Since I don't want to wait to figure out this mystery, I bundle up, hop on my bike, and pedal to my friend Grace's house in my neighborhood.
I'm not surprised to see some of her many jubilant siblings playing outside despite the chill.
Letting out my kickstand, I approach them.
"Hey Kate, Howard, and Gaby!"
"Grace is outback with Hailey," Kate, the oldest behind Grace, tells me while simultaneously leaping into a mound of raked leaves.
"Thanks," I reply, following the sound of their trampoline's spring's protests.
When I circle around the back, Grace is playing ring around the rosy on the big trampoline with kindergartener Hailey.
Completing a revolution, she springs back up again, seeing me.
"Hey, Hailey, can you go play with the others for a minute out front?"
"Okay." I watch Hailey toddle off out front as Grace climbs down.
"Let's go to my room," she says.
Her room is in the basement, but while more cold is a shock, it's warmer down there than it is outside.
Sitting on a rug, I take a deep breath.
"Okay, this might sound crazy, but an owl delivered a note to me this morning that told me to check the mailbox. I did, opened an envelope I found in there, and was surprised to find this. I don't know what to make of it." I hold my breath as I hand her the letter and she reads.
"Yes! This is fantastic! I knew you would be a witch too, I just knew it! I wonder if you might even be the baby from the Disappearance? We should go get our supplies together!"
"Wait, what? You know about this? How come? Tell me everything you know." I lean forward, eyes wider than usual, full lips slightly parted.
I knew Grace was the right choice, but I had no idea how much! Gosh am I 'good'.
"Okay, so there are two sides to the world, I guess you could say. There is the magical community of witches and wizards, centered mainly in London, and the non-magical community, everyday people. Or as most magically gifted call them, 'muggles'.
"But there's also a mix of the two, referred to as 'mudbloods'. It's when a magical person and muggle have a child. In fact, I'm a mudblood, but that doesn't really matter, because they're still part of the wizarding community.
"You and me are witches, along with Jacqueline," the mention of my other best friend sends a shiver down my spine" and in order to properly learn magic, we're sent to one of three schools; Beauxbaton, Durmstrang, or Hogwarts, where we'll both be attending.
"At Hogwarts, the student are divided into houses and years. We'll be first years now, then second years next year, and so on up to seven. But the students are grouped into one of four houses, where your quarters will be during your stay. They're, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Gryffindor is for the brave, Ravenclaw the wise, Hufflepuff the loyal, and Slytherin the cunning. Personally, I think we'll be in Ravenclaw with Jackie." She gives me a little wink.
"But in order to go there, you have to have supplies, which your letter mentions. To get your supplies, you go to a place in London for magical people only, called Diagon Alley.
"But the wizarding people use a different currency, involving Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts. Galleons, which are gold, are worth the most, then Sickles, which are silver, and finally Knuts, which are bronze. There are seventeen Sickles in a Galleon and twenty nine Knuts in a Sickle. That's the gist of it; everything else you'll learn there. How're you holding up?"
"Considering my entire life was just retold, fine enough. I was listening, but I most certainly won't remember all of it. Do you think you could write it down as a sort of handbook?"
"Sure. Our accompanists will be here a week from today, next Saturday morning. Then on the first, Tuesday, we'll meet up at Kings Cross station in London, to catch the Hogwarts Express, the train that takes you to Hogwarts. My family can take you and your mom to the train station and then your mom back, as we'll be staying."
"Okay, the plan sounds solid enough. Just one more question before I leave. Since I'm apparently surrounded by young witches and wizards, why do we still have to go to public school?"