Lauren Dursley lived a perfectly normal life for an 11 year old girl. Her family resided in a six bedroom house in Stoneham, Massachusetts. She had a 14 year old brother, Samuel, who spent most of his time out with friends or in his room. Her mother, Sarah Dursley, was a stay at home mom who spent most of her time gossiping with the other neighborhood moms. Her father, Dudley Dursley, was a British investor who had moved his family to America when Lauren was only two, with hopes of expanding his wealth. His plans succeeded nonetheless, and his children grew up happy and comfortably.

The kids were hardly told, "No." They spent most of their time out of the house or glued to their phones. Their parents didn't seem to mind, as long as the kids weren't bothering them or making a mess, they were happy. Lauren's daily routine involved her waking up, going to school, hanging out with friends, returning home, going to sleep, and repeating the process the next day. Everything that occurred in the house happened like clockwork. Occasionally, someone would fall out of line, but they would fall back into place eventually.

It was a chilly March Thursday when things started to change. Lauren was getting dressed that morning as she put on leggings and a sweatshirt from Pink. She slid her Ugg boots on and brushed her long blonde hair back. As she applied mascara, she heard her brother running around the house, looking for his shoes. She rolled her eyes and kept telling herself that in a few months he would be out of the house.

Samuel, or Sam, was graduating the eighth grade this year and would be attending a boarding school in London, the same one her father and grandfather had attended years before. Lauren would only be entering the sixth grade, so she didn't have to worry about boarding schools yet. And once her brother left, she'd get the second biggest room in the house along with all of her parent's attention. As she grabbed her backpack, she yelled out to her mom,

"Mom!" Her mom didn't answer the first time, so she tried again. "M-OM!" Still no response. "SARAH!" She heard her mom run out of her room.

"What's the matter?"

"Can we pick up Rachel on the way to school?"

"I suppose, but we'd better get going soon then."

Lauren grabbed her bag and hopped in her mom's BMW. Her brother always opted to take the bus with his friends, while Lauren preferred to get driven to school because then she didn't have to worry about having to sit with anyone weird.

Her mother drove out of their neighborhood and into a nearby development where her friend lived. They rolled into the driveway and her mom honked the horn twice. Her friend, Rachel, ran out of her garage and hopped into the backseat.

"Thanks for the ride Mrs. Dursley," she said, catching her breath.

"Anytime," smiles her mother. If you lived in the Dursley house, you would've known that Sarah Dursley absolutely hated having to drive other kids around. And she especially hated having to drive them in the morning. There were a lot of things Sarah Dursley hated, but you would've never guessed it. The minute she stepped into the presence of anyone who wasn't in their family, she turned into one of the warmest and kindest women you'd ever met. During the car ride, Lauren copied Rachel's homework. Her mom pulled up to the school and waved them out of the car.

"Rachel, Summer, and Lindsey are coming over after school today so make sure you pick us up," instructed Lauren.

"Ok sweetheart," smiled Mrs. Dursley as she drove the car out of the school parking lot.

Lauren's day went as always. At the end of the day, a group of kids were gathered around her as she packed up. The herd was all talking to each other, spreading gossip and sharing rumors they had heard. It would be a flat out lie to say that Lauren didn't talk with them. She made fun of several of the kids in her class. And everyone who was scared of being made fun of by her laughed along. As she left school, her three closest friends walked around her. They giggled as they talked about who knows what. Mrs. Dursley's car was waiting in the parking lot of the school. The girls piled in.

"Can you take us for food first?" asked Summer.

"Sure thing," said Mrs. Dursley as she drove the girls to the nearest Panera. The girls decided to go shopping afterwards instead of going home with Lauren. Mrs. Dursley dropped them off at their houses and eventually returned home with her daughter.

"I'm going to go see Mrs. Blanke two doors down. Tell your brother to order take out, alright?" she said.

"Kk," responded Lauren. She walked up the spiral staircase and banged on her brother's door. She didn't wait for him to open it before yelling, "Mom wants you to order dinner!" and walking away.

She carried three bags full of new clothes for her already stuffed closet and a half empty cup of Starbucks into her room. She threw the bags on the ground, placed the Starbucks cup on her table, and laid in her bed to charge her phone. She was scrolling through Instagram when suddenly there was a knock at her window. She sat up, trying to see what is was, but there was nothing there. She heard it again, but it was different this time. She looked up and saw an owl flying over her in her bedroom. She shrieked, and it dropped a letter into her lap. Her brother sprinted into her room and immediately saw the owl flying around, trying to get out.

"What the hell!" he yelled. "Where'd you get that thing?"

"I don't know! It flew in here somehow!" Just then, they heard the garage door open downstairs

"DAD!" they yelled in unison. The owl continued to fly around, banging into walls. Lauren began to cry when it knocked down her tapestry. Their father ran up the stairs and found his kids pressed up against the outside of the door.

"What in the world is going on here!" he exclaimed.

"There's an owl inside my room! An owl!" cried Lauren.

"Nonsense," he pushed his way through the kid and opened the door. He saw the owl flapping around and he ran for the window. He pushed it opened and yelled, "Out! Out!" The owl, which was surprisingly obedient, listened and flew out. "It's safe kids, you can come back in. How did it even get here, these windows are unbreakable!"

"I swear, I was just sitting on my bed and it flew right in even though the window was closed! And then it dropped some envelopes onto my bed and began to-" her father's face turned pale white. He grabbed the envelope, took one look at it, and ran out of the room and into his own room before letting his daughter finish explaining. He locked the door behind him, but that didn't stop the kids from trying to listen in through the cracks.

They heard him dialing a number in a frenzy. They heard the faint ringing sound coming from the phone. Who in the world was he calling? Eventually the ringing sound stopped.

"Potter!" they heard their father yell. They heard little fragments of the call, but most words were drowned out by the sounds of their father stomping. "...a letter...a wax stamp...what do I do... alright..." Eventually the call went silent, but their dad didn't leave the room. Lauren turned to Sam.

"Who's Potter?" she asked.

"I haven't got a clue. Come on, let's order Chinese for dinner." Sam ordered their food and Mrs. Dursley showed up only a few minutes later.

"Where's your father?" she asked. "I saw his car parked in the driveway." The two kids remained silent. Their mother scoffed and headed upstairs. Sam went to put the menu back in the cabinet where they found it, and he noticed a large stack of Christmas cards from a few months prior. There was one that seemed odd to him and that stuck out of the pile. He pulled it out, and looked at it. He jumped back at the realization that the picture on the card was moving. It featured a dark haired man, a ginger haired woman, two sons, and a little girl all smiling and waving at the camera.

"Lauren, look at this!" His sister rushed over and was almost as surprised as he was. They examined the card and flipped it over to see who sent it.

Happy Christmas!

Much Love,

Harry, Ginny, James,

Albus, And Lily Potter

He looked at his sister, scared. They turned the card back over and realized who the people in the picture were.

"I remember him!" said Lauren, pointing to the younger son.

"And I remember that one!" added Sam, pointing to the older son.

"Didn't they come for Easter a couple years ago?"

"I thought it was for Christmas."

"I think they're from dads family. In England." They heard their mother rushing down the stairs with their father, and they quickly hid the card.

"Any minute now.." they heard their father muttering. Their mother was shaking as she stood, waiting in front of the door. Lauren glanced at her phone. It was 8:46 PM. Who in the world was coming at 8:46 PM? Suddenly, they heard a thump come from the kitchen. Mr. Dursley ran in, and everyone followed. There, in the middle of the kitchen, stood the same man they had seen in the earlier photos. With black hair, glasses, he wore long black pants, an emerald green turtle neck, and a black cape. There was the lightest bit of dirt on his forehead too.

"Harry," said Lauren's father, with a scared, yet relieved sound in his voice.

"Hello there Big D," smiled the man. "Now, shall we get down to business?" He walked into the formal living room, and the Dursley's all followed. He sat down and looked at Lauren, "You're a witch, Lauren Dursley."