Chapter One

"Allie!" shouted Mom. "I'm going to need you to go to the store for me! I need some more ingredients for your sister's tea cakes. I can't believe she's already a little hostess! Oh, here she comes, the party girl!"

"Thank you, thank you!" said as she strode into the kitchen. She was wearing a pink cape that looked mysteriously like one of her mother's skirts. A paper crown sat atop her head, with sequins covering every inch. "Now all I need to complete my tea-and-sleepover party is my bee-youtiful cakes! Where are they?" Bridget started to look around frantically.

"Well, that's the thing sweetie. Allie needs to go to the store to pick up some more ingredients for them. But don't worry!" Mom said as Bridget started to pout. "I'll start baking as soon as your sister gets back."

"But Mom!" Allie said. "The party I planned to cheer up Peyton is starting in ten minutes! Her parents just got divorced, and she really wants me there! If I go get groceries, I won't be back in time, and they'll have nothing to do for the first half hour! Please don't make me go!"

"Oh, you poor, deprived child. You can get there on time, just pick up a couple things and I'll take you over," replied her mom.

"Fine," Allie grumbled. "Be right back!" She collected the money and rushed out the door. After all, she planned to be back in time to wrap her present and get to the party on time. No grocery shopping could stop her!

Allie hummed as she strolled down the busy London street. She was still amazed, though she had been living here for several months now, and made plenty of friends. This was nothing like her old home in the Kentucky countryside. She noticed that her mother forgot to put how many eggs she needed, and since Allie didn't have a cell phone, she stopped to use the nearest telephone booth.

"Hmm, let's see, the number is 245-2222," thought Allie aloud. She punched in the numbers 244-222- but before she could type any more, a voice filled the booth.

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your business."

"Hi… um, is this the operator? I'm Allie Eberlee. I was trying to get a hold of my mom," said Allie.

"Please pin this badge to the front of your robes," replied the cool female voice. A small, gold badge popped out of the coin slot that read "Allie Eberlee-Visitor."

"Have a great day," said the cool female voice once more.

"That was weird; I'm getting out of here," said Allie, but before she got a chance to step out of the booth, she felt a jolt and… was she descending downward?

No, I couldn't be! thought Allie. But still, she couldn't see through the window anymore. The thick, gray concrete was blocking the sunlight.

Finally, the booth stopped. The door opened, and Allie stepped out into the grandest room she had ever seen! There were high ceilings, shining tile floors, and in the midst of it all, there was a towering golden fountain that held a strange looking man holding a pointed stick up towards the ceiling. There was also a slightly shorter woman, a centaur, and two strange creatures with large ears. She looked up at it and stared.

When she was done taking her fill of the statue, she turned and saw a group of three kids in the midst of all the oddly-dressed businesspeople. She decided to be brave and introduce herself.

As she approached them, she saw that there was a boy who looked about 13, a younger boy, and an even younger girl. The middle boy looked about Allie's age. She heard the older one shouting "Hey, Albus! You want it? Come and get it!" He seemed to be holding a stick-like object up high so Albus couldn't reach it.

"Give me my wand, James!" shouted Albus.

"Erm, hello," said Allie. "Would you happen to know where we are?" The boys ignored her.

The girl stepped in. "Boys! Someone is trying to greet you. You should at least respond! Do I always have repeat everything Mum says?" She turned to face Allie.

"Sorry about my brothers, they're a pain. Even though I'm two years younger than Albus and four younger than James, I'm ten times as polite. That's James and Albus, and I'm Lily. Lily Ginerva Potter."

Now where have I heard those names before? James, Albus, Lily, and Potter…

"I'm Allie Eberlee," replied Allie. "Don't worry; I know what it's like to have a sibling. I have all of your problems. So anyway, what're a bunch of kids like you doing here? And what is this place?"

"Ummm… you really haven't heard of the Ministry of Magic?" Lily asked.

"Well…" Allie stammered.

"Are you foreign?"

"Yes, yes," Allie said. "I'm, ah… French."

"You don't sound French," Lily questioned suspiciously.

"My parents are English, but now we live in France."

"Oh," Lily said. Allie sighed in relief. "And to answer your other question, our parents work here."

Allie was starting to figure it out now. But how could it be real? Well, there's only one way to find out, thought Allie.

"You mean…your dad…"

"Yes, yes, follow me. I want you to meet him!" said Lily. "Oh hi, Mum!"

A woman was hurtling through the crowd, looking windswept. She had flaming red hair, and was wearing an official-looking badge that read:

Ginerva Potter.

"Oh, hi honey," said the woman, while Allie sat open mouthed. She closed her jaw when Ginny looked at her.

"I was just on my way to the department of mysteries to deliver this; I was kind of in a hurry. Who's this?"

"Oh, this is Allie. She's a foreigner. She's never heard of the Ministry of Magic!" Lily added in a whisper.

"Nice to meet you," said Allie, trying not to burst out with questions. Was this some kind of trick? Was she being punked?

"So, will you be going to Hogwarts?" smiled Ginny.

Allie thought fast.

"I wanted to, since my family will probably be moving back to England, but one of my French cousins convinced my mother that I should go to Beauxbatons instead," she replied, trying to look sorrowful. She was sure her friends would jump out at any moment and yell "Ha-HA! We tricked you!"

But they never came.

"That's horrible!" shouted Lily in protest. "It's your school that you'll be at for the next seven years. You should get to choose!"

"I agree," replied Ginny. "It isn't fair. But, If Beauxbatons is the school her mother wants her to go to, she should not oblige. It's what her mother thinks is best," said Ginny. She did look sorry for Allie. "Well, I've got to go turn this in. I'll see you girls later," said Ginny. "And boys! Stop fiddling around with Albus's wand and put it away!"

"But Mo-om!" said Albus. "He's trying to take my wand! It's not my fault!"

"James! Stop trying to steal your brother's wand!" shouted Ginny as she swept off toward a large golden elevator shaft. "Bye, girls!"

"Bye, Mum!" said Lily. Allie was about to say "Bye, Ginny!" but she bit down on her tongue as the words were about to come out. Instead she said "Bye, Mrs. Potter!"

"Okay, now where were we?" said Lily. "Oh yeah, my Dad! Follow me. We're going to the auror office!"

Lily led Allie to one of the golden elevator shafts that her mother had just been in seconds before. The same cool female voice from the telephone booth told the ministry workers what floor they were on every time the shaft came to a halt. When Allie and Lilly were the only two left in the elevator shaft, they stepped out.

"This way," said Lily. She smiled confidently as they made their way to a door with a golden plaque that read Auror Office. Lily hesitated. "I don't want to disturb them… Oh well!" Lily grinned from ear-to-ear as she pushed the door open. She almost ran past the rows of cubicles. She's obviously been in here before, thought Allie.

Allie didn't want to be rushed. She was so interested in how the people worked! With a flick of a wand she saw a quill fly across some stationary ("Dear Minister, I'm sorry to tell you this, but I'll be needing some time off…"). The wizard writing the letter looked positively gleeful as he made up a lie telling the minister that his daughter was in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. Allie also noticed that the pictures of the aurors' families were strange, also. There was one woman with a picture of a large group of kids hanging above her workspace. There was a short little boy with a taller one behind him pulling his hair. The girls in the group looked as if they were laughing. And weirdest of all, the pictures were moving.

Allie didn't want Lily to think she was totally dumbfounded (which she was), so she hustled right along with her new friend toward a large cubicle near the back of the room. Allie could see a man with untidy black hair sitting at a large desk. There was a picture at his desk too. It was of nine different people. There were four adults: She recognized Ginny standing next to a a bushy brown haired woman. There were two men - one with red hair, and one with black hair that must belong to the man sitting behind the desk. He had bright green eyes and a lightning bolt-shaped scar running down his forehead. There were five children in the picture too. There were Lily, Albus, and James, and two other kids that looked exactly like the red-haired man and the bushy-haired woman. Allie's eyes wandered down to the silver sign sitting on the man's desk.

MR. HARRY JAMES POTTER - Head Auror

"Hi, Dad!" said Lily happily.

"Hey, Li-wait, what are you doing in here?" replied Harry.

"Oh, I just wanted to introduce you to my new friend Allie. She's going to Beauxbatons next year. Um, Allie?"

Allie felt as though she was about to fall flat on the floor. She was facing Harry Potter. The Harry Potter.