Remus was standing alone in the corner of the gym. He watched Harry and Lauren, seated alone in a corner eating sandwiches. He'd seen them be yelled at by their uncle earlier for taking a cookie, because according to him the cookies all belonged to Dudley. So did the pizza and the juice. Only the salad and the sandwiches didn't.
He walked over to them. "Hi guys, how are you?" he asked.
Harry shrugged. "Fine," he said.
"Excited for summer?" Remus asked.
Lauren shrugged this time. "Just more time at home," she told him. Remus felt another surge of anger towards the Dursleys.
"I have a trick I want to show you," he said, checking to make sure no one was watching. "Obliviate," he whispered, pointing his wand at Lauren.
"What-?" Harry asked, but Remus had done it to him too before Harry could get the words out. He then got swiftly up to leave and walked back to where he'd stood previously. He looked over at them and saw them enjoying their sandwiches as if nothing had happened.
He then spotted the Dursley's. This would be harder, because they didn't trust him like Harry and Lauren had. He finally managed to get them alone a few minutes before the party ended, and Obliviated them in turn.
He left right after that, rushing out before any of them could question him about who he was.
He packed up his classroom and Apparated away without saying goodbye to anyone. He was sad to go, but knew it was best.
The last few days of term went by in a blur of running around outside with her friends. It was nice out, and Samantha would sit and talk to Leslie, Ellie, Bella, and Riley, or she would practice spells with the girls and Hudson, Max, Elias, Damon, and Connor. They did the Body Bind curse and practiced undoing it, made rocks fly around using Wingardium Leviosa (that had been ended pretty quickly by Professor McGonagall when they nearly hit her in the head with one), practiced lighting tiny portable fires, they broke and repaired the rocks they had previously made fly around and then softened them, made smokescreens, lit and unlit their wands, and practiced the knockback jinx.
There was even one occasion where Samantha and Max had walked around outside while the sun set and ended up kissing again.
"I can't believe I'm not able to see you all summer," Samantha whispered to him once they pulled away.
"I'll send you letters all the time," Max told her.
"By owl will look suspicious. I'm planning on holding this against my aunt and uncle so they treat my siblings and I more fairly this summer," Samantha told him.
"I'll instruct the owl to wait until you're alone. You don't look exactly like anyone there, do you?" Max asked. They had begun walking again, holding hands.
"No. My sister looks exactly like my mom with my dad's eyes, and my brother looks like my dad with my mom's eyes. I look like a mix of them. Sometimes I look more like James, sometimes more like my mum, depending on which parts of me you focus on," Samantha said. "And my aunt, uncle, and cousin are far too ugly to ever be mistaken as any of us, it's a shocker we're related, they're so different from us."
Max smiled. "You're the greatest," he said.
"I'm aware," Samantha joked, and the two doubled over laughing. Then Samantha remembered something. "Oh, crap!" she said.
Max looked startled. 'What is it?" he asked.
"I forgot to ask my aunt or uncle if they could pick me up, I'll have to take a bus..." Samantha said.
"I'm sure someone could take you. I'd offer to, but from what I've heard, they don't seem to be too keen on having a bunch of wizards in the area. Maybe Ellie or Hudson could take you, they've both got Muggle families," Max offered.
"Good idea, I'll ask them," Samantha said. She looked over and saw Snape walking towards them. "Great, Snivellus is coming, brace yourself," she said.
"Potter. Langbert. You are out after dark, ten points from Gryffindor," Snape said.
"It wasn't dark when we came out here," Samantha countered.
"Shall I take five more off for talking back?" Snape asked.
"I thought that was how a conversation worked," Max said.
"I think I might have to," Snape said. He looked down at their linked hands. "Still in love, are we? We'll see how long that lasts... I'm betting you'll forget about each other over the summer," Snape taunted.
Samantha squared her jaw and heightened herself. "And I'm betting we'll stay together forever, and prove you wrong and go against the odds," she said.
"Bold, aren't we? Gryffindor through and through..." Snape muttered.
"Slytherins save themselves before anyone else," Samantha said softly and dangerously.
"Some would call that smart," Snape replied in the same tone.
"And some would call it selfish and cowardly," Samantha told him. "I'm proud to be Gryffindor through and through. You're a Slytherin through and through, and I pity anyone that is," Samantha said.
"What about your Slytherin friends Bella or Riley?" Snape asked.
"They've got compassion. Selflessness. They've got traits from other Houses, but their strongest represent Slytherin's good qualities, like ambition and determination. Your only ambition in life is to make my Potions grade bad even if I was the only one in the class who made it right," Samantha said.
"Slytherin will win the House cup tomorrow. Gryffindor hasn't won in years," Snape sneered.
"And we'll win every year from now on," Samantha said.
"We'll see about that," Snape said. "I understand your brother is coming next year, and if he's anything like you or your father, I suspect another seven years of losses for Gryffindor," Snape said.
"My father was a brave man. He changed from a bully to a caring father and husband who died trying to protect his family. I've yet to see any character development in you. You never became a better person, you just aged," she told him. "And now I should be off, I wanted to get a head start on packing. Come on, Max," Samantha said.
The two walked off, leaving Snape standing alone by the lake.
The next day was the end of term feast. The Gryffindors were all dreading it, seeing as Slytherin had won. As much as she had told Bella she was happy for her, Samantha was really a little mad Gryffindor hadn't won.
Samantha, Max, and Leslie walked in together and saw that whoever had decorated the Great Hall had wanted to make sure no one forgot that Slytherin had won; there were green and silver banners with serpents on them and green and silver tablecloths and serpent centerpieces. Samantha was slightly disgusted.
"I can't believe we didn't win. It's unfair, really. If Snape wasn't here, we'd've won by millions," Samantha complained as they sat down.
"That is so true," Max agreed.
Leslie nudged Samantha. "Dumbledore," she said, pointing to where Dumbledore was standing in front of everyone.
Samantha watched Dumbledore as the Great Hall quickly silenced itself.
"Another year has passed, very quickly. Before we enjoy our wonderful end of term feast, I'd like to say a few words, and present the House Cup. First off, I'd like to hope you all learned a little this year, and don't worry, you've got all summer to forget it. Now, the House Cup... in fourth place, we have Ravenclaw, with two hundred ninety eight points. In third place, we have Hufflepuff, with three hundred fifteen points. In second, Gryffindor with three hundred forty seven points. First place goes to Slytherin, with three hundred sixty two points," Dumbledore said.
Loud cheering erupted from Slytherin's side of the room. Samantha saw Bella and Riley beaming. She was happy for them, of course, but many of the Slytherins were just like Snape, they'd save themselves before they even thought of saving anyone else.
"I'd like to present my congratulations to the Slytherins," Dumbledore paused. "It is also my sad duty to inform you all that Professor Cemp will no longer be part of the Hogwarts staff. She has told me she finds it too stressful to think of all these frightening creatures and has decided staying at home will suit her better," he said. "And now we shall begin the feast," Dumbledore said, and Samantha looked down to see food on her plate. She started piling some on, aware she'd soon be back to sneaking food from her aunt and uncle's cabinets.
The next morning, Samantha finished packing the last minute items and left for the Hogwarts Express.
She, Max, Connor, Leslie, Damon, Elias, Hudson, Bella, Riley, and Ellie were all crammed into the very back compartment of the train, which seemed to Samantha had expanded as everyone had joined, but she kept this to herself.
They made good use of their last few hours able to do magic and practiced the spells they'd learned once more. They looked over their exam results together; Samantha had the best scores for every class, Max close in second and Damon just below him. Hudson had done extremely well in Herbology and Charms, and had gotten rather high Potions marks. Ellie and Elias had both gotten highest marks possible in Transfiguration. Bella had top marks in Potions and had done very well in Transfiguration, and Riley had also done amazingly in Potions. Finally, Connor had done decently in all his subjects, doing the best in Charms. Everyone had passed Defense Against the Dark Arts with flying colors, because their exam had been so stupid a two year old would've gotten a perfect score.
When they made it Platform 9 3/4, Samantha hugged everyone goodbye.
"I'm gonna miss you all so much," she said as she hugged Ellie.
"We'll miss you too, Sam," Damon said. He was standing with his parents and little brother Ryder. His mum was pale with brown eyes and tall; she looked like a model. His dad looked like a football player, muscular and dark skinned with hair cut almost to his scalp. Ryder had light brown skin and a cloud of dark brown hair. He looked very similar to Damon aside from the fact that Damon's hair was smooth like his mum's.
"I'll write every week," Leslie said. Her mom was waiting for her a few feet away, also watching Jack say goodbye to his friends.
"And I'll write back every week. And get an owl, so I don't have to rely on yours. I already know what I'll name her," Samantha said.
"Do you, now? What will it be?" Elias asked.
"Athena, Greek Goddess of wisdom and warfare," Samantha stated dreamily.
"That's a wonderful name," Connor said.
"I like to think so too," Samantha agreed. "Now, you," she said to Max. "If you don't write at least every week I might never speak to you again," she told him, hugging him.
Max jokingly considered it for a second. "Hmmm..." he said.
"Oh, you suck," Samantha said, playfully hitting him on the arm.
"Hey! Fine, fine, I'll write," he said, smiling.
"Good," Samantha said haughtily.
"I'll see you soon," Max said.
"See you," Samantha agreed as Max walked to his family. "Bye, Margot!" she called, then turned to Hudson and his dad Hugh. "Mr. Edwards, thank you again for agreeing to drive me home," she told him.
"Oh, it's no problem Samantha, it's on our way," Hugh said. "Come, I parked this way."
Samantha followed him with Hudson, both dragging their trunks with them.
They drove home silently. As much as Samantha liked to talk, sometimes she just wanted silence, especially in the car. She occasionally would just stare out of the window the whole time, watching as the scenery changed.
Finally, she saw the familiar street of Privet Drive.
"Here, Mr. Edwards. My aunt and uncle live here," Samantha said. Hugh pulled over and helped Samantha get her stuff out of the back of the car.
"Thank you so much, Mr. Edwards," she told him.
"You're very welcome Samantha. Have a nice summer," he said kindly.
"You too," said Samantha. "Hudson, I'll see you soon. I'll send you a birthday gift if I've got an owl by then. August fourteenth, right?" Samantha checked.
"Yeah," Hudson said. "You don't have to send me anything, though-," he said.
"You're my friend. It would be rude if I didn't. Plus, I want to," Samantha smiled. "Have a nice summer, Hudson," she said.
"Thank you. You have a nice summer, too," Hudson said.
"I'll try," Samantha said. She waved to Hudson before turning around and walking up to the house. She knocked on the door as Hudson and his dad drove away.
Harry heard a knock on the door. He sat up, wondering who it could be. Curious, he snuck out of his cabinet under the stairs to go sneak a peek at whoever was there. When he got to the entryway, he froze. Aunt Petunia was talking to someone Harry hadn't seen in a very long time.
He recognized her instantly, even with her subtle differences. Her hair was longer, reaching nearly to her waist now. Her face looked fuller, like she'd gotten proper nutrition for a long time. Her clothes were perfectly clean and if Harry hadn't seen her wear the same shirt before, he would never have guessed it was Aunt Petunia's old shirt that she'd ripped and then given to Samantha. She was carrying a large trunk. Harry wondered what was inside.
"Harry!" she cried. She had just noticed him peeking around the corner. She set the trunk on the ground and ran forward to hug him. "Oh, I missed you so, so much!" she said, squeezing him tightly.
"I missed you too, Sam," Harry said. He was slightly taken aback, but very grateful to see his sister again. "Where've y-," Harry said, then noticed another change in Samantha's appearance. "Are you wearing earrings?" he asked, looking at the jewelry sparkling in her ear.
Samantha beamed. "Yes, I pierced them, with my friend!" she said happily. "Lauren!" she cried, rushing past Harry. He turned around and saw that Lauren had come downstairs from the commotion.
"Sammy! You came back!" Lauren said, her arms wrapped tightly around Samantha.
"Of course I did. I could never leave you two for good," she said, pulling away from Lauren.
"I like your earrings. And your hair looks good. You finally grew it out," Lauren commented.
"Thank you! And yeah, it felt right to grow it out more. I like it better when it's at my waist, I can do more with it then when it's three inches past my shoulders," Samantha said.
"Where'd you go, Sam? And what's in that trunk?" Harry asked.
Samantha smiled mysteriously. "That's for me to know and you to find out. Don't worry, you'll know soon enough," she added when Harry was about to complain.
"Why can't you tell us now?" Lauren asked.
"I'm not the right person to tell you. And," she added in a whisper, "I think you not knowing will help us all out." she said, smiling again. "Anyways, I better take this up to my room," Samantha said, and proceeded to drag the trunk up the stairs.
"Where has she been? You know, don't you?" Harry asked Aunt Petunia.
She merely shrugged and followed Samantha up the stairs.
Samantha had just gotten her trunk into her room when Petunia walked in. "So, you've been off at that freak academy for months and don't bother to tell us when you're coming back?" she asked harshly.
"It's not a freak academy, and I forgot. I was too busy having fun to think about this dump much," Samantha answered.
"You will not tell Harry or Lauren where you were, understand?" she commanded, ignoring Samantha's last words.
"I won't tell them if I can get something out of it," Samantha said.
Petunia seemed to consider it. "What do you want?" she finally asked.
"I want you to treat me and my siblings fairly. You don't have to treat us like Dudley, but stop shoving us to Mrs. Figg and not giving us food," Samantha said.
Petunia hesitated. "Fine. You won't tell them of the school if I agree to those terms?" she said.
"Won't say anything remotely related to magic or a school," Samantha agreed.
"You've got a deal," she said, and walked out.
"They'll know soon enough, both. I can feel it," Samantha whispered to herself.