(***A.N. I do not own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling does. I do own my own OC Characters in this story. Please do not copy this story and claim it as your own.***)
Chapter 1: 8-Years Later
"IS IT HERE YET?!" I grilled, racing down the steps, bouncing-enthusiastically on the balls of my feet, dashing into the kitchen, and glancing eagerly at my aunt.
"No good morning Ella." Elaewyn mocked, sitting down at the kitchen table, drinking her cup of coffee, and amusement glimmered into her eyes, "How are you this morning, Ella."
"Good morning, Ella." I greeted, speaking fast, rolling my eyes good-naturally, and standing in front of her, "Did my letter come?"
Elaewyn Ziwick had gorgeous, long, wavy black hair. Her grey eyes gave her a mysterious-charm. She, Lily, Remus, Sirius, Peter, and James were best friends in Hogwarts. None of the other students saw any of them without the others following close behind. She and Mina may not be blood-related, but they treat each other like family anyways.
"It came early this morning." Elaewyn answered, grinning into her cup as she took a sip, rolling her eyes affectionately, slipping her hand into her night-robe pocket, tugging out an official envelope, and handing the envelope to Mina, "We'll be leaving for Diagon Alley once Lupin arrives."
I was too excited reading my letter to hear what my aunt was saying. I immediately ripped it open once she handed it to me.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WIYCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
HEADMASTER: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
Dear, Miss Potter,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You will find the list of all necessary books and equipment that you will need to purchase for the school year.
Term begins on September 1st. We await your owl no later than July 31st.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
After reading the 1st piece of paper, I quickly read the 2nd piece of paper
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WIYCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
UNIFORM:
1st-Year Students will require:
1) 3 sets of plain work robes (black)
2) 1 plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
3) 1 pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
4) 1 winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)
COURSE BOOKS
All students should have a copy of each of the following:
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling
A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble
OTHER EQUIPMENT
1 Wand
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set glass or crystal phials
1 telescope
1 set brass scale
Students may also bring an owl or a cat or a toad
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT 1ST-YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS
"Happy Birthday Mina." Elaewyn smiled, breaking me out of my daze, sliding a small present towards me, and watching me as I opened it, "Your father gave that to your mother in our 3rd year at Hogwarts. He used to joke about it protecting her when she needed it the most. Your uncle Lupin went through your parents' house and found it. He suggested giving it to you."
The present was a necklace with a Silver-Stag charm dangling in the middle.
"It's beautiful." I gasped, opening the present, widening my eyes, blinking back tears, sliding my hair away, letting Elaewyn snap the necklace on me, touching the stag, and hugging her, "I feel like a part of them is with me."
"You look so much like your mum." Elaewyn choked, running her finger through my hair, hugging me back, gently-pushing away, clearing her throat, smiling-warmly, and softly-shoving me towards the stairs, "Lupin should be here any minute. Go get changed."
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"HURRY UP, SLOWPOKES!" I chided, speeding ahead of Remus and Elaewyn, ecstatic-energy bouncing off me, wonder sparkled in my eyes, and darting my eyes around Diagon Alley.
"Calm down, Mina." Elaewyn chuckled, walking beside Remus, shaking her head good-naturally as she watched me take in all my surroundings, and raising an eyebrow up at Remus Lupin, "Were we this energetic when we came to get our things for the 1st time too?"
"We were worse." Remus chuckled, grabbing my shoulders, pointing a finger towards a book-shop, and smiling-fondly, "That was where your father saw your mom for the 1st time, Mina."
"Really?" I softly-uttered, my eyes following his finger, spotting Ollivander's Wand Shop, tugging his sleeve towards the shop, and pointing a finger towards the shop, "Let's get my wand first."
"Why don't you go into Magical Menagerie and pick out a pet while your aunt and I go get your books. If you get done before us, go into Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions." Remus suggested, ushering me towards the pet shop, and walking to Flourish and Blotts with Elaewyn beside him, "We'll save the best for last."
"Aww." I pouted, frowning, entering the shop, glancing at the animals, maneuvering through the crowd of people in the stores, shuffling towards the back, my eyes roaming over the Raven section, pausing on a particular raven, carefully-walking towards it, brushing the tips of my fingers against its wing, and smiling as it pressed it's head against the cage, I've never really thought about getting a raven.
"He likes you." the shopkeeper observed, appearing beside me, watching the raven interact with me, and smiling-warmly, "It's been a challenge to find this one an owner. Besides being small for a raven, he's quite picky. You're the only one he let touch him, everyone else he bites."
The raven was indeed small for its species. It was black with a blue-hue to its coloring.
"I think he's the perfect size. I'll take him." I declared, carrying the cage, walking out of the robe shop an hour later, crashing into to someone, falling onto the ground, the cage clanking against the cement, standing up, picking up the cage, turning towards the person I crashed into, and beginning to apologize, "I think I'll name you Midnight…OWW!"
"WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING, KLUTZ!" a snobby boy sneered, standing up, dusting himself off, glaring at me, darting his eyes towards Midnight, smirking, and laughing-loudly, "What is that thing? How perfect. Owner and pet are Midgets. HAHAHA!"
The boy I had crashed into has white-blonde hair and grey eyes. He was cute until he opened his big-fat mouth. Besides opening his mouth, he had an aura of self-entitlement that rubbed me the wrong way.
"At least I don't reek of hair-gel you snobbish-Prick." I bantered, glaring daggers at him, carrying the cage in my hand, walking past him, and shoving my shoulder against his as I walked past, "Come along, Midnight. Standing in this Arse's presence is making my Gag-Reflexes act up."
"HOW DARE YOU!" the boy fumed, grabbing my wrist, forcing me to face him, glaring at me, and trailing off when a man showed up beside him, "DON'T YOU KNOW WHO I AM?! MY FATHER IS…"
"Now Draco, your mother and I taught you better than this. Introduce your friend." the man drawled, scolding his son, appearing beside him, tapping Draco against his shoulder, staring at me, grabbing my wrist, and inspecting it for bruises, Her magic…she must be his twin.
"Kindly remove your greasy hands from my niece, Lucius." Elaewyn demanded, yanking me back into her side when he let me go, and glaring at him, "Let's go. We have better things to do than stand around with filth."
"We have very different definitions of filth, Elaewyn." Lucius taunted, smirking, and raising an eyebrow at her, "Have you heard anything from him lately? Pity they don't allow writing letters in Azkaban."
"YOU'RE GONNA WISH YOU WERE IN AZKABAN WHEN I'M THROUGH WITH YOU, YOU TROLLISH SLIMEBALL!" Elaewyn snarled, freezing in her tracks, turning around to face him, glaring-daggers at Lucius, and beginning to charge him only to have Remus put a hand on her shoulder.
"There you two are." Lupin smiled, appearing beside Elaewyn, placing a hand on her shoulder, glancing over at me, and nodding his head towards Ollivander's, "Mina, go on ahead to Ollivander's. Your aunt and I will catch up."
I wonder what that guy meant if my aunt heard anything from him? I thought, frowning in puzzlement, stepping into the wand-shop, glancing around in confusion, and calling out, "Hello?"
"Miss Potter." Garrick Ollivander smiled, popping his head out from around a shelf, grabbing a box of a shelf, and setting it in front of me, "12 inch Pear wood, with unicorn hair core. Give it a flick."
Lifting the light-blue wand in my hand, I swish the wand sideways. Quickly dropping it onto the counter when the overhead lightbulbs exploded.
"Nope." Garrick declared, grabbing another box off a shelf, bringing it over to me, setting it on the counter, and watching me as I picked up the wand, "11 and ½ inch Vine wood with dragon-heartstring core."
I picked up the white-wand and flicked my wrist. Immediately placing it on the counter when the glass jars shattered.
"Nope." Garrick exclaimed, climbing the ladder, grabbing a wand off the 2nd shelf, climbing down, and setting it in front of me, "13 and ¾ inch Rowan wood with unicorn hair core."
I picked up the sleek red wand and flicked it sideways. Setting it back down once the wooden-counter started splintering.
"Tough customer like your brother." Garrick chuckled, climbing up the ladder, grabbing a box off the 5th shelf, pausing briefly in contemplation, stepping down off the ladder, and sliding the box towards me, "12 and 2/3 inches. Blackthorn wood with a phoenix feather core."
I hesitantly lifted up the black, smooth, and thin wand. Instantly, blue-flames wrapped-protectively around me.
"Interesting. Blackthorn wands are normally thick and have a dragon-heartstring core. Your's is the only one that's thin and has a phoenix-feather core. These types of wands are for warriors." Garrick mused, lifting the wand out of my hands, placing it back into the box, wrapping the box, handing the box to me, and smiling-mysteriously at me, "It's been sitting in my shop for quite a while now; waiting for its rightful owner. You, my dear, are its chosen warrior. There's a legend about your wand that goes quite a ways back into the past. The legends goes that a pair of twins will be born with an incredibly-powerful level of magic the likes of which the Wizarding World has never seen before. Only the one with the dark-wand is the true chosen-warrior."
"Thank you for the wand." I thanked, paying him, quickly exiting the shop, furrowing my eyebrows together in concentration, and being dragged along back to 12 Grimmauld Place by my aunt, Chosen-Warrior? I'm no warrior…
"THAT FOUL COCKROACH!" Elaewyn seethed, stomping on the pavement, Remus walking beside her, storming into the house, slamming the door shut behind her after Lupin and I trailed into the house after her, her face bright-red in anger, and charging into the kitchen, "HE ALWAYS BEEN A SLIMEBALL!"
"Why don't you go upstairs and start packing while I try to calm down your aunt?" Lupin suggested, smiling-warmly down at me, nodding his head towards the stairs, shuffling towards the kitchen, and unaware that I was listening, "Take a breath, Ella."
"THAT WHOLE FAMILY IS ROTTEN, REMUS!" Elaewyn fumed, rummaging through a cabinet, slamming a metal-frying-pan onto the stove, huffing in anger, whacking a slab of meat into the pan, and stirring-aggressively at the meat, "I DON'T WANT MINA ANYWHERE NEAR THAT…THAT…VILE SCUM!"
"I think Mina is old enough to figure out who she wants to surround herself with on her own, Ella." Lupin commented, speaking-softly, entering the kitchen, and pointing-out, "Besides, not everyone in that family is bad. Sirius came from that family and he was nothing like Lucius."
"Look how that turned out. He killed his best friend." Elaewyn clipped, stirring around the meat, freezing-momentarily when Lupin mentioned Sirius, going back to stirring, pouring some noodles into a black-pot, and gazing-intently into the pan, "You do well to never mention his name again, Remus."
"Sirius was James' best friend. They were closer to each other than any of us were. I just can't see Sirius betraying James and Lily like that." Remus stated, frowning in puzzlement, and sighing-sadly, "I think there's more to the story."
"He was raving like a lunatic, Remus." Elaewyn reminded-flatly, pouring some white-sauce into the pan, calling to me, rummaging through a cabinet, taking out a stack of plates, and motioning with her head for me to set the table when I came into the room, "Set the table for me will you, love? Supper is almost ready."
"Why go through the hassle of doing that when you can just use magic to set the table? Or better yet, have Kreacher do it." I pointed-out, entering the kitchen, grumbling-heavily, grabbing the stack of plates off the counter, placing them on the kitchen table, and sitting down, Who were they talking about? A guy named Sirius killed my parents?
"I don't understand why you two can't get along." Elaewyn chided, carrying the frying pan to the table, setting it down in the center, sitting down beside me, giving me a stern-look, and throwing a glare at Remus when he muttered something about someone else we know, "Because ladies should be taught table-manners. House-elves should be treated with respect."
"Maybe that's because Kreacher keeps calling Lupin a filthy half-breed." I mumbled, scooping some pasta onto my plate, forking some into my mouth, and grinning back at Lupin (who gave me a discreet smile).
"Keep it up, Young Lady." Elaewyn warned, catching the amused-look we gave each other, forking some pasta onto her plate, swallowing, and raising her eyebrow at me, "Did you pack your trunk?"
"Yes." I replied, eating my supper, and avoiding eye-contact with my aunt.
Later that Night
"You nervous for tomorrow?" Elaewyn asked, entering my room, padding towards my bed, sitting down on the edge of my bed, brushing my hair away from my face, and pursing her lips together, "Your uncle thinks differently, but I want you to keep your distance from Lucius's son, Mina."
"A little." I admitted, sitting up in my bed, scrunching my eyebrows together in confusion, and frowning-slightly, "Not that I would, but why don't you want me near him?"
"Remember when I told you about the man that…killed your parents?" Elaewyn explained, sighing-somberly, and swallowing when I nodded, "His name was Voldemort and he had a group of followers called Death Eaters. They believed in blood-purity. Where magic is strictly kept within witch and wizard families. They thought witches or wizards marrying muggle-born, non-magic folks, was a disgrace against the wizarding world. While they loathed half-breeds, witches/wizards with 1 magic parent and 1 muggle, they despised muggle-born witches/wizards with a passion. Voldemort decided to start a war against those they deemed inferior to them."
"Wasn't my mum a muggle-born witch?" I questioned, frowning-slightly, and listening to her story.
"An extraordinary one at that. Her jinx-spells were even better than those who had parents that were both witches and wizards." Elaewyn smirked, a fond-expression appeared on her face, a mischievous-glint flickered in her eyes, and clearing her throat, "Like in any war, there were 2 sides. Voldemort and his Death Eaters against a group of brave witches and wizards that believed that magic should be shared with everybody. Magic folks and muggles alike. Your parents were a part of this group. Myself and your Uncle included. Both sides suffered heavy losses. Towards the end of the war, something shifted the tide in our favor. Your parents didn't tell me all the details, but it was something to do with you and your brother. Whatever it was, Voldemort feared it. Your parents were forced into hiding with you and your brother."
"If Voldemort hated muggle-born witches/wizards and those with 1 muggle-born parent, then his Death Eaters were witches and wizards that married other witches and wizards." I reasoned, pursing my lips in concentration, and furrowing my eyebrows together, "I doubt there are that many pure-blood families left."
"Not all pure-blood families were on his side, but yeah, there's not that many left. Only 29 wizard families married other wizarding families. Those families are known as the Sacred 29." Elaewyn continued, smiling-proudly down at me, lying beside me, wrapping her arm around me, and running her finger through my hair, "Black, Lestrange, and Malfoy families were Voldemort's biggest supporters. Now do you understand why I want you to stay away from Lucius' son?"
"Malfoy's dad was a Death Eater?" I repeated, widening my eyes, scowling, and lifting my head up off my aunt's shoulder, "I'm not surprised. His snobbish-attitude was a dead giveaway."
"His father is the same way." Elaewyn chuckled, sitting up, and pressing me into her side, "Not all of the pure-blood families are bad, Mina. Your parents and I were actually great friends with the Weasley and Longbottom families. They were a few of the Pure-Blood families that fought alongside us. I think they each have sons the same age as you. If I remember correctly, they'll be going to Hogwarts for their 1st-year as well this year."
"Think I'll be able to become their friends, Ella?" I questioned, gazing up at her with hopeful-eyes, and resting my head against her shoulder with droopy-eyelids.
"A social butterfly like yourself? No problem." Elaewyn teased, getting up, sliding the covers up over me, kissing my forehead, walking-silently towards the door, resting her palm against the doorframe, smiling-fondly at my sleeping-form, closing the door shut behind her, and walking downstairs, "Get some sleep. You have a busy day tomorrow."
TO BE CONTINUED…