July 1st
I looked into the horizon with misty eyes. Wyatt, my brother, couldn't stand seeing me like that and tried with all his might to just cheer me up, get a smile out of me or something, but i refused. My parents had picked me up from school and told me something special had arrived for me. As it was my 11th birthday I assumed it would be loads of presents or something, which it was, but that wasn't the "special" part. The supposedly special thing that day was a letter. A letter, held in a heavy parchment envelope and written in green ink. Addressed to none other than
Ms. Samantha Griphook
101 Hamilton Rd. London
Largest bedroom under attic
It held my acceptance letter to Hogwarts School of Wizardry. I was always supposed to go to some elven school like both my brothers, it was actually what I wanted, but apparently it wasn’t what I would get, instead I got to go to a school full of humans, no hybrids, no elves. I despised my luck. I was the only kid in the family who had inherited that kind of magic in the past century and though it gave my parents great pride to be the ones to produce a witch or wizard, instead of any of their siblings. The world had changed greatly according to my parents. Once, my father was more than free to fly around England with his dragon Saphira, but now he couldn’t, humans were a risk.
My mother used to tell me stories about the great forests that ran throughout Britain before humans began paving everything and building cities, how animals and plants grew and ran freely everywhere without fear of over-hunting or being run over. I wished with all my might that I could’ve been born then.
I finally found the will power to open my letter. I took out the acceptance letter and as I did, another piece of parchment fell out of the envelope. I picked it up to see what it was.
It read as follows:
Uniform
First year students will require
1.Three sets of plain workrobes (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)
Set Books
All students should have a copy of each of the following:
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade One) 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.
First year students will require
1.Three sets of plain workrobes (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)
Set Books
All students should have a copy of each of the following:
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade One) 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.
I ran to ask my parents where we could get that stuff and they told me not to worry…
July 30th
Days passed by and we still hadn’t gone to get my things so I began to harbor a tiny ray of hope that in the end I wouldn’t have to go to that wretched school at all. How wrong I was. When we finally went, we entered a strange looking pub I’d never noticed somewhere in downtown London. It was called “The Leaky Cauldron” and had a rather cheery barman who told us how to get past a wall in the back to enter “Diagonally” I understood absolutely nothing of this of course. Where did we want to go that we had to go diagonally?? My brothers and I followed my parents to the back where all the trash cans and garbage were. My parents started fumbling around and counting bricks while my brothers and I watched inquiringly. Then all of a sudden the bricks began to move and open a hole amongst them. In front of the opening in the wall, a sign reading “Diagon Alley”.
