I had to read the letter three times before I fully processed it. Me, at Hogwarts? It had to be a dream. I rolled up my sleeve, pinching my arm before wincing. It hurt. This was real.

   Headmistress Flores made eye contact with me from across her office table as I lifted my eyes from the parchment letter. "I- Is this some sort of joke? It can't have been me. That's- that's crazy." I managed to choke out after a moment, stuttering. "I couldn't have done that good on the assessment, Headmistress." She stood to open the blinds, and my dark eyes reflected the slightest bit of sunlight, revealing its dark seal-brown hue. 

  "It's no joke, Cordelia." Headmistress knew perfectly well that I preferred 'Lia', but I didn't bother to correct her. "You, as well as three other students, are going to Hogwarts." She looked out the window briefly before sitting back down in her chair. "It'll be a great learning experience for you. 4th year, in my opinion, is one of the best for trying new things."

   I stood up from my seat, clutching the letter in my hands. "Well then, fine. I guess I'm... going to Hogwarts." I looked up at the Headmistress. "It's just- who are the other three students going to Hogwarts?" I questioned her. A glimmer of amusement briefly sparkled in her eyes. "You'll see. In the meantime, you ought to get your required materials, tools, and clothes for Hogwarts once the day ends."

  Well, that's frustratingly vague. I sighed while putting the letter into the pocket of my lavender hoodie. "Okay, Headmistress. I... trust you." That's a lie. I took a few steps, opening the door of her office before stepping out.

 

  It was such a nice day outside on the Aurum Lyceum grounds that it felt ridiculous. The early afternoon rays of sunlight reflected off the lake, bathing everything in its warm golden glow. By the exit gate of the Aurum were three familiar faces. My shoes clicked against the tile ground as I ran to them.

   "GUYS!" I shouted, pulling the letter out of my hoodie pocket. To my surprise, Deni, Daria, and my younger brother Julian held parchment letters as well, and looked just as excited. We all shouted the same news at once.

     "I'M GOING TO HOGWARTS!"

   My jaw dropped. I thought I'd never see my friends again, but turns out they would be by my side after all. "We're going to Hogwarts together!" Deni shouted, pulling us into a group hug. Julian, being my little brother, was kind of annoying and I didn't really want to hug him, but I did anyway.

   Daria pushed her jet-black hair out of her face. "You guys, you know what this means, right?" She asked. I blankly stared for a moment. "We're... gonna have to get used to British food?" 

   Julian snorted and elbowed me in the ribs. Daria looked like she was trying really hard not to laugh. "No, it means that for getting materials and tools and stuff, we get to go to... the mall!"

   OH, THANK GOODNESS.

                             𝄞⨾💿✮˚.⋆

   The mall looked like any other you'd see in Southern California. It was suspicious if you were in the know, and perfectly normal if you weren't. Of course, my friends and I were in the know.

   The smell of pretzels and soda greeted me as I entered the mall. The cool air on my face was a relief after feeling the afternoon sun outside. "Alright, guys," I decide as I turn to my friends (and Julian), "It'll be best if we split up to get all our stuff. Then... I dunno, meet me at Auntie Anne's?"

   Daria nodded. "You got it." Deni, on the other hand, grabbed her wallet. "Okay, but like I'm gonna get stuff from Hollister." She grabbed Daria's arm and started walking in the direction of Hollister.

   I felt Julian give me a pat on the shoulder. "Okay, bye, dork. It's Hot Topic time." He walked off. Typical second-years. I scoffed as he walked off. My brother was the worst.

   "I got this, man." I hyped myself up, tapping my foot against the mall's tiled and mildly sticky floors. I didn't need their help to get my required materials and tools! The Aurum Lyceum had taught me well on preparation and responsible financial decisions. I could do this in 10 minutes.

                             𝄞⨾💿✮˚.⋆

     I retract my former statement.

   Walking through the mall exhausted, I carried a Charlotte Russe bag hanging on one arm and a bag full of magical subjects textbooks on the other arm. My shoulders ached. I had to set the bags down every couple of minutes.

   As I trudged in the direction of Auntie Anne's, I heard soft yips from a nearby petstore. Unfortunately, my curiosity was insatiable. I entered the store, set down my bags by the front, and searched for the search of the noise. There were several large pens for various animals. I guess I could get a familiar here. "Hello?"

   Dark, lugubrious eyes like boba pearls greeted me. A pale tan Chihuahua had its narrow, pointed muzzle pressed up against the glass. I gasped. "Oh, hello..." I bent down onto my knees to get a better look at the little dog.

   The little dog jumped up and down against the glass excitedly. Adopt me, it seemed to say with those pleading eyes, let me be your familiar. I'm magical.

   "I couldn't; my familiar at Hogwarts can't be a dog..." I probably looked crazy. Talking to a dog in a PetCo wasn't a normal thing to do. The chihuahua responded by rolling laying down on its belly and wagging its tail. You're an exchange student. You can do whatever you want.

   It wasn't strategic, or wise, or well-thought out. I would probably be judged relentlessly at Hogwarts for it. This wasn't a good idea.

     I shouldn't.

   "How much is this one?" I lifted the chihuahua up from its pen. The teenage cashier a few feet away looked up from their phone. "Eh, she's a rescue. Something about the muzzle being too long... $70?"

   I pulled 70 dollars- having both no-maj money and wizarding money was an advantage- and put it onto the table. "Keep the change." The cashier stared at me fora moment. "There's no- y'know what? Whatever."

   A paper slid onto the desk, guided by his hand. "What do you wanna name her?" I took a moment to think about it- no, her.

     "Cinnamon."

                             𝄞⨾💿✮˚.⋆

     "Everybody meet Cinnamon!"

   Cinnamon circled my feet as I ran toward Deni, Daria, and Julian at a bench nearby Auntie Anne's. Daria flinched, almost dropping her (food/drink), while Deni reached a hand out to Cinnamon. "Aww, she's really cute!"

   Julian looked up at me with his hazel eyes while sipping a lemonade, raising an eyebrow. "You got a dog familiar, sis?" He questioned. I scoff while leaning against the wall. "Cinnamon's magical, okay? I can sense it. Just look at her."

   Maybe he shouldn't have looked at Cinnamon at that moment. The tiny dog was trying to beg for some cinnamon sugar pretzel bites. "Y-you'll see, doofus." I stutter. Julian rolled his eyes before putting something in my hand. "Sure, sure... I got you pretzel bites, by the way."

   I pop a pretzel bite into my mouth while tapping Deni on the shoulder. "How're we feeling about going to Hogwarts?" I question with a somewhat muffled voice.

   Deni was in the middle of giving Cinnamon scritches behind the ears. "Oh, I think we got this." She decided. "Maybe I'll meet Hogwarts huzz. Hoguzz? Nope, doesn't work."

   "Yeah..." I eat another pretzel bite before setting down the cup full of snacks. Reaching into my back pocket, I pulled out the acceptance letter again just to re-read it.

   I read the directions to traveling to Hogwarts. "A Portkey..." I'd heard of Portkey travel being tulmultuous before, but I didn't think much of it. Fast travel was a good thing, right?

     "How bad could that be?"