The chilly, foggy December air and overcast skies of northern Indiana could not dampen Ana's spirits. She could readily admit that she missed the mundane aspects of her old non-magical life – the home-cooked meals, overhearing the silly gossip between her sister Nell and her circle of friends, and perhaps more than anything – looking into the pleading, soulful amber eyes of Roscoe, her faithful golden retriever.

Two days after Christmas, an unexpected rapping at the front door - followed by a series of howls from Roscoe - interrupted Ana from her studies. She groggily made her way downstairs to see what the fuss was about. To her mild surprise, the local mail carrier stood by the doorway, holding a strangely-marked package. "G'mornin', young lady. I take it you're Anastasia Harrison?"

"That's me, all right," replied Ana with a yawn.

The mail carrier chuckled. "Got a little something from merry old England for you. I'm afraid it's not going to fit in the mailbox, so I figured it would be best to try and deliver it in person."

I wonder if that's from my pen pal Daphne, thought Anastasia as she took the box. It was certainly a bit on the heavy side, as the unexpected weight caused her arms to droop. "Thanks," she squeaked. "Happy New Year."

"Happy New Year to you as well, miss," the mail carrier replied. He tilted his cap before turning around and plodding on the freshly-fallen snow on the sidewalk.

Ana took the parcel to her room and analyzed the unfamiliar handwriting. It was addressed to "Miss Anastasia Harrison, 555 Ticonderoga Trail, South Bend Indiana, USA". The block-style lettering – while neat and legible – was clearly far different than Daphne's own calligraphy, which was a beautiful loopy cursive.

Her eyes widened somewhat when she read the return label – it was sent by Hermione Granger as opposed to Daphne, but she grinned when she saw Daphne's name in parenthesis underneath Hermione's name. That was nice of Hermione to send this on Daphne's behalf, thought Ana as she opened the gift. She let out a delighted squeal when she pulled the lid off the box which contained Hogwarts: A History and another book on Magical Britain. "This is perfect – I've wanted to learn more about Hogwarts ever since I found out I was a witch," she murmured to herself. She then found a note – Hermione must have written this from home as it was clearly not parchment, and the ink more closely resembled the type used in ballpoint pens as opposed to quills, she figured.

"21 December 1991

Dear Anastasia,

Hiya! In case you didn't already know, I'm Daphne's friend and roommate, Hermione Granger. She wanted to send this to you because from what she's told me, you have a bit of a fascination with Hogwarts, and we thought that this should whet your appetite – there's a lot of neat history in here. I offered to send it to you on her behalf as I thought it would be more efficient to send it using Muggle means than by owl (she actually agreed with me there). There should be a second book on British wizarding history that's not necessarily Hogwarts-centric but I'm sure you'll find it worth your while just the same.

Thank you for sending those delightful treats, by the way. The puckerberry jelly roll and slice of Pukwudgie pie were quite tasty, and that's coming from someone who doesn't have a big sweet tooth (though I do like fruit – especially fresh berries). I made sure my slice of pie was small as I do have to be careful about what I do eat due to the nasty hardware I've got on my teeth, which I've got to wear for nearly two more years. I can't wait for them to come off – both my parents and friends say that I'm going to have a positively gorgeous smile. I hope they're right!

Daphne sent you a letter as well – I'm not sure if you've already received it or not – but I just thought I'd give you a heads-up just in case. She says that you might be coming to Scotland to compete in the Interscholastic Quiz Bowl competition in the spring – I'm sure you're going to perform brilliantly! As it stands, it looks more and more likely that Slytherin is going to represent our school (between you and me, they're just cheating scum – they can't win anything fair and square if their lives depended on it). I'd be very happy for you if Ilvermorny wins – I wish you the best of luck! Until then, I wish you a happy New Year.

With love from the UK,

Hermione"

Ana spent the next several hours reading her new book, finding herself spellbound by the stories of the school's four founders, about the use of house-elves in the kitchens, and even some terrifying tales about the Triwizard Tournaments of old.

After a couple of hours, she put Hogwarts: A History away for the time being, and picked up the second book that came with the package. About an hour into the book, she straightened herself up from her lull, and did a double-take - did this book just mention Harry?

She always suspected that Harry Potter was known to British wizarding society, but before then she had never seen him referenced in print before. She felt the goosebumps on her arms as she read about how Harry got the famous scar on his forehead. Although this wasn't anything she didn't already know, it was just surreal seeing this information in a book, as if her one of her best friends' stories had been chronicled by a biographer.

That evening, after dinner, Ana had gotten permission from her parents to give Harry a call. "If memory serves, Surrey is three hours behind me," she thought as she punched the digits on the receiver. "So it should be just before dinner for them."

A few seconds later, an unfamiliar British accent answered the phone. "This is Rhonda Woodward speaking. May I ask who's calling?"

"Hi there," replied Ana. "I'm Anastasia Harrison, one of Harry's friends from school. Is he able to talk for a little bit?"

"Well hello, Anastasia," purred Rhonda. "It's been a while. How have you been? I take it you've been enjoying your time off away from school?"

"I needed some family time a lot more than I was willing to admit," said Ana. "It's good to be home for sure. I hope Harry's had a good Christmas."

Ana could practically hear Rhonda's chuckling from the other end. "Oh, he's had a delightful Christmas. I think he's upstairs – if you'll hold on for a just a minute or so, I'll go and fetch him."

"Thanks," breathed Ana as she waited for Harry to pick up the phone. It wasn't a long wait – perhaps a minute at the most, when she heard an excited cry from what must have been upstairs, followed by a nervous-sounding greeting a few seconds after that.

"Erm, hello?" Harry said. "Ana, is that you?"

"No, it's Santa Claus," giggled Ana. "Of course it's me, you goofy boy. How are you doing? I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time…"

"Not at all," Harry replied. "I was wondering when you'd be calling. I've been just here with my family for the most part. Did you have a good Christmas?"

"I think so," Ana said. "Most of the gifts I got were fine – cash, clothes, books – y'know, the usual. What about you? Did you get anything special? Since some of your family's magical, I can't help but wonder if you got anything unique."

Harry burst into laughter. "Funny you should ask. Most of my gifts were non-magical, but my godfather got me this broomstick. I think it's called a Matador. He says it's one of the fastest models out there – quidditch seekers from Latin America swear by it. He's already taken me to Diurn Alley to let me test it out, and let me tell you, it's nothing like the brooms we use at school. I'll probably get a couple more chances to practice with it before I have go to back. I'll need to spend all summer flying if I'm going to try out for seeker next year! Oh, and I finally got to try on this special silver cloak that my aunt and uncle held for me for several years. It's… brilliant. I'll at least get to take that to school – I can't really describe it over the phone – I'll just have to show you."

Ana's eyes widened with curiosity. "Those sound like amazing gifts, Harry. I can't wait to see that cloak." She snickered into the receiver. "As for me, I got a most unexpected gift from Wizarding Britain – a package arrived for me just this morning, actually. One of Daphne's friends mailed it to me a few days ago saying it would be more efficient to send it no-maj style… and let me tell you, it's the most perfect gift. I'll bet you can't guess what they sent."

"I'unno… your very own Hogwarts uniform?" Harry replied, not really sure what someone from Magical Britain would want to send Ana.

"No, but I wouldn't turn that down either," giggled Ana. "Daphne and her friends got me a couple of books. The first is Hogwarts: A History, and the other one is a smaller, more generic book on British wizarding history. And you're not going to believe this – you're in it!"

Harry blinked. "Wait, whaaaa?"

"Yeah, you're mentioned in the British wizarding history books," confirmed Ana. "I mean, between what I've heard from you and Nova is one thing, but seeing you mentioned – and prominently at that – it's almost like I'm talking to the magical world's version of a movie star."

Harry let out a groan. "I'm just Harry from Surrey – I'm the same boy you met in Nessel Road a few months ago." Another, more concerning thought popped into his head. "I wonder if your friend Daphne knows I go to school with you."'

"Of course you are," Ana said sweetly. "And I'd imagine it's safe to assume that she does, even though she hasn't explicitly asked me yet."

"And what are you going to tell her if she does ask?" Harry inquired with a hint of irritation in his voice. "I don't want a bunch of magical Limey girls sending me fanmail that I won't have time to answer… Lord have mercy, Nova is bad enough on her own!"

Ana burst into giggles. "Goodness gracious, Harry, would you relax already? Nova likes to tease you from time to time, but she thinks the world of you. And I don't think Daphne's the kind of girl that would hound you – but in the event that she does bring you up, I'll just tell her the truth, while making it clear that you want your privacy respected. And I'm sure she'd have no problem with that." She then proceeded to mock-lecture Harry. "As far as Limey, Harry… that wasn't very nice. And ironic since you're English yourself!"

"I'm Canadian," Harry retorted defiantly. "And proud of it! My heritage is English, along with Irish and Welsh…"

"I wouldn't have you any other way," Ana offered gently. "You're lucky you moved to Greater Vancouver as you don't have to deal with the celebrity that goes with being the Boy-Who-Lived. You're just a first-year Horned Serpent to most of Ilvermorny, but to lots of magical British girls like Daphne, well… you're a bona fide rock star!"

This time it was Harry's turn to laugh. "I suppose you're right. I'm not going to lie, I'm glad that I got to escape Magical Britain because I'm not sure I can handle the fame that goes with being the Boy-Who-Lived. And while Daphne might respect my privacy, there's probably a bunch of other girls that won't leave me alone until I take them out for a date! I'm not ready for that sort of thing!"

"You didn't ask for any of the terrible things that happened when you were a baby," continued Ana. "You may be growing up without your birth parents, but you're not growing up unloved." She then burst into high-pitched chortles. "And Nova can be a stinker sometimes. You know she likes do say and do things that get your goat."

"Case in point – her shoving me into you under the mistletoe," groaned Harry.

Ana rolled her eyes. "Don't remind me. If she likes keeping her face as soft as a baby's behind, she won't be doing anything like that again."

"I talked to her the next day," admitted Harry. "She says she felt rotten for doing it, and she felt bad for calling you, y'know, a mudblood."

"She apologized to me as well," Ana said. "I told her it wasn't a big deal, but she went on for about ten minutes about how horrible she felt… I felt obligated to let her say her piece, but sometimes I think she forgets the cultural differences between North America and Great Britain."

She checked her wristwatch. "Oh, Harry, I gotta get going, we've been on the phone for about a half hour already. I really had a good time catching up with you – I can't wait to see you at the castle in a few days. I want you to enjoy the rest of your break, and I hope you have a happy New Year. Bye!"

"Yeah, I think dinner isn't too far off," replied Harry. "I enjoyed talking to you too, Ana. You clearly needed some time back home – it sounds like it's done you some good. I hope you have a happy New Year as well, and I'll see you back at the castle. Bye!"