Chapter Text
Wednesday 31 July 1991
Dear mom and dad,
Sorry it took me so long to write to you again, but I didn’t have any paper to write on. But that won’t be a problem anymore, because today I bought this amazing notebook, so I can write to you whenever I want.
You will never believe what happened. Well, you probably the only persons I know who will. I found out today that I’m a wizard. A WIZARD. Isn’t that cool. I’m not crazy or strange, but I’m a wizard. And in just a couple of weeks, I’ll be going to Hogwarts, a wizard school. I never knew. Aunt Petunia never told me. It all started a couple of days ago when I got a letter. It was addressed to me. It even knew I lived in the cupboard under the stairs. Yes lived, I’ve gotten my own room now. Uncle Vernon went mad when the letter arrived. He didn’t want me to read it, so he took it and burned it. But I knew something was wrong because that night I got my own bedroom. It is still filled with Dudley’s old stuff and that evening I rather had stayed in the cupboard if it meant I had gotten to read that letter.
The next day there was another letter, now address to me in the smallest bedroom at 4 Privet Drive. And again uncle Vernon didn’t let me read the letter, but I was convinced they would try to send more so I made a plan. I was going to wait for the postman on the corner of the street, but uncle Vernon was waiting for me at the doormat when I came downstairs the next morning, so I couldn’t get to the postmen before he delivered our mail. When the post came I saw that there now were three letters for me, but again uncle Vernon tore them up. He didn’t go to work that day and nailed up the mail slot. But more letters kept coming. On Friday there where twelve letters pushed under the door and around the cracks of the window of the downstairs bathroom. Uncle Vernon burned them all and started to hammer and nail up all the cracks around the doors. The next day there where twenty-four letters in the eggs. Yes, you read it correctly; they were hidden inside the eggs! On Sunday letters came flying from the fireplace filling up the house. Uncle Vernon made us leave the house. We drove for hours without breaks or anything to eat. Dudley was howling at the end of the day. We stayed in a hotel and the next morning the owner brought us a letter, addressed to me, in room 17 Railview Hotel in Cokeworth. She said she had about a hundred of them at the front desk. But I still didn’t get to read them.
That day we drove around again all day until we got to the coast and we had to take a rowboat to a shack on a large rock way out at sea. I couldn’t sleep that night. It was cold and the floor was hard and I only had a thin ragged blanket. It was storming. When it turned twelve and it was my birthday someone was knocking on the door of the shack. Everybody woke up and uncle Vernon had a rifle warning the person at the door to leave. And then the door swung clean off its hinges and a giant of a man walked into the house. He had shaggy manes and a wild tangled beard and black glinting eyes. He said I looked like you, dad, but that I have mum eyes. I never knew that they didn’t tell me that either. I’m kinda proud to look like you, dad, now that I know you died trying to protect me. Hagrid, the giant man, told me what happened to you. What that evil wizard had done.
But I will get to that because after Hagrid had come in he made a knot in uncle Vernon’s rifle and then he gave me a birthday cake. It was the first cake I ever had; at least that I can remember. I’m sure you would have made me a birthday cake for my first birthday. Hagrid turned on the fire and made tea and sausages. I didn’t really know who he was and why he was there so I asked. He got very angry at uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia. I was very confused. Hagrid said you were famous, that I was famous and he talked about our world until he realized I really didn’t know. He screamed at uncle Vernon some more and uncle Vernon forbade him to tell me. But he didn’t listen and told me I’m a wizard and gave me my letter. It was a letter to inform me that I have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Then Hagrid sends out an owl to a Professor Dumbledore before uncle Vernon told him I wasn’t going. That’s when I found out they had known all along that I was a wizard. Aunt Petunia started screaming about you, mom, and that you ran off with dad and then got yourselves blown up. I got angry then; they always told me that you had died in a car crash. Hagrid also got very angry, saying that it was an outrage. So I asked him what had happened. He became very nervous but told me about the wizard who went bad, named Voldemort. And that this wizard was becoming very powerful. And Hagrid told me that when Voldemort came after you ten years ago on Halloween, he killed you both and tried to kill me. But that I lived and that is why I have the lighting scar on my forehead. It made me very sad. Hagrid said that Voldemort is probably still out there somewhere, without his powers. I hope he’s wrong and that the evil man is dead.
And I must be honest; at that moment I didn’t believe I could be a wizard. If I had defeated a powerful wizard as a baby, then why had Dudley always been able to kick me around like a football? But Hagrid asked me if I ever made strange things happen and I remembered all the time's odd things had happened, like me talking to snakes and ending up on the roof of the school, and I knew he was telling the trued.
What happened next was the best of the whole evening. Uncle Vernon said something insulting about the headmaster of Hogwarts and Hagrid became so angry. He waved around with his pink umbrella and Dudley got a curly pig’s tail. Now he’s really a pig with blonde hair. Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and Dudley went to the other room. Dudley was crying and screaming, just like Aunt Petunia. I just laughed, it was so funny. After that, we went to sleep.
The next morning an owl came to deliver a newspaper before we left for London to get all my school stuff. We took a train because Hagrid wasn’t allowed to do magic now he found me. I had to help him with the muggle money. Hagrid was knitting the whole way to London on something that looked like a canary-yellow circus tent. It looked really funny. And then in London, we went to the Leaky Cauldron. It was very weird. Everyone seemed to know who I am and wanted to shake my hand. I also met one of my professors. Professor Quirrell, he is the defence against the dark arts professor. He was very nervous. It had something to do with meeting vampires, I don’t really remember.
Hagrid opened the archway to Diagon Alley after that. It was amazing. The stones of the wall just disappeared and made an archway. There were shops everywhere, with cauldrons, owls, broomsticks, robes and telescopes. I’ve never seen anything like it and I wanted to go to all the shops at once.
We first had to go to the bank, Gringotts, to get my money. Thanks for leaving it for me. I’ve never been this rich before. I’ll try to not spend it on anything stupid. I did buy this little notebook, so I can write to you whenever I want. So you will be hearing from me much more often than before.
We had to take a little cart over railway tracks to the fault. It was very cool. I had hoped to see a dragon. Hagrid had said they have dragons at the bank. But I didn’t see any. I think I did see some fire, but no dragons. Hagrid also retrieved a package from vault seven hundred and thirteen. He didn’t want to say what it was, secret Hogwarts business.
We bought all my supplies, starting with my robes. Hagrid left me alone at Madam Malkin’s. He needed a drink after the rollercoaster ride in Gringotts. In the shop, I met another boy that is going to Hogwarts. I didn’t really like him. He sounded like Dudley. He had a pale pointed face and blonde hair that was slicked onto his head. He was bragging about smuggling in a broom. And he asked me all these questions about magic stuff. I didn’t know what to say. But that didn’t stop him from talking. I think he liked talking about himself, just like Dudley. I hope he won’t be in my class when I get to Hogwarts. And he was mean about Hagrid and he was very mean about people that weren’t wizards. I was very happy when Madam Malkin was done with my ropes and I could leave the room with that nasty boy.
After that Hagrid and I ate ice cream and bought parchment and quills. I also bought this notebook and ink that changes colour when you write. I didn’t tell Hagrid why, but I liked the idea that I now don’t have to look for little scraps of paper to write to you. It makes it so much easier to tell you about what I do and everything. We also bought school books, a cauldron, scales and a collapsible brass telescope. And then Hagrid bought me an owl as a birthday present. She is really beautiful, she’s a snowy owl. I’ll have to think of a name for her. I’m sure I’ll come up with something before I write you again.
The last thing we bought was my want. I had been really looking forward to getting one, but it scares me now a little. Mr Ollivander gave me a lot of wands to give a wave. He kept snatching them out of my hand, saying they won’t do. Until he gave me the wand I have now. It’s made of holly with a phoenix feather, eleven inches. When I took it from him I felt a sudden warmth in my fingers and when I gave it a swing a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like fireworks. That was cool. But then Mr Ollivander told me that this want has a brother wand, and that wand is Voldemort's wand. My magic wand is the brother of the wand that killed both of you. That scares me a little.
And now all I have to do is wait for the 1st of September to go to my new school. I’ll tell you all about it when I get there.
Love you, mom and dad, I wish you would have been here for all this.
I’m going to sleep now.
Love Harry James Potter