Year 1
Chapter 1
It was a sunny day in Chapel Hill, North Carolina when several young friends all received acceptance letters to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Mind you, this establishment was in Britain and these kids were in the United States. As soon as they brought the letters into their rooms they called each other. Mary, Ruthie, Maashes, and Conor all sat in on a group call. Mary said, "Oh my god! I'm so excited you guys. Like, you have no idea!" Conor, always the skeptic said, "I don't know, this doesn't seem like a particularly feasible idea. You realize that we're thousands of miles away from this school." Ruthie sighed and said, "I didn't think about that…How are we going to get to… (refers to the letter) Kings Cross Station?" Maashes laughed, he said, "Mary and I are Muggle-borns, Ruthie is half-blood, her mother is a witch, and Conor is a pure blood. So I expect his parents can get him there. But we're going to have to take regular transportation." Conor said, "Yeah, I forgot they can use side-along apparition. We'll I've got my passage set up. See you guys." He then hung up, leaving the other three to worry about their travel plans.
So after talking a bit about spells, the remaining three hung up and went off to tell their parents about Hogwarts. Ruthie's parents were shocked and amazed, but they decided she needed a bit of freedom so they agreed to take on a flight to Britain. Mary's parents were completely against the idea of her going away, but they gave in when they found out how useful having a witch in the family could be, they allowed her to go with Ruthie on the flight. Maashes' parents though, were unrelenting. They said 'No' over and over again. Eventually his mother gave in, saying if it was really what he wanted but his father would not budge. In despair, he called his friends. Conor picked up first, "Hey" he said. Maashes then launched into his explanation about his travel issues. Conor scratched his round face and said, "Well you could always come with us. Mom can apparate with both of us at the same time." Maashes jumped at the idea and went to tell his parents, they reluctantly agreed, saying that maybe some time to themselves would do them good, so they let him go.
The last few weeks of August passed quickly for the four friends, they chatted of then about what classes they would take and what houses they would be in. All of them hoped not to be in Slytherin, except Conor who didn't think it was an issue. On August 30th, they all left Chapel Hill, NC for London. Mary, Ruthie, and Ruthie's parents all flew on Delta Airlines while Maashes and Conor prepared to apparate with Conor's mother. While in their sitting room, Conor's mother explained apparition to the boys. She said, "Now Apparating is difficult to pull off over long distances, so we will have to do it three times. It's kind of uncomfortable but you get used to it after awhile. Now while we do it, you two must hold onto my arms as tightly as possible." She stood up, her black robes swishing. She said, "Well, ready boys?" They nodded eagerly and looked at each other excitedly. They grabbed onto her arms and she raised her wand and turned on the spot. Both boys yelled as they felt the sensation of being unable to breathe and under a lot of pressure. They could not see anything in the blackness but then, they appeared on a cruise ship in the grey Atlantic Ocean.
The boys spluttered and complained about the feeling of Apparating. Conor's mother said, "I told you its' a little uncomfortable, but you'll get used to it. Only two more times now. Ready boys?" They nodded and clasped her arms. Again she spun on the spot but this time the boys were prepared, they just closed their eyes and soon they were standing on another boat, where they could see the thin outline of the British coast in the distance. Conor's mom surveyed her passengers. When they gave her nods of readiness the spun again, and again they closed their eyes to the suffocation and pressure and then they were standing on a crowded street in London. The two boys looked about in wonder, they had never been outside of the U.S. before and they wanted to go everywhere. Conor said, "Dude! Look at that enormous clock tower!" Maashes said, "I think that's Big Ben, but I'm not sure." Conor's mom said, "You two still need to get your school supplies. I have your trunks here and I got all of your books mailed. Yes, Maashes I got yours too. And so you need robes, wands, and maybe owls." Conor said, "I don't see any places around here that look like they sell wands." Conor's mother smiled and said, "Of course not, this is a Muggle city. We have to go to Diagon Alley."