Sarah looked at the picture of colin Creevy in her lap. It seemed as though all of her tears had dried up. She could no longer cry.
Memories of Colin came flooding back. The first time they met, the first time he followed her around non-stop taking pictures of her with his Muggle camera. The first time he watched her play Quidditch for the Hufflepuff team, and the first time they kissed.
It was impossible for anyone to feel his loss more than her. After all, he had been the only man she had ever loved.
oooOoooOoooOooo
Sarah walked with the rest of the First-Years into the Great Hall. She looked around at the kids. There were hundreds of them crammed into four long tables.
Of all the people that stuck out to her in the Great Hall, one was holding a Muggle camera. He was snapping pictures of all of the incoming first years.
She smiled as they walked past him. He seemed especially happy to see them new students. Sarah watched him as long as she could before she turned to watch the sorting.
"Sarah Barns!" Professor McGonagall called into the crowd. Sarah took a deep breath and took a step toward Professor McGonagall.
She placed the Sorting Hat on Sarah's head. She could hear it's thoughts whispering in her ear.
'Well, you have a kind heart... You're always wanting to help others, and you don't seek personal fame... That puts you in Hufflepuff!"
The whole room erupted in applause. As she waked over to the Hufflepuff table, she saw the boy with the Muggle camera. He was called on a few minutes later. His name was Colin Creevy. Obviously because of the camera, he was a Muggle born, just like her!
Sarah crossed her fingers under the Hufflepuff table. "Gryffindor!" the hat cried. Sarah let out a breath. Sarah watched as Colin almost ran to the Gryffindor table. Sarah had to try very hard not to laugh when he tripped into Harry Potter's lap.
The whole Great Hall erupted into laughter into laughter until Professor Dumbledore raised a silent hand. As soon as the sorting was over, Sarah saw the food appear on the plates. She looked up and down the Hufflepuff table trying to see what everyone was doing. Some of the other students just started digging in. Some of the other first-years were watching the others, and some of the students picked up one thing, ate it, then moved on to the next thing.
As she ate, Sarah watched the Gryffindor table. In some ways, she wished she were braver so she too could be in Gryffindor.