Chapter 3 - Preparing for Hogwarts
On the 30th July, Dumbledore and McGonagall approached the address that they had on the book for Sophia Armitage, the only person so far in the entire year who had rejected the offer of a place at Hogwarts. The large manor was an intimidating, but beautiful building to look at. A quick knock on the front door was very quickly answered, by a well-dressed man who looked no older than 35. He looked them up and down, and had his mouth pulled in a way that showed he was trying not to laugh, though Dumbledore was not sure what he was laughing at. The man finally pulled himself together enough to talk. "May I enquire as to whom you are and your reasons for being here?"
"Certainly. I am Headmaster Albus Dumbledore and this is my deputy, Professor Minerva McGonagall. We are here to speak to your daughter Sophia." At the end of the sentence, the man did openly laugh at them.
"She is not my daughter, rather the daughter of my boss. Are you expected?"
"We were in the area and decided to drop in." Dumbledore said, and the slight smile on the man's face disappeared.
"I see. If you come through to the lounge area, I'll see if Mr Armitage is available." The man invited them in, though Dumbledore was sure that he had seen a scowl on the face of the man as they walked in. He showed them through, closing the front door before doing so. The manor was very ornate inside, the wooden paneling had very intricate designs carved in. Before he could take note of what the carvings were about, Dumbledore and McGonagall were led into an extravagant sitting room. Books lined the walls and a ornate fireplace was situated in the same wall. However, it was unlit. Very smartly given that it was almost the middle of summer. Dumbledore and McGonagall sat in two chairs, both of which were very comfortable.
"If you will wait here, I'll go and check on Mr Armitage." The man left, leaving Dumbledore and McGonagall in the room alone.
"Why are we not having a look around Albus?" McGonagall enquired, and Dumbledore raised his hand.
"Patience Minerva. I believe our manner of arrival has unnerved the gentleman who received us. I think the best thing we can do is try and earn some trust by waiting here." McGonagall looked slightly displeased, but sat quietly regardless.
Up the stairs of the manor, currently in Richard's study, he and Thomas were talking. "Do they look like police Thomas?"
"No sir. Too old. They announced themselves as from a school, but I didn't catch the name of it." Richard sat up straighter at that.
"I believe that they may have come from the school that Sophia rejected." Thomas nodded.
"The one with the letter by owl?"
"That's the one. Why they have come after a clear rejection however is something that we will have to find out." Thomas balked.
"You mean to speak with them?" Richard stood up and made his way to the study door.
"Of course. How else will we learn the information we need, than to talk to the only people who may be able to supply it?" Richard moved past Thomas and out the door, Thomas walking quickly after him. As they moved down the hall, and down the subsequent stairs, Sophia and George entered the manor, Sophia laughing at a soaked George. It was a very rare sight to see Sophia laughing, and a small smile came to Richard's face. "What has amused you to such an extent as to bring about this laughter?" He asked. Sophia controlled herself enough to answer.
"George was trying to impress a girl in the village." She laughed a little more before recomposing herself. "He tripped and fell onto someone, who grabbed George to try and stop himself falling into the river. As you can see, it didn't quite work." George gave a soft punch to her shoulder. Richard chuckled to himself a bit.
"George, stop making a fool of yourself and get cleaned up. Sophia, we have guests in the sitting room." The previously smiling face of Sophia disappeared almost instantly at the mention of guests. As she began her reply, George made his way up the stairs, grumbling slightly about being wet.
"Who?" Sophia asked.
"We believe they are the people to whom you sent the rejection letter." Sophia frowned at that.
"Can't they take a hint?" She said irritably.
"Apparently not." Richard said. He moved to the bottom of the stairs, and turned to Thomas. "Make calls to everyone, have them prepared. If these aren't the people we thought, we need contingencies ready." Thomas nodded, and departed back to the study. Moving to the sitting room door, Richard and Sophia mentally prepared themselves for this surprise meeting with whoever these people in the sitting room were.
Dumbledore and McGonagall stood as a different man to the first entered. He was taller, around six foot three, and his hair was showing some signs of greying now. Behind him was a girl, and McGonagall at first believed that it was Violet Potter. Her black hair framing her face and the green eyes showed that it could have very well be her. But the absence of a scar proved to McGonagall that it was not her. There was a calculating look in those eyes as well that slightly unnerved McGonagall. But Dumbledore seemed undeterred by the cold looks being given by the girl. "Mr Armitage, I'm Albus Dmbledore. This is my deputy Minerva McGonagall." Albus extended his hand, which Richard graciously took.
"Richard Armitage. A pleasure. Please sit, we have a lot to get through." Albus sat back down in his chair. Richard and Sophia took their chairs opposite them, Sophia smoothing her skirt as she sat down.
"We received your letter and were rather confused by your rejection of a place at Hogwarts." Dumbledore opened by going straight for the reason they were here. But he made the mistake of addressing Richard.
"I rejected your offer." Sophia stated harshly, bringing Dumbledore's attention to her. "I rejected it because I know nothing about your institution, the name has negative connotations, and truthfully, I would personally prefer to go to St Mary's." The way she said it would have put off many other people, but Dumbledore just smiled.
"Have you never had anything that you have failed to explain happen? Usually when you are extremely happy or upset?" Richard's eyes narrowed in annoyance, and Sophia just shook her head.
"No I haven't. I keep control of my emotions." Dumbledore stood up, and took out his wand from his sleeve. He waved it at his chair, turning it into a beanbag chair, before taking his seat again. McGonagall rolled her eyes at Dumbledore's choice of ability showing, and decided to show something else. Taking out her own wand, she levitated Sophia's chair in the air. Sophia looked down in surprise, something that this time even she couldn't contain. When she was placed down, Richard tried to get the conversation back on course.
"Are you saying that Sophia is capable of doing these things?" Richard asked, and McGonagall nodded.
"Our school teaches her and other wizards and witches how to control and use their magic. These are just some examples of that." Dumbledore stated.
"If she does not learn this control, eventually Sophia will lose control of her magic. She could die from it." McGonagall said to them. Richard was pondering her words. Even though he wanted Sophia to go to a good school, he did not want to her to die to some unknown force.
"How much is it to go to this school of yours?" Richard asked, and Sophia looked at him. Only because Richard knew her so well could he tell she was surprised.
"The school itself is funded by our government. However, you will need to buy the correct materials from a place known as Diagon Alley. As Sophia's blood relative, you should be able to get to the alley through a pub known as the Leaky Cauldron." As McGonagall paused, Richard interrupted.
"I'm afraid that won't be possible. I adopted Sophia."
"That'll be quite alright." Dumbledore said, taking two feathers out of his pocket. "Hold on to one of these, and you'll be able to see it." Richard took the feathers, nodding to Dumbledore in thanks.
"So, where is this pub?"
Hidden out of sight of the main entrance to the Manor in which the Armitage family resided, two men were sitting in a car. One appeared to be around his late twenties, and the other looked to be in his mid-forties. "Sir, who were those people who went in there?"
"Doesn't matter. They are known, but unlikely to be consequential. We're here to monitor the girl." The younger shook his head.
"But it doesn't make sense that we go after the youngest when we could control the entire family."
"The youngest, as you call her, represents a possible threat to us. She is the one he wants."
"But why? It doesn't make sense for him to-"
"Enough" The elder of the two shouted at the younger. "You do not question his actions or his reasons. Do you want to go through the trials again." The younger man gave an involuntary shiver.
"No. No I don't."
"Then we stay, follow, and keep an eye on her. Ms Potter is the one he desires. We need all the information we can get."
The next day the Armitage family got ready to head to the Leaky Cauldron in London to buy her supplies and to see proof that 'magic' existed. They took their weapons with them, as Richard still wasn't sure that this wasn't some sort of trap set up for them. After their arrival in London, Richard noticed something following them. "Thomas, drive us into the car park at HQ. We're being tailed." Thomas nodded, whilst George and Sophia looked around to see the car following them at a distance behind. They turned left into the Armitage International carpark, the heavy metal door closing behind them. Thomas stopped the car, shutting off the engine as Richard undid his seatbelt. "Wait five minutes, then come out once more. Drive randomly, until you lose them. Then return here and wait for us. We will walk the rest of the way." Sophia and George quickly followed Richard out of the car. Richard led them to a back door on the other end of the car park. As they reached it, they heard Thomas drive away, hopefully luring whoever was following them well away from them and their destination. Pushing open the exit only door, Richard beckoned Sophia and George through, before shutting it firmly behind them.
Meanwhile, the black car that was following them had stopped following their original transport after another twenty minutes. "Hold it up agent, he's not there." The man driving threw his hands in the air in frustration.
"How the bloody hell did we lose him?"
"It was in that car park. No doubt he is still in there waiting for his driver to pick him up."
"Damn it. I threw away a promotion to catch him." The other agent chuckled.
"Yeah, you shouldn't have done that. We've been chasing this guy for years" The agent driving shook his head, as they drove back to MI5, having failed once more.
Sophia was close to grumbling about the distance they'd had to walk when she first sighted the Leaky Cauldron. The impromptu walk had taken them three quarters of an hour, meaning that it was close to lunchtime before they made it. "Dad, I'm rather hungry." She said as they approached the door of the pub.
"We'll see what they have after we get in." With that, Richard pushed the door, and they stepped inside. The pub was busy, people talking over each other as they did whatever business they were there to conclude. Barely anyone was sitting, with the majority of people in the pub standing up, meaning that to get to the main bar, Richard and co had to move slowly, but forcefully through the crowd. An old, quite bald man was standing behind the bar when they reached it. He came to speak to them
"Hello there, what can I get for you?" He asked. Richard cleared his throat before speaking, eyeing the menu.
"Can we have three roast hog meals, with tap water if available please." The bartender looked Richard up and down, before nodding.
"Certainly sir. That'll be nine pounds four." Richard was mildly surprised at the cheap price, but handed over a ten-pound note. He was handed back five silver coins and twelve small copper ones.
"You'll need them once you go to the alley. Your first stop should be the bank at the end of the alley. Speak to me once you've finished, and I'll show you how to get through." Richard nodded his head in thanks.
After enjoying what had been a very good roast hog lunch, the bartender, whose name was Tom, had indeed shown them the way through to Diagon Alley. As the two children looked down it, George in wonder more than Sophia, Richard made sure that they knew the plan. "Only the essentials today Sophia. No animals, no unnecessary books." He looked sternly at Sophia, who nodded to him. With that, they moved slowly and surely down the alley, moving between the crowds of people moving in a seemingly random pattern. Finally, they reached the location that the bartender had recommended to be their first stop. Gringotts Bank, standing tall and wonky in a prominent place in the alley. Richard looked up at the challenge above, and scoffed at the thought of bankers trying to fight off a challenge. And then, he saw exactly why they challenged them. For upon entering the bank, he and the children were granted their first look at the goblins. Ugly creatures with large ears were sitting at desks, counting out gold, gems and other items. Finally getting his wits back, Richard walked up to one, George and Sophia just behind him. "I would like to exchange £150 pounds please." Seeing how much work the creature had in front of him, Richard assumed he would want him to go straight to the point of why he was here. The goblin looked up, then down again.
"Money please." It said sharply, and Richard handed him the cash, in three fifty-pound notes. The goblin took them, and replaced it with 49 gold coins. "Thank you for your custom." It said dismissively. Richard looked down at the coins in his hand, before putting them in his pocket and walking away.
Sophia asked for them to make their first shop the wand seller. Richard agreed, and they found themselves outside Ollivander's wand makers. As they stepped towards the door, a large group of redheads went tearing past them, knocking Sophia over. As George helped her back up, she scowled down the alley to where the red headed boys had run. She swore to herself there and then that she would not let them get away with it, even if it took her years. A red headed woman bustled up to her father as she slipped into the shop. It was very dusty inside, lots of boxes lined up on the walls all around. Clearly the door was soundproofed behind her, as she could not hear what the woman was saying to her father, but she was sure it was words of apology. And if they weren't, she was of the opinion they should be. As she looked around the shop, she reached out to a box. Before her hand to even graze the edge of it, an old man came out of seemingly nowhere. "I don't believe that particular wand will suit you my dear." Sophia turned to face the man, her hand going to the inside of her jacket. "Don't worry, I'm simply here to help you find your wand. Or rather, help your wand find you." Sophia's hand moved cautiously back to her side.
"What do you mean by my wand finding me?" She asked, taking another look around.
"The wand chooses the wizard Ms Armitage. Or in this case, the witch." The man, who she now made the assumption of being Ollivander, reached up and took down a box not too far from where she was reaching. "13 inches, apple and dragon heartstring." She took it, and looked at it for a few seconds. Ollivander looked at her expectantly. "Well, give it a flick." She did as he requested, and the window behind her gained a small hole, the smashing causing her father and George to rush inside. "Well, not that one I'm afraid." Ollivander took it out of her hand and placed it aside. As Ollivander looked for another wand, Richard looked at Sophia, who seemed to him to be rather shocked at what had happened. As Ollivander turned around with a new box in hand, he also saw what Richard did. "Don't worry, it happens to everyone. Quite a natural process." He took the new wand out of its box. "Red oak and dragon heartstring, 11 inches." Sophia took a hold of it, and was greeted with a fantastic light show, every colour imaginable launching out of it. Sophia felt something that she had barely ever felt before, and she couldn't help a smile coming it her face as she held it. "Congratulations. This one very much likes you. I dare say you'll have a very loyal friend in it." He moved behind his counter. "As a muggleborn, I throw in a wand care kit and an Ollivander wand holder for free. That'll be seven galleons please." Richard stepped up to pay, placing the money on the counter. Richard then looked at Sophia, who was now picking up the items that Ollivander had placed on the counter before disappearing.
"I take it you like it then?" He asked, and Sophia nodded, placing the merchandise under her arm.
"Yes. I like it very much."
"Aww, Sophia's in love." George in singsong way, before being chased out of Ollivanders by Sophia, who was attempting to hit him over the head. Richard chuckled quietly as he left. This was the happiest he had ever seen her.