Prologue
Alice and Myles Cooper were fairly normal people, they led pretty boring lives.
Ms. Cooper volunteered for their church every week. She was tall and blond. Mr Cooper worked for a housing company. He was short and very annoyed about it, although his hair made up for a few inches. The cooper had a son who was in college.
One day Ms. Cooper woke up early, she looked out the window and saw an owl sitting on her garden wall. Huh? She thought. Ms. Cooper pulled out her computer and brought up the website of the local adoption organization, Ms. Cooper kept coming back to this one girl. She seemed to be around five years old, her hair was black and everywhere, her eyes were a brilliant green and there was a dusting of freckles over her nose. Ms. Cooper read the description, Mae Potter, five years old, born July 2.
Ms. Cooper shook Mr. Cooper awake.
“I want to meet Mae.”
“Today?” Mr. Cooper blinked.
“I’ll call.” Ms. Cooper slid out of bed, running downstairs still in her silk robe.
Later that day Mr. and Ms. Cooper stepped inside the main office of the adoption center. An old woman with a kind face greeted them and showed them to a mint colored room. Mae was sitting in a chair next to another kind looking old woman.
“Hello Mae, I am Ms. Cooper and this is Mr. Cooper.” Ms. Cooper smiled at the scared looking little girl
“Hello.” Mae look up at Ms. Cooper with those green eyes and Ms. Cooper was already making her choice
Part one
Nearly six years had passed since the day Mae was brought into the Cooper family. The house looked quite the same, only the photos on the mantel showed that time had passed. Five Year old Mae nervous and shy, all the way to Mae learning to ride a bike all on her own.
Mae’s room was downstairs, right across the hall from the living room, it was the size of a closet. Mae was fine though as at that moment she was fast asleep but not for long.
“It's morning and it's your special day. So get up, get up… get upppp.” Mr. Cooper sang of key through the door
“I am up!” Mae called, jumping out of bed, pulling on her clothes and blearily going into the kitchen where she could smell bacon and eggs.
“We're sorry there are not as many presents this year.”
“It's ok,” Mae said, grabbing the closest one and ripping it open.
Ms. Cooper watched as Mae unwrapped a pair of headphones, a photo wall from their trip to Maine, and a model figure of a husky.
“Thanks, guys!” Mae smiled.
“But… we are going to the zoo,” Mr. Cooper said.
It was a very sunny day, and the zoo was crowded with people. They went everywhere, but Mae stayed the longest looking at a tiny snake. Mae watched as the snake turned to look at her.
“You are just so pretty,” Mae said to herself.
Mae was certain that when the snake turned to look at her, it smiled -- as much as a snake could. Then, she was certain that it said, “Thanks,” but she was confused, so she just nodded and went to find her parents.
That evening, when the mail came, Mae went to get it. Shifting through the mail, she found one with her name on it:
Miss M. Potter,
The Smallest Bedroom,
120 Sunset Drive,
East Bellington, Surrey.
The envelope was thick and heavy, made of beige paper; the address was written in emerald-green ink. There was no stamp. Turning the letter over, Mae saw a purple wax seal. On it was a coat of arms: a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake, surrounding the letter H. Mae walked to the living room, still staring at the letter. She put the letters on the table, and sat at the counter, opening her letter. It read:
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Headmaster: Acer Rubrum Lupin
Dear Miss Potter,
You have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find the list sent to you in this letter of all the necessary books and equipment you will need. Term begins September 1st. We await your owl by no later than July 31st.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Hart
Deputy Headmistress
Mae found the list and read:
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Uniform:
First-year students are required to bring:
Three sets of plain work robes, black
One plain pointed hat, black
One pair of working gloves, dragon hide or similar
One winter cloak, black, silver fastenings
All clothes must have name tags.
You are allowed to wear muggle clothes under your robes in the winter and at other times.
Course Books:
The Standard Book of Spells by Lupita Goshawk
The History of Magic by Rand Jigger
Transfiguration, Beginner’s Guide by Grace Rose Truth
3,000 Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore, updated by Agatha Spruce
The Theories of Magic by Ruthibald Atelo
Potions and Drafts by Luca Icewell
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander
Stop the Dark Forces by Xander Thumblo
Other Equipment:
1 Wand
1 Cauldron, pewter
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, remember that First Years are not allowed to have broomsticks.
Mae looked at the stamp bearing the coat of arms again, and walked over to where her parents were chatting at the dining room table.
“Mom! Dad! I got a strange letter.”
“Let me see,” Mr. Cooper said, holding out his hand. He opened the letter and read through it. “Never heard of this so-called Hogwarts,” Mr. Cooper grunted, showing Mrs. Cooper the letter.
“I say we ignore it. Okay, honey?” Mrs. Cooper looked at Mae.
“Okay, I guess I’ll put it in the rubbish bin,” Mae said.
But, the next day, another letter came. Into the rubbish bin it went. And the next, and the next, until, one foggy morning, just as Mae and the Coopers were sitting down to breakfast. A loud knock came from the front door. Bang-bang-bang!
Mr. Cooper got up to answer it. Mrs. Cooper and Mae heard a squeal of equal terror and surprise. Then, a minute later, Mr. Cooper came into the room, with a huge man with a straggly mane of black hair, blindingly bright eyes, and a coat with so many pockets that Mae couldn’t count them all.
“Hello, I am River, Groundskeeper at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,” he said, smiling around at them. “Do you have any Earl Grey tea on hand at the moment?”
“Why, yes.” Mrs. Cooper said, going into the kitchen.
“You must be Mae Potter,” River said, bending down to look into Mae’s eyes.
“How do you know my name?” Mae took a few steps back.
“Why, you have been on the list to go to Hogwarts since you were born!”
Mr. Cooper looked him up and down. “We don’t know what you’re talking about, so please leave!”
“Now, just one moment -- you Maen to tell me Mae doesn’t know anything about anything?” River looked astonished
“She knows math and does very well in school,” Ms. Copper sounded annoyed, “now please leave, young man.”
“I will once i tell mae everything” river said turning back to mae “mae potter, do you know who your family is?”
“No, I was adopted.” Mae said bluntly
“Well, your great great grandfather was Harry potter, one of the most talented wizards in the magical world. He beat one of the strongest wizards from the dark side, he-who-must-not-be-named.”
“Why can't you say his name?” Mae asked
“I don't know. My mother told me to never say his name out loud, it would bring bad luck.” he looked at the ceiling “your great great grandmother was Ginny Weasley, the Weasleys were the kindest family. Your father Oliver Potter was an amazing wizard until he went and got himself killed, your mother Grace Potter went with and died trying to save him. Mae, you are a witch. A good one.”
“Witches are real, and you think I am one?” Mae asked.
“Have weird things ever happened when you think, Mae?”
Mae thought and remembered the time when some Maen boys from class had been chasing her. And she had wished she could fly up and hide on the roof. The next second, she was. Or, how whenever she got a haircut, it would just grow back by the next morning.
“Mae Potter, you are a powerful witch!”
Mae turned to look at Mr and Mrs Cooper, and asked “may I go, please? Please, please?” She jumped up and down.
“We don’t have the money, Mae,” Mr. Cooper said.
“Don’t worry about that, we have it covered.” River replied.
Mr. Cooper looked at Mae’s hopeful face and sighed. Mae had never been this excited about a school. “Alright,” Mr. Cooper said.
“Yay!” Mae smiled.
“We need to go get Mae’s things. I can take her with me, and if anything goes wrong, I will contact you.”
Mrs. Cooper, gritted her teeth, and nodded. Mae pulled on her shoes and followed River out the door.
“How are we getting there?”
River smiled and called a taxi. They went all the way to the train station and got on a train.
“Are we going to London? I’ve never been there” Mae asked.
“Yes, we are,” River answered. “We are going to Gringotts, the wizard’s bank, run by goblins.”
“Goblins?” Maes mouth dropped open.
River smiled and pulled out his newspaper. Mae clutched her letter in one hand as she followed River up a broken-down escalator that led up to a road lined with crowded shops. River was so tall that he parted the way, and Mae just had to stick close to his heels.
“This is the spot,” River said. “The Leaky Cauldron! It’s been around since before your great-great-grandfather’s day!”
It was a tiny, grubby-looking pub, Mae thought it might fall over any second..
The shoppers hurrying buy, couldn’t see it, Mae thought. For a famous place, it was dark and shabby. Barely standing anymore.
A few old women were sitting in a corner, smoking and talking in hushed voices. An old man was talking to the bartender, who was a tiny old man with hardly any hair. The low buzz of chatter stopped when they walked in. Everyone seemed to know River. The bartender reached for a glass, saying “the usual, River?”
“I can’t tonight, on Hogwarts’ business.” River gently pulled Mae in front of himself.
“Now, is this young lady a Potter by any chance?” said the bartender.
“Yes, sir,” Mae said.
“My my” he hurried out from behind the bar. Everyone was looking at her.
“We must be going” River steered Mae along a hallway toward a back door. Mae could feel eyes on her back, as River led her over a brick wall.
River muttered “Three up, two across” as he tapped the brick wall with his pen. “Stand back, Mae!”
The bricks he touched quivered in the middle and a small hole appeared. It grew wider, and wider, and a second later, they were facing an archway large enough even for River. An archway into a cobbled street that twisted and turned out of sight.
“Welcome,” River said, “to Diagon Alley.”
He grinned at Mae’s amazement. THey stepped through the archway, and Mae looked back to see a solid brick wall behind them. The sun shone on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop. Cauldrons, all sizes: copper, brass, pewter, silver, self-stirring, collapsible, said a large sign hanging over them.
“We need to get your money first,” River said.
Mae wished she had eyes in the back of her head. She turned her head in every direction as they walked up the street. She wanted to look at everything: the shops, the people doing their shopping, and the things inside the shops. A thin woman outside an apothecary, was shaking her head as they passed, saying “Dragon liver, nine sickles an ounce! They’re mad!” Several boys around Mae’s age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks. “Look!” Mae heard one of them say. “The new Nimbus 6000, fastest ever!” A low soft hooting came from a dark smelly shop, saying Gimlet’s Owl Shop: Tawny, barn, screech, brown and snowy. There were shops selling robes, shops selling strange instruments and telescopes, storefronts stocked with eels' eyes' and something Mae did not want to look at. Huge piles of spellbooks, quills, and rolls of parchment…
“Gringotts, wizard's bank!” River said.
In front of them was a white building that towered over the nearby shops. Standing beside its doors, wearing a scarlet and gold uniform was…
“Yeah, that’s a goblin”, said River.
They walked up the stone steps towards the goblin. He had a clever face, a pointed beard, and very long fingers and feet. He bowed as they stepped inside. Now they were facing a second pair of doors, silver. There were words on them.
Enter stranger,
but take heed of what awaits the sin of greed.
For those who take but do not earn,
must pay dearly in their turn.
So if you seek beneath our floors,
a treasure that was never yours,
thief you have been warned,
beware of finding more than treasure there.
“It’s almost impossible to rob Gringotts and you’d be mad if you tried,” River said.
A pair of goblins bowed them through the silver doors and they were in a vast marble hall. A hundred more goblins sat on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large legers and sorting precious stones. Mae and River headed toward the counter.
“Good morning,” River said to a free goblin. “We have come to take some money from Miss Mae Potter’s safe.”
“You have her key, sir?”
“Yup, now let me find it.” River said, starting to empty his many pockets onto the counter, scattering tea bags.
Mae watched a goblin weighing a pile of emeralds the size of eyeballs.
“Got it” River finally said, holding up a tiny silver key.
The goblin looked at it closely. “Very well,”
“REDBEAK” the goblin yelled, and a reddish goblin popped up out of nowhere.
Redbeak led them to a door. They were in a narrow stone passageway lit with candles and lanterns. It sloped steeply downward and there were little railway tracks on the floor. Redbeak whistled and a small cart came speeding up the tracks toward them. They climbed in - River with some shoving - and were off.
Mae tried to memorize every turn, left, left right, left fork, but it was impossible. But the cart needed no directions as Redbeak was not steering. They plunged even deeper, passing an underground lake. Mae blinked against the cold air, blowing against them, almost tearing up.
Mae giggled when she saw how green River’s face was, and when the cart stopped, he had to lean against the wall to stop his knees from shaking.
Red break unlocked the door. A lot of green smoke came billowing out and when it cleared Mae gasped. On the other side of the door, mounds of gold coins sat next to columns of silver and heaps of little bronze knuts.
“It’s all yours,” River said.
River helped Mae pile some of them into a cloth bag.
“The gold ones are galleons” River explained: “Seventeen silver sickles to a galleon and twenty-nine knuts to a sickle. That should be enough for a few terms.” He turned to Red Beak: “That's all.”
One speedy and cold cart ride later, they stood blinking in the sunlight outside Gringotts. Mae had no idea where to go first.
“Go get your uniform here, I will meet you outside in a bit.” River said point to a shop called Madam Malkins: Robes for all Occasions.
Madam Malkin was, it turned out, no longer alive, Mae found out when she stepped inside. Instead, there was a smiley young witch dressed in pink and white. Her name was Lila Rose.
“Hogwarts?” She asked before Mae could open her mouth, “got a young man being fitted up just now.”
In the back of the shop a boy with a pale pointed face was standing on a stepstool while a second witch adjusted his sleeves. Lila Rose stood Mae on a stool next to him, slipped a long robe over her head and began pinning it to the right width.
“Hello, are you going to Hogwarts too?” the boy said.
“Yes,” said Mae, staying still.
“My parents are next door buying my things” he said “then we’ll look at brooms.”
Mae decided that this boy was boring and rude.
“Have you got a broom?” the boy asked with a smirk. “Play Quidditch at all?”
“No,” Mae said again, wondering what Quiddith was.
“I do, and I for sure am getting picked for my house. Now what house will you be in?”
“No” now Mae was feeling stupid and bothered.
“I know I’ll be in Slytherin; my whole family has”
Mae just nodded and saw River out the window. She took her finished robes, paid, and headed out the door.
“Is that your father?” said the boy.
“They’re dead,” Mae said shortly.
“Oh sorry,” he said, not sounding sorry at all, “but they were a witch and a wizard?”
“Yes”, Mae sighed and went to River.
“River, what's quidditch?” mae asked as they walked down the cobbled street.
“I keep forgetting how much I need to tell you.” River smiled, “it's our wizard sport. Played up in the air on broomsticks, there are four balls. Kinda hard to explain”
“And what are Hufflepuff and Slytherin?”
“School houses. There are four houses, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor and Slytherin.”
They headed to the apothecary which was interesting enough to make up for its horrible smell, a mixture of bad eggs and rotted cabbages. Buckets of slimy stuff stood along the walls: clumps of feathers, packets full of fangs, and strings of claws hung from the ceiling. Jars of herbs, dried roots and vibrant powder lined the shelves. River asked the shop keeper for a supply of basilisk potion ingredients for Mae. River would not let Mae buy a solid gold cauldron (“it says pewter on the list”). But they got a nice set of scales, and a foldable brass telescope. They bought Mae’s books in a shop called Flourish and Blotts. Books filled every available space, books as large as walking stones, to as small as postage stamps. River had to drag Mae away from books on how to curse your enemies, saying
“you are not allowed to use magic outside of school”, and simply “it’s not on the list!” Outside, River checked Mae’s list. “Just need to get you a wand - oh right, and your birthday present.”
Mae felt herself go red. “You don’t need to.”
River waved her off, saying “how about an animal? What animal would you like?”
Mae thought for a moment. “Could I have an owl perhaps?”
“Certainly.”
Twenty minutes later, they left Eeylops Owl Emporium, which had been dark and full of soft cooing. Mae now carried a cage that held a beautiful snowy owl, fast asleep with her wing over her head. Mae could not stop saying thank you.
“Not a problem” said River; “now let's get your wand.”
A magic wand… This was what mae had been waiting for. The wand shop was narrow and shabby, with peeling and almost-gone letters over the door reading Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window.
A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as they stepped inside. It was a tiny place, a wooden chair stood near the doorway, that River sat on to wait. Mae felt weirdly as though she had entered a very strict library. She looked at the thousands of narrow boxes piled neatly right up to the ceiling. An old woman appeared from the back of the shop and slowly made her way toward them.
“Good afternoon” she said, in a soft voice.
“Hello” Mae said uneasily. “I am Mae Potter and that’s River. I need a wand.”
“Ah yes, you have your family hair and eyes.” She smiled. “Which is your wand arm?”
“Ummm, I am right-handed?”
“Hold out your arm.” She Maesured Mae from shoulder to finger then wrist to elbow, shoulder to knee, knee to armpit and round her head. “Every wand in this shop has a core of a powerful magical substance, Ms. Potter. We use phoenix tail feathers, unicorn hairs, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two wands are the same.” The old woman was flitting around the shelves, taking down boxes. She took the tape Measure and stuffed it in her pocket. “Try this one. Dogwood and unicorn hair. Nine inches. Just take it and give it a wave!”
Mae took the wand and waved it around a bit, but the old woman took it out of her grasp.
“Maple and dragon heartstring. 5 inches. Quite whippy.”
Mae tried. But it was snatched away before she could blink.
“Willow and unicorn hair, eleven inches, nice and flexible.”
Mae took the wand. She felt a sudden warmth in her fingers. She raised the wand above her head and brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of blue and silver sparks shot from the end like a firework. River whooped and clapped and the old woman cried “oh very good, yes indeed.”
Mae paid seven gold galleons for her wand, and the old woman waved them out of the shop. The late afternoon sun hung low in the sky as the two made their way back down Diagon Alley. Back through the wall, and back through the Leaky Cauldron. Mae did not speak at all as they walked down the roads. She did not notice how many people were gawking at them on the Underground. what with their funny shaped packages and the snowy owl, it made sense for the odd looks. Once at the station, River helped Mae onto the train that would take her back to the Dursleys, then handed her an envelope.
“Your ticket for hogwarts express.” River said. “It leaves on the first of September, at King’s Cross station at 11:00. It's all on your ticket”
The train pulled out of the station. When Mae looked up from reading her ticket, River was gone.
END OF PART ONE…
Alice and Myles Cooper were fairly normal people, they led pretty boring lives.
Ms. Cooper volunteered for their church every week. She was tall and blond. Mr Cooper worked for a housing company. He was short and very annoyed about it, although his hair made up for a few inches. The cooper had a son who was in college.
One day Ms. Cooper woke up early, she looked out the window and saw an owl sitting on her garden wall. Huh? She thought. Ms. Cooper pulled out her computer and brought up the website of the local adoption organization, Ms. Cooper kept coming back to this one girl. She seemed to be around five years old, her hair was black and everywhere, her eyes were a brilliant green and there was a dusting of freckles over her nose. Ms. Cooper read the description, Mae Potter, five years old, born July 2.
Ms. Cooper shook Mr. Cooper awake.
“I want to meet Mae.”
“Today?” Mr. Cooper blinked.
“I’ll call.” Ms. Cooper slid out of bed, running downstairs still in her silk robe.
Later that day Mr. and Ms. Cooper stepped inside the main office of the adoption center. An old woman with a kind face greeted them and showed them to a mint colored room. Mae was sitting in a chair next to another kind looking old woman.
“Hello Mae, I am Ms. Cooper and this is Mr. Cooper.” Ms. Cooper smiled at the scared looking little girl
“Hello.” Mae look up at Ms. Cooper with those green eyes and Ms. Cooper was already making her choice
Part one
Nearly six years had passed since the day Mae was brought into the Cooper family. The house looked quite the same, only the photos on the mantel showed that time had passed. Five Year old Mae nervous and shy, all the way to Mae learning to ride a bike all on her own.
Mae’s room was downstairs, right across the hall from the living room, it was the size of a closet. Mae was fine though as at that moment she was fast asleep but not for long.
“It's morning and it's your special day. So get up, get up… get upppp.” Mr. Cooper sang of key through the door
“I am up!” Mae called, jumping out of bed, pulling on her clothes and blearily going into the kitchen where she could smell bacon and eggs.
“We're sorry there are not as many presents this year.”
“It's ok,” Mae said, grabbing the closest one and ripping it open.
Ms. Cooper watched as Mae unwrapped a pair of headphones, a photo wall from their trip to Maine, and a model figure of a husky.
“Thanks, guys!” Mae smiled.
“But… we are going to the zoo,” Mr. Cooper said.
It was a very sunny day, and the zoo was crowded with people. They went everywhere, but Mae stayed the longest looking at a tiny snake. Mae watched as the snake turned to look at her.
“You are just so pretty,” Mae said to herself.
Mae was certain that when the snake turned to look at her, it smiled -- as much as a snake could. Then, she was certain that it said, “Thanks,” but she was confused, so she just nodded and went to find her parents.
That evening, when the mail came, Mae went to get it. Shifting through the mail, she found one with her name on it:
Miss M. Potter,
The Smallest Bedroom,
120 Sunset Drive,
East Bellington, Surrey.
The envelope was thick and heavy, made of beige paper; the address was written in emerald-green ink. There was no stamp. Turning the letter over, Mae saw a purple wax seal. On it was a coat of arms: a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake, surrounding the letter H. Mae walked to the living room, still staring at the letter. She put the letters on the table, and sat at the counter, opening her letter. It read:
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Headmaster: Acer Rubrum Lupin
Dear Miss Potter,
You have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find the list sent to you in this letter of all the necessary books and equipment you will need. Term begins September 1st. We await your owl by no later than July 31st.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Hart
Deputy Headmistress
Mae found the list and read:
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Uniform:
First-year students are required to bring:
Three sets of plain work robes, black
One plain pointed hat, black
One pair of working gloves, dragon hide or similar
One winter cloak, black, silver fastenings
All clothes must have name tags.
You are allowed to wear muggle clothes under your robes in the winter and at other times.
Course Books:
The Standard Book of Spells by Lupita Goshawk
The History of Magic by Rand Jigger
Transfiguration, Beginner’s Guide by Grace Rose Truth
3,000 Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore, updated by Agatha Spruce
The Theories of Magic by Ruthibald Atelo
Potions and Drafts by Luca Icewell
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander
Stop the Dark Forces by Xander Thumblo
Other Equipment:
1 Wand
1 Cauldron, pewter
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, remember that First Years are not allowed to have broomsticks.
Mae looked at the stamp bearing the coat of arms again, and walked over to where her parents were chatting at the dining room table.
“Mom! Dad! I got a strange letter.”
“Let me see,” Mr. Cooper said, holding out his hand. He opened the letter and read through it. “Never heard of this so-called Hogwarts,” Mr. Cooper grunted, showing Mrs. Cooper the letter.
“I say we ignore it. Okay, honey?” Mrs. Cooper looked at Mae.
“Okay, I guess I’ll put it in the rubbish bin,” Mae said.
But, the next day, another letter came. Into the rubbish bin it went. And the next, and the next, until, one foggy morning, just as Mae and the Coopers were sitting down to breakfast. A loud knock came from the front door. Bang-bang-bang!
Mr. Cooper got up to answer it. Mrs. Cooper and Mae heard a squeal of equal terror and surprise. Then, a minute later, Mr. Cooper came into the room, with a huge man with a straggly mane of black hair, blindingly bright eyes, and a coat with so many pockets that Mae couldn’t count them all.
“Hello, I am River, Groundskeeper at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,” he said, smiling around at them. “Do you have any Earl Grey tea on hand at the moment?”
“Why, yes.” Mrs. Cooper said, going into the kitchen.
“You must be Mae Potter,” River said, bending down to look into Mae’s eyes.
“How do you know my name?” Mae took a few steps back.
“Why, you have been on the list to go to Hogwarts since you were born!”
Mr. Cooper looked him up and down. “We don’t know what you’re talking about, so please leave!”
“Now, just one moment -- you Maen to tell me Mae doesn’t know anything about anything?” River looked astonished
“She knows math and does very well in school,” Ms. Copper sounded annoyed, “now please leave, young man.”
“I will once i tell mae everything” river said turning back to mae “mae potter, do you know who your family is?”
“No, I was adopted.” Mae said bluntly
“Well, your great great grandfather was Harry potter, one of the most talented wizards in the magical world. He beat one of the strongest wizards from the dark side, he-who-must-not-be-named.”
“Why can't you say his name?” Mae asked
“I don't know. My mother told me to never say his name out loud, it would bring bad luck.” he looked at the ceiling “your great great grandmother was Ginny Weasley, the Weasleys were the kindest family. Your father Oliver Potter was an amazing wizard until he went and got himself killed, your mother Grace Potter went with and died trying to save him. Mae, you are a witch. A good one.”
“Witches are real, and you think I am one?” Mae asked.
“Have weird things ever happened when you think, Mae?”
Mae thought and remembered the time when some Maen boys from class had been chasing her. And she had wished she could fly up and hide on the roof. The next second, she was. Or, how whenever she got a haircut, it would just grow back by the next morning.
“Mae Potter, you are a powerful witch!”
Mae turned to look at Mr and Mrs Cooper, and asked “may I go, please? Please, please?” She jumped up and down.
“We don’t have the money, Mae,” Mr. Cooper said.
“Don’t worry about that, we have it covered.” River replied.
Mr. Cooper looked at Mae’s hopeful face and sighed. Mae had never been this excited about a school. “Alright,” Mr. Cooper said.
“Yay!” Mae smiled.
“We need to go get Mae’s things. I can take her with me, and if anything goes wrong, I will contact you.”
Mrs. Cooper, gritted her teeth, and nodded. Mae pulled on her shoes and followed River out the door.
“How are we getting there?”
River smiled and called a taxi. They went all the way to the train station and got on a train.
“Are we going to London? I’ve never been there” Mae asked.
“Yes, we are,” River answered. “We are going to Gringotts, the wizard’s bank, run by goblins.”
“Goblins?” Maes mouth dropped open.
River smiled and pulled out his newspaper. Mae clutched her letter in one hand as she followed River up a broken-down escalator that led up to a road lined with crowded shops. River was so tall that he parted the way, and Mae just had to stick close to his heels.
“This is the spot,” River said. “The Leaky Cauldron! It’s been around since before your great-great-grandfather’s day!”
It was a tiny, grubby-looking pub, Mae thought it might fall over any second..
The shoppers hurrying buy, couldn’t see it, Mae thought. For a famous place, it was dark and shabby. Barely standing anymore.
A few old women were sitting in a corner, smoking and talking in hushed voices. An old man was talking to the bartender, who was a tiny old man with hardly any hair. The low buzz of chatter stopped when they walked in. Everyone seemed to know River. The bartender reached for a glass, saying “the usual, River?”
“I can’t tonight, on Hogwarts’ business.” River gently pulled Mae in front of himself.
“Now, is this young lady a Potter by any chance?” said the bartender.
“Yes, sir,” Mae said.
“My my” he hurried out from behind the bar. Everyone was looking at her.
“We must be going” River steered Mae along a hallway toward a back door. Mae could feel eyes on her back, as River led her over a brick wall.
River muttered “Three up, two across” as he tapped the brick wall with his pen. “Stand back, Mae!”
The bricks he touched quivered in the middle and a small hole appeared. It grew wider, and wider, and a second later, they were facing an archway large enough even for River. An archway into a cobbled street that twisted and turned out of sight.
“Welcome,” River said, “to Diagon Alley.”
He grinned at Mae’s amazement. THey stepped through the archway, and Mae looked back to see a solid brick wall behind them. The sun shone on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop. Cauldrons, all sizes: copper, brass, pewter, silver, self-stirring, collapsible, said a large sign hanging over them.
“We need to get your money first,” River said.
Mae wished she had eyes in the back of her head. She turned her head in every direction as they walked up the street. She wanted to look at everything: the shops, the people doing their shopping, and the things inside the shops. A thin woman outside an apothecary, was shaking her head as they passed, saying “Dragon liver, nine sickles an ounce! They’re mad!” Several boys around Mae’s age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks. “Look!” Mae heard one of them say. “The new Nimbus 6000, fastest ever!” A low soft hooting came from a dark smelly shop, saying Gimlet’s Owl Shop: Tawny, barn, screech, brown and snowy. There were shops selling robes, shops selling strange instruments and telescopes, storefronts stocked with eels' eyes' and something Mae did not want to look at. Huge piles of spellbooks, quills, and rolls of parchment…
“Gringotts, wizard's bank!” River said.
In front of them was a white building that towered over the nearby shops. Standing beside its doors, wearing a scarlet and gold uniform was…
“Yeah, that’s a goblin”, said River.
They walked up the stone steps towards the goblin. He had a clever face, a pointed beard, and very long fingers and feet. He bowed as they stepped inside. Now they were facing a second pair of doors, silver. There were words on them.
Enter stranger,
but take heed of what awaits the sin of greed.
For those who take but do not earn,
must pay dearly in their turn.
So if you seek beneath our floors,
a treasure that was never yours,
thief you have been warned,
beware of finding more than treasure there.
“It’s almost impossible to rob Gringotts and you’d be mad if you tried,” River said.
A pair of goblins bowed them through the silver doors and they were in a vast marble hall. A hundred more goblins sat on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large legers and sorting precious stones. Mae and River headed toward the counter.
“Good morning,” River said to a free goblin. “We have come to take some money from Miss Mae Potter’s safe.”
“You have her key, sir?”
“Yup, now let me find it.” River said, starting to empty his many pockets onto the counter, scattering tea bags.
Mae watched a goblin weighing a pile of emeralds the size of eyeballs.
“Got it” River finally said, holding up a tiny silver key.
The goblin looked at it closely. “Very well,”
“REDBEAK” the goblin yelled, and a reddish goblin popped up out of nowhere.
Redbeak led them to a door. They were in a narrow stone passageway lit with candles and lanterns. It sloped steeply downward and there were little railway tracks on the floor. Redbeak whistled and a small cart came speeding up the tracks toward them. They climbed in - River with some shoving - and were off.
Mae tried to memorize every turn, left, left right, left fork, but it was impossible. But the cart needed no directions as Redbeak was not steering. They plunged even deeper, passing an underground lake. Mae blinked against the cold air, blowing against them, almost tearing up.
Mae giggled when she saw how green River’s face was, and when the cart stopped, he had to lean against the wall to stop his knees from shaking.
Red break unlocked the door. A lot of green smoke came billowing out and when it cleared Mae gasped. On the other side of the door, mounds of gold coins sat next to columns of silver and heaps of little bronze knuts.
“It’s all yours,” River said.
River helped Mae pile some of them into a cloth bag.
“The gold ones are galleons” River explained: “Seventeen silver sickles to a galleon and twenty-nine knuts to a sickle. That should be enough for a few terms.” He turned to Red Beak: “That's all.”
One speedy and cold cart ride later, they stood blinking in the sunlight outside Gringotts. Mae had no idea where to go first.
“Go get your uniform here, I will meet you outside in a bit.” River said point to a shop called Madam Malkins: Robes for all Occasions.
Madam Malkin was, it turned out, no longer alive, Mae found out when she stepped inside. Instead, there was a smiley young witch dressed in pink and white. Her name was Lila Rose.
“Hogwarts?” She asked before Mae could open her mouth, “got a young man being fitted up just now.”
In the back of the shop a boy with a pale pointed face was standing on a stepstool while a second witch adjusted his sleeves. Lila Rose stood Mae on a stool next to him, slipped a long robe over her head and began pinning it to the right width.
“Hello, are you going to Hogwarts too?” the boy said.
“Yes,” said Mae, staying still.
“My parents are next door buying my things” he said “then we’ll look at brooms.”
Mae decided that this boy was boring and rude.
“Have you got a broom?” the boy asked with a smirk. “Play Quidditch at all?”
“No,” Mae said again, wondering what Quiddith was.
“I do, and I for sure am getting picked for my house. Now what house will you be in?”
“No” now Mae was feeling stupid and bothered.
“I know I’ll be in Slytherin; my whole family has”
Mae just nodded and saw River out the window. She took her finished robes, paid, and headed out the door.
“Is that your father?” said the boy.
“They’re dead,” Mae said shortly.
“Oh sorry,” he said, not sounding sorry at all, “but they were a witch and a wizard?”
“Yes”, Mae sighed and went to River.
“River, what's quidditch?” mae asked as they walked down the cobbled street.
“I keep forgetting how much I need to tell you.” River smiled, “it's our wizard sport. Played up in the air on broomsticks, there are four balls. Kinda hard to explain”
“And what are Hufflepuff and Slytherin?”
“School houses. There are four houses, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor and Slytherin.”
They headed to the apothecary which was interesting enough to make up for its horrible smell, a mixture of bad eggs and rotted cabbages. Buckets of slimy stuff stood along the walls: clumps of feathers, packets full of fangs, and strings of claws hung from the ceiling. Jars of herbs, dried roots and vibrant powder lined the shelves. River asked the shop keeper for a supply of basilisk potion ingredients for Mae. River would not let Mae buy a solid gold cauldron (“it says pewter on the list”). But they got a nice set of scales, and a foldable brass telescope. They bought Mae’s books in a shop called Flourish and Blotts. Books filled every available space, books as large as walking stones, to as small as postage stamps. River had to drag Mae away from books on how to curse your enemies, saying
“you are not allowed to use magic outside of school”, and simply “it’s not on the list!” Outside, River checked Mae’s list. “Just need to get you a wand - oh right, and your birthday present.”
Mae felt herself go red. “You don’t need to.”
River waved her off, saying “how about an animal? What animal would you like?”
Mae thought for a moment. “Could I have an owl perhaps?”
“Certainly.”
Twenty minutes later, they left Eeylops Owl Emporium, which had been dark and full of soft cooing. Mae now carried a cage that held a beautiful snowy owl, fast asleep with her wing over her head. Mae could not stop saying thank you.
“Not a problem” said River; “now let's get your wand.”
A magic wand… This was what mae had been waiting for. The wand shop was narrow and shabby, with peeling and almost-gone letters over the door reading Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window.
A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as they stepped inside. It was a tiny place, a wooden chair stood near the doorway, that River sat on to wait. Mae felt weirdly as though she had entered a very strict library. She looked at the thousands of narrow boxes piled neatly right up to the ceiling. An old woman appeared from the back of the shop and slowly made her way toward them.
“Good afternoon” she said, in a soft voice.
“Hello” Mae said uneasily. “I am Mae Potter and that’s River. I need a wand.”
“Ah yes, you have your family hair and eyes.” She smiled. “Which is your wand arm?”
“Ummm, I am right-handed?”
“Hold out your arm.” She Maesured Mae from shoulder to finger then wrist to elbow, shoulder to knee, knee to armpit and round her head. “Every wand in this shop has a core of a powerful magical substance, Ms. Potter. We use phoenix tail feathers, unicorn hairs, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two wands are the same.” The old woman was flitting around the shelves, taking down boxes. She took the tape Measure and stuffed it in her pocket. “Try this one. Dogwood and unicorn hair. Nine inches. Just take it and give it a wave!”
Mae took the wand and waved it around a bit, but the old woman took it out of her grasp.
“Maple and dragon heartstring. 5 inches. Quite whippy.”
Mae tried. But it was snatched away before she could blink.
“Willow and unicorn hair, eleven inches, nice and flexible.”
Mae took the wand. She felt a sudden warmth in her fingers. She raised the wand above her head and brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of blue and silver sparks shot from the end like a firework. River whooped and clapped and the old woman cried “oh very good, yes indeed.”
Mae paid seven gold galleons for her wand, and the old woman waved them out of the shop. The late afternoon sun hung low in the sky as the two made their way back down Diagon Alley. Back through the wall, and back through the Leaky Cauldron. Mae did not speak at all as they walked down the roads. She did not notice how many people were gawking at them on the Underground. what with their funny shaped packages and the snowy owl, it made sense for the odd looks. Once at the station, River helped Mae onto the train that would take her back to the Dursleys, then handed her an envelope.
“Your ticket for hogwarts express.” River said. “It leaves on the first of September, at King’s Cross station at 11:00. It's all on your ticket”
The train pulled out of the station. When Mae looked up from reading her ticket, River was gone.
END OF PART ONE…
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