A/N: Whew! Sorry for such a long wait for the first chapter! I was waiting to get a few more characters before I started the story (even though none of them show up in the first chapter haha..). But here we go! It may be a little rocky, because I rewrote it three times and I was very unhappy with it every time. I like it now, though. It's probably a little slow..or maybe even a little fast, I don't know. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy! And thank you for waiting so patiently haha!

Katerina's letter had arrived.

She was sitting, eating breakfast and watching the TV – her dad had the news running, even though he was knee deep in a stack of papers – and didn't hear the owl tap at the window. It stared at her for a few moments, blinking slowly before rapping in the window again. Katerina was too busy playing with a few strands of hair that had come loose from her ponytail, twisting the long black strands back and forth while she poked at her eggs. The owl tapped again, dropping the letters and screeching to get someone's attention.

It was Katerina's mom who noticed the owl this time. Pulling her hair into a tight red bun she rushed to the window, opening it and letting the miffed bird inside. It dropped the letters and paper onto the table, holding its leg out while she deposited five knuts into the small pouch on its leg. Silva called a greeting from the living room as the mail owl flew out the window, with an annoyed hoot.

Katerina stared at the paper, her gray-green eyes watching the men and women hug and kiss happily, talking and laughing with one another silently before she took the last bite of egg and pushed away from the table. "Daily Prophet's here." Her mom said, tossing the paper towards her dad. He grunted in response, muttering to a piece of parchment and quill that wrote down whatever he was saying.

Katerina had just dumped her plate into the sink, where a pan was busy rinsing itself off, when her mom made a sound that resembled a squeak, the other letters dropping from her hand and falling to the floor. "It's here!" She yelled, holding the letter up and looking at it with bright green eyes. "Katerina's Hogwarts letter!" Katerina, who had picked up her mom's copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and was starting towards the back door, dropping the book, whirling around and staring wide eyed.

"Let me see!" She was at her mom's side before either of them realized it, reaching towards the letter. "Let me see!" Her mom handed her the letter, which she stared at, excitement fluttering in her chest. It was a heavy parchment envelope, with very neat, loopy handwriting on the front that read Miss K. Hartley.

"I knew she'd get accepted!" Her dad was standing behind her now, his eyes a brighter blue than she'd seen in a long time, running a hand through his disheveled black hair.

"I've got to tell Molly and Eliza that my baby is going to Hogwarts!" Her mom cried, running into the other room.

"They'll hardly be surprised, they do have kids of their own at Hogwarts already." Her dad said, snapping towards the quill and parchment he was using previously. The parchment fell away, a new blank sheet flying towards him with the quill in tow. "I'll write the response letter, seeing as how your mother is a little busy." Her dad ruffled Katerina's hair, pulling more loose from its long ponytail as he did so. "You read over your letter and the list of requirements. Once your mother calms down a little we'll discuss this more." Her dad walked into the other room, dictating the letter as the quill furiously scribbled, and Katerina was left staring down at the letter in her hands.

She couldn't believe it. Her parents talked about their time at Hogwarts a lot and how it was one of the best wizarding schools, and that the school had the best teachers that they had ever known. And she was going to go there too.

She turned it over, looking at the wax crest and pulled it open, pulling two pieces of parchment out. She opened the first one, setting the other on the table, and read;

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,

Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Miss Hartley,

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.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

She looked up at the calendar. September first was a little less than a month away, leaving plenty of time for her to get her things and be prepared. She set the first paper down, picking up the second and reading through the list of required equipment slowly. Half of the books on the list they already had, a little old and battered but still in good condition. The rest they'd have to buy at Diagon Alley, and –

Katerina paused, her shoulders slumping a little. Diagon Alley. The crowded, noisy place that was so congested with people that it made walking down the street hard. She cringed, setting the paper down on the table and sitting down. She didn't like crowds; she didn't like being around people she didn't know. And she was going to a school filled with hundreds, maybe even thousands of people she had never met, and a ton of teachers she'd never met that would be watching her and judging her, and –

She hid her face behind her hands, groaning a little. Katerina hated large crowds. She hated being around people she didn't know; people who watched your every move, who judged every small thing she did. People who watched for any tiny embarrassment that was committed so they could laugh and make fun. She like being in small groups of people she knew; but she didn't know any other magical kids. She had grown up away from that, mostly.

Her parents thought it would be good if Katerina grew up in the Muggle world as well as the wizarding world, so that she wouldn't be completely lost once she was on her own and out of school, and could blend in just fine without looking extremely awkward in the process. So they lived in a Muggle neighborhood, where the only other magical family was a few miles away. She thought it was kind of funny, how the neighbors gave weird looks at their pet owl Silva or looked through their extensive collection of 'fantasy' textbooks. But she didn't like how she could never show them magic; it was against the rules, her parents told her over and over.

She stared at the parchment, chewing on her lower lip. She'd have to make new friends and start completely over, something she was not looking forward to.

"So!" Her mom clapped her hands onto the back of the chair, making Katerina jump and almost fall out of the seat, "have you looked through the requirements?"

"Yeah." Katerina said, handing the paper to her mom. "We have a lot of the books already, but I don't know about the other stuff…"

"Is something wrong?" Katerina kicked her feet, pretending to inspect her nails and not hear what her mom had asked. "Katerina."

"What if I don't make friends?" Katerina asked, tilting her head back and looking at her mom upside down. "What if I'm sorted into the wrong house? What if I get horrible marks and I get kicked out, or I make a fool of myself?"

"You will make a fool of yourself, dear." Katerina flinched, and her mom put a hand on either side of Katerina's face, smiling kindly. "You're young; you haven't learned how to do magic yet. You and all of your classmates will make fools of yourselves trying to learn how to do magic properly. But that's part of the fun!" Katerina furrowed her brow, staring up at her mom.

"That doesn't sound fun, that sound embarrassing." Katerina muttered.

"Trust me, honey. You'll have loads of fun, okay?" Her mom leaned forward, kissing Katerina's forehead and heading into the living room. "Now! Let's see which of these books we've got, so we know what to buy at Diagon Alley…I'm sure I've got my old trunk somewhere, you can use that if you'd like. Wait, no, we can't. I spilled some potions on it in my last year and now there's a giant hole in the corner…and your father's is very old and battered. I think we can buy you a new one." Her mom continued talking, leaving Katerina at the table, staring down at the papers uncertainly.

Silva fluttered towards the table, landing and hooting at Katerina quietly. She looked up at the snowy owl and sighed, petting her head slowly. "The school year hasn't even started and I'm already feeling like it's going to be horrible." She muttered.