Jane Smith had recently celebrated her acceptance to a secondary school with a good reputation and didn't appreciate this strange woman- who claimed to be a Deputy Headmistress- making a mockery of her efforts by explaining that her "special talents" had earned her a place at a prestigious and obviously imaginary school for witches and wizards. Jane's parents had welcomed the stranger into their living room but now, realizing the potential madness hidden by her façade of propriety, clearly regretted it. The woman did not seem surprised by their reactions but made no move to alleviate their discomfort and leave, instead taking a sip of tea in the awkward pause.
"I know that this may seem unusual. For hundreds of years, the wizarding world has made great efforts to conceal its existence from non-magical people. Perhaps a small demonstration of magic would help."
Jane's seven-year-old brother, Toby, had been listening eagerly and started in excitement at this suggestion. "Can you turn Jane into a newt?" Jane glared at him. He didn't need this sort of encouragement.
But the stranger ignored the interruption and directed her attention at Jane's parents. "If you would suggest an object in this room, with your permission, I will levitate it."
"Me!" Toby cried, almost shouting, "Please levitate me!"
"That chair," Mrs. Smith said hurriedly, clearly wanting to humor the woman and then usher her out of the house, "But I'm afraid we won't be paying you to entertain our children. They've seen plenty of magic shows."
The woman pulled a polished stick from her handbag- presumably meant to be a wand- and pointed it towards the simple, wooden chair that Mrs. Smith had indicated. She made a dramatic waving motion and said a silly word that made Jane giggle until she stopped abruptly, her mouth still open, as the chair silently rose, hovered several centimeters above the floor, and then gently resumed its position. The three older Smiths hurried to it, running their hands over its surfaces, checking for anything unusual, while Toby tried to interrogate the woman about what else she could do.
At last, they returned to their seats and listened soberly as the woman continued telling them about this maybe-not-so-imaginary school called Hogwarts. They all had questions. Mr. Smith wanted to know what other schools taught magic and how Hogwarts ranked. Mrs. Smith wanted to know if Jane could attend as a day student and magically appear back at home each afternoon. Jane wanted to know what classes she would take. Toby wanted to know if dragons existed, why magical people didn't rule the world, whether Jane would be able to talk to animals, and- But the woman politely dismissed their questions with brief responses and explained that a collection of brochures and booklets, which she retrieved from her handbag despite its much smaller size, should answer any further questions.
"I will escort a group through a street where you will obtain some of the local magical currency and buy school supplies. Meet me at the address provided in the brochure entitled 'Diagon Alley' on Tuesday morning at 8 o'clock. Good evening."
With that, the woman walked briskly out of the house, leaving the Smiths with the strange feeling that turning their lives upside-down had just been one more task for her to complete that day.
Authors note: This is the first fanfiction story I have written. Feedback is welcome.