The last thing in the world Jimmy ever expected to happen to him was receive a letter saying he'd been accepted to a school for witchcraft and wizardry.
When the letter first appeared at Jimmy's address his parents had assumed it was junk mail. They'd read the letter together, but after his parents pulled out the telephone book, made a call to a local organization, and inquired as to why an eleven-year-old boy was receiving scams, threw out the letter. But the following day Jimmy received another invite, and the next day another, until one afternoon a woman in green robes and a funny hat visited his residence. It was then that Jimmy and his family learned about the wizarding world.
"So…my parents are normal?" Jimmy asked.
"They are muggles, yes," the witch replied.
"But I'm a wizard?"
"Correct,"
Jimmy shook his head. "I don't understand," he said. "How can I be a wizard," he tapped the wheelchair he'd been sitting in all his life, "If I can't even walk?"
"One's ability to perform certain tasks does not preclude someone from being able to perform magic," the witch said. "There are many people with various abilities and different backgrounds at Hogwarts,"
The amazement Jimmy felt when he arrived at Diagon Alley was nothing compared to when he first saw Hogwarts. England had many castles, but he'd never seen one THIS big! And it wasn't just the castle's structure that captivated him; it was the magical creatures and the ghosts as well (but not the scary kinds like the ones in horror movies).
The only thing that worried Jimmy was how he was going to maneuver through the castle in his wheelchair. He was relieved to learn that some of the shorter stairways had ramps, but the changing staircases that led to dormitories and classrooms had no such incline. Jimmy brought this issue up with one of the prefects after the sorting ceremony (he'd been sorted into Hufflepuff, which Jimmy was all too eager to accept because he liked the colors and thought the badger looked like his family's cat).
"I know just who to ask," the prefect said, and then led Jimmy over to meet one of the professors.
"Professor Flitwick," the prefect said, "I'd like you to meet Jimmy,"
"How do you do young sir?" Professor Flitwick asked.
"I'm well, thank you," Jimmy said as he noted the professor's height. The witch who visited me was right, Jimmy thought, Hogwarts really DOES have people of various abilities and backgrounds!
"Jimmy was inquiring about accessing the staircases here at Hogwarts," the prefect said, "Particularly the ones that move,"
"Ah, we can fix that!" Professor Flitwick pulled out his wand and used a slew of words that Jimmy didn't understand. Two thin circles of blue haze puffed out of the wand and came to rest on the wheels of the wheelchair.
"There we go," Professor Flitwick said cheerfully. "Now, whenever you get to the stairwell, state which floor you wish to go to, as well as the direction. Your chair will lift you up into the air and take you to your destination,"
The tower that held the staircases was even higher than Jimmy imagined. The endless rows of concrete stairs seemed to stretch on forever!
Jimmy took a deep breath. It was now or never. "Fifth floor," he said clearly, "Towards the west,"
The first years surrounding him watched in amazement as the wheelchair lifted off the floor and slowly ascended into the air. Jimmy broke into a huge smile as his peers grew smaller. When he finally reached the fifth floor he waved at the Hufflepuffs below, who enthusiastically waved back. Some even cheered!
Jimmy couldn't believe he was able to do something that kids without wheelchairs couldn't do. It was one of the most magical moments of his life.