~Everything's Not What It Seems~

Alex and Justin are siblings sent to Hogwarts to learn about magic just like their father. There they meet new friends, fall in love, and find out that truly everything is not what it seems.

Disclaimer: J.K Rowling and Disney Channel own the right to all these character. I am only borrowing them :)


Justin may have overreacted just a bit in the heat of the moment. The Russos had done so much for Justin and his sister and he knew that Jerry and Theresa cared for them very much. He was just so angry to know that all this time their father was actually alive. Maybe if they knew, they could have helped him. Maybe they could have done something! Anything! The one thing he was serious about though, was the decision to no longer address Jerry and Theresa as mom and dad. Since they say he found out they were not his real parents, he had always felt uncomfortable calling them by those names. But he did. And now that they knew their father was alive, he had a justification for why he would prefer not to address them as mom and dad.

Justin was momentarily pulled away from his thoughts when he felt a vibration in his pocket. He pulled out his phone and looked at the unfamiliar phone number on the screen. Maybe it's spam? Justin presses the answer button and put the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

"Hi Justin!"

That voice... he definitely knew that voice. "Ginny?"

"Yes! How'd you know it was me?"

"Kind of hard not to recognize you by your voice. I'd see you almost every day. How are you calling me?"

The other end went momentarily silent. Justin almost thought Ginny hung up. "Oh… did you not want me to call you?"

"No, of course not!" Justin sighed. "I'm glad you called. I'm just surprised. I didn't think you guys had cellular phones."

Ginny laughed. "We didn't. Dad took a trip to the muggle world and stumbled upon a cellular phone shop. One conversation with the muggle that worked there and he was sold. He got one for everyone in the family! I didn't know anyone else with a phone so I asked Ron who he was going to call. Alex had given hers and your numbers to him at he shared them with me. I thought I'd try it out by calling you."

"Well, I'm honored to know I'm the first one you called with your new phone." Justin smiled to himself.

"So am I."

"So... how's it been being home."

"Justin." Ginny laughed. "It's barely been a few hours. I literally saw you this morning. There is only so much that can happen in this little amount of time!"

"Well you got a phone..." Justin pointed out. "You're right. Sorry Ginny. It's just been a really long day."

"Tell me about it?"

"It's not very interesting..." Justin frowned.

"Maybe talking about it will make the day better?"

"If only." Justin sighed. "Honestly, the fact that you called made my day much better."

Ginny went silent again. Justin could hear shuffling on the other end off the call and some muffled sounds. "Ron is calling for me. I should go see what he needs... I'll call you another day?"

"Looking forward to it Ginny. Have a good night."

"Bye Justin. I... good night."

Justin smiled to himself as he saved Ginny's number to his contacts. Ginny. Smart, funny, red hair, fair skin, beautiful smile… Ginny. Why did he never notice her before today?

~~~~~

"Dad... can you tell me again why we are going shopping for the books I'll need next year when this year just ended?" Max stared at the back of his dad's head as he followed him down Diagon Alley.

"As I had explained to you already, my hope is that if we do the shopping now, we can avoid the madness the week before you kids go to school. No last-minute shopping and no last-minute panic. And anyway, the three of you will be with the Weasley's right before school starts so I won't be able to take you then. And with you three going to the Quidditch World Cup before that, I'm worried you and Alex will waste all your book money on whatever they offer there." Jerry explained as he led him towards a book shop.

"Right... so what books are we getting?"

Jerry stopped and turned to look at his son in confusion. "You think you are going to help me get the books? You're funny. No, you are going to stay in this shop and wait for the books to be given to you while I get the remainder of your school supplies. Got it?"

"But dad-"

Jerry ignored him and walked up to the clerk behind the desk. He handed the man a piece of paper and pointed at Max. The man nodded at him before disappearing to the back.

"He's getting your books. Stay here, it might take a while." Jerry said to him before making his way out the shop.

Max frowned. Great. Now he's stuck here. He looked around the store, noting that it was mostly empty. Might as well look around then… Max walked towards the isles of books, stopping occasionally to look at the sign at each end. Maybe he could find a book of pranking spells for Alex while he's here. She's been pretty bummed out as of late, maybe it would cheer her up. Max continued to make his way down the halls, stopping when he heard a familiar voice.

"And this is the section for mythical creatures. This is my favorite section. Dad and I always came straight here since I was a kid."

"That's amazingl Luna, what is this animal?" Another voice answered. Luna? He knows Luna. But who was the other girl with her? The one with the sweet voice.

"Isn't it beautiful? It's a vila." Luna replied. "They are so magnificent. Almost like faeries!"

"Wow Luna, I see why you and your dad come here so much. Do you mind if I get this book?"

"Of course! I'll just tell father to get this too when he and your brother come back."

Max snuck around the shelf, leaning over slightly to see if he could peak in the isle. He stopped next to the isle labeled 'M' and looked around the corner, his eyes falling on two girls holding a book between them. He immediately recognized the one closest to him as Luna. The girl beside her, he did not recognize. She was about Luna's size and height, her skin light like Luna's but her hair was more blonde. She was dressed in a long, green dress, one that made her stand out from the other wizard girls he knew. Max liked that she stood out. He smiled as she let out a giggle as Luna turned the page. What a cute laugh. He leaned more to the side, not realizing the table he was leaning on had wheels. Next thing he knew, he was laying on his back on the floor, blocking the isle Luna and the girl were standing in. He closed his eyes. Please let a hole open up and eat me so I can disappear from this embarrassment. When Max finally opened his eyes. He was staring directly into a pair of aqua blue eyes that were looking down at him.

"Are you okay?" She asked as she looked down at Max in concern.

"Uhhh… yeah." He sat up quickly. The girl kneeled down beside her as she looked him up and down.

"I think you'll live. No blood, no foul." She smiled. She looked beside her at Luna. Max started to stand up when he noticed Luna was also there staring at him.

"Max, are you okay? We didn't see you there until you… fell. Must have been the nargles, they might have pushed you over."

"Nargles?" Max looked at the girl questioningly. She shrugged and stood up.

"Max, this is my cousin Mikayla. Mikayla, this is my fellow classmate Max." Mikayla smiled at him. He couldn't help but smile back. Wow, even her name is as pretty.

"Nice to meet you Mikayla."

"Mikayla is joining Hogwarts this year. She went to Beausbatons her first year, until her mother and father decided to send her to Hogwarts so she could go to school with her brother and I. Her brother went to Durmstrang for a few years."

"Oh, I see. Welcome to Hogwarts then?" He smiled again at Mikayla.

"Thank you." Mikayla smiled at him, making him smile wider.

"We should go find my father and your brother Mikayla. We can come get this book for you later. It was nice seeing you Max." Luna smiled at him before grabbing onto Mikayla's arm and pulling her away. Mikayla gave him a last wave before turning away and following her cousin towards the front of the store.

~~~~~

"I miss you too Cedric. Bye!"

"Bye love."

Alex put her phone to the side and threw her head back onto her bed. Why couldn't Cedric live in New York? Long-distance relationships are too hard. She sighed. Maybe if that stupid rat didn't get away, they could have lived with their dad. Maybe they could have lived in England, close to the Diggorys and Weasleys. She'd get to see Cedric whenever she wanted.

Alex jumped, nearly falling off her bed. as a crashing noise came from her window. What was that? She looked at the window, slowly standing up. On her way to the window, she grabbed her wand from the dresser and held it out in front of her. Guess it's time to see if she actually did pay attention in Defense Against the Dark Arts this year. When she was by the window, Alex slowly pulled the window open, peaking her head out. She jumped back as a large white figure swooped into her bedroom, nearly hitting her head.

"What the hell!" She yelled. She turned to see a large owl perching on the railing of her bed. It held a small envelope in its beak. "Who do you belong to, you cute owl you." Alex smiled as she walked over. The bird stared at her as she approached, looking at her expectantly.

"Oh right, snacks. Owls like snacks as rewards. Hmm, I think I have some crackers here." Alex ran over to her dresser, grabbing a few saltine crackers from the box she was snacking on earlier. She approached the bird and dropped the crackers on the bed beside it. The bird stared at the crackers Alex left for a moment before finally dropping the envelope beside her bed. It hopped onto her bed and started snacking on the crackers as Alex approached her.

"Let's see what you got for us here." Alex picked up the envelope. Her name was printed messily on the front. She looked at the bird again, noting that it looked familiar to her. "I know your owner, don't I? You're not Cedric's, I know that for a fact. His owl is brown. And you're not the Weasley's. That crazy bird would have crashed into like five windows before getting inside. Hmmm..."

Alex returned her focus to the envelope. She ripped it open easily and pulled out the letter inside. She smiled as she realized the letter was from Harry.

Hello Alex,

I hope you are doing well. I thought I'd send you a letter to see how you were. Figured it would give Hedwig something to do as well. Apologies in advance if she bothers you too much for snacks. She quite enjoys being spoiled. A cracker will do fine though she really shouldn't be eating them. I was getting a bit worried because Justin told me he would owl me this summer but I hadn't heard from him yet. Ron sent me an owl recently and said that Ginny has spoken to Justin earlier this summer but I had not heard anything behind that. I figured I would check in with you directly. So, how has your summer been so far? Have you heard anything from Sirius? I'd expect it's easier for him to keep in touch now that you are out of Hogwarts. I was hoping we'd all get to hear from him more now that we are away from the school. Maybe I was being too hopeful. I really just want to be sure he is safe. Anyhow, I hope to hear from you soon. Ron and Hermione have told me they miss you, and so have I.

With love,
Harry.

"Hedwig? So that's your name." Alex looked at the bird. She stared back at Alex blankly. "No wonder you looked so familiar. You're Harry's bird! And... I sound like a crazy person because I am talking to a bird."

Alex stared at the letter, her eyes scanning over the 'with love' at the end. This had to have been a British thing, right? He probably says that to everyone, even Ron and Hermione. Clearly just friendly... Right?


Updated! First updated chapter of season 2. I was slightly tempted to get rid of this one completely...