Chapter 1
Samantha Lace was born and raised in Manchester, England. Never in her life had she experienced being an ordinary child. One of the reasons being her unrelenting segregation from the rest of the little girls that she attended school with. She wouldn't play dress ups with them at recess time and she wouldn't bake cookies at their houses after school. She didn't wear pretty pink dresses and she didn't sit up the front during roll call. Instead, she wore tattered shorts and played in the sand box with the boys. She made sure her mother always cut her hair short and she insisted that people called her 'Sam'.
Though not altogether uncommon, such behavior often sparked vigilance from other parents. Eventually, many of the girls were forbid from playing with her. Not that she minded, of course, but the fact of the matter remained: Samantha Lace was never an ordinary girl.
The main reason for this, however, was not due to her abnormal appearance or her unusual behavior. The foremost explanation was that her parents were a witch and wizard. From a young age, Sam recognized that she too had ability much like her parents. She soon came to the realization that when she was feeling angry or scared, or any other raw and powerful emotion, she could make things happen.
Although they often demonstrated the practice of magic around their daughter, her parents seldom discussed with her the comings and goings of the Wizarding world. They tried, albeit in vain, to give their child a normal upbringing; one away from magic and sorcery. Ironically, this dissociation from the magic world only reinforced her difference.
Consequently, this meant that when, at the tender age of eleven, she was suddenly thrust into the Wizarding community, she was at a complete loss of what to do or how to act.
It was there, standing on that busy platform between nine and ten, that Sam first saw a large group of people like herself. She would soon realise, however, that no matter where in the world she was, what she looked like, how she acted: she would never fit in.
There are many people in the world like Samantha Lace. Some learn that they are different the easy way, and some learn the hard way.
Sam learnt the hard way.
This is her story.
Sam said goodbye to her parents and pulled her trunk towards the large scarlet steam engine. As she walked, her short, shaggy brown hair fell into her eyes. She brushed it away with her hand, her black fingernails trailing across her forehead.
With difficulty, she hauled the over-packed trunk up the steps and onto the train. She made her way through the carriage until she found an empty compartment. She walked in and sat down on the cushioned bench.
For a girl of eleven years old, Sam still had the physique of a young child. She wasn't curvy like some of the other girls, and she didn't have big breasts. She reached about five foot, and had thin arms and legs.
She was wearing an old pair of faded blue jeans and a black t-shirt that had her favourite muggle band on the front. On her feet she wore a pair of red Converse sneakers.
These are all the things that are usually noticed first when looking at a new person.
But when Alice Butler first looked at Sam, she didn't notice any of these things. Whenever anyone looked at her, the first thing they noticed – always – was her eyes.
They are big and round, surrounded by thick, dark lashes, and are the most startling shade of blue. She was used to small children fleeing at the mere sight of her.
"Hey," said Alice as she walked into the compartment and sat down opposite Sam. "I'm Alice Butler."
"Sam Lace."
"Short for Samantha? That's a nice name. Do people ever call you Sammy?"
"No, I hate it. Please just call me Sam."
Sam looked Alice up and down. She was the complete opposite to herself.
She had long blonde hair that was tied in a neat ponytail, and pale blue eyes that sat almost too close together on her round face. She was a small girl and she smiled sweetly.
She was wearing a light, floral skirt and a tight, pink t-shirt. She was wearing blue plastic sandals that reminded Sam of when she was a child.
Alice and Sam were complete opposites. But isn't that what they say, that opposites attract?
"Exploding Snap?" Sam asked and pulled a deck of cards out of her bag.
A few hours later, an ancient woman came around the train with a trolley of sweets and drinks. Sam and Alice both bought some Cauldron Cakes and Chocolate Frogs.
It was when they had almost finished eating that Sam first met the bane of her existence. When the handsome youth came strutting into her compartment, his long, shaggy black hair falling elegantly into a pair of stormy grey eyes, she never thought that she would soon come to hate the mere thought of him.
She didn't know how someone so attractive could be such an absolute nuisance.
"Hey girls. Sirius Black's the name," he said, leaning against the frame of the compartment door. He looked first at Alice and then turned his piercing gaze to Sam.
"Alice Butler," Alice said, "and this is Sam Lace."
"What, doesn't Sammy talk for herself?" Sirius asked with an amused grin.
"Well she does when she has someone worth talking to," Sam countered.
"Oh, ouch. That hurt Sammy," Sirius said, grabbing his heart in mock sorrow.
"Don't call me Sammy, Black."
"Oh, sorry Lace. Didn't mean to upset you," he replied insincerely.
Sirius walked over to where Sam was sitting, plucked the Chocolate Frog out of her hand and took a big bite out of it.
"Mmm. Good, aren't they?" he said, his eyes twinkling mischievously. "Anyway, as much as I'd love to stay and chat, ladies, I have to get going. I'll catch you later Alice, Sammy."
Sam sat fuming as she watched Sirius walk over to the door and put the rest of the frog in his mouth. He then winked at her before turning on his heel and leaving the compartment.
"I hate him," Sam whispered dangerously to Alice who sat opposite her, eyes wide and mouth shut.
Does anyone remember those Jelly sandals that everyone had when they were kids? Yeah? No? They were around in the 90's, but I don't see them anymore. Yes, I know that this was well before the 90's, but I couldn't resist putting them in.
