A handsome brown tawny owl flew against the mountains, braving the gradually strengthening snow, rain, and wind as it neared its destination. A young, underage child, half-blood child had been detected performing magic, and that time of the year had come again; letters of acceptance to be delivered to the rising first-years at Hogwarts. Letters of muggle-born students would be delivered by a staff member, while half-blood and pure-bloods would receive theirs by owl.

And this was his quest – to deliver an acceptance letter to a lonely family – or so he thought - living in the sharp, isolated mountains. He could not recall the last time post had been delivered here.

And at last, the weather cleared, and he saw a tiny teepee with a fire brewing right outside of it. How the fire managed to burn in this weather, he did not know. But the important thing was, he had seen his target. And it was not a family – it was just a dark-haired girl of no more than 11 years of age, probably waiting.

With a hoot, he landed on one of the teepee's sticks, and stuck out the leg with the letter. The girl looked at him curiously, before taking the letter from his foot.

She did not open the letter first. Instead, she offered him a tiny wooden cup of water. "Rough journey, you must've had. Hungry?"
This seemed like a dream. Rough journey was an understatement. It had been brutal, and he was starving and exhausted.

He nodded, and dipped his beak into her water. She reach into the teepee and pulled out a small platter of porridge. He looked away in disgust.

"Oh right, owls….probably carnivore."

She set the water down and stepped away, closing her eyes, and spreading her hands. She let her senses flow out of her and let her powers detect anything in a half-a-mile radius….

And finally, a faint sound of 3 tiny creatures squeaking in the area right outside her storm. She ran – far too quickly for a normal human – and grabbed the 3 mice before they could flee. She held them up by the tail for the tawny owl.

"I don't usually do this…but is this enough?"

The tawny owl hooted in delight as she set the mice in a tiny ice cage – he had not noticed it before – and left the mice for him, turning to read her letter.

"Miss A. Cole

Peak of Ben Nevis

Grampion Mountains, Scotland"

That was what the envelope said. Curiosity filled her as who might know her precise location. She had left that damned orphanage an entire 3 years ago, and the only people who thought they knew her were the village people, who though she was a perfectly normal little girl who ran errands for her weirdo family who decided to settle in the mountains.

But that was not who she was. And to be honest, she did not know who she was, either. She had never had a real home. Lord Moldyvort – that was what she called the person who was labeled her "guardian"– had kept her in his dungeon for 6 long years, until he had "gotten too busy to 'take care' of her" and dumped her on the doorstep of that orphanage, which he said was his home when he was a kid.

And what a home it was. The owners were negligent, and if they decided to pay attention, were cruel, and especially abusive to her – because, they said, her "guardian" had been horrible.

She had only been able to stand less than 2 years before one night, she lost control, shocking everyone and probably sending a few people to the hospital –with her uncontrollable powers and fled. She ran on and on, avoiding any human she saw, and only surviving by literally eating grass and sometimes stealing from vendors.

And she kept on going until she reached the mountains, where barely anyone lived. It suited her – she could lose control without having to try and explain, and she could savor the freedom the fresh mountain air gave her. She had spent the last 3 years alone, barely talking to anyone except for the villagers in Fort William, and taught herself to control the powers.

But all along, her biggest question was who she was….the only thing Lord Voldemort had told her was that her name was Aurora, she was currently 11 years old, and she was worth nothing. He had failed to inform her of her birthday – she just celebrated it every year on New Year's – or of any parent she had, if she did have any. Her surname was the name that the matriarch of the orphanage had given her – that was the last name of every other pre-abandoned kid there – in other words, kids who had turned up out of nowhere.

But the biggest question was how she had stood out, even amongst her peers. Other kids had just gotten along easily. She had tried getting along, tried to act normal. But things had started happening – things catching on fire when she became angry, or blizzards whenever she was sad, or sobbing.

That was why she loved her isolated home. She had trained herself and practiced her powers until she had some control over them.

Perhaps this letter would have some answers. She had never seen owl post before.

With a barely hopeful eagerness, she tore open the letter. But she could not stand any of the gibberish inside.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

Dear Ms. Cole,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at the 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

Dumbledore? Hogwarts? Wizardry? McGonagall? Who the heck were these things? And the second page of the letter contained none other but more weird words.

So she did the only thing that seemed logical. She ripped a page from her notebook in the teepee, and wrote back,

To whom it may concern,

I'm sorry if this seems weird, but I am not sure if this is a prank or if it is actually real. I've never heard of anything like this, you see, since I live in the mountains. If you could send an explanation, that would be very much appreciated. I apologize for any trouble this may have caused. I live near Fort Williams.

Thank you,

Aurora Cole

With a flourish, she scribbled her signature, and tucked the folded paper into one of the envelopes she kept in one of the boxes inside of the teepee – it was not everyday that she sent a letter, but she had traded for the envelopes from the village just in case she had to send a letter. She would have thought it was to a normal person, not through owl post.

She turned back to the owl, who had finished eating the mice and discarded their remains in the cage.

She tried not to flinch as she tied the letter onto his leg, and avoided his look of curiosity.

"It might not be normal, but I'm not normal, you see?" she said. The owl nodded, and flew off into the sky.

Her mood had increased greatly by the arrival of this letter, and instead of raw, unshed anger, was now though. The weather was now a cloudy day with a hint of sunlight peaking through the clouds, with a gentle wind rolling through the mountain grass.