Katerina loved her younger brother. Really, she did! But when she was rudely woken up from a pleasant dream on the morning of her eleventh birthday by Leo bouncing up and down on her bed, her only thoughts were of murder and not at all of familial love.

"Leo!" she scolded, eyes bleary and half-open. "Get off!"

Leo ignored her irritation entirely.

"Happy birthday!" he said excitedly as he continued to jump on the bed. Letting out a groan, Katie placed her arm across her eyes. Her peace was disturbed further when her bedroom door swung open. She was greeted with a chorus of cheerful chants of "Happy birthday!" as her parents and older brother entered the bedroom.

Giving one final jump, Leo plopped down on the end of Katie's bed, grinning widely, and crossed his legs. The next thing Katie knew, her mother Maria had thrown her arms around her, casing her in a bone-crushing hug and squeezing the air right out of her lungs. All this happened before Katie had the chance to really wake up.

"Oh, happy birthday honey!" Maria squealed.

"Thanks mum, but I can't breathe," Katie wheezed. She couldn't see herself, of course, but she was sure her face was growing purple.

"Sorry!" Maria promptly let her go. She stood back, smiling brightly from ear-to-ear, and Katie could see the tears that were brimming her eyes. "I just can't believe my little girl is eleven! They grow up so fast, don't they, dear?"

She cast a glance in her husband's direction. Anthony Blair was smiling just as much as everyone else in the room (excluding Katie, who was still rather disgruntled and wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep), and in his hands he held a tray of breakfast stacked with sausages, bacon, black pudding, toast and a small jar of marmalade, with a steaming cup of tea and a glass of pumpkin juice to wash it all down.

He placed the tray on the bed, leaning down to embrace his daughter warmly and place a kiss on the top of her head.

"Happy birthday," Anthony said, and any of the annoyance that Katie had been feeling instantly dissolved.

A little collection of wrapped presents were gifted to Katie by both of her parents and Leo. She told them that she would open them when she finished eating and they left her, at long last, in peace.

Katie looked down at the vast amount of food on her tray.

"Do you want some?" she asked, looking up at her older brother, who was lingering in the corner of the room. He gave her a little smile but shook his head.

"It's your birthday. Eat up."

Katie snorted. "You're barking if you think I can eat all of this myself."

Nevertheless, she opted to give it her best shot. She started with the sausages, cutting them up and putting them on her toast as Chris crossed the room, seating himself on the edge of Katie's bed.

Christian—or Chris—was the eldest of the Blair children, and certainly the most promising. Though Leo was only nine and still had much blossoming to do, so perhaps he would surprise the family one day. And maybe Chris had gotten quite a few letters home from Hogwarts regarding his less than acceptable behaviour on several occassions, but he was a remarkable Quidditch player and, despite his knack for causing trouble, he got quite good marks in his classes.

"Why are you still here?" Katie asked as she sipped her tea.

Chris arched an eyebrow. "Do you really hate me that much?" he chuckled, earning himself an eyeroll from his sister. "I didn't get you a present."

Katie glanced at the three vibrantly wrapped gifts on the end of her bed.

"I noticed," she hummed, biting into her toast and sausages. "But in all fairness, you did get grounded and couldn't go outside, so I suppose I can let it slide."

Chris rolled his eyes. "How very thoughtful of you."

He got to his feet, stuffing his hands inside the pockets of his jeans. Katie watched as his lips curled into a subtle yet excited sort of smile.

"But I do have something for you," he said. Katie couldn't seem to help it when she straightened up—she was intrigued. "It's downstairs. Come on."

Chris made for the door, gesturing for his sister to follow him, but she theatrically waved her hands over the breakfast tray.

"Hello?" she said, looking at Chris like he had three heads. "Do you see all this food?"

She hungrily guzzled down the sausages, toast and bacon, but the black pudding lay untouched and abandoned. After downing both her tea and pumpkin juice, Katie got out of bed. She pulled back the colourful patchwork curtains that were drawn over her bedroom window and looked down into the street below, content to find that it was a mild day. She had hoped for good weather on her birthday, but not such intense heat that she started sweating buckets after five minutes outside.

She made haste of dressing herself, pulling on a grey skirt and a green cardigan patterned with flowers. Eager to find out what exactly Chris had for her, she brought her hairbrush with her and smoothed through the honey blonde straggle on her way down the stairs. The family were sat around the little round table in the centre of the kitchen indulging in their breakfast, with the exception of Leo, who had made what was supposed to be (but did not at all resemble) a paper boat and was pestering his father to bewitch it to float in the sink with the dirty dishes.

"Hi honey!" Anthony beamed as Katie slipped into her usual seat. Another cup of tea sat waiting for her on the table. "Did you like your presents?"

Katie almost hit herself in the face.

"I forgot to open them!"

Chris snorted loudly, saying, "That's gratitude, for you." Katie's parents only chuckled.

"That's okay, you can open them later. Besides, I think Chris had something you'd prefer anyway," Maria said, and Katie noticed the mysterious glint in her clear grey eyes. Katie redirected her gaze to her older brother, who was sitting across from her with excitement written all over his face. She raised and eyebrow as Chris reached into his back pocket, taking out a piece of paper and handing it to his sister.

Katie gave Chris a curious look as she took the mystery paper from him. Everyone was looking at Katie with anticipation and excitement whirling in their eyes. Even Leo had abandoned his attempt at convincing his father to bewitch the paper boat. Katie flipped the piece of paper over and realised, with a jolt of her heart, that it was an envelope emblazoned with the Hogwarts School coat of arms on the back and addressed in emerald green ink on the front

Katie had already known, of course, that she would be getting her letter informing her of her place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry that summer. Still, it was understandable that she was overwhelmed with excitement at the sight of the letter addressed to her. At long last, she had a chance to be amongst magical children her own age, and not Leo's little buddies from across the road or Chris' older friends from the village, most of whom had grown tired of Katie when they reached a certain age, even though they only had two years on her. Finally she had a chance to get her own wand, do magic instead of longingly watching those around her cast spells and do their boring chores in the blink of an eye with a wave of their wand.

Katie couldn't wait a single moment more. She eagerly tore open the envelope an extracted both the acceptance letter and the page that bore the list of equipment and books needed for the school year.

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

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

Dear Miss Blair,

We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

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

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

First-year students will require:

1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)

2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastening)

Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk

A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot

Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling

A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore

Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble

1 wand

1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 set glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set brass scales

Students may also bring and owl OR a cat OR a toad

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST-YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS

"I can't have my own broomstick?" Katie whined. "Bullshit!"

Her mother's eyes widened drastically. She looked just about ready to snap at and reprimand her daughter for her inappropriate language, but Chris had let out a loud snort.

"You're going to Hogwarts and you're complaining about not getting your own broom?" he chortled.

"I can't play Quidditch without a broom!"

"Students without brooms are provided ones by the school, nitwit," Chris said. "Besides, you're too young. First-years can't play for the house teams."

"That's not true!" Katie sat upright. "First-years can play. You tried out when you were in first-year."

"Well, yeah, but the odds of one getting on the team are low." Chris gave a shrug of his shoulders. "I only got on the team last year. There hasn't been a first-year player on over a century."

Katie brought herself up to her full height, a determined expression on her face and a glint in her eye. "Well, I think it's time we changed that."