>★<

15 August 1987. The sun painted the sky with swirls of warm colours during the early morning hours. The sound of bird calls drifted through the early morning air; but it did nothing to wake up the child who kept sleeping. Sunlight shafted through the curtains, lighting up the room slightly.

Sierra McKinnon pulled the covers close to her body to avoid exposure to the cold rush of air. It seemed like she wasn't going to wake up anytime soon even though the sun was up for the day.

Moments later, she was woken by the rasp of the curtains being pulled back; the dazzling sunlight poked her hard in both eyes. She grabbed one of her pillows and hid under it.

"Go away!" She hated it when people woke her up before she woke up by herself.

"No," Her eleven year old cousin, Astrid Rosier said. "It's time to wake up."

"No it's not."

"The sun is up."

"Tell it to go back down."

Sierra grumbled, throwing a pillow at her cousin. But Astrid was prepared for the battle as she threw a wet towel at Sierra's face. That did wake her up.

"ARGH!" Sierra growled. "It won't hurt to let me sleep for three more minutes."

Astrid rolled her eyes. Three minutes was like an hour in Sierra's head.

"Come downstairs sissy, there's something you need to see," She took her cousin's hand and tugged at her sleeve.

Sierra noticed the excited gleam in her cousin's dark brown eyes and hopped out of bed with a sigh. The two girls ran down the staircase and came to a halt as they reached the dining room.

Antoine Rosier sat at the head of the table his face hidden behind the morning's Daily Prophet. His wife Melania sat at the chair to his left, stirring her cup of steaming tea. Elodie glanced up at the two girl's as they walked in then began eating her breakfast again.

Elodie was the Rosier's oldest daughter and Astrid's older sister.
The older Rosier sister was tall with shoulder length blonde hair and blue eyes, unlike Astrid who had dark brown hair with hazel eyes.

Elodie was engaged to Cygnus Avery. It was a part of the pure blood tradition to be locked in a marriage at a young age. It simply meant that when they were of age they could get married.

The three young girls in the Rosier household were raised to believe in blood purity. They were taught the importance of associating themselves with pure bloods only.

According to them muggleborns would strip them of their magic.
They were supposed to strengthen their magic and protect their families through selectiveness and even inbreeding.

They were all so obsessed with the whole blood purity thing that they let it ruin aspects of their families.

Many members were disowned if they associated themselves with muggles or muggleborns. They were called blood-traitors.

Sierra didn't quite understand the concept of blood purity. She didn't see how muggles could be so bad. But she didn't dare voice it in front of anyone.

Whenever she questioned the adults in the house about such things it often led to her receiving a harsh scolding behind closed doors.

She learned to hold her tongue instead.

"Ah, girls," Melania smiled at them setting down her cup of tea. The two girls sat down beside Elodie. Melanie reached across the table and handed each of them a yellow parchment envelope secured with a scarlet seal imprinted with four animals. A lion, snake, eagle, and a badger. "They came in this morning."

Sierra stared in awe at the letter in her hands then looked up at her aunt.

"Wait. . . Is it?"

"Well, open it up dear,"

She didn't need to be told twice. Both girls tore off the envelope.
     

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

HEADMASTER : ALBUS DUMBLEDORE

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sore, Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of wizards)

Dear Miss McKinnon,
We are pleased to inform you that you've been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Students will be required to report to the Chamber of Reception upon arrival. Please find an enclosed list of all necessary books and equipment.

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

We very much look forward to receiving you as part of the new generation of Hogwarts' heritage.

Yours sincerely,
Minerva Mcgonagall
Deputy Headmistress.
    

Sierra and Astrid finished reading their letters and looked up at eachother with giddy smiles and their eyes gleaming with barely contained excitement. Recieving their Hogwarts letters was something they had been anticipating for years since the first time Elodie recieved her own. They even acted out the sorting ceremony multiple times in front of their stuffed animal audience.

"We're going to Hogwarts!" Both the girls said simultaneously.

*

The Leaky Cauldron was bursting with energy as usual. There were people everywhere. It was a shabby- looking pub behind which lay the magical entrance to Diagon Alley.

Elodie led the way to the backyard, took out her wand and tapped the third brick from the left above the dustbin. She stood back as the archway into Diagon Alley opened in the wall.

Sierra stepped through the entrance and looked around the cobbled winding street of Diagon Alley that twisted and turned out of sight.

The windows were colourful and glittering with displays of spell books, potion ingredients and cauldrons.

Sierra and the Rosiers made their way to Gringotts, the Wizarding bank. They were ushered into the bank by a bowing goblin at the door.

The vaults were reached by means of small, goblin-driven carts that sped along miniature train-tracks through the bank's underground tunnels.

"This is fun!" Sierra said clearly, enjoying the breakneck journey.

"You've got a weird definition of fun." Astrid said who was very pale in the face and looked like she was about to be sick any second.

Once they had refilled their money bags with gold Galleons, silver Sickles and bronze Knuts from their vault at Gringotts they strolled along the winding, cobbled street, examining the fascinating shop windows.

It seemed like Astrid was restraining herself from making a mad dash for Flourish and Blotts.

The bookshop window was displayed of gold-embossed spell books the size of paving slabs.

Elodie and aunt Melania headed to the bookstore to get their new books while Sierra and Astrid strolled down to Ollivanders wand shop.

"Race me in!" Sierra yelled running towards Ollivanders. Astrid glanced behind her shoulder to see if Elodie and her mother had dissapeared into the crowd before running after her cousin.

The two girls came to a halt outside the wand shop. Peeling gold letters over the door read Ollivanders:Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C.

If you peered over the window a single want could be seen, displayed, on a purple faded cushion.

"What do you think you're doing Astrid!" Sierra said in a very good imitation of her aunt. "Running down the streets!"

Astrid jumped, quickly turning around to apologise to her mother but it was only Sierra.

Sierra gasped dramatically. "How unladylike!" She said in a high-pitched girly and very squeaky voice.

The two girls shared in a laugh. They stepped inside the shop welcomed by a tinkling bell that rang somewhere in the depths of the shop.

The whole shop was piled up to the ceiling with thousands of narrow boxes. The dust and silence in here seemed to tinkle with some secret magic.

"Good afternoon." An old man greeted the girls. He had silver hair and wide, pale eyes which shone like moons through the gloom of the shop.

"Hello," Said Astrid, awkwardly.

"Hello!" Sierra smiled, holding out her hand. "I know you. You're Mr Ollivander."

"That's correct." The wand maker smiled, shaking her outstretched hand. "Miss McKinnon and Miss Rosier. I was wondering when I'd see you two here. It seems only yesterday your mothers, Melania and Lena Fawley, were in here themselves, buying their first wand."

Mr Ollivander flitted through the shelves, taking down boxes. Dust particles that had been untouched for who knows how long danced in the air.

"Longer wands are drawn to bigger personalities." He told them.

"That explains why Elodie has a short wand." Sierra said.

"Be nice." Astrid folded her arms.

"Never."

Astrid tried several wands then at last found her match. A jet black wand made of Reed.

"Reed," Ollivander nodded. "Wisdom and intelligence. Eleven inches with a phoenex feather core. Nice and supple."

"Can I have one like that too?" Sierra asked the wandmaker.

"The wand chooses the witch or wizard, Miss McKinnon." Ollivander said matter of factly as if the wands had feelings of their own.

He bustled about the shop pulling down several boxes. Sierra wondered how long it will take for her to find her wand.

"Try this one. Rowan and phoenex feather. Twelve inches. Springy."

She had hardly raised the wand when it was snatched back by Mr Ollivander.

"No, no-here, silver lime wood, unicorn hair. Nice and flexible."

She took it and feeling stupid waved it around a bit, but it, too, was snatched out of her hand almost at once.

"Very difficult," Ollivander said. "But no worries, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere."

Sierra tried and tried. The pile of tried wands only seemed to grow. She was getting a bit impatient now.

"What if all the wands reject me?" Sierra said jokingly with a nervous laugh.

"That's a cheerful thought," Astrid rolled her eyes.

"Ah!" Ollivander said loudly, holding out a wand. "Go on, go on, try it out."

She took the wand and waved it through the dusty air and instantly scarlet and yellow sparks shot from the end of it, lighting up the whole shop.

"Perfect!" Cried Ollivander. "Hornbeam with a dragon heartstring core, fifteen inches and rigid flexibility. A very powerful wand indeed."

Sierra excitedly waved her wand around almost poking Astrid in the eye.

A wisp of blue spark shot through the tip of her wand and turned into black smoke fading out as soon as it came.

"Did you see that?" Sierra asked looking back and forth at Astrid and Ollivander. Astrid didn't seem to notice as she only shook her head in response and the wandmaker had a dazed look in his eyes as if in deep thought.

Sierra shrugged whipping her wand around one last time and causing a window to shatter.

"Oops?"