Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter.
Chapter Two: The Letter
On Ellie's eleventh birthday, something rather strange happened. Ellie was sitting at the kitchen table nibbling on some toast, when she heard the post coming through the letterbox in the hall and clattering to the floor. She jumped up immediately, wondering if maybe she would get a birthday card this year. Last year she had gotten one from Mrs. Manning's sister, Mrs. Collins, and it had a five-pound note tucked inside. When Mrs. Manning had seen it, she had screamed that five pounds was far too much money for a child to have and had taken it away immediately. Ellie never saw it again, but she did notice a few days later that Mrs. Manning had bought herself a nice new teapot with a sticker on the side saying £4.99.
If Mrs. Collins had been nice enough to send her something again then Ellie wanted to get to it before Mrs. Manning came downstairs and saw it. She rushed out to the hall and success! There were two cards for her! Well, there was one card and one letter anyway. Ellie went back into the kitchen and opened the card first. It was from Mrs. Collins, but this time there was no money. Ellie was slightly disappointed. Mrs. Manning must have told Mrs. Collins not to send any more money. Still, it was nice of her to send a card anyway. Ellie set it on the table beside her plate of half-eaten toast. She looked at the letter next. The writing on the front looked strange, like old-fashioned writing, and there was a funny looking seal on the back. Ellie opened the envelope carefully and took out the slip of paper that was inside.
Ellie looked at what the paper said, and was surprised. Across the top of the letter were the words:
HOGWORTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
Ellie wondered if the letter was a joke. She continued to read however, and was even more amazed by the rest:
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Miss Winterbourne,
We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva
McGonagall
Deputy
Headmistress
What on earth did this letter mean? She had a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! What was Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry? This must be a joke of some sort, although she didn't know who would play a joke on her. Certainly not Mrs. Manning. Mrs. Manning did not approve of jokes of any sort. They were un-ladylike.
Her mind immediately flashed to the photo album upstairs with the moving pictures and the gown that were stuffed in the back of her wardrobe. She had thought that maybe the gown was a Hallowe'en witch costume of some sort. Could it possibly be real?
Mrs. Manning walked into the kitchen interrupting her thoughts. She wished Ellie a Happy Birthday and produced a card. She noticed the card that Ellie already had in front of her.
"Is that from my sister?" she asked. Ellie nodded.
"She didn't send any money this year did she?" Mrs. Manning asked sharply.
"No, just the card," Ellie replied.
Mrs. Manning saw the letter Ellie was holding in her hand.
"Who's that from?" she asked, curious. Who would be sending the child a letter?
"Oh, um, it's nothing," said Ellie, anxious to keep the contents of the letter to herself while she puzzled it out. Mrs. Manning wouldn't stand for that though.
"Don't be silly child!" she said, and whipped the letter out of Ellie's hand before Ellie could stop her. She looked at the letter and immediately her eyes bulged. Her face turned a funny purple colour and she began breathing heavily through her nostrils. Ellie thought that at that moment she resembled an angry dragon. Ellie knew enough about Mrs. Manning to know that a quick exit might be a good idea right about now.
Ellie slid off her chair and gracefully to the floor, and began to crawl towards the hall. She heard Mrs. Manning begin to speak.
"Albus Dumbledore! That man! That insolent man! I told him when I took you in that you weren't going to that silly school! Of all the nerve!"
Ellie stopped mid-crawl and turned around to look at Mrs. Manning. This was not the reaction she was expecting. She had presumed Mrs. Manning would spend the next ten minutes ranting about the evils of playing silly jokes and wasting people's time, but from the way Mrs. Manning was talking it sounded like the letter wasn't a joke at all. It seemed like Mrs. Manning knew who this "Albus Dumbledore: Headmaster of Hogwarts" was. And what did Mrs. Manning mean by saying she had said that Ellie was not going to "that silly school"? Was Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry a real school then?
Mrs. Manning looked around for Ellie, and was furious to see her on all fours on the floor.
"Get up you stupid child! You're not an animal!" she roared.
Ellie jumped up immediately and stood rooted to the spot as Mrs. Manning glared at her. She felt very uncomfortable.
"Well, that's done it then. I'll have to send you to that school or I'll have Albus Dumbledore knocking on our fireplace. Of all the nerve though! I've a good mind to write him an owl and give him a piece of my mind!" said Mrs. Manning.
Knocking on our fireplace? Write an owl?
"Er, Mrs. Manning. What do you mean by write an owl?" asked Ellie, hoping that Mrs. Manning wouldn't lash out at her for asking a "silly question".
Mrs. Manning groaned and started muttering to herself. Ellie caught most of it. "Have to tell her it all now. No point in pretending anymore."
"Sit down Eleanora," Mrs. Manning said a moment later, massaging her temple with her left hand. She gestured to a chair with her right hand. Ellie did as she was told and waited expectantly to hear what Mrs. Manning had to tell her.
Mrs. Manning looked at Ellie and opened her mouth to speak, and then shut it again. She stood up and began pacing up and down in front of the table. Ellie began to grow impatient, and was on the verge of asking questions when Mrs. Manning stopped pacing and stood still. She began to speak.
"Eleanora, this will be hard for me to explain, so I need you to stay quiet and let me tell you without any interruptions," Mrs. Manning began.
Ellie nodded, signalling her agreement to this and Mrs. Manning nodded slightly in acknowledgement.
"Good. Now, this will probably sound very strange to you, but the fact of the matter is you Eleanora are a witch," Mrs. Manning said.
Ellie's eyes opened wide. She was a witch! Was her mother a witch too? What did this all mean?
"You come from a long line of fine witches and wizards in fact," Mrs. Manning continued. "Yes, the Winterbourne family were one of the oldest and most prestigious pure-blood families in existence in this country," Mrs. Manning said, a note of pride in her voice. She paused for a moment, a faraway look in her eye. Then she turned her gaze back to Ellie, and Ellie thought she could detect a hint of scorn in her expression.
"Of course, then your grandfather, fine man that he was mind you, had to go and marry a Muggle of all people," Mrs. Manning said, sounding disgusted. Mrs. Manning noticed Ellie's obvious confusion at the word "muggle".
"A non-magical person you know," Mrs. Manning clarified, and Ellie nodded, understanding.
"Now, your grandmother was a nice person, and Merlin knows she treated me well. Your parents were good enough to take me on as a nanny to your mother when it became obvious that I would find it, ah, difficult to get on in the wizarding world," Mrs. Manning said.
"Why was it difficult for you to get on in the wizarding world?" Ellie asked.
Mrs. Manning's eyes flashed angrily at her.
"What did I say about no interruptions?" she hissed.
Ellie gulped and mumbled, "Sorry."
Mrs. Manning nodded her head and continued.
"If you must know, I'm a…" she began, and then faltered. Her cheeks began to turn pink. Ellie frowned, confused.
"I'm a… squib," Mrs. Manning finished, sounding very embarrassed.
Ellie opened her mouth to ask what a squib was, but then remembered she wasn't supposed to interrupt. Mrs. Manning caught this however, and explained.
"A squib is a person born to a wizarding family but who cannot use magic themselves."
Ellie nodded in realisation. No wonder Mrs. Manning seemed embarrassed. It must be awful to be in a family of witches and wizards but not be one yourself.
"Moving on," said Mrs. Manning quickly, "as I said I had no personal problems with your grandmother. However, it certainly was a sad day in your family's fine history to see the Winterbourne's pure bloodline polluted with Muggle blood. Simply terrible," said Mrs. Manning in the pathetic tone she sometimes used when she read in the newspaper that someone had died.
Ellie began to feel insulted. Polluted blood? Was Mrs. Manning insinuating that Ellie's mother, and Ellie herself, were "lesser" witches because they had Muggle blood?
"Now dear, don't take this the wrong way. It's not too shameful these days to be a half-blood," said Mrs. Manning in a comforting tone. Ellie did not feel comforted though, she felt disgusted.
"Of course, who knows what you are," Mrs. Manning continued. "No one knows what your father was."
What? No one knows what her father was? What does that mean? Ellie knew it would annoy Mrs. Manning to ask her another question, but she couldn't help herself.
"What do you mean no one knows what my father was?" Ellie asked.
"Well child, you see your mother never told anyone who your father was," Mrs. Manning said in a gentle tone, although Ellie could see the disapproving glint in her eye.
Ellie couldn't believe it. All this time she knew there was something about her father that Mrs. Manning didn't want to tell her, but she didn't think it was that nobody even knew who her father was! Ellie felt awful, like someone had just punched her in the stomach.
"Now, it's best we not dwell on that particular subject. I'm sure your mother had her reasons," Mrs. Manning said briskly.
Ellie felt miserable, but she wanted to hear the rest of Mrs. Manning's story, so she reluctantly nodded.
"Now then, where was I? Ah, yes. Anyway, your grandfather's family has had a long line of prestigious witches and wizards and all attended Hogwarts. Your mother did too. She was a fine witch I will admit, although I didn't always see eye to eye with her on other matters. Now when your mother died, so tragic you know, your kind grandfather and grandmother took you in to raise. They were both getting old unfortunately though. They had married late in life you see, mid-thirties; your mother wasn't born until your grandmother was almost forty. Anyway, they took you in and raised you until you were about three, and then there was that awful wizard flu epidemic. Your grandmother was gone like that (Mrs. Manning snapped her fingers) and your grandfather followed soon after. Awful tragedy." Here Mrs. Manning paused to take out her handkerchief, and dabbed the corner of each of her eyes. A moment later, she put the handkerchief away and resumed her story.
"Now the question was, what to do with you? No mother, no father and now no grandparents. Someone had to take care of you, but whom? That's when Albus Dumbledore stepped in. He knew my family of course, who had all attended Hogwarts, and he knew of my particularly delicate situation. I had married when your mother got older, Mr. Manning you know, not as old a family as yours but still pure-blood you know. He died unfortunately before we could have any children though. You Know Who and those awful wizarding wars! His family never thought much of me. Well they wouldn't you know, being a squib and all. Anyway, it became apparent that I couldn't continue to live in the wizarding world and would have to resort to the Muggle world. Dumbledore of course knew my history with your family and suggested I take you in and raise you. I agreed, but I told Dumbledore that it would be on the condition that I raise you my way. Now you know dear, I have nothing against magic of course, but being a squib meant it might be unpleasant for me to have a child running around threatening to hex me if it didn't get what it wanted. You can understand?"
Here Mrs. Manning finally paused. Ellie didn't know what to say. She could understand Mrs. Manning's point of view, but she also felt angry that Mrs. Manning had lied to her for so long. She was a witch! Her mother was one too, and her grandfather had been a wizard. No wonder the pictures in the photo album could move! They must be some kind of magic photos.
Ellie realised Mrs. Manning was expecting her to speak.
"I um, I understand why you didn't tell Mrs. Manning," she said. Mrs. Manning smiled.
"But," Ellie continued, "Now that I know, does this mean I'm going to Hogwarts to learn magic?"
Mrs. Manning sighed heavily and nodded.
"Apparently Dumbledore thinks it is in your best interests. He is a great wizard you know, and I have the utmost respect for great wizards, so I must comply with his wishes. You are to go to Hogwarts."
Ellie jumped off her seat, excited.
"Really? Oh thank you Mrs. Manning!" she cried, and flung her arms around Mrs. Manning's neck. She withdrew them a moment later, blushing. Mrs. Manning did not take kindly to displays of affection.
Mrs. Manning gave her a sickly kind of smile. It was obvious she did not approve, but at least she was not going to stop her from going.
"What do I need to bring?" Ellie asked.
Mrs. Manning took the envelope and pulled out another slip of paper.
"Here we are," Mrs. Manning said, and began to read down the list.
"Hmm, we'll need to go to Diagon Alley for all of this," she muttered.
"Diagon Alley?" asked Ellie.
"Yes Diagon Alley. Well, there's no time like the present. Finish up your breakfast and then we'll be off. There's a train to London in about an hour if I'm not mistaken, and I'm usually not."
Ellie wolfed down the rest of her breakfast and then ran upstairs to change into outdoor clothes. This day was shaping up to be the best birthday ever. Diagon Alley, here she comes!