The Hogwarts Express was to depart once again. The students said good-bye to their families and started boarding the train. A girl turned to her father, who was looking around King's Cross.
"Dad," she said a bit nervously, "I have to go now."
Her father stopped looking around and smiled at his daughter. "You'll be fine, Sara." He patted her on the head and kissed her forehead. "Try to make some new friends, okay?" He helped her carry her bags onto the train. As the train was leaving, Sara found an empty room with a window and waved to her father.
"I'll see you in December!" he said out loud, waving at her back. She sighed and slumped into her seat, ready to start another magic-filled year.
Sara wasn't exactly a normal fifteen-year-old. She was a student at Hogwarts: School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. No one in her family had her magical talents, which made her classified as a "Muggle-born" witch. However, when her father found out about her abilities, he was so overjoyed about it that he nearly cried. Soon, he was gathering information about the wizarding world, such as what Gringotts was and where to buy wands. She was also sorted into Hufflepuff, an over-looked House at Hogwarts.
Another strange thing about her were her looks. No one in her family had wild, black hair like her and, even more interestingly, no one had green eyes either. When she asked her father about it, he said something about a cousin, then started glancing at a window, with a daydreaming look on his face. She didn't look like her mother, which she liked. She never liked her mother. When her mother found out that Sara was a witch, she packed up her bags and left. She scrunched her nose in disgust remembering her mother.
Because Sara had wild looks and a wild imagination, she was picked on at school. Some rumors were ridiculous; such as the one where she was a centaur or a werewolf. Her personal favorite was about her having a cat's tail. However, some offended her. One rumor she didn't like was about how she stole her wand. She knew it wan't true, but it still got to her.
Sara sighed and looked out the window, wondering whether or not her father got back to the Muggle world safely. Just then, two girls entered the vacant room, talking and giggling. They sat down across her.
"Hi!" said one of them.
"Shhh, don't interrupt her," said the second girl. "She's obviously thinking of something."
Sara remembered that she promised her father that she would at least try to make friends this year. Maybe this was a perfect opportunity. "It's alright," she said nonchalantly. She extended her arm. "I'm Sara."
The first girl eagerly reached her hand and shook it. "I'm Lucy. It's so nice to meet you. The second girl started protesting, but Lucy cut her off. "You'll have to forgive my sister, Laura. She thinks she knows better than me about everything because she's older than me by a year."
Sara looked at Lucy, then at Laura, than at Lucy again. They didn't look much alike. Lucy had long brown hair that fell onto her shoulders in soft curls, while Laura had pin-straight hair that barely reached her neck. However, their black eyes were similar.
"Which House are you in?" asked Lucy.
"Oh, I'm in Hufflepuff," answered Sara. "What about you?"
"I'm in Ravenclaw. So is Laura," Lucy answered while buying a few sweets. "Want some?" she asked, offering some candy to Sara.
"Sure," she said, grinning while taking some Chocolate Frogs.
"So," Lucy continued while stuffing candy in her mouth, "what year are you in?"
"I'm in my fifth year now," Sara answered.
Lucy choked on her candy, trying not to spit it out. After swallowing her candy in a hurry she exclaimed "No way! So am I!"
They talked for a long time; about their lives, their families, what they liked and didn't like. To Sara, it was nearly too good to be true. She darted her eyes away from Lucy and looked out the window.
"What's wrong?" asked Lucy, concerned about her new friend's sudden attitude.
"Oh, it's nothing," replied Sara. Seeing that Lucy was unconvinced, Sara told her about people that bullied her and all the rumors that everyone seemed to say behind her back.
"Ohhhh," said Lucy, "Are you one of those people that choose to be anti-social because everyone keeps on bullying them and-"
"Lucy, that's ENOUGH!" yelled Laura. "There's a fine line between story-telling and going over the line-"
"It's okay Laura," said Sara reassuringly. Then she turned to Lucy again. "Yes, I am one of those, erm, 'people.' Why do you ask?"
"Well," said Lucy, "there's a boy in our year that's acts like you." She tilted her head to the left and said "Now that I think about it... he kind of looks like you too!" She shrieked with glee and continued "Imagine if you two were related! I can show you him if you want" She pointed at the window. "We're here already!" She grabbed Sara's hand, said good-bye to her sister and exclaimed "Let's go!"
