Chapter 01: A simple letter

Ms. Dorothy Willson lived at 26 Covent Garden, London. All her life she had lived there, at Wool’s orphanage. From the day she had been left as a baby on the doorsteps of the narrow but tall dreary building to the current time, she had never known much else. When she became a legal adult, the second world war had already started a couple years prior. With the Germans bombing the capital of the United Kingdom often, the lack of available jobs and being too plain to catch the eye of a man, Dorothy had little choice but to become one of the caretakers of the place she had grown up in. By the time war was over, the orphanage had welcomed more orphans than it ever did and not having the heart to abandon her colleagues but more importantly the children she had stayed working there.

She had seen lots of things in her life there despite how poor and innocuous Wool’s orphanage was. Things that she couldn’t explain, things that didn’t make sense, things that scared her. Nine. She had been nine the first time she had been confronted with one of those things. She was the last to go to bed that day and the director of the orphanage, Ms Cole, had had a very difficult day. New arrivals, rowdy children and sick colleagues; everything to make the day very tiring. It could have been the reason why Ms Cole fell down the stairs but the smile on the weird boy’s face she saw as she looked in shock and horror  from  the entrance of the girls’ room to the entrance of the boys’ room, made her think that maybe it hadn’t been the case.

Ms Cole had been coming to the girl’s room after reprimanding the young black haired boy for stealing a toy that wasn’t his, then suddenly she was pushed forward ten feet by something invisible and she fell down the stairs. Dorothy, despite being older by three years, had gotten scared of the boys from that moment on. She had avoided him as much as she could while living under the same roof. More things happened. Disappearing toys, other children being injured… It all stopped when she was fourteen and the boy went to a boarding school for most of the year. She would never forget that day. The boy had received a letter addressed to his own room with no post stamp on it as if the person who wrote it delivered it himself to the orphanage but didn’t stay to give it to its destinatary. A letter exactly like the one she had in her hands after picking up the mail from the mail box outside.

Mr. Rick Wald

Last bedroom to the right, fourth floor.

26, Covent Garden. Wool’s Orphanage.

London.

At the left bottom corner of the envelope was a crest. A capital ‘H’ surrounded by four animals, a lion, a snake, an eagle and a badger. Under the crest were words that her old eyes couldn’t right and above it was one bizarre word.

“Hogwarts.”

She had heard that name. Long ago. It was the name of the boarding school the boy from her youth had gone to. It was such a weird and peculiar name that she couldn’t possibly forget it. Not after 36 years. The 48 year old woman sighed. Her fears were confirmed. One of her children was like that boy. She had always known but hoped against hope that it wasn’t and would be the case. The boy had been… evil. He had used his power to do bad things but Rick had been nothing if not a shy, aloof but kind and helpful boy. A stark contrast.

She had been scared out of her mind when she saw Rick do things at first. Scared that he would be like the boy in her youth but he hadn’t. In fact the very first time his powers manifested was when she slipped off a stool trying to get a heavy box full of toys. The toys should have fallen on her painfully yet when she opened her eyes to see why nothing was happening, she saw the toys floating in the air. She had quickly moved away before whatever was going on stopped but she had noticed that out of the six children, all under five, that were in the room only one was awake and looking at her. She had stayed away from the boy after that incident and observed him carefully. The other children or caretakers did so too but more openly.

The boy was a quiet one. So quiet that many believed he was mute when it wasn’t so. The truth was he didn’t know what to speak about with children his own age, she found out later. Rick was smart for a four year old boy; he had taught himself to read by simply listening and watching her or one of her colleagues do so. When he began to go to school he quickly learned by himself everything he could by simply reading the books containing lessons and exercise. Everyone thought that he was in fact stupid, never seeing him studying for long when in fact he didn’t do so because he was already done. Dorothy knew that as she not been paying particular attention to him she would have thought the same. She knew better. And while she had come to accept that Rick was very different from the boy from her youth, his unnaturalness still scared her. That he had received a letter for that boarding school was a blessing.

She went up the stairs to the third floor. Careful to not put too much weight on some steps whose wood was creaking more than they should. She was afraid that one day one of the children would break it and tumbled down to their death. For a moment, her mind went to the financial difficulties the orphanage was going through. She hoped the government would change their stances on the budget for institutions like the one she was working for. She didn’t hope for much, just enough to repair what needed to be fixed. She knew it was a foolish hope. Nobody cared for orphans, she had learned that early in her life.

Reaching her destination, she politely knocked on the door and entered when she heard the permission to do so. Inside was Rick Wald, a boy with dirty blond hair and grey blues eyes. From the top of his 151cm, he looked at her while waiting in front of the small window of his room.

“Good morning, Ms  Willson. What can I help you with?”

The monotone but soft voice she heard still unphased her after all those years. It made her feel inconsequential. She pushed this feeling away and slowly walked towards home, greeting him back.

“Good morning to you too, Rick.” she replied politely. “There is a letter for you.”

“For me?”

The shock was evident on his face and in his voice which surprised her. She had never seen the boy show anything more than no emotion at all with the exception of sadness on rare occasions, like Christmas or his birthday.

“Yes. Here.”

She handed him his later and he looked at it, perhaps to check it was really addressed to him, before taking it. Before he could ask questions she knew she didn’t have the answers to and even if she did, wouldn’t; she left the room, leaving him alone.Rick let his fingers roam slowly through the paper of the envelope. It was more like parchment with its slightly brown tint in truth. Turning it around he saw once again the weird crest on the removable top of the letter which was sealed with red wax, displaying for the third time the crest.

“Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus? Who would be dumb enough to tickle a dragon? If they existed to begin with.”

Thinking it was a joke, he hesitated to open the letter but then decided otherwise. He knew no one who would waste their time for such a prank on him. No one at school at least since no one there knew which room at the orphanage was his. That left only the people of the orphanage. Children, older or younger, wouldn’t waste their money on this either; the parchment seemed expensive. Thinking a bit more he disregarded the possibility of the caretakers doing it too. While Miss  Willson was… respectful, her colleagues were more often than not hostiles. They would give him something even if it was for a prank. So, going against his first and hasty decision, he carefully removed the was from the envelope and opened it.

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. Wald,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 1st. We await your owl by no later than  July 31st.Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagallDeputy Headmistress

“Witchcraft and wizardry?” he spoke aloud to himself with an eyebrow raised questioningly.

He knew he was different from the other childrens or adults. He had known for years that he could do things that only he could. He had heard the whispers about him being a ‘freak’ when nobody thought he could hear. He couldn’t blame them, he was indeed a freak. Who else but a freak could move things with his mind or change colors of objects, hair included? He never did it on purpose, only when he was in distress somehow. That still brought him lots of problems. Most notably: isolation. Nobody liked him at the orphanage, be it children or adults. He also was too smart for his peers and thus had difficulties making friends at school as he was a bit more mature than his classmates. And now he was receiving a letter that may explain many things concerning him.

First, that what he did may be magic. Like in fairy tales and other stories from children. Second, that he may not be the only one having it. If a magic school existed it meant that there were other people with magic. That thought gave him much hope to finally find a place where he belonged. Where he could make friends and maybe find a family?

Providing everything was true. The letter and its content was so outrageous that maybe it was true. Wanting to know more, the dirty blonde put the first page behind the others and began to read the second one.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

UNIFORM

First-year students will require:

Please note that all pupil's 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 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, if they desire, an owl OR a cat OR a toad.

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICK

Yours sincerely,

Lucinda Thomsonicle-PocusChief Attendant of Witchcraft Provisions“There is no way this is a prank. No one would go to such a length just to prank me. The stupid names, the equipment, the green ink… It’s real.”

At this point he went to sit down on his bed. He already knew he wanted to go to that school. He had a few problems to deal with for that to happen though. He needed to answer that yes, he wished to attend Hogwarts and for that he needed the money for a stamp. Not something difficult in itself if he asked Miss Willson but she could always say no. The more difficult problem was money. He doubted the education at a boarding school was free and even if it was he still had no money to buy anything to buy any of the things required in his education nor where to buy them. He may know where to buy a telescope, which was pricey as all hell, but a cauldron? A set of Crystal phials? He had no clue.

Deciding here and there that the least he could do was to give and answer, he went to his small desk and began to write a letter.

Dear Deputy Headmistress,

I’m writing you this letter to share my wish concerning yours and Headmaster Dumbledore’s invitation to become a student at your prestigious school.

I would like to attend, truly. Unfortunately I’m an orphan and do not possess the means to pay for tuition nor the supplies needed for the year.

That is why I must regretfully decline this chance you’ve given me to learn magic at Hogwarts. I wished that thing had been different, however I find comfort in knowing that I’m not a ‘freak of nature’ as people call me but a wizard. That other people with the same gift as I exist, brings me hope that one day I would meet some of them.

Thank you again for offering me that chance and again, my sincerest apologies for not being able to take it.

Sincerely yours,

Rick Wald

He read the letter again to check for any spelling mistake or grammatical error and found none. He folded it and put it in one of the few envelopes he had for school related matters and when he stood up to go see Miss Willson to ask for a stamp, he realized that he didn’t know where to send his letter. He knew it was Hogwarts but where was it? Surely in the United Kingdom, the language and wording had been in english but what was the address? That he didn’t know. Thinking on checking the nearest library to perhaps find the information, he jumped in surprise when he heard a *thud* sound coming from his window. Turning around he saw a brown owl with big round eyes. He wasn’t familiar with all types of owl but he knew this one was a barn-owl. Said Owl began tapping against the glass as if she was communicating with him.

Slowly he reached the window and opened it. The owl didn’t wait a second and flew inside his room, landing on his small desk and let out a *hoot*  while pointing with one of her feet at this pen. His heart calming itself down from the fright the owl gave him, Rick slowly walked to his desk and picked up the pen the owl pushed towards him. Another *hoot* and a nod towards the letter and Rick remembered what the first page said about a returning letter.

“‘We await your owl by no later than 31 July.’ Are you… here because I don’t have an owl? Were you the one that delivered this letter?”

The hoot she gave this time sounded like an affirmation to Rick.

“I don’t mind giving it to you but I don’t know Hogwarts’ addr… Do you know?” he asked, thinking that maybe she was one of the school owls and knew its location. He turned out to be right when he heard another affirmative hoot. “Would you bring it to the Deputy headmistress?” This time the hoot was different. Lower in tone, making him think that it meant ‘no’. “To Hogwarts?” He tried a different destination.

The owl, in his opinion, moved beautifully on her feet across the desk to use one of her talons to hit the word ‘Hogwarts’ on his letter.

“Are you trying to tell me that I just have to write hogwarts and address it to the Deputy Headmistress?”

*Hoot*

“Okay, then.”

Rick used his pen to write on the envelope the following:

To Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

As soon as he was done, the letter was snatched by the owl who took flight and left through his window. Rick watched it disappear in the distance mournfully, his chance of finding a place that would accept him, disappearing with it.