It had been a quiet night in the maternity ward at the small hospital in London. Inside, one lone woman struggled to give birth, her husband helping her along where he could. Finally, after hours of labor, a little girl was brought into the world screaming. Her parents, Andrew and Cecilia Evans, named her Linda.
One-year-old Linda cried long and loud. Her parents were shouting at eachother again, and the toddler didn't like it one bit. All Linda could make out was that her mother was mad about her father with another woman, though she wasn't quite sure what it was all about. Then, without warning, her mother stormed into her room, threw lots of stuff into a suitcase, and walk out.
Linda wondered to herself where her mother was going with her stuff when she returned, picked Linda up, and took her out to the car, setting her into her booster seat. So they were going on a ride! Yay! But where was Daddy? Wasn't Daddy going with them? They drove for what seemed to the toddler forever, finally stopping at a big building. Then Linda's mother spoke to her softly, telling her they were going to America to make a new life far away from Daddy.
Linda didn't like that very much.
At the same hospital he had been in with his first wife when little Linda had been born, Andrew Evans stood by his new wife, Serena, as she gave birth to their second daughter. Their two-year old daughter, Petunia, was waiting with a nurse outside when little Lily came into the world. She heard the cries and looked up at the nurse keeping her company. "What wrong? Are sissy and mummy gonna be ok?" she asked, a worried look in her young eyes. The nurse nodded. "Your sister's going to be just fine. You'll get to meet her, soon."
"Petunia! Look!" Lily yelled, waving the envelope. "I got a letter, and it says I get to go and learn to be a witch! Mum and Dad are so proud. Aren't you?" she asked. Thirteen year old Petunia just stared at her. "A witch? A freak! That's why you can do all that weird stuff! You're a freak!" she said. Lily only looked hurt before running to her room to cry. What had happened to her loving sister?
In Salem General's maternity ward, Robert Williams stood by his wife, Linda, as she gave birth to their first child, a girl. Linda, dead set on being a famous actress, had declared all throughout labor that this would be their ONLY child, but it was with love that Linda Evans Williams looked down at her newborn daughter and proudly named her Sarah.
Sitting in her dressing room, Linda looked through the mail that had come for her. She was caught off guard by a letter from Andrew Evans. Her father! Barely hesitating, she opened it, wondering why her father was bothering to contact her NOW after twenty-nine years. She read the letter with interest.
Dear Linda,
You must be wondering why I never contacted you until now. You must understand that your mother never let me know how to contact you. I suspect she didn't want it.
Four years after your mother took you away from me, I remarried. She and I had two little girls. Your sisters are Petunia and Lily. Petunia is the older one by two years.
I do hope this letter finds you well. Perhaps by now you're an adult, married, and with children. I'll never know. Your step-mother died of cancer over a year ago, and the pain is too much.
By now, I'm dead by my own means. That's why my solicitor has made sure you get this, so you know you still have family in England. All I hope is that you find happiness in your life.
Your father
Andrew Evans
Linda was shocked, and for a while, just cried. She thought of her own daughter, Sarah, and her ex-husband, Robert. She had turned out so much like her own mother, only she had left her daughter instead of taking her with her. Children just got in the way of careers, after all. And now, Linda wasn't even sure where they were living. Were they still in Salem? Or had they moved? Linda decided to find out so she could tell Sarah about the family in London.
Eleven year old Sarah looked at the envelope that had come in with the rest of the mail. It looked like it had been made out of parchment, and the writing on it was in a purple, flowing script. And it was addressed to her! Silently, Sarah wondered who used parchment like this and would be writing her her? She hadn't heard from her mother in nearly a year, when she had found out she had two aunts in England. Besides, her mother used plain envelopes, not anything like this. She opened it.
Salem Institute of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Nathanial Lyonhead, Headmaster
Dear Ms. Williams,
We are pleased to inform you that you have a place waiting for you at the Salem Institute of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The school year will begin on September first. We await your answer by owl no later than August first. We hope to see you there amongst the other first years.
Enclosed is a list of all the supplies and books you will need, as well as a map to show you and your parents how to get into Triang Alley and where you can exchange your money for the money used in the wizarding world.
Once again, congratulations.
Marissa Cooper
Deputy Headmistress
Sarah couldn't believe it. SHE was a witch? This couldn't be true. She looked at the list of supplies and books. Cauldrons, dragonhide gloves, robes, books on potions and transfiguration...this HAD to be a joke. Still, there was no harm in trying it out. "But where am I going to get an owl?" she asked herself. Just then, she noticed the owl outside the livingroom window. It looked at her expectantly, and she let it in. "Are you the owl that delivered this?" Sarah asked it, wondering if it could understand her.
The owl seemed to nod and held out a leg. Grabbing a peice of regular paper and a pen, Sarah wrote out a reply saying she would gladly accept her place, tied it to the owl's leg, and watched as it flew off. Maybe this was real, after all. Sarah ran to tell her father.
Sarah Williams had just finished dusting off all the books in the library. She couldn't believe she had been asked to replace the old librarian, Madam Pince, when she retired over the summer. Hogwarts was the best school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world, and she, Sarah Williams, was the new librarian. It was September the first, and the students would be arriving at any moment. Sarah was about to head down to the Great Hall to take her seat with the rest of the faculty when she realized she had left a book off it's proper shelf. Picking it up, she glanced at the title.
Labyrinth. THIS book belonged in the restricted section. There was no way Sarah was going to let any other young boy or girl get hold of this book and say THOSE words. Placing the book in what Sarah deemed its proper place, Sarah left the library, ready for the first term of her new job to start.
Fourty-five minutes later, all the students had arrived, and the sorting had been finished. Dumbledore had made his announcements, introducing both Sarah as the new librarian and Arabella Figg as the new DADA teacher. The feast had begun, and Sarah was currently glancing at the students that crowded the hall. Glancing at the Gryffindor table, Sarah saw four redheads sitting together, along with a young man with black hair and a young woman with bushy brown hair. The older two had to be the Weasley twins. Professor Dumbledore had warned her abut their pranks when she had first arrived at Hogwarts.
She knew who the dark haired young man was. Harry Potter. Even in America, he was famous for his defeat of the Dark Lord. And Sarah knew Voldemort was back. Unlike Fudge, the American Minister of magic was not squemish about letting such news out. But that wasn't the reason Sarah had agreed to become the new Hogwarts librarian. She wasn't interested in Harry. She had to find her Aunt Petunia and Aunt Lily. Sarah figured they were muggles. Her parents were muggles. But how would she find them? She didn't know if either had gotten married, or where they lived, or what. She had decided to go to Little Whinging that coming weekend to start her search.
But, who would look after the library? Sarah remembered she'd need to talk to Dumbledore about that. Turning to him, she broached the subject. "Lily and Petunia, you say?" he asked. "What surname? Perhaps one or both of them came through Hogwarts and you just don't know. Sometimes, muggleborns are not the only ones in their family." Sarah nodded. "Evans," she replied. "Lily and Petunia Evans."