PROLOGUE
Dumbledore could remember those words clearly. It had been almost fourteen years ago that he had heard them but they were still fresh in his memory. They needed to be, because if he ever forgot, the consequences could be disasterous. That day-
His musing were broken off by a sharp rap on his office door. Minerva McGonagall's voice drifted through the wood.
"Headmaster? The students will be here in half an hour, please remember the Sorting Hat this year." Dumbledore chuckled softly, remembering the year before, when he had accidentally neglected to bring the Sorting Hat out of his office for the feast.
"I'll be down, Minerva, and with the hat. Now, go ahead, you have plenty of other things to worry about." He heard her grunt softly with slight annoyance, and after a moment, her footsteps faded away, and Dumbledore fell back to his thoughts. But this time, he conjured up a large silver bubble, which began to glow. And inside that silver bubble was an image of girl's bedroom, the mint green and white walls covered with latticework, and ivy growing up the sides in a strange, crisscrossing pattern.
And there, on the bed, under the ivy, lay the owner of the room. It was a girl who looked about 16 years old. She was asleep, in shorts and a T-shirt, stretched out across a set of Disney sheets, on top of the blankets, one arm flopped over the side of the bed. She had shaggy brown hair, spread over the pillow.
As Dumbledore watched, an alarm went off, and a radio began blasting a song that he had never heard. The girl jumped, and rolled right off the bed. He heard a loud "Ow!" and something small and tan colored went flying across the room, hitting a stuffed pig in the nose and knocking it over.
She jumped up and ran after her carelessly thrown toy. As she passed the window, she seemed to do a double take. The bubble's view widened, and Dumbledore saw the brown owl fighting to stay airborne outside her window. Curiously, the girl opened the window, and let the bird in. It flew over and dropped a letter on her bed before taking a perch on her dresser.
She rolled her eyes, rescued a small potted fern from being trampled by the owl, and sat down to read the letter. "Dear me... blah blah blah... Due to the overwhelming number of new students, you will not be attending Salem Academy of Magic for your sixth year as a student. You, along with fifty other students with promising grades, will attend one of the European or Canadian schools of magic. You will be joining the fifth year students at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Great Britain. Enclosed is your Hogwarts letter- hmm, Hogwarts, huh? Cool name. I think I'll- hey, you! Get away from that!" She abandoned the letter in an obviously futile attempt to save another plant from the rampaging owl, as the bubble dissolved.
Dumbledore sat back in his chair and thought.
Dumbledore could remember those words clearly. It had been almost fourteen years ago that he had heard them but they were still fresh in his memory. They needed to be, because if he ever forgot, the consequences could be disasterous. That day-
His musing were broken off by a sharp rap on his office door. Minerva McGonagall's voice drifted through the wood.
"Headmaster? The students will be here in half an hour, please remember the Sorting Hat this year." Dumbledore chuckled softly, remembering the year before, when he had accidentally neglected to bring the Sorting Hat out of his office for the feast.
"I'll be down, Minerva, and with the hat. Now, go ahead, you have plenty of other things to worry about." He heard her grunt softly with slight annoyance, and after a moment, her footsteps faded away, and Dumbledore fell back to his thoughts. But this time, he conjured up a large silver bubble, which began to glow. And inside that silver bubble was an image of girl's bedroom, the mint green and white walls covered with latticework, and ivy growing up the sides in a strange, crisscrossing pattern.
And there, on the bed, under the ivy, lay the owner of the room. It was a girl who looked about 16 years old. She was asleep, in shorts and a T-shirt, stretched out across a set of Disney sheets, on top of the blankets, one arm flopped over the side of the bed. She had shaggy brown hair, spread over the pillow.
As Dumbledore watched, an alarm went off, and a radio began blasting a song that he had never heard. The girl jumped, and rolled right off the bed. He heard a loud "Ow!" and something small and tan colored went flying across the room, hitting a stuffed pig in the nose and knocking it over.
She jumped up and ran after her carelessly thrown toy. As she passed the window, she seemed to do a double take. The bubble's view widened, and Dumbledore saw the brown owl fighting to stay airborne outside her window. Curiously, the girl opened the window, and let the bird in. It flew over and dropped a letter on her bed before taking a perch on her dresser.
She rolled her eyes, rescued a small potted fern from being trampled by the owl, and sat down to read the letter. "Dear me... blah blah blah... Due to the overwhelming number of new students, you will not be attending Salem Academy of Magic for your sixth year as a student. You, along with fifty other students with promising grades, will attend one of the European or Canadian schools of magic. You will be joining the fifth year students at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Great Britain. Enclosed is your Hogwarts letter- hmm, Hogwarts, huh? Cool name. I think I'll- hey, you! Get away from that!" She abandoned the letter in an obviously futile attempt to save another plant from the rampaging owl, as the bubble dissolved.
Dumbledore sat back in his chair and thought.