It was a hot August day. A breeze was nonexistent and Diagon Alley was nearly deserted. People darted into stores just to take advantage of the air conditioning.

"So explain t'me what a prefect is again," a little girl with long black pigtails said. The tall boy beside her snorted.

"A prefect is dis guy who gets to tell everyone else what dey hafta do," he said with a drawl reminiscent of Draco Malfoy's.

The other boy walking in front of the girl in the pigtails turned around, a scowl on his face. Despite that, it was obvious he and the other boy were twins.

"I didn't ask t'be prefect," he grumbled.

"Sure you didn't," his twin grinned. "Dat's why you spent de last for years studyin' your butt off and bein' a goody two-shoes."

"Besides," the prefect twin continued, ignoring his brother, "dat's not what prefects do. When we get t'school, Sammy, I'm gonna be de one dat takes you back to our house once de sorting's done."

"Unless, of course, she's in my house," the other twin interjected. The prefect twin opened his mouth to object, but he was interrupted.

"Hector! Eugene!" The twins turned as a redhead girl ran towards them. "I heard you've been made a prefect this year, Eugene!" she said breathlessly when she caught up to them.

"Of course he has," Hector interrupted proudly. Sammy peeked out at the other girl from behind the safety of his arm. "Like I said, all dat studyin' and keepin' your nose outta trouble paid off, huh, Gene?" He winked at his twin, and Eugene rolled his eyes.

"Oi, Evans!"

A look of obvious irritation flashed across the redhead's face. "What do you want, James?"

"Sirius and James," Hector said, grinning a bit wider. "Dey're a bit younger den me an' Gene, Sammy, but dey're 'bout your age an' a barrel of laughs each. Dey're our kinda people, not Gene's. Why don't you go make some friends?" Samantha shook her head and clung tighter to Hector's sleeve.

"Have either of you Yanks seen Remus or Peter?" one of the two boys who now joined the group asked.

"What's this?" the other one said in mock surprise. He had longish straight black hair that fell over his eyes and just over his ears, giving him a roguish but sophisticated look. He peered closer at Eugene's chest where a shiny badge glittered. "A Gryffindor prefect, Genie? Does that mean we'll have to bow down to you and call you 'Your Highness' and rubbish like that?"

Samantha smiled a little bit in spite of herself. Hector and the other younger boy laughed, but the redhead girl frowned a bit more.

"And what's this? An ickle firstie?" the boy with long black hair inquired, peering at Samantha from around Hector. "Come on, don't be shy. Why don't you tell us your name, then?"

"Dat's right!" Eugene cried, glad to get the attention off of himself. "I'm forgettin' my manners." Hector gave Samantha a gentle nudge forward. She glanced shyly at the three strangers before her.

"Hello, there, love! I'm Sirius, this is James, and that angry creature over there is Evans."

"I'm Lily," the redhead said, holding out a hand that Samantha shook gently.

"Go on, Sammy," Hector coaxed. "Tell 'em your name."

"I'm Samantha, an' I'm eleven," she blurted. Sirius and James roared with laughter, and Samantha reddened immediately in embarrassment.

"That's good! I'm twelve!" Lily said, ignoring Sirius and James' guffaws. "Have you ever been to Diagon Alley?"

"Yeah," Samantha managed to squeak.

"Excellent. It'll make shopping that much faster. Do you want to come with me to get some books and supplies for potions?" Samantha nodded. "I'll help you with your robes, too, since that seems like a girl thing."

Samantha was liking Lily more and more by the minute. Even though the other girl was only a year older, she had a certain poise and grace Sammy longed to possess. She glanced at her brothers, and they both nodded slightly giving her permission to go with Lily.

"Dat sounds great!" Samantha said excitedly, and the two of them walked down the street chatting amiably.

Samantha stared up at the giant that was Hagrid.

"Hello, Mr. Hagrid!" she called up over the pouring rain. Her brothers had told her not to be intimidated by Hagrid's size because he was a gentle giant. Still, Samantha couldn't help trembling a little in fear. "I'm Samantha! Samantha Boudreaux!"

"Eh? Hector an' Eugene Boudreaux's little sister?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Climb into a boat then! I'm takin' all o' yer across the lake. Keep yer hands in the boat!"

Sammy stared across the inky blackness, a bewildered look in her eyes. Up ahead she could see hundreds of glittering lights from the other boats, and the large castle that loomed in the distance. She glanced furtively at the other first years in her boat. Beside her was a sniffling blond boy who looked incredibly sacred about going across the lake in the dark. He clutched tightly at a small toad to keep it from escaping. A brown haired boy with piercing gray eyes met her gaze before looking away, and Sammy blushed a little bit. The other occupant of the boat was a severe looking girl with long white-blond hair. She sat in the very middle of the boat with a haughty look on her face as if she despised getting wet.

"My name's Adam," the brunette boy piped up. Samantha dragged her eyes away from the ice queen sitting in the boat as if she were miffed that she wasn't receiving preferential treatment. Adam made his way to Sammy's part of the boat, causing the vessel to sway a bit. The boy with the toad clutched the edge so hard his knuckles turned white.

"Are you excited about coming to Hogwarts?" Adam questioned.

"I guess. My brothers go here already," Samantha replied, a bit nonplussed that someone would talk to her out of nowhere.

"My older brother goes here, too. What house do you think you'll get into?"

"I'm not sure… my brothers are in different houses," Sammy frowned.

"I'm probably going to end up in Slytherin," Adam said with a hint of sadness in his voice. "Mundungus was lucky. He landed in Hufflepuff." He jerked his head over at the blond girl. "That's Narcissa. Our family's known hers for generations."

"I see," Samantha said sagely, not really grasping the importance of what Adam was saying. There was a loud scraping and a satisfying thud as the boat reached shore.

"Hurry along! Hurry along!" a voice called in the darkness. A lantern waved around. Adam and Sammy wrapped their robes around themselves tightly before heading towards the light. A sharp-looking woman in a pointed hat was holding the lantern by the entrance to Hogwarts. She wore a small pair of glasses and her brown hair was barely showing streaks of gray. "Welcome to Hogwarts, children!"

Samantha entered the building and was immediately engulfed by its warmth. She stared in awe at the brightness of the room, the arching ceilings, and the walls made of gray stone. Tapestries of the house colors hung from every surface and portraits blinked and smiled knowingly at the first year students. Samantha knew the sorting process was next, and her stomach churned slightly. She was ushered into an area behind a curtain where they were placed alphabetically. Samantha felt her palms grow sweaty.

"Black, Narcissa!" she heard as the frigid blond girl swept out of line in front of her and disappeared in front of the curtain.

"SLYTHERIN!" a booming voice called out, and Samantha winced involuntarily. The name of the house cut through her like a cold knife.

"Boudreaux, Samantha!"

Sammy edged out from behind the curtain nervously. Hundreds of eyes were on her as she shuffled towards the stool where an extremely ratty old hat was sitting. She swept her eyes once over the entire room before casting them down at her feet and sitting on the stool. The hat was placed on her head, and it seemed to swallow her whole.

"What an incredibly smart girl."

Samantha gasped in surprise at the voice that had suddenly invaded her mind.

"RAVENCLAW!" the hat shouted and instantly released her from inside it.

Samantha walked shakily over to a table which sat under a banner of blue and bronze. Hector was already waiting, and he immediately engulfed her into a big bear hug.

"Dat's right, Sammy! I knew you were too smart for Gryffindor. Eugene owes me twenty galleons now!"

"You betted on me?" Samantha said, slightly offended.

"Don't worry! I'll split dem with you!" Hector yelled over the cheering coming from the rest of their house and ruffling Samantha's hair. She grinned at him before she was ushered into a seat beside him.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood by the wall near the Ravenclaw table.

"Well, this is getting us nowhere," Harry said angrily. "So far all we've learned is that her name is Samantha Boudreaux, she has two twin brothers, and she's in Ravenclaw."

"You're just mad that Sirius and your parents weren't in it," Hermione said. Harry didn't respond, but he glared sullenly. "I'm sure they'll come up again."

"I bet not. She's not even in the same house as them," Harry grumbled, but a new memory was already beginning to appear.

It was a good three months into the school year, and Sammy was standing in the corner of a party, a glass of punch in her hand. Adam stood uncomfortably beside her. His fears of ending up in Slytherin were apparently unfounded because he was wearing Ravenclaw colors.

"Samantha?" someone said behind them, causing their conversation to end abruptly.

"Lily!" she said. "I haven't seen you in a while."

"It's nice to see a friendly face in here," Lily said, smiling. Both girls glanced around at the large number of older Slytherins.

"Dis is Adam Fletcher. Adam, Lily Evans," Samantha said and the two shook hands.

"What are you two in for?" Lily asked.

"Apparently word of the Fletcher line has proceeded me," Adam muttered darkly. "Slughorn didn't see much potential in my brother but says I have all the makings of a star wizard."

"He reckons I'm smart," Samantha shrugged.

"That's why I'm here," Lily said, a hint of sadness in her voice.

The scene faded, and Harry was disappointed by the briefness of the memory.

A teacher Harry didn't recognize was grading papers at the front of the room. Two blackboards behind him detailed how to get rid of boggarts, and Harry immediately concluded it was a Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Sammy was scribbling furiously on a piece of parchment. Adam had gotten her into trouble, and he was sitting on the opposite side of the room, scratching his quill across a piece of parchment as well.

The door creaked open and a skinny boy with messy light brown hair entered the room Sammy and Adam raised their eyes at the same time to peek at the newcomer. His clothes were patched and shabby. He wore the Gryffindor colors and looked as though he hadn't had a good night's sleep in days. His arms were loaded with books, and he coughed lightly to get the professor's attention.

"It's Professor Lupin!" Ron whispered in surprise.

"Um… Professor McGregor, I'm here to make up the exam I missed while I was… er, visiting my grandmother," he said hastily when he noticed Samantha and Adam in the room.

"Of course, Mr. Lupin. Here it is."

Samantha glanced up every now and then to get a better look at the student who had intruded on this period of detention. He was poring over the parchment the professor had handed him, obviously in deep concentration.

"Fletcher, Boudreaux, your time is up," Professor McGregor said, glancing at his watch. Adam and Sammy marched up to the front of the room, collecting their books and handing him their parchment as they passed. The bedraggled boy looked up once, meeting Sammy's eyes before focusing on his test once more.

Adam and Samantha rushed to the library where they found Lily attempting to get a book back from Sirius and James without too much success.

"Give it back, you gits!" she hissed. "You know there's no roughhousing in the library!"

Sirius was the first to notice the two Ravenclaw first years. He grinned when he saw Samantha hiding a smile behind her hand.

"Sammy! Won't you tell Evans we're just having a bit of fun?" he asked, sidling up beside Samantha and pulling one of her pigtails playfully. "Personally," he whispered to her and Adam, "I think James has a huge crush on her." He winked as if he knew for sure and nodded his head over to where James was making faces at Lily as she tried in vain to get her book back.

"Where have you two been anyway? Evans here was about to throw a fit because you were missing," James said as he ducked around the library table, barely dodging Lily. She let out a squeal of frustration.

"Detention with McGregor," Adam groaned, plopping himself in a seat and burying his head in his arms.

"With class on de weekdays an' Slughorn's meetings on the weekends it's a miracle we have time to t'ink of anythin' else 'sides school," Samantha sighed.

"Really?" Sirius mused with some interest. He caught the book as James tossed it to him. "That's what you get for living in a place of education."

"Isn't Remus at McGregor's?" James called to Sirius.

"Yeah… he took leave of us rather quickly, muttering about some make-up test he had to take. He has been visiting his sick grandmother a lot lately, hasn't he?"

"Dat was Remus?" Samantha inquired. "How come we've never seen him before?"

"Oh, well, you know, he's more of the loner type, likes to study in the privacy of the common room. He'll be walking in your brother's footsteps next if he isn't careful," James said, winking at Sammy. Lily finally snatched her book away from Sirius and sat down with a huff.

"Maybe you should ask him if he wants to study in de library."

"I think it's smart of Remus to study in the common room," Lily said coldly, glaring in James and Sirius' direction. "If I were him, I would want to get away from you two as well."

But James and Sirius were no longer listening. Instead they were nudging each other and whispering up a frenzy. Samantha whipped around to see her brother Eugene conversing with Severus Snape. She knew that Sirius and James weren't whispering about Eugene. Despite all the fun they poked at him, they held the utmost respect for him.

"Now, you two," Samantha began, her voice rising in warning, "you leave Severus alone, understand?"

Sirius and James were beyond listening, and they watched as Eugene said goodbye to Severus before the former turned and left the library. As Severus walked by towards the bookshelves, Sirius stuck out his foot and tripped the other boy. Books and papers went flying into the air as Snape landed flat on his face.

"Oi, Snivellus," Sirius smirked, "try not to damage the floor with that nose of yours, eh?"

"Sirius!" Samantha said, clearly appalled. She glowered at James and Adam who were both sniggering before helping Severus back onto his feet. Lily attempted to help him gather some of his things, which he snatched away from her when she offered them to him.

"Thank you," he mumbled to Samantha, ignoring Lily completely.

"Well?" Sammy said, rounding on Sirius. "Ain't you gonna apologize?" He scowled at her for a second before averting his eyes and half-heartedly muttering an apology that Samantha was certain he didn't mean. Snape scuttled off into a deeper part of the library.

"Hector said you'd be fun like him," Sirius said venomously to Sammy, "but you're just as boring as Evans." Samantha's eyes flashed dangerously at this.

"And you're a lousy git," Lily murmured from behind her book.

"Come on, Sirius," James said, interrupting Sirius and Sammy's glaring contest. "Let's find something better to do before Remus comes back." The two of them disappeared out of the library doors, Sirius pausing briefly to look back and Samantha with a glower on his face.

"Well?" Harry hadn't spoken for a long time. His eyes were fixed on the scenes unfurling before him, and he made no indication he'd heard Ron at all. "Um… Harry? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he muttered, but it was obvious to Ron and Hermione that something was extremely wrong, and they exchanged worried glances. "It's just that… seeing Sirius and my parents alive… it's a bit much." Harry didn't mention how he was fighting the urge to join the scenes from Samantha's memories. He longed to reach out and touch his parents. He recalled with a grimace what he had seen in Snape's pensieve two years ago. In Samantha's memories at least they didn't seem cruel. Mischievous, perhaps, but certainly not cruel.

"You're sure you're all right?" Hermione asked anxiously. "Do you want to stop?"

"No," Harry responded, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose with firm determination. "I'm not ready to stop just yet."

"I passed!" Samantha cried gleefully when she saw her test scores displayed in the corridor. "What do you t'ink of dat, Adam? We both passed with flyin' colors!"

"Great," Adam moaned. "Now I can get a decent night's rest." He yawned widely. "I'm going to bed, Sam, good-night." He trudged up the stairs.

"G'nite!" Samantha called after him before curling up in one of the common room couches with a Muggle novel. Hours flew by as the memory fast forwarded and the common room emptied. Finally, Samantha headed upstairs to her room for the night. She closed the blue curtains on her four-poster amid the snoring of her roommates.

A few minutes later, a figure snuck in through the window, creeping noiselessly towards Samantha's bed. Harry, Ron, and Hermione watched apprehensively, Hermione looking as though she was about to cry out to Samantha in warning. The shadow slid her curtains aside before softly whispering a spell.

"Well?" the shadow hissed. "Wake up, Sammy!" The three observers moved closer to the bed to get a better view. Samantha's eyes shot open, and she was about to let out a scream when a hand clapped quickly over her mouth. "It's just me."

"Sirius Black, you scared me to death!"

"Sorry," he said, sincerely apologetic.

"Lemme get my jacket."

There was a shuffling as the light in Sirius' wand went out, and he crawled off of Samantha's bed. She hopped down softly herself and rummaged in her trunk for a jacket. Sirius climbed out of the window, making a soft thud as he landed on the grass. Samantha peered over the edge fearfully.

"Dat's pretty high, Sirius."

"Don't be ridiculous," he scoffed. "You live on the second story. Imagine having to jump out the window of Gryffindor tower."

"Have you?" Samantha asked skeptically, eyebrows raised.

"Well… not yet," he admitted with a grin. "Don't worry," he reassured her, opening his arms wide, "I'll catch you."

"Dat don't sound too reassurin'," Samantha said to herself, climbing out the window, feet first. Unfortunately, her hand slipped, and she hurtled toward the ground with a sharp gasp. Sirius caught her although he stumbled a few steps.

"See? You have to trust me. It's a good thing you're light," he said, setting her back on her feet. Samantha was blushing bright red; it was visible even in the moonlight, but Sirius was too busy dusting himself off to notice.

"Where are we going?" Samantha inquire as Sirius began to walk briskly.

"To celebrate the ending of your first term, of course! We can't go far because Potter wouldn't let me borrow his invisibility cloak," Sirius said, rolling his eyes. "Believe me, words were exchanged. How did you end up doing in DADA?"

"Top of de class, believe it or not!" Samantha proclaimed proudly. "I told Eugene about how I was havin' problems, and he managed to convince Severus to tutor me."

"Snivellus?" Sirius snorted.

"He's not dat bad," Samantha said defensively but unhappiness radiated off of him. "It helped, didn't it?"

"If you'd told me you needed a tutor, I could have done it or… or.. I could've asked Remus, but Snivellus?" Sirius cried. "Sammy, you're the cleverest witch I've ever met. You don't need help from the likes of him."

"It's more like an exchange. I've been helpin' him with potions. He's not very good at dat, but he's improvin'."

"Second year potions?" Sirius said, raising an eyebrow.

"Keep dat to yourself. I told you dat in confidence, and if I hear rumors start to fly, I'm comin' straight t'you," Samantha warned.

"Well, that little fact makes up for some things, but I don't trust him…" Sirius scowled for a second but then he let out a burst of laughter in spite of himself. "Amazing that you were raised as a Muggle all your life…"

"All right," Harry said quietly as Samantha and Sirius disappeared around a corner. "I've seen enough for one night." He and his friends found themselves standing in his room once more.