Introductions
Autumn, 1989
Anna sat across the table from Professor McGonagall in the Leaky Cauldron. Her new school things and her bag from home were stashed away in one of the rooms upstairs. McGonagall had finished her dinner several minutes ago. Anna was still stirring the stew she’d been brought, pretending to eat it. A hint of fear permeated the air with each wisp of steam that rose from the bowl. A question itched on her tongue.
“The people in Diagon Alley, are they all wizards?”
“Yes, of course,” McGonagall answered.
“How do regular people not know about it? Surely they’d notice a whole street-worth of London missing.”
McGonagall glanced at Anna over the newspaper she’d been reading. Anna stared at the moving pictures on the pages as McGonagall folded it up and set it on the table between them.
“Diagon Alley is under several powerful enchantments that prevent muggles from finding it. Even if they do somehow discover it, they’ll see nothing but an empty street.”
Anna paused, her cup of tea half-way to her mouth.
“D’you mean that people can’t see this place either?”
The Professor nodded in affirmation.
“But it’s right here! Right in front of their eyes!”
McGonagall fixed Anna with a sympathetic gaze. “The truth of it, Miss Alsaint, is that muggles don’t want to see the magic in their world. They walk past it every day and write it off as a trick of the light or a figment of their imagination,” McGonagall explained. “Haven’t you ever seen something that you couldn’t explain? Or done something that shouldn’t be possible?”
Anna drew a shaky breath. Of course she’d seen things—even done things—she couldn’t explain. “Why is it muggles don’t want to see magic? It doesn’t make sense.”
“People rarely do.” McGonagall folded her hands together on the table. “Most people don’t want to see anything beyond what they already know. Accepting the things that you once thought to be impossible can feel, well, impossible. That’s something wizards and muggles share in common.”
“Then…” Anna hesitated on her question but her curiosity kept gnawing at her. “Then why bring me to Hogwarts? If it’s a school for wizards, why not leave me where I was, with the muggles?”
McGonagall's face softened into a thin smile. “Because you are not a muggle. You are a witch, and you need to learn how to control your magic. Had we left you among the muggles you’d find yourself misunderstood, volatile, and potentially dangerous—”
Anna protested, “But I’ve never hurt anyone.” Not on purpose, anyway.
“People do strange things when left alone and confused,” McGonagall reasoned.
Anna’s eyebrows furrowed and she stared down into her stew. Grey lumps of meat floated in the creamy broth. Her stomach turned. She’d been alone and confused all her life.
“It’s a big change, I know,” McGongall reassured gently. “But I’m sure you’ll find yourself more at home at Hogwarts than you expect.”
Anna stirred the lumpy stew around in its bowl. A quiet fear brewed, sour and prickly, in her stomach.
The next morning was a quiet flurry of activity. Anna got up much earlier than she’d wanted to. She hadn’t really slept. The mattress in her room was lumpy and too hard for her to relax. Anna spent most of the night sitting on the floor by the fireplace reading Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Only in the early hours of the morning, when her eyes drooped and her fingers couldn’t flip the pages anymore, did Anna finally close the book and climb into bed. She slept fitfully and woke to a bright beam of sunlight hitting her in the eyes.
Anna groaned and dragged herself out of bed. Her toes recoiled from the cold wood floors and she shivered violently. She tucked the heels of her feet against the side of the bed frame as she ruffled around in the messy blankets. She’d probably kicked her socks off sometime in the night, like she usually did. Finally retrieving the socks (which had ended up on opposite ends of the bed), Anna pulled them on and reluctantly stood.
The small window in her room offered a view of Diagon Alley and she glimpsed a few people milling about, unlocking their shops and getting a jump on the day. She dressed quickly, pulling on a faded green jumper and jeans that were worn at the knees.
According to the train ticket that had come with her acceptance letter, the Hogwarts Express would leave at exactly 11 o'clock that morning. There was no clock in her room, but Anna ventured a guess that it was still early enough for her to go downstairs and eat some breakfast.
Sure enough, when Anna rounded the bottom of the staircase into the Leaky Cauldron the chairs were still stacked atop the tables and a floating mop moved slowly back and forth over the same spot. Anna wandered towards the bar in the centre of the room, carefully pulled down one of the tall stools, set it right side-up at the bar, and sat down.
The silence of the pub was a bit eerie. Anna pulled her sleeves over her hands and cradled her hands in her lap. Her thumb rubbed slowly over the side-seam of the sweater cuff, where the fabric was worn down and particularly soft.
“Oh!” An old man popped out of a door at the opposite side of the room, looking startled. He had deep wrinkles lining his forehead and the corners of his eyes, which deepened when he gave her a friendly smile.
“Merlin’s beard, you gave me a fright.” He set down a crate of bottles behind the bar and looked at Anna curiously. “What’s got you up so early?”
“Couldn’t sleep,” she mumbled.
The man hummed in understanding. “First day nerves?”
Anna nodded, not meeting his eye.
“How about some breakfast then?”
“Yes, please.”
The man nodded and began bustling around behind the bar. Soon Anna was sipping on a steaming cup of tea. It was a bit bitter but she welcomed the warmth.
“Butter? Jam?” the man asked, setting down a plate with two thick slices of slightly-burnt toast.
“Jam, please.”
The man obliged, setting down the jam in front of Anna before he began sorting the crate of bottles he’d been carrying earlier.
Anna ate ravenously but tried not to let it show. Having not eaten dinner the night before, she was beyond hungry this morning.
“Anna, wasn’t it?” the man behind the bar asked, placing one of the bottles on a tall shelf. They’d been briefly introduced by Professor McGonagall the day prior.
She gulped down a half-chewed bite. “Yes, sir.”
“Pleased to meet you, I’m Tom Abbott.” He held out a callused hand to her. Startled, but not wanting to seem rude, Anna wiped her fingers off on the leg of her trousers and shook Tom’s hand.
Their handshake fell away and Tom went back to wiping down bottles with a tattered dishrag. Anna picked up her toast again, not sure if she was supposed to continue the conversation.
The silence was stifling at first but as Anna ate and watched Tom going about his work she grew more comfortable in it. Early rays of light began piercing the murky windows of the pub, sending a gentle glow over the room.
“I’ve got a great-niece about your age, you know.”
“Is she going to Hogwarts?” It might be nice to know one person at school.
“Will be in a couple years” Tom answered and Anna’s hopes drooped. “She’s so excited, already started reading her schoolbooks,” he chuckled. “Keeps asking everybody what house she’ll be in. Course, nobody really knows that ‘til they’re sorted.”
“Sorted?” McGonagall hadn’t mentioned anything about houses or sorting.
Tom smiled, something hidden in his expression. “You’ll find out soon enough, I won’t ruin the fun for you.”
Anna wished he would. The newness of everything mingled with the uncertainty in her gut and gnawed at the edges of her composure. Sure, she was thrilled to be going to a magical school, but the uncertainty of her future and the recent questions about her past, cast a shadow over that joy. Excitement and fear had always straddled a tightrope in her mind.
The toast and jam sat heavy in her stomach. She put on a smile anyway, more for Tom than herself.
“Thanks for breakfast.” She hopped off the bar stool.
He nodded. “Any time.”
Anna paled, patting her pockets. “I…I don’t have any money.”
Tom gave a full-bellied laugh and waved his dishrag dismissively through the air. “It’ll be on the Professor, then.” He winked and turned back to his work.
Anna spent the next couple hours in her room above the Leaky Cauldron. She’d pulled the blankets off the bed, piled them in front of the fireplace, and settled in with her book. The flowing descriptions of hippogriffs and porlocks gave her a bit of peace.
A knock on the door shattered the trance.
“Miss Alsaint,” McGonagall spoke from the other side of the door, “time to go.”
“Coming, Professor!” Anna chucked the blankets back onto the bed, yanked on her shoes, and shoved the book she’d been reading into her bag. She gathered her things in a rush and threw open the door.
McGonagall stood on the other side, wearing a set of deep green robes and a pointed hat. “Ready?” she asked.
Anna nodded and McGonagall turned around, leading them down the stairs and through the pub. Tom waved to them as they left through the muggle entrance.
They once again made their way through London. Anna had never been to London before, but after seeing Diagon Alley, it didn’t seem quite as thrilling as she’d once thought it would be.
McGonagall navigated the city like she’d lived there all her life and soon they stood inside Kings Cross Station, between platforms 9 and 10.
“This way.” McGonagall checked to make sure Anna was following and walked straight at the wall between the platforms.
Anna was sure the Professor had gone mad. That is, until she disappeared through the wall. Anna gasped, tossing her head side to side to check if anyone else had seen what she had. It seemed no one did. People continued down the platforms, chatting idly or running for their trains.
A thick lump lodged in Anna’s throat. It seemed McGonagall was right, people only see what they want to see.
She walked closer to the barrier between the platforms and hesitantly placed her hand on the wall. Sure enough, her fingers disappeared inside the stone. Drawing a deep breath, Anna straightened her back and stepped through the barrier.
For a moment the station faded away and Anna was engulfed in blissful quiet. And then she emerged on the other side of the barrier.
A long, scarlet train sat at the platform, steam pouring from the chimney. People bustled all over the platform. Parents chased after their eager children, teenagers laughed with their friends, and kids pushed trolleys packed full with luggage. It was hot and loud and absolutely brilliant.
Anna grinned up at McGonagall, who wore a smile of her own. The Professor beckoned Anna into the throng of people. Adults and kids alike greeted McGonagall with pleasant surprise and she politely returned their greetings.
Finally, they found their way through the crowd and stood by one of the train doors.
“Alright, Miss Alsaint.” McGonagall clasped her hands together in front of herself. “This is where I leave you.”
Anna hiked her bag up higher on her shoulder.
“The train will take you to Hogsmead village, where another staff member will meet you and lead you and the other first-year students to Hogwarts. Any last questions?” McGonagall raised an expectant eyebrow.
Anna shook her head. “No. Thank you for everything, Professor.”
McGonagall’s face softened and she nodded once before turning away and walking back into the crowd.
Anna’s stomach flipped a bit when the sight of her dark green robes finally disappeared. She was on her own now. Puffing out a breath and swallowing down her worries, Anna climbed up the train steps.
The train already brimmed with students, all of them chattering loudly and squeezing past each other in the narrow corridor between compartments. Anna rubbed at the soft spot on the cuff of her sweater.
The first few compartments she glanced into were already occupied. The kids there didn’t even look up when she walked by and she didn’t feel comfortable intruding. Further down the train the compartments were a tad less crowded. Anna peeked into one where a boy sat by himself. She knocked on the window beside the open door.
The boy’s head shot up and he fumbled a bit with the wand in his hands.
“Hi,” Anna mumbled, shifting on her feet. “Can I sit with you?”
A wide grin lit up the boy’s face. “Yeah! Come in.”
Anna plopped down on the seat across from him, dropping her bag to the floor. They sat awkwardly for a moment, neither one sure of what to do or say. Anna glanced at him from the corner of her eye. Sandy brown hair sat messy on top of his head, like someone had ruffled a hand through it. He still fiddled with the shiny wand in his hands. Anna watched as a splattering of pink tinted his cheeks. He cleared his throat, straightened his spine, and met Anna’s eye with a determined expression.
“I’m Cedric.”
The tightness in her chest eased a bit. She smiled.
“I’m Anna.”