A/N: So sorry for the delay in updates. I had a concert to go to on Saturday and didn't get home until about seven the next day. Needless to say, I've been trying to catch up on sleep ever since. For this chapter, I've combined two separate chapters together because the one would have been far too short. I hope you enjoy!
"A school of magic?"
Alexa sat at the foot of the stairs, leaning against the banister as her parents hushed voices floated out of the sitting room to her.
"This is some trick, Eileen," Mr. Lott said heatedly. "And even if there was an acceptance letter, we never saw it."
"Alexa kept it hidden," Mrs. Lott explained wearily.
"Why on earth would she do that?"
"Because of the way we're reacting right now, I suppose." Mrs. Lott sighed. "Should we go along with it? Mum said she'd take Lexa if we don't."
"You're mum's senile," Mr. Lott grumbled.
"Dan," Mrs. Lott said in a low warning tone.
"If we do this and prove to her that magic is not real, what then?" Mr. Lott wondered. "She'll be crushed."
"But she'll know the truth."
There was a long, heavy silence that weighed Alexa down. They didn't believe, she thought sadly.
"I'm going to bed," Mrs. Lott said after a while and Alexa heard her mother's feet shuffling slowly in her direction.
Alexa hurried up the stairs before she was caught and flung herself onto her bed, hot, angrytears spilling down her cheeks.
She heard her mother approach her door, heard her footsteps stop outside, and then she kept going.
Alexa buried her face in her pillows and cried until she could cry no more.
"I'm going."
She threw off her blankets and stood, glancing around her dark room for a moment before nodding to herself.
Determination ripping through her, Alexa strode down the stairs and into the kitchen, head held high, shoulders back, and faced her surprised parents.
Outside, the sun was just beginning to rise and neither one of them looked awake just yet.
It was the beginning of August and Alexa still had not gotten any of her school supplies. She wanted to get them soon so that she could study them before she went off to Hogwarts, but her parents' position on the matter had not budged.
She had resolved the night before to prove to them that magic was real, that she could, indeed, do it. She was not going to miss out on learning how to control her magical abilities simply because her parents did not believe.
Eleven years old or not, Alexa was not giving in.
"I'm going to Hogwarts," she announced as the shock in her parents faces quickly wore off.
"Alexa, don't," Mrs. Lott suggested.
"Mum, just listen –"
"Alexa, enough," Mr. Lott said harshly. "Go back upstairs and go back to bed. Now," he added when Alexa made no effort to move.
In response, Alexa looked towards the cupboards and they burst open, causing Mrs. Lott to jump back in alarm.
After a brief glance towards her parents, Alexa then watched them slam shut while her parents stood in silent awe and obvious fear. She could almost hear their internal screaming as she stood in the doorway, watching them calmly.
"So," she said mildly, looking between her equally stunned parents, "can I go?"
She had spotted The Leaky Cauldron before her parents and had pushed her way eagerly into the dimly lit pub.
They found Tom, the innkeeper, who had, in turn, vanished for a moment before returning with the very large man, Hagrid.
"I knew yeh'd make it," Hagrid boomed, beaming down at Alexa proudly while her parents stood back a ways.
"I almost didn't," she confessed, looking over her shoulders at her parents. Her mother shifted awkwardly on her feet while her father stared determinedly at his feet. "But I convinced them."
"I'm sure yeh did." Hagrid motioned for Alexa's parents to come closer while he simultaneously removed his pink umbrella. "Righ', follow me."
He led the way into the back of the pub to a small, walled courtyard that held nothing but a few odd trashcans with weeds poking up through the ground.
Alexa peered around him as he tapped a brick three times.
It quivered then moved to reveal a small hole that grew wider and wider until, finally, Alexa was staring out at a crowded street.
"Welcome to Diagon Alley, Alexa," Hagrid said cheerfully before leading the way into the crowd.
"Alexa," Mrs. Lott hissed just as Alexa had made to follow. "We don't know if we can do this."
"Mum, hurry up or we'll lose him," Alexa insisted, ignoring her mother's fear.
"Lose him?" Mr. Lott scoffed as they slowly inched their way into the cobbled street. "He's nearly ten feet tall. We'd never lose him."
"Come on," Alexa said impatiently, tugging on her mother as they slipped through the crowd towards Hagrid.
They were headed towards a great, tall marble building that seemed to be leaning precariously towards the right side of the street.
"What is that, Hagrid?" Alexa wondered as she sidled up beside him.
"Tha's Gringotts," Hagrid explained. "Tha's where yeh'll exchange yer Muggle money fer our money."
"Muggle money." Alexa repeated, the word floating back to the forefront of her mind. "You mean we have to exchange our notes for…what?"
"Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts," Hagrid explained. "They're all coins, see, and yeh can only use 'em here. Our money don't work in the Muggle world same as how yers don't work in our world."
He led the way into the tipsy building and Alexa couldn't seem to figure out which side to look at.
The floor was made of marble and all along the great hall sat short little creatures with long noses and fingers. Some were talking to men and women while others weighed jewels or scribbled on paper with quills.
"What are they?" Alexa wondered in a hushed voice lest she be overheard.
"They're goblins," Hagrid explained in an equally low voice. "Clever creatures, goblins, but yeh never want ter cross one."
After they had exchanged three hundred pounds for ninety-nine Galleons, nine Sickles, and twelve Knuts, Alexa practically skipped back out of Gringotts and out into the sunny street outside.
"What's first?" Alexa asked excitedly.
"Check yer list," Hagrid suggested. "It's got everything yeh need."
Alexa turned to her mother, who had removed the list from her pocketbook and began reading it aloud.
"'First-year students will require: 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)," Mrs. Lott said. "It also says you should have name tags for your clothes."
"Should we get my robes first?" Alexa asked Hagrid. "Or should we get my books?"
"Whatever yeh like," Hagrid said happily.
"Robes first, I think," Mrs. Lott said as she folded up the letter and tucked it back into her pocketbook. She looked expectantly at Hagrid, who nodded once then led the way.
Alexa looked everywhere she could, at the brightly colored men and women in pointy hats and velvet cloaks, at the caged owls and cats outside Eeylops Owl Emporium and Magical Menagerie, at the books stacked precariously inside the windows at Flourish and Blotts. She spotted a group of children around her age with their faces pressed against the glass of Quality Quidditch Supplies, talking excitedly about a new broom.
Brooms, wands, cloaks. It was all real, Alexa thought, her mind reeling as she looked here and there along the street. Magic was real and she was going to a magic school.
If only she could tell Jo.
She felt more than a little disheartened at the thought of keeping it a secret from her friend, but she knew that secrecy was important. After all, she herself had never heard of Hogwarts or Diagon Alley until she discovered she was a witch. There had to be some level of security to keep the magical world hidden from the other world, she reasoned as they stepped inside Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.
A squat woman clad all in emerald bustled up to Alexa, smiling expectantly at her.
"Hogwarts, dear?" she said, looking over Alexa's head to Hagrid. "We're fitting another young girl just now. If you'll follow me."
Alexa looked nervously back at her parents, who both gave her encouraging smiles before she hurried after Madam Malkin to the back of the shop.
A short girl with long, blonde hair stood on a stool while another woman pinned a black robe to her small frame.
Madam Malkin put Alexa on the stool beside the girl before slipping a long robe over her head, pinning it to the right length.
The two girls stood in silence while the women worked before the blonde girl cleared her throat before greeting Alexa.
"Are you off to Hogwarts this year?" she asked, sounding timid.
"Yes," Alexa said, shifting a little on her feet, earning her a quick chastisement from Madam Malkin.
"Have you gotten any of your books yet?" the girl wanted to know.
Alexa shook her head. "This is our first stop. I think that will be next, though."
"I've already gotten my books," the girl said, smiling a little. "I'm Hannah Abbott."
"Alexa Lott."
"Have you any idea what House you think you'll be picked for?" Hannah Abbott wanted to know.
Alexa shook her head. "No."
"My mum thinks I'll be Hufflepuff, like her," Hannah said, looking excited. "I hope so. I'm not at all brave or smart or, well, evil. But I suppose whatever House I'm in is what I am."
Alexa frowned slightly, unsure of what to say next. She knew absolutely nothing about the Houses aside from their names.
The second woman announced that Hannah was finished and the girl hopped down from the stool.
"I'll see you at Hogwarts," she said brightly, waving as she left Alexa alone.
When Alexa had finished and they had paid for the robes, Hagrid led them up the street to Flourish and Blotts where Alexa spotted a book on hexes.
"I wouldn' bother with tha'," Hagrid said wisely as she made to pull it from the shelf.
"Why not?" she wanted to know.
"Yeh can't do magic outside of Hogwarts, fer one thing," Hagrid explained as he led her back to her parents, "and tha's far more advanced magic than yeh'll be able ter do jus' yet."
"When I can I tell my friends that I'm a witch?" Alexa asked tentatively.
Hagrid looked regretful. "Not fer a while, I'm afraid. They can' know about us."
"Why not?" she asked though she was certain she already knew the answer.
"If everyone knew about magic, they'd want ter use it to fix every small problem they have," Hagrid told her. "And if they found out about us, it could mean the collapse of everything we've kept secret for centuries."
"Hagrid, can you explain the Houses to me?" she asked later while they stood in line to pay for her books. They were heavy things and she wondered how she was going to carry them around with her every day.
"Gryffindor is fer people who are brave," he explained as the line moved slowly forward. "Hufflepuff are the loyal lot. They're treated like duffers, but they're a nice bunch. Ravenclaw is fer people who have brains. They can be a bit snobbish but they're not all bad."
"And Slytherin?" she pressed. "What about them?"
"There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin," he said darkly as they neared the counter. "One of the worst dark wizards was a Slytherin. That House if full of people who only care abou' themselves."
Alexa shuffled her feet against the scarred wood floor.
"Maybe I'll be a Hufflepuff," she said quietly. "They don't sound so bad. I'm not brave or smart or selfish, so maybe I'm a Hufflepuff." She was echoing Hannah Abbott, but she was beginning to think the girl was right.
"Better than Slytherin," Hagrid said gruffly.
After they had paid for the books, they bought parchment, ink and quills, then slipped into Eeylops where Alexa's parents bought themselves an owl and got Alexa a black cat with a white patch on her stomach.
"What are yeh gonna name her?" Hagrid wanted to know as they headed down the street towards Ollivanders.
"I don't know yet," she admitted as the cat in the cage mewled loudly. "She doesn't seem happy, though."
"But she likes you," Mrs. Lott piped up. "That's what matters."
When they approached the wand shop, Hagrid suggested that he wait outside with the owl and cat while they went in.
"If you're sure," Mrs. Lott said uncertainly. "I'm not sure what I can do in there."
Alexa put her hand on the doorknob as Hagrid said, "It's interestin' ter watch."
Leading the way into the shop, Alexa approached the empty counter and rang the bell, where it echoed loudly throughout the shop.
Looking back at her parents, she saw that her mother had sat down on an empty stool while her father peered curiously a wand displayed in the window on a faded pillow.
"A new face is always a welcome one."
Alexa jumped at the voice overhead and spun round to find a tall man with wild, gray hair staring down at her from the top of a staircase. He had a massive ledger in his hands, which he closed as he descended the stairs.
Stepping behind the counter, he dropped the ledger onto the counter and picked up a measuring tape.
"Hello," Alexa said, feeling awkward as the man moved around the counter towards her.
"Which is your wand arm?" he asked as he stretched out the tape.
"Er, my right arm," she answered uncertainly.
"Hold out your arm." He measured Alexa from shoulder to shoulder, then wrist to elbow, knee to armpit, around her head, and from shoulder to floor. While he measured, he said, "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance. We use phoenix tail feathers, heartstrings of dragons, and unicorn hairs. There are no two Ollivander wands that are exactly the same, just as no person is the same nor any unicorn or dragon or phoenix is the same. You will also never get the same result from another wizard's wand that you get with your own. The wand, after all, chooses the wizard, not the other way around."
Alexa suddenly noticed that the measuring tape, which was measuring her fingers, was measuring on its own. Mr. Ollivander had moved to a shelf and had already begun pulling down long, narrow boxes and was stacking them on a tall table beside him.
"That will do," he said with a snap of his fingers and the measuring tape fell in a heap to the floor at Alexa's feet. He removed the lid off the box in his hands and took out a long, gleaming wand that was stained red and handed it to her.
"Try this. It's made of apple wood, dragon heartstring core, eleven and a half inches, slightly springy," Mr. Ollivander reeled off as Alexa took the wand and gave it a little wave.
No sooner had Alexa raised her wand, however, than Mr. Ollivander took it from her and handed her another.
"Oak, phoenix feather, ten and a quarter inches, nice and supple."
Alexa had only just wrapped her hands around the handle when he snatched it back and handed her another.
"Chestnut, unicorn hair, quite pliant, nine inches. Try it out."
She had only just barely lifted the wand when Mr. Ollivander took it back and handed yet another – and another – and another. No wand seemed to satisfy Mr. Ollivander, but she got the distinct impression that he was rather enjoying himself.
"Tricky customers are the most fun, I think," Mr. Ollivander said as he lifted a black wand out of its box. "We'll find your perfect match, don't worry, dear."
As he handed her the wand, he said, "Ebony, phoenix feather, twelve and a quarter inches, nice and flexible."
As Alexa's fingers wrapped around the wand, she felt a rush of warmth in her fingers and she brought the wand down over her head, showering herself in red and gold sparks.
Mr. Ollivander seemed rather pleased and, as he took the wand back and replaced it in its box, said, "This wand is very good with charms. Treat it well."
After they paid the seven Galleons for the wand, Alexa, who couldn't stop smiling, skipped out to Hagrid and showed it off.
"A good wand," he cried after she told him what it was. "Yeh'll make a fine witch."
As the day wore down and the sun began to sink behind the tall buildings, Hagrid led the way back to The Leaky Cauldron and, as they stood out in the street back in the Muggle world, Hagrid handed Alexa an envelope.
"Yer ticket to Hogwarts," he said as Alexa took it from him. "The train leaves at eleven o'clock exactly on the first o' September from King's Cross, so don' be late. Yeh'll need to find platform nine and three-quarters. It's between platforms nine and ten. Yeh'll need to run straight at the barrier. I can' wait ter see yeh at Hogwarts, Alexa."
Hagrid bid them farewell then disappeared back inside the Leaky Cauldron.
On the ride back home, with the owl and Alexa's new cat in the backseat of the car, Alexa watched the sun slip behind the horizon and the stars come out.
She finally allowed herself to be excited for what was to come.
A/N: I admittedly don't know very much about Hannah Abbott, so please forgive any lapses in facts. I, myself, am not a Hufflepuff (and am currently dealing with an identity crisis as I originally thought myself a Gryffindor only to realize that I might actually be a Slytherin) and so any knowledge about Hufflepuff and anyone in its House is unknown to me. As always, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please review. I read every single one.