Disclaimer: The world of Harry Potter and nearly everything in it belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Chapter One: The Cottage

At the top of a hill, stood a house. It was not a lavish or luxuriant, but simply a house. A cottage, if you will. Had it not been for the broken windows, ivy weaving its way upon the sides of the house, and fallen in roof, anyone would find said cottage to be suitable for living in. Despite the flaws the house possessed, it seemed to attract the neighborhood teenagers nearly every end of the week whose only interest was seeing how close they could come to the cottage doors before being scared away by something. Or someone. No one really knew for sure what was inside the cottage or the significance as to why it even existed, but it was an unsaid rule that everyone was to keep their distance.

I remember as a child standing on the white picket fence that divided the cottage's property from the road. Being the child that I was, the cottage struck me as intriguing. Now, that did not mean I wanted to have anything to do with the cottage, but I always secretly wondered what the house's story was. My father had always told me that every person had a story and I figured that applied to their houses as well.

Someone must have lived there at one point, right?

There were several stories that passing story tellers would spread to the town folk and some of our neighbors. Some stories said that the house was the scene of a murder, where an entire family was slaughtered in one night by the same man. Even as a child, I knew that was a little far-fetched considering the family living there consisted of ten people. Was it possible for a single person to kill so many? It was the root of many of my fantasies as a child and wondering just what had happened.

Then again, my childish mind could not comprehend some levels of dark magic and as I grew older, I found that it very well could have been possible, but I was never entirely certain that was the case. Having grown up in a magical, pure-blood family unlike some of the naive Muggles that would pass by with their own theories, I was taught from a very young age that cottage was not to be prodded. That cottage was the epitome of all things evil, according to my parents.

A more common story that Muggles liked to spread, was that the house was a hideout for all of the murders or escapees from the asylum in England who were on the run. That was their explanation to the periodic screams that could be heard brimming from the house. It had to be the convicts because surely it would never be a spiritual being or perhaps a normal person…stuck against their will. Either way, it was strange to have such an attraction on the outskirts of little Brendon in Devonshire.

As mentioned before, I was a little wary of both sides and would typically dream up my own story as a child. As long as a parent was by my side, I was allowed to stand on the bottom plank of the white picket fence and dream up all the stories I wanted. Being the curious child I was, I broke this rule several times when my parents were distracted. The fence was quite the temptation considering that we lived just across the dirt road from it. Our property line was very close to the property line of the cottage for reasons I didn't particularly understand as a child.

Whenever I wasn't thinking about the cottage, I was playing around the house or in the backyard. I had a friend by the name of Benjamin, whom I spent most of my time with. We seemed to like the same sorts of things and got along quite well. There were some other children that lived down the road from us, but I was not allowed to associate with them, according to my mother. They were Muggles and mother had little interest in associating with them. Despite this, she still allowed me to play outside with Benjamin and periodically other children of wizarding families that would stop by.

"Lana, darling!" Mum would call from the porch every evening, just when she thought that it was growing too dark for me to play anymore.

Normally, I would come running around the corner of the house, quickly as I could to see just what she needed, though I could normally predict when she was going to reel me inside the house. Depending on the day, I could have been pretending that I was on a journey to a far off land or the ruler of a nation in my mind. Sometimes, if father came home early, he would let me take a ride on his old broomstick, but not very high, of course. Typically, though, father would not arrive home until late in the evening.

"It's gotten dark out, Lana," She would tell me just as I stepped on the first step to the porch.

"I suppose," I would whine, trying to not sound too excited.

She would chuckle and place hand on my shoulders, leading me inside and it was then that I would know father would not be home until late. There were some nights when he was home very early, but others were much too late. Mum informed me that he worked at a Ministry of Magic and that was the extent of my knowledge for quite some time.

Normally, I would sit and read for a bit or color or something to keep me entertained, but bed time always seemed to come too soon. My room was in the back of the house, and before bed mum normally allowed for me to drink a glass of milk or have some sort of snack. I remember always sitting at the breakfast bar of our kitchen as she casually flicked her wand and I watched, in awe, as the cabinets swung open and the dishes floated daintily to the table in front of me. While she turned opened the bread box manually with a single hand, behind her, she would flick her wrist again and I would watch as the milk jug placed itself next to the dishes and filled the cup.

Magic was not an oddity in the house. Both of my parents were magical and nearly every other member of my family, such as my aunts and uncles had been a witch or wizard, as well. From what my father told me, we did have a couple of non-magical or "squibs", as mother called them, in the family, but they were rare and uncommon. It was nearly expected out of me that I would show witch characterists at a young age. I was so used to seeing magic all the time, that it was something I suppose we took for granted.

They say that there's a moment in every young witch or wizard's life when they and the family know the child has magic in their veins. I remember that day crystal clearly and though I may not have realized the significance of the day at the time, I most definitely learned how special it was later in my life.

On our house, the gutters had become clogged one cool, fall day. Like many days, my friend Benjamin Flockton from down the way had come over to play while mother sat inside, chatting away with Mrs. Flockton. Father had the day off, for reasons I do not remember, and insisted on clearing the gutters. Father, unlike mother, liked to stay up-to-date with some everyday Muggle activities. Muggles, according to father, cleaned their own gutters, by hand. He pulled out another strange Muggle contraption from the garage, that elevated him to the height of the roof (I believe he called it a latter…or something like that, perhaps it was ladder..). I was quite distracted playing with Benjamin in the backyard, but just as father climbed to the top rung of the contraption, I happened to look up.

The top rung was unsteady and after father placed all of his weight on it, it instantly collapsed under his weight. Seeing that my father was in danger, I shrieked and got up from where Benjamin and I were sitting in the far corner. I didn't know what I could do, but all I remember was thinking over and over that he would be alright. He slipped down two or three rungs, but before he could hit the ground, presumably on his neck or leg, I watched as he floated for several seconds, as if something had caught his fall.

His cry had alarmed my mother and Mrs. Flockton, who had rushed outside from their morning tea. My father levitated for another moment, only roughly a foot off the ground, before falling the rest of the distance and hitting the ground with a thud. Granted, it may have been a fall, but it was not nearly as bad as it could have been.

"Richard, I told you it would be much easier to just use magic! Look what nearly happened! Thank goodness you had your wand-" My mother started exclaiming, scolding him as if he were a child.

"Mary, I didn't have my wand," My father answered, looking up at her from the ground with a serious expression on his face.

All of their eyes looked to me, the five-year old, who hadn't any idea what had just happened, but was only happy that her father was safe.

"Daddy!" I exclaimed, before running and jumping atop of the tall, lanky, dark headed man.

It was from that moment on that my parents knew I had also inherited the magical genes. It was also from that moment on that my father was much more selective about the Muggle inventions he chose to implement into our life.

The Flocktons were another magical family who lived just down the road from us. I don't hardly remember a day of my childhood life without seeing at least one of the Flocktons.

Benjamin Flockton was the same age as me and typically his mother would always drop him off during the day to stay with us. My mother was a housewife and found that it only worked for the best to have Benjamin around to keep me entertained. Benjamin had dark brown, messy hair and light brown eyes. I liked Benjamin's company because he was always positive about nearly everything we played. Like many children, we loved to play pretend and go on adventures around our backyard. Benjamin and I were very simliar in many ways, especially our love for action. Benjamin was basically like the sibling I never had, since I was an only child.

One of Benjamin and I's favorite games was to sneak across the road, when my mother was very distracted with another household task and we could go and climb atop of the white fence to catch a glimpse of the old cottage at the very top of the hill. Benjamin and I were not stupid and did not ever intend of getting any closer to the house, but it was always fun to stand there and think about just what could be inside of the unstable home. I knew that we were breaking a rule whenever we did this and I remember one day in particular when we played this game. At the time, I was maybe seven years old.

"Benjamin, do you think a monster lives up there?" I asked curiously one day, leaning over the creaky fence, my short, auburn hair being blown about in the wind.

"I haven't the slightest!" He exclaimed, excitedly. "I reckon it must be something wicked though…it screams awfully loud!"

"What if it's a person, Benjamin?" I asked, my brain going crazy at all of the possibilities as to what the house may have contained.

"I doubt it's a person, Lana," He would tell me, leaning his head against his hand as we stood there for as long as we deemed safe until mother was no longer distracted. As we got older, we had it pinned as to how long we could stay out without getting caught and there were several close calls. "No one could possibly scream that loudly!"

I stared at the broken in windows and watched as the green shutters blew with a racket against the white-washed cottage as another strong wind breezed through. Benjamin seemed to know that time was getting close to being over and said," I think we best be heading back across the street."

Reluctantly, I pulled my feet out of the slots on the fence and jumped to the ground. Just as I did so, I felt Benjamin push me playfully on my shoulder," You're it!"

"Ben-" Before I could finish my exclamation, he was already well on his way over our gate and into our yard. Not even paying attention to my step, I made a leap for the dark headed boy and was immediately stopped by an aggravated hiss at my feet. Finding it strange to hear such a noise, I thought it be best to see what was going on. Immediately, I looked down to see an intimidating black snake weave around to get a better look at what had just stepped on it. Its beady yellow eyes set directly on my blue eyes and it snapped at me, bearing sharp fangs.

Involuntarily, I screamed as I ran back toward the house, but in the commotion tripped over one of the rocks in the middle of the dirt road. I looked back to see the snake coming after me, as it carried a grudge against me for crushing it and wanted to make sure I felt the same pain. I scooted myself along quickly, trying to get away, but the viper came at me once more and just missed as I pulled my leg away, it sank its fangs into the dirt. Angrier than ever, it reared back up at me and released a long hiss.

"Benjamin!" I screamed, moving away quickly.

Just as I was getting to my feet and the snake was preparing its next strike, my mother came storming out of the house, her wand drawn as she stormed the fence and jumped back slightly at the sight of the snake. Never before had I seen my mother with such an intense look on her face. She always used her wand for simply cleaning the house and other minor things, but never in defense against harm. I was curious to see what she was going to do, but I had little time to ponder the thought for it all happened too fast. She hesitated very briefly, still pointing her wand at the snake, before yelling something at it. A beam of light and sparks came from the tip of her wand, causing the snake to silence immediately and be thrown back several feet, out of sight. Without much compassion, she grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet before angrily saying to me," Just what were you thinking?"

"Mum, I-" I tried, but she continued.

"You weren't thinking, Lana! I've told you many times not to go over to that fence unless father was with you!" She told me sternly, keeping blue her eyes locked with mine as she kept one hand tight around my arm. Hot tears were coming to my eyes just before she released a sigh, seeing that Benjamin was still standing in the yard watching, and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "Go on inside, dear. We'll discuss this more later."

I felt the tears slip out of my eyes and run down my face as she straightened to her full height and I didn't dare disobey her.

"Benjamin, your mother is in-" My mother started, but on the porch, appeared the tall, slender Mrs. Flockton, whose light brown hair was piled atop of her head. Her brown eyes were set directly on her son and her thin jaw appeared to be clenched.

"Benjamin!" She said firmly. "Come along!"

My friend looked at me, as if he was apologetic, before meeting his mother on the porch and grabbing her hand.

"Thank you, Mary, for allowing him to stay," Mrs. Flockton said, rather coldly to my mother, who was following closely behind me.

I watched my mother nod cordially and give the woman a soft smile," It was our pleasure. I apologize for-"

"Don't, Mary," Mrs. Flockton said with a soft smile, suddenly changing her demeanor. "They're only children after all."

My mother opened her mouth to say something else, but she instantly shut if, hesitating greatly before saying," Of course. Have a good evening, the both of you."

"Bye Stockholm family!" Mrs. Flockton said, her son echoing her shortly after.

Mother and I both said our farewells and before both Mrs. Flockton and Benjamin seemed to disappear into thin air.

I entered, very slowly, into the house and moved into the den, placing myself on the couch in front of the bare fireplace, other than the miscellaneous pictures atop of the mantle of our family.

"Lana, you must understand something," Mother said, following closely behind me as sat beside me on the couch.

"Mum, I know," I tried convincing her with my most innocent voice possible.

"Dear, listen, you have heard your father and I tell you many times about the dangers that linger in the house across the street. There are very dangerous things in there that could hurt you very badly. I don't want to lose the Lana I have right now," She told me, in a much gentler tone than before.

"I just went to stand on the fence, mum," I tried defending, looking at her out of the side of my eye. " Daddy lets me all the time."

"But Daddy wasn't there to watch you this time, Lana," She told me, still keeping her calm best as she could. "That snake wanted to hurt you. You're lucky that Mrs. Flockton got here when she did and just so happened to see the both of you at the fence. This is why you always need an adult to supervise you."

She wiped a tear from my eyes as I looked directly at her, trying to process just what I should have said to that. In my childish mind, I had not before understood the severity of the old home. Before the day with the snake, I had taken for granted that the cottage across the street and up the hill really was dangerous.

"I'm sorry, mum," I said meekly, looking down, still embarrassed.

She chuckled slightly and placed a hand underneath my chin, forcing me to look at her," It's alright, Lana, just promise me you'll never do anything like that again."

I gave her a small smile before saying," I won't."

"Thank you," Mother answered, as if she were relieved, she bent in and kissed my forehead.

I squirmed quickly out of her grasp, playfully giggling as she gasped," Lana Valencia!"

Knowing that she was no longer angered with me, I jumped off the couch and ran to the opposite side of the room which lead into the kitchen, laughing as I did so. With a smile on her face, she chased me about and I ran through the kitchen, where the stove was on and the pots and pans were seemingly cooking dinner on their own. She chased me all about the room until finally, she appeared out of no where, directly in front and me and pinning me to the corner. I started laughing maniacally as she lifted me up by the arms and carried me back to the kitchen.

"No fair!" I cried, squirming in her arms as she placed me on the counter.

She chuckled," One day, sweetheart, you will be able to do everything I can do."

It was from that day on that I respected my parents when they told me to stay away from the cottage. For many days, I was scared to even look in the direction of the cottage. My mother never told me why that snake was acting so strangely and I never tried to ask her, for I could tell that it was a sensitive topic and I did not want to keep her angry with me. Father seemed to be extra protective as well after that incident as well, but both of them trusted that Benjamin nor I would ever disobey again.

And they were right.

Author's Note: I've been wanting to write a Harry Potter story forever and I'm really excited to be starting this! It's always so difficult to start a new story and it took me forever to decide on the beginning chapter, so bear with me here as I try to get the intro started. Let me know what you think so far! I love feedback :) Also, I promise the next chapter will clarify some details about the family and give you some more information about the family.

Also, I want all readers to know that I typically write a combination of book and movie verse, so this story will not be strictly following the book nor strictly following the movies. There may even be some AU toward the end, but I have not decided yet.

Thanks for reading!