3rd Person P.O.V
Jace woke early the next morning. Although she could tell it was daylight, she kept her eyes shut tight. It was a dream, she told herself firmly. I dreamed a giant called Hagrid came to tell me I was going to a school for witches. When I open my eyes I’ll be at camp in my cabin. There was suddenly a loud tapping noise. And there’s Annabeth knocking on the door, Jace thought, her heart sinking. But she still didn’t open his eyes. It had been such a good dream.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
“All right,” Jace mumbled, “I’m getting up.”
She sat up and Hagrid's umbrella fell off of her. The hut was full of sunlight, Hagrid himself was asleep on the collapsed sofa, and there was an owl rapping its claw on the window, a newspaper held in its beak.
Jac3 scrambled to her feet, so hungry she felt as though a large balloon was swelling inside her. She went straight to the window and jerked it open. The owl swooped in and dropped the newspaper on top of Hagrid, who didn’t wake up. The owl then fluttered onto the floor and began to attack Hagrid’s coat.
“Don’t do that.”
Jace tried to wave the owl out of the way, but it snapped its beak fiercely at her and carried on savaging the coat.
“Hagrid!” said Jace yelled loudly.
“There’s an owl —”
“Pay him,” Hagrid grunted into the sofa.
“What?”
“He wants payin’ fer deliverin’ the paper. Look in the pockets.”
Hagrid’s coat seemed to be made of nothing but pockets — bunches of keys, slug pellets, balls of string, peppermint humbugs, teabags… finally, Jace pulled out a handful of strange-looking coins.
“Give him five Knuts,” said Hagrid sleepily.
“Knuts?”
“The little bronze ones.”
Jace counted out five little bronze coins, and the owl held out his leg so Jace could put the money into a small leather pouch tied to it. Then he flew off through the open window. Hagrid yawned loudly, sat up, and stretched.
“Best be off, Jace, lots ter do today, gotta get up ter London an’ buy all yer stuff fer school and mettin' yer brother.”
Jace was turning over the wizard coins and looking at them. Jace had just thought of something that made her feel as though the hungry balloon inside her had got a puncture. “Um — Hagrid?”
“Mm?” said Hagrid, who was pulling on his huge boots.
“I haven’t got any money — and I don't have a gardian that knows about this world. So I won’t have money to pay for me to go and learn magic.”
“Don’t worry about that,” said Hagrid, standing up and scratching his head.
“D’yeh think yer mum didn’t leave yeh anything?”
“But if their house was destroyed —”
“They didn’ keep their gold in the house, girl! Nah, first stop fer us is Gringotts. Wizards’ bank. Have a sausage, they’re not bad cold — an’ I wouldn’ say no teh a bit o’ yer birthday cake, neither.”
“Wizards have banks?”
“Just the one. Gringotts. Run by goblins.”
Jace dropped the bit of sausage she was holding.
“Goblins?”
“Yeah — so yeh’d be mad ter try an’ rob it, I’ll tell yeh that. Never mess with goblins, Jace. Gringotts is the safest place in the world fer anything yeh want ter keep safe — ‘cept maybe Hogwarts. As a matter o’ fact, I gotta visit Gringotts anyway. Fer Dumbledore. Hogwarts business.” Hagrid drew himself up proudly. “He usually gets me ter do important stuff fer him. Fetchin’ you — gettin’ things from Gringotts — knows he can trust me, see.”
“Got everythin’? Come on, then.”
Jace followed Hagrid out onto the rock. The sky was quite clear now and the sea gleamed in the sunlight.
“How did you get here?” Jace asked.
“Flew,” said Hagrid.
“Flew?”
“Yeah — but we’ll go back in this. Not s’pposed ter use magic now I’ve got yeh.”
They settled down in a boat in the sea next to camp, Jace still staring at Hagrid, trying to imagine him flying.
“Seems a shame ter row, though,” said Hagrid, giving Jace another of his sideways looks.
“If I was ter — er — speed things up a bit, would yeh mind not mentionin’ it at Hogwarts?”
Instead of answering him Jace created a huge surge of water sending the boat zooming forwards.
"Umm, sorry forgot that I didn't know where I was going." She apologised sheepishly. “Hagrid pulled out the pink umbrella again, tapped it twice on the side of the boat, and they sped off toward land.
“Why would you be mad to try and rob Gringotts?” Jace asked.
“Spells — enchantments,” said Hagrid, unfolding his newspaper as he spoke.
“They say there’s dragons guardin’ the high security vaults. And then yeh gotta find yer way — Gringotts is hundreds of miles under London, see. Deep under the Underground. Yeh’d die of hunger tryin’ ter get out, even if yeh did manage ter get yer hands on summat.”
Jace sat and thought about this while Hagrid read his newspaper, the Daily Prophet. Jace had learned from her orphanage director (or owner) that people liked to be left alone while they did this, but it was very difficult, she’d never had so many questions in her life.
“Ministry o’ Magic messin’ things up as usual,” Hagrid muttered, turning the page.
“There’s a Ministry of Magic?” Jace asked, before she could stop herself.
“’Course,” said Hagrid. “They wanted Dumbledore fer Minister, o’ course, but he’d never leave Hogwarts, so old Cornelius Fudge got the job. Bungler if ever there was one. So he pelts Dumbledore with owls every morning, askin’ fer advice.”
“But what does a Ministry of Magic do?”
“Well, their main job is to keep it from the Muggles that there’s still witches an’ wizards up an’ down the country.”
“Why?”
“Why? Blimey, Jace, everyone’d be wantin’ magic solutions to their problems. Nah, we’re best left alone.”
At this moment the boat bumped gently into the harbor wall. Hagrid folded up his newspaper, and they clambered up the stone steps onto the street.
Passersby stared a lot at Hagrid as they walked through the little town to the station. Jace couldn’t blame them. Not only was Hagrid twice as tall as anyone else, he kept pointing at perfectly ordinary things like parking meters and saying loudly, “See that, Jace? Things these Muggles dream up, eh?”
“Hagrid,” said Jace, panting a bit as she ran to keep up, “did you say there are dragons at Gringotts?”
“Well, so they say,” said Hagrid.
“Crikey, I’d like a dragon.”
“You’d like one?”
“Wanted one ever since I was a kid — here we go.”
They had reached the station. There was a train to London in five minutes’ time. Hagrid, who didn’t understand “Muggle money,” as he called it, gave the bills to Jace so he could buy their tickets.
People stared more than ever on the train. Hagrid took up two seats and sat knitting what looked like a canary-yellow circus tent.
“Still got yer letter, Jace?” he asked as he counted stitches.
Jace took the parchment envelope out of his pocket.
“Good,” said Hagrid.
"There’s a list there of everything yeh need.”
Harry unfolded a second piece of paper he hadn’t noticed the night before, and read:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
UNIFORM
First-year students will require:
1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)
2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)
Please note that all pupils’ clothes should carry name tags
COURSE BOOKS
All students should have a copy of each of the following:
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 Beasts 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 (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set of glass or crystal phials
1 telescope set
1 brass scales
Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS
“Can we buy all this in London?” Jace wondered aloud.
“If yeh know where to go,” said Hagrid.
Jace had never been to London before. Although Hagrid seemed to know where he was going. “This is it,” said Hagrid, coming to a halt after running everywhere, “the Leaky Cauldron. It’s a famous place.”
It was a tiny, grubby-looking pub. If Hagrid hadn’t pointed it out, Jace wouldn’t have noticed it was there. The people hurrying by didn’t glance at it. Their eyes slid from the big book shop on one side to the record shop on the other as if they couldn’t see the Leaky Cauldron at all. In fact, Jace had the most peculiar feeling that only she and Hagrid could see it. Before he could mention this, Hagrid had steered her inside.
For a famous place, it was very dark and shabby. A few old women were sitting in a corner, drinking tiny glasses of sherry. One of them was smoking a long pipe. A little man in a top hat was talking to the old bartender, who was quite bald and looked like a toothless walnut. The low buzz of chatter stopped when they walked in. Everyone seemed to know Hagrid; they waved and smiled at him, and the bartender reached for a glass, saying, “The usual, Hagrid?”
“Can’t, Tom, I’m on Hogwarts business,” said Hagrid, clapping his great hand on Jace’s shoulder and making Jace’s knees buckle.
“Good Lord,” said the bartender, peering at Jace, “is this — can this be —?”
The Leaky Cauldron had suddenly gone completely still and silent.
“Bless my soul,” whispered the old bartender, “Jace Potter… what an honor.”
He hurried out from behind the bar, rushed toward Jace and seized her hand, tears in her eyes.
“Welcome back, Miss Potter, welcome back.”
Jace didn’t know what to say. Everyone was looking at her. The old woman with the pipe was puffing on it without realizing it had gone out. Hagrid was beaming.
Then there was a great scraping of chairs and the next moment, Jace found herself shaking hands with everyone in the Leaky Cauldron.
YOU ARE READING
Both Worlds
FanfictionJacqueline. A daughter of Poseidon. Also a well known demigod in her world. One day when coming to camp for her eleventh birthday she receives a letter. What is this letter? Who is it from? And what happens?? Find out in this book, Both Worlds. Many...
