This is my first Harry Potter story, so I ask that you please be understanding of any mistakes.

Disclaimer: I do not own the world of Harry Potter, or any of its characters. While most of the plot is my own, only a few of the characters are of my original creation and even they are based on the world created by J.K. Rowling. As I am making no profit off of this, the sole purpose being only to amuse (and bide us over until the next book comes out), please do not sue me.

Summary: Helaine Arriman's first year at Hogwarts will be nothing like what she imagined.

Rating: PG

The Arriman Files

Chapter One
Cats and Wands

The sun had just begun to rise in the sky, but in a small town outside of Winchester, the occupants of the well spaced, large houses, slept on. Only one home differed from the others nearby.

The brick house was situated on top of a hill and had two stories, a chimney, and resembled a cardboard box in shape. There was, in fact, nothing unusual about the house itself. It was the family that lived inside the house that the neighbors would have found strange. Consequently, this particular family contained three witches and one wizard, while the rest of the neighborhood consisted of regular muggles. However, as the Arriman family didn't socialize with their neighbors much, no one noticed the strange things that occurred inside their home.

For example; while everyone else on the street slept in darkened houses, the lights at the Arriman residence shone through the windows and three cloaked figures could be seen standing impatiently by the roaring fire in a silver plated fireplace.

"Where is that girl? It's nearly seven!" the woman who spoke gave a dramatic sigh and crossed her arms as though waiting a moment longer would cause her much suffering.

"Mum, do you want me to see if she's awake?" asked the little girl who stood next to the woman. By their looks alone it was obvious the two were related. Each had straight brown hair and the same sharp nose.

"Now now Gwen, I'm sure your sister will be down any moment," Mr. Arriman assured his daughter. A tall and thin man, Mr. Arriman's most notable feature were his eyes, which always had a vague and dreamy look to them. Mrs. Arriman's eyes were the exact opposite; they were always alert and taking in the world around her.

"Well, she had better hurry," snapped Mrs. Arriman. Her husband only gave her an absentminded smile and folded his hands in front of him, giving the appearance that he was content to stand and wait for ages.

As the minutes passed though, it became apparent that whoever it was they were waiting for was not on their immediate way. With a sound of disgust Mrs. Arriman went to the foot of the stairs and called loudly,

"Laney! Hurry and get up or you shall make us late! Do you want us to leave you behind?"

Up the stairs and through a door on the right, Helaine, better known as 'Laney', Arriman rolled over in her bed and finally opened her eyes.

"I'm up!" she called as her mother threatened to bodily drag her out of bed. With a gloomy air she got dressed, tied her long brown hair away from her face, and took the stairs down two at a time.

"Laney, what took you so long?" whispered her twin sister, Gwen, as they gathered around the fireplace. Laney just shrugged before taking a fistful of floo powder from the bowl her mother offered her. The truth was she was not really looking forward to the day ahead or the reason for which they were going.

"Isaac, you go first and wait for the girls." Mrs. Arriman said briskly. Mr. Arriman winked at his two daughters and then tossed his powder into the fire, calling out as he stepped into the green flames,

"Diagon Alley!"

Minutes later they were making their way through the crowded streets of the secret magical section of London.

"Wonderful! I told you we shouldn't have waited until the last minute! We'll be lucky if they aren't all out of supplies," Mrs. Arriman's tone was icy and she was frowning as the four walked through the crowds of people.

"Don't worry Maredyth, you know perfectly well that no shop in Diagon Alley has ever run out of school supplies. I suppose we should stop by Gringotts first, then?" before Mrs. Arriman could answer her husband, Gwen piped up,

"Oh Mum, can't Laney and I look at the cats while you and Dad go? Gringotts is so boring!" as Gwen pleaded with their mother Laney said nothing, though she rather liked Gringotts.

"Oh very well. But you're not to go anywhere else! And wait for us there!" instructed Mrs. Arriman. Hardly waiting for her permission, Gwen took hold of Laney and pulled her through the streets until they reached the Magical Menagerie.

As they went inside, Laney couldn't help feeling a little happier. She loved animals, especially cats, and she'd been looking forward to getting one for quite some time.

"Can I help you my dears?" asked the witch behind the counter, smiling at the two girls politely. Per usual, Gwen answered for both of them.

"Yes please! I'm Gwendolyn Arriman, this is my sister Lan –I mean Helaine. We're looking for cats." The woman smiled at Gwen's enthusiasm.

"Well, we've got plenty o' cats here. Hang on –"she said as she led them to the back of the store, "Arriman...now that sounds familiar..."

"Oh, our father works for the Daily Prophet, that's why. You've probably read his name above some article...oh look at that one Laney! Isn't he cute?" Gwen pointed to a short haired black and white feline that was sleeping on a cushion. At Gwen's squeal of delight it opened one yellow eye and gave a faint cat-smile. With a grin, Laney was about to agree when her hair was pulled sharply from behind her.

"Ow!" She spun around to glare at her antagonist. Laying on a shelf was a brown and black cat with silky fur, and wearing what seemed like an amused expression on its face.

"Are you two going to Hogwarts then?" questioned the witch curiously while Gwen petted the black and white cat.

"Yes, this is mine and Laney's first year," at the mention of her name Laney stopped petting the furry cat and turned back to Gwen.

"Oh my, you're twins! Excuse me, I didn't notice how much you looked alike till just now," the witch exclaimed, blinking as she looked from one girl to the other.

"That's alright; most people don't realize at first." replied Gwen brightly. "I like him, our parents'll be here in a minute, can I buy him when they get here?"

"Of course dear. Have you found one you like?" the witch's tone changed when she addressed Laney, who got the impression that she thought her slightly lacking in wits. Blushing, Laney pointed to the brown cat that was purring loudly behind her.

"This one seems nice," she managed to say before Gwen exclaimed,

"Oh Laney! She's gorgeous!"

A few minutes later their parents arrived and the cats, along with supplies for them, were bought.

"Now we must think of names," Gwen peered at her cat through the cage held by her mother. "I know! He's a boy, so I'll call him Thom, as in Thom cat!" The parents chuckled but Laney had to force a smile. She loved her older sister dearly, but Gwen was very unimaginative at times.

"Well, mine's a girl. I think I'll call her..." Laney searched her mind for a good name. "Alanna! How d'you like that?" she asked, staring into her cat's cage, which was being carried by her father. The cat closed its eyes and purred, so Laney took that as a yes.

They spent the rest of the day shopping for the girls' school supplies. Cauldrons, robes, scales, and ingredients were all bought. As a treat they stopped for ice cream before buying their last item: wands.

"Oh dear, I'm sorry ladies but I must be getting to work." Mr. Arriman stated. "Good luck with your wands, Gwen, Laney." with a kiss for his wife and each daughter, Mr. Arriman disapparated with a loud crack.

Gwen and Laney finished their ice creams quickly. Gwen's blue eyes shone with excitement, but Laney felt sure her dark brown ones revealed how nervous she felt.

"All done? Good, then lets head over to Ollivander's," Mrs. Arriman led them back into the street.

Luckily it seemed that everyone else had already gotten their wands, for the shop was empty. Gwen clutched Laney's hand and gave it a sharp squeeze as a wizened old man appeared from the shadows of the small store.

"Good day Mr. Ollivander," Mrs. Arriman said politely.

"Same to you Maredyth, I believe it's Mrs. Arriman now?" he gave a very slight bow as Mrs. Arriman nodded. "Eight inches, maple, with a particularly fiery phoenixes tail feather, if I remember correctly?" all the while he spoke, Mr. Ollivander stared down at Gwen and Laney.

"Yes, quite right Mr. Ollivander, and it's a very good wand. But I'm here for my daughters, its their first year at Hogwarts, you know..." Laney felt herself blush again under Mr. Ollivander's scrutiny.

"Very well, very well. Who shall go first?" Gwen stepped forward eagerly, even as Laney took a small step back. So Mr. Ollivander took her measurements and began handing her wands to try out. After about five different ones, Gwen finally held one that seemed to work.

"A good wand; ten inches, oak, with a unicorn hair. It'll do well, especially for charms. Now..." he turned to Laney, who suddenly felt cold. With a gesture of his hand, the tape measurer that had been focused on Gwen began to measure Laney.

"Which is your wand hand?" asked Mr. Ollivander as he shuffled through small, dusty boxes.

"Er, right," Laney quickly replied. Gwen was staring at her wand in awe, but Laney only felt anxious.

"Here we are, seven-and-a-half, ash –" but when Laney took the wand, nothing happened. In fact, nothing happened with the next ten wands she tried. After an hour had passed, Mrs. Arriman and Gwen had taken seats to wait for Laney, who was close to tears.

"Maybe there's something wrong with me," she said to her mother miserably as Mr. Ollivander searched for a different wand.

"Don't worry, it took your father a long time to find the right wand too," Mrs. Arriman said encouragingly.

"Let's try this one..." Mr. Ollivander returned and handed Laney yet another wand; but something was different this time. Laney felt a sudden warmth flow through her. Looking up, she saw that the others were smiling at her.

"Well well...nine inches, rowan, with the heartstring of a dragon. An unusual wand for, I think, an unusual girl." Mr. Ollivander's pale eyes were boring into Laney, who shuffled her feet awkwardly.

"Oh, but there's nothing unusual about me," she contradicted in what she hoped was a light-hearted manner. Mrs. Arriman called to Mr. Ollivander before he could answer.

"Oh Laney, can you believe it? We're really going to Hogwarts tomorrow! I can't wait! Can you?" Laney almost didn't hear her sister as she stared at the dark wand in her hands.

"Yeah...can't wait." But as she remembered Mr. Ollivander's words, her stomach lurched. 'I'm not unusual,' she told herself firmly as she returned to Diagon Alley with her mother and sister.

Chapter Two
Slytherin House

(Coming Soon)

All reviews/comments are welcome, though as I already have chapters Two and Three written, no major plot changes will be made. (probably) Thanks,
-Luna Sealeaf