And here we are again, everyone! I hope you enjoy chapter 1!

Disclaimer- I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER! I ONLY OWN LACEY AND HER FAMILY!

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I opened my eyes. The wind was blowing my hair into my face as I sat up. The grass was smooth underneath me, and the lake was as pure as ever.

This field behind my house was one of my favorite places to go during the summer. Actually, come to think of it, it was one of my favorite places to go at any time of the year. In the summer, the lake was warm enough to swim in, and I could just lie in the grass for hours. When autumn arrived, I watched the colored leaves sprinkle down like grains of pepper.

During the winter, the small hillside was one of the best places to get on a sled and slide down. You could also put on skis and go onto the frozen lake. And the spring was absolutely lovely. There was an elm tree in the middle of the field, and it would always bloom so beautifully in the springtime. I used to love catching the petals in my hand when the wind blew them off of the tree.

One of the best parts about it was the fact that Arabella used to love it there as well. We have several pictures of her running in the grass as a toddler, swimming in the lake as a child, and sledding down the hill as a teenager. So whenever I was down there, I could almost feel her with me.

"Lacey!" Mum was calling me from the house. I instantly got to my feet.

"Coming!" I ran back to the house.

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After going through the back door and into the dining room, I found my mother. She was smiling at me. "What is it?"

"Guess what came in the mail today?" It didn't take me very long to figure it out.

"My letter!" Mum took my Hogwarts letter out from behind her back and gave it to me. I struggled to open it as Mum chuckled.

"Try not to rip the letter, sweetheart." I grinned at her. Finally, the letter was open. As I took in the long list of required supplies for this year, all of the joy came flooding back. It's time again! I'm going back!

"So when should we-"

"Shh!" Mum suddenly put a finger up. Looking over at our active radio, she turned it up. I listened to the voice that was speaking.

"...escaped from Azkaban not long ago. This is the first time this has ever occurred in our history. Sirius Black was convicted of the murders of several innocent muggles, as well as the murder of Peter Pettigrew. The Ministry advises you to not panic, for this notorious criminal will soon be captured. In the meantime, if anyone has seen Black, please contact an official immediately. Now, onto the local weather..."

Mum switched off the radio. Her face had gone white.

"Who's Sirius Black, Mum?" She looked down at me grimly.

"He was put into Azkaban twelve years ago," she said.

"For murder?"

"Yes, but there's more. He was a supporter of the Dark Lord. When Lily and James Potter were threatened by You-Know-Who, they went into hiding, you remember?" I nodded. "Well, only a few people knew where they were. One person who did know was Peter Pettigrew. Another was Sirius Black." I knew what she was going to say before she said it.

"He turned them in, didn't he?" Mum nodded.

"Yes. He did. And when Peter discovered his plan, he tried to warn the Potters. But Black killed him before he could reach them." My blood ran cold.

"That's horrible! Wait, do you mean that, if Black hadn't told You-Know-Who where Harry's parents were, they would still be alive?" After a long pause, Mum nodded. I looked down. Oh, God. A killer on the loose...this year will go by quite smoothly.

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When we got to Diagon Alley, I couldn't help but feel uneasy. A lot of people looked grim, probably due to the numerous "Wanted" posters of Sirius Black that were hanging everywhere. I stopped to look at the picture on one of them. He had shaggy hair and a mustache. The look on his face was that of a maniac...

"Lacey?" Dad shook my shoulders. I looked up at him and smiled.

"Oh. I'm fine." He rubbed my back affectionately.

"They'll catch him, sweetheart. Don't worry." I nodded. We went into Flourish and Blotts to buy this year's school books. One book scared me out of my wits. It was called The Monster Book of Monsters. It looked like a spider; it had hair, eight eyes, and sharp-looking fangs. Oh well. It is Hogwarts, after all.

After we left the store, I sat down on a bench. No sooner had Mum sat down next to me did something startling happen. The book seemed to be alive! It started snapping at me and Mum. I started screaming. Mum didn't scream, but I could tell she was fearful. Then, the book suddenly calmed down and closed its jaws again. We looked up at Dad, who was holding his wand.

"There," he said contently. Seeing him do that made me think of something that Malfoy had said last year, about my father, "never being able to do real magic." Well, I thought proudly, I suppose he was wrong, then, wasn't he?

I was still looking aprehensively at the frightening book when I heard a very familiar voice next to me.

"Hi, Lacey." Even before my father spoke, I knew who it was.

"Neville! Good to see you, lad," Dad said. When I got to my feet and faced Neville, I nearly fell over. It seemed as if he had gotten thinner over the summer. His belly was still a bit chubby, but his face in particular wasn't as pudgy as it had been before. His hair had also grown a bit.

"Hello there, Neville," I said, smiling. Neville smiled back.

"How was your summer?"

"It was good, but I really missed school." He nodded.

"Yeah, so did I." Suddenly, Mum got up.

"Hello, Augusta," she said. I looked past Neville and saw his grandmother coming. It took every ounce of my strength to not laugh out loud. She was wearing a velvet green skirt with a matching long-sleeve top. She also had a hat with a vulture on it, and carried a bright red handbag. I smiled.

"Hello, Mrs. Longbottom." She smiled.

"Good to see you, Miss Ravensdale." She then turned to Neville with a stern look on her face. "Young man, you lost Trevor again, didn't you?"

"No," Neville said, shaking his head. "What makes you think that?" Augusta reached into her handbag and pulled out the brown toad. "Oh, there you are." He immediately took Trevor and put him into his pocket. Augusta looked at him and then back to me and my parents.

"We're just getting his schoolbooks now." I nodded.

"Ah," Mum said. "Well, you get back to that. We still have a few things to pick up, so..." I smiled at Neville.

"I'll see you on the train, Neville." He smiled back.

"Alright." As he and Augusta went into Flourish and Blotts, my parents and I went on to get my school robes. By the afternoon, I had everything I needed.

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That night, I was holding Belle in my arms. I used to like sitting in my room with her. It gave me time to think about any problems I was having, or about my life in general. As I stroked the top of Belle's head, my thoughts wandered back to the escape of Sirius Black. I can't believe he did that, I thought to myself. Does Harry know about it? A part of me hoped he didn't. Otherwise, he might have wanted to go hunt Black down. I exhaled deeply and sat back against my pillow. Oh, well. Somehow, everything will be alright. It's Hogwarts! What could go wrong?

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I hope everyone liked it! I'll have the next chapter up soon =D