That was three years ago. Sara was a now best friend to the Weasley twins. She was something like a mother hen to the two boys. When their antics nearly got them in trouble, Sara was able to stop them just before calamity struck. She helped them study—as much as she could for two boys with the attention spans of flies—and was the feminine voice of reason when they needed advice.
Sara had changed since her first year. She had started to fill out nicely. She wasn't going through an awkward growing phase like the other girls; she had been short all her life, and that hadn't changed as she matured. She started having curves where the other girls were flat. Her hair grew longer, reaching past the bottom of her shoulder blades. She was brilliant—the top of her class without really trying. She was often deep in thought, staring off into space about one thing or another.
She had also become very close with Hermoine Granger, friend of Fred and George's little brother Ron. Hermione was just as smart as Sara and the two got along very well. Sara also befriended Ron and the famous Harry Potter. It was everyone's desire to become Harry's best friend, but he was drawn to Sara, perhaps because he saw her as a mother figure. Sara took care of anyone who needed her, which was often Fred, George, Hermione, Harry, and Ron. Her advice got them out of a lot of trouble during their few years at Hogwarts.
Sara's summer had been entirely uneventful, though her summers were really never eventful. She woke up on September 1 the morning she was to start her fourth year at Hogwarts very excited. She would get to see Fred and George for the first time since the last day of school. They had gone to Egypt with their family to visit their older brother Bill. She was jealous of their exploits, but was excited to hear all about it.
She leaped from her bed at 7:00 AM and immediately began her day. She showered, did her hair, put on makeup, and dressed in under 30 minutes. She trudged from her room and hauled her trunk down the stairs into the kitchen where her father was eating a piece of toast.
Sara loved her father. He was a very handsome man, considerably taller than her with dirty blond hair cut close to his head. He was well built, but very gentle. She always loved his hugs when she was little, and even now they made her feel better when she was down. He glanced up at her and smiled that half-smile that she was sure got him all the girls when he was in school. She noticed bags under his eyes, meaning he hadn't slept well the night before, if at all.
"Are yeh all packed up?" he asked, handing her a piece of toast, his thick Irish accent coming through.
"Yes, daddy," she answered, taking the bread from him. "You look tired. Were you up late?"
"Well, I haven't gone to bed yet, love," he answered, leaning against the counter. "That Potter kid blew his aunt up into a balloon and sent her floating 'round town. We had to catch her and deflate her."
Sara could not stop the laugh that violently escaped her lips. She doubled over, leaning her head against the counter. The image of Harry sending his inflated aunt into the skies of London was just too much.
"Yes, get yehr laughs out now. Fudge says he ain't being punished either. He can get away with anything once his parents are killed," her father ranted.
"Now daddy, that's not nice," Sara chided, immediately serious; she didn't like it when people talked about Harry that way. While she wasn't in love with him like half of the population at Hogwarts, she still felt sorry for him.
"Sorry, love," he said, reaching out and placing a kiss on her forehead. "Have fun at school this year, baby. And give Molly and Arthur my thanks."
"I will," Sara said, watching her father gather his things for work.
He bade Sara farewell, and with a pop he was gone.
Sara stood in her empty kitchen, suddenly feeling very alone. She quickly finished her toast, then made her way into the living room, where her trunk stood by the fireplace. The clock struck 8:00 as she grabbed her trunk in one hand and a fistful of Floo powder in the other. She stepped in, tossed the powder, and yelled, "The Leaky Cauldron," where Molly had told her they would be meeting.
Fireplaces passed in front of Sara's eyes until she felt herself being tossed forward. Just before she hit the floor, two pairs of arms reached out and grabbed her. She looked up to see Fred and George smiling down at her.
"Ever the graceful one-" George began.
"-aren't you?" Fred finished.
"Oh, shut it," Sara snapped, standing up and brushing the soot from her.
"Come on, mum's waiting," Fred walked on, ushering for them to follow.
George took Sara's trunk and wheeled it behind them as they walked.
"Thank you, Georgie," Sara cooed with her beautiful smile.
"Anytime, love," George winked.
The three entered the large dining room of The Leaky Cauldron where the entire Weasley family and Hermione were there waiting. She received a tight hug from Mrs. Weasley, while Ginny and Hermione gave much gentler hugs. Fred and George then led her to the table, where they sat down on either side of her. Ron sat across from them, excitedly showing passersby the picture of their family in Egypt.
As Fred began to eat breakfast, Sara felt George nudge her side. She looked over at him and saw a small bag in his hands. He reached over and put it in her lap. She looked from George to the bag in her lap, then back to him.
"For you," he whispered with a smile. "Open it."
With widened eyes, Sara reached into the bag and pulled out a thin gold bracelet with green marble across it. Sara looked back up at George.
"Oh, George, you didn't-" she started.
"Stop it," he interrupted her. "It's a gift. For you."
She looked back down at the bracelet, slowly sliding it onto her arm. She looked into his eyes once more.
"George, thank you. It's beautiful," she smiled at him, taking his breath away.
"Sure," was all he could choke out.
A slight commotion came from the stairs as Harry tripped down the last one, stumbling into the room. Hermione and Ron stopped arguing about their pets for a moment to greet him before returning to their squabble. Harry smiled at Sara and waved, sitting down across from her.
"Hello Harry," she cooed. "Suppose you had a busy night."
Harry's eyes grew wide.
"How did you…?" he asked, clearly baffled.
"My dad had to go round her up last night. He was not pleased this morning, but he'll get over it," she laughed.
Fred and George looked confused, but Harry laughed right along with her. Ron and Hermione came back to the table, turning Harry's attention toward them.
"Wha?" Fred asked.
"I'll tell ya later," Sara giggled.
After breakfast, they were all ushered off to King's Cross Station where they loaded the Hogwarts Express. Sara, Fred, and George slipped into the compartment occupied by their friend Lee Jordan while Harry, Ron, and Hermione continued down the train. Fred sat next to Lee, while Sara and George took the other side of the compartment. The train took off and Sara immediately began to stare off into the distance. George simply let her be and talked to Fred and Lee.
"It's so gloomy out there," Sara said, coming out of her trance.
"I know," George acknowledged, turning his attention toward her. "How was your summer?" he asked, trying to bring her back into the conversation.
"Oh, boring. Like it always is, I suppose," she shrugged. "I read a lot."
"Tell me about one of the books," he suggested, wrapping an arm around her.
She leaned in and rested her head on his shoulder, suddenly feeling a bit tired. She began to tell him about her summer reading collection and, unknowingly, dozed off. George noticed that she had stopped talking and looked down at her, smiling when he saw her sleeping soundly on his shoulder. He felt himself lean back and closed his eyes.
With a sudden jerk, Sara and George felt themselves violently awakened. Sara nearly fell off the seat, but George reached out and caught her.
"What's going on?" Sara asked. Fred and Lee weren't in the compartment anymore. Sara and George were alone. The lights in the train went dark, and George pulled Sara closer to him. A shiver passed through both of them as the rain on the windows turned to ice. Sara stiffened against George.
"Dementors?" she whispered softly, looking up at him with wide eyes, now filled with fear.
"It's okay," George said, pulling her even closer.
They sat there in silence for a while, feeling the bitter cold that accompanied Dementors, until the sickly feeling passed. The rain outside returned to normal and shortly after the train started moving.
"George… How could…" she started, looking out the window once more.
"I don't know," he confessed. "They're not supposed to be anywhere but Azkaban. This is so wrong. They're probably out looking for Black."
A figure stopped at their compartment, peering in the window. The door opened, revealing a very haggard looking middle-aged man.
"Uncle Remus!" Sara exclaimed, utterly surprised to see him. She leaped from her seat and ran toward him, wrapping her arms around him.
"Glad to see you're alright. I just wanted to check up on you," he said, returning the hug.
"What on earth are you doing here?" she asked, pulling away from him.
"I'm the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," he explained with a small, tired smile.
"Really?" she cried. "So then I'll be seeing more of you lately."
"That you will. If you'll excuse me, I must be going. Just wanted to make sure you were alright."
"Bye," she called as he exited the compartment, closing the door behind him.
"Uncle Remus?" she heard George ask behind her.
"He's my godfather. He and my father were best friends when they went to Hogwarts. I've always called him uncle," Sara explained, sitting back down next to George.
When they arrived back at the school, the dementors were the talk of the students. When Fred, Sara, and George sat down at the Gryffindor table, they heard Harry, Ron, and Hermione talking feverishly across from them. Dumbledore's commanding presence silenced the room. The first years were sorted quickly, and Dumbledore made a few announcements. He introduced Professor Lupin as the new DADA teacher. He looked around the crowd of students, stopping at Sara and giving her a small wink. Dumbledore also announced that Hagrid would be taking over as Care of Magical Creatures professor. He explained that the presence of the dementors was for the safety of the students, and that they were under strict orders not to bother the students, but advised them not to get in the dementors' ways. On that light note, the food appeared on the table and the feast began.
"Wha' classes have you got this year?" Fred asked Sara, his mouth full of food.
"Very attractive," Sara remarked. "Potions, Transfiguration, Herbology, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, History of Magic, Astronomy, Ancient Runes, Care of Magical Creatures, and Arithmancy," she said as she ticked each one off on her fingers.
"Sometimes, I just don't understand you," George laughed.
"Maybe you don't need to understand," she said sternly, looking down at her plate.
"You're lucky you never have to try," Fred said, taking a drink of his pumpkin juice.
"Um, I try. If you gave even a little bit of the effort I did, Fred Weasley…" Sara scolded, shaking her fork at him.
"He's just yankin' you. We know you study," George said, smiling at her.
"Study," Fred scoffed, shoveling more food into his mouth.
"Looking after you two is enough work for me, thanks," Sara retorted, flicking a carrot at Fred.