Chapter 4
The summer arrived almost before the twins notices that spring had started. The days were spent about the same as before with school, chores, extra classes, reading and training Legilimency/Occlumency. Now just with the addition of playing the violin. The neighbor they played with was an old lady who in her time had been quite famous.
Everything went well even though the twins thought that the progress in Legilimency and Occlumency was going way too slow.
A day in July a strange-looking letter comes. It is addressed to ' Mr. H. Potter and Miss E. Potter, Smallest Bedroom, First Floor, 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey'
In the envelope there were two parchments.
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 Mr. and Miss Potter,
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 1. We will be sending one of our professors to take you to Diagon Alley for buying your school supplies at July 15.
Minerva McGonagall,
Deputy Headmistress
"Strange, it does not ask for any confirmation that we want to go to that school." Erika commented even though both of them wanted to go there and learn.
The second parchment was a list of books and items they need before they go to the school.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
UNIFORM
Each first-year students will require:
1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)
2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)
Please note that all pupils' 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
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling
A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emetic Switch
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble
OTHER EQUIPMENT
wand
cauldron (pewter, standard size 2) set
glass or crystal phials
telescope set
brass scales
Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS
The only book in the list they do not already have was Magical Drafts and Potions, and that was because they had bought a more comprehensive and more interesting looking book about potions.
The next day the twins woke at the usual time, around five, and walked into the bathroom to take a shower. Like always they dressed, studied for some time and walked down to fix breakfast. The day was like every other one until the doorbell chimes five minutes past ten. The twins walked down and opened the door. Outside a tall man in billowing black robes, greasy black hair and a hooked-nose stood.
"Good morning, Professor Snape." both of the twins said, nodding respectfully. The man looked startled for less then a second.
"How do you know my name?" Snape asks curiously.
"You were mentioned in the book 'Great potion masters of the year and their accomplishments' of year 1988, together with a picture of you. It also said that you were a professor at Hogwarts." replies Harry.
"Are you ready to go?"
"Yes, we are." Erika answers before turning back into the house shouting, "We're leaving with a professor from Hogwarts now, Uncle Vernon." Harry bent down and picked up the two bags from the floor just inside and they all left the house.
While sitting on the underground, having gotten there by bus, the twins braided each others hair at the side as to hide the scars.
They walk the short distance from the underground to the Leaky Cauldron.
"Hello Tom!" The kids wave at the barkeeper as they quickly passed through the pub. When going out to the back of the pub, the twins skipped ahead of the professor while holding each other's hand. At the wall Erika reaches out her hand and taps the brick that opens the arc, they merrily skip into the Alley without noticing Snape's surprised reaction, or at least not giving any sign of having noticed it.
"We will start by you getting some money from your vault, I have the key right here." Snape replied as soon as he has composed himself and lead them in a brisk pace to Gringotts. "They are making a withdrawal from their vault." the professor said to a goblin and they were quickly led to a rail cart. This ride takes much longer time then the rides to their other vault.
The vault they arrived to was bigger inside then the house the twins live in and in it there are mountains of Galleons, Sickles and Knuts taller then Snape contesting for free space with hundreds upon hundreds of other items stacked along the walls.
After filling their pouches with two hundred Galleons each, the professor leads the two kids out of the bank and over to Flourish and Blotts. "You go and collect the books you need. You do have the list with you?"
"Yes professor." the twins said and walk into the bookstore. After about half an hour of looking through books the twins agree on ten books each to buy, plus one Magical Drafts and Potions, as they did not have it before and it was mentioned on the list of required items.
"We are finished here now, Professor. Are we going to Madam Malkin's now?"
Seeing as the twins knew their way around the Alley without much help, Snape nodded and said that they will have to make the rest of the purchases by themselves and left to buy some rare ingredients for his potion lessons.
Harry and Erika entered Madam Malkin's for their first time and when Erika just was about to speak a squat woman said, "Hogwarts, dears?" They nodded and were led a bit back in the store where she takes out a tape to measure them. While she was measuring Erika ("Ladies first!"), Harry looks through a folder showing all that she sells and what she can make.
Soon they reversed their positions, Harry being measured while Erika checked the folder. Soon Madam Malkin was finished with the required clothes for school.
"If it is alright, could we get some patterns for robes, cloaks and other wizard and witch cloths? We usually make our clothes by our selves and would like to continue to do so."
The woman smiles brightly at the girl, "Of course, I'll get you some right away." she leaves through a door in the back of the room, after about five minutes she came back, "Here you are, it's so fun when people wants to sew their own cloths, it's so seldom that happens nowadays."
"Thank you so much." Harry said gratefully, "Could you also recommend a couple of books about different charms and fabrics that one can use for cloths?"
The woman wrote down a couple of book names on a piece of parchment and after the twins had thanked her again they left the store.
The two students meet up with the professor and walk around the Alley and bought each and every thing on the list, except for a pet which the twins didn't deem themselves have time to care for without reducing their studying time which, of course, they can't do.
The last thing to buy is the wands, they walk over to Ollivanders. When they walked inside the shopkeeper stood in the shadows and tried not to be seen, the pre-teens just smiled at him and nods courtly.
The man looked startled for a second that they had seen him but recovered quickly, "Good Afternoon."
"Good afternoon, Mr. Ollivander. We would like to buy a pair of wands." Harry says.
"Ah, yes." Ollivander took out a tape measure and took a step towards him.
"The Lady first." He says and bows towards his sister.
"Thank you my Lord." Erika says with a mock curtsy.
"Which is your wand hand?" "I'm ambidextrous." The old man started to measure the girl and then walked of to one of the shelves, "Here, give this one a flick." He gave it to her and took it out of her hand almost at once before taking out another one from its box. Each time Erika tries a wand and it fails Harry also tried it without Ollivander seeing it.
After almost an hour of trying wands he gave her a wand, 'holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple' which, when she gives it a wave, produces a transparent green fog that filled the entire room.
After a minute or so the fog clears. "I think we have found the right wand for you. Now we must find a wand for you." The last he directed at Harry. He took a couple of measures with his tape, "Your wand hand?" "Both, I'm ambidextrous too." "Curious, it is very seldom that I get one person who is that, and now I have two at the same time... Here you are, try this one." Ollivander picks a wand seemingly at random from the pile left by all the wands that did not work for Erika.
"I've already tried that one, I tried all the wands that did not work for her."
He gives Harry new wands to try for about an hour more. They stopped when there were no more wands to try. "How strange, I've never before met someone who I have not been able to find a wand for."
"We'll just share this one then." Erika says and gave it to Harry. When he waved the wand it shoots out an identical green fog. "How much is it?"
"Ah, it costs seven Galleons."
The twins looked at each other and got three Galleons, eight Sickles and fourteen Knuts from their money pouches; Harry gave an extra Knot to make it the correct amount.
When they have left Ollivander's Erika asked Snape, "Professor, does it usually take this long time to get a wand?"
"No, it does not. He usually takes the right one on the first or second try."
With that they leave the Diagon Alley, take the underground to Surrey and the bus to Privet Drive.
"Be on time at Platform Nine and three-quarters, or you will miss the train." This is all that the professor said in farewell.
From that day one more thing was added that they did every day, practicing spell casting. Normally kids who were using magic at home would risk expulsion, but as the twins had not begun their education yet they had no problems. They had read in one of the many wizard law books that the underage use of magic law could do nothing until they had been their first day at school.
The one and a half months went past with lots of training and early on the morning of September the first they left for King's Cross in London together with their Uncle.
They had packed all their stuff into the trunk they had bought in Diagon Alley and shrunk it with the charm that the maker had placed on it. So when they arrive to platform nine it looks like neither of them had any package at all, it was placed safe in Erika's pocket.
Waving their goodbye to their Uncle, they walked straight through the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Without stopping to stare at the train like so many other first years, they had after all seen pictures of it in a book about Hogwarts; they entered and easily found an empty compartment. At nine they had settled in the small room, changed into the robes and had started to read.
For some reason no one opened the door to where the twins sat until almost half the journey had passed, then a round-faced boy opened and looked in, "Have you seen my toad?"
"No, we have not." answers the twins at the same time.
The boy sighs and shuts the door to continue searching outside. Fifteen minutes later a bushy-haired girl dressed in her Hogwarts robes opens the compartment door and asks, "Have you seen Neville's toad? He has lost it."
Harry stands up, "Do you know the name of the toad?" he held his hand out slightly towards his sister who got the wand from a pocket they had sewn especially for that and gave it to him.
"I think he said its name was Trevor."
"Accio." Harry says barely audible, immediately a toad appeared out of nowhere in his hand. "Here, ask Neville if this is his toad." He sat down again and continued reading his book.
Just after a short while the girl and Neville came into the compartment again. "Thank you for finding Trevor!" the boy exclaimed.
Erika held out her hand towards Harry the same way as he did towards her before and Harry handed the wand to her. She stands up and taped first Neville, and then the toad with it while whispering "vinculum termino." She pockets the wand and said out loud, "There you are, now your toad can't get more then two yards away from you if you don't want it to." The boy bounced happily out from the room holding the toad pressed against his chest. She holds her hand out to the girl and say, "My name is Erika."
Harry stands up and holds out his hand too. "Harry." He states.
The girl shakes both their hands and says, "My name is Hermione." she pauses for a moment, "Would you mind if I sit here? The other kids where so loud in the other one I was in."
"Of course not, feel free to do so." Harry and Erika sat down themselves as they bid the girl to. The three of them start to read without any more talking and the only thing that can be heard from there the next half hour is the turning of the pages.
After some times Erika starts looking Harry straight in his eyes, as she wanted a conversation without Hermione hearing it, she places the thoughts she wishes her brother to hear outside her mental walls, 'I wonder what the sorting will be, it's very secretive considering that it is a school'
'It does not really matter, does it, as long as we get into the same house' came Harry's reply.
They settle back into reading after less then a minute and without the girl noticing anything.
Some time later the train finally arrived at Hogsmeade, and while the older students sat up in the carriages drawn by Thestrals, a half-giant shouted out "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" When all the first years had gathered the huge man lead them down a slippery path down towards the lake. All of the students gasped when they first come within sight from the castle, all except the twins.
They had a silent ride over the lake and were brought in the castle through the doors by Professor McGonagall who opened them when Hagrid, the half-giant, knock. She led them into a small room beside the great hall where the upper year students had already collected. She described the four houses they can be sorted into and leaves for a moment to check if Dumbledore was ready.