Author's note:

Welcome, welcome.

Let me just say one thing before we begin. This is not likely going to be a short story. Not a one-shot, and I may even use complicated and long words.

Please forgive any spelling, or grammatical errors. I will spell check, as it seems to be my best friend these days. However, there are mistakes, things missed. If there are huge errors, please, let me know! I would appreciate that very much, as I am trying to make this a well-written story. Also, feel free to correct me on names, places, or past details that I've messed up.

I would love any feedback you are willing to give; reviews are loved! Please feel free to criticize as you feel is needed, as well, I am always grateful for healthy criticism. However, unnecessary flaming of me or my story is not appreciated, so please be kind.

Oh, and please note, just in case I end up confusing anyone, the prelude is from when Alex is eleven. The rest of the story takes place in her sixth year at Hogwarts.

Disclaimer: I do not own, or claim to own, any of JK Rowling's characters, nor her plot lines, catchphrases, or ideas. I own only my computer, my imagination, and my made up characters (Alex, Mitchell, Elizabeth, Justin, etc.). I do not own any of JK Rowling's spell names, or descriptions, either; however I have made up some, for lack of knowledge or time to look things up.

Prelude

'We have landed in London. Please remain in your seats until the seatbelt sign has been switched off. Please make sure you collect all of your belongings from under the seats, and the overhead compartments.' The stewardess' sweet voice floated through the cabin of the plane. 'The local time is 3:45 PM, and the temperature is 14o C. Welcome to London, ladies and gentlemen. Enjoy your stay, and we thank you for flying with us.'

A woman gripped her armrest tightly, and peered out the tiny window, brow furrowed. 'You know,' she said to the girl beside her. 'We could still go back.'

'Uh uh. You are not running away from this. We told them we would be here. It can't be that bad, mum.'

'Oh yes it could.' The woman turned back to the girl, and smiled weakly. 'Did I ever tell you why I ran away in the first place?'

The girl just nodded, and patted her mother on the thigh. The woman looked younger than her 35 years, but she had a look in her eyes that said she had experienced a difficult life. Her red hair fell straight, and at the moment she had it tied in a loose bun behind her head. Her hazel eyes were outlined in minimal makeup, and her cheeks had a natural rosy glow. She was a thin woman, with slight curves; and she knew how to dress to accentuate her figure.

The girl beside her had her mom's hazel eyes, and smile, but she had her father's sandy golden hair and freckles. She wore a pair of blue jeans and a t-shirt, her typical dress. She was a tomboy to the core, and usually didn't care if her hair was combed or if she had dirt on her nose. She was so much like her father, she was.

Ginny Weasley swore under her breath and grabbed her purse, clasping it in her lap. What the hell was she doing here?

Ginny was a native of England, but hardly had an accent. She knew the country, knew most of London like the back of her hand. But she hadn't set foot in the city for nearly eleven years. She had, like she had said, run away. Away from her past, her family, her friends, and most of all a man who would haunt her for the rest of her life.

The man, Jason Parte, haunted her every day. In the form of a little girl. Alexandria, who preferred to be called Alex, was Ginny's daughter. Ginny loved her with all her heart, but she was a constant reminder of the mistake Ginny had made. And because of that mistake, falling in love with a man who had no good intentions, Ginny ran. She ran from her mother, who would be angry, from her brothers who would say, "Told you so". She ran from the fact that she wasn't perfect.

She ran the only place she could think of; her best friend's house. In Canada.

She raised her daughter in a small Canadian town, never telling the girl of her real heritage. Alex knew that she had grandparents and other family in England, but she didn't know of Ginny's real past; the real world she had grown up in.

Until that letter had arrived. Ginny had been dreading and praying for eleven years that the day wouldn't come. But come it had. The parchment envelope with a scarlet seal had arrived on their doorstep one day, and Alex, being quite pleased to have mail addressed to her, had opened it fervently.

She had come into the living room, quite confused. 'Mama, I think someone has me confused with another Alex Weasley. This is from a school, called Hogwarts.' She read on, frowning. 'Must be a prank letter. Have a look.' She passed the letter to her mother, who grimaced at the familiar seal.

That was when the questions started. Alex had been angry with her mother for hiding such a big secret from her, and Ginny had felt immensely bad. And so Alex got the entire explanation.

'You are a witch.' Ginny had sat Alex down on the sofa, and grabbed herself a beer, and Alex a soda. 'I am a witch. I grew up a witch, my entire family are wizards.' Rubbing her eyes, she fought to find a good way to explain.

'In the world that I grew up in, everyone is a witch or wizard. Spells are cast, and people fly on broomsticks. The outside world, of muggles as we call them, don't know anything about us. We have our own government, our own money currency, our own schools. One of these schools my family has been attending for centuries. My grandparents attended, my parents attended, all of my siblings attended, and I am sure their children are and will attend. You are no exception, it seems.'

Alex just stared with an open mouth at her mother. 'Well, how come you don't do any magic now? Can auntie Mandi do magic? Could I do magic now? Can I learn to turn people into toads?' After the initial shock, Alex seemed quite excited at the prospect of magic, as Ginny suspected any young person would be.

'I don't do any magic because I left that world. After I found out I was pregnant with you, I left… And haven't looked back. I left all that behind. And no, Auntie Mandi doesn't do magic. She doesn't even know that I can. So don't blab.' Auntie Mandi, as Alex referred to so affectionately, was Ginny's best friend, whom she had moved in with when she left London.

'Toads?' Alex asked, quite excited now.

'Unfortunately, turning people into toads is frowned upon.'

The young girl of eleven frowned, and looked thoughtful for a moment. 'Well, am I going to go?'

Ginny pursed her lips, and took a long swallow of her beer. 'I don't know. It would mean leaving Canada behind. You would have to go to London, and you wouldn't see me during the school year; only at Christmas, and summer vacations. And you have a lot to learn, before you even start. The basics of the world.' Ginny sighed. 'Do you want to go?'

'I would, mum. I think it would be terrible fun.'

The redheaded woman set down her drink and rubbed at her forehead.

'And,' Alex continued. 'You could make up with your mum. And we can all be one happy family again!'

'It's not that simple.'

'Why not?'

'It's just… not. Why don't you go entertain yourself for a while, dear? I need to think.'

'You'll consider it?'

'I'll think about it.'

Alex bounded out of the room, grinning.

'Oh Jesus,' Ginny moaned, flopping down on the table.

But now here she was, sitting on an airstrip in London, about to get off an airplane and meet her brother Ron and his wife in the airport. From there, they would go to the house she grew up in, where her mother would be waiting. She had no idea how anything was going to go, as she hadn't spoken to her parents in nearly eleven years.

She had kept contact with Ron, and his wife, Hermione. Hermione and Ginny had been good friends during their days at Hogwarts, and they were the only people she kept in contact with after she left. They were how she kept caught up with family events, even though every email she received caused so much grief; it was horrible that she was missing her brothers children and marriages.

But she was a Weasley after all. Immensely stubborn, and would not go running back to mum just because she missed home.

Ginny peered out the window of the airplane, remembering the night she had left London. She had been in a relationship with Jason Parte for several months now; a relationship that every one in her family despised and didn't hesitate to comment on. After a falling out, the two had split up, but Ginny chose to wait to tell her parents, not knowing if she could handle their reaction. However, a week later, she discovered she was pregnant. She was horrified yet delighted at the same time.

A few days after she found out, she was at her parents for a family dinner. All of her brothers were there, along with their significant others.

Halfway through desert, Charlie made mention of Jason not being there, and Ron grumbled an insult under his breath. Someone else, Ginny wasn't even sure who, agreed with Ron, and Ginny exploded.

'You know what?' she said angrily, standing up. 'I am sick of you all being so judgemental all of the time. If I choose to be in a relationship with someone, why can't you just be happy that I'm happy?' Nearly in tears, Ginny raised her voice slightly. 'And for your information, Jason and I are no longer together.' There was silence around the table as tears escaped Ginny's eyes.

'And I'm pregnant. With his child.'

She had stormed out of the house, and Hermione was the only person she had seen after that and before she left London.

Ginny was sure that all her family would hate her now, and she would have a hard time going back. However, Ron and Hermione both assured her over and over that if she didn't come home, everyone was going to be severely mad, and would torture Ron until he told them where she was living, and they would hunt her down and drag her home themselves. And that it was best for Alex if she came home and attended Hogwarts.

'Are you ready?' Ginny grasped her daughter's shoulder tightly as they exited the plane. The young girl just nodded, grinning widely.

-

'Ginny! Ginny over here!' Ginny had a cart full of suitcases, a bouncing Alex, and a very tall man in front of her. She couldn't see the source of the voice that was calling at her. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the man in front of her moved, and Ginny spotted Hermione, who was leaping up and down waving her arms like a mad-woman.

Ginny, grinning, hurried her cart over to where Hermione and Ron were standing. Ron stepped towards her, and letting go of her cart, which stopped immediately, she let Ron wrap his arms around her tightly.

'Oh Gin.' After a moment he leaned back, and looked into her face. He grinned, and Ginny fought the urge to burst into tears. He let go of his baby sister, and Hermione hurried to take his place hugging Ginny.

This time Ginny did burst into tears, and a few moments later retracted from Hermione to find that she too was crying. Laughing slightly, she wiped away her tears, and turned to where Alex and Ron were chattering away like they had known each other for years.

'Come on, let's get your luggage to the car.' Ron said after a minute. 'You've got a full house waiting for you.'

-

And indeed it was a full house. Ginny's six brothers and their wives and children were all crammed into the Weasley house, waiting for their little sister and auntie to come home after so many years.

As soon as Ginny and Alex passed the doorstep, Molly was on top of them. She was bawling as she clung to Ginny. Alex watched with wide eyes the fiery redheaded woman whose face was turning bright red.

'I'm so sorry mum,' Ginny whispered into her mother's ear. Molly Weasley just nodded, sniffling.

'It's alright now, dear. You're home, that's all that matters.' After a few minutes, she let go of Ginny, who stepped back and readjusted her shirt.

'Mum, I want to introduce you to Alexandria Molly Weasley, your granddaughter.'

This caused another torrent of tears, as Molly hugged her granddaughter tightly.

'I'm so glad you're here, dearest,' she said as she smiled through her tears at the beautiful girl in front of her. Arthur Weasley appeared behind his wife, and hugged both Ginny and Alex tightly. He claimed that Alex was a true beauty, and he led them both into the large living room of the Burrow.

The sight of all her brothers made Ginny grin, and she tried her hardest not to burst into tears again. It seemed that she would be doing a lot of that in the next little while.

'Now, now, children,' Molly regained her composure quickly, and faced the excited mass of people and waved her hands. 'Children, please sit down, so that your auntie can see who you all are before you're off and running.'

'It's been a long time,' Molly started at the left hand side of the room. 'Since you saw Marie. Bill and Fleur's daughter; she's fifteen.' Ginny grinned at a pretty blonde girl. The last time she had seen Marie the girl had been four, and probably didn't remember much of her aunt. Bill and Fleur both grinned at Ginny, and Ginny grinned tearfully.

'Then there's Fred and April's brood; Lorene, the same age as Alexandria. Clarissa is nine, and Michelle is fourteen. Then there's Ian who's twelve, Thomas, who's ten, Sarah who's nine, and Evan who's eight; all George and Evangeline's.' Molly gripped Ginny's hand tightly as she continued. 'And lastly we have Ron and Hermione's three boys; Kevin who is seven, Jordan who is five, and Andrew who is four.'

The Weasley family had grown up family oriented; with so many children it was hard not to grow up learning that family was important. And it seemed that many of Ginny's siblings had gotten married young and had children. Aside from Percy and Charlie, all of Ginny's brothers had children.

Ginny hugged each of her brothers, and Fleur. She was slightly surprised that her sister-in-laws that she hadn't met before welcomed her with open arms too, but she hugged them with vigour as well.

Oh, although she may not have admitted it out loud, she was so glad to be home. She needed her family.

-

'Come on, Alex, let's go!'

'Coming, mama.'

Ten seconds later, the energetic girl was standing at the bottom of the stairs. Ginny shut the door behind them, and watched as Ron hauled a large black trunk towards a black car. She ushered Alex inside the car, and there they found Hermione, Marie, Michelle, Ian, and Lorene.

Marie looked excited to go back to school, as she stared out the window with a grin. Her blonde hair was tied up neatly behind her head, and Ginny marvelled at how much she looked like her mother. She was entering her sixth year at Hogwarts. Beside Marie sat Michelle, who was Fred's daughter. She had the common red hair of the Weasley's, that was for sure. She was entering her fourth year of Hogwarts, and her younger sister Lorene was going into her first year like Alex. Alex sat beside her cousin Ian, who was going to be a second year student. He and Alex chattered excitedly, Alex begging him to tell her all about the ghosts.

Ginny smiled warmly at the brood, wondering what the school was like these days. She wondered how much had changed. Really the only thing she knew was that Minerva McGonagall was the Headmistress, and that she had been a kind and fair Headmistress after she had taken over Dumbledore's place.

Ginny was glad that Alex was so excited, although she still had the urge to turn and run. But this was the best for Alex, she told her self. Yes, it was.

-

Twenty minutes later Lorene and Alex sat in a car on the Hogwarts Express. Marie, Michelle, and Ian had all run off to find their friends, and Lorene and Alex clung to each other for moral support. They chattered about the school, because neither of them knew much about it. Lorene certainly knew more than Alex, but what she had heard had been all stories, and knowing her family, who knew what was real and what was fiction? The two Weasleys had their own theories about the school, the sorting Hat, and the teachers, and they shared these with each other.

'Excuse me?' a young boy appeared in the doorway of the compartment, and Alex smiled at him. 'May I join you?'

The two girls both nodded, and the black haired boy grinned. 'I'm Mitchell. Mitchell Peters.'

Alex stuck out her hand, and the two youngsters shook hands. 'I'm Alex Weasley, and this is my cousin Lorene.'

'Weasley?' Mitchell nodded slightly as he took a seat across from the two girls.

'Yes. Why?'

'Oh, I've heard about the Weasleys, that's all. Fred and George's joke shop? It's my favourite.'

'Fred's my father,' Lorene piped in, and Justin nodded again, looking intrigued.

'My father's a muggle. Me mum's a witch, though. I don't think my father knew, until I got my letter, that is. Shocked him, I dare say. Though my mom's quite proud. Her family's been going to Hogwarts for centuries.'

'So you didn't know about Hogwarts until you got your letter?' Alex asked, cocking her head curiously.

'Nope.'

'Me neither.' She didn't go into any details, and the dark haired, blue eyed boy across from them didn't pry.

'You've got a funny accent,' he said after a minute. 'Where ya from?'

'I'm from London, but me and my mum have lived in Canada all my life.'

'That's interesting.'

'I like it.'

Mitchell was about to ask her another question when a girl knocked on the compartment door.

'Lorene! Come join us, I've got Emily and Sasha in another compartment.' Lorene grinned, obviously knowing the bright eyed girl.

'I'll see you later, Alex,' Lorene rushed off with her friend, and Alex slid over to sit by the window. She grinned, and just as she was about to strike up another topic of conversation, there was a knock at the door again. She and Mitchell looked up to see a blonde girl neither of them recognized. She slid the door open a bit, and stuck her head in.

'Mind if we join? Everywhere else is full.' She tugged a boy out from around the corner, and the two youth in the cabin shook their heads.

'Oh, good.' The blonde girl smiled sweetly at each of them, and sat herself down beside Mitchell. A brown haired boy followed and sat down beside her. He looked awful shy, and Alex peered at him, curious.

'I'm Elizabeth Longbottom,' the girl introduced herself. She was a pretty little girl, with blonde wavy hair, and bright hazel eyes. She turned to the boy beside her, who was staring at his shoes. 'And this is Justin O'Dea. He's shy.' The boy looked up and glared at her, and then cast a weary smile to the others in the cabin. Alex and Mitchell introduced themselves, and Mitchell struck up a conversation about the year's textbooks with Justin, who seemed to crawl out of his shell slowly.

Alex and Elizabeth soon got talking about everything under the sun, which was going to be the start of a long friendship.

By the end of the train ride, and by the time they had reached Hogwarts, Alex had made three new best friends. Little did she know the four would remain best friends throughout their seven years at Hogwarts; friends till the end.