Chapter One: The Letters That Changed Everything

Young Princess Elsa eyed the letter with extreme interest. A letter for her? Surely someone had to have been mistaken. Never in her life had she received any type of mail before, and surely not by an owl! But here it was, as clear as day. Addressed not only to her house, but to her very room! How could somebody know where she slept? Was someone stalking her? Perhaps someone had found out her secret! That would be horrible, there was no way anybody could ever know about her powers. Not until she could control them, at least.

With her fingers trembling, Elsa carefully opened the envelope along the seam, making sure not to tear anything whatsoever. Regardless of how suspicious it was, this was her first letter, after all. The first time somebody out there took time to write specifically to her and her alone. There was no way she was going to spoil this moment! Excitedly, Elsa removed the letter from the envelope and unfolded it, encountering even more yellow parchment with emerald green ink. Her eyes scanning the letter, she began to read.

Dear Princess Arendelle,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl no later than 31 July.

Your's sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

A school of witchcraft and wizardry? Surely whoever wrote this must be pulling her leg! But then again…could this perhaps be the answer to all her problems? Was it possible that there were others out there just like her? Those who had the ability to control snow and ice? Elsa, of course, did not know the answer to these questions, but was now extremely excited at the prospect of this all being real. Maybe now she could finally escape the palace walls! She could be somewhat normal again! She could hopefully regain her best friend…assuming Anna didn't absolutely hate her by now. She honestly would not blame Anna. After all, she had been quite a horrible sister these past three years, even if it wasn't her fault.

Excited at the prospect of possibly of living a somewhat normal life again, Elsa wasted no time in replying. After all, what was there to lose? The worst that could happen was that this was all some cruel joke someone had concocted, but you'll never know until you give it a shot, right? Bouncing around her room with a spring in her step not seen in years, Elsa got together some paper and a pen and began to compose her response, throwing all caution to the wind.

Dear Deputy Headmistress McGonagall,

I must say that I was quite surprised to receive your letter. After all, magic couldn't be real, right? That's what most people believe. But for some reason, I don't feel like this is a joke someone cooked up. You see, I shouldn't be telling you this, but…I have these powers that other people don't have. I can bend snow, ice, and water to my will. But I can't control it. I hope this is the answer. It's been years since I've been able to lead a normal life. Please help me.

Elsa Arendelle

Crown Princess of the Kingdom of Arendelle

Unable to think of anything else she could say, Elsa finished her reply with the hope that she didn't sound too desperate. But the fact was that she was desperate. She didn't know how long she could keep going on like this. She was sick of the isolation, sick of having no contact with anyone, sick of being confined to the God-forsaken room. All she wanted was to have a normal childhood. Despite the increasingly cold and frozen state of her room—no, her prison, this was Hell on Earth for her. A hell that up until this morning, had not seemed possible to escape.

With her fingers trembling, Elsa folded the letter and enclosed it in the envelope, hoping to any god that she would receive a reply. The owl that had delivered her acceptance letter was still there in her room, perched upon the headboard of her bed. Seeing that Elsa was finished with her reply, the owl perched itself upon the princess' outstretched arm and held out its leg, allowing Elsa to tie the letter to it.

"Take this back to Deputy Headmistress McGonagall for me, please?" Elsa asked, unsure if owls—even seemingly magical ones that delivered mail—could understand English. The owl seemingly understood though, giving the young princess a small affirmative hoot before flying out of the still open window. Elsa stared at the owl as it flew into the snowy white morning sky, until she could see it no more. With a sigh, the young girl stepped deeper into her room as her mind constantly replayed the events of this morning over and over again. To Elsa, it seemed a small ray of light finally appeared at the end of this unbearably long tunnel. An unbearably cold, icy, long tunnel that was suddenly hit with an unexpected, yet totally welcome feeling of warmth. For the first time in what seemed to be forever…Elsa smiled. Perhaps this was her ticket to freedom, a ticket that was long overdue.

A few hours later, tucked way in a small office inside a large castle in Scotland, an older bespectacled woman in emerald green robes and hair in a tight bun sat at her desk, sipping a warm cup of Earl Grey tea while examining what seemed to be mountains of paperwork. This was one time of the year she absolutely dreaded, simply because she did not enjoy having to process seven years worth of acceptance letters. It was a very tedious and monotonous job, and what made it worse was that it all had to be done by hand. At least, signing the bottom of each letter had to be. Unfortunately, there was no spell in existence to copy her signature onto every letter, which would make her job a great deal easier. At least the equipment lists were able to simply be copied, otherwise she was sure she would be sitting at this desk until October. The only upside the woman could think of was that at least each first year would know the name of one of their professors: Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall.

Professor McGonagall had just finished signing and sending out the final acceptance letter to the first year students and was about to begin the working on the second years when she was interrupted by a tap on her office's window. Looking out to her left, she clearly saw one of the school's brown tawny owls already back from making the first of what would be many deliveries to the students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Professor McGonagall opened the window and allowed the owl inside, where it flew straight to her desk and stuck its leg out so that she could remove the letter. Minerva quickly untied the envelope from the owl and reached into one of the drawers of her desk, looking for an owl treat. After getting its treat, the owl flew out of the window and off for a well deserved rest.

A brief examination of the envelope told Professor McGonagall that one of the first years had already responded to their acceptance letter. A first year by the name of Elsa Arendelle, definitely one of the more memorable students on the list this year. How often is it that a Crown Princess is accepted at Hogwarts? Professor McGonagall certainly could not remember the last time a student of such a high-ranking status attended. Of course, if you were to talk to some other people in the school, you would find other's definitions of 'high-ranking' would differ from that of the Deputy Headmistress.

Opening the envelope, the professor began to read the brief response, her brow furrowing more and more as the letter went on. What started as a seemingly eloquent and well-written message from a crown princess quickly became what looked to be not just an intent to study at Hogwarts, but also a desperate plea for help from a troubled eleven year-old girl. It was definitely one of the more unusual responses she had seen in her years as Deputy Headmistress, and her instincts told her that there was more than this little girl was letting on. The professor hoped to Merlin that this child was not being abused in any way because of her performing accidental magic. It had been known to happen to children of non-magical parentage, particularly with those who came from extremely evangelical families.

Professor McGonagall soon realized that she alone could not deal with the issues brought up in this letter. No, this had to be brought to the headmaster himself. So with the letter in hand, Professor McGonagall immediately departed her office and made her way through the castle to the office of her only superior. Approaching a statue of a large gargoyle, the Deputy Headmistress immediately spoke what seemed to be a password ("Chocolate Frogs!"), causing the gargoyle to step aside and allow her access to a moving spiral staircase behind it. Stepping onto the staircase, the professor climbed the last set of steps before finding herself before a simple wooden door that she knocked on three times.

"Enter!" came the voice of a man from the other side of the door.

Professor McGonagall opened the door and entered a circular-shaped room with portraits lining every inch of the wall and odd objects scattered about. On a perch on her far right side was a large, red, majestic phoenix, who trilled what Professor McGonagall could only assume was a note of welcome. Professor McGonagall's attention, however, was on the man sitting behind the desk situated at the center of the room. This man was a man like many have never seen before, clad in long, purple robes and pointed wizards hat with white hair and a long white beard that extended down to his hips, and a twinkle in his eye. This man was Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"Ah, good afternoon Minerva. Please have a seat. What brings you here today? Would you care for a lemon drop?" Dumbledore asked jovially, with a serene smile on his face.

"No thank you, Albus," McGonagall politely declined while sitting on the other side of the desk from Dumbledore. McGonagall always wondered exactly where the old man's fixation with lemon drops came from. "I'm here because I just received the first response from one of our incoming first years. It was rather disturbing, if I may say so."

"Disturbing? How so, Minerva?" Dumbledore asked, the twinkle slightly dimming. Disturbing information from an eleven year-old child was never a good sign.

"I'm not sure if I can describe it, Albus. I believe it's best if you read her response yourself," McGonagall replied, handing the letter over to Dumbledore. Dumbledore quickly read the letter, the twinkle in his eyes dimming more and more as he went on. By the time he was finished, it was almost completely gone and a sad frown replaced his previous smile.

"I'm afraid this young girl has no idea what she is." Dumbledore concluded. It took no more words for McGonagall to understand what Dumbledore meant, a gasp was all that initially came out of her mouth.

"Surely, Albus, you cannot mean…"

"I'm afraid so, Minerva." Dumbledore replied, "it looks like for the first time since the era of the Four Founders, Hogwarts will have an Elemental studying within its walls."

There was absolutely no sound from anyone or anything for seconds after. Even the portraits on the walls stopped conversing with each other. This was big news indeed, an Elemental was extremely rare, none known to have existed since the time of the four Hogwarts Founders nearly a thousand years ago. Now to have one studying at Hogwarts was a large change indeed. Everyone in the magical world knew that Elementals who were not properly trained in controlling their powers could be catastrophic. It was McGonagall who broke the silence.

"An elemental…at Hogwarts…" was all the Deputy Headmistress could come up with.

"Yes…from the sound of this letter, I believe the young girl has not yet learned what her powers are at all, let alone learned to control them. We must visit this girl in person as this cannot simply be explained in a letter. From what it sounds like, there may be some habits that Miss Arendelle will have to unlearn," Dumbledore explained while popping a lemon drop into his mouth.

"But Albus, will we be able to accommodate her? This is most definitely an extreme case…"

"Minerva, my dear," Albus smiled, the twinkle back in his eye, "There was once a time when wizards and witches with certain, shall we say…extremities would not be able to seek an education in this school. I vowed to make sure that changed when I became headmaster, and dare I say I think we have done just that? I'm sure a certain werewolf friend of ours comes to mind."

"Yes, yes, of course," Minerva agreed with a smile. Though she would never admit it, Remus Lupin had always been one of her favorite students.

"No witch or wizard should ever be deprived of the chance to seek magical education. After all, as educators, it is indeed our duty to educate all young witches and wizards that seek our guidance, no matter their parentage, conditions, or in this case, special abilities. Hogwarts will always be open to those young magicals that seek it." Dumbledore stated with a tone of finality, implying that the subject was closed and not up for debate.

"I shall write to young Miss Arendelle immediately, telling her of our plan to meet her. As she is a muggle-born, she needs to be properly introduced to the magical world in any case," Dumbledore continued.

"Very well then, Albus. If you don't mind, there are many things I must still get to, so I will take my leave. Thank you for the time," McGonagall said as she rose from her chair and moved to exit the Headmaster's office.

"It is no matter at all. My door is always open, as you know. I wish you the best of luck with all your paperwork. I do remember having to do much of it myself when I was Deputy Head. I daresay that is one of the things I do not miss of those days," Dumbledore replied with a cheerful smile.

"Thank you very much for that compliment, Albus," McGonagall dryly replied through gritted teeth. Without waiting for a reply, she left Dumbledore in his office with only the phoenix for company.

"It certainly looks like the next seven years at Hogwarts will be interesting, don't you think Fawkes?" he asked the bird, "What with Miss Arendelle and Mr. Potter beginning this year." Fawkes chirped in what one could only assume was an agreement with the headmaster. Dumbledore took out a quill and some parchment and began to write his letter to young Miss Arendelle.

Dear Miss Arendelle,

I hope this letter finds you in good spirits. My name is Albus Dumbledore and I am the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I would like to reassure you that Hogwarts in indeed a real school and that we are not playing a mean joke on you. Professor McGonagall shared with me your reply to your acceptance letter, and I am delighted to know that you wish to join us this year. I still remember my seven years here as a boy and I truly did enjoy it.

I'm writing to you in hopes of arranging a meeting with yourself and your mother and father sometime in the near future to discuss your magical education. Both myself and Professor McGonagall plan to be in attendance. We would hope to meet with you on the twenty-fifth of July at noon at your place of residence. If you have no objection to this, you have no need to reply (Though any reply is indeed more than welcome, should you so wish to send one.). In the event that the aforementioned date, time, and place do not work, please send a message back with Fawkes (He truly is an exceptional bird, isn't he?) as quickly as you can.

I am surely looking forward to seeing you at Hogwarts.

Your's truly

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore

Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Order of Merlin, First Class

Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot

Supreme Muguwump of the International Confederation of Wizards

"Fawkes, would you be so kind as to deliver this to young Princess Arendelle. Something tells me she will be quite taken with you."

Fawkes trilled another note as he flew from his perch and allowed Dumbledore to tie the envelope to his leg, then disappeared in what looked to be a ball of flames. Dumbledore simply sat back and allowed his mind to wander, thinking of what the events of the coming school year would include.

Despite the abnormal and exciting events earlier in the day, it seemed that the resumption of normalcy was inevitable in young Elsa's life. Once again, like many times before, the princess found herself simply sitting with her back against the door in a fetal position, her eyes in a catatonic trance. Her mind, however, was racing at a thousand miles a minute. So many questions she had about what she had received. Do they know of her ice magic abilities? If not, would she still be allowed to attend? Or would she simply be cast aside to figure it all out on her own? Elsa hoped not…her parents had all but abandoned her in her attempts to get her powers under control. Oh sure, they preached the whole 'Conceal, don't feel' junk, but what had that done? Nothing! Absolutely nothing! Sometimes Elsa had to wonder if her parents were more of a hindrance than a help.

If Elsa expected for the rest of the day to go without any more incidents, she was extremely mistaken. For at that moment, something that looked to be a golden ball of fire erupted right in the center of her room. Panicking, the snow princess immediately got on the defensive: If there was one benefit to having special powers such as these, it was in threatening situations such as this. But instead of spreading, the flames subsided and out from them flew a beautiful, majestic red bird. Elsa recognized it immediately from the many tales of mythology that she had read while in her parent-imposed imprisonment.

"A phoenix…no way, I must be dreaming…" the eleven year-old gasped, unable to close her mouth at the sight before her. It was at this time the phoenix opened its mouth and let out what had to be the most beautiful, sweet sound that Elsa had ever heard. It sounded as if Heaven itself had come down and settled in her room. To the girl's surprise, she found herself feeling calmed and relaxed by the music coming from the beautiful bird, a feeling that had not come over her ever since the day she realized just how powerful she was. Tears of joy and happiness were in her eyes, she just could not fathom this creature's beauty.

As it was finishing its song, the bird flew over to the young girl and landed right at her side, nuzzling its head into her face, as in helping dry the child's tears. Elsa couldn't help it, she reached out a hand and stroked the beautiful phoenix's feathers.

"You are so beautiful…why me?" Elsa questioned. After all, why would such a warm, loving creature visit and comfort a cold being as herself? Elsa then noticed the envelope tied to the phoenix's leg, another letter addressed to her! Elsa made quick work of untying the letter from the phoenix, ripping open the envelope in an manner that would be unbecoming of a future queen. Desperate for an answer, Elsa read through the letter, her heart growing more and more hopeful and optimistic as she went on. This was real, it was all real! She was a witch! How else could she have these powers? How else would a beautiful, magical phoenix be able to not only find her, but understand how she was feeling?

"He sure does enjoy his titles," Elsa thought out loud as she finished up the letter. She could not believe that the headmaster himself had taken the time to personally write her. Was this all a dream? A cruel dream that she would shortly wake up from? The phoenix trilled once again, its beautiful voice seemingly reassuring the child that all of this was indeed real and she was not dreaming.

"Fawkes, would you please tell Headmaster Dumbledore that I would be very excited to meet him?" Elsa asked, even though she herself was unsure of how these animals were able to understand her. It had to have been a magic thing. If she wasn't mistaken, the phoenix nodded, as if to answer 'yes' to her question. The phoenix nuzzled her face one more time before taking flight once again, letting out one last trill of beauty before flaming away.

Elsa sat there for a few moments, reveling in what had just happened. In not even a full day, her life had gone from absolute hell to possibly getting better. Never in the last three years did she think this day would come! A day where she might be able to again lead the life that a normal eleven year-old would, aside from living in a castle as royalty of course. For the first time in what seemed to be forever, Elsa was actually feeling happy.

Unnoticed by Elsa or anyone else that may have entered the room after that, a little bit of the ice that had accumulated over the years had actually melted.