Dursley's Daughter (A Harry Potter Next Generation Fan Fic)

1. The Letter

I was eleven years old when my Hogwarts letter arrived.

It came on my birthday, carried by a huge tawny owl. Having never seen anything like it outside of a zoo or a film, I was incredibly surprised when it swooped out of the sky. It flew over the garden, where it nearly knocked over my mother, and in through the open back door to where I sat at the kitchen table opening the last of my presents.

When Dad saw the owl he just about had an aneurysm.

"Sarah?" he said, calling to my mother. She came rushing in, in gardening gloves with a trowel in her hand. He pointed to the owl and my mother paled.

I wasn't paying attention to either of them. The owl was staring at me with it's two huge, intelligent eyes. As my parents continued their worried conversation, it stuck it's leg out towards me. An envelope was tied to it's leg.

I undid the string and examined the envelope. It was addressed to me.

My parents fell silent as they watched me carefully rip open the envelope, pull out the thick paper inside, and unfolded it carefully.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Dear Ms. Dursley,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. As you are a muggle born witch, please expect a visit to your home on August 12. All questions regarding the school and purchasing books shall be answered then.

The Headmistress enjoys her tea with milk and one sugar, if you do not mind.

Yours sincerely,

Filius Flitwick

Deputy Headmaster

I read it to myself once or twice, not quite understanding the implications of the letter. Then I read it out loud for my parents, who listened with bated breath. When I had finished, I folded the letter again and placed it on the table, where my parents regarded it like it was going to blow up at any moment.

"What's Hogwarts?" I asked.

My father took several moments to collect himself, his face finally losing a bit of the redness it had gathered from shock. "Esther, your mother and I have been worrying that a thing like this was going to happen to you."

Worrying? I opened the letter once again and scanned through it. Nothing in it seemed bad. In fact, it sounded wonderful. I was accepted into a magic school where they used strange words like 'muggle' and sent letters using owls. They still drank tea, apparently, which was reassuring. I didn't want to have to get used to strange wizard food.

"You've met my cousin, Harry," said my dad.

I was didn't understand what the owl sitting in our kitchen had to do with the relatives I saw maybe once every year, but I nodded.

"Harry's parents died when he was young and he grew up in the same house as I did, with your grandparents," said Dad.

"How come there are no pictures of him then? Grandma has loads of you and loads of me," I said. "She tells me stories about you when you were my age whenever we go round there, but I've never heard of Harry."