"Hermione, sweetie, there's a letter for you!"

"Coming, Mum!"

It was mid June, and Hermione Granger had just woken up. She had loads of bushy brown hair that was very difficult to manage and large front teeth that everyone teased her about. Some even suggested that her parents, being dentists, could fix it, but being highly logical she understood that this was not at all practical.

She could not help but be a bit surprised that a letter had come for her, for she had hardly any friends, and those that did befriend her did so mostly to receive help on their homework. Who would write to her? Excited and a little nervous, Hermione rushed down the stairs.

"Morning, Mum!" she said.

"Good morning!" said Mrs. Granger, who basically looked like a taller Hermione. This was not counting the teeth, of course, as she had had braces when she was younger. She handed her daughter the envelope. Hermione examined it. The address was written in emerald green ink and was suspiciously accurate.

Hermione Granger

Second Bedroom

19 Adams St.

Wandsworth

London

She raised an eyebrow (how did they know what room she sleeps in?) as she turned over the envelope. There was a purple wax seal with a coat of arms: a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake all surrounding a large letter H. It seemed very peculiar to Hermione, and this was just the envelope!

"Well, go on then, open it!" said her mother. Suddenly realizing her fingers were trembling, she struggled to open the envelope. When she did, the first thing that caught her eye was the words "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry". Did she read that right? "Witchcraft and Wizardry"? Whoever this was, they couldn't be serious, could they? She read the letter alond so her mother, clearly as excited as she was, could hear.

"Dear Ms. Granger,

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 September 1. We await your owl no later than July 31."

Hermione searched the envelope for another piece of paper and found a list of all sorts of strange things: black robes, spell books and a wand? As she studied this odd list, her mother said, "An owl? What do they mean, they await our owl?"

"No idea," said Hermione. She was also wondering that. Why would they want her owl? Not that she even owned one, of course. Also, where were they going to find all of this? None of the supplies shops she knew of sold cauldrons. Just then, another letter shot out from the mail slot. It was also addressed to Hermione, and it had the same coat of arms on the seal. She picked it up, looked at her mother, as if she knew what this was all about (which of course she didn't) and opened it. There were three pieces of paper, but when Hermione looked at them, she realized they were all a part of the same letter. She read in her head; she didn't really feel like reading such a long letter aloud. Besides, she wanted time to pause and think about it. It explained about a place called the "wizarding world", and how she was a witch even though her parents were "muggles", whatever that was. It said something about her possibly doing strange things, which she could help but realize was true. When girls teased about her big teeth and her poorly kept hair, their teeth suddenly looked larger or their hair suddenly looked like they hadn't been brushing it. And when her art teacher insisted on giving her a C-, she noticed his artistic ability was not quite up to par, either. Of course, she never connected these things to magic, but she supposed that made it simpler, right? She read on. It also explained about a place called "Diagon Alley", (which, it said, was where she should be getting her school supplies) listed a bunch of shops and what she could find in them, and even had explicit directions on how to get there. Hermione was excited about getting all of this stuff, especially about getting her hands on all of those books!

Finally, it explained about Hogwarts, describing the classes she would be taking, like Potions, Transfiguration (which seemed the most interesting to Hermione) Charms, and many other things, the four houses that she would be sorted into (Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin), and that whichever one she was sorted into would become her second family. When she finally reached the end of the third page, she saw that it was signed "Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster," in the same emerald green ink that on the addresses of the two letters.

Hermione handed the letter to her mum so she could read it as well. When she was finished, Hermione asked, "So, what do you think?"

"I think it's great, honey! But what's a Muggle?"

"I don't know, but judging by the context, I'd say it was someone who was not magical, you know, normal. Oh, sorry mum," she added, realizing what she had said.

"That's okay, better you than me," said her mother. "A nice, simple life is all I can handle. Ooh, but I always knew you were special! I'll call your father, I don't know if he'll believe me, but it's worth a shot!"

Before her mother could dial up her father, Hermione said, "Wait, so Mum, how do you know this isn't some cheap joke?"

"Honey, when I said 'I always knew you were special', I meant I always knew you were special! What, you don't think I haven't noticed when I picked you up from Mr. Allen's and his hair was suddenly bright blue, do you?" (Hermione didn't like Mr. Allen; he was so ignorant and gossipy!) "Or when that dastardly boy, Thomas Tyler, made fun of your hair and was bald for an entire week! I always knew there was something special about you, and not just because you're my little girl, all I needed was an explanation! And here it is! Sure, it's a bit… strange, but it's good enough for me!"

"Aw, thank you, Mum!" said Hermione, opening her arms for her mother to hug her. "Oh, and by the way, you should call dad."

"Right, of course," she said. As she was talking to Mr. Granger, Hermione thought about Hogwarts. Was it going to be extravagant, or was it going to be just like her, uh, "Muggle" (she was going to have to get used to that word) school? And what were these wands going to be like? Were they going to all be the same, or were there different kinds? So much to learn, so little time. She decided that once she got those books, she was going to learn all she could.

"Your father's thrilled! It took some explaining, but he agrees that it makes, well, enough sense and he wants to come with us next week to that 'Diagon Alley' place," said her mother once she hung up the phone.

"Next week? Why not tomorrow?" asked Hermione.

"The deadline for the letter or, er, owl is a month and a half away!"

"But what if we, I don't know, forget by next week?" said Hermione. The truth was that she just didn't want to wait that long, though it would be embarrassing if they missed the deadline.

"Oh, don't worry, I won't forget. Besides, even if I did, somehow I know you'll remind me," said her mother with a smile.