14

The universe belongs to the magical J. K. Rowling. The characters belong to my best friends and loved ones (though they gave me permission to play around) and the plot is mine.

Besides disclaimers, this is a love letter to the magic inside my friends, our relationship and everything I admire in you guys. And also to every one of us out there who got screwed up by Voldemort and therefore didn't get their Hogwarts letter.

If anyone else happens to read this, I would love constructive criticism, especially if you notice grammar or spelling mistakes or typos. I usually check many times but if you catch one let me know. And anything else you wish to comment me.

This is an adventure, hope on board and enjoy the ride.

Chapter 1 (The wand chooses the witch)

Abigale Mondragon and her mother always had a loving but complicated relationship, which grew to be more complicated as soon as Abby received her Hogwarts letter because it only confirmed what she and her family had known all along: she was different. The real novelty was how different. They had just discovered that she belong to a whole other world, which she was meant to become a part of sooner than she could process it, since classes at Hogwarts would began in scarce three weeks; which didn't left any of them enough time to adapt.

The letter got directly to the feet of young Abby's bed early on a summer Sunday morning. She opened it, read it four times and when she made sure she wasn't dreaming, she ran to her mother's room and shoved the second letter, the one that was directed to her, in her face. Elisa Mondragon, a beautiful woman who had become a mother sooner than she would've like to, had barely woken up when she had the paper an inch from her nose. Still groggy from her interrupted sleep, she grabbed her glasses from the night stand and read the most unusual text she had ever read. A person named Minerva McGonagall, who apparently was the Headmistress of a place called "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry" informed her that her only child was a Witch, therefore she had powers that were to be appreciated, encouraged and cultivated at this particular school. She kept on going, mysteriously answering every question Abby's Mom had not yet uttered. As soon as she finished, she turned to look at her chubby little baby girl, her hazel eyes all wide and expecting, shinning with a sparkle that was not there yesterday, and deep inside she understood, and even more important, she believed.

When they went to talk to her Grandparents, they both had a similar experience; suddenly a lot of the strange circumstances that had followed Abby her whole life made sense. To the Mondragon family it seemed like a piece of a puzzle had finally found its rightful place, and though the matter of believing had been taken care of, and understanding was on its way, they were some issues ahead still, money for example.

The money exchange was a challenge by itself since muggleborns such as Abby, often lack the wealth and knowledge to handle sickles, galleons and knuts, but Headmistress McGonagall and the Ministry of Magic's modern administration had seen to that a few years before when they had established a kind of scholarship for the students new to the Wizarding World; which would provide them with enough money to buy their first tools as wizards and witches; including a wand.

"Ollivander's is the place to go", had said the grumpy looking goblin Abby asked on their way out of Gringotts, pulling her mother away from touching everything out of curiosity, including the goblin's head, and get them banned from the bank all together. Though Abby couldn't fathom how big an institution Gringotts was, she did not wish to be banned from the one place that would provide her with money for her studies.

They walked through the crowds of the Diagon Alley, both watching every detail with wonder and a bit of fear. Her mother sometimes commented on the strange robes and hats in Spanish in a failed attempt at discretion, but she did it loudly enough for anyone to listen.

"You know they're people here from all around the world, right? Someone could understand what you're saying," Abby reprimanded with her young yet strong voice, keeping her eyes open in search for the sign of Mr. Ollivander's shop.

"We'd have to be in very bad luck. You don't find it weird? How they dress? And every object moving by itself?" her Mom answered.

"Well, yes, maybe a little, but it's also….kinda great." With a soft whisper that was not intended for her mother to hear, she added "….and I am one of them." That was the hardest part for her to believe; she had no problem believing in magic, or a hidden world where people were free to use it; yet she herself having magic of her own was beyond her comprehension. All her life everyone had told her she was different, weird, a freak, but not special, not unique; and then the letter came and something inside her told her things were going to be different now.

The weight of insecurities and doubts lifted from her shoulders when her Mom pointed at a building with square tainted windows that had the exact sign they were looking for.

They got inside the poorly illuminated shop, and stopped to absorb their surroundings: walls of thin rectangular boxes wherever their eyes went, and a thick smell of wood mixed with something else made Abby dizzy and excited. She was the first to walk around, being closely followed by her mother who was suddenly intimidated by the energy every little box seemed to emanate. Abby skimmed everything with her short fingers without actually touching, while her mother who was usually proud and a bit aggressive stayed glued to her back. A minute later a soft older voice interrupted their perusing.

"Hello there, Miss. What can I do for you?"

"Oh, hello…amh…I am in need of a wand…for magic. You see, I'm going to Hogwarts and the list said I need one, and one of the goblins at Gringotts send us here, to look for Mr. Ollivander. Are you him?" Abby babbled as formally and politely as an eleven-year-old could.

The old man smiled at the young girl's rambling and nodded, giving her the confidence to take a few steps forward.

"So…ammh…Mr. Ollivander, could you help me, please?"

"I'd be glad to, my child. First, we need to do some tests, to see what type of wand would work better with you." Just before the grey haired man gave his back to them, he glanced at Abby's almond hazel eyes that gleamed with enthusiasm and curiosity. He did a quick scan of the rest of her, leaving her feeling self-conscious about her blue jeans, red Wonder Woman t-shirt and black sweatshirt. She wondered if her outfit or whatever else he may be scanning for about her was a giveaway that she didn't belong here, at least not yet, she thought. But the look behind his matching grey eyes didn't seem judgmental; he seemed sincerely glad she was there, almost like he had been waiting for her.

He turned around for a few minutes, he inspected a few options while he mumbled something Abby couldn't hear, but sounded like he was talking to the contents of the boxes. Mr. Ollivander brought back four boxes of different colors and laid them on the counter in front of her.

After a pause she asked, "What should I do?"

"Choose one box; the first one that catches your eye."

Abby regarded them carefully, her gaze going straight to a dusty blue box which time had erased all the specifics from except Ollivander's logo. It was mysterious and her fingers prickled to open it, but compared with the other three that were clearly newer, she became afraid of making a mistake. She felt as if this one was one of the tests she'll have to go through to prove she belong in this world. She didn't want to get to her first day of school bringing a forgotten wand that must had had something wrong about it to have spent so much time waiting to be chosen. So instead, she put her fingers on the golden box next to it.

Mr. Ollivander opened it, pulled out a simple, fine and delicate wooden piece and presented it to her. She took it and…..nothing happened. With a glance she asked the kind old man what she should do next, and with a hand gesture he invited her to move it. She did, and almost an entire shelf of wands fell next to her mother's feet.

"It's that what's supposed to happen?" Mrs. Mondragon asked.

The man giggled a deep airy laughter, then took out a wand hidden somewhere in his clothes, flip it and made the shelf go back to its former place. He opened the golden box again, and Abby placed the wand back. "No Madame, we will know when a wand has chosen your daughter."

"Ammh…sorry did you say a wand must choose me? I thought I was the one going through the election process."

"It's a little bit of both, my dear. A witch or wizard can have affinity with more than one wand, but…the right one will choose its owner because it will sense how their powers can feed from each other. Now…try...this one." He handed her a darker wand, longer than the first one, it had circles inside other tiny circles scattered along the deep brown wood. It was pretty, she liked it immediately.

Abby hold it, weighted and inspected it further while she listened to Mr. Ollivander's explanation. "Blackthorn, 12 inches, unicorn hair core; a faithful one, a wand waiting for a warrior, someone who's not afraid of defending what she believes in; give it a twirl if you feel like it."

So she did, and smoke came out of its tip. It smelled like cookies at first, and excitement flushed her face, but then the smoke became thicker and the smell turned heavy, like something had been burned. She put it back in the box with one swift movement at the sound of her mother's coughing.

"I don't think that's it for me," Abby showed her disappointment.

"Me neither. Though we're getting closer, perhaps this one." He opened a green box. Inside there was a black wand, slightly crooked at the handle part, it seemed almost unfinished except for the light gloss that covered the entire piece. It was weird looking to Abby, but she didn't mind it. She repeated the process, paying attention to see if holding the crooked part would be uncomfortable for her tiny hands. It was, but not impossible to handle.

"13 inches long, ebony, dragon heartstring core, and rougher around the edges than it should be, but that's where its qualities lie. This wand was not meant for someone, let's say…ordinary. It is waiting for an outsider that is comfortable with being one."

Abby grabbed it a bit harder than it was necessary and flicked her wrist, making a few boxes fly all the way across the room. She tried it again, and send them crashing through the window. Abby's eyes were wide and she apologized thoroughly while Mr. Ollivander fixed the mess with very little effort. She was confused; she had meant to move something but was aiming for the stack of papers on the counter. She held it for a few more seconds but she made her own decision that it was not for her even before Mr. Ollivander shook his head. That had left them with the old box she felt compelled by from the very beginning.

The wise man removed the boxes and discarded wands from the counter, at the same time he slightly pushed the deep blue box towards her. Without the distraction of the other wands, Abby felt the energy from the forgotten wand had grown stronger; it had become so appealing that she found herself leaning so close to the box she could smell it. To her delight it smelled of old books, like her Grandfather's own library, and a cracking warm fire; she didn't remember the other wands smelling like anything at all. She pulled herself back and without a second thought, she let her curiosity reign over her movements: she opened the box and took the wand out of her black silk covering. The handle was an unusual mix of brown and red wood spheres of different sizes that built a third part of the tool; in an even more particular harmonic combination the rest of it was black wood, long and polished. It was longer than her own young face but had very little weight to it. She realized she could maneuver it with no effort, and to prove it she wisped it.

Nothing moved, exploded or burned, which Abby thought could be either good or bad news at this point. Suddenly she felt a fresh breeze removing her untamed chocolate curls from her face, but…..nothing else. Abby turned to her Mom, who had just gasped loudly enough to catch her attention. Her Mom had never opened her eyes wider than she had just now, not even when she nagged Abby. Then Abby looked at Mr. Ollivander, who didn't seemed faced, but instead wore a knowing if a bit smug smile that wrinkled his face and lighten his gaze. It was not until that moment, she noticed that she was no longer looking up at him, their eyes had leveled up. She looked down at her feet and saw her converse sneakers separated by a good ten inches from the ground. She was levitating; she was a step away from actually flying and warmth spread from her toes all the way to her grin. She laughed out loud and with her change of focus she stumbled to the floor. Her feet were back in the ground and her bum hurt a little from the fall but that didn't stop her joyous laugh, which was soon met by Mr. Ollivander's own, while Mrs. Mondragon stared at both of them with an incredulous but shy smile, and quickly helped her child to a stand up position.

"You'll eventually learn how to land. But that is a remarkable ability, young lady. I believe you'll be a great match."

"Is it this one then?!" Abby knew the answer, but validation was important for her.

He raised an eyebrow, "What do you think?"

Abby grabbed the wand from the floor and hold it between her fingers still feeling a tingle coming from it. She nodded with excitement.

"And a very interesting ally you've been teamed up with. This one has been waiting for a good thirty years now, for a master of their instincts, someone with a unique perspective of the world. Take good care of her and she'll be forever faithful to you."

The little girl looked at him with the determination of someone who had been given a precious instrument. She watched him put it back in its box with care and a respect she hadn't observed with the other wands. They paid the good man, thank him deeply and Abby walked back into the Diagon's crowd with all the possibilities gleaming in her eyes.

Abigale walked into the Hogwarts express doing the best to dry the tears from her eyes, while at the same time dragging her chest and suitcase through the small corridor, and still waving goodbye to her family, all without tripping.

She was overwhelmed by noise, all the laughter and yelling making the walls and doors vibrate. She couldn't be more excited but she tried to hide her immense smile for fear of creeping someone out. She sneaked in a few empty compartments, and knew that the easier choice was to sit down in any of them, enjoying the landscape and scanning her new books for the rest of the trip. That's what she would do usually during any school trip, but this was different, she couldn't wait to make new friends but she needed an ice-breaker, anything really that could help her start a conversation. She found just the thing almost at the tail of the train.

A few feet in front of her she noticed a girl in jeans and a purple hoodie carrying a backpack with a stamp that read "¡Viva México!" in huge colored letters. Abby followed her hunch, run down the hall and opened almost too harshly the door that the girl had just closed behind her.

"Are you Mexican?" she shouted at the girl's back.

"Amh..yes…" the startled girl answered.

In that split second Abby decided she had found her first friend, so she got into the compartment and dropped herself right in front of her new friend after dropping her own baggage to the floor.

"Oh, good! That's so good! I thought I was going to be the only Latina in the whole school, with most of us being sent to Ilvermorny and all…."

"Are you Mexican too?" her acquaintance asked shyly.

"Yes! Well, almost. My Mom and Grandparents are and they raised me, so I'm practically Mexican, though I was born in England. I cannot tell you how relieved I am for not being the only person here who knows what a real tortilla is! Ha ha! I'm sorry. I'm so rude, My name is Abigale Mondragon." She offered her hand and the other girl took it and shook it. Abby let herself relax the moment she noticed the girl was smiling back at her.

"I'm Jade Mandrake, nice to meet you."

Abby let her jaw dropped and swallowed a sincere tear of wonder at the sight of Hogwarts from the tiny boat she shared with Jade and two other kids. The castle was the stuff of dreams for its high towers and grey stone. Abby remembered the story of King Arthur finding the Magic Isle of Avalon at the end of his life, and she wondered if he had felt this way, if this was her Avalon. She turned to see her companion's faces and yes they were lighted by wonder too.

As soon as she got down from the boat, her first wish was to run to the entrance but pulled back for fear of looking to eager. When the group of children got to the main door they were led by what Abby could only assume was a giant (though he himself identified as a half-giant) to a huge door that opened with a massive sound that made every person inside to turn around and stare at them. Abby whose feet had taken her to be in the first row at first, tried to draw back and hide until she tripped with one of Hagrid's (the half-giant) legs.

She began to apologize but Hagrid did nothing but smile at her and pushed her back inside the great room when the rest of the children started to walk down the center aisle. She turned around and waved a shy goodbye to Hagrid. He waved back and Abby knew he was kind and she liked him.

A tall and slim older woman with the poise and posture Abby imagined a queen would have, gave them a warm welcome as the newest generation of the school. She introduced herself as Headmistress McGonagall and proceeded to put a very beaten looking pointy hat in a stool. Never in her life had Abby imagined that she would see and hear a hat talk, let alone sing its own song; but that was exactly what was happening. After it explained the house system and how the students were separated by personality traits and values, the Headmistress began to call each one of them to the stool to be sorted by the Sorting Hat.

"Which house do you want to get in?" Jade, her new friend who stood at her left, asked in a low voice.

"I don't know. I guess I wouldn't mind any of them; though I wouldn't love to be a snake because I'm really afraid of them," Abby responded.

After that, Abby started to really pay attention to her classmates. Some were evidently born from magical families, they didn't seem fazed or surprised at any of this, they just looked expectant, and in some cases arrogant and proud of the house they got.

"Melinda Browning."

A tallish girl with cinnamon skin and very long silky black hair bumped into Abby on her way up. She walked very straight but couldn't stop playing with her fingers. She sat and when McGonagall set the hat on her the weirdest thing seemed to happen. Abby saw the girl argued with the hat, she listed something with her fingers and listened to a response. Abby realized the girl was negotiating with the Hat and couldn't help but admire her, also wondering if she herself would have the guts to do that. Two minutes later she nodded and the Hat yelled "Ravenclaw!" The Ravenclaw table clapped, cheered and hastily made space for her to sit with them; after she hugged an older girl who looked a little bit like her.

Half the group had already been sorted, with some kids' happiness, disappointment or even anger written in their faces. Abby, Jade and a few others, including a boy and a girl that bare very few physical similarities but you could tell they were brother and sister for the way they keep shoving and mocking each other; actually the girl was the one who kept picking and poking her brother while he tried to listen in for their names. Abby must have been staring because the brother, with longish dark brown hair, dark brown eyelashes and dark brown eyes looked up to her. She freaked and turned away; she made an effort to stop looking but still felt the boy's eyes on her. Abby hoped she hadn't unintentionally made an enemy.

"Jade Mandrake," Headmistress called.

Abby smiled at her friend and encouraged her to step up. Turns out, Jade's father was Mexican and she had only being living in England for four years. They didn't have lots in common but Jade laughed at Abby's awkward out-loud thoughts as if they were jokes, and Abby didn't mind Jade's thick accent at all, so they felt comfortable together. They both hoped they were sorted into the same house; a few seconds later, they found out it wouldn't happen.

"Slytherin!" shouted the Sorting Hat.

Jade smiled at the people at her table, and though they were some cheers, they were also some sneers which she quickly fought back with a powerful glare. Abby couldn't help but laugh, her friend was no one to mess up with. Jade heard her, grinned and shrug at her before taking her spot at the long wooden table. The young witch got distracted following the new Slytherin, so she took a second to respond to her own name being called.

"Abigale Mondragon!"

The world slow down, maybe there was a deafening silence, maybe it was all in her head, but she could only hear her own heart beat accelerating. She prayed to no-one in particular for not tripping and falling, but no-one in particular seemed to be occupied at the moment: on the last step she trod on her own black robe and gravity send her face first. She threw a hand to stop herself and the other fell on the hat itself. She bounced back up as quickly as she could, but she caught some giggles and whispers from the crowd. This is not a good entrance, she thought

"Pay no mind, young witch, they will forget soon enough." The voice came from her left hand where the brim of the Sorting Hat was crumpled in her fist.

"Oh! So sorry!" Abby put the hat on herself and hopped on the stool.

"Mondragon, are you okay?" McGonagall asked. Abby nodded: "Yes. Fine. Thank you."

The Hat's baritone voice had more sweetness than solemnity, for which Abby was very grateful. "Now let's see…mmmh, interesting. You are clever indeed; resourceful, and have a knack for learning. You could be a good Ravenclaw; though you don't quite appreciate logic and rationality as much. Maybe Hufflepuff, for I sense loyalty and kindness in you; yet not so selfless or patient. Slytherin might do you well, no power greed, but there's determination and ambition." Abby was getting more nervous with each examination. She felt as if the Hat could read her mind, all she is and all she is not. Her fear of getting all the way there, for the Hat to declare she is nothing special and should be return to the muggle world at once, kept her head buzzing. "Humm, no, you shouldn't worry about that, there's plenty of magic in you. Perhaps you'd feel at home amongst Gryffindors, since you are as impulsive, passionate and brave as any one of them. It may come as a challenge though, for someone so unsure of themselves, but I think you are up to the task." It took a breath, and proclaimed "Gryffindor!"

Abby breathed a sigh of relief; whatever being a Gryffindor meant, she was grateful for belonging anywhere. Then she heard clapping and someone shouting her last name, and she couldn't understand where or why but most of the Gryffindor table were making noise for her. Somehow these strangers were grateful for her, and her heart swelled with this idea. McGonagall nodded a simple smile and lifted the Hat from her head. Before hurrying up to her new spot at the Lions Table, she turned around and said "Thank you" to the greatest magical item she'd met so far.

"Harper Parrish" was the next name after her. The poking girl separated from her brother, glanced at the brown eyed boy who nodded, inspiring her to step forward. This selection took longer than everyone would imagined, Abby could tell by the slight tension building up in the air. The girl herself didn't look too preoccupied she just looked from the outer left table, the Slytherins, to the outer right table, the Hufflepuffs. The girl just nodded and shook with her round face, round eyes and easy smile. She looks fun to be around, Abby thought. I hope I get to meet her.

"Slytherin!"

The Snakes table roared, being more welcoming towards this smiley girl than to most of their new additions.

"They must be happy to have diplomat's daughter with them," the short boy with very dark hair and a long nose sitting to Abby's left commented out loud.

"Why would it matter?" Abby asked.

The boy shrugged, "It's the kind of thing that matters to them. I'm Dylan, by the way;" he presented his right hand, and Abby was happy to take it.

"Abigale, or Abby actually."

"Nice to meet you, and welcome to Gryffindor."

"Likewise."

"Oh wait, they're sorting the brother. Chances are he'll be a Slytherin too. Siblings usually get sorted together."

"Nicholas Parrish" called Headmistress McGonagall.

The tallish lanky boy who had stared at her in the entrance, walked up to the stool and ceremoniously got the hat set on his head. Abby noticed he was one of the most anxious new students. You could read the dread in his face; Abby raised her eyebrows with a thought: he might even be more nervous than me.

The Sorting Hat didn't take as long as with his sister though, because scarce fifteen seconds after, he declared "Hufflepuff!" The kid's features relaxed; his thick black eyebrows were not bunched in the center with a frown anymore while he walked to his table. The Badgers clapped and cheered at least as much as the Slytherins did, yet somehow the badgers seemed more sincere while doing so. They even raised their wands to throw magical yellow sparks into the air, being that the first spell by a student Abby would witness.

A good twenty minutes later, Abby was too hungry to pay attention; in fact her stomach growled loud enough for Dylan and other two girls sitting in front of them to hear. They all laughed and, because she didn't feel bullied or mocked at, she laughed with them.

"Same." Charlotte, one of the new girls, taller than most, with an unruly copper mane, joked.

"My Dad told me that food just appears in your plate, any kind of food. I can't wait" Cerixa said. She was also new, had freckles all over her nose and brown eyes that reminded Abby of a cartoon. Her father had assisted Hogwarts too, and she was proud to be a Gryffindor like him.

"I'm loving this place already," Abby said.

Finally, the last student got called: "Olivia Selwyn."

The girl walked with her pale nose leading the way, like she was too good to see the floor she was standing on. Abby was truly impressed she got to the stool without looking where she was going. The Hat sorted her as Slytherin in less than thirty seconds; only then her face changed to smug, as if this was just confirming what she already knew about herself. Must be nice, to be so self-assured; Abby thought.

Cerixa gossiped "She's a Selwyn, one of the sacred twenty-eight."

"What are the sacred twenty-eight?" Abby asked.

"They're supposed to be the only families with pure magical blood going back centuries. No one believes they are anything special anymore, especially after the war. But some still use it as an excuse to be elitists." Dylan explained.

"Sounds stupid," Abby replied. She had a million questions to ask starting with: what war? But she reigned herself and figured she would learn in time.

"It is, but you know how people are," Charlotte said. "Nowadays, nobody cares if you're pure-blood, muggle-born or half-blood. If you have magic, you're in the club;" Abby felt a little bit like Charlotte was talking specifically to her with that comment, and became somehow grateful to her for calming her doubts, even if she didn't know that she was doing it.

But she still pondered on what the Hat told her, about being unsure of herself but being up to the task. What task? Do I have to proof I belong in Gryffindor, even though I'm already one of them? Do I deserve to be here? she wondered. When the best smelling banquet in the world appeared in the middle of the table, she decided she would keep those doubts for another moment.

At the end of one of the best meals she'd ever had, the drowsiness settled in and neither Abby nor the rest of the new Gryffindors wanted much more than to learn where they would be sleeping from now on. Their wish came true pretty soon. Gryffndor's two prefects came to lead them to their tower. Before she went up the first stairs, she ran to the Slytherin table to talk to Jade.

"Hey! I'm sad that we're not in the same house, but they told me we've got classes together. So I'll see you around, okay?"

"I know, but we can have breakfast tomorrow. The food here is really good." Jade answered.

The pure-blood girl with her perfectly blonde ripples growled at them.

"What's her problem?" Abby frowned.

"Agh, ignore her. I've known her for an hour and I already know she's full of herself;" Jade rolled her eyes at the blonde.

"Slytherins this way!" a tall also blonde wizard shouted.

"Go, I'll see you tomorrow. Bye" Abby waved her friend good night and ran to catch up with her group.

Abby loved every part of her dorm, from the cozy always warm common room, filled with fuzzy coaches and chairs, everything painted by their House colors: scarlet and gold; to her actual room, which had the most wonderful view if the hills and the lake she could dream of. She would be sharing with Charlotte, Cerixa and another girl, who seemed nice but a little bit shy. Cerixa wasn't too excited about sharing a room but Abby didn't mind: she was an only child, back home she spend most of her time around adults and didn't have many friends for being "weird". She learned to entertain herself from a very young age, but as much as she enjoyed her alone time for reading and dreaming, she felt this was a chance to live like she had sisters; if everything turns out alright that is.

She unpacked her baggage into the chest at the foot of her bed, taking special care of the few books and photos she had brought. When they all got ready for bed, the fire dialed itself down into a homely heat. Abby took her wand, and set it under her pillow. She felt comforted by its texture and couldn't wait to properly use it. She could barely sleep, but when sleep finally found her she dreamt of adventures and friends and magic. She dreamt of the future. And with a glowing heart she started her first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

And so the journey begins...