I own absolutely nothing except the OC character(s) that appear in this story. This story will deviate from canon, but not too much.
WARNINGS: There will be mentions of child abuse/neglect throughout the story, but nothing overly graphic. If at any time you think I've been outrageously graphic then let me know and I'll take your concerns into consideration.
Aria Bourne eyed the school uniform with distaste. Her dad, Kenneth, appeared pleased with his effort to make the uniform less ugly than it was, but there was only so much a person could do to a second hand uniform that was already two sizes too big.
"Do I have to?" Aria finally asked. Her dad deflated, his arms lowering, the uniform dragging on the floor.
"Yes. St. Brigid's requires the uniform unless you're doing your A-Levels. Then you can dress as you please while adhering to a dress code."
"Then I'll skip the rest of school and start my A-Levels now."
Kenneth held out the offending garment. Aria took it.
"I know it's not much," he said. "But if all goes well I'll be able to get you at least a new skirt or something before school starts. 'sides, you're going to grow into it anyway."
"It still smells like moth balls."
"Beggars can't be choosers."
Aria scowled at the hand-me-down. All the kids would laugh at her, like they always did. Aria Bourne, born on the wrong side of the river, the youngest of the Spinner's End brats. There would be at least six others from her side of town at St. Brigid's and they were all boys and troublemakers. Just the knowledge she came from Spinner's End seemed to set teachers one edge and with her ugly hand-me-down uniform she was sure to not have any friends again.
"Aria!" her dad shouted.
With a startled yelp as her hand burned, Aria dropped the smoking garment. A small flame appeared in the middle of the fabric and Kenneth hurried to toss his glass of water over it.
"Are you hurt?" Kenneth demanded, kneeling in front of Aria.
"I'm sorry!" she cried. "I didn't mean to ruin it. I don't like it but I'd never have ruined it."
"It's okay, it's okay," her dad soothed. "I can fix it. What about your hand?" He grasped the hand she'd been holding the uniform with, tsked at the redness, and ushered her into the kitchen to stick her hand under the cold water of the tap. Aria hissed as the water first touched her, but then relaxed as it began to numb the pain.
"Keep it there, let me see if I can find some burn cream." Kenneth began rooting around the kitchen, eventually heading for the stairs when a knock sounded from the front door.
"Stay where you are!" he called to Aria. She heard him open the door and cry out with surprise.
"Severus!"
Aria's head whipped around to stare out of the kitchen to the front hallway where she could just make out the shadows of her dad and their neighbor, Severus Snape. A dour man with a hooked nose, he was rarely around except for the summers and occasional school holiday as he was a teacher at a boarding school in Scotland. Very hush-hush. The rumor around Spinner's End was that it was a school for special children hand selected by the government to become the next wave of politicians and world rulers.
Well, that was her theory and no one she hung out with disputed it.
"Go into the sitting room," she heard her dad say. "I'll get Aria. Do you want tea?"
"No thank you," the deep voice of Severus Snape replied. Kenneth reappeared in the kitchen and grabbed a hand towel, wetting it with the cold water, wrapping it around Aria's hand. Together they went into the sitting room where their neighbor was studying the photos on the mantle.
"Now, what's this visit about?" Kenneth asked. "You never like showing yourself unless you have to."
"Indeed." Snape spun around, his shiny black boots silent against the floor. "I've come to offer Aria a place at the school I teach at."
Her mouth dropped open. She was being invited to attend the school that would make her a world ruler?
Snape reached into his jacket pocket and held a parchment envelope out to Aria. Her name was written on the front in emerald green ink in the most stunning calligraphy she'd ever seen.
Aria Bourne
2nd Bedroom
24 Spinner's End, Cokesworth, England
Curious way to address the letter. There wasn't even a stamp or a postcode.
"Isn't this the school you and that girl attended when you were little?" Kenneth asked. "I remember you two being as thick as thieves once."
"Once," Snape replied. "And yes. It is the same school. Go on, Miss Bourne. Open."
Aria managed to open the envelope, finally ditching the wet cloth in her quest to see the contents. She unfolded all the sheets of parchment and read the letterhead.
"Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry?" she demanded. "Is this a joke, Mr. Snape?"
"Do I appear the joking kind?" Snape asked. She glared at him before glancing over the rest of the acceptance letter. In it there were details to what the other sheets of parchment were, along with a few very important dates and rules such as no brooms of first years, only familiars on the approved list were allowed at Hogwarts unless one had special permission from the Board of Governors, and that all the school supplies could be found in Diagon Alley in London.
"I don't understand," Kenneth finally said.
"It's simple," Snape replied. "Aria's a witch. And I'm a wizard. Really, Kenneth, all those times I made strange things happen at school. All the times Aria must have done strange things."
"I just set my school uniform on fire by scowling at it," Aria whispered. "I didn't like it and was upset that I'd be teased."
"What else have you done? Especially when you're highly emotional?"
Aria frowned. What to choose from!
"There was the time I made bread loaf float for a few seconds when I really wanted it because I was hungry," she said.
"And the time your plushie danced to you when you were very small," Kenneth murmured. "Your mother always said you were special."
"I think most of the kids at school would say I was possessed," Aria disagreed.
"That's your accidental magic," Snape explained. "At Hogwarts you'd be trained in how to keep your magic in check during these highly emotional times. At the same time, you'd be taught how to use magic in everyday life and the opportunities magic gives you in life."
Aria handed the acceptance letter to her dad while looking over the school supplies list.
"It's all very expensive sounding," she finally said.
"Indeed," Kenneth said. "As much as . . . it'd be great for Aria to go to a place to learn about her gift, I don't see how I'm going to afford it. I can barely pay the school dues she'll have this year at public school."
"There are very well maintained scholarships," Snape assured them. "As a professor at Hogwarts I can attest to the Board that you're in need of scholarship and how much you'll need. I can see Aria will be in need of a full ride and a spending stipend. That means that for first year she'll get it without question, but to maintain this particular scholarship, she'll have to maintain good grades, have a good attendance and behavior record, so on and so forth."
"She can do that," Kenneth declared. "Aria, what say you?"
"I want to see Mr. Snape do magic," Aria stated. "Before I make any decisions." Snape smirked and reached into his pocket again, this time, withdrawing a glass vial that most certainly couldn't have fit in the pocket.
"At Hogwarts you'll learn the delicate art of potions," he told her. "I'm a Potions Master. That means I can legally sell any potions I make as long as they aren't poisonous or regulated by the Ministry of Magic. You'll have me in potions for at least five years. This is a burn salve. I always carry various potions on me as one never knows when you'll need them." He took her hurting, burned hand, and tipped some of the salve onto her skin. It was thick, like a lotion, and once rubbed in, took mere seconds to dissolve into her skin. Immediately the pain lessened and the burn disappeared.
"Wicked!" Aria cried.
"Indeed. Thankfully it wasn't too serious of a burn. Second and third degree burns require a stronger salve."
"Dad, can I go to Hogwarts?" Aria asked. "If Mr. Snape can get me that scholarship?"
"If he can get you the scholarship then yes," Kenneth replied, handing Aria back her letter. "You can go." Aria grinned and spun around to face her neighbor.
"I'll see what I can do," Snape promised. "I'll return on Saturday with the answer and, hopefully, your school supply stipend. Then I'll take you shopping."
Then he disappeared with a crack straight out of the sitting room.
"That's so cool!" Aria cried. "I want to learn to do that! Dad, when do you think I'll learn to do that?" Her dad stared at the spot Snape had been standing in for another few seconds before steering her away from the sitting room.
"Hopefully not until I'm not around to see it," he answered. "I didn't like the sound of that crack."