Dear Mr. Drake
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
Shopping list
Clothes
Three sets of plain work robes(black)
One plain pointed hat(black) for day wear
One pair of protective gloves(dragon hide or similar)
One winter cloak(black , silver fastenings)
Please note that all students clothes should carry name tags at all times.
Books
The standard book of spells, grade 1 by Miranda Goshawk
A history of magic by Bathilda Bagshot
Magical theory by Adalbert Waffling
A beginners guide to transfiguration by Emeric Switch
One thousand magical herbs and fungi by Phyllida spore
Magical drafts and potions by Arsenius Jigger
Fantastic beast 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
1 set of glass or crystal phials
1 telescope
1 set of brass scales
Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad.
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO OWN THEIR OWN BROMSTICKS.
"I can't afford any of this." I said with a sad look after reading the letter.
"Not to worry dearie there's a no interest loan in place for young wizards from nonmagical households such as yourself. In addition most shops have a discount system in place for first year wizards as well to keep the amount you all have to pay back manageable." she said cheerfully.
"But where am I even supposed to go to find this stuff? I don't think the market will carry it?" I asked feigning ignorance.
"Of course not. We'll need to go to Diagon alley for all of this, it's why I am here in fact. As is necessary a professor from Hogwarts fetches first years to take them shopping and arranging their way to Hogwarts if they do not have a guardian capable of doing so. In this case that's me. Oh I'm Pomona Sprout by the way, I teach Herbology at Hogwarts and head the house Hufflepuff. If things play out right you may even end up in my house." she said with a smile.
"But why are you delivering the letter at the same time you come to get me for collecting all this stuff?" I asked genuinely confused.
"Ah well your situation is unfortunately a little special. Since you live in a muggle orphanage we can not expect the letters arrival to be well received and thus need to send someone in person to arrange things. Speaking of I have already discussed the matter of your schooling with your caretakers which is why I knew you were here." she explained kindly.
I didn't ask anymore questions after that as I thought I had done my due diligence at playing the part of an ignorant but inquisitive orphan. Whether or not the act was seen through didn't matter so long as anything otherwise couldn't be proven. She walked at a surprisingly brisk pace as we left the library and she lead me to the Leaky cauldron. I almost wanted to curse when I found out how close by it had been this entire time. The orphanage was only a mere ten blocks away from the place, just in the opposite direction the library was. The close proximity to the orphanage almost made me rethink my plan of abandoning the place, almost.-
The Leaky cauldron was an old building that despite being on a main street was entirely ignored by everyone walking by, no doubt a type of magic at work. The inside of the place was dingy and ill lit with more than a little bit of an alcoholic scent to the air. Behind the bar a thin middle aged man stood cleaning a glass. When we walked in he looked up at us and smiled.
"Bringing in a first year I see Professor Sprout. Can I interest you in a pint of butterbeer by chance?" he asked with a friendly wink at me.
"Not this time Tom, got some Devils snare growing at the castle that can't be left unattended for long." she said with a smile.
"Shame but nothing for it I suppose. Names Tom little fella, you ever need a place to spent the night and got a couple sickles to spare I always have a room to spare. When you get older maybe even a pint or two!" Tom joked with a grin to me.
"Alex, I may take you up on that sooner than you'd think." I said seriously.
That earned me a look from both Professor Sprout and Tom but both chose not to question it. I meant it too as once Whitebeard came through with the gold I could ditch the orphanage and hit up Gringotts to both pay off the loan and get a bit of extra wizarding money to shack up in the Leaky cauldron till I can find a better arrangement. Don't get me wrong I'm not against living homelessly or anything but if I've got a better option I WILL take it.-
As an added bonus I could get away with the whole underage magic restriction since the ministry doesn't track the individual but rather the location the magic was used in. Due to being a place with many adult wizards constantly using magic my own use of it wouldn't be noticed so long as no one saw it. Since it was only July 18th I would be able to get in close to a month and a half before the school term officially started. Perhaps not enough to make up the gap between me and those from wizarding households but better than nothing.-
"Alright now pay attention. Two from the bin and three up, like so." Professor Sprout said after we left the pub and entered the alley behind it that looked normal.
She tapped the two bricks on the wall with her wand in the order she said and amazingly the bricks started to fold into themselves to reveal a bustling street in old architecture with various bits of magic on public display.
"Welcome to Diagon alley, the heart of the british wizarding community." she said with a smile and an amused expression at my own awe filled one.