A.N.: Don't own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling does. Don't sue as you'll only get around $10 and some fuzzy blue slippers.

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Faith stared, dumbfounded, at the Professor. She didn't have brothers! Only cousins!

"How could this be?!?"

"I'm not entirely sure, yet. But it is. Harry is your brother. I know this is a lot to take in, but I do have some other matters to discuss." He waited for a nod from her to indicate she wasn't in a coma. "I am aware that you have finished school, and I also understand that you now work independently on producing potions, for the local magical population. And that you have your apparation license."

"Yes, sir." Faith had recovered enough to string small words together. At 16, you could apparate legally in America.

"Those are quite some accomplishments for any wizard or witch, much less a 16 year-old. Even though you have finished school, I was wondering if you would like to come to Hogwarts.

She didn't even need to think about it. "Of course, I would love to!"

"I would like to put you in 5th year, to be with your brother." She lit up at that. Faith was dying to meet her brother. Then, a sudden thought came to her.

"Sir, what if Harry doesn't like me. Doesn't want to be my brother. I mean, my father did kill his parents."

"I think that you need to give Harry a chance, explain that you are different than your father. Harry is a remarkable young man; he'll surprise you. As for school, think of this as a refresher course for your studies. I would like for you to come to Hogwarts tomorrow, to see the castle and explore a little if you like. Would that be all right?"

"Yes, of course."

"Good. I should be leaving now. I'll expect you at the gates to Hogwarts at 10:00 A.M. shall I? I trust you know how to get there?"

"Yes, sir! Thank you very much sir! I'll see you tomorrow."

Long after Dumbledore had left, Faith pondered what her life would be like with a brother, and if Harry would be ok with who her father is.

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She had never been outside of the U.S. before. When she got to Hogsmeade, it was like a muggle had wandered into town, because she kept pointing and staring at things. It took a lot of willpower for her not to stop at every shop she saw. In America, wizards had their own sports and the occasional game of exploding snap, but for candy and things like that; they just used muggle stuff. All these things were new to her; Chocolate Frogs, Blood Pops, Cockaroach Clusters, Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans, etc. and she wanted to try everything! She didn't have much money, but she could afford some candy. While she was overseas, Faith wanted to go to famous Diagon Alley, because she had a vault there that she'd never known about. Her father, among other things, had left her a key to a vault at Gringotts Wizard Bank.

Finally she reached the gates to Hogwarts. The castle was unlike anything she had ever seen, with its many different towers, and the vastness of the land it was on. Professor Dumbledore was waiting near a statue of a winged boar.

"Ah! Ms. Connors, did you have a nice stroll through Hogsmeade?"

"Uh... yes, sir. Sorry to keep you waiting," she looked embarrassed.

"Oh, think nothing of it. It gave me time to finish some thoughts. Shall we go up to the school then?"

They said nothing during most of the walk up to the school. Faith was grateful for this. She didn't exactly know what to say, plus she was busy taking in all the details of her surroundings. A thing her mother had taught her to do; 'Always be aware of your surroundings', she would say all the time. Faith was lost in the landscape when she noticed a huge, bulking shadow coming towards them. It was a giant man whose face was hidden in a mass of tangly black hair. Looking at him coming towards them like that started to make her nervous, but when she saw his eyes, something told her not to be scared.

"Good morning, Hagrid," Professor Dumbledore said as the giant man, apparently called Hagrid, reached them.

"Hullo there, Professor Dumbledore, sir! I was jus' on my way up ter your office. You said you wanted to speak to me, sir?"

"So I did. Hagrid, may I introduce you to Ms. Faith Connors. Ms. Connors, this is Rubeus Hagrid; he'll be your Care of Magical Creatures teacher."

"Oh! Very pleased to meet you Professor Hagrid!"

Hagrid swelled with pride at being called a professor. "Very nice to meet you to, but you can jus' call me Hagrid, Ms. Connors. Everybody does."

"And you can call me Faith, Hagrid. Everybody does," she smiled goofily as Hagrid chuckled lightly.

"Hagrid, I must talk with Ms. Connors at the moment. Could I possibly speak with you later?" Professor Dumbledore asked.

"O' course, sir. It was nice to meet you Faith. Good bye, Professor Dumbledore, sir!" he said as he started back toward a hut near a forest.

At last they made it to a stone gargoyle inside Hogwarts. The castle seemed so huge and confusing, but Faith, always aware of her surroundings, could remember exactly how they got there. They walked for a while turning down new hallways till finally they stopped in front of a statue. Professor Dumbledore said something to the statue and it opened to reveal a spiral staircase. It reminded Faith of a muggle escalator. At the top was a door with a gryffin for a knocker, which opened immediately as they got off the stairs. Dumbledore's office was large and full of interesting things. She didn't know where to look first, but keeping in mind her manners she didn't go and examine everything she could. Instead she sat down in front of the headmaster's desk and waited for him to begin.

Dumbledore sat down, cleared his throat and started speaking. "Now, as I said before, you will be in the same year as Harry, 5th year. You will take the same classes as him too, since you already know what will be taught, it should be easy for you. As you may know, we have 4 houses here at Hogwarts that we put our students in. They are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Each house is special in it's own right. I would like to have you be sorted at the start of term feast right after the new first years. No one knows really which house they'll be chosen for."

"Which one is Harry in, sir? What about my dad?"

"Harry is in Gryffindor. Your father was in Slytherin."

"But what if I don't get the same house as Harry"

"Well, we shall deal with that should the need arise. Regardless of which house you get sorted into, you will have your own room in the girl's dormitory. You are allowed to bring an owl, cat, or a toad with you if you wish. I've no doubt your classes will be informative, but since you have already graduated, you will be given special access to our restricted section in the library to further your studies. Do you have any questions?"

"Yes, sir. When is my brother's birthday? I know it's a little weird but I'd like to know."

"Of course. I believe his birthday is on July 31," he smiled gently at her.

"Thank you. Um, when will I meet him?"

"Oh, I suppose that would most likely be on the train to Hogwarts on September 1st. All you need to know is in this letter;" he handed Faith another yellowish parchment letter. "That's your letter of acceptance to Hogwarts. It has your school supply list, ticket to the Hogwarts Express, and instructions on where to go."

She took the letter, "Thank you Professor Dumbledore." She sensed that now would be a good time to leave, so she stood and crossed to the door.

"Would you be so kind as to stop by Hagrid's on you way? Tell him to come up in an hour please?"

"Certainly sir," she left.

The walk back through the castle was interesting; all those doors and passageways. Faith couldn't wait to explore everything, but reminded herself that she had a message to deliver, and rushed off towards the hut she had seen earlier. When she got there she noticed it looked kind of small for such a big person. As she knocked, Faith heard very loud barks coming from inside.

"Back, Fang! Who's there?"

"Uh... Its Faith Connors, sir? From before?"

The door opened, "Oh o'course, come in, come in." She walked in slowly. The hut had only one room, and it indeed looked small for Hagrid. A large black boarhound was sitting on the floor. He looked a little scary. "Would yeh like some tea?"

"Oh, no thank you sir," Faith didn't like tea. She suddenly realized that she would have to get used to English food if she was going to go to school here. "I just came to tell you that Professor Dumbledore would like you to come up to his office in about..." she checked her watch, "about 45 minutes now."

"Well, I'll make sure I do that," he said as he moved about his kitchen making tea for himself. "Professor Dumbledore probably has something important to tell me. See, Dumbledore trusts me with important stuff. Knows he can always count on me." Hagrid sat down at a small table, "sit down, sit down. So you're a new student are yeh? Don't think I've ever heard of a student starting Hogwarts after 1st year."

"Well, I'm not really 'starting' school right now. I've already graduated from the Salem Institute over in America."

"Oh, have ya? So you're from America eh?"

"Yes sir, Colorado."

"Well, don't know where that is, but the name sounds kinda nice. Mind telling' me why it is you're coming to Hogwarts after you've graduated an' all?"

"Professor Dumbledore kinda invited me to come study here. He's real cool isn't he?"

"Cool?" he laughed; "Professor Dumbledore is a great man."

"Yeah, he seems it." Faith sat there for a little bit looking around his hut.

"You stayin' in Hogsmeade today?"

"Oh, no sir. I'm just gonna stay for a little bit, explore the village a little. Check out the candy store."

"Well, make sure you get some butterbeer while your here. I don't think they have tha' in America, do they?"

"No, I don't believe so sir."

"Well, then you make sure you have some while yer here, all righ? I best be gettin' up to see Professor Dumbledore. I guess I'll see you when term starts eh?"

"Yes sir, I look forward to taking your class. I just love magical creatures! It was one of my favorite classes at my old school."

"Oh," Hagrid smiled, very pleased to have such an enthusiastic student. "Well then, it'll be good to have a student who knows their creatures."

"Yes sir."

"An' enough with that 'sir' stuff. I told yeh, it's just Hagrid."

"Yes sir, um, I mean Hagrid. Bye then," she waved and turned to go back down to the entrance gates, while Hagrid went up to speak to Dumbledore.