Chapter 1 The Letter
Over the summer, several good things had happened to me but the best came from an owl knocking on my glass paned window at seven o'clock on a bright Saturday morning.
I was having a pleasant dream when I woke up to a sharp tapping sound. I moaned and turned over, pulling the pillow over my head. The tapping persisted and now I was more than annoyed. I rolled over angrily, ready to commit murder, but I saw no one. The tapping had stopped.
Exhausted, I decided my befuddled head had tricked me so I rolled my eyes and sank groggily back into the blankets. No sooner had I succumbed to sleep, when again the tapping started over. I sat up, fully awake and very angry and looked around.
That was when I saw the owl that would change my life forever. I frowned at the window and blinked a few times. The owl was hovering in place and appeared to be almost as annoyed and tired as I was.
I shook my mane of mussed brown hair out of my face and blinked at the owl. It blinked back. We stood for a long moment, staring at each other before the owl let out a loud squawk and I realized it must be pretty tired just flapping there.
I hurriedly lifted the latch on my window and threw open the glass panels to the sun. The owl immediately zoomed in and collapsed on the white comforter lying on my bed. I frowned. I wasn't used to owls coming into my room in the broad daylight.
As I watched, the owl slowly lifted its head and gave me a look, as if to say, Finally! It was then that I noticed the owl had something attached to its leg.
I frowned and looked at the bird. It stared rather pointedly at the bit of parchment on its leg and something finally clicked as my brain worked fuzzily to wake up.
"Oh," I said, rather stupidly. I moved forward sluggishly and the owl seemed to roll its eyes at me.
I detached the piece of parchment from the bird's leg and the bird immediately sat up and shot out of the window like a bullet. Wondering why it had made such a quick escape (I told you, my brain wasn't working properly yet!), I stared down at the paper in my hands. It was a letter.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Ms. Granger,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted
at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please
find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no
later than July 31.
As you have been born to non-magical parents
a leaflet has also been enclosed with directions to retrieve your equipment.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Minerva McGonagall,
Deputy Headmistress
I looked numbly at the letter, than read it again. All of a sudden, it actually sank in. I was a witch! I could do magic! In a strange way, it made sense. Whenever I got angry or had an especially strong emotion, things would happen. Weird things. Now, I had an explanation from them.
I danced around my room with joy and screamed into the pillow happily. I was a witch! Then, I remembered my parents. I had to tell them! I was about to race off to their room and wake them up when I realized what the letter had said. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. I frowned. I hadn't seen another piece of paper.
I shook out the letter and to my surprise two more pieces of parchment fluttered to the floor. I stooped down and picked them up.
One of them was written on plain parchment and another one had been colored a bright purple. I picked up the plain one and was gratified to find that this was my list of equipment. I read it over once:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
UNIFORM
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)
Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags
COURSE BOOKS
All students should have a copy of each of the following:
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)
by Miranda Goshawk
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling
A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi
by Phyllida Spore
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
by Newt Scamander
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection
by Quentin Trimble
OTHER EQUIPMENT
1 wand
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set glass or crystal phials
1 telescope
1 set brass scales
Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS
ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS
I gaped at the parchment and then my face split into a wide grin. I quickly turned to the purple leaflet. This one was different than the other two and was written on plain paper (though it was purple) instead of parchment.
I glanced at it quickly, my whole body practically vibrating with the knowledge of the fact that I was indeed, a witch. The leaflet read:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Dear Ms. Granger,
We have been informed that you come from a family
of non-wizards (also known as Muggles).
Kindly read over the following directions so you will
be able to retrieve your equipment.
All equipment can be found at Diagon Alley.
To get to Diagon Alley, go to the Leaky Cauldron
(555 Birming Street, 33134, London, England)
Ask the landlord (Mr. Tom) to kindly escort you to
Diagon Alley and show him this letter.
Once in Diagon Alley, all of your equipment should
be found with ease. If you need help, do not be afraid
to ask!
We have included a bag of wizard money, which is at your disposal.
Gold coins are Galleons, silver are Sickles, and the bronze coins are
Knuts. For each Galleon there are 17 Sickles and for each Sickle there are 29
Knuts.
You may use this money to buy your supplies.
Thank you and we hope to see you next term!
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Minerva McGonagall,
Deputy Headmistress
Just as I finished reading the letter, an owl flew through my open window, and dumped a sack onto my bed. It jingled merrily as it fell and to my surprise, this owl stayed. I supposed it was waiting for my reply back to Hogwarts, which of course, would be a definite yes. I quickly scribbled, Yes, I accept my enrollment into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry onto a piece of paper and tied it to the owl's leg. Flushed with happiness, I hurried to my parents' room to show them my letter. I was already planning on reading all my books. I could hardly wait!