1 September 1991 - "[He] was really beautiful. He was handsome — this orphan, this foundling, this outcast."

I should have been going to Hogwarts or Durmstrang, but no.  My mother wanted me to stay as far away from my father as possible... my whole family was still in England.  I hated the fact that they just carted me off to America just for schooling.  My poor little brother was home alone with father... who hated him for not being like us -- for not being a werewolf.  If anyone should have gotten away, it was Ayden.  I boarded the train and looked around for a seat to sit in, hopefully with other first year students so I was not so extremely awkward.

The thin corridor was overflowing with students trying to find a place to sit before the train began its journey to Roanoke. Students much older than I had a much easier time with this process, I was sure. Years of experience would do that for them. As a first-year, though, I was jostled around harshly with elbows and luggage. With tears in my eyes from a particularly rough jab, I opened the door to the first compartment I could see, which was a feat in itself, considering how tall some of the older students were. To my delight, it was empty; I took a seat and exhaled loudly.

Just breathe, I told myself. The adventure onto which I was about to embark was largely still a mystery. My principal had not mentioned any details, and the acceptance letter that was crumpled into my jacket pocket failed to shed any additional light. I retrieved the letter once more, now that I was sitting down, in the hopes that by reading it just one more time, I'd find something I hadn't seen before.

To Ignatius A. Harper,


We congratulate you on your acceptance to Alma Aleron School of Magick. Semester begins on the first of September. Please take the 4:00 PM bus from Village Station, as this will be the best way to arrive to the school correctly. A train ticket is enclosed. With you, please bring the following items:


I scanned the list once again. Was this some sort of hoax? I didn't remember applying to be a magician, though it would've been fitting, considering the weird things that sometimes happened around me. I thought it rather odd, too, that they wanted me now, when I was to be starting my first year of middle school. Without the proper education, how could I do anything anywhere? They must incorporate standard subjects like math and history into the magician's training.

Looking over the items requested of me, I saw odd things like a nine-inch-deep cauldron, standard pewter and wand of your choice. Most of these items I'd been able to find easily in a toy store, but there were other items that I had no idea where to find, like 15 grams of wolfsbane or a bezoar.

The letter concluded:
We eagerly anticipate your arrival and hope to see you then.


Best of luck,
Dr. Winston B. McAllister, Superintendent


What in the heck was I getting into?

I moved around the train with my trunk that had once belonged to my father, so atl east it felt like I had some part of them with me.  I was so far away and I did not fully understand why.  I found a compartment of the train that seated only one other kid that looked my age.  Thank Merlin.  "Excuse me... is that seat taken?" I inquired.  I did not want to be rude and just sit down if he was waiting for a group of friends.  But I was sure that there really were not many seats left... and it seemed as if the conductor was doing final checks to get this train rolling.  I had a nervous excitement about coming to school here.

His voice caught me off guard, and my heart startled. I balled the letter back up and shoved it as quickly as I could into my pocket. Smiling hesitantly, I shook my head. "No, feel free."

Maybe he could answer some questions about this place and what we were doing here. I welcomed his friendly face.

I stored my trunk and sat down, smiling at him.  "I'm Nolan," I said, offering my hand.  My mother always told me to mind my manners.  "Are you excited about coming here?" I was really rather nervous and found myself talking more than I normally would to a stranger.  But then again, thsi was the only way to make friends... especially since any friends I had made would all be going to Hogwarts, not Alma Aleron.

Shaking his hand, I introduced myself as well: "I'm Iggy," I said, "Iggy Harper. I don't really remember wanting to be a magician when I grew up, but I'd be willing to bet that my principal signed me up for this just to get rid of me. She didn't like me much, all those weird things happening all the time."

The air about him made me feel confident that he'd be able to answer my questions. He seemed nice enough.

"Magician... that's what you call it over here?" I asked, wondering if I would get used to the way Americans talk and the differences in phrases.  "We call it being a Wizard over in England."  What was he going on about?  His principal would not have signed him up... they just knew.  That was how it seemed to go for Hogwarts anyways.

I slumped down, not sure what he meant. "I... I guess," I stammered. I wanted to recover quickly, so I added, "Do you think they'll still teach us math and history when we get there? Otherwise, I'll really miss math..."

"Well... I know at Hogwarts they teach Arithmancy and the History of Magic... so I'm sure that at Alma Aleron they'll have some version of all of that," I said, nodding.  "So... what type of wand did you get?  That was my favorite thing to go shopping for... not that I enjoy shopping by any means, but for this one time I really did."  I did not want Iggy to think I was a girl or anything.  But shopping for your first wand... that was something special.

There were different types of wands? "I... uh, I just got mine from the toy store down the street," I admitted. Not having a lot of money, it wasn't as though I could have afforded the wooden one. "It's just the normal black plastic one with the white tip."

I furrowed my brow.  "Er... what?" I asked.  I stood up and retrieved my wand from the luggage.  "You mean it doesn't look like this?  What type of core does it have?  Mine's hippogryff feather..."  Maybe they made them differently here in the States.  Ollivander was just starting to use different cores -- maybe here in the states they found out that plastic was better than wood?

"Wait, what? It has the feather of a what inside it?" I shook my head quickly, as if doing so would rid my mind of what I'd just heard.

If he could be speaking gibberish, then maybe I could be comfortable enough to ask what the blazes was going on with this school. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

I nodded, understanding completely what was going on.  "Ah, you're a Muggle born, aren't you?  That's cool.  Unlike my dad, I don't really have too big of issues with it..." I said, shrugging.  "But a hippogryff is this awesome beast.  It has a bird torso and then a horse hind end.  They're pretty epic.  I wish that I could own one."

I couldn't help but to look at him blankly. There was no response I could think of that would adequately express how lost I was. Muggles? Hippogryffs? "I... yeah, I mean sure," I blabbed. I cleared my throat. "Can I see your wand?"