First Year

Emily Fields' eyes snapped wide open and a wide grin split across her face at the split second realisation that today was her birthday. She threw back the covers on her bed and leapt up onto the plush carpet that covered her bedroom. The young girl's eyes twinkled in the rising sun's light that filtered through the crack in the curtains which were currently still covering the large window at the front of her room.

She hurried over to the window and clambered onto the cushioned window seat; once there she sat back on her ankles and gazed up at the large drapes for a split second before throwing them aside and letting the warm glow of the sun's rays wash over her tanned face. Emily loved birthdays- not for the presents and cake but because it was the one time of year Emily would be certain that her father would be there. Her grin spread, if possible, wider and she jumped off the window seat and quickly pulled on some bed socks (Emily couldn't stand having bare feet around the house). Leaping off the bed her heart beat faster at the prospect of seeing her father after almost 8 months of him being out in the field fighting. The small girl didn't bother checking her mother's room for she knew that Pam Fields would already be awake and downstairs making breakfast with Wayne Fields by her side.

Emily's feet pounded the staircase as she ran down and through the living room into the kitchen- sure enough there was her father, leaning nonchalantly against the counter nursing a cup of coffee. "Dad!" Emily squealed and sprinted to him. Wayne hurriedly put the coffee down and knelt down slightly so that Emily could throw her arms around his neck.

"Hey there, Emmy." He smiled warmly as she squeezed tighter before pulling away and looking into his kind eyes "Happy birthday, sweet girl." Wayne gave her another quick hug before standing up so that his wife could also hug their daughter.

"Happy birthday." Her mother smiled and also wrapped her up in a tight embrace "I can't believe you're eleven. It doesn't seem like 5 minutes since you were five." Emily smiled again, her mom was always happiest when her dad was home.

"Come on, kid, I think it's time for presents." Wayne said and led Emily back through into the living room.

About an hour later a noise startled Emily momentarily before Pam answered her unasked question "Ah there's the mail." She got up and ventured to the front door to pick up the post. Soon after she appeared round the corner rifling through the envelopes. The smile on her mom's face faltered briefly as her eyebrows furrowed, walking over to Emily Pam handed her a medium sized envelope made from slightly yellowish paper that was textured to the touch.

Emily began to read the cursive writing in green ink on the front of the letter.

Miss E Fields

163 Pavingsway

Rosewood, Pennsylvania

North America

Emily furrowed her brows and turned over the thick envelope. There was a red wax seal of some sort of crest- perhaps some sort of old organisation? She broke the seal and opened out the parchment inside the envelope. It read:

Dear Miss Fields

We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

"What?" Emily asked to herself, confused- Witchcraft and Wizardry? Surely that was all fairy tales, right? "Mom…what's Hogwarts?" Pam's expression matched Emily's- utter confusion.

"Wayne…?" Pam turned to her husband who looked confused but his furrowed brows suggested that he was also thinking.

"Hogwarts…" He muttered "Hogwarts…" Then his eyebrows shot up and he exclaimed "Hogwarts! I had a half-cousin who went there!" However his wife and daughter still looked confused, his smile dropped for a brief second, turning to his wife he took her hand and then made eye contact with Emily before telling them to sit down. "Now…this is going to sound crazy but I assure you it is all true. My half-cousin… Cho I think it was. Well, her being my half-cousin I never really knew her and with such an age difference I don't think we ever actually met but I do remember my parents discussing her being accepted into a school; Hogwarts." Emily listened intently, captivated by her father's story. "Hogwarts is a school that doesn't teach normal subjects; it's a school for wizards and witches to learn…well wizard stuff. Em, I had no idea that you would be magical, I guess these things just happen." He smiled at her and Emily couldn't help but smile back- Wizards, Witches, magic…this was the best birthday ever!

The next day Wayne called his cousin and asked if they still had Cho's number, luckily they did and she answered. It was all a surprise to her, getting a call from a half-cousin she'd never met to ask if she could send an owl to Hogwarts. Cho was a very understanding and kindly promised to send out her owl with a letter of response to Hogwarts as soon as possible.

"There's only one problem." Wayne told Emily and Pam after he got off the phone "Hogwarts is in England."

"What?" Pam exclaimed "England? Wayne we can't possibly send Emily to England, she only just turned eleven!"

"Mom please!" Emily turned to her mother, eyes pleading "I have to go to Hogwarts! Please mom you've got to let me go." Pam looked down at her daughter and her resolve wavered

"I suppose you have got to learn…"

"Please, mom." Emily begged, her mother sighed. Her tense shoulder sagging; she ran a shaking hand through her hair.

"Fine, you can go, but you have got to write every week and tell us how you're doing."

"I will mom, I promise!" She threw her arms around her mother's waist and hugged her tight.

"Do you mind if I had a word with Em, Pam?" Wayne asked, insinuating he wanted to talk to their daughter alone.

"Not at all." She left the room and Emily turned to her father. He sighed but his smile remained, Wayne knelt down so that he was eye level with Emily who looked at him confused; what was this about?

"Now, Emily, what I'm about to tell you…you cannot breathe a word of it to your mother, understand?" she nodded vigorously. "When I said I had no idea you would be magical, that wasn't strictly the truth. I always suspected you might be but didn't want to jump to conclusions."

"But why would you suspect when you barely remembered about Cho?" Emily asked, thoroughly confused by her father's words.

"Because…" He trailed off and instead of continuing held out his palm where, with a flick of his wrist, blue sparks appeared and danced in the air.

"Dad! You're a-" but she cut herself off, her raised voice may attract her mother's attention, so instead she whispered "A Wizard."

"Yes, but I never told your mother, I didn't know how she'd react. When I met her I had turned away from the magical world but I don't want you to do that. The seven years I had at Hogwarts were the best of my life and I want you to experience every single wonder that comes with it." Her father's smile had grown to match her own. "Now let's book those plane tickets."

A month later on the 28th of August the Fields family landed in Heathrow Airport, England and rented a car so that they could drive to London and buy Emily's school things before term started.

In the back of the car Emily unfolded the letter from Hogwarts that she had kept on her nightstand since her birthday. After rereading the letter Emily opened the equipment list of what she would need for her first year at Hogwarts

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

Uniform

First-year students with require:

Three sets of plain work robes (black)

One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)

One pair of protective gloves (Dragon hide or similar
Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags.

Required Text books

All students should have a copy of each of the following:
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Tremble
A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch
The Standard Book of Spells Grade 1 by Miranda Goshawk
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore

Other Equipment:
1 wand
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set glass phials
1 telescope
1 set brass scales

Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a rat OR a toad

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST-YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS

"Dad?" Emily dragged out the word questioningly "Where are we gonna get all this stuff? Is there like some special Wizard shop in London?"

"Not sure, Em, but Cho gave me some instructions when I last phoned her." He replied but as Emily met her dad's gaze in the rear-view mirror he winked and she instantly knew that her dad new exactly where to get the items needed.

For about half an hour the Fields' drove around London as Wayne looked for their destination, after some searching they found it. "This is where Cho told you to go?" Pam asked incredulously, looking up at what appeared to be a tatty looking pub. Even Emily was confused by the tavern.

"Yep, now I'll just go in and make sure it's the place." As Wayne began to clamber out of the car Pam, gently tugged on his wrist

"Do you want me to come with you?" she asked, a moment of panic crossed his face

"Nah, I'll be fine." He joked it off and ventured inside, around 5 minutes later he returned and gestured outside the car for them to follow him. Emily's heart began to pound with excitement as they wandered into the pub. Once inside Emily instantly recognised this as being a Wizard pub. Strangely dressed individuals littered the bar- one man was even stirring his tea without touching the spoon! They hurried into the back and out of a door into a small courtyard that housed…nothing. Emily's brows furrowed and she looked up at her mother who was still looking inside of the pub. Emily turned, mouth open to ask her dad a question but he put a finger to his lips, motioning for her to be quiet and from the inside pocket of his jacket Wayne revealed what Emily knew straight away was a wand and began counting bricks up from a dustbin beside the back wall, three up and two across from it Wayne tapped the brick and replaced his wand inside his jacket.

Pam turned round and asked "So where exactly do we go now?" but no sooner had she spoken the words then the wall in front of them began to buzz and the bricks in the centre moved away and created an archway big enough for two men to pass through "I'm guessing that way." She answered herself before they stepped through onto the other side.

After stepping through the archway the bricks replaced themselves behind them and they got their first good look at where exactly they were. "Ladies," Wayne began "Welcome to Diagon Alley." Emily gazed around in wonder at the many bustling, caped and unusual people wandering around the alley. There was also lots of kids wandering around who, Emily assumed, were getting all of their school things. Emily turned to her dad, a huge grin on her face and he squeezed her shoulder, and with a grin matching her own said "Ready to start shopping?"

Three hours later the Fields' sat outside an ice cream parlour and enjoyed some very unusual sundaes. Almost all of Emily's shopping had been done all that was left was a wand and, if her mother allowed it, a familiar. "Pam, why don't you wait here while I take Emmy to get the rest of her stuff?" her dad asked

"Yeah, that's fine." She smiled as he gave her a quick kiss goodbye and Emily leapt up in order to follow her father.

"Now I believe it's time we got you a wand don't you think?" Wayne grinned down at his daughter and Emily couldn't help but grin back.

They made their way down the alley and turned into a rickety old building with a sign that read Ollivander's Wands. They stepped through the doorway and Emily's breath was taken away by the shop. Shelves filled with boxes upon boxes of, what Emily could only guess were, wands. She spun around, trying to take in as much of the shop as she could before her dad steered her over to the counter where an unusual looking man was standing. "Mr Ollivander, I'm looking for a wand for my daughter." The man didn't reply for a while, he was staring intently at Wayne.

"No…Wayne Fields! It's you isn't it! Why I haven't seen you since…well since you met your Muggle wife." He turned to Emily, and she tried for a smile "And this is your daughter, did you know that I remember every wand I've ever sold? Your father's was a 14 inch maple with phoenix feather, supple. An excellent wand." He seemed to go into a world of his own for a brief moment before focussing back on Emily. "Now, the wand chooses the wizard but there's no reason not to help it along is there?" he asked

"No, I suppose not." Emily smiled, the man was unusual but strangely likeable. He turned away and started rifling through the boxes stacked high upon the floor, knocking many over. Ollivander whipped round with a dusty box in his hands "10 inch, holly, unicorn hair flexible but sturdy." He handed it to Emily, she expected something to happen but it just sat in her hands, Ollivander snatched it back. "No, what was I thinking?" He returned to rummaging through the boxes, this time on one of the shelves he returned with another tattered box. "15 inch, rowan, veela hair." Once again he handed the wand to Emily and once again nothing happened. Emily began to get disheartened, what if the letter had been wrong? What if she wasn't magical at all? "No matter," The old man turned and ran through to the back of the shop he returned around 3 minutes later brandishing a box that was better kept than the others. "Third time lucky, as the Muggles say." Emily reached out and hoped beyond hope that this was her wand. As soon as she held the wand a warm feeling spread across her palm and a few blue sparks flew out the end of the wand. "That's it young lady, that's your wand." Ollivander smiled "12 ½ inch Rosewood with Ebony swirl handle, dragon heartstring centre, and sturdy."

"Thank you, Ollivander." Her father went to the counter and placed a few Gold Galleons on it. Ollivander leaned down and whispered in her ear

"With a father like that, you're bound to be one of the brightest and best Witches of our generation." His words confused Emily but as her father turned and smiled for what must have been the umpteenth time that day, Emily brightened and placed her wand back in its box before following her father out of the store.

Ollivander's words played over and over in Emily's head as they ventured back through the street and stopped outside of a shop larger than the other ones. She looked up at her father in confusion. "Can't have you going to Hogwarts without a familiar, can we?" He held the door open for Emily as she walked into the store with another face splitting grin and looked up and around at the many cages containing all manner of animals. Wayne closed the door behind them, the bell above it jingled loudly and an old woman with a kind and ancient face smiled warmly at them

"Can I help you?"

"Not just yet, I think Em wants to have a look round first." He answered politely, with another smile the woman returned to reading. Emily looked around at all of the animals and reread the letter determining what animal she could take. 'A cat, rat, toad or owl.' She mused, she automatically knew she wanted to take a cat- she had always wanted one. With this in mind she ventured over to the back wall, where all of the cats were situated. After about a minute of perusing the cages Emily' eyes came to rest on a smaller cage, she looked inside and saw that underneath a blanket was a small shape, Emily reached her finger in the cage and gently eased the blanket off. Underneath was a small black kitten with white paws and brilliant blue eyes, it looked at her and Emily felt as if she could understand it, hear what it was thinking.

"Hey dad!" She called and he came over "I think I've found someone." She smiled brightly as her dad did the same, he waved the woman over and she also smiled.

"Ah yes, she was just born over a month ago- today is the first day she's available to buy." The woman explained

"Does she have a name?" Emily asked

"No, I never got the time to name her." Emily looked up at her dad and he nodded

"We'll take her." He walked over to the till to await the owner who opened the cage and lifted out the yawning kitten. She wrapped her in the red blanket from her cage and handed her to Emily, who bundled her up in her arms. A minute later a gasp came from the woman at the counter. Emily looked over to see her dad handing over a rather large pile of Galleons

"Mr Fields! No, no, no, no, please it's on me!" she exclaimed, Emily's brows furrowed once again- another Wizard who knew her father

"Please, I can't give you nothing." He said to the woman who mulled this over for a minute before speaking again.

"Okay, 20 Galleons." Her father still did not look too happy but he retracted most of the money from his hand and gave the woman the smaller pile of Galleons. Giving her new cat a quick stroke between the ears Emily followed her dad out of the store and back out into Diagon Alley.

It was the first of September and Emily Fields was wandering through Kings Cross Station to try and find platform 9 and 3/4. The very same morning her mother had taken I'll with the flu and so had to stay at the hotel but her dad was still by her side directing her through the flow of human traffic- they had gotten there extra early because her father said there was some people he wanted her to meet.
Approaching platform 9 Emily noticed there was no sign for 9 and 3/4, she looked to her dad who was already looking down at her. He grabbed her hand "Emmy, I need you to trust me. We're going to run at that divider between the platforms and it will take us where we need to go okay?" Emily nodded. Her dad took hold of her luggage trolley and they began to quicken their pace as they ran forwards; Emily's eyes snapped shut and when they opened again she was on a completely different platform with a glistening scarlet steam train on the tracks below.
"Wow." She breathed
"The Hogwarts Express." Her dad said in a sort of mystified tone "It hasn't changed since the day I boarded it for the first time." Emily's eyes widened at this- it looked in pristine condition, but there was no doubt magic had to have been involved. "Now Em, let's find those people I want you to meet."
They searched the platform and after a few minutes of squeezing through the assembled Witches and Wizards they found a group of around 10 people all talking together and laughing.
"Ashley." Wayne called and the talking stopped
"It can't be..." Emily heard the redheaded woman mutter as she turned "Wayne Fields! I haven't seen you since graduation!" She rushed over and pulled him into a hug "Veronica! Peter! It's Wayne!" Another couple rushed over, both of them with brown hair and Emily looked at them incredulously as the woman, Veronica, hugged her father and then the man, Peter, shook his hand and then pulled him into a tight hug. They all stepped back and looked at each other smiling for a while before Peter stepped to the side and a girl slightly shorter than Emily stepped forward looking sheepish and yet confident.
"Wayne, this is Veronica and I's daughter; Spencer." She stuck her hand out for him to shake. Ashley then also led a chubby girl with dirty blonde hair forward
"And this is my daughter: Hanna." Wayne knelt down to their height and shook Spencer's hand before ruffling Hanna's hair

"They look so much like you." He said to both girl's parents. Wayne stood back up and gently eased Emily forward "This is my daughter; Emily."

"We had no idea you even had a daughter, I mean you never send us owls anymore." Veronica remarked, smiling at Emily

"Well I've been leading a Muggle life for…just over 20 years." The Witches and Wizards around Emily's mouths dropped in surprise

"Really?"

"But how?"

"You haven't used magic in…" They all spoke at once and Emily turned to the two other girls.

"So, is this your first year at Hogwarts?" She asked them, Hanna nodded in response, Spencer however was not shy

"Yes, I can't wait, ever since I was a little girl I've wanted to come here." She smiled at the prospect of finally learning magic from professors. "What about you?"

"Well err…" Emily trailed off "I only found out that I was a Witch just over a month ago."

"Seriously? Your father never told you?" Spencer asked, surprised

"Well I never knew he was a Wizard either." She replied honestly "But I've been reading up on the subjects we get taught and magic in general so I can honestly say I can't wait either." Emily grinned and Spencer once again stuck out her hand, Emily shook as she spoke.

"I can tell we'll get along just fine." Emily couldn't help but grin as Spencer turned to Hanna

"What's wrong Hanna? I've never known you be so quiet!"

"Sorry…" The blonde spoke for the first time and turned to Emily "You seem real nice and all…I just get nervous around new people; most people don't like me, or they're mean to me." Emily's heart broke for the girl.

"Well you seem lovely, and don't worry; I won't be mean to you." Hanna's nervous expression turned to one of joy and she pulled Emily into a tight hug

"I can tell we're gonna be best friends!" She exclaimed and Emily couldn't help but laugh.

As Emily waved goodbye to her dad who was standing on the platform as the train pulled away she couldn't help but be filled with a sense of joy and excitement. Rearranging herself into a comfortable position on the plush seat in the compartment she looked around at the two other girls who had begun chatting as soon as the train began to move. Emily sat quietly by herself for a few minutes before Hanna turned to her "So, you're Wayne Fields' daughter."

"Yeah, I guess."

"You guess? If he were my dad I'd be talking about him non-stop!" Hanna exclaimed

"Why?" She asked and Spencer spluttered whilst Hanna sat slack jawed.

"Why? Don't you know about your father?" Spencer asked bewildered

"Know about what?" Emily answered with another question

"That he was one of the bravest Wizards of his generation!"

"My dad? What did he do?"

"What did he do?" Spencer took over "He was an Auror- he captured criminals, he caught some of the worst criminals that the Wizarding world has ever seen…he did so much and only in five years! Then all of a sudden he turned his back on magic and the Wizarding world. No one heard anything from him for 20 years." Spencer exclaimed and Emily was left speechless. Her dad did all of those things and never once mentioned it to her or her mother… '20 years' Emily thought 'My dad met my mom 20 years ago! She was the reason he stopped doing all of those things!' "My parents talk about him all the time though." Emily turned her attention back to Spencer "They were best friends back at Hogwarts, six out of seven years they were friends- Hanna's mom too. They were inseparable and were always top of the class."

"Yeah, my mom said that they were the best friends she had ever had. That's how me and Spencer met!" She threw a chubby arm around the brunette who despite her matter of fact manner smiled. "As soon as we were old enough they introduced us to each other and we've been best friends since!"

"Yay…" Spencer muttered sarcastically and Hanna slapped her arm playfully which ended up in a scuffle for who could have the most room on the seat.

While they fought Emily turned her attention to the cityscape that whizzed past the window. England was nothing like America and Emily was worried she wouldn't fit in here – new country, new school, new people, new life. It was all very daunting but before Emily could worry about it much longer a knock came at their compartment door and all three girls turned to see who was knocking. A short brunette wearing vintage clothes opened the door and looked down at her black leather shoes as she spoke.

"Err, all the other compartments are full…would you mind if I sat in here?" there was no reply for a second- Emily didn't want to invite her in in case the other girls didn't want her there. The girl took this as a bad sign and began to babble "I mean I won't talk or anything…or I could just sit out in the corridor but that might be a safety hazard…" It was Spencer who spoke, cutting off the girl's nervous ramblings

"It's fine, there's plenty of room in here and you don't have to sit in silence- we won't bite." The girl at the door grinned appreciatively and thanked them profusely as she drug her luggage in and tried unsuccessfully to heave it onto the storage rails above the seats. Emily stood up and took over pushing it onto the rails- she was much taller than the girl and so could reach with ease. She began thanking Emily again as she sat down onto the seat. The train jostled on the tracks slightly and all four girls looked out of the window in unison; they had left the soaring skyscrapers of London behind and were now journeying over green fields but Emily could see the houses of nearby towns in the distance.

The girls fell into silence and Emily chanced a look at the new girl- she was sat with her hands in her lap and was staring down at her fingers. She smiled sadly and decided to break the silence "I'm Emily Fields, what's your name?" The girl's head shot up and she smiled gratefully

"Aria, Aria Montgomery." She replied, Spencer spoke next

"Spencer Hastings."

"And I'm Hanna Marin." Hanna grinned and Aria returned the gesture, she then spoke again but nervously

"So…were your parents Wizards?"

"My mom and dad are." Replied Spencer

"My mom is and my dad was a Muggle but when he found out she was a Witch he left." Hanna said sadly and Aria looked downcast at this news

"My dad's a Wizard and my mom's a Muggle." Emily answered and Aria's expression became sadder "But I didn't find out he was a Wizard until a month ago, so if you're worried don't be. I'm in the same boat as you." Aria's smile returned

"Yeah, I'm Muggle-born. You can imagine the surprise on my parents faces."

"I don't need to imagine, I've lived it." Emily joked and all four girls laughed. After that it was water under the bridge they all just clicked- they were friends.

After arriving at Hogwarts and the initial shock of the beautiful old building the first-years were directed to the Great Hall where the sorting ceremony was about to take place. They filed in in alphabetical order to prepare for the sorting ceremony. Emily's father had briefly told Emily about the sorting ceremony however he generalised it, saying he wanted Emily to experience it first-hand. The alphabetisation meant that Emily was separated from her new-found friends and was instead between a tall boy with scruffy black hair and a girl with ginger curls. As the headmaster (Professor Dumbledore) welcomed them to the start of year feast Emily couldn't help but look up at the –clearly enchanted- ceiling, it was scattered with the beautiful stars that were currently blazing in the sky outside. After Dumbledore finished his speech he stepped down from the podium and a woman with thin lips and stern eyes stepped forward to take his place, as she did so two older boys ran out and placed a stool beneath the podium and on top of it balanced an old, ragged Wizard's hat with a large tear across the centre of it. However it was no rip for as soon as the hat was settled on the stool the tear began to grow and to the shock of all the first years the hat began to sing- the rip acting as its mouth.

After the song was over the woman introduced herself as professor McGonagall, the head of Gryffindor house she then began reading out the names of students; the first to be called was a blonde boy McGonagall called out "Ackard, Sean!" as he stepped forward he looked petrified but sat down on the stool all the same and the professor placed the hat on top of his head, due to its large size however it slipped over his forehead and after a few seconds deliberation called out "Hufflepuff!" Sean rose from the stool and hurried over to the Hufflepuff table to a round of applause from those seated there. More names were called before another blonde, this time a girl, was called "Cook, Samara." McGonagall summoned her. She stepped forward and immediately after it was placed on her head the hat screeched "Ravenclaw!" more and more students stepped forward and each time the hat screeched out a house "Gryffindor!", "Hufflepuff!", "Slytherin!", "Ravenclaw!" then her moment came "Fields, Emily." McGonagall called out and she gulped- she was the first of her new friends to be called. Sitting down on the stool was terrifying, the whole school was staring at her in anticipation. The hat was placed on her head and it spoke quietly in her ear

"Hmmm, what a conundrum, clever but not so much- with Ravenclaw's help you could go far but you are loyal, yes, very loyal indeed; Hufflepuff would suite you almost perfectly but I see more from you. I think this one will be…GRYFFINDOR!" The hat yelled out and it was removed from her head, Emily walked over to the table filled with people adorned in scarlet and sat amongst them as they cheered. She grinned broadly at being accepted into their ranks; next was a small boy with curly, dark brown hair "Gottesman, Lucas." He was immediately placed in Hufflepuff. Then it was Spencer's turn.

"Hastings, Spencer." The brunette stepped forward and the hat once again took its time, it seemed to be torn between houses, it then called out:

"Ravenclaw!" She rose from the stool, Emily could definitely see Spencer as a Ravenclaw; she clapped along with the other Ravenclaws as Spencer settled in.

A handsome boy with a strong jaw and jet black hair was next in line "Khan, Noel." He was placed in Slytherin more people were called and then a familiar dirty blonde head came into view "Marin, Hanna." Emily crossed her fingers, hoping Hanna would be placed into the house she wanted

"Hufflepuff!" From the relieved grin on her face, Emily assumed Hanna was happy with the result. Then a girl with long dark flowing hair stepped forward

"Marshall, Jenna." The second the hat touched her hair it screamed

"Ravenclaw!" She walked over with a smug smile on her face- more names were called and more people were placed into their houses, there was a lot of kids with names beginning with Ma then a tall girl with light brown hair stepped up

"McCullers, Paige." She walked to the podium on shaky legs and sat down with a worried expression on her face- Emily felt sorry for the girl. It took a moment, Emily assumed the hat was whispering in her ear in the same fashion as it had to Emily but the hat then decided and screeched

"Slytherin!" The girl- Paige-'s face fell and tears formed in her eyes. She lifted the hat from her head and trudged over to the Slytherin table with sagging shoulders and a bowed head. Emily guessed that was not the result she was hoping for; Emily smiled sadly before returning her gaze to the front of the entrance hall. Yet again more and more names were called then; "Montgomery, Aria." Emily's heart raced for the Muggle-Born girl the hat had just brushed her forehead when the hat screamed "Gryffindor!" Emily leapt up to welcome Aria to her table and clapped thunderously along with the rest of the Gryffindors. When the brunette made it Emily threw her arms around her and pulled her down to sit next to her. They looked back to the podium

"Rivers, Caleb."

"Ravenclaw!"

"Smith, Anna."

"Hufflepuff!"

"St. Germain, Maya."

"Slytherin!"

Names were called, houses were shouted and applause filled the hall then the last name was called, a small girl with bunches and rather large glasses

"Vanderwaal, Mona."

"Ravenclaw!" Now that the ceremony was over McGonagall cleared away the stool and hat then Dumbledore returned to the podium to speak once again.

"Now that that's done with…let the feast begin!" The many plates filled with all manner of delicious looking food, Aria and Emily looked at each other, grinning, and dug in.

Emily's first year at Hogwarts was flying by faster than a Firebolt, it was no time until it was a few days before the Christmas holidays and almost all of Emily's things were packed in her trunk ready to fly back to America. Despite being sorted into different houses Emily, Aria, Spencer and Hanna were still firm friends, who spent almost all of their time either in the library or in the fields outside of the castle talking, joking and doing homework. Spencer was a Ravenclaw through and through with perfect scores on almost every test-she was nothing like her sister Melissa who was in Slytherin house, they were both equally smart but Spencer kind and warm hearted. Melissa was as cold-blooded as a snake, perfect for Slytherin. Aria and Hanna were staying at Hogwarts over Christmas break but Spencer and Emily were going back home- Emily couldn't wait to see her parents again after over three months of not seeing them, however she kept her promise of sending a letter a week with the owl that her father had bought to keep in touch. His name was Olivan and he was dark grey, almost black with large golden eyes.

As the four girls sat outside the castle a familiar voice boomed nearby and they turned to see Hagrid coming over to them with a large grin on his face. He was wearing a large red Santa hat- the girls tried not to laugh. "Af'ernoon girls! Are yer lookin' forward to the Chris'mas 'olidays?" He asked cheerily

"Definitely, I can't wait to see my dad." Emily replied with a warm smile, her friends and Hagrid were very close, despite him not being a teacher they regarded him as the best member of staff- they were often invited for tea at his hut.

"Ah, yer dad, Wayne Fields! Do us' a favour Em, would ya? Tell yer dad I say 'ello. No' sure if e'll remember me but it's worth a go."

"Of course Hagrid." Emily smiled and they briefly chatted with him before he had to excuse himself to go and feed one of his new pets.

Christmas came and went, Emily found out her dad had been a Gryffindor and that she was following in his footsteps almost exactly- his best friends had all been from different houses. Easter passed too and it was time for them to sit their exams.

"Ugh, I'm gonna fail!" Hanna slammed her head down onto the large book she was reading from, the loud smack! Caused them to be glared at by the librarian.

"Hanna, no you're not. Did you read those notes I gave you?" Spencer asked, placing a gentle hand on the blonde's shoulder.

"Yes! And I didn't understand those either!" she buried her face further into the book and Emily smiled sadly at her. She, for some reason, wasn't worried about her exams- she had been revising profusely and now felt a strange sense of calm at the impending exams that were scheduled after the weekend.

"Just keep reading, it'll be fine." Spencer assured her, sounding rather unconvinced. Hanna groaned again.

The exams passed and so did the girls and, to her own surprise, so did Hanna, "See," Emily said "You don't give yourself enough credit." Hanna smiled appreciatively at her before giving her a very tight hug, Emily returned the gesture with a smile and excused herself to go and finish packing the rest of her things for the departure of the Hogwarts Express the next day. To be truthful Emily was sad she was going home, she wanted to learn more, do more, experience more but at the same time she wanted to see her parents and her home again.

As she made her way to the Gryffindor common room she got lost in her own thoughts and didn't see the girl walking towards her, who clearly didn't see her either. Closer and closer they grew without even realising each other's existence and then CRASH! They walked straight into each other. Books flew to the floor and so did the girls. "Oh my god, I am so sorry. I was in a world of my own." She bent down to help pick up the books without looking at the girl, embarrassed by her inability to watch where she was going.

"Its fine, I wasn't looking where I was going so...I'm sorry too. It was mostly my fault anyway so don't blame yourself." The girl babbled as Emily gathered up the rest of the books and handed them to the her, who she finally looked at and when she did she recognised her instantly 'the disappointed Slytherin girl from the sorting ceremony' Emily thought to herself, looking at the huge pile of books the girl was carrying. She made eye contact again and the girl seemed to have frozen, her earlier babbling seemed like it had come from an entirely different person. "Hey it's..." Emily trailed off trying to remember the name from the sorting ceremony "Paige right? Do you want a hand with those books?" Paige stood in silence for a minute before replying

"I don't really think it would be good for either of us if a Gryffindor was seen helping a Slytherin do you?" Then she turned round and walked the other way hurriedly leaving Emily in stunned silence.

The ride back on the Hogwarts express was fun but sad, it would be almost 2 months until Emily would see her friends again and despite the joy she felt at seeing her parents she did not enjoy the thought of a summer without Spencer, Aria or Hanna.

The scarlet steam engine pulled up into the station and Emily saw the gathered masses of parents and family members converging on platform 9 3/4 to welcome back the young Witches and Wizards. In the crowd Emily saw her mother and father waving at her exuberantly and Emily gave a small wave and smiled back.