Hagrid had once mentioned Aragog to her—the pet spider he had kept when he was her age. Later, for various reasons, Aragog had left him, and since Hagrid had to look after her, he had barely left her side except for matters of absolute necessity.
Consequently, it had been a long time since Hagrid had visited Aragog.
Allie wanted to write back to Hagrid, so Ginny took her to find Percy to ask for parchment and a quill. In this household, Percy was certainly the one with the most supplies.
In her letter, Allie wrote about her life with the Weasley family. Mrs. Weasley had been very kind to her, and her hair was now long and smooth enough to drape down her back. She got along well with all the Weasley children, though sweet, well-behaved Ginny was her favorite. She also told Hagrid not to worry about the twins playing pranks on him, as she was more than capable of dishing those pranks right back.
Happy times always pass by in a flash.
Before long, Ron and Allie were both eleven years old. Percy had already received his letter informing him that he had been made a prefect, and he always took out his prefect badge, seemingly by accident, to polish it.
Proud of him, Mrs. Weasley rewarded Percy with a small owl, which he named Hermes.
Percy left his old rat, Scabbers, to Ron.
"Flutter, flutter—" An owl landed precisely on the windowsill of The Burrow; it was an owl from Hogwarts.
"Look, there are three letters!" Ginny shouted.
Two parchment letters were inscribed with green ink—Hogwarts.
There was also a regular envelope stamped with a lily.
Mrs. Weasley took them. "Oh, Ron, Allie, I am so happy for you both. Look, these are your acceptance letters. This means you can go to the best school of magic and become excellent wizards." She handed the letters to each of them.
Allie received two letters. She noticed the other one had been sent by Professor Snape.
She had thought the professor had forgotten about her. Just as she was about to open it, Ginny urged her to open the Hogwarts acceptance letter first.
Ginny was very envious that she and Ron were going to school; Ginny was a year younger than them and would not be able to go until next year.
Allie opened the acceptance letter, and she and Ginny leaned in together to read it.
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
Dear Miss Evans:
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.
The term begins on September 1. We await your owl no later than August 31.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
George took the list of items from the letter. "Mum, do we have any spare robes or a wand at home?" He was worried that Allie wouldn't have everything she needed.
"How about she takes mine? I can share with George; no one can tell us apart anyway," Fred interjected, with the exception of Allie.
During the time Allie had spent with the Weasley family, she had been "assimilated" by the twins. The prankster duo had become a trio, and they had formed a deep bond.
However, the ground rules for their pranks were that they must never scare Ron with spiders or tease Ginny. Percy had become their favorite target, often being driven from his usual stiff-necked seriousness into a towering rage.
"Don't worry, children. I will take Allie to buy these things, and I’ll pick up the books Ron is missing, too." When Allie had first arrived, Dumbledore had given her a pouch of Galleons—about three hundred or so. She hadn't touched it, and now was the time to use it. After all, even Ron was using Bill’s old robes and Charlie’s old wand.
If she had enough money, she would have been more than happy to get new things for all the children.
"Mrs. Weasley, Professor Snape wrote to say that he will come to take me to Diagon Alley on August 25th. He said he has business there himself, so he’ll take me along." While Mrs. Weasley had been talking, Allie had opened the other envelope. The letter had a faint scent of lilies; she thought Professor Snape must really like lilies.
She folded the letter, placed it back into the envelope, and tucked it away carefully.
As her guardian, Mrs. Weasley replied on their behalf, confirming their attendance at Hogwarts.
On August 25th, Allie woke up early, got ready, and went to the living room to wait. Before long, the doorbell rang. Allie opened the door first to find Professor Snape standing on the doorstep, holding a flying broomstick.
"Good morning, Professor!" Once they knew Snape was coming, Ron and the others had found excuses to go out, even Ginny, because they had listened to George and Fred talk about how terrifying Snape was.
Now, only she and Mrs. Weasley were home; Mr. Weasley had left for work even earlier than they had woken up.
"Good morning... Allie Evans..." Snape hadn't expected Allie to be the one to open the door.
He hadn't originally intended to come for Allie, intending simply to watch from afar as he had at Hogwarts.
But while chatting with Professor McGonagall about the letters, she had remarked on how crowded Diagon Alley would be with so many parents taking their children shopping.
That reminded him of Harry and Allie. Dumbledore had said he would arrange for Hagrid to collect Harry... so what about Allie?
By the time he came to his senses, he had already written the letter and sent it off with an owl.
"Good morning, Mr. Snape. It’s a pleasure to have you as a guest," Mrs. Weasley said, coming over to greet him.
Snape left his broom outside and followed Mrs. Weasley's invitation into the house. "Good morning, Mrs. Weasley... I would like to borrow your fireplace and some Floo powder."
"Of course, sir," Mrs. Weasley said, producing the Floo powder. "Allie, dear, this is your first time using this. You remember what Arthur did before? This fireplace is connected to the Floo Network. You just need to grab a handful and say 'Diagon Alley' clearly and loudly."
Allie remembered the method. Once, when Mr. Weasley had gotten his hands on a Muggle airplane manual, he had spent all night in the shed trying to figure out how Muggles could keep an airplane in the sky without magic. The next day, he had been nearly late, and he had used the fireplace then.
Allie pinched a bit of the shimmering powder from the pot, walked to the hearth, and tossed it into the flames.
With a whoosh, the fire turned emerald green and roared high up. She stepped straight into the flames and shouted, "Diagon Alley!" In the blink of an eye, she was gone.
The fire felt like a rush of hot air; it didn't hurt her.
She felt as if she were being sucked into a giant vortex. Her body spun rapidly... the whistling in her ears was deafening... it made her feel dizzy...
When the light returned, she wasn't prepared and nearly collapsed to the floor.
Fortunately, Snape, who had followed her, grabbed her by the collar, saving her from a "disaster."
"Thank you, Professor," Allie vowed that if she ever had to do that again, she would not fall, so that she wouldn't be lifted up by the professor like a baby chick.