Author's note:
This is a fanfic I've wanted to write for a long time. It's quite a bit of a self insert, but all in all I think Emma is a well rounded character.
I'm sure I'll do a lot that you guys may not agree with or approve of, but that is the nature of writing. I do hope you enjoy the story! You will certainly find a lot of head canon and a lot of divergence from canon.
Please note that this is typed on an iPod, and though I do check it, I am writing with a small keyboard and reading off a small screen.
Disclaimer: I do not claim to own Harry Potter. I'm not quite that awesome.
CHAPTER ONE
I will always remember July 20th, 2017, as the day my life began.
My name was Emma Rosalie Stone. I was eleven at the time-eleven years and five months, to be exact. I didn't have a bad life, but I didn't really have an exciting one, either. I hardly lived in reality, then. I didn't have real friends, but I had a good family-I had five older brothers and two happily married parents, which was a lot more than many of the children at my school had. We were very well off-my dad was a website designer, and my mum was an author. We lived in London, and were very happy there. I should have been perfectly happy, but I wasn't.
You see, ever since I can remember, I have loved the Harry Potter world. I owned all the books, signed by JK Rowling, and the fully collection of movies. For that matter, I had memorized them. I had played several times through Pottermore, and I owned every Harry Potter video game. Almost all my T-Shirts were Harry Potter related, I had the uniforms for all four houses, quidditch sweaters and socks, an Allivans wand and broom, a time turner, radish earrings-everything I could get my hands on.
Once, when I was nine, I got to go to a book signing and talk to Rowling in person. I got all my books signed, and asked her how to get a Hogwarts letter.
My parents tried to pull me away, but she smiled at me and said, "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll get one when the time comes.
Ever since then, I'd been even more excited to get my letter. I was so certain it would happen. I explained every unusual thing that happened to me with magic. It made perfect sense-how else would lost objects suddenly appear on my lap? Or, how would the red ring of death on the XBOX suddenly disappear when I yelled at it? My parents and brothers would humor me, to a point, but I knew they were just pretending. I was serious. I knew it had to be real.
After my eleventh birthday, (February 20th) I began to even more earnestly await my letter. Harry had received his first letter on the 24th of July, 1991, which was a Thursday. So, I predicted, my letter would either come on the 24th of July, or on a Thursday near then.
As it happened, I was correct.
On the morning of Thursday the 20th, I rushed downstairs from my attic bedroom and to the door. There, on the mat, was the post. There was quite a large pile of letters, most of which were for my mum and brothers. I flipped through the letters. One letter was for Mike, two for James, one for Mum, one for Giles... and one for me.
It wasn't quite what I'd expected. It was small and thin, though the envelope was made of parchment. My address was clear on the front, written in the telltale green ink and particularly specific:
Miss Emma Rosalie Stone
The Attic Bedroom
42 Westerly Place
London, England
My mouth agape, I turned over the letter to find a red seal, in which the Hogwarts crest was impressed. For about three seconds, I was frozen in place, staring at the letter. Then, I unfroze, ran into the living room, plopped onto the couch, and carefully ripped open the letter.
My hands shook as I unfolded the single piece of parchment enclosed. Unexpectedly, the message upon it was typed.
Dear Miss Stone,
It read.
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As someone with non-magical upbringing, a representative of Hogwarts will come to your place of residence at 9:00 this morning to inform you about Hogwarts and to answer any questions you might have. If this time is inconvenient, please leave a note upon your doorstep, folded, stating the preferred time inside and addressed to John Smith for security purposes.
We look forward to meeting with you.
Regards,
Professor Athena Lightfoot
Charms Professor and Deputy Headmistress
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
As I finished reading the note, I managed to shut my still-gaping mouth and run to the kitchen, where Mum and Dad were making breakfast.
"Mum! Dad! It came! My Hogwarts letter came!"
Mum turned to me, a sympathetic expression on her face, while Dad continued to stir whatever he was making, not meeting my eyes.
"Emma, we've told you before, Hogwarts isn't real. It's probably just a prank," Mum said.
I shook my head. "But it's not, Mum, read it!"
I held up the letter towards her. Sighing, she took it and read over it. As she finished, she wordlessly held it out to Dad, who stopped stirring and read it.
"Well?" I prompted as Dad folded up the letter and glanced at the clock. It was 8:00.
"We have an hour..." Dad said gruffly. He met Mum's eyes and had one of those silent conversations parents have. It didn't last longer than a minute, but I was impatient as they discussed.
"Got get your brothers up, Emma. It's breakfast time," Mum finally said. I was about to protest-this was much more important than breakfast!- but she cut me off. "Listen, Emma. I know you've been looking forward to this, but it might just be some kind of joke. We're going to have breakfast and tidy up before nine o'clock, and if this representative comes, then we'll decide. Now, run along and wake your brothers. And get dressed!"
I grinned wildly, put the envelope from the letter onto the counter, and ran upstairs.
"James, Ben, Giles, Mike, Daniel! Breakfast!" I shouted, running down the hall, banging on each of their doors a few times for good measure. Once I got to the ladder up to my bedroom, I climbed it quickly and ran to my dresser. I got dressed faster than I probably ever had before. Within a couple minutes, I was back downstairs wearing paint-flecked jeans, a deathly hallows tee shirt, my hufflepuff socks, and white trainers. My brothers were groggily coming downstairs behind me, their hair mussed from sleep and their pyjamas still on.
"Emma, go set out the silverware, please," Mum requested as I reentered the kitchen.
"Yes, Mum!"
I did as she said.
With help from my zombie-like brothers, the table was soon set and we sat down. During the entirety of breakfast, I kept glancing at the clock. Time was absolutely crawling; it was only 8:25.
"What's got you so anxious?" Mike, my oldest brother, asked with a yawn.
"I got my Hogwarts letter!" I exclaimed happily, causing David, my youngest elder brother, to spit-take across the table.
"What?" Giles and James, twins, demanded in unison.
"Good for you, Emma," Ben said tiredly. He had always been the one who was closest to believing me, especially since he had witnessed me find his lost cell phone right where he had looked merely seconds before.
I grinned at the varied reactions of my brothers. "A representative of Hogwarts is going to be here at 9:00!"
"Which means we all need to tidy up before then,"Dad added. "Once you're done with breakfast, put your dishes in the dishwasher and start cleaning up."
"Yes, Dad," we chorused. I picked up my dishes and put them away, glancing at the clock again.
8:27.
I sighed and started cleaning up. Our house is never really dirty, but it can tend to be a bit untidy. Books, videos, pillows, and video games were often scattered around, only to be put away before visitors arrived. We were the kind of folk who can remember where we put things best if we don't put them where they're meant to go.
Since great-aunt Elsa had visited just last week, there was only minimal chaos to tidy up. A few movies, remotes, and devices. Since we were pretty well off, and since Dad worked on tech, we tended to have quite a few electronics around. This was helped by our nerdy tendencies and general geekiness as a family.
The downstairs area was tidy quickly with the help of my brothers, and when we finished, I checked the clock again. 8:45. Ugh.
I flopped on a chair, grabbing the Nintendo DSIQ that I had just put away in hopes of passing the time faster. Zelda: Witch of the Willows was inside, and I didn't bother changing the game. But, as I kept glancing at the clock, I found that time continued to crawl. 8:59 finally came an eternity later, and I put the game back in the bin and went to wait by the door, counting down he seconds.
30, 29, 28...
Would they apparate, or maybe portkey?
20, 19, 18...
Who would it be? A professor I recognised from the stories? Or someone new?
10, 9, 8...
Was that a car I heard pulling into the driveway?
3, 2, 1...
The doorbell rang. I flung open the door.
Standing on the front step was a tall, blond woman with dark blue eyes and very dainty features. She was wearing what looked like a scaly business suit, and carried a shoulder bag.
"Hello, I am Professor Lightfoot. Would you be Emma?" She asked. Her voice had a musical ring to it
"Yes!" I replied excitedly. "You're from Hogwarts! I knew you would come! Come inside!"
I turned around and ran down the hall. "Mum! Dad! The Hogwarts representative is here! I told you!" I swung around to make sure she was still following me. She was.
"In here, professor!" I told her, bursting into the living room, where my family was already seated. I jumped onto a beanbag and flipped around to face the professor, excited.
"Hello, Professor..." Mum stood and held out her hand, and Dad followed suit.
"Lightfoot. Athena Lightfoot," replied the professor.
"I'm sorry for my daughter's... excitement. I am Diana Stone, and this is my husband, Zacharias. These are our sons, Mike, Ben, Giles, James, and Daniel," she gestured to each of them, slightly hesitant.
The professor nodded, smiling. "It's no trouble. It's only to be expected, of course."
"Would you like to sit down?" Mum asked, somewhat awkwardly.
"That would be quite nice, thank you," she answered, seating herself on a blue armchair that faced the rest of us. Settling down, she began to speak.
"As I'm sure you know from our letter, I am the Hogwarts deputy headmistress. I have come to represent our institution, as Emma has been accepted to attend." The deputy headmistress scanned the room, her eyes resting on each of us in turn and landing on me. "I'm sure you know at least a little bit about Hogwarts from the storybooks by JK Rowling?"
I nodded vigorously.
"Well, then, you know a fair amount about Hogwarts, though I'm sure you'll find a lot of unexpected elements. I suppose I should explain," she added, seeing my confusion. "JK Rowling-that is her muggle pseudonym-was an author whose stories didn't really take off in our world. Shortly after Voldemort's War, she requested that the ministry allow her to account the story of Harry Potter as the boy hero of the war. She was allowed to do this, but under certain conditions. She was required to change many elements of the story and setting in order to comply to the requirements set forth by the Statute of Secrecy. Are you following me?"
"Harry Potter is more or less loosely based after a true story?" I rephrased, grinning widely.
"Precisely. Now, I'm sure you'd like to get the formal introduction to Hogwarts?" She suggested.
"Wait," Dad interrupted. "Professor, Emma has been hoping for this since she was very young. I want to make it very clear that if this is some kind of joke, you will regret it quite keenly."
Professor Lightfoot's expression turned serious. "I assure you, Mr. Stone, this is no joke. I understand your worries, but I'm sure I can prove them wrong. I think a demonstration of magic should suffice? That is, after all, the standard introduction."
I jumped up eagerly. "Please show us some magic? Please?" I begged.
My parents exchanged resigned glances and nodded. The professor's smile returned, and from within her sleeve she drew a wand.
"As I'm sure you are aware, this is my wand. Though a wand is not always required to perform magic, it does focus one's power and supplement it, which is useful for spells. You will learn more about that in Magical Essential Concepts class. Now, I shall begin with a simple conjuration." She raised the wand, and twisted it with a slight flick of the wrist. At the tip of her wand, there was a little glowing light as she seemed to draw in the air the shape of a flower. The outline hovered as a drawing of light for a few seconds as she finished, and then, with a tap of the wand, it turned into a large blue rose, which fell to the ground.
"This is only one way of conjuration, of course," she continued, regarding my family's wide eyes and dropped jaws with amusement. "It is one or the less common methods, but I prefer it for presentation's sake."
I was first to recover from the shock. "That's so cool!" I squealed, rushing forward and picking up the flower. I held it towards my parents. "See? I told you!"
"I'm sure this is a bit of a shock, to most of you, in any case..." the professor chuckled. "I do have some informational pamphlets and so on, for you to browse at your leisure should you allow Emma to attend."
"Oh, please let me go! Pleeeeeeeeease?" I exhorted my parents.
Mum sighed, seeming to get over most of the surprise of the conjuration. "I don't suppose we have a choice." She looked at me. "You're sure you want to do this, Emma? You'll be pretty far away."
"Yes!" I affirmed. "I've been waiting for this for years, mum!"
She met my father's eyes, having another silent conversation.
"I can promise you that Emma will be quite safe. Contrary to what you might have expected from the Harry Potter series, Hogwarts is quite safe, and though there is occasional trouble, magical children are much safer within Hogwarts' wards than without." The professor looked from me up to my parents. "And, they will receive the training they need to use their magic safely. Every student of Hogwarts is given what they need to be healthy physically, emotionally, intellectually, and magically. We have a hospital wing and many social events and meeting places, and the dormitories are very nice. The classes are five days of the week for about six hours each day. Homework help and tutoring is available from teachers and students. There is more information I can give you in our pamphlets and such, but we do need a decision as soon as possible-preferably before the end of the month-in order to prepare for each student."
Mum and Dad's silent conversation continued through professor's speech, and it wasn't until after she had finished that they broke eye contact and Dad spoke.
"She can go. There's no way Emma would forgive us if we said no," Dad answered, smiling at me.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I exclaimed loudly, rushing forward to hug my parents.
"Well," the deputy headmistress continued smilingly. "We need to finalise the paperwork, in that case. I'm sure you will be pleased to hear that Emma has been chosen for the Rowling scholarship, which covers all tuition and board..."
"Rowling scholarship?" Ben suddenly interjected. I had almost forgotten my brothers were in the room.
"Yes. Each year, JK Rowling donates a scholarship to a muggleborn student she finds to love the magical world even before finding its reality. Usually, these are people she has received letters from or met personally."
The book signing!
"The scholarship is funded entirely by her, and provides tuition, room, and board costs for the student's first year."
"So we only need to pay for her school supplies?" Mum questioned.
"Yes. There is more information on that in the packets I'll be giving you." The professor removed her shoulder bag and stuck her hand in, muttering something under her breath. When she withdrew her hand, she held a sheaf of parchments and some kind of fountain pen.
"This paperwork simply gives the staff at Hogwarts legal power to care for Emma while she is attending Hogwarts-it allows us to administer medical care when necessary and so on. There is also a permission form for field trips and for trips to Hogsmeade, the local magical settlement. There's also the Statute of Secrecy agreement, which the entire family needs to sign. The final sheet is simply allowing or excluding Emma from participating in Physical Education and the more strenuous extracurricular activities and sports." The professor handed the papers to Mum and Dad. "You both need to sign them, along with Emma."
Physical education and field trips? This was getting more and more different... And better and better.
Within a few minutes, the forms were signed and returned to the Deputy Headmistress' bag. Then, out of the same, she pulled a stack of pamphlets and one thin paperback book. She handed the stack to my family and the book to me.
"This information is about Hogwarts and the Magical world in general, in order to help you understand where Emma is going. And that book-"
I read the front and grinned even wider.
"Hogwarts student guide! That's so cool!"
My brothers laughed, and I stuck my tongue out at them.
"Yes, precisely. Inside, you will find plenty of information, as well as your pass to board the Hogwarts Express. It also has your school supply list and many suggested items to obtain as well."
I flopped back onto the beanbag and opened up the book. Then, realising that we still had a guest, I shut it. "Sorry. Is there anything else?" I asked, eager to get reading.
"Yes, one more thing. Since you are of non-magical upbringing, you have the choice of accepting the help of a magical "host family." Host families are volunteer families that help muggleborns or other mundane-raised children to become acquainted with the magical world. These families help a student to prepare for Hogwarts-take them school shopping and so on. Would you be interested?"
Excited to meet more wizards and witches, I agreed immediately. Mum and Dad nodded their assent as well.
"In that case," continued Professor Lightfoot, reaching into her bag again and pulling out what looked like a miniature three ring binder. "We have several host families with children also going into their first year at Hogwarts. Ah, here we go." She pulled out a card and examined it. "A family that you will more or less recognise would be best. The Potters have been a host family for quite a while now." I gasped, my eyes widening. Professor Lightfoot smiled down at me, amused. "Their son, James, is a fourth year, and Lily is in her second year. I believe Rose is coming to Hogwarts for the first time this year." She handed me the card. "You can call them any time; Mrs. Potter works from home."
I grabbed the card and scanned it.
Host Family: Potter
Harry and Hermione, parents.
James, Lily, Rose, and Hugo, children.
01865565777
It didn't even surprise me at this point that Hermione married Harry rather than Ginny. I was too excited to be bothered, anyway.
"That should be all, then. Do you have any questions?"
I had so many questions, but I shook my head.
"Alright, I'd best be off then. I have several other students to see today. I will see you in the start of the term." Professor Lightfoot stood, smiled at dab of us, and disappeared with a pop. Apparition. Outside, I faintly heard a car starting and leaving the drive.
And that was the day my life began.