Alice Volkov never knew her parents, never knew the people who gave her straight black hair or violet eyes. Did she have siblings? Or any family pets? She didn't know. But she was okay with that, because for all eleven years of her life she has lived with her uncle Severus Snape at Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry. She lived on the third floor and was only allowed out of her room during the summer to prevent any students from seeing her. There was one time, when she was six, but that's a story for another time. Right now she needed to get ready for tomorrow, September 1st, otherwise known as the first day of school.