Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. That privilege solely belongs to JK Rowling.

Chapter 1 A Child's Intuition

Vesper Black lay on the floor in her bedroom. The doll she had been playing with earlier sat on the floor beside her, ignored. The young child was too preoccupied with observing a small black spider that had the misfortune to pick her bed post as its home. If Amy saw it, that spider would be gone in an instant. And Amy said she would be there soon to clean Vesper's room.

She sighed. That poor spider just didn't belong here.

A knock sounded on the door. Vesper sat up. "Yes?"

Amy poked her head through the door. "Hey, kiddo, I'm going to vacuum now, okay?"

Amy Edevane was a slender woman with long brown hair. She had large eyes, and an even bigger heart. She was Vesper's favorite foster mother; she didn't yell when something weird happened.

"Alright," said Vesper. "Lemme just get this spider first."

Amy blanched. "Vesper, how many times have I told you to stay away from those things?" She walked around to where Vesper was sitting, and knelt down. "Spiders can be dangerous, and if you get yourself bitten –"

She paused. "There's nothing there. Not even a cobweb."

"But it was right there!"

The spot where the spider had been was now empty. Not a single trace of its web could be found.

"Well, then," Amy said, "I guess it left. Why don't you go play with Danielle, while I clean? After that, we'll have supper."

Nodding in consent, the six-year-old grabbed her doll and headed to the room next to hers. Vesper pushed open the door and flopped onto the unmade bed.

"Your mum says you have to play with me," she stated matter-of-factly.

"I'm busy."

"I'll tell Amy it was you who put that fake snake in her bed."

Danielle turned to face her, her blond plait smacking her face. She gave an almighty sigh, and said, "Fine, just don't say anything to Mum. I don't want to get in trouble for your stupid jokes."

After supper that night, Vesper was in her room getting ready for bed in her usual way. She slipped on her pajamas, and yet to grab the brush that was sitting on her nightstand. It slipped from her hand, and landed with a soft thump on the carpeted floor. Huffing in annoyance, Vesper hopped off her bed to go looking for the rouge hairbrush. She grabbed it, but stopped short. The small black spider that had disappeared earlier was back. In fact, the web seemed to have expanded since she had last seen it a few hours ago.

Vesper sat back on her heels, staring at the mysterious spider. It had definitely been there, gone when Amy had been there to clean, and now back again. It didn't make any sense, even to the imaginative little girl. It was surely impossible for things to become invisible, wasn't it?

A huge yawn escaped her. Vesper threw the brush back onto the floor, not really caring that her long hair would be in tangles come morning. Thoughts of the spider kept her awake though her body yearned for sleep. It was just another odd occurrence to add to her list. It wasn't nearly as strange as the others, but still, she never heard of Danielle making something disappear, or having the biscuit tin float down to her.

No, the six-year-old understood that these things that she could do weren't normal. That she wasn't normal.

A week had passed since the spider incident. Vesper had continued to play as she usually would, but the thought of her actions still weighed heavily on her mind. But it seemed that she wasn't the only one plagued by this problem either.

Amy had received a phone call a few days ago, and ever since then she hadn't been her normal cheerful self. The day after the phone call, Vesper had seen Amy and her husband Robert talking that morning in low hushed tones, but they had spied her before Vesper could hear anything. Amy had put on a fake smile that Vesper could see through easily, but she listened when the older woman told her to go to her room and read. By lunchtime Amy had seemed better, but late that night Vesper could hear weeping coming from Amy and Robert's room. She wished to know why the woman was so upset, but thought it better not to ask.

Now, Vesper stood in her barren room, fully aware of what had caused Amy so much sadness. She had been told last night that she was leaving; she was going to be staying with someone they called her godfather. Butterflies rose in Vesper's stomach at the thought. She didn't want to leave. She had been with Amy and Robert for almost as long as she could remember. She liked it here.

Would he be nice? Vesper dearly hoped so. He was downstairs right now, talking with Amy and Robert. She should be down there; she was going to be living with this man after all. She would have to meet him at some point. Vesper sighed, and quietly made her way down the steps.

The grownups didn't notice her at first. Vesper took the time to observe the situation. Amy and Robert were sitting together on the couch, Robert's arm snaked around Amy holding her close. Both looked rather grim.

A strange man sat in an armchair across from them. She assumed that he was this godfather that Amy and Robert had spoken of. His back was to Vesper, so she could not see his face, but from the way he was sitting she saw that he was slouching. His brown hair was thin, graying in some places. Vesper shifted to get a better look when the floorboard beneath her gave an almighty squeak. She cringed.

Amy and Robert stood when they saw her. "Vesper, please come join us. There's someone we want you to meet."

Nervously, she came to stand beside Amy. The other man had risen from his seat as well, but Vesper just stared at her shoes, too anxious to look into his face.

Robert cleared his throat. "Vesper, this man is Remus Lupin, your godfather. He'll be taking care of you from now on."

Vesper continued to look at her feet. But then more feet came into her line of sight. She quickly looked up. The man, Mr. Lupin, was crouched in front of her, completely eyelevel.

He gave her a small smile. "Hello, Vesper," he said. "You can call me Remus."

The first thing she noticed about his face was the scars. Scars covered nearly all of his face; some were old and faded, others seemed more recent. His cheeks seemed a little too sunken in and his skin a sickly pale. But what captivated Vesper were his hazel brown eyes. Deep inside Vesper could see sorrow, and pain, and sadness; so much sadness! She was reminded of the look on Amy's face just a few short days before. How long had this man felt that way? No one should have to feel that. So she did to him what she did to Amy to make her feel better.

She gave him a hug.

When Vesper pulled away, she looked into his eyes again. A burning warmth had burst through to melt the sadness away. A genuine smile appeared on his face, and he suddenly looked much younger and less tired than before. She wasn't sure if it was his eyes, his smile, or maybe something else, but in that moment Vesper knew that she would be okay with Remus.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"You looked like you needed it," said Vesper simply. "Your eyes were really sad, but now they're happy."

She turned to Amy and Robert, missing the shocked look on Remus' face.

"I think I'm ready to go now," she said, an air of finality in her voice.

Bags were quickly put into the car, and goodbyes were given. Danielle even made an appearance to tell her goodbye. It was hard to leave the people that had taken her in, but Vesper was more confident in her choice to leave them and live with her godfather.

The hour-long car ride went by quickly for Vesper. The car stopped in front of a small brick house. There was a dark alleyway between the house and the next set of row houses. The grass was a little long, and some bushes grew wild and out of control in front of a large bay window. It was shabby looking, but cozy, Vesper decided. Sort of like her godfather.

She followed him up the porch steps and into the house. Immediately on the right side of the hallway was a staircase. Across from it was what appeared to be a small living room mixed with a study. A worn-looking sofa was paired with two mix-matched armchairs. Bookcases were lined up all along a wall.

"It's not much," Remus said from behind her, "but it's somewhere to live."

Vesper wasn't paying much attention. A picture on a small end table had caught her attention. Well, not the picture itself; more of the fact that it was moving.

"How does this work?" she asked, gingerly picking up the frame.

"There's some potion that does it," said Remus. "I'm not good with potions myself, but there are stores where they do it."

Vesper's brow furrowed. "Potions? Like the thing witches make?"

The picture was suddenly taken from her hands. Remus knelt down in front of her for the second time that day.

"Vesper, have you ever done something that you couldn't explain?"

She thought back to a few days ago with the disappearing spider. She slowly nodded her head.

"You have a gift, Vesper," Remus continued. "You can do things that most people can't do."

Her heart sank. "So, I'm not normal?"

"Normal is a matter of perspective. You can do what is normal for you. It's normal for me too. We can both use magic. I am a wizard, just as you are a witch, and that's perfectly normal."

Remus stood back up to full height. "Do you understand now?"

Yes, the six-year-old understood that these things that she could do weren't normal. That she wasn't normal.

And Vesper had never so happy in her entire life.

AN-Well, there's the first chapter; hope you all liked it. I'll post the next one in two weeks.

Don't forget to review!

Love Lora