I was literally bouncing in my seat as the train sped towards King's Cross Station. James kept sending me amused looks from across the compartment as Luna chattered happily with Albus, making plans for the four of us hang out over the holidays. McGonagall had arranged for Wren to take the Floo Network to a wizard's house near the airport earlier that morning, then she would fly home. It amazed me that wizards couldn't find any better way to travel across oceans than airplanes.

At the station, Luna ran off to meet her parents with two identical blonde boys who I think were her older brothers. They all looked remarkably like their mom, a dreamy blonde woman who was smiling proudly as Luna talked excitedly. I couldn't hear my friend, but she gestured at me several times so it didn't take much to guess the topic. Professor Potter waved at the family before leading Albus, James, and I through the magical wall concealing the platform from muggles.

As soon as I'd stepped through, I was met with an ear-piercing squeal from Lily. She jumped up into her dad's open arms, then hugged Albus and James. Albus smiled and hugged her right back, but James stiffened looked incredibly awkward. Of course, hugging his sister in public was much too childish for the great James Potter. What else would I expect?

We piled into a regular looking car. It appeared small on the outside, but turned out to be incredibly roomy. James, Albus, Lily, and I could sit comfortably in the back along with my owl and Albus's.

Professor Potter drove through the London traffic and out into the country. Living in the suburbs, I'd never really left the city for more than a camp with Mara one year when she was too nervous to go alone. That was one of the worst weeks of my life, between the constant pranks, being thrown in the lake in my sleep, and being thoroughly alone the rest of the time.

This, though, didn't look like a summer camp. We drove past small villages and snow-covered fields, and my eyes were glued to the window the whole trip. I'd never seen so much white snow. Of course, there was snow in the suburbs, but it was mostly dirty from being in the street or slushy from people walking in it.

At some point, Lily fell asleep on my shoulder. I didn't care, though. In between questions about school from Mrs. Potter, Albus and James whispered about how they would spend their time over the holidays.

"Boys," Professor Potter called, glancing at his two sons in the mirror, "remember that we're hosting everyone this year. Don't make too many plans, because you'll have to help your mother set things up, all right?"

James and Albus both muttered something along the lines of "Ok," and stared dismally out the window.

After another twenty minutes, we drove into yet another small village. In this one, however, Professor Potter turned off on another, smaller, road. Five minutes later, the car stopped in front of a beautiful, large Victorian house.

It was a huge three-story blue house, the biggest I'd ever seen, with flower boxes at every window and curtains and pretty things that Mrs. Lewis always thought were a waste of space. A porch ran across the front of the house, and wrapped around the side. A bay window rose three stories and ended in a circular tower with a weather vane on top. I wasn't sure, but I thought the rooster on the weather vane was moving, pecking at the roof. There was a large tree in the front yard with a rope swing hanging from it, as well.

"You ok?" James asked, waving a hand in front of my eyes. I realized I'd been staring at the house, openmouthed, for a couple of minutes. My trunk was resting motionless at my side. I probably looked pretty stupid, it was just I'd never seen any house that looked so much like home, if that makes sense.

"Um, yeah, I'm fi-"

"Come on! Al wants to give you a tour."

Albus led me through the entire house, showing me his room, James's room, and Lily's, which I would be sharing with her. He directed me through the kitchen, where Mrs. Potter was busy cooking, using magic to make spoons stir things at the stove and knives chop up vegetables. Lily was staring in awe at the oven door, watching a cake baking.

We found Professor Potter in his study, which was hung with "Wanted" pictures of known dark wizards and witches, as well as normal magical criminals who were evading capture. With no important dark wizards on the rise, I suppose the aurors didn't have quite so much to do as they did when Voldemort was alive.

We came across James on our way to the tower, the last part of the tour. It could only be reached by a moving spiral staircase leading up from the downstairs hallway. The room was a large circle and almost completely lined with windows, so it provided a 360 degree view of the grounds around the house. In the back, there was a small shed that Albus identified as the broom shed, and a small-scale Quidditch pitch.

The room itself was very strange. Stacked precariously on shelves above the windows were several awards, and also a few strange magical machines that I didn't recognize. In perfect rows over the door were dozens of small glass bottles containing shimmery substances. On a table in the middle of the room sat an empty bowl that Albus and James were careful to avoid. Under the windows were two window seats, and in between those sat a table covered in multicolored quills and parchments covered in beautiful drawings.

"This is where Lily likes to color," James said, motioning to the mess on the table.

"She's pretty good," Albus said, picking up a drawing at staring at it intently. "She can't make them move and talk, of course. That requires a spell." Albus smiled importantly as I pretended to process that. I honestly didn't care, but I decided I'd just let Albus think I did instead of acting like a jerk.

Later that afternoon, Mrs. Potter came out and played Quidditch with us. She had been a professional Quidditch player for the Holyhead Harpies, and now was a Quidditch reporter for the Daily Prophet, a wizard newspaper. She made a huge deal out of James and me getting on the Gryffindor team, which was weird. I'd never had anyone care that much about what I did. Especially since I wasn't even her daughter. She had only met me once, a few months ago, and then not for long.

In fact, all of the Potters seemed to be acting like that, going out of their way to do things for me and help me and basically make me feel like I fit in perfectly. It seemed like they were trying to make me feel like I was important, like I was special. More special and important that the Lewis's ever let me feel. And it worked.

~~~~

Luna came to stay for a week before Christmas, and I don't think I've ever had more fun. She wasn't too bad on a broom (both her brothers were on the Ravenclaw team, so they must have taught her), so we spent a lot of time playing two on two Quidditch games. When Lily's complaining about wanting to play with us drove us mad, we switched to free-for-all snowball fights. In the evenings, we would sit by the fire and listen to stories about Professor Potter's school years.

Throughout the week, though, questions about my family kept plaguing me. I couldn't seem to find a moment when Professor Potter was alone, because I didn't want my friends to know exactly how much Wren's innocent question was bothering me. They probably wouldn't even understand. They obviously had perfect families who loved them.

Maybe I had brothers and sisters now. Maybe my parents had had a good reason for giving me up. Maybe they were looking for me, but didn't know where I was. Surely I was out of the system by now. The Lewis's probably said I was dead or something.

The day after Luna left, I finally found my chance. Albus and James were both busy cleaning their rooms (Also known as: How much stuff can I shove into this drawer before it won't shut?), and Lily and Mrs. Potter were both cooking again. All the Weasley relatives would be arriving that night and the next day, but for the moment, there was a window of opportunity.

I quietly plodded through the house to Mr. Potter's study and timidly rapped on the large wooden door. After a few moments, I heard footsteps approaching the door and it swung open.

"Hello, Astra!" Mr. Potter said cheerfully. "Are you doing all right?"

I nodded hesitantly. "C-can I talk to you?" I wasn't normally intimidated by people or conversations (I got over that a long time ago; weakness like crying only got me in more trouble at home), but I was incredibly nervous about this one. What if he couldn't help me? What if he just laughed at me?

"Of course," Mr. Potter said, his smile a bit more serious. He pulled the door open enough to allow me to pass through the doorway, then motioned to one of the large leather seats in front of his desk. "What's on your mind?"

"Well..." Why didn't I plan out what to say? I had no idea how to start. "Um...you know how I am...was...a foster kid?" He nodded, a curious glint in his eyes. "I've been wondering...about my family...if there's any way to find out who they were...who I am."

Professor Potter was gazing at the carpet thoughtfully as I finished my little speech. I waited anxiously as he appeared to consider what I was asking him to do.

"Well, I'm sure there are a few ways. If you want, I'll look into it. Do you have anything from the foster system, like documents?"

I nodded. "Upstairs in my trunk I have the papers they gave the Lewis's....Should I go get them?"

Mr. Potter nodded. "I'll see what I can do from there."

I jumped out of my chair to race out of the room. I was almost to the door when Mr. Potter stopped me by adding, "Astra, don't be disappointed if I can't find anything, all right? Contacting the foster system is a long shot."

And with that, all my hopes were irrevocably crushed. I nodded dismally and slowly trudged upstairs.

By the time I'd reached my trunk, though, my irrevocably crushed hopes had all flown together into a towering castle in the sky known as hope. I didn't see how Mr. Potter could possibly fail. He was the Harry Potter, after all. He was sure to find my family. I was noticeably more happy for the rest of the day before the bustle of half the Weasley clan arriving drove all other thoughts from my mind.

The next few days were an amazing whirlwind of activity. Three other girls, Dominique, Rose, and Roxanne, had joined Lily and I in her room, so it was a tight fit, but totally awesome. The boys were all stuffed into Albus's room, so I wasn't complaining. The house was filled with talking and laughter and it got overwhelming sometimes. When that happened, I would slip away and always find myself in the tower, where I would stare out the window until someone located me and dragged me back to the buzz of activity in the lower levels of the house.

I probably wasn't looking forward to Christmas as much as everyone else. I didn't expect many presents, maybe something from Wren and the Potter boys, but that was it. I was content with that, really. It was enough just to be included in the family that was so different from anything I'd ever known.

Christmas morning dawned crisp and cold. I woke to Rose and Lily's combined efforts to drag me out of my bed. Roxanne was sitting on the floor in a daze, showing she had been the most recent victim. Dominique was still asleep, but Rose and Lily quickly moved on to her when they noticed my wakefulness. Once everyone had been successfully roused, the girls dived into the stacks of presents at the end of their beds.

To my surprise, mine was only slightly smaller than theirs. I had a gift from each Weasley family: a book entitled Magical Law for the Young Scholar from Mr. Percy Weasley and family, something I think he graced every child with because I heard four groans and saw four identical books being thrown over four shoulders; a wizard's chess set, compliments of Fred and Roxanne, who had been trying their very hardest to teach my how to play for the past few days; a book about historical female Quidditch players from Victoire and family; and several boxes of chocolate frogs (whatever those were) from Rose's family.

Luna had sent me a copy of The Quibbler, the strange magazine her mom ran, along with a note that said I had a subscription for as long as I wanted one. Arthur Longbottom sent six bottles of butterbeer, which I shared with my more-than-happy-to-oblige roommates. James and Albus had given me a box of assorted joke items from their uncles' shop.

Another package contained an obviously homemade turquoise sweater with a note that read:

I wasn't sure what color would look best on you, so I hope this works.

With love,
Honorary Aunt Hermione

The other girls had each received one as well. Rose seemed slightly embarrassed, and Dominique almost refused to wear hers, but I thought the sweater was awesome.

Wren's gift was probably one of my favorites. It was a silver locket hanging on a chain. The locker had intricate swirls engraved on it, and was really a work of art. I opened the latch to reveal a moving photo of her on one side and Al on the other. A small slip of paper fell out, which I quickly caught.

I hope you like this. I thought you might, since it's both of your best friends, in your heart. Merry Christmas!

"Merry Christmas"? Is that what Americans say? I was used to tidings of "Happy Christmas."

I sat happily on my bed, staring at my new locket, for several minutes as the other girls continued to plow through their packages. Finally, Rose tapped my shoulder. "Astra? You've got one more."

I glanced up in surprise. There was indeed a long package on the floor at the foot of my bed. It was easily missed under the mounds of wrapping paper, but Rose pulled it off the floor and laid it carefully on the bed next to me.

"Who's that from?" Lily asked, before popping a jelly bean in her mouth. She quickly made a face and spit it back out. "Ew, ear wax."

As much as I wanted to know what kind of jelly beans had an "ear wax" flavor, I wanted to see what this package was more. I ripped the simple paper covering off to reveal a long white box with a note attached to it.

Rose snatched up the note and read it aloud. "Astra, special concessions have been made for you regarding the no-broom rule for first years. This broom is a gift from Professor Potter, in hopes that it will be better than the school brooms. Professor McGonagall."

Dominique gasped. "No way! You get a broom? Let me see!" All the girls crowded around as I slowly lifted the lid of the box to reveal a beautiful, dark brown broom.

"A Lightsweep..." Roxanne breathed, staring in awe at the broom as I picked it up.

It was beautiful, with a dip near the end for me to sit on and each twig carefully adjusted so I could go as fast as possible. Of course, I had no idea what a Lightsweep was, or if it was good or bad, but Roxanne seemed to think it was amazing.

"Is it a good one?" I asked.

Roxanne stared at me like I was stupid. "'Is it a good one?' Of course! The Lightsweep is one of the best brooms out there. You've seen James's broom, right? His is a Lightsweep. It's amazing. You're so lucky."

Dominique sighed. "I guess Ravenclaw will be losing the Quidditch Cup this year. First time since I started school, too."

~~~~

All of the Weasleys except Rose left two days after Christmas. Teddy Lupin, Mr. Potter's godson, also stayed. James and Albus completely adored him, and I could see why. He was kind, smart, funny, good looking if he wanted to be, and other than being infatuated with Victoire, fairly down to earth.

New Year's Eve, Lily, James, Al, Rose, and I camped out in the living room. Lily fell asleep almost immediately, and no one bothered waking her up. Quickly, our talk turned to school, and our friends.

"Rose," I said, stifling a yawn. "Do you like anyone?"

She looked down. "No."

"Liar," James called. "You obviously like Scorpius Malfoy."

Rose blushed deeply. "No!"

"Oh, please," I said, laughing. "It's obvious."

"Yeah! As obvious as how James likes Mackenzie Walker." Al glanced at James meaningfully, raised his eyebrows. I don't know why, but I felt my stomach twist a bit at that. James replied to Albus by throwing his pillow at him.

~~~~

The holidays sped by too quickly. Before I knew it, we were bundling back into the car to make the drive to King's Cross Station. Lily almost started crying on the platform as we waved goodbye from the train.

Luna found us almost immediately and listened happily as James and I gushed about my new broom. She truly seemed as excited as we were for Gryffindor to win the cup, even though she was a Ravenclaw. Luna would have made an awesome Hufflepuff, really. She was very loyal to her friends.

As we neared Hogwarts, I began to wonder if Mr. Professor Potter had made any progress locating my parents. Had he contacted the foster home? Had they known anything? I hadn't had time to think about that before, but now the subject couldn't leave my mind. Who was I?

~~~~

My plan for this story is to take Astra and her friends through first year in this book. I'll probably have a book for each succeeding year after that, so you're looking at a drawn out series. And trust me, I've already got quite a lot of plot twists and other things planned out.

Thinking for the future, who would you guys like to see end up together? I know I asked this in the last chapter, and I of course won't do anything soon, because they are way too young, but I might start dropping subtle hints about who likes who...

On that note, what do you think of Rose and Scorpius?

Anyway, thanks for reading!

If you liked this, vote!

If you really liked this, comment why!

If you really liked this, fan or something!

~Ellie