Chapter 322: Acceptance Letters
The great snowy owl from outside the window immediately flew in without hesitation, elegantly perching on the table in front of Adam Bailey. It tilted its head and hooted, examining him as if confirming his identity.
Then it raised one leg and extended a piece of parchment it was holding.
Seeing the great snowy owl, which stood nearly a meter tall, the whole family showed expressions of shock.
"What a large and beautiful owl! Whose is it?" Mrs. Bailey asked in confusion.
While Adam Bailey, seeing the snowy owl extending the letter toward him, asked in surprise, "This is for me?"
The snowy owl nodded in a very human-like manner, its expression somewhat impatient, as if urging him to quickly accept it.
Seeing his eldest son hesitate, Mr. Bailey spoke excitedly and enthusiastically. "Adam, this great snowy owl is the lord's messenger! Quickly take the letter!"
"The lord's messenger?!" Upon hearing this, the whole family showed shocked expressions.
Why would the lord send a letter? And to Adam, no less?
With shock and confusion in their hearts, Adam took the letter and examined it carefully.
The others also gathered around, filled with curiosity.
On the back of the letter was a red wax seal featuring a crest with the letter "H" surrounded by images of a phoenix, dragon, thunderbird, and basilisk.
Flipping to the front, it was written in emerald-green ink with the recipient's name and address.
"Hogsmeade—Dragon Street—White Clover District 21, beside the dining table on the right side of the first floor, for Mr. Adam Bailey."
Adam Bailey read the text on the letter's cover with great wonder.
The others were equally amazed.
"It's amazing, absolutely incredible! How did it do this?" Adam exclaimed in disbelief. "How did it know I was sitting at the dining table? Could someone be watching from outside?"
He couldn't help but lean his head out the window, suspecting someone might be standing outside watching and sending the letter here.
Though Mr. Bailey was surprised, he wasn't puzzled. He waved his hand, speaking in a tone full of reverence and faith. "Don't suspect. The lord doesn't have the leisure to monitor a small child like you. Though incredible, for the lord, knowing your exact location is as easy as pie."
"Believe me, I even suspect there's nothing in this world the lord cannot do!" Mr. Bailey spoke passionately.
Hearing his words, the whole family showed agreement. They all had complete faith in the lord.
In their eyes, the lord was no different from a god, all-powerful.
"Alright, quickly open the letter and see what's inside!" Mr. Bailey urged his eldest son expectantly.
The others were equally curious and eager.
As the letter opened, inside were two pieces of parchment and a silver badge. The badge featured the same crest pattern as the red wax seal on the back of the letter.
Adam looked at the silver badge with confusion, unable to see anything special about it. He placed it on the table and continued examining the contents on the parchment.
"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Headmaster: Kael Black (Lord of Hogsmeade-Bree-Isengard, Supreme Wizard, Dragon Lord, Orc Bane, Troll Slayer, Wight Killer, Tree-feller)
Dear Mr. Bailey:
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to study at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Enclosed is a list of required books and equipment.
The term begins on September 1st. We will await your owl's reply by July 31st.
Deputy Headmaster: Edward
Note: The silver badge enclosed with this letter is a timed Portkey that will activate at 10 AM on August 1st, transporting you to Diagon Alley to purchase the required school books and equipment. Please do not miss the appointed time."
"So this badge is a Portkey?" Adam asked in surprise, picking up the silver badge from the table. Then he looked confused. "But I don't think I need this. Diagon Alley isn't far from our house. Can't we just walk there?"
"Dad, what do we do with this Portkey? Do we use it to go to Diagon Alley when the time comes?"
Mr. Bailey looked at the silver badge, suddenly understanding. "Ah, that explains why several colleagues from our Department of Magical Transportation's Portkey Office were working overtime a few days ago. They were making Portkeys."
Then he smiled and gently ruffled his eldest son's hair. "Don't worry about this Portkey. I suspect every acceptance letter probably includes one, since not everyone lives as close to Diagon Alley as we do and needs it."
"Now, look at what the other page says we need to purchase so we can prepare in advance."
Adam obediently placed the second piece of parchment on top.
It listed the required black robes, pointed wizard hat, protective gloves, winter cloak, a series of textbooks, as well as a wand, cauldron, and other equipment.
Looking at the purchase list, Mr. Bailey smiled happily at his son and the rest of the family. "We should be able to buy all these things at Diagon Alley. Especially the wand—Adam has been longing for a wand for so long. We can go purchase them in advance, which will help us avoid the rush on August 1st. It will definitely be very crowded that day."
Hearing about buying a wand, Adam's eyes immediately lit up with excitement. He asked eagerly. "Dad, when can we go buy the wand? Why don't we go now?"
Mr. Bailey understood his son's urgency and eagerness. When he first discovered his son had magical talent, he rushed to the wand shop wanting to purchase a wand for him.
However, Bill, the wand shop owner, had refused Mr. Bailey's request, saying directly that children's magical power was still unstable. They needed to wait until they were eleven to twelve, when their power had stabilized, before they could receive a wand.
Mr. Bailey had given up purchasing a wand for his son and had been waiting until today.
But he still shook his head at his excited, eager son. "No, Adam, it's too late today. We'll go tomorrow. We can also take the opportunity to buy all the things the letter lists in one go."
Adam, hearing this, could only give up on the idea of going now and looked forward to tomorrow's arrival.
At the same time, just like the Bailey family, acceptance letters were arriving in other places.
In Hogsmeade, Bree, Isengard, and even more distant locations, acceptance letters brought by owls were gradually being received.
In the Angle, where the Dúnedain gathered, a letter from Hogwarts broke the quiet there.
Looking at the letter brought by the great snowy owl, especially noting that the address was extremely detailed, even precise to the bedroom location, the Dúnedain were shocked.
Reading the letter's contents brought both joy and confusion.
They hadn't expected that the wizard lord of Weathertop would recruit students and had even included Dúnedain children.
This made them hesitant and uncertain about what to do.
Over the years, many of them had witnessed that group of wizards and understood the wonders of magic.
They were naturally happy their children could learn magic, but when they thought of studying at Hogwarts Castle, they hesitated.
Fortunately, their chieftain, Aragorn, was at the settlement during this time. So the families receiving the letters went to visit Aragorn and sought his advice.
Aragorn naturally would not refuse such a good thing. After all, he held a wand personally crafted by Kael and had mastered considerable magic.
For the younger generation of the Dúnedain to be accepted by Hogwarts was something he was naturally pleased to see.
He even decided to personally lead the Dúnedain children to Diagon Alley when the time came to purchase wands and other school equipment.
Elf children from Rivendell, Lothlórien, Mirkwood, Dorthonion, and other places similarly received letters one after another, awaiting August 1st when the Portkeys would activate.