Sara was at breakfast the next morning sipping some coffee and perusing through one of her new books. She heard swooping, meaning the mail was here. A few of the first years were getting packages from their parents who just couldn't let go yet, and a few of the older students received things they'd managed to forget at home. This was why Sara was so surprised to see a barn owl land gracefully in front of her, a letter in its beak.

"For me?" she asked, putting her book down.

The owl hooted as if in agreement, dropping the letter in front of her plate. Sara tore off a bit of bacon from her plate and tossed it into the owl's mouth before it hooted happily and flew away.

She picked up the letter and turned it over. The handwriting on the front was unmistakable. A smile spread over her face as the tore open the letter and read.

Dearest Sara,
I promised you I'd write everyday, didn't I? Thought I was joking, but I'm not. I plan to write you everyday.

I just dropped you off at the train station, and I already miss you more than I ever thought I could. This is going to be a terrible few months. But don't think that means I want you dropping out to come see me or anything. You're better than that. Don't forget, you're orange.

Fred's howling up at me to get moving. Apparently he can't hold down the fort on his own. I'll write you again tomorrow.

I love you,
George

Sara clasped the letter to her chest, her smile the widest it had ever been this early in the morning. She missed George like crazy and knew it wouldn't get any better over time, but the letters would help. She had to remember to write him once in a while as well.

With a contented sigh, she shoved the letter and her book back in her bag. The students were filing out now, and she joined the crowd heading upstairs.

"Have a good summer?" a voice from behind her asked.

Sara turned to see Katie with a wide smirk across her face. Sara rolled her eyes.

"My summer was spectacular," she replied calmly. "And how was Germany?"

"Oh, it was amazing," Katie gushed.

It was Sara's turn to smirk. Katie told her parents that she was going to Germany to look into a potential job. But really, she had just gone to see Hans. The rest of the walk to class was spent swapping stories. They were just sitting down when Snape strode in, magically shutting the door behind him. The class fell quiet.

"With the Dark Lord prowling about now, you are all in danger," he began, looking around the room with his dark eyes. "It is my job to teach you to defend yourselves against him and his followers. You will first learn Occlumency, then we will move on to countercurses and jinxes. As this is your final year here—"

A pounding on the door interrupted him. He turned to look at something on his desk before continuing with his lecture. The person knocked once more, but Snape completely ignored it this time. The person on the other side seemed to take the hint and go.

"You have all been assigned partners for the day," he held up a piece of parchment.

He began to read off the names and the students moved to sit with their partners. Snape seemed as if he wanted to make everyone in the room suffer with the list. No one was paired up with anyone they found even remotely likeable. Sara groaned inwardly when he read her name alongside Darren Urquhart, the captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team. He smirked as she took her seat next to him, staring straight ahead and trying to ignore the fact that he was leering at her.

"As you should have learned last year, Occlumency is a very valuable skill," Snape began.

Sara rolled her eyes. What they had learned last year? They hadn't learned a single thing from Umbridge, and he very well knew that.

"What is the purpose of Occlumency?" he asked, scanning the room.

After a few moments of eerie silence, Sara raised her hand. Snape flicked his eyes toward her. After six years with him, she knew that was the only acknowledgement she would receive.

"Occlumency is closing one's mind off against someone who is trying to enter it. It keeps them from accessing and influencing your thoughts and feelings."

"If taken by the Dark Lord, he will attempt to use Legilimency on you. This is the act of peering into your mind and influencing your thoughts. A good Occlumens will be able to keep him from forcing you to perform things you do not wish to do. A great Occlumens will keep him away from certain thoughts. And someone with abilities that rival his own will be able to keep him out altogether."

No one else in the classroom seemed to notice that he referred to Voldemort as "The Dark Lord." This was merely out of habit, as Snape had been a Death Eater in his younger years. Sara had learned this when Cedric was killed.

"You will be practicing this on one another," he was saying as Sara returned to his lecture. "Though it is not the same caliber as if the Dark Lord was attempting to penetrate your mind, it's a start. While one of you attempts to resist, the other will attempt to penetrate the mind using the spell Legilimens. Get to work."

Sara rolled her eyes and turned to Urquhart, who didn't even bother to remove his eyes from their current location at her chest.

"You want to go first?" she asked.

He looked up at her with that same smirk.

"Yeah, alright."

"Well, clear your mind then," she ordered, raising her wand.

He closed his eyes and concentrated hard. With a flick of her wrist, Sara muttered "Legilimens" and was immediately inside his mind. She saw him in front of Snape's desk, beaming with pride as he asked him to be captain of the Quidditch team the year prior. She saw him opening up his O.W.L. results and looking disappointed. She saw him at 11, wrapped in his mother's arms and holding his Hogwarts letter. Finally, she dropped her wand and released his mind. It took her a moment to realize that Snape was standing next to her, looking down at her like a vulture.

"Mr. Urquhart, it is your turn," he stated, not looking away from Sara. "Attempt to penetrate Ms. Roth's mind."

Urquhart raised his wand and muttered the spell. His face was screwed up in concentration once again. Sara merely looked at him with an almost bored expression.

"I can't do it," Urquhart finally muttered, dropping his wand to his side.

"Shame," Snape muttered, moving on to the next group.

Sara spent the rest of the class gazing around and watching the others try to use Legilimency on one another. They seemed to be trying much harder than she had, and were also working much harder to keep their opponents out of their minds. She heard Urquhart next to her occasionally trying to spell again, as if he was looking to catch her off guard.

Sara could only assume this was along the lines of why the Imperius curse didn't affect her and why she had healing powers that no one else seemed to naturally possess. She probably would never understand it—then again, it wasn't like Voldemort was trying to peer into her mind, and maybe it would be different then.

After her break was Transfiguration, which she could have slept through. It was basically a repeat of the first day of last year—Conjuration. She quickly summoned a quill and parchment from nowhere and spent the rest of the class bored. If this was the way the rest of the year was going to go, her time would have been better spent at the twins' shop.

As if sensing her boredom, McGonagall called for Sara to stay after class. When the other students had cleared out, McGonagall look at her curiously.

"Have you decided what you'd like to do when you've finished school?" she asked.

"Well, I'd like to save the world, or save lives or something," she smiled, recycling George's words.

"Goodness knows the world needs some saving," McGonagall mumbled.

"I really don't know what I want to do though," Sara admitted with a shrug.

"I'd like to challenge you this year, Ms. Roth. I can tell that my lessons will not be enough. Is there something you wish to learn that I can teach you?" she asked, folding her hands on her desk.

"Well, actually… There might be something," Sara muttered, a light bulb flickering in her head.

"That's a good girl," McGonagall nodded, showing Sara one of her rare smiles.

She set up a few extra lessons with McGonagall that would take the place of a few classes before heading off to lunch. After lunch was Ancient Runes and Arithmancy, two of her least favorite classes—probably because she wasn't naturally very good at them like with the others. She trudged down to dinner that night exhausted and starving. She plopped down next to Katie without a word and piled food onto her plate.

"Be glad you aren't taking Divination anymore," Katie blanched. "Trelawney's only gotten battier, and she smells like sherry."

"I always hated it up in that tower too," Sara added as she began to eat.

"Want to work on Snape's assignment tonight?" Katie asked, adding another helping on green beans to her plate.

"Oh god," Sara groaned, remembering that they had to write an essay on the exact methodology of Occlumency by Wednesday. "I think I'm going to die of homework overload before this year is over."

"You and me both," Katie nodded in agreement.

The next day was better for Sara though. She started out with a double Charms lesson and was one of only three people in the class who managed to multiply the stones they'd received with the Geminio curse. After lunch was a nice break, then Potions. She and Katie headed down there together, not feeling the dread that usually came with heading down to the dungeons. When they entered, a slew of smells assaulted them. In the air hung a thin mist that was usually the product of simmering cauldrons.

"Miss Roth!" a booming voice called to her as she took her seat.

"Professor Slughorn," she greeted him as he stopped in front of her.

"Glad to see you advancing as far as your mother," he nodded approvingly. "We'll just have to see if you've inherited her talent along with her looks."

"Is that a challenge, sir?" Sara asked coyly.

"If you're up to it," he winked.

When he turned away, Katie flashed Sara a confused look. Sara just waved it off. They took a seat at one of the tables with the simmering cauldrons. Its smell seemed to draw them both to it.

"What is this?" Katie asked, leaning forward and peering into the cauldron, a look of contentment crossing her face.

"It must be… Amortentia," Sara sighed happily. "It's a love potion."

"It smells so…" Katie sighed in a similar fashion, not finishing her sentence.

They both sat there, completely enamored with the fragrances. Sara didn't notice someone come up behind her.

"Thinking about me, love?"

She jumped in her seat and turned to see Jason leaning over her.

"I'm sure you'd love that," she rolled her eyes.

Jason took the seat on Sara's left, acknowledging Katie with a nod. They were on competing Quidditch teams, so their relationship was cordial but slightly tense. Sara had to hold in her groan when Cormac took the final seat across from her.

"Afternoon, all," he greeted them.

"Hello, Cormac," Sara grimaced.

"Everyone have a good summer?" he asked. "I know I did, my—"

"Welcome, students, welcome," Slughorn's voice boomed around the room.

Sara, Katie, and Jason all sighed with relief as Cormac quieted, the sound of his voice drowned completely out.

"If you all would take out your scales and potion kits, and your books as well, we can get started," he clapped his hands together jovially. "As you all have likely noticed, at each of your tables is a different potion. By the end of the year and before you take your N.E.W.T.s you should be able to make them all. Would anyone like to take a guess of what they are?"

Sara waited her standard moment before lazily raising her hand.

"Ah, Miss Roth. A brave soul, let's have a go," Slughorn nodded.

"The clear one over there is Veritaserum, it's a truth-telling potion," she gestured to the one she last remembered being fed to Barty Crouch two years ago. "The muddy one is Polyjuice Potion, which allows the drinker to take on the appearance of whomever's hair is added to it. And this one here," she turned to the potion at their table, "is Amortentia. It's the most powerful… love potion… in the world," she trailed off, taken by the smell once more.

"And might I assume you're a bit smitten, Miss Roth? You seem rather taken by the smell," Slughorn asked with a knowing tone.

"Yes, that's right. It smells differently to each person, depending on what attracts you."

"Most spectacular, Miss Roth. Coming up on your mother's coattails already. Twenty points for Gryffindor," Slughorn beamed. "But you all must remember that Amortentia will not create love, no, that is impossible. It causes intense desire, even obsession. Incredibly dangerous. Now, Miss Roth, if I may ask, do you know what this one is?" he asked, gesturing to a black cauldron on his desk.

"I… I believe… I could be wrong, but it appeared to be… Felix Felicis," she stammered.

"Excellent, excellent!" he exclaimed. "Better known as liquid luck, it is a devil to make, let me tell you. It provides the drinker with an inordinate amount of luck. All your endeavors will succeed until the effects wear off. But don't drink too much, or it causes giddiness, recklessness, and dangerous overconfidence. There is such thing as too much of a good thing, you know. I've taken it only twice in my life and had two perfect days. And for whomever manages to brew our potion today successfully will receive on bottle of it."

Every head in the class perked up. They could all do for a bit of good luck, especially in this final year of school, and then going out into the real world. Jason's hawk-like eyes were zeroed in on Slughorn. Cormac was on the edge of his seat.

"If you turn to page 86, you will see instructions for drafting an Ageing Potion. You all have until the end of class. Begin!"

Sara was glad for the scraping of cauldrons across the tables, as they covered up the sound of her laughter. An ageing potion would always remind her of Fred and George in their long grey beards. Trying to cover up her giggles, she flipped open her book and began to take out the necessary ingredients. Set the cauldron to heat. Added the syrup of hellebore. Mashed up the banana. Steeped the mint leaves. Shredded the snake. Combined it all in the cauldron. Stirred it clockwise, lifting the spoon out of the liquid as she did so.

"Damn it!"

She looked up quickly to see Cormac's potion boiling over the side of his cauldron. It was a hot pink color, while hers was blood-orange.

"What a shame," Slughorn shook his head, drawing up to their table. "Better luck next time, son. You'll have to put this down before you can clean it up though."

He handed Cormac a can of powder and moved around the table. He grimaced slightly while passing Katie, and nodded approvingly when peeking into Jason's cauldron.

"Ah, very nice," he said as he drew up to Sara. "Perfect shade, the smoke is in tendrils… You did inherit your mother's talent, didn't you?"

"Thank you, sir," she blushed.

Three more potions bubbled over and one caught fire before Slughorn called for them to stop. He seemed to rather quickly make his way around the room, stopping last at Sara's cauldron.

"I do believe we have a winner. A perfect Ageing Potion! The best I've seen in years. Here you are, my dear, well earned."

Sara took the small vial, well aware of the envious eyes on her. As she cleaned up her supplies, the possibilities of what she could use the potion for swam through her head.

"Ohh, you're so lucky," Katie lamented as they made their way up to dinner. "What I wouldn't give for a bottle of luck. What are you gonna do with it?"

"I'm not sure. I can't use it for anything big. Maybe I'll just plan something extravagant with George and drink it. That way everything will work out perfectly," she suggested.

"Ugh, you two are so perfect, it's almost disgusting," Katie groaned.

"You and Hans are almost worse!" Sara argued, remembering how handsy they had been when they'd come to the shop over the summer.

"Yeah, but we fight and stuff. We argue, sometimes for days, then we make up," Katie explained. "You and George are just… Merlin, you're like soul mates!"

"I've never really thought about it that way," Sara pondered.

She sat down that night to write a letter to George. She figured she probably owed him one after he followed through on his promise two days in a row. She sat at one of the tables in the library with Katie while she set to making up some bullshit for Divination. After thinking for a moment, Sara dipped her quill and ink and began to write.

Dear George,

It's literally been two days since I've seen you, and it already feels like it's been a century. I'm sorely tempted to drop out now and just live with you. Disagree all you want, but you probably wouldn't turn me away if I showed up on your doorstep. Fred might, but you wouldn't last five minutes.

Cormac is not the Head Boy (thank Merlin). It's Jason Samuels, he's in Ravenclaw. I think you probably know him from Quidditch. He's not the worst company I could have asked for you. He's kind of like if I mixed you and Fred together with more snide comments. He keeps me entertained, at least.

You won't believe it. Snape is the new DADA professor this year. I can't believe Dumbledore finally gave him the job. It's baffling. There's a new Potions professor. His name is Slughorn. He was Potions master when my mom and dad were in school. Probably yours too! I'll have to ask one day. He seems to have taken a liking to me already, apparently my mom had a real knack for Potions. He says I've inherited her talent. I won a bottle of liquid luck today because I brewed the best potion. If you're nice to me, I'll share some.

I bet the shop is just falling to pieces without me there. You and Fred are probably dying of boredom too. Try not to let missing me deter you from your work.

George,
I miss you so much. It's actually a bit unsettling how much I miss you. I keep thinking of things I want to tell you, then realize you're not here and I can't do that. I miss you in a more… Personal way too. I'll have to help myself out on that one tonight, and I'll be thinking of you every second.

I want it to be October already so that I can see you again. Give Fred my love.

I miss you.

I love you,
Sara