The letter
Will Byers received his letter on the 22nd of March, before the celebrations of his eleventh birthday even began. He whisked himself out of bed and down the hall, determined to have a great day. His parents had finally split up meaning his dad wouldn’t be around to ruin any more birthdays, leaving him Jonathan and his mum in the 3 bed cottage in the middle of the countryside. But Will couldn’t have been happier, they were finally at peace, and he was going to have the best birthday ever. As he reached the end of the hall he noticed a couple of envelopes on the floor below the letter box. He scooped them up smiling to himself. Knowing he would get to open them later, he placed them neatly next to the others he had received, mostly from family and a few from friends. He didn’t have many friends, and even the ones he had he didn’t count as close, or at least not as close as other people he saw. But he appreciated them none the less.
His mum entered the dining room, two plates full of pancakes occupying her hands, a huge grin gracing her features. Depositing one plate in front of Will and the other in the empty seat in front of him she slightly crouched reaching him into a hug that could suffocate, but also one full of love. “Happy birthday honey!” Joyce beamed finally releasing him from her grasps. She ruffled his hair as he took an obvious breath of relief. “ thanks mum, where’s Jonathan?” Will spoke, gesturing to the still barren chair. “ don’t worry honey he’ll be up soon” she laughed whilst walking out of the dining room and down the hall. Seconds later she reappeared, Jonathan directly behind her. If that’s how you explain being dragged by your ear. Will couldn’t help the giggle the escaped at the sight of them, Jonathan’s eyes still adjusting to the light as they landed on him, then they blossomed into pure joy. “ Happy birthday buddy!” His brother exclaimed, repeating his mothers actions and also enveloping him into a bone-crushing hug.
This was going to be a great day.
After breakfast he was ushered into the living room where he would open presents and cards. Cards first. That was tradition. His mother handed him the arrangement of cards of various sizes, all the while her smile never seemed to falter, she was truly happy. Jonathan and his mother sat on the two seater couch, parallel to Will who was sat on the floor. The latter were from aunties and uncles, distant family he hadn’t heard of till today, one from his friend Sam and Theo and one from their neighbour which Will couldn’t really he say he was that fond of. The one that caught him of guard, however, was the tea- stained envelope with a bright red stamp on it, if it didn’t looks so worn out he might have thought it was professional, he scanned the front before turning to the back. His eyes widened. The first two lines were fine, his address. Everyone needed an address to get cards. But little bedroom down the hall to the left? That didn’t quite sit right with him. That was information not a single person would deem normal to put on a card, even if the information was true. What kind of joke was this? His gaze lifted to his brother, who’s smile shone bright in the early hours of the morning. His brother wasn’t the kind to pull pranks especially not on his own brother. Which is how he found his gaze shifting to his mother, who was much quicker to notice the startled boy in front of her, eyes wild and hands shaking. “ honey what's wrong?” She spoke softly, as thought the boy in front of her was about to crumble. She rose from the couch, crouching in front of her son. His eyes wandered back down and her eyes followed. In his lap laid a letter. Which didn’t seem startling. Her panic increased. Perhaps a letter from Lonnie, god she wished that man would keep out of their lives. “ Will, talk to me honey” her voice was quivering now. The boy met her eyes once more before opening his mouth to speak. “ did you write this?” Holding the letter out for her to take. She took it from his shaking palms and held it up to see it properly. Her eyebrows furrowed before she gasped. Lowering it from her vision she saw her son looking at her with pleading eyes, hoping she would have the explanation he wanted. “No honey, I didn’t,” she tried to hand the envelope back to Will, who’s shoulders visibly tensed “ Do you want me to open it for you?” She whispered. He stared at the envelope, as though it wasn’t real. “ Please.” And that was all she needed before ripping it open grabbing at the contents. Her mouth opened in pure shock as she began to read…
Dear Mr. William Byers,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on September 1st. We await your owl no later than July 31st.
She gawked at the writing. The school name. Witchcraft and Wizardry. Her son was a wizard? This made zero sense. This had to be a joke. “ is it from dad?” A shrill voice spoke. She lifted her gaze to meet her boys sat in front of her. Jonathan having moved from his designated seat to comfort Will on the carpet. She took a deep breath before she started, “ no honey.. no it definitely isn’t.”
And that is how Will and his Mother found themselves before a seemingly abandoned pub in the outskirts of London that very same day. The Leaky Cauldron. That’s what it had said in the letter, yet in front of them it didn’t exactly look like the kind of place a witch or wizard would go to to buy school supplies.
After Joyce explained the letter to Will and Jonathan they scrambled to look at the rest of the letters enclosed, a list of equipment needed, instructions on where to go to get to Diagon Alley, where you would need to exchange Muggle money to get the supplies and the instructions on where to go on September 1st. If this was a joke, they had fell for it.
They risked their politeness by not knocking and instead pushed the door open, revealing exactly what they expected. A pub. His mother stepped inside first, Will shuffling his feet to stay directly behind her. It was then that he noticed the old fashioned ness of said pub. The people wore odd clothes , to say the least. Robes of all colours that Will would have thought people would rather die than willingly wear. His eyes lifted to the bar, where a glass of beer was pouring itself. He gasped in surprise, grabbing at his mothers arm who in return followed his line of sight, soon joining in with his gasps as they both watched in awe.
She walked to the counter, clearing her throat. The man at the counter swivelled to face them, a bashful grin plastered onto his face. “ you’re new.” He exclaimed, smile growing wider by the second. “ well, um, yes we are. We were wondering how we would get to Diagon Alley. The letter said to come here, but this doesn’t exactly look like an alley.” His mother questioned , breaking eye contact with the man to look at Will, her face wearing an awkward tight lipped smile. “ ah yes, of course follow me.” And with that he took off, out of the bar to a door in the far corner. He opened it, gesturing with his hand for them to go first. They stepped out and were met by a huge brick wall. Okay, maybe they had judged how far someone would go to prank them because what the hell was this. They turned to face the man, faces puzzled as the man shone them a lopsided smile. “ now make sure you remember this, It becomes less fun when you have to do it for the same people every year.” And then the man stepped between them turning to face his mother one last time before he heard a click. The man crowded the space ahead of him leaving Will no room to see what was happening. He moved to the side hoping to get a better look. The bricks before him were being pushed, hence the clicking. His eyebrows raised in questioning. And then all at once, the bricks began to disperse revealing a path. He re-joined at his mothers hip and stared in amazement. Sat before then was the one and only. Diagon Alley.
They strolled down the alley, faces beaming with glee as they passed dozens of shops with bizarre and unusual names. Madam Malkin's. Scribbulus. Quality Quidditch Supplies. and Ollivanders. As they reached the end of the path they saw the huge building, Gringotts, the bank that the man behind the bar had briefly mentioned. Where they would exchange all the change they had gathered from home and thrown into his mothers purse. he tore his gaze from the huge building, peering behind his mother to another alley. it looked darker, more wore down. His mother must have noticed his zoned out appearance, also looking the way that his eyes were focused on. just then the doors to Gringotts opened, a small.. person? walked out to greet them, ushering them inside and away from the eeriness of Knockturn Alley.
Now finished with exchanging their cash they sped off to as many shops as they could, making sure to also get the list of equipment Will would need upon arriving at Hogwarts. The first shop they stopped outside of was Scribbulus, a stationary shop Will had seen when they first arrived. Will loved art, it wasn't a secret and the smile that crept onto his face as the doors of the shop opened was pure joy. The first thing he looked at were the quills. He was fascinated to say the least, engaging into conversation with the shopkeeper about how the quill uses never ending ink whilst his mother began to check things off of the list. The next shop they arrived at was Madam Malkin's robes shop. Will cringed at the thought of wearing a huge ghastly robe like the people in the Leaky Cauldron did, but the idea of finally having a uniform of his own and not Jonathans' old hand me downs was enough to walk happily into the robe shop. he was fitted quite quickly, with the woman at the counter having no problem in informing them all about the wizarding world. he now knew all about Harry Potter. The boy who lived. who defeated a dark lord just a year ago, in 1981. Will found himself leaning over the counter, absorbing the information like somebody had just read the best story in the world. But soon enough his mum had started to wrap up the conversation, talking about all the shopping they still needed to do and just like that they were back into the alley.
The last shop they encountered was Ollivanders, which from the list they had, they now knew was a wand shop. his mother opened the door, Will following closely behind her. An older looking man with white dishevelled hair came into view and perched himself in the chair behind the counter. "well, well, who do we have here," He croaked out staring intently at the scrawny boy facing him. Will could almost see the stars shining in his eyes as he spoke, this was definitely going to be a strange visit.
"Now this may be a better suit for you, perhaps" Ollivander exclaimed. the joyous grin on his face never wavered and Will was starting to think he was enjoying this. this was the fourth wand he had tried, the first breaking a plant pot at the front desk and the third sending an orange flame straight for his mothers head who had ducked just in time. All they had learnt so far is that Dragon Heart String was NOT for him. "Yes, yes, 10 inch. Pheonix feather yes, that compliments you very well. very flexible too, here give it a wave." The wand was placed into his hand, the old man taking several steps back, possibly waiting for the inevitable spark to come his way. "go on son," his mother perked from across the room, he could tell she was excited for him" give it a wave." imitating a flick of her wrist. Will braced himself, taking a deep breath holding the wand with his sweaty left hand.
flick.
He felt wind brush past his face, the bowlcut framing his face lifting up. His eye flickered open to see the room in a warm glow, a bright light emitting from the end of the wand. He could hear his mother clapping with nothing but amazement. her reaction made the smile on his face grow impossibly bigger. Turning to face the shopkeeper, who's relief was coming off as waves throughout the store, he simply asked "does this mean i've found my official wand?" to which the elder nodded with a bashful laugh.
After spending all of their new wizarding currency they retreated back into the comfort of their own home, with the added extra of Wills new robes and wand, books for first years, a quill and a chirping owl perched in a cage. Jonathan came rushing into the hall. “How did it go?” He pressed, only to see that the answer was sitting right in front of his eyes. Will ignored the way Jonathan mouthed ‘oh my god’ to their mother, instead rushing into the kitchen and pulling the calendar from its place on the wall. He grabbed the pen laying on the side and turned the pages till he reached September. September 1st.
He scribbled on to the patch with a wide grin. 163 days. 163 days till his first day at Hogwarts.