Very short for her age, Sage Riddle has been living at a grey foster home off of Black Ditch Creek Road. Ever since she was but three and a quarter years old, she has been sleeping in the same room, eating the same food, and doing the same things. And now she was turning eleven. Yet at this house, birthdays were like foreign holidays, it's not like nobody knew, just nobody cared. The only one who greeted her with a smile that day was her pet cat, Rosemary. Ahh, yes. Rosemary and Sage could be seen everywhere together, even if the teachers did stick up their nose at the sight of "That nasty feline". Anyways, back to Sage. At the breakfast table that cloudy Thursday morning, Sage overheard girls at the next table talking amongst themselves. "Did you see the new kid?" "Did you see her pet?" "Can you believe her hairstyle?" Instinctively, she stuck her head up and searched for a new face in the crowd. There, at the far left table, sat an aloof looking little girl, just looking for a friend. Or, at least this was what Sage could see from her face. But her outfit was a black Robe with a Purple and yellow striped tie on. Yet her hair was tied up and hidden beneath a long, thin hat. By her side, a rusty colored owl sat perched beside her plate of dry bacon and stale toast. Sage couldn't believe her eyes. Dare she approach this odd stranger? It was worth a try... "Hello, my name's Sage, and this is my cat, Rosemary. Welcome to Black Ditch Foster Home!" The girl's reply was soft and shy, "I'm Loretta, pleased to meet you." This was followed by almost two minutes of silence. At last, Sage worked up enough courage to speak again. "So, where were you before you came here, Loretta?" Loretta blinked, swallowed, blinked again, and shook her head before answering. "Hogwarts School," she replied meekly. "It's in Scotland, you wouldn't know of such a place in, where are we again?" "Colorado, America." "Well, yes, that's it." Sage still knew nothing much about this new student.