Chapter 1: The Young Wizard
It was a hot, humid day in Aberdeen, Scotland and a young boy around the age of 10 was walking home from a long game of soccer with his friends. This boy acted like every other boy his age, except for the fact that this boy was the son of a wizard and a witch. This boys name is Dave Mitchell. Now little did Dave know that at this very moment , the post had arrived at his house and his parents were making a surprise dinner for him. As he approached his home, he noticed a lot of owls flying overhead….this was not a strange occurrence for Dave, as his parents wrote to other members of the magic world all the time and sent the letters by OWL POST. As Dave walked up the front walk of his house, he paused for a moment to admire the home he had… A beautiful Victorian home painted white with light blue shutters next to the windows. The lawn was kept smooth as silk, and was a lovely shade of emerald green. There was a black car sitting in the driveway with the symbol of the Ministry of Magic on the side of the car. Dave knew of the Ministry quite well as so did every young person who's parents knew of the great Harry Potter and the downfall of Lord Voldemort, and the Ministry's involvement in the battle between Harry and Voldemort. Dave's mind went into a frenzy as he walked up his front walk and opened the door to his house. As soon as the door was open, a wonderful aroma of carrots, beef and potatoes hit Dave's nose and he took off towards the kitchen. He entered the kitchen and found his mother standing at the stove, watching a pot of beef stew simmered slowly over a slow flame. At the dinner table on the right side of the room, Dave saw his father and a member of the Ministry sitting across from each other in a private conversation. Their ended the conversation and the member of the Ministry excused himself from the house and left hastily. Dave, mind full of questions sat down at the table across from his father and asked," Dad, who was that man and why was he here?" His father replied," That was a member from the Ministry of Magic, Raulph Henderson, and he was here to tell me that they are going to be holding the Quidditch World Cup here in Aberdeen soon and wanted to know if I could help with security measures." " Really?", exclaimed Dave, "That would be so cool! Which teams are going to be playing in it this year?" "Well, the teams are still in the playoffs right now so no one knows who's going to be in it." replied Mr. Mitchell. "Well boys, its time to eat so go wash your hands Dave and come back down here for supper." said Mrs. Mitchell. "Alrighty", said Dave as he took off upstairs to clean himself off . When he returned downstairs he found a letter sitting on the table for him. The envelope was made of heavy yellow parchment and had his address written on it in emerald green ink. Mr. David A Mitchell 275 St Nicholas Street Aberdeen, Scotland. He flipped the envelope over and saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms. Lion, Snake, Badger and Eagle surrounding a large letter H. Excitedly, Dave opened the letter and removed folded pieces of parchment and unfolded them. He read aloud,
" Headmaster:
Aberforth Dumbledore
(Order
of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump,
International Confed. of Wizards)
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
." Dave, eyes shining bright with happiness, set down the first
page and looked at the second page. It read as follows:
" All necessary books and equipment for first year students:
UNIFORM
First-Year
students will require:
Three sets of plain work robes (black)
One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)
Please note that all pupil's 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 Goshank
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)
1 set of glass or crystal phials
1 telescope
1 set of 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 . After reading the second page , Dave looked up at his parents and saw tears in their eyes. "We are so proud of you son." Said Mr. Mitchell. "You haven't shown any signs of magic your entire life and we thought you wouldn't get accepted." Dave, now full of energy, started reading his letter over and over again. "Mom, we need to send an owl back immediately telling them I will be attending." "We shall send it in the morning as soon as we wake up, now eat your supper and get off to bed." stated Mrs. Mitchell. " All young wizards need their rest so they can be ready for the next days adventures." The next morning , Dave woke up at 8:00 and ran downstairs. Visions of the dream from the night before were still fresh in his mind. He had dreamed that he had gone off to Hogwarts and met a bunch of new friends that were just as nervous as he was. As he approached the living room he noticed that his parents were still asleep and Dave decided that since they were still asleep that he should just let them be and they would wake up when ready to. He walked into the kitchen and made himself a quick breakfast of toast with butter and jam and a nice glass of orange juice. After finishing his breakfast, Dave went back upstairs and decided to get a shower. He walked into the bathroom and looked around. The wallpaper on the walls was white with golden phoenix's imprinted on it. The showerhead was that of a lion with mouth open to allow water to run out. Dave realized that the bathroom was set up this way because both of his parents had been in the Gryffindor house while at Hogwarts. "Wow", thought Dave, " I wonder what they would say if I was in any other house besides Gryffindor?" With thoughts of which house he would be sorted into on his first day at Hogwarts, Dave turned on the shower and got undressed. He stepped into the shower and started washing himself off. He returned downstairs after ten minutes to find that his parents were awake and his mom was writing the response to Hogwarts telling them that he would be attending. Dave decided to walk into the dining room and open the cage to a beautiful brown and white Chaco Owl. He inserted his hand and withdrew the Owl. "Ok, Ballater, I hope your ready for a long flight." " You are taking my response letter to Hogwarts for me." Ballater hooted and Dave carried him into the living room so that his mother could attach the letter to his leg. After attaching the letter, Mrs. Mitchell walked over to the window and released Ballater into the sky. " Well now, Since that's taken care of, I guess its time to head off to London for your school supplies." "but where in London am I to get school supplies?" asked Dave, mind full of wonder. His mother replied, " we will show you when we get there." "now lets get moving or we will miss the train." Dave and his parents walked out of their house and got into their car, and headed toward the Aberdeen Train Station. They arrived at the train station and bought their tickets at the ticket counter and they go and wait for their train to London. They boarded the train and left for London around noon. They arrived in London at the Kings Cross railway station around four in the afternoon and left the station to the streets of London. They walked a few blocks down the street, and as they walked, Dave was full of questions. " Where are we going mum?", "Are you sure we can find all my school supplies here in London?" Mrs. Mitchell replied, "We are heading to the Leaky Cauldron and yes I am sure we can find all of your supplies here in London." They arrived at the Leaky Cauldron and Dave was certain that nobody else could see it.. As he looked around, he noticed that all of the other people who were passing by didn't even seem to notice the building. Their eyes just seemed to jump from the bookstore on the left of it to the jewelry store on the right side. Dave and his mother walked inside the building and closed the door. Inside, the building was dark, dimly lit and smelled of old mothballs and rotting wood. There was a thin layer of dust and cobwebs on the walls and the pillars of wood that held up the ceiling. As they looked around and allowed for their eyes to adjust to the dim light, an older man with a sort of hunchback walked over to them and greeted them. "Room for two?" asked the man with a wheezy, scratchy sounding voice. " No thank you Tom." replied Mrs. Mitchell, "We are just passing through in order to get Dave his school things". " AH!," said Tom, who then turned to face Dave. "Off to Hogwarts this year my dear boy?" he asked. Dave replied " Yes I am, and I'm looking quite forward to it." They excused themselves from Tom and headed towards the back of the building. They walked into the back alley and Dave noticed that all that was back there was a brick wall. His mother removed her wand from her purse and tapped the third brick from the left. The bricks started shifting and slowly formed an archway that lead into an alley that Dave was certain that no ordinary person would of ever dreamed of. "Welcome To Diagon Alley!" said Mrs. Mitchell. Dave's eyes were open wide as they walked through the archway and headed towards the buildings that lined the alley. They headed towards a big white building at the far end of the alley with the word GRINGOTTS written in gold letters above the door way. Dave was getting dizzy as he kept turning around and around as he walked down the alley trying to view every store that was there. They passed Olivander the wand maker's shop, the Magical Menagerie, and Quality Quidditch Supplies on the left and on the right side of the alley they walked past Honeydukes sweet shop, Madame Malkin's Robe shop, and Weasley Wizarding Wheezes. As they approached Gringotts, Dave asked his mother "Is this the bank?" " Yes", replied Mrs. Mitchell as they climbed the stairs that lead towards the entrance. As they walked through the doors Dave took notice that the employees of the bank were not humans, but goblins and they all looked very, very serious.