Chapter One: Accepted to Hogwarts
Tuscany, Italy
Astana Rossi was sitting at her family's kitchen table, eating breakfast, when their owl, Rosabella, came flying in the window and dropped a letter on top of Astana's eggs. She quickly tore the envelope open and read the letter.
Hogwarts School
of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Headmistress: Adele Delamater
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Ms. Rossi,
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.
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.
Yours sincerely,
Marcel Molyneux,
Deputy Headmaster
Astana squealed with delight before screaming for her mother, Bettina.
"Mom! Mom! Come quick!" Astana yelled. Her mother ran into the kitchen, breathing heavily.
"What? What's wrong?" Her mother asked, stricken.
"Nothing's the matter! Mom, I got accepted at Hogwarts and you need to send an owl there by the end of this month," Astana explained. A small smile crept its way onto her mother's face. Astana jumped for joy, her long brown hair trailing behind her, as her mother wrote out her response. Astana locked her big dark brown eyes on her mother's face as she wrote. Her mother looked happy, but also a little sad and Astana couldn't understand why.
Paris, France
Two Muggle twins, Claude and Clemence D'Aubigne, were quietly eating their breakfast with their parents. When a strange barn owl swept into the room, their mother shrieked and grabbed a broom. The owl ignored her and dropped a letter in front of each Claude and Clemence. The twins were too shocked to move and didn't react until the doorbell rang.
Their father got up and left the room to answer it. When he came back, he brought in a strange looking man. He was dressed in some type of robes and had his graying hair slicked back.
He smiled at the twins and said, "Go ahead. Open your letters."
The twins stared at him for a moment before turning their attention to the envelopes still sitting on their breakfast plates. Claude opened his first and read aloud.
Hogwarts School
of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Headmistress: Adele Delamater
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Mr. D'Aubigne,
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.
Term begins on September 1. We await you owl by no later than July 31.
Yours sincerely,
Marcel Molyneux,
Deputy Headmaster
He glanced at his sister's letter and saw that it said the exact same thing. So he and his sister were magical? It sounded like a big joke to him.
"I am Marcel Molyneux. Professor Molyneux to my students. I teach Transfiguration at Hogwarts," he told the twins before turning to their parents. "Mr. and Mrs. D'Aubigne, since your children are Muggle-born, there are a few things you need to know. There is a magical world where witches and wizards live. Your twins happen to have magical talent and we want them to attend our school and learn how to control it. I mean, you've noticed how they seem to have good luck and are able to get out of things they don't want to do. That's their magic. So, what do you think?"
Everyone was silent for a moment, staring at the strange man like he was crazy. Mr. D'Aubigne was the first to speak.
"How much is this school going to cost us?" their father asked.
"Oh, nothing at all. It's absolutely free. It's like public school for the magical. Only, it's a boarding school. They will stay there, even on the weekends. They do get breaks for Christmas and summer though, when they will be able to visit home." Professor Molyneux assured them.
"Well, it seems fine to me. What do you think?" their mother asked their father.
"Fine with me," he said.
"Oh, one more thing. The train they must take starts in London. It leaves at eleven o'clock on September first. You might as well take a vacation to London because you will also need to visit Diagon Alley to get their school supplies." Professor Molyneux gave them a smile and disappeared with a little "pop".
"Well, I guess I'd better call the travel agent and arrange a trip to England," their father said before walking over to the phone.
The twins excused themselves and walked to their bedroom.
"Magical? Can you believe it?" Clemence asked her brother as she swung her wavy black hair with red tips behind her.
Claude snorted and rolled his turquoise eyes at his sister. He didn't really believe it and wouldn't until he saw this magic with his own eyes.
Berlin, Germany
A boy of about eleven named Emeric sat enjoying his own breakfast. His parents had already left for work; his mother as a kindergarten teacher and his father doing something that had to do with magic. His father was a wizard and his mother was what he called a Muggle. That meant she wasn't magical.
An owl swooped in the window. Emeric was used to this. His father was always getting letters from work this way. Emeric grabbed a fist full of his blonde hair and started yanking on it absentmindedly. He immediately dropped it when the owl dropped the letter in front of him. He looked on the front and saw his own name written in green ink. He opened the letter and read.
Hogwarts School
of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Headmistress: Adele Delamater
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Mr. Adler,
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.
Term begins on September 1. We await you owl by no later than July 31.
Yours sincerely,
Marcel Molyneux,
Deputy Headmaster
Emeric yelled and pumped his fist in the air. He was magical, just like his father. He would have to tell him tonight when he got back.
He whipped his head at the sound of a door closing. He narrowed his green eyes and tried to see who it was. He was about to run when his father walked into the kitchen. He relaxed then ran up to his father.
"Dad, guess what," he told him.
"I don't know. What?" he asked him. He looked a little irritated and tired.
"I got accepted at Hogwarts!" he shouted then shoved the letter in his face.
Her father took the letter and read it through carefully. He smiled at him then gave him a high five.
"Congratulations, Em!" he shouted.
He quickly wrote out a response.
"This means a trip to London!" he told him.