Welcome back to book 3! I'm very excited to get started on this book, and what adventures Rachel will be taken on. By the way, here's a little fun fact about this first chapter; the idea came from one of my earliest drafts of a Harry Potter fic where there was a second girl with the trio. Unfortunately, that fic never saw the light of day… so I thought, why not put it in here? I hope you enjoy it :)

Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to J.K. Rowling, I only own the Haneys and the Shaws :)

Chapter 1

The New Addition to the Family

Rachel Haney groaned loudly, covering her ears with her pillow as the two-month-old baby cried and screamed. One glance at the clock and she saw that it was just past four in the morning, and little Alexis had been crying for five minutes now. What was even worse was that Mr. and Mrs. Haney were out for the night and trusted that Rachel and her twin brother Lukas would look after Alexis and their younger brother Jeremy.

"Rachel!" Lukas yelled through the wall. "It's your turn!"

"No it's not!" Rachel yelled back. "You go! I went at two!"

"Your turn!"

Rachel muttered a swearword under her breath and got up, groaning. She stuffed her feet in her slippers and went out her room and into Alexis' room.

"Hey, Lexie!" she cooed. "Hey—shh, shh, mommy and daddy are going to be home soon, okay?"

Rachel picked up Alexis and rocked her back and forth, not exactly knowing what to do or why Alexis was crying until she felt the sagging diaper. Rachel groaned once more and went to change it, and five minutes later, Alexis was laying asleep in her crib again.

Rachel stormed into Lukas' room and pulled the pillow from under his head.

"Hey!" Lukas just about cried.

"Next time, you're changing the diaper," said Rachel. "And be quiet, she just went back to sleep."

Somehow, Jeremy had slept through Alexis' crying the entire night, but that might be because his room was a floor lower, which Rachel wished was her room.

Just a month and a bit ago, Rachel had left King's Cross station to find that she had a baby sister. Her parents had wanted to tell Rachel and Lukas when they were home for Christmas from school, but unfortunately, Rachel had been busy solving the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets and couldn't come home. Lukas, however, was told to keep it a secret from Rachel.

It was quite a shock to come home to, especially after Rachel's adventure at the end of last year.

She isn't just any thirteen-year-old girl, Rachel is a witch, attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Lukas is a wizard, and they're hoping for Jeremy to be a wizard as well. His letter would hopefully arrive very soon.

Rachel's best friends were wizards and witches, too. There was Harry Potter, famous for surviving the killing curse. Then there was Ron Weasley, red-haired and a face covered with freckles, and lastly, Hermione Granger, with bushy hair and undoubtedly the smartest witch of their class.

She'd been hearing a lot from her friends. Especially Ron, whose father had won a ton of money. They had gone to Egypt on vacation, and Ron had even sent a clipping from the newspaper to Rachel, which lay on her desk and read:

MINISTRY OF MAGIC EMPLOYEE SCOOPS GRAND PRIZE

Arthur Weasley, Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office at the Ministry of Magic, has won the annual Daily Prophet Grand Prize Galleon Draw.

A delighted Mr. Weasley told the Daily Prophet, "We will be spending the gold on a summer holiday in Egypt, where our eldest son, Bill, works as a curse breaker for Gringotts Wizarding Bank."

The Weasley Family will be spending a month in Egypt, returning for the start of the new school year at Hogwarts, which five of the Weasley children currently attend.

With the newspaper clipping came a letter from Ron.

Dear Rachel,

It's amazing here in Egypt. Bill's taken us around all the tombs—there's so many curses those old Egyptian wizards put on them! Mum wouldn't let Ginny come in the last one. There were all these mutant skeletons in there, of Muggles who'd broken in and grown extra heads and stuff.

I couldn't believe it when Dad won the Daily Prophet Draw. Seven hundred galleons! Of course, most of it has gone to this trip (and I don't mind that one bit—it's truly beautiful), but they're going to buy me a new wand for next year.

Rachel grinned, remembering how Harry and Ron flew a car into a tree, and Ron's old wand snapped.

We'll be back about a week before term starts and we'll be going up to London to get my wand and our new books. Any chance of meeting you and Lukas there? And let me know if Jeremy gets his letter! And see if you can bring Alexis, Ginny really wants to meet her.

See you in London!

Ron

PS. Percy's Head Boy. He got the letter last week.

Rachel smiled at the letter. She'd written one back the day she got it, congratulating Percy and telling Ron to bring her back lots of stories from Egypt. Her parents had been hesitant to show Alexis Diagon Alley, but eventually they caved in and thought it would be for the best, if there were already a witch and a wizard in the family, that she got used to magic as soon as possible.

She'd also gotten a letter from Hermione, who was in France with her family. Rachel had also written back to her, and she'd also gotten a present for Harry, whose birthday had been on July 31st, which was yesterday. She and Lukas had put their money together and bought Harry new Quidditch gloves, which were very fancy but also very expensive.

They'd also written a letter to Harry:

Dear Harry,

Happy birthday! Mom and Dad are also wishing you a happy birthday (they really want to meet you, after we told them what you'd done last year). Ron and Hermione are going to be in London in the last week of the holidays, we're going then, too, with Alexis and hopefully Jeremy, if he gets his letter.

We hope you like the present, it was pretty expensive so Lukas and I got it as a joint present for you. We hope you're doing well, especially considering your aunt and uncle.

If we don't see you in London, we'll see you on the Hogwarts Express!

Love from

Rachel and Lukas

Lukas had also gotten a subscription to The Daily Prophet, and Rachel always got the newspapers after he'd finished them. The most recent paper, which had arrived early in the morning, lay on Rachel's desk, too.

BLACK STILL AT LARGE

Sirius Black, possibly the most infamous prisoner ever to be held in Azkaban fortress, is still eluding capture, the Ministry of Magic confirmed today.

We are doing all we can to recapture Black," said the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, this morning, "and we beg the magical community to remain calm."

Fudge has been criticized by some members of the International Federation of Warlocks for informing the Muggle Prime Minister of the crisis.

"Well, really, I had to, don't you know," said an irritable Fudge. "Black is mad. He's a danger to anyone who crosses him, magic or Muggle. I have the Prime Minister's assurance that he will not breathe a word of Black's true identity to anyone. And let's face it—who'd believe him if he did?"

While Muggles have been told that Black is carrying a gun (a kind of metal wand that Muggles use to kill each other), the magical community lives in fear of a massacre like that of twelve years ago, when Black murdered thirteen people with a single curse.

Rachel had been quite shocked to read the article. She'd heard lots of things about Azkaban—the wizarding prison—but she never expected a mass murderer to escape from the prison.

One morning at the start of August, Rachel was outside in the backyard with Jeremy, playing catch while Lukas was cooped up inside, writing a letter to someone, when she suddenly saw three owls flying toward the kitchen window.

"What's that?" said Jeremy, pointing.

"Probably from Hogwarts," said Rachel, and she picked up the ball they'd been playing with and hurried inside, curious to find out who the letters were for.

Mr. and Mrs. Haney were in the living room, watching television, and the owls were perched on the windowsill in the open window.

"Lukas!" Rachel hollered up the stairs.

There came a muffled, "What?"

"Letters from Hogwarts!"

Lukas came downstairs as Rachel took the three envelopes and petted the owls, feeding them some crumbs of bread, and they took off, again, hooting happily that their delivery was successful.

"Here's yours," said Rachel, handing Lukas the envelope addressed to him.

Jeremy was bouncing by the counter.

"Hey, Jeremy?" said Rachel teasingly.

"Just give it already!" Jeremy cried.

Rachel grinned and slid the envelope addressed to Jeremy toward him. Jeremy screamed happily as he picked it up and just about ripped it open.

"What's going on?" said Mr. Haney, entering the kitchen.

"I got my letter!" said Jeremy. "I'm a wizard! I'm going to Hogwarts!"

"That's great, Jeremy!" said Mrs. Haney from the living room, where she was feeding Alexis.

Rachel opened her own letter as Jeremy began to list off all the books he'd need, which he would take from both Lukas and Rachel. There was the usual list of books she'd need.

Third Year Students will require:

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 3) by Miranda Goshawk

Intermediate Transfiguration by Emeric Switch

The Essential Defense Against the Dark Arts by Arsenius Jigger

Elective Course Books:

Unfogging the Future by Cassandra Vablatsky (if attending Divination)

The Monster Book of Monsters by Edwardus Lima (if attending Care of Magical Creatures)

Spellman's Syllabary by Rosana Amorim (if attending Ancient Runes)

Numerology and Grammatica by L. Wakefield and M. Carneiro (if attending Arithmancy)

Home Life and Social Habits of British Muggles by Wilhelm Wigworthy (if attending Muggle Studies)

Rachel took out the second page of parchment and read it.

Dear Miss Haney,

Please note that the new school year will begin on September the first. The Hogwarts Express will leave from King's Cross station, platform nine and three-quarters, at eleven o'clock.

Third years are permitted to visit the village of Hogsmeade on certain weekends. Please give the enclosed permission form to your parent or guardian to sign.

A list of books for next year is enclosed.

Yours sincerely,

Professor M. McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

Rachel pulled out the Hogsmeade permission form and looked at it.

PERMISSION for VISIT to HOGSMEADE for

Rachel G. Haney

This document hereby serves to state the aforementioned Third-year student of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is permitted to visit the village of Hogsmeade at such a time that the school arranges, and with the signature of the undersigned parent or guardian.

The student shall abide by all such rules & regulations relevant to such expeditions and set by the school as per article 528/Z of the 1714 edict.

Name:

Relationship to Student:

Signature:

"I'll sign them, then," said Mr. Haney with a smile, reading the Hogsmeade permission form Lukas had handed him. He signed both Rachel's and Lukas' forms and then clapped his hand on Jeremy's shoulder. "When shall we head to Diagon Alley, then?"

"Ron's going to be there the last day of the holidays," said Rachel. "Hermione's coming then, as well. We can get our things then."

"Excellent," said Mr. Haney.

They were shooed out of the kitchen so Mr. Haney could make tea and get started on lunch. On their way upstairs to see what books they could give to Jeremy, the eleven-year-old kept gushing about how amazing it was that he was a wizard. Rachel looked at Lukas and grinned.