Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this chapter.

Chapter 3

THE PORTKEY

All the plans for that day were cancelled. How important was a whaler when you found out that you were a wizard? Or even the Swiss Bank accounts? He would have time later, perhaps, or he could even take his laptop to that school, hisschool, and he could work that out then…

But for now, Artemis tried to digest the fact that he was a wizard. It was something he had never believed in, ever. He had thought that magic simply couldn't exist. And here it was, standing before him, solid proof for existence of magic. And his mind went through a cold excitement of the things he could accomplish using magic… and for all he knew, he could well become the greatest wizard of his time.

And then he remembered certain strange incidents which seemed to be conclusive proof for his magical abilities. One day at school, when he was seven, his classmates had been teasing him for not being normal, not having friends like the others. But the truth was, Artemis had never wanted friends. The only people he wished to interact with were those who were useful to Artemis in his life. He got angry and the moment he had looked at his classmates, they were silenced and thrown back off to the ground. They tried to speak, but couldn't for over fifteen minutes. The three of them were so ashamed that they never spoke about it even among themselves ever after. Artemis was confused then, but he had grinned at them. Now when he thought about it, he smiled. Then again, when he was nine, during one class, he had spilled ink all over his shirt by mistake. Two boys had seen him and they started laughing at him. Artemis, already embarrassed, was furious. And how it happened, again, he never knew. All of a sudden, all the ink spilled on his shirt vanished. The two boys saw it too, and were terrified. Again, these boys had never recounted the incident to anyone, as far as he knew.

He had to arrange all his appointments at the times when he would get holidays. Surely, they would give holidays over Christmas and Easter? Of course, he thought. Why on Earth wouldn't they?

So now, he had to decide what he had to do with his old school. Artemis had been attending St. Bartleby's School for Young Gentlemen. He had to talk to his mother about this. But would she understand, given her state of mental health? It wasn't even worth a try. She definitely wouldn't. So it was up to him to write the school a letter asking for discontinuation. He would see to it later. He was yet to read his letter from Hogwarts.

He decided to read it first and then write his letter to St. Bartleby's.

He took out the letter from Hogwarts. The envelope was thick and heavy, made of yellowish parchment. The address was written in emerald-green ink, so plainly that there couldn't have been a mistake.

Mr. A. Fowl

The Second Bedroom

Fowl Manor

Tara, Ireland.

Turning the envelope over, he saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake surrounding a large letter H.

He pulled out the letter and read,

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

Headmistress: MINERVA MCGONAGALL

Dear Mr. Fowl,

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,

Headmistress

There was a second piece of paper. He took it out and read,

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

UNIFORM

First-year students will require:

1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)

2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)

Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags

COURSE BOOKS

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk

A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot

Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling

A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emetic Switch

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore

Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble

OTHER EQUIPMENTS

A wand

A cauldron (pewter, standard size 2) set

Glass or Crystal phials

A telescope set

Brass scales

Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED

THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS

Artemis looked up at the clock. It was eleven o'clock. He had one more day before Hagrid would come, as the Headmistress had said. He would write the letter tomorrow.

Artemis woke up the next morning. He thought that all the Hogwarts stuff and the Headmistress must have been a dream. It just seemed too good to be true. He, a wizard? He had, for confirmation, kept the letter from Hogwarts just by his bedside table. He stole a glance towards the table. And there it was, the yellow parchment, the letter from Hogwarts. With a smile on his lips, he set off from his bed.

It was nearly midday. Artemis had finished writing his letter to St. Bartleby's for his discontinuation with the school and e-mailed it. He had planned to meet with the whaler at the same time today. And he was currently working on his new computer program. Today is going to be quite uneventful, he thought.

He was right. That day was quite uneventful.

Artemis Fowl woke up next day with his lips curved into a grim smile. Today was going to be his first venture into the magical world.

At precisely ten o'clock in the morning, the calling bell rang.

Artemis smiled. This time, he was sure that this wasn't Juliet. It was that Hagrid.

But he was wrong again. This time, it indeed was Juliet.

The blonde with blue eyes walked into the hall. She was older than Artemis, and also Butler's sister. She had undergone the same training as Butler had, but not yet finished. She had a knack for wrestling matches and those were her favorite television shows.

"Where is Artemis? Where is our magician?" she asked Butler. As she saw him coming down, she said, "Congratulations, young wizard! So, show me some of your magic tricks."

Butler said, "Juliet, he needs a wand to do magic. Moreover, he is yet to learn how to do magic, anyway."

Artemis nodded.

"Oh really Artemis, I can't just wait to see you do magic, and also you know…"

What he knew or not, Artemis never came to know. The doorbell rang again.

Juliet opened the door to reveal a giant of a man standing with a pink umbrella. The man was even taller than Butler, he was certainly over ten feet.

Artemis knew that this man could only be Hagrid, though the instance of him being an enemy's ally also seemed equally likely.

His thoughts were interrupted by the giant man, "I'm Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of keys and grounds and gamekeeper as well as Control and Care of Magical Creatures teacher at Hogwarts. I'm here ter escort Mr. Fowl ter Diagon Alley."

Artemis nodded, but Butler seemed unsure. Then Juliet asked, "Why would you go to that 'diagonally' place, Artemis?"

"Shoppin'," Hagrid replied cheerily, "Mr. Fowl has ter buy all the stuff needed fer him ter come ter Hogwarts. As he doesn't know where Diagon Alley is or how ter get there, I shall be escorting him there this time. And also, Mr. Fowl, you'll need around more or less than five hundred you-rows with you for purchasing the stuff."

"You mean euros?" Artemis asked.

"Yeah… that. Muggle money," replied Hagrid.

"You mean magical folk use a completely different form of currency?" enquired Artemis, apparently surprised that he hadn't deduced this either.

"'Course, m'boy! What did yeh think, we'll use these silly papers as money? Twenty-Nine Bronze Knuts make a Silver Sickle, and Seventeen Silver Sickles make a Gold Galleon. And I think a galleon roughly equals seven-and-a-half you-rows. The goblins will know better though, clever and cunning they are, I tell yeh."

"There are goblins in the wizarding world?" asked a terrified Butler, and he swallowed the lump in his throat, imagining all the other terrible creatures in there and trying to think how he would save Master Artemis if one of those creatures attacked him.

"'Course there are! And loads of other creatures, I tell yeh! Interesting, they're. Anyway, you'll learn all that later. Gotta go now. Come on!"

Though Butler still looked in a suspicious sort of way, Artemis said, "We shall leave in ten minutes' time, Professor Hagrid. Get ready, Butler."

Though Hagrid was taller, still, there was no mistaking the fear in his voice when he spoke, "Will he be comin' with us?", pointing towards Butler.

"Yes," Artemis and Butler replied at the same time.

"He will be with me wherever I go, whenever I go," Artemis said.

"Oh, he's yer bodyguard, I understand. Professor McGonagall told me you were one of the richest families in Ireland," Hagrid said.

"The Fowl family has many enemies," Butler replied.

"But yeh can't take him ter Hogwarts, yeh can't. Hogwarts is invisible ter Muggles. He can't come there. And the teachers and Headmistress most certainly won't allow him in ter Hogwarts. But he can come ter Diagon Alley, anyway," said Hagrid.

To tell that Butler looked as if he had been sentenced to life in a prison would be an understatement. Though everyone caught his frivolous look, no one had any suggestions. Artemis looked dumbfounded. It was useless now, he thought. He would think about it later. After all, he knew nothing about magic till now. And it was difficult to digest the fact that he'd have to live without Butler for months at a time. But now, he had another important job to finish.

Ten minutes later, both Artemis and Butler emerged into the hall in neat suits. Hagrid, who had been sitting in the same chair that Professor McGonagall had transfigured two days back, rose.

"Juliet, take care of mother. If she asks, tell her that I've gone to meet some friends of mine," said Artemis.

Nodding, Juliet asked, "When will you return?"

As for that, Hagrid replied, "Before lunch."

"How are we going to go, Professor?" Artemis asked as they emerged out of the house.

"Portkey," replied Hagrid coolly.

"Port what?" Butler questioned.

"A Portkey. It is an object which transports people from one place to another in just a matter of time. The object should be a normal, unused object which muggles should not find strange. Portkeys must be authorized by the Ministry of Magic. That was how I came here. And that is how we will be leaving, too. We've got five minutes before the Portkey will take us to the Leaky Cauldron. From there, we shall go to Diagon Alley," Hagrid replied.

Artemis thought that he was being silly. How could he have missed it? Obviously if there existed people with magical abilities, law and order would be most certainly required. He had already worked out why the magical folk were living in hiding and not revealing themselves to the world: because then, everyone would start wanting magical remedies for their problems. The magical community was best left alone.

Artemis asked, "I assume that we have another Portkey arranged for our return?"

Hagrid looked confused but at the same time impressed. He spoke, "How else did yeh think yeh will return, boy?", and he chuckled to himself at his joke. Though Artemis had a reply, he thought better of it. It wouldn't do well for him to offend a giant of a wizard who would be his future teacher at school. Not at all.

Two minutes later, Hagrid started looking serious and said, "We only got seconds," saying so, he removed what looked like a battered old boot from his pocket and held it out in front of them, before speaking again, "Hold on to this tight, it'll transport us any second now…"

As he said so, Artemis and Butler held their tightly to the boot. With an eye on his watch, Hagrid was counting down, "Three… two… one…"

It happened suddenly. Artemis felt as though a hook just behind his navel had been jerked irresistibly forward. His feet left the ground; he could feel Hagrid and Butler on either side of him, their shoulders banging into his; they were speeding forward in a howl of wind and swirling color; his forefinger was stuck to the boot as though it was pulling him magnetically onward and then -

His feet slammed into the ground, and so did Butler's. Hagrid was still standing. Both Butler and Hagrid, like him looked very windswept.

Though lots of people were moving around, no one seemed to have noticed them. Artemis observed his surroundings. Surely, he was in London. Now where was that Leaky Cauldron?

"This is it," said Hagrid, coming to a halt, "the Leaky Cauldron. It's a famous place."

It was a tiny, grubby-looking pub. It was the one he had least expected to serve as the entrance to a famous place for magic. But of course, Artemis thought, they wouldn't want a place that would attract unnecessary attention. The people hurrying by rarely even glanced at it. Of those rare people, no one seemed to care for a second-look. The pub was surely serving its purpose.

For a famous place, it was very dark and shabby. A few old women were sitting in a corner, drinking tiny glasses of sherry. One of them was smoking a long pipe. A little man in a top hat was talking to the old bartender, who was quite bald and looked like a toothless walnut. The low buzz of chatter stopped when they walked in. Everyone seemed to know Hagrid; they waved and smiled at him, and the bartender reached for a glass, saying, "The usual, Hagrid?"

"Can't, Tom, I'm on Hogwarts business," said Hagrid, walking through as quickly as possible, motioning the two to follow.

Hagrid led them through the bar and out into a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing but a trash can and a few weeds.

Hagrid moved forward towards the wall and tapped the wall three times with the point of his umbrella. The brick he had touched quivered - it wriggled - in the middle, a small hole appeared - it grew wider and wider - a second later they were facing an archway large enough even for Hagrid, an archway onto a cobbled street that twisted and turned out of sight.

Note: Please review. This is my first fanfic!