Chapter 14: Letters Arrive, and The Decision (1/2)
It was another usual morning in the West Manor, and Quinn came down from his room to the dining hall to have breakfast. He hummed as he walked into the hall but was surprised when he saw quite a few people in the room.
His grandfather, George West, Quinn's sister, Lia West, butler, Elliot Dalton, and his caretaker, Ms. Rosey, were all in the dining hall. It was an unusual sight, as Quinn's grandfather and Lia had their breakfast before Quinn even woke up in the morning, and Quinn ate the first meal of the day alone, with either of Elliot, Ms. Rosey, or Polly, the house-elf giving him company.
So, this sight that was out of the norm in the West Manor surprised Quinn. His first course of action was to check the time. Quinn looked at the clock in the dining hall while saying, ”Did I wake up early or something?”
But that was not the case, as Quinn was following his daily timings, and neither Lia nor George should be at the house and should be out for work.
He walked to the table with a curious gaze, wondering the reason behind this anomaly, but his curious gaze turned into one of suspicion as he noticed that all the people in the hall were staring at him.
His first thought was that of a minor scare as he turned to Ms. Rosey and desperately tried to assure her, ”Ms. Rosey, I properly brushed my teeth, properly took a bath, and combed my hair. I promise!”
Ms. Rosey had grilled Quinn about the importance of proper appearance, and Quinn, on multiple occasions, had failed to stand up to those expectations because he was too busy thinking/daydreaming about magic. The result of failing to comply with the standards set by Ms. Rosey were long dreadful lectures from her. And because of his experiences with Ms. Rosey and her lectures, Quinn wanted to avoid those.
His suspicion got stronger when he saw Ms. Rosey smile. His caretaker smiled a little. She smiled when Quinn performed well, but currently, he was sure that he had done nothing of note that would make her smile. Plus, Lia was giggling in the corner.
George decided to free Quinn of his suspicion and said, ”Quinn, today we received two letters addressed to you.” Saying that he placed two letter-envelopes in front of him.
The left-side envelope was made from thick beige stationery, and the one on the right was made from very royal blue stationery of similar thickness. Written on the envelopes was the address of the West Manor.
[
Mr. Q. West.
West Manor, West Estate,
Herefordshire,
West Midlands.
]
The beige letter had the address written in English, while the blue letter was in French.
Quinn noticed there was no sender's name on the envelopes, but when Quinn turned the beige envelope, he was the Hogwarts' logo on the lip of the envelope and a Hogwarts' logo-shaped wax seal sealing the envelope.
His eyes widened as he turned to the royal blue envelope, and similarly, it too had a printed logo and wax seal. But this time, they were of the Beauxbaton design that Quinn had seen on Lia's stuff.
”T-this... this!” A stunned Quinn said as he looked up at his grandfather, ”A-are these...?”
George West nodded with a smile gracing his face, ”Acceptance letters from each Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and Beauxbatons Academy Of Magic.”
George pointed at the Hogwarts' letter and said, ”Since you have been living in Britain, Hogwarts sent you an acceptance letter.” He pointed at Beauxbatons' latter and stated, ”Beauxbatons sent you the letter because of pedigree. Your grandmother, father, and Lia all went to Beauxbatons. Family members get invitations even if they don't reside in the area where Beauxbatons recruit from. It is up to you where do you want to attend.”
Quinn didn't open the letters but looked at George and Lia. George had attended Hogwarts while Lia had attended Beauxbaton, so he had people from both schools, and he knew that both of them would want him to go to their school.
Quinn breathed out and looked at all the people and said, ”I will think about it.” He looked at Ms. Rosey and asked, ”Ms. Rosey, please send me my breakfast to my room. Please, excuse me.” Quinn collected both of his letters and walked out of the dining hall before Ms. Rosey could stop him.
George looked at Mr. Rosey and stopped her from calling out to Quinn, ”Let him go. He needs to think about it. Please, have Polly send food to his room.”
George gazed at the entrance of the dining hall from where Quinn had exited the room. He wondered what would be his grandson's choice.
- (Scene Break) -
Quinn always thought the day he got the acceptance letters from a school would be a happy one. He would be delighted, and it would be time for celebration. But currently, he was feeling down. He was in his room sighing.
When he realized the letters were acceptance letters, his first thought was how he would have to leave his home and stay at a dorm for a major portion of the year. Well, actually, his first thought was how his letters didn't mention the specific room as they did in Harry Potter's letter. He isolated the reason and concluded that it must be because of the wards present around the estate. The wards around the estate didn't allow Hogwarts' magic to find the interior of the West Manor.
But then it hit him. He would have to leave the comfort of his home. The home he had lived in since he had come to this world. He thought how his lessons with Mr. Baddeley would come to an end. How he would no longer be able to maintain the herb garden with Uncle Elliot and their potion lessons would also stop. Even the thought of freedom from Ms. Rosey's tough lessons saddened him. He had a lot of things that he liked in this house, and all of them would end when he left for school.
Even his usual secret magic studies would come to an end, and even though he would be able to do magic in public, it would still take time to get used to a new place. He would need to find a secure place to practice his magic. His worries and vigilance wouldn't ease up because now there would be so many people nearby him at a school full of magical children. One mistake, and the entire school could potentially know things he didn't want them to know about.
Except for the time he had spent traveling, Quinn had spent every day of his new life in this place. The thought of leaving this place, which had become important enough for him to base his mindscape, was an unpleasant one. He wouldn't be able to meet his family for most of the year.
While feeling down, and thinking about the future, Quinn absentmindedly opened his letters. He used magic to safely undo the wax seal without damaging the envelope. The wax seal detached itself from the envelope but stayed on the lip of the envelope.
He gently removed the letter from the envelope and unfolded the two yellowish-beige parchment papers. Just as it in the series, Quinn's letter read.
[
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. West,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
The term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
]
He put aside the first page of the acceptance letter, and on the second page was the list of books and equipment. A smile appeared on his face as he read the list of books.
[
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
------------
UNIFORM
------------
First-year students will require:
1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)
2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear.
3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar).
4. One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings).
Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags.
------------------
COURSE BOOKS
------------------
All students should have a copy of each of the following:
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) - by Miranda Goshawk.
A History of Magic - by Bathilda Bagshot.
Magical Theory - by Adalbert Waffling.
A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration - by Emeric Switch.
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi - by Phyllida Spore.
Magical Drafts and Potions - by Arsenius Jigger.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - by Newt Scamander.
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection - by Quentin Trimble.
----------------------
OTHER EQUIPMENT
----------------------
1 wand