Disclaimer: The Satine girls – Elizabeth, Samantha & Sarah, are mine. But I owe basically everything else to JK Rowling. Including the plot, because without Harry Potter, I would never have been inspired to write this.

Author's Note: This chapter isn't the most exciting, but please don't abandon me yet! I'm open to reviews of any kind, especially constructive criticism. I have two goals in posting this story: 1) to improve my writing (so please help!) and 2) to make my own contribution to the world of Fanfiction, which I've already taken so much enjoyment out of. So please read this!

Oh, any time you see *~*~* it means I'm jumping between modern day and MWPP time. (*** is just a normal break – no time hopping). I wasn't planning to do these flashbacks originally, but I couldn't help developing Samantha's story in full. Besides, I love the Marauders! There will be a lot of Sirius in here (not this chapter, but soon). Some Lily/James, too, but it's not focused on them. I love L/J fics, but I don't think I'm ready to try my hand at one yet. For the present I'll just continue reading and loving everyone else's!

Chapter One: Reminders of Magic

Beep! beep! beep! beep! Elizabeth Satine rolled on her side, and using her pillow to cover her ears with one hand, tried to find the snooze button on her alarm clock with the other. She groped her way blindly along her bedside table. Where was that alarm clock? There! Her hand reached out to turn it off, but instead sent it tumbling to the floor.

"Zut alors!" the girl exclaimed, jumping out of bed. It was then that she noticed what time it was. Within seconds she had shut off the alarm and was racing down the stairs into the front hall. Her mother's voice floated in from the kitchen.

"Elizabeth, hon? Can you get the paper for me?"

With an exasperated sigh, Elizabeth sprinted to the front door. She could not let her mom know she'd slept in late again. She stepped outside into the bright morning sunlight. It was surprisingly warm; spring had obviously come over-night. Bending down to fetch the paper, a letter, dropped neatly on top, caught her attention. She picked it up and examined it curiously. Heavy parchment, emerald ink script, and it was addressed to. . . her.

"Hey, Elizabeth!" a voice called from across the street. "Going to school like that?"

Elizabeth turned to see Scott Derin, the cute neighborhood boy who was three years her senior, standing at the bus stop corner. Then she looked down to realize she was still in her pajamas – a pair of light blue shorts and a tank top. She fought off a blush as she called back, "Watcha worried about? I still have five minutes before the bus comes!" She darted back inside, tossed the newspaper on the kitchen floor, and raced back upstairs to get dressed. The letter was stuffed into her backpack without a second thought.

***

Four minutes later she emerged at the bus stop in a light flowery spring dress and sandals. Good weather deserved to be celebrated. As she ran a hand through her long, light brown hair, which she hadn't had the time to put up, she heard Scott give a low whistle. "Impressive, Satine," he said. "You don't look like a last-second job at all."

"Some people don't need an hour to gel their hair," she replied tartly. Scott rolled his eyes. The last thing he needed was a smart little thirteen-year-old to deal with. But he had to admit, she was rather attractive. And smart . . . and sweet . . . and mature for her age . . . His thoughts were interrupted as the old yellow school bus pulled up. Sidestepping Elizabeth, who glared angrily as he passed, Scott jumped aboard and made his way to the back where his friends were waiting.

Elizabeth found an empty seat in the middle and sat down with a sigh. There had to be something more to life than exchanging early morning taunts with Scott Derin. Just then she spied a corner of creamy parchment peaking out of her backpack, and she curiously withdrew the letter that had been discovered on the doorstep. She paused before opening it, noticing what she had missed earlier – it was addressed simply "Miss Elizabeth Satine," and there was no stamp. She opened the letter and placed it in her lap so she could french braid her hair while reading. But once she saw the contents of the letter, her hands stopped in mid-air and her hair was forgotten.

"Dear Miss Satine," it read. "You have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry . . ."

Her eyes scanned the rest of the page, which consisted primarily of a supply list and directions to catch a train. A school for witches and wizards? Which you got to from some Platform 9 ¾? In Britain – on the other side of the ocean? Elizabeth began to laugh, and was soon in hysterics, earning her quite a number of stares.

"Yes, that's my neighbor," Scott's voice wafted up from a few rows back. "She doesn't have any friends to sit with, so she tries to entertain herself. Quite sad, really." He and his friends chuckled as Elizabeth threw him a dirty look. 'Scott must be super sensitive about his hair,' she thought, annoyed. She looked back to the letter and nonchalantly tossed it into her bag. It was obviously just another one of her exasperating neighbor's jokes. Well, Scott wasn't going to fool her this time.

***

By the end of the school day, Elizabeth had read and reread the letter at least twenty times. During lunch, between classes, in the middle of a boring biology lecture . . . her thoughts kept returning to it. Inside the first letter, which she had read on the bus, she had discovered a second envelope addressed to Sarah Satine, her mother. Only no one had called Sarah by her maiden name for years. Elizabeth couldn't help but laugh at how odd it looked, scrawled in flowing script across the parchment. She, Elizabeth, had used the last name Satine all her life, because Sarah, for some reason, thought it was important. Something about how all Satine women pass their maiden name on to their daughters. But Elizabeth's mother had been Mrs. Sarah Reyes ever since her marriage.

It was this unusual name that had prevented Elizabeth from opening the second envelope. The contents of the first letter had been strange enough, although they could easily be dismissed as a prank. But Elizabeth felt an inexplicable shiver whenever she held looked at her mother's name written there on the second letter. It looked so alone. And the last thing Sarah Reyes liked was to be alone. She was confident and strong and willful, but a mournful look came into her eyes whenever her husband left for work or her daughter left for school, as if she might never see them again.

Yet despite this, Elizabeth's curiosity had grown enough by the end of the day to overcome her disquietude. Why would Scott include her mother in this pathetic joke? She tore open the second letter.

Dear Sarah,

I understand your reasons for abandoning our world, and your fear at returning, but please hear me out before discarding this letter. What happened to Samantha is not your fault. You could have done nothing to protect her. Do not punish Elizabeth for your sister's death. She deserves the chance to develop the powers she was born with. You must realize that this cannot be kept secret from her forever, no matter how many memory charms you perform. I will not waste your time by telling you how much safer the wizarding world is now, but I will ask you to return to us. Sarah, your presence, your powers, and your friendship are greatly missed. Even if you will not leave your Muggle refuge, at least send me word if you ever receive this letter. I cannot bear the fact that you have been able to conceal yourself so well that even Hogwarts cannot find you. But I promise you this – whether in a day or in ten years, one day we'll track you down, you will finally read this, and I will hopefully hear from my friend again.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Elizabeth was shaking by the time she finished reading this. Her first emotion was outrage – how dare Scott try to remind Elizabeth's mother of Aunt Samantha's death?!? If this truly was a joke, then it was lowdown and cruel. But – and this was the thought that was more pressing now in Elizabeth's mind – what if this wasn't a joke? And if this were real, would her mother ever admit to it? Skipping past the bus line, Elizabeth decided to walk home. And formulate a plan.

***

"Hey Mom!" Elizabeth cried cheerfully as she walked through the front door.

"Good afternoon, sweetheart!" Her mother swooped in and hugged her tight. "Isn't it a beautiful day? Spring-cleaning is always so much more pleasant when the sun is shining! You know, that's what I love so much about Connecticut – all this sunshine! It makes Winchester seem nothing but clouds and rain in comparison! Of course, we had plenty of sun in England, too, don't get me wrong, but doesn't it just seem like . . ." Sarah paused, one hand on Elizabeth's shoulder, the other poised poetically in the air, "like our whole life has brightened since moving here?"

Elizabeth backed away. It always caught her off-guard when Sarah jumped into one of her sudden happy moods. "Mother," she said, "I've lived here all my life, so I wouldn't exactly know."

"Oh, that's right! My little American daughter!"

This made Elizabeth laugh. In her mind her whole family was American. She'd never heard her mother speak in a British accent. In fact, her mom's life growing up in England was very rarely mentioned, if ever. Sarah looked at her daughter quizzically. "So, did you have a good day at school?"

Elizabeth was suddenly reminded of her plan. She walked to the kitchen table, dropped her backpack to the floor, and summoned a nonchalant laugh. "Just like any other," she replied. "Except you won't believe the ridiculous joke that awful Scott Derin tried to play on me!" She took out the letter. While her back was turned to her mother as she placed the parchment on the table, she took a deep breath and muttered to herself, "You can do this. Just take it slowly and coax the truth out of her."

But discovering the truth turned out to be a lot easier than expected. She turned to her mother and laughed, "He wrote this insane letter about some school I'm supposed to be going to. It's called Hogwarts – for witches and wizards! Can you even imag . . ."

Sarah screamed, and as her hands flew up in the air, the letter on the table burst into flames. Elizabeth jumped back in shock, and watched, horrified, as the parchment writhed helplessly in the fire. "No!" she cried. "Stop!" The flames stopped, and the letter lay unharmed. Slowly, Elizabeth turned to face her mother. The two stared at each other. Both were pale and shaking, but for different reasons. "So," Elizabeth said, "I'm a witch, aren't I?"

***

It was evening, and Elizabeth sat outside her parent's bedroom with her back to the hallway wall. It wasn't hard to hear her parents talking since she had opened the bedroom door a crack. They were so caught up in an argument that they hadn't yet noticed.

"Why can't I just use a memory charm? I've done it before!" Sarah's voice floated out.

Her father's voice was stern. "When?" he exclaimed.

"Well, she's a witch, so it's natural that her powers show every once in a while when she's emotional! She's been making little things happen ever since she was a baby! Although I've never seen her put out a fire . . ."

"It's different this time, Sarah. You let your powers get the better of you, too."

"I can make her forget!"

"But will Hogwarts forget? You read the letter! It's obvious they've been tracking us down for years. You think they'll just give in now that they've finally got a letter through to us? No! They'll try even harder!"

"I'll use more charms! My protection charms kept us hidden for thirteen years – I can find some to hide us longer!"

"Sarah, you're not as powerful as you used to be. You haven't used magic in years."

"My family is famous for its power in charms! And I can do anything I set my mind to! Don't tell me what I can and can't do! What would you know? You're just a Muggle!" Elizabeth shuddered as her mother's voice rose emotionally. She could just imagine Sarah's eyes alight with desperation.

"Sarah . . ." her father's voice was soothing.

A sob tore at Sarah's throat, and Elizabeth heard her sink onto the bed. "But Nick! I can't go back there! We left that all behind – witches and wizards, Hogwarts, England . . . we have a new life now. A safe life. I vowed to protect Elizabeth, give her a normal upbringing – don't tell me I've lost it all! Things are perfect here! Don't make me go back!"

Nick sighed. "How can it be perfect if it's all a charade? Don't deny Elizabeth her powers. I know how much yours mean to you. And we don't have to move. The only reason she got accepted into Hogwarts is because they don't know we've left Britain. She can go to a wizardry school here in Connecticut." There was a brief silence, in which Sarah's sniffling slowly stopped.

"No," she said, her voice determined. "If she's going anywhere, it's going to be Hogwarts. I hope your boss is still willing to give you that position in the London division of your company." Sarah stood up and a smile spread across her tear-stained face. "Because we're going home."

*~*~*

"Sarah! Samantha! Get back here! You're going to be late!" Shelby Satine cried out the door of her old Victorian home in Winchester, England. All she received in reply were a few far-off giggles from her daughters. "GIRLS!!!" Shelby stomped her foot impatiently, then looked down to see three angelic faces smiling up at her.

"Why, whatever is the matter, mother dearest?" The smallest of the three asked, brushing a light brown curl from her sparkling blue eyes.

Shelby sighed. "Samantha, get inside and wash up. I will not have you looking a mess your first day at Hogwarts. And hurry! We have ten minutes to leave, and you're only half-packed!" Samantha grinned, and skipped off inside. Her mother turned to a girl who looked like an exact replica of Samantha, just a little taller, and with slightly darker curls. "And Sarah! You remember how we almost missed the train last year for your first year! Go help your sister pack!" Sarah darted through the screen door.

Her mother started to follow her, when she finally noticed there was a third child still standing on the porch. Shelby turned and smiled. "Why, hello, Lily, dear."

The girl, with long red hair and bright green eyes, grinned. "Good morning, Mrs. Satine," she said pleasantly. Shelby noticed she was already in her school robes – perfectly black, with not one stain or wrinkle. Lily was the Satines' next door neighbor, and Samantha's best friend, and would be starting at Hogwarts with her this year. Shelby fervently hoped that Lily's good manners would rub off on her daughter. "My mum just bought a mini-van, so we have plenty of room if Samantha and Sarah would like a ride to King's Cross. Only . . ." Lily hesitated, "she was wondering if you could drive with us. Mum's a nervous driver and we'll have to go through the city to get to the station. She could use some support. She's already kind of frazzled after finding out her daughter's a witch."

Shelby laughed. "To be honest, I've never even driven a Muggle vehicle, but I'm sure we'll all manage somehow. If only those girls of mine would hurry . . . What were you three doing out in the fields?"

"Oh, nothing really, just talking, I guess," Lily blushed, and Shelby noticed her try to hide something in her hand. A wand.

"You girls weren't doing magic again, were you?" she cried despairingly.

"Oh, don't worry mother," Sarah said as she appeared on the porch, lugging a trunk. "I wasn't doing any, and Hogwarts only makes sure the kids who already go there don't do magic over the summer, so Lily and Sammy can't get in trouble yet."

Shelby put her face in her hands before asking with exhaustion, "And how do Lily and Samantha know how do magic?"

Samantha, tugging with all her might at her trunk, commented between gasps for breath, "Sarah taught us!"

Sarah raised her eyes skyward and sighed. Little sisters just have to tell everything, don't they? She looked back down to find her mother staring at her accusingly. "Well, honestly, mum!" she cried. "I don't understand why we can't do magic over the summers anyway! When I grow up I'm going to petition so my daughter can do magic whenever she wants!"

Her mother rolled her eyes, "Of course you are, Sarah. Now, hurry girls! Run on over to the Evans' – we're riding with them, I'll take care of the trunks."

Samantha and Lily darted off, bubbling over with excitement and nervousness again. Sarah followed them at a distance, muttering, "I can do anything I want to! And if I want my children to be allowed to do magic whenever they feel like it, then by golly, they'll be able to!"

AN: Okay, so it's kind of boring, but it'll get better, I promise! Even if you plan to never read this again, please (please, please!) review before you go! I don't mind if you say you hated it, just say why, or make a suggestion to improve. I'd really appreciate reviews, but I'm continuing whether I get any or not 'cuz I'm always in a better mood when I'm writing something. So if you don't review now, you can always come back . . . (I don't sound too desperate, do I?)