"I, um, have to go; I only stayed because I saw you get hurt, but my Grams and dad… They're gonna be waiting for me." Isabelle muttered softly to the girl in front of her, keeping her gaze to the floor. However, thinking she might have seemed a little rude, she offered the girl a small smile before scurrying away to where her father and grandmother stood at the front desk.
It had been quite an interesting day, that event included. In such a short time she had been swept up from her normal life into that of a ... Witch. The term still seemed to leave a strange taste in her mouth. Witch. Never would she have imagined that she, Isabelle Reeves - who was repeatedly mocked for being weird at normal public school because of the unnatural events that seemed to only occur around her - would be in a situation such as this. It had all started with the arrival of a simple letter, stamped closed with a wax seal.
It had arrived in the mail for her earlier the same day that she helped the girl. It confused the little eleven year old that it was she and not her father that was the one getting the letter. She'd often asked why she never got mail like he did, and the simple answer was that she was young, and young people like her didn't normally get mail. Grasping the letter in her hands, the rest of the faded red mailbox's forgotten, she whirled around and sprinted back into the house, nearly tripping over her own feet to get to her father, who was sitting at his desk with coffee mug in hand.
"Daddy, look! It's for me!" She chirped, holding up the slightly crinkled letter in its envelope. He gave a light chuckle and a small smile before taking the letter away from her, careful not to rip the strange parchment.
However, his smile quickly faded away, and a puzzled look took its place. A few moments later, he gave a short chuckle and rolled his eyes.
"Izzy, dear, it's just a prank letter." He rubbed the girl's head, "I'm sure you'll get another letter soon, though, maybe." He reassured her. "You know how your Grams likes to send you things; it'll probably be from her."
Isabelle just let out a small 'oh' of disappointment before running back to the living room to watch more television. She was resigned to the fact that her father was probably right; it had probably been one of the stupid gits from her school. It wouldn't have surprised her any.
However, another letter did come for her, and it was the exact same letter; cream-colored paper with a red wax seal. It was this second letter that prompted her father to invite Marin, Isabelle's Grandmother, over to the house to discuss it.
"Izzy got a letter in the mail, and it's rather strange. At first, I only thought it was a prank letter, so I tore it up... But another one came in the mail today." He paused, holding it up for the grandmother to see. She seemed to grow eerily quiet. "The address says it's from somewhere called Hogwarts, but I've never heard of such a place around these parts... I wonder if it has anything to do with Lucy..." The father sighed, memories of the copper-haired woman flooding into his mind.
After quite a long time, Marin finally gave him a reply. "A letter from Hogwarts, you say? So Izzy is one of us then." The grandmother gave a wistful sigh, confusing the young man.
"What must be true? One of you? You know what's going on? Marin, what are you not telling me?!" He demanded to know, and the grandmother, after another pause, went into a long lecture, depicting Lucy and her family, how they were... different, to say the least. They were, in fact, part of a long line of witches and wizards. At first, the father merely thought she was joking, but after some explaining and consideration, remembering all those things Lucy had told him about the possibility of their Izzy being different, he knew something like that, however ludicrous, must be true.
That was the start of the domino effect. Marin - or Grams, as Izzy liked to call her - was quick to sit her down and explain the situation to her. In a lot of cases where a child and the parent didn't know what was going on, she said, it was normally the headmaster of the school, Albus Dumbledore, or the deputy headmistress, Minerva McGonagall, that would come and help them to understand. Rather than be scared or nervous or confused like Marin and the girl's father had expected, Izzy was fascinated and filled with excitement. Not only did she now have an explanation for the strange events that seemed to occur around her, but she was also presented an opportunity for a new and exciting life.
Not long after that, Marin had said that they'd need to go and get her supplies while they still had time, and so they were standing in front of Flourish and Blotts. This was their first stop of many while on their trip, and Izzy had never been more dumbfounded in her life by what she saw before her. Books were stacked up to the rooftops, and she briefly contemplated how they didn't fall over; it must have been magic. Men, women, and children of all ages scurried to and fro in the store, despite there being nobody at the front desk. Out of vague curiosity, she quickly spared another glance towards the girl she had helped up, who seemed to be berating the accused boy.
"You did a good thing in helping her," Her grandmother said, one of her hands laid gently on Izzy's shoulder. She shied sheepishly away from the older woman, rubbing her hands together as a sign of embarrassment.
"Well, no one else was gonna do anything…" She muttered in response.
Looking back up at her father, she listened intently as her grandmother explained the currency of witches and wizards. He seemed to struggle at grasping the concept of the magic world, but he was trying his best, she knew.
After purchasing the required books, they were quick to leave, making their way over to the next shops. Along the way, she gathered items such as a cauldron and scales, more than her little arms could carry - she was thankful they had carts around. She also received her wand, though only after a multitude of trial and errors and several broken objects. It was made of pear wood and contained a dragon heartstring core, was 11 1/4 inches, and was of a slightly springy flexibility. She kept it close to her as they continued walking around, eager to hold such a powerful possession.
Finally, they approached a store by the name Magical Menagerie, a place where she could pick out an animal to take along with her to the new school.
Upon entering the store, they were greeted with the typical loud noises one might hear in an animal shop. Owls were screeching, cats meowing, and toads croaking. Not particularly being a big fan of owls, she made her way over to the cats, where a wide variety of breeds were being held in cages.
None of them particularly caught her attention, as did none of them pay much attention to her. They just stared at her with bored eyes, tail flicking occasionally. Shaking her head, she made her way over to the toads that sat in a large aquarium.
Only one seemed to catch her eye out of the bunch. It was an evergreen colored toad, perhaps a little bigger than the size of her palm. It was sitting behind the glass, staring up at her with wide eyes. Izzy instantly knew this was the pet for her, not caring whether it was a toad or a strange choice to take to school.
She ran over to where her father stood at the front of the store and tugged gently on his arm.
"I found one..." Her face broke into a wide smile and she tugged him over to the aquarium, her Grams in tow. When they stopped in front of the tank, she pointed to the frog and looked back up towards them, a pleased look on her face. They simply looked back with a quizzical expression, looking quite unsure with the little girl's decision.
"Are you sure, Izzy, dear? A toad won't be very useful, plus you would have to borrow an Owl in order to send letters." Her Grams asked, as if trying to convince Izzy to reconsider her choice, but Izzy stuck to it.
"Yes, I'm sure! His name will be Pickles..." She whispered, staring at the toad longily. Her father just gave a low chuckle, shaking his head at his daughter's strange antics.
"Might as well give up now, she won't change her mind."
"What a strange child…" Grams sighed, but went to pay for it regardless.
After finally getting all of her required supplies, Grams allowed Izzy to explore around Diagon Alley for a little while, giving her a small amount of money incase she came across something she wanted. Without her Grams or father noticing, Izzy managed to slip Pickles into her jacket pocket before she left, the toad croaking occasionally.
She wandered through the massive crowd, a seemingly endless swarm of people. She occasionally looked up to read store signs or quietly apologize to people whom she bumped into. After passing a few shops, she stopped in front a store that caught her attention. The sign read Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop. Being curious, she walked into the establishment, watching from the shadows as kids ran around, shrieks ringing out as they tried the different joke products lining the shelves.
"It's genius! Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks! Absolutely brilliant! Imagine what we could do with these." Izzy heard a whisper float down one of the aisles. She stealthily made her way into the aisle next to where she heard the sound, intent on eavesdropping on the seemingly mischievous conversation.
"These crazy plans are gonna be the death of you one day, Fred." Another voice sighed. Peeking through an opening in the shelves, Izzy spotted two boys huddled together, holding onto what she assumed to be the fireworks in question. To her surprise, the ginger haired boy from the bookstore was there, along with a dark-skinned boy with black, dreadlocked hair.
"I have no idea what you're talking about, Lee. Nothing'll go wrong."
"I can see why my parents are wary of you now." The other boy responded, though not without laughter.
It was then at what was possibly the most inconvenient of moments that Izzy felt movement from within her pocket. Pickles, it seemed, had decided that being cooped up in a pocket was just not for him; as her eyes trailed down to where he'd been held captive, she realized with a sharp exhalation of surprise that he'd managed to slip out of her pocket and was now hopping merrily underneath one of the shelves of joke items.
"H-hey! Come back here!" Izzy hissed, dropping to her knees and reaching desperately for her toad under the shelf; however, he just seemed to be out of reach. Scrambling back to her feet, she took off down the aisle and into the next one. Izzy was just about to make a grab for her new toad when the boys turned around, distracting her long enough that she managed to stumble and land in a heap of limbs at their feet. Pickles gave a deep croak before leaping onto her head.
"...That had to be the greatest entrance I have ever seen." The boy, whom she believed to be named Lee, spoke with an awestruck look on his face. Scraping together what remaining dignity she had, she grabbed hold of her toad and staggered to her feet, brushing off whatever filth was on her clothes. She felt her face heat up with embarrassment and she quickly turned to leave, but the ginger hair boy put a hand on her shoulder, thwarting her plan for a silent getaway.
"Hey, that's a little rude, falling down at our feet and not even introducing yourself." The ginger boy seemed to pout a bit, slightly disturbing the girl, but she kept quiet, holding the frog close to her. This, however, only seemed to irritate the ginger boy even more.
"Are you too good to talk to us? Is that it?"
"I don't talk to jerks." Izzy mumbled quietly. The irritated look on the boy's face was quickly replaced with confusion.
"Jerk? I've never even bloody met you before." The boy glared.
"You trampled right over that poor girl in the bookstore! And you had the audacity to laugh!" Izzy was trembling slightly, though whether it was from fear or anger, she didn't know.
"Bookstore...? I haven't been in t-!" The boy froze, a look of realization flashing on his face, before he started laughing. "That idiot. What did George get himself into now?" He shook his head.
"W-wait... So you aren't him...?" Izzy asked, becoming even more embarrassed at the idea of falsely accusing a stranger. The boy shook his head, a grin on his face.
"Nah, George is my twin. Normally I'd be by his side, but Mum decided it would be safer to keep us apart. We're quite the pranksters." He winked. "It seems we got off on the wrong foot." The boy held out his hand, almost in a treaty sort of way.
"I'm Fred. Nice to meet ya."
