A/N: Alright, this is the very last time this story will be revised before I write a new chapter. Much love to my new beta reader, Jaqueline, without whom I'd never have gotten interested in this fic again.

There may be fewer chapters now, but the story is a little bit longer than it was before.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Amy and her family, and Claudia and whatever family I introduce to this story, were created by me, as was this story line.

Claimer: If you don't leave a review, I'll eat your liver.

~

Amy Blake was a seemingly ordinary girl. She went to school. When she wasn't at school, she would usually be found reading a book or doing homework or chores. Nothing very exciting really happened to her.

Of course, there was the time when she caught that Dursley kid's hair on fire when he was chasing her in school. And there was also the time where she somehow ended up hanging off of the basketball hoop of the park while being chased by a dog. Amy seemed to get chased a lot.

But then, Amy couldn't help it. Somehow, bullies were drawn to short, scrawny little people such as herself. There was really only one person that she knew that seemed to get chased more than she did. He was a little taller than she was. He was also somehow skinnier than her. This boy had dark hair that seemed to stick out in all directions and bright, green eyes. None of this was really peculiar. No, the only really strange thing about this boy was that he had a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. Amy didn't know his name, but she did sort of pity him. The Dursley boy and his gang of idiots always seemed to pick on this boy more than the rest of the kids.

Amy's home life wasn't much better, either. Since she was the oldest of eight kids, she was expected to keep them out of trouble, make sure everything around their small house was tidy, plus keep her good marks in school. It was almost enough to make a preacher lose his religion!

But all this changed the summer Amy turned eleven. Her parents were both at work and most of her siblings were at church camp, so she had only her baby sister, Brittany, to look after. Amy had just finished putting her sister down for a nap and sat down with a book when a large snowy owl swooped in the window, dropped a letter in her lap, and flew back out again.

"What's this," she asked herself, peering at the envelope. It was made of what looked like handmade paper and was sealed with a sort of coat of arms which had a badger, a raven, a lion, and a snake. Looking at the front, she saw the address, written in green ink:

Miss. A. Blake

5 Magnolia Crescent

The Den

Little Whinging

Surrey

Amy stared at the envelope. Who were these people? And how did they know where she slept? Curious, Amy opened the envelope. Inside, she found the same homemade paper, and the letter which was written on the paper had the same green ink as the envelope. It read:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of

WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

~

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,

Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Miss Blake,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed the list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins September first; train leaves August thirtieth from King's Cross station, platform nine and three-quarters at eleven o'clock. We await your owl by no later than July thirty-first.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,

Deputy Headmistress

Amy gawked at the letter for a moment, and then looked in the envelope for the supplies list. Sure enough, it was there. Deciding to wait until later to look it over, she carefully folded the letter and placed it back in the envelope. Opening her book, Amy waited for her mother to get home, no longer the ordinary girl she thought herself to be.

~~~~~

When her mother came home with her siblings in tow, Amy didn't mention the strange events that had happened earlier. Instead, she had decided that she'd wait until her father was home and everything was settled down before she would say anything. Instead, Amy put away the groceries and began work on dinner, every now and then glancing to see what progress the clock was making in its inch-by-inch crawl to the six o'clock mark.

Finally, as she was placing the last plate on the table, Amy's father walked in. As an executive at Grunnings, a drill company, her father earned enough money to support his large family. And although he didn't look it, he was a very happy person.

When first meeting him, one might think Amy's father to be a man to avoid if they didn't want trouble. Although these assumptions were not unfounded, they couldn't be more wrong. Mister Blake was just south of seven feet in height, with broad shoulders and some muscles that would make Superman run away in fright. He, like Amy, had light brown hair and stormy grey eyes. However unlike Amy, his eyes were always laughing at some inner joke. The reason behind people's fear of him was beyond his comprehension.

The appearance of the girl's mother could not have been any more different. Mrs. Blake was short with long black hair and sharp dark brown eyes that matched her temperament at times. But she was a woman with a soft heart, and more than willing to sacrifice her own welfare for that of her children.

When Mr. Blake came in, he went straight over and sat down at the table, leaving a large paper bag by the door. The children knew better not to enquire about this, for if it was a present, they wouldn't receive it.

"Hi, Daddy," Amy said with a smile. "Long day?"

The man smiled. "You don't know the half of it." Then, as Amy served everyone, he said a simple, "Thanks, dear," then began eating a bit of salad as Amy sat and served herself.

"So what happened at work," Amy asked, trying to keep her curious mind away from the package, lest she spoil it for her siblings.

"Oh, Dursley was just being a pain, that's all," he replied. "How about you?"

"Everything's good. Actually, something peculiar happened this afternoon..."

Suddenly, everyone's attention was on her. Something interesting? Happening to this family? It seemed too good to be true!

"Well? Out with it," said her mother, in a rare fit of curious enthusiasm.

"Er... right. Well, after I put Brittany down for her nap, I sat down with a book as usual. Then this owl flew in the window and dropped a letter in my lap. Then it flew away." Her father's eyebrows shot so far up that they almost disappeared into his hair.

Her father, now a little amused, said, "May I see the letter?"

"Uh... Sure," Amy replied, handing it over.

After scanning the letter quickly and a fast glance at the supplies list, Mr. Blake said , "Well, that's good. This means that my old school things won't take up any space." He then gave the letter to her mother to look over.

Meanwhile, the younger Blake kids were looking confused. Amy didn't understand any better.

"Dad, what do you mean your old school things? What's this all about?"

"Oh, that. Well, you see that bag by the door? Amy nodded well, grab it."

Now extremely curious, Amy stood and went to grab the bag, then set it on the floor by her father and sat down.

Her father reached into the bag and started taking things out. Once the bag was empty, there was a pile of all kinds of things on the table, including several books, little bottles of what looked like ink, and quite a few feathers.

"Does this mean I can go?" asked Amy, her eyes wide with excitement.

"Yes. You can go."

~~~~~

Over the next few days, Amy was very busy. She didn't have to be, but thought it necessary, as she knew nothing about the world she was readying herself to enter. She had her father send the letter saying that she would attend, and they were going to take a trip to London soon to get a few things. Amy really hoped that everyone would be okay without her there to do everything, since she was usually the one they counted on. But she was also wondering something else.

"How come you never told us you were a wizard, Daddy?" She asked him.

"Your mother and I wanted you to have a normal life, that's all," was his vague response.

Amy didn't really understand, but satisfied herself with a simple, "Oh."

Then came the day when she and her father would go to London. She wondered how she would get robes and a wand there, but she didn't ask questions. That would spoil the fun.

The two walked along until they came upon a grubby pub with a sign that said, "The Leaky Cauldron". Seeing that there was a lot of commotion going on inside, Amy and her father went straight to the back.

"What are we doing here, Dad?" She asked her father, who was counting bricks. She didn't have to wonder for long, however, because her father had found the brick and was now tapping it with a stick.

"This," he said, leading her through the doorway that had appeared.

As Amy stepped through, she was in awe. Now she knew where she would get everything. There were people in what she supposed were robes walking around, buying things that Amy had never seen before.

"Wait here," said her father as he went inside a big building whose sign read "Gringotts Bank." While waiting, she saw a huge man and the green- eyed boy from school.

"Hi!" She exclaimed while they entered.

"Er. Hi." said the boy, following the huge man in.

Just as Amy was wondering why the boy was in such a hurry, her father came out looking slightly ill. He handed her a heavy bag of coins and then lead her off to a shop called Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, where she was measured, and soon paid for and walked out with three black robes.

Next, they went to Ollivander's Wands, where she was once again measured. Then, Mr. Ollivander stood and asked her,

"Which is your wand hand?"

Amy looked at her father, confused.

"Her left hand," her father replied for her.

"Alright."

Then the old man handed her a wand.

"Holly, sixteen inches, with unicorn hair core. Good for charms. Now give it a wave."

Amy waved the wand, and suddenly her whole self was filled with warmth. Mr. Ollivander raised an eyebrow, but said nothing as Amy paid for it and walked out.

When they got home, Amy immediately put her things in her room and, tired from the trip, went straight to bed. In a week, she would be leaving for school. Only dreams of fun and friends invaded her mind that night as she slept.