Alter Forte: Chapter 4

The following week felt like it dragged on forever for Brian as he eagerly awaited the letter that he was sure to arrive. But sure enough that as his eleventh birthday finally came around on February 14, a Saturday, a sharp knock came from the door right as the family was finishing up their lunch. Brian stood from the table eager, not having to fake the excitement he felt as he ran towards the door and pulled it open. It revealed a strict looking woman with square glasses and gray hair that was pulled into a tight bun.

"Good afternoon, are you Mr. Brian Willams?" She said in greeting. Brian though, was unable to respond, slightly taken aback as he recognized the woman, even though it was exactly whom he was expecting to see.

"Minvera McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts," He thought to himself, fighting to keep a grin off his face. Pulling himself together, he collected his thoughts.

"I am, and you are?" He asked in return as he scanned over her. She looked almost exactly as the books had described, although in place of robes she was wearing a three piece pinstripe suit that was rather outdated. Clearly the Harry Potter books hadn't exaggerated the magical world's inhabitants inability to keep up with the times when it came to muggle fashion.

"Well then, Mr. Williams, happy birthday. As for who I am, that, I'm afraid, is a rather long story, are your parents home?" She replied politely.

"We are yes, and who might you be?" Brian's father asked, striding towards the door alongside Brian's mother as they finally caught up to their son, who had sprinted over from the other room once he'd heard knocking.

"On that note then, I am Minerva McGonagall and I am here on behalf of a rather prestigious school known as Hogwarts to offer your son a place in its halls, though first I fear several explanations are in order, may I come in?" She inquired. Brian glanced over his shoulder and noticed his parents share a relieved expression as they heard McGonagall's words.

"Thank God she mentioned the name of the school," Brain thought to himself in relief. If she hadn't he was probably going to need to drop some serious hints about why the woman was there if he wanted them to allow the oddly dressed woman into their home.

"Please, come in, we can discuss it in the sitting room,"Brian's mother replied, his parents both moving out of the doorway with Brian following suit.

"Of course, thank you," McGonagall said as she entered the home, his father shutting the door behind her as his mother led the way to the sitting room, with Brian and the others following close behind.

"Please, feel free to sit," His mother told McGonagall, gesturing towards the reclining chair while she took a seat on the couch. Brian and his father sank down beside her while McGonagall took the invitation. It was his father who spoke next.

"Now then, I normally find it best to start these conversations by asking this, do you remember anything odd happening throughout Brian's life? Things that couldn't be explained through anything you know currently?" She began, leaning forward slightly in her seat as she spoke. Brian's father shifted slightly beside him.

"I feel it's better to just ask outright rather than lead you on, is Brian a wizard?" His father blurted out in response. McGonagall froze for a moment, seemingly shocked before she collected herself.

"You're aware of the magical world then? Was there some sort of mistake made in the record keeping, are one of you a magical? Brian was marked down as a muggleborn you see," She asked in confusion. Brian's mother laughed slightly at the question.

"It's nothing quite like that, I'm afraid. While I don't know what a muggleborn is, neither my husband nor I is magical," His mother answered.

"Then your knowledge of the wizarding world? Do one of you have a sibling who went to Hogwarts? I confess I do recall a few muggleborn Williams going through its halls during my years as Professor, I assumed it was just a coincidence due to how common the name was," She replied, her confusion only growing. Brian's father laughed slightly at her reply.

"No, no, nothing like that. I'm aware of the magical world because my grandmother was what I believed is referred to as a squib. She used to tell me all kinds of stories about the magical world as a child. Truth be told, growing up I'd always assumed she was crazy. But once strange things started happening around Brian I took her words a little more seriously, and started to suspect BrIan had magic. And sure enough today, on Brian's eleventh birthday, you arrive saying you're from a school called Hogwarts. The very school my grandmother told me she was supposed to have gone to, had she not turned out to be a squib," He explained. McGonagall seemed visibly relieved at his explanation.

"I see, that does explain things I suppose. Still, your circumstances are quite rare. Squib lines take hundreds of years before they show signs of magic again, if they do at all. While I'm sure you have many questions you'll want answered, some proper introductions are in order, I am Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, on behalf of Hogwarts, I am here to deliver you this letter and help you collect your school supplies," She said, reaching into her robes and pulling out a white envelope, complete with a red wax seal that Brian recognized with a smile as the Hogwarts coat of arms. Leaning forward even further in her chair, she passed the letter to Brian who took it excitedly, eagerly tearing it open. He scanned over it quickly before reading the letter aloud for his parent's benefit.

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. Williams,

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 await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,

Deputy Headmistress

"I've been waiting for this letter for almost 20 years now when I take into account the time I spent wanting one in my past life," Brian thought to himself, trying and failing to keep himself from grinning as he read through the letter. He continued reading the next page, listing supplies aloud to his parents.

"Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad," He finished, not bothering to read his parents the line about broomsticks being forbidden to first years.

"Now then, I'm sure you all have questions?" Minerva prompted as she looked towards his parents, both of whom were sitting silently, seemingly shellshocked. Her words seemed to pull them from their thoughts though, both of them spewing out questions like a damn had burst.

"What all can magic do?" His mother asked.

"Where exactly is Hogwarts?" Brian's father interjected.

"Where will we get all those supplies?" Brian's mother inquired.

"What exactly is transfiguration?" His father asked curiously.

"How have you stayed hidden from the world so long?" His mother continued.

"Can you should us some magic?" They both asked simultaneously.

"This… might take a while," Brian thought to himself with a sigh as his parents barraged the poor professor with questions who seemed to be struggling to keep track of them all. He wouldn't have minded listening to the professor lecturing about the magical world to his parents if the information was anything actually new, but unfortunately their questions covered topics the books had already taught him about.

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It wasn't until nearly an hour later and more questions than Brian cared to remember that his parents were finally wrapping up their discussion with McGonagall, with her finally bringing up Brian's enrollment in Hogwarts. Though, if Brian was being honest he didn't know whether to be impressed or disappointed at McGonagall.

"Despite talking about the magical world for almost an hour with my parents, She somehow managed to avoid even hinting at any of the bias muggleborns face, as well as any mention of the dangerous war that they were the victims of, I know she wouldn't want to scare away new witches and wizards, but still, that's kind of messed up," Brian thought to himself, considering the implications.

"Now then, onto the more important topics. The British Ministry of Magic requires that all wizarding children gain an education on their magic, mostly to ensure they don't accidently expose the wizarding world. Obviously, you're in no position as muggles to teach him magic, so that leaves you a few options. Firstly, you could accept the Hogwarts letter's invitation and attend the school, most muggleborns choose this route given that there's no tuition to attend. Secondly, if you have the funds, you could try hiring a tutor and homeschooling him that way, though I will warn you the price for a private tutor can be quite steep among wizards. Lastly, you could explore your options in enrolling in other wizarding schools throughout Europe, the two main prominent ones are Beauxbatons in France and Durmstrang which is located in Russia," McGonagall explained, looking towards Brian's parents as she awaited a response. His parents glanced towards each other, locking eyes for a moment and nodding before his father turned towards him.

"What do you want to do Brian? Your mother and I have discussed you going to Hogwarts extensively over the years and we both realized at the end of the day it's a choice you should be the one to make. While we didn't know what other options we had until now, it doesn't change anything, we have the money if you would rather stay here with us and learn from tutors, the choice is yours," His father explained, staring intently at Brian as he awaited a response. Brian didn't bother containing the grin that appeared on his face as he responded, turning towards McGonagall as he did so.

"Hogwarts, I want to go to Hogwarts," He informed her happily. His parents both nodded at him, having expected his decision. McGonagall seemed pleased by his decision as well, a slight smirk appearing on her face.

"Very well then, in that case, I can either return another time to assist you in Brian's school shopping, or if you desire I am free today the choice is yours," She replied calmly. Brian couldn't stop himself from weighing in, he was eager to finally get his hands on books about how to actually use his magic.

"Can we go now? Please?" Brian asked his parents excitedly, not having to fake his excitement. He'd been desperate to get his hands on magical books from nearly the day he'd realized the world he was in, and his chance had finally arrived. His mother smiled at him, glancing at his father for a moment before nodding slowly.

"Well, I suppose so, given that it's your birthday… though we may need to head to the bank first," His mother consented after a moment. McGonagall nodded in understanding.

"That's perfectly acceptable, Brian's school supplies should go for around three hundred pounds, with his wand being about another two hundred, though if you get them second hand it will be significantly cheaper, at any rate the entrance to the alley is located between number 706 and 707 Charing Cross Road, the name of the building its hidden behind is known as The Leaky Cauldron it's only around thirty minutes from here if you drive, though make sure you're holding onto Brian as you approach or the enchantments will turn you away, I shall meet you there in an hour to give you some time to head to the bank first," The professor instructed. Some pleasantries were exchanged as the professor left Brian's home, walking a few steps outside the families home before the space around her seemed to contort, swirling slightly as she disappeared with a pop before the families eyes, leaving Brian's parents staring, dumbfounded.

"I'm surprised she decided to apparate in a muggle neighborhood like this, did she cast a muggle-repelling charm or something similar? My parents still noticed her leaving so I doubt it, but if she didn't case something that was a pretty blatant disregard for the Statue of Secrecy. I assume she used some sort of magic to hide her leaving, she lectured my parents about it's importance and cruciality for magical kind for almost ten minutes when they asked her why magicals hid from muggles," Brian mused to himself before shaking himself from his thoughts, Diagon Alley awaited, and with it, the magical knowledge he'd been desiring for years.

"Come on! We have a bank to get to!" Brian said to his parents, pulling them both out of their stupor as he ran to ready himself to leave.

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After quickly rushing his parents out the door, a quick stop at the bank was their only detour on the way to Diagon Alley. While it took a while to find parking space near Charing Cross, the family eventually found a suitable spot and, at Brian's urging, quickly made their way from their parking spot to the address Professor McGonagall had given them. It took them a fair bit of wandering to find the exact location, but eventually Brian spotted a small, slightly grimy-looking pub that none of the muggles around them seemed to take notice of as they walked by, only taking notice of the bookshop on one side of the building and the record shop on the other, almost as if the pub sandwiched between the two didn't exist.

"I see it, it's right over there," He told his parents excitedly, grabbing their hands as he did so. Immediately as he did so, it was as if a curtain had been lifted as they suddenly noticed the pub as well, complete with a sign hanging above its entrance that read, "The Leaky Cauldron."

"Oh my! I don't know how we didn't see it before! This magic business really is amazing," His father said as he took in the building that had appeared before his eyes.

"It really is, still though it looks a little… well, dingy, doesn't it?" His mother replied softly, scanning the building for a moment. That wasn't what had captured Brian's attention as he stared at the building though. What had done that, was the massive wall of magic he could feel surrounding the pub. It made his own magical reserves seem miniscule in comparison.

"Though, she's not exactly wrong," Brian thought to himself. For a building that hid the entrance to the most popular wizarding shopping center in London, The Leaky Cauldron seemed pretty lackluster if you couldn't feel the magic around the property. Brian quickly headed over to the building, walking inside with his parents following close behind.

The inside of the pub was pretty much exactly as Brian recalled the books describing it, a shabby establishment with tables scattered about the room where various witches and wizards were sitting around, drinking and eating food. The magicals around the room paused momentarily, looking towards them before resuming their meals as they saw just a simple muggle family with a child and correctly assumed that it was just yet another muggleborn family doing some shopping in Diagon Alley. Brian spotted McGonagall standing from a table in the corner and heading towards them, this time dressed in simple black robes that made her look far more refined than the suit she'd worn to meet with his family. His parents didn't notice her approaching, busy as they were, looking around the pub, openly gaping at some of the ludicrous clothing the wizards around the room were wearing, including one particularly unique individual who was wearing a purple robe complete with what looked like a cowboy hat of the same color.

"I assumed it was only in muggle fashion that wizards fell behind, I know for a fact they enchant their mirrors to tell them how they look, how did that man manage to leave his house thinking that outfit made him look even remotely sane?" Brian wondered to himself before shrugging away the thought. As long as he wasn't expected to ever dress that way it wasn't really his problem.

"You have my thanks for arriving so punctually. Now then, assuming you're done staring at my fellow witches and wizards, are you ready to head into Diagon Alley proper?" McGonagall said in greeting as she reached the group, Brian's parents jumping slightly as the professor's words reminded them why they were in the strange pub in the first place.

"Oh yes, of course!" His mother replied with a smile, both of Brian's parents looking slightly sheepish at having been caught staring.

"Excellent, just follow me out back then and we'll be set," McGonagall said, turning on her heel and walking towards the pub's backdoor. Brian smiled widely as he followed after her, knowing full well what awaited behind the pub. His parents followed after him, still distractedly looking around at some of the more obvious displays of magic, such as what Brian assumed was an enchanted towel that automatically cleaned cups lined up on the bar.

"Its crazy to see just how common place magic is in wizard's day to day life. They use it in every thing they do from protecting themselves to basic things like that towel," Brian thought with a smile. He knew from the books that wizards took magical largely for granted, which he supposed was only natural once they got used to its presence, but he sincerely hoped there were wizards somewhere in the world that truly pushed magic to it's limits like he wanted to, magicals that wanted to see what magic could do if it was pushed. From what he'd read in the books, far too many magicals lost sight of the wonder in what they were doing.

"Good afternoon professor, another muggleborn headed to Hogwarts eh?" Brian heard, startling him slightly as he noticed a bald old man standing at the bar that he hadn't seen there moments prior. Brian vaguely recalled the man's name was Tom, though any other details of the character from the books escaped him.

"Good afternoon Tom, I hope you're doing well?" McGonagall said politely in greeting, turning towards the old bartender with a smile. The two exchanged greetings for a moment before the group resumed walking, heading out the back door of the pub which led to a small courtyard with nothing but a trash can. McGonagall walked towards the wall opposite the pub, pausing and turning towards Brian as she spoke.

"Now then, Mr. Williams, watch closely, you'll be getting your wand later today and from then on you'll need to know how to open the entrance to the alley, though if you ever forget I'm sure Tom will be more than happy to help you, it's the brick three up and two across," She informed him, drawing her wand and tapping the brick she'd specified three times with her wand. Despite knowing what was going to happen, Brian could only stand and watch in awe for a moment as the bricks making up the wall rearranged themselves into an archway that revealed the alley hidden behind it. McGonagall paused momentarily as she saw the expression of awe on his face, letting him soak in the sight of the alley for a moment.

The alley seemed to stretch on for ages, with shops of all kinds scattered on both sides. From just the first few shops Brian spotted, he saw a potions shop, a shop that sold trunks, and another that sold various cauldrons.

"Off we go then, we need to head to the Gringotts first to exchange your muggle money for wizarding money," She instructed, far too soon for Brian's liking, beginning to walk towards the end of the alley where Brian could see an imposing white building that reached far into the air above the other shops in the alley, a proud sign in gold lettering along the top labeling it as Gringotts.

The next few hours passed in a blur for Brian as, after exchanging some money at Gringotts for a ludicrous rate of thirty pounds per galleon, during which both Brian and his parents stared at the goblins far more than what could be considered polite, the group began making their way down the list of supplies Brian would need for Hogwarts. While Brian spent more time than he cared to admit at the Flourish and Blotts, perusing the shelves in an attempt to find interesting books and finding quite a few, he found himself disappointed at the lack of books on Occlumency. He supposed it would simply have to wait until he could access Hogwarts' library in September. That didn't stop him from buying an absolute mountain of books though, ff it wasn't for McGonagall being on hand to make all of his purchases weightless and only a fifth their normal size, his father probably wouldn't have been able to carry them all. Before he knew it, all that was left was his wand, and, as McGonagall told him, there was only one shop in the alley that sold those, Ollivanders.

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Brian walked towards the door of the wand shop with McGonagall, his parents following close behind as they carried all of his supplies in bags his professor had kindly shrunk for him, including an authentic wooden trunk with two different spaces inside of it that he'd managed to beg his parents for. With an excitement that made any of the other events of the day seem dull in comparison, he looked at the wandshop with awe. The shop looked just as old as the books had described, with the peeling gold letters and decrepit look of the place making it look like the shop had been around for centuries.

"Then again, it HAS been around for centuries, if the lettering above the door is to be believed," Brian mused to himself. The wizarding world had a pretty magnificent history to it, one he looked forward to exploring. Though given what he remembered of the History of Magic class from the books, he'd have to do that one his own time. He grimaced for a moment, thinking of all the projects he had in mind for once he got to Hogwarts before pulling himself out of his thoughts, doing his best to focus on the moment.

"This is it, the moment I finally get a wand," He thought to himself, pushing open the door to the small shop. A tinkling bell rang as he entered, announcing the group's presence as they entered. Brian curiously scanned around the shop, taking it in. The first thing that hit him was the sheer magic present in the shop. While he'd been taken away by the magic of what he assumed were the wards of The Leaky Cauldron, the magic in the shop surpassed even that. Looking at the various shelves behind the counter, each seemed alive in its own way, with each of the boxes on the shelves radiating a small amount of magic while the entire room had a tangible presence of magic in the air he could feel even without attempting to sense it. He closed his eyes, taking a moment to simply focus on the feel of the magic in the air of the shop, it was intoxicating in a way.

"Good afternoon," Brian heard, making him jump slightly as he opened his eyes to see a thin old man with long, wispy hair astounding before them, his eyes wide as he looked at the group entering the shop.

"Hello," Brian said stiffly, still somewhat off put from being startled.

"Hello there Minerva, back again? Another muggleborn looking for his first wand then? What's your name lad?" The man said kindly, not bothering to wait for McGonagall's reply as he promptly stopped paying any mind to the others inside the shop.

"Brian, Brian Williams," Brian answered, doing his best not to lean back as the man drew uncomfortably close.

"Well then, Mr. Williams, tell me, what is your dominant arm,," He inquired, pulling a tape measure from his pocket as he spoke.

"I'm left-handed sir," Brian informed him, holding out his arm as he vaguely recalled what Harry had been asked to do. The man took the invitation, quickly setting the tape measure to work as he walked away, leaving the tape measure to measure Brian on its own.

"You see, Mr. Williams, every Ollivander, including I, use powerful magical substances as the cores of our wands. For generation's my family has used unicorn hairs, phoenix feathers or dragon heartstrings as the cores of our wands, yet no wand is quite the same as others made in this shop. Each core must be paired with a suitable wood, and then cut and carved to a suitable length to best fit the wand, not to mention the internal runes used on each and every one being vastly different. Just as each wand is unique in its own way, so too are those that will wield them. Each wand in this shop has someone somewhere in the world that it is destined for. Somewhere inside this shop resides a wand that will choose you to wield it, and I shall endeavor to discover just which wand that is," Ollivander said excitedly, quickly darting to the back of the store and retrieving a box from his shelves before heading back to Brian, dismissing the tape measure with a wave of his hand.

"It's about time, if that tape measure kept getting in my face I was about to have a fit of 'accidental' magic and blast the damn thing into the ceiling," Brian grumbled to himself,

"Give this one a wave, birchwood and dragon heartstring, 8 inches, quite stiff," He said, passing it to Brian. Brian waved the wand around, feeling it attempting to draw on his magic but failing to do so.

"Interesting, so that's how wands help wizards call on their magic. With it drawing the magic out for you, you wouldn't even need to be able to feel your magic without one in order for you to cast spells, quite ingenious really," Brian mused to himself, barely registering as Ollivander snatched the wand from his grasp.

"No, no, definitely not," Ollivander murmured, wandering towards his shelves again and coming back with a different wand.

"Try this one, oak and unicorn hair, nine inches, quite rigid," Ollivander told him, passing him yet another wand as his parents and McGonagall watched on in amusement, talking softly. The process repeated itself similarly for the next ten wands Brian tired, until, finally…

"You're proving to be quite a difficult one to find a match for, try this Rowan and phoenix feather, ten inches, springy," Ollivander said, passing him yet another wand to try. This time, the moment Brian touched the wand he knew it was the one destined for him, he felt his magic suddenly warm in his body as the wand drew on the magic in the air when he waved it, causing a sudden gust of wind to go through the shop as Ollivander blinked owlishly at him.

"Well there we have it Mr. Williams, a perfect match," Ollivander said happily, taking the wand back and carefully placing it in the box he'd taken it from. Brian did his best to refrain from snapping at the man for taking back his wand so shortly after he'd acquired it, he would have the time to experiment later.

"That will be five galleons," Ollivander declared moments later. Brian's parents stepped in here, finally ending their conversation with McGonagall as they paid the man for Brian's wand and the group finally left the shop.

"Well then, I believe you're all set for Hogwarts Mr. Williams. The train to Hogwarts will leave on the First of September at Kings Cross Station, your ticket should arrive in the muggle post in a few days. I've already explained to your parents how to find the platform, but for your sake, run into the first pillar before platform ten and and it shall transport you to platform nine and three quarters, I hope the rest of your birthday goes well, I shall see you at Hogwarts," McGonagall said as the group made their way back towards the exit of Diagon Alley.

"I shall see you then Professor," He said in farewell with a polite nod.

"Thank you again for all your help today," His father interjected with a smile.

"Of course, it's part of my duties as deputy headmistress," McGonagall replied, taking her leave. As he and his family made their way to the car, Brian snagged a book from inside his bag, tapping it with his wand to cancel the charm McGonagall had placed on it and started to read. He had a lot of studying to do before Hogwarts started up and it would never hurt to start early.

AN: Thank you so much to all of you who have left reviews on it telling me your thoughts, I appreciate you all. It hasn't even been a week since I posted this story and we're already at over 70 followers and 50 favorites, so thank you all for that as well. Hopefully you guys enjoyed the chapter, I know it took a couple days to release which I apologize for. Hopefully it being over five thousand words makes up for that. Friday and Saturday are 11 hour shifts for me so trying to find time to write on those days is difficult. I meant to post it earlier in the day but I had some family over that ate up my morning. Hopefully you liked the chapter, I tried not to spend too long on his shopping because, let's be honest, you have all read at least ten other stories that had an entire chapter dedicated to Diagon Alley where Harry meets people, gets his wand, goes to Gringotts ect ect. I tried to focus more on the introduction that a muggleborn faces in the wizarding world although, yes, I couldn't resist writing a wand scene because it's fun and it can be important character building.

If you've bothered reading this far, please leave me a review telling me your thoughts. Believe it or not if you point out a flaw in my story or something I could be doing better, I will take that advice into account; I'm always looking to improve as a writer. On that same note, I'm currently looking for a Beta if any of you happen to be interested. All it would be is reading through about 3-5 thousand word chapters about three to four times a week and helping me fine tune them. A Lot of it would be things like making sure I'm using the correct tense and grammar checking, though suggestions on ways to make various sections flow better if you find somewhere that feels off would be more than welcome as well. Contact me via PM if you're interested.