A/N: Thank you for clicking on this fic. I really appreciate it. Growing up brown, I never saw myself in mainstream media. I want to change that and I'm starting here. This story will touch on the racism brown people experience. If that's not the kind of story you want, don't read it.
It was a well-known fact that Noor Dhillon was different. She was the only Canadian in the small town of Redhill, Surrey, she was brown, and she was decidedly odd. Nobody could ever point out what it was. Weird things just seemed to happen when she was around and everyone knew she was the root of it all. They just couldn't figure out how.
It was on a day when something especially peculiar happened that she found out the root of it all. Trent Miller, the school's biggest bully, had made fun of her father's thick Indian accent and suddenly found that he could no longer speak due to the fact that fire came out of his mouth every time he tried to. Needless to say, he learned his lesson.
When Noor got home that day, there was a letter on her bed. She placed her bag at the foot of her bed, climbing onto the bed and taking the letter in her hands. It had a very strange logo on the seal of its envelope, advertising someplace called 'Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry'. It was very specifically addressed to the "smallest room, 77 Martinridge Drive, Redhill, Surrey."
Noor was just about to open the letter when she heard a knock on her front door. "Can you get that, beta?" called her mother. Noor sighed, carefully tucking the letter into her hoodie and making her way to the front door.
Noor opened the door just slightly but she saw so many colours, she couldn't quite make out what was at the door. She decided to take her chances with the bundle of colours and opened the door.
"Ah, I'm not late am I? I was supposed to arrive with the letter." Peering up at the tall man in front of her, Noor let out an audible gasp. Standing on her front stoop was an extremely old man wearing what could only be described as a robe with an odd pointy hat sat atop his shock-white hair.
"Uh, not by a lot," replied Noor, internally smacking herself as that had come out as more of a question than a statement. Noor stepped back and gestured to the living room, inviting the strange man inside. He immediately took a seat in the armchair across from the fireplace.
"Noor, who was-Oh! Hello!" Mrs. Dhillon said, trying to mask the surprise in her voice.
"Oh, it's quite alright for you to be surprised. I'll explain everything in just a second. Is your husband home?" the man asked.
"He is still at work. May I ask what your business here is? I do not believe we have met," replied Noor's mother.
"I believe it would be best to wait for your husband to arrive before I begin. Do not fret, Mrs. Dhillon. The business I have here is nothing of nefarious nature." Noor's mother was, quite understandably, taken aback at the fact that this odd man knew her name. However, she did not let that stop her from being a good host.
"Would you like anything to drink while we wait?" asked Mrs. Dhillon. The man politely shook his head, looking around the living room.
"I must say, it is quite a nice place you have here," said the man. Mrs. Dhillon blushed, mumbling a quiet, "Thank you."
That was when the front door opened. Mr. Dhillon stepped inside and hung his coat on the rack by the door. "Good evening, meri jaan. What's for-" His sentence ended abruptly when he turned around to see the strange man sitting in his living room, his briefcase falling from his hand with a smack.
"I-who-what-" stuttered Mr. Dhillon. The old man chuckled and stood up, reaching out a hand.
"I am Professor Dumbledore. I have an offer for your child to attend my school. If you could have a seat, we will discuss this further." Mr. Dhillon did indeed have a seat. He had begun to look very pale. "Mr. Dhillon, I believe you are aware of the reason why I am here." Mr. Dhillon nodded his head, unable to say anything as he had been rendered speechless at the appearance of this strange man. Mrs. Dhillon shot him an odd look. They would be talking later.
"It doesn't seem as though you have mentioned this to your wife?" the professor prodded. Mr. Dhillon shook his head. His wife's odd look turned into an angry one. "I'm guessing you would like me to share this information?" asked the man. Mr. Dhillon nodded.
"I am the Headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." There was an audible gasp from Mrs. Dhillon. "I assure you, I am being serious. Magic is a very peculiar thing. Though we have not been able to figure out where it comes from, it does exist. There is a small percentage of the population that has magical blood. We have hidden our abilities from the general population-well, I'm sure you would understand why. Not everyone has magical blood and I'm sure you could imagine what would happen if we were to expose ourselves.
"Magic is usually present in individuals whose direct family has been known to be witches or wizards. However, sometimes a magical individual is found who does not have magical blood in their family. Your child seems to be a bit of both. Though neither of you has magical abilities, a cousin of Mr. Dhillon's is a wizard. Now, we are not quite certain if you, Mr. Dhillon, have ancestors that were wizards, which would explain the presence of two magical individuals in a family, or if it is merely a coincidence. Either way, your child, Noor, is a witch. I am sure you have noticed that odd things appear to happen around your child." Noor's parents nodded, still unable to speak.
"When children have not yet received training in how to harness and develop their magic, it can be released when they are feeling strong emotion."
Noor's mind drifted off to that time her parents would not let her wear shorts. They were pretty traditional as they were born and raised in India. She was very angry at that moment and every pair of pants she put on would shrink until they only reached her knees.
"W-we have witnessed th-that," stammered Mr. Dhillon. Professor Dumbledore just smiled.
"I can imagine. Now, there is a way we can train your daughter here in how to tame and harness this magic. My school exists solely for that purpose. I am aware that your particular financial situation does not allow for much-yes, we do our research," the Professor said at the looks from Noor's parents. "Hogwarts has a fund for students in tough financial spots. All we ask is that you pay 50%. We will cover the other half." The professor stopped here, giving Noor's parents the opportunity to speak.
"Where is this school?" asked Mrs. Dhillon.
"Hogwarts is located in the mountains of Scotland. This is a boarding school. Meals are included in the fees," the professor responded.
"What about school supplies? Where will we find it?"
"There is a place in London where everything listed in the letter may be found. The school supplies are included in our portion of the fees."
There were a few moments of silence before Mr. Dhillon spoke up. "Where is this letter you speak of?" Noor took the letter out of her pocket and gave it to her father. There were a few more moments of silence while Noor's parents looked the letter over. "We appreciate you coming here. We will have to discuss."
"Of course," Professor Dumbledore replied. Noor's parents rose from the couch and moved into the kitchen, though that didn't make much of a difference as Noor's parents were speaking in Punjabi.
"What language is that?" asked the professor.
"Punjabi," answered Noor. The professor simply nodded.
"I usually do not mention this to parents as it can add unnecessary pressure on the students but I must stress how important what I am about to say is. We can pull your funding on account of bad behaviour. We, at Hogwarts, do not and will not tolerate reckless behaviour that puts at risk the wellbeing of yourself, other students, or Hogwarts staff. Of course, we will thoroughly investigate any such situation but if we find that your involvement is of significance, we will dole out punishment accordingly. That being said, we have not encountered many such situations in the past and I have full confidence in your ability to perform well. No matter what, Hogwarts will be there to help."
Noor had been dwelling on everything that had happened in the last week. Noor had never belonged anywhere before. From her first day in kindergarten back in Canada, she had felt out of place. She'd never had friends before. Once strange things started happening around her, it drove everyone away. She didn't have a chance.
When her family moved to England, she thought she had a fresh start. However, there were fewer brown people in this small town than in Canada. That already put her at a disadvantage. She tried her hardest to make friends but it didn't pan out. Strange things just kept happening.
Now that she knew that there were other people like her, that there was a whole school for people like her, she knew she finally had a chance. Her parents agreed to let her go to this school. In truth, they had been worried about her for a long time. Other kids were bringing friends to their homes for playdates but their daughter never had any friends. She was lonely and despite her efforts to hide that from her parents, they noticed. Now, there might be a place where she belongs. Noor could not be more excited to get going.
A sharp knock to Noor's bedroom door pulled her out of her reverie. She looked up and saw her mother's face peaking into her room. "Someone from your new school is here to take you shopping. Have fun, beta. Be safe," she said in Punjabi. Noor simply nodded, pulled on a hoodie, and picked up a backpack to carry her stuff.
As she made her way downstairs, her mind wandered to the types of things she needed. A cauldron? Dragon-hide gloves? Where could one get any of these things? Was the dragon-hide a joke? Surely dragons didn't exist. She smiled to herself as she realized that no one was to say what existed and what didn't.
She stepped off the last step to see a woman clad in yellow robes with what could only be called a witch's hat sat atop her head. She smiled in greeting, mumbling a quiet "hello."
"Good morning, Mrs. Cheema. I am Professor Sprout. I'm here to take you shopping for school supplies. I am also here to answer any questions you may have about the wizarding world. We must get going immediately. There is lots of rush in Diagon Alley this time of year. Now, I want you to grab my arm really tight and we'll get going."
Noor simply nodded and took hold of Professor Sprout's arm. Professor Sprout turned sharply on the spot and Noor felt this morning's breakfast rise into her throat. Her surroundings vanished in a swirl and a split second later, her feet planted hard into the ground in a completely different setting. She fell to the ground, panting as she tried to catch her breath. Professor Sprout chuckled.
"That's not an uncommon reaction to an individual's first Apparition."
"A-what?" Noor managed.
"Apparition. I believe Muggles - non-magical folks - would call it teleportation. Adult wizards can acquire a license to Apparate. Kids, however, are allowed to be taken places through Side-Along Apparition. That's what we just did." Noor nodded and struggled to her feet, taking in the site around her.
They seemed to be in a bustling marketplace of sorts. Many shops lined both sides of a cobble-stone street as far as the eye could see. Behind them, there was a towering white marble building. The street was packed with parents and what Noor assumed were students trying to do their shopping. The shouts of parents calling for their children could be heard from all sides. It reminded Noor of Black Friday shopping.
"This is Diagon Alley. It's essentially the main shopping center for wizards. You can get pretty much anything here," explained Professor Sprout.
Noor furrowed her eyebrows. "Aren't we supposed to be secret from normal- I mean, Muggles?"
"Oh, yes, of course. Streets like these are magically concealed. There are lots of charms in place to make sure a Muggle doesn't stumble upon any of this stuff. We should probably head over to Madam Malkin's first to get your robes made. Follow me. If you happen to get lost, just meet me over by Gringotts."
"What's Gringotts?" Noor asked.
"Gringotts is the wizarding bank. It's run by goblins. It's that big white building behind us." Noor nodded, not wanting to ask more questions for fear of bothering the professor. She seemed to read Noor's mind, however, as the very next thing she said was, "So, what do you want to know about Hogwarts?"
A very flushed Noor responded with, "Uh, anything I need to know, I guess. I don't want to be confused on the first day."
The pair arrived at Madam Malkin's. The place was packed. A woman who Noor assumed was Madam Malkin immediately rushed Noor over to an available space next to a pale blonde girl that looked to be of Noor's age. Professor Sprout followed.
The day went quite like this. As the two witches moved from shop to shop gathering school supplies, Professor Sprout told Noor a bit about the school's history and how it worked. She also answered any questions the girl had. It was around 4 o'clock in the afternoon when they finished their shopping and Noor was exhausted. So exhausted, in fact, that when she got home, she didn't wait for dinner. She went straight to her room and collapsed on her bed.
As tired as she was, she could not fall asleep. Professor Sprout had shared all she thought Noor would need to know before starting school and more. It was a lot of information to digest and it only made Noor that much more excited to go to Hogwarts.
There were four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Professor Sprout was the head of Hufflepuff house. The houses served as a way to organize classes and create families within the school. Professor Sprout had stressed one very important thing to Noor. Slytherin house had quite a bad reputation. A lot of dark wizards have come from that house. Despite the fact that a few members of that house had lots of prejudice, some of the students are quite decent. Professor Sprout had said to keep an open mind when it came to students from that house. Members of the house could be mean, sometimes downright cruel, but it didn't help that everyone else in the school did not like them one bit.
Noor understood that. Having brown skin had taught her quite a bit, even at this point in her life. Some people that looked like her had done some bad things, hurt a lot of people. It seems that everyone in the world thought that because this one group of brown people were terrorists, that all of them were terrorists. Noor understood that she had to be considerate. Just because some Slytherins were Dark Wizards and bad people didn't mean that all of them were.
The most appalling thing that Professor Sprout had shared was about a Dark Lord named Voldemort. Nobody says his name. He Who Must Not Be Named was something of a wizard Hitler except instead of the hatred of Jewish people driving his war, it was hatred of Muggles and Muggleborn folks. According to He Who Must Not Be Named and his supporters - called Death Eaters - if both of your parents aren't wizards then you might as well be cow dung. If one of your parents was a witch or wizard, that's more tolerable.
A boy named Harry Potter had been this man's downfall but he'd lost both parents in the process. Noor felt extreme sympathy towards this Harry Potter. Poor boy doesn't even remember his parents. Professor Sprout had said that Harry Potter had started school the year before and he was a remarkable boy. Though he does tend to get into trouble often, he is a kind boy.
Noor shook her head. There was no point in dwelling on the negative. Racism was not anything new. She would not let it take away from the excitement she felt about going to this new school. She was still in awe of everything she had discovered in one day. Had a whole different world been lurking just a barrier away this whole time?
In just one day, they had visited an apothecary, a pet shop, a bookstore, and much more. Of course, most of this stuff sounded normal, but they had ingredients like powdered dragon talons at the apothecary, the pet shop had things from regular cats to weird but beautiful creatures like kneazles, and the bookstore had some books that screamed when you opened them and some that were just completely invisible.
The most wonderful of all the shops, however, was Ollivander's. Noor didn't know what to expect going in. All she knew was that she would be getting her wand here. Admittedly, she had expected the shop to be a bit more flashy. In actuality, the shop was quite small and dark. There weren't many windows and dust lined many of the shelves. Ollivander himself was a very odd old man. He gave Noor a weird vibe. She didn't like the way he looked at her. The whole experience of getting a wand was quite strange but in the end, Noor was just excited to have a wand. The wand she walked out with was eleven inches, laurel with a unicorn hair core, and Ollivander had said it was "quite bendy and flexible." Frankly, Noor had no idea what that meant. She was just glad a wand had chosen her. She had been nervous she would not be magical enough.
The whole trip to Diagon Alley had been quite mesmerizing. Despite Professor Sprout's efforts to answer all of her questions, she was left with so many more.
With thoughts of what classes she would be taking and what she would excel at running through her mind, Noor drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face.