It is July in the suburbs of Rome. You are rejoicing because school is finally out and summer is finally under way. Your ten-year birthday has recently been celebrated.

One day, the thirteenth specifically, you receive a huge envelope of thick paper. Your parents are curious about it, but hand it to you nonetheless. You open the envelope and inside are three sheets of similarly thick paper. One is a list of supplies that will be needed for school in September. You have heard of these supplies only in fairy tales. The second is a Welcome letter from some academy, evidently near Rome, that neither you, nor any of your relatives have ever heard of. The third is a letter from some place called the Italian Ministry of Magic explaining that you, yes you, have been blessed with magical powers.

You can not fight back your excitement. Most of your life you have been left out because you were able to do strange things, and now there is an entire school of kids just like you waiting to hone these skills. Your parents are a little uneasy, but they follow directions down an ill-lit alley to a small bookstore. You ask the crone at the counter for directions to the Wizard's Way and she smiles.

She leads you down a spiral staircase and into a street filled with many people, even though it is nearing dark. The crone directs you to a Muggle-Help stand and you are assisted on your errands by a nymph. You purchase your magic supplies, even your own wand and familiar, and return home. Most of your supplies are stowed away until September 1st when you must catch a train in Rome on a platform 8 and 4/5 and depart for your training as a respectable young wizard. You leave your familiar and wand out in the open, just as reminders that this is not a dream.

Eventually, after many days of bonding with your familiar and wand, September first arrives. Most of your peers are already in school, but they were not lucky enough to have magic right at their fingertips. You are assisted once more by a helpful nymph to find the platform.

You board and meet some of your fellow students, your potential friends and foes. The train ride ended at a castle far from Rome. The castle had five spires, four in the cardinal directions and a fifth in the center.

You hear children whisper names and strange words as they disembark. "Harry Potter," some say. Others speak “You-know-who.” "Magic," another whispers to a new friend. You are not alone in this world of strange new experiences. You can not help but stare at the rickety gate that seems to open of its own volition. Above the gate is a marble archway with words cut into the blocks. The words are Old Latin and you try hard to compare them with contemporary Italian words. "periculum latet in fomulo." Danger lies hidden in beauty. Then, from seemingly nowhere, you hear a voice behind you.