Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was our average morning. Me and Mom, sitting around the breakfast table as our dog drooled under the table, begging me for some of my toast. The mornings are always comforting. The sun beaming through our open windows, casting light on every surface it could touch and warming up the dimly lit dining room. The birds chirped outside; sounding like they were just begging everybody else to wake up already, as the day was already moving and their lights were still off. I hum as I smell pancakes on the counter, waddling over to the plate my mother set out for me as she still works on making her own.

“Morning sweetpea,” Mom speaks, her eyes still focused on the pan as she swirls the batter in it before sidelong glancing at me, a small smile cracking at her blank, focused expression at the sight of my pajamas that were decorated in witch hats and wands. “Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, mama.” I say, scooching in as I sit on one of the wooden chairs around the dining table, the legs making an awful squeaking sound as they rub against our hard wood floors, which makes me cover one of my ears before settling down and picking up my fork. As my mom sets down our German Shepard’s food bowl, she walks over to the dining table and places a plate of her own in front of her, and then another larger plate in the middle of the table. I stare at it, perplexed. “Mom, why did —”

“Why did I make another plate?” She says, finishing my question for me. “Because, I figured you wanted more than just pancakes. If not, I’ll take the rest.”

“There's eggs on it…” I trailed off. “..Do I have to eat those?? Or the bacon?”

Mom, knowing me, just smiled and shook her head. “No, baby. I know you don’t enjoy them.” Mom said, gathering some bacon on her fork. “You should try them, though. They’re good for you.” She added, glancing up at me as she dipped her head to eat her bacon, I just scrunched my face up and shook my head before continuing to eat. “Whatever you like, sweetpea.” My mom smiled, continuing to eat herself.

After some peaceful silence between the two of us, the mail slot in the door creaked, and I perked up at the sound — my head snapping up almost immediately. And my mother stood up, letting her fork hit her plate as she announced: “Oh shit, I almost forgot about the mail.” I watched as she scattered away, before quickly following after her. Maybe that letter I was supposed to get from the school was in that pile?? God I hope so!

I bit my lip excitedly as I watched my mother rip open the envelopes addressed to our house, however, as I watched my mother flip through the papers from the envelopes, my lips parted as I tried to read them, and then a frown crossed my lips. “Mom, is the school’s letter in there somewhere?”

My mom furrowed her brow and looked through them again — simply skimming through — before replying with a disappointing: “No, sweetie.”

“But it was supposed to be here today!” I whined, pouting as I crossed my arms. I was well past the age for throwing tantrums, but I couldn’t help but feel one coming on in a way.

“I know sweetheart, I’m sure it’ll be here tomorrow..” My mother said, placing her hand on my shoulder and gently rubbing, trying to get me to calm down, and then just at that moment in time, an owl flew through our window! And on top of that — it had a letter in its claws! As the owl released it and perched on the window sill, my mother plucked the letter from the ground. The letter read: ‘Mx. Y/N Morganach. The dining room. 124 Shattuck Avenune. Berkeley, California.’ and upon reading that, my mother immediately handed it to me. “It’s for you, sweetpea.”

I lit up and immediately flipped it over after reading the sending address — which is my own home — and smiled brightly at the Hogwarts logo displayed above the wax seal that had an “H” embedded in. Excitedly, I peeled at the seal as carefully as I could, despite practically shaking with joy. Was this my acceptance letter? Would they even let me attend as an American exchange student, or even a transfer from my regular school? I unfolded the letter in a rush, and my hands trembling as I awaited the words on the page. I had this aching feeling I would be rejected — considering I’m in America and trying to attend a wizarding school outside of the country, but I had already been rejected from Ilvermorny, so this was the one chance I had to get into another school… but I had hope. I know I won’t be rejected.

I let my eyes drag over the words for a second, before finally focusing. The note read:

“Dear Mx. Morganach,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT & WIZARDRY
Headmaster Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Score., Chf. Warlock,
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)”

My jaw fell open — No way! I got accepted?! — A high pitch squeal, followed by several floor shaking jumps, echoed in our dining room and my mother looked at me like I was crazy. “Mom!! I got accepted!!” I exclaimed, holding her by her shoulders as I continued to hop up and down.

“Really? Let me — calm down sweetie.” She lectured, and I backed off — still clearly overjoyed as I rocked back on my heels, watching my mom read the note. The way her eyes widened told me everything to know. “Honey this is great! You finally have a school to go to!” She exclaimed.

“I know!!!! No more boring regular school either!! I get to learn magic, mom!!!!” I beamed, smiling brightly at my mom as she looked behind the note, before checking the envelope to find the school supply list. “Oh, here it is. Okay,” My mom said, skimming. “Oh — where's Diagon Alley?” She muttered, furrowing her brow. “It’s in London! It’s like. A secret wizarding place within the alley between the shops on that road.” I explained.

“Right.. Guess we should head there tomorrow? We still have all of this month before September.” My mother pondered, looking like she was rolling over how much money she had in her bank account so we could get a quick trip to London for my things, and so I could get to school on time. “Let’s see… how much is a London trip..?”

As my mother picked up her phone and wandered off, I hopped excitedly over to our dog. “Guess who got into Hogwarts big guy!!” I say, petting him just a tad bit aggressively, and he licked my hand in response. “Yeah!! That’s right, me!!!”

Chapter Text

After an 11-hour flight, a taxi to our apartment, and a long walk up the flight of stairs to get to our room, Mom and I had finally made it to London. I crashed down on the comfortable beds of the suite, my back hitting the soft mattress in a way that made me grunt. Even though I usually complain about things taking so long, I figured that, despite this, it was worth it. I mean, after all, I’m going to the best school for witchcraft in all of London.

I sat up after Mom came by my bed, finally sitting down after making sure everything was perfect, despite us only staying here for a night. I giggled, a smile on my lips as I spoke: “Mom, you know you don’t have to look over the whole room after we use one thing.” I hummed, kicking my feet.

With a sigh, she ran a hand through her curls. “I know sweetheart, just..” She trailed off, leaning to one side a bit as she brushed one of her bags out of her way, making more room for herself. “..I don’t want to give the housekeepers more work. They already work so hard.”

“Well I think you work hard, mama.” I say, my feet now hitting the bed frame at different intervals. I glance out the open curtains. “It’s weird to see it being daytime here… but at least we can get my school supplies, and I don’t have to wait any longer!” I exclaim, falling back on the bed with my arms outstretched. “You might have to wait a bit longer sweetheart, Mama needs some time after our flight.” Mom sighs, and I pout, sitting up and slouching. “Why?? Mama you promised —” I was interrupted before I could get anything else out. “I know what I promised, Y/N. Let’s get something to eat first, or let Mommy get something to energize her, and then we can head off to that.. Alley that has your supplies, okay?”

At my mom’s words, I beam and hop off the bed. “Okay! Are we gonna go to a shop to get some stuff?” I say, rocking back and forth on my heels. She rolls her eyes, and smiles at me. “Yes, sweetheart. Grab your bag by the door, I’ll be over in a minute.”

Later, in the Alley
As we approached the alley behind The Leaky Cauldron, Mom traveled behind me sheepishly. “Honey, are you sure this is where it is? It doesn’t look like you described.” She doubted, and I rolled my eyes. “Well that’s because you have to do this button pattern thing or whatever with a specific wall, Mom.” I said, glancing behind my shoulder before continuing my search for the wall. “Okay, I’m just saying sweetpea..” She said, raising her hands, before continuing her own looking. Not that she was looking for anything in particular, unlike me.

After a few short minutes of examining a blank, boring brick wall to my right I began to notice that the wall was quite old looking. And.. something felt off. I soon noticed a trash can that was placed at the edge of the wall. That's normal, sure, but to me, it's not. I dragged my fingers over the bricks by the trash can, before I accidentally pressed one inward by simply brushing my hand against it. “Oops.” I exclaim, before noticing. “Hey, wait a minute,” That’s not a loose brick. Immediately, I press it rather than brush my hand against it, and the bricks — magically — start to shift and fold away before my own eyes. I gasp, and immediately, Mom comes to my side, and gasps herself. “See Mom! I told you!!” I say, grabbing her shoulders and hopping up and down excitedly, before a crowd of voices fill our ears. I glance at the crowd in a road of shops, and then back at my mom. I beam at her, and she smiles back nervously, before I pull her into the alley.

Immediately, I stopped. My eyes widen at how magical everything is. People bustling everywhere, all sorts of creatures flying about with their owners or prancing down the road, people waving wands with actual magic coming from it! At some point, my hand had fallen from my mothers, and a bright laugh ripped from my chest as I gazed at the scene. This was everything I had dreamed of, and possibly my mom’s worst nightmare.

“Okay, before you run off, let’s look at your list —” Mom said, grabbing my hand again and holding the list as she leaned down enough for me to see it as well. “— All first year students will require:”

As my mom spoke, I butted in with her, the two of us reading off the list at the same time. “Three sets of plain work robes.. One pointed black pointed hat for day wear, one pair of protective dragon hide gloves — or similar..” I trailed off, skimming through the rest before speaking up again. “Where are we gonna find all of this stuff??” Can’t believe I hadn’t thought to research the shops we’d have to visit before this, dang it.

“It’s okay, I’m sure someone will help us. C’mon sweetheart, let's go find some people. Maybe you can make some new friends too, hm?” Mom hummed, and I simply glanced at the ground and sucked in my bottom lip. The idea of talking to other kids my age makes me a bit nervous, more so embarrassed. I hate the idea, but I suppose I’ll have to suck it up for now.. If it means I can get my school supplies, and be prepared for school, I can breathe my way through it. Just deep breaths, Y/N, deep breaths..

After minutes of walking around and asking for help, and only getting brushed off and getting vague or too short directions to a shop, I had spied a friendly enough looking girl who wasn’t far from where Mom and I stood. She had bushy brown hair, and deep brown eyes, a lot like me — just without the bushy rats nest she seemed to have for hair. I worked up the courage to approach her after an internal battle with my anxiety and my need for help. “Um.. e.. excuse me?” I stuttered, tapping her shoulder while my voice was shaky and awkward, which made me cringe.

She turned around to see who it was that was tapping her shoulder — that being me — and immediately furrowed her brow, her voice coming out in an almost bossy tone that made me shrink back into my own shell — like a turtle — almost immediately. “What is it?” She questioned me, raising an eyebrow.

“O.. Oh, I just w.. wanted to ask where you might know where to find the Hogwarts school supplies??” I asked, gesturing with my hands a bit.

“I do, but are you sure you have the right supply list?” She asked again, before a small, amused smile appeared on her face. “I mean, an American has a ‘Hogwarts School Supplies’ list?” Upon seeing me shrink back and my rosy cheeks, the girl seemed to lighten up. “Not that I’m judging you for being American, I just.. Didn’t know that Hogwarts accepted American transfer students.” She stated, before smiling at me again. This time, it was kinder, and she held her hand out for me to shake. “I’m Hermione Granger. You are?”

“Y/N Morganach..” I said, shaking her hand sheepishly. “N.. Nice to meet you, Hermione.”

“Pleasure to meet you too, Y/N! Sorry for being a bit of a prat a moment ago. You look nice, I just hadn’t thought of an American going to Hogwarts ever..” Hermione apologized. “You said you needed help finding your supplies??”

“Eer. Yeah.” I said, scratching at my cheek shyly as I glanced at the ground. Kicking a stray rock by my foot, I added: “Kinda silly that I was able to find Diagon Alley through my own research but not find the correct shops to go to..”

“Hey, it’s okay! Every kid has no idea where to go on their first visit,” Hermione reassured me, “But since I’ve already finished my shopping, I could help you find your stuff.”

“Really?” I said, a look of disbelief crossing my features. “You’d help me?”

“Certainly — you should return to your mum first, though. She’s probably already panicking about where her child has run off to.” She said, a friendly smile crossing her own features, which fueled my own features to scrunch up into a smile.

“Yeah.” I glance around for a moment in the crowd of people, before glancing back at her nervously. “Uhm. Would you come with me..?” I ask, faltering a bit in my speech. I can’t believe I'm asking this, but I’m just too scared to walk through the crowd on my own.

Hermione smirked at me a bit, before grabbing my hand, which made my heart flutter at the unexpected gesture. “Of course. You lead the way, since you know your mum better than me.”

I nodded at her, staring for a second as I stumbled out a: “Y.. Yeah. I suppose so.” I glanced around after realizing I was staring, looking for my mom. After a minute of standing there, I began to walk. She’s probably somewhere back by the entrance.. So, I think it’s best to walk there. “She shouldn’t have gone far…” After a long minute of looking, I finally spotted her talking to a man by a shop. He was a rather large man, also, he had bright orange hair. I raised my eyebrows at the scene, utterly stunned at the man. I had heard of red-heads, sure, but I didn’t expect to see one. Hermione, however, wasn’t surprised by the large man like I was. I approached my mom from behind after a moment, letting go of Hermione’s hand. “Mom?”

At the sound of someone behind her, my mom jumped a bit, before exhaling at the sight of my round face. She wrapped her arms around me, and held on tight enough that I was convinced she was going to break all 206 of my bones. “Sweetheart! My god, don’t wander off like that again!” She exclaimed, looking outraged, yet relieved at my presence.

“I reckon this is your kid, Mrs.?” The red-head man spoke, his voice sweet and kind compared to his large figure. I had expected a more deep, bellowing voice, but that was something reassuring.

“Yes, yes it is.” My mom said, a sigh escaping her lips as she grabbed my hand. “Sorry for bothering you, Mr. Weasley —”

“No, no, it’s okay. Just happy your child came back to you.” Mr. Weasley interrupted her, smiling at her kindly. “You have a good day now, okay?” He said, turning away to walk into the store, no doubt where the rest of his family was. “R.. Right. You too, sir.” My mother muttered, relaxing her shoulders a bit. Once the red-headed man walked inside the store, my mom faced me. “Care to explain why you left, Y/N??”

Upon seeing my mother ready to chew me up and spit me out like I was a dog toy, and noticing my hesitance as I tried to come up with a good explanation, Hermione butted in. Ah, pardon me for butting in, Mrs. Morganach, but — it was my idea. I ran into them at Flourish and Blotts, and they said they got lost looking for school supplies," she exclaimed. "I didn’t think you’d mind…”

Immediately, my mother softened up and exhaled heavily, a smile crossing her lips. “Well that's nice of you, young lady.” she said warmly, moving her free hand to pet Hermione's hair as I smiled at her, in which she smiled back. However, my own smile did not last long, as my mom turned to me with a sour look. “Still doesn’t make it good that you ran off without telling me.” Mom muttered, squeezing my hand.

I glanced at the ground. “Sorry..” I muttered, cheeks a bit rosy. Mom has justifications for being mad at me, but I just made a new friend, and it’s embarrassing to be talked to like this in front of her.

“It’s okay sweetheart, you just worry me whenever you do that.” She muttered, letting go of my hand for a second to brush a stray lock of hair out of my face. “Now, young lady — before we get this one's supplies — what is your name?”

“Hermione Granger.” Hermione piped, smiling brighter this time, hopping on her toes as her arms slid behind her back — hands intertwining with one another.

“Well it’s lovely to meet you, Miss Hermione. As you already know, I’m Y/N’s mom, but you can just call me Selene.” My mom assured Hermione.

“Alright, Mrs. Selene.” Hermione hummed, before turning to me quickly. “Now then, we should start on your supply list. The first thing if I remember correctly, should be three sets of plain work robes in black, yes?”

I scrambled to pull the list out of my pocket at Hermione's exclamation of ‘Yes?’ and skimmed over the first line of words before nodding. “Yes, it does.”

“Perfect, now, the place where we’d find your robes is Madam Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions. Come along now.” Hermione bossed, already walking away as me and my mom stared at each other, surprised, before Hermione piped up at realizing we weren't following her. “We don’t have all day now!” We flinched, and then collected our own thoughts quickly before I grabbed Mom’s hand, catching up to Hermione.

Shopping Montage…..
“Now that you've finally got your wand, your shopping list is technically complete —” Hermione announced. “— unless you want to buy a pet before you depart from here.”

“Wait, I can bring a pet to Hogwarts??” I exclaim, my mouth falling open in pure surprise. That wasn’t mentioned on the list! “You’re joking.”

Hermione let out a soft laugh. “I’m being perfectly serious.”

“Wow… well, in that case… Mom!” I call out, which catches my mother’s attention.

“Yes, sweetheart, what is it?” She asked, looking a bit concerned. “Did something happen with little Hermione here?” She gasped, covering her mouth with both her hands in surprise. “Did you two fight? Oh god..”

“No, no mama, I wanted to ask if I could get a cat! We can bring pets to Hogwarts!” I chirped, buzzing like a bee at the idea of finally owning a cat, and bringing it to my dream school?! Even better!

Despite her relief at a fight not breaking out between me and Hermione, my mother hesitated at the idea of buying me a pet. Biting her lip as she glanced off to the side, she considered her options for a few minutes. With a heavy sigh, I knew what was coming as I immediately perked up. “Sure, sweetpea. Does Hermione know where to get one? I’ll let you run off together with some money to get whoever you want.”

“Of course I do!” Hermione exclaimed.

“Perfect, okay, Y/N?”

“Yes?” I hummed, looking at my mom.

“I’m giving you enough money to buy the cat itself and supplies to keep it healthy while you’re there.” Mom murmured, fingers shuffling through her pockets as she scrambled for a handful of coins we had gotten from Hermione and the amount we traded for Galleons. After she figured there were enough, she dropped them into my hands. “Don’t go running off too far. I’ll stay right here, okay?”

“Okay! Thanks mom! See you soon!!” I exclaimed, already walking off with Hermione, and once we were far enough from my mother, I spoke up to Hermione. “Soo… where’s the store to buy kitties and stuff??”

“Magical Menagerie. I must warn you though that the store is quite —” She cut herself off as she opened the door to the shop as I stood behind her, peeking in, before the smell of the shop hit both of us like a freight train, making both of us scrunch up our noises. “— smelly.”

“You’re telling me..” I said, plugging my nose as we stepped inside, before my hand fell as my mouth fell open in tandem with my hand. “Woah…”

The store was crowded with animals. Enough of them to make me overwhelmed — yet also amazed at the headcount of creatures. Hermione was already off towards the cats section as I stared at the painted murals on the walls, before following after her.

“Theres a ton of toads here.” I pointed out as we passed by the toads. “Maybe that's why it's so smelly here.”

“Really?” Hermione asked sarcastically. “Have you never encountered a toad?”

“No.”

“Well, that makes more sense.” Hermione shrugged, before stopping shortly after, causing me to stop in my own tracks as well. “Here are the cats. There's plenty of types, so you can pick whatever, just make sure it isn’t overly… well, like a big arsehole.” She noted as I wandered to look at them, going ‘ooh..’ at a few of them. They’re too cute, how does someone pick from these?

“Ugghhhh, how do I pick??! They’re all so cute!” I exclaim, pouting as I looked at all the cats. Though, there was one extremely fluffy persian cat that had really caught my attention. “Oh, you’re pretty, aren’t you?” I hummed, sliding to its enclosure as it tilted its head at me.

“So, you’ve decided on the one you want, then?” Hermione said with a small smile.

“Yep.” I say, making a small gesture with my finger as I cooed at the cat through the glass.

Eventually, I came back to my mom with my new cat and Hermione, and Mom smiled at me when she noticed I was approaching. “Welcome back, you two.” She beamed, before noticing the cat in my arms, approaching me with her hand outstretched as she scratched behind its ear. “Who’s this cutie?” She cooed.

“Élodie!! Or just Ellie.” I hummed, smiling proudly at my mother.

“Awh, such a pretty name for her! Wait… it's her right?” Mom guessed.

“Yes, mama. Why would I name her a boy name? It’d just confuse everyone!”

Mom giggled. “You’re right about that honey.” She hummed, smiling at me as she took a second to look at me. “Are you ready to go back to the apartment now?”

I glanced at the ground, pondering for a second. “I think so.”

“Alright, say bye to your new friend now.”

Sheepishly, I faced Hermione, and smiled. “Bye Hermione.”

“Bye, Y/N! I’ll meet you on the platform, first day of term,” Hermione said, smiling warmly. “Make sure you don’t miss the train.”

“Right.” I said, nodding at her before Hermione turned around with a little wave, and I waved back as a final goodbye, before turning back to Mom.

“Ready? Got all your things?”

“Yes, Mom.” I answered, grabbing her hand after adjusting the bags to fit more comfortably on my arm.

“Alright, back to the apartment then,” Mom hummed, starting to walk as I adjusted my cat in my arms, making sure she was comfortable too as we started to walk to the entrance again. “and then we’ll be leaving in the morning to head back home.”

As we made our way back, the cobblestone of the street echoed our footsteps. By this point, the sun seemed like it was setting, which must’ve relaxed Élodie because she was purring against me with her eyes closed — so I assumed she was sleeping. As we passed by the shops, the windows still glowed with flickering candlelights and moving displays, which were still attracting the awe of people, despite the thrill of the day having faded by this point. I sighed softly. Even though we’d be going home tomorrow and I’d be missing Diagon Alley, I knew it was better to enjoy myself for now. Especially in the last fleeting moments I had in the Alley, holding the memories of everything magical that had happened today, close to my heart. This definitely changes everything…
…but I couldn’t love the change more,

and I definitely couldn’t wait until September.