Seventeen-year-old Stacey Krynzel studied her reflection in her slightly cracked full-length mirror. For once, she almost liked what she saw; silky, rich chocolate shoulder-length hair, rather than the long tangle of mousy curls. She gazed into her dark, profound brown eyes, which no longer looked so large and out of place. She noticed her tall, slender frame that had filled out nicely during puberty. She didn't usually wear make-up, but today she had put a little on, because today was special. Today was to be the first day of her seventh year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You see, Stacey was a witch, and a good one at that.
When Stacey wasn't at Hogwarts, she lived in a tiny, beat-up little apartment with her twenty-five year old Muggle sister, Angie, and her younger Muggle brothers, Adam, who was fifteen, and Mark, who was eleven. Their mother had walked out on them when Stacey was nine, and their father had committed suicide when Stacey was ten. Angie had basically raised Stacey and her brothers, even when their parents were still there. Stacey's parents had been rotten.
After Stacey's father died, Angie started working double shifts at the Muggle restaurant, McDonald's. The job had barely provided enough money for them to live on, but they had somehow managed. Stacey remembered the long, cold nights when she had finished all of the chores and lain awake in bed late into the evening, waiting for Angie to come home from her job.
Then, on Stacey's eleventh birthday, she received a letter that changed her life. It was an invitation to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! Stacey was a witch! She could do magic! It had been overwhelmingly exciting for little Stacey, who hadn't ever experienced anything more adventurous than schoolwork and chores. Somehow, Angie had scrimped, salvaged, and saved enough money to provide for Stacey's wand, trunk, robes, and schoolbooks, and, before she knew it, Stacey was at Hogwarts.
Stacey sighed. Maybe she liked what she saw in that mirror, but Ron Weasley, her longtime crush, would never notice her. In his eyes, she was just Stacey Krynzel, nothing special. She didn't even know if he knew her name. He was too wrapped up with stupid Lavender Brown. Lavender was the biggest ditz at Hogwarts, and Stacey just couldn't understand why Ron liked her so much.
Stacey bent down to lift her shabby, old trunk. She tugged it gently down the rickety old stairs that led to the minute kitchen. She gazed around her. The kitchen was small but very tidy. Angie worked so hard to keep this place going.
Angie was standing at the sink scrubbing dishes, a yellowed apron tied around her narrow waist, her auburn hair pulled back in a messy ponytail.
"Hey, sis," said Stacey quietly, setting her trunk down on the worn floor.
Angie looked up. "Stace!" She whistled. "Looking good, girl. All ready for Hogwarts?"
Stacey smiled. She had no idea how such a stressed out, overworked human being could be so utterly cheerful. "Yeah, I'm all set. Where are the boys? I want to say good-bye before I Disapparate. I'm meeting Hermione at King's Cross at quarter till." She had just turned seventeen and passed her Apparition test. She could do magic outside of school now, too.
Angie's expression fell a little. "You be careful. All that magical stuff scares me…Disapparating, and all that. It's so much…easier…just walking."
Stacey grinned in exasperation. "I've told you before, Ang, Apparition is perfectly safe if you know what you're doing, and I -"
"You know what you're doing," finished Angie for her. "I know, I know…" She shook herself. "Let me get your brothers." She walked over to the aged staircase and hollered up it. "Boys! Get down here! Stacey's leaving!"
A moment later, there was a series of thump's, and Adam and Mark had arrived.
Stacey beamed at the sight of her two pesky little brothers - Adam, who had sprouted up to a whopping 6'1 over the past year, with his easy smile, messy brown hair, and dark eyes…he was quite a ladies man. And then there was Mark, with his angelic little face, cute smile, spiky auburn hair, and that adorable spray of freckles across his nose…in a couple of years, she would have to fend the girls off of him with a wand.
She embraced each of them in a hug, one at a time. Mark grimaced slightly when it was his turn to be hugged, but, remarkably, he held still. When she got to Angie, her sister dissolved into tears.
"It's okay, Angie…" said Stacey, knowing the ritual. Angie did this every year.
"I'm sorry, Stace," sniffled Angie, blotting her tears away with her apron. "I always lose myself when I know I won't see you until Christmas."
"I'll write you a lot, Ang, you know that," said Stacey, hugging her sister tight.
Angie broke away from the hug quickly. "Use the regular way…don't use those school owls anymore. They scare me half to death, tapping away at the window like that…then all they want is food, which we're a little tight on, considering that Adam eats like twelve men…" She trailed off.
"I understand." Stacey hugged everyone one last time. "I'll see you all in December!" she said softly. "Bye!" She grabbed her trunk, and with a loud pop! she was off to King's Cross Station.