A/N; The story is set just before the Deathly Hallows and this is my first Harry Potter fanfiction! So please review and enjoy!
A grey tabby cat with black stripes padded quietly along a low stone wall and looked around her. She could hear someone walking down the street a few roads away and sat herself down and waited, flicking her tail impatiently. She had been searching the small town of Lakeland for hours and she was about ready to give up. She told herself that if this was not her coming around the corner then she would go home and try again tomorrow. After a few moments of loud footfalls a tall girl finally made her way around the corner and started walking towards the cat, who had stood up and was now meowing at the girl. She seemed to pause when the heard the cat's calls for attention and then slowly offered her hand to the cat who proceeded to rub her head against the girl's hand. The girl started smiling and sat on the wall next to the cat and began running her hand along the cat's smooth fur from her head to her tail.
"Well aren't you adorable" The cat meowed again and sat down watching the girl. The girl scratched softly around the cat's neck and seemed to be looking for something.
"No collar huh? You got a home sweetie?" The cat blinked up at her and the girl sighed.
"Yeah I don't either…" The girl ran a hand through her dark brown hair and picked the cat up under her front legs, handling it close to her chest and supporting the cat's back legs.
"Want to run away with me kitty? We can go wherever we want and people will give us money because you are so sweet" The cat wriggled to get out of the girl's hold but it was no use. The girl sighed once more and set the cat down on the pavement and stood herself. The cat meowed once before running off into a line of bushes. The girl shook her head, smiled, and pushed her hair over her shoulders.
"Good luck kitty…were both going to need it…" And with that the girl started walking. The cat watched the girl go before walking over to what looked like a tennis ball and placed a paw on top of it. Suddenly the cat was gone from the bushes and re-appeared in a large, round room that had walls full of books. An aged man with a long, white beard sat behind a long wooden desk and was reading a purple covered book when the cat leapt into the air and transformed into a woman. The older man placed the book onto the desk and smiled at the woman, who was dressed in flowing black robes and wore a large purple pendant around her neck. Her lips were set in a firm line and her blue eyes, surrounded in fine wrinkles, showed little happiness. She took a few steps towards the man and straightened the pointed hat that covered her short, grey hair.
"Did you manage to find her, Minerva?" The man could see she wasn't happy with something and feared that something had gone wrong.
"I found her, Albus, but she was walking the streets claiming to have no home! I thought she was living with a muggle family" Albus frowned and pulled a small sheet of parchment paper from one of the drawers of his desk and examined it.
"She has been living with the Monroe family according to the records…perhaps their child had a falling out with her? That kind of behaviour is quite normal with young adults" Minerva shook her head and crossed her arms.
"It is time, Albus. We have put this off long enough, four years!, and with You-Know-Who's army rising we'll need all the help we can get!" Her voice had risen and Albus knew she was right, like she usually was. The man rubbed his beard in thought and looked once more at the parchment. It said that she was currently seventeen and had shown signs that she had magical abilities; moving objects without touching them and making things disappear. Albus chuckled at a note that claimed she had turned the family dog into a wolf and back again. He thought for a few moments before looking back to Minerva.
"It has been too long. Her age will make it difficult to convince her to come to Hogwarts…but if we send the right person…yes…" Minerva didn't like the look Albus had on his face as it usually meant trouble.
"We won't be sending her a letter, she isn't a first year. It will have to be a teacher who brings her to make sure she is safe" Albus ignored her and pulled another parchment out of the same draw and began scribbling something on it with a quill. He handed the not to Minerva and, after reading it, she raised her eyebrows in shock.
"You cannot be serious, Albus! We cannot and will not send a student to collect her!" The note stated that one Fred Weasley would collect the girl and bring her to Hogwarts, and that he was excused from lessons for the time being. Albus stood and walked around the desk to place his hands on Minerva's shoulders. He looked into her eyes and tried to make her see things his way.
"If we send a teacher then she won't come at all. If we send a student her age then she will be more inclined to listen to what they have to say"
"But why Fred Weasley of all people?" Minerva couldn't understand how Albus could trust one of the school's most mischievous student to help retrieve something so valuable.
"He is a terror I agree but he is also trustworthy and he will get the job done. We must act fast before we lose her again. Tomorrow morning you will speak to the Weasley boy and prepare yourselves…I doubt the child will come without a fight" Minerva nodded reluctantly and Albus gave her a small smile. He trusted Minerva with his life and he knew that the boy will be able to convince the girl to come to the safety of Hogwarts. He hoped she would come easily. She needed to. The war may depend on this one girl's choice. When Minerva left his office Albus sat back down at his desk and prayed that things would go as planned.