6 A little bit of history

"The finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world."

~ Rubeus Hagrid's praising of Hogwarts ~

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry - often shortened to Hogwarts - is the British wizardring school. It's located in the Scottish Highlands,"

'The Scottish Highlands?! That's certainly very far from home,' Fiona thought, but decided to stay silent and let Albus continue talking.

"We accept magical students from Great Britain and Ireland for enrolment. It is a state - owned school, funded by the Ministry of Magic. I'll tell you some things about the Ministry as well, but not right now...

The precise location of our school can never be uncovered - at least that's what we want to believe - because it is rendered Unplottable. To Muggles, the school appears to be an old, castle. Similarly, most wizardring schools' location are protected in order to prevent their ways of teaching being revealed, as well as protect the students and schools themselves from any harm. Any questions so far, Fiona?" Albus softly asked and turned to face Fiona.

At the time, they had stopped in the middle of a huge hallway. Thousands and thousands of portaits were decorating the walls and a charmed staircase made its appearance and left Fiona staring with awe. It worked like a puzzle ; all you had to do was to step on it and then it would lead you right where you had to go. Sometimes it would trick you and lead you somewhere else. Someone had to know the Hogwarts very well in order to not get lost inside its walls and enchanted objects.

"What is a Muggle?"

"A Muggle is a non - magic human who was born to two non - magical parents and was incapable of performing magic. Muggles are often confused with Squibs. They shouldn't though, because Squibs might lack magic but are born to at least one magical parent. In the United States, Muggles are called No - Maj(e)s.

Most Muggles are unaware that magic and the wizardring world exist since the establishment of the International Statute of Secrecy in 1692, as wizards have organised their own society largely separate from the Muggle World. Exceptions include close relatives of wizards and witches and heads of government ( such as the British Prime Minister ).

I could give you more information about them some other time, though. Is that alright?"

Fiona nodded softly. Then, they climbed on a staircase on their right and kept wandering around the castle.

"Hogwarts was established around the 10th century and it is considered to be one of the finest magical institutions in the Wizardring World, though other notable schools include Beauxbatons Academy of Magic in France, the Durmstrang Institute implied to be in northern Europe, and Ilvermony School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the United States," Dumbledore continued. "Children with magical abilities are enrolled at birth, and acceptance is confirmed by owl post at age eleven. However, if the child in question is a Muggle - Born or a Half - Blood like Harry Potter, one of our students, with no knowledge of the wizardring world, a staff member of our school visits the child and their family in order to inform them of their magical heritage and the existence of the Wizardring World.

The school's motto is "Draco Domiens Nunquam Titillandus" - which can also be seen as "Draco Domiens Nvnqvam Titillandvs" - that, translated from Latin, means "Never Tickle a Sleeping Dragon." And these are my chambers, which I also use as an office. Please, come in. I'll give you a list. This list contains what you'll need to obtain from Diagon Alley. Then, we'll cover some other things about Hogwarts as well, such as the Early years. "

Albus unlocked the door and motioned Fiona to follow him. On the inside, his chambers were huge. Any kind of objects were beautifully placed on the furniture inside it ; but, the most mesmerising of them all was a graceful and colourful Phoenix. It was sleeping peacefully inside its spacious cage next to Albus' mahogany desk.

"I could tell you about him one day, if you'd like, " the old wizard suggested.

"Yeah, I'd love to listen to his story.... he is gorgeous!" The Supreme exclaimed. "But, there's some other stuff we need to talk about, right?" She then added with a half smile.

"Right," Dumbledore agreed while giving her a small parchment. "In here you'll find all the classes our school provides and the tools you'll need in order to complete them successfully. They can be useful as they will help you survive our world. Worry not ; you'll start from the beginning. And of course, our students - either from older years or yours - will be there to help you! "

"Great! That's nice... I mean, It truly is! It kinda reminds me of the times when I was a kid and I had just realized I was a witch. And those were good days, really..." Fiona admitted. She finally felt a tad happy about something happening in her life, especially after the insident.

Albus took her hand and squeezed it. "We're your family. It's not going to be easy since we are being striked by various incidents and since it's something pretty new for you, but I promise we will not abandon you." She let go of her hand and sat behind his desk. "Please, sit down." He then added while a wooden but comfortable chair. "Besides there's still lots of stuff we need to talk about."

Fiona took a sit and with the largest smile she had worn on her lips after a very long time, she said : "Oh, I can't wait!"

avataravatar
Next chapter