~Tommy POV; July 31st, 1991~

One morning, I was getting up to get some breakfast before my Aunt Marie yelled downstairs. The hell does she want?

Marie: Tommy! Come down! There's a letter for you!

Tommy: Coming down!

Once after showering, dressing, and brushing my teeth, I went down to get some breakfast. My aunt always made good breakfast and she would just do it out of love.

Sometimes I take it for granted, but in the end, I'm always appreciated by how she's doing her best to care for me.

Marie: Got this in the mail today. I think I know what it means!

I looked the letter and it turned out to be from Hogwarts! I heard about this from my Aunt and I'm super excited about it because I've always wanted to go.

"Dear Mr. Gallo, we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1st of September. We await your owl by no later than 31st July.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonnagall

Deputy Headmistress"

I remember my aunt talking about her and she said McGonnagall is the sweetest lady, when people get on her good side.

My aunt and her became friends soon after the first year and they never lost touch after Marie graduated, which is kind of ironic because Marie had lots of friends and lost touch with most of them.

We then decided to go to Diagon Alley to get the stuff, but before we left the house, I had to read the list out loud to her just so we could get an idea of what to bring to Hogwarts.

First-year students will require:

Uniform

- Three Sets of Plain Work Robes
- One Plain Pointed Hat For Day Wear
- One Pair of Protective Gloves Dragon Hide or Similar
- One Winter Cloak Black
- Please note that all student's clothes should carry name tags at all times

Books

- The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1 by Miranda Goshawk
- A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
- Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling
- A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch
- One 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

Other Equipment

- 1 Wand
- 1 Cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
- 1 set of glass or crystal phials
- 1 telescope
- 1 set of brass scales
- Students may also bring an Owl OR a Cat OR a Toad.

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS.

I'm allowed to bring a pet? I saw that there's a pet store here, so after the wand, we'll look at what they've got in store.

I was concerned on how we'll pay for all of this stuff, but I had to ask my Aunt about how we could get all this.

Tommy: Aunt Marie, how can we pay for all of this? We don't have any money.

Marie: We do have money Tommy! Gringotts, the Wizarding Bank. Safest place in the wizarding world, probably much safer than every bank you can imagine.

Tommy: Why's that?

Marie: It only had 2 break-ins as it is run by goblins.

Tommy: Wow, they have to be very smart.

Marie: They are, but don't piss them off. They're smarter than they look.

Tommy: Yes ma'am.

We walked in and the head goblin took us to Marie's vault #788. Just as we got off, I saw a brown haired kid with round glasses.

Who was this guy?

I've heard about The Boy Who Lived, but I don't know if it is.

Guess we'll wait and see.

When the goblin opened the vault, we were surprised by how much money we had! There was so much of it, you could basically build a house out of them!

I wanted to dive into it as if I was diving into a pool, but no, that wouldn't end well.

Marie: You see, Tommy, I've been saving so much of this that I couldn't leave it all at my house! The bronze ones are the knuts, the silver ones are sickles, and the gold ones are galleons.

After taking some money, we went back onto the surface to get what we need.

The robes were important to get so we got that first, then the gloves, and we didn't bother with the hat because first of all, I would look like a fucking idiot.

After getting the books, Marie offered to get the rest of the stuff while I went into Olivander's Wand Shop.

I went in and it look deserted as hell.

Tommy: Hello?

In came an old man with a dark brown suit and tie with crazy hair. He almost looked like Albert Einstein as he must be Olivander.

(A/N: Miss you every single day Sir John Hurt.)

Olivander: I wonder when I got to meet you Mister Gallo.

Tommy: You knew my family?

Olivander: Ah, yes. It only seemed yesterday when your mother, her sister, and your father came in to buy their first wands. Oh, pardon my manners. I'm Garrick Olivander, but you can call me Garrick.

Tommy: Nice to meet you sir.

He then grabbed a box and brought it to his desk.

Olivander: Hawthorn, 10 1/2 inches, Unicorn hair. Give it a wave.

I did, and it felt a bit heavy, resulting in taking the wand right out of my hand.

Olivander: Apparently not.

He then grabbed another box and pulled out another wand.

Another one.

Olivander: Perhaps, this: chestnut, also 10 1/2 inches, dragon heartstring.

He gave it to me and when I gave it a wave, his mirror broke. I was a bit upset about that but he waved it off.

Olivander: No, no, indefinitely not! No matter!

Then he got another box and looked confident for some reason. When he came back to me, he opened the box and gave the wand to me.

Olivander: Oak, 10 1/2 inches, dragon heartstring.

Once the wand was in my hand, there was a rush of power that seemed to cause a change in the atmosphere. It was a bit eerie.

Olivander: Seems like the wand has chose you, Mister Gallo.

Tommy: You know what the wand thinks or feels?

Olivander: All the wands I've sold, I've never felt a really big change in the atmosphere in this store. It's if the wand wants you for a reason.

Tommy: It could be, but do you mind if I ask a question?

Olivander: Anything, my boy, anything.

Tommy: How did you know my parents and my mom's sister?

Olivander: Let's say that my parents used to be schoolmates with their parents. When I learned that their children were going to Hogwarts, it was my duty to give them the best wands available. When your father walked in while your mother was trying out her wand, they made eye contact for a good moment before he went out to let her handle her business.

I was really fascinated with how my parents met. Mr. Olivander seemed to be the nicest man.

Olivander: From what I heard, they got married years later and had you. I want to hear from them. How are they?

He had to ask. I was shook but I didn't let my emotions get to me.

Tommy: I'm living with my aunt.

Olivander: Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that. I apologize for bringing it up.

Tommy: Don't worry about it. I'm over it.

I really haven't and I don't think I will for the rest of my life, but I know I'll mature over time.

Tommy: Thank you for today, Garrick.

Olivander: Anytime. After all, the wand chooses the wizard!

I walked out and Marie got everything else as we went to the pet shop to see what I can find.

Then, there's this cat that I found. It was a grey Siamese cat and I found her really cute.

Not only that, it has a little heart on her hip, so I know what to call her after I bought her: Cuore, which is Italian for "heart".

We bought her and named her Cuore. She was such a love that I think she deserved to come with me to Hogwarts!

Now we waited.

~31st August~

Between the two of us, dinner was always a big thing, especially when it came to the first coming up.

Marie decided to do my favorite dinner: Chicken Parmigian with Spaghetti. I was at least 10 years old to get behind the stove and start cooking, so I helped flattened out the chicken breast while Marie did a simple marinara sauce.

I felt like my aunt used too much garlic, but it was still a really good sauce.

Obviously, we didn't use canned sauce for our dinners, we used homemade sauce, to make sure that it tastes good and not bland like the canned sauce other people use nowadays.

Now, for the chicken, we take the tail end off, just a bit of it, then we butterfly it before adding it to a bed of AP flour, egg wash, and bread crumbs.

From my knowledge, the origin of the Chicken Parmigian originated in the 1940s, where a lot of Italian immigrants came to America because of World War II. They adapted the dish from the original Eggplant Parmigian with chicken because chicken was and still is the most cheapest cut of meat, so that was what they had at the time since eggplant was what they were used to have.

Also, why are we cooking Chicken Parm with spaghetti? Well, the earliest record of this dish was 1944 from the United States where it was always served with pasta. I do know that in Australia, they eat chicken parm with French fries, or "chips" as they call them and in their version of Chicken Parm, they add a bit of smoked ham before the marinara sauce and then the cheese.

I hope to go to Australia someday and try their Chicken Parm because from what I know, it's a national dish since they don't have much food culture, and I don't mean it in a rude and discriminatory way.

Anyway, for the sauce, we sometimes added grated onion for recipes like this if we wanted to, but sometimes just garlic is the way to go, since we don't have to be crazy with this sauce.

Whenever our friends come over, we make the sauce from scratch and we teach them how to make it, so that way they don't have to deal with canned sauce ever again.

The same can go with pre minced garlic in a jar. It's no good, fresh is obviously better in this case and the same can go for herbs. Dried herbs are good but fresh is always better.

Anyone want the recipe for the marinara sauce? Then here you go:

1. Crush the garlic and mince it up (If anyone uses jarred pre-minced garlic, respectively, go fuck yourself).
2. Oil a pan very well and add the minced garlic.
3. Add a sprinkle of Oregano, and a 12 oz can of crushed tomatoes and let it sit for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring regularly until, you take a flat wooden spatula and slice through to see that it parts like the Red Sea.

With the spaghetti, she used a big pot full of water, a big pinch of salt around the bottom of the pan to make the spaghetti not stick to the bottom.

After prepping the chicken breasts, I put them in a skillet filled with olive oil, and we waited for the pasta and sauce to cook.

Obviously, we would not add oil to the water as it's just a myth. There was somebody saying that adding olive oil to the pot would help with the pasta, but in reality, it'll just float to the top and it doesn't really do anything, so I highly recommend avoiding that.

And not only that, we would never BREAK the pasta. It's insulting to my fellow Italians, and not only that, I'm pretty much convinced that it affects the texture of the pasta after it's broken.

I mean, if I had a friend, they invited me to their home for dinner, and they break the pasta right in front of me, I'm walking the hell out and I'm never talking to them again. I will delete their number, email, unfollow them on Instagram, Twitter, whatever. I'm sure that we could've gone to elementary school, or hell, we could've gone to PRE-SCHOOL! I do not care. I will never associate myself with said person ever again after they break the pasta! WE. ARE. DONE.

Sorry for the rant, it's just how I felt about people breaking spaghetti or any kind of pasta noodle.

~10 Minutes Later~

They were done and everything was cooked right. We assembled our plates, napkins, forks and knives, and we got started with our dinner.

After flipping the chicken to see that there was a golden brown, we added the sauce, some slices of mozzarella, some freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano, put it in the broiler in the oven, and once the cheese is melted, we took it out of the oven and onto the plate of pasta.

And freshly grated cheese? We use the real blocks of cheese, instead of that pre-grated shit!

The main reason why is that when you open a bag of cheese shreds, you can see that they don't stick together and the reason why is because they have cornstarch or potato starch that will give off a grainy texture. That's why when you take a block of cheese and shred it yourself, not only will you get a cleaner texture and a much better flavor, and I highly recommend.

Also, when cooking Italian food, don't use a block of the knockoff Parmesan cheese, as it won't have the words Parmigiano Regianno on the rind. It's no good.

Use the real shit from Italy as it'll have that words on there, signafying that it's from an authentic Parmigiano cheese wheel, and it's much better.

This was our way of celebrating anything in the family: it can be someone who passed away, it can be if my aunt's friends getting engaged or some shit, or it can be the fact that I got accepted at Hogwarts, the place where would I feel the most comfortable at in the future.