Hello all! This is AnyuBoo, the fairer half of MadPiper. :) What follows is my first solo fic. I own none of JKR's characters, more's the pity. Kiara, her parents, and anyone not recognizable from the books are my own creations. I'm making no money off this, so please don't sue me. So far, this is un-beta'd, so any mistakes are entirely my own. MadPiper has, of course, seen it, but he's not the spelling and grammar freak (that's me). There may be some small similarities at the beginning to our joint story The Lord, the Lady, and Luna, but I assure you this one is nothing like it, really. This is a Snape/OFC romance fic. It is also most definitely AU. Have fun reading!

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Chapter 1: An Owl for Miss Connon

The pretty young girl sat in front of her mirror, dreamily brushing her long, pale blonde hair. The July sun streaming in her window highlighted her hair, making it shine in the bright sunlight. She looked in the mirror again. Her face was oval shaped, with pronounced cheekbones, a small, straight nose, and a small mouth, but with fairly full lips. Her large eyes were an odd shade of lavender, framed by long lashes that were considerably darker than her hair. Family and friends had often told her that her eyes darkened almost to violet when she felt strongly about something, and lightened to an icy shade when she was very angry, although that didn't happen often. Her figure was slightly more developed than that of most girls her age, making her seem about a year or so older than the eleven that she was, in spite of the fact that she was rather petite. All in all, she had the type of appearance that could cause other girls to dislike her intensely were it not for the fact that she was a very friendly girl, sunny and good-natured.

She ran her brush through her hair somewhat absently, her mind on the subject of schools. Specifically, she was thinking about middle schools since, now that she was eleven, it was time for her to leave the local primary school. Her application had been sent to several schools in Great Britain. She was curious as to which would accept her but, as her marks had always been quite good, she was able to wonder without being anxious about it. Her thoughts were interrupted at that moment by a persistent tapping on her window. She looked up and was startled to see an owl, a barn owl, sitting on the wide window ledge, tapping its beak against the glass. She opened her window, thinking that maybe the owl was hurt and disoriented. As soon as she did so, however, it flew in, perched on the back of her chair, and held out one leg. Looking closer, the girl could see that the owl had some sort of paper tied to it. She untied the paper and was startled again, seeing that it was an envelope and that it was addressed in emerald green ink to Miss Kiara Connon, Second Bedroom, 18 Emerald Street, 489-Whitstable, Kent.

"That's me," she said aloud in surprise, as she turned it over to see where it had come from. The owl hooted softly in response and flew back out the window. On the back of the envelope, Kiara saw a crest with the word 'Hogwarts' and the images of a lion, a badger, a raven, and a snake. She opened the envelope, pulled out the letter, and read it. It was a letter from a school called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Apparently she had been accepted as a student, although she hadn't realized she was a candidate. She couldn't remember ever sending her application to a school like that. Kiara read and re-read the letter. Then she noticed the second sheet tucked inside. This one was a list of uniforms, books, and other equipment that she needed. There was also a train ticket. It was for the Hogwarts Express, leaving King's Cross at eleven in the morning on September first. Kiara was so absorbed in reading that she didn't hear her mother calling her to dinner. Finally, Mrs. Connon came upstairs, knocked lightly, and opened the door.

"Kiara dear," she said, "I called you three times already. What are you so absorbed in?"

"Oh, sorry Mum," Kiara answered. "I was reading this letter and didn't hear you."

"A letter? Kiara, the post arrived hours ago. There wasn't a letter addressed to you."

"I know, Mum. This just arrived a little while ago. An owl brought it to my window."

"An owl? Kiara, owls don't normally fly during the day, and they certainly don't carry letters. If I didn't know better, I'd think you're making this up. Anyways, come downstairs. Your Gran is here and it's time for dinner."

"Ok, Mum," Kiara replied, and the two of them made their way down to the dining room with Kiara still holding the letter.

"Hello dear," Kiara's Gran greeted her.

"Hi Gran," Kiara replied as she sat down at the table.

"What is that you have there?" Gran asked.

"Oh, it's a weird letter I just got a little while ago," Kiara replied. "The strange thing about it is that it didn't come with the regular post. An owl brought it to my window."

"An owl?" Gran asked. "You mean you got your Hogwarts letter?" At this, all eyes turned to Gran.

"How did you know?" Kiara asked.

"Very simple, dear," Gran replied. "I went to Hogwarts too, when I was a girl."

"Just what is this 'Hogwarts' place?" Mrs. Connon asked.

"Hogwarts is a school," Gran replied. "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You see, Kiara, like myself, is a witch. Hogwarts will teach her how to use her powers properly."

"A witch?" Mrs. Connon asked. "Mum, have you been in the sherry? You're a nurse, or at least, you were before you retired."

"No dear," Gran replied with a tolerant smile, "I was actually a Healer at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies. That's the wizarding equivalent of a doctor. Your father was not a wizard and, as it happened, you did not turn out to be a witch. Kiara on the other hand, seems to have inherited the talent. Oh, that reminds me, son, could you run across to my house? In the cupboard under the stairs there's a black trunk. Would you bring that back here, please?"

"Sure thing," Dr. Connon replied. "I'll fetch it right after dinner." The rest of the dinner passed fairly quietly after that, as well as quickly. Afterwards, Kiara, her mother, and her Gran waited in the living room, while Dr. Connon walked across the street to his mother-in-law's house. In the specified cupboard, he found a large, black trunk, which he lugged back home and set on the living room floor in front of Kiara's Gran.

"Thank you, dear," Gran said, as she opened the trunk and began taking things out. "This was the trunk I used when I went to Hogwarts. Here are my old robes. We'll put these away as you should have your own new things. The books also, since they're probably out of date by now. However, here's my set of crystal phials. You can have these, dear. They were the best quality available and probably still are. Here's also my telescope. It was also top quality, and I'd give it to you as well, but there are even better ones available now. Ones that are much stronger. Now, I think we should take you shopping soon to get the rest of your school supplies."

"Where can we possibly buy things such as these?" Mrs. Connon asked, looking over the list.

"Oh, that's not a problem, dear," Gran replied. "We'll go to London, to Diagon Alley. We'll be able to buy everything we need there."

"Diagon Alley?" Dr. Connon asked. "I know London quite well and I've never heard of such a place."

"Of course not, son," Gran replied. "Only the wizarding community knows about it. Trust me, I know exactly where it is. If you like, we can even go tomorrow."

"Yes, let's," Kiara said excitedly. She couldn't wait to get to this strange new place to buy magical supplies.

"Well, I suppose we could," Dr. Connon replied. "We have nothing planned for tomorrow. We'll leave first thing after breakfast."

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Well, that's it for chapter 1. I have this story pre-written to chapter 27. Hopefully, I'll be able to overcome my writer's block to continue by the time I have that posted (I plan, hopefully, on posting several chapters a week).

Please review!