Hi! This is a story idea that I have been toying with for very a long time. It took a while for inspiration to hit me. But I'm very excited to be finally working on this story. In this chapter, we meet our protagonist Lola, and get a glimpse into what her daily life is like. There is no magic involved yet, but Lola will look back at these times as some of the best in her life. Next chapter, things get very strange as a woman we all know visits the Allen house…

Disclaimer: Of course, I don't own anything apart from my own original characters.

Bored.

That's how Lola felt when she sat on the sill of her bedroom window, staring out at the huge barnyard where her brother Lance was milking the sheep. She couldn't help but lick her lips as she thought of the delicious feta cheese they would culture from it later on. Though it was their main source of income, she was sure that her father would spare a little for her birthday tomorrow, which instantly put a smile on her face.

Lola stood up carefully, making sure that her earphones were still in her ear. She grabbed her copy of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" from its shelf and let the musty smell of the book wash over her. As "Keep Holding On" by Avril Lavigne blared through her headphones, she made her way down the stairs and through the hall to her favourite place in the whole wide world, the stables.

Princess, their light grey Selle Français horse, whinnied in delight as Lola walked in holding a block of grass hay in her arms. Lola knew that Princess was excited, not because of the hay, but because it was time to play.

Lola took out her earphones and began escorting the horse outside.

Princess trotted alongside Lola obediently as they both walked gracefully into the morning sunlight. The sun had barely risen, yet dawn sent weak but shimmering rays over Lola's copper hair. Watching the morning twilight salute the upcoming sunrise was something truly mesmerising, thought Lola.

It was going to be a very beautiful day indeed.

"What to do?" asked Lola to the endless fields of green in front of her, sounding hoarse.

Princess nudged her head and grunted, as if to say "Walk me, duh!". Or at least that's how Lola had preferred to interpret her moaning.

They began walking the path they took every morning, which inevitably led to an enormous oak tree by the river, where Lola's father had built a small but sturdy hammock for her and her little sister Leona. Once they reached it, Lola watched Princess jump happily over the huge rocks scattered all across the ground, parallel to the river. Much like her horse, Lola had also fallen in love with the area when she had first discovered it, and she made sure to visit it almost every day. It was like nature's gift to her elegant sport-horse.

"Good girl!" Lola cheered as Princess continued to jump around, fast as lightning.

She climbed into the hammock, choosing a relaxing tune from her iPod and nearing the end of the 7th book of the Potter series. She couldn't help but feel emotional as she read Snape's tragic end for the hundredth time, as well as the deaths of so many characters she loved. But she couldn't stop reading, not even for a second, as her beloved Harry Potter books were the only way for her to escape her boring, repetitive daily life.

By the time she reached the epilogue, the blazing midday sun was above her head, and Princess was enthusiastically drinking from the river water. She got up hastily, reaching her phone, and saw that she had two missed calls from Lance, as well as an hour-old message from her mother which read "Your breakfast is getting cold honey".

Swearing under her breath, she gently attached a head collar to Princess' halter and quickly led her back to the farm. When they reached the barnyard, she left Princess and made her way back to the house.

Same as every morning, her mother had prepared a cheese and mushroom omelette, half a cup of baked beans and a side of leftover tomato salsa for her. Since she was the only vegetarian in the house, her dietary range was quite limited, despite being the daughter of a hard-working farmer.

She gulped down her boring breakfast over some herbal tea and went back to her room to do some tidying. A few hours later she felt her phone buzz in her pocket.

"morning babe x." wrote Ellie, her best friend. "what u up 2 today?"

Lola sighed loudly. "At home. Not much going on. Wanna come over?" she typed and hit send with hope.

Ellie's response was almost instant. "can't babe soz :( gotta look after lil bro. see u tomorrow at school? could flunk last period & go 2 the movies with jake..."

Lola sighed even louder as she typed "Sure" half-heartedly. Jake was Ellie's boyfriend but her parents had never approved of their relationship ever since they had met him. Which meant that Ellie would usually have to ditch school to see him, and always invited Lola along so that she could keep an eye out for prying eyes.

Lola threw her phone aside with frustration and laid face down on her bed, feeling angrier than ever. It was her 17th birthday tomorrow, a day which was supposed to be big and memorable for her, and yet it already felt it was going to be just like any other day, if not even worse.

She thought of Harry, and how he had celebrated his 17th birthday. Even though he was an orphan who didn't even exist in the real world, Lola felt jealous of all the attention and presents the Boy Who Lived received on his 17th birthday. She wondered, perhaps for the billionth time, what it would be like to live in the magical world of Harry Potter. She did more than wonder: she wished did.

Slowly but surely, Lola drifted into a sweet, cosy nap, as she daydreamed about all the adventures she would have as a witch at Hogwarts.

When she woke up, her mother was peering over her, a look of concern evident in her bright blue eyes.

"Sweetheart…" she said softly. "Are you okay?"

Lola groaned as she turned on her side to avoid rays of sunlight creeping in through the blinds. "Yeah. Just tired…" she replied sleepily.

Her mother looked even more concerned. "You've been sleeping for more than fifteen hours honey. Are you sure you feel okay? I can call Dr. Riby if you don't feel well."

Lola's eyelids fluttered open. She looked at her mother as if she had seen her properly for the first time in years. "Mum…" she said slowly. "Dr. Riby passed away two years ago, remember?"

Evelyn Allen laughed nervously as she stared at the serious expression on her daughter's face. "Don't be ridiculous honey. He came to check up on Leona just a few weeks ago. Remember when she swallowed her blue toy?"

Lola did remember… Only problem being that it had happened more than 6 years ago!

A/N: Thanks for reading! Please leave a review about what you thought; good and bad, both welcome! See you next chapter. X