---------- Strange Beginnings --------

[12 August 1989]

Amethyst sucked on her quill, trying to find the right wording. She was writing to her Aunt Eglantine - unfortunate name, right? - about her first year at Hogwarts, which would begin next month and for which she was extremely excited. Humming, Amethyst scribbled a few more lines before signing her name carefully. She folded up the letter, quickly crossed her room to Squat's cage and opened it, giving him an owl treat.

"Hey baby," she crooned, scratching the back of his neck. "I've got a letter for you. It's for Aunty Egg, in Birmingham, remember?" Squat peered at Amethyst with his intelligent eyes, tilting his head as if in agreement. She tied the letter to his ankle with a ribbon, careful to position it so it wouldn't cause him trouble when he landed. "Don't bother waiting around for a reply, she's got her own owl now. Come to the Leaky Cauldron when you're done, that's where we'll be from tomorrow 'til school starts." He hooted softly and took off, leaving Amethyst staring out the window. She stood for a minute, thinking about Hogwarts. A voice broke through her daydreaming.

"Amee, dinner's ready," Jennifer Elmwood said, poking her head around the door. Her glasses were covered in small white flecks, which meant she'd been sculpting again.

"Coming Mum," Amethyst replied. Jennifer cast a glance over Amethyst's room and wrinkled her nose.

"Honey, your room is a pigsty again, she sighed. "Never mind." With a flick of her wand, objects went whizzing back to their places. Amethyst ducked to avoid death-by-magically-propelled-book. She frowned dramatically.

"Betrayed by one of my own books. My favorite one, too!" Amethyst flicked her hair and flounced out of her room, to where Jennifer was giving her an expectant look. "Yes?" Amethyst asked her, still acting overdramatic. Jennifer looked at Amethyst for a long second before they both gave in to a fit of giggles.

Recovering from their super manly giggling session, they stumbled down the stairs to the dining room where the rest of their family sat waiting. Amethyst's oldest brother, Ray, grumbled. "About time. I was about to eat Jackson," he laughed, thumping their other brother Len on the shoulder. Amethyst winced in sympathy. Ray's strong as an ox and doesn't know it. Everyone sat down and began to dish out food for each other and themselves.

Amethyst's family is pretty big. There's her father Alex, her mother Jennifer, Ray, Len, her older sister Lana, Amythest herself and her little brother Jackson, in order of age. Jennifer decided pretty quickly after Jackson was born that she was not going to be cooking for everyone every day, on top of taking care of two babies and work. Since then, it's become a kind of family bonding thing to take turns cooking. This way, everyone gets to have a meal they like every so often, the pressure of cooking for seven people is evenly distributed between those seven people, and everyone learns a valuable skill. They usually take turns to cook, often in pairs, and never the twins together - that had been a disaster.

It was Lana and Rey's turn to cook tonight - yay? Amethyst managed to shovel down a whole plate of slightly chewy spaghetti, which she was quite proud of. The sauce was excellent though, so they're definitely improving (finally).

After dinner Amethyst recruited the help of Jackson and ran up to my room. "Okay Jake, here's the deal. You help me pack every year, and no-one at Hogwarts learns your nickname from me. Got it?" He rolled his eyes but nodded. She knew he would agree. His nickname was... Interesting. "Alright then, Jakey Wakey, let's get started."

-------------- Thank Merlin For Exploitable Little Brothers------------------

[15 August 1989]

Amethyst slammed the lid of her trunk closed. "We did it! Even though it took three days, we did it," she said, posing like a victorious conqueror. Jake laughed from where he was perched on the top shelf of Amethyst's cupboard (don't ask).

They conversed for a bit, mostly exchanging stupid jokes and making even more stupid faces at each other, until Jake brought something else up.

"Can you help me with my broomstick? It's not working," he asked. Amethyst ran a hand through her already-tangled hair.

"Sure." He left to retrieve it. While Amethyst waited, she did a mental check of the contents of my trunk. She didn't actually have to pack so early, but she was just really excited to finally be going to Hogwarts. So what if packing your bags early is a little dorky? Pride be damned, Amethyst is going to Hogwarts, my friend. That's something to be dorkily excited about in both her books and mine.

Jake returned with his broomstick and handed it over. Amethyst bounced it a few times in her palms. It was a toy, of course, but it wasn't exactly cheap, so it couldn't have broken so soon. "What problems are you having with it?"

"It keeps on going too high. I'm afraid one of the Muggles will see me on it," Jackson told her. She smiled reassuringly and handed the toy back.

"Worry not, O Little Brother of Mine, someone probably just jinxed it," Amethyst guessed. "Take it to Mum or Dad or Ray and get them to counter-jinx it. And then, don't irritate Lana into hexing it again!" Jake stuck his tongue out at her, then ran to go find somebody more qualified to help him out. Amethyst sighed. It was so unfair first years weren't allowed their own brooms! Her own toy broom broke last summer, and Jennifer and Alex said they would rather wait and get Amethyst a proper broom when she started het second year at Hogwarts, rather than buy another toy broom that would only see use for a couple of years before being tossed out - which makes sense, but still. I can't wait for flying lessons, even if Madame Hooch hates me as much as she hates Lana!

She picked up Squat's cage and began to clean it. After a few minutes it was shiny again, so she set upon my trunk, ready to be shrunk by Jennifer for the trip tomorrow. Jennifer, Len, Lana and Amethyst were going to Diagon Alley tomorrow: they would be staying above the Leaky Cauldron, and on the 25th, when Alex's leave started, he and Ray and Jake were going to go join them. They were going to purchase books and robes and other supplies, and most importantly, Amethyst was finally going to get het wand. She was nervous and excited. Mr Ollivander has always been really nice to her, so it shouldn't be too bad.

She changed into my pajamas and grabbed her hairbrush, ready to tackle het unruly mane. After finally managing to wrestle it into a plait, Amethyst raced out my room and slid down the stair rail to go get something to drink. She ended up making tea for her Mum, Lana and herself, coffee for her Da, Ray and Len, and hot cocoa for Jake.

Sipping her black rooibos tea, she meandered into the sitting room where Jake was beating Ray in a game of Exploding Snap. "Drinks are in the kitchen, go fetch," she told them. When everyone had acquired their preferred beverage, Amethyst took out their Wizarding Chess set. "Wanna play, Len?"

He looked at her suspiciously. "Have you done something to those pieces again?" Amethyst giggled innocently.

"Would I do something like that?"

A single raised eyebrow spoke volumes.

------- Can We Go Yet? --------

[17 August 1989]

Amethyst's eyes flew open. Today was the day they were going to Diagon Alley! She leapt out of bed and started pulling on her clothes. As she attempted to pull on her socks, she tripped over a loose floorboard. After a very theatrical fall (it had great cinematic value), she hit the ground with a large thump and groaned.

"Amethyst! What are you doing?" Alex yelled from the other side of the wall between their bedrooms, sounding sleepy and slightly startled. Amethyst got up and rubbed her sore gluteus maximus.

"I'm getting ready Da! What else would I be doing?" She yelled back. She heard him sigh.

"Look at the time, dingbat!" Amethyst looked over to the clock on her wall. 3:27. Oops.

"Sorry!" She whisper-yelled. She finished getting dressed and crept downstairs. They were leaving at 5:00 anyway, so not much point in going back to sleep. She took her sketchbook from her bedside table and grabbed some pencils and an eraser from the study. She made her way down to the living room and began to draw the fireplace that took up the outside wall. Amethyst isn't overly gifted with drawing, but she's been drawing since she could hold a pencil, so she's not that bad anymore.

She finished the outline and moved on to the shading. She heard her family begin to get up. Well, actually just her Mum, Len and Lana were getting up. Her Da, Ray and Jackson got to sleep in because they weren't going with them. Lucky bastards.

Lana clumped down the stairs. "Mornin'," she croaked. Amethyst flopped her hand in Lana's direction in a vague resemblence of a greeting, concentrating on the finishing touches of the brickwork. "Whachoo doin'," Lana slurred in a monotone, leaning over Amethyst's shoulder to see her sketchbook. Ah, pre-caffeine Lana-talk.

"Drawing."

Lana nodded slowly. "Hmkay." She shuffled into the kitchen. A few minutes later she came back with two bowls of cereal. Amethyst packed her stuff away and gratefully accepted the food.

As they ate, Jennifer and Len found their way downstairs and to the living room. They sat there, three of them bleary eyed and groggy and one of them mostly awake, eating and sipping tea. Once they finished up Amethyst cleared the plates and cups away while the rest went to go change and get ready. After everything was neatly stacked in the sink, Amethyst raced upstairs to get her stuff.

Amethyst grabbed her trunk and lugged it downstairs. She left it in the living room and went to fetch Squat's cage. As everybody congregated in the living room again she began to feel excited. "Can I go first? Pleeaase?!" She begged her Mum.

"Didn't you go first last time?"

Amethyst pouted. "Yes, but it's my first year at Hogwarts! It's a special occasion," she argued. Jennifer sighed, a smile curling the corners of her lips.

"Fine, you can go first." She pulled out her wand and shrank all their luggage with a wave and a muttered spell. Everyone picked up their respective baggage, now small enough to fit in a hand, and stuffed them into various nooks and crannies where they wouldn't fall out during the Floo.

With another flick of her wand, Jennifer lit the fire. Amethyst grabbed a handful of the glittery Floo Powder. "Remember to pronounce it clearly," her Mum warned - unnecessarily, of course, because Amethyst has been doing this by herself since she was old enough to not mispronounce the words. Amethyst threw the powder into the fire and stepped in.

"Diagon Alley!"

------------- A Chance Meeting ----------------

[20 August 1989]

I had a strange dream last night. For some reason, the little boy that lives at Number 4 was in it. I can't remember much else besides that and an overwhelming sense of fear and hatred. Meh, oh well.

The Elmwoods have been in Diagon Alley for three days now, but they still haven't done Amethyst's shopping yet. Len and Lana claim that they along with Amethyst have to go on a "special trip, just the three of us," and that they had done the same. Anyway, today they were going shopping for Amethyst's supplies.

Amethyst ran down the stairs, not looking where she was going until she crashed into someone. She almost fell, but another someone grabbed her wrist. She regained her footing and began to apologise, only to stop dumbstruck.

"Uh... Am I seeing double?" Before her stood two redheads, identicle to the last freckle. The one still holding her wrist laughed.

"I don't know. Are you?"

Amethyst chuckled before looking pointedly at her hand. He didn't seem to notice, but his twin did.

"Let the poor girl go, Georgie. She's obviously not interested," said he of much humor. The first one grinned mischeviously, before letting his features slip into a mourning expression.

"B-But you said you loved me, Lady...." he trailed off.

"Amethyst," she supplied, before assuming a tragic air of her own. "Alas, Sir..."

"George."

"Sir George, so thought I as well, but my heart doth truly belong to thy better half, Sir..."

"Fred."

"Frederick."

They stared at her.

"Better half?!"

"Frederick?!"

Amethyst laughed. At first the twins glared at her, then each other, but that only made her laugh harder, which eventually spurred them into laughter of their own. Soon all three were weak at the knees and breathless, clutching to the railings for support or, in Fred's case, curled up in a foetal position on the floor, having given in to gravity's demands.

As they slowly began to calm down and breath again, Amethyst heard Lana calling her. She pushed herself upright, still grinning widely. "Sorry guys, but I've gotta go. It was nice to meet you," she said. The twins sprang up in a movement so synchronised Amethyst could've sworn they'd practised it.

"Do you wanna hang out tomorrow?" Fred asked. Amethyst blinked. Where did that come from? George saw her expression and hastened to reassure her.

"What Fred means is that we'd like to see you again. Not like in a creepy way or something - not that we are creepers, I mean - no, that sounded wrong, I meant -" Amethyst cut him off.

"Okay, okay!" She exclaimed, laughing. "Calm down! I was just wondering if I'm free tomorrow. I'd love to hang out again," she chuckled. The twins relaxed.

"Alright then, meet us here," Fred began.

"This time tomorrow -"

"- if you can, of course."

"Bye Amethyst," they finished in unison, before rushing past her up the stairs. Amethyst rolled her eyes, cheeks still sore from grinning so much, then descended to the common area where Lana was waiting for her.

-------------- A Lot Of Weasleys ---------------

[21 August 1989]

"So then the gnome ran off with the one boot, and it hasn't been seen since!"

The three eleven-year-olds were sitting on a bench outside a shop in Diagon Alley. George had just finished telling a story about a gnome that stole shoes. They laughed for a bit before moving on.

"So," began Fred, "You've already gotten your stuff, right?"

Amethyst nodded. "Yup, all except for my wand and my robes. We didn't get time to go, which was disappointing, and Madame Malkin's was super busy every time we walked past."

The twins frowned. "Bad luck mate," George half-chuckled. Amethyst shrugged, and had an idea.

"Hey, why don't you guys come with us?" said Amethyst, bristling with excitement.

The twins shrugged simultaneously. She leant forward.

"Please! C'mon, it'll be fun. And your family can come too, if you haven't gotten your wands yet," she suggested.

Fred raised his eyebrows. "I don't think we'll fit in the shop."

Amethyst frowned, confused. "How many of you are there?"

"Well," George began, ticking off his fingers, "there's us, Percy, Bill, Charlie -"

"- Ron, Ginny, Mum and Dad," Fred finished, holding four fingers up alongside George's five."

Amethyst's eyes widened slightly. I thought I had a big family, but clearly I'm out of my league here. "Nevermind then. Are all of you in Hogwarts?"

The twins laughed and Fred shook his head. "No, Ron and Ginny are still too young."

Amethyst nodded, eyes still bugging out slightly. "You guys make my family seem small," she commented.

Fred raised an eyebrow. "Who's in your family then?"

She began to count off her fingers. "Well, there's my Mum, my Da, and me, obviously. Then there's Lana and Lenny - they're twins - they're in their fourth year. Then my oldest brother is Ray, he's twenty, and my youngest brother is Jake, or J. He's turning ten in October."

The Weasley twins took this information in and nodded. Amethyst looked up and smiled. "Hey look, here comes Len!"

Len is the banana of the Elmwood apple family. Unlike their Da and Ray, who are stocky and strong, or Lana and their Mum, who are short and petite, Len is tall, wiry and flexible. During the summer he takes gymnastics classes in the centre down the road. He's also quiet and polite, the exact opposite of his loud and invasive twin.

Amethyst stood up as Len drew near, shouting out a greeting as Fred and George followed suit.

"Hey guys," Len replied, smiling in response to the twin grins Fred and George gave him. "Having fun?"

Amethyst nodded as she rounded the table and squished herself into Len for a hug (he gives the best hugs, so sue me). "Len, this is Fred and George, the Weasley twins. I was telling you about them yesterday?" Len was already nodding by the time Amethyst finished her sentence.

"You've got two brothers at Hogwarts already, right? Percy and Charlie? I think Lana's friends with Percy." The twins looked shocked.

"Percy's got a friend? Unbelievable."

"Imagine that Gred."

"I'm trying Forge."

"Maybe that's his secret girlfriend?"

Len and Amethyst snorted in unison. The funniest and most frequent assumption people make about the Elmwood family is the assumption that they're straight. Ha, as if. Even the parents are queer - Jennifer dated a Black once, and it wasn't the straight one; and Alex used to be Alexia (sperm donors are a blessing, he says - gross, I say, I was born of pixies and stardust and good intentions, not pregnancy and that other gross stuff). Ray is ace, but he's been dating someone called Axel for a while. Lana and Len are only 14, so they're still figuring themselves out, and as Amethyst is eleven, she doesn't know or really care about her sexual identity right now. She'd like to delay that brand of angst for as long as possible, if you don't mind.

But, to cut a long story short, the reason the two siblings found Fred and George's musings so amusing is because Lana's currently about as anti-boy as you can get.  She wants nothing to do with the opposite sex as far as relationships go.

Suddenly another redhead appeared, interrupting the twins with a cheery "Found you guys!" Several more copper-haired individuals followed close behind, and the next few minutes were spent exchanging various introductions and greetings.

Len and Amethyst eventually excused themselves - Len had come to fetch Amethyst for their Mum, which was why he'd been there in the first place. As soon as they were out of earshot of the Weasleys, Amethyst huffed out a giggly breath.

"That was a lot of ginger. I'm kind of overwhelmed," Len murmured, and Amethyst looked at him through the corner of here eye.

"Are you sure? You didn't look so overwhelmed when you were talking to Char-lie," she sing-songed, widening her eyes in faux innocence. Colour suffused Len's cheeks and he glared at the ground.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he declared, a hint of playfulness softening the edge of his defiant tone. Amethyst smirked.

"Okay Len. Sure."

"We're friends! Friends can talk to each other, can't they?"

"Yeah! Totally! I completely agree with you Len."

"Ugh. Hellion."