Hogwarts

After we left the train we got on boats. I managed to get on one with Sirius, Remus and James got another one together. Seeing Hogwarts for the first time was amazing. "It's almost as beautiful as you." Sirius claimed. I laughed. "You're lying." "No reason to be modest, Sara." I was glad that it was dark because I didn't want him to see that I was blushing. Sirius helped me get down from the boat. He seemed to use that as an excuse to keep holding my hand, but I didn't mind. I liked it in fact. We arrived in Hogwarts and McGonagall told us that we'd get sorted into houses soon. While we stood there I let go of Sirius hand to look for Lily, but I didn't find her in the cloud, so I went back to Sirius. Shortly after we went into the great Hall. The song of the hat was funny. I didn't pay much attention until McGonagall read out the name "Sirius Black".

Sirius POV: I gave Sara a reassuring smile, sat down and put the hat on my head. "Ahh yes, a Black. Normally I'd put you in Slytherin, but it doesn't fit you. You aren't ambitious enough. I'm going to disappoint your parents. Ahh yes, there's a lot of bravery. Loyalty too. You are a courageous boy. Well, we all know what that means. GRYFFINDOR!" I let out a sigh out of relief. Lily, James and Remus got into Gryffindor too, alongside two girls named Alice and Mary and a boy named Peter. Shape got into Slytherin. I smiled. I was glad he didn't get into our house. Lily was sad though. James had sat down next to me, the seat on my left side was empty and Remus sat across from me. I was happy, hoping Sara would sit down next to me soon and very hungry.

Sara POV: "Gudrun Irene Sara Stähler" McGonagall said. My heart started racing. I sat down and was curious about what would happen when the hat touched my head. "Ahh yes, Miss Stähler. You are surprised I know how to pronounce your name." Was the hat laughing? "Ahh well, I haven't had a German in a long time. Hmm. Your biggest role model is your grandfather. Ahh, I see. A good role-model. Well, what do we have here? You're intelligent. Very smart. You'd make Ravenclaw proud. You are loyal. Kind. Love to help people. Hard-working. But I don't see you in Hufflepuff. You are too brave for that. There's no reason to doubt yourself. You'll be an amazing GRYFFINDOR." I stood up and almost forgot to put the hat back down on the stool. I went down to the Gryffindor table and sat down next to Sirius and Lily. He grinned at me. "I'm so glad you made it." "Me too." Lily exclaimed. "I'm so sorry, Severus got put in a different house." I told her." "It's not your fault. God, I'm hungry." Sirius laughed. "I've heard the food is awesome." Remus said. "So" Sirius said: "How did you get here from Germany? Did you use floo powder? Did you fly?" "I went by train." I told them about the entire journey. "Wow" Sirius exclaimed. "That was very brave. No wonder you got into Gryffindor." "Yeah" Lily said "I don't know, if I could have done that. I'd probably would have messed up." I felt proud. I smiled. "I think you would have managed." Suddenly there was food on the table. "Finally" Sirius said. I laughed. "Boys!" "Why is there no meat on your plate?" Sirius asked, after he'd started eating. "Don't talk with food in your mouth." Lily said. "Do you not have any manners?" I tried to stop myself from laughing. "I'm vegetarian." I explained. "Ohh" Sirius said. "Why?" "Environmental reasons." Lily smiled. "I tried to go vegetarian once, because my neighbours' pigs were so cute, but I didn't manage. Maybe I'll try again. Would you help me if I try again?" "Sure." "My family isn't going to be happy about me being in Gryffindor. My mom's going to be really angry." "Sorry for you, man." James said. "I'll manage. It will be fine. My family is horrible anyway." I felt sorry for him. He smiled at me. "Promise that you'll be my friend, Sara." "I promise." "I promise too." James said. Sirius laughed. "I wasn't talking to you, stupid."

After dinner I went to Professor Dumbledores office to give him my smartphone. "Thank you, Miss Stähler. I hope you will enjoy your time at Hogwarts even without your phone. Have a good week." You too, Professor." I went to the common room afterwards. Lily had waited outside the office for me, so we went together. I said down in the bedroom. It felt weird. I hadn't heard a single word in German the whole day. "Sara, are you fine?" Lily asked. We shared the room with Mary and Alice, two girls that were in our year. "Yeah, just a little homesick." "I understand." "I'm going to write a letter to my family" I said. So, I sat down at the desk, but I couldn't find the right words, so I started writing one to Oliver instead. I had always found it easy to write to him. I'd miss talking to him. I liked his voice. Since he'd already hit puberty, it was deep. Oli was a good singer. I grabbed my backpack and took out my MP3-Player. I listened to the playlist with songs Oli had recommended to me. I decided to write to my mom tomorrow and went to bed instead.

In my dream I was running through darkness. I heard my father's voice screaming my name, but I knew I couldn't reach him. I tripped over my feet and heard voices behind my back. Insulting me. Shaming me. Making me feel guilty. I woke up breathing heavily. My heart seemed to be practicing for a marathon. I knew what I needed now. A good book to calm me down so I could sleep again. Something to distract me from my thoughts. But I wasn't alone in the room and I was afraid of waking the others up. I slipped out of bed, grabbed "das siebte Kreuz" and searched for my flashlight, but I couldn't find it. So I decided to go down the stairs into the common room. I sat on one of the sofas and started reading.

Sirius POV: I couldn't sleep. During dinner I had acted as if it wasn't a big deal, but in truth I was afraid of my family's reaction. At the same time, I hated myself for being afraid. I had never liked being a part of the Black family and never bothered much with trying to please my mom and making my damn parents proud. I decided to go down into the common room. Maybe I should sneak out and go for a little walk. I was surprised to find that the light was on. Sara sat on one of the sofas reading and didn't seem to notice me. "Hi" I said. "It seems I'm not the only one who has trouble sleeping." She looked up surprised. "Hi Sirius. I had a nightmare." "I'm sorry. I just couldn't sleep." "Is it because of your family?" "Can you read minds?" She smiled. "A witch never reveals her tricks." "May I?" I asked and sat down next to her when she nodded. "Your nightgown is beautiful." I said interrupting the silence. "Thanks. My father gave it to me." She responded keeping her blue eyes fixed on the book. Her long blond curls fell down her shoulders. "You should go to bed." I said after a short while. "You too." She responded. None of us moved. We stayed there for a while till I finally decided to go to bed. Thankfully I managed to fall asleep quite quickly.