Strange Dreams
When Y/N turned 11, she received the letter. Her mother was shocked to say the least, her child, a witch. To be fair, Y/N was a peculiar child. While it came as a surprise to her mother, Y/N wasn’t surprised one bit, nor was she willing to entertain the thought of going to that silly magic school. Turning the letter in her hand she read the back.
Ms. Y/N HalleWell
The third bedroom down the second floor hall
9 Alder Crescent
Latucse
Sheffield
Scoffing at the fact her exact bedroom was on the back, she thought to herself ‘This is the dumbest prank ever’ and she turned it to open the seal. Upon opening the seal, she was greeted with a letter written on parchment, pulling it out, it read,
Dear Ms. HalleWell,
We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
Sighing, Y/N pulls out a second piece of parchment where there was a long supply list.
UNIFORM OTHER EQUIPMENT
First year students will require: 1 wand
- Three sets of plain work robes (black) 1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
- One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear 1 set glass or crystal phials
- One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar) 1 telescope
- One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings) 1 set brass scales
Please note that all pupils’ clothes should carry a name tag. Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad
SET BOOKS
All students should have a copy of the following:
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi
A History of Magic Magical Drafts and Potions
Magical Theory Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
A Beginner’s Guide to Transfiguration The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST–YEARS
ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN
BROOMSTICKS
“N/N, baby, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity.” Her mother said, trying to coerce her into going to Hogwarts.
“Mother, I don’t want to go to… that school. It’s a looney bin! All of them are mental if they think they can produce magic out of a silly stick they decided was a wand!” Y/N stated, confident she was correct about this magic school being a bunch of hocus pocus.
Suddenly, the front door busted open, causing Y/N and her mother to freak out. “Ahem, good afternoon.” A voice said, seemingly belonging to a female. Clearing her throat, the woman continued speaking, “My name is Minerva McGonagall, and I am the deputy headmistress at Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.”
After McGonagall stopped speaking, Y/N finally was able to get a good look at her. McGonagall was a tall woman in long, emerald, green robes and a black witch hat that one would see children wearing on All Hallows’ Eve. McGonagall had dark hair that was tied into a bun and a stern looking face.
Y/N grimaced as she thought, ‘Great, this fake magic school—that no doubt is a scam—has sent recruiters posing as school directors to make this feel as real as possible before taking “tuition” fees and then cutting contact’ As if McGonagall knew what Y/N was thinking, McGonagall shifted her eyes away from Y/N's Mother to give her a look that sent shivers down her spine.
Sensing the tension, Y/N's Mother gave McGonagall a warm smile and introduced herself, “its lovely meeting you, Minerva. I’m Lorely HalleWell, Lory for short, and I’m Y/N's Mother!” Looking back at Lorely, McGonagall gave a smile back.
“Well,” McGonagall said sharply, “I believe that it’s time I explain the letter that was delivered here earlier today.” She said as she nodded her head to the open envelope in Y/N's right hand that was hanging idly by her side. Lorely understood what McGonagall was signalling and led Y/N, McGonagall, and herself into the dining room.
Pulling up seats for her and the two others inside the house, Lorely spoke in a breathless manner, “Would you like anything? We have plenty of drinks and biscuits in this house for all of us.”
Shaking her head, McGonagall said, “No, thank you. I am here strictly to explain to the Muggle–born witches and wizards what Hogwarts is and what being a witch or wizard means.”
Sputtering, Lorely’s eyes widened at the word ‘muggle’, “What did you just call my Daughter? A... What was it? A Mughal? No, that’s not right–”
Interrupting her, McGonagall quickly corrected Lorely, “No, no, it’s Muggle, Mug-ull.” She said as Lorely slowly nodded her head, McGonagall continued explaining. “It’s what witches and wizards call people with no magic. In Miss HalleWell's case, just like many others, she was born from two Muggle parents, but had enough magic to be accepted into Hogwarts, making her a Muggle-born witch.” Understanding what McGonagall was saying, Y/N's Mother muttered a quiet “oh” before silently urging McGonagall to continue. “Well then, I can sense Y/N's uncertainty.” she said as she whipped her wand out of her emerald robes and flicked it at a nearby tea cup, causing it to float. Y/N's and Lorely’s eyes widened, not believing what their eyes were seeing.
Rubbing her eyes, Y/N finally broke her streak of silence, “Oh my god.” She said in disbelief while staring at the floating tea cup. Looking at her mother—who was just as bewildered as her—gave her a confused look before she turned to McGonagall, who had a small smile on her face.
“Do you believe in magic now, Miss HalleWell?” McGonagall asked Y/N with an eyebrow raised. Nodding, Y/N sputtered, not seeming to be able to form any words, let alone a comprehensible sentence. “Now, onto the main reason I have visited your residence today.” McGonagall said, gesturing for Y/N to look at the letter in the envelope. Looking down at her hand, Y/N quickly observed the wax seal—A crest with a large H in the middle and four sectors behind it, one with a lion, another had a snake, the third animal was a badger, and in the last sector there was an eagle.
“Yes.” Y/N said in a shaky voice, pulling out the letter and supply list. She read the list out loud to McGonagall and her mother, getting more confused with each item she read out loud. After she finished reading, she looked up with the most perplexed expression ever, “McGonagall, where do you expect me to find all this stuff? I know nothing of this world!” Y/N complained.
“Why, Diagon Alley, of course!” McGonagall said as if it was the most obvious answer out there. “I will take you and your mother to the Leaky Cauldron and show you how to find Diagon Alley tomorrow, for today I want you to prepare for our trip tomorrow.” Standing up quickly, McGonagall thanked Lorely for her hospitality and gave a short and sweet good–bye before suddenly warping somewhere, surprising Y/N and Lorely.
“Well, today was eventful, wasn’t it, N/N?” Lorely said as she turned to her daughter who nodded, “Moving on to more pressing matters… Happy Birthday my sweet child! Here are your presents!” Lorely said, changing the direction of the conversation.
As Y/N lied in bed, she pondered what doing magic was like. At first, she had her own misgivings, but McGonagall lifting that teacup with a stick really solidified the existence of magic in her mind. Struggling to sleep, Y/N got up, went downstairs to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water. Walking back up the stairs to her room she drank her water, slowly but surely getting tired, the day’s events finally catching up to her.
Y/N and her mother went hiking, roller skating, rock climbing, and they saw a movie in honour of Y/N being a witch and finally turning 11. By the end of the day, she was exhausted.
Getting back in bed, Y/N set her glass of water on her nightstand, tucking herself into the covers; she snuggled up with her favourite stuffed animal and shut her eyes, falling asleep and dreaming.
Opening her eyes, Y/N sat up; she was in a garden of some sort. This garden had tall hedges decorated with lush red roses, and it seemingly formed a maze the further in you went. The comforting blue sky was gorgeous as ever, with its fluffy, white clouds shaped however with their grey streaks here and there, and the sun peeking out from behind a pair of particularly translucent clouds. Suddenly hearing a loud, shrill voice with a British accent from inside the building next to the entrance of the rose hedge garden, Y/N quickly went to hide.
“Where is she, Riddle? I demand answers at once!” The shrill, yet feminine voice yelled, “Your sister has been skipping out on her classes to go hang out with hoodlums who have no business being around our family!”
“Mother, while I would be absolutely delighted to inform you as to where Y/N is, I deeply regret to inform you that I have no clue as to her whereabouts.” A different, softer voice spoke; Y/N assumed this was the “Riddle” person that woman was yelling at. Then, it finally hit her that Riddle person said her name when responding to the person he acknowledged as “Mother”. Y/N started to panic, her eyes widened at the thoughts that flooded her head, every possibility caused her to get more paranoid as the minutes went by, her paranoia causing her to tune out whatever else the voices said. Her mind singled out every time she heard the word Y/N and focused on the fact that this could be a total coincidence and the fact that there are plenty of people out there named Y/N .
As she was starting to calm down, Y/N felt a hand latch onto her shoulder roughly and drag her somewhere; it was the same voice she heard earlier from the person named “Riddle”, he was berating her for ‘wandering off’ and for ‘giving him and mother a fright’. He said something along the lines of “It’s irresponsible to ditch classes and hide–out in the garden!” and, “Mother won’t be pleased when I tell her you were in the garden this whole time.” As they reached the door of the manor, Y/N was taken to a different place and—supposedly—a different day, whether it was before or after whatever just happened, she had no clue.
“Come on, N/N , Riddle, it’ll be fun~!” Taunted a voice that Y/N didn’t recognize from before, it was possibly an acquaintance to whoever she was in this dream.
“I don’t know, Che’nya, their mother might get angry at us and them.” A different person said, who was seemingly the voice of reason in this situation—that Y/N had no idea what the debacle was about.
Rolling his eyes, the Che’nya person looked at Y/N “You know you want to eat it, N/N, come on! Don’t be a bore like Trey and Riddle!” He said as he cuddled her arm as a way to coerce her into eating whatever Riddle and Trey didn’t wish to eat.
“Uh, no, thanks, Che’nya, I’d rather not.” Y/N said, trying to get as far away from him as possible, uncomfortable with the dream her brain is producing for her tonight. Che’nya pouted as Riddle gave her an approving nod and who she assumed was Trey gave her a soft smile, and it was almost as if she knew them for some reason, it felt like she was close with them in some sort of way, like she had known them for quite some time. Y/N thought it was strange that she felt this way towards strangers that her brain had created for this night’s dream, and couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but something felt off. Unexpectedly, Y/N began to feel nauseous. She started to gag, and her body felt uneasy, it felt like it was being torn apart and then put back together.
Then, she woke up.