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Bug loved the Harry Potter books as a kid. His best friend, Roach, loved Malory Towers . Both of them wanted to be just like the heroes of their books.
So when they were ten and Roach went off to boarding school, Bug was incredibly jealous. Roach got what he wanted, got to go to a boarding school and have the same experiences as the girls in Malory Towers , while Bug had to stay home in his boring secondary school with boring teachers and boring parents and boring rules.
But when the day after he turned eleven, there was a knock on the door to his house while he was home alone. Bug went to open; a woman stood there, old and towering and terrifying. “Can I help you?”
“Are you Bug?” she asked, smiling, and Bug stopped being afraid.
He smiled back. “I am!” It was much more exciting than having to take a message for his parents.
The woman knelt down. “My name is Minerva,” she said. “Maybe you’ve heard of me. Minerva McGonagall.”
Bug could feel his eyes widen in his head. “You’re— You’re— Prof— Professor McGonagall.”
“Yes.” She reached out a hand. “It’s good to meet you, Bug. Now, may I come inside? We have some things to discuss before your parents come home.”
Bug nodded wildly and stepped aside to let her in. Professor McGonagall! He knew it was probably a prank, but he was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.
Professor McGonagall took a seat in the parlour. “Now, Bug. You seem to know about me, so I’m sure you also know about Hogwarts, don’t you?”
“I do.” Bug nodded. “I’ve read
Harry Potter
three times by myself,” he added. He’d had it read aloud to him more times, and he’d listened to the audiobooks, but he was proud of having read them himself.
“That’s good.” Professor McGonagall smiled. She did a small gesture with her hand, and a letter appeared in her hand.
Magic,
Bug thought, but he didn’t say anything, just took the letter when she handed it to him. “This is your Hogwarts acceptance letter. Now, we do need to talk to your parents about whether or not you can go, but I think your excitement might convince them.” She smiled. “Would you like tea?”
“I’m not supposed to make tea when my parents aren’t home,” Bug replied automatically.
“Don’t worry.” Professor McGonagall winked. “We don’t have to actually make the tea.” She took out a stick — no, Bug realised, it was her wand — and waved it, and suddenly there were to tiny teacups on the small table in the parlour.
Bug hopped up on the other chair, and took the teacup. He sipped a few times, still surreptitiously staring at the professor in awe.
She smiled at him when she noticed him staring. “I’m sure this a lot for you, but you’ll get used to it, I promise. Here come your parents.”
Indeed they did. Bug caught them in the entryway and explained what was happening, stumbling over his words as he went. They looked like the didn’t believe him, but once they got into the parlour and saw Professor McGonagall, they quieted a little. They listened to her story, saw her demonstration of magic, nodding all the way.
Then they thanked her and sent her away, because Bug needed to go to secondary school and a good sixth form, and a good university, and didn’t need to know magic. Bug cried and yelled and refused to talk to them for days, but they didn’t budge.
Then something interesting happened. An owl arrived, late one night, knocking on his bedroom window. He went and opened the window to see what was up, and the snow-white bird dropped a letter into his hand and waited.
Dear Bug,
You don’t know me, but my name is February, and I live on your street. I saw Minnie — that’s Professor McGonagall for you, probably — go into your house the other day, so I asked her what was happening, and she said there was a muggleborn wizard boy named Bug in that house, and that I should try to talk to him, so here I am, talking to you. My parents told me only to send Snowy — that’s my owl — when it’s dark out, but I hope you’re not asleep yet.
Please send a letter back if it’s ok that I come by your house so we can play together. Hopefully we’ll see each other at Hogwarts too!
Best regards,
February
Bug looked at the letter for a while. There weren’t a lot of kids on the street, and he knew most of them, but he vaguely remembered seeing a blond girl around his age in the weird rickety house at the end of the lane. Apparently she was a witch, which made sense.
He went to his desk and tore a paper out of his notebook, then grabbed a pen to write a reply.
Dear February,
Thank you for your letter. I’d love to play together, that sounds like a lot of fun. Maybe you can tell me about witches and wizards - I only know what I’ve read, and Professor McGonagall told me that a lot of that is fiction.
I don’t think we’ll see each other at Hogwarts. My parents won’t let me go, so I have to stay here. But we can still play together!
I really like Snowy. I wish I had an owl.
Best regards,
Bug
He folded the paper, wrote February on the front, and gave it to Snowy, who flew off with it.
Bug did feel a little better going to bed that night, but only a little.
The next day, there was a knock on the door in the afternoon. Bug’s mother went to open. “Bug! It’s for you,” she yelled.
Bug went down to see. The blond girl he’d seen a few times, who he’d assumed was February, was standing outside smiling. “Hi Bug. I was wondering if you wanna come play in our garden for a bit?”
“Hi February.” Bug nodded. “I’d like that.” He looked at his mother. “Can I go to February’s to play for a bit?”
“Yeah, but be home for dinner.”
“Alright!” Bug ran outside with February.
“Come on.” She took his hand. “I need to show you something.”
She pulled him to her house and around the back to the garden. “What is it?” Bug asked, following her, excited. He’d never met a real witch before, at least not a child. “What’s going on?”
“Just wait.” February pulled to a stop in front of a large cage. Inside sat two owls; one was Snowy, preening. The other was smaller, brown with white patterns on the front. It was staring at the two kids. “That’s Snowy, who you met last night,” February said, pointing. “He’s my owl, a snow owl. The barn owl doesn’t have a name yet, but that’s your owl.”
“My owl?” Bug shook his head. “I don’t have an owl. I can’t have an owl, my parents wouldn’t let me.”
“You’ll need an owl to go to Hogwarts, silly.” She lowered her voice and leaned in. “I talked to Minnie and my parents, they’ve arranged the whole thing. But when you said that you wished you had an owl, my parents decided that they’d give you one, as a thank you for how nicely you responded to me. You may find this hard to believe, Bug, but I don’t have a lot of friends.”
He did find that hard to believe; February was the most amazing person he had ever met. “But I can’t go to Hogwarts, my parents don’t want me to.” He walked over to the cage and tentatively held out a hand. The brown owl hopped over and looked at him.
“Here.” February pressed something into his hand. “Owl snacks. Give him these.”
So Bug took the owl snacks and held them out to the owl, who carefully picked them out of his hand. “Wauw.”
“Give him a name! I’ll take you inside and get ma to explain everything, but you need to name your owl.”
Bug looked at the owl for a while, and the owl looked back. “His name… His name is Roach,” he said then.
February nodded seriously. “A good name.” Then she took his hand and dragged him inside. “Come on, ma will explain everything.”
Inside the house was cosy, but Bug could still clearly see how rickety the structure was. Nonetheless, he was happy to be there.
February’s mother explained everything, and also gave him a glass of squash and some biscuits. Usually, if muggle parents didn’t want to send their kids to Hogwarts, the Ministry of Magic would intervene and take the child anyway. This was under the belief that the parents would want their children back, but just in case they didn’t, they arranged for a wizard family to semi-adopt the child in question; new policies, but very effective. Ever since hearing about Bug, February had talked about how nice it was going to be to have one of her classmates live so close, so her parents had decided to volunteer to take care of Bug. They were also going to take him shopping for school supplies. “No reason to drop that on your poor parents just yet,” her mother said.
Bug went home, overwhelmed and confused, but happy. He set about writing a letter for Roach, telling him about Hogwarts and all the things he would get to do, and about the owl named after him.
He was happy that he was going to get to stay with February, even if he was sure his parents would want him back. They lived close, he could still see her all the time.
February and her parents made sure that Bug's parents didn't know that they were wizards, so they allowed him to join them on a day trip to London. They were going to Diagon Alley, February explained excitedly, to shop for school supplies.
Roach and Snowy were with them too, in their travel cages. Bug and February each carried their owl in one hand, and held each other's hands with the other. February's parents shooed them around the little street, getting robes and parchment and ink houses and pens. And wands. February's was short, a little curved, and made of rowan. Bug's was barely any longer, but ramrod straight, made of cherry wood. Phoenix feather core, the man behind the counter told him, a very fitting choice. February's was also phoenix feather. Bug liked that they had that in common.
Unfortunately, February's parents wouldn't let him keep the wand with him, and they agreed that it was best that everything else stayed at their house, too. The Ministry had already been by and explained to Bug's parents that he would have to go, and that he would be back for Christmas, but it was still better that they didn't know too much.
September 1st came, after a too-long summer, and Bug's parents drove him to London. They dropped him off at the train station with lots of hugs and kisses and goodbyes — maybe they'd gotten used to him being a wizard, Bug thought.
He found February and her parents after his own parents left, and they showed him how to get through the wall to the platform.
They said their goodbyes. "We'll send owls," February promised. "Bug too."
"Of course." He looked up at her parents. "If I send letters for my parents or for Roach to you, can you send them on? I don't think Roach's school will be very happy if there's suddenly a bird in his room."
"Of course dear." February's mother shooed them onto the train. "Can't miss it now."
February held Bug's hand as they went through. "This carriage," she said, pushing open a door. Four people were already sitting in there, talking, but they fell silent as February and Bug entered.
One of the boys spoke up first. "Hi February, take a seat. Who's your new friend?"
"This is Bug." She pulled him forward. "Bug, these are my friends. That's my cousin, Up." She pointed at the boy who'd spoken. "He's in fourth year, he's a Hufflepuff, he's really nice. And that's Up's best friend, Taz." She pointed at the girl sitting next to him, arms crossed. "She's in third year and she's a Gryffindor. And that's Tootsie." She pointed at the boy across from Taz. "He's also in third year, and he's in Hufflepuff. And that's Tootsie's girlfriend, Megagirl, she's in Slytherin." February sat down next to Up.
Bug sat next to February. "Hi everyone."
A chorus of hello's greeted him.
Another girl entered the car, Specs, a second year Ravenclaw, followed by Krayonder, also second year, also Ravenclaw. "Hey man, where's Junior?" Krayonder asked when he got in.
"Must be with someone else," Tootsie said, looking out the window.
"We didn't see him on the platform," February added.
For the first hour, Bug was too overwhelmed to say much, but all of the older kids were nice to him, and February was holding his hand the entire time, so it was easier.
Finally, they arrived at Hogwarts. It was everything Bug had dreamed it would be, and more. Big old castle, carriages that drove themselves; he wondered, briefly, if the invisible horses he'd read about were real, then Up shuddered and made some comment about how creepy the horses were, and Taz nodded in agreement, so Bug wondered instead who they'd seen die.
Finally it was time to get sorted. February was up before Bug; a Hufflepuff. He saw Up and Tootsie give her hugs. Then it was Bug's turn; he held his breath for the entire time the hat was on his head.
"Slytherin!"
Bug looked over at his new house table. He was sad he wasn't in the same house as February, but the group on the train had been mixed, so he was sure he'd still see her.
Megagirl waved at him, so he went to sit next to her. "This is Junior," Megagirl said stiffly, gesturing towards the boy next to her. "Junior, this is February's little friend, Bug."
"Hi Bug." Junior held out his hand, and Bug shook it. Junior was trying to squish his hand, so Bug squished back; he was stronger, even though Junior was older.
"Hi Junior." He smiled. "How do you know February?"
Junior did a dismissive gesture with his hand. "Family friends. Lots of the bug witch and wizard families are connected somehow. You'll get a hold of it."
Dinner was served; a speech was held; they were led back to their dorms. Bug stayed vaguely around Junior and Megagirl, just because he kind of knew them, but he also talked to new people.
Hogwarts was everything Bug had imagined, and then some. Christmas came, and Bug and February went home together. Up and Taz were with them, but none of the rest of the group; they were all staying at Hogwarts for the holidays, February explained.
Because it was still a group, even though they were mismatched and all had their other friends. They stuck together whenever possible. Bug liked them all; even Junior, who had been rude to him, but had also helped him with homework, and had casually come sit with him in the common room once, when Bug was having a particularly bad day.
Roach was also home for Christmas, so after dropping off his owl and wizard things at February's house and going to say hi to his parents, Bug ran down to Roach's house.
They spent all night talking about their schools and their friends. They'd exchanged letters, through February's parents, but talking was much better.
Christmas Morning was brilliant, but even more brilliant was the fact that February's parents invited Bug and Roach over for tea, and their parents let them go. So Roach was introduced to the wizarding world, and Bug got to see how wizards celebrated Christmas. February, Up — who was there with his parents — and Taz — who was there with Up, it seemed — introduced them to various wizarding games, some of which Bug knew, some which he didn't. Regardless, it was fun to introduce Roach to them, and the other kids were very accepting of him being there.
Up had a broom with him, and he convinced his parents to be allowed to take the kids flying. Bug had flown before, but only in class. Roach was scared of it — he'd seemed scared of all of it, even if he did laugh when they played exploding snap — but Up managed to convince him to come for a short ride, and his eyes were shining when he came down.
It became term time again, so Bug, February, Up, and Taz found themselves on the train. Bug's parents had let him drive to London with the others, and had said goodbye to him at home. Which was good, because then he could sit with Roach-the-Owl on his lap when they drove. He'd been surprised that February's parents owned something as ordinary as a car, but they said it was good for short rides, or for public appearance. And Bug liked car rides, so he didn't mind.
He also liked February holding his hand in the back seat the entire way back.
The second semester flew by, more lessons, more magic, more new friends. Bugette, a Slytherin girl from his own year, was always talking to him, but Bug found her annoying. She stopped after she saw him and February holding hands during a potions class, but Bug didn't know why. He didn't mind.
Eventually, the semester ended, and Bug had to go home for the summer. February was travelling with her family, but they'd managed to convince his parents that he could keep Roach-the-Owl at home, so they could send letters back and forth. And she'd be home soon, for some of the summer, and she'd definitely come by then, all the time. Plus, Roach was home, he wouldn't be alone.
Summer flew by. Spending his days with Roach, then with February and Roach.
Early August came around, as did Bug's 12th birthday. It marked one year of his induction to the wizarding world, and it had been the best year of his life.
He knew there'd be many more good years, especially as February kissed him behind the owlery in her garden, where she'd pulled him out to give him his present.