I just wanted to thank everyone who took the time to read, follow, or favorite this story. It means a lot that someone is enjoying what I am putting forth. I'm still looking for a beta- so if you know one or can find one for me let me know!

Azalea wasn't sure if she could pull herself out of bed that morning. She was definitely less than thrilled at the prospect of having to get up outrageously early in the morning once again to cook breakfast for everyone else (steal some food for her and Harry) and then clean and garden and do all of the chores in the house so they leave Harry alone. Azalea loved her brother more than anything else in this world. She would do anything to protect him-and she has. She refuses to let him anywhere near their aunt, uncle, and cousin if she can do anything about it. She does all the chores so that way he doesn't have to do them and makes sure he never gets in trouble.

But she can't protect him from everything.

Azalea couldn't help but think about the first couple of weeks after they first started living here. She had turned five with no celebration and lots of tears. Her Aunt had ignored her and declared that since she was old enough she needed to start earning her and her brother's keep around the house. So she put her to work.

Azalea had no idea what she was expected to do. Her Aunt had handed her a rag and told her to start dusting and she had no idea what she was supposed to do. She quickly learned however, encouraged on by her Aunt's screaming and smacks. She tried to hide it from her brother, but as he got older, he became more aware that something wrong was happening and his big sister was getting hurt all the time. Azalea told him he couldn't tell anybody about it, because if he did they would be sent to a foster home and separated and they would never see each other again. She hated scaring him, but she knew he needed to know the severity of the situation.

So from then on he never talked about it. Never asked why she got bruises or cuts or lashes. He just asked how much it hurt and did everything he could to try and make her feel better. Azalea was always grateful for his quiet acceptance and love. It was the only thing that kept her going. She didn't know what she would do if she didn't have him in her life.

Speaking of grateful-her head felt so much better thanks to the ice Harry had put on it last night. Now it definitely didn't hurt as much and there was only a dull headache. Slowly, so she didn't wake Harry, Azalea reached up and tentatively moved the melted ice bag and felt her head gingerly. At her soft touch she winced and bit her lip. Okay, very, very tender spot on her head along with dull headache.

Sighing softly, Azalea slowly got up without waking up Harry. She crouched down next to Harry and pressed a gentle kiss onto his forehead. She stared at him for a moment before she sighed and stood up, stretching out her muscles as she got ready for the long day ahead of her

Silently she left their room and padded down the stairs. No one was awake yet and likely wouldn't be for hours since it was a Saturday morning. So she quickly got to work, making scrambled eggs and bacon and other breakfast necessities. She had to make a ridiculous amount of food. Her uncle ate enough for three people and her cousin wasn't that far behind. How her aunt manages to stay skin and bones she'll never know.

About an hour later Azalea is finished and she quietly grabs her allotted piece of toast and cup of tea and her brother's piece of toast and cup of tea. She also snatched two sausages and three pieces of bacon. She made extra so they wouldn't notice a couple pieces missing-her brother needed to eat.

Silent as a sake Azalea made her way back upstairs and into the room she shared with her brother. With a small smile on her face, she leaned down and gently shook his shoulder to wake him up. "Harry? Harry, it's time to wake up now."

Harry groaned and with great effort he managed to open his eyes and sit up. He rubbed his eyes with his hands and yawned, mumbling morning greetings. He inhaled deeply and Azalea watched with amusement as his eyes snapped open at the smell of bacon and sausage. Of course now he was wide awake.

Smiling, Azalea handed Harry the two pieces of toast, his cup of tea, and the bacon and sausage. She saw him hesitate taking the plate full of food and she kissed his forehead reassuringly. "Don't worry, Harry," she lied, a small smile on her face. "I already ate."

Harry practically devoured the food after his doubts were washed away by his sister's words, and Azalea watched as she drank her tea, her green eyes full of sorrow. He wasn't getting enough food to eat. Granted, neither was she, she gave most of her food to her brother, but she was more worried about him than herself.

Azalea sat in silence as she drank her tea. She was completely prepared to repeat yet another dreadful day, so when an owl appeared at their window and started tapping on it impatiently she was surprised to say the least. Actually, she had jumped and almost spilled her tea and barely managed to bite her tongue from letting loose a few choice words.

Swallowing the last of his toast, Harry gazed at the bird with curiosity in his green eyes. "Zela, what's that?"

The ginger-haired girl slowly got up and walked over to the window. "It's an owl." Confusion laced her words. Why was there an owl here, in the middle of the day? Owls were nocturnal. Taking a careful look, she realized this was a barn owl and the poor thing looked exhausted. She opened the window and held out her arm, allowing the bird to perch, which it did. "Toss me a piece of bacon, Harry. The poor thing looks so tired." Harry obediently tossed her a piece of his precious bacon and Azalea fed it to the bird who practically swallowed it and the hooted happily.

Then she felt something brush her arm on the owls leg and saw a piece of paper tied to it. Curious, she untied it and glanced at the bird. "Is this for us?" She felt kind of silly asking the bird that question, but to her surprise it bobbed its head like it could understand her. However, before she opened it, Azalea hesitated. She had never gotten anything before-neither had Harry. This was more than a little unusual and had her wary at what it was. Eventually though, her curiosity won out and she unrolled the piece of paper-no, parchment, she realized.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,

Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Miss Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

Azalea was more than a little confused. She was thinking more along the lines of- What the bloody hell is this? What is Hogwarts? Obviously some kind of school- but for wizards? A frown formed on her face. Was that what that energy was, that flowed through her when she unlocked the door to their room? Could she be capable of doing more than that?

Uncomfortably, she remembered all of the weird things she had sometimes done when she got really upset. One time Dudley had hiccups for a straight week and could barely talk. The day before that happened he wouldn't stop screaming at her and she had gotten really upset and wished something would happen to him so he would just shut up. Then she was struck by another thought. If, and that was a big if, she was a witch or wizard or whatever, was Harry one too? He had done some weird, unexplainable things… so how come he didn't get a letter?

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Azalea looked at the second page of the parchment with a small frown on her face.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

UNIFORM

First-year students will require:

1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)

2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

4. One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)

Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags.

COURSE BOOKS

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)

by Miranda Goshawk

A History of Magic

by Bathilda Bagshot

Magical Theory

by Adalbert Waffling

A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration

by Emeric Switch

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi

by Phyllida Spore

Magical Drafts and Potions

by Arsenius Jigger

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

by Newt Scamander

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection

by Quentin Trimble

OTHER EQUIPMENT

1 wand

1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 set glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set brass scales

Students may also bring, if they desire, an owl OR a cat OR a toad.

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS

ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICK

Yours sincerely,

Lucinda Thomsonicle-Pocus

Chief Attendant of Witchcraft Provisions

Azalea stared at the paper blankly as her mind struggled to put the pieces together. Okay. So apparently she had been accepted to some school called Hogwarts. This school was a place for witchcraft and wizardry. So logically, that meant a school for witches and wizards. She was starting to be convinced that magic was real. It definitely did explain some things that had been going on in their lives. For one, why her aunt and uncle always called her a freak. She wondered if her parents had been wizards. Was that why she could do this… magic, but her aunt and uncle couldn't?

"What is it, Zela?" Harry asked quietly, and when Azalea looked at him she saw his eyes filled with curiosity and concern.

"I-I've been accepted to a school." With the owl still on her arm, she sat down on the mattress next to her brother, letting him pet the owl while she talked. "It's a school for wizards." The word felt normal on her tongue, as if it was completely natural for her to talk about witches and wizards and magic.

Harry's eyes lit up brighter than she had seen them in a long time. "Magic? Really? Is that what that stuff is that you can do?" Unlike Azalea, her brother was much younger than her and still had that child-like innocence. "Zela that so cool! What 'bout me?!"

Azalea frowned slightly. "This just says Miss Potter on it, not Miss and Mr. Potter." She needed to know more before she gave them an answer on whether or not she would attend. Was this a boarding school? Or a regular school? She didn't know how she felt about leaving her brother for a long period of time. Who knew what the Durselys would do to him. "I'm going to ask them to give me more information on the school." She decided and searched around for a piece of paper and a pencil. The owl perched on Harry's arm while she wrote her letter.

My name is Azalea Potter. I would like to know more about this school before I accept or deny this request.

Short and sweet. Plus, Azalea was only eleven, she didn't really know how to write proper letters. After a moment of hesitation she tied the letter to the owl's leg and led him to the window on her arm. "I hope we'll see you again." She smiled and let the owl fly out the window, into the dawning sky.

She sighed and shut the window and sat back down next to Harry. He was staring at her with curiosity again, and she raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Unperturbed, Harry asked, "Why don't you just ask aunt and uncle?"

With a frown, Azalea shook her head. "No. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Dursley don't like things that aren't normal. Magic… well, that's anything but normal."

Harry still looked a little confused but he nodded in understanding. Don't mention the magic in front of them. Azalea smiled proudly; glad he was finally starting to catch on and hugged him tightly. One thing was for sure, this school was either going to have to take both of them or she wouldn't go. There was no way she would be separated form her brother and leave him at the mercy of these idiots they were related to.

So what did you think? How will the school react to Miss Potter not knowing what Hogwarts is? How will they remedy that? Will she go to the school without her brother? Will a compromise be reached? Or will she be forced to leave her brother behind? Review answers to what YOU think should happen- and any questions you may have! Thankyou for reading!