I just wanted to say that the entire Harry Potter universe belongs to the brilliant J.K. Rowling. No copyright infringement intended, blah blah blah. Also, I'd appreciate it if you left a review. Thanks!
-Phantom
Chapter 1: The Letters and What Followed
Jade woke up and stretched, sun streaming through her window. She looked at her clock. 6:55. Stealthily, she got out of bed and tiptoed downstairs, careful not to wake her twin sister, her stepsister, her father, or her stepmother. Once she reached the cold wooden floor at the bottom of the staircase, she walked normally to behind the bar. She grabbed the post from where the owls had left it and snuck back up to her bedroom. She flipped through the post. Mail from Harry and Ginny Potter, coupons for Odgen's Fire Whiskey, bills, all that normal mail. She was about to put all the post away when she let out a short breath. Three letters, each on identical yellowish parchment, each rather heavy, the writing done in emerald green ink. The only difference was who it was addressed to. The first read:
Ms. J Abbott
Room 106
The Leaky Cauldron
London
England
Jade was ecstatic. She had been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! She could hardly believe it. Quickly, she rifled through the other letters. The second read:
Ms. Q Longbottom
Room 108
The Leaky Cauldron
London
England
Finally, the last one read:
Ms. H Lovegood
Room 110
The Leaky Cauldron
London
England
Jade rushed into her twin sister, Quartz's, room. She threw the letter onto the lump underneath the covers. "Quartz, get up! We got our Hogwart's letters!" Quartz mumbled something unintelligible and rolled so that she was facing away from Jade. In one deft movement, Jade swept the quilt off of Quartz's bed. She leaned down and yelled right into her ear "GET UP!" It sounds cruel, but that is the only way Quartz would ever wake up.
Quartz sat up, eyes still bleary from sleep. "What?" She asked, sounding rather irritated to have been woken up at that hour. "Read the letter. We got them in the post today." Jade insisted. Hesitantly, Quartz slid her finger between purple wax and weathered parchment, breaking the seal. She opened the envelope and read the letter aloud "Dear Ms. Longbottom, we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Suddenly, all the sleepiness was gone from her eyes. She read on. "Please find enclosed list of necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 3. We await your owl by no later than July 31. Yours sincerely, Augusta Sharpe, Deputy Headmistress, and Minerva McGonagall, Headmistress." She finished and laughed giddily. She stood up and started bouncing up and down on her bed, springs creaking. "Hogwarts! We made it into Hogwarts! Jade, we have got to tell Hazel!" Suddenly, her expression turned worried. "Jade, Hazel did get accepted as well, right?" Jade showed her Hazel's letter "Yeah, it's right here." Jade confirmed. "...and it's needless to say that you got one as well, right?" Quartz prompted. "Oh, right! Of course. Yup." Jade said, just saying yes because she had been daydreaming about Hogwarts and had honestly no idea what Quartz had said. "That's great! The three of us will go to Hogwarts together!" Quartz grinned. "You mean the eight of us. Don't forget Albus, Victoire, Teddy, James, and Rose." Jade reminded Quartz. "Oh right! I totally forgot in the moment!" Quartz giggled. "Now let's go wake up Hazel."
Jade shook her stepsister's shoulder. "Hazel, wake up." Jade whispered softly. "Hey, how come when you wake Hazel up, she gets gently shaken awake, but when you wake me up, it's 'GET UP QUARTZ!'" Quartz protested. "Because she doesn't need quite as much prompting." Jade joked. Hazel pulled herself out of bed. "What is it you two?" Hazel questioned, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "We got our Hogwarts letters today!" Quartz squealed excitedly. "We did? That's amazing!" Hazel squealed with equal enthusiasm. "We have to tell Neville and my mom! Neville will be especially pleased seeing as he's a Hogwarts professor and all." Hazel said. The three girls ran to room 112, their parents' room. "Dad! Luna! We got our Hogwarts letters today!" Jade shouted running into Neville and Luna's room. The two sat up and stared at the girls groggily. Neville rubbed his eyes, and Luna stretched. "Girls? It's seven in the morning, what is it?" Neville asked, yawning. Quartz looked like as though she were about to burst, so Jade put her out of her misery. "We got our Hogwart's letters today!" Jade informed the two adults jubilantly. Neville's face broke into a grin. "Really girls? That's amazing!" Luna was about to say something when she focused on a spot right beside Quartz's ear. "Go away you pesky Nargles! Shoo!" She raised a hand and attempted to swat at the invisible creature, but was delayed by the fact that the covers were holding her back. "Hazel, would you be a dear and get it for me? It appears to have stolen my glasses." Luna asked her daughter. Hazel swatted at the spot where Luna was staring. She then leaned over and picked her mother's glasses up off the floor. Jade knew that many people doubted the existence of Nargles, including herself, Hazel, and Quartz, but Luna believed in them, and as far as Jade knew, so did Neville. Either that, or Neville was just a very good actor.
Jade handed her father the letter and Neville opened it carefully. He took out the list of school supplies and the three girls watched him read the parchment. "Great!" He smiled. "We can get all this in Diagon Alley!" Their home, the Leaky Cauldron, was actually the entrance to Diagon Alley, a street packed will all sorts of wizarding shops and such. As a result, the girls went there quite often. Jade especially loved Flourish and Blotts, a store that sold books, parchment and ink. Her other favourite store was Quality Quidditch Supplies. Jade secretly hoped to become house seeker, and was saving up for her dream broom, a sleek ebony model with purple and blue glowing accents called the Meteor. It was said to have the speed of a bullet (whatever that was) and the force of a meteor. It was also 1700 galleons. Although her father and Luna had given her a job waiting tables at the Leaky Cauldron, it was only 5 galleons a week, and Jade would be going away for a while, so she wasn't going to be paid while she was at school. So far, she had 25 Galleons from her pay and 3 Sickles in tips. It seemed that Jade would never get her dream broom.
Jade smoothed her hair and wound it into a bun. She donned a grey racerback tank top with a pocket on the chest and a pair of short red denim shorts. She pulled on her purple, turquoise, black, and grey DC high tops. She finished the outfit off with a cute white knit sweater. She stepped out of her room and saw that Quartz's hair was messy as always, and she wore a breezy yellow sundress patterned with white flowers. Hazel meanwhile wore an emerald green t-shirt with a white horse on it, a long-sleeved flannel shirt over top. She also wore jean shorts and boots that Muggles wore while riding horses. The three sisters walked downstairs together and joined Luna and Neville in the kitchen. "Ready to go, girls?" Neville asked the trio. "Dad, it's not like we've never been to Diagon Alley before." Jade moaned. "It's not every day that my little girls buy their first wands!" Neville gushed, sweeping Jade and Quartz into a hug. Hazel stood off to the side, looking uncomfortable. "C'mon Luna, Hazel, you guys too!" Neville said, pulling the mother and daughter into the hug as well.
The five of them left out the back exit of the Leaky Cauldron and were met with a brick wall. Neville pulled out his wand, touched a brick, and the wall shuddered open. When the bricks parted, they were met with the bustling marketplace that was Diagon Alley. Witches and wizards donned in all manners of cloaks searched the street for what they were looking for, purses jingling with Knuts, Sickles, and Galleons to buy their wares, and leaving with considerably lighter money bags than with which they had entered. Neville, Luna, Hazel, Jade, and Quartz stood right in the thick of it. Jade pulled her list out of her pocket and read:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
UNIFORM
First-year students will require:
1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)
2. One pointed hat (black) for day wear
3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)
Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags
COURSE BOOKS
All students should have a copy of each of the following:
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)
By Miranda Goshank
Hogwarts: A History
By Bathilda Bagshot
Transfiguration: What You Need to Know Before you Transform
By Susan Bones
Magical Water Plants of the Mediterranean
By Hadrian Whittle
The Standard Book of Potions (Grade 1)
By Miranda Goshank
Dark Curses and How to Deflect Them
By Fleur Weasley
OTHER EQUIPTMENT
1 wand
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set glass or crystal phials
1 set brass scales
1 set basic potion ingredients
Students may also bring an owl OR cat OR toad
In years previous, first years have not been allowed broomsticks. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, first years are now permitted to bring a broomstick to Hogwarts. Thank you.
Jade rolled up her list and stuck it in her back pocket. "How about we head to Madame Malkin's? She sells the best quality robes." Jade suggested. The others nodded in assent and headed towards Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. "How about Luna and I head to the ice cream parlour and you girls can buy your school supplies? Then we can meet up at Ollivander's so that you three can buy your wands." Neville suggested. "Sure!" Quartz agreed. They split up and headed in different directions. The three Hogwarts students entered the robe shop just as a tall boy with turquoise hair was hopping off the stool. He wore ripped blue jeans and a Weird Sisters t-shirt. "Hey Teddy!" Quartz greeted happily. Teddy Lupin grinned back. "Hey Quartz! First year at Hogwarts?" He guessed. "You got it!" Quartz replied. "Cool! Hope to see you girls in Hufflepuff." He flashed a thumbs up and smiled. "Anyways, I think I see my friends. I gotta go. Bye!" He called and pushed the door open, running up to a tall girl with black hair wearing a Ravenclaw prefect badge and a shorter boy with floppy brown hair. "Hope I'm in Hufflepuff." Quartz said dreamily. "C'mon, let's get our robes sized!"
Half an hour later, they left the shop with a bag of clothes each. They stepped into the bright sunlight and Jade squinted her eyes. "How about we head up to Flourish and Blotts, then we can go to the Apothecary, then Eeylops Owl Emporium, then finally end at Ollivander's?" Hazel proposed. The other two girls agreed, and the three Hogwarts students headed up the street. They entered the brightly lit bookstore that was Flourish and Blotts. There were wall-to-wall bookshelves, full of volumes with interesting titles, such as Animal Transformations: A Book on Becoming an Animagus by Minerva McGonagall, and Hippogriff Handling and What it Means for You by Rubeus Hagrid. Jade pulled the first book off the shelf and stacked it underneath her copy of Hogwarts: A History. She joined Hazel and Quartz at the register. On the counter, a glass case held the most beautiful quill Jade had ever seen. The bottom was red, and as Jade brought her eyes up the magnificent quill, the red faded to orange, then yellow, and finally at the top it was a brilliant white. Her eyes drifted to the price tag and almost popped out of her head. "50 Galleons?!" Jade cried. "Lovely, isn't it? One of a kind, that quill is. Phoenix feather." Said the shopkeeper, sending her interest. "Yeah, but this is way out of my price range." She stared longingly at the quill. She wanted that quill badly, but she couldn't afford it, especially if she ever wanted to buy her broom. She settled for a raven feather quill that was only 2 Galleons. Although Jade had dismissed the idea of getting that quill, Hazel watched this conversation with great interest, and an idea began to form in her head.
The three left Eeylop's Owl emporium with an owl each. Quartz carried a screech owl named Bubbles, Hazel had a brown owl named Phoenix, and Jade left with a barn owl she had christened Apollo. They were finally going to get their wands. They walked up to Ollivander's Wand Shop, and Neville and Luna showed up shortly after. Mr. Ollivander was a peculiar man with pale, silvery eyes, and thinning hair of the same colour. "Ah, I remember when your mother walked in here." Mr. Ollivander said, turning his unnervingly pale eyes onto Jade. "Oak, dragon heartstring core, 10 inches, unwavering. How is Hannah doing now?" The shopkeeper probed. "She's dead. She died of Dragon Pox six years ago." Jade replied flatly. "What a shame, what a shame." He muttered. "Now, first years at Hogwarts?" He asked, breaking out of his trance. Neville nodded. "They're ready for their first wands." He replied, eager to get the topic off of his dead wife. Neville turned to his younger daughter. "Quartz, how about you go first?" Quartz stepped forward confidently. Mr. Ollivander handed a black box to the young witch. "Try this out." He suggested. Quartz waved her wand, and instantly a blue silhouette of an animal came out of the tip of her wand. Jade recognized it as a bear. Mr. Ollivander gasped. "A full corporeal patronus. And at this age! That is the mark of a powerful witch. This is the perfect wand for you. It's dogwood, Phoenix feather core, 13 3/4 inches. Surprisingly swishy." The wand maker looked at a loss for words. He then pointed to Hazel. "You next." Hazel clearly did not want to get closer to this very creepy man, but she stepped forwards stiffly. "Try this one." He said, handing her a wand. Hazel waved it, and all the windows shattered. He snatched the wand away. "No... No... How about this one?" He gave her a new one. Suddenly, the entire shop was bathed in a beautiful golden light. Bright light was shooting out of her wand. Mr. Ollivander clapped. ""Jade, your turn." Mr. Ollivander nodded. "Yes, I am very curious..." He trailed off. The shopkeeper disappeared into the back of his shop. He returned with a rectangular black box and pulled out a wand. "Try this. Come on, give it a wave then!" He urged, sensing Jade's hesitation. She waved the wand, feeling a bit silly. An entire shelf of wands toppled over, narrowly missing Hazel. "Oh no, that won't do... Perhaps?... No, not that either." With each failed wand attempt, Mr. Ollivander grew more and more frustrated. Then, when the shopkeeper seemed about to explode, a young, pretty woman with long black hair, bright blue eyes, and a heart shaped face emerged from the rear of the store. "Mr. Ollivander?" She asked timidly. "May I suggest... This wand?" The woman showed him a forest green triangular box with a golden crest embossed on it. His rage evaporated, and was replaced with something else that looked like fear. Then, as quickly as his expression had appeared, it was gone. "This one? Are you sure? Well, it's worth a try." He accepted the wand gingerly. He then proceeded to hand it to Jade. The witch pulled the wand out of the box and gave it an experimental flourish. Neville, who Jade was pointing the wand at, floated up ten feet in the air. Quickly Jade brought the wand back down. "That was most certainly not the effect I was hoping for..." Ollivander muttered. He turned to the family of five. "This is not a wand of my creation. It was an experiment by one of my apprentices before she became a Death Eater. The wand is Spruce, 11 1/2 inches. That's not the strange part. The core is not a core I use in my wands. It is a Thestral hair." Luna and Neville gasped. The children, however, remained puzzled. "What's so special about Thestral hair?" Hazel spoke up. "Thestral hair was the core of the Elder Wand." Mr. Ollivander supplied. "Ms. Abbott, are you sure you want this wand?" Ollivander asked. "Yes." Jade said firmly. "It's the wand that chooses the wizard." And with that, they paid for the wands and departed the shop, leaving the old wand maker behind.