The Big Unexpected News
Caly was going to boarding school. The words were like heaven. She was going to boarding school! She was actually getting away from the dump the council called a care home. She was leaving for a school where she would only have to return to the home over the summer. She would be free of her tormentors who still called her freak even though it had been years since any strange occurrence had happened. The school had a trust fund for people in her situation so there was no trouble when it came to buying things for school. This meant she was going actually going.
At that moment her happy revelry was interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Catalina." Caly winced at the sound of her full name. This meant Herbert was at the door. Herbert was an old man who was one of the carers. He was old fashioned in his ways and therefore refused point blank to call anyone by their preferred nickname. He gave out punishments to people that called him Herb, namely by taking away their caffeine/sugar supply. However he was a nice old man who had been there for as long as anyone could remember and also for as long as anyone could remember he had been in his last year at the job. He kept threatening retirement, after one smart remark too many but couldn't bare to leave the children in the home.
"Yeah." Herb entered the room (the kids may not say it out loud but in their heads he was always Herb).
"Catalina there is someone here to see you."
"What?" Caly sat bolt up right on the bed. Caly had been at the home for 10 of her 11 years, it was all she could remember, but in those 10 years she had never had a visitor. "Is it family?"
"No he claims to be from a school. Odd fellow, huge man and I don't mean fat."
"The school never said they were sending anyone."
"He wants to speak to you alone, in private downstairs."
"Erm, okay I'll be right there."
Caly hopped off the bed and followed Herb down the stairs. Other kids milled around and many seemed curious as to who the person was that was visiting Caly, everyone knew she'd never had a visitor. Herb pointed her into one of the empty visiting rooms then closed the door with a strange pointed look. Caly turned around and the sight that greeted her shocked her beyond anything.
If Caly had been the fainting type she would have surely past away there and then but growing up in a rough children's home had given her a steely nerve. The man in front of her was huge. Like really huge. Like freakin gigantic. She understood what Herb had been on about, the pointed look. He towered above her, he reached the ceiling for crying out loud!
"Er hi." Caly said after an awkward pause. "You gonna sit down." The man didn't need telling twice. He sank back into the sofa with a groan, at least she thought it was him, it could well have been the sofa as he took up all of it. Caly perched herself on the arm of an armchair staring intently at him. Now he was lower down she could see his bushy black hair and beard were streaked with grey and his face was crinkled and lined but his eyes were friendly.
"Ah, I'm not as young as used to be." He said and looked good naturedly over at her "Blimey you're small." Caly, who was a midget, felt her face grow hot with embarrassment, anger and indignation.
"Blimey you're huge but I didn't say anything."
"Sorry, bit of a habit to speak my mind." Caly nodded but couldn't think of anything to say. Luckily she didn't have to because he started talking again. "Now enough about me, I'm here about you."
"Wait a moment." Caly interrupted him before she could stop herself. "What's your name?"
"Professor Rubeus Hagrid, professor of care of magical creatures and keeper of grounds and keys at Hogwarts and that's what I'm here about."
"What. What? What?" Caly was pretty sure the world was going mad. Professor of care of magical creatures and what the hell was Hogwarts!
"I teach care of magical creatures at Hogwarts. Hogwarts is a school for people like you and me."
"What vertically challenged and vertically obtuse." Hagrid chuckled
"No, no, no. Hogwarts is a school of magic." There was a pause where Caly closed her eyes, counted to ten, pinched herself to make sure she wasn't having a bizarre dream and then opened her eyes.
"I beg your pardon."
"Hogwarts is the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world and you have a place there."
"I think there is some mistake. Even if magic exists, which it doesn't, I can't be going. I haven't applied. I'm going to a boarding school in Norfolk, it's been decided for months. I'm full scholarship I couldn't afford to go to Hogwarts." Hagrid waved away all of Caly's protests with a giant hand.
"Your names been down for Hogwarts since you were born and the school has a fund for students like you, it won't be the first time we've had an orphan from a muggle background." His face darkened slightly as if remembering something but then it brightened again.
"Wait." Caly was caught off guard when he said her name had been down since birth. "What do you mean my name has been down since birth, did my parents apply. And what's a muggle.?""Nah, your parents were muggles, that is non-magic people, your name just has been down on the register since birth 'cause you're magic. It's the way it works. Here you've even got a letter. That's proof." He reached into his coat pocket, one of the many coat pockets, and pulled out an envelope. He handed it to her. Caly, for some inexplicable reason, felt an awed sensation rush through her body. She took the envelope. It was made of heavy parchment and on the front in green ink was written.
Miss C. Hautly
The Albatross Room
62-66 Wakely Street
Chiswick
London
What the hell. Those were the immediate thoughts that went through Caly's brain. How could they possibly know she slept in the room decorated with albatrosses. Each room in the care home was decorated with wild animals ranging from great white sharks to flamingos. One was given a certain amount of choice and when she moved at the age of six into a 'big' room the albatrosses had seemed the most comforting. She looked at Hagrid in disbelief. He smiled at her and mouthed 'open it'. Caly did just that. The letter was written on the same parchment and in the same ink and read
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
Headmistress: Minerva McGonagall
Dear Miss Hautly,
We are delighted to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on the 1st of September. We await your owl by no later than the 31st of July.
Yours Sincerely,
Filius Flitwick
Deputy Headmaster
Caly was stunned. This was a sincere formal letter asking her to attend a school of magic. How could someone write a letter like that and sign it yours sincerely. Almost without thinking she unfurled the other piece of paper.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
Uniform
First year students will require:
1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)
2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
4. One winter cloak (black silver, fastenings)
Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags.
Set Books
All students should have a copy of the following:
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling
A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: 3rd Edition by Newt Scamander, edited by Rolf
Scamander
Elementary Self Defence by Cho Corner
Other Equipment
1 wand
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set glass or crystal phials
1 telescope
1 set brass scales
Students may bring a broomstick if they wish to play for their house team
Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad
Now the whole thing was getting out of hand. A school list that was asking her to buy robes and a cauldron, this had to be a set up.
"How do you know I'm magic?" She asked the silently waiting Hagrid. Hagrid smiled at her.
"Have you ever done things? Strange things, things you can't explain." Caly's face contorted in pain as she remembered her first three years at school.
"Yeah but it was years ago. I've stopped now. I found out how to suppress it."
"Eh?" Hagrid looked puzzled and slightly worried.
"I suppressed the urges to do….magic so often that I don't get them anymore." She watched nervously as Hagrid's face crinkled up in confusion and worry.
"I dunno if that's good Cata-"
"Caly, call me Caly."
"Right, well I dunno if that's good Caly. I'll talk to the Headmistress about it."
"Can you do magic?" Caly asked dieing to see some. "Just a tiny bit now to prove it."
"Er" Hagrid shifted around awkwardly "Not really allowed see, 'cause we're in the muggle world aren't we and I'm just not really supposed to."
"Oh," There was a short pause then Caly said."I think I believe you but I do have two more questions." She glanced at Hagrid who nodded her on. "Where can we buy this stuff?" She waved the book list "And what does it mean 'We await you owl'?"
"Ah yes." Hagrid pulled out a crumpled piece of parchment, quill and ink and to her horror a real live owl from different pockets of his coat. He wrote a note, attached it to the owl and threw it out the window. He sat back down and chuckled at the horrified expression on her face. "Owl post, the most reliable form of mail."
"Uh huh." Caly wasn't convinced.
"And as for getting your school stuff I know just the place. It's in London so it can't be far."
"There are wizards shops in London."
"If you know where to look. Now come on we don't have all day I need to get you back here at sun down."
"What we're going now?"
"Yes no time like the present come on."
Caly leapt to her feet sprinted past the inquisitive other residents of the home. Put on her shoes, grabbed her bag and went back downstairs. She met Herb and signed out with the promise to be back by sundown and that she'd call the police if anything happened. It was outside she met Hagrid. He was standing there whistling to himself and all the other pedestrians were giving him a very wide berth. He spotted her and grinned.
"Ready to go."
"Yep." Was all Caly could reply as she followed Hagrid off down the street.