I disclaim.

The purpose of stories are to take you away from reality and catapult you into another world so sit back and enjoy the world of Hogwarts, in a different generation.

It was the 8 th of August and Alice was roused from a dreamless state by the sounds of her parents charging up the staircase and singing happy birthday. They burst into their daughters room with a giant chocolate cake topped with seventeen candles.

"Mum dad it's 6.30 in the morning, can't you come back later?" Alice whined as she drew her duvet over her head but it was soon whipped off. The early morning sun burned Alice's eyes and all she could see was an intense white light as she rubbed the tiredness from them.

They both held her cake out for her. "But darling this is the EXACT time you were born!" Her parents said in a sing- song voice. Alice tried to suppress a smile as she sat up. The tiny silver candles were beautiful she noted as each of them burned a different colour of the rainbow.

"Make a wish," Sophia squealed and Alice replied with an answering scoff, since her mum was speaking to her like she was still a little child who actually believed in such silly traditions.

"Then why am I squeezing my eyes so tight," Alice thought and just then she remembered that this was her last year at Hogwarts and a wish came immediately. In one puff she extinguished all the flames and watched as small wisps of smoke rose from the black wicks.

"Thanks mum and dad," Alice told them sincerely as they kissed her goodbye and left with her cake.

"Come down whenever you want so you can open your presents." Sophia told Alice as she shut the door.

Alice flopped back onto her pillows and stared up at the ceiling as the true realization hit her, that she would be leaving school and entering the real world. Everyone was going to go their separate ways and she wondered if the friends she had made would keep in touch and how about all those people whom she had wished she had got to know…well… just one person in particular…

Alice shook herself free from her melancholic thoughts. "Stop it," she chastised herself as she jumped out of bed and walked into her ensuite bathroom. After freshening up, Alice took her rightful place which was sitting on her bay window so she could stare down at the is until she spotted a flock of owls soaring her way. In an instant Alice threw open her window and they all came hurtling inside, screeching and burdened with various sizedpackages wrapped in colourful paper.

"Olly…," Alice warned her Birman cat as he jumped up and clawed at the air, narrowly missing two twin owls which had perched themselves on her desk chair. "You can't play with them."

She started fondly at her cat with his sweet little chocolate brown ears and face, with his bright blue eyes and pale white coat. Alice didn't understand why most of the students at Hogwarts bought owls after all they did have owls at school and she had a family owl to send letters. Surely it made more sense to get an animal that was more fun to take with you to school?

A screech from her right brought Alice back to reality. "Sorry," she apologized to the irritated owl that was pecking away at the string wrapped securely around its leg. Alice felt her heart swell as she made her way around the room untying all her presents from the owls who immediately took off once they were free, but she paused in front of the grey birds on her chair

"Hmmm…" Alice didn't recognize who they belonged to but despite her confusion she quickly removed the package.

Alice held the rectangular present in both off her hands. "Wow it's got some weight to it," she thought.

Yet her curiosity was further fuelled by the very fact that there was not a card with the present or even the name of the person who should be credited for the gift…nothing.

A mixture of excitement and anxiousness welled up inside Alice's stomach as she ignored the other packages on her bed and sat back on her window with the mystery that was wrapped in turquoise paper. With a sense of caution she slowly tore away at the wrapping paper and her eyebrows knitted together as she turned over the leather bound book and saw the title written in gold.

"Success in Potions..," she muttered out loud, "Eh?" Alice wasn't the least bit enthralled as she turned the heavy book around and around in her hands. True, she loved to read and didn't mind receiving books, but to get a school book as a birthday present…

But when Alice opened the front page her breath was caught in her throat as she spotted the black ink on the empty front page.

THIS WILL HELP YOU GET THE GRADES YOU WANT FOR THE SUBJECT THAT YOU LOVE BUT JUST FIND DIFFICULT.

Her heart melted like butter as she re- read the words, whoever had sent her this book knew her very well…almost as well as her cousin Jane. The writing was defiantly by a guy Alice noted as she studied the phrase. "It's so scruffy how could it not be a boy's?"Alice mused. The block capital letters seemed to have a weight to them as if the writer had been pressing quite hard on the quill.

"Hmmm who do think it's from Olly?" she asked her cat as he rubbed his head across her leg.

However within ten minutes the intrigue soon faded into annoyance as Alice found that her lips were pressed tightly together. She continued to search her brain for the person who could be behind such a thoughtful gift but she could only come up with her family…

Alice chewed her lower lip. "But their presents are on my bed," she wailed, throwing the book onto her bed as the mystery began too eat away at her.

"Hmm…maybe it would be better for my sanity if I just focus on my other presents," she thought whilst wondering how she had managed to get so frustrated so easily. I just really want to thank that person…oh. Alice tore open a brown parcel to find a knitted emerald green scarf fall out and to her amazement it was from her grandmother, which was odd because it was so beautiful. The next few presents were all from her school friends which were all just as nice but she was looking for the gift from a particular cousin/best friend of hers.

Alice found it nestled in coral red tissue and with her heart expanding she picked up the photo frame which held a picture of both her and Jane when they were six years old, caked in chocolate and throwing flour at each other. Alice felt her smile grow as the picture dissolved and was replaced by another and then another and the frame was like a slideshow of treasured memorises. Half an hour seemed to pass and still Alice sat contented as she watched photo number 100 appear.

"Darling,.." Alice's head shot up as she heard her mum. "Have you forgotten about us?"

"No no no…," Alice shouted as she stumbled towards the door, trying to avoid the wrapping paper that now littered her bedroom floor. "I'm coming."