I sat at me desk thoughtfully. I was out of a job. Not that I ever had one in the first place. I sort of just shuffled around baby sitting, working for stores and shops. I've never moved. I'm a little nervous; I've lived in the same house ever since I was 18. So you can imagine what it's like moving to an entirely different country.

I had a friend when I was 11. She moved a lot. She was born in Alabama, moved to Virginia for 6 months, back to Alabama for 6 months, back to Virginia for 5 years, to Maryland for 2 years, than moved to Florida. I don't know where she went from there. I lost contact with her.

She was a very nice girl with a pretty face. She was interesting and fun to be around. It was hard to get mad at a girl like Lauren Caps. She told me once, "It doesn't matter how many times you move. You can get used to it, but it's hard not to get attached to the people you meet and live with for over a year."

She didn't cry the day she left. I was surprised. On the phone with her when she was in the house in Vero Beach, she said she normally didn't cry. She said she always cried when she left, when she was driving to a new state.

I understand Lauren a little bit better now, as I packed my bags for London. Perhaps you're wondering, "This doesn't seem like a story about Hogwarts to me." But you're wrong. I am indeed a witch, I just never liked witchcraft. I attended a day school for witches in Maryland, and I never liked it. Was I talented? Yes.

I suppose that why the headmaster (I forgot his name…I think it started with a D) asked me to teach defense against the dark arts. As I said before, I don't like magic. So I declined. He said he was in desperate need for someone to occupy that position, but again I declined. He actually came to me in person, asking again for me to take the job. Once again, however, I said no.

He asked me if, perhaps, I would be able to maybe teach only occasionally. Like, only 2 weeks out of a month. I told him I didn't like to travel and I wasn't willing to go back and forth between countries every month, and that I didn't have money to by a house near his school. He explained that it was a boarding school and that I could stay there without any charge. I sighed, realizing that I was running out of excuses fast. I threw one last defense out. "It wouldn't pay enough," I said, "2 weeks out of a month employment was hardly enough money to live by. He looked at me, desperate, "You could teach another subject, for the 6th and 7th years. What about an extra curricular to keep them busy? Ever considered teaching Occlumency?"

I knew I didn't want to. He knew I didn't want to. So I said I couldn't do it. He nodded and said that he understood. I was grateful that he didn't press the matters. He gave me a number and told me to call it if I changed me mind, then he left.

It wasn't until 2 months later, in late august, that I called him back and asked if the job was still open. He said yes, and that is why I'm packing. I am spineless, I know. But I owed 3000 dollars and as a current cashier of Target I couldn't pay the money back with an 8.50 an hour salary.

When I finished packing, I went to airport with a ticket in hand. I boarded a plane and flew to London. The headmaster asked me if I wanted to travel by floo, or travel by the muggle way. I scarcely need to say which form of transportation I accepted.

When I arrived in London, a cab was arranged to pick me up and drive me to Kings Cross station. My father had been here before; he told me that was where he first met my mother. You see, my mom was a witch, and she met him when she had graduated from Hogwarts. When she had come off the train, she had tripped over his luggage and he caught her before she hit the ground. He divorced her when she told him that she was a witch, however. I was 10. Maybe that's why I don't like magic, I don't know. Perhaps I thought if I were a witch, I would be shunned by the community.

As I reached the station, I pulled out the ticket that the headmaster had sent me, to my dismay, by owl. On it read "Platform 9 and 3 quarters". Well I had never traveled on a train before, unless you count the light rail that I rode in Baltimore, but that didn't exactly have platforms, so I figured that the platform on the ticket was real. I was on platform 8. I continued down until I was at 9. I continued walking, expecting to see platform 9 and a half, 9 and a forth. But I didn't see any platforms like that. The next one I was at was platform 10.

Confusion was etched in my brain as I walked back to platform 9 and saw something incredible that I had not at all expected to see. A boy with red hair was running at the platform.

I was a bit surprised at first, prepared to inform this boy of his idiocy when he crashed and hurt himself. But he didn't. I didn't see him. He disappeared. The same thing happened with a red headed girl. Than with a boy with black hair (who looked slightly familiar), and a girl with messy brown hair. So I followed their suit, frightened at would happen, but reassured that it was only magic.

You might wonder, since I am a witch, why it would seem odd to see people disappearing into a brick wall. I hadn't been exposed to magic since I had graduated from the Penn Forest Academy. The academy I had gone to was a very poor school and was all my mother could afford. Penn Forest had not even compared to the 2 other private schools in the area. North Cross, like Penn Forest, was a day school, but it was much more elaborate than the Academy. The other school, the wealthiest of the three, was a boarding school located in Virginia. It was called the Salem Witch Academy. It was a beautiful school. I had begged my mom to let me attend. We visited it. But she didn't allow me to go.

Another girl had disappeared through the barrier. She was very pretty, with long, dark brown hair and dark eyes. I saw a woman a little older then me watch her husband go through the barrier. She was about to go through herself, but I touched her arm and smiled at her. She stared at me.

"Hi, I'm trying to figure out how to get on-"

"You're a bit old to be a first year aren't you?" The red haired woman said suspiciously.

"Oh I'm not a student, I'm a teacher-"

"Professor Bern?" asked a man's voice. I turned around. A man with patched robes was standing a yard away. "I'm Remus Lupin. I'm the other defense teacher," he said.

I smiled gratefully. "Oh. I'm Sarah,"

"Yes, I know. It's alright Molly," He said to the red hair witch, "This is Sarah Bern. She's teaching the extra curricular course at Hogwarts."

Remus led me through the barrier with practiced ease. "Have you taught at Hogwarts before?" I asked him.

He nodded his head. "Yes, about three years ago. I left because of…certain circumstances."

When we boarded the train, I noticed that there were no adults. "Why-"

"This is the student train. The teachers only use this train if they're new. Most of the teachers live at Hogwarts. I mean, not all the new teachers ride it. They prefer, usually, to floo straight to Dumbledore's office, but I've been feeling a bit under the weather lately, and I don't like traveling in fire. Why are you riding the train?" Remus asked.

"I don't like magic at all to tell you the truth." Remus raised an eyebrow.

"Then why are you teaching here?"

I laughed. "It took the headmaster over a month to persuade me. He sent me 2 letters, met me in person, even compromised." I checked a compartment, but it was packed with students.

Remus smiled. "There's always a compartment open in the back. Come on."

AN: I know the first chapter was short, but all the introductions to my stories are short. By the way, I won't be writing in first person for the whole story. It'll sort of switch around.