4.

"... Professor," said Estelle, after they'd been walking for a while, "where are we going?"

"There's a very nice Italian restaurant down the street that's open twenty-four hours and it's your eleventh birthday," said Professor McGonagall crisply.

Estelle stopped. "It is?"

"It is now…" Professor McGonagall pulled out a silver pocket watch and checked, "... 12:36 AM on July thirty-first. Happy birthday."

"Oh. So you're taking me out to dinner?"

"That's right."

"... Do they have chocolate desserts at this restaurant?"

Estelle could have sworn she saw the Professor suppress a smile. "I'm sure they do."


They sat down in a back corner booth hidden by curtains. Professor McGonagall had quite fearlessly asked the maitre-de to be sat far away from the large party heartily loud and drunk off wine. But Estelle learned the true nature of Professor McGonagall's request when McGonagall closed the curtains, took out her wand, and waved it. The noise of the restaurant outside dropped a little.

"There," she said, "now no one will be able to hear us. I suppose you have questions? I have gathered your aunt and uncle didn't tell you anything."

"Yes. Who were my parents? Were they a witch and wizard? How many of us are there? Where do we live and go to school?" All these questions rushed out of Estelle at once.

"My job is typically to go around to all Muggleborn students - Muggles being non magical people - and introduce them to our world. We didn't think you'd have need of it because yes, your parents were a witch and wizard. Your mother was a Muggleborn, your father what is called a Pureblood - born from a long line of ancient wizarding stock. However, as you know nothing, I shall give you the standard Muggleborn speech.

"There is a whole other world of wizards and witches out there, a world entirely separate from the Muggle one. Muggle, by the way, is how witches and wizards refer to non magical people. We witches and wizards, we hide in little pockets among Muggle places. A shopping center is hidden away in one city, a few wizarding homes are hidden on the edge of a village, etcetera. There are less of us, which makes it easier."

"How does nobody ever notice?"

"We use something called a Notice Me Not charm. Muggles are charmed not to see what's around us. Undetectable Expansion charms are handy too - making much space within a place which on the outside has very little space. Both charms are heavily regulated by the Ministry of Magic, but they are useful in building large centers or residential sections.

"Now, there are several ways of traveling around the wizarding world, from pocket to pocket. If a witch or wizard sticks out their wand arm anywhere in Britain, a wizarding bus route will immediately find them, a route which can travel all over the country at lightning speeds, including to London. There is also Flooing - traveling from wizarding fireplace to wizarding fireplace. For adults, there is also Apparition - teleporting from one place to another. There is flying - usually on broomsticks - though never around Muggles. There are Portkeys - inanimate objects charmed to take whoever is touching them to a specific place at a specific time - usually used by the Ministry, to stagger magical entrance for Quidditch games and concerts and other such things.

"There are also various ways of communicating. One can use Floo powder to call other fireplaces and talk to the people within, and the most common method of communication is by messenger owl. Messenger owls have magic too - they can find any person in the world, can detect when someone wants to send mail to their owner, and can travel at remarkably fast speeds. We also have something called technomagic, Muggle devices specially charmed to work off of and around magic. We have laptops, iPods and iPhones, radios, music players, and the like. Hogwarts also has wifi capabilities.

"Hogwarts is a boarding school that runs on a seven-year training system. It's a medieval castle in Scotland built on ancient Celtic ground - the Druids were talented wand makers and scholars of ancient times, very important to British wizarding past."

"The Druids were the forerunners of Wiccans, weren't they?"

"They were. We wizards and witches have our own special brand of spirituality, something Christians would call Pagan. We worship nature, the earth from which all magic springs. We are Wiccans, essentially. Our saints, you could say, are powerful wizards and witches of times past. 'Merlin!', for example, is a common wizard epithet. We do believe in an afterlife, but only as a place to return to in between the reincarnation of our energies.

"In any case. The grounds of Hogwarts contain a lake, a forest, a graveyard, and a sports stadium. Connected to the grounds is the only all-magical village in Britain, called Hogsmeade. Both are protected under heavy anti-Muggle enchantments, built out in the middle of nowhere. You will reach there by wizarding train - a steam engine. There are four school houses, and each student is sorted into one. The current headmaster is Albus Dumbledore. He's a very important man. He's on the Wizengamot Council and is a part of the International Confederation of Wizards."

"Wizengamot Council?"

"The wizarding world has its own government - the Ministry of Magic - with its own Minister for Magic. The Minister governs Great Britain; other countries have their own wizarding governments. Departments of our government include the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, Department of International Magical Cooperation, Department of Magical Transportation, Department of Magical Games and Sports, and the research division, The Department of Mysteries.

"The International Confederation of Wizards is actually the council that originally created the current Ministry. New wizards are voted in when an old one phases out. The Wizengamot Council is wizarding Britain's high court of law, and also preceded the Ministry. It sends arrested and convicted people to Azkaban prison, an island fortress guarded by Dark creatures called Dementors.

"The Ministry is hidden underneath Whitehall, deep in London. There is also a wizarding shopping center in London, called the Alleys, but it is not connected to the pocket holding the Ministry. The Alleys are where I will take you later to buy your school supplies.

"Now, I should tell you what subjects are covered at Hogwarts. The main classes are Herbology - or, the study of magical plants, because herbs help brew potions - History of Magic, Potions, Transfiguration - or, the study of using magic to turn things into other things, which I teach - Charms - or, the study of using magic to change the properties of things - Defense Against the Dark Arts - the Dark Arts being violent magic - and Astronomy, because the movements of the planets are very important to studies of magic, particularly magical energy theories. How your magic moves on a sub level depends on how the stars are aligned. Electives you can take starting in third year include Divination - or, the study of seeing into the future - Care of Magical Creatures, Muggle Studies, Ancient Runes - or, the study of ancient runic magical scripts and the powers of individual runes, useful in wards and curses and the breaking of both - and Arithmancy - or, the study of the magical properties of numbers and numerology, which can be of great use in spellcrafting. You want to know what letters and syllables to use to make a spell? Look at their numerological magical strength. You can see the usefulness.

"Sometimes, upon upper division student petition, other elective subjects will be taught. Those include Alchemy, magical languages such as Mermish, and Occlumency and Legilimency - the basics of mind magic, namely mind blocking and mind reading.

"It must seem at this point like magic can do anything, but there are certain things it cannot do - it can't bring true life to a lifeless object, and it can't create food, water, or real money.

"Now, check your envelope again. There should be a second piece of parchment inside, detailing school materials required. Very good. Now, let's go through it together.

"Black robes, cloaks, and pointed hats as a uniform. When not out among Muggles, we always wear robes, along with what you would call Victorian-era wear. All pupils' clothes should carry name tags - that's because we have elves to clean your rooms, cook your food, and do your laundry. You won't see them, they don't like to be seen. Course books. Quills, ink, and parchment. For Potions, a cauldron, vials, scales, a knife, dragon hide protective gloves, and potions ingredients from the Apothecary - that's rather like a Muggle pharmacy. A telescope for Astronomy. A wand for spell work. Each student is allowed a pet - either an owl, a cat, or a toad. Oh, and no first year is allowed a flying broomstick - you spend your first year learning flying on the school brooms.

"Once you finish school, of course, you go out into the working world. Wizards and witches have stable career paths just like any other. As for wizarding jobs, there are really four kinds. You can do a working-class job, like be a shop clerk or a caretaker or something. You can work in teaching, in Healing, for the bank (which is mainly run by goblins who need wizards and witches to make and break the curses around their vaults), or you can work for the government; you can be a journalist - there are newspapers and magazines. Or you can specialize in something magical - be a Herbologist, or an Arithmancer, or an Auror (which is a Dark wizard catcher, rather like a policeman), or a Quidditch player or a broom maker, or a dragon tamer or a magizoologist, or a potioneer for the Apothecaries. And then, of course, there are also people in the arts - theater, music, painting, photography, writing, radio disc jockeys, etc.

"Quidditch is the main wizarding sport in Europe, played on broomsticks. We do use photography, and our photos and paintings are charmed to move according to a few basic personality traits, creating a two dimensional form of sentience. And yes, we do have modern music - radio, bands, record players, etc. We typically use new forms of sound with more old fashioned instruments and themes."

"So it's like steampunk."

"What's that?"

"... Never mind."

"Some other side notes: People don't discriminate by race, gender, or sexual orientation in the wizarding world. However, wizards and witches do discriminate by blood. Many wizards and witches even today think Muggles, Muggleborn witches and wizards - such as your mother - and even people raised in Muggle families should be kept out of the wizarding world.

"You see, wizards and witches had it badly during the witch hunts. Most adults could escape Muggle clutches, but Muggles did often used to set fire to wizarding children. That's why the magical world first separated from the Muggle one, and it's why we try to be accepting of diversity - we know what it's like to be discriminated against. Some people became very insulated here in our own little world - they have trouble letting go of the past.

"There was much controversy. A lot of people, even today, think Muggleborn witches and wizards aren't safe in the wizarding world - that they'll have some Muggle Christian self-hatred complex and will carry it in to a bunch of children who don't have any problem being wizards. Or that the Muggles' tether to rationalism will interfere with their ability to perform the more nonsensical forms of magic. Also keep in mind that witches and wizards have been out of contact with Muggles since medieval times, and imagine Muggle standards of cleanliness and livelihood based on that last impression. I say that as a Halfblood myself.

"But the thing is, there aren't enough witches and wizards to sustain a purely Pureblood population. Wizards and witches would all become incredibly inbred if they kicked out all the people with Muggles in their families, the ethical problems of forbidding legitimate wizards and witches entry aside. That's why so many children who come to Hogwarts are Muggleborns. And there are a lot of Muggleborns."

"So where do Muggleborns come from?"

"There are several theories. The most common one says that some witches and wizards marry Muggles and have Muggle families. The magic skips a few generations and then back flips viciously back into the gene pool. It's hard to tell, though, because sometimes a Muggle and a witch can procreate and give birth to several magical children.

"Some Pureblood witches and wizards try to say Muggleborns stole their magic. But no one credible believes that. Magic can't be stolen.

"Finally, a note on being around Muggles. Wizards and witches have to dress in Muggle clothes around Muggles, and are commanded to act as ordinary as possible in their presence. This can be hard - wizards and witches only ever wear robes and pointed hats, or perhaps Victorian-era wear like top hats and pocket watches and handkerchiefs, so Muggle fashion is a struggle for them. But wizards and witches do have little 'tells' - they'll always try to wear purple and green when out in Muggle public, so they can spot each other in a crowd."

"Strange people in purple and green sometimes come up and shake my hand."

"I wouldn't be surprised."

"What do you mean? How would they know me?"

"... It starts with a wizard, a Dark wizard, who performed violent, illegal acts. He called himself the Lord Voldemort - which is French for 'flight from death.' This Lord Voldemort sought immortality, which even wizards - who age slower than Muggles - have never been able to master. But his main goal was to destroy all Muggles and Muggleborns, kill them. He was one of those prejudiced who wanted everything to do with Muggles wiped from the face of the earth. He gathered a whole army full of followers who thought like he did, mostly old blue-blood Pure-blood families and Dark creatures, and they began a civil war against the Ministry. He killed so many people, most wizards and witches are afraid to even speak his name.

"Your parents fought on the Ministry's side, defending Muggles and Muggleborns. Your father was a rich Pureblood from an old blue-blood big-money family, your mother a kind and beautiful but poor Muggleborn with a Muggle sister (your Aunt Petunia), so obviously they supported unconventional Muggle-wizarding relationships. It caused quite the scandal, really, their marriage.

"In any case, your father was a duelist and your mother was a Healer. Dumbledore led the Light's fight against the Dark side - and word has it even Voldemort was afraid of him and his power. Voldemort never tried to touch Hogwarts; it's one of the safest and most fortified places in the world, and it's led by Dumbledore.

"Your parents were so powerful that Voldemort came after them personally, so they went into hiding, where they gave birth to and christened you.

"But Voldemort found your family, hiding out in a little village called Godric's Hollow, on Halloween night, one of the most powerfully magical holidays. He came to your house, and killed your parents in front of you. You were only a year old. Then he tried to kill you. But it didn't work. No one knows why. The Killing Curse rebounded off your forehead and all we know is that after that your house exploded and Voldemort was gone. They never found a body, he just... disappeared. Without him, his entire side fell apart, and the Light won the war.

"You and that scar are actually quite famous in the wizarding world. You're the Girl Who Lived. You ended the war. Dumbledore gave you to your Muggle aunt and uncle, first because they were your only living relatives, but second because he didn't want you to grow up famous and get a swelled head. We see where that got you.

"But in our world, at Hogwarts, everyone will know you. And, from your father, you will be fabulously rich."

Something very painful was going on inside Estelle's mind. As the story drew to a close, she remembered again the flash of green light, the pain in her forehead, more clearly than she had ever remembered them before. And she remembered something else, for the first time in her life - a high, cold, cruel laugh.

Voldemort had been laughing as he'd killed them.

"Do you have any other questions?"

"... Can you tell me more about my parents?"

"Of course. I knew them at Hogwarts; I was their teacher as well." McGonagall smiled fondly. "Your father, James Potter, was quite the troublemaker at school. But he was charming, everyone liked him, he was very funny. He was also an excellent Quidditch player. And he excelled in my class, Transfiguration. He could be quite brilliant - when he applied himself, which he didn't always do.

"Your mother, Lily Evans, was kind and imaginative, but quite fiery when she wanted to be. She was excellent at Charms and Healing, along with just about every other magic you could possibly think of.

"They were both very brave, strong people, and good soldiers. They put their money into a good cause. You should be proud of them. You look like them, you know. You look almost exactly like your mother. But you have your father's eyes."

"Professor McGonagall... I have a question," said Estelle uncomfortably. "I know why my uncle and cousin don't like magic. My uncle hates abnormality and things he has no control over; my cousin has simply been conditioned over time to hate me. But what about my aunt? Was she... jealous of my mother?"

She'd always wondered.

Professor McGonagall sighed. "... Your mother was very beautiful, and a very talented witch," she said at last. "Rather like yourself, if that little display of wandless magic with the trunk was any indication. Your aunt is not a particularly attractive woman, for all neatness, nor can I sense a drop of magical blood in her veins."

"Neither can I," Estelle admitted.

"I don't wish to speculate, but does that answer your question?"

Estelle thought about it. "... Yes, ma'am. What about the Potters? I know my mother's side of the family, the Evans family, they were just ordinary Muggles, but..."

"Yes. You have a wizard ancestor from the twelfth century who invented several commonly used medicinal potions. He was always pottering around in his garden - hence, 'Potter.' The Potters are rich because they get a cut of money every single time a Pepper-up Potion or a Skele-grow Potion is bought or made. That's like the Muggle equivalent of having a major share of money in Tylenol sales.

"Let's see, another of your ancestors was also a Muggle rights advocate, and no one in your family struck him off the family tree, which is why many of the stiff old Pureblood families don't consider the Potters 'true' Purebloods... True Purebloods would have struck him off the family tree, you see.

"Oh! And you're related to another famous Pureblood family called the Peverells. The Peverells married into the Potters centuries ago."

"And I have all that money?" Estelle asked, feeling dazed.

"You most certainly do. An ever-growing amount of money. You have a trust fund you can access now, and then the main Potter family account when you come of age at seventeen. You can also have wizarding money transferred into Muggle money at our bank, so you're wealthy in either world. Don't let it go to your head."

McGonagall suddenly tensed; her hand waved and the spell broke, just in time. The waiter bustled in, put their plates of spaghetti down in front of them. "Eat up," he said, smiling in a friendly sort of way.

"Sir," said McGonagall just before he left, "it's this girl's birthday tonight. Her name is Estelle and she likes chocolate. Could you please…?"

The waiter looked delighted. "Of course!" he said.

So all the waiters in the restaurant gathered around Estelle, singing her happy birthday, setting a slice of chocolate cake with a candle in it down in front of her. She smiled, closed her eyes, and wished hard - she wished that the wizarding world was real, that she could always be a part of it and the magic would never end.

She opened her eyes and blew out the candle. Professor McGonagall applauded politely, and everybody cheered.

"Eat up," said Professor McGonagall furtively once they had gone, leaning forward. "I've booked us a stay at a nearby hotel. In the morning, we leave for the London Alleys to buy your witch things. Does that sound like a good birthday?" She seemed genuinely anxious about this.

Estelle smiled and answered honestly. "It sounds like the best birthday I've ever had."