Alice Bennett was lying awake in her hospital bed when she saw the most peculiar thing. Sitting on her windowsill, with an envelope in its beak, was a smallish brown owl with enormous yellow eyes. The most peculiar thing about this owl, she thought, was that it was nearly two thirty in the afternoon. Alice Bennett did not know much about owls, but she did know that they were nocturnal creatures and only came out at night. Against her better judgment, she got up from her bed and walked to the windowsill. The bird did not fly away, but seemed to lean forward, urging her to open her window. She did so and the owl dropped his envelope into the room and immediately flew away.

"Are you daft," came a grumpy voice from a bed behind a curtain in the room. "You're letting the cold in."

"Nonsense, Mister Miller. It's the middle of July," Alice explained. "But if you're chilly, I'll send for a nurse to bring you another blanket. Mister Miller grumbled some and soon quieted.

Alice examined the envelope and found it as peculiar as the owl itself. On the front, it read,

Alice Bennett
St. Mary's Hospital
Room E211
Bed 3

Well, that's specific, Alice thought to herself. Turning it over, she saw that the envelope was sealed with maroon candle wax. In the wax was an H surrounded by a lion, a snake, a badger, and a raven. Before she could open it, the door to her room opened. She hurried back to her bed and stuffed the envelope under her pillow.

A young man wearing a long white coat had entered the room and was walking toward Alice. She turned her head, pretending to look out the window.

"How are you feeling today, Miss Bennett?" He asked with a smile.

"I'm feeling wonderful. I think I'm well enough to go home now."

The doctor set down the clipboard and pulled a small flashlight from his pocket. "I'm afraid we can't allow that quite yet, Alice." He shined the light in both of her eyes, the routine check that she was still okay.

She had been in the hospital for six weeks and there were several reasons that she could not leave quite yet. The reason that stood out most in her mind, though, was the matter of her living arrangements. She had been admitted into the hospital because of a car accident that had killed both of her parents. Because of a very large number of unlucky accidents, not one other member of her family was still living, save her older sister, Daphne.

Daphne had been going to some boarding school that Alice knew nothing about since she was eleven. She only came home during the summer, and even then, she did not speak of the school to Alice. Because the accident that had killed their parents happened on the last day of May, Daphne was permitted to stay at the school, as she had stated in a letter.

The young doctor had just finished the checkup when Alice removed the envelope from beneath her pillow.

"Can you keep a secret?" she asked. The young doctor cocked his head in curiosity. He saw the envelope in her hand. "I got a letter." The doctor raised an eyebrow. "It was delivered by an owl." She whispered the last sentence. The doctor looked taken aback and asked to see it. He turned it over and ran a finger over the seal.

"May I open it?" he asked. Alice nodded. She watched as he lightly ripped open the envelope and read aloud.

"Dear Miss A. Bennett,

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."

Alice Bennett looked to the young doctor for answers. Was this really happening, or was it a dream? Those things that kept happening, were they because she could do magic? The doctor soon interrupted her thoughts.

"Can you keep a secret, Alice?" She nodded. "I got a letter just like this one ten years ago."