I had been following Mr. Fullar for roughly an hour and he showed no signs of stopping. I was tired of walking and had no idea where we were going, we just trudged along the winding dirt path that had led them out of town nearly twenty minutes back. I had to resist the urge to whine "Are we there yet?" like a little kid. As if reading my mind Mr. Fullar turned towards me.

"My home's just over that hill, about three minutes more." I followed his finger, and indeed I could see what appeared to be the tip of a chimney peering over the hilltop. "I usually just apparate but I figured that would be a little much for you." I could tell Mr. Fullar was trying to make small talk, but I was in no mood for idle chit chat. I nodded like I understood what the devil he was blabbering on about and plowed forward.

Mr. Fullar's home was of modest size, two stories and a basement. The house itself had no memorable qualities except for perhaps the remote location. It had white panels, and a black shingled roof. The pillared porch and white rocker gave it an overall farm house feel. In front of the otherwise monochromatic house lay a smiling flowerbed, displaying brilliant colors of flora in variations I had no name for. It all seemed so ordinary I had a difficult time picturing the odd Mr. Fullar living here. We stepped up onto the porch, which was a dark wood, and paused before the white door. When Mr. Fullar reached into his pocket I expected him to pull out ring of keys, or something along those lines, instead he produced a thin wooden stick. He pointed it at the door.

"Alohamora." No sooner had the word left Mr. Fullar's lips did the lock click, and the door was open. I couldn't refrain from gaping at him.

All this talk about magic is nonsense. I assured myself. It's just some parlor trick. But no amount of reasoning could deny that the more time I spent in Mr. Fullar's company, that harder all of this was to dismiss. Mr. Fullar noticed my bewildered expression.

"Alohamora. Simple spell. Unlocks doors. You'll learn it first year." He seemed to think this cleared everything up. My eyes fell to the stick, still held loosely in his hand. "Ebony. Unicorn hair. Thirteen inches. Supple." Again Mr. Fullar spoke like this made perfect sense. Unicorn hair? I simply nodded politely and allowed him to show me in.

Mr. Fullar lead me straight to the sitting room. It sported a white carpet, white walls with a light brown runner. Several paintings hung upon the wall of Mr. Fullar, a young girl, a black owl, and a pale colored cat. By what must have been a trick of the light the portrait of the girl seemed to wink at me. I was slightly puzzled when I noticed that several of the canvases were blank.

In the center of the room was a black coffee table with a blue transparent vase, and a small cluster of the flowers grown outside. There was a large white sofa and practically sinking into the cushions was a buff tabby cat, purring on the lap of the young girl.

She was small in the way of her height, and of her features. Her hair was straight, and a shiny light brown with blonde highlights and fell just on her shoulders. She had rosy cheeks, and bright green eyes. A dusting of freckles peppered the skin around her pixie-like nose. She was deffinetly the girl from the portrait that had appeared to wink at me. She couldn't have been older than nine, and I don't think had ever seen a girl who appeared more unlike me, what with my tall body, long black hair that fell in waves down my back, eyes so dark they were almost black, and pale complexion. When she saw me she grinned politely, with a smile that was identical to Mr. Fullar, who undoubtedly her father, then looked to him, with an expression that plainly stated,

Please tell me as to why there is a strange girl in my house. Mr. Fullar cleared his throat.

"Raven, this is my daughter Julia. She's your age and it's her first year at Hogwarts too." So this girl was my age? She looks extremely young for eleven. Mr. Fullar turned to his daughter.

"Julia, Raven will be staying in your room until the first. I trust you will make her feel welcome. Now, if you'll both excuse me, I have to contact Professor Dumbledore." With that Mr. Fullar bustled out of the sitting room, leaving Julia and I alone. We stared awkwardly at each other. I had never spoken to another child before. The only sound was the ineligible voice of Mr. Fullar, who must have been on the telephone, and the purr of Julia's cat as he licked his short fur. I glanced at my ratty sneakers.

"I like your cat." I managed, unsure what else to say. Julia seemed to relax her shoulders a bit, so I must have done something right.

"Thanks!" She smiled, snatching the feline up like a rag doll, and walking towards me. The cat's purr never even faulted, and he continued his grooming as he was carried in what had to be an uncomfortable position across the room. Julia set the cat at my feet. "This is Puck." Puck wove between my legs, his curling with surprising strength. I reached down and stroked his side. As soon as my feigners touched his flank Puck went limp and flopped down across my feet. He reached one paw to my hand and wrapped his tiny pads around it, pulling it towards his warm chest.

Awe! He likes me! After growing up with the stray cats that prowled the London streets I had a vision of all cats as aggressive, disease ridden flea bags. Puck was quickly turning me into a "Cat person".

"He likes everyone." Julia smiled as if reading my mind. "So, what's your story? How did you meet my dad?" I wasn't sure if I should be sharing, but I felt a strange sense of exhilaration at speaking to someone my age.

"I tried to rob him." Julia laughed at this as though it wasn't a problem at all. As though talking to a thief and the prospect of sharing a room with one didn't bother her. "He wanted to call my Mum but I told him I didn't have one. Then an owl came and he gave me a letter." For some reason Julia seemed impressed.

"I'm surprised the owl was still searching for you so far past the deadline. You must me something special. What blood are you?"

"Blood?" I asked confused.

"I'm sorry I don't mean to pry!" Julia said quickly, as though she had offended me. "I'm not one of those 'must be of pureblood!' types. I'm half myself. I was only wondering."

"It's no problem. I'm just confused." I replied. "Blood? Half? Pure?"

"It's silly really. Some people think your blood makes you more fit to be a wizard. You're probably muggle born."

"Muggle?"

"A non-magical person. Both your parents are likely to be muggles. My Mum was a muggle, but dad's a wizard, so that makes me a half blood. Lots of wizards wouldn't want you and me to go to Hogwarts and study magic because we have muggles in our family and aren't what's called 'pureblood'." I marveled at how much this girl knew, and how little I did. She said it all so easily that she couldn't have been making it up on the spot, but then what? How could any of this possibly be true? "So, what happened to your parents?"

"Mum died." I said quickly, not wanting to say how Dad must have killed her. I had replayed that scene hundreds of times before. I had memorized the expression of guilt and horror that flashed across Dad's face. He had done it. I don't even think he had fully meant to. I knew it had been Dad as surely as my name was Raven May Prince, but I could never explain it. He had held weapon. No blade or gun of any sort. All there had been was that green flash, the sound of Dad's voice muttering something I could never understand, and the shock and disbelief in Mum's eyes, as she realized what was happening all too late. I couldn't tell Julia about any of this. She would think I'm crazy. I wasn't sure that I wasn't. Julia looked sad. It wasn't that false pity you often see from adults. Julia was sincere. Her sorrow was as genuine as if she had been talking about her own mum's death.

"I'm so sorry! I know how you feel though. My mum left when I was little. Dad told her he was a wizard and that I more than likely would be too. I guess she just couldn't handle it. She left Dad on his own, to care for me all by himself."

"Julia, I'm so sorry!"

"It can't compare to what you must be feeling. I never knew Mum. But I've got Dad, and he's Auror, so we get by."

"Auror?"

"Dark wizard hunter. Not as useful now that You-know-who's gone, but there's still the occasional ex-death eater."

"Oh." I said, not sure if I wanted to ask. Part of that sounded familiar and something told me I didn't want to know.

"Tell me about your mum?" Julia asked. "I'm sure she was wonderful, and since I never met mine I love to her stories about them."

"She was wonderful." I agreed. "Always sticking up for me, even until the end. She homeschooled me. Dad got drunk a lot, but Mum never did. She told me it people do stupid things, and once she had made a stupid decision and she always regretted it. Then she should me a strange tattoo on her arm. That must have been the last time she ever drank." Talking about Mum was hard. But it felt good. I saw Julia's eyes were watery, and I found myself unable to meet them. I stared at the walls, studying a portrait of Puck to occupy myself.

The image showed the tabby curled up peacefully, eyes closed in sleep. A strange thought occurred to me.

"Didn't that picture use to show him sitting?" I asked before I could process how ridicules I sounded.

"Of course. He's just taking a nap." Julia said this like it was the most obvious thing in the world, and then she noticed my baffled expression. "Wizard paintings move. It's like they have a life of their own."

"How?" I marveled.

"I'm not sure." Julia admitted. "You could find on it at Hogwarts." I shook my head in amazement. At that moment Mr. Fullar shuffled in, smiling.

"Well, I managed to reach Professor Dumbledore with floo powder and explained Raven's circumstances." He turned to me. "Everything's all cleared up kido, you're going to Hogwarts!"

"Dad?" Julia interrupted. "Raven still needs her thing." Mr. Fullar nodded rapidly like this was something obvious.

"Of course, Sweetheart. I'll take Raven tomorrow."

"Take me where?" I asked, feeling very foolish. Julia smiled at me widely.

"To Diagon Alley!"