A/N: Thank you for your kind reviews – it has motivated me to release the second chapter in less than 24 hours! In this chapter, a familiar face comes to visit the Allen household. Stay tuned for Chapter 3, where Lola is finally ready to attend her dream school, which will be out very soon! Don't forget to leave a review if you liked/disliked this chapter; your comments motivate me and allow me to improve!

Lola had been standing in front of the bathroom mirror for more than an hour now.

How was it possible that she woke up one morning, looking and feeling like her eleven-year-old self? She moved in closer to the mirror to stare at her own reflection. A confused, five foot one version of herself with waist-length copper hair and small, blue eyes stared back at her.

How was it that she was all of a sudden a 17-year-old teenager trapped in the body of an 11-year-old child? How was it that the newspaper said it was August 27th, 1991, when although it was the day of her birth, she wasn't even born until 1998?

"I must be dreaming," Lola rationed, cringing to the sound of her prepubescent, high-pitched voice. "There is no other explanation."

She had heard of things like Lucid dreaming and Astral projection, where people became aware of their own dreams while dreaming and even managed to shape them however they liked. She closed her eyes and imagined herself flying.

Nothing happened.

A loud knock on the bathroom door interrupted her reverie. "Hurry up, Lola!" she heard Lance moan from outside the door, with a voice that sounded too young and frilly to belong to him. "I'm going to be late for school!"

Lance had stopped attending school about four years ago.

Lola sighed, feeling defeated. "Coming!" she replied.

When she finally went downstairs and saw what was on her breakfast plate, she couldn't help herself. "Mom!" she groaned frantically. "What's this?!"

Evelyn Allen turned her head from the kitchen sink and looked at her daughter's plate worriedly. "A sausage roll, hun. Your favourite, just the way you like it. Do you need me to heat it up for you or something?"

Lola simply looked back in shock. She couldn't remember the last time she ate a sausage roll, let alone having liked it. She had stopped eating meat ever since she was twelve…

Confused, but resigned, she ate everything on her plate that didn't come from an animal and went back upstairs to brush her teeth.

Throughout the day, she noticed small but weird details all around the house. Where they used to have a flat-screen TV, was now a battered-looking, antique television set that she had once seen at grandpa Lincoln's. In fact, most of their furniture looked like it was stolen from a vintage charity sale. There were posters of celebrities and movies on her bedroom walls that she didn't even know existed. There were no stables, no sheep, and no Princess. Also, her 9-year-old sister Leona was now a toddler.

Suddenly, she heard an unfamiliar voice coming from the hallway. Curiously, she opened her bedroom door to eavesdrop, just in time to hear her mother say "She's upstairs. We haven't sent her to school today, seeing as it's her birthday and all. What did you say you wanted to speak to her about exactly, Ms. McGonagall?"

When Lola heard the name her mother used, she almost swallowed her tongue whole. Ms. McGonagall? This had to be a dream. Or a prank. Or a huge coincidence.

Or perhaps magic.

"All will be explained in due time, Mrs. Allen," Lola heard an old woman reply kindly. "It would be best for young Lola to be present while I deliver to you and your family some rather surprising news."

Quickly, Lola made her way downstairs. What she saw made her head spin.

Standing in the doorway was a tall woman dressed in unusual robes, her black hair hidden under a pointed hat with its tip crooked to one side. Her thin mouth was set in a stern but kind smile. The mystery woman looked up as Lola approached from the stairs.

Mrs. Allen followed the woman's gaze and caught a glimpse of Lola. "There she is. How are you feeling honey?"

Lola stared, transfixed, at the strange woman standing in the doorway, and didn't reply.

"Don't mind her bad manners," her mother brushed off nervously. "She's not feeling too well today."

"How are you, Miss Allen?" asked the old woman, staring at Lola curiously.

Lola tried not to scream and run for the hills. "Who are you?" she simply asked.

"I'm Professor Minerva McGonagall," she replied patiently. "I serve as the Deputy Headmistress at one of the best schools in the world. It's a special school for special children like you, and we would like to extend an invitation to you, Miss. Allen. I suggest we all sit down before I explain any further."

As they sat down awkwardly in the living room, Lola tried not to faint.

McGonagall finally broke the silence. "Let me start by asking, Mrs. Allen, how long have you been aware of Lola's strange abilities?"

Lola watched as her mother's eyes bright blue eyes opened in surprise. "I – I don't exactly know what you mean by that–"

"Think deep, Mrs. Allen," McGonagall urged. "It could be anything from breaking a plate without touching it, causing someone pain or embarrassment in a moment of anger, or even levitating from the ground for a few seconds. I'm fairly certain you have seen your daughter doing something you simply cannot explain."

Lola scratched her head. She didn't remember anything like what "Ms. McGonagall" described ever happening to her. Which reinforced the idea that this whole thing was either a very realistic dream or a very successful prank.

But to her dismay, her mother nodded in agreement and sighed deeply. "I have indeed."

Lola watched as this woman – this woman claiming to be a character from her favourite book series – brought out a letter stamped with the letter H from inside her emerald robes.

"This here is an acceptance letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Inside is Lola's name and surname, with my signature underneath, and a list of school supplies that she will need should you make the right decision and allow her to attend our school. It is a school for children who can perform what is known in our world as 'magic'. I have brought to you 4 copies of a short, introductory book about our world, our traditions, and our rules, as well as a brief summary of our education system." McGonagall momentarily gazed at Lola, who had an unreadable expression on her petite face. She then placed a stack of shiny books on the coffee table in front of her. The cover read "An Introduction to Magic for Muggles".

At this point, Lola had no choice but to admit to herself that this was too extensive to be a prank. And if what she was seeing and hearing was, in fact, a dream, then she decided to make the most out of it.

"Should you decide to allow Lola to attend Hogwarts, you need to write a letter addressed to me using this special pen and paper that I am about to give you." She placed a straw coloured parchment and a quill made out of a single bird feather next to the stack of books. "If not, you will have to home-school Lola by hiring her a private tutor. This tutor will teach her how to control and improve her magic, after getting a licence from our Ministry to practice out of school, of course. All of this is very costly, whereas Hogwarts is free to attend, so that is something for you and your family to consider."

Evelyn Allen listened quietly as Professor McGonagall went on to explain how they needed to act fast as term was due to start on September 1st and Lola would need to visit a diagonal alley, escorted by a member of staff, to do some school shopping beforehand.

She looked up at her daughter tentatively, who seemed pale and shocked. Evelyn was fairly certain that it must be how she looked as well.

A few hours after Professor McGonagall left, Lola's father came home from work. He listened with an arched brow as his wife told him the story of what had happened earlier on, and showed him all the stuff that the 'strange woman' had left them.

"I think this is real, Lloyd," whispered Evelyn Allen. "We've been saying for years how Lola has something very different about her. I've read a few pages from the book this McConnell woman left us, and it all makes sense so far."

Lance, who was buried behind his copy of the said book, nodded enthusiastically. "Untrained witches and wizards are often aware of their abilities, but unable to control them. This often results in inexplicable behaviour which causes minor or major harm to themselves or to those around them," he read dramatically. "Sounds a lot like Lola to me. I still have that bruise from when she made that huge baseball bat hit me in the leg."

That night, Lola went to bed, not wanting to sleep at all. This had been the most exciting day she had had in years, and waking up to her boring life again would be very devastating. But when she did wake up the next morning, she was both confused and elated to still be in her 11-year-old form.

"What is going on?" she whispered into nothingness. Whatever it was, though, she didn't want it to stop. Ever.

Downstairs, her mother was folding the piece of parchment that McGonagall had left them. Lola's heart leapt up in worry.

"What are you doing, mum?" she asked hastily, startling her mother.

Mrs. Allen looked up sympathetically. "I was going to have a word with you Lola." She seemed nervous and drew in a deep breath before she continued. "Your father and I have decided to send you to this school. We think it will be the best thing for you, and for this family." She bit her lip. "I hope you don't mind."

Lola shook her head to insinuate that she didn't mind at all. Hogwarts was her dream. Literally.

"Only problem is," sighed her mother. "We forgot to get an address from this woman. Where the hell are we supposed to send this letter to?"

Lola grinned mysteriously. "Do you know where we can find an owl?"

It turned out that they didn't need an owl at all, as when they wrote Professor Minerva McGonagall on the letter, it disappeared into thin air after a loud puff.

The following day, a woman named Lucinda Thomsonicle-Pocus rang their doorbell in order to escort Lola to Diagon Alley.

Trying not to draw too much attention to themselves, they got dropped off at the train station, where Mrs. Allen placed a kiss on Lola's forehead.

"You be careful now, young lady," she warned her daughter. "And behave yourself."

Lola watched, impassively, as her mother drove off.

They took the next train to London and did not speak much during the entire journey. When Ms. Lucinda stopped in front of a small, shabby pub, Lola was deep in thought.

She looked up to read the sign a few feet above the pub and her heart dropped instantly. "The – the Leaky Cauldron?" It couldn't be real.

Ms. Lucinda gave her a strange look. "You been before? It's a famous place."

What happened afterwards was all a blur for Lola. In a few minutes, she found herself standing in Diagon Alley. It was much better than the replica she visited at the Warner Brothers Studio in Hertfordshire, which looked more like a street out of one of Charles Dickens' books. The real Diagon Alley was definitely much more magical.

They first went to Gringotts, where Lola signed a few papers to open herself a bank account. They then changed up the money that Mrs. Allen had placed in Lola's purse.

They scurried from shop to shop and bought things such as robes, books, brass scales and even a foldable telescope that fit into Lola's pocket. Lola mostly stood around with a gaping mouth as Ms. Lucinda dealt with everything, and did nothing more than follow her simple instructions.

When they were in Flourish and Blotts, Lola's inner bookworm finally made her speak up.

"Um – Ms. Lucinda?" she asked as they walked up to the stern looking woman at the counter. "Can I check out some of the books here? I love reading and this place has more books than I have ever seen before. I won't take long, promise!"

Lola could spend days, even years, in this magical bookstore. She felt happier than ever as she walked between shelves of books, some with moving pictures, some with their own music, and some even producing a thick smoke that almost caused Lola to choke.

The books were alive, and she loved it.

She came across a dusty title at the very back of one of the least popular shelves in the store, named "The Secrets of Hogwarts: What They Don't Want You To Know", written by a woman who looked like she belonged in a homeless shelter. It did have a map of Hogwarts which outlined every single corner and portrait in the castle in detail though, which Lola thought would come in pretty handy, so she decided to buy the book. She grabbed a few more unrelated books about Quidditch to make it seem less suspicious.

Lola walked into Ollivander's wand shop with her hands full of shopping bags and a huge smile on her face.

"Good morning," said an old man with white hair and silvery eyes behind the counter. "Nice to see you again Lucinda. How's the leg?"

"Better," she replied, showing a moderately sized burn mark on the side of her left leg. "Ruddy dragons. They need better parenting," she murmured under her breath.

Lola moved closer into the shop. "Hello Mr. Ollivander," she said sweetly.

He scrutinized Lola with calculating eyes. "Yes… Let's see what we have here." He ran to the back of the shop and returned with a dusty box. "Cedarwood, 11 inches, unicorn hair. Flexible. Suits most witches. Have a go."

Lola cautiously picked up the wand and drew her hand back immediately as she felt an electric current run through her.

"Okay, alright… Not for you, then," said Mr. Ollivander quickly as he put the wand back into its box and went back to fetch another one.

After almost an hour of nothing, Mr. Ollivander came back to look at Lola with his head tilted to the side and his silvery eyes narrowed. Lola felt like an unwanted food stain on one of his favourite shirts.

"What a strange year for wands this is. First Mr. Potter, and now you… But I did acquire a wand many years ago, I did indeed… Could it be?" He asked himself and then turned around slowly.

When he came back, he was holding a box gold in colour and covered in spider webs. "Applewood, 13 inches, and I believe the core is of a horned serpent horn. Unyielding… Such a handsome wand," he admired the long piece of wood in its box, before hesitantly giving it to Lola.

And finally, Lola felt a warm sensation in her gut.

"I see..." said Mr. Ollivander after a while. "This wand has been waiting for a long time for you Miss. Not best at the hands of those who wish ill upon the world." Mr. Ollivander eyed Lola at arm's length, before asking "You don't happen to be Irish, do you?".

Next, they visited Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour where they enjoyed two choco-nut sundaes. Ms. Lucinda informed Lola that the last thing they needed was a pet to bring to Hogwarts, should Lola wish to bring one. 20 minutes later, they left the Magical Menagerie with a ginger Ocicat kitten yet to be named.

It took Lola hours to tell her family all that had happened that day. They all ate the sweets and other goodies Lola had brought them from the Ice Cream Parlour as they listened to her adventurous day.

When she asked her baby sister what she should name her new kitten, Lola was shocked to hear that Leona mumbled "Princess!", one of the few words she knew how to pronounce. She decided to honour her sister, and her horse which now didn't exist, and name her new pet Prince, since it was male. She looked curiously at the ticket Ms. Lucinda had given her. Though there were only 3 days left, the 1st of September seemed like centuries away.

And Lola found herself wishing to never wake up from this beautiful dream when she went to bed that night.

A/N: Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed. Leave a review if you have any thoughts! See you next chapter.