Um, hi! I've had this idea in my head for ages, and I've finally started writing it down, so I'm kind of jazzed. Rune's based on me, and my Pottermore persona. So, read, and enjoy!

(Oh, and I don't own Harry Potter. I just own my weird little bubble in which this story resides.)

It was early summer in 1971, when Rune Draconis received her letter. Being from a fully magical family, she had been expecting it, but, as with anything, your brain has a habit of turning things that you look forward to into something like World War III.

What if it didn't come? What if, despite her mother's assurances, she was actually a squib, and unable to enter Hogwarts at all?

Nevertheless, her birthday loomed on June 26th, and, straight on cue at six in the morning, a large barn owl soared through her open window and deposited a letter on her sleeping face.

Rune squawked and sat bolt upright, her dark hair in a state of some considerable disarray. She had been in the middle of a rather good dream, and felt somewhat disgruntled for a moment, until she remembered what day it was. She hurled herself at the duvet, scrabbling around in it for the parchment, eventually finding it.

She snatched up the letter, beaming, and tore it open.

Dear Miss Draconis…

After perusing the contents of the letter about six or seven times, just to be sure, Rune jumped out of bed with all the grace of a newborn colt, and hurtled downstairs. "I got it, I got it!"

Marianne Draconis glanced up from the plate of scrambled eggs she was cooking, and looked fondly upon her daughter. Marianne was a tall, gold-haired beauty with a kind, soft face, who looked a little out of place wearing an apron cooking eggs. She was an equal mixture of quick wit and caring, who delighted in anything remotely humorous. Her daughter was much the same in personality, although so much more different in looks.

Rune was slightly taller than average, with wavy dark hair and deep brown eyes. She was almost the opposite of the petite, tanned Marianne in everything but her voice and facial expressions. Everyone swore that when they started talking, you couldn't tell one from the other.

"Please don't tell me you're surprised," Marianne said. "You've been talking about nothing else all year!"

"I know, but…"

"You were a bit worried it wouldn't come?" Marianne mused. "I was the same – drove my parents crazy."

"Mum…"

"Okay, enough reminiscing."

"No, Mum-"

"Yes, and we'll go to Diagon Alley on Saturday to –"

"-Mum, the eggs!"

Marianne spun around to look at the pan, which the eggs seemed to be walking out of. The yellowy mixture had formed into a crude figurine, which was taking slow steps across the worktop, leaving splodges of half-cooked goo behind it.

"Oh, for goodness's sake!" Marianne testily pulled out her apple-wood wand and directed it at the egg-man, which abruptly collapsed into a congealing, semi-cooked mess. "Malum Draconis, come here right now!"

Rune's older brother appeared at the kitchen door, holding his mahogany wand aloft triumphantly. His quick blue eyes flicked around the room and came to rest on the parchment in Rune's hand. "Aw, has Runey darling got her letter?" He asked, brandishing his wand at her with a tell-tale air. "No – she can't have done. She never mentioned she was expecting it!"

"Don't change the subject!" Marianne snapped. "You know you're not to use magic outside of school! You know you're not of age! You know it's illegal!"

"They can't find out, Mum!"

"It doesn't matter! They could have their noses pressed against the window for all I care, you are never to break the law, Malum!"

Rune stood awkwardly in the crossfire of the argument for a few moments, before turning her attention to the former egg-man. Rolling her pyjama sleeves up, Rune scooped the mess back into the pan, where it cooked happily until the end of the argument.

|HP|HP|HP|HP|HP|HP|HP|

That Saturday found the three Draconises standing at their large, medieval fireplace with a terracotta pot of Floo Powder.

Malum was the first to go, scooping out a handful of Powder and crying "Diagon Alley!" after stepping into the fireplace. Green flames leapt up around him and then he was gone.

"Watching other people do that always creeps me out." Rune muttered. "Why does it have to be so dramatic?"

Taking a handful of Powder, Marianne stepped into the grate. "Rune, if you want it simple, don't go to Hogwarts."

"Thanks Mum."

After Marianne had vanished, Rune stepped forwards. She took a handful of Powder and stepped into the fireplace, bending her head as so not to bang it on the mantelpiece. Sighing, she tucked her arms around her body, dropped the powder into the grate and called out, "Diagon Alley!"

Instantly, the green flames jumped up at her, and she spun around and around and around, her hair whipping her face. She found herself wishing she hadn't had quite that much for breakfast.

Rune closed her eyes, but no sooner had she done so than the infernal spinning stopped, and she stepped out into broad daylight.

Diagon Alley.

This had to be Rune's favourite place on Earth. There was so much to see here – exotic creatures, strange people, and a whole host of stuff.

"Right, we'll get your wand first. Ollivanders, come on."Marianne grasped Rune's arm, and steered her in the right direction. "Dizzy?"

"Just a bit," Rune shook her head, trying to dispel the spinning. "Where's Malum?"

"He went off with his friends." Marianne twisted her mouth slightly in worry. "To be honest, I'd rather not know where he is."

Marianne and Rune headed off to an old, dark building in the middle of the terrace. Freshly painted golden letters proclaimed: Ollivanders. Makes of fine Wands since 382 BC. Despite the air of being recently cleaned, the whole shop – from the outside, at least – seemed to be ancient in its own way. So old that it disturbed Rune a little.

Rune shook her head to clear these thoughtsand stepped inside with Marianne, moving out of the way to let a girl with dark red hair pass them, clutching a wand and gazing at it happily.

The interior was cool and shady, with stacks of wand boxes piled high around then. A mousy-haired middle-aged man with strange, silvery blue eyes was standing over a desk, perusing some papers. He looked up when they entered.

"Ah, hello," he said, a pair of silvery eyes examining them. "Hogwarts?"

"Um, yes." Rune looked to Marianne for support, and the man – presumably Mr. Ollivander – spotted her too, his eyes lighting up with delight.

"Ah, Marianne Draconis! What a surprise – applewood and unicorn hair, thirteen inches, quite inflexible, wasn't it?"

Marianne smiled her customary charming smile. "Yes, it was. But it's Rune's turn now."

"Yes." Said Mr. Ollivander, bustling out from behind his desk and surveying Rune with those strange eyes. "Wand arm?"

"This one," Rune held out her right arm.

A tape measure hopped off the desk and set to work measuring her, all by itself.

"It's new," said Mr. Ollivander, noticing her surprised look. "So much better than measuring it all by hand, I've become quite attached to it."

The tape measure seemed to be measuring all there was to her – her ears, her arms,the length of her nose…

Mr. Ollivander snapped his fingers, and it fell to the floor. Rune picked it up for him and handed it over.

"Thank you. Now, let's see – Ash and Dragon heartstring, 9 ½ inches, inflexible, try – no, no."

He snatched the wand straight back out of her hand the instant she'd taken hold of it. Marianne smiled at the bemused look on Rune's face, reassuring her that all was normal.

"Try this one. English Oak and Phoenix Feather, 10 ¾ inches, surprisingly swishy."

Rune grasped it in her hand, and, all of a sudden, warmth travelled through her fingers, spreading from the point where she was in contact with the wood. Acting on some long forgotten instinct she swished the wand above her head. A fountain of gold sparks erupted from the end of the wand.

"Oh, well done!" Mr. Ollivander seemed almost disappointed that a match had been found so quickly. "Well done, and good luck!"

They left the shop rather quickly after paying.

"He was like that for me," Marianne said. "I thought him ever so odd."

"He is." Rune said, to Marianne's tinkling laughter.

"There's a new place for robes here now, thank goodness; Madam Malkins'. I hated having to go to the other one – the smell was horrible."

The interior of the new shop was, in a word, lovely. Rolls of materials lined the walls like bright tapestries, and a few people were standing on stools while shop assistants measured them. A young lady bustled up to greet them.

"Hello there, I'm Madam Malkins. Another for Hogwarts, is it?" The woman smiled. "Stand on this stool here."

"I'll go and find Malum, while you're busy." Marianne said, smiling briskly and heading more the door. "God only knows what he's up to."

Rune stood on the stool the woman had indicated, while an assistant came to measure her. Next to Rune was a tall boy, obviously being measured for Hogwarts as well. He had shaggy dark hair, and looked quite at ease.

"Um, hi," Rune ventured, not looking forward to being silent the whole measuring.

The boy looked over at her. "Hi," he said. "I'm Sirius."

"You're … sorry, you're serious?" Rune said, wondering if he was mocking her.

"No, my name is Sirius." He said with the tone of someone who had suffered this treatment many times before.

"Oh. I'm Rune."

"Hi. You getting measured for Hogwarts too?"

Glad to have found some common ground with Sirius other than strange names, Rune smiled. "Yeah. I'm starting from scratch, as well, because we just moved here from France."

The boy's eyebrows shot up. "You're French?"

"Part French. My Dad was French. What about you?"

Though Sirius had obviously noticed the use of her father's name in the past tense, he made no note of it, brushing it carelessly aside.

"All English. What house are you hoping for?"

"Ravenclaw!" Rune said enthusiastically. "My family's been in Ravenclaw for generations, and it seems to be the best house anyway. You?"

"My family's been in Slytherin for generations, but I'm heading for Gryffindor."

"Why?"

"Well, you've never met my family," he said bitterly.

Neither of them spoke again throughout the fitting, and Rune regretted bringing up talk of families. But how was she to know it had been such a soft spot?

September the first came with a rush of cold wind, and it was with many layers that the Draconis family travelled down to King's Cross Station. Rune had been allocated some spending money for the train, and she was thoroughly looking forward to buying as many sweets as she could with it.

Malum was in a filthy mood. Apparently, he'd fallen out with one of his friends, and was musing stonily.

They arrived at the station in silence, and Malum marched off through the barrier without as much as a furtive glance at the Muggles around them.

"Will you write to me, Mum?" Rune demanded as soon as Malum had gone.

Marianne smiled sadly. "I think I'll have more trouble getting you to write back, Rune. You'll have more than enough on your plate."

Rune tried to interrupt, but Marianne grinned suddenly at her, and leaned against the barrier dividing platforms 9 and 10. Rune followed suit, and found herself blinking at the change of scenery. A large sign proclaiming Platform 9 ¾ hung just above her head.

"Where's Malum gone?" She asked.

"Ask him yourself." Said a voice right behind her.

Rune yelped and jumped, much to Malum's amusement. He seemed to be recovered from his bad mood by the sight of the crimson steam engine, as did everyone. "Don't do that!"

But Malum took no notice, and for once, Marianne didn't scold him. "Um, we'd better go, then," he said awkwardly.

Marianne nodded. She enveloped both of them in her arms. "Write to me, both of you."

Malum and Rune nodded. Malum heaved his trunk up onto the train, then, after a moment's hesitation, picked up Rune's and did the same.

"Bye, Mum." They chorused, and turned to go find a seat. Malum found one quickly, with his other soon-to-be Fourth Year mates, while Rune went off to go find her own. All of them seemed to be occupied, apart from one. She headed for it, but then a boy and a girl with dark red hair possessed it first.

She chose a compartment at random, and asked the occupants, "Can I sit here? Everywhere else is full." It was only then that she recognised one of them. The boy she had met in Madam Malkins'. Sirius was accompanied by a small, rat-like boy, a tired-looking, quiet one, and a boy with scruffy jet-black hair and glasses.

Surprise, surprise! Will Rune get her wish of Ravenclawesome? Reviews, please, I will love you forever and include dedications!

Annie x