The warm summer sun streams through my bedroom window. The lace curtains that hang over my window create a beautiful pattern across the wooden floor. The haziness of the summer morning gave me no motivation to get out of bed.

Crash!

The clang of pots and pans against the floor aroused suspicion. I wondered who was possibly up this early, so I threw on my robe and padded into the kitchen. I found my little sister, Martha, to be the cause of the noise.

"Morning, June!" she said, no apology in her voice. It seemed the entire contents of the cupboard had found their way onto the floor. "Was going to try and make breakfast for us, but I haven't even gotten the pan out of the cupboard yet and I've already mucked it up."

I looked at the clock; it was only half past nine. I highly doubted either of our older sisters, Rosie and Brynn, would grace us with their presence before noon. "Why don't you clean that up and I'll make breakfast?" I asked.

She nodded. Sometimes I really resented being banished to the sea side during summers with my sisters. The end of term in June meant a week at home in London before the long train ride to the coast and two months of isolation, salty air, and sand. We would return to London just in time to catch our trains to Hogwarts on the first of September.

Except this year, the only one of us who would be on the train to Hogwarts would be Martha. Rosie would be starting her career as a Mediwitch, having graduated from their program a few months ago. Brynn would be entering her second year of training, and I would be entering my first. It was sort of a family tradition to become a Mediwitch. My mother was one and my father was a Healer. It was just what we did.

I was not very committed to being a Mediwitch. If it wasn't expected of me, I wouldn't have given it a second thought, but I was fine with it. It wasn't like I had much of a backup plan.

I cooked the fried eggs and toast and then we ate outside as Martha insisted. Being the youngest child, she had such innocence about her. Most of the time I found it annoying, but today, I was just envious. She had nothing to worry about and just depended on the rest of us to get her where she needed to go. She was only fourteen, though.

After we ate, I charmed the dishes to wash themselves up.

"June," Martha asked. I could tell from the tone of her voice she was about to pester me to do something I did not want to do.

"Martha," I responded, not turning to look at her.

"Can we walk into the village?" she asked. "It's boring here, and Rosie and Brynn always say no."

"We've only been here ten days," I reminded her. "I doubt they always say no."

"Please?" she asked. "It's not like you have a valid reason to say no. There is nothing to do here."

"I could be reading. I have summer work, you know," I reminded her.

"That isn't due for another two months," she pointed out. Martha may not have been very aware, but she was very intelligent. "Please, please, please, June."

"All right," I agreed, just wanting her to stop whining. I put sandals on and grabbed my wallet. Somehow, I had a feeling this would cost me money. With Martha, it usually did.

The village was not that far away, really, it was just a steep hill back up to our cottage after a trip to the village that discouraged frequent trips. In town, there was a grocery store, cafe, bakery, and a handful of small shops. It was a quaint little community, but there wasn't much to see. It took us about half an hour to reach the center of the cobblestoned village.

"Where are we going?" I asked, almost afraid to look at her and find out.

She decided on the book store, which surprised me. I didn't mind at all that this was where she wanted to be. I let her look through whatever books she wanted while I headed for the serious books in the back.

I got sidetracked by the section of journals that lined one wall in the far end of the store. I had written in a journal during my whole career at Hogwarts. However, with the chaos of graduation season, I had stopped. Now seemed like the perfect time to start, even if the beginning would mostly be a regurgitation of every other summer journal I had.

I stood trying to figure out which lucky journal would be mine. They were all beautiful, but there was one in particular that caught my eye. Once I set my sights on its impossibly dark green leather binding, I knew it was to be mine. Something about it just drew me in.

I picked it off the shelf, dusted it off, and brought it to the cashier. I even remembered which Muggle bill to give to the person behind the cashier.

I had to hunt down Martha to make sure she stayed out of trouble. I found her in the tabloids section, where she was absorbed into a magazine that detailed all the latest about some Muggle celebrities. Martha was especially obsessed with Muggles.

I gave her the money to buy the magazine, knowing it would keep her out of my hair for a few hours. While we were in the village, I decided to stop at the grocery store so we wouldn't have to come back tomorrow.

An hour later, we were home. My older sisters sat at the kitchen table, looking exhausted while sipping cups of coffee in their hands. They had already established a nightly ritual of going to the pub down the road after Martha was asleep.

"Where'd you go?" Rosie asked.

"Into town," Martha said. "June bought me a tabloid."

"And I did the grocery shopping," I said. "You're welcome."

Brynn got up and helped me put the food away. As she unpacked the last bag, she stumbled upon the journal I had bought.

"What's this for?" she asked.

"Oh, I bought it," I said, snatching it from her hand.

"What are you going to write in your diary?" Rosie asked. "Love poems? Oh, Colin-"

"Oh, shut it. I'll write whatever I like," I said. I went into my room.

Living with three other girls wasn't always fun. Sometimes I felt like my sisters were so completely different than I was. Rosie was just a little bossy. She wasn't really mean, but she was quick to tease. Brynn was not always the most intelligent, but she was nicer than Rosie. She and Rosie had always been the best of friends. And Martha was just... Martha. I loved them all, but we were nothing alike.

I put the journal down on my desk and lay back down on my bed. The warmth that streamed in through my window was lovely. It wasn't too hot. The perfect weather.

I spent most of the afternoon in my room reading one of the books that I was assigned for training this fall. Martha tried to convince me to go to the beach with the rest of them, but I didn't feel like it today, too much sand and chance of a sun burn.

Evening fell like it always did and my sisters returned from the beach. Brynn and I made dinner and we started a fire. Although the days were warm, a cool breeze off the sea made the nights chilly, just how I liked them.

I settled in front of the fire in the living room. Martha was up in the loft, presumably asleep, and Brynn and Rosie had gone out. I had the journal in my lap and my ink pot on the table next to me. I was collecting my thoughts before I inked the pages.

What should I write about?

This was a brand new journal and I had so many options. I could write about my sisters, about school, about Colin... No. I would not mar the pages of this journal with words about Colin.

I picked up the ink pot and quill. They were brand new, a gift from my grandfather at graduation. I almost didn't want to use them, knowing they would not be as beautiful, but this journal needed to be written in.

I cracked it open and ran my finger over the first page of smooth parchment. There was just something about this journal.

I dipped my quill into the ink and began with the date.

5. July. 2004.

I was satisfied with the way the date looked, so I decided to start writing.

Today, I start a new journal.

I moved my hand down the page. I heard a noise creak above me, and wondered if Martha was awake. I didn't really like to write when people were around.

When I brought my eyes down the page, I found something there that wasn't there before.

Hello?

I hadn't written that. The hair on the back of my neck stood up. Surely, there was a rational explanation for this.

I flipped through the rest of the journal to see if there were any more words. Nothing.

"Hello?" I called out. I wondered if one of my sisters was here and just wanted to mess with me. I wouldn't put it past Rosie. "This isn't funny!"

Silence.

Maybe I was actually alone. Maybe I was hallucinating. Whatever it was, it left an odd feeling in my stomach.

Hello? I wrote. This time I would pay more attention. I didn't believe this book was actually producing its own responses, but...

Who is this?

I gasped. What the hell was going on here? I flipped through the book once more to make sure it wasn't an enchanted joke book. It wasn't.

I left the fire burning, but collected my things and went to my bedroom. I shut and locked the door, feeling all sorts of bewildered. This was so odd.

I placed the journal down on my desk and then sat down. I opened it again and the writing was still there. Just as a thought, I pinched myself to make sure I wasn't asleep.

My name is June. Who is this?

And then I waited.

My name is Harry.

Author's Note: Here's the first chapter of a story that I didn't mean to write right now. I just need a break from Not Alone, and this is what's coming out. It's a little different from what I've written previously but I hope you like it! Thanks to potter-reading-coastie for betaing/helping me with this story. Let me know what you think!