"All the world is made of faith, and trust, and pixie dust"
—J.M. Barrie

Chapter 1—Prologue—I Do Believe in Magic

The phrase, "I do believe in magic" was coined by J.M. Barrie when he wrote Peter Pan. However, Barrie never thought how real that phrase would come to play in one particular girl's life.

Avolena Marie McDowell was born on April 9, 1977, to Samuel and Marie McDowell. The couple never once thought that their daughter's love of Peter Pan and other fairy tales would influence the kind of person she grew up to be. Mr. and Mrs. McDowell also never thought that magic was real.

That is why the family got the surprise of their life eleven years later. Just after Avolena's eleventh birthday, an odd-looking woman in a green dress (which they came to find out were actually "robes") and spectacles came and visited them.

She introduced herself as Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Professor McGonagall spent the better part of the afternoon explaining the wizarding world to the McDowells.

She explained that Lena was a witch and that all the "oddities" and "coincidences" that occurred were actually Lena's magic coming through (also known as accidental magic). Lena was told that she would be receiving lessons on how to control her powers at Hogwarts.

McGonagall also explained how the wizarding world worked. How it was run and what to expect over the next seven years (her parents were quite surprised that she would be "of age" at seventeen rather than eighteen). Upon completing her quick rundown of the ins and outs of the wizarding world, Professor McGonagall offered to take the McDowell family to Diagon Alley and give them an in-depth course on how to shop for a Hogwarts student.

Needless to say that the McDowells were fascinated by the wizarding world. They took everything in like they were starving, and McGonagall was holding a five-course meal.

Throughout her time at Hogwarts, Lena managed to meet some interesting people. She was sorted into Gryffindor, the house of courage, chivalry, and determination. During her first year, she grew quite close to a group of red-headed brothers—all older than her, mind you.

They taught her the ins and outs of Hogwarts. How to survive in a world that, up until five months ago, she thought was all make-believe. Lena would always say that she owed so much to the Weasley brothers.

First, there was Percy. He was in his second year and seemed to be the most bookish of all his brothers (and, as Lena came to find out, it really was all his brothers). Percy was her go-to study partner and the one that answered all her academic questions. Being the third oldest, Lena always figured that Percy had a classic case of "middle child syndrome," which only came out once his younger brothers joined Hogwarts.

Next, there was Charlie. He was a fourth year with a love for any creature that walked, swam, or flew. Dragons were high on his list of favorites, and he always mentioned he wanted to go to Romania and work with them at a sanctuary. Charlie was the Weasley that got Lena into the most mischief. Lena eventually realized that Charlie was the preparation for the twins that came the following year. Charlie was also the one that was the most tender of the brothers.

The last Weasley that she met during her first year was Bill. However, Bill was a seventh year—and head boy—so he didn't spend a whole lot of time with her. Lena always cherished the time that was spent together. So much so that Charlie and the twins often teased her for her "crush" on their brother.

Fred and George Weasley, as previously stated, joined Hogwarts during Lena's second year. They quickly became the little brother's she never had and never wanted. The twins liked to prank, and their favorite subject was Lena herself. However, she quickly learned (and was encouraged by Charlie) that the best way to deal with them was to prank back.

When Lena was a fourth year, Hogwarts changed. Whether for the better or, the worse is still being debated by the wizarding world today. This was the year that Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, and Hermione Granger came to Hogwarts.

One could argue that Ron and Hermione's presence wasn't nearly as significant as Harry's. Still, the three had formed the "Golden Trio," and it'd be hard to separate the three, even today.

In Harry's first three years at Hogwarts, he had to fight off a homicidal teacher. Then battle an ancient wizard trying to take over the world—again—by his old diary (poor Ginny Weasley). Finally, he had to try not to be murdered by his godfather, who escaped from Azkaban.

And this is where our story begins; seven years after entering Hogwarts, Lena is now in her seventh year. Hogwarts has hinted in their letters that something was happening that year, but no one was sure what.

One thing that everyone was sure of was that this year was going to change the lives in the wizarding world as they knew it. As right as they were, they were all very wrong about just how this change was going to happen. And it all started in the summer of 1994, at the Quidditch World Cup.