Disclaimer: See last chapter. As a matter of fact, I could say I owned it. There's really nothing anyone could do about it. Nobody could sue me, they don't know who I am! Haha. Of course, I wouldn't get any money either. Just my luck. Whatever. I don't own it, so there.

A/N: I WAS hoping to get at least ONE review. I probably scared all the reviewers away. WAAAAAAA!

Oh, yes, for those who are confused, something in plain italics represents a letter, notice, or memory, for the most part anyway. Italics in quotation marks represent "parseltongue". Italics that are underlined represents a characters thought. Hopefully this will get rid of any earlier confusion.

Delayed Start: 2. Enter Dumbledore!

Aileen was in disbelief. It had to be fake! Her friends couldn't do it, they didn't know where her room was. Remembering the shocked look on her mother's face, Aileen believed that she would not have done it either. Aileen's father wouldn't do it, he was too serious to make a joke like that. So, who could have done it?

It was 7:30 as she pondered over it in a big, comfortable seat in the study, looking deeply into the flames of the fireplace. She knew that no one would come, but why then was she getting more and more nervous the closer the clock's hand moved to eight? Charlie must have felt her worry, because he started to comfort her.

"Ai, what's the matter?" he asked, curled up on Aileen's lap.

"Oh, Charlie, I just can't be sure. What if this Dumbledore guy actually comes? What if this is actually real? I can't find a reason why anyone would do this." she sighed.

"So what if he does come? So what if it is real? What does it really matter? How would that be bad?"

"Look at this letter!" she cried. "What do you think? 'Ministry of Magic'? 'Hogwarts'? Who would name a school HOGWARTS, for Pete sake?" she began to shake.

"Well, somebody did apparently (A/N: J.K. Rowling, that's who). And anyway, whatever happens, I'll be here, helping you through it."

Aileen seemed to calm down a bit. "Thanks, Charlie." she stroked his little white head, and neither of them said anything for quite some time. Aileen heard the door open and close, her father coming home from work. She heard him talk to her mother about the tough day of work he had, and ask where she was.

"I'm in the study, Dad." Aileen called out, opening a pocket in her inner jacket for Charlie to slip into before he came in.

She heard his footsteps come up behind her then saw him pass her as he went to his chair. He sat down with a long, exaggerated sigh, eyes closed, then opened them to look at Aileen. "How was work today?" she asked, knowing the answer.

"Fine, fine. Mr. Markan was quite demanding today, but it was not much worse than normal. How was yours? I hear you got a letter today concerning an acceptance to a prestigious school?"

"Ummmm, something like that," she whispered softly, handing him the letter. He opened it and read it, then raised an eyebrow towards her. She buried herself deeper in her chair and shrugged.

"Odd..." her father said slowly. "Very odd indeed." He handed the letter back to her, and took a deep breath, indicating a long lecture-like talk. "Aileen, we Curter's ha-"

KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK

Aileen looked at the clock, it was 8 o'clock exactly. She jumped up from the chair towards the door, but her mother beat her to it, and opened the door before her.

"Hello," said an older, male voice, "I am Professor Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I explained in my letter that I would be arriving tonight. May I come in?"

Aileen's mother looked a bit shocked at first, but regained her composure quickly. "O-of course, Professor, please come in," she said, and motioned towards the couch. "Won't you sit down?"

"Ah, yes, thank you." he walked through the door, and Aileen finally got a good look at him. He was wearing outlandish robes and what looked like a purple nightcap for a hat, which matched the robe perfectly. He was tall and thin and old, with lines of wisdom on his face. His eyes had a mischievous laughter about them, and a pair of crescent shaped glasses found themselves to be sitting on his long nose. He took the offered seat, and the whole family came in to sit across from him.

"Ahh, you must be Aileen," he said, offering his hand.

"Umm, yes, I am pleased to meet you." she replied, taking his hand and shaking it. "Mind my asking, but, uh, I'm really confused. What's going on?"

"It's understandable that you are confused," he said, leaning back into the couch, "I will try my best to explain everything to you. Aileen, you are a witch." she gaped at him, then remembered her manners and shut her mouth quickly.

"I don't believe that. I couldn't be a 'witch', they don't exist anyways!"

"Both witches and wizards are quite real," he spoke softly, "As well as centaurs and giants, ghosts and elves. Of course, the Ministry of Magic takes care of such creatures so that muggles, that is, non-magic folk, don't see them or their effects. That is for the most part, anyway."

"No, this has to be some kind of hoax. Who set you up to this?"

"No it is not. No one."

"You can't prove it, can you?"

"My dear," he said with a twinkle in his eye, "The proof is in your jacket."

"My jacket?" She thought for a minute, then gasped. "You couldn't mean Cha-"

He nodded. "You can speak parseltongue, correct?"

"Parseltongue?"

"The ability to speak to snakes."

She blushed deeply. No one had ever believed her when she had told them that. She could just remember that time when she was little, and told her mother that she had talked to a garden snake in the front lawn.

"Hahahahaha, Aileen, you couldn't speak to snakes, no one could do that!" she laughed again.

"But Mommy, I really did! We talked! He was hungry and I caught him a grasshopper to eat!"

"Aileen!" said her father from the doorway. "Don't lie like that!"

"I didn't lie! I really did talk to him!"

"Aileen," snapped her father, "If you keep this up, I will have no choice but to punish you."

Aileen ran from the room, crying. And she never spoke of it again, not to anyone.

"Um, yes sir." she bowed her head.

"Well, I'll let you know now, that you are one of the only three people alive that can speak parseltongue. The other two are both wizards, and one is enrolled in Hogwarts right now."

"Really?" Aileen's head perked up. This was definitely no hoax. Not after this, it wasn't. She believed him, as far fetched as it sounded, she believed every word he said.

"Yes." he said, nodding. "Does this mean that you would like to go to Hogwarts as well?"

Aileen looked up, her eyes wide open. She nodded ferociously. "Yes, yes! I do! I really do!"

"Wait." It was Aileen's father, who had stood up, "What if we don't let her go? I mean, I wouldn't want my daughter anywhere that I could not contact easily, and I'm not so sure about this whole 'learning magic' thing. I don't think she should go."

"You could contact us quite easily, and the magic that she will learn there will become extremely useful once she leaves Hogwarts." Dumbledore looked at him down his nose through his glasses. "You wouldn't want to deny her of an opportunity of this magnitude, would you Mr. Curter?"

"I, uh,"

"Please Dad?" It was Aileen. "For me?"

Aileen's father looked down at her. "Aileen, I-"

"Daniel." Aileen's mother looked at her husband with that knowing look. "I can tell that it is the best thing for her. She should go."

He looked down towards his wife, then to his daughter. He sighed, and sat (or more like collapsed), back down to the couch. "Well I guess I lose this vote three to one. She may go."

"Yay! I can go!" Aileen jumped to her feet. "Thank you Mom, thank you Dad!" she turned to Dumbledore. "I personally want to thank you myself for giving me this opportunity, Professor. Thank you." she smiled to him, and was reminded of something by a tickling in her pocket. "Charlie can go, can't he?" she asked.

"I think that can be arranged." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he spoke. "Now, on to more serious matters. Pertaining mainly to all the years of education that you missed."

Aileen flopped back down on the couch, to prepare herself for a particularly long conversation.

A/N: Well, that was the second one. I decided to be nice to you guys and give you this early because the last one was so short. Don't expect it all the time. You can expect the next one next Thursday thereabouts, but it may be sooner. Depends on how much I can get done. Haha.

Oh, and about the rating, it's definitely going to turn into a 'Teen' rating soon enough.

On REVIEWS, I'd like them. As I said before, flames are welcome. I actually like flames. Just make them make sense. Flames that make no sense are kind of a dull read. Ah well... That doesn't mean that I don't like nice reviews either, I really do! But I'll take what I can get. Even if it's nothing. I know SOMEONE has to be reading it, and if not, whatever. It'll turn into my own little private area where I put down all those crazy ideas that are floating around out in my head.

Till next time, Kyogera.