"We're moving to England?" asked Jenny, shocked.
"Yes, I think it will be better for both of us if you are in Hogwarts
under the protection of Albus Dumbledore." said Jenny's father.
"Won't it be more dangerous? I mean, Harry Potter goes to school there.
You-know-who will be more likely to attack Hogwarts than any other place."
"I'm not so sure about that. He is still afraid of Dumbledore, and from
what I've heard Harry has defeated You-know-who several times."
"Well, you probably know more about that than me. I don't read the Daily
Prophet that much." It was ironic that Jenny's father, David McKay, knew more
about the news of the wizarding world than Jenny did, as Jenny's stepfather was
a Muggle. "But there can't be that much danger here; the American papers haven't
said a thing."
"Well…um…there is another reason for moving to England." said Jenny's
father.
"Really? What is it?" asked Jenny.
"I've been offered a job by the Ministry of Magic."
"Um…dad…you're not a wizard. How can you work for the Ministry of Magic?"
"Well, I'll be working in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office with a man
named Arthur Weasley. Apparently he loves experimenting with nonmagical things,
but really knows nothing about the Muggle world."
"Is the pay good?" asked Jenny.
"No, I don't really think so, but it's more that we make now." said
Jenny's father.
"And you couldn't find a better job without moving to England?" asked
Jenny.
"Well, I could have." said Jenny's father. "But those would all be Muggle
jobs, boring, you know?"
"Hmm…what about Lisa?" asked Jenny. Lisa McKay was Jenny's stepsister,
David's daughter from his first marriage. She had gone away to college two years
ago.
"What about her? She's doing fine, she doesn't need us around. We're not
'around' as it is, anyway, she's halfway across the country from us." said
Jenny's father.
"But she won't be able to visit us anymore." said Jenny.
"Well, she might, actually. Couldn't you bring her over with magic?"
"I couldn't. You know I haven't learned stuff like that yet. I'm not sure
it's possible at all, though." said Jenny.
"Well, you'll be away at Hogwarts most of the time, anyway." said Jenny's
father. "Lisa won't be able to visit you there, and neither will I. But I'm sure
you'll be making plenty of new friends."
"Yeah, maybe." Jenny replied. She had never had many friends before, all
the Muggle kids thought she was weird and all the wizard kids thought her father
was. "Well, it probably will be better than here. Maybe at Hogwarts they'll have
a good potions teacher." Potions would have been Jenny's favorite class, but at
the Salem Witches Institute, the potions teacher was really boring and made the
class too easy. "When are we leaving?"
"We'll be leaving at the end of July. That'll give us about a month to
settle in before you're off to Hogwarts."
"Alright, then. You've made arrangements about where to stay when we get
there?" asked Jenny.
"Better than that. I've already bought us a house." said Jenny's father.
"It's near the Weasleys' house, so that'll make it easy for me."
"You bought a house? I always thought it was best to actually see the
property before you bought it."
"No, it'll be fine. I've seen pictures." said Jenny's father. Jenny
sighed. Sometimes she thought her stepfather would have made a much better
wizard than a Muggle. She wondered for a moment if he would actually be of any
use in his new job. Well, if the house was a mess, they'd just have to fix it
up.
"So I'll be going to Hogwarts. Will I have to be sorted into a house
there?"
"I'm not sure about that. But here, I wrote to Dumbledore to tell him
you'd be going to Hogwarts next year. He sent me a reply saying that'd be fine,
and the school sent this for you." David handed Jenny an envelope. Jenny started
to open it, but hesitated.
"Is that why Eönwë was gone so long? You sent him to England?" Eönwë was
their owl. "Oh, poor Eönwë." Jenny looked at the envelope.
Miss J. Riddle
283 Timber St.
Albany
Oregon
U. S. of A.
She opened the envelope and pulled out the papers inside.
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 Miss Riddle
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 September 3. We await your owl by no later than July 31.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall,
Deputy Headmistress
P.S. We advise you to not tell other students who your father is. If certain people found out, it would be difficult to allow you to remain at Hogwarts.
Jenny showed the letter to her father. "What's this for?" she asked,
pointing to the postscript. "Lots of witches and wizards have Muggle parents."
"I expect she means your biological father." said Jenny's stepfather.
"Marian never told me who he was. She didn't like talking about him." Marian was
Jenny's mother. She had died when Jenny was three, and Jenny had very few
memories of her. She did have a few photographs, though they were of the Muggle
type. Her mother had blonde hair so pale that it was almost white, pale blue
eyes, and a thin but pretty face. Jenny was almost the exact image of her
mother, and so had no clues of her real father's looks.
"Well, you won't have to worry about that. You can't tell anyone who your
father is, if you don't even know." said Jenny's stepfather.
"Didn't mother tell you anything about my real father?" asked Jenny, using
the letter as an excuse to ask something she had been curious about for a long
time.
"Well, she told me his last name, of course, otherwise you'd be Jennifer
McKay."
"His last name was Riddle? I always thought that was my mother's last
name."
"No. Marian did not get along with her family at all and didn't use their
last name. I don't even know what it was."
"Hmm…strange. I wish I knew more about my family." said Jenny.
"What? Thinking about running off to find your real father once we get to
England?" asked Jenny's stepfather.
"Oh, of course not, Dad. You know I think of you as my father. It's just…I
want to know who I am."
"Well, I've told you all I know about your real father. You'll have to ask
around at Hogwarts, maybe someone there will recognize the name Riddle, or know
more about your mother for that matter. She went to school there, you know."
"Yes, you've told me that." said Jenny. "Tell me how you met my mother."
"Oh…now that's a complicated story." said Jenny's stepfather. "Well, you
know the basics; we met when I was on vacation in London."
"I know that." said Jenny. "But that's all you ever told me."
"Well, I'll tell you the details now." said Jenny's stepfather. "To be
perfectly honest, I was lost. I hadn't quite gotten the hang of driving on the
left side of the street, and I had accidentally turned into the wrong
neighborhood. It was getting cold, so I had wrapped a blanket that I had in the
car around me like a cloak. Lisa was in the car with me, but she was asleep. She
was only five at the time. I was getting worried, and it was getting dark, when
I saw your mother running down the street like You-Know-Who himself was after
her. Figuratively speaking, that is; it was after Harry Potter had defeated You-
Know-Who. And I had no idea who You-Know-Who was at that time. But she looked
like she needed help.
'Do you need a ride, ma'am?' I asked.
'Yes, oh yes, thank you.' she said, and she opened the door and climbed
in. When she got in, I saw that she was carrying a baby."
"Me." said Jenny.
"Yes, you. Your mother told me where to go, and when we got there she was
going to leave.
'Are you going to be alright?' I asked. 'Do you want to stay and talk?'
'Oh, thank you, yes.' she said. But neither of us said anything at first.
'My name is David McKay.' I said after a few minutes.
'I'm Marian.' she said. 'She's Jennifer.'
'My girl Lisa's asleep in the back.' I said.
'Ah.' she said. 'You drive this automobile very well.'
'Thank you.' I said. 'But I really drive a lot better in America.'
'You're American?' Marian asked.
'Yes, from Oregon.' I said.
'You must drive a lot for your job, to be so good at it.' she said.
'Yes, most people do, in America.' I said, remembering how many people I
had seen using the underground.
'Really?' asked Marian. 'Why can't they just apparate?'
'Pardon? Apparate?' I asked her.
'Oh, you must call it something different in America.' she said. She
apparently thought I was a wizard because of my blanket-cloak. 'What is your
job?' she asked.
'I'm an electrician.' I said.
'An electrician.'
'Yes, an electrician.'
'I—I've made a mistake—I must go—" She started to open the door.
'Wait!' I said. 'Don't go!' I had become very interested in her and didn't
want our conversation to end yet. And she stayed. When I asked her what was
wrong with being an electrician, she explained that she was a witch, and, well,
a year later we were married. By then I had been divorced from Lorraine for
three years." Lorraine was Lisa's mother, David's first wife.
"But you didn't stay in England for a year. How did you stay in touch?"
asked Jenny.
"We wrote letters. That was the year I was introduced to owl post." said
Jenny's stepfather.
"You forced mother's owl to fly across the Atlantic, too?" asked Jenny.
"Yes, we did. Her owl was perfectly fine. Probably took rests on ships."
"Ah, well. Did my mother ever tell you what she was running from?" asked
Jenny.
"No, she never did. It's possible she told Lisa. She told Lisa a lot of
the goings-on of the wizarding world, disguising them as bedtime stories. I
think she always hoped Lisa would be a witch."
"Well, maybe I can ask her." said Jenny.
"You could." said Jenny's stepfather. "But I've talked enough about this stuff. Go look at your school supply list and see if there's anything we can get here before we leave."
"Alright." said Jenny. She took the Hogwarts letter to her room and sat down on the bed.
As you will be joining Hogwarts as a fifth-year student, you must choose two of the following classes:
Arithmancy
Textbook: Numerology and Gramatica
Muggle Studies
Textbook: Home Life and Social Habits of British Muggles
Care of Magical Creatures
Textbook: The Monster Book of Monsters
Divination
Textbook: Unfogging the Future
Ancient Runes
Textbook: Ancient Runes Made Easy
Required classes are as follows:
Defense Against the Dark Arts
Textbook: The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection
Potions
Textbook: Magical Draughts and Potions
Herbology
Textbook: One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi
Astronomy
Charms
Textbook: The Standard Book of Spells, grade 5
History of Magic
Textbook: A History of Magic
Transfiguration
Textbook: Intermediate Transfiguration
UNIFORM
3 work robes for everyday use (black)
1 pointed hat for indoor and outdoor wear (black)
1 pair protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
1 cloak for winter wear (black, silver fastenings)
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 a cat OR an owl OR a toad
Students second year or higher may bring a broom.
Students third year or higher who wish to visit Hogsmeade at designated times must have a parent or guardian verify that they may go.
After reading the letter, Jenny was a little bit disappointed. There was no music program. There had been an optional orchestra at the Salem Witches' Institute, and Jenny played the cello. Oh, well. She could take her cello with her and practice, at least. Now, which classes to take? Well, she would take Ancient Runes for sure. She knew all about Muggle life, of course, so she didn't need to take Muggle Studies. She had tried divination and didn't like it much, and she wasn't very interested in Care of Magical Creatures. That left Arithmancy. Well, that would be interesting. Now, what supplies could she get before she left? The uniform, of course, but the textbooks all had unfamiliar names. She'd probably have to wait 'till she was in England to get them. She had a cauldron, but it was the wrong size. Jenny decided to wait until she was in England to buy that, there'd be enough hassle at the airport without it. She had a wand, of course. Ebony, dragon heartstring, ten inches. She also had a broom. It was a new one, the Diamond Satellite. She had been saving her money to buy a new broom for quite some time and had bought it at the beginning of the summer. Jenny didn't play Quidditch but enjoyed "extreme flying," a sport that involved doing various stunts while riding a broom. It was becoming very popular with young wizards and witches in America. Jenny wouldn't be able to take Eönwë with her, she'd be leaving him with her stepfather. Her family didn't have any other pets.
Well, this would work out fine. Jenny just had to figure out where in England to get all the stuff she'd need. Maybe Arthur Weasley, the man her stepfather would be working with, could tell her. That made Jenny think of something.
"Hey, Dad?" she called.
"Yes?"
"Do the Weasleys have any kids?" Jenny asked.
"I really have no idea. Sorry." her stepfather answered.
"That's okay, I was just wondering." Jenny sighed. She would have to find out when she got there. Maybe she could get to know someone her own age before she left for Hogwarts.
"Yes, I think it will be better for both of us if you are in Hogwarts
under the protection of Albus Dumbledore." said Jenny's father.
"Won't it be more dangerous? I mean, Harry Potter goes to school there.
You-know-who will be more likely to attack Hogwarts than any other place."
"I'm not so sure about that. He is still afraid of Dumbledore, and from
what I've heard Harry has defeated You-know-who several times."
"Well, you probably know more about that than me. I don't read the Daily
Prophet that much." It was ironic that Jenny's father, David McKay, knew more
about the news of the wizarding world than Jenny did, as Jenny's stepfather was
a Muggle. "But there can't be that much danger here; the American papers haven't
said a thing."
"Well…um…there is another reason for moving to England." said Jenny's
father.
"Really? What is it?" asked Jenny.
"I've been offered a job by the Ministry of Magic."
"Um…dad…you're not a wizard. How can you work for the Ministry of Magic?"
"Well, I'll be working in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office with a man
named Arthur Weasley. Apparently he loves experimenting with nonmagical things,
but really knows nothing about the Muggle world."
"Is the pay good?" asked Jenny.
"No, I don't really think so, but it's more that we make now." said
Jenny's father.
"And you couldn't find a better job without moving to England?" asked
Jenny.
"Well, I could have." said Jenny's father. "But those would all be Muggle
jobs, boring, you know?"
"Hmm…what about Lisa?" asked Jenny. Lisa McKay was Jenny's stepsister,
David's daughter from his first marriage. She had gone away to college two years
ago.
"What about her? She's doing fine, she doesn't need us around. We're not
'around' as it is, anyway, she's halfway across the country from us." said
Jenny's father.
"But she won't be able to visit us anymore." said Jenny.
"Well, she might, actually. Couldn't you bring her over with magic?"
"I couldn't. You know I haven't learned stuff like that yet. I'm not sure
it's possible at all, though." said Jenny.
"Well, you'll be away at Hogwarts most of the time, anyway." said Jenny's
father. "Lisa won't be able to visit you there, and neither will I. But I'm sure
you'll be making plenty of new friends."
"Yeah, maybe." Jenny replied. She had never had many friends before, all
the Muggle kids thought she was weird and all the wizard kids thought her father
was. "Well, it probably will be better than here. Maybe at Hogwarts they'll have
a good potions teacher." Potions would have been Jenny's favorite class, but at
the Salem Witches Institute, the potions teacher was really boring and made the
class too easy. "When are we leaving?"
"We'll be leaving at the end of July. That'll give us about a month to
settle in before you're off to Hogwarts."
"Alright, then. You've made arrangements about where to stay when we get
there?" asked Jenny.
"Better than that. I've already bought us a house." said Jenny's father.
"It's near the Weasleys' house, so that'll make it easy for me."
"You bought a house? I always thought it was best to actually see the
property before you bought it."
"No, it'll be fine. I've seen pictures." said Jenny's father. Jenny
sighed. Sometimes she thought her stepfather would have made a much better
wizard than a Muggle. She wondered for a moment if he would actually be of any
use in his new job. Well, if the house was a mess, they'd just have to fix it
up.
"So I'll be going to Hogwarts. Will I have to be sorted into a house
there?"
"I'm not sure about that. But here, I wrote to Dumbledore to tell him
you'd be going to Hogwarts next year. He sent me a reply saying that'd be fine,
and the school sent this for you." David handed Jenny an envelope. Jenny started
to open it, but hesitated.
"Is that why Eönwë was gone so long? You sent him to England?" Eönwë was
their owl. "Oh, poor Eönwë." Jenny looked at the envelope.
Miss J. Riddle
283 Timber St.
Albany
Oregon
U. S. of A.
She opened the envelope and pulled out the papers inside.
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 Miss Riddle
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 September 3. We await your owl by no later than July 31.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall,
Deputy Headmistress
P.S. We advise you to not tell other students who your father is. If certain people found out, it would be difficult to allow you to remain at Hogwarts.
Jenny showed the letter to her father. "What's this for?" she asked,
pointing to the postscript. "Lots of witches and wizards have Muggle parents."
"I expect she means your biological father." said Jenny's stepfather.
"Marian never told me who he was. She didn't like talking about him." Marian was
Jenny's mother. She had died when Jenny was three, and Jenny had very few
memories of her. She did have a few photographs, though they were of the Muggle
type. Her mother had blonde hair so pale that it was almost white, pale blue
eyes, and a thin but pretty face. Jenny was almost the exact image of her
mother, and so had no clues of her real father's looks.
"Well, you won't have to worry about that. You can't tell anyone who your
father is, if you don't even know." said Jenny's stepfather.
"Didn't mother tell you anything about my real father?" asked Jenny, using
the letter as an excuse to ask something she had been curious about for a long
time.
"Well, she told me his last name, of course, otherwise you'd be Jennifer
McKay."
"His last name was Riddle? I always thought that was my mother's last
name."
"No. Marian did not get along with her family at all and didn't use their
last name. I don't even know what it was."
"Hmm…strange. I wish I knew more about my family." said Jenny.
"What? Thinking about running off to find your real father once we get to
England?" asked Jenny's stepfather.
"Oh, of course not, Dad. You know I think of you as my father. It's just…I
want to know who I am."
"Well, I've told you all I know about your real father. You'll have to ask
around at Hogwarts, maybe someone there will recognize the name Riddle, or know
more about your mother for that matter. She went to school there, you know."
"Yes, you've told me that." said Jenny. "Tell me how you met my mother."
"Oh…now that's a complicated story." said Jenny's stepfather. "Well, you
know the basics; we met when I was on vacation in London."
"I know that." said Jenny. "But that's all you ever told me."
"Well, I'll tell you the details now." said Jenny's stepfather. "To be
perfectly honest, I was lost. I hadn't quite gotten the hang of driving on the
left side of the street, and I had accidentally turned into the wrong
neighborhood. It was getting cold, so I had wrapped a blanket that I had in the
car around me like a cloak. Lisa was in the car with me, but she was asleep. She
was only five at the time. I was getting worried, and it was getting dark, when
I saw your mother running down the street like You-Know-Who himself was after
her. Figuratively speaking, that is; it was after Harry Potter had defeated You-
Know-Who. And I had no idea who You-Know-Who was at that time. But she looked
like she needed help.
'Do you need a ride, ma'am?' I asked.
'Yes, oh yes, thank you.' she said, and she opened the door and climbed
in. When she got in, I saw that she was carrying a baby."
"Me." said Jenny.
"Yes, you. Your mother told me where to go, and when we got there she was
going to leave.
'Are you going to be alright?' I asked. 'Do you want to stay and talk?'
'Oh, thank you, yes.' she said. But neither of us said anything at first.
'My name is David McKay.' I said after a few minutes.
'I'm Marian.' she said. 'She's Jennifer.'
'My girl Lisa's asleep in the back.' I said.
'Ah.' she said. 'You drive this automobile very well.'
'Thank you.' I said. 'But I really drive a lot better in America.'
'You're American?' Marian asked.
'Yes, from Oregon.' I said.
'You must drive a lot for your job, to be so good at it.' she said.
'Yes, most people do, in America.' I said, remembering how many people I
had seen using the underground.
'Really?' asked Marian. 'Why can't they just apparate?'
'Pardon? Apparate?' I asked her.
'Oh, you must call it something different in America.' she said. She
apparently thought I was a wizard because of my blanket-cloak. 'What is your
job?' she asked.
'I'm an electrician.' I said.
'An electrician.'
'Yes, an electrician.'
'I—I've made a mistake—I must go—" She started to open the door.
'Wait!' I said. 'Don't go!' I had become very interested in her and didn't
want our conversation to end yet. And she stayed. When I asked her what was
wrong with being an electrician, she explained that she was a witch, and, well,
a year later we were married. By then I had been divorced from Lorraine for
three years." Lorraine was Lisa's mother, David's first wife.
"But you didn't stay in England for a year. How did you stay in touch?"
asked Jenny.
"We wrote letters. That was the year I was introduced to owl post." said
Jenny's stepfather.
"You forced mother's owl to fly across the Atlantic, too?" asked Jenny.
"Yes, we did. Her owl was perfectly fine. Probably took rests on ships."
"Ah, well. Did my mother ever tell you what she was running from?" asked
Jenny.
"No, she never did. It's possible she told Lisa. She told Lisa a lot of
the goings-on of the wizarding world, disguising them as bedtime stories. I
think she always hoped Lisa would be a witch."
"Well, maybe I can ask her." said Jenny.
"You could." said Jenny's stepfather. "But I've talked enough about this stuff. Go look at your school supply list and see if there's anything we can get here before we leave."
"Alright." said Jenny. She took the Hogwarts letter to her room and sat down on the bed.
As you will be joining Hogwarts as a fifth-year student, you must choose two of the following classes:
Arithmancy
Textbook: Numerology and Gramatica
Muggle Studies
Textbook: Home Life and Social Habits of British Muggles
Care of Magical Creatures
Textbook: The Monster Book of Monsters
Divination
Textbook: Unfogging the Future
Ancient Runes
Textbook: Ancient Runes Made Easy
Required classes are as follows:
Defense Against the Dark Arts
Textbook: The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection
Potions
Textbook: Magical Draughts and Potions
Herbology
Textbook: One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi
Astronomy
Charms
Textbook: The Standard Book of Spells, grade 5
History of Magic
Textbook: A History of Magic
Transfiguration
Textbook: Intermediate Transfiguration
UNIFORM
3 work robes for everyday use (black)
1 pointed hat for indoor and outdoor wear (black)
1 pair protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
1 cloak for winter wear (black, silver fastenings)
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 a cat OR an owl OR a toad
Students second year or higher may bring a broom.
Students third year or higher who wish to visit Hogsmeade at designated times must have a parent or guardian verify that they may go.
After reading the letter, Jenny was a little bit disappointed. There was no music program. There had been an optional orchestra at the Salem Witches' Institute, and Jenny played the cello. Oh, well. She could take her cello with her and practice, at least. Now, which classes to take? Well, she would take Ancient Runes for sure. She knew all about Muggle life, of course, so she didn't need to take Muggle Studies. She had tried divination and didn't like it much, and she wasn't very interested in Care of Magical Creatures. That left Arithmancy. Well, that would be interesting. Now, what supplies could she get before she left? The uniform, of course, but the textbooks all had unfamiliar names. She'd probably have to wait 'till she was in England to get them. She had a cauldron, but it was the wrong size. Jenny decided to wait until she was in England to buy that, there'd be enough hassle at the airport without it. She had a wand, of course. Ebony, dragon heartstring, ten inches. She also had a broom. It was a new one, the Diamond Satellite. She had been saving her money to buy a new broom for quite some time and had bought it at the beginning of the summer. Jenny didn't play Quidditch but enjoyed "extreme flying," a sport that involved doing various stunts while riding a broom. It was becoming very popular with young wizards and witches in America. Jenny wouldn't be able to take Eönwë with her, she'd be leaving him with her stepfather. Her family didn't have any other pets.
Well, this would work out fine. Jenny just had to figure out where in England to get all the stuff she'd need. Maybe Arthur Weasley, the man her stepfather would be working with, could tell her. That made Jenny think of something.
"Hey, Dad?" she called.
"Yes?"
"Do the Weasleys have any kids?" Jenny asked.
"I really have no idea. Sorry." her stepfather answered.
"That's okay, I was just wondering." Jenny sighed. She would have to find out when she got there. Maybe she could get to know someone her own age before she left for Hogwarts.