PROLOGUE
A WHOLE NEW WORLD
May 5, 1971
ELSPETH TONKS WATCHED AS the drizzle of rain turned into a downpour. Normally, she would be excited about the rain, running outside as soon as she had her wellies on. But today was a somber day. Elspeth was turning finally turning eleven.
She wasn't upset that she had aged another year. She had never truly cared about her birthday. But this birthday was different. Elspeth had something to look forward to, but so far, her birthday had been dreadful.
She couldn't understand why she had yet to receive her letter from Hogwarts. She was just as special as Eddie, so she couldn't see why an owl had not yet arrived.
It was three years ago when her brother, Edward, had received his letter from Hogwarts. A severe looking woman, wearing an emerald green robe, had appeared on the Tonks' doorstep, the letter clutches tightly in her hand. When her parents first saw the woman, the first thing they noticed was the green robe. A normal civilian would not be wearing such a garment. The second thing they had noticed was that her lips were pressed into a tight line.
Once her parents let the odd woman in, she sat down in Elspeth's favorite armchair, which is situated by the fireplace, and informed the Tonks family that magic was real and their precious Eddie was in fact a wizard. Even though Elspeth was only eight at the time, she initially did not believe in the woman. Elspeth believed in the facts. She couldn't simply believe in something that had been apart of fairytales that had been recited to her since she was a toddler. The woman had noticed the look of skepticism on her face and she reached into one of the pockets on her robe and drew out a long, slender stick.
As soon as the woman uttered a simple word and changed a teacup into a mouse, Elspeth's skepticism turned into belief. Science had always been the loophole when it came to magic. Science was supposed to be magic. She couldn't believe that decades had passed and many scientists' convictions disproved the idea of magic. Unless the wizards and witches had made it so the scientists couldn't prove that they existed.
That was one of the main things that had stayed on Elspeth's mind these past few years. That and whether or not she would receive a letter.
So far, it looked as though she wouldn't be receiving one.
Elspeth sighed and continued to watch the rain fall. Her eyes darted back and forth, looking for any sign of an owl. Eddie had told her that the Headmaster would probably just send her letter by owl instead of sending one of his staff members. Since her family now knew about the presence of magic in the world, there was simply no need for a staff member to accompany the letter.
As Elspeth continued to watch the rain, her parents crept into the den, a sympathetic look on their faces. Elspeth could see their reflection on the window, and it made her angry that her parents had already resigned to believing that she was ordinary like them.
"Ellie dear," her mother called out. Elspeth refused to turn around to meet her mother's warm brown eyes. Her mother lifted her hand up to the locket that was laying against her throat. Elspeth has noticed that her mother always did that when she was nervous or upset. She would absentmindedly fiddle with the locket, making Elspeth believe that the chain would snap soon. "Come from the window love. I'm sure your letter will be here soon."
"I'm perfectly content with standing right here."
Elspeth heard her father sigh. "Elspeth, this is nonsense. It's your birthday, and you've spent the majority of the day standing in front of that bloody window."
"Your father is right," said her mother. She had stepped closer to her daughter, gently placing her hand on her daughter's shoulder. "I know how badly you want to be a witch, how you want to be immersed in the magical realm. But maybe you being normal is for the best, Ellie. Everything happens for a reason."
Elspeth turned to look into her mother's eyes. The eyes that she had inherited from her. "You don't think it's coming?"
Elspeth watched as her mother sighed and shook her head no. The tears that had been building up on Elspeth's eyes finally spilled over. For three years, she had been dreaming of going to Hogwarts and witnessing all of the incredible things that her brother told her about. But that was never going to happen, because she was just a normal eleven year old girl.
Her mother wrapped her arms tightly around her and brought her close to her chest. Elspeth was always fond of her mother's hugs, but she didn't want any from her mother now. All she wanted to do was go upstairs to her bedroom and crawl under her blankets, ignoring the rest of the world. A sob clawed it's way out of Elsepth's throat and Elspeth tried her hardest to stop anymore from escaping her mouth. She was never one for crying, only doing it on certain occasions where she deemed it to be fit.
"Ellie dear," her father said, a hint of shock in his voice.
Elspeth pulled back from her mother to look at her father, whose eyes were looking straight ahead at the window. Elspeth turned her eyes curiously and they soon lit up with joy when she saw what her father was looking at.
A snowy white owl was flying towards their window, a letter clutched tightly in its beak. Elspeth rushes forward, throwing the window open and she waited patiently for the owl to land. The moment it did, it dropped the letter from its beak, seemingly waiting for her to pick it up. Once she did, the owl turned and left, flying out into darkness.
"Ellie dear," her parents said nervously, afraid that instead of it being a letter stating she was a future student at Hogwarts, it would instead be a letter from their son. "Who is it from?"
Elspeth carefully opened the letter, taking out the pieces of parchment. She unfolded the parchment, making sure she was going to rip a single page. She quickly scanned the first page and a squeal escaped from her mouth. She quickly turned to her parents, the letter clutched firmly in her hand.
"I'm going to Hogwarts!"
•••
"COME ON MUM AND DAD," huffed Elspeth. "I want to get on the train before all the good seats are taken."
Platform 9 & 3/4 was packed with people. Elspeth had never seen so many people on a train platform before.
For three years, she had witnessed her brother getting on the Hogwarts Express, now it was finally her turn to do the same.
The train whistle echoed throughout the platform, warning students that the train was about to depart from the station. Elspeth tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for her parents to say goodbye so she could finally board the Hogwarts Express.
"Alright you two," started her father. "We plan to write to the both of you every week."
"Stay out of trouble," added her mother.
"And Edward, watch after your sister," finished her father. Elspeth wrapped her arms around her parents, she felt her father kiss the top of her head. "Write to us the moment you find out what house your in love."
Elspeth nodded her head. "Bye mum and dad. I love you."
Elspeth did not wait for her parents to say anything in return. She quickly ran up the steps that led into the train. People were walking down the aisle, trying to find their friends or to find an empty compartment. She began to push her way through the crowd, eyes searching for a place she could sit. As she made her way towards the back of the train, she noticed an empty compartment that had yet to be claimed.
She quickly entered it and slid the door shut. She plopped down onto the seat and took out one of her schoolbooks out of her bag. The moment Elspeth had all of her required books for her first year, she had begun to read them all. She wanted to be prepared before any of her classes, and this was the only way she could since she could not perform any magic.
Elspeth felt the train lurch forward, and just like that, she was on her way to her new home, to a place where she would truly belong.
A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed the prologue! I don't really like it that much, so I'm probably going to rewrite it later on, but for now, this is what I got. I am so so so happy to be writing this story again. Elspeth is my little baby and she deserves happiness with our dear Remus. For the next chapter, there will be a time jump to her sixth year. In that chapter, we're going to have some Relspeth interactions and I'm gonna just say, it's gonna be hella cute.