Kate loved her new bedroom. From her perch on the window ledge she could see far across the rolling fields surrounding Bourton-On-The-Water. The attic wasn't large, but it had enough room for her bookcase; the shelves were filled to bursting and small piles of novels had begun to accumulate at the foot of her bed. Her second-hand dresser and wardrobe sat against the far wall atop a fake Persian rug.
Her bed was pushed up against the wall beneath the window. She turned back to it, grabbed the pair of binoculars resting on her pillow, and had just started to focus them on an interesting-looking bird when she heard her mother call for her to come downstairs.
Kate lowered the collapsible ladder, making a mental note to add 'rope pirate ladder' to her Christmas list, and scurried along the landing and down into the hall. "This lady would like to talk to you" said her mother, gesturing politely towards the stranger who was hovering by the front door. "She's from the local school board."
An explosion of salt and pepper curls billowing out from beneath a worn, patched hat surround the woman's round pink face. She smiled warmly down at Kate; she was a head shorter than Kate's mother and her frayed, slightly-dirty dress matched the antique clutch purse grasped in her hands.
"Pomona Sprout, how do you do?"
"Very well, thank you" Kate replied. Professor Sprout smiled at her again and followed Kate's mother into the living room. Kate sat on the lounge; Professor Sprout sat opposite, looking apologetic as she opened her purse and began rummaging around inside.
"I'm afraid my news might come as a bit of a shock" She said, passing Kate a parchment-coloured envelope as she spoke. Kate took it; the address was written in green ink and said:
Miss K. Richardson
The Attic Bedroom
6 Bakewell Drive
Bourton-On-The-Water
Weirdly specific. Wait..how do they know where my bedroom is? Kate glanced back up at Professor Sprout, who was smiling encouragingly at her. She looked back down at the envelope, turning it over to reveal an old-fashioned wax seal. She broke the seal with her thumb and pulled out the letter.
"Dear Miss Richardson, we are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry-is this a joke?" Kate said quickly, passing the letter to astonished mother. Professor Sprout shook her head. "It's absolutely serious" she said cheerfully, opening her purse once again and withdrawing her wand.
With a small flick of her wrist, she sent the coffee table leaping into the air, changing colour and transforming into a brown bat. Kate beamed, slapping her hands across her mouth as she emitted shrill shrieks of delight. "You will be starting school on the first of September. Now Hogwarts is a boarding school, so I'm afraid you will be away from your parents until school holidays."
"Are you sure our daughter's a witch?" Mrs Richardson interrupted, clutching the letter. Kate froze, suddenly terrified that there had been a mistake. She had never exhibited any signs of magic that she was aware of; of course it had been a mistake! Her lip started to wobble and she felt teardrops prick the corners of her eyes.
Professor Sprout shook her head. "No, there is no mistake. When a child with magical powers is born in Britain, their name is entered into the Hogwarts registry for their eleventh year. When that year comes up, we send out special envoys-" She paused and pointed to herself, "-to deliver their letters to them and explain the situation. There has never been a mistake."
Kate felt slightly encouraged by this and blinked back the tears. Professor Sprout restored the coffee table to its original form and began to talk about school fees and uniform levees with Mrs Richardson. Kate grabbed the letter and read it all the way through. She fished the supply list out of the envelope and let out a muffled shriek, bouncing up and down furiously flapping her hands when she read 'broomstick'.
"I CAN HAVE A BROOMSTICK?!' She whipped around, tugging on her mother's arm. "I can't fly it because I'm only a first year but I CAN HAVE A BROOMSTICK!" She bounced up and down for the rest of Professor Sprout's visit, waving furiously as the woman wandered away down the street.
It was very hard to sleep that night. Kate had always believed that the world was bigger than people said. Now she had proof. She burrowed deeper into her blanket, gazing fondly up at the stars, and giggled, thinking about the interesting times ahead.
