Flawed Design

Dear Future Willow,

As you know we are currently 10. I hope this is our awkward stage so we can be beautiful and 16 because everyone knows 16 is the best year of a girls life. Not only will it be on Halloween but we will be at Hogwarts, we'll have tons of friends and a popular boyfriends with you as the most popular girl in school!

Don't screw it up!

Willow Fay, Age 10

My Mom had found that stupid letter I wrote to myself five years ago. It definitely make me consider how much of a dreamer my ten year old self was.

This past summer I had been tanning and holding up as much as an England summer would let me in my family's cabin on Round Island in the Isles of Scilly. Even with this summer actually being warm and sunny enough to relax it didn't stop my dread to return to school come September.

Unlike my letter so-predicted, I was not living it up so fabulously. I was turning sixteen in two months, I would be in sixth year at Hogwarts, I had maybe two friends at school, still no boyfriend. I've never even been kissed and to top it all off, I definitely did not go through my awkward phase yet. I mean if I did have an awkward phase, it hasn't ended yet.

It was August 20th, which meant I left for school in 12 days, on that train exactly at 11 AM. I haven't nothing against my school, really, Hogwarts is a wonderful place. Filled with magical secrets, floating candles, the people who come from all walks of life! Some so brave with fiery hair that even just looks like a lion mane or hair so slick it feels like a snake skin, get it? Gryffindor and Slytherin? I'm quite the catch.

I'm a proud Hufflepuff, I wear my yellow and black even when I'm off school grounds. I've always embraced my loyal yet very introverted nature, being open minded and strong willed but I've never felt a huge connection to magic. I've always felt just a little -

"Ordinary!" It's like my parents knew what was going through my brain sometimes, always a weird time when that happens... both my parents were sitting with my at our kitchen table. My father, Nathaniel Fay was reading his Daily Prophet.

Nathaniel Fay was a very tall man, 6'5 to be exact. His height and the harsh angles in his face made him a very intimidating man, which worked very well for him since he was one of the most feared and respected Aurors for the Ministry of Magic. It always makes our family laugh because my father was a Hufflepuff through and through. He's a teddy-bear in human form!

"Ordinary dear?" I hate that word... "Boring paper today my love?" My Mother looked over her mug.

I've always hated that stupid word... when you have an older sister who left at 17 and is off travelling all kinds of places in both different worlds, it can make you feel just a little -

"ORDINARY! The daily prophet is calling Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter oridinary. Albus Dumbledore is the best wizard – NO the most extraordinary wizard ever in this day and age!" These days our ministry was pretty divided. Either you were with Dumbledore or you were spreading the rumors against him. The Daily Prophet was clearly being controlled by the against side, our very own Minister. "and that Potter boy-"

"Harry potter is nothing special. No point in wasting any news space on that bloke." I chimed in with a rather snippy tone; but hey I'm fifteen it's allowed if not expected!

"Willow, what do you mean? Harry Potter is the boy who lived! He saved millions, magical and muggles!" My parents were very pro Dumbledore, my mother was REALLY pro Potter, she's always been one who believed in prophecies and fate, so imagine the boy who saved us once, he's her golden boy.

Before starting a family, before my parents even knew each other they were both rising up through the Ministry. My mother was flying through the ranks before little old me popped up.

Lena Fay! Maiden name, Lena Guthro. She was top of her class for all seven years through Hogwarts as a shiny brave Ravenclaw. She was just promoted to being the Minister's right hand woman when I popped up.

"It's just, the last time I saw Potter was when popped up holding Cedric Diggory's body and every single year there's always something happening to Potter and it takes over the school! It's just annoying I guess." I shrugged picking at my eggs.

"Diggory was a huge tragedy. It was also a huge awakening for the world about You Know Who... Willow come now, Potter brought our world the truth!" My mother always was very kind, and beautiful!

I was very lucky because I was a spitting image of her, we both had wavy hair, mine fell far down my back, my Mother's cut her to her chin but both of us, the color of the sand on our island. We had the same olive eyes that in the sun were so vibrant and in the winter were dark and almost hazel. The biggest aspect that separated us was our heights.

My mother was the size of a pixie, I passed her height when I was 12. I tapped into my fathers height in my gene pool. Have you ever tried being a five foot ten woman? Pants are the enemy, the skirts from Hogwarts don't do many favors for me either.

"Riiiight." I dragged out the world while both my parents watched me, "Are we going to Diagon Alley today!?" I pulled out the biggest grin I could muster.

Today was a very important day. Since I wouldn't get to see my family for my birthday, I had been promised that as part of my supply shop in Diagon Alley I got to pick a pet to bring with me! I had been bothering my poor parents for a pet for years. So many years I'm pretty sure it had been before I really knew was Hogwarts was, I just wanted a cute fuzzy creature to love.

My mother jumped up and a smile, "Of course darling! Willow go get your things, Nathaniel clean your crumbs!" I ran to the doorway and looked back for just a second. My parents were really in love... as I watched my mom wipe my fathers face with a smile that was pure admiration he stood up and kissed her. I always loved their story, it was short one but it was still pretty cute.

Nathaniel Fay and Lena Guthro almost killed each other after meeting for the first time. It was Lena's first week as the Minister Eugenia Jenkins 's newest Secretary and as such, the Minister had been giving her hell to see if this one would be able to prove herself.

The Minister had been dodging Nathaniel for weeks because he had a new tactic to hunt for escaped prisoners and evil wizards with warrants. Sadly he was a new bumbling auror who hadn't proved himself and therefore Minister Jenkins wouldn't see him.

One day, on the Friday of Lenas first week, Nathaniel decided he wouldn't take no for an answer on this day. He was getting a meeting and he knew all he had to do was wait for the pretty girl that he had been watching to take a bathroom or lunch break and he would have his chance to sneak into the Ministers office.

Lena had gotten up to throw out some trash before Minister Jenkins would leave for her own lunch to which Lena would follow but never eat, never speak just watch and take notes. When she rounded the corner Nathaniel sprang into motion.

"Oh no you don't!" Lena reappeared in front of Nathaniel, want up and an angry look in her eye. The first time Nathaniel had really looked at Lena he looked from the tip of her wand up to her little pointed nose.

"You're beautiful!" Nathaniel gasped in a very dumbfounded accent. Lena scoffed at the buffoon lying on his back looking scared and yet bewildered by the woman standing over him.

"I know all about you Nathaniel Fay! I am the tenth assitant to sit at that desk and I won't be the last but I will not get kicked out because you're trying to charm me to get in and pitch one of your pointless ideas!" Lena snapped.

As she snapped at him, Nathaniel slowly reached into his coat and tried to throw a gadget that in theory would blow enough smoke in her face that he could crawl under,

"Oh no my dear your beauty really does take my breath but I really need in to see your boss. Sorry about this!" He threw the regular Muggle smoke bomb at the woman's feet only to have nothing happen. "Oh..."

"I swear... HOW are you an Auror!?" Lena snapped and booted him with her heel, "You will NOT get into see The Minister without an appointment! Now, Petrificus Totalus." Suddenly Nathaniel's limbs straightened out and he couldn't move. Lena stood over him with a smirk and pushed a button on her desk.

Two guards came into the office and nodded their heads to Lena who leaned on their desk and proceeded to drag a young, lanky, newbie of an auror who wasn't even upset that he didn't get a chance to talk to the Minister, or that he got beat by a woman... he was baffled that this sassy secretary saw through his tactic and still did her job.

In the weeks that followed Nathaniel stopped by every day and started to leave sweets at her desk, asking her out every day until one day where she threw the sweet back at his face and then threw a chocolate bar at him and told him he could pick her up on Friday at 7.

"We'll have to stop at the house first." My mother gathered me with my bag and my father was padding down his jacket, looking for last minute things.

We had two houses that we bounced between in each world. Growing up my parents always thought it was important to know of everyone's history, purebloods VS half blood, muggle born wizards and witches. Even the culture the muggle world had. My sister and I went to a muggle school until we each got our Hogwarts letter and every summer when I'm out of school we stay at our cabin on a Muggle Island in England but during the school year and for Holidays we stayed at our house in the wizard world.

The only weird catch is not many people knew we were brought up this way. If we were questioned, diplomatic answers were given. My family would go to bat when it counted but to keep the peace at places like the Ministry and for my own sake at school it was easier to not take any side, to be known a pure blood family and not a blood-traiting family. Appearance isn't everything but it does mean a lot.

If you ever read those goofy romantic Muggle books, it's the same as the cool popular boy (aka my family) liking the nerdy girl (Muggle borns and their world.)

FIN