Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Lori Idoc lay on the ground, playing a board game with her parents. It had lost her attention quarter of an hour ago (when they started playing), as she was bored out of her mind, and was begging for a chance to get away.

There was a knock on the door. Seizing the opportunity, she said, as fast as she could, "I'll get it!" and raced to the door.

It was lady about as old as her parents. She was dark-skinned, had blonde hair that strongly contrasted her complexion, and wore a long midnight dress, a pointy hat, and a large dimpled smile. Unusually, she was completely soaked, yet it was not raining outside. "Hi," said the lady. "I'm Amelia Windstrofe, but you can call me as Professor Windstrofe. And you are Lauressa Idoc, I assume?" asked Professor Windstrofe.

"Yes," Lori said, cautious.

"May I come in?"

"Can I ask my parents first?"

Lori's mother and father were still sprawled on the floor, as she had left them. "Mum, Dad, there's a lady called Professor Windstrofe at the door," she said. Her father's eyes widened.

"Amanda?" he asked. Lori nodded. "I'll get it, then." He headed over to the door and cries of, "Amanda!" and "I haven't seen you in ages!" could be heard.

"Amanda?" asked Mrs. Idoc, the confusion evident on her face.

Mr. Idoc returned to the living room, the damp Amanda following.

"It is nice to meet you two." Professor Windstrofe hesitated, and then said, "I have something to tell you all… Mrs. and Ms. Idoc… Lauressa has been accepted into Hogwarts. It is a very prestigious school, and is well known over the world. It is also… a school for magic."

"So… I'm a… magician?" questioned Lori, cautiously.

"Not quite: you're a witch." The two of them stared at her with expressions of shock. "Jenny? You haven't said much. How are you taking this?"

"I… I just can't believe… How do we know you're the real deal?" demanded Jenny.

"Honey… I've been waiting this day for years. Please just sit down," said Lori's father hesitantly. After she proceeded to do so, he explained, "Honey, she's the real deal. I know so, because she was a classmate when I was at Hogwarts. Yes, I'm a wizard. I've only kept it from you for so long because the Ministry for Magic - that's our-the wizarding world's - Government - would send me to prison if I let you know before."

"Prove it. Prove that you are—what you say." Jenny looked a bit shaken, and pale, but firm.

Windstrofe slowly got out her a long, straight stick. She waved it, and proclaimed, "Avis!" Blue birds appeared out of her wand, flew around the room singing, and then flew out the window.

"So… you are… the real—"

"Cool! Where do you get a wand? I want to do that! Neat!" exclaims Lori.

"All shall come soon enough. Now, I need you, the parents, to fill out the form, and then I shall need you, Lauressa, to come with me. We are going shopping for your school supplies!" She beamed.

*~...~*

Lori and her father were exiting The Leaky Cauldron after shopping at Diagon Alley. "Did you know Hogwarts has a total of 209 ghosts?"

He rolled her eyes, suspecting another Hermione Granger, who, evidently like Lori, had read Hogwarts: a History a few days before they got on the train.

Finally, finally, after a lot of pointless, pestering questions, they arrived at Kings Cross.

"Now, the first thing you do is—Oh, hello Ginny!" called out her father. "How's Lily doing?"

"Oh, not bad, James," said the famed Ginny Potter. "She just learnt how to ride a bike yesterday, at Harry's insistence. Seriously, those Muggle contraptions, he's almost as bad as Dad..." Ginny sighed, and then straightened up. "I don't suppose you've meet other James yet, have you?"

"Oh, it's his first day today, isn't it? Well, at least he'll already know someone in his year. Lauressa, I'd like you to meet Ginny Potter. We were friends at school when we were kids, and co-members of Dumbledore's Army."

"Umm, nice to meet you, Mrs. Potter," said Lori nervously.

"Would you two like to meet my sons? James, Albus, come here right now!"

To two bays came racing towards them. "Mum, he started it! He said he'd steal my chocolate frog cards!" said the younger of the two.

"James," Ginny said to her eldest son disapprovingly.

James looked sheepish for a moment, then said, "Oh, hi there!"

"Hello there. James, Albus, this is my daughter, Lauressa Idoc," introduced Mr Idoc.

"Hi Lauressa Idoc," they chorused together.

"Please, just call me Lori," corrected Lori.

"Can I call you Lala?" asked James sweetly.

"He he—no."

"Pfft, as if that's going to stop me." He then proceeded to run around the station singing at the top of his voice, "Lala, Lala-lollypop!"

"James!" called a man Lori suspected to be his father. "Come back here!"

His mother, however, just rolled her eyes. "Does he make scenes like this at home?" Mr Idoc asked.

"Always—however, his biggest talent is pranks. Everyone knows it's him, yet there is no evidence pointing towards him..."

"Just like the pair he was named after." Mr Potter reappeared from the crowd, dragging his son by the ear. Letting go, he said, "James, apologise. I believe you caused the young lady enough embarrassment in the past five minutes that an ordinary boy could've in the entire day."

"Sorry," James mumbled, looking down.

Lori's father winked at Lori. "I think he has a crush on you."

Lori responded by turning bright red, while James said in a fake voice, "Ew! Girl cooties!"

"One more thing. You run through the platforms nine and ten, and go onto the Hogwarts Express. Now, 'd better be off. Goodbye, Ginny, Harry, Albus! Oh, could you four look after her? You remember what it was like, Harry, don't you?"

And with that he Dissaparated. Lori was still getting used to her father's powers.

"Well then!" said Mrs Potter. "If it's your first time Lauressa, maybe James should go first. Here's your trolley, sweetie."

"Seya there, Lala-lollypop!" Lauressa gave him a look that said call-me-that-one-more-time-and-expect-a-limb-to-be-broken before he disappeared through the wall. "Wh-what?"

"Off you got then, Lauressa."

She grabbed her trolley, and ran towards then wall. She closed her eyes, I'm going to crash, I'm going to crash—

She emerged into a place that definitely looked like a wizard place, full of, as her favourite author Terry Pratchett would say, boffo. James bounded up behind her, giving her a fright and making her scream, and said, "You can go if you want, or you can wait for the others." He grinned.

"I-I don't want to get lost... Though," she said, regaining her confidence, "if I have to listen to that singing voice of yours again, then no thanks."

James raised his right hand, and said, "I'm on my best behaviour now. I promise." He smiled, not grinned, and said, "Hey, do you want to sit in the same compartment? I'll show you something—can't explain now, Dad's coming, but..."

"Umm, sure." She paused, thinking of something witty. "Though, if we are going to be even, then you have to let me do this!" She sprinted around the station, yelling repeatedly, "James is an idiot!"

When she got back, Albus was only just coming through, though looking like he was going to hug her. Whereas James was looking furious.

"What?" Lori asked, her face a perfect mask of innocence.

*~...~*

The two of them bundled into a compartment, put their luggage up above the seats, and sat down, panting.

"So..."

"So... That was..."

"A lot more than I expected, yeah."

The reason for this awkwardness was due to the fact that there was such a rush for the compartment they had to fight their way through, and shown an unusual amount of team work.

James suddenly jumped up and sat next to Lori. "Do you want to see what I said I would before?" He reached into his suitcase and brought out a piece of parchment brought it over to show her.

"Wow, cool, a piece of parchment," Lori said sarcastically.

"Watch this." He got out his wand and said, "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good." Suddenly, ink sprawled all across the parchment. He opened it up, and it showed a castle.

"I found it earlier today; I think it's a map of Hogwarts!"

"Really! Wow... Look, here is the—wait..." She had gotten to know James a lot more than he expected over the past half hour or so. "...Found or stole?"

He smirked. "Meh, potato, potahto."

"James, you shouldn't have done that," she said, with a disapproving glare.

"Oh, but Mother, yes, I should."

Lori rolled her eyes. "Hey look! Here's Professor Windstrofe!" he exclaimed.

"What could she be doing in the trophy room?" asked Lori.

"I don't know," he said, with a shrug.

There was silence for a few seconds as they both stared at the map. Lori blurted out, "Hey, do you want to practice jinxes?"

"Huh?" said James, looking up.

"Jinxes," she repeated, "y'know, like duelling."

"At first I thought you meant, y'know, being nerdy and just sitting there, reading," he admitted.

"Oh no, I already did that." James stared at her for a moment, yet she looked completely serious. He quickly used this excuse to study her. She had red hair, the brightest hair he had ever seen, very curly, framing the face with a bun in behind. She had a plump face, with very full lips. And bright blue eyes; it was amazing the gazes she could hold with them. Large and curious they were too; and a small button nose. All together, she looked very childlike.

Lori used this to surprise James by getting out her wand and casting, "Rictusempra!"

James fell to the floor in a fit of giggles. "Stop! Stop! Oh, please, stop! Ahahaha!" he screamed. After a few seconds, she lifted the charm, but only because she heard a prefect coming down the hall.

"Is everything all right in—James, what have you been up to now?" said James' god brother and prefect, Teddy Lupin.

"It wasn't me, I swear!" said James as he got up from his position on the floor.

"That's what you said last time."

"Last time?" asked Lori, raising an eyebrow. "I'm Lori, by the way. And you are Teddy Lupin, god brother to James, and prefect?"

"How did you know that?" Teddy said, a bit perplexed, and a bit frightened.

She realised it would be embarrassing to admit she had read a lot about him, for both him and her. So she lied. "He has not shut up about you. Teddy this, Teddy that. I ended up using Rictusempra on him."

"Hey, not true!" yelled James, blushing, while Teddy chuckled in approval.

"Rictusempra? I must remember that one to tell Dad." He stood there for a few more seconds, then asks, "Who's this?" and then added, in a mocking, high pitched tone, "Your girlfriend? Like, O.M.G! Does Mum, like, know? Bound to, eh? That women, like, she doesn't miss, like, anything!"

Lori glared. "Two things: One, James and I, having only just met, are not currently in a romantic relationship. And two? Wow, you have expert knowledge in that of an American female blonde. You could put my cousin to shame. Do you practice at home?" she said, in an innocent tone, while James mouthed, Oh SNAP!

"The battle has begun, James' girlfriend." He winked at her. "See you later… or sooner… or not at all." And with the line that made no sense, he made his dramatic exit.

AN/ Hi! My life just got busier and busier, with me moving, starting new schools, etc. etc. So when the Harry Potter fanclub/extension gave us the homework assignment to write a fanfic, I thought, haven't I got one? So I rewrote the thing, removed all errors, and just madfe the thing more presentable. And now I'm going to re-make this my project. Yay!

This has only been Beta'd by my Dad, and it hasn't been britpicked, so any errors, just let me know. Bye!