Here, finally, another chapter. This is not a cliffhanger, because really, how can you have a cliffhanger about shopping for school stuff? Sorry if this turns out too much like Sorcerer's Stone, gorl version. It'll be different later. Hope you like it, and if you read it, please review me!

Lucinda's mother and father went into the living room with the stranger and didn't come out for an hour and a half. Lucinda intended to spend her time standing stock still in the hallway to try and hear their conversation. She couldn't listen for very long, though; she had only gathered that the man's name was Mr. Potter and the Headmaster's name started with a "D" before her mother, suspecting, stuck her head out the door and told Lucinda to go outside.

Lucinda went outside. The sun was beating down from the sky; cicadas hummed from the trees and the hot air seemed still and heavy enough to be cut with a knife. Lucinda's mind was buzzing with questions as she sat down on the porch steps.

Is it possible that it's real?

Am I really a witch? Can I learn to do magic like he did?

What if he's wrong? I really don't think I'm a witch.

Is this some sort of cult?

Wonder if I'll actually go to that school! It would probably be really exciting!

Weird... I'll either go to my old school or some other place in one week... weird!

Lucinda's mother appeared on the porch with a strange look on her face. Mr. Knox and Mr. Potter followed.

"Lucy?" her mother asked.

"What? Am I going?"

"We've... well, we've spoken about it, and the more I hear about it the less unbelievable it sounds. I think... well, I... your daddy and I have decided, it's up to you."

"Up to me?"

"Yes."

"Well... good grief... do you want me to go?"

"It would be fascinating, I'm sure. I would approve of it. But it's your decision. You'll probably want to go back to – to normal school with your friends..."

"Well, I..." The truth was, Lucinda wasn't particularly attached to anyone in her class. She had only invited two people to her birthday party. And she had only been in this neighborhood for about a year.

But she was hesitant. She looked at Potter as he stood in the shade of the porch roof.

"Am I really a witch?"

"Yeah."

"How do you know?"

"The headmaster knows. Never been wrong before."

"Are there kids there my age?"

"Lots. You'll make tons of friends."

"Is it dangerous?"

"No! No more dangerous than football."

"Can I really do magic?"

"Yeah. Talent depends on the person, but a witch is a witch."

"Is it a good school?"

"Best place I ever went," he answered. "It's the best way to spend seven years of your life, in my opinion. And of course you can come home for the holidays."

Lucinda bit her lip. "What kind of magic can I learn?"

He shrugged. "Potions. Turning things into other things. Disappearing things. Flying on broomsticks; Quidditch – that's fun. You'd love it."

Lucinda looked back at her mother, wide eyed. "Mom, I want to go. Really."

Her mother nodded slowly. "Alright... ok, yes... tuition...we'll give it a go... where will we get her school supplies?" she asked Potter. "All these weird books – I really don't think I could buy them in any bookstore. Do you have to order them?"

"Oh," Potter said, "That's not a problem. "I'll take her to get her stuff, if you want, I know where to go..."

An hour later, Lucinda sat, excited and bewildered, in the back seat of her parents' car. Skinny, dark-haired Potter sat in the front seat, and her mother at the wheel. She had insisted on coming along, and she had followed Potter's directions as she drove. Potter had said that he didn't know how to drive, and Lucinda thought that was really weird.

The car was now parked on the side of a dingy street. People walked back and forth, visiting the shops that lined both sides of it. They were normal shops, selling things like antiques, coffee, clothing, bagels, and clocks. But the one that they had parked outside of was a pub. It was rickety looking, with dusty windows and a faded sign above the door.

"Are we going in there?" the brown-haired girl asked Potter interestedly. "They don't look like they sell books."

"In where?" Lucinda's mother asked, peering out the window. "All I see is Agatha's Antiques and The Coochy Canary Pet Care store."

"No, mom, I'm talking about the one in between them. See the sign? It says... Leaky... Cauldron..."

"There isn't one in between them, Lucy, they're stuck together."

"Nuh uh, mom! Look, it's right in front of you!" Lucinda pointed past her mother's face at the glaringly obvious storefront. She hesitated. "Can't you see it?"

"I don't see a – oooooh," her mother said slowly. "There it is... I think... how could I have missed that thing?"

Potter had gotten out of the car. Lucinda, feeling more and more curious with every minute that passed, leapt out of the car too and slammed the door behind her. She and her mother followed Mr. Potter up to the door of the pub.

The door creaked shut behind them as they entered. The air smelled like woodsmoke. Ancient wooden chairs and tables stood around the room, and were occupied by the strangest people Lucinda had ever seen. She stared around at them, trying to have a good look as Potter ushered her and her mother quickly past the bar to the back.

An old man in a battered top hat stared at Lucinda over his mug of steaming tea. Three women in bizarre dresses and jewelry chatted animatedly around a table in the corner; one of them was wearing tall, red leather boots. The stringy-haired bartender gave Lucinda an odd look as he caught her staring.

"'Afternoon, Harry," he said to Mr. Potter, with a nod. Mr. Potter nodded back and smiled slightly.

Several other people seemed to know who Potter was, Lucinda noticed. Lots of people were nodding and waving; one elderly witch with no teeth gestured toward Lucinda and asked, "New student?"

"Yeah," Potter said, and pushed Lucinda through a wooden door out the back of the pub.