Annika Fortescue was a witch. Or at least, she thought she might be one. She must have had some magic, because she had once fallen out of a four-story window and been perfectly fine.
If she had fallen out of the window at home, there would be no proof whatsoever that she was a witch, because she lived in Diagon Alley, which was a very magical sort of place where odd things happened all the time. But the window in question belonged to Annika's best friend, Juliet, who was not a witch-which is to say, she was a Muggle. A very nice Muggle, though.
Juliet's parents were also Muggles, and had been quite concerned to find their daughter's best friend had toppled out of a window. They'd rushed Annika to hospital and called her father. Much to their surprise, Mr. Fortescue arrived beaming and quite pleased, for the whole incident proved that his daughter really was a witch, and not a Squib.
In spite of this enormous secret between them (for Muggles could not, of course, know anything about the wizarding world), Juliet and Annika had remained good friends. Juliet liked fashion and supplied Annika with a stream of Muggle magazines, which the two girls poured over in order to understand things like makeup and nail polish and boys and how to curl one's hair. Annika especially needed help with these sorts of things, as she had no mother to teach her.
Juliet and Annika had gone to primary school together, and had both learned passable French. But in secondary school, things were going to change. Annika was waiting for her acceptance letter to Hogwarts, a school where witches and wizards learned magic, while Juliet was going to be staying at school in London.
"I think I should apply to a French school, in secret," Juliet told Annika, flipping through a magazine about the personal lives of French celebrities.
"Maybe your Mum and Dad would let you go to France," Annika said, running a comb through her unruly golden curls.
"They'd only say I'm too young to live in a foreign country," Juliet sighed dramatically. "It's not fair that you get to go abroad and I'm stuck in boring old London."
"Scotland isn't really abroad," Annika pointed.
"It's the principle of the thing," Juliet said, which was just the sort of thing Juliet would say.
Annika thought it was a shame Juliet wasn't a witch. They would have been able to go to school together-maybe Beauxbatons, in France. Annika had often daydreamed of this. She didn't much like the thought of going to Hogwarts on her own, without any friends at all.
Annika walked home from Juliet's in a somewhat melancholy mood. She pushed open the door of the Leaky Cauldron. The bartender, Tom, was quite accustomed to seeing Annika and he agreeably took out his wand and tapped the brick walls in the back alley, letting Annika in to Diagon Alley. He said, very pointedly, "I saw a few owls about this morning. Quite a few."
"That's nice," Annika said, a little puzzled. She walked through the archway, trotting down the street between the rows of magical shops. The ice cream shop, Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, was closed, but Annika had a little key to let her in. The lights in the parlor were on, and her father, Florean Fortescue himself, was sitting at the table. A broad smile made his already plump cheeks even plumper, but his voice was stern: "You're very late, young lady."
Annika was never on time. Her father shook his finger at her, but it was quite hard to take him seriously when he was smiling fit to burst, "If you had come home earlier, you might have been here to open this." He held up an envelope, the address written in green ink.
Annika caught her breath, her eyes widening. "Is that-?"
"I'm very proud of you," he said. "Of course, I knew ever since you fell out of that window."
She seized the letter and tore it open feverishly, reading with fervent eyes: "Dear Miss Annika Fortescue, we are pleased to inform you-I got in! I am a real witch! I'm going to Hogwarts!"
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It was quite easy to pick up everything she needed for school, and she spent the next few days going into various shops and spending as much time as she wanted lingering over her school supplies. She wished she could use one of Juliet's ballpoint pens, but her father made her buy quills and ink ("You want to be like everyone else," he said).
Madam Malkin, who had known Annika ever since she was born, burst into tears of joy when Annika proudly announced that she needed a Hogwarts uniform. Madam Malkin was practically an aunt to Annika, and had certainly stepped up to the plate on many occasions where a mother's touch was needed.
Annika bought her cauldron and her school books on the same day, but saved Ollivander's for last. She had never met Mr. Ollivander before, as he was a bit of a recluse, but she'd seen him in his shop. When she entered the store, Mr. Ollivander looked up, his wide pale eyes shining in the gloom of the shop. "Ah. Florean's daughter, I presume? I did wonder if you would be coming into my shop at some point." The way he said it gave her a cold feeling in the pit of her stomach, as if she'd swallowed an ice cube. He made it sound like he wasn't expecting her to ever come into the shop, as if he thought all along she might be a Squib.
Mr. Ollivander pulled out a few wands and gave them to Annika to try out. She swished the first one, but nothing happened. Flicked the second, but nothing again. As she worked her way through the wands, she started to wonder what would happen if none of the wands worked. Would Mr. Ollivander write to Hogwarts and tell them they must have made a terrible error?
Ollivander handed Annika the next wand. Quite cross and anxious by now, she seized it, jabbed it towards the lamp, and imagined it smashing against the wall. To her astonishment, the lamp obediently soared through the air and crashed, shattering in a hundred pieces. Annika stared at its fractured remains, then looked at her wand with some fear. It felt warm in her hand, but otherwise innocuous.
Mr. Ollivander smiled at her stunned expression. "Nine inches, exceptionally pliant. Cedar. Phoenix feather core. I had thought you might require a unicorn hair core, as your father does, but . . . the wand chooses the wizard, Miss Fortescue."
When Annika rushed back to the ice cream parlor to show off her new wand, her father had a surprise for her. He opened a whicker hamper and pulled out a kitten, golden with black spots instead of stripes. "I got him from the Magical Menagerie," he told Annika. "His name is Androcles. Not as practical as an owl, perhaps, but you never know when a good cat might come in handy."
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Platform 9 and 3/4 was swarming with wizarding families all trying to get their children loaded onto the bright red steamer. Annika kept a tight hold of Androcles' hamper, looking around at the chaos with wide eyes. She was feeling rather overwhelmed. Her father patted her shoulder reassuringly and steered her through a crowd of red-haired children.
They managed to find a slightly out of the way corner, where they wouldn't be jostled by owl cages and trunks. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, powder blue box wrapped with a white ribbon. "A going-away gift," he said, eyes twinkling.
"But Daddy, you already got me Androcles," Annika said.
"This is a present to help you in school," he said. He took charge of Androcles' hamper while Annika untied the ribbon and opened the box, revealing a gold pocket watch nestled in white tissue paper. A golden F was inscribed on the back.
"There. That should help you to be punctual to class. It belonged to your great-grandfather, Professor Dexter Fortescue, who was headmaster at Hogwarts. If you ever find yourself in Professor Dumbledore's office-and I sincerely hope you don't, young lady-you might find Grandfather's portrait. He will be quite pleased to see that old watch again, so mind you don't lose it."
"I won't," Annika promised. She hugged her father tightly. When she pulled away, she saw him dabbing his eyes. She looked away quickly, afraid that she, too, might begin to cry.
The watch had come with a golden chain, and Annika hung it around her neck, tucking it out of sight beneath her shirt so that its warm tick-tick-tick lay next to her skin.
"Now, you'd best get on the train before all the good seats go," Mr. Fortescue said, once he'd recovered himself. He escorted her to one of the carriages and lifted up her trunk aboard, then handed Androcles' hamper up to her.
Suddenly, as though conjured out of midair, an older boy appeared at Annika's elbow, seized one handle of the trunk and said, "Need some help?" He was about three years older than her.
Annika ducked her head shyly and nodded. The boy waited while Annika waved goodbye to her father, then began to carry her trunk along the train. He smiled quite kindly at her and said, "First year at Hogwarts, then?"
She nodded again. The boy said, "By the end of the week, you'll be sending an owl home to tell your dad to tell him what a great time you're having. Ah, here are some of your new classmates, I expect." He opened a door to reveal a compartment full of other eleven-year-olds, most of whom looked as anxious as Annika felt. The helpful older boy hoisted Annika's trunk above the seats, then smiled at her and said, "I'll see you around. If you need anything, I'm Cedric Diggory, and you'll find me in Hufflepuff."
He nodded genially to the others, then left. Annika settled on the edge of a seat, still clasping Androcles' hamper to her chest.
One of the boys stood up and held out his hand, looking slightly pompous. "Ernie Macmillan."
"Annika Fortescue," she said, shaking his hand. She was introduced to the other people in the compartment, Susan Bones, Hannah Abbot, Michael Corner, Neville Longbottom, and Hermione Granger. Neville had a toad and Hannah had a puffskein (which weren't included on the list of acceptable pets, but Annika thought it might be rather obnoxious to point this out), but other than that there were no other pets.
Ernie seemed to consider himself the leader of the group, and asked the compartment at large, "Any idea which houses you all want to be in?"
Michael opened his mouth, but Hermione got there first, "Well, I've read all about them in Hogwarts A History and I rather think Ravenclaw might be the best."
"We Macmillans have always been in Hufflepuff," Ernie said smugly.
Neville looked a little green. "What if we don't get into a house? Will they send us home?" He had voiced Annika's own fear.
"Everyone gets a house," Susan said. "Hufflepuff takes everyone." The tone of her voice made it quite clear that being in Hufflepuff was just as bad as being sent home. Annika felt her stomach drop a little.
"I'll be in Hufflepuff, then," Neville said, looking glum.
"Anything is better than Slytherin," Ernie said. "They're all dark wizards, you know."
Annika rather wished they would change conversation topics. Luckily, Neville managed to lose his toad before they were even an hour out of the station, so all speculation about the sorting process had to be put on hold while they all searched the compartment thoroughly. Annika and Michael stood on the chairs and peered into the luggage racks, while Hermione and Susan knelt on the floor and peered under the seats. Hannah helped Neville search through his bag, while Ernie stood around looking important and bossing the others.
"Gran'll be so angry if I lose him," Neville moaned.
"Don't be silly," Hermione said, in a tone almost as bossy as Ernie's. "We'll just have to ask every compartment if they've seen a toad. You go left, Neville, and I'll go right." They left, and the others settled down. When the food trolley came by, Annika let Androcles out and he prowled around, sniffing out every corner as if he, too, was looking for the misplaced toad.
Hermione and Neville didn't return until the train was approaching Hogsmede station. All of them struggled into their robes. Annika caught a glimpse of her own pale reflection in the mirror. At least her face was only white, which was a slightly more flattering shade than Neville's green complexion.
When the train pulled up to Hogsmede Station, they left their luggage on board and clambered out. A booming voice said, "Firs' years, this way!"
"Come on," Ernie and Hermione said at the exact same time. The rest of their band followed obediently, though Hannah Abbot gave an audible gasp when they caught sight of who had been calling them. He was huge, and his large quantities of bushy hair made him look alarmingly like a bear. He waved all of them closer and told them they would be approaching the castle on boats.
"Ooh, I wish we weren't," Hannah whispered, starting to blanch. "I can't swim at all. What if we fall out?"
"The squid will probably rescue you," said Susan, which clearly did not make Hannah feel better at all.
They all climbed into the small fleet of boats, which rocked perilously for a moment, then shot forward abruptly, scudding towards the glittering windows of the castle. Annika gripped her new watch very tightly, taking comfort in the rhythmic beat, like a living heart, against her hand.
As they were getting out of the boats, the gigantic man found Neville's toad. Susan, Hannah, and Annika exchanged swift smiles. They were not even at Hogwarts five minutes and they already had an inside joke. But the humor quickly died from their faces as they entered the castle and were greeted by a formidable looking woman, who introduced herself as Professor McGonagall and explained the sorting process. Then they doors were flung open, and the first years trooped in under the scrutinizing gaze of the school. Annika, like her peers, gasped at the sight of the magnificent Great Hall, and she couldn't help but sneak looks at her surroundings while the hat sang its song.
Abbott, Hannah went to Hufflepuff. Bones, Susan to Hufflepuff. Corner, Michael to Ravenclaw. Then, all too soon, it was time for Fortescue, Annika.
She climbed the steps nervously, feeling as if the whole school could tell she was about to faint. She looked up and saw Professor Dumbledore watching her, his eyes twinkling just like her dad's did. She felt the watch resting on her skin, and reminded herself that Dexter Fortescue had once sat in that throne-like Headmaster's chair. She turned and perched on the edge of the stool. The brim of the hat had barely dropped below her eyes when its voice rang loudly through the hall: "HUFFLEPUFF."
Immensely relieved that the process was all over, Annika returned the hat to Professor McGonagall and hurried to join Hannah and Susan. Further along the table, Cedric smiled and gave her the thumb's up. They were soon joined by Ernie, but Neville and Hermione went to Gryffindor and Michael wound up in Ravenclaw.
Then Professor McGonagall announced, "Potter, Harry."
The room fell dead silent. Annika, astonished, strained in her seat to catch a glimpse of the famous Boy-Who-Lived. He was skinny and dark-haired, and looked like he was trying to make himself quite small, which explained why she hadn't noticed him in the crowd. Compared to his towering reputation, Harry Potter didn't look like much. But he was sorted into Gryffindor, to tumultuous applause. He looked very relieved. Looking up and down her house's table, Annika privately thought that she, too was quite relieved by the results of her sorting.
AN: Hey, readers. Sorry that nothing much happens in this chapter. Just an introduction to Annika, and her fears about fitting in at Hogwarts.
In the next chapter: Annika makes a friend.