Chapter 1
I ran down the stairs and sashayed into the kitchen. Only Mom was up, and she looked at me from her station at the sink where she was surveying the dishes washing themselves. There was already a neat little pile in the other side of the sink where all the cups, plates, and serving platters sat, leftover from last night's party.
The party had been for me- tomorrow I would be going off to Hogwarts for the first time. It wasn't unusual for a young witch or wizard to have a sendoff get-together before they went to magic school. After all, Claire (my sister) and Vincent (my brother) had had their parties when they were 11, too.
I sat down in my chair to a wonderful breakfast of still-warm buttermilk pancakes and bacon, my all-time favorite. "Sleep all right?" my mother asked me, somewhat absent-mindedly. The truth was I hadn't- I had dozed on and off all night. After all these years of waiting and dreaming, I was starting to feel nervous about going to boarding school.
Would I make any friends? What house would I be sorted into? What if it was Slytherin? All these questions and more had run through my head several times, until I found the best way to deal with them, to simply ignore them. But I didn't want her to worry, so I told her, "Yep! I slept just fine." She glanced over at me, and I could tell that she saw right through my lie.
She was especially good at that, because she was in the Hogwarts house of Ravenclaw. Ravenclaw is the smartest house at Hogwarts, where the bright-minded and the geniuses were sorted. Mom was the only one in that house. Then there is Gryffindor, 'where the dwell the brave at heart'. Dad, Claire, and Vincent were all in Gryffindor, which accounted for the deep red and gold accents all over the house.
The last two are Slytherin and Hufflepuff. Hufflepuff is the house where the 'just and loyal' are sorted into, but Slytherin is a whole other thing. Slytherin has a reputation for being the 'evil' house at Hogwarts. Dad often says that almost every single Slytherin turns out bad.
But I don't want to judge a book by its cover, so before I can decide for myself whether they are really the worst house or not, I'm just going to describe them using the official terms, cunning and ambitious.
I was still munching on my bacon when Claire walked down the stairs. She is no less than 4 years older than I am; I am 11 and Claire is 15. She sits down at her spot, at the head of the table, and I notice that she is already dressed.
"Where are you going?" I question her. Claire stares at me like I'm an alien. "You forgot? You have been looking forward to go to Diagon Alley all week!" That's when I remember that we are visiting Diagon Alley today.
A feeling of excitement rises up inside of me. Today we are going to buy my wand! Not to mention my books, cauldron, robes, and animal! I've been pondering over what animal to get for days. Hogwarts students are only allowed to get cats, toads, or owls.
I look over at Mom, who is looking curiously at me. "When are we leaving?" "In one hour, at twelve." She replies, and as I dash up the stairs to my room, I can hear her yelling at Vince to wake up.