SUMMARY: First of Granger Witch Trials series; A few short days before her 11th birthday, Ophelia Granger recieves a letter and a visit from a teacher from a magical school. This changes everything. Slowburn Sirius/OC; Marauders ERA
YEAR ONE, CHAPTER ONE: MCGONAGALL
On June 29th, Ophelia Marie Granger recieved a letter from a magical school. Now, Ophelia had always been a logical girl, so this came as a very strange thing to her. At first, she believed it was a prank from a neighborhood boy but then she remembered the strange things that seemed to happen around her. Books floated to her when she wanted them and once when she was young, her toys came to life. So she studied the letter, studying the strange books she needed.
And then, exactly on her birthday on July 4th, there came a knock on the door and suddenly there was a very tall and very stern middle aged woman wearing strange emerald green robes and logical glasses over her eyes.
"May I help you?" Ophelia's mother, Juliet, asked politely. Behind her was Daniel Granger, a confused frown on his lips. And behind Daniel was Ophelia, peeking behind square silver framed glasses and her younger sister, Miranda.
"Hello, Mrs. Granger." The woman greeted. "My name is Minevra Mcgonagall. I'm a representive of Hogwarts. May I come in?"
With an uneasy smile, Juliet allowed the woman inside and the family took seats in the living room. Juliet and Daniel kept the two young girls trapped between them, wary brown eyes watching the woman.
"You have to admit.." Daniel began, placing a protective hand on Ophelia's shoulder. "It's a little hard to believe."
"I understand, Mr. Granger," Professor Mcgonagall agreed. "But I assure you that it's true. I came from a magical world that your daughter happens to belong to as well."
At the disbelieving look on both of the elder Granger's faces, the professor stood with a flourish, pulled a long and thin stick from her sleeve and with a tiny smile, turned their coffee table into an oinking pig.
"It's a pig, Mum!" Miranda said gleefully.
"Oh my," Juliet said in shock. With a quick wave, Mcgonagall turned the pig back to a coffee table and smiled at them.
"Will I be able to do that?" Ophelia said in awe.
"And more," Mcgonagall said reassuringly. "But only with your parent's consent." Three sets of eyes turned to the elder Grangers and Daniel sighed deeply.
"How can I say no to you?" He asked Ophelia.
It took a few moments for Ophelia to get dressed, slip on a pair of walking shoes, and took some spending money from her mother, and then she and the professor were off. They traveled throughout London until they made it to a greasy-looking bar called "The Leaky Cauldron". A few patrons called out hellos to Mcgonagall but she rushed Ophelia through the bar and to a lone brick wall behind it.
"It's a wall," Ophelia informed the professor.
"That it is, Miss Granger." Mcgonagall said in amusement.
"Just Ophelia, please." Ophelia said, eyes narrowing in concentration as the elder witch's wand tapped on different bricks. Both took a step back as the wall began to twist and turn until it became an open doorway into a bustling courtyard filled with strange people in different colored robes and strange magical shops and at the very end of the alley was a pristine white building.
"This is amazing," Ophelia whispered. "Is that boy floating?" Sure enough, down the street an older man was laughing while he levitated a wild haired boy around her age.
Mcgonagall pursed her lips and shook her head. "So it seems. Come along, Ophelia. We must go to Gringotts first."
"Gringotts?" Ophelia asked, hurrying along to keep up with her long strides. "Is that a shop? Does it sell wands? Or - or cauldrons or brooms?"
"It's a bank," Mcgonagall said in amusement, smiling warmly towards the excited bushy haired girl. "We'll have to pull some galleons out from the Hogwarts vault," Ophelia briefly remembered the professor talking about payment for Ophelia with her parents, "And then we'll start shopping. Robes I think first and then your books and other things. We'll have to transfer your money as well."
"So what is Hogwarts like, Professor?' Ophelia asked as they pushed past two redhaired boys pointing at a fancy broom.
"It's a castle, very beautiful and strange too." Mcgonagall said, a fond look on her face. "The staircases move and the paintings talk."
"The paintings?" Ophelia asked with wide eyes.
"Oh yes." Mcgonagall said, pausing to glance at the book store before continuing. "There are four houses you may be sorted into: Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. I am the head of Gryffindor."
"How do you get sorted?" Ophelia wondered.
"I can't tell you exactly how but it is personality based." Mcgonagall replied. "Gryffindor is known for bravery, Hufflepuff for loyalty, Slytherin for cunning and Ravenclaw for intelligence. Hello," Her nod was towards a grumpy looking...thing standing at the entrance.
"What was that?" Ophelia whispered as they passed it and she saw multiple creatures alike it walking around.
"A goblin," Mcgonagall said, her look turning stern. "Be very quiet, Ophelia. We don't want to offend them." Ophelia's mouth clamped shut as they approached a goblin behind a very large and high desk.
"Hello," Mcgonagall said sternly. "Minevra Mcgonagall representing Hogwarts."
"Key?" The goblin sneered.
Mcgonagall's hand disppeared into her pocket and returned with a very delicate golden key. The goblin took it and examined it carefully before nodding towards another goblin. "Follow Ripclaw." He said dismissively, handing the key back.
"Come along, Ophelia." Mcgonagall said quietly, a warm hand on her shoulder as she lead the young girl towards the goblin.
Twenty minutes later, they left Gringotts with Ophelia feeling excited about the cart ride and dragon sighting she swore she saw and Mcgonagall feeling sick and looking quite green. They approached the robe shop and Mcgonagall hustled her inside.
"I'll go fetch your books and things," The older woman said tiredly. "When I come back we'll go on and get your wand, alright?"
"Yes, ma'am." Ophelia said politely before walking inside, trying to hide her flushed cheeks and the bright smile.
The store was quieter than the rest of Diagon Alley and a very pretty plump young lady smiled as Ophelia walked in. "Hogwarts, hon?"
"Yes, ma'am." Ophelia replied.
"Go on inside, dear," The woman said, nodding towards an open door towards the right. "There's a boy in there. Off to Hogwarts as well," A nervous bubble formed in her stomach like a pit as she walked in and saw the wild haired boy from the street being measured by levitating tape.
"Oh hello!" He said brightly as she took the stand next to him and watched tape shoot from the table and begin to measure her body. "James Potter," He introduced himself. "Are you a first year too?"
"Yes," Ophelia said with a grin. "It's so exciting. I can't wait to read all my books."
"Muggleborn, I'm guessing?" James asked.
"Yeah," She said, remembering the terms that the professor had told her on the way to the alley. "Are you...not?"
"Pureblood," James shrugged. "Never been to the muggle world. Is it pretty different?"
"I'll say," Ophelia said. "Oh! I'm Ophelia, Ophelia Granger."
"Lia it is," James declared with a wide grin. "Has anyone told you about the houses? I'm going to be a Gryffindor. All Potters are."
"I'd like to be in that house too, or Ravenclaw. That wouldn't be so bad." Ophelia said, a small smile on her lips.
"Book smarts isn't really my thing." James said. The measuring tape floated away from James. "My time's up, I suppose. I'll look for you on the train, alright?"
"Alright," Ophelia agreed. "Bye, James!"
"Goodbye, Lia!" James said with a cheerful wave. She heard him walk to the main room and give a cheerful goodbye to the woman at the front desk.
Ophelia couldn't help the cheesy grin that was on her face or the way her pale cheeks flushed in excitement. Her very first friend! This meant she wouldn't ride alone on the train and that she might not be alone in Hogwarts. It was a very exciting idea and she very much hoped that both of them would be Gryffindors.
"Alright in here?" The woman from before asked. She had walked in whilst Ophelia was daydreaming of Hogwarts and everything she'd learn there, to Ophelia's embarrassment.
"Yes, ma'am." She said, noticing the absense of floating tape. "Am I all done?"
"Yes," The woman said, a smile twitching on her lips. "I've already spoken with Minevra. She's waiting for you," She motioned to the first room. "All of your robes and things will be sent to your home."
"Oh, thank you!" Ophelia said gleefully. "I really appreciate it, ma'am."
"Oh, dear," The woman chuckled. "Just Olena is fine. I'm sure I'll see you next year." Ophelia waved to Olena and made her way out to the first room where Professor Mcgonagall, or Minevra as Olena had called her, was waiting with a very large cage. Inside was a lovely little brown and grey kitten with large silvery eyes.
"A kitten!" Ophelia gasped, rushing to the teacher.
"A gift from your parents," Mcgonagall said in amusement. "I have her treats and such sent to your home. They should arrive before I bring you back."
"Oh thank you, professor!" Ophelia said, poking her finger in the cage hole. The kitten meowed and licked her finger. "I think I'll name her...Minnie." A sneaky grin was pointed towards Mcgonagall and the woman simply gave a sigh and smiled.
"Come along then," Mcgonagall said primly. "All that's left is your wand. After that, we'll get dinner at the Cauldron."
"Ok," Ophelia agreed. She took the cage, happily reaching in to pet Minnie, "I think I made a friend. There was another boy getting fitted. His name was James Potter."
"Ah, James," Mcgonagall chuckled. "I was good friends with his mother when I was a student. She was a brilliant student. Ravenclaw was better with her."
"He said he'd look for me on the train," Ophelia chirped, smiling as they weaved through the crowd of busy witches and wizards towards an old looking shop. "Ollivanders?"
"The only place to get a wand," Mcgonagall said in amusement. "Go on. I'll keep an eye on Minnie."
"Ok, thank you." Ophelia said, happily trading her kitten for a small bag of galleons.
"I'll be right here," Mcgonagall assured the girl. Ophelia nodded and walked into the shop.
Ollivanders was big enough she supposed and was covered on the floor, counter and walls with stray papers and lean boxes.
"Hello?" She called. Before she could call again, she heard a noise in the back and then a small, old man appeared at the counter. He wore muggle-style clothing and nothing covering his very bald head, and his eyes were round and moon-like.
"Ah, another Hogwarts student," The man said softly.
"Hello, sir," Ophelia said with a smile. "I'm here for my wand,"
"Oh yes." The man, presumably Mr. Ollivander, said with a small chuckle. "I'm aware, miss." He walked forward until he was so close to Ophelia that she could see the pure white nose hairs he had. "Many things call a witch," He murmured.
"I'm sorry?" Ophelia said in bewilderment.
He whipped around, the long tails of his shirt hitting her, and strode towards a tower of boxes, muttering to himself. "No, no, no, maybe? No, not that one. Where...? Aha! Here we are," He turned back to her with a long brown box. "13 1/4 inch, beech with a unicorn hair core." He offered her a long, twisted sort of wand and she took it.
Ophelia took a deep breath and waved the long wand. Silver sparks shot out of her wand and hit two lanterns on the way. The lanterns crashed against the wall and shook angrily.
"I suppose not," Ollivander mused, taking the wand back. He went to the wall and began muttering again before pulling yet another wand box from the wall. "12 1/2 inch, elm with the core of a dragon heartstring."
Ophelia took the second wand, uncertainty in her eyes and waved it again. This time ocean blue sparks flew from the wand and hit two stacks of wands, sending them cluttering to the wand. She hurriedly handed the wand back.
Ten minutes later, Ophelia was still trying out wands and thinking that she was never going to find a wand that would fit her. Finally, Ollivander disappeared in the back and returned with a white box.
"Perhaps, this one," He mused softly. "14 1/3, apple with the core of a dragon heartstring." He offered a very pale yellow wand with distinct markings on the base of it.
Ophelia took it and felt a rush of some sort of power in her blood. Feeling much more confident than she had with any other wand she had tried out, she waved the wand. A rush of scarlet and silver sparks flew from her wand, twisting through the air like some sort of imitation fireworks.
"A perfect match," Ollivander said with some satisfaction. "That will be seven galleons."