It was after school on a Friday when the knocking happened. Will was the one to answer the door, opening it to see a woman in a modest dress standing outside. She had black hair put up into a bun and a somewhat severe expression. He immediately guessed that this was Professor Mcgonagall.

"Can I help you?" Will said hesitantly, nervous about what was about to happen.

"Yes you can," Professor Mcgonagall said stiffly, "Are your parents home?"

"My dad is, but my mum won't be for a few hours," Will replied, "Do you want me to get him for you?"

"That would be preferable, yes." Mcgonagall nodded, "May I come inside while you do? I have some important information for you and your family."

Will wasn't really supposed to let strangers into the house, but Mcgonagall wasn't really a stranger, was she? Plus she could be trusted. Will nodded and led her to the living room and, once she was seated, went to get his father.

His dad was perplexed, not having expected any visitors today, and went to join Mcgonagall in the living room, with Will trailing behind.

As dad entered, Mcgonagall stood up to greet him. "It's nice to meet you," She said, sticking out her hand for him to shake, which dad did, "I'm Minerva Mcgonagall, and I'm here to offer an opportunity for an exclusive type of education for your son William."

"Brian Nelson," His dad said, introducing himself, "What's all this about then? Some sort of private school?"

"Can I please have your promise to remain calm for the duration of our conversation?" Minerva inquired, causing dad's eyebrows to raise.

"Sure, I'll do my best." Dad replied, "Now can you explain what this is about?"

Mcgonagall got up and walked over to stand and look out one of the windows, "Have there been any strange occurrences over the course of your children's lives?" She asked, "Something you couldn't explain away with science and tricks of the light?"

Dad chuckled, "If you're here to offer an explanation for those I'd love to hear them. They've been stumping my wife and I for years now."

Minerva turned around again, "That is why I'm here, Mr. Nelson, and to offer your son a spot in the student body of an exclusive and very special boarding school." She looked at Will, the corners of her mouth turning up slightly, "Your son here, and according to the records I've read, your other children as well, have a very special gift. The gift of magic."

Dad paused for a moment, before shaking his head, "Looks like Helen wins that argument," he muttered, before straightening his spine and speaking in a louder voice, "I've always known that my children were special, I just wasn't expecting how special they'd turn out to be in the beginning. Anyway, exactly what kind of opportunity are you offering Will?"

Mcgonagall seemed a little caught off guard, but hid it quickly, "You're taking this remarkably well, I must say. Most parents put up at least a token argument."

"To be honest, we've been hoping something like this would happen for a while now," Dad replied, "Just so we could finally have some sort of explanation for all of this."

"Well, it's somewhat refreshing." She replied, then pulled out an envelope from the folds in her dress, "Everything you need to know is written in this letter, but for Muggleborn students such as your son, it's typically best to have a home visit attached to help smooth things over." She handed the letter to dad and sat primly back down in an armchair.

Dad read the front of the letter, then turned the envelope over to see the wax seal on the back. "Muggleborn?" He asked, while he slid a finger between the envelope and the wax to pop the letter open.

"Children born to non-magical parents," Mcgonagall explained, "Muggle is the term we use to speak of non-magical people, therefore muggle-born."

"Does being muggleborn happen often?" Will asked, while dad read the letter.

Mcgonagall paused before saying, "More often than you'd expect, actually. We're a pretty small community to start with, and it ends up being about twenty percent. The rest are children that come with varying degrees of magic in their family. It's about twenty percent of families that have lived completely magical lives for generations. We call those sorts of witches and wizards Purebloods."

Will nodded. That was actually pretty interesting, why was that kind of stuff never mentioned in the books? Well, it was probably a bit dry for a children's book series.

Once dad had finished reading the letter, he handed it to Will. The front of the envelope was as expected,

Mr. W. Nelson

The Second Bedroom to the Right

7 Magnolia Crescent

Little Whinging

Surrey

Turning to the letter, he saw the Hogwarts crest, and under it Will read,

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chief Warlock,

Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)

Dear Mr. Nelson,

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 starts September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva Mcgonagall

Deputy Headmistress

It was a strange feeling, getting something you've wanted for so long. Both nervousness and excitement. Maybe he should start a scrapbook, this was definitely a keeper.

At this point, dad was reading the attached list of books and equipment with a slight frown on his face.

Will turned to the Professor, who was waiting with a small smile on her face. "We don't have an owl." He informed her.

"That's part of the reason I'm here." She cleared her throat and once she was sure she had both of their attention, she continued, "Tomorrow I will return, so you can have some time to think it over. If you should decide to attend Hogwarts, please clear your whole day, as we'll be making a trip to show you all where you can purchase all of the equipment you'll need for classes."

Dad looked at Will, "Tomorrow Will is going to have a friend over all day, so-"

Mcgonagall cut in, "That won't work then. One of the rules of our society is that no one outside of the immediate family is allowed to know about magic. How about the next day?"

"He's staying the whole weekend," Will cut in, "But I'm pretty sure he's magical too."

"Unfortunately, it's against the law to inform anyone of their magical status until they or a sibling get their Hogwarts acceptance letter." Mcgonagall informed them. Will was bummed. He had been looking forward to them shopping at Diagon Alley together. Thinking about it, he supposed he could tell Mcgonagall that the friend they were talking about was Harry Potter, but wasn't sure how she'd react. He wanted to keep things as close to the books as possible for now.

"Don't worry," Dad said, quieting Will with a look, "We won't tell if it's that important. How about Monday?"

Mcgonagall agreed, and Dad and her stood up and shook hands again. It seemed like she was about to leave, but she stopped and turned back to them.

"I do have permission to be casting spells in a muggle area, just in case you were hard to convince. It's standard for these meetings. Would you like to see some magic before I go?" She asked.

Will and his dad looked at each other before nodding to her. She let a small smile appear on her face, then looked around the room. Stepping over to the bureau, she pointed to his mum's tea set.

"Do you mind if I cast a spell on this? I'll turn it back when I'm done," She asked, pointing to the teapot.

"Sure, go for it," Dad nodded, and Mcgonagall pulled her wand out of her sleeve. Pointing her wand at the teapot, she concentrated for a moment. The Teapot seemed to almost fold in on itself for a second before a tortoise was standing in its place.

Dad's jaw dropped. Moving over, he poked at the tortoise, pulling his hand back quickly when it moved.

"Now, Nonverbal spellcasting doesn't start until sixth year, " Mcgonagall explained, "But this is one of the spells taught in my class, Transfiguration. I believe it's also on the end of year test for third years. Transfiguration is the art of turning one thing into another."

She waved her wand again, and the tortoise was a teapot again.

Giving a small smile, she said, "I hope to see you in my class this year, Mr. Nelson," to Will before walking out the door.

Dad was still staring at the teapot. Will hesitantly approached him, "Dad, are you alright?"

Giving himself a little shake, Dad turned to Will, "I was just surprised, son. I didn't expect that."

"I thought you'd seen us do strange things before?" Will asked.

"Yes, things moving around on their own accord like levitating toys or rattling plates, or the power going out randomly, but this was something else!" His dad still seemed a little overwhelmed. "Wait until your mother hears about this one!" Dad said, and started chuckling.

Will relaxed. He had thought for a moment his dad was afraid, but apparently that wasn't the case.

Pretty soon after that, his mother arrived home from work. Dad pulled her into his office and, Will assumed, filled her in on the day's events. After a bit, his mum and dad came out to talk to him.

"I wish I could have seen the tortoise for myself," Mum said, shaking her head.

"Do you not believe us?" Will asked hesitantly.

"No, I do, it just sounds like an amazing experience." Mum replied, somewhat frustrated.

"Well, maybe someday I could learn how to do that and show you." Will said, letting a bit of longing into his voice.

Mum and dad stopped, and looked at Will, "Do you want to go?" Dad asked.

"I do!" Will almost yelled, excited, "Please let me go!" He threw on the puppy dog eyes for maximum damage.

"Alright! Alright, put those eyes away young man," Mum laughed, waving her hands, "There's a lot to consider here, but I'll promise you that we won't throw the idea away out of hand." Will was nervous. He had no idea what happened to muggleborns who decided not to go to Hogwarts, and had no desire to find out.

"It's just," Will began, "It would be wonderful to finally get a hold on these incidents. It's kind of scary when they happen, and I think learning how to control it is important, right?"

Mum and dad looked at each other, "But you've never attended a boarding school before," Mum began, "You've never been away from us for such an extended period of time, I'm a little worried about how you'll do in a situation like that."

"We all have to grow up sometime," Will shrugged. "I'm almost eleven now, I'd be transferring schools anyway. And hey! Harry will be going to Hogwarts too!"

Mum looked away, a little teary eyed. "That's true. It seems like every time I turn away from you, you mature more and more," suddenly, she pulled him in for a hug. "You're almost eleven! How that happened so fast, I have no idea."

She gave him a squeeze, then pulled away, "You're sure Harry is going too?" She asked, and when he nodded, she went on, "Okay, you can go. But only if you promise to take care of each other."

"Yes!" Will shouted, jumping for joy.

"What were you saying about maturity, Hun?" Dad asked mum, as they watched Will jump around the room.

After a fun weekend with Harry, where his parents were watching him very closely to make sure Will didn't tell him anything (stupid laws), Will and his parents got ready for their trip with Mcgonagall.

It didn't take long for her to arrive.

Mum opened the door this time, and after the introductions were out of the way, the Professor sat them down.

"Have you come to a decision?" She asked.

Mum and dad looked at each other, "We have, Mrs. Mcgonagall. We'd like for Will to attend."

"That's wonderful news," Mcgonagall said, "And I hope you all cleared your schedules like I asked?" She raised an eyebrow.

"We have," Mum said, "We were just wondering where we were going?"

"The Leaky Cauldron, on Charing-Cross Road." the Professor replied, "It's invisible to muggles, so you'll need Will's help to get inside. I'll be meeting you there."

"That's not too far," Dad replied, looking at mum, "About a half hour by train, I'd think?"

"Alright, I'll see you there." Mcgonagall said, and with a little mischievous smile, turned on the spot and vanished with a pop.

Mum was barely surprised. "Well, let's get going then." Apparently apparition wasn't as impressive as transfiguration. Or maybe his parents were getting desensitized to it? Well, either way, they'd surely be impressed by Diagon Alley.

Next chapter should be Diagon Alley, up to Harry getting his letter, if I can squeeze it in.