Special thank goes out to Big poi, Captain-Sarah-Janeway, & Invisible-to-all for favoriting or adding my story to their story alerts. (PS: my keyboard is totally dying on me. My "N" & "S" keys aren't wanting to work, so if you see a typo, just let me know.)

Oh, also, I will be taking Annabelle all throughout her Hogwarts experience. If there's anything you'd like to see or hear about, let me know and I might just indulge you. I'm open to suggestions and I love feedback. Also, I'm willing to accept ideas for other fics, so just let me know what you think. Thanks!

Disclaimer: I don't own J.K. Rowling's work. (I totally did make up this kind of Kneazle though...)

Annabelle glanced around the large pub. The Leaky Cauldron was extremely noisy, but it didn't seem nearly as bad as the bookstore they had passed on the way here. Magic folk seemed crazy about their books. The line cut off just at the entrance of the little shop and Annabelle could hear a great ruckus from inside. She had no time to ponder this as Minerva had quickly led her into the pub.

Now, Professor McGonagall was scanning the room for her husband while Annabelle was captivated by a group of people standing outside the window. There was a family of seven with flaming red hair and Annabelle found herself staring. With them, were two other children: a bushy haired brunette and a boy with black hair and, when he turned her way, startling green eyes. The family seemed so happy and easy going. Annabelle couldn't help but be jealous. She lightly nudged Professor McGonagall. "Who are they?"

McGonagall peered out the window and caught sight of what had entranced her young charge. The Weasley family, Miss Granger, and Mr. Potter were gathered outside on their yearly trip to Diagon Alley for their own school supplies. "Well, the gingers are a family named the Weasleys. Every Weasley child has always been a Gryffindor. Young Miss Weasley, there, will be in your year."

McGonagall smiled and directed the girl's gaze to the other two children. "Mr. Potter and Miss Granger are a year ahead of you. They're also in Gryffindor."

"Minerva, who is it you've brought with you for lunch?" They both spun around upon hearing the voice.

Minerva knew it was Albus and grinned as the white haired man gave her a quick kiss before turning his attention back to her young charge. "This is Miss Annabelle Wyte. She's a muggle born witch and will be coming to Hogwarts this year."

Meanwhile, Annabelle was shell shocked by this man's appearance. He stood even taller than Professor McGonagall and he wore blue, starry robes. His white beard flowed down past his waist and his hair was even longer. Annabelle imagined he had dimpled behind all of his facial hair, but she couldn't really prove that thought. Finally, she realized that she'd been mentioned and that both adults had their eyes fixated on her. She took a tiny step back, only to have a solid surface press against her back. She was trapped. Her eyes began to water a little as she forced herself to focus on her shoes.

Don't look him in the eye.

Be quiet.

Don't cry.

Don't look at him.

The thoughts were overwhelming and the young witch hadn't noticed Professor McGonagall direct her husband to sit at a little table in the dining room and wait for them. Annabelle only noticed a change when her professor kneeled in front of her and placed a gentle hand on both of her shoulders.

Minerva wasn't sure what exactly was wrong with the child, but she noticed that it'd gotten worse when Albus arrived. "Lassie, what's troubling you, dear?" She reached up to wipe one of the girl's tears away when a small hand caught her wrist.

Belle's small voice met Minerva's ears in a quiet plea as their eyes met. "Please, don't." Then, Annabelle dropped her professor's hand and wiped her tears away. "I'm sorry, Professor. We can go sit down now. I'll be good."

Minerva's heart broke for the girl, but she just nodded and led her young charge to their table. The professor sat down next to Albus and let Belle have the seat across from either of them. When she settled into the seat across from Minerva, the professor smiled, but soon an overwhelming silence settled over the trio.

Minerva wanted to get to the bottom of this, but she also knew that the young girl would not be willing to talk with Albus around. She also gathered that the girl wasn't ready to talk to her, given that they'd just met this morning.

Albus was puzzled about the whole situation. Why was this girl staying with them? How was this child managing to make his wife smile? Albus shrugged off his questions and just smiled at both witches. "Alright, Minerva, I know what you want, but how about you, Miss Wyte?"

The young witch's eyes snapped up when she was spoken to. She didn't really know what there was so she just shrugged. "Whatever she's getting."

Neither professor wanted to push their young charge, so Albus got up and went to tell Tom that all three of them would like a cottage pie and pumpkin juice. The food floated along behind Albus as he made his way back to their little table. The three ate in silence and Albus was the first to finish. At the completion of his meal, he stood up and grinned. "I'll be seeing you lovely ladies tonight, but I have business up at Hogwarts to attend before then. Have a good day." He turned to walk away, but spun back to the witches after a moment's thought. "Annabelle, make sure she gets you some sweets. Don't believe her when she tells you that they're not good for you. As headmaster, I say they're perfect for all students." At this declaration, he spun on the spot and disapparated.

Annabelle couldn't help, but giggle. "Professor, what did he mean by being headmaster? Is he really Hogwarts' headmaster?" She couldn't see a headmaster of such renown acting like a buffoon, even around his own wife.

Now, Minerva was the one chuckling. "Yes, lass. Professor Dumbledore is the headmaster at Hogwarts as well as my husband." The professor ate the last bit of her food before she took notice of Miss Wyte's empty plate. "Are you ready to move on, Miss Wyte?"

Annabelle nodded and slowly stepped away from the table. "Where are we going next? I still need my books, dragon hide gloves, wand, and," She pointed at the list. "all of these." There, it discussed the remainders of items she would need, including a pewter cauldron, a glass or crystal phial, a telescope, and brass scales. She paused before looking up at her professor and giving a nonchalant shrug. "It also says students may bring a toad, an owl, or a cat if they wish. That's not required though." Belle let her statement trail off as they headed toward the front door.

"We'll stop by Ollivander's last. That's where you'll acquire your wand. How about we stop by Flourish & Blotts now, so that we can purchase your books and all your potions and astronomy supplies between there and Ollivander's?" Minerva made sure her charge was following her and began making her way down Diagon Alley again.

Seeing that they were walking straight into a book store, Annabelle charged ahead, pushing open the door and looking around in awe. There were so many books and they were flying around the room, placing themselves on their appropriate shelves. She dashed over to a shelf labeled 'first year' and began to pick up all the books on her list. Her arms were full and she reached out to grab another set of books. They weren't on her list, but they looked to be something she would need anyway. One book was titled, Hogwarts, a History and the other one was labeled, 101 Spells Every Witch and Wizard should know. The latter wasn't on the same shelf as the rest and it claimed to be a special edition. It looked interesting and Annabelle wanted to know what it was about. Placing them both on her hazardous stack, she quickly stumbled away from the shelf, only to bump into her chuckling professor.

"Alright, lass. Let's see what you've found here." Her finger ran along the spine of each book and she inwardly groaned at the amount of books the child would have to read about Gilderoy Lockhart. The man was a menace and a fraud. Albus and she had a nasty row the night he was hired. As the professor came across the last two books, she just smiled. Minerva McGonagall would never be one to keep a child from learning more. Satisfied, she grabbed another book off of a nearby shelf and started to put it on the stack when she realized that the stack was already teetering from side to side. She shrunk the books, so that they were each the size of a deck of cards, and levitated them over to the counter. Minerva paid for the stack, had them wrapped, and then immediately shrunk the whole package.

Pocketing the miniature package, she guided her student back outside. "Now, I'm going to step inside and purchase some equipment for you. I'd recommend waiting outside because it appears to be exceptionally crowded inside." At her student's nod, she made her way inside and began the mad search for first year supplies.

Outside, Annabelle was nervously running the toe of her boot along the ground when a sudden noise caught her attention. She looked up to see the sign for a menagerie and she grinned. Certainly, she wouldn't be missed if she went inside for just a minute.

She slipped inside and looked around. Animals of all shapes and sizes lined the walls and cages sat floating above her. The owls hooted eerily, and the young girl backed away from their haunting noises. On the opposite wall, however, were more pleasant creatures. There were a couple different cats, pigmy puffs, and rats over here. One cat, in particular, caught her eye. Its eyes were startlingly similar to the orbs adoring her face: both in color and shape. The cat's underbelly matched her own blonde hair, smooth and straight without any other color marring it. The rest of its body was covered in shaggy brown hair with black markings throughout it. The only other spot of blonde fur was found on the underside of her immense tail.

Annabelle found herself enchanted by the cat, almost as if she were hypnotized. She knelt down beside the cat's cage and stuck out her hand, letting the cat sniff her. She didn't hear the shop owner warn her against her sudden movements, but, to the owner's surprise, the cat was soon nuzzling her hand. The cat emitted a soft rumbling as it continued to rub its head against her.

Finally, she found her voice as a smile split her lips. "Hello, precious." The cat stopped its ministrations for a moment and looked up at the little witch. It cocked its head to the side in what appeared to be a question, but Annabelle didn't have an answer. She sighed and ran her hand down the cat's cheek one time before getting up, apologizing as she did so. Before she reached the door, though, the owner stopped her.

"Miss, that cat's no ordinary cat, and obviously you're no ordinary witch. Her breed is said to hold magical properties and can pick out future animagi. There are other properties I can tell you about if you'd like, but she's already chosen you." At the student's puzzled expression, he continued. "She won't even let me feed her without clawing at me. She's openly hostile to everyone and generally paces that cage all day." He pointed to the cage and grinned. "Now she's simply sitting there, hoping that you'll come back and get her. If you walk out now, I can guarantee that she'll still be sitting there for at least the next hour. They don't get attached easily."

Annabelle shook her head, mumbling an apology to the shop keep as well. "I'm sorry, sir. I can't afford a pet at this point in time, no matter how special they might be." She smiled sadly at this and felt her heart breaking as she looked back at the emerald eyed cat.

The man leaned against the counter and glanced between the cat and the student. "How about I cut you a deal?" When she didn't shoot down his request, he continued. "Who are you here with, darling?"

The young witch bit her lip. "Well, you see, I'm here with Professor McGonagall. My parents aren't magic like you or her." Annabelle still couldn't even believe that she was here. She truly doubted the cat was as special as this man was trying to put off. He probably just wanted the profit from selling her. He'd sell her to anyone willing to pay, but that wasn't Annabelle. Surely, he didn't expect her to fall for this, right?

Alright, so the young girl was a muggle born student. She was here without her parents and solely with the stern Hogwarts' deputy headmistress. He forgot all about making a profit and threw up his hands. "Go pick up her cage and bring it over here." He cut her off as she began to argue and shooed her in the direction of the cage. The girl seemed practically captivated by the cat and walked directly to it, not looking around her at all. He grabbed his wand and levitated a set of cat supplies to him. He shrunk them down and waited for the child to arrive with the cage.

Annabelle picked up the cage and grinned as the cat gave out a loud mew. She sat perfectly still in the middle of the cage and continued to mew happily. The girl turned around and gave the owner another questioning look as she set the cage down in front of him. "Sir, I can't pay for this. I can't afford her."

The owner simply nodded and handed her the bundle of cat supplies. "I know, dear. Take the cat and be good to her. She deserves respect, but she'll be loyal to you." He glanced out the shop window and spotted a frantic looking McGonagall. "Now, go child. Your professor is waiting."

Annabelle's eyes had grown wide with shock and she simply nodded, accepting the bundle and walking towards the door. Reaching the door, she turned around again and couldn't help but grin again. "Thank you so much, sir. I promise, I'll be good to her. Thank you! Thank you!" With her last 'thank you's she ran outside and was embraced by an anxious McGonagall.

"I was so worried about you. Where'd you go?" Annabelle found her warm mentor quickly turning into a stern professor before her eyes. Then, taking note of the mewling cat, Minerva couldn't help but smile. "I see…Just do me a favor next time and let me know before you wander." She couldn't help but be proud of her young charge. This was a very special cat and not many witches or wizards were ever chosen by such a creature. This girl had a lot to offer.