Here we are, the big reveal! I was hoping initially to let the suspense build for a week, but I couldn't resist.

From the Daily Prophet, May 30th, 1992

Trolheim children to receive Hogwarts letters today

High over Trolberg the owls were gathering.

They had traveled a long way: across the North Sea, over the Wilderness peaks, over the ruins of a farmhouse, across the southern woods, over the city wall, over the canal and the square and the school and the library. Some citizens looked up and briefly wondered why so many owls, solitary in nature, were traveling together, and in daylight. Most shrugged and continued about their daily routines.

At the town square the owls parted ways. They touched down on garden fences and windowsills, birdbaths and flower boxes, mailboxes and fire escapes, and waited, some more patiently than others. Many of them hooted in annoyance at the lack of an owl hole in the eaves of the city's houses. How were the humans expecting to receive their post?

That was another interesting thing about the owls: each one had, upon closer inspection, a leather pouch tied to one leg.

The last owl in the flock, a rather exhausted-looking barn owl, spotted its destination. It was an unassuming apartment building of three stories, rather modern in comparison to Trolberg's more Medieval structures. As it descended, it nearly collided with a raven that had been passing by. "Watch it! Learn to share the sky!"

A talking bird, the owl thought to itself, what a strange place.

The owl flew down and perched on the third-floor fire escape. It hopped to one of the windows and tapped its beak against the pane. No response. The bedroom was empty, its walls covered in pencil sketches of various creatures.

The owl huffed and prepared for a long wait when the window slid open. "Well aren't you lovely!" a voice said. The owl jumped, head swiveling around in confusion. "Down here!" The owl glanced down at the window sill, but there was no one there. "Don't be afraid, you can't see me. You need to fill out the necessary paperwork to do so. Oh, you have something on your leg!"

The owl held out its leg and watched as the flap of the pouch was opened and its contents extracted by an invisible hand. "Thank you! Feel free to rest a while!" the voice said before the window slid shut.

What a mad place, the owl thought. Talking birds, phantom voices. The sooner I get back to Scotland, the better.

"Did you see the owls over the school?"

Hilda stopped, foot half-cocked to kick a pebble down the sidewalk. "No, I didn't. When did this happen?"

"During gym class," David replied. "About fifty owls, all flying in a big cloud. They broke apart over the football field and went in all different directions." David mimed an explosion with his hands. "It was so cool!"

"I wasn't in gym class," Hilda said, pouting. "Ms. Hallgrim made me stay behind to wipe down the blackboard."

"You shouldn't have gone on that rant," Frida said.

"Trolls are not dangerous creatures, just misunderstood!"

"We weren't even talking about trolls! It was science class."

"I'd been stewing it over for a while," Hilda muttered. She stopped in front of my door. "Here's my stop. See you guys at the Sparrow Scout meeting tonight?"

"Of course," Frida said. "We're going over the qualifications for the Orienteering badge. I've been up for days working on the master plan."

Hilda and David shared a glance. "Well, that should be fun," Hilda said, smiling. "I can't wait!"

Hilda entered her building, climbing the three stories to the front door. She was greeted by the clatter of hooves. "Hi, Twig!" Kneeling down on one knee, she laughed as ten pounds of white sweetness filled her arms. "Did you miss me?" She laughed as the deerfox licked her face, tail spinning like a windmill. "I missed you too."

"Hilda?" a voice called out. Hilda walked into her bedroom and scanned the room, searching for the source. She found it standing on her desk, a letter at his feet.

"Hi, Alfur," Hilda said, dropping her backpack and collapsing into her chair. "What's this?" she asked, picking up the letter and inspecting it. "E-mail?"

"No, this isn't from the elves." Alfur climbed up Hilda's arm and took a seat on her shoulder. "An owl delivered it."

"An owl?" Hilda inspected the letter. It was written on parchment, and sealed with a strange wax seal stamped with the image of a boar's head. Above the seal was written in fine cursive, Hilda Dahl, 7 Moomin Terrace, Trolberg. "Frida and David said they saw a bunch of them flying over the school."

"Where were you?"

"With Ms. Hallgrim."

"Did you go off about the trolls?"

"...No." Carefully breaking the wax seal, she unfolded the parchment and read the letter aloud:

Dear Miss Dahl,

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 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

Hilda reread the letter twice, eyes scrunched in thought. "This must be a joke."

Alfur rubbed his chin, "Seems rather complex for a joke. Who would go through the effort of training an owl to deliver mail just to fool you?"

Hilda set the letter down and sighed. "Well, have you ever heard of this Hogwarts place?"

"I believe it's one of Europe's most prestigious magical schools in Europe."

"There's more than one?"

Alfur nodded. "There's Hogwarts—that's in England—Durmstrang—somewhere in Sweden, although it's rather infamous for its Dark Arts curriculum—Beauxbatons in France, and Iceland's Bjork Institute for Spacey Pixie Dream Girls (that one may be more of a joke than an actual educational institution)."

"So this is real." Hilda looked down at the letter again, eyes widening.

"It looks official. Signed, sealed and everything."

Hilda set the letter down on the desk and leaned back. "This is wild. What's mum going to think?"

"I'm sure your mother will be excited about your opportunity."

"What about David and Frida?" Hilda glanced over to a picture above the desk. David and Frida stared blankly down at her, arms around each other's shoulders, grinning for Hilda's camera. "I just got used to Trolberg. I can't just go off and leave behind everything I've come to love again."

Alfur nodded, patting Hilda on the shoulder in comfort. "There there, this letter is by no means a binding contract. How you choose to proceed is ultimately your choice. Regardless, I'll stand by you, and I'm sure David and Frida will understand."

Hilda wiped a speck of dirt from her eye (that's what it was, yes). "I guess I'll see what David and Frida think when I see them at the Sparrow Scouts meeting."

"Remember, Sparrow Scouts, in the event your compass isn't working, moss always grows facing north—unless it's a faux-moss caterpillar, of course."

Hilda, leaned to her right and nudged Frida's shoulder. "So, this may seem like a mad question, but have you received any letters delivered by owl today?"

Frida did a double-take. "You got one too?" she whispered.

Hilda's heart skipped a beat. "Yeah, from some school called Hogwarts."

"Did you say Hogwarts?" David leaned in to join the conversation. "I got one. My mum was washing dishes in the kitchen when this little owl smacked into the window. Mum brought him inside and fixed him up, then saw he had a letter around his leg."

"It's not a joke," Hilda muttered.

"I thought so, too," Frida said.

"Why do you think we were invited?" David asked.

"I guess it's because we have some magical talent," Frida replied.

"But I haven't done anything magical in my life. I mean, I can disconnect my thumb from my hand, but that's a magic trick."

"Well, if anyone is qualified to attend this Hogwarts place, it's Hilda."

"Me?" Hilda asked, surprised.

"Yeah. You summoned those tide mice, remember. And that water spirit."

"And you summoned those ghosts," David added. "If anyone's a witch here, it's you."

Hilda blushed. "Well, they wouldn't have sent you two letters if you didn't have some magical ability."

Frida nodded. "I guess we'll see. My letter said that this Ms. McGonagall will be holding an orientation meeting at the Trolberg library next month."

"Then we'll go together," Hilda said, holding out her hand. "Agreed?"

The other two put their hands on top of hers. "Agreed."

"Hilda, David, Frida?" Three heads shot up at the scoutmaster's address. "Is there something happening that is more interesting than my lecture?"

"No, I mean, yes, I mean, no, ma'am," Hilda said, stifling a giggle.

Well, here it is, my mystery project. I fell in love with Hilda over the weekend, and since then I've been mulling the idea of a Harry Potter crossover. Obviously, I have to take some artistic liberties, both with the last names of Hilda and her friends (I chose the surnames of famous Scandinavian fantasy authors) and the name of the country Trolberg is located in. I hope you all enjoy the story. I am determined to keep this story tightly plotted, as well as rich in detail, as compared to my other, more parodical stories. Please leave a comment, and like and subscribe to the story.