July 15th, 1991
Harry was playing tag with his childhood friend Hermione. As of now, Hermione was the tagger and Harry the runner. "You can't catch me!" said Harry. "Oh, yes I will…" Hermione replied and of course, about 30 seconds later, Hermione had caught up to Harry and tagged him. "TAG!" and Harry ran after her. After a few minutes, they both saw an owl heading towards Hermione's house. "Have you ever seen an owl in broad daylight?" asked Hermione. "No.. not really.." replied Harry. They decided to investigate. They went inside Hermione's house and found her mother reading a letter, a look of shock on her face.
Just as they had entered the house, there was a loud roar, and Harry and Hermione were shocked to see a woman walking out of the fireplace. She had a stern look on her face and was wearing something that Harry thought to be robes. She walked over to Mrs. Granger, who was even more shocked by the new arrival. "Why hello, there Mrs. Granger. Ah, Ms. Granger is here too, that's a pleasant surprise. And, who is this boy?" she asked, referring to Harry. "I'm Harry, Harry Potter." she nodded and then suddenly looked at him in shock. Harry was confused. No one had ever looked at him like that before. "Did you say… Potter..?" she asked, to which Harry nodded. She replied, "Well then, I won't have to dismiss you from the house.." and Harry was surprised. She started to talk, when Mrs. Granger interrupted her, "I'm sorry, but who are you?" The witch replied kindly, "I'm Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Harry thought she was joking. Witchcraft? Wizardry? This had to be some sort of set-up. "Mr. Potter," and Harry jumped as he realized she was talking to him. "would you be kind enough to tell me who you live with?" Harry found this an odd question, but replied, "With my mum and dad. Why?" The witch looked surprised. She started to talk about how magic was real, and how she could prove it. Harry scoffed. There was no such thing as magic. Then, to his surprise, she waved something that looked like a wand, and one of Hermione's childhood photos started to float in the air, and then landed gracefully onto the coffee table. Mrs. Granger didn't look as shocked as Harry or Hermione. She gave them both the letter to read while the woman who had performed "magic" talked to her about the magical world. Harry and Hermione started reading:
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 1 September. We await your owl no later than 31 July.
Yours Sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
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, with silver fastenings)
Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags
COURSE BOOKS
All students should have a copy of the following:
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)
By Miranda Goshawk
The History of Magic
By Bathilda Bagshot
Magical Theory
By Adalbert Waffling
A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration
By Emeric Switch
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi
By Phyllida Spore
Magical Drafts and Potions
By Arsensius 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, if they desire, an owl OR a cat OR a toad
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS
ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICK
Yours sincerely,
Lucinda Thomsonicle-Pocus
Chief Attendant of Witchcraft Provisions
It took a moment for Harry and Hermione to take in what the letter was saying. After they did, they looked from Ms. McGonagall to Mrs. Granger, a look of shock on their faces. "What..? But.. That's not possible.. According to science, there's no WAY magic is a thing. Although, it would explain why I've been doing all these weird things.." Hermione said. "Well. I guess the levitation charm didn't explain it to you, so I guess I'll have to show you another way.." and then suddenly, she was gone. Harry and Hermione looked around, but Mrs. Granger was staring at a cat on the sofa. It had markings where Ms. McGonagall's glasses were, and they were shocked. "Ms. McGonagall.. Is that you..?" Harry asked. The cat transformed again and looked at them both. "Yes, it is me, Mr. Potter. I would honestly expect you to know about magic, of everyone. After all…" but her voice broke. "Well, anyways, I would prefer to be called Professor McGonagall. Now, Mr. Potter, you'd promised you'd take me to meet your parents after we had the conversation?" and Harry nodded, and the four of them took off to the Potters' house.
They knocked on the door, and James answered it. He looked at Harry, then at Hermione, then at Professor McGonagall, and his eyes stopped at her. Professor McGonagall had a look of shock on her face, as if she couldn't believe she was seeing James. James looked back at her with astonishment, as if he couldn't believe she was here. "Hello, James," said McGonagall. "I see you've escaped.. You never told anyone in the Order?" she asked inquiringly. "Yes, er, why don't you come in?" He replied, rather hastily. And McGonagall walked in.
When all of them were in the sitting room, there was a deep silence, broken by Lily saying, "Minerva, would you like a cup of tea?" to which McGonagall replied, "Yes, with 2 sugars please." and Lily went off into the kitchen. James just looked at Harry seriously. "Harry, your mother and I need to tell you something. As you've probably pieced together, you're a wizard, too. Have you ever wondered why you have that scar on your forehead?" to which Harry nodded no. "You see, we wanted to keep it all hushed up. In the magical world, everyone thinks we're dead, Dumbledore and Sirius," he paused, as tears formed in his eyes, but he pretended not to notice. "I think it's time you knew what exactly happened 10 years ago.. It was Halloween night, and a dark wizard named Voldemort, " he paused because McGonagall winced, but didn't say anything. "tried to kill you. He thought you were an obstacle in his way to greatness. He entered the house and I dueled him-" he stopped because Lily had just come into the room holding McGonagall's tea. "There you go, Minerva. Now, James, what were you saying?" she asked. "I was just telling Harry how he got his scar," and then continued. "So, after Voldemort" he paused, (McGonagall winced at the name) "stunned me, he went for you and your mother, you were in another room. He stunned your mother, and went for you. We don't know why he stunned us, he was usually known for killing anyone who got in his way, but he advanced on you. He used the killing curse on you and what we think happened is that the curse rebounded upon him. That scar is probably where the spell hit you.
Harry and Hermione were shocked. McGonagall looked stern. Together, the 3 adults told Harry, Hermione, and Mrs. Granger about what the magical world was and how to deal with it. James told them that tomorrow they would go to get their school supplies, and that's when McGonagall left. After McGonagall and Hermione left, Lily started to explain everything about Hogwarts to Harry, and he couldn't be more excited. He couldn't sleep until midnight that night, he was too busy replaying the events of that day in his mind...