Chapter 1

Disclaimer: None of the characters or locations in this story belong to me except for Ember and Goody. The rest belong to J.K. Rowling and other people who are not me.

An Untitled Harry Potter Story- Part 1

Chapter 1- Observing a Stranger

The day on which this story starts was a fine, warm, clear day in early September. If, on that day, you had happened to be at King's Cross Station at around 10:30am and were standing somewhere between platforms 9 and 10, you might have noticed a young woman of about 20 years old. You might have noticed that she was of average height (closer to tall than short), and very thin, with long arms and legs. Her straight brown hair curled under along her jawline, and her light floral sundress swirled above her feminine sandals. If this was all that you noticed about her, you would have been left with an impression of a perfectly normal, although fairly attractive, young woman.

If, however, you were able to examine this individual a little closer, you would notice that the silver ring on her finger had the image of a wolf's head on the top, with dark green stones for the eyes. You might also take a close look at the rather unusual carpetbag in her hand and see that there were holes around the top, as if to allow something inside to breathe, and that the label on the handle bore the unlikely name of Ember McGonagall. If you were able to be spectacularly nosey and get a glimpse of the train ticket in her hand, you would have been slightly surprised to see that it read:

Express Train to

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Platform 9 3/4

11:00 am

If, in this increasingly hypothetical situation, you continued to watch this unusual figure, you would probably be concerned when she seemed to walk directly for the wall separating the two platforms. However, certainly your most amazed moment would have come when the young woman seemed to disappear right through the wall. After that, you would not have seen her any more.

Ember McGonagall was a witch.

Chapter 2- Introductions On The Hogwarts Express

Ember McGonagall was a witch, and as she stood at the edge of platform nine and three-quarters, she once again thanked her lucky stars that she was part of the world of magic. The secret platform in front of the bright red train engine seemed somehow more alive, more real, than those of the Muggle world. "Muggle" is the word that witches and wizards use to describe anyone that is a non-magic person, and while Ember was aware of many muggles that were perfectly fine human beings, she still found new reasons every day to be glad that she was not one of them. This day's reason was the sight before her eyes: anxious parents; excited children; owls, toads, and cats respectively flying, hopping, and prowling around the platform; wands being waved enthusiastically; large, cumbersome trunks being alternately hauled and levitated. Ember would not have given up the experience for the entire world. She walked toward the train, nearly colliding with a pair of boys, one skinny and wearing glasses, the other with shockingly red hair, reuniting with a girl carrying a large orange cat. She detoured around the trio and boarded the train.

She carried her bag down the length of the car, glancing in compartments and overhearing snippets of conversations. " . . . But my mom said I couldn't have my broomstick back until I had apologized to every single family portrait!" " . . . The thing had to be fifty feet tall! It was just about the most . . . ", " . . . they've got this incredible pie . . ." " . . . Who do you suppose will be teaching Defense against the Dark Arts this year?" At last Ember came to an unoccupied compartment and entered it. She sat down with a sigh in a seat next to the window and stretched her legs out in front of her. She reached for the carpetbag, which was sitting on the floor by her feet, and opened it wide. "All right, Goody, you can come out now!" she cooed. She spoke with an American accent, and in response to her voice a grey tabby cat poked her head out of the bag and had a look around the compartment. Apparently finding the surroundings to meet her approval, Goody hopped out of the bag, climbed to the top of the back of the seat, curled up behind Ember's head, and fell asleep. After the cat had vacated the bag, the holes around the top closed of their own accord. Ember took the bag and placed it in the rack near the ceiling, then sat down to wait.

Shortly after this, a figure appeared at the door to the compartment. Ember recognized the boy as the one with whom she had nearly collided outside. His bright red hair was hard to forget. "Excuse me," said the newcomer, "But do you mind if my friends and I join you? There aren't any empty compartments left." As he spoke, the girl and the other boy who had been with him on the platform peeked around the doorframe and smiled in at Ember. Ember, for her part, was pleased to have company, and these children did not seem like the sort to cause any problems.

"Of course," Ember replied with a smile, gesturing to the empty seats, "Make yourselves at home!" They looked amused, Ember assumed because her voice gave away her clearly non-British origin. She then assisted the three young people with their luggage, and they all settled back into the seats to await the start of the trip. The large orange cat from the platform had also entered the compartment behind the girl, and was staring at Goody with an air of faint resentment. Ember decided that it was up to her to begin conversation, and she pointed to her cat. "That's Goody, she'll be asleep for most of the trip, I'm sure. My name is Ember McGonagall." Her companions looked surprised. The black-haired boy with the glasses spoke up.

"McGonagall? There's a Professor McGonagall at Hogwarts. Are you related to her?"

"Yes, in fact, she's my aunt. She arranged it with the school that I would be able to stay there during this school year. I'm writing a thesis comparing the ghosts of the United States to the ghosts in Britain, particularly those who live in educational institutions. Hogwarts seemed to be the perfect place to do some research, especially since I already have a connection there." Inwardly, Ember rolled her eyes at herself. She was sure that these kids were not actually interested in her work. However, the girl seemed about to ask a question when her redheaded companion spoke up.

"We're very pleased to meet you, Ms. McGonagall," he said, and pointed to the girl. "That's Hermione Granger. The cat's hers, named Crookshanks. Hermione'll question you silly about your research and anything else you might know about. Just a warning. I thought I ought to get introductions out of the way while I can still get a word in edgewise . . . No need to get violent, Hermione! You'll get your turn in a minute!" Hermione had indeed taken on a rather indignant expression and looked about to attack the speaker. He turned back to Ember. "My name's Ron Weasley. And our bespectacled friend here is Harry Potter." He indicated the other boy.

That name startled Ember. She had of course heard of Harry Potter many times, and was well aware that he was a student at Hogwarts. She had just not expected for him to be one of the first people she encountered on her adventure. However, she managed to take the introduction in stride and respond with, "I'm very glad to meet all of you. Please call me Ember. Twenty years old is much too young to be Ms. McGonagall. I can't be more than five years older than you three." This suggestion seemed to please Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and the four passengers in the compartment prepared themselves for a pleasant journey.

The train had started while introductions were being made, and the scenery was moving by very fast. The two owls, which Ember had previously failed to notice, but had later been introduced to as Hedwig and Clementine, were allowed out of their cages and were interacting with the cats. Hedwig was a large snowy owl that belonged to Harry. Clementine was tiny and mottled brown in color and belonged to Ron. Ember was particularly amused by the smaller owl, and throughout the trip kept trying to convince her to sit on her shoulder.

The two boys began conversation by asking Ember about what it was like to have Professor McGonagall as a relative. They were well acquainted with her in her official capacity as head of Gryffindor House, of which all three were members, and as their Transformations teacher. However, the topic soon changed to school, and Ember began to tell her new acquaintances about her own education. "As you must have guessed, I didn't go to school at Hogwarts," she began, "I actually went to a school in America called Wolfshead. It's located in Salem, Massachusetts, and it's really gorgeous, although not nearly as old as Hogwarts. I've got some pictures with me, let me show you." She reached up for her carpetbag, pulled it off the shelf, and set it on the floor. She opened the bag, and the children leaned over to look inside. To their surprise, it looked completely empty. However, Ember reached inside and pulled out a large album, which had obviously not been in there before. Harry and Hermione were both about to ask the same question when Ron answered it for them.

"That's a Snippop bag!" he exclaimed, "My Grandmother used to have one of those. You can put anything you want in there and it will still look and feel empty. They're supposed to be really hard to make!"

Ember smiled. "They are incredibly hard to make!" she said. "This one was a present from one of my relatives when I graduated from Wolfshead. It's one of the best things I own."

"I wonder," Harry mused out loud, "if you could put a person in there. That would be a great way to get rid of Malfoy. . ."

"Well, you're certainly not going to find out with my bag," replied Ember, amused. "I have no desire to get into trouble with my aunt."

To be continued. . . sometime.