Love, Sophia (Luna)
Chapter Two: London
Stella Minor stepped off the Knight Bus and came face to face with her new home.
"What do you think?" Her mother had come up behind her. "It's the house I grew up in."
Before Stella could think of something to say, a pale elderly man with jet-black hair appeared behind the screen door.
"Margaret? Is that you?" The old man opened the door with a smile. "I haven't seen you in so long! Is this Quinn?" He gestured towards Stella. Stella blushed.
"No, this one is Stella, Papa," Stella's mother said as she hugged her father. "She takes after her grandmother," she added with a meaningful look.
Stella was confused. "What do you mean?"
Stella's mother paused. Finally, she said, "You look exactly like her, love." She gestured for backup. "Doesn't she, Papa?"
The old man was quicker. "She does--like an angel." He pulled Stella into a tight hug. Despite the fact that she knew he was hiding something coupled with the fact that she had never met him, Stella felt that they would be friends.
Before Stella could press further, her grandpa said, "Where is Quinn?"
Her mother took that as an opportunity to change the subject and Stella felt herself pulled into the kitchen. She was not fooled by their act, but she knew she would have to wait to find out. Perhaps she'd grill them after dinner when they were tired and less alert.
* * *
Harry Potter woke up with a start. He had dreamt that he was back at Hogwarts. But, as he reminded himself grimly, it would be a week before his dream came true.
Although it was three in the morning, Harry was not tired. He got up and dressed silently, knowing he would be dead if he dared wake up the Dursleys during their peaceful slumber. It hadn't been a peaceful slumber for him, though, what with Dudley's constant snoring next door.
Harry went to his wardrobe mirror and tried to tidy his hair a bit. He knew it would not work before he started, but he felt that it was worth a try.
He pressed his bangs down over his thin, lightning-shaped scar, trying to conceal it. He was starting to loathe the prospect of going outside and being started at by wizards and muggles alike because of it. Wizards stared because the scar was a symbol of his surviving the curse of Lord Voldemort. Muggles stared because, well, he had a bolt of lightning on his forehead.
As Harry started a Potions essay, the one he had put off doing for the entire summer, his thoughts drifted back to his dream. He realized, with some confusion, that there had been a unicorn in it. Harry reluctantly remembered the first time he had seen one. It had been his first year at Hogwarts and he had been serving detention with Draco Malfoy in the Forbidden Forest. The unicorn had been dead; it was the most beautiful yet horrifying thing Harry had ever seen. Now Harry was thinking about two things he did not want to think about: the dead unicorn (whose blood Lord Voldemort's assistant had been drinking) and Malfoy. But, Harry reminded himself with a chuckle, Malfoy had run off screaming like there was no tomorrow at the sight of it.
Harry checked his calendar. He crossed off another day; there were only six more until September the first and four more until he could leave the Dursley's for Diagon Alley.
* * *
Stella sat back in her chair. Dinner had been excellent; now she knew where her mother had become such a great cook.
She, her mother and her grandfather had made plans to go to an all-magic street called Daigon Alley tomorrow to pick up her school things.
Stella had a wand, but all her other things had to be new. She couldn't wear her Maroon Melbourne Academy of Magic robes at Hogwarts, and even the books Hogwarts used were different from the ones at MAM.
Her grandfather had also promised to get her a "Welcome to England" present, and Stella was hoping for a new broomstick. She had inherited her father's old Swiftstick, and she felt bad about giving up Dad's old broom, but the Swiftstick got slower as it went higher up the air. She couldn't completely get rid of it though. It had been signed by all seven members of the Woollongong Warriors when they won Quidditch Australia, the largest yearly Quidditch event on the continent, four years ago.
When Mother and Grandfather paused in their discussion of quick chicken recipies, Stella took advantage of the opportunity to interrupt:
"All right then," she said, looking at them. "What is it that I have in common with Grandma exactly, and why is it so important that you hide it from me?"
* * *