Chapter 1

The Cloaked Stranger

When the alarm rang that afternoon, Anna closed her eyes and exhaled slowly, dropping her pen on the desk in front of her.

"Okay, please bring your test with you on your way out the door," the old-lady substitute said in her drawling voice, though with slightly more enthusiasm now that the school day was finally over. "I will collect it from you as you leave."

Anna glanced at the desks around her as she stood up, slipping the pen into her bag and shouldering it. Many of the other students were only half-standing, hurriedly answering the last few questions of the history exam. Anna frowned at this, but paid no further heed to it as she quickly scanned the paper in front of her while she walked toward the classroom door. She handed the teacher her paper rather reluctantly, and then clutched her shoulderbag as she headed through the swarm of students that were chatting animatedly amongst themselves on their way to the front entrance of the school.

Outside, the air was thick with humidity. The leaves on the two mulberry bushes that stood on each side of the doorway were brown and crisp, clearly parched from the drought that had been sweeping through the area.

Anna lived on Cherryway, four blocks away from Caldwell Academy, the smaller of the two public schools in Alton. She had few friends at Caldwell: perhaps it was due to her rather timid temperament, or perhaps it was because people thought she was just far too concerned about grades.

The one person she did often speak to was currently a block ahead of her, in the middle of his four friends. His name was David Shelton. He was a fair few inches taller than Anna, and his hair was smooth and black, while hers was long, brown, and wavy.

It was quite impossible to say exactly how the two had become friends. They lived three blocks apart, and had never had a single class together at school. Yet Anna had gravitated toward him, and he to her, on their first day at Caldwell, nearly seven years before.

As Anna approached the crosstreet where she turned left and he continued going straight, she paused for a second, staring anxiously at his retreating back, while he waved goodbye to one of his friends. Then he turned back to the other boys, and, as he did so, he caught her eye for a moment, and grinned. Sudden warmth flowed through every inch of her body, stretching way out to the tips of her fingers. She smiled back at him, and then walked quickly away.

All of the homes on Cherryway were built in the same style. Each had two stories, three bedrooms, one bath, a garage just big enough to fit one normal-sized car, and a small, well-kept lawn, surrounded by a variety of rocks and stones creating interesting patterns.

Anna entered her house — number 583 — through the front door and stepped into a small entrance area, where she removed her shoes. Then she walked through another entrance and could see, directly ahead of her, the staircase that led to the second floor. To her left was a small but spacious sitting room, complete with a little television set, which was on though no one was watching it. The far side of the room opened out a bit, and a glass door was set in the wall. Through this, Anna could see the backyard, which was just as small though admittedly less well kept than the front.

She lingered for a moment beside the staircase, listening for any sign that there was another living person in the house. In the silence, she could hear laughter and then muffled voices, coming from the direction of the kitchen, which was accessible through a door a few feet in front of Anna, and through the sitting room.

Anna now sighed and walked slowly up the stairs. She made her way down the hallway and entered the second room on her left.

Compared with the rest of the house, her room was incredibly neat and plain. The walls were a very pretty shade of lilac, and bare save for a portrait of a smaller Anna hugging a small but still tall David. The bed was pushed up against the far wall, where the rose print on the duvet contrasted nicely with the lilac paint. A dresser leaned against the left wall, opposite Anna's desk, which was, surprisingly, quite cluttered. There was a stack of blank paper, several pens, one history textbook, and two thick reading books, which looked very old and well-used.

Anna smiled at the sight of her room. This was the place she truly considered to be her home. Here, she was free to read and write as much as she wanted to do. And free to ponder over things she was unsure of, or wanted to understand.

Especially the magic.

She had come to the conclusion, several weeks ago, that it could only be magic, what she could do. What else could possibly explain the strange things that kept happening to her?

The first time she noticed it was during the math final at the end of her third term, just this past school year. She was trying desperately to focus her mind on the paper in front of her, while the two boys sitting next to her constantly tried to distract her by making annoying noises with their pens. She wasn't really certain what had happened next, but when she was nearing the end of her rope, she had suddenly heard a loud crack to her left. One of the pens had split into two neat halves, while the boy was brandishing it in the air like a sword.

Then there was the incident at the park, last winter. She and David had been sitting on one of the benches, quizzing each other on the names of Indian tribes in southern Europe when all of a sudden a snowball came flying out of nowhere, hitting Anna squarely in the chest. She had turned swiftly to see who had thrown it, and the next thing she knew there were three perfect snowballs flying like daggers through the air and pelting the boy, while she and David sat stock-still, mortified.

Similar events had occurred, and neither Anna nor David knew what to make of them. Even stranger was the fact that David had also been experiencing strange things. And every time it happened, one or both of them was feeling particularly annoyed.

So Anna had come to the conclusion that this stuff was some form of magic. She still had no clue why it was happening, or what she could possibly do about it. But it felt better having a way to describe the circumstances.

That evening, there was a knock on the door of 583 Cherryway.

Anna was eating dinner in the kitchen. Here parents had been invited to a dinner party at last-minute's notice, so she was alone.

For a moment she considered not answering the door. But something to do with the fact that whoever it was had knocked rather than ringing the doorbell made her want to investigate. So she sighed, stood up, and walked to the front door.

"Hello —?" she began, but stopped abruptly with her eyes wide at the sight of the woman on her doorstep.

She was a middle-age, bespectacled woman with a sharp way about her. Her hair was up in a bun, and she had on a dress and cloak. That was the object that had made Anna surprised — a cloak. She didn't think she had ever seen anyone wearing a cloak, especially during the summer.

The woman's thin lips formed a smile as she gave Anna a piercing, but warm, look. "Hello. I presume you are Anna Tulding?"

Anna stood quite still in the doorway. Then she nodded, slowly. "Yes, I am."

"Good. My name is Minerva McGonagall." The woman held out her hand.

Anna shook it awkwardly, and then bit her lip a little. "Hello."

"I'm sure you are curious as to why I am here," the woman said, peering at Anna through her glasses. "Are your parents home?"

For a fleeting moment, Anna considered lying to the lady, but then she was saying, quickly, "No. They'll be back soon, though."

"Lovely. Do you mind if I speak to you inside? This heat is quite dreadful." She seemed to sense Anna's fear, because she continued, quickly, "And I can assure you I don't mean any harm. I was sent here to offer you a position at the school I teach at." She produced a letter from her pocket. "We believe you may have certain qualities that we look for in our students."

Taking the letter from the woman, Anna glanced at the neat, curly handwriting and the interesting seal. But she didn't wish to examine the envelope for long; surely the letter itself would prove to be much more interesting.

"All right, then," Anna said, stepping aside so the woman could come into the house. "The sitting room is right over here." She gestured to the doorway, and then led the lady to the sofa, where they both sat down.

Now Anna slowly opened the envelope. Her fingers were shaking with curiosity and her heart was thumping. She wondered what school would possibly be wanting her to attend it.

The seal ripped and she quickly pulled out the letter. Biting her lip, she carefully unfolded it. The woman was watching her with a smile.

The letter was written in the same curly scrawl Anna had seen on the envelope:

Dear Ms. Tulding,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This is, however, a strange circumstance, as students normally begin their studies at the age of 11. Professor McGonagall, head of the Transfiguration department and Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts, has kindly agreed to speak with you about the arrangements that must be made, in order for you to be able to study alongside students your age.

Your list of supplies has been included with this letter. We await your owl no later than July 30. Term begins on September 1. The Hogwarts Express will leave on August 30 at Platform 9 3/4 at exactly 11 o' clock. We look forward to seeing you soon!

Sincerely,

Professor Albus Dumbledore

It took several minutes for Anna to take in the entire contents of the letter. And even then, she was still quite confused. She looked at the woman with a puzzled expression on her face and opened her mouth to speak.

"Um — Professor — McGonagall — can you explain, please? Um, Hogwarts… what exactly is it? I mean, why do you want me to go?"

Professor McGonagall smiled. "Hogwarts is a school for children like yourself — children who possess magical abilities."

If Anna had been hearing this for the first time, it would have come as quite a shock. But she had, after all, been thinking about magic for many months now. Hearing the words just made everything more obsolete.

"Magic! Really? So it's true…I can really do magic?" she said, very quickly.

The professor nodded. "Yes. Magic. You are a witch, Ms. Tulding. However, I need to explain further. You see, students generally begin at Hogwarts when —"

"When they're eleven," Anna said, glancing at the letter. "And I'm twelve."

"Precisely," said Professor McGonagall. "You will be starting at Hogwarts three years after the other students, since you will almost be thirteen when term begins. Thus, you will either be studying with children younger than yourself, or you will need to come to Hogwarts early and study very hard, so that you can go into Hogwarts as a third year, with students your age."

It was an incredibly easy choice for Anna. She had always done exceptionally well in school, and was quite willing to put in more work, especially if it meant being able to go to Hogwarts, which sounded fascinating to her. "I'll go early," she said, immediately. "I don't mind doing a lot of work. And I'll study very hard —"

"Yes, we thought you would say that," said McGonagall, looking rather stern. "So the main thing we need to worry about is getting your parent's permission, and getting you to Hogwarts. You'll also need to get your supplies."

Anna smiled, barely able to sit still. "Wonderful!" she said. She glanced quickly at the Grandfather clock near the kitchen. "Yes, my parents should be home very soon…"

Her voice faded out into the suddenly silent air. She glanced anxiously at the hallway, but no sound came from the front door. She suddenly became aware that she had been tapping her fingers on her lap. Now she silenced them, and turned to Professor McGonagall. The woman's lips were pursed slightly, and she was gazing reproachfully at a porcelain figurine on top of the television she didn't seem to like. Her hands were folded genially on her skirt.

Numerous questions were swimming through Anna's mind, and she wanted to say them all. She closed her eyes momentarily, frowning slightly, and then opened them, having decided on a question that seemed more pressing than the others: "Professor, do you think you could tell me a bit more about the school? Like, what subjects I'll be taking…"

Professor McGonagall looked back at her, and there was, once again, a slight smile behind her constantly stern gaze. "Over the summer, you will be taking Potions, Charms, Transfiguration, History of Magic, Herbology, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Then, when you begin your third year, you will continue with those subjects and be able to choose from a few others."

"Oh, those sound incredibly interesting!" Anna said, her green eyes shining. "I can't wait to start learning them." She paused, barely able to contain her excitement. Swallowing, she proceeded to ask another question, "I presume that we sleep in the castle —"

"Yes, of course, dear. Where else would you possibly sleep?" said Professor McGonagall with a laugh. "Let me explain. At Hogwarts, there are four Houses — Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Before you begin your studies, you will be sorted into a House. Then, during your stay at Hogwarts, you will attend classes with other members of your House, sleep in your House dormitory, and be able to both earn and lose points. At the end of each school year, the House with the most points wins the House Cup."

Anna was fiddling with her fingers again, but she didn't notice. "Really?" she asked. "And when am I going to go to Hogwarts? School gets out this Friday, but I suppose it wouldn't be the end of the world if I missed the last few days…"

"No," said the professor, rather sharply. "If your parents give you permission, I will come to pick you up next Monday. We will stop by Diagon Alley to pick up your supplies — that is a wizard marketplace of sorts down in London — and then I will take you to Hogwarts."

"And how will we get there?"

"I will take you by Side-Along Apparition to a town called Hogsmeade, very near Hogwarts. Then we will walk the rest of the way."

Anna wondered what exactly side-along-apparition was, but she didn't have time to even think about asking a question, because, quite suddenly, there was a low rumbling sound from outside, then a loud crash.

Anna jumped a good three inches into the air, and Professor McGonagall looked quickly, sternly toward the hallway. Then, a moment later, the sound of laughter reached their ears. Anna relaxed with a sigh. Dad must have crashed again…If he keeps this up our whole house is going to fall apart…

"That would be my parents," Anna said to Professor McGonagall, whose severe expression softened considerably.

Sure enough, a few seconds later they heard the front door open. Voices came from the hallway.

"Lucas, dear, you really do need to be more careful —"

"It's not as though I'm causing any real damage. It's the city that pays for our garbage can, not us, so I dunno why you're so worried —"

"The city pays! And who pays the city, I wonder?"

"Really, Ria, you're working yerself up for no reason —"

The voices stopped short as Anna's parents entered the sitting room and caught sight of their daughter and the lady in the cloak.