It was on my 11th birthday that I got a visit from the most peculiar guest. A giant. It was a man so large he couldn't fit through the door. He looked to be about twice the height of an average person, and five times as wide. He wore an abnormally large moleskin coat, and had long shaggy black hair and a beard to match. His hair was so long that it covered most of his face, and all that I could see was his nose, and his two black eyes that glinted like beetles. He looked at me and smiled.

"Well hello there Chloe, an' a happy birthday!"

I just stared at him. Who was this man and how did he know my name?

"Chloe? Who's at the door?" My mum peeked her head around the corner holding a copy of the newspaper and nearly dropped it in shock when she saw our guest.

"Oh! Well... hello...there. C-can I help you?" She stammered as she walked up beside me and looked up at him, trying to find his face.

"Actually, I think 's supposed ter be me, that's helpin' yeh." He smiled once more and reached into his coat pocket. A minute and ten pockets later, he finally found what he was looking for. In his hand he held up a letter. He handed it to me triumphantly. My mum and I stared at it curiously for a moment, before the giant cleared his throat.

"Um... if yeh don't mind, can I come in an' sit for a bit? There's a few things I gotta talk ter yeh abou' tha' letter." He smiled sheepishly. My mum nodded woodenly and gestured inside, her eyes still fixated on the letter.

Once we were all seated in the living area, my mum finally opened the letter. There were two pages inside. My mum read aloud the first page:
"Dear Chloe Butcher,
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.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress"

When she finished, she squinted at the paper as if to make sure that she had just read that correctly. We both looked at each other before my mum bursted out laughing and I just looked at her.

"'Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry'?! What a joke! Who put you up to this?" She looked back at the giant who's smile turned into a frown.

"This isn't a joke. Yeh read it right there," He pointed at the letter "Congratulations, Chloe. Yer a a witch." I at last opened my mouth to talk.

"I'm a-" Before I could finish, my mum interrupted me.

"Okay, I've had enough of this prank," Her amusement faded, and was replaced with anger. "We're trying to enjoy my daughter's 11th birthday, and the last thing we need is some stranger waltzing into our home and saying that my daughter is some magical wizard who has been accepted into some made-up school for magic tricks!" She shrieked. The giant sighed.

"I 'spected as much. Oh, tha' reminds me." Once again he dug into his coat pockets, only this time much his search ended much quicker. He pulled out a box and handed it to me and I took it. My mum was eyeing the giant suspiciously, and I opened the box. Inside was a chocolate cake with the words "Happy Birthday Chloe" written on it with pink icing, complete with an unlit candle. I smiled shyly and said thank you. My mum was looking at the giant even more suspiciously now.

"Ah, here. Allow me ter light yer candle." For the third time that day, he dug into his pockets and this time he unearthed a pink umbrella. My mum's suspicious stare was replaced with one of deep confusion. We both watched as he waved the umbrella in the air and brought it down by the candle with a flourish. I could not believe my eyes when the candle suddenly came to life, and neither could my mum. She screamed and fell to the floor. I sprang up and ran over to help her. The giant simply looked over at me and smiled.

"Well then, I s'pose we oughta get goin'," The giant stood up and put his pink umbrella back in his pockets. "Yeh don't mind if I use yer fireplace, now do yeh? " He looked at my mom, who was now leaning on the back of the couch, her face still a little pale.

"What ever for?" She asked, slightly delirious.

"Why, fer Floo Powder o' course!" He held up a small bag of a glittery silver powder. "Much quicker than yer Muggle transportation." He smiled proudly.

"U-um, excuse me Mr... who are you, exactly?" I asked politely.

"Oh! I haven't introduced mesself yet!" He set the small bag down and took a bow. "Me name is Hagrid. Rubeus Hagrid. I'm the Keeper o' the Keys an' Grounds at Hogwarts."

"So... does that mean this is true? Does magic really exist? Am I really a wizard? Is there really a school for wizards, and I get to go to it?" I asked, intrigued.

"But o' course! Well, technically speakin' yer a witch, bein' a girl an' all. An' a mighty pretty girl at tha'" I blushed in embarassment. My mum finally rose, and she had almost all of the color back in her face.

"But... how? I mean, we're just a normal family. I've never even heard about this school before." She said.

"Tha's because 's kept a secret from Muggles like yerself. But, fer wizarding folk 's no secret tha' Hogwarts is the best school there is!" He said with pride. He looked at the clock above the mantle and frowned a bit. "Well, we really oughta get goin', all this talkin' has put us a bit behind schedule."

"Get going where exactly?" I inquired. He looked at me as if he was surprised I didn't know.

"Why, to get yer supplies fer school o' course! Did yeh think yeh were gonna show up at school on the firs' day without anythin'?" He grabbed the envelope which was still sitting on the table and pulled out the second piece of parchment. I had completely forgotten about the letter. This whole magical thing still seemed so surreal to me. He put the list in his pocket and turned towards my mum.

"Well, I'm gonna be accompanyin' her with her shoppin', but I'm not gonna be buyin' her everythin'" She jumped a little.

"Oh! Of course!" She ran to the closet and grabbed her purse. She took our her wallet and handed it to him. He tucked it away in one of his many coat pockets.

"Well then, I believe tha's everythin'. Shall we head off?" He picked up the bag of the silver powder.

"Ummm... excuse me, Mr. Hagrid? What's that?" I pointed shyly to the powder.

"Oh, this? This is Floo Powder. The best form of wizard transportation! Well, besides Apparition. See, what yeh do is take a nice handful o' it, and throw it in the fire. When the fire turns green, yeh say yer destination clearly, an' walk into the flames. Then poof! Yer there! Yeh should go first, tha' way I can help yeh." He held out the bag of Floo Powder, and I obediently took a handful, and while doing so felt a little silly.

"A-are you sure this will work?" I asked uncertainly.

"But o'course! I had ter get special permission to connect yer fireplace to the Floo Network fer today, so there should be no problems," He gestured towards the fireplace "Now go on, throw the Floo Powder into the fire." I took a deep breath and tossed my handful of glittery silver powder into the fire. Almost at once, the bright red and orange flame turned green.

"Tha's it, now I wan' you ter step inter the fire and loudly and clearly say "Diagon Alley". Now, go on." I looked up at Hagrid in alarm.

"Won't the flames hurt?" I asked.

"Now, do yeh really think I would make yeh go inter the fire if it hurt?" I didn't think so. There was something about him that seemed trustworthy. So, I took another deep breath and stepped into the flames. I winced, expecting them to burn me, but I couldn't feel a thing. Relieved, I cleared my throat and said as loudly and clearly as I could:

"Diagon Alley!"

There was a green flash, and the next thing I knew, I was standing in a different fireplace, in the middle of a bustling cobblestone alley. As I stepped out of the fireplace, I looked around me in amazement. There was a huge assortment of different stores and pubs. I saw a man standing outside a shop with a sign that read "Broomstix" He was handing out fliers and shouting "Come and get the brand new Nimbus 2000! The fastest broom there is!" I saw a shop for cauldrons, quills, and magical books. And a pet shop that had a bunch of screeching owls lined up in the windows. There was a huge crowd of witches and wizards, all wearing the strangest robes and pointed hats. There was so much to look at that I couldn't take it all in at once. There was a green flash behind me, and I turned to see Hagrid crouching down to exit the fireplace. He looked at me and smiled.

"Welcome ter Diagon Alley, Chloe!"