Today's the day. The one day Evelyn-Grey had been looking forward to for as long as she could remember. August 18th 1992, Evelyn-Grey Potter's 11th birthday. Why is her 11th birthday so important you might ask? Well, she was hoping to receive a very special, very important letter today. Her Hogwarts letter...
She had hardly slept a wink last night. She was overwhelmed, she had been so excited at the prospect of going to Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but what if she didn't get in? However, her uncle had been snoring so loudly, that even if she hadn't been up all night working out her odds of attending Hogwarts, she wouldn't have been able to sleep much anyway.
Uncle Moony had told Evie all about Hogwarts, the adventures he used to have and the mischief he used to cause. He wasn't really her uncle, but had been best friends with her father ever since they were both sorted in Gryffindor many years ago. Remus had raised Evelyn since she was a baby, he was only 21 when he became her legal guardian. They didn't have much, living in a small, 3 bedroom cottage, in the middle of the Yorkshire country side, but they got by. It was the least he could do, James had been such a dear friend to him, it was only right the Evie grew up with someone who loved her just as much as her parents had. The one thing Remus regretted, was not being able to look after both the Potter children.
Evie's parents had been killed when she was barely two months old. Of course, she couldn't remember them, but Uncle Moony always told her stories about them. How powerful they were, how clever, funny and loyal they had been. How brave they were, the story of that fateful night was one that Evie-Grey could never forget.
You-Know-Who had killed Lily and James Potter on all hallows eve 1981. Lily had been cradling Evelyn, next to her brother Harry's cot, when You-Know-Who entered their house in Godric's Hollow. He was cruel and merciless as he cast the unforgiveable killing curse upon the residents of the house. Lily, still holding Evelyn, had thrown herself between Voldemort and Harry. She had put her faith into an old type of magic, something she had hoped the Dark Lord had not thought about. Although Voldemort had attempted to kill them all, he had not succeeded. Lily and James' love had protected Evelyn and Harry from the Dark Lord's curse. Although this old magic had protect the siblings from the curse, it had left a mark on their skin in the shape of a lightening bolt. Evie's scar was barely noticeable, hidden behind her left ear.
Remus hadn't gone into much detail about how he got Evie or how he became her guardian, all she knew was Albus Dumbledore had split the children up for their own protection. She went to live with Remus at his parents house. Her brother Harry, was sent to the Dursleys, their maternal aunt and uncle, Muggles!
Evelyn loved living with her Uncle Moony, Grampa Lyall and Grandma Hope at Lupin Lodge. However, she longed to be reunited with her brother Harry. That's why today is so important, if she gets her Hogwarts letter, she is one step closer to being with her brother again. Being the older sibling, Harry already attends Hogwarts. Maybe, she could bring him home to Lupin Lodge now that they were older. Living with muggles must have been hard for Harry, Evie's Grandma Hope was a Muggle. She didn't like it when Remus and Grampa Lyall used magic for everything, she said it builds character when you have to work hard to get something done. Evie often thought this was because Hope was a bit jealous of the magical family she was surrounded by.
Brushing her wild, Auburn hair, whilst staring into her green eyes in the mirror's reflection, Evelyn-Grey was surprised at how much she resembled the photo of her mother, which took pride of place on her bedside table. The photo was of her mother Lily and her father James, dancing around in the snow. They both looked so in love and incredibly happy. This was her favourite photo, followed closely by the photo she had hanging on her wall. Uncle Moony was like the father she lost, he was there for her like any father would be and they were often inseparable. This was obvious by the hundreds if not thousands of photos they had together. This particular photo however, was taken last Christmas. Remus had been recovering from a particularly bad full moon, he hadn't been able to afford the ingredients for his wolfsbane potion, so he'd had a pretty rough time of it. It was Christmas eve, Grandma Hope had made them all wear silly Christmas jumpers and play muggle board games such as Cluedo, Monopoly and Charades. The photo captured the moment of pure joy and enlightenment on her and Uncle Moony's faces when he finally realised the film Evie was trying to portray, was the latest adventures of Captain Kirk aboard the Starship Enterprise - Star Trek, of course! If there was one thing muggles could do well, it was create fantastic Sci-Fi movies.
Finally looking somewhat presentable, Evie made her way downstairs. As she walked through the long, narrow hall way she could hear Remus and Grandma Hope fussing in the kitchen.
"But what if she doesn't like it mum?" Remus asked.
"Of course she will like it darling, now come over here and help me hang this banner. She will be down any minute," Grandma Hope replied.
Pulling out his wand Remus responded "Mum just let m-" he was interrupted by what Evie could only imagine, was one of Grandma's 'Don't even think about finishing that sentence' glares. This made her giggle, clearly, a little louder than expected. She heard the panic coming from the kitchen, as her family scurried to get everything ready for her arrival.
Carefully walking into the small, quaint kitchen, she opened the creaky door slowly.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE MOUSE!" they all shouted, making Evie blush. She wasn't one for being centre of attention, but it was her birthday after all.
"Thanks everyone. Wow, are all those for me?" Evie looked at the small pile of 3 or 4 presents on the kitchen table. "You really didn't have to go to so much trouble," she was grateful for the presents but knew they all needed the money for much more important things right now.
"Of course we did darling, it's not everyday our granddaughter turns 11 now, is it?" Grandma Hope insisted, a smile creeping across her delicate face. It made no difference to Hope and Lyall that Evelyn wasn't biologically their grandchild. They had supported their only son Remus, from the very beginning, when he stepped up to look after Evie. She was as much his little girl now, as she was James and Lily's. That was good enough for Hope and Lyall.
Grampa Lyall ushered Evie to sit on one of the small, wooden chairs that surrounded a shabby, circular table in corner of the room. Draped across the kitchen cupboards, Evelyn could see the large, pink '11 today' banners Hope was frantically trying to put up this morning. Handmade, the love that poured out of each banner was astonishing. The realisation of how lucky she was, hit Evie like a ton of bricks and tears pricked at her eyes. "Love the banners Grandma, they must have taken you ages."
"You're worth second of it my dear" Hope's voice began to crackle.
"Come on little mouse, open up you're presents" Grampa urged.
Evelyn wasn't sure why Grampa Lyall always called her little mouse, but he had done so ever since she was a little girl. It gave her a funny butterfly sensation in her tummy and she felt all warm inside when she heard it, now. Opening up the first present, Evelyn could see a brand new quill set for her to use at school. She gave a deep, loving smile to Hope and thanked her for the gift. Next, Evie ogled a present which had been attacked by the Sellotape, it was clear the Sellotape won. She correctly assumed this was a present from her Grampa, he never did master the muggle art of wrapping presents. A beautiful pair of fluffy bed socks were underneath the carnage of wrapping paper and Sellotape. "Aw Grampa, thank you! You know how I love to be all cosy, these are perfect," she stood up and gave Lyall a kiss on the cheek.
Touched, Lyall began to well up but held back his tears "Of course little mouse, we can have you wandering the halls of Hogwarts with cold feet now can we?"
Evie let out a light-hearted giggle, IF I get into Hogwarts! she thought.
Finally, she opened her presents from Remus. He watched her nervously, breath hitching with anticipation. Opening the first present, a framed photo, Evie smiled. Taken only a few days ago, on their annual summer hike, Evie had totally forgotten they had taken it. The picture captured Evie and Remus with big, teeth baring smiles on their faces. The memory made her heart melt. "You weren't smiling this much when we had finished that hike," she teased.
"You're right, if I remember correctly, I had to eat copious amounts of chocolate before I could make it back down that mountain," Remus reminded them. Evie let out a chuckle, it really was quite amusing. Uncle Moony was obsessed with chocolate, in his eyes it always made things better. When he made it to the top of Snowdonia, you would have thought it was the end of the world. He could be a bit of a drama queen sometimes, it took him a good hour to catch his breath and each his chocolate before we could continue on our way.
As Evelyn placed her presents to one side, she noticed a small white envelope. She shuddered at the realisation. Oh. My. Goodness. My Hogwarts letter, she thought. With shaking hands, mind whirling, and a twinkle in her eye, she looked up at Remus who urged her to take the envelope and open it.
Dear Miss Potter,
We are pleased to inform you, you have been accepted into Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You will need to ensure you arrive well prepared for your first year. A list of mandatory school supplies are enclosed in this letter. We will expect your arrival via the Hogwarts express on Tuesday 1st September. The Hogwarts train will leave Kings Cross station at exactly 11o'clock from platform 9 and 3/4. We look forward to welcoming you to the school in September.
Albus Dumbledore
Merlin's beard, she thought. Sat, taking in what she just read, Evelyn quickly became excitable.
"Uncle Moony I got in, oh isn't this just wonderful!" She beamed. Her family looked at her in awe, their little girl was growing up so fast. Remus was delighted for Evie but soon felt a pang of sorrow that Lily and James were missing out on this moment.
The rest of Evie's birthday was a blast. They played games together, ate far more than they should have, they may not have been rich but they were some of the best deal finders in the North East. This meant they could sometimes indulge when it came to food, especially for Evie.
Thanks for reading the first chapter! please interact with this story and let me know what you think!