Being Hermione Granger's twin sister isn't easy. Not because she's smarter or a better student, or because in school I am the only one willing to be her lab partner in science, but because she won't read a good quality book.
"'Mione! Trust me, The Hobbit is good! You'll love it!" We were sitting on Hermione's bed in our shared room. We had two beds, the same queen sized bed frame and mattress, and the same bedsheets and comforters. We had two dressers, even though I never understood why, considering we shared all of our jumpers, shirts, and pants. The only clothes we didn't share were our underwear. There was a shaggy rug on our wooden floors. It could have even been considered minimalistic, if it weren't for the bookshelves on every wall. Hermione and I had mowed the lawn every day the summer before to get the money to buy floor to ceiling bookshelves on every wall. Her side mostly had books about science and other nonfiction works, but mine was more colorful, with spines of fiction and fantasy novels like The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and The Hobbit, which I was trying to get Hermione to read.
"Stop it Susie! You know I didn't like The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe!" "They're not very alike, 'Mione!" "I know they will be!" She stuck her nose back into her biography of Rosa Parks. She had read it too many times. "You've read all your books at least 20 times each!" I whined. "So I'll get new ones,"she said, giving me a dirty look from under her eyelashes.
I sighed, and walked over the one shelf on my side of the room that wasn't covered in books. Instead, it was covered in succulents. I picked up the watering can and watered each one, being careful not to overwater them. "I don't know why I bother," I muttered to myself.
"Lunchtime, girls!" Mum called. I tied my frizzy hair back into a braid, and walked down the stairs. Hermione and I are exactly identical, down to the frizzy hair. It was only my scar, which can be only described as a bolt of lightning, on my chin that distinguished us. We were always the same height, same weight, and wore the same clothes. I often found myself wondering if anyone would be able to distinguish us at all if it weren't for the scar. Our personalities were also similar, but I wasn't as rule-following as Hermione, and I much preferred fiction over nonfiction books.
Hermione followed close behind me and we sat at the table for sandwiches and tea. While we were eating, the doorbell rang. There was a strange lady at the door, wearing a Halloween costume. She had a witch hat, and even a wand. It was strange because it was only July. Dad opened the door, and she introduced herself as a professor. "A professor wearing a Halloween costume?" I thought to myself. "That's strange." "I am Professor McGonagall of Hogwarts school," she introduced herself. "Of what school?" Dad asked, confused. "I will explain it all in a minute," she said. "May I come in?" "I guess that would be alright," Mum said, looking confused. "You may want to sit down for this," the professor said. We sat down on the couches in the sitting room. "Would you like some tea?" Mum offered, and the professor politely accepted.
"I know this may come as a shock, but your girls, Hermionie and Susannah, are magical." I laughed. "Is this some sort of joke?" The rest of my family looked confused and amused as well. "No," the woman said. Her eyes darted to me and she narrowed her eyes at the scar on my chin. "How strange, just like Potter's himself, only on the chin," she muttered. I narrowed my eyes at her in confusion. "Who is Potter?" I wondered. She quickly gathered herself and said, "I can show you some magic if you would like." Without leaving time for a response, she stood up from her chair and levitated it in the air. Our eyes all grew wide and we rushed over to the chair, looking for wires or any explanation for what was happening. There was none.
"Wh- wha- what is happening?" Hermione demanded. "Magic," the witch responded shortly. She turned to our parents, and said "Your girls are magical. They have been accepted into the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I have come to deliver their acceptance letters and talk to you about it. They are muggleborns, very rare. There are usually only a few of them per year at Hogwarts." Hermione and I sat silently, eyes wide. "You mean we can do that?" I asked meekly while Dad said "mu-muggleborns?" The witch turned to me and said "Yes, Susannah, after years of learning, you can do many things. Not just levitation charms." She turned to Dad. "Muggleborns are magical children born by non-magical parents. They are quite rare, and it is a surprise that both of your girls are magical although I guess it is to be expected in identical twins."
All this time, Mum sat there silently, bug-eyed. "I hope you will allow your children to attend. The best magical education you could ask for is at Hogwarts. I assume your girls have had bursts of accidental magic? At a young age, not knowing your power can result in unintentional bursts of magic. This is completely normal in children, but if your girls don't get the magical schooling they need, and learn to control and use their magic as a tool, they can become dangerous." "I guess this explains some of my biographies disappearing whenever Susie here tries to get me to read fiction," Hermione said, looking at me. "And my succulents explode every now and then when you get mad at me for it, 'Mione," I added. McGonagall chuckled. "That is completely normal," she said.
"When can we get started?" Hermione asked eagerly. "I will escort you to Diagon Alley to get your school supplies this Friday at one o' clock sharp. I will come pick you up. For now, here are your acceptance letters, girls," she said, handing Hermione and I each thick envelopes. "I look forward to seeing you then, and I assure you that there are plenty of bookshops there," she added with a wink in Hermione and I's direction. "I have a guess at what house you two will be in." "House?" I asked, but she was already gone with a pop.
That Friday, at 1:00 sharp, our fireplace started to glow green. I shrieked and dropped my novel, and Hermione dropped her textbook on her toe and yelped in pain at the corner of the thick book piercing her bare foot. The professor appeared in the now-green fireplace. Mum fainted and hit her head on the edge of the table, and Dad caught her and laid her on the couch. The professor stepped through, and the fireplace turned back to normal.
"How'd you do that?" Hermione asked, and the witch replied "I will explain all that during shopping. I assume you have money?" The witch asked Dad. Dad nodded.I made a withdrawal of 5,000 pounds in cash. I didn't know how much this would cost," Dad said meekly, with a shrug. "That should be enough for two people, with some extra treats and books along the way," the witch said with a wink. "If you could split that in two, and hand a half to each girl, that would be good," she said, and Dad obliged. "We have to convert it into wizard currency at the bank, and then open a vault for each of them." Dad nodded. "Have fun girls," he said nervously, and went to get an ice pack for Mum.
"Now girls, each of you grab my arm, we will be apparting. It is not a pleasant experience, especially not if it's your first time." We grabbed her arm, and she turned on her heel. She was extremely downplaying the experience. We were sucked into a dark place, spinning dizzily through nothingness, until we landed on a stone path in front of a pub. I threw up and Hermione fainted. "Sorry girls, I know it's hard on your first time." I pinched Hermione, and she woke up. I held out a shaky hand, and her own clasped mine, pulling herself up.
We walked into the pub, and McGonagall nodded at the bartender. "Hello, Tom," she said, and he replied "Muggleborns?" She nodded. His eyes darted to my scar, and they narrowed on it. "Just like Potter's," he said quietly. McGonagall nodded. Once more, I found myself wondering who Potter was, and if he had a scar like mine. "Who's Potter?" I asked. "A boy in your year… he has a scar like yours. He is known for surviving the Killing Curse, which makes him very famous. I will explain it all to you on our way to Gringotts," and with that, she tapped a brick on the wall with her wand and we stepped into Diagon Alley.
Diagon Alley was magical. Figuratively and literally. There were owls swooping everywhere and so many magical storefronts and magical people and there was magical makeup and magical food and magical… magical everything. I snapped out of my trance as McGonagall began to explain wars and evil overlords who Must-Not-Be-Named and houses and robes and wands and blood status and mannerisms and currency and magic. As we walked, Hermione and I's eyes grew larger and larger as McGonagall explained everything and finally we arrived in front of a large building. Gringotts Bank.
There were little wrinkly short creatures, which McGonagall explained were goblins, standing outside a grand bank. The grand doors and overall demeanor seemed to be threatening, probably intended to scare any thieves away. There was even a poem, which WAS threatening anyone who wanted to steal.
Enter, stranger, but take heed
Of what awaits the sin of greed,
For those who take, but do not earn,
Must pay most dearly in their turn,
So if you seek beneath our floors
A treasure that was never yours,
Thief, you have been warned, beware
Of finding more than treasure there.
After converting our money into little coins which McGonagall had explained earlier as galleons, sickles, and knuts, we stumbled into a cramped little cart with the goblin, McGonagall, Hermione, and I all shoved into it. Hermione's elbow was shoved into my rib cage, and my knee was in McGonagall's back. I tried to apologize for it, but she dismissed the words with a chuckle, saying it was just always how it was in the Gringotts carts. But then, the car lurched forward, pressing me against the goblin's frame. The goblin glared at me and I quickly pressed myself against the back. I didn't want to get on his bad side.
At last, we reached a door. "Miss Hermione Granger, get out here." I was used to being after Hermione, as she was older and her name was higher in the alphabet than mine. She got out of the cart, and the goblin touched the door of a room, which opened to reveal a small room. The goblin explained that that was her vault, and she was to keep her money there. He explained the withdrawal process and had her sign some forms. She then put her money on the floor, and pocketed half in her purse for buying supplies.
After doing the same as Hermione in a separate vault, we went into Diagon Alley to buy our supplies. McGonagall continued to explain things to Hermione and I, and we stopped to get cauldrons, trunks, be fitted for robes, and so much more. Finally, we made the anticipated stop. The wand shop was run by a man named Mr. Ollivander. He looked at Hermione, McGonagall, and I, and said "Welcome! Muggleborns, I presume?" We nodded. "Alright, let's get started!"
He didn't seem to have a method of picking wands for us. Hermione went first, and after being measured, he dashed around the store grabbing wands, and I was measured as well. Finally, Hermione waved a wand, and sparks flew out. "Excellent!" He beamed. "That wand is your match! The wand chooses the wizard! 10 ¾ inches long, vine wood, dragon heartstring core. With this wand, you will certainly be a talented witch."
He turned to me. He began pulling wands off shelves and after 10, 20, 30 minutes, and an hour went by, he still hadn't found it. Finally, he pulled out a wand and handed it to me, visibly frustrated. "This wand is unusual, but at this point, maybe it will work."
I waved it, and sparks flew out. I grinned in relief. "I was beginning to wonder if I was magical at all!" I commented. Hermione, sitting on the floor of the shop, grinned at me. "Me too," she said, and I stuck out my tongue." "This wand is 10 ¼ inches long, yew wood, dragon heartstring core. The core is sister to your own sister's wand," Ollivander said. I grinned at Hermione, and she grinned back. "It is unusual that that would occur, but undoubtedly, you two are very close and connected. However, what is more unusual about this wand is it's wood is from the same tree as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named himself. This is strange, and with your scar being the same as Harry Potter's, I'm not sure this is a coincidence." I asked him what he thought, but he wouldn't tell me, saying I was too young. We paid him, and left.
On our way to the bookstore, I talked to McGonagall about what this might mean. "I'm not sure yet, but I think your scar may be connected to him, like Harry Potter's. I will need to do more research." "How is that possible? I'm muggleborn." "That is exactly what is unusual about it. I will keep you updated on my findings."
In the bookstore, Hermione and I went crazy. We bought so many books that we couldn't carry them all. We spent 2 hours in the store, before McGonagall told us we had to leave. After paying for them, we shoved them into our trunks, which had featherlight charms on them, courtesy of McGonagall. Finally, we stopped at the pet store. I decided I wanted a cat, and so did Hermione. We walked over to the cat section, and there was a wall full of different cats and kittens. I was drawn to a pretty, all-black kitten with misty blue eyes. His price was right, so I decided to get him and name him Misty, for his eyes. "Susie, that is so cute!" Hermione squealed after I decided. She was drawn to an orange cat, which she named Crookshanks. I wrinkled my nose at the name, but she was insistent that it was a cute name. I didn't agree, but it wasn't my cat.
When we got home with everything in tow through the Floo, Dad looked at all our supplies and things wide-eyed. We then sat down and told our parents about everything McGonagall had told us. I left out the part about my scar and Ollivanders, with a strange glance from Hermione. When we got into our room that night for bed, she hissed "Why didn't you say anything about what happened at Ollivanders?" "I didn't want them to worry. I don't want them to change their minds about letting us go to Hogwarts, either." Hermione huffed, but accepted my answer as we got ready to sleep.