Tala was 11.

11 was young. Too young to be travelling alone through a city, eyes darting through crowds to analyze threats. Too young to be the sole caretaker of her 4 younger foster brothers.

"Only younger by three weeks." Darren would remind his foster sister. His dark brown hair, wild and brown eyes, welcoming. Always ready with a quip and sneaky as a mouse. A skill that came in handy (and was surely developed) by avoiding quite a few terrible foster placements. A game both Darren and Tala played well and with much experience.

Tala Potter had been in the foster system for her entire life. She was overlooked as an infant due to her far away stare and apparent disinterest in most human contact, then again as a toddler and grade student because of her scathing personality. It was developed after years of awful homes. She would act out against neglect and abuse and be transferred to group homes where professionals would say she was fine and promptly send her to another home. Her final home was with a disinterested couple who either didn't know how to care for children or didn't bother. That's when Tala met Darren. Close in age, they shared a room and fended for themselves. They learned to clean or else they'd get sick, and cook or else they'd starve. They had spent the last 4 years together.

Tala had a quiet and nasty attitude toward most people. Darren on the other hand was loud and angry. Tala was pretty sure his middle name might actually be "fight me". He would scrap with any older kid threatening their way of life. Soon after, Ty came into the picture. Taking care of an infant was not something Tala and Darren had any experience with but they quickly learned. By the time Sully and Tamal showed up they were experts. Ty grew into a shy quiet kid but he could read and write the basics and was very polite. Sully and Tamal were pretty typical twin two year olds. A little wild, a little loud, but would stop in their tracks when faced with a signature Tala stare that left no room for arguments. Tala and Darren didn't know exactly everything the younger kids needed but they knew what they didn't need. The abuse and neglect experienced by the foster brother-sister duo lived in their souls and they did everything to keep Ty and the twins away from that.

It was at age 11 that life took an interesting turn. Tala's birthday was July 31st and Darren's August 24th. They were practically twins themselves. On the eve of her 11th birthday she heard a quiet tapping at her window. Darren was in the top bunk reading a comic and she was in a ratty bean bag chair with a cheap cardboard journal given to her by a caseworker. In usual fashion, Tala glanced at Darren first and then looked at the window. They could easily communicate silently with looks. Darren just shrugged. Tala motioned him to the window. He shook his head. Tala sighed and rolled her eyes and stood to peel back the curtain. She had to stop herself from screaming a swear as there was a large brown and black owl sitting in the barren window planter.

"The fuck?" She said quietly instead.

"Oh yeah, happy birthday, Tala, I gotchoo a fucking owl." Darren laughed at Tala's shock.

"Ass." Darren heard the mumble and went back to his comic. He started when he saw Tala about to open the window.

"What are you doin? That's how you get rabies."

"It has a letter."

"Wha?"

"A letter tied to it, like a carrier pigeon. What the hell? It has my name on it!" She squinted through the window at the minimal light coming from their room and the streetlight out front. This, Darren had to see so he jumped up to join his sister at the window. They were nearly the same height but that's where the similarities ended. Tala was pale with dark sleek hair and bright green eyes. Darren was dark skinned with dark curls and freckles and brown eyes. They each raised an eyebrow in confusion and for a moment looked like mirror images of each other. "I want that letter." Tala stated simply. Darren rolled his eyes. He glanced around the room quick and armed himself with an aluminum baseball bat and stood back, giving himself plenty of room to swing if necessary.

And that had to be Tala's most interesting birthday to date. Tala and Darren read the letter together. The more Tala read the more excited she became. The more Darren read the more he thought his sister was being scammed.

"Look, it's fine. What's the worst that could happen?"

"Famous last words!"

"I'll just meet with the owl lady and see what's up. In a public setting. No funny business." Darren thought it was a little ridiculous that his sister was saying "no funny business" in regards to a school that teaches magic. He rolled his eyes instead and Tala got all that information anyway. "You'll have to watch the kid."

"By myself? All day?!"

"Shut up, no." Tala shushed him. They were both quiet for a minute waiting for telltale heavy footsteps down the hall that would indicate they "disturbed" their foster parents. But all was silent. "It'll prob'ly be an hour or two. Just hold down the fort while I do this." "Darren, I know you think this is crazy but something is telling me it's not. I have this feeling…" "...as strong as the one that tells me you're my brother." At this Darren's eyebrows shot up. The seriousness of the statement wasn't lost on him.

A/N

Welcome back to another attempt at writing this fic. The general plot has been in my head for years long before I knew what a Mary Sue was. So here we go again, attempting a female Harry Potter fic while attempting not to Mary Sue but honestly I'm writing this for me anyway. Lol