A young girl with wavy black hair started as something hit her window lightly. It wasn't her parents' owl, who was grey and white, but a darker one with bright eyes. It was tapping at the window. The girl stood up and pushed the pane of glass up. The owl cocked its head and dropped a letter on the windowsill.
"Mam, there's owl mail!" said the girl. She picked up the letter and examined the seal. She nearly cried out. Pressed into purple sealing wax was the Hogwarts crest. She hurriedly turned over the letter– it was addressed to her.
"Aenegael Caoimhe Haggerty
Room at the End of the Hall
66 Brume Street
Cork, Co. Cork
Ireland"
"Mam! Dad! Laurel! There's a letter for me from Hogwarts!" Aenegael said. Immediately her family rushed downstairs.
"I knew you were a witch. I knew it!" said her mother.
"Why would they have changed their minds about me? I mean, it's been almost five year since my eleventh birthday," said Aenegael.
"We didn't want to say anything, because we thought we'd get your hopes up… but Professor Dumbledore sent a letter about the mix up with the post when you were eleven. He said that he was trying to get a place for you in sixth year. I wasn't surprised at all! You are a clever girl, and I'm sure that you'll love Hogwarts!" said her dad, wrapping her in his embrace. She nodded.
"Aenegael doesn't want to go, you guys. Can't you tell? She's sixteen! Why are they making her go now?" asked the younger girl. Aenegael shot her sister a look.
"Of course I want to go! I do. I really do," she said. "There's no way that I want to miss out on being a witch. I've got on fine doing magic without a wand, but it's alright. I'm glad I finally get to go. No matter what Laurel says."
"Well we'll take you to Diagon Alley later today Andi!" said the girl's mother, using her nickname. Andi smiled and left the room. Laurel followed her upstairs.
"Are you okay?" asked Laurel. Andi nodded. She pulled her hair out of its ponytail and fiddled with it the way she always did when she was nervous.
"You want me to braid it?" asked her little sister. Andi nodded again, all her words caught in the back of her mouth. Andi sat down on the floor of the room she shared with her sister. Laurel sat on the bottom bunk of her bed and began to French braid Andi's hair. It helped to calm her down as well, having something to do with her fingers. She spoke softly as she weaved her fingers in and out of her sister's wavy black hair.
"You're going to be away a long time. I'll miss you. Your school friends will miss you. Are–" Andi finally cut in.
"It's only two years. I can come back for all the holidays and stuff. Let's not talk about it too much," she finished. Laurel nodded and went back to braiding her sister's hair.
"Do you think they'll make me go too? I'll be eleven next year," she whispered. Andi shrugged.
Later that day, Laurel found herself clinging to her sister's new school robes as they walked into Ollivander's wand shop. The place was dusty, and she was a little intimidated by the high shelves overloaded with long, thin boxes. The entire arrangement seemed about ready to collapse. When Mr. Ollivander appeared, her aspect changed. She moved away from Andi and walked up to him.
"Hello," he said softly. "You're not quite old enough for a wand yet. What's your name?" The little girl smiled.
"I'm Laurel Haggerty," she said. Mr. Ollivander smiled kindly, and turned to Andi.
"And what's your name?" he asked. Andi's voice hitched in her throat.
"Aenegael. But I tell people to call me Andi because it's easier," she said quietly as she tucked a stray bit of hair behind her ear.
"Ah, a good Irish name. I knew a witch named Aenegael when I was young. Fine spell-caster she was. Just as I am sure you will be," said Mr. Ollivander kindly. Andi was surprised that he could pronounce her name. When said properly, it sounded like Abigail, but with an "N" instead of a "B," and an "Ay," sound en lieu of an, "Ah" sound. So not that much like Abigail after all, though that's what most people came out with. She liked Ollivander, despite her shyness.
"She's here to get her first wand! She'll be in sixth year at Hogwarts, but that's her first year there because some mix up," explained Andi's mother. Mr. Ollivander smiled and nodded, turning on his heel and pulling boxes. Aenegael was very nervous.
"Try this one young lady," he said, leaning over the counter to hand Andi a wand. As soon as it came in contact with her skin, the wand sprung right across the room and landed on top of a box. Andi was mortified.
"It's alright, it's alright. I'll find you the right one. Now, no more dragon heartstring it seems… maybe something cherry… unicorn hair?" As Ollivander collected the first wand and returned it to its box, he muttered to himself. He tossed the box back onto one of the haphazard piles that were strewn about his shop and went about finding something else for Andi.
"Here you are. Ten inches, rigid. Cherry with unicorn hair," he said, passing another wand to Andi. This one she managed to keep in her hand. It was smooth, and pretty. With Ollivander's encouragement, she waved the wand a little, and sparks flew out the end, accompanied by some black smoke. Andi coughed and handed the wand back to Ollivander.
She tried a few more wands. The elderly wandmaker had discovered that the unicorn hair was right for her, and than ten and a quarter inches was correct… but he struggled with the wood. Four more times, Andi was handed a wand and it rejected her. She became slightly disheartened and wished that she didn't have to bother with magic at all. She had been raised a muggle, and was quite happy as one.
Sure, the sudden outbursts of magic were alarming to her peers, and the fact that she had accidentally flooded the bathroom when her cat died, weren't the best times she'd had… but it was better than having to change schools and leave her friends and beloved sister behind. Andi was brought out of her reverie as Ollivander handed her another wand. He seemed sure about it, and as Andi took it from him, she knew it was the right one.
"Cedar and unicorn hair, ten and a quarter inches, slightly springy. It's the right one, yes young madam?" he asked. Andi nodded. The wand had lit something in her. A sort of curiosity bloomed, not unlike excitement. The wand felt friendly and warm, and she was sure that it had been made especially for her. She smiled at Mr. Ollivander.
"Thank you," she said. The old man's eyes twinkled and he smiled back at her from the other side of the counter.
"Don't mention it. It's my particular passion. It's not often that I try people for cedar. My father spoke highly of those chosen by cedar wands. You must be a very special girl," he replied. Andi looked gratefully at him and turned to her little sister as their mother paid for the wand.
"Can I see it Aenegael?" Laurel asked. Andi nodded and reached it out for her to see. After her experiences with the "wrong" wands, she didn't want to let her sister hold it for fear of allowing her to hurt herself.
"It's warm," whispered Laurel as she touched it. Aenegael nodded her agreement.
As she looked at the wand more carefully, she saw that it was a beautiful golden hue. The colour became deeper as it came towards the grip and at the end that she clasped her hand around, Aenegael could see that it was almost black. There were smooth rings around the grip, and it helped the wand to fit around her fingers. She was amazed at how perfect it seemed.
After they left Ollivander's, Andi's mother told her to buy her schoolbooks. She was sent to Flourish & Blott's equipped with a leather bag full of strange "wizard money." She had seen some of it in her parents' pockets when she was a child, but they had told her that it was from a casino they'd been to with friends. Coins for slot machines, they'd said.
"Coins for slot machines my arse. Bleedin' liars…" mumbled Aenegael as she walked down the aisles of the book shop.
"What was that?" asked a voice from behind her. Andi turned around to find a group of boys. The one that had spoken was still looking at her. He was tall, with brilliantly orange hair, and his face looked like a Jackson Pollock painting with all of its tiny freckles. He was definitely the oldest of the group, and a few of the other boys were his brothers, judging by their hair.
"Oh, nothing. I'm Aenegael Haggerty," she said, extending her hand. He shook it firmly.
"Percy Weasley," he replied. He looked down at her school list.
"Looking for books?" he asked her. She nodded.
"I've got to get on for lunch with Penny, and do some work–" he was cut off as some of his brothers sniggered. He turned and sneered at them.
"But, as I was about to say," he continued, pausing as he glared at his brothers. "I am sure that one of my siblings can help you find what you are looking for."
Percy stalked off, and Aenegael was soon surrounded by his brothers, and a younger girl who was obviously a sister. There was another boy off to the side with messy, dark hair, and green eyes. One of the older brothers pulled Andi's list from her hands.
"Looks like you're in Oliver's year," he said. As another boy moved closer to examine the list, Andi realized that they were twins.
"Yeah, how come we've never seen you before?" his twin asked. Andi opened her mouth to reply, but never got a word in.
"In case you're wondering–" one of them started.
"I'm Fred," the other finished.
"And I'm George," the other continued. Aenegael was having trouble focusing as she turned back and forth between the twins as though watching a tennis match.
"This our brother, ickle Ronnikins," said Fred, gesturing to the last unexplained brother.
"And his friend the Harry Potter," said George. The messy-haired boy blushed and looked away.
"That's Ginny. She's our sister. And we already heard that your name is Abigail!" finished Fred. Aenegael sighed.
"Not Abigail, Aenegael. If you can't say it, just call me Andi," she said. Fred smiled and George stifled a laugh. Andi knew which brother was which. Fred was a little taller, and George's smiled slanted to the right, and his brother's to the left.
"Ahnigal did you say?" asked Ron. Andi rolled her eyes.
"You're a little testy aren't you? And Irish to boot," said George. Aenegael nodded, and raised an eyebrow, daring him to make an Irish joke. She wasn't about to argue the fact that she got annoyed easily, but she came from proud Irish stock. No joke came.
"No, she said Aenegael," Ginny said quietly. Andi noticed that the young girl was glancing sideways at Potter, and smiled. Ginny, at least, could say her name.
"We'll go with Andi," said Fred. George snatched Andi's list from him.
"Let's help you find these books. Ron, Harry, you go look after Ginny and her textbooks," instructed George. Andi found it hard not to laugh at how the twins finished each other's sentences.
After about fifteen minutes in the company of Fred and George, Aenegael had lost all of her cynicism. She realized that while she would miss her muggle school friends, she could make new ones at Hogwarts. Soon, the twins had collected all of the books that she would need for school.
"Here you go. This is the last one," said George, pulling a copy of Gilderoy Lockhart's Travels with Trolls.
"We'll carry these to the till for you," his brother said, putting his free arm around Andi and guiding her to the checkout. The twins continued to talk as Aenegael paid for her books.
"We'll find you on the train," said George.
"Yeah, and we won't let you sit by yourself. You seem like the type," continued Fred.
"Are you a Ravenclaw? Hufflepuff?" asked George, scratching his head in mock confusion.
"A Gryffindor like us? Merlin George, have we befriended a Slytherin?" asked Fred. Aenegael laughed.
"I haven't been sorted yet. As I was about to tell you earlier, this will be my first year at Hogwarts. My parents are both muggleborns, and they sort of assumed that I wasn't going to be magic. I went to muggle school and never got a Hogwarts letter. Until this year," she explained, straightening her ponytail and moving away from the counter. She had gathered her books into a bag that the witch behind the till had given her, but it was heavy. She foisted it over her shoulder.
"You're sixteen and you thought you were a muggle?" asked George. Aenegael shrugged.
"No. No, when I didn't get my letter I sort of didn't think about magic as much. Mam and dad used it, but until I started doing it by accident it didn't matter so much. I taught myself some basic stuff but I've never had a wand before," Aenegael continued. She pulled her wand out of her robe pocket. She was still wearing the robes she'd bought at Madam Malkin's.
"That's a nice one," said Fred, revealing his wand from the pocket of his school robe. It was slightly prickly looking around the grip, and had a grey hue.
George did the same and Aenegael noted that it was a similar hue to her own, without the black end. George smiled at her and was about to make a rude joke, when Laurel showed up.
"Hullo. I'm Laurel," she said, sticking her hand out to George. He shook her hand firmly, and his brother pushed him out of the way and did the same.
"I'm Fred," he said.
"And I'm George," said his brother. Laurel smiled.
"Are you from Hogwarts too? Are those Gryffindor ties you've got on?" she asked, pointing at George's tie. Fred and George both nodded.
"Right they are," they said in unison. Aenegael smiled at them. She was glad to at least have two friends when she got to her new school. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad.
"Sorry Aenegael, but we've got to go. Mum is waiting outside," said Laurel. Andi could tell that her little sister was biting back some kind of secret, and she assumed that there was a surprise trapped behind her lips, but knowing that her sister would tell her what it was, she didn't ask.
"Send us an owl before Tuesday," said George, handing her their address scrawled on a scrap of parchment. Fred noticed the slightly amused look on Andi's face.
"Do muggles not use owls for the post?" he asked. Andi shook her head. They had a pet owl at home, but only her parents had never used him for post.
"Ask your parents to help," said George, patting her on the back.
"Bye Andi!" he and George called. Aenegael waved goodbye to the twins and left the bookshop with Laurel in tow.
"Surprise!" called her mother. As Andi approached her mother, she realized that, folded into her mother's grey trench coat, was a ginger cat. Aenegael squealed as she bolted to her mother and the cat.
"Thought you might like a friend to keep your bed warm at Hogwarts. That's how I got Devon," said her mother. Devon was their elderly house cat.
"Thank you mam!" Aenegael cried, throwing her arms around the cat. He meowed as she removed him from the warmth of her mother's jacket, but didn't complain as she slipped him into hers.
"What're you going to call him?" asked Laurel. Andi thought for a moment.
"Well we've got a Devon at home, why not a Davey?" she asked. Laurel nodded her approval as she stroked the little cat. He wasn't a kitten, but he wasn't very big.
"We'd better get home. We'll use the floo in the Leaky Cauldron," said her mother. They walked back through Diagon Alley, Laurel and Andi cooing at the newest addition to their family all the way.
Hey! I hope you enjoyed this. Andi gets onto the Hogwarts Express in the next chapter, so hold out! She also meets Wood in the next chapter…
Yours in writing,
~Kit~