Ok guys, bear with me on this one. I haven't written in a while but I've had this idea brewing in my head for a while now. I'm going to write the disclaimer here in the first chapter only so: JK Rowling owns all the Harry Potter characters you see in this story.
Sarah opened her eyes to be blinded by the sun coming in through her bedroom window. Groaning with frustration she rolled over, covering her head with the pillow. After laying in the comfort of her bed for an hour she realized how pointless it was to try and fall asleep again. She sat up and slowly swung her legs over the side, stretching and yawning. She glanced over at the calendar on the wall, it was September first. Today was the day she would be starting at her new school, Hogwarts. She was a sixth year who just moved from her home in North Carolina to England. Her father was an auror, and the Ministry of Magic had summoned all the available aurors across the United States asking for help in war against Voldemort. She jumped out of bed, showered and dressed quickly. Looking over at her clock she realized it was only 9:30. She picked up one the handles to her trunk and began dragging it down the stairs to the living room. She entered the kitchen and was surprised to see her dad sitting at the table reading the Daily Prophet and drinking his usual cup of coffee.
"Good morning Sarah," he greeted her with a smile, "Sleep well last night?"
"I guess," she replied as she placed a couple of pieces of bread in the toaster. "I'm surprised to see you up this early. I didn't hear you come in last night."
Her dad sighed and placed the paper on the table in front of him. "Well, I thought I might see you off on your first day of school." Sarah smiled to herself as the spread butter on her toast. Her father was so busy these days she almost forgot what it was like when he was home. She was shocked to see how old his face seemed to look, the lines from stress and bags under his eyes from lack of sleep made him appear much older than he actually was. She was very close with him, ever since her mother had died when she was 9. No matter how busy he was, he always made time for her when it came to things like starting in a new school.
"Thanks," she mumbled as she took her seat across from him.
"Are you nervous?" he asked, shooting her a quizzical look. She nodded her head slowly and nibbled on her toast. The next half hour was spent discussing what the school might be like and what she should do upon first arriving. Shortly after that her dad was rushing her out the front door to his car, and they headed to the train station. After loading her trunk onto a cart her and her dad strode over to the barrier between platforms 9 and 10. Pretending to be fixing the back of her shoe Sarah leaned against the barrier for support and instantly Platform 9 ¾ materialized in front of her. The platform was full of young wizards and witches saying their good byes to parents and relatives.
"You might want to hurry and find a seat Sarah, before everything fills up," her dad said. She looked at him and nodded, hugging him and saying her goodbyes. She pushed her way through the crowd to the train. Dragging her trunk past compartments full of students chatting about their summer vacations. She found an empty one and stuffed her trunk up above the seats. She sat down and stared out the window, sounds of laughter could be heard from the compartments surrounding her. She was beginning to feel extremely nervous. How was she supposed to fit in when she was barely starting and those around her had been together for their entire school career? She watched the platform empty and more students rush aboard the train, it was like watching a silent movie she thought to herself. Just then the compartment door slid open and boy who looked about Sarah's age was standing there.
"Oh," he said, clearly surprised, "usually this one's empty." Sarah suddenly grew red. She had taken someone else's compartment, someone who had obviously been going to this school longer than her.
"Sorry, I'll just find somewhere else then." She muttered and started to get up.
"No, it's fine." The boy said with a warm smile, "You can stay; we don't mind meeting new people." Sarah sat back down and examined the boy closer. He was on the thin side, but he was rather tall so she guessed thinness was to be expected. His hair was raven black and stuck out in every direction, she wondered if he had ever bothered to brush it. The boy put his trunk away and sat across from her, "Name's Potter. James Potter," he said cheerfully sticking out his hand.
"Sarah Burkett," she told him shaking his hand lightly. At this moment the door opened again. Three more boys entered and began putting their things away. "I'm assuming this is who you were referring to when you said 'we'?" she asked James. The three stopped what they were doing, surprised, as James was, to see someone new among their presence. She took them in one by one. The boy closest to the door was rather short and stout. He had beady eyes and a long pointed nose, he reminded Sarah very much of a rat. His movements and body language told Sarah that he was timid and easily shaken. The boy that was now sitting next to James was quite a looker. He had long black hair that suited him well. Sarah noticed how his eyes were an amazing mix of grey and blue. He sat there acting as if he was tired of the routine of the start of school. Sarah knew that he was someone of good spirits, and someone that she would want to keep around. Her eyes came to rest on the last boy that had entered. He was standing next to her and she couldn't help but noticed he smelled really good. He too was on the thin side; but his body looked worn and tired compared to James. His hair was the color of sand and his eyes the most beautiful color amber she had ever seen. His face looked very tired as well, but it was mesmerizing to Sarah. She had to tear her eyes away before her jaw dropped.
"Everyone, this is Sarah Burkett," James said to his friends. "Sarah that's Peter Pettigrew," he pointed over to the boy nearest the door. "This is Sirius Black," he motioned to the boy sitting next to him. "And that's Remus Lupin," he nodded to the boy sitting next to Sarah. She smiled and nodded to all of them. She caught eyes with Remus and looked away quickly. Everything outside the window was moving, she hadn't even noticed that the train had started.
"I don't think I've seen you around Hogwarts Sarah," Sirius said nonchalantly.
"That's because I just transferred from America," she told him. "My father was asked to help with the war effort here. So we packed up and I was told I was going to start my sixth year at Hogwarts."
"That's wonderful! We're sixth years too!" Sirius exclaimed. His smile seemed to lift a huge weight that had been pressing down on Sarah's chest. They were her age and she was talking to them, becoming friends with them. The train ride continued with conversation about random things, Sarah was delighted to find that she and Remus had read a lot of the same books. The others looked at them as if they were mental and began their own conversation. Sarah was so wrapped up in what Remus was saying she had almost forgotten about the other three. It wasn't until James mentioned something about quidditch that she remembered they were sitting in the same compartment. He was telling Sirius about the upcoming try outs and what he might do to impress the new captain. "You've been on that team since third year, what do you need to impress Angela for?" Sirius was telling him.
"You guys are having try outs?" Sarah asked instantly. James nodded and Sirius looked at her as if she had sprouted antlers. "Are you looking for a new beater?" she could hardly hold back her excitement.
"Don't tell me you play," Sirius said incredulously. Sarah nodded and his mouth literally fell open. "But quidditch is a rough sport. Not saying that girls don't play but usually they're chasers or the seeker. I don't think I've ever met one that's a beater."
"It may be rough but I'm not made of glass. I can play with the big boys," Sarah replied smirking. Out the corner of her eye she saw Remus silently chuckling to himself. Peter was looking at her as if she was God and Sirius was clearly lost for words.
"She reads and she plays quidditch, we have to watch out for this one," James said winking at Sarah. The rest of the trip was full of quidditch talk. Both James and Sarah relived their best moments during past games and shared horror stories of all sorts of painful injuries. Sarah was growing very fond of this company. Soon the train began slowing down and they all decided that it would be best to change into their robes before arriving at the school. Sarah opened her trunk and as she was pulling out her robes she thought that maybe this new school wasn't going to be that bad with friends like these.