Mattie Logan Black and Lazeria Dean Bray where just two normal 11 year olds trying to get through their life with out screwing up. They didn't believe in wizards, ghosts or just anything that kids believe in. Their parents received letters by owl, but Mattie and Lazeria never thought twice about it. Weird things happened to them and their families, but they never seemed to really notice or care.
Mattie was 5'0 with blonde hair that just barely swept past her shoulder; she had gorgeous hazel eyes that stood out.
Laz was a little taller then Mattie at 5'1 and had long red hair that reached to the lower of her back; her eyes also stood out they were dark brown.
They both had very different tastes; Laz was into more boy-ish stuff while Mattie was into girly stuff. But beside this difference they were still best friends.
One late June evening, Mattie and Laz were laying on the grass staring at the darkening sky. "Laz?" Mattie sat up abruptly, turning to her friend.
"Yeah, Matters?"
"Ever wonder?"
Laz now sat up so that she was eye level with her friend, "Yes? All the time."
"No, I mean... like, wonder what's going to happen to us when we get older?"
"Actually... I never really have thought about it. Kinda weird." Laz flopped back down and sighed.
"Look, owls!" Mattie blurted out all of a sudden. Laz looked up into the sky, "Matt, we see them all the time. Today's no different."
Mattie giggled shortly, "They're coming towards us. That's what makes the difference." The owls swooped low over them, dropping a letter on Mattie's head, and another on Lazeria's stomach.
The two girls picked up the letters and looked them over slowly. They were in off-white envelopes with emerald green writing. Mattie opened hers slowly and pulled out two pieces of parchment, then began to read her letter out loud.
"HOGWARTS SCHOOL
Of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, first class, grand sorc., chf. Warlock,
Supreme mugwump, international confed. Of wizards)
Dear Ms. Black,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted
At Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry. Please
Find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no
Later than July 31.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall,
Deputy headmistress "
Laz took over reading the other letter.
"Hogwarts SCHOOL
Of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY UniformFirst-year students will require:
Three sets of plain works robes (black)
One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)
Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry nametags
Course books
All students should have a copy of each of the following:
The standards book
of spells (grade 1)
by Miranda goshawk
A history of magic by Bathilda Bagshot
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling
A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble
OTHER EQUIPMENT1 wand
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set glass or crystal phials
1 telescope
1 set brass scales
Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS"
Mattie giggled a little, then gave Laz a suddenly worried look, "Laz?"
Laz glanced quickly to Mattie, "Matt, what does this mean?"
Mattie shrugged in return, "I don't know, but I'm taking my letter home. I'm curious to whether they know what's going on or not..."
"MOM!" Mattie yelled as soon as she had entered her house. Her mother came hurrying down the stairs of their Victorian house looking surprised.
"Do you know anything about this?" Mattie handed her mother the letter she'd received.
Nina Black read over the first sentence of the letter before dropping it to the floor, "Mattie, go sit down. I need to call Debbie..."
Ten minutes later, Nina had sat the two down on the couch and was looking around nervously. She sat across from them in one of the chairs she'd pulled out, her daughter's Hogwarts letter clutched firmly in her grasp. As the doorbell rang, she jumped up to go answer it. Nina led Debbie into the living room and they sat in two chairs opposite the couch that their daughters were occupying. Laz and Marty watched as their mothers whispered hurriedly back and forth to one another. Finally, Debbie looked up.
"Laz, Mattie," she started, and then paused to take a deep breath, "you girls, along with a long line of Blacks and Brays... are witches. Always have been."
It took a few seconds for the idea to register in the girls' minds. They turned to look at each other, and then burst out laughing.
"Don't laugh!" Nina stated indignantly, "It's the truth!"
Their mouths where agape.
A WEEK LATER.
"Mattie, Laz! Wake up!" Laz's mom yelled while banging on Laz's bedroom door.
"Just five more minutes..." Laz yawned, throwing a pillow at the door.
"No, no, no. We need to get to Diagon Alley before your aunt leaves from there."
So, with a little more coaxing, the two got up from bed and began to slowly dress.
An hour later they were pulling up to a street full of shops.
"Mum?" Laz looked at her mother, confused, "I have been in every one of these shops, and I know for a fact that we can't get one thing on this list here."
Her mother chuckled, "Lazeria, dear, there is a pub just up the road called the Leaky Cauldron."
"No, there isn't." Mattie added quickly.
"Oh, yes there is Matt. You just need to know where to look."
Debbie parked the car and got out, "Come on." She led them to the end of the street and pointed towards a wall, "See that wall?" She looked back to the girls, who both nodded, "Keep walking towards it and stare at it."
"Wow!" Mattie exclaimed, "There really is a pub!" Mattie swallowed hard, opened the door, and walked in.
"Go to the back, Mattie, and then just go out through the door that leads to the alleyway. You two can wait for me there." With that, Debbie disappeared into the crowd.
"Mattie is it me or is this place, like, more than a little weird?"
Mattie flashed Laz a wicked smile, "That's what's so great about it!"
"We've been flipped around. I'm the one who's into weird stuff, not you..."
After the girls had been standing in the barren alley for a few minutes, Debbie finally appeared behind them again, "Okay girls," she said, pulling a stick out of her purse and tapping seemingly random bricks in the wall surrounding the alley. She stepped back quickly as the bricks in the wall started to move, spinning and beginning to form an archway.
"Hurry through you two! We still have to find my sister. She said to meet her at the ice-cream shop... Gods, I wish I had visited here more after school. I can't believe I don't remember where it is!" Debbie was rushing along the street, looking at all the shops in search of the right one, "It's called Florean Fortescue's Ice-cream Parlor, so if you see it tell me."
"Mum! It's over there," Laz said, stopping and pointing to the shop.
"Thanks, dear." She then began dragging the girls once more through the crowd and towards the shop. She then let go of Laz's hand and raised her own, waving it in the air frantically, "CAMILLE!"
A woman stood up and waved back at them, "Lazier! Long time, no see! You've grown up so much." She smiled, looking fondly unto her niece, "Oh, and this must be Mattie! I'm Camille." she outstretched her hand to Mattie, who in turn shook it.
"I've heard ever so much about you when talking to my niece. Laz, your cousin should be here, somewhere... He went to find his friend. Anyway. Sit, sit." She gestured to the chairs around the table she had been seated at.
The trios sat along with Laz's aunt, who looked to the two girls and smiled, "So, are you two excited about Hogwarts?"
Mattie nodded her head, while Laz looked a bit uncertain, but nodded slowly anyhow.
"That's good. Seamus is on his second year there. He loves it." She smiled encouragingly.
Mattie reached her hand up to her neck to play with the necklace she was wearing, but her searching fingers found only skin, "Laz! My necklace!"
Laz looked at Mattie, confused, "You didn't put it on today. I saw it sitting on my dresser this morning right before we left."
Mattie thought about it for a moment, and then slowly shrugged her shoulders, "I guess."
"So, Mattie, how long have you known Lazeria?" Camille questioned, looking her over.
""Since we were five. My dad died just after my brother was born. So, after that we moved next door to them. My mom and Debbie were best friends in school, and mom wanted to be close to her 'family'"
"And who is your mother?" Camille looked her over a bit more carefully, now.
"Nina Black."
Camille coughed on the water she'd been sipping, "You're a Black?"
Mattie nodded, "She was kicked out of the family for dating my father. After he died she changed her name back to Black..."
"I remember your mother and your father... Both very great people. You know, I actually dated your uncle for a few days."
"You dated uncle Sirius? He was also kicked out of the family. He's in jail at the moment."
"Yes, Azkaban..." Camille nodded sadly, and then at the confused look both of the children were giving her, she explained, "Oh, ah... wizarding jail. He was sent there for helping He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named kill Harry Potter's parents."
"So, Camille," Debbie interrupted her and Mattie's conversations, "Where is Seamus?"
"Well, I don't know. He should have been back by now... Let's go get the girls' things. I'm sure he'll find us."
They all stood and wandered towards the end of the town. About five minutes of pushing through people they came upon a big, white building.
"This is Gringotts, the wizarding bank." Debbie explained, and then added cheerfully, "It's run by goblins."
"Look! There's Seamus." Laz pointed up the stairs to a sandy haired boy standing next to a taller, black boy, "Come on, Matt, let's go introduce you to him." Laz started running up the stairs eagerly, and Mattie just stood there, staring at Seamus.
A/N: tell me what you think.