Five years earlier, Penny sat in an odd-looking office. There were things that spun, things that glowed, and flew around the room. It was definitely the strangest office she'd ever seen. The man that sat across from her looked like he was over 200 years old. Of course, that was impossible; no one could live that long! He had a beard that was so long, it pooled in his lap. His hair was just as long. He also wore a strange pointed hat that Penny had only seen people wear on Halloween. The man stared at her through half-moon spectacles.
"Penny, do you believe in magic?" He said.
"Magic? I don't know, why do you ask?" Penny replied.
"Penny, can you do things that other kids cannot?" He asked, not skipping a beat.
"Well…" Penny shifted in her seat. She remembered a time when she had done something quite out of the ordinary. A boy she knew, who always teased her, annoyed her so much one day that Penny pushed him hard onto the ground and broke his back. Except, she had done it without even touching him. After that, the boy stopped teasing her, but only for about a month. "I can…move things. Without touching them"
"Ah, I see," the man chuckled. "I ask again Penny, do you believe in magic?"
Penny didn't know how to reply. Of course it was uncanny what she could do but that wasn't…magic, was it? Then the man lifted an odd-looking stick (though it looked quite normal compared to everything else in the room) and pointed it at a book on a table across the room.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" He said and the book lifted from the table with no one touching it. The man directed the book and it flew in circles around the room. Then it dropped onto his desk, right in front of Penny. The book was titled "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them." It was leather bound and the words were spelled out in gold.
"How did you do that?!" Penny exclaimed.
"Magic," the man replied. Then all joy drained from his face and he looked at Penny with a sorrowful expression. "Penny, do you know your parents?"
A bit of a personal question for him to ask. But Penny didn't want to be rude so she told him that she did not.
"I am sorry to be the one telling you this but I feel you need to know the truth."
"Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery told me they died in a plane crash," Penny said quietly.
"A good lie for child. The truth, I am afraid, is far worse."
"Worse than a plane crash?" Penny trembled.
"I'm sorry…Penny, your father is Sirius Black and he is, unfortunately, in a very secure prison called Azkaban."
"Oh…and my mother?"
"We do not know who your mother is, I am very sorry."
Penny didn't understand how that could even work. Wouldn't the guards at the prison know if a woman gave birth to a child? The man sensed that was what she was thinking. He explained something about dementors and how so many women get pregnant that they can't keep track of all the babies. Penny's head was spinning. Her father was alive? How did he even get in prison? How long would he be there? She had so many questions but the one she actually asked the man was:
"Did the Montgomery's know?" The couple she had grown up with, lying to her this whole time?
"Yes, I'm afraid. Both Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery are friends of the wizarding world though neither can do magic."
Penny couldn't believe it. She felt betrayed.
"I know this is bad timing, but I would like you to enroll in my school. Hogwarts. You can learn to control your magic here."
Penny felt like this could be somewhere she could belong. Everyone would be weird like her!
"The first day, and the sorting will be on September the first. Here is a list of supplies you'll need. I am sure Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery will know the way to Diagon Alley. I look forward to seeing you, Penny."
Penny peered down at the list. It named spell books, potions, and a wand!
"Thank you- er… sorry, I didn't catch your name. What was it again?" She asked him.
"Professor Dumbledore," he smiled. Penny smiled back and walked out of his office.