Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Harry Potter or the plot. I only created Zac and Ashley…and Jewel and Joshua and Aaron and Emily and Amy, I guess. I got this story idea from a fanfic I read called 'Long Lost'. This story is fashioned after it. Not the same, though. In fact, it's a lot different. Most stories I read are about Harry's sister who looks EXACTLY like Lily Potter. This one's different……..Please read and review…….

A fourteen year-old-girl woke up suddenly, her alarm clock buzzing annoyingly as usual. This girl's name was Rae Ashley Potter; usually just Ashley or Ash. (Everyone knew her formally as Rae Ashley Carter, for she had taken her foster family's last name to avoid teasing.) She lived in San Diego, California, a city right along the Pacific Ocean. Ashley was very pretty; slightly dirty blond hair and startlingly green eyes. Her hair was only slightly curly; it fell down to her waist in large, soft curls.

She had but one defect on her face: a thin lighting bolt shaped scar on her forehead. Ever since she turned twelve and her appearance began to REALLY matter, Ashley had used Foundation to cover it up. The only problem was, the Foundation came off when she went swimming. Ashley had decided that when she got older, she was going to invent a water-proof Foundation for girls.

Ashley did not live with her birth parents. They had died in a plane accident when she was only one-year-old……….so she was told. When Ashley had asked where she had gotten the scar, her foster family told her that they suspected it was from a normal accident before her parents were killed. Ashley had thought no more of her scar until she started having pains in it………..and nightmares. The nightmares had gotten worse last year; dreams about a crazed murderer out to kill her, and the year before that a snake that could kill just by looking in your eyes. Worst of all, she died painfully in ever one of her dreams. There was only one good part in her dreams: a boy with untidy black hair, emerald green eyes and round glasses. Strangely, he had the same scar as she did...and her eyesSomehow she felt she had met the boy before; sometime long ago. It wasn't like she had a crush on him or anything; he was just in her dreams as someone she loved like a brother. But when she told her two best friends, Emily and Amy, about him, they had teased her endlessly about the boy being her future boyfriend. 'Come on, guys. You know who I like………...' she'd told them blushing. Ashley had a crush on the most popular and cutest guy in their grade, Zac Richardson.

Ashley pulled herself out of bed smiling dreamily as she thought about him. He was soo cute. Sandy blond hair, and to-die-for blue eyes. He was mysterious, too. He hadn't been at school during the normal school year since he turned eleven three years ago. He always went to the summer school session, like Ashley. Ashley loved school, so she signed up for the 'Kids Who Wanna Learn' (KWWL) program. There were special classes during the summer for those kids. Amy and Emily went there too. In fact, most of the school went, for they lived in an area where everyone supported education.

Ashley walked to her closet. 'I need something………..impressive,' she thought aloud. After ten minutes of taking out clothes, shaking her head, then tossing them in a pile, she had the perfect outfit: a bright orange tank op with blue stars embroidered on it and her favorite hip-hugger jean hip-huggers. Awesome. Now for the shoes………Ashley rummaged through her closet and pulled out her orange flip-flops. Then she stuck her large silver hoop earrings in and sorted through her nail polish. Ashley always got up extra early so she could paint her finger nails (and sometimes toe nails) according to her outfit. 'Would orange or blue look better?' Ashley asked herself. 'I better give Emily a call.' Ashley picked up the phone and dialed her friend's phone number.

'Hey, Em,' she greeted, when Emily answered.

'Hey, Ash,' was the reply. 'Nail polish trouble again?'

Ashley laughed. She frequently called Emily for consultation. 'Yeah.'

'Describe your outfit,' Emily ordered.

Well, Ashley described it, right down to the shaded of blue and orange.

'Well, since the stars are small, I'd go with the blue if I were you,' Emily said. 'It would make them stand out.'

'K. Thanks, Em.'

'Anytime.'

Ashley hung up and went to work on her nails; they had to be just perfect. Fifteen minutes later they were dry and she had all her homework and school books in her backpack. Just the make up left…………… Ashley rummaged through her make up drawer. Perfect! Light orange background and sapphire main and sapphire eye liner. She applied it lightly, so it didn't make her eyes look dark. Now for the mascara: clear and sparkly. Ashley stroked her eyelashes sideways; it made them look more plentiful. Not that she had thin eyelashes, it was just the style. Pale pink lip gloss, some cheek color and, of course, Foundation. Done!

Ashley's foster mother knocked on the door. 'Ash, honey, breakfast is ready!'

'Coming, Mom!'

She quickly ran a brush through her hair and dragged her backpack into the kitchen. She ate her breakfast (Frosted Flakes), brushed her teeth and set out for her bus stop. 'Bye, Mom!' she called. 'See you after school!'

'Bye, honey,' Ashley's foster mom called back.

While she walked to her bus stop, Ashley thought about her foster family. The mother's name was Jewel, her foster father's name was Joshua, and the older son's name was Aaron. Aaron was sixteen now. He was Jewel and Joshua's biological son. Though she loved them very much, Ashley never really felt liked she belonged with them. Sure, Jewel and Joshua were great, and Aaron was like a REAL older brother, she wanted something more. She felt an empty space in her heart. The image of the boy from her dreams clawed at her mind. Who was he? Why did he haunt her dreams?

'Yo, Ash!'

Ashley jerked her head up. 'Huh?' she said, bewildered. Yikes! Zac Richardson was standing right in front of her. 'Oh! Hi!' she said, blushing, and feeling like a complete idiot.

He laughed. 'I've been trying to get your attention for, like, five minutes.'

'Oh……sorry,' Ashley said. 'I was just thinking about something I dreamed last night.'

'Oh, I do that sometimes. Was it good or bad?'

'Well, let's see. I got blasted to pieces by a crazy murderer. Does that sound fun to you?' she snapped.

Zac winced. 'Sorry,' he said.

Ashley sighed. 'No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to lash out at you.'

'It's okay.'

'Thanks.'

'No prob. Hey, I was wondering. Uh………would you like to get some pizza and go surfing after school today?'

Ashley looked at him. 'Like a date…………..?' she asked, trying to appear nonchalant.

Zac cleared his throat. 'Yeah.'

'Sure, that'd be great! I just have to call my foster parents to see if it's okay,' Ashley told him. 'Oh. My. Gosh,' Ashley thought. 'I just got asked out by the cutest guy in our grade!'

He looked at her quizzically. 'Your foster parents? I didn't know you were adopted.'

Ashley's eyes widened. She'd let it slip. Not good. Not even Emily or Amy knew that she was a foster child. This was just GREAT. If the school found out……… she'd never be left alone. High School was tough. If kids found out one thing that was wrong with your life, you'd never hear the end of it. How was she going to explain this?

Zac realized he must have said something wrong. 'Sorry, I was just curious………you said 'foster',' he mumbled.

Ashley gathered up all her bravery and said, 'Yes, I'm adopted. My real parents died in a plane accident when I was one. The people I live with now are my foster parents.'

Zac stared.

'Please don't tell anyone,' she pleaded. 'I'll never hear the end of it. Not even Emily and Amy know.'

'Of course I won't tell,' Zac said. 'It's your business, not everyone's.'

'Thanks. I appreciate it.'

'Welcome. Uh, here do you want to use my cell to call them?' he asked.

'Yeah, thanks.' She took the phone he handed her. 'Um, can I go over there to talk to them?' she asked, coloring and pointing about ten feet ahead of them.

Zac smiled knowingly. 'Sure.'

Ashley dialed her home phone. 'Hello, Carter residence,' Jewel answered the phone cheerfully.

'Hi, Mom, it's Ash.'

'Ashley? What's wrong?'

Ashley rolled her eyes. Jewel always suspected something was wrong. 'Nothing's wrong. Hey, listen, I'm calling on Zac Richardson's cell phone, so I don't have long. I just wanted to know if………if I could go surfing and to pizza with him after school.' She held her breath.

'As in a date?'

'Yeah.'

'Well, I guess so. Isn't he that boy you like?'

'Yes, Mom.'

'Oh, honey, I'm so happy for you!'

'Ok, Mom. Well, I gotta go. Thanks and I'll see you when I get home.'

'Ok, honey, be safe. Love you.'

'You too.'

Ashley hung up and walked back to Zac with a grin. 'She says I can go.'

'Great!' Zac said, clearly happy. 'So what else don't I know about you?'

'Well, a lot. Let's see, you now know I'm a foster child, you know my name, so that's a start.'

Zac laughed.

'I day dream a lot about (this is gonna sound funny) my dreams.'

'What about your dreams?' Zac asked curiously.

'Well, I die in every one of them,' Ashley said, shrugging. 'I keep having a dream about a crazy murderer, and last year it was about a snake that could kill you just by looking in your eyes. There's only one good thing in them, really.'

'Oh? What's that?'

'This guy who's like my brother. He's got untidy black hair and emerald green eyes.'

Zac frowned. 'Is he like your boyfriend or something?'

'Oh no no no no no. Just like my brother. He always dies too,' Ashley said. 'I know it sounds stupid,' she added quickly.

'No, it doesn't,' Zac contradicted. 'On the contrary. Tell me, does this boy have any scars?'

Ashley looked startled. 'Yes, how did you know?'

'Just a guess.'

Ashley frowned. 'Zac, what aren't you telling me?'

'It's nothing,' he said quickly.

It only caused Ashley to frown deeper. What was Zac hiding from her? Did he know anything about this boy? Ugh, this was so FRUSTRATING!

'Zac, tell me,' she ordered. 'What do you know about this guy?'

'He's just famous at the school that I go to. Famous for surviving a massacre in his hometown. All he got was a lightning bolt shaped scar.'

Ashley gasped.

Author's Note: hehehe cliffy! What's gonna happen next? Hehehe…you'll have to wait! Please review!