13 The Letter

His aunt gave him the letter from Hogwarts that night at dinner. He became really excited and ran off to his house to read it.

It was written in green ink on a parchment. The writing looked elegant and the letter was in two parts.

The first part just said about his acceptance into Hogwarts. It had the name and the entire list of achievements of Dumbledore on the top. Guess he wasn't called the greatest wizard alive for nothing. At the bottom was the signature of Minerva McGonagall, the deputy headmistress.

Harry wondered - "Just how many letters does she have to write every year?"

It was a really hectic job. Maybe she used some duplication magic and would insert the name of the student rather than writing the entire letter multiple times.

The second part was the one he really wanted to read as that contains the list of equipment needed for the year.

It went something like:

UNIFORM

First-year students will require:

1. Three sets of plain work robes (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, with silver fastenings)

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

It was signed by Lucinda Thomsonicle-Pocus, the Chief Attendant of Witchcraft Provisions.

It was a weird feeling for Harry. He always wondered in his previous world, what would it feel like if Hogwarts was real and he received the acceptance letter.

Now he knew. It was like winning a lottery amongst millions. Technically, that was correct since the ratio was that skewed when it came to wizards and muggles.

After reading the letter, Harry took his Mokeskin pouch and some galleons. He then left for the Diagon Alley. But before that, he mailed a letter back to Hogwarts stating his decision to join.

That noon, Harry could be seen walking into the Leaky Cauldron.

He had a scarf around his forehead as he didn't want to cause a commotion from his scar. But this time, he walked in with his actual face and body.

As he entered, he found the bar to be completely filled. There were even Muggles there looking a little lost. They had little kids with them, around Harry's age.

He just gave them a glance and entered the Diagon Alley.

He was a little surprised to see the crowd. He thought he was early and thus would be able to shop in peace, but looks like he didn't take the wizarding families into account. They usually came early every year so that they could avoid the muggle crowd.

Anyways, it's not like the crowd would thin out in the following days. It would instead keep increasing. So, Harry decided to do his purchasing today itself.

He directly went to the Gringotts and exchanged for some Galleons as he didn't have enough money for everything he needed to buy.

Then he went to the shop he had been dying to go ever since he first came to Diagon Alley - The Ollivanders Wand Shop.

It was narrow and shabby with peeling gold letters over the door of the shop that read: Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C.

The shop's display consisted of a solitary wand lying on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window.

As he entered the shop, he found the shop to be just like the descriptions. It was tiny, empty except for a single, spindly chair in the corner. Thousands of narrow boxes containing wands were piled right up to the ceiling of the tiny shop, and the whole place had a thin layer of dust about it.

"Welcome to Ollivanders. How can I help you, young man?"

Harry turned around at the voice. It was an old man with frizzled hair and wrinkled face. He had an air of wildness to him but overall he gave a good impression.

As Ollivander saw the boy's face, or to be precise his eyes, he was taken aback. It had a shine to it that could see through your very soul.

He was really surprised as he had never seen eyes like those on someone so young as this boy. Only experienced wizards had that kind of look.

"Ah Mr. Ollivander, its so nice to meet you. I have heard a lot about you. I am here to get my first wand", replied Harry.

"Yes, yes uh..."

"Harry, my name is Harry"

"Mr. Harry, just a moment, let me take the measurements."

"Yes, sir."

Ollivander took his measurements and disappeared inside his shop and then for the next few minutes he tried out almost every type of wand inside the shop.

Harry knew it was useless but couldn't say anything.

Then Ollivander came out with a single wand and the moment Harry took it in his hands, he felt a warm current rising from his body and flowing into the wand. He immediately controlled the flow and only let out a trickle. It caused a blinding flash of light and a slight shockwave inside the shop.

A lot of boxes fell down from the shelves.

"Cough cough....sorry Mr.Ollivander, I didn't mean to do that. I will pay for any losses," cried Harry looking at the mess he caused.

This was when he controlled the mana output, otherwise, the entire shop might have been turned upside down. It really scared him as this situation has never happened before. He knew he had a bigger mana pool than an average person but never expected it to be that big.

Then it occurred to him that it might have been due to him holding a wand for the first time. It caused him to lose control over his magic for a second.

But it turned out to be Ok since he regained control soon.

"Cough... it's Ok...cough cough...Mr. Harry, that can happen. Although not on this scale, I must say. Looks like we have a prodigy here. May I know your full name young lad, if you don't mind?"

"I think you have already guessed it, Mr. Ollivander," replied Harry with a sly smile.

Ollivander also smiled at him and said, "Impressive Mr. Potter, it seems that you truly are destined for that wand."

"What do you mean sir?" asked Harry feigning ignorance.

"Oh its just a curious coincidence Mr. Potter. The wand you are holding in your hand, its core came from a phoenix tail feather. That bird gave only two such feathers and the wand made from the other one belonged to the man who gave you that scar. In short, Mr. Potter, the man who wields the 'brother wand' is the most talented and the strongest dark wizard in recent history."

Harry pretended to be a little baffled and scared but soon regained his composure. Seeing that, Ollivander was impressed again. He didn't expect this young boy to be able to take this news so calmly.

But considering the events that are going to unfold in the future, it was a good sign.

Harry paid the seven Galleons for the wand and left the shop.

He couldn't wait to go back to his basement and start using his wand.

But he had to buy his stuff first, otherwise, he would have to come here again.

So he went through the shops buying whatever he needed.

He bought his school uniform from Madam Malkin's and then also bought Hedwig. This owl was going to be his companion for a long time and he would definitely save him.

He didn't need to buy any books since he already had them all. He also had all the equipment needed for his potions class. He thought of buying a new one but then rejected it since its always better to use the equipment you are familiar with.

As he was about to return, he saw a group of red-heads going into the Flourish and Blotts. There was a middle-aged woman leading a group of men and children as she bulldozed her way through the alley.

Harry could only smile wryly after seeing the famous Weasley family. He laughed as he saw all the men in the group following Mrs. Weasley as little chicks following mother hen.

It was a funny sight. But it was also a very rare sight. The magical world was a little different from the muggle world. Here women had equal status to men in every aspect of the society. Also, it was rare to have that many kids in a single generation. So, to see a housewife taking care of such a large family, especially when they were struggling for money was truly rare.

With her expertise in magic, she could easily earn enough money to improve their family conditions, but she put more emphasis on raising her children properly. This was the reason, every Weasley child turned out to be a good person and a great wizard. She was truly someone to be admired. If only a few more mothers would have been like her, he wouldn't have to worry about saving the world. Instead, he could be running around chasing girls and throwing dungbombs into Filch's office at Hogwarts.

But, he could only dream of such a future.

He thought of going to meet the Weasleys but resisted himself. He was going to meet Ron on the Hogwarts express anyway and revealing himself to the Weasley family now might cause some unknown change to the timeline which he would then have to solve.

So, he gave them a last look and turned around to leave the Diagon Alley. It was time to prepare for Hogwarts.