A/N: Hope you like Chapter 2! I am a very strong believer in continuity, and so I have made sure to check all my information to verify it. Every bit of history or background information has been compiled from the books and the backstories and sketches available through Pottermore. Blah blah blah, I'm not J.K. Rowling.
"I've always loved the name Katie," said Professor McGonagall, as she poured steaming hot soup into my bowl. We were in a village called Hogsmeade, which was, according to Professor McGonagall, "the only all-wizarding village in Britain".
Professor McGonagall sipped the rest of her tea, and sent the cup whizzing across the room and into the sink, where it proceeded to wash itself. I stared stupidly at it. Professor McGonagall chuckled. She was an interesting woman, as I had grown to learn in the last week and a half.
In addition to every minute detail she had taught me about the wizarding world, I had learned that she had also attended Hogwarts at the age of eleven. After graduating from Hogwarts with "Outstanding" on all of her Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests, she was offered a position at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the British Ministry of Magic, the governing body of the magical community of Great Britain.
Minerva McGonagall had returned to Hogwarts to teach Transfiguration. During this time, she had grown closer with a friend of hers, Elphinstone Urquart, who would later die from a Venomous Tentacula bite, three years after they were married. She went back to live at Hogwarts Castle, but kept the Hogsmeade cottage during the summer and holidays.
"What?" I asked, zoning back into the conversation.
"Katie," she said sternly, and then easing up. "It's a very pretty name. It comes from the Greek name Hecate. The goddess of magic. Dougal and I always said that if we had a girl—"
"Who's Dougal?" I asked bluntly.
"Nobody, never mind. We do need to talk about something important though," she said, wiping her eyes quickly. "I sent an owl to Professor Dumbledore, informing him that you would be at Hogwarts and asking him to suggest the proper security arrangements. He said that he would work on security, but that he also recommended that you adopt an accent and change your name"
"My name?" I couldn't imagine myself not being Katie Marshall. I was Katie Marshall. Katherine Jane Marshall was the only person I had ever been, the only name I had ever known.
"You're lucky. I love the name Katie so much, I think we'll just have you change your last name," she chuckled at my reaction.
"What did you have in mind?" I asked her, slowly warming up to the idea.
"I have a list right here," she said, pointing over to the table across the room, as a piece of parchment zoomed towards her and landed neatly on her open palm.
"Katie Elliot."
No
"Katie French."
No
"Katie Phillips."
Eh.
"Katie Bell."
The village of Hogsmeade was nothing compared to Diagon Alley. Sparks shot out of charming tiny shops on the cobbled streets. Piercing owl screeches filled the air.
"Don't you love it?" asked Professor McGonagall as we made our way through the crowd.
Students may also bring, if they desire, an owl OR a cat OR a toad.
Our first stop was to Eeylops Owl Emporium. The building at 521 Diagon Alley was a relatively small shop and was very dark inside. On the outside of the shop, hung owls of all different colors and species, watching every wizard who passed by.
"Well, I'm partial to cats," Professor McGonagall chuckled. "But in the scheme of things, an owl will probably be more useful. I've always liked the Eagle Owls." Ten minutes and fifteen galleons later, we emerged from the store holding a lovely eagle owl.
"Well, Katie, it's got to have a name!" Professor McGonagall said playfully.
"She does. I'm calling her Liberty."
Three Sets of Plain Work Robes (Black)
One Plain Pointed Hat (Black) for day wear
One Pair of Protective Gloves (dragon hide or similar)
One Winter Cloak (Black, silver fastenings)
Please note that all students' clothes should carry name-tags at all times
We found ourselves next in Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occassions. The shop was also quaint, and on the North Side of Diagon Alley. I was not alone. About fifteen other Hogwarts students and their parents bustled around the store, exchanging sizes ("Marcus dear, I think you've had a bit too many pumpkin pasties, let's try a size eleven."), sticking pins ("Euarrghhh, Mum, watch it!"), bargaining cunningly ("Mum, I promise I won't snog that Muggle boy anymore, just can I please get the purple ones?") and parents pleading their children ("Cedric, darling, these will just bring out your eyes so much better!").
Professor McGonagall handed a wide-eyed sales assistant the list and the assistant poked around me and thrashed a measuring tape towards me and it hurriedly took my measurements (The most important of which, I was assured, was the distance between my forehead and my right ear).
While I stood there waiting, a pretty Asian girl approached me and introduced herself.
"Cho Chang," said the girl. "I'll be a first year. What house are you hoping for? My mother was a Ravenclaw, so I'm hoping for that. But I suppose any of the others wouldn't be bad. What do you think?"
Professor McGonagall had filled me in on the storied history of the four founders of Hogwarts and so I was extremely prepared to answer any question regarding the four houses.
"Well, I suppose any of them would be fine. Gryffindor or Ravenclaw would be really nice though. I don't know though, the others sound fine also," I said sheepishly, wishing I had come up with something a little smarter.
"Yeah, I suppose so. But that's the positive way of looking at it. Sorry, did you say your name?" she asked, as if she had just come out of deep thought.
"Katie. Katie Bell. It's nice to meet you Cho," I said and Madam Malkin, a squat witch dressed in mauve, returned to fuss over Cho before we could continue the conversation.
After Cho left, Madam Malkin hurried over to me and began to tuck in small inches of fabric and sticking pins into the sleek black robes that had been thrown on me by the assistant.
"Gulping gargoyles! Minerva is this one with you? She's a stick. You'll make a fine Quidditch player, that's for sure. A chaser or a seeker, don't you think so Minerva?" Madam Malkin said, as she packed up her measuring tape and accepted the money from Professor McGonagall.
"Hmm, I suppose she's got the build for a chaser. Anyway, we'd better be on our way. Flourish and Blotts will close soon," and we left the shop in a hurry.
"Florence Malkin was in my year at Hogwarts, a Hufflepuff. I could never stand her," Professor McGonagall said, hurrying up the cobblestone streets. The crowd had begun to clear out now. "Always a gossip. I remember one year, she made up a rumor that Pomona and I—Molly!"
A rather plump but warm looking red-headed woman had turned the corner, and the clump of redheaded minions she had in tow had almost knocked me over.
"Oh hello Minerva!" she smiled. "Well, of course you know Charlie, Percy, Fred and George. This is Ron, he'll be starting the year after this year, and then Ginny the year after he does."
"Yes yes, it's nice to meet you both. Charlie, congratulations on becoming Quidditch captain. It was well-deserved. Anyways, I will see you four at the feast, we're headed to Flourish and Blotts," said Professor McGonagall, obviously eager to extract herself from the conversation. They exchanged their goodbyes and we continued on.
All students should have a copy of each of the following:
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling
A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble
"Well hello Minerva. Haven't seen you around here in a while. What can I get for you and the girl?" asked the shopkeeper, descending a long ladder that seemed to go on forever.
"She'll just have all the Hogwarts first year books. Goshawk, Bagshot, Waffling, all the classics," said Professor McGonagall.
"Right you are Minerva. Anyway, how are things over at the school? Has it really been thirty years since I've been? Oh, that's impossible. Is everything alright?" asked the shopkeeper, flicking books off the shelf with a wave of his wand.
Professor McGonagall laughed and took the parcel from him. She immediately dumped it into my hands and I almost toppled over from the weight. We left the store and she promised that our next stop would be the last.
OTHER EQUIPMENT
1 wand
"Minerva, it's been a while. Who is this you've got with you?" asked a voice coming from between the bookshelves.
Ollivanders Wand Shop was cold and uninviting. Unlike the packed Madam Malkin's the shop was small and empty, except for a single chair in the corner. Shelves crammed with narrow boxes took up most of the shop's square footage. Even if I hadn't seen the Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. sign, I would have guessed that the place was old. It seemed as if the whole shop had a thin layer of dust about it.
"Garrick, this is Katie Bell. She'll be a first year at Hogwarts."
Professor McGonagall shoved me closer towards Ollivander and I looked at his face in the light of the single bulb that flickered above.
He was an old man, with large silvery eyes. They made him look as if he were almost crazed or mad. He saw my face and immediately pulled out a box.
"Ten inches, chestnut, unicorn hair core, surprisingly supple," he said, handing over a glossy wooden wand over to me. I waved it at once and immediately, a cool breeze fell over me. I look over to Mr. Ollivander and a small smile appears upon his face.
"Chestnut and unicorn hair. Interesting. Do you know what the Wizengamot is?" he asked me, pacing between the shelves, appearing to be in deep thought.
I nodded. My week at Professor McGonagall's had been filled with books and essays to make sure I was completely educated about the wizarding world. The Wizengamot was wizarding Britain's high court of law and part of the Ministry of Magic. Professor McGonagall had told me that her dream as a little girl was to be the Chief Warlock (or in her case, Witch) of the court.
"Three consecutive Wizengamot Chief Warlocks have possessed wands of chestnut and unicorn. From this combination, it appears that you have a predilection for the world of justice," he said, polishing my wand and handing it to me.
Professor McGonagall smiled at me. "I suppose it's in your blood."