Some questions answered
"Mugwump?" repeated Dad.
"Yes. Right here. Albus Dumbledore, etcetera, Chief Warlock, Supreme Mugwump," did that word even exist? "International Confederation of Wizards."
Mom looked pensive. "I think I've heard that word somewhere, actually…"
McGonagall supplied the information, one eyebrow raised in undeniable amusement. And perhaps some astonishment. "The Supreme Mugwump is a political position of quite some importance and prestige in our world. It is effectively the spokesperson for and impartial mediator over the discussions of the International Confederation." I had a feeling the Mugwump had quite a bit more power, unofficially. "Which is, itself, something like your United Nations. But prospective students don't usually focus on that part of the letter."
I shrugged at her amusement. "I was curious." but she was right, so I tapped the paper and asked, "So, wizards, witches, magic…?"
"All quite real, I assure you," McGonagall said with a smile. "Would you like to see proof?"
I'd never met any magic cape in person. Those that waved their arms around, shouting nonsense and wore robes like... well, like the one in front of me. I also didn't believe that powers were magical, even if they gave the middle finger to the laws of nature most of the time. It didn't matter, but powers being magic implied a lack of control and explanations. Bonesaw had spoken about brain structures, of messing with them and subsequently our powers. She hadn't, fortunately, but her talk of passengers was anything but magical. But that wasn't what really bothered me about this situation. McGonagall had mentioned politics, spoken of a different 'world'. And this Hogwarts school. A school for powers? You couldn't teach parahumans methodically, because every single one was different and not fully understood.
The parahuman community had unspoken rules, underground arrangements and alliances. Nothing like this, with confederations and the like. Was this also intertwined with the normal government? I didn't know enough about anything to reach conclusions. Of course, it wasn't like it had to make sense. I was still unsure of exactly what was going on.
Still, I answered the self-proclaimed witch, "Yes." I barely remembered to add, "Please."
The professor reached into her robes and pulled out a wand, an honest-to-God wand of all things. She was really playing this up. Maybe it was a sort of tinker device, somehow? Beside me, my parents leaned in, transparently curious. McGonagall then waved it over one of the teacups on the table, transforming it into a mouse. A very real and animated mouse, that looked up at us humans curiously.
That... was something.
"So, this is magic?" I phrased it as a question. Was it a power based on changing things? What were its limits? Could she literally pull a witch and turn people into frogs?
"Transfiguration is but one of the many disciplines of magic. I teach Transfiguration at Hogwarts myself." She made a few more wand flourishes, turning the mouse blue, then shrinking it and then back into a teacup.
I couldn't really help myself, and interrupted. "Could you do an insect? Like, a spider or a butterfly?"
For a moment, the grey-haired woman seemed surprised, but then she smiled and the teacup turned into a beautiful red and gold butterfly. I still couldn't feel it. I'd hoped that, perhaps, something created from this power would be the solution, that it would interact correctly with my powers wherever I was. No such luck, but it had been a long shot anyway.
"There are also Charms, Potions, Runes… even things like Divination and Alchemy," continued the professor. With a wand flick, the butterfly was a teacup again. "Magic is a powerful and versatile tool. In the hands of a skilled wizard, it can do almost anything."
I nodded. "And Hogwarts could teach me that?"
"The transfiguration or using magic?" McGonagall questioned, guessing my intent. "As for the first, no student of mine would be allowed to take their OWLs without being able to do this much. As for the second, Ms. Granger, you wouldn't be the first muggleborn student that doubted their capabilities, but the Book of Admittance wouldn't have your name in it if you didn't have magic. Do you remember any time when feeling scared, angry or sad, strange things just... happened? Objects moving, disappearing, animals doing what you want?"
No. "Vaguely."
"Taylor," Dad spoke up, "remember... remember when we went to the beach and you climbed that huge rock and fell down?"
I'd gone to the beach every summer, back when Mom was still alive. But the beaches of Brockton Bay were nearly all sand. The few rocks there were wouldn't reach much higher than my waist. I played along. "Yes?"
"And then you slipped and fell and gave your mother and I the greatest scare of our lives." Dad chuckled weakly. "But you weren't hurt at all. You... floated down. We thought it had been a trick of the light, or that you'd bounced on the sand."
"Or that time you got your books all wet," interrupted Mom, "and the next day they were as good as new? Not a smudge or wrinkled page!"
"Now that you're telling me, I remember." I didn't, but denying it would only create more problems when I still wasn't sure of anything. However, it would have been incredibly useful to be able to dry books with my mind after I entered highschool. Maybe then we wouldn't have had to spend so much money on schoolbooks. "That was my... magic?" I asked McGonagall, who confirmed. "Right. So, now what?"
