Liberty - A Harry Potter fan fiction

Chapter 1 - Getting Ready

I, Liberty Tiffany Brown, was to begin Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on September 1st.

After the initial excitement of our arriving letters, the dread of leaving home took over. I'd never spent more than a night away from home, not having near as many grade school friends as my twin. Lavender was less than pleased when she saw my letter was identical to hers, save for our names on them. A dark look came to her eyes, though she was quick to hide it from our parents. Sometimes I feel like she tries to make my life miserable on purpose.

My eyes swept around my room once more, checking for the 4th time that everything was packed away in my trunk. I didn't want to forget anything. It would be months before I would be home again.

Lavender opened my door without knocking (as she usually did) and screamed for me to hurry up, along with a string of hissed insults she always reserved for me. They'd been getting worse as of late, since our letters got here and I'd begun to give it right back to her. Mum thinks it's something we'll grow out of, but dad is always saying about how we'll both be the death of him with our squabbling.

Mum bounded into my room and beamed a smile in my direction while shooing Lavender from the room. She still cried at the thought of both of her girls going away to school. She cried when she read the letters, when we'd used floo powder to get to Diagon Alley, when Madam Malkin had fitted us with robes, when we got our books and potions ingredients. And she'd straight up bawled when Mr. Ollivander handed over the wands that had chosen us. He'd said something pretty odd to me and I couldn't stop replaying it in my mind.

"Just a slight flick of the wrist then, Miss Brown." Mr. Ollivander had addressed me as Lavender was busy talking Mum's ear off about her newly acquired wand and now much she loved it. 

I did as he instructed and a clean, straight purple line shot from the end and across the shop.

"Nine and a half inches long, containing the bark of an evergreen tree, a single hippogriff talon and a tiny sliver of boomslang skin," He'd rattled off over mum's tears. "A very wise and interesting choice. This wand signifies a great and dangerous path ahead of you."

I'm not sure if his words were meant to excite me or terrify me. At 11 years old, I didn't realize the weight they would have until much later. We continued on with our shopping then used the Floo Network to get home and pack our things. 

And now here I was, glaring at the back of my sisters head and hoping that this year would be different than previous ones.