A/n: Written for QLFC Round 9. Captain: Peter Pan, where Hogwarts is Neverland.

Welcome to Neverland

She looked up from her seat by the fireplace when her youngest son burst into the room in tears and threw himself into her lap. "What's the matter, darling?" she asked, alarmed by how upset he was.

"Father took away their favourite storybook again."

Albus stepped into the room, a whimpering Ariana in his arms and an angry flush colouring his cheeks. He handed his sister over with a frown and knelt down beside the armchair.

"Oh dear," she said when Ariana began to sob as well. "What did he say this time?"

"'It's a load of poppycock' is what I told them!" She looked up as her husband stormed into the room. He threw down a children's book on the coffee table and stood with his arms crossed, fuming. "I simply cannot understand why you encourage this sort of nonsense!"

"Percy," she said gently. "It's just a story. Why must you always over-react in this way?"

"Over-react?" he snapped. "All your Muggle drivel is filling the children's heads with nonsense!" He threw his arms into the air. "A magical land full of pirates and Native Indians and whatnot? Bollocks!"

"Percival!"

Her husband glanced at the children and sobered down, looking ashamed for swearing in front of them. "Why can't you read them Beedle the Bard or Babbity Rabbity instead of this—this rubbish?"

"I do," she said, pressing a kiss to her daughter's hair. "But they like listening to Peter Pan."

"Peter Pan's not rubbish!" Aberforth chimed in with a sniff. "He's the boy that never grows up!"

Percival went red in the face and opened his mouth to give his son a piece of his mind, but she beat him to it. "How about we do this," she said, standing up and propping Ariana on her hip. "Whenever I put them to bed I'll read them Peter Pan, and whenever you do, you can read them Babbity or Beedle."

Her husband didn't look too pleased, but she knew he would relent. He loved the children far too much not to. "Alright," he finally said with a sigh.

She smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you."

Percival shook his head, his expression softening as Aberforth ran around him holding the storybook over his head.

"Alright darlings, wish your father goodnight," she said as she handed Ariana back to Albus.

"Goodnight, Father!" they sang and raced out of the room.

She chuckled and followed them into the nursery, making sure they were all huddled together under the blankets before getting into the bed. "Right then. Where were we?"

"They just flew through the clouds!" Aberforth said excitedly.

She glanced at her children, who were watching her with sparkling eyes, before turning back to the story.

"Peter Pan turned to Wendy, John and Michael and said, 'Welcome to Neverland'."

"I don't want to go!"

She tried to twist her wrist free from her father's vice-like grip, but failed. "Don't cause us any more trouble than this, Myrtle," he said in what he probably thought was a kind voice, but she could hear how strained and forced it was.

"Mother, please," Myrtle begged, turning tear-filled eyes to her mother with the faint hope that she may somehow, for once, take her side.

Her mother turned away, hands circling her swollen belly. She refused to meet Myrtle's eyes, and Myrtle could hear the disgust in her voice when she said, "Listen to your father."

"Father, please. Please, I'll be good; don't send me away!" she sobbed even as her father dragged her out the door and to a man standing by the gate.

"She's ready," he told the strange man, ignoring Myrtle's pleas. "Do you have what you promised?"

The man cast her a passing glance before handing over a case to her father, who gave it to her mother and said, "Check it."

"It's all here," she said after she had examined its contents. She turned to the stranger and smiled, the most genuine smile Myrtle could remember seeing on her mother's face, before nodding towards Myrtle. "She's all yours."

"What—no! No, please! Mother! Father!"

"Be quiet, Myrtle!" her father said and slapped her across the face. "This nice man will take care of you, so be good and don't cause him any trouble, alright?"

"No, please," she begged through tears as the man placed a hand on her shoulder and led her away.

They walked for a long time, and Myrtle had the chance to stop crying and think about her situation rationally. She had always been an unwanted existence in her own home, and now that her parents would have another child and had the opportunity to get rid of her, they had taken it. She was now as good as an orphan.

"Myrtle, was it?"

She looked up and eyed the stranger, taking in his long beard and his deceptively kind eyes. What was this man going to do to her?

"My name is Albus. Albus Dumbledore. I am going to take you to a place like you've never seen before."

Myrtle turned away, her eyes stinging. "That sounds terrifying."

"It does, doesn't it? Perhaps I should have phrased it better."

There was silence as they continued to walk down the empty street. After a time, the man said, "You're special, you know."

"I know."

"So am I."

She looked up at him again and frowned, suspicious. Myrtle wasn't sure what he was trying to sell, but she wasn't buying it.

With a smile, he held his elbow out. When she only stared at it with mild disgust, he said, "It would be easier for me to simply show you."

Although she didn't want to, curiosity made her take his arm. She was instantly surrounded by an unpleasant feeling, and before she knew what was happening, she was standing on a crowded platform, surrounded by people who seemed just as odd as the man beside her. Myrtle stared slack-jawed as a cage bobbed past her in mid-air, following after a family of four.

The man led her towards the large, red train before them and stopped in front of a door. "What is this?" she asked, stunned beyond belief. "What just happened?"

Albus Dumbledore looked down at her with twinkling eyes and smiled. "This, my dear Myrtle, is your chance to start afresh, among other special children just like you."

"If there're others like me, I'm not all that special, am I?" she said bitterly, to which his smile only widened.

"The Hogwarts Express is departing! All aboard!" someone called.

"Shall we?" Dumbledore asked as he jumped on the train and held his hand out to her. She eyed it, an image of her parents flashing through her mind.

With a resolute nod, she took his hand and let him pull her aboard. After all, wherever she was headed couldn't possibly be worse than where she had come from.

'This can't be real,' she thought as she stood staring at the enchanted ceiling. Stars shimmered above her head and ghosts flew threw them, laughing merrily. She remembered the portraits in the halls that had smiled and greeted her when she had passed by them, and she felt a shiver run down her spine.

When her name was called by a woman in a pointy hat, she stepped up to a stool and sat down. Something was placed on her head, and its voice echoed in her ears, as though it was speaking directly to her mind. She sat transfixed.

'This is such a strange place,' she thought. 'I wonder what I can find here.'

"There's my answer right there," the voice said to her. "This one's definitely a RAVENCLAW!"

One of the four tables erupted in cheers as she hopped off the stool and made her way towards them. The girl closest to her patted her on the shoulder and beamed.

"Welcome to Hogwarts!"

"Are you sure you have everything?"

Ted rolled his eyes as his mother fussed over him for the dozenth time that morning. "Mum, you packed my trunk yourself; you know I have everything I need."

His mother stepped back with her hands on her hips and nodded. "That's true. But if there's anything at all—"

"Then I will write you and tell you," Ted interrupted, placing a hand on his mother's shoulder with a smile. "I'll be fine, Mum."

He watched as her eyes got teary again and she sniffed. "Oh, darling, I can't believe I'm about to let you waltz into some unknown world full of things that could kill you."

"It was one time, Mother, and you should be thankful to the wizard who stopped the ice-cream from soiling your clothes."

"Oh," his mother said and engulfed him in a hug, paying him no heed as he struggled to resist.

Luckily for him, the loud whistle of a train caused her to pause in her mollycoddling. He took the opportunity to move away from her and stood watching the red train that pulled into the platform. The Hogwarts Express that was written across the front in gold lettering shimmered in the sunlight. His heart began to race as the train screeched to a halt and the doors were thrown open.

The crowd around them sprung to life as students and parents alike crowded around, pushing and jostling one another in an attempt to board their children on the train while simultaneously hugging each other and saying goodbyes.

"Lord have mercy," his mother said as she kissed the cross around her neck, her eyes full of fear.

"Mum, it'll be fine," Ted reassured her, putting up a brave front despite feeling faint and anxious himself. "I'll be fine."

"I wish—I wish your father were here," she said softly as she wiped a tear from her cheek.

"Dad had to work, Mum. It's not his fault." He eyed the family beside them as the mother waved her wand and fixed her son's messy hair. "Besides, he mightn't have appreciated all this… mumbo jumbo, as he calls it."

"That's only because he doesn't understand it," his mother said, always the one to defend his father.

"Neither do I," Ted muttered as an older girl shoved past him, her bushy curls bouncing behind her as she raced towards her friends. "Hey! Watch it!"

"Sorry about that."

He looked over his shoulder at a pale-faced, brown-haired girl with kind eyes as she bowed her head in apology. Ted waved his hand, his cheeks tingeing pink.

""S no problem."

She offered him a small smile before following behind her family, who were eyeing him and his mother like they were something filthy lying by the side of the road. "Don't wander off, Andromeda," he heard the woman say, and he turned away, feeling a knot form in his stomach.

Am I really going to be alright?

"You'll be fine," his mother was saying, more to herself than to placate him. "You'll be fine. I mean, what could possibly go wrong, right?"

He turned to eye the girl who had spoken to him and her family, feeling a sense of dread spread within him. "Right."

He stared open-mouthed as the once-empty plates and goblets on the table overflowed with food and drink. Delicacies he had never seen or heard of before were being passed around by fellow students. Somebody even made one of the tarts float to him in mid-air because they couldn't reach it!

"Are you going to eat that or are you just going to keep staring at it all night?"

He looked at the boy beside him and shut his mouth, embarrassed. "Sorry. It's all just so… strange…"

The boy grinned. "Muggleborn, eh? I understand. I'm one myself."

"Muggle...what?"

"Muggleborn. People with magic, like you and me, who're born to non-magical folk."

He eyed his hand and looked up at the boy. "So magic… is real?"

The boy winked. "As real as everything around you. By the way, I'm going to take that if you're not eating it."

Turning to eye his goblet, he finished his drink and placed it on the table. He watched as it re-filled by itself, his eyes growing so wide they hurt. "Magic is real," he whispered, feeling a jolt run through him. "Magic is real."

"What?"

"Like I said, I'm not going to Eton anymore. I'm going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

He watched as his mother's face went from red to purple to white before she said, "Listen here, Justin. Your father and I went through a lot to get you into Eton, and I absolutely will not tolerate this sort of ungratefulness."

"Hogwarts is an even better school!" Justin argued, despite not knowing if that were true or not.

"And how do you know that?" his mother asked, crossing her arms and raising her chin.

"Be—Because only a select few are invited to study there, and I'm one of them!" he tried, hoping she would buy his fib.

She frowned but looked less resolute. Being the aristocratic woman that she was, he had a feeling she was at least interested in Hogwarts, if nothing else.

"How come I have never heard of this Hogwarts School of Whatnot, then? What sort of name is Hogwarts anyway?"

"I—It's an excellent school! Let me go, and I'll prove it to you!"

She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "All this just because you don't want to go to Eton? Really, Justin. I thought you were better than this."

He felt his cheeks flush, and his heart began to race. His mother didn't believe him! "I'm telling the truth," he said, holding out an ivory envelope to her.

She took it from him and eyed the broken seal. "This is quite a valiant effort, I must say. If only you showed this level of dedication to your schoolwork."

"I am not going to Eton!" he yelled, snatching the envelope from her hand. Throwing open the car door, he clambered out. "And you can't make me!"

"Justin Finch-Fletchley, get back here this instant, young man!" his mother called after him, but he couldn't care less. He would be in enormous trouble for his behaviour, but right now, he was much too angry to care.

He stormed into the house and took the stairs two at a time. Flinging his door open, he rushed into his room and slammed the door behind him, locking it shut. Justin made a garbled sound through gritted teeth angrily, ruffling his hair in frustration. He turned around with the intention of flopping down on his bed, but stopped short when he spotted the man by the window.

"Father," he said breathlessly.

For a moment, his father didn't move, then he turned his head ever so slowly and fixed his piercing gaze on Justin. "You're home early."

"I—I didn't go."

"And why is that?"

"I—" he broke off, swallowing nervously, the envelope still clutched in his hand. It was now or never. Besides, where was the harm in speaking his mind? If his father didn't approve, he would end up going to Eton anyway. "I want to go to Hogwarts."

His father half-turned, one eyebrow raised. "What's that, now?"

"Ho—Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Justin stammered, holding the crumpled envelope up. "I—It's for people like me…" he trailed off, too afraid to say the words out loud.

"People like you?" his father asked, stepping away from the window and making his way to Justin.

Justin unconsciously stepped back.

"So this Hogwarts," his father was saying as he came to stand before Justin and took the letter from his hand. "Is it a good school?"

"Ye—Yessir!"

"Would you rather I send you there than Eton?"

"...Yes, sir."

"Will you do better there than you would in Eton?"

Justin inhaled and nodded. "I will make you proud, Father."

His father was silent for a long moment as he scrutinised the contents of the letter. "Very well, then. Hogwarts it is."

He stood eyeing the cauldron before him, watching as it bubbled and spluttered. After a moment, the concotion simmered and turned a rosy shade, and he cheered internally. He waited with bated breath until the professor came around to him and eyed his potion.

Snape frowned and nodded after a moment. "Very good, Mister Fletchley."

He hid a smile, revelling in the compliment he had received from the man who only ever praised his own House. He couldn't wait to tell his father about his perfectly brewed potion! Hogwarts had been the better choice after all!

She gasped as she turned a corner, nearly falling when her shoe caught on a flagstone.

"Where am I?" she moaned woefully, looking around at the dark hallways that all looked the same. "Oh, this is terrible. I should have been in the dorms ages ago!"

"Hullo. Are you lost?"

She started, spinning around to stare at the boy who had just stepped out of the shadows, a curious smile on his face. "I—I am," she said tearfully. "Can you help me?"

"Of course!" He held his hand out and tilted his head. "I'm Percival, by the way. Percival Dumbledore. Are you a first year?"

She took his hand with a little sob and nodded. "Yes, I am. I took a wrong turn somewhere and got lost! All these corridors look the same!"

The older boy laughed. "They really do, don't they." He led her back the way she had come and stopped by a window. He looked towards the sky, and she followed his gaze, her breath catching at the beautiful sight of the full moon.

"What did you say your name was, again?"

"K—Kendra…"

He smiled at her. "Well, Kendra. Welcome to Hogwarts."