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Chapter one: Mysterious friends and strange introductions

My name is Emily Elizabeth Adder, but that's not my real name. My name is Rachel Ann Adams, but no one has called me that in a long time. I'm called Em, Love, Fire-eyes, but only by my friends. I'm called Freak, Hag, Monster, but only by my enemies. I'm a girl. I'm an animagus. I'm a mage. I'm a muggleborn. I'm a witch. I was never normal.

My story starts in my living room on a Saturday morning, back when I was still called Rachel. I was in my pajamas, reading my favorite book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, for the millionth time, when there was a knock on the door. When I asked who was there, no one answered. I carefully pulled the door open (I was home alone) and saw a letter lying on the doorstep with a small stuffed dog. I picked up the letter first. "A Friend" was all it said. Then I bent down to pick up the dog. The second I touched it, the world started spinning. I felt a hook pull behind my navel, just like traveling by portkey in the Harry Potter books. I landed sprawled out on the floor of an office. At least, I thought it was an office. There was a desk, and lots of books. Everything else was covered in strange looking artifacts. Weird trinkets that looked better suited to fantasy than reality. Then someone spoke.

"Ah yes, Miss Adder. I've been expecting you." I turned around slowly and saw an old man with a long grey beard and twinkling eyes. No way.

"Uh…hi," was my eloquent response, "where am I? What's going on?"

"You are in my office, Miss Adder, and as for what's going on," he sighed, "I'm afraid I do not know. There is this, however. It was left for you." He pulled out a letter and handed it to me. "If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I will remain here.

I opened the letter, looking at him just a little suspiciously, (Who was he? Why did he keep calling me "Adder"? Could it really be…?) But I forgot about him when I started reading.

Rachel,

I'm sorry to have pulled you away so young, but I didn't have a choice. You read the Harry Potter books, you know what happens, and you have to stop it. You need to find a way to change the course of time without destroying the world or sacrificing the world to Voldemort. It will be hard, but not impossible. For now, observe and learn. Enjoy your time at Hogwarts. Don't let anyone know why your there. Do NOT act until after school. This gives you time to assimilate and come up with a plan. You should also know why you were the one chosen. You are a mage. It means you are stronger than others, your magic will not be contained in a wand, but it also means some will come after you. You were sent away for your own protection. Power is dangerous. You must prepare.

Good luck,

A Friend

Ps: your new name will be Emily Elizabeth Adder. Someone from your old life could look up your name and find out the truth. Or, worse, where you are.

Well, that explained the name, at least, along with what I was doing here. And there was that friend again. Did I want this person as a friend? I looked up. There was no way! But I found myself praying that maybe it was true.

"Are you…Dumbledore?" I asked nervously.

"Why yes, I am. I'm surprised you know me. Your accent tells me you are not from here. Do you wish to tell me where you are from?" I stared at him in amazement. It was really him! He was just like the books describe him. Tall, crooked nosed, silver bearded, and with piercing eyes that twinkled in merriment. I blushed as I realized I was staring and forced myself to say something.

"Um…yeah?" real smooth, huh? "I mean yes. I'm from the states. I live on the coast. The west one." I winced. I sounded like an idiot. But I couldn't help it. Here he was, the real Albus Dumbledore! What would you have done? He seemed amused by my reaction, but politely declined to comment.

"Your things are in the hall way, but we must decide what to do with you before you settle in. You see, here at Hogwarts, students are sorted into four houses, where they will be rooming and spending much of their time. These houses are-"

"Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin." I cut him off. I was too excited to sit and listen to things I already knew, and I've never been good at sitting still in the first place. He smiled, eyes twinkling curiously.

"Yes, that's right. You missed the sorting, (it was last night) so I will sort you here. I suppose you would not wish to be sorted with first years in any case." He took down and old, beat-up hat which I could only assume was the Sorting Hat. Holy cow! It was real!

"Um…" there was that intelligence again. He put the hat on my head and all thoughts fled. I didn't feel very brave, ambitious, smart, or hard-working. I just felt…numb. The only thing running through my head was 'please talk, don't be a trick, don't be fake, please, please talk.' And it did. It really did.

"Ah, a disbeliever." It commented, sounding amused. I squeaked. Yes, a real squeak, like in the movies. I really am pathetic.

"Breathe, Miss Adder." Dumbledore advised kindly. I did, and it helped, but I was still pretty excited. Scratch that, I was way past the 'I can now die happy' stage.

"Well," the hat remarked, "you are most certainly enthusiastic, but I'm afraid there is no house for enthusiasm. You know quite a bit, perhaps more than you should, in fact. The future is a delicate thing, Emily Adder. Be wary of it. As for your house, anyone brash and foolish enough to mess with time belongs in,"

"GRYFFINDOR!" it said aloud. Dumbledore smiled at me.

"Well then, I'll just call Professor McGonagall to come fetch you shall I? She is the head of Gryffindor house." He put the hat away and started to leave, but I jumped up. I had finally gotten over my shock, and now I wanted some answers.

"Wait!" I cried, "What did it mean, I'm a Mage? What luggage? How am I supposed to catch up? I…" I sighed. I couldn't just ask him if it was Harry or his parents here. He'd look at me like I was insane. I probably was, too. He was still smiling.

"Well, I was wondering when the questions would start. A Mage is a particularly powerful witch or wizard. There haven't been any for centuries. Normally, one would need a wand to focus enough power into a spell, but you have enough strength to perform even the most difficult spells without one. As a matter of fact, I believe Mages even have trouble with wands. They break from the strain of that much raw energy. The older ones are revered, but the younger ones are slightly less predictable, due to the difficulty of controlling this magic, and have been branded as dangerous, which is why your status as a young Mage must remain a secret. You must work hard to control your emotions, which control your magic. Furthermore, your friend dropped off your belongings for you. It is all outside. As for catching up, you will be given extra course books to read, and will meet with Professor McGonagall at the end of each month so she may help you with what you are learning. Also, I am sure none of the teachers would object to you asking for assistance. You will be fine," he promised. Then he looked down at his watch. "Breakfast is starting. It will be easier to bring you down and introduce you to one of the Gryffindor prefects. They will show you around. You may want to change first, though."

I looked down. I was still in my pajamas! How embarrassing is that! I blushed again, nodding. He then led me out of his office and down the hall, levitated a trunk into a bathroom, and left me to change. I opened it cautiously, but I needn't have worried. It had all of my favorite clothes, some new ones I absolutely adored, uniforms, school supplies, and, to keep up pretenses, a fake wand. It was hot outside, so I quickly pulled on some paint splattered jean shorts, a red tank top from Disneyland that said princess on it with a crowned skull below (from the pirate ride, my favorite), a pair of new black shoes with skulls on the heels and red laces (I really like pirates), and pulled my hair into a ponytail with a red hair tie. When I came out, Dumbledore seemed amused, but he didn't comment, so I ignored it. He led me down to the Great Hall (a difficult feat, since I kept stopping to stare at things), and from there, to the front by the teacher's table. As I went in, I realized why Dumbledore was amused. I stood out like a sore thumb. Looking around, I didn't see a single other pair of shorts. Their clothes were relatively quiet, certainly no skulls. They all had sleeves too. Not a tank top in sight. Plus, I'd forgotten about my very decorative blue and purple nails I'd painted out of boredom a few days prior. They had squiggles, hearts, stars, and so on. Any nails painted here were solid and a single color. I guessed it must be and American thing to use more than one, or maybe a muggle thing. Who knew? In any case, everyone was staring at me. It wasn't helped much by Dumbledore's speech. All he said was that I was new, I was in Gryffindor, and that they must be kind to me. He didn't even tell them my name. Useful huh? Oh well.

I cautiously sat down in the seat he pointed out to me. Everyone's staring was really freaking me out. Then the person to my right introduced himself and I almost had a heart-attack.

"Hi, I'm Remus Lupin."