Hestia Dawn Evans was sitting in her living room with her Mother when an owl hit the window, a letter clutched in it's beak that claimed that Hestia was a witch.
It all began when Hestia was too little to understand what was happening. One day, she was playing with her Mother in a park when a branch fell, about to crush the little girl. Yet, the branch stopped, hovering in the air for a few seconds and was then tossed into a nearby lake, scaring away all of the ducks. Hestia's mother, named Leia after her Great Aunt, called it off, claiming that the winds must have been particularly strong that day. Yet, Hestia could always jump higher, run faster and land lighter than any of the other children. She would jump of high walls and land on her toes without making as much as a light tap as her feet hit the ground. One day, Lelia watched from the window as Hestia sat in the garden, making sticks animate themselves into walking dolls, plucking flowers and talking. It became too much for Mrs. Evans, and she fled to a psychologist. Although Dr. Bean, the psychologist, had nineteen certificates from all around the continent, he had nothing to offer.
Nevertheless, Mrs. Evans and her daughter attended meetings with him every other week, which contained talk of keeping rage in check, and discussing things that seemed to be something, but really we're just "figments of our imagination," as Dr. Bean calls them.
Hestia dreaded these meetings. She knew that what she could do was not related to rage or imagination whatsoever! But, she continued on with her life, begging for the meetings to stop, as the yielded no results. Hestia completed 5th grade at the "Sunshine Elementary" that was down the street. None of the other children liked her, especially after they saw her jump from the ground to the school roof. It was unnatural. To them, she was a complete and total freak.
When Hestia turned 11, she celebrated with a bit of cake and a trip to the zoo with her mother. The deer seemed attracted to her, especially a young doe. When she held out her hand, it came right up to her, allowing her to stroke the smooth fur on it's back. Ms. Evans watched nervously as the same deer fled away from all the other children. They walked down the long passages of the zoo, watching snakes, zebras, and most of all, the octopus in the aquarium. When the day ended, Ms. Evans sat down in her favorite chair, lit a cigarette, though this earned her a dark look from Hestia, and began to read this morning paper. "Ohh, It says that there was a bad jailbreak up North. We are to report any of these people if we see them. They all look rather odd. Ragged. Well, jail can't be too good." Leila trailed off, busy reading the accompanied article. Hestia ran off to the shelf to pull down a giant book, over 700 pages long, and buried her nose into it emerged in the words. "What is it that you are reading now?" Asked Ms. Evans, looking up from her news. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." Replied Hestia, looking up for a moment. "I'm on the last chapter." Ms. Evans smiled. "Almost finished the series, eh?" Hestia nodded briefly and returned back to her book. Suddenly, there was a loud slam from the kitchen window. Ms. Evans slammed her paper down, frustration upon her face. "It can't be Mrs. Bernstein again! She has come by at least four times today asking for various baking supplies!" Hestia placed her bookmark on page 757 and rushed to the kitchen. She stuck her head back into the living room a moment later. "Mum?" she called. "Is this a prank?" Ms. Evans put her paper back down. "No, who is it? Why would it be a prank?" She stood up from her large chair and walked into the kitchen. A snowy white owl was sitting on the counter, a yellowing envelope clasped in its beak. It turned its orange eyes upon Hestia, tapped her once in a kind manner, and dropped the envelope by her hand, which was sitting on the dark countertop.
"Well? Open it." Said Ms. Evans. Though she knew little about usual messages, she figured that if a bird left a note on your counter, that usually means that it was meant for you. Hestia did, her fingers shaking. She pulled out a thick paper, and it dropped to the ground. "Hestia?" Hestia looked up at her Mother dead in the eye. "I'm a witch." The owl screeched, and 's hand flew to her mouth. She bent down, and picked up the letter. She read it quickly. "Well. J.K Rowling wasn't lying."
Over a hundred miles away, a house decorated in green and silver with bright windows hidden to the eyes of the many bustling muggle shoppers had a delivery from a large official looking barn owl. Mrs. Daphne Black was very pleased, but not at all surprised, when the letter in emerald ink was addressed to her very talented daughter in her upstairs bedroom. Elizabeth was overjoyed when she received her letter, and celebrated with butterbeer that night. As she brought the frosty mug to her lips, her father Caelum Black ruffled her dark hair affectionately. "It's about time that my girl goes to Hogwarts!" he cried. Mrs. Black had easily convinced him to allow their daughter to attend Hogwarts instead of Durmstrang, the institute that Mr. Black attended. He wished more than anything that his parents had allowed him to go to Hogwarts with his cousins Regulus and Sirius, who he hardly knew. As he looked down at Elizabeth, he hoped that her seven years would fulfill her dreams that her Mother continued to fill her with whenever she got the chance.
Elizabeth didn't know it, but she saw her future best friend at Diagon Alley the next day when they met up with the Potters. She even heard the girl's name. Rubeus Hagrid stopped by, announcing with a big smile that he was on his way to guide a new muggle-born student. Harry had clapped him on the back, and told him to make sure to buy this student an owl, or maybe sit on a birthday cake. Hagrid had smiled her, but assured them that he really did have to be on his way, and left. As he bustled off, Elizabeth walked into Flourish and Blotts with James. Shining in the window displays was the "Harry Potter Seven", a seven part series sold to both Wizards and Muggles under the name of "J.K Rowling" in the muggle world, but as Rita Skeeter in the wizarding world. Minister Hermione Granger had made sure that she told the tale correctly, and Rita had been very pleased to do so, until her name started cropping up. As they entered the store, Harry was asked to sign several copies. With a meaningful look at the pair of them, Harry turned around to sign a cover as James and Elizabeth rushed off. Elizabeth easily found the books she was looking for, they were all on the same shelf. Her money bag feeling lighter and her book bag much heavier, she stepped out into the sunlight. She saw Hagrid's huge form in front of the shop, and distinctly heard Rita's name mentioned in his deep voice, soon followed by the tinkling laugh from a blond girl, wearing muggle attire and carrying a large bag and cage containing a tawny owl. James suddenly clocked her from behind with a handful of color-changing powder, given to him by Ron, who was laughing in the background. She scowled, and whirled around, her long hair spraying powder upon his shocked face. She chortled as he turned bright pink from the dye, but James was soon laughing at her expression as she caught her reflection in a mirror in a nearby antique store. She was a bright orange.
A few shops down the twisting road, Hestia picked up her wand, weighing it in her hand. It was a willow wand, she had been told, and it apparently had a very similar combination to a past wand sold to a client long ago. Mr. Ollivander, who was an old and tired looking wizard. He looked into her green eyes and stopped. "You have her eyes." He said simply. Hestia looked up into his watery blue eyes. "Sorry, whose eyes?" she asked, trying not to pry. "The eyes of Mrs. Lily Potter, a brilliant witch. Her wand was 10 and ¼ inches, willow, swishy, a good wand for charm work." He smiled suddenly. "And so is yours. Willow, 10 ¼ inches, containing one unicorn hair." He looked up at Hagrid's massive form in the window. "Rubeus!" He cried. "Your new wand works well?" He asked, motioning at the thick oak wand held in his hand. "Doin' just fine, Mr. Ollivander." Replied Hagrid, a smile on his face.
At the end of the day, Hestia was sitting in her room, feeding her new owl (a gift from Hagrid, claiming that he had to continue the legacy of gift-giving, and then blowing his nose loudly on a handkerchief) when her mother came in, dragging an old trunk. "This one should hold all of your stuff." She said, panting. She looked around her daughter's room. She had framed her Hogwarts letter, and it sat on her desk. Hestia looked up, grinned, muttered a quick "thanks" and began to pack. She pulled out her steel cauldron, reading the label that read "pewter, 10 sickles." Ms. Evans sat down on Hestia's unmade bed, where the trunk lay. "Can I help?" She asked, holding up a quill. "And, honestly, why can't you just use pens and pencils? Going to Staples would have been much easier." She stated as her daughter rolled her eyes. "Just keep this one. Please?" she asked, holding out a fountain pen. Hestia grinned, and took it. "Did you knick this one from your office?" she asked. Leia Evans blushed scarlet, quickly said no, but bent over to fold some robes, looking flustered indeed.
Elizabeth's packing went much quicker, and managed to pack no muggle items. Her mother packed everything for her with a quick and easy pack charm. She did throw in an extra hairbrush, unlike Hestia, who only packed one.
The two girls trips to platform 9 ¾ were also very different. Hestia squeezed into her Mother's white Prius. Elizabeth found herself with plenty of room in her father's "improved" sports car. Elizabeth walked through the wall with ease, and immediately went towards the Potters. As she turned left, a girl came crashing into her from the barrier, her eyes screwed shut. The owl, books, and trunk from the girl's cart had scattered all across the floor. ies. /pre