A/N- I don't own Harry Potter, anything you recognise is not mine
Athena Stewart had always been strange, she only had two close friends and she never made a conscious effort to make more friends. Although that was strange for an adventurous and mischievous little girl, it wasn't the only thing that made people believe that the young girl was unusual, what made people feel like this was the way she looked at people, and the way she spoke to them as if she knew there darkest secrets, or if she knew something she shouldn't about everyone she met.
I shot up in bed the morning of my eleventh birthday breathing as if I had run a marathon while the images of the dream I had just had still flickered behind my eyelids. Slowing my breathing down, I finally was able to relax enough and fall back on the mattress, lying still for a few minutes before hearing my mother and cat walk into the room,
"Morning sweetie, have another bad dream?" My Mum, Alexis Stewart, asked as she set a glass of orange juice on the night stand and watched as I slowly sat back up,
"No, it was the same one," I replied while grabbing the juice, and nearly spilling it as Trix, my pet cat, pounced on the bed,
"Still the dark-haired boy and the man with two faces?" my mother asked, stroking the cat that had now settled down at my feet,
"Yeah, except the man said the boy's name, he called him Harry Potter," I told her remembering the red-eyed snake-like face of the man and shivering at the fear I felt at hearing him speak,
"I'm sure it isn't anything to worry about. Anyway your father's downstairs and Ash and Alex will be round soon, so get dressed and I'll make pancakes," mum said taking the now empty glass out of my hand and walking out of the room, sighing I climbed out of the bed and walked towards the wardrobe,
"What do you think Trix, jeans of skirt?" I asked showing the cat m black gypsy skirt and my favourite grey jeans, the cat mewed and clawed at the flowing fabric of the skirt, "Yeah, you're right the skirt looks better," I smiled putting the jeans back and pulling on the skirt.
It was ten minutes later while I was munching my way through the second pancake of the morning that I heard the letters hit the floor,
"Postman's early today," my father, Carter Stewart, said looking at the door over the top of his copy of the times newspaper,
"I'll get it" I said jumping up and rushing to the door to pick up the small pile of letters on the floor, excited about the cards I'd be getting from family members I hadn't heard from in ages. The first few letters were bills and junk mail addressed to my parents, which I promptly handed to Dad, the rest were brightly coloured envelopes all addressed to me placing them onto the growing pile ready to open when my best friends, Ash and Alex, came over, I went to sit back down. It was then that the bottom letter caught my eye, this was also addressed to me however, it said;
Miss Athena Stewart,
Room above the Kitchen,
31 Grantham Road,
Sleaford,
Lincolnshire,
Turning the thick letter, which seemed to be made of parchment, over I saw that there was wax seal with a coat of arms printed into it,
"What's that?" Mum asked putting the last pancake on the large pile, for anyone to pick at,
"I don't know, it doesn't have a postage stamp," I told her showing the front of the letter, and thinking of all the possibilities,
"It's addressed to you, though, are you going to open it?" she asked turning it over in her hands before handing it back,
"Yeah," I said, not feeling confident but being curious enough to pull the back of the envelope and pull out the letter, "Dear Miss Stewart," I read out loud for both Mum and Dad who had stopped what they were doing to listen to what the strange letter said, "We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 of July," I finished reading, shaking my head tying to make sense of it all,
"Does it say who it's from," Dad asked putting his paper down and taking off his reading glasses,
"Yeah, it says Minerva McGonagall. It sounds like one of Ash's jokes to me," I said, thinking of the only logical idea and putting the letter on top of the envelope as I sat down, just then someone tapped on the glass window of the door,
"I'll get it," Mum said walking towards the door and opening to find a very rushed looking Ellie Walker, our next door neighbour, "Ellie! Is everything okay?" Mum asked stepping aside so Ellie could enter,
"No, I missed the postman, I was planning on getting the letter so I could explain it to you all before you read it," she panted, clearly exhausted,
"You mean this letter?" I asked holding up the piece of yellowing parchment to show our neighbour,
"Yes!" She gasped looking at the open letter in my hand, "I'm so sorry I didn't get here earlier, my girls were giving me a hard time last night and I must have over slept," She said without out taking a breath,
"So it's not a practical joke?" I asked, secretly hoping she would laugh and say yes,
"Nope it's real, although it is something Ash might do, it's all real," she said solemnly, "You're a witch, I've had my suspicions ever since that incident with the street light, three years ago," she said looking at the young girl in front of her with a knowing smile,
"What do you mean?" I asked thinking back to the night when the first few strange things started to happen and the first dream came to me,
"I mean," She said still looking at me, "that it was you that caused that light to go out,"
It took an hour for Ellie to explain the world of magic to me and my parents, and after she had answered the hundredth question I had decided that I wanted to attend Hogwarts,
"Are you sure? It's a long way away and you'll only be able to come back during the holidays," Mum said sounding more like she was trying to scare me away from the idea of going and I knew why,
"I know mum and when I get there I'll probably want to change my mind and come home, but it's a great opportunity, and if I go I'll be able to control the magic I have," I said sounding more confident than I actually was,
"I think it's a great idea, and Ellie has even offered to take Athena to get all her school stuff," Dad said already warming to the idea of having a witch in the family, "Any way it's our daughter's education and therefore our daughters choice," He told mum,
"Oh, I suppose you're right," She finally said with a small smile, "Do you mind sending an Owl with our response Elle?" Mum asked looking at our neighbour, who looked so pleased she could burst,
"Of course, oh I can't wait to tell Maxine and Scarlett," She said happily her eyes sparkling with glee; "I'll pick you up, on the 30th of August, that's when me and the girls are going. Anyway I'll leave you to have your birthday in peace." She said before getting up and going,
"Well, now that's sorted I think you better go tell Ash and Alex they can come over, or I won't hear the last of it for a week," Mum said looking at me, "Oh and don't forget you can't tell them about magic!" She called after me as I raced out of the house to find my two best friends.
"I still can't believe you're excited about going to boarding school in Scotland," Ash moaned from his place on the couch, it was the 30th and I was killing time until Ellie and her daughters, the twins, Scarlett and Maxine, came to pick me up,
"You know they'll turn you into a girl at boarding school," Alex added sitting opposite me in the living room,
"I am a girl, thank you very much," I said tossing one of the cushions at his head,
"Hey, I was only saying that they'll probably make you act more like a proper young woman," He said rubbing the side of his head where I hit him,
"Trust me, if they manage to turn me into a proper young woman, you two idiots will be the first to know," I laughed, looking at the two boys I had called my friends as long as I'd been able to talk, Ash is like me, tall with dark hair and dark eyes, and looked so similar that he had been called my brother once, Alex was our opposite in every way he is about two inches shorter than mine and Ash's 5" 2'. He had light blond hair and amazing ocean blue eyes,
"You know you'll make new friends and stop talking to us by the end of the year," Ash said turning serious,
"Of course I won't," I said shocked that he even thought about that, "Please don't say you think that" I said looking between the two boys I'd grown up with,
"We don't just promise that you'll write to us Phoenix," Alex told me,
"Oh, don't worry I'll write to you," I said smiling at the thought of them reacting to an owl delivering them letters. The knock on the door brought me out of my thoughts as I looked at the clock, "Right then that's my ride," I said grabbing my suitcase, my parents and Ellie agreed that it would be easier to stay in London until the 1st when I'd be getting the train to Hogwarts,
"Looks like we have to go" Ash said to Alex before they both got up and hugged me, "we're going to miss you Phoenix," He whispered before letting go,
"Don't worry, I'll be back in no time!" I called from the door as I watched them walk down the street and into their own houses, "Hey, Ellie," I said as I passed my suitcase to my witch of a neighbour,
"You got all you need?" She asked looking at the small case, and Trix's cat carrier that I still held
"The only things that are in there is my clothes, some books and according to Mum a small fortune, so I can buy everything I need," I told her climbing into the back seat of her car,
"Alright then," She said dropping the case into the boot and climbing into the driver's seat, "This is Scarlett, and Maxine," She said pointing to the small, identical blond girls sitting next to me,
"Hi, I'm Athena," I said holding my hand out to Scarlett, the girl sitting closest to me, as the car started,
"Oh, we know," She told me looking at me with her large green eyes as if I were a puzzle, "You can call me Scar and my sister Max, we don't use our full names very often," She told me and her sister nodded in agreement,
"Well in that case call me Phoenix," I told her, watching as the last house of Sleaford passed the window,
"That's an awesome nickname" Max said grinning from ear to ear,
"Thanks," I said, "Max is a cool name too. So is Scar," I added already feeling more comfortable.
We spent the rest of the car journey talking about Hogwarts and Diagon Alley, it turned out that the twins were in their first year too although they knew more about magic because they had been told about it from an early age,
"I doesn't matter that you don't know about magic," Scar said as Ellie parked the car, most of the students are muggle born so you won't be alone," she said as I climbed out of the car and onto the path,
"And anyway you have us," Max added as she passed my suitcase to me and got out hers and Scar's suit cases as well. Once we were all prepared Ellie lead us into a small grubby-looking pub that no one else seemed to notice, the inside was just as dark and shabby as the outside, but it had a certain appeal to it that made it seem cosy,
"Hiya Tom, the rooms ready?" She asked looking at the bartender,
"Yeah, the rooms are ready. Are these your girls?" He asked handing her three keys,
"These two are," She said gesturing to Max and Scar, "and this is Athena, she's new to the wizarding world so I'm helping out," She told him with a smile,
"Well I'll let you get on with it," he said and returned to cleaning the glasses on the bar,
"Alright girls, Maxine and Scarlett are in this room," She told us opening the first door once they got up the stairs, "Just put your bags down and take your money out we won't be here long," she told them before continuing down the corridor, "This is your room," She told me opening the door into a small room with a comfy looking bed, "You are OK on your own aren't you?" She asked blocking my entry I nodded and she smiled, "alright then grab your 'small fortune' and we'll go shopping," She told me before leaving to put her bags in her own room,
"You ready?" Max asked looking at me from the door way, I nodded holding up my two purses full of as many twenty pound notes as I could fit inside each one,
"Yeah, you?" I asked,
"Yeah," she said smiling as she held up a small brown sack filled with coins,
"Right girls, this way," Ellie called walking past us and back down the stairs, we followed her into the back room where the bins of the leaky cauldron were stored, "Now which one was it," Ellie muttered to herself holding her wand and looking at the wall, "Ah, now I remember," she said tapping one of the bricks three times with her wand, creating an archway on to a cobbled street that twisted and turned out of sight, "Right then," Ellie said pocketing her wand, "Stay close, and if you get separated head towards Gringotts," she said walking through the archway and into the crowd of people. Diagon Alley is amazing, I thought as I followed on behind Ellie, Max and Scar, it felt like I had stepped back in time. There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments I had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon. Before I knew it we were in front of the grand building and walking out of the sunshine and into the gloom of the bank, walking up to one of the creatures Ellie managed to get all my money transfer into the same type of coins that Max had so that I could easily by all the equipment I needed for my first year at Hogwarts.
It was late afternoon by the time we had all finished buying the necessary items we needed, and we were walking back to the Leaky caldron. While we walked I took the time to look around in more detail, watching the other shoppers walk in and out of the shops, and listening to them talk amongst themselves. I was so caught up watching other people that I didn't see where I was going until I walked right into someone,
"Watch where you're going," the boy I had walked into exclaimed, causing me to look up at him,
"Maybe if you had been looking where you were going you would have noticed me," I told him, the boy looked shocked, whether at the idea of not looking where he was going or at the thought of someone talking back at him instead of apologising, I didn't know so instead I stuck out my hand, "I'm Athena by the way, Athena Stewart," I told him holding out my hand for him to shake,
"Malfoy, Draco Malfoy," the boy with white blond hair replied taking my hand. As he grasped my outstretched hand the world fell away and I found myself witnessing his life from birth up to the point where he reached for my hand. Letting my hand drop from his I hid my shock with an easy smile,
"I'll be seeing you again soon, Mr Malfoy," I told him before turning and disappearing into the crowds of Diagon Ally. It wasn't the first time I had seen someone else's life, and as I thought back to what I had witnessed, through the eyes of Draco Lucius Malfoy, I knew it wouldn't be the last.