As she walked down the hall of her mansion home, the black-haired 11-year-old was talking with any painting she passed. They were all werewolves, nice ones of course, and they had always given her respect and advice for everyday life. What she liked best was that every full moon, the people in the paintings turned into their werewolf forms. Her personal favorite was one that actually changed every night. She was a beautiful cream color, with an auburn three-pronged design on her forehead, and her eyes were emerald green, in contrast with the normal werewolves' amber eyes. The girl was heading towards that painting that day, and stopped right in front of it, and sat down in a comfy armchair that was positioned in front of it for these conversations.

"I don't know what to do, Clearia! I'm of the age to go to Hogwartz, but I'm not sure if I'll get the letter! I'm just like you, and I don't know how that will affect me in school." The beautiful woman in the painting smiled at her, and set down the book she had been reading.

"Dear girl, it will not affect your school performance. I advise that you don't leave your dormitory after dark, and if you must, you shall need to use a concealment charm to hide your nightly form. You are a beautiful creature, Laura, never forget that. And remember, you aren't alone. Aren't you friends with a weretiger? That Mira girl? Don't worry, you won't be alone. That weretiger friend of mine in her house, Mince Stripes, told me that she is expecting a letter as well. You'll get your letter, trust me. I did, even though I had to hide in my dormitory and use concealment charms on myself for the whole time every year."

"Thank you, Clearia. You're a big help." Laura wanted to hug the painted werewolf, but she knew that she couldn't. Suddenly, a large barn owl flew in through the chimney, and landed beside the 11-year-old. "Oh? And who are you?" The owl hooted, and held out its left talon, revealing the letter that was carefully held between the claws. "A letter? For me?" The owl hooted again, and dropped the letter in her lap. Hands shaking, Laura opened the letter under the watchful eye of the barn owl, and took out a Hogwartz acceptance letter. "Wow… Clearia! I'm going to Hogwartz!"

"Congratulations, Laura! I'm so proud of you! Remember, you need to take one of my smaller frames with you, so that I can speak with you when you need me. You'll also need to take Starlight." Laura nodded. Starlight was the wolf that had bitten her, and ever since then the two had been constant companions. Then, a horrible thought struck her.

"What if they don't let me bring her with me? What if they send her away?! What will I do then?!"

"Calm down, dear girl, you're frightening the poor owl. You need to write back your acceptance letter, and then you'll need to get your school supplies. I'm going to go talk to a friend of mine, so that I can arrange transportation for you. Your parents, bless their souls, are still in Mungo's, remember?"

"Yeah…" Then, she grumbled under her breath, "stupid Death Eaters."

"Now, now, don't go down that path. Hate will make you just as bad as they are, my dear. I was told to take care of you as best I can, and I won't break that promise I made to your parents now." The beautiful woman stepped out of her painting, and Laura felt relief that she would have at least one person who understood her at that school.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Three Weeks Later…

Laura looked around at the station in awe. There were muggles everywhere, too many to count, and none of them knew what she was. Then, she spotted something. A pale, quite handsome boy with sandy blonde hair was walking towards a barrier between platforms 9 and 10, pushing a cart. Suddenly, it was as if he had disappeared. She looked up at the woman who was escorting her, a tall woman with brown hair and blue eyes, and tried to form her question.

"How…"

"Not here, not now. Come on, we must get to platform 9 ¾. Follow me." The woman, whose name was Andromeda Felicia, pushed Laura's cart towards that same barrier, and Laura followed close behind. She closed her eyes when it seemed like they were about to crash into it, but to her surprise, they passed right through it, ending up at an entirely different location. It was an old-fashioned train platform, and there were witches and wizards all over the place! Many of them were kids of various ages, including that cute, pale boy she had watched pass through the barrier. When she looked up, Laura saw the sign that said "Platform 9 ¾." Looking around again, she saw the pale boy meet up with three others: a black-haired boy who was quite handsome, a boy with brown hair and glasses who was also quite good-looking, and a shorter boy with a mousey look to him who was actually a bit adorable like a puppy. The pale boy seemed to realize that he was being looked at, because just before he got on the train, he looked around, and caught her eye. Then, a crowd of teenagers blocked her view of the boy, and once they had moved on, he was gone.

"Miss Felicia, will they let me keep Starlight with me?" Her hand was on the large kennel on top of the trunk, and a white wolf with a three-pronged black marking looked out at her with bright gold eyes. The taller witch looked down at the girl with understanding, and aimed her wand at the lock on the kennel.

"Aloe homora." The lock unlocked, and the wolf jumped out, happily sitting by Laura's feet. They were gaining some attention, so Andromeda quickly ushered both girl and wolf to the train, and gave the girl a quick pep-talk when she was sure nobody was listening. "Remember, Laura, you need to hide your condition. I know that it is technically a blessing, but nobody else will understand that, other than your friend Mira. Do you still have that small painting of Clearia in your bag?"

"Yes, Miss Felicia. I have it right here." Laura pulled out a gold-framed painting of a study with a plush chair, and Andromeda nodded.

"That's a good girl. Stay safe, keep your secret hidden. Conceal and don't reveal, remember?"

"I remember, Miss Felicia. I'll be careful."

"I'm going to put a night-long concealment charm on you now, so that the night sky won't activate your… transformation." The concealment charm was cast, and the girl ushered onto the train. As she dragged her heavy trunk behind her, she could hear the chatter around her. Then, a girl her age with orange, black, and white hair waved her into a train car, and Starlight ran into it, yipping happily.

"Laurrra! Starrrlight! Good to see you!" The weretiger hugged the happy wolf, and then hugged Laura. "So, you got invited too! That's wonderrrful!"

"Yeah! Miss Felicia put a concealment charm on me for the night, so that… you know…"

"Yeah…" The two of them sat down beside each other, and Starlight lay down on top of their feet to keep them warm. It was a bit chilly, and Laura had no intention of berating her lupine friend that time. Then, a girl with golden hair and brown eyes looked into the train car.

"Hey, do ya'll mind if Ah sit with ya?" The girl's accent was… strange, at least to them. She was obviously from another country.

"Not at all. My name is Laura Luna, and this is my friend Mira Strongpaw. And you are…"

"Matilda! Matilda Goldstar, but ya'll can jus' call meh Goldie! That's mah nickname."

"Okay, Goldie. So, where are you from?"

"Texas! Ah'm an American. Ah transferred 'ere 'cause Ah didn't wanna go tah school in tha' states."

"Oh, well, it's nice to meet you." None of the three girls in the train car booth were that special, other than a few stand-out physical features, such as Mira's tri-colored hair, and a three-pronged mark on Laura's left shoulder. The same mark as on the wolf. Soon, a witch with a snack cart came to a stop beside their compartment, and looked inside.

"Anything from the trolley, dears?" The cart was covered in candy and other snacks. Unable to help herself when she saw the Chocolate Frogs, Laura took a handful of galleons out of her pants pocket, and held them out to the lady.

"I'll buy all of the chocolate frogs, as well as some of those Bertie Bott's candies." Once they had gotten their candies, the three girls split the candy between them, and started to eat. "Hey! I got Merlin!"

"Lucky! I got Berrrtie Bott!"

"Ah got some gal named Morgana."

"Ah! That's a super-rare card! Can you trade it to me for a Dumbledore and Sir Nicholas?"

"Sure, why not?" Matilda handed over the Morgana card, while Laura handed over the two cards she had offered. Then, Mira let out a squeal of joy.

"I got Godrrric Grrryffindorrr! That's amazing!"

"Maybe it's a sign, or something, Mira! Maybe you're destined to be a Gryffindor!"

"Maybe…" Suddenly, a prefect came past their compartment, and told them to get into their school robes. Once they were all in their black robes, the three girls waited until they were at the Hogwartz station, and then got off. It was like walking into a sea of semi-look-alikes. Everyone was wearing the same kind of black robe, but the heights and facial features differed. Starlight kept close to Laura, and they soon saw a really tall man in a ragged traveling coat holding a lantern.

"Firs' years! Firs' years, this way, come on!" Laura and her two friends made their way over to the man, and Starlight made sure not to leave her owner's side. They got into the boats, and they ended up in the same boat as the huge man. He looked down appraisingly at the white wolf that hopped into the boat with Laura, and then the boats started to move by themselves over the water. Mira caught sight of a tentacle after they came out on the other side of a tunnel, but it was gone in a flash. After a few more minutes, they were waiting in what was obviously the Entrance Hall of the school. A woman wearing green was waiting at the doors to the room that must have been the Great Hall. Soon, they were filing into that room, and Laura could see all of the people who were 2nd year and up staring at them.

"What do you think will happen? Will we end up in the same house?" Laura whispered to her friends.

"Maybe. I'm not entirrrely surrre." Mira whispered back, her usual habit of purring out her 'r's showing through. Then, the woman in green, who was Minerva McGonagall, set a raggedy old hat on a stool in front of the staff table. To their surprise, a rip near the base of the hat opened, and it started to sing.

Another year, another sorting,

Another group of students to teach,

There are four houses to be choosing,

Let's hope that it's a height you can reach!

It continued to sing about the four houses, their founders, and the traits needed to be sorted into them. Once it was done, everyone clapped, including the 1st years. Then, McGonagall held up a scroll.

"Greene, Clarence!" A boy with blonde hair and freckles stepped up to the stool, and sat down, allowing McGonagall to place the hat on his head.

"RAVENCLAW!" The students at the Ravenclaw table clapped, as Clarence joined them. Then, McGonagall called out the next name.

"Goldstar, Matilda!" Nervously, Matilda went up to the stool, and sat down. When McGonagall placed the hat on her head, the golden-haired girl could hear its voice in her head. 'Interesting… very interesting. You are not from this country, yet you decided to come to Hogwartz to become a student. You knew that the other students here would not be like you, and yet you still came. Back in Texas, where you came from, you defended that little puppy from that pack of coyotes, even though you were afraid of them. That takes real courage, so you must be placed into…'

"GRYFFINDOR!" Matilda let out a sigh of relief, and hurried over to the Gryffindor table, where the students were cheering for her. Then, the next name was called.

"Strongpaw, Mira!" The weretiger bravely went up to the stool, and sat down. The hat was placed on her head, and she heard it speaking to her in her head. 'Now, you are an unusual case. We have had very few lycanthropes here, and those who have come here usually left within a few months. You also have the heart of a lion, though you are half tiger. You have always been brave, never backing down from a challenge, and you have almost always come out on top. For that bravery, you don't belong in any other house than…'

"GRYFFINDOR!" Mira hurried over to the Gryffindor table, and sat down next to Matilda, who was cheering the loudest. A girl named Patricia Munroe was placed in Hufflepuff, next a girl named Alice Parks was placed in Slytherin, and a boy named Markus Howe was placed in Ravenclaw.

"Luna, Laura!" The black-haired girl walked bravely up to the stool, followed by Starlight. Everyone started whispering at this, but McGonagall didn't comment. As Laura sat down on the stool, Starlight sat down next to it, and the hat was placed on Laura's head. The voice started, and she listened closely. 'Difficult… very difficult… you've been through a lot, using many different skills. You are devious, as is proven by your ability to hide your lycanthropy for so long. You are caring, as proven by your ability to forgive your wolf for biting you, and then caring for it afterwards. You are very intelligent, as proven by your quick thinking and genius when you had to figure out how to repair your mother's wand without it having the slightest chance of backfiring. You are brave, as proven every day by just being around normal people when you yourself cannot be seen at night. Therefore…' Then, Laura started to whisper to it.

"Not Slytherin, not Slytherin…"

'No? Well, then, I suppose that the best place for you is…' "GRYFFINDOR!" Laura sighed in relief, and hopped off of the stool. After joining her three friends at the Gryffindor table, they watched as the rest of the 1st years are sorted. Then, Dumbledore stood up to make a speech.

"I'm glad that we are all here together again for another year, with some new faces as well! Now, I'm sure that you are all hungry, so tuck in!" Food appeared on the table, and everyone started to eat. Laura ate mostly meat, with chicken, bacon, steak, and pork chops taking up most of the room on her plate. The wolf inside of her was ravenous, and she wouldn't deny that even her human personality was hungry. After she finished eating, she and her three friends excused themselves from the feast, and were accompanied by one of the other students to the Gryffindor Tower. The boy's name was Sirius Black, and he seemed nice enough. He was one of the boys that got on the train with the cute pale boy that had caught Laura's eye.

"You know, my friend Remus was staring at you through the entire feast. He cheered the loudest when you were put into Gryffindor. What was your name again?"

"Laura. Laura Luna."

"Nice name. Well, here's the entrance to the tower." The boy looked at a painting of a fat lady, and called out, "Gillyweed."

"Very well." The painting swung forwards off of the wall, revealing a circular hole through which the three girls could see a warm, welcoming common room. Entering, they saw that there was some comfortable-looking furniture, and a fire in the fireplace.

"Well, ladies, this is your new home away from home! If you want to talk later… send me an owl?" Sirius winked at Matilda, who giggled uncontrollably. Was he trying to flirt with her? If so, it appeared that it was working. Later, the three girls were up in their dormitory, fully changed into their pajamas.

"You know, Mira, I've read that once a guardian werewolf becomes a teenager, they can actually control their transformations. Wouldn't that be awesome? Then, I wouldn't have to have concealment charms on me at night."

"Yes, that would be useful. Burt Laurrra, you can't expect these things to happen so quickly. You still have two morrre yearrrs beforrre you can contrrrol yourrr trrransforrrmations. Give it time." Mira turned over on her bed, and curled up just like a cat would. Matilda was already fast asleep, snoring softly, so Laura rolled over, and closed her eyes.

0o0o0o0o0o0

The Next Morning…

When Laura woke up, she could feel fur receding from her face, as the concealment charm wore off. At least nobody was in the room to see my other form… She got up, and walked over to her trunk, pulling out her hairbrush, a set of clothes, her school robes, and a towel. She went into the washroom, took a quick shower, and started to brush her hair. Then, someone pounded on the door.

"What is it?" She called, not looking away from the mirror.

"Hurry up, sugah! Ah've gotta get ready!" It was Matilda.

"Almost done!" Laura took out her wand, and quickly cast a drying spell on her hair, drying it out instantly. She quickly got her black school robes on over her clothes, and hurried out of the washroom, hopping on one foot as she struggled with her left shoe. "Argh! Stupid shoe! I think I might need new ones sooner than I thought!"

"Alrrready? Girrrl, you arrre grrrowing too fast!" Mira laughed, while Laura finally managed to force her shoe onto her foot.

"Don't I know it, Mira. I'm going to need to send a letter to Miss Felicia about new shoes. Oh! Starlight, here girl!" Laura clapped her hands twice, and the elegant white wolf came out from behind the curtains of the spare bed. "That's a good girl! Ready for classes today?" The wolf barked happily, and grabbed her mistress' schoolbag. Laura laughed, and happily walked out of the dormitory with her pet. "I'll meet you and Matilda downstairs, Mira!"

"See you soon, Laurrra!" The purring voice faded away as the girl and wolf got farther down the stairs, and they were soon in the common room. Some other Gryffindors were in the room, including the cute, scarred, pale second-year boy that had caught Laura's eye. And now, her nose as well.

"Well, well… it appears that my attraction to him isn't just for nothing…" Her whisper was so soft, only her wolf heard her, and Starlight cocked her head to the side in confusion, looking up at Laura. Laura flicked one finger in the direction of the second-year boy, and comprehension dawned in Starlight's intelligent gold eyes. Even though Starlight was just an animal, she was extremely intelligent, and her ancestors had been enchanted by none other than Merlin himself. They made their way out of the common room, and down to the Great Hall for breakfast. It wasn't very crowded, seeing as most people were still either in their dormitories or in their common rooms, but there were still a few Gryffindors at the table. Laura kept her distance, and opened a book of charms, while eating bacon and eggs that had magically appeared in front of her. Starlight whined, but yipped happily when a bowl of bacon appeared in front of her, and the wolf happily started to eat. "Hmm… concealment charms… Ah! 'One of the best charms for a lycanthrope that keeps their mind when they change form is the secondary concealment charm, named Secundum Formam Abscondas. This spell works for twelve hours, or until the spell Finite Incantatum is cast by the original caster.' This is just what I need, Starlight!" The wolf yipped happily at her owner, and then went back to eating her bacon. Laura spent the rest of breakfast eating her food and memorizing the spell, knowing that she would need it sometime in the next seven years.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Thirty Minutes Later…

The three girls were panting as they finally reached Professor Flitwick's Charms classroom, with the white wolf gracefully trotting beside them. They had gotten lost quite a few times on their way there, but they were luckily just in time for class. Entering, they straightened out their robes and hair, sitting down in the only available seats at the front of the class. The tiny professor greeted them warmly, even going so far as to happily pet Starlight, causing the white wolf to lick his hand in appreciation.

"Oh! Such a good wolf you are, um… what's her name?"

"Starlight, Professor Flitwick."

"Ah! Yes, Starlight. She's a good pet, isn't she?" Flitwick looked up at Laura with a twinkle in his eye, and Laura chuckled, then answered.

"She's more of a friend than a pet, Professor. I'm just glad she likes you. It's not everyday that she likes someone right off the bat, if you know what I mean."

"Oh, a muggle saying, isn't it?"

"Yes, Professor. My guardian, Andromeda Felicia, decided that it would be good to introduce me to muggle customs and sayings, so that I might fit in better when I have to go into a muggle-populated area."

"A good decision on her part, I'd say! Now, then, today we are going to practice with levitation! Does everyone have a feather?" They all held up feathers, and set them back down on their desks again. "Good, good! Well, get out your wands, and repeat after me. Wingardium Leviosa. Do try it!"

"Wingardium Leviosa. Wingardium Leviosa." They repeated what he was saying, waving their wands over their feathers. Suddenly, the white swan feather that was in front of Laura started to lift off of the desk, and up into the air. Starlight barked happily, and the others stared in awe.

"Well done! Well done! You see everyone? Miss Luna's done it! Five points to Gryffindor for being the first to succeed!" Laura smiled, and lowered the feather back down.

0o0o0o0o0o0

After Class…

Laura left Charms with a smile on her face. She was happy that she had earned some points for Gryffindor, and even happier that she had done well in class. Her two friends were talking animatedly to each other, but Laura was focused on the class schedule.

"Guys, it looks like we're having Potions class next."

"Aw! Why do we have ta' have Potions anyhow?" Matilda looked quite grumpy at this, but Laura laughed.

"Don't worry, I'll help you out! I've already memorized a few potions recipes, some of which I found in some ancient books in my family's secret library! It's full of potions that could do so much if that knowledge was shared! I brought one of them with me, just for nighttime reading, but I think that I might show our teacher as well. Who is the teacher, anyway?" Laura looked at her friends for the answer.

"Prrrofessorrr Slughorrrn," Mira purred, gazing ahead of them to try to find which passage to go down. When she stopped at a door-less arch with stairs spiraling down from it, her friends had to backtrack a bit to stay with her. "Herrre. This is the passage."

"The potions class is down there?!" Laura wrinkled her nose at the smell that rose from the level below, and turned to her friends. "Guess we have to put up with a smelly dungeon, huh?"

"Guess so." The three went down the spiraling staircase, ending up in a dungeon room with fires and cauldrons all over the place, with desks for preparing potion ingredients nearby. "Wow. This is cool!" Matilda hurried over to one of the desks, and sat down. Other students entered the room, so Mira and Laura had to hurry to get seats next to each other. All three of them sat at the same cauldron, and they soon saw the Potions teacher come into the room.

"Hello, class. As you might have guessed, I am Professor Slughorn, your potions instructor. We will be starting out with a few questions. First of all, what is a bezoar, and where is it found?" Most of the students were unsure, but Laura's hand went up immediately. "Yes, Miss…"

"Luna. Laura Luna. A bezoar is a stone used to counteract poisons, and are found in the stomach of a goat."

"Very good, Miss Luna! Five points to Gryffindor! Now, what is a polyjuice potion?" Laura's hand went up again, followed by Mira's. "Yes, Miss…"

"Mirrra. Mirrra Strrrongpaw. A polyjuice potion is used with a human hairrr to change the userrr's shape to match the ownerrr of the hairrr." Her purring voice seemed to stun Slughorn for a few moments, but then he recovered himself enough to speak.

"Yes, yes, very good, Miss Strongpaw. Five more points to Gryffindor! Now, does anyone have any potions knowledge to contribute to this class before we get started on brewing our first potion together?" In response, Laura took the ancient book of potions out of her bag, and plunked it down on the table with a loud thud. Slughorn flinched at the loud noise, and then stared at the book in awe. "Where did you find this book, Miss Luna?" He went over, and picked up the ancient book, running a hand over the aged dragon hide cover, and tracing the faded gold lettering.

"It was in my family's personal library. I've read it many times, and I've memorized a few of the potions in there. One of which can be used to make life more bearable for werewolves." Everyone gasped at that, and they were soon pressing the black-haired girl for more answers.

"What page is that potion on?"

"The potion is described with the instructions and ingredient list on pages 240 and 241." Laura took the book from Professor Slughorn, and opened the book to one of the silk ribbon markers. "Here. It's called the 'Draught of Guardians', and one of the ingredients is the saliva from a holy wolf, which I am in possession of. My friend and companion, Starlight." The white wolf with the black, three-pronged mark on her forehead barked happily, and stood up, wagging her tail.

"Amazing, amazing! I must say, you are quite an interesting student, Miss Luna! Would it be all right if I were to copy down the directions for some of these potions?" Professor Slughorn was looking through the book more thoroughly, and Laura smiled at him.

"If you want, I will do it for you in my spare time, so that you have more time to prepare for classes."

"Of course, I should have thought of that. Thank you for sharing, Miss Luna." Slughorn handed the ancient book back to Laura, and she put it back into her bag. The class went easily, with the task of brewing a simple Hiccoughing Potion being a breeze for the three girls, seeing as they had Laura, who had memorized many potion recipes. They brought their flasks of potion up to Slughorn's desk, and then left. That day, someone flooded the entire 4th floor, so classes were canceled for the rest of the day. Feeling slightly miserable at missing meeting the other teachers, the three girls went up to their dormitory, and amused themselves by reading through some of the other ancient books that Laura had brought with her, and attempting to cast the enchantments inside of it. By the time they went to sleep at night, their room had been transformed into a kind of magical paradise, with beautiful, magically-grown flowers hanging down from the support beams above them, along with fruit-laden vines hanging beside the flowers, and a pair of magically-summoned, brightly-colored winged snakes coiled up around two of the support beams. There was also a fox made of pure metal sleeping beside Starlight, and there was a magical effect around them that played soothing music in the girls' ears, giving them peaceful dreams.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Thanks for reading, everyone! I hope that I didn't bore you or get you confused, because this is the first Harry Potter fanfic that I've written AND posted, so please, PLEASE don't hate me if I did something wrong! I'm new at this! I started to write Harry Potter fanfics, mainly because I was practically forced to listen to Harry Potter audiobooks for two weeks straight! Well, I have to get back in the car tomorrow to head back east across the USA, so I might not continue this until then! It already took me four days to get this story right, so don't blame me! I was actually struggling to find a good point to end THIS chapter at! Remember, I own nothing but the OCs, plus the idea of Guardian Werewolves and the Holy Wolves! The ancient books that Laura owns are also my idea! PLEASE R&R!