"Dante could you come down here please?"
Dante had been waiting in the hallway upstairs in his house. He was short for his age and very skinny. He had deep brown eyes, almost black, but they would rarely meet anyone else's. Just a few moments ago, a strange old woman wearing a pointed hat and long green robes came to the house to speak to his parents. She had a funny accent and a brisk demeanor. Dante padded downstairs to see his parents sitting across from this woman in the living room.
"Dante, this woman is Professor McGonagall. She's just told us that she has a place for you at her school." His mother explained.
"What kind of school is it?" Dante asked timidly. Professor McGonagall smiled at him.
"Hogwarts is a school of magic. The full title of course is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?" Dante echoed.
"Dante, you are a wizard." Professor McGonagall said simply.
Dante's jaw dropped. This was impossible, of course, witches and wizards were just fiction. "I'm sure you're mistaken. I can't be a wizard."
"Has anything strange happened around you? Perhaps when you were angry or scared or excited?"
"Luke Miller's eyes started hurting him when he tried to cheat on my science test, and then there was that time I ended up on the roof of the playground equipment..." Dante said, thinking.
"You see? You're still quite young so you don't have much control over your magic. When you come to school, you will not only be taught how to use magic, but also how to control it. Normally magic is passed down from parent to child, but in your case both of your parents are what's called 'muggles' or 'non-magical.' This makes you a muggleborn wizard."
" 'Muggleborn wizard?' Well where is this school?" Dante asked, getting quite confused.
"Scotland. If you agree to come to school, before the start of term I will take you to a flat in London where you can buy your school supplies. Then on September the first, you will go to Platform 9-3/4 at King's Cross Station to ride the train to school. Something important to note is that you are now aware that you are a wizard. As an underage wizard, you are not permitted to use magic away from school until you reach the age of seventeen. The laws are the same for the American Ministry of Magic as they are for the British Ministry when it comes to the Statute of Secrecy."
Dante stared, nonplussed by her words. "But… How will I get there and back every day? That sounds like a lot of travel… And seventeen? Why not eighteen?"
Professor McGonagall chuckled "Hogwarts is a boarding school. You'll have a dormitory to sleep in and a common room to mingle with your fellow housemates. There are four houses that all students are sorted into, each named for one of the four founders of the school. Gryffindor is my house, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. There will be time for you to come back here for the winter holidays and Easter. Although, I don't recommend that you leave school for Easter as it'll take you far too long to get here and back. In the wizarding world, the age of majority is seventeen. In our world, you'll be an adult on your seventeenth birthday."
"Will I still have summer vacation?"
"Of course. Term ends second week of June and begins the first of September every year. You'll spend seven years at Hogwarts and once you're seventeen, you'll be an adult and allowed to use magic outside of school."
"Can I go?" Dante looked eagerly to his parents.
"Sure. Make sure to get good grades and keep in touch. We want to know how you're doing." Dante's father replied. He then turned to the old professor. "When should we expect you to return to take him shopping for school supplies? How much will he need to pay for his things?"
"Well let me think for a moment. His wand will cost 10 Galleons and that is the most expensive thing on his list. For all of his supplies and enough money to feed himself while he's not at school I'd say about 40 Galleons for a first year. I can come by next weekend to pick him up, Saturday at 9 o'clock."
Dante looked up, confused again. "Galleons?"
"Oh of course!" Professor McGonagall chuckled. "Galleons are wizard gold, like Dollars here. The current rate is something like three Pounds to a Galleon, and the Pound is just under twice as valuable as the Dollar. So around $240 for him to bring for school supplies. Meals are provided free of charge at school."
Dante's mother and father looked at each other and smiled. "That sounds fine to us. Dante, what do you say to Professor McGonagall?"
A soft blush crept up his face as he turned to face the old witch. "Thank you, Professor M… M…" He struggled to pronounce the woman's name.
"McGonagall." She finished with a smile. "I'll be around to pick you up Saturday morning, then. Dante, Mr. and Mrs. Monte, good day." She then stood up and stepped outside. With a 'pop' she was gone.
The next week dragged painfully slowly for Dante, he was far too eager for the strange woman's return. He'd read the letter that she had left him six times. Top of his list was a wand. He was going to get a wand! One thing that she'd mentioned about wands had him thinking hard. She'd said that it would cost 10 Galleons. So that means that all wands probably cost that much. Were they all identical? Were there no extra powerful wands? Or maybe each wand was unique and could only be used by one person, so it'd make no sense to charge more or less for them. Dante had just concluded that the latter was probably true when he was startled out of his stupor by his mother.
"Dante, finish your cereal! Professor McGonagall will be here any minute! You've got a long journey ahead and I don't want you leaving on an empty stomach."
"Sorry, mom. I was just thinking."
"Try really hard to make friends this year, okay? I'm sure it'll help with you being so new."
"I will." Dante said solemnly as he finished his bowl of cereal. He had just placed his bowl in the sink when there was a 'pop' out front. A moment later and Professor McGonagall knocking on the door. There was a brief but tearful goodbye and soon Dante was being led out front by Professor McGonagall. She stopped at the sidewalk, pulled out her wand (Dante noted that it was a very deep brown, like black coffee) and looked down at him.
"Take a deep breath and grab hold of my arm. Hold on tight." She said.
With a moment's hesitation, he grabbed her proffered arm and took a deep breath. He felt the arm jerk away from him and he tightened his grip. A horrible sensation of being squeezed tightly on all sides followed. Everything hurt all at once. Then it was over. He took a few gasping breaths and looked wildly around. Where was he? It looked like a dirty bar.
"How do you feel, Dante?" Professor McGonagall asked kindly.
"I feel… dizzy." He hesitated. "Where are we?"
"We're at a pub called The Leaky Cauldron, but we won't be staying here. We have your school shopping to do. This way." She led him out the back of the pub to a dead-end alley and began tapping the bricks at the far end with her wand. The bricks all started shifting aside to form a wide archway and through that, "This is Diagon Alley. Over there is Flourish and Blotts' where you'll find your school books. There is Madam Malkin's for your robes. First, we must go to Gringotts to have your money exchanged."
Dante and Professor McGonagall walked quickly to a large white building with great stone columns around the entrance. "Best stick close to me, Dante. Don't want the Gringotts goblins to see you alone." Dante hurried forward to stay by McGonagall's side. She stopped at a desk and cleared her throat. "Mr. Dante Monte would like to make a currency exchange."
A hideous, wrinkly creature looked up at her then down at Dante. "Hand over what you want to exchange." It growled.
Dante pulled the $250 that his parents gave him out of his pocket and handed it over. The goblin examined each bill very closely, then peered at a chart on his desk. "What you have given me is worth 46 Galleons, 12 Sickles, and 5 Knuts." He counted out a number of gold, silver, and bronze coins and swept them into a bag. "Here you are."
Professor McGonagall insisted that Dante wait for his wand until the end. Something about saving the best for last. He spent 8 Galleons on books in Flourish and Blotts', 4 in Madam Malkin's, 6 in an apothecary, 2 on a large trunk with the letters "D.M." on it, and another 10 on various equipment like quills, parchment, a telescope, ink, among others.
Finally, they headed to the shop he was most eager to visit, Ollivander's. When they walked in, Dante thought the shop looked like an old dusty library. Shelves rose to the ceiling and formed aisles. Instead of books, however, these were narrow packages. An ancient, wiry man stood behind the counter, looking down at Dante. "You're here for your wand?"
Dante gulped and nodded.
"Which is your wand arm?"
"Uh, I write left-handed… But I can do almost anything else with both hands." A tape measure flew towards him and started measuring every part of his body that it could reach.
"That's enough." Ollivander croaked and the tape fell to the floor. "Perhaps this wand?" He opened a box and held it out to Dante. "Hawthorn and Dragon Heartstring, 12-1/4 inches, unyielding."
Dante picked the wand up gingerly and felt quite silly.
"Give it a wave!" Cried Ollivander.
He did, but nothing happened. The wand was snatched from his hand.
"Try this," Ollivander handed him another. "Ebony and Unicorn Hair." No sooner had Dante grabbed the wand that it was taken away. "Oak and Phoenix Feather?" Again. "Holly and Unicorn Hair? No? Maybe… Mahogany and Phoenix Feather." Ollivander handed him the latest wand. It vibrated subtly and he felt a surge of warmth from it. "Oh excellent!" He cried. "Mahogany and Phoenix Feather, 13-3/4 inches, springy. That is the wand that chose you."
"The wand chose me?"
"Oh yes, the wand chooses the wizard, my boy. I think, if the phoenix who gave me the feather for your wand is anything to go by, that we can expect great things from you. I believe what you have there is a dueling wand. It wants to fight."
Dante returned the wand to its box and paid for it. They went to Professor McGonagall's flat for a quick dinner and afterwards, she suggested that he write a letter to his parents to let them know how his day has gone. It would also be good practice to write with a quill rather than a pencil like he is used to. He sat down and wrote, bursting with excitement for tomorrow.
Professor McGonagall ushered Dante through the barrier between platforms nine and ten at King's Cross. She had told him to hurry up and get on the train and not to wait for her. Now Dante was dragging his trunk down the aisle of the train, looking for a place to sit. He'd been searching the train for a few minutes when he finally saw a compartment with only two boys about his age inside. He pushed the thoughts of himself trying to make friends in the past out of his mind, dwelling on that wouldn't help him right now.
'Make friends' he thought bitterly and then he knocked on the door before opening it.
"Excuse me," He said, and the red-haired boy's eyebrows shot up at the sound of his voice. "Do you mind if I sit with you? Everywhere else looks full."
"Why do you sound like that?" The red-haired boy asked.
"Sure, I don't mind." The black-haired boy said.
Dante pushed into the compartment and stowed his trunk. "I'm from America. It's you guys that sound weird to me. I'm Dante, what are your names?"
"Ron Weasley." The red-haired boy said.
"Harry Potter." The black-haired boy said.
"Nice to meet you."
"Harry, I don't think he knows who you are!" Ron exclaimed.
"Apparently I'm famous." Harry said to Dante bitterly.
"Famous? For what?"
"I knew it! You're muggleborn, aren't you? That's alright, there's loads of muggleborns and they always get on well enough."
"I am muggleborn. So, what are you famous for, Harry?" Dante asked, grinning.
Harry brushed the hair aside from his forehead to reveal a thin, lightning shaped scar. "My parents were murdered when I was a baby, and the wizard who did it tried to kill me, too. Somehow his curse backfired and destroyed him instead."
The color left Dante's face and his grin faded. "Oh…" He said meekly. "I'm sorry."
"It's alright, I didn't know myself 'til a month ago." He frowned and changed the subject. "Where are you from in America?"
"Ohio."
"What's that?" Ron asked thickly.
"The state I'm from. I grew up in a town called North Canton in the state of Ohio." Dante explained. "Lots of corn there and not much else." Ron snorted at that.
"That's…" Harry thought for a moment. "There's just a lake between your state and Canada, right?"
"Yeah, Lake Erie. There's an amusement park that we sometimes go to in the summer on a peninsula on the lake. They say you can see Canada from the top of a few of the roller coasters, but I'm pretty sure I've only ever seen some islands across the water though."
"Sounds nice, I've never been to an amusement park." Harry said.
"Neither have I." Said Ron.
The door to the compartment opened again. A bushy haired girl stood in the doorway. "Hello, have any of you seen a toad? A boy named Neville has lost one." All three of them shook their heads. Her eyes fell upon Harry's scar and widened. "Holy cricket!" Dante fought hard to suppress a snort. "You're Harry Potter!" She sat down. "I'm Hermione Granger. Of course, I've read all about you. And you are?" She turned Ron who had chosen the wrong time to take a bite out of a sandwich.
"Ron Weasley." He got out through a mouthful.
Hermione looked reproachful. "Pleasure." She turned to Dante with a smile. "And you?"
"My name's Dante Monte." Her eyes lit up at the sound of his voice, and he felt himself blushing again.
"You're from America! Oh, you must tell me all about it when you get a chance! I'm hoping that I get sorted into Gryffindor, although Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad, I suppose. Perhaps we'll be sorted into the same house! I have to go though, I promised Neville that I would help him. You three ought to change into your school robes. I expect we'll be arriving before long." She stood up and made for the door and turned to face Ron. "You've got dirt on your nose, did you know? Just there." Then she left.
"She was nice." Dante said.
"She's like my mum." Ron moaned, scowling.
"She was just trying to be nice," Harry supplied before the door opened again. A white-blonde boy with his hair slicked back entered the compartment, staring at Harry.
"So, it's true then." He drawled. "Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts." Two heavy set boys stood behind him and sniggered. "The name's Malfoy. Draco Malfoy, and this is Crabbe and Goyle."
Dante spoke up. "Do people normally refer to each other by their last names here?"
Draco glared at him "You'll be that American muggleborn, then." He turned back to Harry. "Listen, Potter. You'll soon find out that some wizarding families are better than others. You don't want to associate with the wrong sort." He glared at Dante and Ron again. "I can help you there" He then held up a hand for Harry to shake.
"I think I can tell the wrong sort for myself, thanks." Draco scowled and stormed away, Crabbe and Goyle in tow.
Dante chuckled, "I think I liked Hermione's visit better. Should we lock the door and change before we get another visit?"
Harry nodded and locked the door. The three of them pulled on their robes and chatted idly about what they were most excited for. Dante confessed that he was most excited to use his wand, he'd been playing with it for a while, admiring it. "What's yours made of?" Harry asked.
"Mahogany and Phoenix Feather." Dante said. "Yours?"
"Holly and Phoenix Feather."
"Mine used to belong to my brother, Charlie. Ash and Unicorn Hair."
"Did you not get one of your own?" Dante asked.
"No, my parents couldn't aff-" He stopped and frowned, his ears began to glow a brilliant red.
"Sorry," Dante said quickly. "I didn't mean-"
"S'fine." Ron mumbled. "You've got a pretty long one. Did Ollivander tell you that those do best in duels?"
"He mentioned that mine wanted to duel. Something about the phoenix that gave him the feather for my wand."
Soon the train was slowing to a stop at Hogsmeade station. Dante had spent a few hours only half paying attention to Harry and Ron's conversation while he read his school books. He didn't want to feel completely lost when classes started. Once the train stopped, he quickly stuffed his books back into his trunk and dragged it out onto the platform. He heard a gruff voice calling out, "Firs' years this way!" and he saw an enormous man with a shaggy black mane holding up a lantern.
"Hello, Hagrid!" Harry said brightly.
"Hello, Harry! Yeh'd best be off, you an' yer friends grab a boat!"
Dante, Ron, and Harry stepped into the closest boat and soon all the boats were filled. The moment the first years all had their seats, the boats began to glide smoothly across the water. They drifted around a cliff and then Dante saw it. A great castle sat on a hill across the lake. Turrets and towers sprang up all around it and windows all over were lit with a flickering light.
They reached a boat house at the foot of the castle's hill and climbed the long steps to the entrance. The door to the castle opened to reveal Professor McGonagall. She looked round to all of the first years and spoke. "In a moment, I will open the doors behind me, and you will all follow me into the Great Hall. I will call your name, you will step forward, I will place the Sorting Hat upon your head and then you will sit with your house. While you are here, your house will be like your family. Your triumphs will earn you points. Any rule breaking and you will lose points. At the end of the year, the points will be tallied and the house with the most points will be awarded the House Cup. I will be back to get you in a moment.
After a brief pause, the doors to the Great Hall opened again and Professor McGonagall led the first years in. She carried a stool and a patched old hat. She set the stool down before a long table where it looked like the school staff all sat, then placed the hat on the stool and stood aside.
A tear on the hat opened and the whole room fell silent. Silent apart from one voice that sang out.
"Oh you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can cap them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head,
The Sorting Hat can't see,
So try me on and I'll tell you
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
If you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin,
You'll make real friends,
Those cunning folks use any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none)
For I am a Thinking Cap!"
The room burst into applause and cheers for the Sorting Hat's song. After a short while, the noise died down and Professor McGonagall began to read names off her list. Dante could only make out a few of the names.
"Abbott, Hannah!"
"Crabbe, Vincent!"
"Finnegan, Seamus!"
"Granger, Hermione!"
Dante looked up, he was curious where she would be sorted.
"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat cried after a moment of deliberation. Dante watched her take her seat with the Gryffindors and decided to sit with her if he was put there.
A few more names were called.
"Longbottom, Neville!"
"Malfoy, Draco!" Dante saw the hat barely touch his head before it called out
"Slytherin!"
"Monte, Dante!"
Dante walked stiffly to the stool, the hat was lowered onto his head and he heard it muttering in his ear. "Oh, very interesting. Poor lad, never had an easy time making friends, have you? But that hasn't stopped you from trying, many times, looks like. Very sensitive to injustice, too. Excellent mind, as well. You want to prove yourself here, but you aren't confident that you have what it takes… Oh, but I see someone has caught your eye already…" It paused then shouted "Gryffindor!"
Dante grinned and ran over to the Gryffindor table, receiving many claps on the back and sat next to Hermione. "Hi!" He said, still grinning.
Hermione laughed and shushed him so she could listen to the rest. The Sorting finished with Ron being put into Gryffindor and Blaise Zabini in Slytherin.
The man at the center of the staff table stood up and spoke, "I have a few words before we begin our excellent feast! Here they are: Tuck in!"
Dante rose his eyebrow quizzically at that, not knowing what 'Tuck in' meant, but then he looked round and saw all of the serving plates on the table were loaded with the most delicious looking food he'd ever seen. He loaded his plate with pot roast and mashed potatoes and began to eat. "So, now I can tell you about America, Hermione."
She grinned, "Oh, good! Where are you from over there?"
"Ohio, I-" He began but she cut across him.
"Oh, I know where Ohio is! What part are you from? Near Columbus?"
"North Canton. The closest big city to me is Akron, just north, then Cleveland is a bit further north than that."
"Have you always lived there?"
"No, I was born in a small town at the tristate of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia and lived there until I was three, then moved to Cincinnati for a year, then to North Canton."
"What was Cincinnati like? I've heard it's beautiful!"
"Honestly I hardly remember. I was only three. Akron is nice though; the people are very friendly."
"Have you been away from Ohio before now?"
"Yeah, I've been to Myrtle Beach in South Carolina a couple times, Orlando, Florida the year before last, and New York City last year."
Hermione's eyes lit up at the mention of New York City, "Oh, do tell me all about it!"
Dante laughed, "I'll tell you if you can answer some questions for me."
"Like what?"
"Why does everyone here have a different accent? No two people that I've talked to lately sound the same!"