Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or places in this story, they are all the wonderful work of J.K. Rowling. The only character I own is Astra Liu.

Authors Note: Thanks for your review Your Worst Nightmare 13. I didn't describe Astra very well did I? I'll try to make her less of a Mary Sue. As for the bit about witches or wizards going to the school anyway, not all schools are like Hogwarts.

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An owl hooted in the distance. The silvery moonlight shone on a small clearing in front of Astra Liu. She shivered. Slowly, she heaved her bag into the middle of the clearing and sat down. She lay down and looked at the stars. They were beautiful. She had always been fascinated by the stars. Before she had left Australia, her Aunt Joan had said her eyes sparkled like the stars and her hair glistened in the moonlight. It had been her who had suggested the name Astra to Astra's parents.

Her parents, not caring less, had named her Astra. They probably couldn't be bothered thinking up their own name for her. She didn't have a middle name. When she was younger, she heard the other children telling each other their full names proudly. Astra had always felt so left out. Of course, she didn't mind now. She had hardly talked to anyone for three years.

A bat flew above her, bringing her back to her senses. She had to get to Hogwarts before morning. After all, she was nearly there. She stood up and picked up her back. Quietly, but briskly, she began to walk again.

Astra didn't count the hours as they went passed. She just plodded on, as she had been doing for months now. The difference between day and night didn't bother her. In fact, it made no difference whatsoever to Astra whether it was light or dark. She hadn't slept for days and when she did sleep it was during the day.

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Three years ago, on her twelfth birthday, she had left her parents. She had received a letter the year before, telling her she had been accepted at Radford Academy for the Magically Talented. In other words, she was a witch. Her parents were horrified and had refused to send her. She had begged them for the whole year, until she was fed up and left.

She didn't know where she was going. She was just going. She caught the next plane as far as she could from home, which happened to be Sicily, in Italy. There, she asked around and found out about some good magical schools. The best, they said, would have to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry but there were many others. Astra only wanted to learn from the best so she knew that was where she had to go.

It didn't take her very long to get to a city on the coast of Belgium, Calais. It was then that she realised she would have to cross water. Astra couldn't swim to save herself. It was 42 kilometers to the nearest point in England, Dover, and Astra had no idea how to get there. Until she saw a sign one night, about a ferry service that would take you from Calais to Dover. It was like a miracle. But her hopes faded when she saw the price. She could never afford it.

She slept on the streets that night. Actually, she tried to sleep, but couldn't. The next day she went back to the sign. She felt that if she stayed by it enough she would be able to figure out a way to earn enough money to get on that ferry. Then she had an idea. She headed straight to the docks. She stayed there for two nights, waiting for the next ferry. Finally it came. There were many excited tourists, gabbling away in a foreign language. Astra didn't know how she did it, but an hour later she was crouched in the luggage compartment of the ferry.

When the boat arrived in Dover, she sneaked off. She was in Kent and from there she walked to London. She got lost in the streets and, as if by coincidence, stumbled across a very shabby building. The other people on the street didn't seem to notice it. But Astra did, it was called The Leaky Cauldron and something about it told her to go in. As soon as she did the smell of smoke hit her.

There were many people seated at the tables scattered around the room. They were all staring at her which made her very self-conscious. She hurried over to the landlord, a man with hardly any teeth and very scruffy clothes.

"Excuse me?" she had said.

"Yes," the landlord replied, grinning.

"I was wondering if you knew how to get to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?"

"And who might you be, Missy?" said the landlord, his grin fading, replaced by a suspicious frown.

"I'm Jenny Gregg," she had lied, "I- I want to see the headmaster."

"Well, let me see," he thought for a moment then with a wave of his wand he conjured up a piece of parchment. He scribbled down some notes and gave the parchment to her. "Just follow those instructions and you'll have no problems. At least I didn't thirty years ago…"

But Astra didn't hear the last bit. She had already grabbed the parchment and ran out the door…

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And now she was here, months later. The landlord's instructions hadn't been much help; she had had to fight her way through the trees awhile back. But now the trees were thinning out. There weren't as many and they were much smaller. In a few minutes she would be out. She could see some sunlight shining through the trees in front of her. She was nearly there.

And then she was out! After months of trudging along in darkness she could see the light again. And best off all, there in front of her was a huge castle; Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!

She began to run across the large, green lawns towards the oak doors that led into the castle. She passed a little hut, a huge willow tree that creaked as she moved past and a large lake. She hurried up the stone steps and knocked on the doors. They creaked open. She stepped inside. There was no one in sight.

She was standing in a large hall, with various doors leading off it and a huge marble staircase leading to the upper levels. There were several empty, suits of armour standing around the walls and many paintings.

She gasped. Several ghosts had appeared out of a particular painting Astra had been quite fascinated by. They didn't seem to notice her and glided across the hall and disappeared through the wall opposite.

"What can I do for you?"

Astra turned. A tall, strict looking woman with a tight grey bun and a very thin mouth was standing in front of her. She wore immaculate moss green robes and a pointed wizards hat.

"I-I'm Astra Liu, I'd like to enroll at Hogwarts," Astra said, very quickly and nervously.

"Really? You're a witch then?"

"Yes," Astra replied, "I moved from Australia. I found out I was a witch there but my parents wouldn't let me attend the school. I heard about Hogwarts and decided I had to come here. So I traveled here all by myself. It took me three years."

"Three years? Well, I suppose you want to meet Professor Dumbledore."

Astra nodded.

"Very well," the witch said, "I'll take you to him. He'll decide what to do with you."

She marched off. Astra followed her, running to keep up.

"I'm Professor McGonagall," the witch said, "Deputy Headmistress and Head of Gryffindor House. The headmaster will be very busy so make sure you don't take up too much of his time."

Professor McGonagall led her up staircases, wide, sweeping ones and narrow, rickety ones. She led her down many hallways and stopped outside a large stone gargoyle.

"Sugar Quill," she said, loudly and clearly.

At once the gargoyle sprang to life and began to rise. A spiral staircase emerged from beneath it. Slowly turning and moving upwards. Professor McGonagall stepped onto it and Astra followed.

The staircase took them up a long chute, lit with torches. Finally, it stopped outside a large door with a brass knocker. Professor McGonagall knocked three times.

"Professor Dumbledore? Astra Liu has arrived…"

To be continued…