Here's chapter 3 of Lauria Penbrook. Enjoy.

"Emily, what does the requirement list say?" Ben asked. "We should probably know what we're looking for before we begin."

"Right then," Emily said as she searched her pockets. "Where is that blasted thing?"

"Here, Mommy," Lauria said as she gave her mother the paper that had been stashed away inside her own coat pockets.

"Ah, thank you, dear," she said as she read it out loud.

"First on the list... Three sets of plain black robes."

"What other clothing items are there?"

"One pointed black hat, one pair of protective gloves, and one black winter cloak. I know a shop where we can get all of that."

"Yes, so do I."

Ben and Emily looked at each other.

"Madam Malkin's!" they said together.

"Come along, children, this way," Emily said as she took Luke and Leena's hands. "Don't want you getting lost, now do we? Lauria, dear, walk in front of me, please." The family of five walked towards the clothing store. The minute they stepped into the store, a pudgy woman rushed over to them.

"Oh my, look at all of you sweet little children!" she said. "Now, which one of you is going to Hogwarts?"

"Lauria, here," Emily said, nudging her daughter forward. Madam Malkin eyed her like she was trying to peer into her soul.

"Right then. I know what you need. Come along," and with that she took Lauria by the hand and pulled her through the shop. Madam Malkin returned her to her parents ten minutes later with her robes and other garments.

"The girl should have everything she needs. Robes, a hat, a cloak, yup, I say she's all set."

"Thank you, Madam," Emily said while Ben paid and they left the shop.

The bookshop was after that, and then they stopped for lunch. The Penbrooks decided on a small, yet nice, café.

"Lauria, are you excited about going to Hogwarts?" Ben asked and smiled.

"Um, I guess so... Yes, very excited," Lauria responded.

"Won't be long before Leena here gets to go, too," he said, putting an arm around his younger daughter. "What about you, Leena? Are you excited for your sister?" Leena gave Lauria a hard stare.

"Yes. Very," she said coldly. Lauria was the only one who seemed to notice, and frankly, she felt a bit intimidated. They finished lunch and continued to shop. Ollivander's was next on their list.

"You'll need a good wand, dear," Emily said as she led her husband into the store.

Mr. Ollivander was a middle sized man, and a bit mad looking. He had white hair that stuck out at the sides, reminding Lauria of the composer, Ludwig van Beethoven. His eyes never really seemed to focus on the same thing. They were all over the place. He also had personal space issues. He didn't respect anyone else's.

"Ah, a new little witch," he said as he got a bit too closely to Lauria. He began to examine her. "I have just the thing. Hold on a minute!" The scraggly man disappeared behind the counter.

"Mommy, is he... all right?" Luke asked curiously.

"Luke, don't be rude!" Emily whispered crossly. But then she added, "Well yes, I suppose he can be a bit... crazy at times."

Ollivander returned, holding out a silver stick about a foot long.

"Twelve inches long, unicorn hair and a phoenix feather," he said and handed it to her. Lauria took it, although she wasn't quite sure had to do with it.

"Go on, child. Swish it around!"

Lauria did as instructed. A glowing light seemed to emerge form it.

"Ah, perfect! I just knew that one would take a shining to you," Ollivander said.

After they left, Luke tried to get hold of Lauria's hand.

"Can't I juts have a quick go at it? I promise I won't break it!"

"I know you won't break it, because you'll not get a chance to!"

"Mommy!" Luke said as he tugged on Emily's dress. "Can I please have a turn with Lauria's wand?"

Emily removed his hands. "No, Luke, dear. A wand only works well enough for the witch or wizard that it chooses. It will not accept another."

"But can't I just try?"

"No."

"Well then can I have my own wand?"

"When you get into Hogwarts."

"But that will be ages!"

"Only four years, dear."

"Like I said. AGES!"

"Say, Lauria," Ben said, interrupting the spat Luke and his mother were having. "Isn't your birthday coming up?"

"No," Lauria said and gave him an odd look. "My birthday is in December. It's the middle of August!"

Ben frowned. "Oh. Well then consider this an early present from your mother and I to you." The family stopped in front of the pet shop.

"What?"

"A cat! You're getting a cat!" Lauria broke into a grin. She loved animals! Dogs were her favorites, but you couldn't very well take a Golden Retriever into a magic school, could you? Unfortunatley, she could also feel Leena's cold stare on her back. What was that girl's deal?

Lauria decided on a female, white kitten with black paws and the tip of her tail was black, too. She decided to call her new kitty Starlight. Emily told her that it was a beautiful name, and began to pet little Starlight. Even Leena joined in. She too, loved animals and always wanted a cat.

As the day drew to a close, the Penbrooks finished their shopping and continued home. Again, they used Floo Powder to return. The fireplace in a pub called Leaky Cauldron was the one that was used.

By the time they arrived home, Starlight had fallen asleep in Lauria's arms. Emily helped her make a little bed in the room Lauria shared with Leena.

"There," Emily said, patting the soft cushion. "Starlight ought to be nice and comfortable."

Lauria sat the sleeping puffball on her new bed.

"Well, goodnight, girls," Emily said as she shut the door and turned out the light. Leena started to crawl into bed, but Lauria stopped her.

"I want some answers," she said crossing her arms.

"Like what?" Leena asked, with a look of confusion on her face.

"I want to know why you've been so cross with me. Ever since the letter came, you look at me like... Like I'm Satan!"

"Oh."

"Well?"

Leena began to cry.

"What's wrong?"

"It's because... I'm going to miss you!"

Lauria watched her sister.

"You're going to miss me? Oh come on, Leena! So is everyone else!" She sat down next to her little sister and put her arm around her.

"You aren't alone on this one, OK?"

Leena sniffled.

"Tell you what. I have about a week before I leave. We'll spend every waking moment together, all right?"

Leena stared at her with her big blue eyes.

"Promise?"

"I promise.

"Pinky promise?"

"Yes. Now go to sleep. We've got a busy week ahead of us."

The next week was full of fun and excitement for both girls. They spent almost nearly every single moment together. They wanted to make every second count. The pretended they were princesses locked in a tower, played board games and puzzles, and did each other's hair. Of course, those were all Leena's ideas. On the day before Lauria left for Hogwarts, she made Leena go outside with her and play pioneers.

It happened to be Lauria's favorite game. Her Aunt Julia lived in America and told her and Luke and Leena stories about how pioneers had tamed the Wild West in the 1800's. Lauria found it quite interesting and pretended that she was going to travel across the prairie. This, of course, was much too "rough" for Leena. But, since she picked all the other games, it was only fair that Lauria picked this game. But all good things must come to an end eventually. The next day, Lauria would leave for school.

It was night, but Lauria and Leena couldn't sleep. They were in bed, but instead stayed up half the night talking.

"What do you think Hogwarts will be like?" Leena asked as she stared at the ceiling.

"I don't know. Mommy says that there's a lot of stuff to do. She says that I'll learn all kinds of things."

"Promise me one thing. Promise me that no matter how much fun you have, you'll take a few minutes out of every day to remember me, OK?" Leena whispered.

Lauria nodded in the darkness.

"OK. Promise."