Chapter 2 - Philosopher's Stone

"I-I'm a what?" Harry stuttered out, which was immediately followed by my question,

"Pardon me?"

"A wizard and witch," Hagrid repeated as if it was the most normal sentence in the world. "And thumping good ones at that, I'd wager. Once you both train up a little."

"No, you've made a mistake," I tried to reason, and Harry joined,

"I can't be...a-a wizard."

"And I can't be a-a witch."

"I mean, we're just... Harry and Ella."

"Just Harry and Ella."

Hagrid lightly rolled his eyes,

"Well, Just Harry and Ella, did you ever make anything happen? Anything you couldn't explain when you were angry or scared?"

I turned to Harry, remembering the day at the zoo, while both of our expressions softened. "Mhm." Hagrid nodded with a smile. He then stood and stepped up to the two of us, causing Dudley to whimper from his position behind me. Harry and I each took the letters that Hagrid held out to us, and when I looked at mine, I saw that it was the same one our aunt and uncle had been keeping from us. I opened mine, along with Harry, who started reading first,

"Dear, Mr Potter."

"Dear, Miss Potter," I spoke next.

"We are pleased to inform you-"

"-That you have been accepted at Hogwarts' School-"

"-Of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"

Surprise was etched onto our faces once again, but Uncle Vernon interrupted as he rushed over to where we stood,

"They'll not be going, I tell you! We swore when we took them in, we'd put an end to this rubbish!"

"You knew?" I demanded.

"You knew all along, and you never told us?" Harry angrily asked. Aunt Petunia scoffed,

"Of course we knew. How could you not be? My perfect sister being who she was. Oh, my mother and father were so proud the day she got her letter. We have a witch in the family. Isn't it wonderful? I was the only one to see her for what she was. A freak! And then she met that Potter, and then she had you two, and I knew you'd both be just the same, just as strange, just as... abnormal. And then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up! And we got landed with you two."

"Blown up?" I cried with anger and frustration.

"You told us our parents died in a car crash!" Harry added, just as upset as me.

"A car crash?" Hagrid demanded angrily, causing us to turn to him. "A car crash kill James and Lily Potter?"

"We had to tell them something," Aunt Petunia explained from her place next to her husband.

"It's an outrage! It's a scandal!"

Uncle Vernon spoke up again,

"They'll not be going!"

"Oh, and I suppose a great Muggle like yourself's going to stop them, are you?"

"Muggle?" I asked, confused.

"Non-magic folk. These twins have had their names down ever since they were born! They're going to the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world, and they'll be under the greatest headmaster Hogwarts' has ever seen: Albus Dumbledore."

"I will not pay for some crackpot old fool to teach them magic tricks!" Uncle Vernon sternly shouted in protest, but Hagrid raised his umbrella toward him threateningly,

"Never insult Albus Dumbledore in front of me."

After a moment, Hagrid moved to point his umbrella toward Dudley, who had turned to eat the cake Hagrid had brought for us. Magically, a grey piggy tail grew from Dudley's bottom, causing my cousin to scream,

"Ahh!"

"Ahh!" my aunt and uncle screamed, chasing after their son as he ran around in a panic. Harry and I couldn't help but laugh and giggle at the sight. As we watched the hilarious chaos that was the Dursleys, Hagrid leaned down to say quietly,

"Oh, um, I'd appreciate if you didn't tell anyone at Hogwarts about that. Strictly speaking, I'm not allowed to do magic."

"Okay," Harry and I simultaneously nodded. Hagrid then seemed to notice the clock,

"Ooh, we're a bit behind schedule. Best be off." The giant man turned to pull the door back down before turning to look at the two of us as we just stood and stared. "Unless you'd rather stay, of course. Hmm?" As Hagrid stepped out into the storm, I looked at Harry with a small smile. We both looked over at our aunt, uncle and cousin before silently agreeing that we would follow Hagrid. With Harry's hand in mine and grins on our faces, we stepped out of the house.

Hagrid had taken us to the tube, and we had gotten on one of the trains. Harry had started reading the list of things he and I needed to get for our first school year at Hogwarts,

"First-year students will require three sets of plain work robes, one wand?" Harry and I both looked at Hagrid with expressions filled with slight doubt and hesitation.

"Essential bit of equipment, Ella and Harry," Hagrid answered with a firm nod. I slowly nodded, trusting my new friend while still feeling confused about this whole thing. I then turned to continue reading the letter where Harry had stopped,

"One pair of dragon-hide gloves." I looked up at Hagrid once more. "Hagrid, do they mean from a real dragon?"

"Well, they don't mean a penguin, do they? Huh. Crikey, I'd love a dragon."

"You'd like a dragon?" Harry and I both asked with surprise.

"Vastly misunderstood beasts, Harry and Ella. Vastly misunderstood."

I turned to my twin with wide eyes as we both took in the information. The train soon came to a stop, and the three of us began to walk along the streets of London. After a moment, Hagrid encouraged Harry to continue reading off the list,

"Go on, Harry. What else does it say you'll both be needing?"

"All students must be equipped with... one standard size two pewter cauldron and may bring, if they desire, either an owl, a cat or a toad," Harry read aloud.

"Can we find all this in London?" I asked Hagrid as I walked between him and Harry. Hagrid looked down at me before answering,

"If you know where to go." Hagrid proceeded to lead Harry and me to a building with a sign-out front that read: The Leaky Cauldron. As we followed Hagrid through the door, music, talking, and laughter could be heard. Once we had walked further inside, a man called out from his place behind the bar,

"Ah, Hagrid! The usual, I presume?"

"No thanks, Tom. I'm on official Hogwarts business today," Hagrid replied, then gestured to Harry and me, "Just helping young Harry and Ella, here, buy their school supplies."

The man, Tom, moved his gaze onto my brother and me before his mouth fell open,

"Bless my soul. It's Harry and Ella Potter."

My eyes went wide at the fact that Tom had recognized us as the entire pub fell silent. Another man suddenly came over to shake our hands,

"Welcome back, Mr and Miss Potter, welcome back."

Harry and I politely shook his hand, still with wide eyes, while Hagrid tried to urge Harry and me forward and away from all the people.

"Doris Crockford, Mr and Miss Potter," a woman spoke as she went to shake our hands as well. "I can't believe I'm meeting you both at last."

"Harry and Ella P-potter," a man in robes and a turban said, stepping in front of us, "C-can't tell you how pleased I am to meet you both."

With a hand on each of our shoulders, Hagrid greeted the stranger,

"Hello, Professor. I didn't see you there. Harry, Ella, this is Professor Quirrell. He'll be your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts."

"Oh, nice to meet you," Harry greeted politely as he and I both extended our hands for another shake. Instead of gladly shaking our hands as the others had, Professor Quirrell seemed repelled by the motion.

"F-fearfully fascinating subject," the professor stated as he stared at our hands before looking back up. "N-not that you need it, e-eh, Potters? Hehe."

At that, Harry and I held our polite smiles but grew curious about what that could mean. Hagrid then awkwardly cleared his throat,

"Yes, well, must be going now. Lots to buy. Heh."

"Goodbye," I smiled before Harry took my hand in his, and we continued walking where Hagrid was guiding us. We soon came to a door in the back that Hagrid went to open as he spoke to us,

"See, Harry and Ella, you're famous!"

"But why are we famous, Hagrid?" I questioned with my brother's hand still holding mine.

"All those people back there, how is it they know who we are?" Harry asked further as the two of us stood next to Hagrid in front of a brick wall.

"I'm not exactly sure I'm the right person to tell you both that," our new friend answered as he looked down at us both before taking out his umbrella and tapping the brick wall in a pattern. All of a sudden, the bricks started to move and shift, causing Harry and I to look at each other with amazement once again. Once the bricks had shifted to the side, a busy street could be seen. "Welcome, Ella and Harry, to Diagon Alley."

Harry and I grinned broadly at the sight as we stepped out into the street and started walking. There were groups of people all along the street, stepping out of any one of the various stores that sat on the sides of Diagon Alley. As we passed stores, Hagrid pointed specific ones out to us, "Here's where you'll get your quills and ink, and over there, all your bits and bobs for doing your wizardry."

I was astonished as we passed by different shops with beautifully decorated windows, gorgeous-looking owls and even bats! A group of boys and girls standing at one of the shop's windows grabbed my attention as they seemed to marvel at a broomstick.

"It's a world-class racing broom," one of the children spoke, causing their friend to exclaim,

"Wow! Look at it, it's the new Nimbus 2000! It's the fastest model yet."

It was then that, after a moment, I realized that Harry and I didn't have anything to use to pay for all of our supplies.

"But, Hagrid, how are we to pay for all this? We haven't any money," I asked Hagrid, who simply smiled and pointed to a building down at the end of the street,

"Well, there's your money, Ella. Gringotts, the Wizard Bank. T'aint no place safer, 'cept perhaps Hogwarts."

I smiled in response before following Hagrid inside the bank. The inside was beautiful and shiny, and I admired the patterns on the walls and floor as we walked down the aisle until I spotted the creatures working all around the room. Turning to my twin, I noticed he had the same look of confused wonder on his face as I did. Harry then turned to Hagrid,

"Uh, Hagrid, what exactly are those things?"

"They're goblins, Harry," Hagrid quietly but sternly spoke. "Clever as they come, goblins, but not the most friendly of beasts. Best stay close."

Harry and I held each other's hands tighter as we moved closer to Hagrid. Once we approached the counter at the back of the room, a goblin working behind it, Hagrid cleared his throat, causing the goblin to look up. "Mr Harry Potter and Miss Ella Potter wish to make a withdrawal," Hagrid stated.

The goblin then leaned over the counter to look at Harry and me,

"And do Mr Harry Potter and Miss Ella Potter have their key?"

I felt slightly unnerved by the strong stare from the goblin and squeezed Harry's hand before Hagrid answered,

"Oh. Wait a minute. Got it here somewhere. Hah." Hagrid pulled a small key out of one of his pockets and placed it on the counter that the goblin was no longer leaning over. "Here's the little devil. Oh, and there's something else as well." Holding up a letter wrapped in string, Hagrid lowered his voice slightly, "Professor Dumbledore gave me this. It's about you-know-what in vault you-know-which."

Harry and I quickly glanced at one another with curiosity as the goblin took the letter that Hagrid handed him and spoke,

"Very well."

After a minute or two, another goblin came to take us to a sort of cartlike structure that looked absolutely terrifying. But, with Harry and Hagrid's reassurance, I got on. The cart raced down the depth caverns until it stopped suddenly, causing me to grab my brother's arm in slight fear. Harry simply smiled at me warmly, making me feel better as the goblin, known as Griphook, announced,

"Vault 687." Griphook clambered out of the cart and onto the platform before turning to Hagrid, "Lamp, please."

Hagrid handed him the lamp, and Griphook walked to the vault as the three of us followed. As we stood in front of the giant door, Griphook asked, "Key, please."

Once again, Hagrid handed Griphook the key, allowing the goblin to unlock and open the door with Hagrid's assistance. My eyes and mouth were wide in astonishment at the sight of the vault filled nearly top to bottom with coins. I was amazed, along with Harry, causing Hagrid to chuckle,

"Didn't think your mum and dad would leave you with nothing, now didja?"

Once Harry and I had come to our senses, still feeling slightly amazed, we grabbed what we felt we would need for our supplies and for the school year, just in case. We then followed Griphook to another vault.

"Vault 713," Griphook announced. Then Harry asked,

"What's in there, Hagrid?"

I followed Harry's gaze to Hagrid as the giant replied,

"Can't tell you, Harry. It's Hogwarts business. Very secret."

"Stand back," Griphook instructed before he slid his finger down the door, causing clank sounds to be heard, followed by the door opening. Curious, Harry and I looked inside to see a small white package until Hagrid hurried and took it into his hand and placed it in his jacket pocket.

"Best not mention this to anyone, you two," Hagrid instructed, and the two of us nodded in understanding.

After we had left the bank, Hagrid took us to get all of the things on our list of school supplies. If I had thought the outside of all the stores was amazing, as soon as I entered them, I was even more amazed. There were lots of students with their parents and other family members buying their own things and so many different options for certain supplies. Hagrid helped us choose which ones were the best while also getting help from the owners of the shops and other friendly customers who were happy to share their thoughts. The people we spoke to seemed very nice, and the ones I passed and took notice of seemed very excited and giddy. While we were looking for work robes at one shop, I had taken particular notice of a family of three with striking platinum blond hair. A boy that looked to be about my age was with what looked to be his mother and father. Only they didn't seem to be kind or particularly excited. But I simply brushed them off, and we continued our shopping. Once we had left the last shop, holding all of our boxes of school supplies, Harry looked at the list once more to check and see if we needed anything else.

"We still need... wands," Harry stated as we walked, causing him and me to look up at Hagrid for guidance.

"Wands? Well, you'll want Ollivanders. No place better," Hagrid told us, pointing toward a store on the right side of the street. Once the three of us stopped outside the shop labelled 'Ollivanders', Hagrid instructed, "Why don't you both run along there and wait? I just got one more thing I got to do. Won't be long."

Harry and I nodded with smiles before Hagrid left down the street. The two of us quietly walked into the store, triggering the loud bell at the door. I looked around a bit as Harry took the boxes in his and my hands and placed them on a shelf by the door. The store had shelves upon shelves of what looked to be thousands of boxes of wands but no people.

"Hello?" I asked softly as Harry and I waited in front of the counter.

"Hello?" Harry repeated more firmly, causing us to be quite shocked at the thunk caused by an older-looking man on a ladder suddenly appearing. The stranger looked at us curiously before he smiled,

"I wondered when I'd be seeing you both, Mr and Miss Potter." The man started climbing down the ladder before moving to a shelf of wand boxes. "It seems only yesterday that your mother and father were in here buying their first wands."

Surprised at the fact that this man seemed to know our parents, Harry and I looked at each other with wide eyes for what felt like the millionth time today as the man, whom I assumed to be Ollivander, picked a box and brought it over to us. "Ah. Here we are." Taking the wand out of the box, Ollivander handed it to Harry, who simply held it in his hand, not knowing what to do. "Well, give it a wave," Ollivander instructed, shocking Harry and me slightly before my brother moved to do as the man had instructed. With a flick of his wrist, a bunch of the drawers started to come crashing down, causing Harry and me to jump. Hurridly, my brother placed the wand on the counter as Ollivander shook his head,

"Apparently not." Again, Ollivander went over to a shelf and picked out a box before taking out the wand and handing it to me instead. "Perhaps this for you."

With a deep breath, I hesitantly waved the wand toward a vase, causing it to blow apart instantly. I jumped then, very slowly and cautiously, placed the wand on the counter. "No, no, definitely not! No matter..." Ollivander, for a third time, went to get a box from a shelf, only this time, he came back with two. With a wand in each hand, Ollivander came out from behind the counter to pass Harry and me a wand each. As soon as the wands were firmly in our hands, a gust of wind and a glow hit both of us. Once it stopped, Ollivander spoke, "Curious, very curious."

"S-Sorry," I softly spoke, still surprised, "But what's curious?"

"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Miss and Mr Potter," Ollivander started. "It just so happens that the phoenix, whose tail feathers reside in your wands, gave one other feather, just one other. It is curious that you both should be destined for these wands when their brother gave you those scars." Ollivander pointed toward Harry's forehead and my forearm as he finished speaking, causing Harry and I to look at each other warily before my brother turned to ask,

"And... who owned that wand?"

"Oh, we do not speak his name. The wand chooses the wizard, Mr and Miss Potter. It's not always clear why, but I think it is clear that we can expect great things from you both. After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things... terrible, yes, but great." Ollivander nodded his head and walked away as Harry and I turned our heads toward the window at the sound of knocking upon the glass.

Looking out the window, I spotted Hagrid standing outside and calling out to us,

"Harry! Ella! Happy birthday!" Once Hagrid saw that he had gained our attention, he gestured to what he was holding in his hand. Hagrid had gotten Harry and me a beautiful snowy owl that was sitting in a cage, hooting. I smiled brightly as Harry and I simultaneously spoke,

"Wow."