Chapter 2

London

"Our Anna? A witch?" Maria Tulding asked, raising her eyebrows. "You must be mistaken…." she continued. Yet with every word she spoke, her confidence seemed to falter, until she was merely staring at Professor McGonagall in disbelief.

The professor peered at Anna's parents with a slightly contemptuous look through her spectacles. "No, I am quite certain, Mrs. Tulding. Professor Dumbledore has been keeping a very close eye on Anna ever since she began to show magical potential, last autumn."

Mr. Tulding looked suddenly shocked. "Do you mean to say that someone has been following my daughter around?"

"Not literally. We have other ways of keeping an eye on people than Muggles such as you would be aware of," said Professor McGonagall.

Upon hearing the word "Muggle," Mr. Tulding frowned at the professor, and was about to speak. But then he caught his wife's eye and stopped in his tracks.

Mrs. Tulding was staring at the floor with quite an interesting expression, somewhere between shock and understanding, if that was even possible. Her daughter's eyes narrowed slightly at this. "Mother?" she said.

Her mother looked up, and her eyes were suddenly filled with tears. She stared at Professor McGonagall, no longer in disbelief, but as though she had remembered something that changed her mind. The professor's stern gaze seemed to soften a bit, and she nodded, quite inconspicuously, at Mrs. Tulding. An understanding seemed to pass between them, and then Maria looked back at the floor.

"Anna may go to Hogwarts with you, Professor," she said, in a very quiet voice, while her green eyes continued to sparkle with tears.

Her husband looked aghast. "But, Ria, really! These people have been watching our daughter —"

"They didn't mean any harm," Maria said. She looked suddenly quite fierce. "She's going, Lucas. If she really is a witch… then this will be good for her. She'll be with her own kind."

Following this comment, there came a silence that seemed to last ages for Anna. She had consented to sit quietly throughout the previous discussion, but now that it had been resolved, she could sit still no longer.

"Professor, what time should I expect you on Monday?" Anna asked.

McGonagall looked down at her as she replied, "Around noon. As I said before, we'll be stopping in London on our way to Hogwarts, to pick up your supplies."

"I'll be needing money, then, won't I?"

Mrs. Tulding glanced at the professor again. "We'll pay for anything she needs, and perhaps even a bit more for spending."

"Very good," Professor McGonagall said, nodding. "We use a different form of money at Hogwarts, but Anna will be able to exchange your money at the wizard bank in London."

"There's a wizard bank in London?" Mr. Tulding asked, looking quite impressed. "Where, exactly?"

"In a place called Diagon Alley. You wouldn't have seen it before; there are numerous Muggle repelling charms around the area."

Mr. Tulding frowned slightly, but then smiled, despite his lack of understand. "I see."

Professor McGonagall rose to her feet. "Well, then. If we are finished here, I will be off." She began to move toward the door, but then stopped suddenly, turning to Anna. "Ah, yes, I almost forgot. Besides your school list and acceptance letter, in that envelope you will also find a permission form. Third years at Hogwarts are allowed to visit the town of Hogsmeade on certain occasions. A parent signature is required."

"All right," said Mrs. Tulding, while Anna nodded vigorously. "Thank you very much — for everything."

"You are very welcome. I am sure your daughter will do exceptionally well at Hogwarts."

With a slight nod of the head, Professor McGonagall vanished into the hallway, and out the front door.

The following five days seemed to pass twice as slowly as usual for Anna, whose thoughts were constantly dwelling on Hogwarts. She wondered what house she would be put in, how easy or hard the classes would be, and what kind of people she would meet there. She didn't think that having magic in your blood made a person any nicer than he or she would have been without it. But she hoped that at least some of the students at Hogwarts would be slightly more accepting than the Muggles at Caldwell.She had adopted the term Muggle into her vocabulary almost instantaneously.

Her newfound "ability," as she liked to think of it, had most certainly affected her life. She no longer felt like a complete and utter outcast, for there was suddenly a completely different world that she was a part of — a necessary part of, at that. She frequently reminded herself of this, of the fact that the wizarding world must have a need for her, or else it would not have made itself known to her.

Anna had the urge to boast about her magic, but she doubted any of her fellow students would really believe her. Except for David.

She really, really wanted to tell David about everything — about her interesting meeting with Professor McGonagall; about how they had both been right in believing magic existed; about how she would soon be attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…. But all of a sudden, without any notice, David was gone. His parents said he was away, visiting a sick cousin who would be leaving him a massive fortune. But Anna wasn't certain about their truthfulness, partly because David had never spoken of a cousin he was close to.

So she had to hold everything in and focus her mind on other things, namely the upcoming visit to Diagon Alley, which was sure to be an incredibly fascinating adventure.

And then, when Anna could hardly be patient any longer, Monday had arrived.

She awoke at precisely six-thirty that morning, thinking for a moment that she had school that day and her alarm had not gone off. Then she remembered that it was the first day of her summer vacation — which led to the sudden memory of a woman with a stern face, spectacles, and a cloak, standing on Anna's front doorstep.

With a gasp of surprise, Anna threw her blanket off and sprang out of bed, her heart beating rapidly.

It was Monday! Finally! She could barely contain her excitement.

Glancing quickly around at her room, she noted with glee that she had not yet packed. Wonderful! she thought, I need to keep myself occupied until Professor McGonagall arrives. What better way to do so than to pack?

Laughing, Anna opened her door and hurried down the stairs. On the bottom step (which let out a low moan as she put her foot on it), she suddenly realized that her parents were still asleep, it being, after all, only six-thirty in the morning.

So she moved quietly through the hallway to the kitchen, biting her lip a little and grinning. She collapsed into a chair with a great sigh, glancing happily around. Her green eyes sought out the Grandfather clock near the refrigerator. "Six thirty-five…" she muttered. "Less than six hours!"

She remained seated for the next twenty minutes, not really doing anything, but eager to waste as much time as possible.

At seven o' clock, she hurried up to her room and began setting out her clothes. This was an easy task, for although her parents weren't exactly poor, they had never bought her more than just the necessary articles of clothing. After packing these into her trunk, Anna collected a few of her more precious belongings — namely, her writing journal, her two favorite books, and the picture on her wall.

Moving at a purposely slower rate than usual, it took her nearly an hour to get everything together. Then she carefully brought her trunk downstairs and set it in the front room.

By this time, her father was up, sipping his morning coffee wearily while reading the newspaper in front of the television. He paid no attention to his daughter as she sat down beside him on the sofa.

The hours lolled by.

Anna's father left for work, kissing her a little awkwardly on the cheek when he said goodbye.

Her mother woke up and made breakfast — eggs, ham, and sausage — which Anna ate hurriedly before settling back down on the couch.

The morning news was on. A very pretty lady with dirty blonde curls was speaking in an animated voice: "And now we'll go to Steven for a check on the weather… Steve, what can people expect for the first day of summer?"

"Well, Karen, it certainly looks as though it is going to be a rather interesting day," said Steve as the television switched to a shot of low, grey clouds and large trees swinging in the wind. "Possible thunderstorms are headed our way. Some areas in northern Alton have already been experiencing cold winds and a lot of moisture in the air. Let's take a look at the charts…"

Anna glanced outside at the sky, which was exactly as the weatherman had described it: thick fog surrounded the house, making it nearly impossible to see the rest of the neighborhood; the large palm trees in her backyard were swaying rapidly in the clearly strong wind.

With a sigh, Anna glanced fearfully toward the door before checking her watch. Eleven-ten.

What if something happened to Professor McGonagall? Was it perhaps too difficult to Apparate in weather conditions such as this? So difficult, in fact, that she wouldn't come?

Anna certainly hoped not. But as the minutes ticked by, her heart seemed to beat a little slower than usual.

"Anna?" Mrs. Tulding asked, shaking her daughter gently. "Anna, darling?"

Anna's eyelids fluttered open. "Yes, Mother?" she asked.

"Professor McGonagall is here."

Everything seemed to freeze for a moment. Then Anna's eyes shot open, wider than they had ever gone before. She got to her feet so quickly that her head hurt.

And there was Professor McGonagall, wearing a different dress — covered with little pock-a-dots on a maroon background — and the exact same black cloak, standing near the entrance to the hallway. "Hello, Anna," she said. "Are you ready to go?"

Anna glanced at her watch. It was two minutes after twelve. She grinned. "Yes, of course."

"Wonderful," said Professor McGonagall, smiling a little. "Do you have your form signed? Your list of supplies? Money?"

Anna looked questionably at her mother. Mrs. Tulding reached into her pocket and produced a rather thick wad of money. She handed it to Anna, who then turned to Professor McGonagall, nodding vigorously.

"Good, good. Then we'd best be off. The weather is not quite as nice as I would have liked, so it may take a bit longer than expected."

"Well," Anna said, smiling up at her mother. "Goodbye."

Mrs. Tulding looked at her daughter for a moment, and then pulled her into a hug. "Goodbye, Anna. You'll have to write to let us know whether you want to stay for the holidays, or not."

"All right." Anna had the tiniest frown on her face, because she sensed that her mother knew more about Hogwarts than she was revealing.

Professor McGonagall moved toward the front door. "Come along, then."

They stepped into the front room, where Anna's trunk was waiting. The professor pulled something that looked like a very smooth, pointed stick out from beneath her cloak. She muttered something, and the trunk rose into the air. Then she glanced at Anna, who looked positively delighted. "This is a wand. You'll be getting one in Diagon Alley. Now, if you will please grab hold of my arm and place your hand securely on the trunk's handle, we will be off."

Anna did as she said and held tightly to both the trunk and McGonagall.

"I must warn you that this will feel strange, as though air is being squeezed out of your lungs. Just remain calm. It will be over in a few seconds," the professor said. "Ready? One — two — three."

It really did feel as though something very large was squeezing Anna in the abdomen, trying to force all of the air in her lungs out into the open. She was in a whirl of darkness, not able to be defined or conceived.

Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, it ended.

Regaining her composure, Anna relaxed as fresh, beautiful air filled her lungs. She glanced at her surroundings, and felt herself gasp in amazement.

She was standing in the middle of Diagon Alley — a very long, paved road lined with numerous shops, and crowded with people in cloaks. But it was the shops that intrigued Anna the most. They had the most peculiar names, and the most interesting products Anna had ever seen in the windows. She was nearest to a store called Quality Quidditch Supplies. Children were clustered around a display, over which hung a sign titled "The Firebolt."

"Firebolt…" Anna muttered. Then she turned to Professor McGonagall, who was looking sharply around the area. "Professor, what's Quidditch?"

"It's a very popular wizard sport, played on Broomsticks," said the professor, smiling at Anna. "We have Quidditch at Hogwarts, so you will be able to learn more about it there."

"Ah," Anna said, suddenly gazing eagerly at a shop called Magical Menagerie, where she could see all sorts of animals in the window. "I think I want to go there in a bit," she said, pointing at the shop. "I've always wanted a cat."

"Yes, I'll let you look in most of the shops. But first we need to go to Gringotts to get you some money." Professor McGonagall replied.

The wizarding bank! Anna thought with glee. "All right."

They made their way carefully through the crowd until they reached the very large building at the end of the road. Inside, it was a fair bit cooler, and Anna rubbed her arms, shivering, But she didn't dwell on the temperature for long, since there were much more interesting things to think about while in Gringotts.

Professor McGonagall had clearly forgotten to mention that the wizarding bank was not run by wizards (as Anna had assumed), but by goblins. They were a few inches shorter than Anna, with pointy ears and a slightly sinister expression, as though they believed everyone was guilty. Anna might have been a bit frightened of the goblins, had they not been so occupied with their work, counting out bronze, silver, and gold coins, and weighing large jewels on scales.

The professor led Anna to an open spot at the high counter, where a small goblin sat on an elevated seat, filling out a piece of parchment. He stopped working when they approached and peered at Anna through large eyes.

"How may I help you?" he asked in a rather icy voice. He seemed to be annoyed, but perhaps that was just how he spoke.

"We need to exchange these," said McGonagall as Anna carefully withdrew the wad of bills from her coat pocket. "And we would also like to open an account."

"Very well," said the goblin, taking the money from Anna. "What name would you like to use?"

"Anna Tulding," replied the professor.

"If you will please fill out this form…" The goblin reached behind the desk and produced a piece of parchment and a quill, which he handed to McGonagall. She took them and began to write very quickly, while the goblin walked away to exchange the money.

Anna, who had never before used a quill for writing, watched with her eyes wide as the professor wrote, every so often answering a question such as, "What are the names of your grandparents?" or, "Are you pure-blood, half-blood, or muggle-born?"

The goblin returned several minutes later with a fairly large sack. "The amount added up to fifty-five galleons, sixteen sickles, and twenty-five knuts."

Professor McGonagall, who had by this time completed the form, handed it to the goblin and took the sack of coins. She peered into the bag. "That seems to be in order," she said. Then she looked back at the goblin. "We would like to deposit half of it into her vault."

"Very well," said the goblin, taking the sack back. "Would you like to visit the vault yourself?"

"No, thank you. We'll just take her key and be off. We have a very tight schedule to keep to."

"Of course." The goblin removed half of the money from the bag in only a moment. Anna looked positively bewildered at his speed. But then the sack was being thrust back into her hands. "Here is her key," the goblin said, handing McGonagall a small silver key. "And we will see to it that this gold is put into her vault — number 1256 — immediately."

"Thank you very much," said McGonagall, stowing the key beneath her cloak.

Then the two walked out of Gringotts and into the hustle and bustle of Diagon Alley.