Elena was running through a forest, following a voice calling out to her in a strange hissing sound which she could, somehow, decipher as "Come...Elena...come".

She was pretty sure she had never been to this place before but all of it was vividly familiar. The voice, the ground she was running on, the adrenaline coursing through her veins, the wind blowing the strands of her hair that had come out of her braid and something else that she couldn't quite put her finger on.

The wind beckoned her towards a tree.

"Come..."

The tree was massive and ancient-looking. It appeared as if it was trying everything in its power to hold up its disintegrated branches. There were no leaves on the branches and it looked like there hadn't been any for a long time. A hollow could be seen near the middle of the tree.

"Come, child..." Whispered the voice as if not to scare her off. Elena realized that the voice was coming from the hollow. She squinted hard to see the source of the voice but she couldn't because of the darkness. She came closer to the tree, the voice continued whispering her name. Something moved inside the hollow.

"You have come at last..."

For some reason unknown to her, Elena felt immensely happy. That was what she hadn't understood earlier. That joy. Her mother had always told her to not put her hands in places they did not belong but still she reached out into the hollow, desperate to know who (or what) had been waiting for her to arrive.

Suddenly the time slowed down. As hard as she might try she couldn't move fast enough.

She was so close...so, so close... Her finger touched something. Someone rather. She moved forward to get a closer look—

Elena sat upright in her bed, awake and terrified. She was drenched in sweat and the mattress underneath her felt wet. She had pissed. The dream had scared her to her soul. Again.

She had been having such unsettling dreams (or rather that particular dream) for months now. They had started sometime after she had turned eleven. That wretched day when Miranda and Charlie had told her that they were not her biological parents. That she had been brought to them by a man named Albus Dumbledore, a wizard. That she, herself, was a witch. That her real parents had been the same as her. And as if finding out all that on your birthday wasn't much of a shock she was told that her father is the most feared Dark wizard the world has ever seen. Lord Voldemort (even more so than Grindelwald, though she did not know who that is). Her mother had been Amelia Potter, the twin of James Potter. Amelia had always admired The Dark Lord for the power he possessed and when given a chance she didn't even blink before joining the Death Eaters (A group of wizards and witches, led by her father, who seek to purify the Wizarding community by eliminating the Muggle-borns).

On her eleventh birthday, Elena had been given a box filled with stuff Albus Dumbledore had collected from her dead mother's apartment.

There had been some books, photo albums and some other possessions of Amelia's.

Elena wasn't sure what to feel about all that, really. At first she had thought that Charlie and Miranda were playing a prank on her, but then when she asked Kyle about it he looked puzzled and she knew that her parents had been serious. And, well, the visit by Albus Dumbledore had quite 'sealed the deal'.

She had never been so terrified in her life before, well, she had never had a reason to be. But now, even the quiet meowing of Ash (her cat) from the floor made her flinch. She reached down to pick Ash up. The grey Persian was quick to jump into her outstretched arms.

Elena twisted around to look at the alarm clock on the bedside table. It was 6:00 am. Soon everyone would wake up. She got up from the bed – Ash leaping out of her hands towards the warmth of the bed – and went into the bathroom.

She could really use a hot shower. She was exhausted. She hadn't planned on sleeping tonight; she had wanted a break from the dreams. She had even gone so far as to sneak up a cup of coffee from the kitchen that was meant for Charlie. But despite her efforts she had fallen asleep.

Ten minutes later she was out of the shower. She quickly dried her hair using a towel, got dressed, changed her bed sheets and had just been about to go curl up on the bed with her favorite story book (beauty and the beast) when she heard a knock on the bedroom door.

"Mum is calling you downstairs." Kyle's sleepy voice came from the other side of the door.

"Be there in a minute" Elena said, sighing. Her parent's and her relationship had been affected considerably after she had found out that she was adopted. Adopted out of pity.

Miranda and Charlie were squibs and thus Kyle had been born without magic in his veins. So, they had taken her in out of pity for her situation and made themselves believe that they had a magical child and that at least she would get to take part in the Wizarding World. Just because they didn't want Elena to leave them if she learned the truth, they had lied to her. How pathetic.

But now Elena knew the truth and she blamed Miranda and Charlie for keeping her in the dark.

She trudged downstairs and found her foster family sitting around the mahogany dining table.

"Good morning" she said to them and sat down on her usual seat beside Kyle, Miranda and Charlie across from them.

"Good morning, sweetie." Charlie said, smiling.

Elena shot him a glare which he apparently missed because seconds later he again said "Sweetie, did you sleep well?"

Elena sighed. There was no way in hell she could convince this man to not act like nothing had changed even though for Elena her life had turned upside down. She was 11 soon to be 12 and all the changes in her life, both emotional and physical (only yesterday she had had her first bleeding), were weighing her down.

"Yes" she answered at last.

Suddenly hungry, Elena dug into her breakfast (omelet, bacon strips, toast and apple juice- she simply despised oranges and pumpkins) which Miranda had set down in front of her.

The doorbell rang and Miranda went to answer the door.

Minutes after she came back, looking a bit nervous and soon Elena understood why as she saw that Miranda held an envelope sealed with the Hogwarts coat of arms. The long awaited acceptance letter had finally arrived.

Elena jumped up and took the letter out of her foster mother's hands and sat back down to read it with Kyle who was as excited as her, their parents watching them with smiles on their aged faces.

Elena took out the parchment from inside the envelope and read it aloud:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,

Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Ms. Riddle,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress.

Elena flipped the page and read aloud:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

UNIFORM

First-year students will require:

1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)

2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

4. One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings) please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags.

COURSE BOOKS

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk

A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot

Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling

A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore

Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble

OTHER EQUIPMENT

1 wand

1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 set glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set brass scales

Students may also bring, if they desire, an owl OR a cat OR a toad.

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICK

Yours sincerely,

Lucinda Thomsonicle-Pocus

Chief Attendant of Witchcraft Provisions.

As soon as Elena had finished reading the letter she wanted to go buy all her things but Miranda and Charlie told her that they would go the next day because they both had important appointments that day.

After spending some more time with Kyle and when he had to leave for school she came back upstairs and sat on her bed, thinking about how her experience at Hogwarts would turn out to be.