A/N: I'm pretty excited about this one, I got the idea while re-reading Order of the Phoenix this morning and smashed out the first two chapters, I'm sure the story premise has been done before but I've not read any.
*I don't take credit for anything from J. 's Harry Potter universe, though the plot line and many characters are my own invention*
June 5th 2010
It was a sunny morning in London England as a young girl sat on the balcony of a small flat overlooking the River Thames and the city behind it, she let out a frustrated grunt as she brushed her waist length blonde hair from in front of her piercing blue eyes to better see the pages of the book clutched lovingly in her hands.
The streets below were bustling with the sounds of passing cars and taxis taking people in to the city for shows and shopping. As the sound of Big Bens chimes floated across the river signalling 10 am the girl looked up from the book as she heard a voice from within the flat calling her name, she marked her page with a neat fold and made her way inside.
"Violet!" came the voice again, coming from the entry way to the flat.
"yeah dad?" she called back as she found the source of the voice, her father, standing by the front door looking rather startled.
"what is it?" she asked cautiously. Her father, a tall man with a balding head didn't startle often, this fact alone made Violet concerned.
"er…you're still in your pyjamas…" he said slowly, Violet felt guilty as she'd been up all morning but had been too lazy to dress "never mind, er… go and get yourself dressed, we're going out"
"where are we going?" she asked, confused.
"to see… to see your uncle" he said quickly.
"can I bring my book? It's so boring there! They don't even have a TV!" she asked hopefully.
"yeah sure just be quick getting dressed" her fathered said quickly, looking impatient.
Violet dashed to her bedroom and changed into a pretty white summer dress with blue flowers and lace trim and a pair of tan sandals, she gave her hair a quick brush and bolted back to the front door clutching her book tightly.
Within 10 minutes she and her father were in the car crossing the river. She was incredibly confused by her father's abrupt decision to visit her uncle today, they had only been to his house once a year to see him for as long as she could remember, and never without reason. Of course, he wasn't really her uncle, he was her father's cousin, though he had grown up with her dad who had let her start calling him uncle when she was only two so as not to confuse her. She liked her uncle, even though she didn't see him much because he always made sure there were plenty of sweets and delicious foods to eat when they did stop by.
15 minutes later her father pulled the car to a stop outside the lovely stone town house Violet knew to be the home of her uncle, her father got out in a hast, tapping his foot impatiently as she climbed out of the car and stepped onto the footpath. Her father locked the car with a click of the button on his keychain and the pair stepped through the old wrought iron gate and approached the front door.
"still don't know who he could've inherited this place from" her father said with a grunt as he pressed the doorbell.
As she listened to the approaching footsteps within she noticed that the sign above the door had been mended since their last visit, it now gleamed in the summer sunlight, clearly reading '12 Grimmauld place'.
"Dudley! We er, we weren't expecting you!" her uncle said as he opened the door, a look of shock painted across his face.
"we need to talk!" her father demanded holding what looked like an old letter out to her uncle, who took it in his hand and turned it over once.
"ah yes… she did mention…" he said quietly observing it "come in then"
"GINNY, IT'S DUDLEY AND VIOLET" he called quickly as he stepped aside to allow them into the house. As she stepped inside she saw her red headed aunt dash through the door at the bottom of the stair case and out to the back yard calling for her cousins.
"they're all playing outside, Teddy's here for the weekend, summer break and all that" he explained leading them into the drawing room.
Violet plonked herself down quietly in a plush black chair by the window, turning to her book as she so often did during these visits leaving her uncle and father to talk.
"so, Dudley –" her uncle said, a smile in his voice before her father cut him off.
"is this your idea of a joke? Almost had a heart attack I did, this isn't funny you know!" he shouted indignantly.
"Dudley, this wasn't me, I didn't do this, I swear it… sit down, let me explain please?" her uncle pleaded "look here's Ginny with tea now, let's be adults about this"
Her father sat down, his face a deep shade of red, Violet couldn't help but notice how much he looked like her pop at this moment.
"go on then!" her father demanded as her aunt Ginny had finished pouring him some tea.
"well" her uncle started slowly, placing his cup of tea on the table beside him "there's a register at Hog-"
"don't say it right now!" her father demanded, anxiously glancing at Violet who still had her face buried in her book, though was no longer reading.
"at.. at the school" her uncle continued cautiously "it is an automatic system that keeps track of any er… eligible future students… from the day they're born, no matter what their family situation or parentage may be… that's how they sent me my letters… I was on the registry. It also keeps track of their address. At the point that they reach acceptance age the deputy head of the school sends correspondence to each of these future students to offer them a place, with the exception of situations like yours where a representative of the school will usually hand deliver the letter and explain…everything… in this case, given history, the current headmistress contacted me to make me aware of the situation, she thought it better if a representative didn't attend, but that they leave the situation alone for you to hopefully come to me to explain"
"you knew about this!" her father demanded "how long have you known?!"
"only a week, the letter I was sent is in my desk drawer if you'd like to see it Dudley, though I must make sure you know there can be serious consequences for ignoring this, it's really quite dangerous" her uncle answered quickly.
"why didn't you tell me?" her father asked, sounding more surprised than angry now.
"what would you've said Dud? Even as the situation stands you thought I was playing some nasty prank on you and your daughter" her uncle reasoned.
After a few quiet moments of consideration her father finally spoke again.
"but how? I mean…I'm not a…and mums and dad…" he asked clearly trying to come to terms with something that Violet herself had obviously missed.
"it does happen, for it to crop up out of nowhere, just look at my mum, it's possible that there's history of it on your dad's side, but it's unlikely, I know it hasn't come from the Evans side" he explained as though trying to work something out.
"how d'you know that?" her father asked.
"I did a bunch of research, after I finished school, had a lot of spare time while I tried to figure out what I could still do for work, given that I didn't graduate at all, nothing before my mum. I suppose it could have come from Abigail's side but who knows, it's really not all that important Dud, it is what it is really" he said, very sure of what he was saying.
Violet was beyond confused now, she had no idea what they could possibly be talking about, she turned the page of her book to appear as though she was still reading and continued to listen intently.
"will you…will you help me explain it to her Harry, I really don't know how…" her dad asked his cousin slowly after a long pause in the conversation.
"of course, shall we do it now?" her uncle asked, now suddenly more relaxed.
Violet assumed that her father had nodded as the next words spoken were by her uncle.
"Vi, would you put your book down please? We need to have a chat with you"
She carefully marked her page, put her book on the table next to her and turned to face the two men, her uncle had a warm, loving smile across his face, her father a look of concern. Her uncle filled a third cup with hot tea then topped up her fathers and his own before folding his fingers into each other and turning to face her.
"Violet, I have a letter for you and a lot of information to explain, it's going to be a shock, and you'll think I'm mad, but I promise I'll explain everything ok?" he told her calmly.
Violet nodded slowly as her uncle handed her the old looking letter that her father had handed him when they had arrived.
She looked at it cautiously, the name on the front was hers and the address was that of her and her father's home, she turned it over, puzzled by the strange wax seal fastening it at the back. Hands trembling slightly, she opened the envelope and read the letter within;
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDY
Headmistress: Minerva McGonagall
Dear Ms. Dursley,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.
Yours sincerely,
Filius Flitwick
Filius Flitwick,
Deputy headmaster
Violet lifted her gaze from the letter to her uncle, not understanding what she had just read in the slightest. She had never heard of Hogwarts, and witchcraft and wizardry? Surely this was a practical joke.
"Hogwarts school of…" she slowly started to ask her uncle.
"witchcraft and wizardry" he finished for her after she trailed off, clearly sensing her confusion. "contrary to what many think Violet, magic is a very real thing and Hogwarts is a school which educates people, such as yourself, who possess magical skills how to use them and the laws surrounding them. I attended Hogwarts, as did your aunt Ginny"
Violet, confused as ever and beginning to suspect that her uncle was out of his mind looked now to her father who nodded.
"I know it sounds mad Vi, but it's true, I recognised the letter right away, Harry got one around his 11th birthday… I didn't believe it was real either until some lunatic showed up and gave me a bloody pigs tail!" her father said growing rapidly redder in the face.
"it can't be true!" violet declared after a long pause of consideration "if magic was real I'd know about it! I'd have seen it when we visit!"
"well, there's law you see, about when you can and can't use magic, one of the times you can't is when you're around non- magical people, as it was, we didn't know that you were a witch, so we had to keep it from you" her uncle explained as though he were merely telling her how to turn on a light.
"prove it" she demanded.
Harry gave a quick nod, got up and left the room, returning shortly with an oddly perfect looking stick in his hand.
"this is a wand, this is how witches and wizards conduct their magic" her uncle explained as he returned, he turned to face Violet, looking excited before pointing the wand at her book on the table "wingardium leviosa"
With a swish and a slight flick of the wand her book rose gently and slowly off the table and moved wherever he pointed it, her father looked highly uncomfortable but surprised nevertheless.
"wow" said her father quietly "I've never actually seen you use your wand… not that I can remember properly anyway…"
"look, Violet" her uncle said slowly, turning to speak directly to her "I didn't believe it was real until I got my letter either, but I can prove it in other ways, I still have all my old school books, my robes, my own letter in fact, Teddy goes to Hogwarts too, he's going into his second year this year, I know it sounds absolutely bizarre but I promise you, it is real"
"I… I believe you" she said slowly, still unsure as she turned to the equipment list on the second page of her letter "cauldron? Wand? Where are we meant to get all of this?"
"Diagon Alley" her uncle responded, grinning now from ear to ear, now turning to his cousin "we're going tomorrow to get Teddy's supplies for his grandmother since we're so close, we can take you if you'd like?"
"er…sure" her father replied, clearly, he didn't have any more of a clue what or where Diagon Alley was than Violet did.
