The zoo incident earned them their longest punishment yet. By the time they were let out of the cupboard, the summer holidays had started and Dudley had already broken his new camera, crashed his remote-control airplane and, the first time on his racing bike, he'd knocked down old Mrs Figg as she crossed Privet Drive on her crutches.
Elowen was glad school was over, but there was no escaping Dudley's gang, who visited the house every single day. Piers, Dennis, Malcolm and Gordon were big and stupid, but as Dudley was the biggest and stupidest of the lot, he was the leader. The rest of them were all quite happy to join in Dudley's favourite sport: Potter-hunting.
This was why the twins spent as much time as possible out of the house, wandering around the neighborhood and talking about the end of the holidays, where they could see a tiny ray of hope. When September came, they would be going off to secondary school and, for the first time in their life, they wouldn't be with Dudley. Dudley had a place at Uncle Vernon's old school, Smeltings. Piers Polkiss was going there, too. Harry and Elowen, on the other hand, were going to Stonewall High, the local comprehensive. Dudley thought this was very funny.
"They stuff people's heads down the toilet first day at Stonewall," he told Harry a few days into the summer holiday. "Want to come upstairs and practice?"
"No thanks," said Harry. "The poor toilet's never had anything as horrible as your head down it – it might be sick." Then he ran, before Dudley could work out what he'd said.
One day in July, Aunt Petunia took Dudley to London to buy his Smeltings uniform, leaving Harry and Elowen at Mrs Figg's. Mrs Figg wasn't as bad as usual. It turned out she'd broken her leg tripping over one of her cats and she didn't seem quite as fond of them as before. She let the twins watch television and gave them a bit of chocolate cake that tasted as though she'd had it for several years.
That evening, Dudley paraded around the living-room for the family in his brand new uniform. Smeltings boys wore maroon tailcoats, orange knickerbockers and flat straw boaters. They also carried knobbly sticks, used for hitting each other while the teachers weren't looking. This was supposed to be good training for later life. Neither twin had been able to work out what exactly it was training them for.
As he looked at Dudley in his new knickerbockers, Uncle Vernon said gruffly that it was the proudest moment of his life. Aunt Petunia burst into tears and said she couldn't believe it was her Ickle Dudleykins, he looked so handsome and grown-up. The twins resolutely did not look at each other, knowing the second they caught each other's eyes they would dissolve into laughter. As it was, Harry thought two of his ribs might have cracked from trying to hold his laughter in.
~~~
There was a horrible smell in the kitchen next morning when Harry went in for breakfast. It seemed to be coming from a large metal tub in the sink. A look to where Elowen sat at the table yielded only a shrug. He went to have a look. The tub was full of what looked like dirty rags swimming in grey water.
"What's this?" he asked Aunt Petunia. Her lips tightened as they always did if he dared to ask a question.
"Your new school uniform," she said.
Harry blinked and looked in the bowl again. "Oh," he said. "I didn't realise it had to be so wet."
There was a quiet snort from the table and Harry looked over in time to see Elowen duck her head to hide her smile.
"Don't be stupid," snapped Aunt Petunia. "I'm dyeing some of Dudley's old things grey for you. It'll look just like everyone else's when I've finished."
Harry seriously doubted this, but thought it best not to argue. He sat down at the table next to Elowen and tried not to think about how he was going to look on his first day at Stonewall High – like he was wearing bits of old elephant skin, probably. Elowen leaned into his side.
"Don't worry," she whispered sympathetically. "I've seen the girl's uniforms, they're the same as the boys except I've got a skirt. You can borrow some of my shirts and then it won't be so bad." Harry smiled at her in thanks.
Dudley and Uncle Vernon came in, both with wrinkled noses because of the smell from Harry's new uniform. Uncle Vernon opened his newspaper as usual and Dudley banged his Smeltings stick, which he carried everywhere, on the table.
They heard the click of the letter-box and flop of letters on the doormat.
"Get the post, Dudley," said Uncle Vernon from behind his paper. The twins gave each other wide eyed looks. Uncle Vernon never made Dudley do anything.
"Make Harry get it." Elowen nodded to herself. This was more like it.
"Get the post, Harry."
"Make Dudley get it."
"Poke him with your Smeltings stick, Dudley."
Elowen rolled her eyes and stood. "I'll get it, Uncle Vernon."
Elowen dodged a poke from Dudley's stick and walked out to the front door. Four things lay on the doormat: a postcard from Uncle Vernon's sister Marge, who was vacationing on the Isle of Wight, a brown envelope that looked like a bill and – letters for her and Harry.
Elowen glanced behind her and quickly picked up the letters, mind racing. No one, ever, in her whole life, had written to them. Who would? They had no friends, no other relatives – they didn't belong to the library so they'd never even gotten rude notes asking for books back. Yet here the letters were, addressed so plainly there could be no mistake:
Mr. H. Potter
The Cupboard under the Stairs
4 Privet Drive
Little Whinging
Surrey
and
Ms. E. Potter
The Cupboard under the Stairs
4 Privet Drive
Little Whinging
Surrey
The envelopes were thick and heavy, made of yellowish parchment, and the addresses written in emerald green ink. There was no stamp.
Turning an envelope over, her hand trembling, Elowen saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger and a snake surrounding a large letter 'H'.
"Hurry up, girl!" shouted Uncle Vernon from the kitchen. "What are you doing, checking for letter-bombs?" He chuckled at his own joke.
Turning back to walk towards the kitchen, Elowen stopped by the cupboard for a second, staring at her and her brother's letters. Mind made up, she opened the cupboard quickly and silently, tucking the letters under the mattress as fast as she could before shutting the door and continuing on like nothing was wrong.
"Sorry, Uncle Vernon," she said as she handed him the mail. "I was just admiring Aunt Marge's postcard." Harry shot her an incredulous look as she put on an earnest look. "I know I'll never be successful enough to visit there, so I just wanted to look."
"Too right, girl," Uncle Vernon agreed, ripping open the bill. "And keep your nose out of our personal mail."
"Yes, Uncle Vernon," Elowen said in a contrite tone, ignoring Harry's questioning kick to her ankle.
Uncle Vernon looked at the bill, snorted in disgust, and flipped over the postcard. "Marge's ill," he informed Aunt Petunia. "Ate a funny whelk…"
As soon as breakfast was finished, and the dishes were done, Elowen grabbed Harry by the wrist and dragged him down the hall. She poked her head into the living room.
"Aunt Petunia, Mrs. Figg requested our help with her housework for the day," she said quickly. When Aunt Petunia started to protest, Elowen frowned and pushed on. "It's just, ever since Dudley knocked her over, she's been having such trouble getting around."
Aunt Petunia's face pinched at the reminder of Dudley's involvement and she nodded sharply. "Alright fine, go then. Be back by dinner and if anyone asks you, I sent you to help her."
"Of course, Aunt Petunia," Harry assured. He followed his sister to the cupboard to change their shoes and watched curiously as she pulled two envelopes from under their bed and tucked them down the front of her shirt. "El, what…"
"Come on," she hissed and dragged him out the door. Instead of turning right towards Mrs. Figg's like he expected, El pulled him left and started towards the library — the one place they were sure to avoid Dudley.
"Will you tell me what's going on?" Harry asked as they walked into the library and headed for a secluded table.
El looked around then leaned close and lowered her voice. "We got letters."
Harry stared at her. "Pull the other one."
"No, I'm serious, Harry." She pulled out a chair and sat down, pulling out the envelopes. She handed him one and he stared down at the green lettering. "That's what took me so long this morning, I had to hide them before Dudley or Uncle Vernon took them."
Harry nodded, gaze still locked in the address. "It's addressed to our cupboard."
"I know."
"Whoever sent these, they know where we sleep." His voice was tight. "They know and they've done nothing."
"I know, Harry." Elowen broke the seal on her envelope and pulled out two sheets of paper. She blinked at them. "This has to be a joke."
"What?" Harry opened his own letter and looked down at the paper.
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 Potter,
We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
Harry looked up at Elowen. "Witchcraft and wizardry. Magic?"
"It's got to be a prank, right?" Elowen shrugged. "Maybe Dudley, or Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon."
"They don't have enough imagination for this," Harry said flatly. "And since we don't know anyone else, it's got to be real, right?"
"That's a good point," Elowen conceded. "But magic? Us, and magic?"
They sat in silence for a long moment, thinking. Elowen met Harry's eyes hesitantly. "Harry."
"Yeah?"
"All those weird things that happen to us," she started, watching his eyes light up in recognition. "The hair thing, me on the roof, the snakes. Do you think maybe…?"
"That's magic?" Harry nodded. "That's what I'm thinking."He looked back down at the letter. "What do you think it means, that they await our owl?"
"Who knows?" El shrugged. She grabbed a piece of scratch paper and a pen from the center of the table and started writing. "Do you think if we send a letter through the post, it'll find these people?"
"Maybe?" Harry said uncertainly. He looked at the other paper in his envelope.
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
Set 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 Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric 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 Equipment
1 wand
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set glass or crystal phials
1 telescope
1 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
He slid the paper over to Elowen. "Where do we even go to buy all this? And how?"
"I'll add it to the letter." Elowen wrote for a moment more before she slid the letter over for Harry's inspection. "You sign it too."
He took the pen from her and read:
Dear Deputy Headmistress McGonagall,
My brother and I received your letter of acceptance to your school, and were quite surprised, as we never applied. We've also never heard of your school before.
After some thought, Harry and I have decided that this isn't a prank, and that some things that we've done could be magic. We think we would like to attend your school, however, we have no money and no idea where to buy any of the supplies listed. If you could please lend us some assistance it would be very appreciated.
Sincerely,
Elowen Potter
Harry signed his own name right under El's and looked up at his twin. "So how do we address this?"
"I don't know," Elowen frowned. "Even if we just write Hogwarts on the envelope, someone'll know the address, right?"
"Probably," Harry said confidently.
"Right," El agreed. She folded the letter carefully and slid it into one of the white envelopes the library had out. On the back, she wrote out Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and wrote their address neatly in the corner. She stuck a stamp she snagged from Petunia's stash on the opposite corner.
The twins stayed in the library for a few more hours, reading quietly, until it was time to go. They slipped their letter into the mailbox on their way out and walked back to Privet Drive, their relatives none the wiser about where they'd been.
~~~
Minerva McGonagall was sorting through the responses of the incoming first years, making her list of names for the Sorting. There was a tapping on the window behind and she cursed as she startled and dragged her quill through Sally Anne Perks.
"Evanesco," she muttered with a wave of her wand, and the offending inkblot vanished. She turned to the window. A post owl sat on the sill, a plain white Muggle envelope in its beak. Minerva took the envelope and tipped the owl absentmindedly as she opened it.
Had she missed a pair of muggleborns, she mused as she read over the request for assistance with school shopping. Then she got to the names at the bottom, and she scowled.
"Albus, you fool," she muttered angrily. She stood up, letter clutched in hand, and stormed towards the staff room. The Heads of Houses would handle this, she decided. No need to involve Albus — for all she knew, he'd do something foolish like send Hagrid to help the Potters.
"Minerva, what's the matter?" Pomona asked as she entered. Minerva could only hold up the envelope.
"The Potters," she said. "They know nothing of our world. They've asked for help shopping because, as they say, they have no money and no idea where to go."
"Have you told Albus?" Filius asked.
Minerva scoffed. "Merlin knows I love the man, but you know how he can be. He'd probably send Hagrid to take them around." She shook her head. "No. This is something that needs to be done by a Head of House." She looked around. "So which of us wants to go and escort the Potter twins?"
"Oh, Minerva, you know I would love to, but I'm simply too busy with the greenhouses," Pomona said apologetically.
Filius nodded. "I'm booked up with home visits this week, Minerva, you know that."
"I do, I'm much the same," she sighed. As one, the three teachers turned to their fourth member, who had been silent.
Snape rolled his eyes. "I will escort the brats, if I absolutely must."
"Thank you, Severus," Minerva said pleasantly. She handed him the letter. "And, Severus, do try not to call them brats."
"I make no promises." He stalked out the door, robes swirling behind him. The other three Heads watched him go.
"This should go well," Minerva deadpanned.
~~~
Two days after the twins had sent their letter, on a bright July weekend morning, there was a knock at the door during lunch. At a jerk of Uncle Vernon's head, Elowen answered the door. A tall, pale man dressed in all black stood on the porch. He looked down at her and froze.
"Hello." The man just stared. Elowen blinked. "Can I help you, sir?"
The man let out a breath and shook his head a bit. "Are you Ms. Elowen Potter?"
Elowen narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. "I am. Who are you?"
"I am Professor Severus Snape," he introduced himself. "I am from Hogwarts, here in response to the letter you sent."
Elowen paused. "Oh."
"Yes, oh," Professor Snape sneered. "Are your guardians home?"
"Aunt Petunia!" Elowen called over her shoulder, not taking her eyes off the Professor. "Someone is here to speak with you!"
Aunt Petunia hurried down the hall and Elowen had the pleasure of seeing her stop in her tracks, blood draining from her face. "You!"
"Me."
Elowen was pushed aside as Petunia stepped in front of her, finger in the man's face. "We don't want your kind here."
"On the contrary, Tuney," he sneered. Elowen's eyes were wide. "It was your niece and nephew here who sent the response to their letter and requested I come."
Petunia turned furious eyes on Elowen, then turned back to Snape, looking behind him at the empty street. "Fine," she spat. "Come in, I don't want the neighbors to see you."
She led Professor Snape into the living room, then called Vernon in as well. Dudley was given thirty quid and told to go out for the afternoon, which he did gladly. Harry and Elowen, however, were hauled into the living room.
"Now, you two, what's this about sending a response to their letter?" Petunia asked through clenched teeth. Harry and Elowen exchanged looks, then Harry stepped forward.
He hesitated, looking around at the three adults, then opened his mouth. "El and I have magic, Aunt Petunia, and we're going to his school for it." He waved a hand at the scowling Professor Snape. "We sent a letter to ask for someone to take us shopping, so we didn't have to bother you about it."
"We don't have any money of our own," Elowen jumped in. "And we wouldn't want to ask you and Uncle Vernon to pay for a school you hadn't planned on sending us to."
Uncle Vernon huffed and glared at the professor. "They won't be going."
Elowen protested, "But Uncle Vernon —"
"No," he cut her off with a raised hand. He pointed at the twins, looking furiously at Snape. "We swore when we took them in that we'd stamp out that rubbish." He scoffed. "Magic, indeed!"
Snape's eyebrows had been climbing higher the longer the family spoke and finally he broke his silence. "Stamp it out?"His voice was quiet and dangerous sounding. Uncle Vernon wilted back under the force of his glare. "What, exactly, do you mean by that?"
Harry cut off whatever the reply might have been, suddenly angry on his and his sister's behalf. "You knew?? You knew we had magic?!"
"Knew!" shrieked Aunt Petunia. "Knew! Of course we knew! How could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was? Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that, that school, and came home every holiday with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats. I was the only one who saw her for what she was – a freak! But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family!" She stopped to draw a deep breath and then went ranting on. It seemed she had been wanting to say all this for years. "Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had the two of you, and of course I knew you'd be just the same, just as strange, just as, as abnormal, and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you!"
"Blown up?" Elowen hissed furiously. Harry could hear the hint of snake-speak almost slipping into her voice. "You told us they were killed in a car crash!"
"As if Lily would be killed by something so mundane," Professor Snape scoffed. "Have you really told them nothing, Petunia? I know Dumbledore left a letter explaining everything."
The twins looked at each other then at Professor Snape.
"Do you know the truth, Professor?" Harry asked him. "Could you tell us?"
Snape's blank expression didn't change. "I will not speak of it."
"We have a right to know," Elowen argued. "I don't think it's fair of you to keep it from us."
Snape stared at her for a moment, then pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head, muttering something neither twin could make out. He sighed. "Fine. I will tell you this once and only once." Elowen and Harry sat down in front of him, giving him their full attention. "Some twenty years ago, there was a dark wizard waging war on our world. His name was and still is feared in our world."
"What is his name, sir?" Harry asked. "Can you tell us?"
Snape gave him a sharp look. "Did you not just hear me say that it is feared?"
"Well, yes," started Elowen, "but surely you could tell us the name just the once, and then we'll know. Everyone else in the wixen world knows it, don't they?"
"You will not ask this of me again," Snape said firmly. "His name was Voldemort, but you must not refer to him as such. During the war, he put a curse on the name to alert him to the location of wherever it was said. As only a select few of those opposing him said it, it often got people killed. If you must refer to him, you call him You-Know-Who, or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, or the Dark Lord."The twins nodded and Snape continued. "Your parents were… both… powerful wixen, and members of a group that fought against the Dark Lord. Eleven years ago, there was a prophecy given about the end of the Dark Lord, a prophecy believed to possibly involve the two of you, and your parents went into hiding. Ten years ago, on Samhain night, the Dark Lord found your family's hiding place, and he killed your parents. He tried to kill the two of you, but for reasons no one knows, his magic backfired and killed him instead. The two of you are famous in the wixen world for this, lauded as The-Twins-Who-Lived."
The twins were silent as they processed this. Uncle Vernon was not.
"Load of old tosh," he snapped. Harry jumped, he had almost forgotten that the Dursleys were there. Uncle Vernon certainly seemed to have gotten back his courage. He was glaring at Professor Snape and his fists were clenched. "Now, you listen here, you two," he snarled. "I accept there's something strange about you, probably nothing a good beating wouldn't have cured, and as for all this about your parents, well, they were weirdos, no denying it, and the world's better off without them in my opinion – asked for all they got, getting mixed up with these wizarding types, just what I expected, always knew they'd come to a sticky end —" Snape glared at him and Uncle Vernon's courage failed again when he caught the look.
"Get your supply lists, Potters," Snape said. Elowen pulled hers, neatly folded in a square, out of her pocket. Harry rolled his eyes at her and went out to the hall to grab his from the cupboard.
"They're not going," Uncle Vernon hissed. He tore Elowen's list out of her hand. "They'll go to Stonewall High, and be grateful for it. Look at this list, they need all sorts of rubbish — spell books and wands and —"
"Do shut up," Snape drawled, waving his wand and summoning Elowen's list to himself. He handed it to her and turned for the door. "Keep up, Potters, I don't have all day to take you shopping."
The twins gave each other excited looks and ran after him, leaving the fuming Dursleys behind.