Samantha was spinning through the air. After a moment, her feet hit the ground.
She looked around at her surroundings.
She was in a rather simple but clean house. Unlike the Dursleys house, this one felt lived in, and gave Samantha a much happier feeling from it.
On the floor in front of the couch sat a man and two toddlers.
"Dad," Samantha whispered softly.
James was making puffs of blue smoke come out of his wand while his two older children sat trying to catch it in their hands, giggling.
James was very handsome. Slightly older looking than he had been in the first memory Samantha had seen of him, his hair was curly on top and cut short on the sides, and he was in a white tank top and gray sweatpants. His glasses were very similar to Samantha's, but Samantha saw a pair just like Harry's sitting on the coffee table.
Harry was cute and chubby. His hair was straight and messy, sticking up in random places. He was in a simple blue onesie that Samantha suspected was pajamas.
Finally, Samantha studied herself.
She was less than a month short of three. Her hair was perfectly wavy, and parted on the side and tied into a half updo, complete with a bow. Samantha doubted her hair had ever looked that nice when her aunt had done it as a child.
Samantha was in leggings and a long sleeve shirt with a matching pattern of light pink and brown stripes on them. She laughed as she watched herself reach for the smoke.
"Dada, no catch!" toddler Samantha whined, pouting.
"You'll catch it this time, Sammy!" James said, and waved his wand once more, but instead of smoke coming out, a blue bouncy ball did.
She caught it in her hands and giggled. "I did it, Dada!"
"You did it, Sammy," James replied, grinning happily at her. He produced more smoke for Harry to get, who sat there, still trying to catch that blue smoke in his chubby fists.
A woman appeared in the living room from the stairs.
"Lauren's asleep. She's a much easier baby than these two were. I hope she'll be a less rambunctious toddler," Lily commented.
Lily was gorgeous. She had waist length dark red hair and stunning green eyes, and her face was soft and kind. She was in a black tank top and dark blue shorts.
"All toddlers are rambunctious, Lils," James replied, smiling.
Lily grinned back, a beautiful smile with perfect teeth.
"I can't wait to see them grow up," she said, sitting on the couch to watch her kids play with the smoke and the small bouncy ball.
"I know. I'll teach them Quidditch, they'll be the best players on the field," James agreed.
Lily smirked. "You and your Quidditch," she said.
"It's the best sport there is, Lils," James replied, shrugging.
Samantha got a suddenly ominous feeling and turned around. There, half hidden in shadows while peering through the window, was none other than Lord Voldemort.
Samantha wished she could warn them. Tell them to get Lauren and Apparate away. But she also knew that nothing could save them. They weren't coming back. She had realized that ten years ago, that she didn't have parents and she never would have parents.
James yawned and set his wand on the table. He picked up Harry and handed him to Lily. He lay down on the couch, stretching.
"Next Halloween, we'll take you trick-or-treating, I promise, Sammy," James whispered to Samantha.
Toddler Samantha gave him a stupid grin. "With Paddy and- and Wormy and Mooney?" she asked.
James' smile faltered a bit, but he nodded. "Of course, Sammy," he answered. "Of course."
Suddenly, there was a bang.
"Hide!" James yelled at toddler Samantha.
Samantha followed her younger self with her eyes. She went into a room off the living room and shut the door almost all the way, with just a crack for her eyes to see what was going on.
"Lily, take Harry and go! Run! I'll hold him off!" James shouted.
Lily took one last look at her husband and the door behind which Samantha was hidden before rushing up the stairs, holding Harry in her arms.
Voldemort walked calmly into the living room, holding his wand out at the wandless James.
They were standing right in the center of the room, in clear view of toddler Samantha. She could see her own big eyes peering out of the darkness of the door.
Voldemort laughed a cold, merciless laugh before saying the dreaded words. "Avada Kedavra!" he cried. there was a blinding flash of green light, and James Potter collapsed into the floor.
Voldemort left him there and walked up the stairs. Samantha watched her toddler self walk silently out from behind the door and up to her father.
"Dada?" she said softly, tapping him. She wasn't smiling. James didn't move. "Dada?" she asked again, shaking his arm slightly. "Pwongs?" she said.
James lay completely still. Samantha sat next to him, pouting. Her eyes grew quickly red, and tears spilled out of them as she laid over her dead father's body, putting her arms over him in an attempted hug.
Shouts came from upstairs.
"Not Harry, not Harry, take me instead!" Lily cried.
Samantha sat up. Her face was stained with tears, and her father's shirt was wet with them. She began to run silently towards the base of the stairs.
"Silly girl," she heard as they climbed the stairs. Samantha rushed past her toddler self and into the room the noise was coming from.
It was a cute nursery, painted yellow with a crib made of deep brown wood sat against one wall and a dresser of the same color sat against the other.
"Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort shouted again, pointing the wand this time at Lily. She dropped like her husband, and lay motionless on the ground in front of the crib.
Harry stood, clutching the bars of the crib, staring at Voldemort. He did not cry, just stared at him.
Voldemort pointed his wand directly into the boy's face and moved closer.
Harry began to cry.
Samantha turned and saw her toddler self peeking through the door.
"Avada Kedavra," Voldemort said softly.
Green light flashed around them. Brighter than it had been with James or Lily. There was a crash, and the roof caved in. Harry screamed bloody murder. Lauren began to sob. Samantha as a toddler was screaming as well.
That was when Samantha realized she had tears streaming down her own face.
"Ready to leave?" a voice asked from behind her.
"How long have you-," Samantha started, staring at Albus Dumbledore.
"The whole time," Dumbledore told Samantha softly. He held out his arm, and Samantha took it.
They were spinning through time and space, and then they were in Snape's office.
"Why?" Samantha asked him, sitting on the cold stone floor and trying to wipe away the steady flow of tears falling out of her eyes. "Why were you there?"
"Professor Snape told me of your intentions," Dumbledore replied. "I thought it best to accompany you."
Samantha just sobbed harder. "They talked about us growing up, and James promised he'd take me trick or treating the next year," she choked out.
Dumbledore nodded solemnly.
"With- with- with his friends," she said.
Dumbledore raised his eyebrows slightly. "Which friends?' he asked.
"The three he was with in that memory of them bullying Snape," Samantha said. "Sirius, and Wormy, and Mooney," she listed, saying the first of their names to come to mind.
"Of course," said Dumbledore softly.
The room was silent with the exception of Samantha's sobs. She finally calmed down, and for the first time noticed Snape was standing in the corner, hidden in shadows.
"Professor Dumbledore," Samantha started.
"Yes, Samantha?" he replied.
"What are those horse things that pull the carriages? None of my friends can see them," Samantha asked.
Dumbledore looked slightly startled, and Snape emerged slightly from the shadows.
"You see the thestrals?" he asked.
"That's what they're called?" asked Samantha.
"Yes, they are called thestrals," Dumbledore said, nodding. "They are only visible to people who have witnessed and understood death."
Samantha was silent for a moment. "So that's why I can see them and my friends can't," she asked. "Because I saw James die." Her tone of voice was bitter.
Of course this had to be her. She was the smart orphan witch raised by evil Muggles. She hadn't known her parents. She hadn't seen them in what was soon to be eleven years. Her friends knew their parents. They could go running home to their parents whenever they wanted. They didn't have to see the horses of death. But she did.
"You understood it as well," Dumbledore told her softly.
"At three?" Samantha asked, tears flowing down her face again.
"Not necessarily at three. It doesn't have to be immediate. But you understood it before twelve," Dumbledore explained.
"That's still not good," Samantha pointed out. "Why can't my life be normal? Why do I have to be the one with dead parents?"
"I cannot answer that. However, everything happens for a reason," Dumbledore told her. "Now, unless there are other memories you wish to relive, you should be getting on."
"Yes, Professor," Samantha said. "Thank you for letting me do this," she said. She stood up, straightened the dress she was wearing, and walked out.
Dumbledore sighed, watching her leave. "She'll want more memories of them," he said without turning to Snape.
"What do you suggest?" Snape asked, moving forward. "She's traumatized enough by watching them die, twice. She sees the thestrals. She's powerful, reckless, and intelligent. Giving her more memories..." Snape paused, meeting Dumbledore's eye. "If he were to return, we need her to be there," he said.
"This could motivate her to fight," Dumbledore said delicately.
"It could also motivate her to do the exact opposite," said Snape.
"She would not do that, Severus. Not with so much life left to live," said Dumbledore.
"How can you be so sure?" asked Snape.
"She wouldn't leave her family in a time of crisis," Dumbledore said.
Once Samantha was out of Snape's office, she checked her watch. She had been there about forty five minutes. An hour earlier, she'd been eating lunch. She'd told her friends she was going to the bathroom for this very reason. Carefully, she ducked into the nearest door of an empty classroom, where she took out her Time Turner and spun it back once.
She felt the familiar flying sensation and knew it had worked.
She knew she was only supposed to use it for her studies, but she didn't want to tell anyone she had done this. She didn't feel like talking about it.
She rushed out of the Potions corridor and up to the bathroom closest to the Great Hall, where she entertained herself by severing and mending the mirror for around fifteen minutes minutes before leaving for the Great Hall to pretend she'd been going to the bathroom.
She hadn't really had a chance to speak much to Harry since the detention, as she had gotten to her dormitory before they had and been preoccupied with homework and what she was going to do that day.
"Harry, tell Sam what you heard last night," Ron whispered when Samantha sat down.
"What?" Samantha asked.
"When we get back to Gryffindor Tower. There's too many people here," Harry said.
"Alright..." Samantha said unsurely.
"Let's just go now," Harry suggested, setting his fork down.
"Yeah," Hermione agreed, pushing her plate away.
The group made their way up to Gryffindor Tower and sat in their regular corner.
"In Lockhart's detention, at the end, there was a voice. Slightly... hissy," Harry said, grimacing. "it said 'let me rip you... let me tear you... let me kill you'," he quoted.
"Well that's not good!" Leslie said.
"Lockhart couldn't hear it," Harry added.
"That makes it worse," said Hermione grimly.
"Maybe I will discover another major school secret," Samantha said.
"What do you think it was?" Leslie asked urgently.
"I don't know. It was strange," Harry replied.
"Let's hope that's the last we hear of it," Samantha said, sighing.
"Yeah..." Harry agreed.
October came, and the weather grew steadily chillier. There was a buzz of excitement among the third years when it was announced that their first Hogsmeade visit would take place on October 30.
"I can't wait!" Leslie squealed as they sat working on homework.
"To turn in this essay? Personally, I don't think it's my best work..." Samantha said.
"No, idiot, for the Hogsmeade trip! Only three more days..." she said blissfully. "It's very lucky your uncle signed your permission form before Fred, George, and Ron broke you out of there."
Samantha paused for a moment. "Yes... very lucky indeed..." she replied. Samantha didn't feel it was necessary to tell Leslie of the fact that she had forged the signature.
Samantha also found that at times where she was drowning in homework, she could use the Time Turner to go back and do some of it in the study room she had found. She found that sometimes, the room seemed to grow to make room for a very comfortable bed, complete with a set of pajamas for when she needed sleep as well. She was pretty sure that room was the only thing keeping her going at that point.
"You agreed to what, exactly?" Samantha asked Harry as they walked to dinner.
"I said I'd attend Nearly-Headless Nick's death day party," said Harry sadly.
"I think it will be rather interesting," Hermione said brightly.
"I think it's rather depressing to celebrate the day you died," Ron said.
"We're not expected to come to this, are we?" Samantha asked, referring to herself, Leslie, and Max.
"No. It'd be nice if you did, though," Harry added.
"Nice try. We'll be at the Halloween feast," Samantha replied.
The next day, Samantha and Leslie dressed in their Muggle clothes to head to Hogsmeade. She bid goodbye to Harry, Hermione, and Ron, and later to Lauren, who was walking alone down the corridor.
"I feel like I don't see her much. We used to be so close," Samantha confessed to Leslie as they walked to the Entrance Hall.
"Well, now you both have other friends. You don't need to protect her from anything. She's exploring this world in her own way," Leslie said comfortingly.
"I guess you're right," Samantha replied, smiling sadly.
Samantha, Leslie, Elias, Connor, Damon, Max, Hudson, Bella, Riley, and Ellie had all met up the previous day to discuss their plans. Since there were so many of them, they would split up and enjoy the shops on their own, and meet at 12:30 for lunch at The Three Broomsticks.
They made it to the front of the school, where Filch was checking to make sure that everyone leaving had a permission slip.
Once they made it to the village, their first stop was Honeydukes. Samantha, Leslie, and Ellie all went in and began looking around at the candy and sampling different sweets.
"Do think Lauren would like these Sugar Butterfly Wings?" Samantha asked Leslie, holding up a box.
Leslie shrugged. "Sure. Getting Harry anything?" she responded.
"Yeah, Jelly Slugs," answered Samantha.
After the girls had picked out all the candy they wanted, it was off to Zonko's Joke Shop, where Samantha bought FrogSpawn Soap she was excited to prank someone with.
When they left that shop, it was time to go to The Three Broomsticks. They got a very large table and all ordered Butterbeer.
Samantha gasped when she tasted it. "This is the best drink I've ever had," she said.
"Me too!" Leslie agreed.
After visiting many more shops, it was time to head back to Hogwarts. Samantha gave Harry and Lauren their presents, and slipped the soap in as well, having no clue who else to give it to.
"I still can't believe you're passing up an opportunity to go to a Hogwarts Halloween feast so you can go to a party to celebrate someone's death," Samantha told Harry the evening before Halloween.
"Well, Nick saved me from getting detention, I figured I'd better make it up to him," said Harry.
Samantha sighed. "I guess you're right," she agreed, and it was settled.