The Other Side of the Coin

by las brujas chismosas

She's gone unnoticed for the past four years. A mysterious letter suddenly draws her out from the dark corners of Potions class into the midst of our heroic trio. Together, they must overcome their own individual struggles to successfully defeat the Dark

1. Prologue

The Other Side of the Coin

--a fanfiction by las brujas chismosas

Disclaimer: Original story and characters have been created by J.K. Rowling and are therefore hers. We're just borrowing them like everyone else, so we better not get sued.

Prologue

Alex was sitting in her room, now thankfully empty, organizing the remaining books and supplies for her 5th year classes, when her owl, Conch, flew in through the window with a small cream envelope. After untying it from his leg, Alex opened the letter, skimmed its contents, and sighed. The last time Alexandra Moonstone Saavedra had received such a letter from Hogwarts, her life had changed almost immediately. At that time, it appeared to be only an invitation to attend Hogwarts, agreed to be the most prestigious school of wizardry in England. Since Alex had been only just moved to England, it had seemed like a godsend. She would attend a school where there were people as "different" as she. Being the naïve and eager girl of eleven that she was then, it did indeed seem a dream come true. Now, she knew better; she knew that the magical community wasn't the oasis of belonging she had imagined it to be. "Once an outcast, always an outcast," she thought to herself.

Looking back at the first two years, she cursed her luck. She was sure she had been placed in a special kind of hell reserved for those who must have done something especially bad in a past life. Even though the past two years had shown some improvement, Alex was still convinced that she had to be Judas reincarnated.

She wondered whether she should simply ignore Dumbledore's summons. Though this letter was couched in passive language, a summons was exactly what it was. In reality, she had no choice, but that didn't matter. And after all, she had little to gain or lose. She looked at the letter, examining it again:

Dear Miss Saavedra,

Your presence is requested at a confidential meeting on the 2nd of September in Prof. Dumbledore's office following the end of your last class. The password is "lemon drop". You will only need your wand with you. Please confirm by owl in advance.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,

Deputy Headmistress

What could she possibly have to do with anything that merited such secrecy?

'At least my life can't get much worse than it already is,' she thought, quickly scribbling a reply to send back with Conch.