Chapter One

It was half past nine on a Tuesday morning when the doorbell rang.

Lillian McBlack went to the door and opened it to find the most enormous man she had ever seen. He was twice as tall as the tallest she had ever seen, and five times as wide, with a wild tangle of black hair and a beard. He had beetle-black eyes and wore a giant leather coat with pockets randomly placed on it. Next to him stood a boy who would have been small even if he wasn't dwarfed by the giant man. He had long shaggy black hair and green eyes, and wore baggy clothes that made him look even smaller and thinner.

"Hullo, Lillian. Name's Hagrid, and this's Harry. I need to talk to yer parents, if they're here." said the giant in a deep, rumbly voice.

Lillian nodded nervously, turned around, and shouted, "someone here to see you!"

A tall slender woman and a wiry man appeared in the hallway, walking towards the door. They both stopped when they saw Hagrid, looks of absolute shock on their faces. Lillian wasn't surprised, after all

"Who are you?" asked the woman in a shaky voice.

"Hagrid, Hogwarts gamekeeper." he replied, holding out a hand the size of a dinner plate for them to shake. When neither of them took it, he withdrew. "I'm here to talk to ye 'bout Lillian's schooling."

"She goes to a school." the man mentioned, surprise still plastered on his face.

"Not any ord'nary school, mind." Hagrid replied. "Hogwarts School, of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

The tall woman looked like she was about to faint, and the man's shocked look grew larger. An inkling of interest sparked in Lillian, though.

"There's no such thing as Witchcraft, or Wizardry." the man said sternly.

"Yes, there is." Hagrid replied. "Harry here's a wizard, and Lillian's a witch. I can prove it, if ye need it."

"What exactly would you do?" asked the woman, "to prove it?"

"No' much." Hagrid replied. He reached into his spacious coat and pulled out a pink umbrella. He pointed it at a chair on the floor and it levitated several feet into the air until it grazed the ceiling, then set it down again. The tall woman fainted and the man's jaw dropped.

The man sat down. "Okay, so magic is real. Lillian's a witch, then?" he said with resignation.

"Tha's righ'." Hagrid replied in his gruff voice. "An' she's bin accepted ter Hogwarts. I'm supposed ter come an' make arrangements an' explain."

"Okay, then. Explain." said the man with his head in his hands.

"Well, we have ways of findin' who's got magic in 'em. Lillian's magic, so she's accepted. Harry's magic to, so he's accepted. We train them to use their magic, an' they can take a job in magic when they graduate."

"So, how much does this school cost? We're only her foster parents, she goes to a foster school during winter. We don't pay for education."

"School costs nothin'. And besides, we put her parents' fortune away for her when they died. She can pay for her own books and supplies." Hagrid replied.

There was silence for a moment, then the man spoke again.

"Well, then. Are you going to take her away?"

Hagrid narrowed his dark eyes. "Are you sayin' yeh don' want her ter stay?"

"Well..." the man replied, cringing away from the giant's gaze. "I mean-"

"Well it don't matter," Hagrid growled. "Yes, we're takin' her away and she ain't comin' back, if yeh don' want her."

Hagrid pointed his umbrella at the man, and he slumped over, unconscious. Then he pointed it again to each of them in turn, and faced Lillian.

"They won' remember none of it." Hagrid rumbled. "Bu'... could ye not tell anyone I used magic? I'm not technically supposed ter..."

Lillian nodded.

"All righ' then, this way. Do yeh want help?" Hagrid asked, glancing at her wheelchair.

"No, I'm fine." she replied quietly, wheeling it around. She pulled up next to Hagrid and Harry. "Um, Hagrid, were my parents magic?"

"Not according ter Dumbledor. They were muggles."

"Non-magic people?"

"Yes. But it don't matter. Harry's parents were, but his mother's weren't." he stopped suddenly, and Lillian backed up.

"What?" she asked.

"I forgot, we need ter get yer things. Where are they, I can prob'ly get by with another summoning charm..."

"Oh, it's all right. I move around so much, I keep everything in my bag." she pointed to a backpack on the back of her chair. She was speaking more confidently now, but was still quiet.

"All righ' then, let's go."

The three of them walked (or wheeled) more or less silently. Only once did Lillian speak, and when she did, it was only to ask where they were going.

"Diagon Alley, down in London. We'll get yeh a room at the Leaky Cauldron, an' yeh can get yer books an' equipment there. Dumbledor's gonna see yeh later today, he's expecting yeh at the Leaky Cauldron this evening. So, we'll have all day ter shop for yeh."

They walked for about fifteen minutes and then took the underground to London, then walked for another few minutes.

"This is it," Hagrid said, coming to a stop. "the Leaky Cauldron. It's a famous place."