Mai Arium walked down the stairs to the kitchen. She made herself toast and ate it quietly, thinking about the summer day to come. Mai was a 11 year-old girl with light brown hair and hazel eyes. Her hair went down to the middle of her back, and it was a fine, the kind that never stayed in buns. After her toast was finished she put away her plate and went to get the morning mail. It was another summer Monday, with nothing to do and no friends. Her school friends were both on vacation somewhere nice. Mai's parents and younger brother were not up yet. Mai was always an early bird, up before everyone else. Her brother Leo was loud but sweet, and her older sister Jasmine was out of the house living with her college friend.
The mail seemed usual, a letter from Jasmine, a postcard from Aunt and Uncle, both of which were on vacation, and a third letter addressed to Mai in green ink. Jasmine always addressed her letters to Mom, and a letter just to Mai had never happened before. Mai went back into the kitchen and dropped Jasmine's letter and the postcard on the table. Still staring at the letter, she walked upstairs and into her room, closing her door on her way in. She felt like she didn't want to be interrupted when she opened her letter.
The paper inside was also written in green ink. It was spelled in ornate writing. Slipping it out of the envelope, she read it quickly.
Dear Mai Arium,
You have been accepted to Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.
Yours sincerely,
Headmistress Minerva Mcgonagall
Hogwarts? Mai had never heard of a school like that. Witchcraft and wizardry...They must be joking. This must be a prank. 'We await your owl...necessary books and equipment...' There was indeed a second parchment in the envelope that Mai hadn't noticed before. But there was another one too! Mai took out the first parchment. It had the same green ink and curly handwriting.
Dear Miss Arium,
I'm sure you must be very confused with this letter. Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry is real however, and you are a muggle-born witch. No doubt you have experienced many strange events, possibly changing the color of objects, or made something vanish. The Wizarding World has hidden itself from muggles (non-magical folk) and we wish for you to attend this magical school to train your powers. We hope you regard our letter with seriousness and not dismiss the whole thing as fake. Directions to the Leaky Cauldron are enclosed in your list of books and equipment. The bartender Tom will take you into the backyard and tap the third brick from the left above the trash bin with his wand. Your parents will likely accompany you. The Gringotts Wizarding Bank takes pound notes for Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts. You can use these to buy your supplies. Your ticket to the Hogwarts Express is also enclosed. To get to Platform 9 3/4 you must walk straight into the wall between platforms 9 and 10. We hope to see you at Hogwarts
Yours sincerely,
Headmistress Minerva Mcgonagall
Well, that certainly explained a lot, Mai thought. She had indeed changed her nightgown blue when Mom got her a pink one. She hated pink. Plus she had added a black cat pattern. Mai was only 4 and was quite proud until her mother had asked how she got that nightgown. Being only 4, she couldn't explain, and Mom deduced that it must have been old. Mai had turned her chair red when she was 6, and at age 10 she had turned the dog purple and back. This happened in a flash, so she didn't quite realize it until she saw that his nose was lilac. How Mai was going to explain this to Mom and Dad, though, she didn't know. Maybe if she concentrated really hard she could produce some magic to convince them. She took out the last parchment, and read it eagerly. She was interested in the equipment she needed for Hogwarts.

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, silver fastenings)
Please note that all pupils' cloths 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 Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch
On 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

So many books! Mai hoped she had enough money to afford them all. She wanted to buy some extra ones as well.

Other Equipment
1 wand
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set glass or crustal phials
1 telescope
1 set brass scales
Students may also bring and owl OR a cat OR a toad

She would like a cat. Someone to cuddle with if she didn't make any friends. Mai thought that she could make friends, but what if they all were mean to her for being Muggle-born. But, she thought, plenty of people in the school must be Muggle-born. Yes I'll be fine.
Mai felt like she could jump up and down. A magical school! She ran downstairs to tell Mom and Dad, who should be up by now. She showed them the letter. At first they thought it was fake, and refused to even look at the directions to The Leaky Cauldron, but when Mai turned Leo's hair (he had woken up to Mai running down the stairs) white and then back to its natural dark brown color, they had to accept it. Mom told her that they would go to The Leaky Cauldron the day after tomorrow. Mai could hardly wait.