I do not own Harry Potter...sadly.
The air felt hot and stuffy, not unusual for mid July, but unpleasant all the same. The day after my eleventh birthday, I sat on my tire swing under the shady oak in my backyard. Nothing seemed different, but then we never expect the unusual do we? The sun started to set in the distance when I heard it. The sound of sneakers slapping the pavement on the other side of the fence. At first, nothing seemed different. People often ran outside in the evenings. The shudder of the fence made me turn around surprised. Something heavy hit the fence.
Slowly, I crept over to the gate. I opened the gate and peeked out to see what happened. I was surprised to find a boy around my age dragging a big trunk. That must have been what hit the fence. His shaggy black hair matted into big clumps glistening with sweat. I could tell by the state of his clothes, he hadn't been home in a few days. He stopped when he saw me, and I could see the dirt that streaked his face. His grey eyes studied me, and I stepped back frightened.
"You're a witch aren't you?" he said coming closer. Did he just call me a witch? Was he crazy? My eyes darted around the yard judging the fastest way to get back to the house.
"What's your blood?" he asked. Blood? What was he talking about? He was staring to scare me, and I stepped further away from him.
His eyes softened, and he spoke softly now, "I see. You're Muggleborn. You haven't gotten your letter yet." Letter to where? What was a Muggleborn? I turned to dart to the safety of the house, but he grabbed my hand. "Wait! Don't go!" he sounded desperate, and I stopped.
"Who are you?" I asked quietly. I wanted to run again, but curiosity got the better of me.
"Sirius Black," he sounded disgusted by his own name.
"Where do you live?" I asked. His face fell a little, but he quickly regained his cheerful smile.
"Nowhere. I ran away," Sirius said looking sad, but almost proud too. Ran away? What made him run away? As if he sensed my next question, he continued. "I'm a disgrace to purebloods," he said. That just made things even more confusing. I shook my head telling him I didn't understand.
"What's a pureblood?" I asked curiously. He no longer scared me. He looked like a boy who had a hard life and needed a friend. He didn't look like someone who would hurt me.
"It means I come from an all magic family," he said as if that cleared everything up. It didn't.
"Magic isn't real though," I said.
"Believe what you want," he said "But your a witch whether you want to be or not." I shook my head. I wasn't a witch. I couldn't be. He shrugged.
"Why are you a disgrace to purebloods?" I asked. He hesitated a minute then took my hand and led me over to a shady spot under the large oak tree. He gestured for me to sit, and I got the message that the story would take some time.
"Purebloods think muggleborns, like you, are a disgrace to the name of wizard. I disagree. My family is pureblood, and they've never liked me because of that," he said. He looked proud to be different, but I could hear the sadness and misery in his voice. I felt bad for him.
"So why didn't you run away before? Did something happen?" I asked. He looked away and didn't answer. I knew better than to pester him and instead stood up.
"Do you need a place to stay? I'm sure my parents won't mind," I said offering him my hand. He took it looking hopeful for a minute.
"Really?" Sirius asked. I nodded. He stopped and seemed to contemplate the idea for a moment, then nodded.
I opened the back door and took him into the kitchen where my mother was starting dinner. She looked up when we strolled in and raised her eyebrows at Sirius.
"Sammi, who's this?" she asked in that is-he-your-boyfriend tone. I shook my head smiling.
"This is Sirius. He needs a place to stay for awhile," I said. My mother was pretty easy going most of the time, and nodded.
"How long will he be staying?" she asked. I opened my mouth to answer her, but Sirius beat me to it.
"September 1st ma'am. That's when I go away to school. I won't be any trouble. I can help clean and sleep on the couch if you like," he said. My mother smiled warmly at him.
"That's quite alright dear. You can have the spare room and keeping Sammi occupied will be more than enough help," mother said. We both nodded, and I helped Sirius carry his trunk upstairs.
...
That night, at dinner, a loud screeching noise interrupted my father asking Sirius about his school. Sirius was telling us about magic and witches and wizards, and my parents listened curiously. I knew they thought he was insane. My father looked around to see where the noise had come from, and Sirius calmly got up and unlatched the window allowing a small grey owl in. He untied something from its leg ignoring the astonished looks we gave him. The owl pecked at his hand before taking off again. Sirius handed me one of the two letters he was holding. He tore his open quickly, but I just stared at mine. My name was written in swirly black letters. Miss Samantha Andrews. I opened it with shaking hands as my parents and Sirius watched.
Dear Miss Andrews,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Term begins on September 1st.
"Yours sincerely,
Minerva Mcgonagall
I read the letter aloud, and my parents looked shocked. Sirius was smiling, and he showed me his letter. It said the same thing. I gaped at the letters. "Do you believe me now?" Sirius said. I nodded slowly.
I still had a hard time believing it even when Sirius told me stories about Hogwarts and everything he knew about witches and wizards. It wasn't until we went to Diagon Alley that I finally believed him.
From that day forward, Sirius became my best friend. He told me stories about Hogwarts he'd heard from his parents, and my excitement grew. It wasn't too long afterwards we were off to Hogwarts for some of the best years of my life.