or crystal phials
1 telescope
1 set brass scales
Students may also bring and owl OR a cat OR a toad.
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS"
Harry finished reading the letter and he set it down on the table beside him. He looked to Rubeus Hagrid as if wondering what to do next. I had a million and one questions, but managed to keep my mouth shut for now.
"Well, I'm sure s'been a long night fer yeh, n' it's gettin' late. Here that blanket there don't look very warm now does it? Here, kip under this," Rubeus Hagrid handed us his coat, which Harry and I easily fit under.
Mr. Hagrid lay down on the couch, which collapsed underneath him, and was asleep in seconds, the Dursleys had all crawled into the bed at the other side of the room, and soon enough, Harry and I were asleep in front the crackling log fire.
*
I woke up the next morning on the hard floor beside Harry, refusing to open my eyes. I'd had the best dream, and the man with the flying motorcycle was there. He told Harry and I we were magic, that I was a witch and Harry was a wizard. He said that he was going to take us to a school called Hogwarts and that's who our letters were from.
I sighed. I slowly opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling, noticing we were under a different blanket, which Harry must've found while I was asleep. It was certainly much warmer than the other blanket Vernon had thrown at us the previous night.
Suddenly, I heard Pig let out a loud snore and my head snapped in that direction. I saw Rubeus Hagrid sleeping on the couch. I nearly exploded with joy. My dream wasn't a dream.
We all got up at only 6:00 and quietly tiptoed out, careful not to wake the Dursleys and get a very 'cheerful' goodbye.
"Haha! See you later Dursleys!" I screamed, laughing.
We paddled slowly to the shore, Mr Hagrid even offering to row for Harry and I. We climbed out of the boat. I wondered how the Dursley's were going to return to shore, and I laughed at the image in my head of the Dursley's swimming across the lake.
"I'd 'preciate it if you didn't tell anyone 'bout this." Mr. Hagrid said.
With that he pulled out a pink flowery umbrella and waved it once and the boat raced to the island, on which the Dursleys were.
"Wow," I said awed, I really wanted to try that.
"Mr. Hagrid, why can't we tell anyone about this?" Harry questioned. I completely ignored Harry, and immediately went for the umbrella.
"Lemme try, lemme try," I was chanting whilst trying to grab the umbrella.
"Melody!" Harry yelled in frustration.
"I wanna try," I whined.
"No," said Harry
"Yes," I said
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"You're not the boss of me," I said
"I'm older than you," Harry said grinning.
"By eight minutes!" I said angrily.
"Could yeh two cu' it out," Rebeus Hagrid said, but with a smile on his face. "We gotta get going. We're going to be late."
"Okay, Mr. Hagrid," I obeyed, scowling at Harry. "Lead the way."
"Yeh two can just call me Hagrid, everyone does."
"Okay, Hagrid."
Hagrid walked off, and Harry and I followed behind in his shadow. Harry was still frowning at me, but I explained all I wanted was to try magic. Hagrid assured we would be able to do so soon enough, and so I calmed.
*
"Three tickets to London please," Hagrid said, having to bend down to look in the window.
We had just arrived at the train station, and Hagrid, Harry and I were getting our train tickets to go to London.
The woman looked up at him and her eyes widened. She fumbled around, her eyes going back and forth from what she was doing, and Hagrid.
"Yes sir," she handed us our tickets, and told us the price, still watching Hagrid closely.
Hagrid's eyebrows furrowed, and so Harry helped him count his 'muggle money', having always been better at maths. I was more for science, and any sort of puzzles. Harry handed the still frightened woman the change.
We walked onto the train and found some seats. Hagrid sat down, taking up nearly three seats, which creaked as he sat. Harry and I found our seats opposite him.
"Hagrid, why can't we tell anybody about you using magic?" Harry asked once we were settled.
"I was expelled from Hogwarts in my third year, " Hagrid said.
"Oh," said Harry, looking towards me with guilt written on his face.
"Professor Dumbledore let's me stay as groundskeeper. I live just off the schools property. Yeh can come visit whenever yeh'd like," Hagrid said happily.
Harry nodded and smiled.
I turned to look out the window and watched the scenery fly by my eyes. The train ride was really long and I was relieved when we got there. I jumped of the seat happily and grabbed Harry.
We walked out of the train station, and into the streets of London. I was awed. I'd only been to London a few times, and it was always bustling with people. There were so many people today, in fact, that I held onto Harry's sleeve as to not get lost.
"Read that letter again, will yeh?"
Harry fumbled around to grab the letter from his pocket. It was wrinkled after he'd shoved it in hastily in our rush away from the Dursley's (which was a dream come true). He did so eventually, and found the right page, reading it aloud once again for Hagrid to hear.
"Hagrid, they couldn't possibly sell this in London, do they?" I said curiously, craning my head to look for a wand shop, cauldron shop, or anything of the sort.
Hagrid turned to me with a small glint in his beetle black eyes. "Only if you know where to go."
Hagrid turned into a small pub called The Leaky Cauldron. All the people were walking past is as if they couldn't see it, and I had a funny feeling they couldn't. We entered the dingy pub and the bartender noticed Hagrid instantly.
"Hagrid! The usual I presume?" he asked.
The bar was bustling with activity, and my gaze snapped this way and that to try and take it all in. People who I assumed were wizards and witches lined the bar, cleaning rags floated around the room and cleaned the tables on their own. I was in awe. This building alone was cooler than everything else I'd seen so far.
"No, Tom. I'm on Hogwarts buisness, gotta get young Harry and Lily here to get their school supplies. Startin' Hogwarts this year they are," Hagrid smiled proudly, clapping Harry and I on the shoulders, and my knees buckled and I heard Harry's knees hit the floor.
"It's Harry and Melody Potter," Tom said in disbelief.
The bar quietened and everyone turned to look at Harry and I. I was too in shock to correct him. The room had gone quiet and everyone in the bar was looking at Harry and I as if we were famous, which I had to quickly remind myself, we were.
"Erm, hi," I tried. "I'm Lily. Lily Potter."
It was as if my words were a catalyst to the volume. As quickly as it had gone quiet, the noise started up again and everyone was bustling to shake our hands.
"Mr. Potter so glad you're back!"
"Ms. Potter it's good to finally meet you."
"It's an honour to meet you Potter. It's good to meet you."
I shook more hands than I could count, and I knew I'd shaken every hand more than once. Everyone had a big smile on their face, and I did my best to grin back at each one of them. Hagrid introduced us to Professor Quirrell, the professor of something called Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts.
"Okay, I've got to get the young Potters here to get their school supplies now!" Hagrid boomed over the noise of the crowd.
Everyone stepped out of Hagrid's way as he headed for the back of the room. Harry and I smiled weakly as we followed, as everyone continued trying to shake our hand one last time, and Hagrid took us across the room to a brick wall.
"Hagrid-"
"Shh, I've got to concentrate," Hagrid said, staring intently at the wall.
He pulled out his pink umbrella and tapped the bricks on the wall in a sort of pattern. After a final tap, and the bricks started moving aside. My jaw dropped in awe as the bricks cleared and the wall opened up into a whole new street.
"Welcome to Diagon Alley," Hagrid said, stepping aside.
It was amazing. I was craning my neck in every direction to try and catch a glimpse of everything. Owls flew this way and that, and people in robes bustled down the cobbled walkway.
Slow down Hagrid I want to see all this! I thought somewhat bitterly.
Lily? I heard Harry's voice, but it sounded like it was in my head.
Harry? I thought.
Yeah, it's Harry.
Um... How are you in my head?
I don't know, what's happening?
Harry I think we've done this before but... it's magic. We didn't know about magic before so... we probably thought it was just out imagination. I thought, amazed and curious to what was happening.
So what? We can talk telepathically?
Seems so.
Cool. Harry thought in amazement.
Very cool.
Okay Lily, we're right beside each other, stop it now.
Fine. Don't want you in my head anyway.
Harry ignored me and I sent a glare in his direction. But even he had a huge grin across his face. I laughed and punched him in the arm.
"We're going to Gringott's first. Best wizarding bank there is... Only wizarding bank there is," Hagrid said, pointing to a giant marble building ahead of us. "No safer place than Gingotts... except Hogwarts, of course."
Small creatures stood outside the magnificent doors, and I turned to Harry with wide eyes. He didn't meet my gaze though, but let his eyes snap from one creature to the next, attempting to be at least somewhat discreet.
"Hagrid," I whispered, stepping closer to him. "What are those?"
"Goblins. Don't want to mess with Goblins you don't."
We walked up to the desk and Hagrid cleared his throat importantly. The goblin looked up from his writing and put his pen down. He surveyed us with his hollow black eyes, and I nearly shrunk under his gaze.
"The Potters would like to access their vault," Hagrid said.
"Yes. Do the Potters have their key?" The goblin questioned, eyeing me and Harry up.
I froze. Surely, Hagrid didn't think we had our key? I didn't even know we had our own vault. I didn't even know this place existed until a few moments ago! Thankfully, Hagrid pulled it from his pocket and placed it on the desk with a letter.
"Special orders from Professor Dumbledore. You know what in vault you know which," Hagrid said, looking around us cautiously.
"Griphook!" The goblin called. Another small and just as ugly goblin walked over. "Vaults 687 and 713," said the goblin at the desk, handing Griphook our key.
"Follow me," said Griphook, walking towards the back.
We took a cart down to our vault. We turned sharply this way and that before we finally arrived. On the way, I could have sworn I'd seen a blast of fire far below us. Griphook opened the vault, and Hagrid handed Harry and I each a small bag.
"Blimey," Harry muttered.
I was too in shock to say anything. Before us was piles and piles of golden coins, nearly filling the room. My jaw dropped unable to believe the sight. Without moving from where I stood, I glanced back at Hagrid as if to confirm we were in the right place.
"Thought yer parents left yeh with nothing?" Hagrid chuckled. "They left yeh a very large fortune down here they did."
Harry and I piled coins into a bag and Griphook shut the vault, before we climbed back into the cart. Having barely slept the last night, I managed to fall asleep on the roller coaster of a ride the cart provided.
*
We were in a small bookstore called Florish and Blotts, getting our school books. We got all the required books, and I couldn't help getting more, Hogwarts: A History, Quidditch books, and more, I wanted to know everything about the 'Wizarding World'. I was most excited to read about magical beasts and beings.
We then went to the Apothecary, to get cauldrons, and potion ingredients. I was really looking forwards to trying potions, it seemed a lot like science, which was always my favourite subject in what Hagrid called 'the muggle world'.
We then went to the place I'd been waiting for. Ollivander's wand shop. We walked into a small dingy shop, and a bell rang somewhere in the back as the door opened. A small old man walked to the desk and surveyed us through misty blue eyes.
"Ahh the young Potters. I've been wondering when I'd see you," he said. He hurried back to the back of the store without another word after that.
"Harry, Lily, I've gotta go get yeh two a birthday present," Hagrid said, making for the door.
"Hagrid, you don't need to. You gave us that cake already!" I said happily, thinking about the cake that Hagrid had let us bring along.
"No. I'll be back soon, good luck!" With that Hagrid walked out of the store.
Mr. Ollivander came back out with boxes of wands, and one by one, handed them to Harry, who was going first.
Harry tried twelve wands before he got the right one. He destroyed a lot of stuff in the process too. One he made all the drawers fly out of place, one he blew up a lamp, one set the desk on fire, one shattered the window. Eventually Harry ended up with a wand that was 11 inches, holly, phoenix feather core.
"Curious. Very curious indeed," Mr. Ollivander was muttering.
"Sorry, but what's curious?" Harry asked.
"Well the phoenix, who's tail feather is inside your wand, gave just one other feather. Now Mr. Potter, I remember every wand I've ever sold. It just so happens, that the one other phoenix feather, is in the wand that gave you that scar," Mr. Ollivander said, pointing to Harry's scar.
Harry shivered, took his wand, and went to sit in the arm chair where I'd been waiting. I went up to the desk next, and Mr. Ollivander shook his head, took all the wands off the desk and went to get new ones.
He came back with an armful of boxes and placed them on the desk.
"Try this one," he said, handing me a wand.
I picked the wand up, and feeling slightly foolish, waved it through the air.
A loud bang and a hole appeared in the wall behind Mr. Ollivander. I quickly set the wand down in the counter, not daring touch it again. It went on like that for a while, Mr. Ollivander would hand me a wand, and I would end up doing something wrong.
One wand lit Mr. Ollivander's hair on fire and I muttered countless apologies.
One turned Harry yellow to which I laughed very hard at.
One made a stream of water come out the end of the wand and hit Harry directly in the face.
One blew up the lamp.
One shattered the ladder in the back of the room.
"Try this," Mr. Ollivander said, a hint if curiosity in his voice.
I gently took the wand from his hand examining it closely. The entire wand was black, with engravings on the bottom quarter where it grew wider. I placed my hand over the odd symbols. I waved the wand and a warmth spread through my hand, and a golden glow emitted from the end of the wand.
"Yes very good, but curious yes," Mr. Ollivander said.
My wand was 12 inches, Ebony, with a core that Mr Ollivander said was never used before.
"Seems you both have a knack for trouble," Mr.Olivander said, "Mr. Potter got the brother wand of the man who gave you those scars. Ms. Potter your wand has a Basilisk Horn core. This is the only wand I have that I myself didn't make. This wand is said to have been made by a powerful, but dark maker. But you will be able to do great things Lily Potter, great things indeed. Curious, very few wands are made from such dangerous materials."
"Can I get a new wand?" I asked nervously, eyeing the wand in front of me. Harry nodded in agreement.
"The wand chooses the wizard. Only one wand will suit you," Olivander said.
I turned curiously. "What happens if we break the wand then?"
"A new wand will choose you, but I trust you'll be very careful with these."
Suddenly there was a knocking at the window. Hagrid was standing there with two owl cages. One cage held a Snowy owl, watching is with its golden eyes. In the other cage was a tiny blue owl, so dark, you had to look closely to see it wasn't black. It had white spots all over its wings, and bright silvery eyes. I'd never seen anything like it before.
Harry and I went outside to see Hagrid.
"Hagrid what is this one," I said, reaching my fingers though the bars and stroking the blue one. It was tiny, no bigger than a robin.
"It's a very rare owl, called an Azorian owl," he replied, reading it off a piece of paper stuck to the cage. "They're only found in the wizarding world."
"Harry which would you like?" I asked, silently hoping to get the small owl at my fingertips.
"This one. She's beautiful," he said, mimicking my movements and stroking the owl through the cage bars.
"I'm going to name you Stripes!" I said to the spotted owl, who obviously didn't understand what I was saying.
We did all our shopping and slept at The Leaky Cauldron. Harry and I spent the night looking at all our new stuff and looking at our books. I was really exited to start school. Soon, we would be leaving for Hogwarts!