A/N: I do not own Harry Potter. This story is not mine entirely. I decided to fix up and finish one of my favorite fanfics that was incomplete due to abandoning the rewrite! The first 18 chapters belong to Mrs_Sirius_Black_4eva! I loved this story and she took down the first book to rewrite it, but then abandoned it. I will be rewriting all of the books!

Chapter One: The Letter

It was a muggy, hot July 21st in the year 1971. Even though the day was drawing to a close, it felt hotter than ever, the hottest day that Ducton, England had seen in over 3 decades. At Terri Park, only two eleven year old girls were left: a tall, pretty, and skinny brunette wearing a black and white striped one-piece swimsuit and black sandals; the other was about a head shorter, also pretty, with long, wavy, red hair, startling green eyes, and was wearing a white swimsuit and matching shoes. They were walking on Pacific drive toward the last two houses on the street, bordering the beaches by the Atlantic Ocean. "So, Rachel, are you planning on going to Ducton Junior High or Adams Junior High? My parents told me last night that they enrolled me at Ducton." asked Lily Evans, the red-headed girl. The other girl, Rachel, suddenly got an uncomfortable and guilty expression.

"I'm—" said Rachel, with a little hesitation. "I'm not going to either of them."
"So where are you going to go?" Shock was etched on Lily's face as she responded to this new bit of information.

"There's this really incredible school that my mom attended, and she really wants me to go there."

"What school is it? Maybe my parents will let me go there too."

For a moment, Rachel struggled to find the right words. "Lily, it's a very, very selective school. They actually choose you without you sending in an application. I'm so sorry, but if you were accepted, you should know by now." This response was met by a terribly cold and hostile silence from Lily. Unfortunately, whenever Rachel tried to attempt to talk to her best friend, she could never get a word out. They finally came upon their destination; two houses were standing next to each other: one was a two-story brick house with a colorful garden; the other was a white house with a large backyard, with a tree house in the tallest elm tree. "Lily?" Rachel said, with a worried look.

"I have to go, my parents will start to worry," said Lily coldly. Rachel heard the tone of her voice and decided not to push the subject, not wanting her best friend to become even angrier. Without another word, Lily started up the walkway to the white house. Feeling miserable, Rachel walked into her house and into the kitchen. It felt warm and comfortable. In the middle of the room was a table and her parents were occupying two of the six chairs. When she entered, they both looked up at her.

Her mother, in her late thirties, and looked so much like Rachel, smiled and said, "I was wondering when you were coming home. We wanted to wait with dinner until you got here."

"There's a letter waiting for you," her handsome father said. He too, was in his late thirties, with light brown hair, and dazzling blue eyes, which Rachel had happily inherited from him. At his words, she looked at the letter sitting on the table, had a feeling about what it was, and quickly grabbed it and opened it.

Ms. Rachel Delancy—

It is our pleasure to announce that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You will find a list of your supplies on this letter. The first day is on September 1st. The train leaves at 11:00am at King's Cross, Platform 9 ¾.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

There was another piece of parchment stuffed inside that contained a list of various books and other materials that would be needed to start the school career at Hogwarts. While Rachel had been reading this acceptance letter, she didn't even notice that her two younger sisters and older brother had entered the kitchen and took their places around the table. She snapped out of her non-observant state when all of them yelled, "Congratulations!" Rachel looked up at her brother, Thomas, who looked like her dad; her younger sister, Angela, who was very blonde and was only 4 years old; and her youngest sister, Danielle, who was also very blond and greatly resembled Rachel, and she was only 3 years old. They were all beaming at her and she happily returned the favor.

"We have a Hogwarts student in our family!" Tommy said enthusiastically. He attended the smaller wizarding school of Duffletown. Rachel's mother, Victoria, had also attended Hogwarts. Her father, David, was a Muggle (non-magic) so he never attended any wizarding school.

Danielle and Angela got up and hugged their sister simultaneously. "Go sit in your seats," she told them, and Tommy helped them into their chairs.

"Well, since Rachel is here and she's read her letter, we should probably have dinner since everyone here is hungry," said Victoria. Her suggestion elicited enthusiastic nods from the family. Before their eyes, a plate of cooked fish and a bowl of rice landed on the table, along with a jug of water. They toasted to Rachel and then had one of the most delicious meals Rachel had ever tasted. By the time they had all finished, all of them were thoroughly full. And with that, Victoria sent them all off to bed, saying that they had an early morning, for they were going shopping for Rachel's supplies.

That night, as Rachel failed multiple times to drift off to sleep, she sat in bed and contemplated her future at Hogwarts. It was known as the best Wizarding school in the country, some argued in the continent, and she felt many jolts of excitement in her stomach. She would make best friends whose friendship would last for years to come, she would learn more magic than she could ever imagine, and maybe she would meet her future husband there. But the one thing that disappointed her was that her closest friend that was like a sister would not be joining her in the countless adventures.

Morning came all too quickly for Rachel; her mother was waking her up just after it felt like she had fallen asleep. Of course, she had only fallen asleep about three hours ago. "Time to get up, Rachel."

"What time is it?" Rachel responded groggily.

"It's only 8:30, it's not even early." Victoria said, trying her best to stifle the laughter that had nearly burst out of her. "Come on, now. I want you ready to go in twenty minutes and meet us downstairs in the kitchen." And with that, she walked out of the room. Feeling slightly resentful, Rachel rolled out of bed and started to pick out her outfit and get ready. Once satisfied with how she looked, she made her way downstairs where her family was waiting for her.

"Okay, now that everyone's accounted for," David said, checking his watch, "we should probably get going. Vikki, how do you want to go? Should we drive?"

"It does take a little bit to get there, since it's by the northern side of London. Let's drive." Victoria answered, throwing David the keys. After they had piled into the midnight blue van and got Danielle into her car seat, David started the car, backed out of the driveway, and went off down the street. The drive towards the north end of London was smooth, since rush hour had been a couple of hours beforehand. David and Victoria sat in the front, talking about work, friends, and colleagues, as usual; Danielle and Angela were playing I Spy with Tommy; Rachel sat there, watching the streets and the people that were walking or meeting up with friends, trying to keep her patience. It was actually a halfway short trip, but Rachel was bursting with excitement, and wanted to get there immediately.

Thirty minutes later, they parked by a meter on Main Street in front of an older looking brick building. David put some money in the meter, and then the six of them started off down the sidewalk. "It's only a couple of blocks away," Victoria informed them, then added, "Tommy, will you please hold Danielle and Angela's hand when we get there?" He agreed with a nod and a smile as his sisters squealed with delight. In no time at all, they came upon an inn called The Leaky Cauldron, which looked a little shabby but comfortable nonetheless. They entered through the front doors and immediately turned left, toward the bar. Walking through the smoky and liquor smelling room, they came upon a back door, which they went through. There was a small alleyway, with a garbage can, and they were facing a brick wall. Victoria pulled out her wand, tapped a brick that was eye level, and suddenly the bricks began to twist and form an entrance. "Welcome to Diagon Alley!" It was the most incredible thing that Rachel had ever seen. There were many people walking along in groups, laughing and shopping, shops all around, when put together, probably sold everything a witch or wizard could ever need.

Taking out the list of supplies, Rachel said, "Where should we start?"

"Um," said Victoria, looking over Rachel's shoulder at the list. "Let's start with your wand, that's always fun. Ollivanders' is just up there, don't go anywhere else, he's the best wand-maker there is. I got my wand from him, and so did Tommy." Rachel had looked a little nervous when her future wand got brought up, but hearing about their experience with the wand-maker helped her relax a bit.

Though David had been in Diagon Alley before, he was still amazed by all of the magical stores and people around him. Rachel distinctly remembered the first time her father had seen the busiest part of the Wizarding World when they went to get Tommy's school supplies. He had been wide-eyed and filled with excitement the whole time. "This place is absolutely fantastic!" he had exclaimed enthusiastically. They walked a few steps past Quality Quidditch Supplies and entered a shop. It was a small shop, with large shelves, all filled with long, rectangular boxes, which contained different wands. "Hello?" David called out into the silence. An old, very short man, with thin silver hair on a rolling ladder came out from the shelves, climbed down, and faced them.

"Ah," he said, in a slow voice. "Mrs. Delancy, the former Miss Halverson; 10 inches, dragon heartstring and pine, correct?"

"Right on the money," Victoria responded with a smile on her face. "We need to buy my daughter, Rachel, her first wand." Ollivander walked behind the sales counter and beckoned Rachel to him.

"Which is your wand arm?" he asked.

"My right," Rachel responded, feeling slightly nervous. The man took out a tape measure, held it up to her arm, then recorded the measurement. Suddenly, the yellow measurer sped around various parts of her body in a rapid blur. With a small puff of smoke, it disappeared, and Ollivander disappeared behind a row of shelves.

"Wait there just one moment," he called out, causing a slight echo throughout the store. Moments later, Ollivander came out with a long, black box, and set it on the counter. He opened it up, took out a wand, and handed it to Rachel. As Rachel took hold of it, her whole body felt warm and comfortable, and it looked as though there was a glow around her. "Perfect!" Ollivander exclaimed, smiling at her. "9 ½ inches, oak and phoenix feather, good for charms and transfiguration. That will be ten galleons." Victoria stepped forward to the counter, took out her wallet, and handed him ten golden round coins.

"Have a nice day, Ollivander," called Victoria as they exited the store. Rachel crossed that item off the list.

"Where to next?" she asked.

About an hour later, they had bought all of Rachel's supplies, and they bought her a black and white owl, which Rachel named Pepper. She seemed to be a fairly decent owl, but she had a slight habit to go to the bathroom a lot. Still excited about the many magical school purchases, Rachel was extremely talkative on the car ride back, which slightly annoyed her siblings. It was obvious whenever she talked to them because they rolled their eyes and gave her short sentences. But nothing could dim the growing excitement that Rachel felt. After returning home, Rachel dumped all of her stuff in her room, ran down the stairs, and went to the pool down the street to look for Lily. Every day during the summer, no matter what, Lily went to the pool for the vast majority of the day. Sometimes it was with her parents, but most of the time with friends. She arrived in about two minutes, and looked at the many kids and adults who were using the pool to cool off, but Lily was nowhere to be found. Walking another block, she came upon a park that was deserted except for a swing which was occupied by a familiar redhead. Rachel ran towards it, wanting to make up with her best friend. "Lily?" Rachel asked hesitantly.

"Hi, Rachel." Lily responded, not looking up. Rachel took the red swing next to the blue swing that Lily was sitting on. Though the day was much cooler than yesterday, it was still quite hot outside, and the swing burned Rachel slightly. The light breeze made the swings creak slightly as the two girls sat there, in silence, looking at the ground. "Rach?" Lily finally looked up at her friend. Lily's emerald green eyes shone with worry. "Can you keep a secret?"

"Of course," said Rachel, getting a grin on her face and sounding more like herself.

"Last night, when I got home," Lily started, but then stopped. It was apparent that she was slightly nervous about revealing whatever it was that she was going to tell Rachel. "A man was there and, um, he told me that I was a-a . . . witch." Rachel looked at her friend in shock.