A/N
Hey, this is my first fanfiction, so don't be too harsh :P
Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own anything in the magical world, that all belongs to J..
I hope you enjoy :) ....
1. More than normal.
In northwest England, in a town called Lancaster, there's a suburb called Scotforth. There is a house in Scotforth which is home to the Robson family. Michael Robson is the man of the house and he is a tall man with wispy hair and a funny sense of humour. His wife is Isobel Robson, she is also tall, and has almost black hair and blue eyes.
Isobel Robson had two children in a first marriage to a Mr. George Hobbs; they were john - tall, muscular, with dark curly hair and brown eyes - and maddie - medium height with brown wavy hair, brown eyes and fair skin. John and maddie spend half their time with Isobel and Michael and half their time with George and his new wife. Isobel and Michael also have a baby boy named Oliver, who has his father's wispy hair and his mother's blue eyes.
It is maddie on which our story focuses, for although she was muggle - born, she is a witch.
Nobody noticed that she was magical at first, everyone assumed it was just luck that she never hurt herself when she fell, that they'd missed seeing her move when one moment she'd be sat still and the next she'd have a toy to play with.
It was only when she was seven that people realized that she was special. She'd been asleep in her bed and, as she didn't like the dark, she slept with a lamp on by her bed. Isobel, who was still married to George at the time, turned it off when she went to bed but she and George had fallen asleep in front of the television.
The house was still and quiet apart from the TV which continued on well into the night. Little maddie rolled over in her sleep and tugged on the wire connected to her lamp, it was pulled off the bedside table and landed on Maddie's pillow. It began to smoke at once, and within a minute a spark hit the pillow and was ignited.
Just at that moment john, who was 9 had got up to refill his water, as he returned from the bathroom he saw the smoke coming from his little sister's room and ran to awake his parents. He found them on the sofa and they rushed upstairs with a bucket of water. They threw the water onto the flames, which had spread fully across the pillow.
Isobel was crying as the fire went out and clutched her husband as he wafted the smoke away and the untouched face of their daughter, still sound asleep, emerged. Little maddie had slept through the whole thing and the fire hadn't touched her. The pillow was burnt to a crisp, but maddie wasn't even warm.
After that Isobel and George knew that their daughter was special and when they divorced but Isobel married Michael he did not believe that maddie was magic. But before long, after Isobel, john and maddie had moved in with him, he couldn't deny it. The girl was clearly more than normal.
However, they couldn't identify what about her was special, so she continued on as any other child, learning about addition and subtraction. Going to people's houses and even her first sleepover, which to Isobel's relief didn't contain any magic.
Isobel and Michael were considering contacting the government to find a special person who could teach maddie to control her powers when a very oddly dressed man arrived at their house, one sunny Sunday afternoon.
'Hello,' he said bowing slightly, 'I'm Professor Neville Longbottom; I'm the teacher of herbology at Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry. I'm here to talk to you about your daughter.'
Professor Neville longbottom was wearing a long black cloak which was tied around his neck and covered his body, right down to his toes, his hat was pointy and also black. He was roundfaced, but kind looking and that's what made the Robson's lead him into their living room and listen to what he had to say about 'Hogwarts'.
'Erm... would you like a cup of tea, Mr., er, longbottom?' asked Michael unsurely.
'Tea?' repeated Neville, 'oh, is that a muggle drink? I wouldn't know, I don't usual do this visiting business, it's only because professor McGonagall's out on official school business.'
'Ss...s...so is that a no then?' asked Michael trying to remember
whether there had been an answer in professor Longbottom's speech.
'Yes, no, certainly.' said Neville and Michael hurried into the kitchen to make enough tea for the three of them because he still wasn't sure whether or not professor longbottom wanted any. 'Anyway,' Neville began, turning to Isobel, 'your daughter a miss maddie Ann Hobbs,' he said consulting some notes he'd pulled from within the black robes. 'I suppose that by now you've noticed that she's a witch. Well she's been accepted into Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry.'
Isobel raised her eyebrows and it was obvious this meant nothing to her. 'Ah,' said Neville, making himself more comfortable, 'I can see that this might take a bit more explaining...
'there are still witches and wizards in the world today. We keep ourselves discreet, but we're still here. Young wizards go to school to be trained. At Hogwarts students are taught how to control their
magic, so that it can be used effectively.
Most magical powers are passed from parent to child down a long line of wizarding families. But some witches or wizards, like your daughter, are born into muggle families but still have magic. Your
daughter is a witch and we'd like her to come to Hogwarts to me taught how to use her powers.'
Isobel stared blankly at Neville for a while, letting this new information sink in. 'Where is it? Will she be safe?' she asked finally, blinking repeatedly.
'Well, like any school, I can't guarantee her safety, we'll protect her, and the rest of the students, to the best of our ability. No-one knows the exact whereabouts of Hogwarts except the headmistress
herself. You don't need to know, just bring your daughter to king cross station on the first of September.'
'What about school uniform? What will she need?'
'There's a list of school uniform, books and other equipment in this letter,' Neville replied, pulling a thick envelope out of his cloak, 'there's also directions of how to get to Diagon alley, that's where
the wizard shops are. I'm looking forward to seeing your daughter this year, thank you for your time.' with this Neville bowed and disappeared into thin air.
Just at that moment, Michael opened the door and entered with a tray of tea. 'Where's he gone?' he asked as he closed the door behind him.
'I've no idea,' Isobel said, quietly, 'Get maddie, you're never going to believe this.'
*****
'So, is it really true, are we going?' maddie asked after her mother and stepfather. They were dicussing whether or not it'd be safe to follow the directions to somewhere called 'The Leaky Couldron' that had been in the letter that 'Professor Longbottom' had given them.
'I don't think it's believable, what if it's some sort of scam? What if it's dangerous? How do we know that this school is even real? They're talking about magic Isobel, I know Maddie can do stuff that we can't explain, but magic, really?' Michael had been pacing infront of Isobel, who was sat on the sofa with playing abesntmindedly with Maddie's hair, as he finished speaking he sat beside her and looked deep into her eyes, 'It's not possible.'
'I know Michael and I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it myself, but that man, he disspeared into thin air! I can't explain it but I know that this is real. We can't deny Maddie this oppurtunity. We have to go.' Isobel could tell that Michael was softening, but that he wasn't quite convinced, 'Trust me Michael, all of this magic business, it's real.' Michael blinked and then sighed, Maddie jumped in joy, he'd given in and she was going to Hogwart's to learn magic.
'Mum, let me read the letter again, please?' Isobel chuckled and handed her daughter the letter. The envelope was thick and heavy, made of yellowish parchment, and the address was written in emerald-green ink.
Miss M. Hobbs
Bedroom 3
Piccadilly House
Scotforth
Lancaster
There was no stamp.
Turning the envelope over, Maddie saw the purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake surrounding a large letter H. Even though the seal had been broken many times as Maddie read and re-read the letter, it still looked as though the letter had never been opened. Magic, Maddie thought to herself and she smiled. She broke the seal and pulled out the thick wad of paper. The first piece was the acceptance letter:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmistress: MINERVA MCGONAGALL
Dear Miss Hobbs,
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,
Minerva McGonagall,
Headmistress
The second piece was a list of the things Maddie would need for the year at Hogwarts:
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
COURSE BOOKS
All students should have a copy of each of the following:
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)by Miranda Goshawk
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
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 by Newt Scamander
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble
OTHER EQUIPMENT
1 wand
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set of glass or crystal phials
1 telescope set
1 brass scales
Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS
Every sentence in the letter made Maddie grin, reading the words '1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)' made her feel so happy she couldn't contain it. She giggled and smiled so much her eyes scrunched up. She couldn't wait until they went to this 'Leaky cauldron' so that she could become a part of the world that she knew she already belonged to.
A/N
Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it.
I might be a bit slow with the uploading the next chapters, so just tell me if you liked it and I'll upload faster if a lot of people like it.
:)