Thank you to everyone who was following my old "The Muggleborn Slytherin" series. I have gone back and rewritten it as I realized how sloppy my writing was becoming with major plot holes and storylines that I started and knew I wasn't going to finish. As always, I do not own Harry Potter. Please enjoy.

Aria Bourne eyed the school uniform with distaste. It wasn't an ugly uniform, as school uniforms went, but it was certainly too big and smelt of moth balls. She dragged her gaze away from the offending pieces of garment to her dad.

"You can't be serious," she said. Kenneth sighed.

"This was the smallest they had," he told her. "I can take it in, though since you'll probably grow into it, I'd rather not."

Aria huffed, taking the garments in her arms. It was clear just looking at the uniform that the clothes were second hand, and she knew she would get teased. Kids had teased her in primary for having second-hand uniforms so why would secondary be any different? Beyond that, if the teachers at St. Brigid's Secondary were anything like Farnsworth Primary, they would already treat her like all the other Spinner's End kids – as if she was already a lost cause because she was born on the wrong side of the river.

"Aria!"

Her dad's terrified cry jolted her out of her pity party. Heat hit her hand and she looked down, dropping her burning school uniform in horror. Kenneth grabbed his water bottle, dumping it contents onto the clothing. Aria's shoulders slumped seeing the smoldering hole in the middle of the skirt and sweater.

"Are you hurt?" Kenneth asked.

"I'm sorry!" Aria cried. "I didn't mean to set it on fire."

"It's fine," Kenneth soothed, pulling her close, "I just want to know if you're hurt." Aria sniffed, shaking her head. She glanced at her hands.

"Actually, a little," she said. Kenneth ushered her to the sink in the kitchen where he stuck her hand under the faucet, turning on the cold water.

"Keep it there for a few minutes," he told her. A knock came from the front door. Kenneth patted her shoulder and went to answer it. She grabbed a dish towel, wetting it, and wrapping it around her hand, just as she heard her dad exclaim in surprise. Poking her head out of the kitchen she gaped as their neighbor, Severus Snape, entered the house. He wore black shoes, neatly polished; black trousers and an interesting black frock coat that Aria felt belonged in some period drama than on Spinner's End. His hair, also black, hung straight almost to his shoulders and his large nose was crooked reminding Aria of what Tommy Robbins' nose looked like right after Kevin Taylor broke it last year.

What could he possibly want? He was gone almost ten months out of the year. He was a professor as some mysterious private school up in Scotland. No one on the street knew its name or where in Scotland it was located. Aria's theory amongst the Spinner's End kids was that it was a school for children the government was training to be the next generation of British MPs and international ambassadors. Either way, it was very rare the Mr. Snape ever made calls when he was home even though he had grown up on the street and knew most of the grown-ups, like Kenneth, because of that.

"I thought I told you to keep your hand under the water," Kenneth scolded.

"I put it in a towel," Aria said, showing him the wet towel around her hand. She followed the men into the living room.

"Do you want tea?" Kenneth asked.

"No, thank you," Snape replied. "I am here on official business."

"Official business? For what?"

"The school I teach at. I am here to offer a space to Aria."

"Did someone put her name in for it?" Kenneth asked. "I certainly didn't."

"That's . . . not exactly how it works," Snape replied, reaching into an inner pocket of his coat and pulling out a thick envelope. He held it out to Aria who took it with her good hand. It was parchment and sealed with a red wax seal, stamped with what looked like the school's crest which included a shield in four parts with an eagle, lion, snake, and badger.

The letter was addressed:

Aria Bourne

2nd Bedroom on the Left

24 Spinner's End

Cokesworth, England

Very curious, she decided. There wasn't even a postcode! Carefully, so as not to disturb the towel on her hand, she broke the seal and pulled out two pieces of parchment and a golden gilded piece of paper that read PLATFORM 9¾, KING'S CROSS, LONDON. It reminded her of what she envisioned Wonka's Golden Ticket to look like.

Ignoring the strange train ticket for the moment she turned to the first piece of parchment and began reading the letter aloud.

Dear Miss Bourne, it read,

It is with great pleasure that I invite you to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"Witchcraft and Wizardry?" Aria demanded. "Is this a joke?"

"Do I look like a joking man, Miss Bourne?" Snape asked. Aria shook her head.

Please be assured, she continued reading, that Hogwarts is one of the finest schools of magic in the United Kingdom. You will find with this letter a supply list for your first year of Hogwarts. Note: first year students are not allowed their own brooms. Acceptable pets are: cats, owls, and toads.

We look forward to your owl.

Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

Aria turned to the second piece of parchment which was indeed a school list. Items included the standard school uniform of white collared shirt, sweater, sweater vest, black pleated skirt for girls, black wizarding robes with Hogwarts Crest, books like Standard Book of Spells Volume 1, and Potions for Beginners. Also included was a Standard Number 2 pewter cauldron and First Year Potions Kit as well as a wand.

She handed everything over to Kenneth who glanced over it all before looking to the corner of the living room for a minute before looking at Aria, then Snape, then back to Aria again.

"It all makes sense now," Kenneth muttered.

"What makes sense?" Aria asked.

"All the weird stuff you've done," her dad replied. "The floating objects, the random wind, the way you just set your school uniform on fire by just glaring at it." Snape snorted with amusement at that. Aria felt her face grow hot with embarrassment, knowing she was turning fully pink all the way to her shoulders.

"Well if you teach at Hogwarts, then you must be a wizard," Aria said to Snape. "Can you show us something?" Snape smirked and reached into his coat, rummaging around until he pulled out a round container that looked like the moisturizer container Melissa Jacobs, the sixteen-year-old across the road, had. Snape unscrewed the top and revealed a lotion type filling.

"I teach the subject of Potions," he told her. "I am a Potions Master, First Class; meaning I have the equivalent of a doctorate in the subject."

"Do I call you Doctor Snape?"

"Professor will do in the academic setting; I actually prefer it over the more formal term of Master Snape." He held up the lotion for them to observe more closely. It was orange and looked rather thick.

"This is a Burn Salve," he said. "Any good Potions Master will carry standard first aid items on their person." He unwrapped the towel from Aria's burned hand and carefully applied the salve to her skin, not rubbing it in like a lotion, but letting it sit there. After a moment her skin absorbed the salve and her burn was gone.

"Wicked!" she whispered, showing off her hand to Kenneth. Kenneth inspected her limb before glancing at Snape.

"Did you go to Hogwarts?" he asked.

"Yes," Snape answered. "I did. As did Lily Evans, if you remember her."

"Who doesn't?" Kenneth cried. "She was the nicest person that came from that side of the river. Well . . . one of the nicest." Aria watched her dad's eyes flicker to the nearby picture of her mother, Abigail, who had died of cancer when Aria was nine. She had grown up on Darby Street, which was on the other side of the river a quarter mile from St. Brigid's Secondary.

"How is she?" Kenneth asked. "That is . . . if you know. I remember hearing that you two fell out at one point."

"We did," Snape replied, tucking the Burn Salve away. "We went our own ways. I'm afraid I . . . fell into the standard stereotype of Spinner's End for a few years after school."

"You joined a gang?" Kenneth cried.

"I left it," Snape snapped. Kenneth raised his hands in peace. "Unfortunately, Lily and her husband got on the wrong side of the leader of the gang I had joined, and he killed them."

"That's awful!"

"Yes, well . . . as far as I'm aware he's gone."

"But not really?"

"He fled to the continent. Maybe. Most people in the wizarding world think he's dead. But he was steeped in Dark Magic so it would not surprise me if somehow even he managed to cheat death."

Aria folded her arms. Typical adults hijacking a conversation about her future with talks about gangs.

"Hello?" she cried. "We were talking about my education?"

"Right," Kenneth agreed. "Severus, how much is all of this going to cost?"

"Tuition at Hogwarts is paid for all students," Snape replied. "Hogwarts is over one thousand years old, there is a hefty endowment that the Board of Governors has set aside to pay for tuition. There is also some assistance if you need help buying supplies, but I assure you, that if you buy second hand books and clothes the largest expense will be first year since you'll have many one-time purchases to make that won't come during the other six years. Items like a school trunk and a wand. In total a first year list, at bare minimum, if you purchased everything new comes to a total of £400."

"Does the wizarding world take credit cards?" Aria winced that that. Kenneth had been trying to pay off the two credit cards he had used to be able to pay for her mother's funeral expenses.

"No, you'd have to exchange money," Snape said. "Cash no checks."

"You said there may be assistance for buying supplies?"

"You're going to let me go?" Aria cried. Excitement and a little bit of trepidation filled her. This was a boarding school. Christopher Hanes was going to go to Ackworth in Yorkshire, and it had been all he could talk about for the last half of the school year.

"Aria, how could I not?" Kenneth asked. "Your mother always said you were special. She was never as . . . shook by your strange abilities as I have been. I'm sure at this school you'll not only learn how not to set your clothes on fire, but you'll be able to meet other children who are just like you. You'll be able to make friends."

"I have friends," Aria argued, "I've got Robert Jacobs and Tommy Robbins and Samuel Tweed."

"They're two years older than you and already are trying the patience of the entire street," Kenneth replied. "Do you want to go, or do you actually want to go to St. Brigid's?"

"No! I want to go!" Aria took back the letter. "What does 'we await your owl' mean?"

"We use owls to deliver the post," Snape answered. "Now, what day works best for you to go get her supplies? We will have to go to London. I am the faculty member assigned to lead you through the process of introduction to the wizarding world."

"Uh . . . we have time on Saturday," Kenneth replied. "Is there a wizarding way to get there . . . brooms or such? Or are we going to have to drive? Will I have to fill out any forms for the financial assistance?"

"There are several ways of transportation," Snape replied with an amused upturn of his mouth. "Brooms being one way, but there are quicker methods. We will use the Floo system. My house is connected to it. Come over at nine o'clock Saturday morning. I will relay to Hogwarts that you have accepted your spot for the upcoming school year." He rose and Kenneth hurried to stand. Snape looked down at Aria who struggled to meet the man's dark and unreadable gaze. Finally, he nodded to Kenneth and saw himself out.