Hello! I want to start off by saying that I'm not British, so if my vocabulary is lacking that…Brit spark, you know why These events are entirely out of my own imagination – but the characters, world, fantastical magic, and everything else we know and love from Hogwarts, belongs to the lovely J.K Rowling (and Warner Brothers I suppose). This is my very first fanfiction, and I'm diving in to see if I have any talent as a writer… So please review and let me know how I am doing. Cheers!

A guest

Eva sat with her knees tucked into her chest, leaning into the wall that divided her bedroom from the bathroom. The carpet was scratchy on her bare feet, and the cold night air from the open window made the fine white hair on her forearms prickle. She could hear her mother sobbing on the other side of the wall, but Eva didn't get up to go to her. There was nothing she could do but sit on the floor of her dark bedroom and listen. The clock on her desk read 1:14 am.

Eva watched as the morning sunlight slowly creeped across the room, until it finally fell on the tops of her feet. Her mother had stopped crying hours ago, replaced by the sound of running water that drowned out her mother's movements in the next room. Eva took a deep breath and scrubbed her cheeks with the back of her hand before clumsily climbing to her feet. Her legs were completely asleep, but even still, she clung to the wall a little longer than necessary before turning around and climbing back into bed. She closed her eyes and waited.

The bedroom door creaked as it opened, revealing a tiny woman in baggy pajamas.

"Eva honey, are you awake?" Her mother poked her head into the bedroom, smiling.

Eva stayed quiet, snuggling into the pillow a little before going still. She was good at pretending to be asleep.

The bed dipped a little bit as her mother sat down, "Good morning sweetie."

Eva pretended to sleep a little longer, treasuring the feeling of her mother's fingers sweeping her hair behind her ear. She could feel the warmth radiating off her mother's body, and fought the urge to curl up on her mother's lap like she had when she was little.

"Oh sleepy, sleepy head?"

Eva opened her eyes slowly and gave them a convincing rub, "Morning, mum."

Eva's mother smiled, her eyes crinkling in the corners. "Dad is going to be home soon, hop into the shower and be down for breakfast soon?"

"Okay."

Eva's mother bent down and kissed her daughter's cheek before getting up and walking out of the bedroom.

Eva could count every nub of her mother's spine through her t-shirt.

Eva sat across from her dad at the kitchen table. He looked exhausted, and hadn't changed out of his security uniform, but he smiled at his wife and daughter every chance he got.

"How was work, dad?" Eva asked, putting some more butter on her toast.

"Quiet."

"That's the way we like it," Eva's mother said with a smile.

"Yes, I know. But still, it makes for a long and uneventful night." Her dad yawned, "Did you hear from the landlord?"

Eva fixed her eyes on her plate. Hating the anxiety that creeped into her parent's voices.

"Yes. He is hiking up the rent, and he hasn't gotten back to me about the sink yet."

"How the man can talk about raising the rent £100 and not reimburse us for the plumbing…"

Eva scuffed her slippers on the floor and ate some more toast while her parents talked. After while her mother excused herself and drifted down the hallway. Eva and her dad sat in silence for a moment.

"How is she?"

Eva paused before answering, "She was up all night again. The pain was really bad."

"She told me you slept."

Eva didn't answer.

"Oh sweetie," Eva's dad rested his head in his hands for a minute, "You can't do anything, and you need to sleep." He took a deep breath and reached out for his daughter's tiny hand, "We have to trust the doctors."

Eva's mouth felt dry, and her stomach heaved. She put her toast back on her plate, "I know."

Her dad looked like he was about to say something, when a sharp nock sounded on the apartment door.

Confused, Eva looked over at the door. Nobody had buzzed their unit, and they never had guests.

There was a screech as Eva's dad pushed his chair away from the table and went over to the door, he looked through the peep hole before removing the chain and opening the door, "Good morning, mam. Is there something I can do for you?"

Eva craned her neck to see past her dad, where a tall, severe looking woman stood. She had almost completely grey hair, pulled back into a tight bun at the back of her head, and square spectacles.

"Yes, good morning Mr. O'Connor. I am here to talk with you and your wife about a place at my school for your daughter, Eva."

Eva arched her eyebrows. That was weird. She already had a school.

"Yes, of course. Come in."

That was weirder. Her father never let strangers into their house, and he clearly hadn't been expecting anyone this morning.

Eva stood up slowly and walked over to her dad and the older woman, "Hello?"

The woman looked down at Eva sharply, and her piercing eyes seemed to peel away a layer of Eva's skin.

Eva pressed into her father.

"Hello, Eva. My name is Professor McGonagall. I am headmistress of a very special school called Hogwarts."

"Hogwarts?" Eva's mother had suddenly appeared in the hallway, "What on earth is a Hogwarts?"

Professor McGonagall's piercing eyes settled on Eva's mother, and Eva could have sworn that they softened. "It's a school for gifted Children. Very gifted children." McGonagall turned to Eva and her father, "Perhaps we could sit down for a moment?"