Chapter 1: Daniel Smith

Daniel Smith landed hard on the tile floor and watched with helpless rage as the older boy crawled into his bunk. It was the same every night: the younger kids went to bed, then the older ones came in later and dragged some of them out and forced them to sleep on the floor. He was usually one of them, even though he always fought.

Like tonight. He wiped blood from his split lip, unsure whose it was. He had put up a good struggle, but it hadn't been enough.

He shivered. The AC was on, the floor was cold, and he had no blanket. He tried to get comfortable, but the attendant yelled for him to go to sleep. Like he could, lying on a freezing-cold tile floor.

As he lay there, freezing and bruised and hating life, he thought about how awful his life was, and that there was no chance of it getting better. And that was when something fluttered over his head, and a letter dropped onto his chest.

He waited until the guard was looking the other way, then quietly rose and darted into the bathroom, where the light was on. He examined the letter. It was old-style parchment, with green ink. The address was:

Daniel Smith
The Floor
Morning Sun Boy's Home
Los Angeles, CA

Fingers trembling, he opened it, then unfolded the paper. It read:

Dear Mr. Smith,

We are pleased to inform you that you are accepted as a student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Because of the nature of your situation, we understand that you cannot owl us. That is fine, one of our associates will be there on the night of August 27, 1991 to collect you. Just be ready to depart immediately, if you wish to go.

Best wishes,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress

Daniel had never heard of Hogwarts School, and was fairly certain that this was a joke. Nevertheless, he decided, he would be ready to go on the night of the 27th.

Chapter 2: Dorian McDonald

Dorian MacDonald sat at her desk. She just put the finishing touch on a story she had been writing. With a flourish, she wrote "The End." Smiling, she shut the notebook she had been writing in. She put her pen down and rested her chin on her hand as she stared out her bedroom window.

There were so many stories bottled up inside her. It would take time, but she was sure she would learn to write her stories much better. She had a little collection of notebooks on her desk. She had been writing since she could put words together. Dorian had written everything down. As she grew as a writer, she would go back to the stories and make them better. By the time she finished university, she was expecting to be a published writer.

She didn't care which world she was writing for, she just wanted to write. If she found that she was magical, like her mother, then she would take her place in the Wizarding World. But if she was like her father, a muggle, then she would work to get published in his world.

They weren't sure which world she belonged in. For her entire life, she had never shown any tendency toward magic. Not that her parents looked for it. They would be content with either outcome. Her mother had adjusted well to life spent half in the muggle world. She knew her father would be happy if she showed she was a witch. He dearly loved his wife and only child and would be content no matter how things turned out.

Dorian sighed and got up from her desk. She went to her dresser and picked up her hairbrush. Looking in the mirror, she knew it was almost hopeless to try to tame her dark brown curls. It was as if her hair had a mind of its own. Her brown eyes sparkled through her gold-rimmed glasses. She had a lovely smile, and even though she was on the shy side, had a great sense of humour. Her father said she was going to be quite a catch, when she grew up. Dorian didn't know about that. She had a tendency toward plumpness, and already she noticed that the boys liked girls who looked like the pictures in the magazines. She shook her head. Well, they would certainly miss out if they didn't take notice of her.

There wasn't any hurry anyway. She'd only turned 11 at the beginning of the summer. There was plenty of time for boys later. Sighing, she put her brush down. Her hair had managed to get in some kind of order. She looked at her watch. It was nearly teatime. Mum was getting cucumber sandwiches and tea ready.

Dorian made her way down to the kitchen. Her mother was at the stove pouring hot water into the teapot. Her father would be home in about two hours from his job at the factory. He was a sales representative for Grunnings Drill Works. The windows were open letting in a light breeze that was blowing through the Surrey suburbs. She kissed her mum on the cheek and went to the table.

She loved to listen to her mother as she puttered about the kitchen. She would hum without realizing it. She was doing so now. Dorian smiled and picked up the harmony to the song her mother was humming. Her mother turned to her and smiled. Suddenly, through the window behind her mum an owl flew in. It landed on the table in front of Dorian.

"I just knew it..." whispered her mother.

Chapter 3: Alondra Bracho

It's early Friday morning; Alondra arrived at Harmony Park with her family, shortly after the parade ended. Every year their family tradition was to go down and watch the parade, then head out to the park, near the band shell and listen to the music, dance, eat and just be together as a family. This year was a bit different though. Francesca, her older brother Jason's girlfriend, was in Paris. And a new addition was joining the family that year, Little Ethan, her pride and joy and baby brother. Alondra smiled to herself as she watched Jason tugging the cooler along and her mama engaged in conversation with papa. It was just the five of them, Mama, Papa, Jason, her and Little Ethan.

"Ali, you coming?" Jason called out to her.

"Yeah! I'm coming!" She shifted the bag she was carrying so it would be more comfortable on her shoulder, and rearranged the weight of her brother in her arms and hurried after them.

"Alondrita, why don't you put down your brother on the grass and let him stretch his legs." Paloma, Alondra's mother, smiled.

"No, mama, I'm going to hold him all day." Alondra says sarcastically setting little Ethan in the grass. "Mama, my arms and my back can only handle so much. Papa, did you get the stroller for me like I asked?" A guilty expression washes over Damion, Alondra's father's, face.

"Uh, be right back!" He says running off. Alondra laughs and sits down at the picnic table.

"Are they offering the chicken dinner again this year Jason?" Alondra asks her brother, as she glances at her surroundings.

"Of course, just like every year. Chicken dinner, five dollars." Jason replies and begins to take out Frisbees, beach balls, and other games from his bag. Paloma sits down and opens up the picnic basket.

"I also brought some fresh fruit and tuna salad Alondrita, so if you only want us to buy the chicken we can have that." Alondra nods happily and her eyes drift over to the band shell, as the DJ flips on the speakers.

"Happy 4th of July everyone! A couple of announcements, Chicken dinners are five dollars again this year, sponsored by the Youth Center. We also have root beer floats again this year, a dollar-fifty, sponsored by the boy scouts. My name is Mike with Crystal Entertainment; I will be your DJ today until five o'clock. Today we are going to play a mix of music from every decade, starting in the fifties. Lets start with a medley of music from the last century." A medley playing everything from swing to rap comes onto the loud speakers. Alondra beams happily and asks her mama for some money to go get a root beer float. Paloma happily gives her the money and Alondra gets up heading over to the Boy Scout booth, when a strange feeling washed over her. She stopped abruptly and turned, her eyes a dark brown from their naturally caramel state. A sudden gust of wind surrounded her and she gasped.

"Mama! Where is my little brother?" She asks her heart starting to race. Paloma turns around and looks.

"Dios mio! He must have wandered off! Little Ethan!" Paloma cries frantically. Jason jumps up from his seat too.

"Ok, let's calm down. Ali, Come on, let's go find him!" Jason says taking charge and Alondra runs off looking for him. Paloma is trembling and Damion arrives with the stroller. Alarmed at his wife's stricken expression, he takes her in his arms.

"What has happened?" Damion demands to know. Paloma tearfully looks to her handsome husband.

"Little Ethan, he has run off again. But, Damion, Alondra...Alondra she knew... without even watching him...it was as if..." Paloma began to say, Damion cut her off.

"As if her magical gifts were responsible...Paloma, we knew this day would come. Alondra is our only daughter, and my grandmama told me that only a destined Bracho girl would carry on her gift of magic...and Alondra is the only girl born to our family since my mama...and she did turn 11 last week..." Damion reflected remembering his grandmother's words. Paloma hugged her husband tightly. Damiona ran a hand through his wife's dark locks.

"It is fate my love. And you know we can't outdo her fate," Damion finally said and Paloma nodded.

"But come now, we mustn't stress on that, our little boy! Ethan, he couldn't have gone too far, let's find him!" Damion said and both parents rushed through the park.

"Loose someone?" Sebastian Stirling asks when he finally finds her, Alondra his best friend and partner in mischief. Alondra looks over and sees her brother in Sebastian's arms and breathes a sigh of relief running over to them.

"Ethan!" She yells taking her brother from Sebastian and smothering him with kisses. "Big sister was so worried. Don't you ever run off like that again." She says kissing him again. "Thank you so much Seb! I was so worried." She says hugging him quickly.

"I guessed so." Sebastian says. "Well, anyway, I'm going to go, leave you with your family." Alondra frowned.

"Are you here alone Seb?" Alondra asks, already knowing the answer.

Sebastian's parents were never around, always off on some business trip or so they would claim. Sebastian was always left in the care of nannies, even if he protested that he was 11 and a big boy. Sebastian just shrugs as if it doesn't make that much of a difference. Alondra smiled sweetly.

"Well, come join us, you shouldn't be alone at this! Have you ever been here before?"

"Nope, first time." Sebastian mutters. Alondra looks at him and knows that he is going over his horrible childhood in his head again. Not wanting him to have to relive those painful moments she quickly cuts into his thoughts.

"Well, come join us, you shouldn't have to be alone at this, come join us!" She says taking his hand and leading him over to their table.

"Oh, thank god, you've found him!" Paloma breathes a sigh of relief as she sees her daughter walk over with her baby boy.

"Sebastian, mijo, what are you doing here." Paloma asks sweetly to the young dark haired boy. Taking little Ethan from Alondra. Sebastian shrugs shyly.

"You know his parents are gone, Mama, and Seb found little Ethan. He is here alone, so I said he could join us." Alondra replied smiling at her best friend's shyness.

"If it's not too big a deal." Sebastian mutters. He had this pressing feeling Paloma didn't like him too much. Maybe it was the way she had always talked down to him. Then again she talked down to her children all the time too.

"Sure, no problem Sebastian, are you hungry?" Paloma asked sweetly.

"Yes, I was going to go get one of those chicken dinners." Paloma nodded and Sebastian turned to Alondra.

"My treat! Mrs. Bracho, I'll get the dinner's for all of us," Sebastian offered. Alondra smiled at him warmly. Paloma shook her head.

"No mijo, you're our guest..." Paloma argues. Sebastian stops her.

"I'll be back in a bit." He said then strolled off. Alondra watched him go. She then locked little Ethan in the stroller. She wasn't going to allow him to wander off again. She sat down as the DJ came back on over the speakers.

"All right, we are going to throw in some fifties swing and I want to see how many of you can dance! So grab a partner and come up here and strut your stuff!" Alondra beams as she watches couples of all ages head up the dancing platform in front of the band shell.

"Ali, care to dance?" She looks up and sees Jason smiling down at her.

"Let me show you how to dance this stuff...all those people out there are rookies. Get ready for the dancing king that is your brother Jason," Alondra giggles and nods and she and her brother headed up to the band shell. She was glad her brother had asked her to dance. They used to dance when she was a little younger, all the time. Swing, the tango, any kind of dance, they used to dance.

Then Jason found Francesca. But, today he didn't have his partner. But she was never one to sit on the sidelines as everyone else danced. She usually took the advice in that song by Leanne Womack "If given the chance to sit it out or dance." She danced. That's just who she was. Sebastian was heading back to the table when he noticed Alondra wasn't over there. As if reading his mind, Paloma looked over to him and nodded in the direction of the band shell. Sebastian walked over and watched Alondra dancing with Jason. He leaned against the tree. She looked really beautiful out there, and was a really good dancer. Jason spun her around, and Sebastian watched mesmerized. She seemed to float on her feet as the two of them did complex dance steps. He had never seen this side to his best friend before. Suddenly Sebastian was shaken out of his thoughts by a small tap on his leg.

"An owl?" Sebastian chokes confused. As he reached down to touch it, it flew off in a flash and a letter fell into his hands. Engraved on the outside in fine cursive a top a unique seal was;

Miss Alondra Bracho
9704 Inlgeside Dr.
Harmony, USA

"What?" he begins to ask, when he hears a gasp behind him. He turns and sees Paloma watching the letter steadily. All colour drained from her face.

"Mrs. B?" Sebastian asks, Paloma looks from the letter to her lovely daughter dancing with her handsome son. Alondra's laughter echoing in her ears, her golden locks swaying around her tiny frame, and caramel eyes shining as she spun to the beat. Paloma laid a hand upon her heart.

"Mi niña...my little girl...destiny calls," Paloma mumbled wistfully...

Chapter 4: Daniel Smith

HOGWARTS SCHOOL - August 24, 1991

Albus Dumbledore knew that his faithful gamekeeper was coming; the trembling of the castle as he walked was all the evidence anyone needed. A moment later, there was a thundering knock at the door that almost ripped it off its hinges.

"Come in, Hagrid," Dumbledore said. A moment later, the enormous man stood before him. "Thank you for coming so quickly."

"No bother, sir. What were ye needin'?"

"I'm sending you on a little trip," Dumbledore said. "There's a young man in America, I'd like you to go and fetch him, and bring him back to Britain with you."

"Will he be attendin' Hogwarts, sir?" At Dumbledore's nod, Hagrid continued: "But why bring him here? Don' they have a wizarding school down there?"

"Not in California, magic doesn't function in that area, at least not well."

"But there's a school close by, right? An American one?"

"Silver Grove Academy? Yes. And despite what they say about it at the ministry, they provide an exemplary education. I've been trying to lure away their Defence teacher for some time. However, I have reasons of my own for wanting the boy in question here."

Hagrid nodded his enormous shaggy head. "Of course, sir. When do I leave?"

"You'll need to be at the transatlantic portkey station in two hours." Dumbledore picked up a teacup and cast the Portkey spell on it. "This will activate in ninety minutes. So you'd better head over to your hut and pack."

Carefully, Hagrid picked up the teacup. "Yes, sir. Anything else?"

Dumbledore gave his friend a muggle photograph, and a sheet of parchment with some vital information written on it. "That should be all the information you need."

Hagrid examined the picture. "Daniel Smith, eh?"

"Yes. He's being held in a nasty muggle orphanage. You may have to use magic to get him out, but try to keep it to a minimum. The last thing we need is for the muggles to see something they shouldn't."

"Of course, sir." Hagrid looked down at his pink umbrella, which housed his repaired wand.

Dumbledore stood. "Good luck."

"Thank ye, sir."

"Oh, and Hagrid?" Dumbledore added. "When you pack, I recommend that you do so with warm weather in mind."

Chapter 5: Mathew Ford

Matt had only visited England's capital city properly twice before - he had visited the Planetarium and Madame Tussauds briefly as a small child, but only in the last few years had he stayed overnight there and seen the famous sites, including Buckingham Palace - the Muggle Royal Residence, the Houses of Parliament where the Muggles housed their Government, and the Tower of London where a lot of muggle tourists, particularly Americans and Japanese, frequently gathered.

Of course, right now Matt had no idea what muggles were. He was just trying to ingest piece by piece what the 8-foot tall giant man was growling to him.

Rubeus Hagrid was a completely unique human being, if he was one. He had the strength to crush a man's neck with a single blow, yet spoke as softly as a child.

They were presently on the Underground, a mass transit system underneath London as the name suggests. To some people, the carriages may have seemed claustrophobic - to Matt, that was multiplied several times over, having Hagrid sat next to him and nearly everybody else staring at the odd pair.

"Ah, 'ere we are, Kings Cross." Hagrid said. "We can get to the Leaky Cauldron from 'ere."

There were a few eyebrows raised at this statement - the Underground was often used by businessmen who thought they knew every nook and cranny of the center of Britain's largest city. Obviously they were wrong.

After some walking and a lot more staring, they finally arrived in a tiny, grubby looking pub. Hagrid marched up to the barman.

"Tom, has Daniel arrived yet?" When the barman grunted in an affirmative, Hagrid went on, "I've got Matt here, remember the owl from Dumbledore?"

"Ah yes, his room is ready, Rubeus. Number 16."

Hagrid gave Matt a small bag filled with gold coins. "Here y'go, yer can use these galleons and sickles to buy yer school stuff. You can go around with Daniel if yer like, you'll like him, an American kid, but I think you and have him will have a LOT in common."

Chapter 6: Rachael Jones

Rays parents were divorced, and had been for four years now, and she lived predominantly with her mother. When her mother, Jan, had found out that her father, Henry, had lied to her about the fact that he was a wizard, from a whole family of witches and wizards, she had gotten very upset that she had been lied to and kicked him out, leaving her to raise their only child Rachael (Ray to her closest friends and family).

Ray spent every second weekend with her dad, they had a great time, he picked her on a Saturday morning and took her to her weekly gymnastics class that started at 10am, but this week he was running late, if he didn't get there soon she was going to have to walk.

This wasn't something new to Ray, her dad was a Auror, and mum was a Muggle nurse both working shift work, so Ray spent a lot of time on her own, she knew that if her dad couldn't make it to pick her up before class, he would be there to collect her by the end.

Luckily today wasn't going to be one of those days…

"Daddy!" called Ray getting into the car.

"Hey chicken," said Henry pulling her into a sideways hug.

"Daaaaddddyyyy! Don't call me that, I'm not a chicken," she complained, they always had this fight, "Chicken Legs" was the nick name given to her by her paternal grandfather before he died, it referred to a dish that they had attempted to cook when he came to visit once, needless to say they nearly ended up setting fire to the kitchen, and ever since she was nicknamed "chicken legs" or just "chicken"

"Awwww," he pouted, sticking out his bottom lip in an impersonation of the look on Ray's face.

"The wind will change," she said, with a straight face, before quickly poking her tongue out at him.

A few minutes later the arrived at the hall that she went to gymnastics at, the Bentleigh McKinnon Youth Centre (BMYC)

"See you at 1pm, chicken, have fun and be safe," he warned.

"Will do daddy," she said getting out of the car, and running up the steps and over to the sign in desk. "Rachael Jones," she said to the duty mum.

"Thanks, have fun, there about to start warm ups," said the mum.

Ray knew that she was different; she didn't want to tell her mum that she thought she was a witch, because she was afraid that she would be kicked out like her dad. She was turning 11 in the next few months, and hoped if she was going to get an admittance letter it would come this year, rather than waiting till she was almost 12.

It had started with small things at first; mostly healing the small Gymnastic and Ballet injuries she got on occasions, but she knew this was different; this was going to cause a problem.

She was finishing her floor routine, and was halfway through a tumble when she fell, and landed oddly on her left arm. She knew it was broken, the sound alone told everyone that. Within minutes the whole gym club was around her, helping her to sit up, supporting her arm, getting ice packs etc. but she knew that she was in serious trouble.

She could already feel her own bodily magic starting to fix the problem, and if her dad didn't come soon then she would be taken to a Muggle hospital and then they all would know especially her mum and she didn't want that to happen.

"Has anyone called an Ambulance?" asked Mrs. Newman then Gym clubs manager.

"No," called one of the parents, Ray sighed in relief but it was short lived, "were just trying to find the phone."

"NO!" Ray screamed, "Wait for my daddy please, he will take me," she said putting on her best 'puppy dog / please do what I say' face.

"You must be in a lot of pain Ray, are you sure?" Mrs. Newman asked, "We really should get you to a hospital."

"Daddy will be here soon, please… please wait for him, I don't want him to get worried," she said, hoping they would buy her story.

"We'll wait ten minutes, if he isn't here by then, we'll call the Ambulance, okay Ray?" Asked Mrs. Newman receiving a nod in response.

Two hours later and a trip to the Melbourne branch of St Mungo's hospital, Ray and Henry arrived home, Henry was very pleased that Ray was a witch; she had nearly fixed the break by the time he arrived and had taken her to the hospital.

The question that was on his mind was 'would she get a letter from Hogwarts this year, she had turned 10 in November the year before, and would be nearly 11 if they accepted her this year, and nearly 12 if they waited until next year', he would have to do some research into Hogwarts if she didn't get her letter soon.

Something was up, she knew it, she could almost smell it. Her dad had been very distant since he picked her up from Gymnastics and found out that she was indeed a witch, she just hoped it wasn't something she had done wrong.

The next morning, she was sitting at the breakfast table eating her vegemite toast when an owl flew through the window and instead of heading for her dad like normal; it flew towards her sticking its leg out demanding attention.

Ray removed the letter and looked at the envelope;

Miss Rachael Jones
Second bedroom
5 Ranleigh Crt
Moorabbin

She quickly opened the letter and read;

Dear Miss Jones,

We are please to inform you that you have been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…

Chapter 7: Dorian McDonald

"Look," Mrs. McDonald said pointing down the road to Number 4. "The Dursley's are going off somewhere." Dorian looked down Privet Drive. Sure enough, there was Vernon Dursley stuffing suitcases into the trunk of his car. Mrs. Dursley was standing there with an odd look on her face. Dudley, whose size and shape reminded Dorian of a rather large watermelon, was leaning against the car pouting. Then there was Harry.

Harry Potter was the Dursley's nephew. He was small. He was a bit of a loner. He seemed to always be in some sort of trouble. Dorian felt sorry for him. She figured that the Dursley's didn't care for him too much. Dudley was always tormenting him in school. She had tried to talk to the shy, dark haired boy, but something always happened to prevent them from getting close.

Mr. Dursley shouted that they were ready to go. The family piled in the car, and with screeching wheels, he backed the car out of the drive and sped off down the street. Mr. McDonald shook his head. "Dursley hasn't been in the office for the last few days. I hope there's nothing wrong. Mind you, the office has been a bit quieter since he's been away. Mr. Grunning has been quite put out, despite everything, Dursley is quite good at what he does." Mr. McDonald sighed. "Well, we better get going. They won't hold our room at The Leaky Cauldron for long."

The ride into London was a great treat for Dorian. She enjoyed the sights. She especially liked it when they would take a walking tour of the city. One of Dorian's favourite things to do when in the city was walk across the bridge and view the Parliament building. Today, though, they were headed for Charing Cross Road.

Mr. McDonald left the car in the car park, and the three of them walked down the road. Mrs. McDonald enjoyed window-shopping. She and Dorian would stare in the shop windows and imagine some of the things there in their home. Today they kept on past the shops. The Leaky Cauldron was just ahead. People were passing it by, not giving it a glance. Mrs. McDonald was holding her husband's hand and made straight for a rather dilapidated door. Dorian had noticed it before, but never was allowed inside.

"Now, Dorian," Mrs. McDonald said, "I want you to stay close to me. We're heading into my world now." Mrs. McDonald had taken trips into the city to go into her world before. But she had never taken Dorian before. Dorian's heart was beating rapidly as they went inside.

It was like passing into another time. The pub was smoke filled. There were the strangest people sitting in the booths and standing at the bar. Their clothing seemed to be from out of another time. Mrs. McDonald walked up to the barman. Mr. McDonald just stared at all his surroundings.

"Good Morning, Tom." Mrs. McDonald said. "Are our rooms ready?"

"Ah, Mrs. McDonald," the man behind the bar said. His face was roughly as wrinkled and brown as a walnut. Dorian smiled. "Yes, you have rooms 15 and 17." Tom turned his eyes to Dorian. "So, this is your daughter? Welcome to The Leaky Cauldron, Miss."

Dorian shook the barman's hand and Mrs. McDonald then arranged to have their bags taken to their rooms. "Well, Dorian," she said to her daughter, "are you ready to see Diagon Alley?"

Chapter 8: Mathew Ford

Daniel and Matt entered the wand shop together. Ollivander, a silver-haired man with odd-looking eyes, smiled upon seeing them arrive. "Ah, Mr. Ford," he said with a smile. "Delighted to meet you at last. And Mr. Smith, our first American student since 1791."

"That long?" Daniel queried.

"Yes. She was the daughter of two crown loyalists, you know what those were, yes?"

"I'm… afraid not," Daniel said. History lessons for students at Morning Sun were rather sketchy.

"They were Americans who refused to support the revolution," Matt said. "They supported the British instead. They weren't very popular after the war."

"I see," Daniel replied, feeling more puzzled than ever.

"As for why you're here, I don't have that information," Ollivander said. "But I've been expecting you nonetheless. And you as well, Mr. Ford. You are most welcome."

"So… do we choose a wand now?" Daniel asked uncertainly.

"No, Mr. Smith. Your wand will choose you. Which of you would like to go first?"

"I will," Matt said.

"Very well," Ollivander said, and selected a box from his shelf, then extracted a wand. "Try this one."

Chapter 9: Daniel Smith

Daniel was awakened from his brief nap (he was still suffering from portkey-lag) by a hand on his shoulder. It was Matt, who now had a long box tucked under his arm. "Finally found a wand that liked me, mate," he said. "Your turn now."

Daniel nodded. "After trying out half the wands in the store, I expect," he said.

"Oh, not even close, I assure you," Ollivander said. He waved his own wand, and the dozens of discarded wands flew back to their boxes and shelves. "Young Mr. Smith, if you please?"

Daniel stepped forward. "OK. What are we looking for?"

Ollivander handed him a stubby wand. "Sandalwood, seven and three-quarters inches, heartstring. Give it a wave."

Daniel did. Nothing. "Is something supposed to happen?"

"You'll know when your wand picks you. Try this. Ash, nine inches flat. Also cored with a dragon heartstring."

Daniel waved it. It was like waving a stick.

"Very well. Maple, ten and a half inches, phoenix feather." Same result (none). "Rosewood, eight and a quarter, unicorn hair." No result.

They went through a vast assortment of wands: oak, hornbeam, ironwood, birch, spruce, apple, orange, fir, pine, yew, walnut, cherry, cedar, and others. They ranged in length from six inches to fourteen, and had all manner of cores, with emphasis on unicorn tail hairs, since they were the most common. Phoenixes could only give a few tail feathers, and dragons had to die from natural causes before their heartstrings could be taken.

Finally, Ollivander selected his latest choice. "Hmmm. American hickory, cored with a unicorn tail hair, and just shy of thirteen inches. Might be a good choice for you."

Daniel accepted it, and immediately the shop lit up with a plume of multicoloured sparks.

"Excellent!" Ollivander shouted, clapping his hands. "That will be seven galleons, Mr. Smith."

Daniel counted out the money and paid him. "Thank you."

"You're very welcome, boy. Best of luck at Hogwarts, by the way. To both of you."

Daniel and Matt emerged from the shop. Hagrid was waiting for them there, and he took them to Fortescue's for ice cream. Daniel looked around. There were interesting people present: a young female wizard, who was eyeing them, a large family of red-haired children, a round-faced boy who was asking his very formidable-looking grandmother for a few sickles to buy an ice cream. And in the background, the sleek and ferret like blond boy who was accompanied by his father, a tall wizard with long blond hair.

"Well, I've got everything," Daniel said. "But I know you have stuff to get still. Want to go out tonight?"

Matt yawned. "No, let's call it a day. I can finish my shopping tomorrow."

After finishing their ice creams, both of them headed back into the Leaky Cauldron.

Chapter 10: Dorian McDonald

The McDonalds were spending a few days in Diagon Alley. The first day they enjoyed touring the shops and just getting familiar to the wizarding atmosphere. Dorian was overwhelmed. Everywhere she turned there were fascinating sights, sounds and smells. By far, that first day, Dorian's favourite spot was Florean Fortescue's. They sat at a table by the door and watched the passers-by. That afternoon as they sat enjoying pineapple sundaes, Dorian saw the biggest man she had ever seen deliver two young boys to the shoppe. He sat them down and ordered the largest, messiest sundaes for the boys. It was the boys who held her attention. They both seemed guarded. But they did dig into the gooey confections when they were deposited in front of them. It seemed as though the boys inhaled the ice cream. Before too long, the man said something to the boys and off they went.

The second day was spent gathering the things Dorian would need for her first year. They explored the book shoppe. The titles fascinated her. She wanted to buy all the books she saw there. Her father had to drag her out of the shoppe. They went to get her a cauldron. She would have liked to spend more time in the apothecary, but the smells were a little much. They were all glad to leave that store. Next, they went to Madam Malkin's and Dorian was fitted for her robes. Madam Malkin chatted merrily with her mother as she was fitted. Dorian and her father had to drag her mother out of the shoppe.

She was to be allowed a pet to take with her. So it was off to see which animal she would choose. The owls were beautiful. There was a white one that sat quietly in the back of the shop. She was magnificent. Dorian walked over and reached up to pet her. The owl sat patiently and let Dorian stroke her soft feathers.

"Do you want an owl?" her mother asked.

"Oh this one is lovely," Dorian replied. "But, no, I don't think she's for me. I think I would much rather have a cat, Mum." Dorian had spied a sleek, white cat when she had entered the shoppe. It sat in a large cage. There were other cats playing with each other. The white sat at the back of the cage grooming. When Dorian approached, the cat looked up at her. Great green eyes regarded the girl outside the bars. The cat tilted its head to the right and examined the girl. Dorian smiled and the cat stood then stretched. It sauntered over to where Dorian was standing then sat staring at her.

"This one," Dorian whispered. "Mum, I want this cat." Her mother smiled and walked over to the witch behind the counter. "You're just so magnificent." she whispered. "And you know it too. So what shall I call you?" Dorian thought while her mother paid for the cat. "You're like some great, white marble sculpture, sitting there. I've got it...Michelangelo. That's your name." The cat rose and came over to the bars. He began to rub against them brushing Dorian's hand. "I guess you like that, don't you, Mike?"

Ollivander's was a little spooky, Dorian thought. The wizened old wizard had greeted them from behind his counter when they had walked in. He seemed to remember her mother immediately. He even remembered the wand he had sold to her so many years ago. Her mother smiled politely and introduced Dorian. The wizard just gave a bemused grin and headed off to the back of his shoppe. He returned with a few boxes balanced precariously in his arms.

After trying about 10 wands, he handed Dorian a long white wand. "10 inches, Beechwood, with a most unusual core. Black unicorn tail hair. Most unusual. Give it a wave, girl."

The moment Dorian took the wand; she felt warmth coming from it. It was as if the grip was made just for her. Her fingers fit so perfectly around the handle. She barely waved it when a shower of silver and red sparks shot from the tip. They surrounded her. Mr. Ollivander smiled. "It appears the wand has found its owner."

They were leaving the shoppe when Dorian noticed the large man again. He was parting the crowd before him, talking to someone at his side. They had gotten past the last few people and Dorian was just going by when she saw who was next to him. It was Harry! So Harry Potter was a wizard. That explained a lot of things. Dorian smiled to herself. This was turning out to be quite an interesting visit.