3 Chapter 2

It had been a few days since I responded to that letter inviting me to that magical school. I accepted their invitation of course, but I made sure to ask for a faculty member to come over and answer some of my questions. I got a brisk, if informative, response: "A teacher will visit in three days."

But anyway, Phil and Amy were waiting with me for a Hogwarts member to arrive. We were just finishing breakfast when a loud knocking sound came from the front door. We opened the door and, "Hello there Mr. and Mrs. Green, along with Mr. Nightingale. My name is Professor McGonagall, and I am here to answer any questions you may have. But first, may I come in?"

"Um, yes. Terribly sorry about that." Phil blubbered out.

Walking into the house she brought a stick, maybe a wand or some other focus, and whirled it toward one of our chairs. All of sudden, it changed: it became a much more comfortable-looking rocking chair.

"Ahh, that's better." She exhaled while sitting down.

"How did you do that?" I asked barely restraining myself.

"Magic, of course. Transfiguration to be exact, the branch of magic I actually teach at Hogwarts."

"Will I learn how to do that? And what are the other branches?"

"Yes, you will learn it, and the other branches taught at Hogwarts are Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Potions, and Astronomy, you will also be able to take some others as you get older."

"Those sound interesting, but why am I just now being invited into this, why not earlier? And where do I need to get my supplies"

"Only children of at least 11 years of age may come to Hogwarts. Also, we are going to get everything you need right now. If that's alright with you Mr. and Mrs. Green?"

"What... umm, yes. Here Alex, take this cash with you. He will be able to use pounds won't he?"

"He can just exchange those at Gringotts, for Galleons."

Phil nodded, and Professor McGonagall held her hand for me, "Just grab and close your eyes, we'll be there momentarily."

Nodding, I grabbed her hand and closed my eyes. I felt an intense pressure for a second and then we were somewhere else.

"Welcome Mr. Nightingale, to Diagon Alley."

"Now, first we need to go to Gringotts to open an account for you and exchange your muggle pounds. Oh, muggle means nonmagical. Then, we will go buy everything else you need."

I nodded and we walked through the street at a deliberate pace. Everything in the ally was incredible; all of the buildings were magical and it almost felt like the colors were brighter or more in focus than the outside world.

Once we got to the bank we were walking in, and I couldn't help but ask: "Professor McGonagall, what are they," referring to the small, green creatures working at the desks.

"Oh, they are just goblins. Goblins run Gringotts. But anyway wait here for a minute while I set up your account."

"Yes, Professor."

Looking around at the lavishly decorated bank, I looked at how many pounds 'dad' gave me. I finished counting after a minute: he gave me about 5000 pounds. This should be good for everything I want to get. But man, it is weird that Goblins run Gringotts, which appears to be Magical Britain's only bank. But whatever works I guess.

"Mr. Nightingale, your account is ready. We just need to give you your key and take a deposit, then you will officially have an account." The goblin talking to Professor McGonagall said.

Walking up, I gave the goblin my pounds and got about 1000 galleons in return.

"Leave 100 of those in your vault and we will go get what you need for Hogwarts."

Nodding, I did as she asked, and we walked back into Diagon Alley.

We went to get my robes first and that was fairly quick, though I did spring for the self-cleaning robes. Then, we went to get my books. While at the book shop, I also got a primer on Wizarding culture along with a few other books on other interesting concepts.

After that Professor McGonagall dropped me off at Ollivander's Wands and told me she would be back in about 15 minutes. Walking into the shop, I jumped as I heard a voice from behind me:

"Hello there, young man, are you here to get your wand for Hogwarts?"

Answering and trying not to glare, I replied, "Yes."

"Ok, which is your dominant arm?"

Wordlessly, I rose my right arm.

"Interesting," he replied and went into the back of the shop. Coming back quickly with a few boxes, he put a few wands in my hand.

"How about this one? Nope," he swiped the wand back before I could respond.

That happened several more times, and then, he asked me to, "Give it a flick, go on."

Flicking the wand, lights started flying out and Ollivander said, "Ah yes, there we go: Acacia wood with a dragon heartstring at 11 inches, this wand is not for the weak-willed."

"Thank you, Mr. Ollivander, but where should I put it when I am walking around?"

"Here, use this wrist, wand pocket, very popular with duelists of all types. Anyway, your total is going to be 15 galleons."

Thanking and paying him, I went out of the shop and greeted Professor McGonagall, "Professor, I'm done. What is there left?"

"Well, I got some of the other things you needed like your potion cauldron. The only thing left to do is to go and get a pet if you would like to?"

"What kind of pets can I bring to Hogwarts?"

"You are officially allowed to bring cats, toads, and owls, but many students will branch out and unless it is sufficiently dangerous, there should not be a problem."

"Ok, I would love to get a kitten and an owl, if I can?"

"There is no problem with that," McGonagall said and started walking down one of the connected alleys to Diagon Alley.

After a few minutes, we arrived at Magical Menagerie, a pet shop.

Walking in and passing by the toads, I felt my gaze drawn to a majestic owl with speckled, dark brown feathers and intensity in its eyes.

"Hello, girl. Aren't you just majestic?" She crooned back at me with pride in her eyes.

I held out my arm, and she hopped on. It hurt, but I knew that I had to show that I could support her. Taking her to the clerk, I paid for her and a cage that is actually bigger on the inside.

I also asked, "Where are your kittens?"

Pointing them out, he replied, "You are in luck, kid. We just got a new litter."

Looking at the kittens, I decided to get two of them. One of them, the girl, had golden fur and the other, the boy, had a darker, silver color for fur.

I finished paying for them along with getting them a cage similar to my new owls and everything else needed to take care of them.

After we walked out of the shop, Professor McGonagall took my arm and teleported us back to my house. "Well done today, Mr. Nightingale. Here is your ticket to the train that will take you to Hogwarts. I will see you at Hogwarts and remember no magic at home."

"Yes, Professor." She teleported out.