The family was having dinner in the dining room. While Adam was ranting about some unreasonable patient and their increasingly strange demands, the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it!" Aegeus said, getting up from his chair.
He opened the door.
Standing on the doorstep was an old woman in a dark green robe and a pointed hat with two feathers tucked into the back, staring at him without blinking.
"May I come in?" she asked, in a tone so calm it was almost eerie.
"No, you certainly may not," Aegeus said simply. There was no way he was letting someone this suspicious into the house.
"..."
They stared at each other for a long moment. Aegeus got bored of the standoff first and broke eye contact.
SLAM
He closed the door.
It's a bit early for Halloween, don't you think? He thought, bemused. Although it was a good costume, she had me fooled for a second...
"Who was that?" Adam called from the dining room.
"No one," Aegeus answered simply.
He'd barely made it back two steps before—
DING.
"I will get that," he said for the second time.
The rest of the family exchanged a thoroughly confused look.
~~~At the door~~~
"You again," he said.
"Indeed. And I would appreciate it if you didn't close the door on me a second time," the old woman said, crisp and unruffled. "I am here on official business, and I intend to finish it."
"..." He blinked once, then twice, then he studied her face for a moment.
"Fine. You can come in," he said finally.
Someone dressing this ridiculously really has no business looking this intimidating.
"One minute, please," he said, and went to inform his parents about the guest.
~~Some time later~~
Up close, McGonagall couldn't help but let her gaze linger on Aegeus for a moment longer than usual. Over her decades at Hogwarts, she had seen thousands of children, but rarely one with such flawless, unearthly features.
Far too many young witches are going to suffer, she silently lamented for their poor young hearts.
"So, who exactly are you?" Adam asked.
"I am Professor Minerva McGonagall. Deputy Headmistress and Transfiguration professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," she said, with crisp precision. Aegeus had to admit— she carried herself with an unmistakable air of authority. Not a hair out of place, not a word wasted.
Jean pressed a hand to her mouth and said, "There are more like him?!"
"A great many more," McGonagall replied calmly. "There are wizards in every country, and each one of them maintains its own Ministry of Magic."
"Right," Adam said slowly. "And Hogwarts is..."
"A school to learn magic— arguably the best in the world," McGonagall said. Leaving it at that, she then moved immediately to demonstrate.
With a single precise flick, the vase of flowers on the sideboard shimmered. Its glass edges softened and reshaped in a blur of motion, morphing into a sleek tabby cat that sat calmly in its place, blinking placidly at the room with a lazy swish of its tail.
"You will learn to do that and more if you decide to attend," McGonagall said.
"Meow~"
A stunned silence settled over the room. No one could utter a single word.
Then, with a second flick of her wand, the cat changed back into porcelain, flowers and all, exactly as it had been.
Aegeus, for his part, watched the whole display so intently he barely blinked. He could feel the magic as it stirred— yet he still had no idea how he would even begin to replicate it. For the very first time since her arrival, he began to feel genuine respect for the woman standing in front of him.
Will I be able to do that if I go to Hogwarts? he thought, a sudden wave of genuine enthusiasm and anticipation warming his chest.
She then handed Aegeus a letter.
"Will I get one too?" Hermione asked hopefully, practically vibrating in place.
McGonagall's gaze settled on her, measured but soft. "That's highly unlikely... I'm afraid. In the first place, it's rare enough for a wizard to be born among Muggles—" She paused to explain the term before continuing, "and for two of them to be born to the same parents is particularly unheard of."
Hermione's face fell.
"She has magic too," Aegeus cut in. "I've seen her use it. She changed a teacher's hair to purple right after she got Hermione upset. I felt it... It was from her."
Did he say he felt it? McGonagall's expression shifted— a flicker of genuine interest appeared on her face.
Jean and Adam exchanged a look of realization. Hermione had mentioned something like this a while ago, but neither of them took her seriously. They knew how desperately she wanted to be like her brother.
But unlike him, she couldn't show them magic on command. Her situation was too different from Aegeus, who could produce magic at will, so they hadn't taken her seriously.
"Is that right?" McGonagall asked, turning to look at Hermione.
Hermione nodded so hard she nearly gave herself whiplash.
"That indeed sounds like accidental magic," McGonagall said finally.
Hermione, for her part, looked like she might combust from excitement. She had been genuinely hurt moments ago, doubting herself on the assumption that a wizard would automatically sense another wizard.
But with Aegeus backing her up, her doubts evaporated completely. She trusted him without question. If he said she possessed the gift, then it must be real.
Then they all turned their full attention to the letter in Aegeus's hands. He broke the thick red wax seal and pulled out the crisp parchment.
(HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Mr. Granger, We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...)
Flipping to the second page to scan the required supplies, Aegeus couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the uniform section. A plain pointed hat and plain robes.
It's as if these people are terrified someone might fail to notice they're wizards...
"Where will he get all that?" Hermione asked, peering at the list over his shoulder.
"Diagon Alley, of course," McGonagall said, as though it were the most obvious place in the world.
_________________________________________________________________________
TO BE CONTINUED
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