Chapter 1 – The Beginning

The sun was rising from the horizon marking the end of a warm July night. It was the beginning of just another ordinary summer day for most people, but in a small orphanage in London, there was an 11 year old girl called Emma Pearson who's life would never be ordinary again.

Emma was not surprised to wake very early this morning. She had been having trouble falling asleep and staying asleep for weeks now and the dark shadows under her bright-green eyes were a clear indication of this. Her hair was very long, black and remarkably straight. Emma wasn't a popular child, she kept herself to herself and spoke only when spoken to. She was also quite fast and agile, despite her small stature, although lately she had been feeling quite lethargic.

The room Emma slept in was very small and there was very little floor space as the bed and wardrobe took up the majority of it. She sat up in bed, looked at herself in the mirror on her wardrobe door and sighed. It would be a few hours until anyone else woke up so she got dressed and lay back on her bed. Her mind wandered a lot and she thought of many things.

When she heard that others were awake she decided to get out of bed and go to the dining room. She didn't want any breakfast, but she got some cereal anyway, to avoid any attention. She had one mouthful and stopped. It had made her feel full already and the taste wasn't very nice. She didn't find this particularly unusual either. She had been eating less and less recently and the staff at the orphanage were getting concerned. They thought that maybe Emma was developing an eating disorder, which apparently was quite a common occurrence for girls her age. This wasn't the case though. Emma didn't know why she felt full and slightly ill very quickly, or why she could barely get any sleep, though she certainly had some theories. Whatever was happening, she didn't want to think about it, so she decided to help wash up to pass the time.

It was a few hours later when Mrs Cole, the matron, knocked on Emma's bedroom door while she was reading. Emma put her book down and clambered off the end of the bed to answer the door.

'Come with me.' ordered Mrs Cole. 'There is someone who would like to speak with you.'

Emma, wondering whether she was in trouble for breaking curfew again, followed Mrs Cole in silence down a short corridor until they came to the final door, Mrs Cole's office. Mrs Cole opened the door and motioned for Emma to enter. Emma walked inside and the door was shut behind her, Mrs Cole did not enter. This office was larger than Emma's bedroom, but still quite small, and just as plain. Inside was a tall, black-haired woman in simple yet business-like clothes that clearly didn't suit her. She seemed completely out of place.

'Miss Pearson?' asked the woman in a clear voice.

Emma nodded slowly, unsure of what this was all about.

'Please take a seat.' The woman motioned her hand to a chair.

Emma did as she was told and sat down. The woman took Mrs Cole's seat behind the desk.

'My name is Professor McGonagall, I'm the Deputy Headmistress at a school called Hogwarts and I'm here to offer you a placement. The school was built to teach particularly gifted students. You may have some idea of what I mean?'

Emma shook her head quizzically.

'That is understandable.' said professor McGonagall nodding her head knowingly, 'Hogwarts is a school where witches and wizards study magic.'

Emma was confused by this. 'So, I'm a witch then?' asked Emma after a few moments, realising the implications of the offer.

'Yes, certainly.'

There was another pause while Emma considered this. She wanted to be sure this was real so she asked, 'This may sound rude, miss, but this isn't a joke is it?'

Professor McGonagall simply answered by turning a pen that was sitting on the desk into a caterpillar. 'That is Transfiguration, and it is the subject I teach.'

Emma watched in awe as the caterpillar, which was a pen only moments ago, slowly moved towards a pile of papers. Professor McGonagall turned it back into a pen before it started eating them. This was a lot for Emma to take in and the professor waited patiently while she thought about what to say.

'But... I've never done any... anything like that before.' stammered Emma, 'How do you know I'm a witch?'

'When a magical child is born in the UK, their names are added to a list. We then use that list to invite prospective students to Hogwarts on their 11th birthday.'

'My 11th birthday was nearly seven months ago, though.'

'Yes,' said McGonagall shifting slightly in her chair. 'Some children, particularly those born to non-magical parents, can take some time to develop their magic. This can cause delays in their name being added. In this case, your name didn't appear until a few weeks ago. Hence why the offer is so late.'

'Oh,' was all Emma could reply with for a minute or so.

'You need not worry, Miss Pearson. You certainly are a witch, and accepting the placement at Hogwarts will help you develop that talent.'

'What do I need to do?' asked Emma slowly.

The professor handed Emma a letter. The paper was thick and yellow and the writing on the front was in an emerald-green ink. The unusual part was that it was addressed not just to the orphanage, but directly to her bedroom as well. Emma opened it and read the first page:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,

Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)

Dear Miss Pearson,

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

Emma lifted the first page away to see the second page, on it was a rather large list of items such as a uniform, a book list and a lot of items she had never even heard of. She also wondered what it meant by 'await your owl' and was about to ask when professor McGonagall said, 'Don't worry about sending a reply. I will let the school know of your decision personally.'

'I don't think I can accept, miss.' said Emma suddenly sulking. 'I have no money and there are a lot of items on this list.'

'Not to worry, we are aware of your situation.' said the professor, 'There is a fund at Hogwarts for those who require assistance to buy supplies. It isn't a lot, but it will be enough to get by.'

Professor McGonagall took a small pouch of coins from a bag and handed it over. Emma opened it to look at the coins and found that there were gold, silver and bronze ones. Even though she didn't know their value, she was sure this was the most amount of money she had ever seen, let alone held in her hands. 'Thank you.' said Emma appreciatively, 'But where would I buy these things?'

'In a place called Diagon Alley' said professor McGonagall. 'There is a Wizarding pub called The Leaky Cauldron in Charring Cross Road. Diagon Alley is through this pub. I can accompany you if you wish.'

'Yes, please.' replied Emma excitedly.

Emma knew where Charring Cross Road was, though she'd never heard of the pub. She loved exploring London and would often sneak out when she wasn't allowed, and more often than not, got in trouble for it. It was the only rule she ever broke, going out during curfew, much to the annoyance of the staff at the orphanage.

Emma would have been perfectly happy to go by herself, but she still didn't quite believe what was going on so she wanted to stay by Professor McGonagall's side.

'Very well then.' said Professor McGonagall, getting up out of her chair. 'Are you ready to go now?'

'Yes, miss, I think so.'

'Let's go then. Oh, and Pearson, it would be more appropriate if you were to call me Professor.'

Emma nodded understandingly. 'Yes, Professor.'