Hayden sighed as the sun woke her up again. One of the matrons of the orphanage knocked and said to get up.
She groaned and pulled a pillow over her face. It could be worse though, she could be in a cupboard.
"My god, it's too early for this," she mumbled.
Quickly dressing, Hayden walks out of her room. Today was going to be special. She didn't know how, but she had a feeling.
Two orphanage matrons, Mrs April and Mrs Kelly, were helping get the children up. Hayden headed to the kitchen to help Ms Mary with breakfast.
Muttering under her breath, Hayden began cooking eggs. She whirled around the kitchen letting the chaos scoop her up.
"Hayden grab the mail!" A voice called from outside the kitchen door. Hayden finished the sausages she had been cooking and loaded them onto a plate. Grabbing both the sausage and toast, Hayden headed to the dining room and placed them down. Ms Mary brought out the rest of the food and a couple of younger kids finished setting the table.
"You guys go get Emily, okay? Tell her breakfast is almost ready." Hayden says to the two. They nod and run off. Grabbing a sausage, Hayden headed to the door and looked through the mail.
She got to the last letter and nearly dropped the envelope.
"What?" Hayden muttered. There in bold was a letter addressed to her. Hayden walked back to the dining room and handed Mrs Kelly the rest.
"Thank you, Hayden." Mrs April said smiling.
"This one's for me," Hayden says and grabs a piece of toast before walking back to her room. She read the back of the letter:
Miss H. Potter
Room 23
Black Wood Orphanage
London
Greater London
Hayden was freaking out. This whole thing was suspicious. Hayden then flipped the letter and opened it. There it was in bold, confirmation that something insane was going on.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwumps, International Confed. Of Wizards)
Dear Ms Potter,
We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. The term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
P.S. We are deeply sorry, but as we are currently low on staff, you will have to find your way to Diagon Alley. There will be a map and instructions enclosed with all of your other stuff. We do hope that this will not be any trouble and hope to see you this semester.
That was not subtle at all. There were only two answers to what was happening. One, the other kids were playing some kind of joke, which was rude. Or someone was trying to lure her away. Either situation was not preferred but she had to admit, she was curious. There was no harm in following the instructions.
Besides, tomorrow was her birthday, maybe she could get herself a gift with some of the money she's been saving.
"Hayden, where are you going?" The girl in question turned to see Ms Clouse, the third and last matron, glaring at Hayden like she killed her husband. Her eyes were pointed at Hayden's knees, which weren't fully covered by the black dress. It was a pretty dress with long sleeves. It was one of her nicer outfits and was thinking of wearing it tomorrow if they remembered her birthday, which was unlikely.
"Ms Clouse," Hayden bit back. "I was just going to go for a walk. I hope that's ok?"
"Fine, but you better be back soon." Ms Clouse says, sticking her nose up in the air. She then spun around and walked away.
She has no reason to care, thought Hayden, she won't even remember I live there in 5 minutes.
Walking down the street, Hayden pulls out the map. It was so detailed and beautiful with little pictures surrounding the border.
After about 30 minutes of walking in the crowded streets of London, Hayden found what she was looking for. It was a place called "The Leaky Cauldron" and by the looks of it, it seemed abandoned and in need of construction.
She followed the instructions and walked into the pub. After that, the instructions said to go to the bartender and ask to be let into Diagon Alley, wherever that was.
"Excuse me? Could you please let me into Diagon Alley?" Hayden asked the man behind the bar. He gave her this creepy smile and gestured for Hayden to follow him. They walked into an alley space behind the building. There were overgrown weeds and plants and the whole thing was filthy. The alley was also a dead end so this was probably not good.
The man removes something from his long robes and starts tapping the bricks. Hayden got a closer look and that something was a stick.
"What is happening?" Hayden whispered. Then out of nowhere, the bricks start to move. "Yeah, that's not normal." The bricks made an arch and she could see a sea of people.
"Good luck Miss." The bartender says, leaving her there. Hayden looked out over all the people. Owls were flying all over and that stuff over there was floating.
"What the hell," Hayden says while looking at all the happy people. Everyone was smiling and laughing. Hayden decided to ignore the chaos that was surrounding her. She had to find a big marble bank.