Hi All!

I've had this idea rolling around in my head for a while now of a muggle girl who discovers the magical world. Then Cursed Child came out, and (while it has it's obvious faults) the idea that my girl would be a witch in Albus's year caught my attention and encouraged me to finally write my story!

I plan to go through all seven years of Hogwarts. I already have most of Year One done, but I'm looking for a Beta Reader (mostly to get feedback from), so if your interested in Beta Reading, PM me!

(obviously I don't own harry potter or any of it's characters)

Prologue

My name is Athena. My mother named me that because she said my father reminded her of a Greek god. Of course, I was the result of a one night stand, and my mother rarely ever mentions my father.

My mum wasn't around a lot. Instead, I would spend my days with Mrs. Applebaum from across the hall. Mrs. Applebaum was a little old lady. Her husband had past and her children rarely visited her. But she treated me as her own. She taught me everything, from how to walk and speak, to reading and writing. I was only 4 when I started to read books on my own.

But soon after I turned 5, Mrs. Applebaum got sick and couldn't take care of me anymore.

My mother and I weren't close, even as a 5 year old I knew that wasn't usual. So instead of trying to be my mum again, my mother walked me to the local public library, got me my own library card, gave me 10 pounds for lunch and dinner and told me I was old enough to take care of myself during the days. She did say to be home by sundown because the streets weren't safe at night, so maybe she did care a little about my wellbeing. At least a little.

So that became my routine. I would wake up and my mom would either be gone or passed out in her bed. Sometimes she left me a five or tener on the counter, but usually if she was passed out, she forgot. That got me into the habit of saving most of the money.

I would go to the library everyday and read. I started with the kid section. My favorite book was Matilda. I was still waiting for the day that I would be swept away by a Ms. Honey of my own, or develop magic powers because I was so smart. But I knew better than that and eventually I grew out of the kids section all together and moved onto the adult section of the library. Except Matilda, I would never grow out of Matilda.

By the summer of 2015, I was 7. I had gotten good at blending into a crowd or hiding in plain sight, which was useful, since most people were concerned when they saw a child on their own.

The sun didn't set until late, meaning that I had lots of time before I had to go home. And the library was too stuffy in the summer, meaning that I usually entertained myself by people watching outside.

I had just bought some apples for lunch and I was hiding near an old run down building that I rarely saw people enter. The walls and windows were black and dusty and the sign was so faded I couldn't read it. But today for some reason I saw multiple families walk into that building. It was weird, and it didn't seem like a place for children, but it caught my attention.

I saw another family approach, a pair of parents with three kids.

"Dad, can you get me a broom? I want to try out for the quidditch team," the oldest boy asked.

I had no idea what quidditch was, or why any child would want a broom. Did he like cleaning?

"James, you know first years are not allowed to have their own brooms" the mom answer.

"But dad got his first broom when he was a first year."

The family was interesting, and was entering the dirty building.

I was easy enough to follow them. Nobody noticed that I slipped right in after. I was pretty good at staying out of site, and anyone who saw me might think I was part of the family.

The building looked like a bar, but it's inhabitants we're different then any bar inhabitants that I had seen before. They were all in weird cloaks. The inside matched the appearance of the outside, but it didn't seem like the place for a nice looking family.

But the parents didn't seem like they were planning on staying. They said 'Hi' to a few people on their way to the back of the room. I tried to follow closely, without catching their attention.

They walked to the back of the building, and I tried watching from around the corner. The father tapped a brick wall with a stick, and all of a sudden the wall started opening up. I was shocked, but no one in the family seemed surprised as they all walked through. I quickly walked through behind them before the wall started closing up.

What was this place? There was a whole row of shops that I had never seen before. And everyone was wearing such funny clothes. Did anyone else know that this was in London?

'Diagon Alley'

That's what a sign read. I quickly forgot about the family that I was following. I was distracted by the sights around me. What was this place.

I started walking down the road, and I couldn't believe my eyes. I saw the strangest things. Owls and broomsticks and cauldrons were in the windows. And I could have sworn that I saw a stack of books levitating somewhere in the distance. It reminded me of Matilda.

"Come on James, let's get your school robes"

"But mom, I want to get my wand first "

"Albus, stop chasing your sister. Harry, can you go after them? James, robes first. Then wand" "Fine"

It was the family I had followed into this place. The two children and father had walked to what looked like an ice cream shop. I followed them inside.

There were so many flavors. I didn't usually like to splurge on sweets, but the ice cream looked too good.

"Lily, you can't have all the flavors. Choose one."

I reached into my pocket, and pulled out a fiver.

"You won't be able to use that money here." It was the boy who had chased his little sister into this shop. I think his mom called him Albus. "Your mum or dad will have to exchange it for Galleons at Gringotts, over there." He pointed to the large building at the end of the road. It looked daunting, and I didn't have a parent to exchange money for me. I think my worry showed on my face, because then Albus said, "Here, your ice cream is on me," and he handed me a gold coin, before he ran forward to his dad and sister to order his own.

I wasn't sure what to do, I didn't want to take anyone's money. But then again I did want ice cream. I took another look at the coin. It was weird, not like a pound or any money I'd ever seen used in London. He did call it something. A Galleon?

I used the money to buy a cone, and I was going to give the boy back his change, but his family had left the store.

After enjoying my cone, I walked back out to the street, but I stopped in front of a bookstore. 'Flourish and Blotts' said the sign above the door. I practically lived in my local library, so bookstores were like a second home to me. I walked inside and I was wowed by the amount of books they had. The building did not look this big on the outside. At my local library, I really liked the non-fiction section. It was like my own school inside of the pages. And there were so many more things for me to read here.

So that became my new routine for the next two years. I would sneak into the dusty old bar, and follow a witch or wizard into diagon alley. I wasn't stupid, this was a world of magic. As soon as I started reading all the books in the bookstore, I quickly learned about spells and wands and the school called Hogwarts.

I never tried to buy anything after my first ice cream. I was too afraid someone would discover I wasn't magical and would kick me out forever. So instead I went to Flourish and Blotts, found a nice hiding place, and I read all the books I could find.

I really loved the books about Hogwarts. I never went to school, my mum thought the library was a good enough school for me. But I dreamed every night of getting a letter from Hogwarts. I knew I was just a muggle (that's what the books called non-magical people like me), but that didn't stop me from trying some of the spells in the books. They never worked though, probably because I didn't have a wand.

I knew I could only go to Hogwarts in my dream. That was, until one morning as I was about to leave, I noticed a letter in the mail pile addressed to me. From Hogwarts.

Thank you all for reading!

Please review if you liked it! And I'm always open to comments/constructive criticism/ideas/suggestions.

And as I said above, I'm looking for a Beta Reader. PM me in interested!