Tap.
Tap tap.
Tap tap tap tap.
"What the?" I say, my voice groggy from sleep. I look in the direction of the noise. A brown owl taps at the window. With each tap it seems more and more frustrated. I rush to get up and out of bed, almost tripping over the blanket as I run to the window. I open it quickly and not a second later the owl swoops into the room. It drops a package on the desk before perching itself on the small shelf above the desk.
I just blink at it. Look back to the window. And then look back to the owl. Laila had given the owl we sent the letter with some money, but money was too tight for Laila to send me here with any extra spending cash.
"I can't pay you," I tell the owl cautiously. Laila told me some of them could get feisty without payment. The owl just tilts its head slightly before it starts preening its feathers. I walk over to the desk slowly, but the owl doesn't pay any attention to me. I sit down at the desk and move to open the package, but the owl still doesn't react. I pull the twine loose from around the brown paper packaging. Once the paper is away, I see a leather journal with a note on top of it.
Your father left this journal with me a few months before he passed. I believe you will make better use of this than I. I wish you luck as you begin your journey.
P.S. Rupert will accept breakfast sausage as payment for delivery.
Who sent this? Why would dad leave a journal with someone else? I put the letter down on the table and pick up the leather journal. It's sturdy, but it's clear to see that it's well used. I open the cover to see a photo. It's my parents again, but this time they sit with each other on a couch. A small baby rests in my mom's arms. A long scar crosses dad's face. What had happened between the two photos?
They seem even happier in this photo than the other one. I look at the picture closely and see a small rodent-like creature sitting on dad's shoulder, looking down at me.
"What even is that?" I ask out loud. I hear a ruffling sound to see Rupert the owl shifting in his spot. He relaxes after a moment and goes back to preening his feathers. I shake my head before I look back down at the journal. On the inside cover opposite of the photo, I see a small note.
My Dearest Hayden,
If you are reading this note, that means that I am no longer with you. I hope that I was able to spend some time with you, the last few months have been torture waiting for you to arrive. You've already kept us up late at night with your kicking, I know you'll keep us on our toes.
While I don't have a fortune to give or a large family to support you, I can give you this journal. In this journal you will find all of my important notes as well as some personal experiences I've had with different magical creatures. It may not seem like much, but if you need someone, magical creatures will always be there for you. They've always been able to understand me when other humans could not. And in a way, I've always been able to understand them more, too.
I don't know what to write, really. This is the last entry in this journal despite it being at the beginning. I just want you to know that no matter where you go or what you do, your mother and I are so, so proud of you, pup. We love you more than anything in this world.
-Dad
I force the tears back, the last thing I want is for the ink to run from my tears. My parents loved me, and in the end that's all that matters. But why did dad call me pup? And what happened to them? Was it actually a car accident? Or was it something else? I wipe my eyes before looking down at the page to see an additional note.
P.S. It turns out Bea was pregnant as well as your mother. If you haven't met her, Bea is the niffler in the photo next to this note. Her baby, Gollum, was born the day after you! Your mother chose the name, it's rather fitting for a niffler. The little tyke has already taken to stealing your stuffies, but so far you've been happy as can be whenever he's around and a right mess when he's not. I can't even imagine the terrible twos with you both. But I look forward to the day. You're a natural with magical creatures, pup. Perhaps one day you'll pass Mr. Scamander.
"What happened to them?" I ask out loud after reading the note. What had happened to Bea and Gollum after my parents died? Could I at least find them somewhere? And who is Mr. Scamander? A knock on the door pulls my attention away from the journal. I carefully shut the journal and put it back in my backpack. I can go without my clothes if someone breaks into the room, but I'm not leaving anywhere without this journal.
I quickly open my door to see a woman with a broom in her hand.
"You Hayden Turner?"
"Yes ma'am."
"Tom told me to get you to come down to eat." She says, pointing towards the stairs from earlier. "You know your way?"
"I think so."
"Find me if you get lost," she says as she walks down the hall. I shake my head at her. How would I find her if I got lost? I turn back in the room to see Rupert the owl looking at me with wide eyes.
"Let me get dressed and we'll get you some sausage." The owl perks up, fluffing its feathers and I can't help but grin. I rush to get dressed, throwing on a comfortable shirt and jeans before slipping into my sneakers. I throw my backpack on my back and as I turn to look at Rupert he's not on the shelf.
He flies towards me, landing on my shoulder. I grin up at the owl before walking out of my room, shutting the door behind me. I feel much less nervous now than I was yesterday as I walk down the hall and then the stairs. The bar is just as busy as it was the night before, but the weight on my shoulder helps ground me.
But once I reach the bottom of the stairs, I have no clue what to do. I look around at the tables, people talk to each other loudly, someone stirs their drink with only their finger! I eventually look up to the bar to see Tom waving me over. I carefully dodge a very tipsy man as I make my way over. I sit at the edge of the bar, next to an older man. He looks down at the menu, his well kept bright white hair hangs down and contrasts with his brown skin.
"It seems like my favorite customer is already taking after their father," Tom says as he walks over. I feel my cheeks burn at the attention, but I force myself to not preen at the praise. I feel a nibble on my ear and look up to see Rupert looking at me with wide eyes again. I shake my head at the owl. "You already have that owl wrapped around your finger."
"Only because I promised him sausages," I say. The man next to me starts laughing loudly, and Tom soon joins him.
"That owl is a right git-"
"Tom!"
"I know, I know Mr. Potter," Tom says looking at the man. "But you have to admit Rupert is the most testy of the Hogwarts owls. Always biting people and never listening."
"Hogwarts has owls?" I ask, perking up in my seat. That would mean someone at Hogwarts - a professor or staff member - would have had to be the one to send me my dad's journal!
"Of course, how do you think all the kids who don't have owls send and get their mail while at school?"
"I didn't even think about it," I say, rubbing the back of my head. The bald man gives me a toothy grin before he turns around.
"I'll get your usual Mr. Potter, and some breakfast for you, Hayden."
"Thank you!" I call to his back, but he just waves it away as he steps into the back.
"Excuse Tom's language, he's working on it," Mr. Potter says, a conspiratorial look in his eyes. I grin up at the older man.
"I have a feeling he'll be working on it the rest of his life." Mr. Potter laughs, his head falling back as he does so. Once his laughs have calmed down, her turns back to look down at me.
"I assume this will be your first year at Hogwarts?" I nod my head.
"I don't really know what I'm doing, I never got to meet my dad so I just learned about magic a few weeks ago." I don't know why I unload all of this, the older man just seems like someone I can trust compared to a few of the other people I saw as I looked around the bar.
"Ah, there's plenty of your peers who don't know what they're doing either," he says, patting my hand on the table. "My son sure doesn't even though he was raised in the Wizarding World," he whispers the last part to me. I cover my mouth to try to hide my laugh, but the twinkle in his eye makes it clear I hadn't hidden it well.
"I don't want to know," Tom says as he drops food in front of us. Rupert hoots from my shoulder, causing me to finally burst out into laughter. I don't see how Tom saw Rupert as being bad, he was actually very funny. And cuddly.
Except when he wants sausage.
He hoots again, the tone showing he's clearly growing impatient. I giggle at the owl before I hold up a sausage from my plate. Surprisingly, Rupert doesn't snatch it out of my hand like I expected him to, instead he takes the sausage from me gingerly. He takes his time to chew it before he hops down on the counter beside my plate.
"Rupert!" The owl ignores me, he picks up the fork beside my plate before dropping it on my hand. He looks up at me expectantly before looking back down at the plate of eggs, beans, tomatoes, and sausages. I try to give him another sausage but he ignores it.
"It looks like he's waiting for you to eat," Mr. Potter says after he nudges my shoulder. I look up at the older man before looking back down at the owl. I pat the top of Rupert's head before I pick up the fork and start eating. Mr. Potter and Tom talk the entire time I'm eating. It seems like politics, and for some reason I can't help but listen in.
Apparently some people were trying to make it harder for muggleborns and half-bloods to go to Hogwarts? The thought of it winds a tight knot in my stomach. Why would they do that? Don't muggleborns and half-bloods have the same amount of magic as full blooded wizards? Is there a chance my magic won't be enough?
A sharp pinch on my finger distracts me. I look down to see Rupert had bitten one of my fingers. I pout at him, but he fluffs his feathers as he grabs the last sausage on my plate.
"I should probably head home," Mr. Potter says. "We're taking Jamsie to do his Hogwarts shopping later today."
"McGonagall isn't going to know what to do with him," Tom grins. Mr. Potter smiles wide, is that a good thing or a bad thing?
"I'm looking forward to all the detention letters," Mr. Potter laughs as he stands. "Good luck with your first term, Miss Hayden, should you ever need anything, feel free to send a letter."
"Are you sure? I can't-"
"You most certainly can!" Mr. Potter interrupts. "Just feed Rupert some extra sausages so he doesn't bite my hand off." I grin at the older man as I nod my head.
"Thank you."
"Of course," he smiles. "See you, Tom!"
"See you after Wizengamot tomorrow, Mr. Potter!"
"Don't remind me!" The man calls over his shoulder as he walks towards the fireplace. I look at Tom as Rupert climbs back up my arm.
"What's Wizengamot?"
"It's a government thing," Tom waves his hand to clean up Mr. Potters plate and my own. "You won't have to worry about it until you're older."
"Hey Tom?" I ask as he goes to walk away.
"Yeah, kid?"
"What was my dad's name?" Tom's eyes soften as he looks at me, and then a small grin forms.
"Same as yours." The man turns around back to other customers.
"Really, dad?" I whisper to myself. Rupert hoots on my shoulder in agreement. I look around the room for a few minutes before I stand up from my seat.
"And where do you think you're going, missy?" Tom asks from across the bar, his hands rest on his hips and it takes everything in me to not laugh.
"Uh, my room?"
"Hagrid will be here any minute, read the paper or something until he gets here." I raise my hands in surrender and sit back at the end of the bar as a newspaper flies towards me. I shake my head. A few weeks ago I was stressed about starting middle school. Now I'm sitting in a random bar and inn with an owl on my shoulder as I look at a newspaper with moving pictures.
Will I ever get used to this?
"Ah Hayden, there yeh are." I look up from the paper to see a giant man with a long beard and brown coat.
"Uh, hi?" I ask as I look at him.
"Oh! I haven't introduced myself! My name is Hagrid, Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts," he smiles.
"It's nice to meet you, Hagrid."
"You as well! Yer dad was a close friend of mine."
"Really?" I ask, hopping out of my seat. Hagrid chuckles, resting a hand on my shoulder.
"Really, I'll tell you some stories once yer in school."
"Thank you," I say, looking up at the giant.
"Yeh don't have to thank me," he shakes his head. "But how about we get some of yer shopping done?" I freeze when he mentions shopping.
"But I don't have any money!" How had I just realized this? I feel panic well in my chest, but Hagrid pats my shoulder.
"Yeh really thing yer dad wouldn't leave ya with somethin'?" He asks. "We'll go to Gringotts and get yeh sorted."
"What's Gringotts?" I ask as we walk towards the back door of the inn. I wave at Tom as I go, who waves back at me, a smile on his face.
"It's the bank witches and wizards use," he says as he opens the door for me. I expect Rupert to fly away as soon as we step outside into the small alley, but the owl instead holds onto my shoulder tightly.
"Shouldn't you go back to Hogwarts?" I ask the owl as I pet his wing lightly. He hoots, almost sounding indignant. Were all owls this expressive? Hagrid laughs beside me, causing me to look up at him.
"Looks like yeh got yerself a new friend, Hayden."
"But shouldn't he be back at the school?" Hagrid shrugs.
"He seems to be doin' just fine with yeh." I look back to the owl before following Hagrid to a brick wall. He taps the bricks with an umbrella. I'm about to ask him what he's doing, but the bricks suddenly moving stops me. I feel my eyes widen as the bricks begin to disappear as a street begins to appear.
"What the heck?" I ask as I look at the now bustling street.
"Welcome to Diagon Alley," Hagrid grins down at me. I look from the giant back to the street.
Yeah, I'm never going to get used to this.
"A dragon?" I whisper, probably too loudly from the look on Hagrid's face. The goblin, Bogrod looks back at me briefly and I sink lower in my seat. Hagrid just told me that dragons exist! And that one guards the bank! How could I not get excited about the fact that I'm in a building with a dragon! I don't care that they're protecting rich people's stuff, I care that I'm near a real life dragon! Hagrid seems to read my mind from his small chuckle.
"Yeh can learn all about dragons at Hogwarts, Hayden."
"Really?" I ask, looking up at him.
"Really," he says. "Yeh can talk to Professor Kettleburn once yeh get settled. Yeh won't take Care of Magical Creatures til' yer third year."
"What?" I ask as the cart we're in makes a sharp turn. "Why can't I start right away? How can you learn about the magical world and not want to learn about dragons first?" Rupert hoots from his spot on the railing in front of us. "See! Even Rupert knows this!" Hagrid laughs, holding his stomach as the cart screeches to a stop.
"We're here," Bogrod says, his voice monotone. It's clear he's tired of me already. Rupert hops on my shoulder as I climb out of the cart after Hagrid.
"Thank you," I say to Bogrod as the door to the vault opens. He looks at me for a moment before nodding. I turn from him to the open door and walk through. The room is small and barely lit. But soon I see stacks of coins throughout the room.
"Uh, Hagrid?" I call outside of the room.
"Everything alright?" He asks as he pokes his head in the room.
"I don't know how much to get," I say sheepishly. I feel a tug at my hair and look up to see Rupert picking at one of my curls. I don't try to stop him. It's become his favorite thing to do in the time it took for us to walk to the bank.
"A few galleons will do yeh for yer supplies. Maybe add in a few extra if yeh run out of anything." I grab a few Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts from a pile and stick them in my pockets before I look around at the rest of the room. There's not much, but there is a broom on the other side of the room. I pick it up, ready to take it with me, but then Rupert nips the top of my ear.
"What?" I ask, looking up at him. He just stares at me until I realize it. First years aren't allowed their own brooms. I don't even try to hide my pout as I put the broom back in its spot. But as I stand from putting the broom down, I notice a shadow move quickly out of the corner of my eye. I hear the pattering of tiny footsteps cross the room. I turn slowly, walking towards where the sounds stopped. I crouch down slowly, only to come face to face with a Niffler in a sweater.
Popping out of the Niffler's pouch is a toy elephant that seems to barely be hanging on. I feel a grin slowly spread across my face. The Niffler seems frozen, and I'm afraid to break the fragile silence, but I can't stop myself.
"Gollum?" I ask quietly. The Niffler tilts its head as it looks at me, perking up in its spot.
"My name is Hayd-" the Niffler flings itself into my arms, sniffling noises fill the quiet room. "En," I finish after I wrap my arms around him. "How did you get here little guy?" I scratch his head as he nuzzles closer to me.
"Everythin' alright in here?" Hagrid pops his head back through the door.
"Hey Hagrid? You know the list of school pets?"
"Yeh," he nods slowly. I turn around to show him Gollum in my arms.
"Nifflers count as cats, right?"
"Yeh need to have a permit to keep a Niffler, Hayden." My entire body feels like ice. I feel myself start to shake as Gollum shifts in my arms, moving his nose up to nuzzle into my neck.
'I can't leave him here, Hagrid!" The tears start spilling down my cheeks and for a brief moment, Hagrid looks panicked. "He stole my elephant."
"Yer elephant?" Hagrid asks.
"Dad said in a note in his journal that Gollum stole my baby toys," I say, my voice cracking.
"Yeh can't keep him as a pet til' yeh got yer certification, Hayden."
"But-"
"But he can stay with me and yeh can visit him whenever yeh want." I feel the panic fade from my chest. Instead of the icy feeling, my chest is filled with warmth. I can't stop myself from running through the door of the vault and wrapping my free arm around Hagrid.
"Thank you," I sniffle into his shirt. "You're the best, Hagrid!"
"Now, now, none of that," he says quietly. "Yeh get everything you need?" I pull my face from Hagrid's side to look back at the vault. I almost answer yes, but Gollum shifting in my arms stops me.
"Do you have anything you'd like for me to take?" I ask the now very content Niffler in my arms. He hops out of my arms and runs towards the back of the vault. I run after him, only to find the saddest thing I could.
A small nest of sweaters and baby toys in almost worse shape than the elephant toy. Next to the nest is a trunk. Curiosity gets the best of me and I open it slowly. The smell of patchouli fills my senses and I feel my eyes well with tears for the hundredth time in the last few days. Gollum perks up, hopping into the trunk. The trunk is filled with clothing and as much as I want to take it all right now, I don't know how much room I'll have to carry my other things.
I grab the first sweatshirt I see, Ilvermorny Magical Creature Society is embroidered on the front. Was dad a member? He had to be if he had this sweatshirt. Laila told me about her time there, but she never mentioned that society. I throw the sweatshirt on over my shirt, it's practically a dress on me, but I don't mind.
I wait for Gollum to hop out of the trunk before I close it. I pull my backpack around and begin to carefully fill it with Gollum's toys and sweaters. He sighs happily once everything is in my backpack before he jumps back into my arms.
"Okay, okay," I laugh as I pet the top of his head. I awkwardly put my backpack back on before standing and walking towards the open door. I take one last look around the room before nodding to myself. I'll come back for the other things later. I have the most important things now.
I hear a quiet snore and look down to see Gollum asleep in my arms. And for the first time since I found out I was a witch, I don't question myself. I walk out of the vault with my head held high.
I think dad was right about the understanding of magical creatures.