Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, neither do I seek to reap financial benefits from this piece of fiction. I am merely a fan yearning to manipulate Rowling's characters in such a way as to entertain myself and others.

-the story-

There was a knock at the door. Dumbledore but his finger to his mouth gesturing that he and Snape would finish the conversation later, clearing his throat, he said, "Come in.".

"Ah! Miss Evans!" A smile came to Dumbledore's face.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" Sarra stepped in to the office and sat down in the chair beside Snape. Dumbledore nodded absent-mindedly in response. The three sat in silence for what felt like hours due to the complete lack of comfort on both Snape and Sarra's part. Sarra cracked her knuckles; Snape cleared his throat.

"Yes, Miss Evans. I wanted to speak with you." Whatever it was that Dumbledore had been preoccupied with it was over, and now it was time to get to business. "It seems that Mister Potter's friend, Miss Granger, has taken it upon herself to help your brother research your family tree. Professor Snape here has discovered that she found your family history in the library."

Sarra's eyes grew wide. "Professors! I simply can't leave this school! I know that you must want to send me away because Harry might find me, but I simply cannot leave now that I know him, and have fallen in love with this school!" Tears began to well up in her eyes, she was getting to be a bit hysterical. 'Jeez, Sarra,' she thought to herself. 'This is a great way to get yourself locked up in St. Mungo's. Get it together. You're tougher than this!' She wiped her eyes and mumbled and apology to her teacher and the Headmaster.

"It is quite alright. We do not wish to send you away, we just want to warn you. Strange things have been happening lately, and we want you to be careful. People are listening, Miss Evans." Dumbledore gave a grave look to Snape. "There will be more bad things to come this year I'm afraid, Severus."

"Indeed, Headmaster." The Potions master turned to Sarra, "You will still be tutoring Potter, in fact I do believe Potter has his lesson tonight." He looked down at his Muggle watch. "I believe his class is working on a Forgetfulness Potion right now. Be at my office in an hour."

Sarra nodded and left, but she still wasn't happy about tutoring her brother

"This is fantastic! Look." Harry held the newspaper out for Ron to read, he pointed at a tiny article on page six.

Late Friday night an attack was made in the middle of Godric's Hollow by a gang of vile persons, unidentified. Everyone in the area was killed apart from two children belonging to Mr. and Mrs. James Potter [both deceased], aged 5 years and 20 months. They have been retrieved from the rubble by Hogwarts professors Albus Dumbledore, and Minerva McGonagall, and will be cared for by relatives until coming of age.

"Woah, Harry! You have a sibling! And they are older than you! Maybe they go to school here! "I wonder who it is."

"I wonder what house they're in." Hermione rested her head on her palm as she pondered.

"They must be in Gryffindor! Duh, Hermione. Look at my family! We were all in Gryffindor, Ginny probably will be too! And besides, didn't you say that Harry's dad was a chaser and the captain of the Gryffindor team?" Ron was quite animated, he was using his fork full of food, to point and his siblings around the table and then at Harry.

"Yes, Ron. I know, but what about his mum? What if she was in Ravenclaw or something? Just because you're whole family is Gryffindor doesn't mean that everyone else's is that way!" Hermione picked a piece of mashed potato out of her hair and grimaced, Ron really needed better table manners.

"Well, as long as they aren't in Slytherin, then we're all ok. I mean can you imagine? I'd have and evil witch for a relative!" Harry finished just as Sarra was approaching him to remind him of his tutoring.

His words hurt her, but she couldn't do anything about it. "Potter, you have Potion tutoring with me in fifteen minutes. I expect you to be prompt. Being late will result in deduction of points and a detention." She knew that she was being a bit curt, but it served him right. "I will see you then." She gave one last disdainful look at his friends, turned on her heel and left towards the dungeons.

Oliver noticed the exchange between his seeker and the Slytherin chaser. It was odd. When he had met her she was sweet and laughing, but just now she seemed very cold and distant. Maybe that was just how she talked to first years…Merlin knows sometimes they need it. Determined to find out, he stood up and followed Sarra out of the Great Hall.

Sarra slammed the door to the Potions classroom and let out a roar of rage. It echoed and bounced around for a few moments before dying away. "Why does my brother have to be so incredibly horrid! Isn't he supposed to save the world and be tolerant of all people and all that shite? Merlin!"

She slammed a first year potions textbook on the desk. "And the fact that it's only two months into the year and he is already failing a class just makes me angry with him even more. Why is he such a damned—"

As she floundered for the proper word there was a knock on the door rather forcefully expecting her brother to be there, but found the Gryffindor captain instead.

Immediately her eyes softened, but her mouth became set in a sort of scowl. "What do you want, Wood?"

Oliver pushed past her into the potions classroom. Sarra stayed in the doorway.

"Well, I feel like maybe now would be a good time t'get t'know you better?" He raised an eyebrow.

"What? No, this is not at all the right time for any sort of shenanigans. I am about to hold a tutoring session for one of your players. So, I must ask you to leave." She gestured for him to exit the classroom.

"Oh, no! no , no, no! Not like that! Merlin's beard, Evans! I just meant that, a month ago, when we first met, ye were a bright soul! Smiles and laughin', and that. But now, yer full of scowls and contempt. I ken that we haven't had any time really to get more acquainted, but I certainly feel like this isn't the real you."

"Perhaps you are right, Oliver. But really, now isn't a good time. Please, leave." Steeling her resolve, she gestured, again for him to exit.

"Oliver? What are you doing here?" Harry saw the older boy walking up the corridor.

"I- uh, was going over th'pitch times with Evans…I could nae find Flint at dinner, so I thought I'd talk to her. Where are ye going, anyway?" He asked even though he knew the answer

Harry looked guilty, "I'm failing Potions. So, Snape said I had to be tutored by Evans…" He stuck his tongue out and made a face of disgust.

"Mm. I see. Be careful, lad. She isn't in th'best of moods." Oliver gave a Harry what was meant to be a smile of encouragement, but he felt it came across as more of a grimace.

Harry nodded in response and continued down to the classroom.

There was very little verbal exchange between the two of them, apart from Harry's occasional question, and Sarra's minimal answers.

Several minutes had passed, and Sarra decided to break the silence, wanting to understand her brother a bit better. "I overheard at dinner that you detest Slytherins."

"Yeah…so?" He asked.

"What has a Slytherin student ever done to you, personally?" She watched Harry's face as he tried to come up with an instance where a Slytherin had transgressed against him.

"Nothing, I guess." He said quietly.

"So where is all of this hatred coming from?"

"My friends have said that—"

"—So, you always believe what your friends say?"

"Generally." Harry looked down at his cauldron. Stirring anticlockwise as the directions stated.

"Why is that? You don't seem to be too terribly incompetent. So, why this unfounded belief in your friends?"

"It's just that…I didn't grow up in the Wizarding world, but of course everyone knows that."

Oh, right. Sarra remembered that she really did get the better of the two deals. During the five years that the Potters existed as a complete family, she only ever remembered seeing her aunt at one Christmas, and it was just her aunt. Her grandparents made sure that she had a proper wizarding upbringing. "Do you regret that?"

"Often…" By this time he had succeeded in creating a rather weak Forgetfulness Potion, and his tutoring hour was up. Sarra said no more to him as he gathered his things and left the classroom.

A dark, cloaked figure watched, as Severus Snape picked up one of the books that a fuzzy headed girl had dropped.

The shadowy figure watched as the professor hurriedly made his way towards Dumbledore's office, and slowly…followed.

He stayed in the shadows…waiting…watching… listening.

"Severus, there is no need to worry" "...there is a great deal to worry about here. The Dark Lord is on the rise again… Didn't you separate them to protect them...?"

The figure watched as a student knocked on the door and enter.

"...Mister Potter's friend…" "Strange things have been happening…" "People are listening…"

The figure slunk back even deeper into the shadows as the student and the professor left the office, a course of action being formed in the back of his head. He knocked.

"Yes? Was there anything else Miss Evans?" Dumbledore looked up from his parchments. "Ah! Professor Quirrell! How may I help you?"

"Well s-sir, I was w-w-wondering if I could schedule a f-f-few extra practice sessions for all of my classes this w-weekend." The stooped man wheezed a bit as he spoke, wringing his hands. He reminded Dumbledore, somewhat, of a pangolin.

"Well, Quirinus, you do know that there is a quidditch match this weekend, don't you? And Hogsmeade?" Dumbledore peered out over his half-moon spectacles.

"Yes, s-sir I underst-st-st-and, of c-c-course it wouldn-n-n't conflict with the match. And as for the-the Hogmeade t-t-t-trip, it would only be required for the s-students ineligible to g-g-go to Hogsmeade such as the first year students-s-s, as well as students with a detention." Quirrell was gripping his hands as tight as he could.

Remain calm.

Dumbledore narrowed his clear, blue, eyes, and then smiled. "Of course! If I may make a suggestion! I think it would be terribly beneficial if you paired up the first years up with a few upperclassmen! Sort of like a… buddy system!" Dumbledore stood to escort the professor to the door.

Before Quirrell left, Dumbledore took his hands in his and said, "Quirinus, dear friend. You might think the goblet will become full, to the brim, perhaps even to overflow. But once the goblet is filled, you will realize that you much preferred it when it was empty." He gave the nervous professor's hands a squeeze, and then retreated back into his office.

Quirrell stood, looking at the gilded oak door, perplexed. 'What did that mean? If he keeps talking like that he won't be much longer for this job.'

Fool! He won't be much longer. However, he is growing suspicious. We must proceed with much more caution than before.

"Of course, sir."

With that Quirrell descended the stairs and headed to his chambers, ready to implement the next phase of the plan.

-end-