The sun was high and hot beating down on Petunia as she lay outside in the soft grass of her back yard. She was trying to read – a Nancy Drew book, she liked Nancy Drew – when she felt a spatter of cold water from the direction of the house.

"Lily!" She shouted. "Lily put the hose down, Lily, you'll soak my book!"

"Come on, Petty, I want you to play with me!"

"No, Lily, not now, I'm reading, go find a book and read, yourself. It'll make you smarter."

"Hey, I am smart!" Lily stuck her tongue out in a decidedly unattractive fashion.

"Yeah, for an immature little nine year old…" muttered Petunia. "No. I'll tell Mum if you don't leave off."

Lily, looking rejected and hurt, went back inside the house.

Well, she doesn't have to be so…annoying. Thought Petunia. She felt a little twinge of guilt at making her younger sister feel unwanted. I'll play with her later. She probably wants to pretend to be a Unicorn tamer again. She rolled her eyes. Unicorns. Everyone knew they didn't exist outside of storybooks.

She settled in to the shade of a nearby tree to finish reading. If she had stayed in the sunlight of the yard, she would have seen the shadow of a large barn owl swooping overhead. It sat on a branch, staring down at her unblinkingly, for a few minutes. Finally, it dropped a letter on her head.

She screamed and jumped sideways, flinging the letter off to the side. She looked as though it might bite her. This was normal behavior for an eleven year old girl who was at a pivotal spot in her Nancy Drew mystery novel, however. Presently, she came to herself, and bent down to pick up the heavy-looking letter.

The owl had already gone.

Why was an owl carrying a letter?! She thought in disbelief. It had just ocurred to her that an owl dropping a letter on her head was not normal. It must be trained. It's probably someone's practical joke. Or it's for someone else, and the owl dropped it on me by mistake.

The letter had a large crest, bearing the letter H and an eagle, a lion, a badger, and a snake. The writing on the front said, "Miss Petunia Evans" in bold, green ink.

Amazed, Petunia sat down to open it.

"Petunia? Pet! Pet, were you mean to your sister? Petunia, where are you?" Her mother's voice sounded form the back screen door. Her mother was a slim, pretty woman with strawberry-blonde hair, and hazel eyes.

"No, Mum, I told Lily not to soak my book, she had the hose!" Petuniea called back.

"Well, where are you?"

"Under the tree…"

"Are you still reading?"

Well, I am reading the letter, "Yes, Mum! And when I'm done I promise I'll play with Lily!"

"Good girl."

She heard the screen door twang shut.

Taking a deep breath, though she didn't know why she was nervous, she opened the letter.