Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters, and some of the storyline, from the Harry Potter world, which is trademarked by J. K. Rowling. (I may use some of the author's descriptions/ wording from the books, but I have no intention of stealing anything! It's definitely clear for me that J. owns the rights for the Harry Potter books. )
I am grateful to Ms. Rowling for her wonderful stories about Hogwarts, for without her books, my story would not exist.
**I would like to thank my Beta- Potterwatch97 for editing my chapters.**
Chapter #1-The Letter
Right after Henry died, the only family member left for his and Rachel's daughter, Sophie, was her aunt Matilda. For Sophie, she was the only piece of memory from her mother, the only one to depend on. There was a small hope for Matilda; that Sophie would be a squib, just like her, and they could blend in the muggles world. But unfortunately for her, Sophie had magic inside her. Matilda could already see some of it when she was only 2 years old. It was small things she did, like floating an inch above the floor when she really wanted to get a sweet out of the top cupboard in the kitchen. The place of "the good stuff", she called it. Matilda, who had detached herself from her magical family when she was younger, knew very little of the magical world. Due to that, after the fall of Lord Voldemort she took all the remaining stuff from the Farrell's house, and left to a rented flat in London.
It was a flat in the center of London, and she found it challenging to raise Sophie there. Matilda started to work in a watch store in her building, and quickly became an expert with all watches brands. She even bought Sophie a small pink watch on her 3rd birthday . Sophie always went to people in the street with confidence and told them what hour it was, even if they didn't ask for. That was actually what helped them to know Nathan Miller.
Nathan was a teacher in an elementary school. He was a tall man, with short dirty blond hair. He wore glasses over his dark green eyes, and was a kind person. When he met Matilda and Sophie he thought at first that Sophie was her daughter. Shyly, Matilda told him Sophie was her niece, not her daughter, and didn't even have a boyfriend. Kindly enough, Nathan invited them both to share an ice cream, and got Matilda's phone number.
Since then, they had become a lovely couple and Sophie started to see him as her own father. A year after they met, when Sophie was 4 years old, Nathan proposed to Matilda and they got married. Matilda changed her last name to Miller and quickly got pregnant with Emily. When Sophie was five, Matilda gave birth to Emily, and Sophie was so delighted to see such a small person. They lived happily together in a new apartment in the west side of Great London, in Hounslow, Gladstone Avenue, 34A.
Matilda had not told to Nathan or the girls about her magical heritage, and planned that when time would come, she would also tell Sophie the reasons why her parents died.
Sophie could notice strange things happening around her and couldn't ignore it. Once, she fought with a girl in school and the girl had cut some of Sophie's hair. Somehow, within a few seconds, the part she cut grew again. Or, once at home, she thought she saw blue sparks come out of the tips of her fingers. Not only that, but one time she had climbed the kitchen's countertop to grab a cup, and a glass fell accidentally. Somehow when Sophie pulled up her arms to protect herself, the glass hovered in the air. She didn't stop talking about that incident, and Matilda was afraid everything she planned would be ruined. But Nathan had laughed and said it happened because angels were protecting her. Sophie was then convinced she was an angel sent to earth, and other angels protected her because she had a special task to do. When Emily asked her what kind of task, Sophie answered, "To protect the world." They laughed about it a lot.
But Matilda continued to ignore the magic Sophie had. And it was starting to expand really quickly. When Sophie was 9 years old she crossed the road while a driver wasn't paying attention. The car hit Sophie so hard she flew far. Somehow the accident ended with only a few scratches on Sophie's face, though she still had a small scar above her left brow. Sophie claimed that she hovered above the ground, but again got an answer from Nathan about angels protecting her. Matilda was worried, because she didn't know if it's normal to have those kinds of powers in her age. Also it was hard for the policemen to understand how it was she didn't get hurt badly.
When Sophie turned eleven on 28th January, Matilda knew it was the time to tell her, before the Hogwarts letter came.
They were celebrating in the kitchen her birthday. On the table was a large rounded chocolate cake, decorated with M&M chocolates, and some small candies spelling: "HAPPY 11TH BIRTHDAY SOPHIE." There were also a few presents. Sophie was opening a small blue package, revealing a new blue watch. "Yay, a new watch!"
"That's from me, as a replace for your broken pink one." Matilda smiled.
"Thank you!" Sophie hugged her.
"Open my present now, open mine!" Emily called with excitement.
"Okay, which is it?"
"It's the one wrapped with the clowns."
Sophie took a rounded package, wrapped with a clowned cover. She opened it, to find a pinked box. When she opened it there were lots of gumdrops inside.
"Oh, nice, another candy stock for a year…" Nathan laughed.
"Thank you Emily." Sophie gave her a hug too.
"You know, you don't have to open my preset." Nathan smiled. Sophie laughed and took a large package wrapped with a dark purple cover. Inside was a thin box the size of an A4 paper, containing a decorated diary and some pencil colors. "Now you can write every thought you have in your secret diary." He said.
"Wow, thanks Nathan!" Sophie jumped on him with a great hug.
"You welcome dear." He kept smiling.
"There's still another present." Emily said pointing on a small envelope sized present. It was wrapped with a brown cover, and white strings. Sophie took it and opened very careful. When she opened it there was an envelope inside addressed to Sophie:
Miss Sophie Farrell,
The kitchen
34A Gladstone Avenue
Hounslow
Great London
On the other side was a deep red stamp with an H symbol on it. Nathan gave Matilda an uncertain look. Sophie opened the envelope quietly, forgetting for a second from the others around her. She took out a parchment and read what was written:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore Dear Miss. Farrell, 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. Yours sincerely, Minerva McGonagall
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.
Deputy Headmistress
Sophie was surprised. "Is this just a joke, Aunt Matilda, so I'd feel happy on my birthday?" Sophie asked Matilda. Matilda stared on Sophie with a small smile.
"No."
"So… really?" Sophie wasn't convinced.
"What is that… may I have a look?" Nathan asked reaching out his hand. Sophie looked at him for a second and gave him the letter. After reading it he gave a laugh.
"That's creative Tilly!" He smiled at Matilda widely.
"That's real!" Matilda said with a serious look. "Sophie is a witch!" She said it out loud.
Emily screamed with fright, and ran to Matilda hugging her with fear.
"Not that kind of witch, Em." Matilda laughed. "Sophie, I came from a magical family!" Matilda said, glancing also to Nathan, watching him change looks.
"You… you're a witch too?" Emily asked now sticking to Nathan.
"I'm not a witch, but, my parents were, your grandparents. And so were Rachel and Henry." She said. "I'm what wizards call a squib. I am a non-magical person born to a wizard family, in your case a very large wizard family."
"But, I should have noticed if Sophie was a witch, would I?" Nathan asked.
"And you have noticed; only you saw it as if angels were protecting her." Matilda explained.
Nathan's eyes went wide. "So, are you telling me, all the 'hovering' stuff Sophie claimed happened was actually true?" He was shocked.
"Yes, very true." Matilda said.
"So, there aren't any angels protecting me?" Sophie asked.
"It's magic!" Matilda smiled. Emily squeaked. "C'mon, Emily that's not that bad, well, there were some bad wizards once, but these days everything is under control!"
"Wait, what do you mean there were bad wizards once?" Nathan squinted his eyes.
"There was that terrible wizard who terrified lots of wizards. He was the one that killed your father, Henry." Matilda said with sad eyes. Sophie was surprised hearing that.
"Did he kill mum too?" She asked with a little fear.
"No, unfortunately no one knows who killed your mother. It remains a mystery," Matilda said with a few tears on her eyes.
"What was the name of that wizard?" Nathan asked with interest.
Matilda had a frightened look. "No one says his name. He's known as He Who Must Not Been Named." She said not wanting to say it.
"C'mon, what's the problem saying it, didn't he go to jail or something like that?" Nathan pushed Matilda.
"He died, but there are some who think he'll come back." Matilda said. "His name was… Vol… ugh, I can't say it!" Matilda didn't want to say.
"I deserve to know who killed my father!" Sophie looked into Matilda's eyes. Matilda hesitated for a moment.
"Lord Voldemort." She said finally.
"Why did he kill Henry?" Nathan asked with interest.
"He was after both of them. Both Henry and Rachel, but was able to kill only Henry." Matilda said, "As your mother already died."
"Still, he must have had a reason, so why was he after Henry and Rachel?" Nathan asked.
Matilda was surprised Nathan showed that amount of interest over Henry and Rachel. "I wish I knew why!" Matilda said, giving a strange look to him. "I shut myself out of the magical world until i couldn't help. The only thing I could do was watch Sophie while they did their protecting stuff." Matilda's eyes were now full of tears. "If I hadn't forgotten about my family, none of this would have happened," she cried.
Sophie didn't know what to say, and Nathan pulled Matilda to a hug. "That's Okay, I believe everything has a reason in life." He said.
Emily, now not afraid, sat again next to Sophie. "You won't turn me into a frog, right?" She asked Sophie with big eyes. Sophie smiled.
"I don't know how to turn people into frogs yet, but when I learn I definitely won't turn you into a frog! I love you Emily!" Sophie hugged her.
Ever since her birthday, Sophie couldn't stop thinking of that Hogwarts School. She found herself thinking of her parents and what they were like. She had a few photos, of course, but she didn't know even their personalities. What her mother liked doing, and what her father did. She thought also about Matilda. She said she came from a large wizard family, so how come she never got to know anyone from her father's side? How was it that Matilda knew almost nothing of the magic world, but about that Lord Voldemort she knew?
Matilda usually went to work at nine o'clock in the morning, until five in the afternoon. She still worked in a watch store, a few blocks away. But ever since Sophie's birthday something changed about her. She started going to work at seven thirty in the mornings, and came back at eight p.m. Once she surprisingly came only at ten in the evening. She could see Nathan wasn't worried about her, but Sophie was. What was she doing that made her suddenly so busy?
January past, February too, the time seemed to run away so quickly, and suddenly a warm June came. It was then a week to the end of June when Matilda started to go to work and come back in her usually hours. The last day of school came and there was no one happier than Sophie and Emily.
Sophie was making a braid out of Emily's soft marvelous straight brown hair. They were sitting In Emily's violet colored room. Emily sat on a small chair while Sophie on her bed.
"Your hair is so soft, I wish mine was." She said jealous.
"What are you talking about, your hair looks like gold. You could cut it and sell it for money!" Emily said smiling. When Sophie finished her work, Emily rose from her chair. "How do I look?" She asked and posed.
"You look stunning!" Sophie said laughing.
"Sophie, Em, Dinner time!" Nathan was calling. They skipped happily to the kitchen laughing.
In the kitchen Nathan was organizing the table. Matilda wasn't there.
"Where is mum?" Emily asked. "She will be here in a few minutes." He said ordering them to sit. It was then when Sophie noticed an extra chair, and an extra plate and set of cutlery.
"Why is there an extra plate on the table?" Sophie asked.
"Oh, right, yeah, Matilda said she'd come with a guest." Nathan winked with a smile.
"A guest? Who is it?" Emily asked interested.
"A friend." Nathan said no more.
In a few minutes, the sound of the keys was heard. Then the front door was opened, and they could hear a small knocking of heels walking to the kitchen. Matilda walked in smiling, and right after her was a scarlet haired woman, wearing a suit, looking like a lawyer. Nathan smiled.
"Nice to finally meet you Nathanael," she spoke.
"You can call me Nathan." He said shaking hands with her.
"I'm Beatrice."
"Let's sit." Matilda offered her a chair.
"Ooh, that's nice." She said and sat to Sophie's right side.
"Hello, I'm Beatrice." She introduced herself. Sophie was amazed by her beauty. She had a heart shaped face, with two cats like eyes, dark browned colored. And her lips were red like blood.
"I'm Sophie." She introduced herself back to Beatrice. Beatrice smiled.
"And I'm Emily!" Emily erupted with excitement. She was happy there was a guest at the table. "Nice to meet you both, Emily and Sophie." She paused for a second and gave Sophie a warm look.
While they ate there was a strange silence. Then when they finished and got up from the chairs, Sophie could notice something poking from Beatrice's trousers pocket. It was a long wooden stick, and she could see a few blue sparks shooting out of it.
"What's that?" Sophie asked pointing on it. Beatrice gave a look on the stick and changed looks with Matilda.
"Oops, got caught early I guess." She blushed. "That's my wand." She took it out of her pocket.
"Wand?" Emily asked with large eyes. "Are you a fairy?" Emily looked at her hair.
Beatrice laughed, "No, I'm not a fairy. But I'm a witch!" Sophie narrowed her eyes to Beatrice.
"You… are a witch?" Sophie was surprised.
"Yes, and I'm a friend of Matilda's. We know each other since we were babies." She said with a smile.
"Can you show us some magic?" Emily asked hopefully. Nathan stood like a statue, staring at Matilda. Matilda changed looks with him, Beatrice, Sophie and Emily.
"Well, I can, but I'm not allowed to."
"I'm allowing you!" Emily said eager to see some magic. Beatrice laughed.
"Quite a temper you have… I'm sorry Emily, but there are rules for magic, and I can't do it right know." She explained. Emily sighed with disappointment.
"Will I get a wand too?" Sophie asked suddenly.
"Of course!" Beatrice said. "And that's actually the reason I'm here, to help." She smiled widely.
After finishing cleaning the mess, they all sat in the living room listening to what Beatrice had to say. "Well, there are a few things we need to do before going to buy Sophie's stuff." Beatrice said giving Nathan and Matilda a look.
"What kind of things?" Matilda asked.
"Oh, Matilda, you surprise me… you were actually far away for a long time. I wish I could have seen you earlier. You ran away right after…." Suddenly Beatrice's voice got more low and quite. "Well, you know…" She quickly finished talking.
"So, again, what do we need to do?" Nathan broke the silence.
"Ah, Dumbledore asked me to contact you to the Floo Network." Beatrice said giving the fireplace a look.
"Floo?" Sophie didn't understand.
"Never mind right know, it would be only for you Matilda. He wants to see you." Beatrice said with a serious face.
"Excuse me, but, who is this Dumbledore?" Nathan asked.
"He's Hogwarts school headmaster." Sophie answered, and got a surprised look from everyone in the room. She blushed. "Well, it is written in my letter, I remember it." Sophie said still with red face.
"But, how do you remember? Mum took your letter after your birthday. She said something about a school stuff list." Emily noted.
"I…" Sophie couldn't explain. She remembered stuff sometimes, like in school. She was absolutely great with Mathematics. She was called a nerd, but didn't care much. "I don't know… I just remember," Sophie said shyly.
"Never mind. So, just like Sophie said, Albus Dumbledore is Hogwart's headmaster. He wants to talk with Matilda, for his reasons, I have no idea why." Beatrice continued to talk.
"So, right now?" Matilda asked swallowing.
"Umm, yes, but not before we set time to go and buy Sophie's stuff." Beatrice said.
"You're coming with us?" Sophie was surprised.
"Didn't I say I was here to help?" Beatrice smiled.
"How about two weeks from now?" Nathan asked.
Matilda thought for a moment. "Yes. Let's go on Monday, I won't work that day." Matilda agreed.
"Excellent!" Beatrice rose from the sofa. After her, everybody else stood."So it is set, Monday in two weeks from now. I'll come right in the morning." Beatrice took Matilda's hand. "So, now we should go…" Beatrice took her to the fireplace. Then out from her pocket she got a small bag.
"Floo powder," she explained. "You remember how to use Floo?" Beatrice laughed.
"Oh, please don't pour salt on my wounds!" Matilda gave her a small slap on her hand.
"Right then, straight to Diagon Alley, The leaky Cauldron. He's waiting there." None of them understood where that was, but Sophie had no mood to ask, nor did Emily. They were tired, and Emily was half asleep standing. Beatrice handed Matilda her small bag.
"Alright then," She said taking a bunch of the powder, and tossed it to the fireplace. The fire went green. Suddenly Emily woke. Matilda stepped into the fire.
"Are you mad?" Nathan gave Beatrice a worried look.
"It's okay Nathan, its only transportation. The green fire doesn't hurt." Beatrice calmed him.
"Diagon Alley!" Matilda stated clearly and disappeared quickly, the fire turned back into its original colors.
"Right, that's definitely not dangerous." Nathan worried.
"Relax Nathan, I promise you I'll bring her straight back after we finish." Beatrice looked straight in his eyes seriously. "Trust me!" She tossed some of the powder into the fireplace. Again it turned green. "Diagon Alley," she spoke clearly and disappeared too, leaving Nathan, Sophie and Emily with shocked faces. It took them a while to shake off the shock, and then Emily fell to the floor while walking out.
"Oh, Emily, are you alright?" Nathan gave her a hand.
"I'm tired…" She yawned.
"Well, it's time to go to sleep." He took her in his hands, they left the living room.