One
It was eight o'clock, on the dot, when the post tumbled through the letter box at Blackwood Hall- much to the surprise of the family inside. The Hastings sat at a round table in the kitchen, helping themselves to toast and cereal. "Is that post?" Exclaimed Robert Hastings jokingly. "On time? It can't be, surely!"
His wife, Ellen stood up and went to pick it up. Unusually, there were no bills or advertisements- not even a thing for her or Robert- just two identical, interesting thick envelopes for her two daughters.
Whilst she was wondering what on earth two official looking letters could be doing being sent to her eleven year old girls, there came a sharp rap on the door. Ellen opened it to find the most extraordinary sight. Stood before her was a man, whom if Ellen had to guess his age, she would have estimated him to be around 150. He was tall with a silver hair and beard that curled and twisted like wire to his waist. He was dressed in plum velvet robes and he wore half-moon spectacles on his crooked nose. His eyes were twinkly blue orbs, and he had a wrinkly, kind, trustworthy face.
If it wasn't for the fact he looked so calm and all knowing, Ellen would have laughed in his face. He didn't seem to realise how out of place he looked on the wealthy grounds of Blackwood Hall.
"Hello," he said, and his voice was deep and calm. "My name is Albus Dumbledore, and I am here regarding the contents of those letters." He nodded towards the post in Ellen's hand.
Ellen, despite feeling very confused and uneasy, let her manners get the better of her and she graciously invited the man inside. She walked him into the sitting room, and went to call in Robert and the girls, handing them their letters as she did so.
Whilst the family were murmuring in the kitchen in bewilderment, Dumbledore took the opportunity to look around the charming room he had been set in. The room was an idealistic picture of a happy family's life. Picture frames were everywhere- photos of the twins on their first day of school, playing football, as angels in the nativity, on day trips out, on holiday and when they were babies. It was clear that their parents loved the twins very much.

At that moment, the family walked into the room, looking curiously at Dumbledore. Dumbledore looked just as curiously back at the twins. His piercing blue eyes looked straight at Poppy and Faith, as though x-raying them.

In actual fact, he was. He was trying to see their personalities, trying to see what assets or trouble they would bring to his school. Faith was much easier to read than her twin. She looked quiet, intelligent and eager to please. A talented girl, who was keen to prove herself, thought Dumbledore happily. She would certainly do well for the school. Poppy, on the other hand, looked easy going, cheerful and clever. However, she looked cheeky and vibrant- quite a handful, thought Dumbledore- but fun all the same.

The girls had ripped open their envelopes as soon as their mother had passed them on, and they now read, bewildered as Ellen poured Dumbledore a cup of tea. Robert had read the letter over Poppy's shoulder with a similar confused expression.

"Thankyou." He said, lifting the decorative china cup to his lips. He took a sip, then looked back to Poppy and Faith. "I suppose from the looks of complete disbelief and confusion, you did not predict this event, nor do you understand it. Am I correct?"
The twins nodded fervently, looking at this calm, commanding man with complete respect.
"Well, I am the headmaster of the school you just read about: Hogwarts. As the letter states, it isn't the most ordinary school, it is a school of magic. Faith and Poppy- you two are witches, from a Muggle family- but witches all the same."
Ellen was now reading the letter, but she looked up at this. "Witches?" She stuttered. "Muggle?"
Dumbledore chuckled softly. "It will all become clearer with time. I'm sure someone in your families must have been magical before- it would otherwise be too uncommon to have Muggle born twins."
Dumbledore looked back to Faith and Poppy, thinking that they looked easily sensible enough to fathom things out themselves. "I think you can buy all of your things and get to the train alone, but if you need me, send an owl to Albus Dumbledore. It'll know where to go," he said standing up and walking to the door.
Poppy voiced what the whole family was thinking: "Where on earth are we going to buy an owl?" She said, puzzled.
Dumbledore smiled mysteriously. "Where you'll get everything else you could need. Diagon Alley, of course."