"Sammy!" A shrill voice called out over the hustle and bustle of King's Cross station. I turned on my heel at the sound of my name, and found my muggle mother running at me, her arms outstretched for a hug. Her red hair was cut very short; I noticed because she'd just cut it last week. Before it'd been long and braided at all times. She caught me in her strong arms, and all I could see was her rather fat shoulder digging into my face, but I could feel the tears coming from her hazel eyes, rolling off her sunburned face onto my shoulder.

"Ma, you're making a scene," I pointed out, but it came out muffled, as my mouth was covered. She, however, nodded and released me, holding me at arm's length. She looked me over fondly, and smiled.

"Going into your sixth year at Hogwarts," She blubbered, trying and failing to hide her tears. "Wow, and Tracy has already graduated, hasn't she? And Gregory? I must be getting old, my last baby going into her sixth year!" The water works flew, and I laughed.

"Ma! Calm down! First off, Greg hates it when you call him that, and so does Trace. Don't make me tell on you. Second, you're not all that old, Greg only graduated about two years ago, Trace just last year. Third, I'm not a baby!" I was still laughing, and now Ma was laughing through her tears as well.

Ma was looking me over, as if inspecting me now. She glanced at my silk-like, black curls, and shook her head. She'd never approved of my red and gold highlights. Next she seemed to look at my skin, which is very, very pale. Sometimes it looks like I'm sick. I am very small and skinny, unfortunately. I look like one of those girls who starve themselves, but it isn't my fault. I eat regularly! The problem iss, about two years ago, I'd gotten my tonsils out, and I literally didn't eat anything for about six months. Not even ice cream. The doctors had pumped me full of nutrients, but I was still in an eating disorder.

Next, her eyes lingered on my green ones. My eyes are in an almond shape, but not extremely. No one would ever confuse me for their Asian friend or something. Then she seemed to notice how short I am. Yeah, yeah, I know I'm short. Fifteen years old and I'm five foot two. Shut up.

"If only your father was still here, then I would see the train off..." Ma looked at her feet, and a bit of dread flew over me. Pa was still missing, he'd be presumed dead in about a week. Pa was the wizard in the family, other than me and my brother and sister, Greg and Trace. Everyone else had given up on him, but I refused to. From what I was concerned, until the day they found his body, cold and... Dead... I would be hopeful.

"Ma! Wake up!" Ma had been day dreaming as well, perhaps about Pa too. "You've gotta get all the way home, you know!" We lived in America, Maine, to be exact. She had to make her entire way back. For whatever reason, there is no Witchcraft and Wizardry school in America. At one point, back in the 30's, the was Witch University and The School of Snails and Puppy Dog Tails for Boys. They both went out with the depression and never came back.

"I know sweetheart," Ma said with a smile. With one last kiss and goodbye, she ran for the exit, a river of tears flowing all the way after. I know she would have come with me to the platform, had Pa been there, but she wasn't all that associated with magic. It freaked her out a little bit.

I turned to the barrier between the muggle station and the wizarding one. I grabbed Samantha the Snow Owl. She was mine, named after me, and insisted by Ma. See, my name is Samantha, but it's too girly for me. Pair it with my middle name, Melony, you'd think I'm a pink-loving makeup-wearing girly girl. So, I go by either Sammy or Sam, and if my middle name is involved, just call me Mel.

Anyway, I grabbed Samantha's cage in one hand, and my rather large trunk in the other, then ran at the pillar. I made it to the other side just as the Hogwarts Express decided to blow its whistle. I laughed, until I heard a laugh similar to mine, one I hadn't heard in years.

Shannon?

And just a little ways away, I could see my old friend. She looked exactly the same as she'd used to, only taller, and her hair was short and colored now. She looked to be about five foot eight, and her hair, usually reaching the back of her knees now at her shoulders, was brunette as ever, but now with blond highlights. She'd gotten tanner, and I could see she was wearing contacts to replace her old glasses. They were colored contacts, as he eyes used to be a nice brown, and now were a startling icy blue. She was talking to her mother, until she saw me.

"SAMMMMMMM!"

I was suddenly caught in a bear hug, taking me to the pavement. That girl had always been stronger than me, dammit. I, however, was caught in surprise. What was she doing here? Was Kerry, her little sister, here too? Why wasn't she on her way to Beauxbatons?

"Shan, you little brat! Let me up and explain things to me before I hex you to hell," I yelled into her ear, which just happened to be by my mouth. She nodded, letting me stand, and I asked all the questions on my mind.

"I got kicked out!" Shan said with a little grin. "The Headmistress got mad at me for throwing her into a lion's den. That idiotic woman wouldn't know a good joke if it threw her into an ocean filled with leeches..." She trailed off, but snapped back into explaining. I realized that Trendyce, Shan's mother, had left without another goodbye. I'd never liked Trendyce. "Yeah, Kerry's here too. She's going into her first year, so she'll be sorted at school. I already met with... Dumblebee? Oh, Dumbledore. Anyway, I got sorted over the summer, and I'm in Gryffindor. That's the same as you, right?"

I was grinning from ear to ear. Shannon and Kerry were coming to Hogwarts with me! And Shan was defiantly in my house! "Yeah, girly, I'm a Gryffie. Where's KerrBear?" Shan shrugged, grabbed her trunk, and together we went up into the train, finding an empty compartment. "I wonder where Rissa is," I thought aloud, looking out the window to the platform. Rissa was my other best friend. She, Kerry, Shan and I had met in New Mexico, until I moved back east to Maine, and the sisters had gone to Ireland.

"Speak of the Devil, and the Devil shall appear!" Rissa was standing in the doorway, leaning on the frame. The girl wasn't much taller than I, and she had orange hair that fell a bit past her ears. The little twig could fit into Kerry's clothes. She didn't try to be so small, in fact, she ate more than anyone I'd ever met, but she was just naturally tiny. Her round, dark blue eyes brought out her semi-pale skin, though she was nowhere near pale as me. She put her bag above her seat, and sat down with a grin. "Miss me, Shan?" Rissa'd seen me over the summer. Shannon hadn't seen her.

Shan attacked Rissa in the same way she'd attacked me, and we all laughed evilly. It'd been too long since we'd been together. Too bad Rissa was a Hufflepuff.

Just then, little Kerry came pouncing into the compartment. Her straight dirty-blond hair was so clean, and her innocent little eyes, the color of the grand New Mexico sky, were shining brightly. The rest of her was a miniature Shan, tan skin and a skinny kid. Except, KerrBear had a few freckles here and there. She put her bag up as well, and sat down in my lap.

"Wow! Sammy Mel Schmitt, Irene Rissa VanDyke, Shannon Andromeda Oliver, and Kerry Alexandra Oliver. All in one place, at one time. It's been years since that happened." Rissa was grinning as she spoke. "Shan, did you get sorted yet?"

"Yep. I'mma Gryffie, like Sam. Sorry, Rissy." Shan frowned, but smiled again. "But Kerry is a shoe-in for Huffle, aren't ya?" Kerry nodded excitedly, but before we could continue our conversation, we were ever so rudely interrupted.

"The Cannons suck, Moony," A tall boy with black hair and hazel eyes said as he walked into our compartment. He was muscular and slightly tanned. I knew who this was already, as Rissa probably did. James Potter, another sixth-year like Shan, Rissy, and I, and also Gryffindor. I knew who was sure to follow. Black. And, as I guessed, another tall, tan, muscular boy came in after Potter. His hair was also black, but it was longer, coming about to his shoulder, and his eyes were gray. Next was Remus, also tall, but about pale as Rissa, and not as muscly as the other two boys . His eyes were a stunning brown, and he had sandy brown hair in them. He had a book in hand. Peter was last. Small, a bit round and pudgy, and small, blue beady-like watery eyes. His teeth were pretty crooked, and he had a scared look about him. Oh, and did I mention small?

The boys all stopped once they realized we were in the compartment. James was the first to break the silence we'd made. "Er- This is our compartment. Our bags are up there and everything. What are you doing in here?"

Shannon, always with a temper, popped up. "We were in here before you, ergo, this is our compartment. Sorry boys, better be quicker next time." Kerry looked at her sister proudly, but Rissa and I busted out laughing. Shan looked confused. "What?"

I spoke up now. "Shan, these are the boys I warned you about!" At the sound that I'd been talking about them, all the Marauders looked a bit spiffed up. Well, save Peter, who still looked a bit frightened. "Oh, don't let it go into your egos!" I scolded, then looked to Shannon again to explain, but Rissa beat me.

"These guys are almost bad the with pranks as we were back at Mesa, you know, while KerryBerry here was in preschool." I nodded as she spoke, thinking back to our elementary school in New Mexico and patting the child on her head.

Shan grinned, and looked the nearest Marauder in the eye, which happened to be James. "Well, boys, sorry to break it to you, but this will be our school in a matter of minutes now that I'm with these two." She grinned once more, then smirked, and sat back down.

"So go find somewhere to sit, other than here." Kerry, since she was the small one, said this timidly, looking Black in the eye, but watching him fearfully. Black grinned. He loved screwing with first years. He withdrew his wand and started to say a hex, but I quickly moved Kerry behind me, stood, and put my wand to his throat threateningly.

"So help me Sirius, if you harm a single blond hair on that little girl's head, you'll wake up in Siberia. Do you understand me?" Remus and Peter looked a bit worried at my words, but James looked amused, as did Black. Shan and Rissa beamed at me.

"She's finally learned to make threats before taking action," Rissa said appreciatively. Remus raised an eyebrow at her, so she continued. "Last year, Sammy was threatened by Malfoy, and he got zapped. Badly. Shan and I have been trying to get this violent kid here to give her opponent a chance for years now..."

I began to laugh as Kerry jumped on my back, so I lowered my wand. "Either way, we aren't moving, so go find somewhere else."

James and Sirius exchanged grins, and shook their heads, sitting on the seat by Rissa. "No, I think we'll stay," Black said with a grin. Shan shrugged, and extracted Kerry from my back, sitting her on her lap. I sat down on my own seat, Lupin sitting near me. Peter sat on the ground, still looking frightened.

"So," James drawled with a smirk. "We have competition now, do we?"