Dear Miss. Capulette,

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

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

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

"Uncle James! Uncle James!" I cried, running to his office, the letter in my hands. "Guess what I- oh, are you busy?" As I entered the office, saw two stuffy-looking adults (a man and a woman) and one boy who looked about my age. They were all wearing the same expression of distaste, but the little boy's face lightened considerably when he saw me.

"No, no," said my Uncle, a smile on his face. "What have you got there?"

"My Hogwarts letter!" I said, showing him.

"That's great," he said, scanning the page. "We'll go and get your supplies sometime next week. Have you met the Malfoy's?" He asked, changing the subject.

"I don't believe so," I said, smiling brightly at each of them, my gaze lingering on the boy.

"This is Lucius and Narcissa, and their son, Draco," Uncle James said.

Lucius was a tall, pale man with blond hair down to his shoulders and cold grey eyes. Something about his demeanor reminded me of a snake. Behind him stood the boy around my age who was obviously Lucius's son, with the same cold grey eyes and blond hair, though his was shorter and slicked back. He wore a vacant expression on his baby face and stood with his hands in his pockets, looking up at his father. Next to them was a tall woman with half-black, half-blonde hair. She had brown eyes, a pointy nose and pink cheeks. Her lips were painted red.

"I'm Every-Rose," I said, smiling.

"Yes, Draco is going to Hogwarts, too," Lucius said, his voice silky.

"That's grea-" I started, but just then, my twin sister, Amanda came running into the room.

"Uncle James! Uncle James! Guess what I- oh, are you busy?"

"Let me guess… Hogwarts letter?" Uncle asked, an amused expression on his face. She nodded, giggling. "The Malfoy's and I have something to discuss. You girls should go play until dinner time."

"Okay. See you at school," I said to the boy called Draco.

"Yeah… See you," he said, more to himself than me. I felt him look me up and down one more time as I left the room with Amanda.

"Is there one for us?" My younger sister, Paisley, asked once we got to the living room, indicating herself and her twin brother, Oliver.

"Nope. You're still too young. You're only ten. Next year," I promised, ruffling their hair.

"Congrats, kiddos. You finally get to join the Hogwarts Club. Wait til mum hears," Our older brother, Nat, said. He was just about to start fourth year.

"Oh, yeah. The Hogwarts Club. Bound to be loads of fun," said Danielle sarcastically. Our oldest and least enthusiastic sister was about to start her sixth year.

"Don't listen to her," Nat said. "Hogwarts is fun… Well, the first few years, anyway. She's just worried that you'll let it slip that we're related."

"I don't want everyone to know that I'm related to some snot-nosed first years!" Danielle said.

"We aren't snot-nosed first years," I said.

"Guys! Guys, guess what!" Our cousin (Uncle James's son), Zeke, came running into the room.

"Hogwarts letter?" I asked. He nodded. Danielle groaned angrily.

"What house do you think we'll be sorted into?" Amanda asked, turning to Nat.

"You never really know until you get there. The sorting hat thinks in a really complex way," Nat replied.

"Yeah. There was this girl in my year who was sure she'd be in Gryffindor, but when she was sorted into Slytherin, she ran into the Forbidden Forest and we haven't seen her since...Or maybe that was just a myth… Or a dream… Hm…. Can't really remember, but let's just assume it happened," Danielle said.

"Don't listen to her," Nat said. "She's just trying to scare you. She did it to me before my first year and I just about wet myself upon entering the castle. Besides, the worst thing you can do on your first day is act like scared little first years."

"But we will be scared little first years!" Amanda exclaimed.

"Yeah, but you don't wanna act like it. It'll make you easy prey for the upperclassmen bullies," Nat said.

"And remember, no matter what, we are not related. It is merely a coincidence that we have the same last name. Nat is pretty good at following this rule, but if you two so much as bump into me in the corridors, I'll have your head for it. I'm one of the most popular girls at Hogwarts and if word gets around that I have ickle first year sisters, my reputation will be ruined," Danielle said. This logic made no sense to me, but I decided I'd still follow this rule. I'd have enough problems without Danielle after me.

"There are certain people you want to avoid, like the snotty Purebloods and the brainless Quidditch jocks. Students aside, it would also be wise not to anger Flich, the caretaker, or Snape, the Potions master," Nat advised.

"What about the Headmaster? Is he nice?" Amanda asked.

"Oh, Dumbledore? Yeah, he's great. Best headmaster Hogwarts has ever seen."

"And what about our… Problem?" I asked. The room was suddenly considerably quieter. Danielle walked over to me and grabbed my shoulders, her eyes narrowed. Her face was inches from mine.

"Tell anyone… Anyone at all, and I'll see to it that Uncle James rips you out of that school faster than you can say 'Manipulation.' That is my gift, you know," she smirked, examining her nails.

"She's just embarrassed because she was the Guinea pig. First in the family. When she was sorted, the hat didn't know where to put her," Nat said.

"I was publicly humiliated, the stupid hat!" She exclaimed. "Ever since then, people have known I'm different. If anyone finds out about us, our entire family is a goner."

"When I came to Hogwarts," Nat continued as if Danielle hadn't spoken. "They were more careful. Let me choose my house so we didn't have another public scene. Dumbledore and McGonagall are the only ones who know about our situation, understand?"

We nodded.

"But… Our gifts still haven't made themselves clear yet…" Amanda said.

"My telepathy didn't fully develop until just last year," Nat said. "It takes time. Don't rush it. You don't need your gifts right now, anyway. It's your first year. Just try and be normal until your gifts decide to show themselves. If you ever need help with them, you can come to me or Dumbledore."

Just then, I heard my Uncle's office door open. I saw the three Malfoy's exit the house quietly. In the process of doing so, Draco's eyes scanned across my siblings and lingered on me.

"Tell anyone and you might as well be digging your own grave," An older Draco said through clenched teeth. "This is very serious business, so do yourself a favor and stop meddling."

"Come, Draco," I heard the silky voice call and the little blond boy turned and sauntered away.