Disclaimer: …Not even gonna say it. You know.
I want to thank all of you who have read this story so far! I can't tell you how much your follows and favorites brighten my day! I especially want to thank ChucklingDevil who was the first to review- your comment pushed me to get this chapter up as quick as possible! Without further ado, here's chapter two!
After her initial shock subsided the man had introduced himself as Albus Dumbledore and insisted she explain everything so he could be of more help. After giving him all the details he considered the situation and offered for her to attend Hogwarts the upcoming year. He lightly suggested he could still try and get her to become age eleven but she brushed off that idea quickly. So instead he offered to start her in fourth year, even though she was fifteen she could easily pass for fourteen, and give her specialized lessons for the time being to get her caught up.
She accepted gratefully but was pained with the realization of not being able to see her family or friends. Both parents were only children and in a different country at this time. They had no idea who she was, or that she existed. She did her best to hold back the emotions that were flooding. As great as it was to be at a magical school it was hard to concentrate on what was going on. She couldn't believe she was stuck. Absolutely stuck with nothing to fix the situation. Dumbledore was supportive and understanding throughout the spur-of-the-moment meeting, but he couldn't change the situation. He promised to try everything he could to find a way to get her back to her proper time period.
He went on, creating a quick cover story she was to stick to during her stay at Hogwarts. She was an American student from Salem Witches' Institute who transferred to Hogwarts due to a family move. Simple enough.
To save her from the embarrassment of going in front of the entire school with first years he proposed to get her sorted right away in the privacy of his office which she accepted hastily.
"Just a moment." Dumbledore said, going into a back room and searching shelves. "Ah, here it is!" He came back out with an old battered looking witches hat. He brought it over to Sarah and plopped it on her head. Surprised, she wondered how on earth a hat would 'sort' her but since she was the outsider she shut her mouth and waited.
Suddenly a strange voice entered her mind, "You don't belong here, do you?" It stated more than questioned, "No matter, not my business… you would do well in Slytherin being as sly and cunning as you are. However, you're quick on your feet and quite witty- a bit of Ravenclaw in you. But no." the voice trailed and Sarah held her breath. "True bravery. Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, eh? Best be…"
"Gryffindor!" it exclaimed aloud.
Sarah didn't quite know what a Gryffindor was but she was happy to have it over with and the dingy patched hat off her head.
"Excellent, excellent! A valiant house!" Dumbledore praised. "But I'm afraid it's getting late, you must be pooped. Term starts on September 1st but you are more than welcome to stay in the castle. Come, I'll show you to the Gryffindor common room."
With that he strode to the door and Sarah quickly grabbed Rox, cradling him in her arms as the Headmaster lead the way. Torches dimly but beautifully lit the castle and Sarah couldn't help but fall in love with her surroundings. It was like walking through a storybook. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad.
They reached a hall filled with staircases and moving portraits. Just as she was about to take a step from the platform the stairs shifted and started moving, changing the direction of where it connected causing Sarah to shriek in surprise and jump back.
"Is that normal?" she asked apprehensively.
The eccentric old wizard chuckled and with a sparkle in his eyes he stated, "Yes, quite."
After the stairs readjusted themselves they treaded forward. While turning some corners Dumbledore explained where to get her meals and informed her that all the schoolbooks she would need would be located in the library. Soon enough they reached a large animated painting of a fat lady in a pink silk dress.
"Here we are. Gryffindor common room! The password is Balderdash." The portrait swung open revealing a room behind it. "Oh, and one more thing, meet me in the entrance hall at noon and we'll go get you some school robes." She nodded, grateful for all his help. He then finished the conversation with a quick, "Off you trot!"
She entered the warm red and gold trimmed room and let Rox jump out of her arms. He pranced around the room, exploring the new space. Sarah followed his lead and looked around herself. There was a blazing fireplace with a massive tapestry overhead and on the sill above it was a large golden cup, a few books, and other strange trinkets. Portraits, like the ones by the staircase, lined every wall. Puffy red sofas, loveseats, and single lounge chairs were strategically placed throughout the room along with coffee tables and end tables.
Overall it was incredibly homey. And even though it was a comfortable space it only made her miss home more. She thought about her bedroom, living room, and her yard knowing that her memories might be the only thing left of them. She envisioned her brother rolling around in his crib with her stuffed animal Lancelot, her dad trying to bake and failing, and even Irene lecturing her on being more responsible. She missed it all. Tears swelled in her eyes and she plopped down on the couch closest to the fireplace. Hugging a throw pillow she sniffled, the tears falling freely. Rox, sensing her discomfort, jumped up beside her- rubbing his black cold nose and furry cheek against her arm. She gave a weak smile in his direction and pulled him in close. He stayed with her the rest of the night, nudging her tears away.
Sarah had started her private lessons, which was located in a very unique place called the room of requirement. She would pace in front of a blank stonewall thinking of a perfect space to learn and just like magic a large door would appear. Each day she spent an upward of eight or more hours receiving lectures and practicing incantations. However, they weren't going as well as she hoped. Although she tried her best to listen and take in everything Professor Ainsworth told her she still managed to blow up anything she tried to charm. After turning boxes of feathers one by one into ashes she finally managed to perform Wingardium Leviosa. Later they moved on to Lacarnum Inflamarae which turned into a whole new problem of massive flames.
Professor Ainsworth was a patient chubby old man but after so long of few successes he was wearing thin. Sarah, sensing his aggravation, took it upon herself to double her studies outside of the lessons in hopes of improvement. Anytime she wasn't in the room of requirement she would nest up in the back of the library and surround herself in the back with a mountain of first year books and her kitten Rox. Most nights she didn't even bother to go back to the common room.
The two weeks passed quicker than she had hoped for and before she knew it, it was September 1st. Sarah took her seat at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall and re-adjusted her red and gold tie that she wore for the first time since being at the castle. A handful of other students had already arrived and were chatting amongst themselves. After a few minutes it got more and more crowed and there were fewer seats left vacant. Sarah took a deep breath attempting to mentally prepare herself, she had no idea what to expect.
"Hi." She heard a pleasant female voice ring by her side springing her to attention. Sarah turned and tried her best to show a kind smile and gave a small wave hello. The girl had red hair and a dazzling smile.
"I'm Lily." She offered her hand, "I don't think I've seen you before. I thought I knew all the Gryffindors."
"I'm new." Sarah admitted. "Names Sar-"
"Evans!" A handsome messy haired boy called walking over with great confidence, "My dear sweet Evans! I tried getting your attention on the train, you must've not heard me."
The previously very pleasant face turned sour. "I heard you, and by the way sending a horde of chocolate frogs to attack my cabin is not the least bit romantic. Now go away!"
But instead of leaving he sat down right next to her, not the least bit affected. He then looked across the table towards another very good-looking boy with long wavy dark hair and smirked, "Told you she wouldn't like it."
The other boy just laughed and replied with a lopsided grin, "Ah well, worth a try. Besides her face was priceless." He mimicked an exaggerated horrified face, his grey eyes gleaming with amusement.
Despite how irritated Lily seemed Sarah couldn't help but feel drawn to the group suddenly surrounding her. She didn't realize how incredibly appealing her classmates would be.
"Who's this?" The grey-eyed boy asked tilting his head in Sarah's direction. She lightly blushed- realizing she was caught staring.
"She's new." Lily said, glad to have a change in subject.
"Hey." She gave a smile, "I'm Sarah."
"Well, welcome to Hogwarts! I'm Sirius, over there is James, and I think you already met Lily." A chubbier kid prodded Sirius arm anxiously-apparently shyer than the others. "Oh right," he added as an afterthought. "And this here is Peter."
"So what year are you in?" James asked curiously, running his fingers through his feathered hair.
"Fourth." She answered, wondering to herself if she got it right.
"Great! We'll be roommates!" Lily commented cheerfully.
"I'll be your roommate, Evans." James flirtatiously chimed as he winked.
She rolled her eyes and ignored him, blocking him off the conversation with her shoulder. "Are you American?"
Sirius cut in, "Yeah, you're accent is bizarre."
"Sirius!" Lily reprimanded.
"What? Just saying."
Sarah laughed, "Yeah, I'm from Salem Witches' Institute in Massachusetts."
Lily was about to question further but the Great Hall became silent and they all turned to the main entrance. A large group of short kids walked down the aisle following a stern looking older woman in emerald robes. Inwardly, Sarah thanked Dumbledore for not putting her through that considering how much she would have stuck out like a sore thumb, towering the other new students. The group stopped at the front of the hall by the stairs leading to the teachers' table and huddled together. The woman kindly addressed the room and announced the beginning of the sorting ceremony. One by one she called up the first year students to try on the talking hat.
"Bagnold, Millicent" A young girl stepped up nervously and the aged hat was put on her head. Shortly after it called out for everyone to hear, "Ravenclaw!" She jumped off the chair and went to the respected table.
"Bones, Amelia!" Much like the last girl she sat down on the stool and waited patiently.
"Gryffindor!"
"Crouch Jr, Bartemius!" the young light brown haired boy confidently strode to the chair and without much hesitation it announced, "Slytherin!"
"Egg, Mordicus!"
"Gryffindor!"
"Meadowes, Dorcus!" A short girl with choppy hair took a seat and after the hat debated with itself it called out, "Ravenclaw!"
"McPhail, Dugald" A cheerful looking boy went forward.
"Hufflepuff!"
"McLarid, Lorcan!"
"Ravenclaw!"
"Trelawney, Sybill!" The frizzy haired girl looked terrified as she sat waiting for the answer and gave a sigh of relief when it declared, "Hufflepuff!"
It continued on much like this, each young student running off to their table as cheers erupted after each sorting. After there were no more new students to sort the witch in emerald green took a seat at the teachers table and the Headmaster took the podium.
"Welcome new students, and welcome back old! I'm pleased to say we have another new student not among the first years. She's a fourth year Gryffindor- please give a warm welcome to Sarah Williams from the American school; Salem Witches' Institute!" The student body clapped politely and looked around the Gryffindor table searching for the one they didn't recognize, some eyes landing on Sarah. Dumbledore went on after the cheers subsided, "I'm sure we will have a great year filled with knowledge and fun. Now, I don't wish to delay our feast any longer- personally, I'm starving!" Even from far back you could see the twinkle in his eyes and the silly kind-hearted smile across his face. "Eat up, gumdrops!" He brought out his hands and as he lifted them hundreds of plates and large serving dishes appeared on every table filled with various steaming hot delicious food. Even though plenty of food appeared before when she visited the Great Hall, it was incredible how much variety appeared for the start of the term feast.
"Where's Remus? He didn't miss the train did he?" Lily asked scooping out a spoonful of mashed potatoes on her plate. Sarah followed her lead and gave her self a portion of steaming food.
"He's at the hospital." Peter said as he stuffed his face with some pork. Lily's eyes widen in concern.
"Visiting his aunt." James clarified, "He let us know in a letter he wouldn't be on the train. Apparently she's very sick and he's visiting her at St. Mungos."
"He said not to worry though, he found another way to get here. He'll be back in time for class tomorrow." Sirius added nonchalantly.
"Aw, that's awful. I wish they could figure out what's wrong with her. She's been ill for so long!" Lily stated sadly.
Peter nodded in agreement, "So did do you guys… you know?"
"Yep." Sirius stated proudly, sitting up straighter with a smirk on his face. "I think the house elves are getting used to us."
James laughed, "Though I'm pretty sure they didn't notice."
Lily stopped eating, her fork midway to her lips. "Notice what?" she asked worriedly looking around her plate cautiously.
"Hmm?" Sirius questioned obliviously.
Lily narrowed her eyes and looked directly at James. "What did you do?"
Sarah put down her utensils. Apparently something was off if Lily had to question them like she did. Intrigued she gazed over the boys and watched she red head's reactions.
"I've no idea what you're talking about." James said defiantly, although the crooked smile on his face said otherwise.
Lily pushed her plate towards the center of the table and crossed her arms. "I don't know what you boys did but I don't trust it."
Just as she said that the food started to shake. Slowly at first but steadily it got more and more abrupt, making it clack erratically. Lily's eyes widened and Sarah observed curiously, wondering what was happening which as she did she noticed other students were doing the same. Peter started to sink down off the bench under the table and Lily shouted, "Duck!" as she pushed Sarah down with her.
Suddenly she heard explosions and felt wet goo splatter against her shoulder and face. Looking up she noticed fireworks erupting and shooting out extensively all over the Great Hall from every table. The massive room turned foggy and there were assorted colors bursting from pies, bread, and other substances causing the food to explode and fly in all directions hitting practically everyone there.
"It was nice meeting you." Sirius said as he and James ran through the smoky thick fog.
Sarah heard screams from the other tables as she sat back up and wiped the mushy food from her cheek. Out of all the tables, Slytherin looked the most seethed whereas the Ravenclaws looked more worried about their books. Gryffindor and Hufflepuff on the other hand seemed to be having fun- some even throwing food back and forth.
The stern teacher who led the sorting ceremony went straight to their spot searching dangerously with a thin lip. She pulled Peter by the ear, dragging him from under the table while keeping a sharp eye out for the other two boys.
"Where's Peter?" James asked Sirius in the Entrance Hall as he flicked a chuck of food from his shoulder.
"He was supposed to follow us- must still be in there." He said, giving James a knowing look they peeked back into the foggy mess of a room. Fireworks were still going off. "Well, you know what to do…"
James nodded and Sirius sneaked back into the chaos.
"Where did they go?" The teacher asked Peter- still pinching his ear. Peter winced at the pressure and shrugged.
James reached into his pocket and called out, "'Ey, McGonagall!" She couldn't see him but a smoky stink bomb passed right behind her and she snapped to it searching for the offender, letting go of the chubby boy. Sirius snuck up, snatched him, and ran out of the room with James- unseen by the professor.
McGonagall turned around fuming- knowing exactly who was behind the whole ordeal.
Dumbledore seemed to be enjoying himself; clapping every-so-often at the colorful fireworks but sensing the other instructors' irritation he got up and with a few waves he stopped the commotion, a slight fog still inhabiting the hall. "I'm sure you all have had enough of food and excitement for tonight. Please make your way to your common rooms. Tomorrow morning we will hand out your schedules. Good night!"
The next day Sarah woke up from Lily nudging her side. "Hey, get up! Time for breakfast."
Reluctantly she sat up rubbing her eyes. After the commotion at the start of the term feast she waited in the common room for her female classmates to fall asleep before sneaking out to Room of Requirement for one more preparation lesson by herself. Even though she had put forth the effort to study extra hard and practice any time she could she still was having difficulty getting the spells right.
Drowsily she got her feet on the floor and proceeded to get her robes. It crept up slowly in her tiredness but recognized that today would be her first real lesson with witches and wizards her own age and felt a re-energizing jolt of excitement. Inwardly she prayed she wouldn't make a fool of herself.
The other girls had already left but Lily waited up for her and together they made their way to the Great Hall. From what Sarah had seen of the other fourth year Gryffindors she could understand Lily's enthusiasm for more company- there were only three other girls sharing their dormitory and together they snottily gossiped with one another.
"So," Sarah said casually, making conversation on their way, "James seems to really like you."
Lily huffed, "Yeah right. He's such an arrogant pig; nothing but bigheaded bully. Don't let his charm fool you. He's dreadful!"
"He doesn't seem that bad." Sarah shrugged.
"That's only because you haven't been around him long enough. Give it a week and you'll see what I mean." Lily defended.
Reaching their destination the two girls sat down in an empty section of the Gryffindor table. Food was already set out on large plates and Sarah helped herself out to pancakes, bacon, and steaming sausages. Lily and her continued to have small talk and soon enough the boys from the previous night appeared, taking the vacant seats by them.
"McGonagall catch you?" Lily asked indifferently as she bit into a piece of toast.
"Nope." James said proudly.
"Bet you a Galleon she'll give you boys an earful when she hands out the schedules."
"Of course." Sirius laughed, "What's new?"
Lily gave a short laugh. From what Sarah could tell, it wasn't their first time breaking the rules. Each filled their plate, Peter taking the most- creating a mountain on his own dish.
"Did Remus get back yet?" The redhead asked.
Sirius shook his head.
"He better get in soon. He'll miss class!"
"I'm sure he'll get here in time." James insisted confidently, then changed the subject addressing Sarah, "You excited for your first class?"
The brunette nodded, "Definitely, but to be honest, I'm not sure what to expect."
"I'm sure it won't be too different from what you're used to." Sirius reassured lightly.
"Mr. Potter, Black, and Pettigrew!" They all heard a harsh shrill voice from behind them. The five of them turned their heads and Professor McGonagall stood there with a thin lip and a highly irritated face carrying a stack of parchment.
"Hi Professor!" James said cheerily without a care in the world and brought his attention back to buttering his toast.
"How was your morning? Mine was alright, bit drafty in here though." Sirius went on casually.
Peter simply coughed uncomfortably.
"Don't think I don't know it was you three- I'm utterly outraged by your behavior last night. That is no example to send the new students! Detention for a week! I expect to see you all at my office at eight tonight. No excuses!" The woman ordered clearly as she handed the boys their schedule, making eye contact with each of them. Turning to the girls she gave a kinder smile and handed them each a piece of parchment and made her continued her way down the long table.
Lily put her hand out expectantly.
"'Ey, I never agreed!" James said laughing.
Lily stuck out her tongue and brought her attention to her schedule.
Sarah curiously read her own. Her first class was Charms followed by Transfiguration and History of Magic. After that was Lunch, Divination, Defense Against Dark Arts, and Astronomy. Each day of the week had a different schedule and the only class that appeared to be consistent was Defense Against Dark Arts.
"I've got Charms first." Lily said happily with a grin.
"Me too." Sarah said, nowhere near as pleased as Lily. Her private lessons usually involved charms and so far she had rarely had success in the subject.
Sirius leaned over looking at James's and Peter's and nodded, "Looks like we all do."
Together the five Gryffindors went to their first class of the year entering a brightly lit room. There were two rows of desk and benches on either side of the room facing one another and in the center were large piles of books. Sarah followed Lily into the front row and James, Sirius, and Peter took the seats directly behind them.
Sarah felt the blood drain from her face, feeling wildly unprepared. James on the other hand was very relaxed. His back was against the wall and his legs propped up on the desk. This quickly got on Lily's nerves since his feet were right by her shoulder.
"Potter!"
"Hmm?" he questioned as he ran his fingers through his hair roughly.
"Do you mind?"
"Mind what?"
"Get your feet off!" she irately replied.
"As you wish." He tucked his legs back under the table and instead leaned over the desk; knees on the bench, elbows on the table, and his chin supported by his palms only inches away from the fuming girl. "Better?"
Sarah smiled trying to hold back her laughter. Lily rolled her eyes and backed up just enough to push his head with one hand. "Not even close."
Soon enough the classroom filled up- half with Gryffindors and the other half with Slytherins. Sarah noticed how much the boys disliked the other house and more than the others they seemed to hate a particular black haired boy with a hooked nose. She attempted to give a friendly smile but in return he glared and sat down on the other side of the room.
"Ugh, another year with that greasy git." Sirius said then rubbed his hands together maliciously, "Time to get planning!"
James smirked, gave a nod of agreement, and leaned over towards Lily. "Psst!"
She ignored him.
"Hey, Evans." He poked her ear and she swatted his hand away swiftly. "Can I have a piece of parchment?"
"No." she answered without turning.
"Please?" he begged.
"No."
"Pretty please?"
This time she didn't answer.
"Aw, come on. I wanna take notes!"
"Class hasn't even started yet!" she spat out.
"I want to be prepared. Come on it's just a piece of paper." He went on batting his big hazel eyes.
Sarah looked from James to Lily sympathetically. "Aw."
Lily huffed, "Fine." Then she reached into her bag and handed him a small piece without ever giving him a glance. She seemed to be the only one in their group to bring any supplies.
A few seconds later he appeared again and asked, "Got a Quill?"
This time she got it right away and threw it over her shoulder hitting James in the face. "Ow." He complained rubbing his head.
"Don't know what you see in her, mate." Sirius said laughing, "By the way, you got a lil' something..." He pointed to his forehead and James looked at him curiously not getting it and Sirius just smiled, "Never mind."
"Welcome back!" a voice erupted and Sarah looked around searching for its origin. A short hobbit of a man with wild white hair and beard crawled up from behind the books and stood on them. Sarah immediately thought of Hoggle. "I hope you all had a wonderful summer! I'm aware we have a new student in our midst. I'm Professor Flitwick, it's very nice to have you here with us." Heads turned to Sarah and he continued kindly. "I figured we could start today off easy with a little refresher- Carpe Retractum."
The other students looked confident when he announced this but Sarah felt a pang in her stomach. She hadn't even heard of it before.
"You all should already know this but I'll quick go over the basics. This spell allows you to seize and pull objects within your direct line of sight towards you. Holding your wand, say the words Carpe Retractum, and wave your wand as such" He displayed the correct movement then did the spell effortlessly for all of them to see.
Without moving from his spot on top of the tower of books he charmed various fruits to levitate and drop down gently in front of each student.
Sarah eyed the banana sitting on her desk nervously. She looked around at her classmates and none of them seemed troubled. Lily already had out her wand and performed the spell smoothly- catching her pear and placing back on the edge of the table to do it again.
Taking a deep breath Sarah tried her best. "Carpe Retractum" The banana nudged slightly but failed to fly into her hands like the others have done. She pushed it back and tried again.
"Well done, well done!" Flitwick praised watching the successful attempts of others. He hopped unto a lower stack of books to get a better view and gave some quick advise to another Gryffindor.
Again Sarah tried to move the banana and failed.
"Mr. Potter?" The man called.
"Yes?" James asked as he caught his fruit.
"You have some ink on your forehead."
James rubbed his brow and elbowed Sirius who was snickering. Flitwick moved forward and examined Sarah as she recited the spell and failed again.
"No, no, no. Try moving your wrist like this." He demonstrated the correct movement and Sarah mimicked him. "Yes, you got it! Now try again!"
Sarah was getting more nervous by the second but once more tried the charm. "Carpe Retractum!"
This time the banana moved but in the opposite direction she wanted and it flew across the room directly towards the hooked nosed Slytherin she had noticed earlier. When it was only inches from his face it exploded in a large yellow gooey mess covering his face and torso. Laughter erupted from all around the room but most notably from behind her.
"Oh Dear!" Flitwick exclaimed and rushed over to the Slytherin boy who pushed off his concern. He wiped the gunk off his face, gave Sarah a deathly glare, and left the room angrily.
"Blimey!" Sirius said in-between his fits of laughter. "You gotta show me how you did that!"
"Seriously, that was priceless!" James praised with a huge smile patting Sarah on the shoulder. "Absolutely brilliant!"
Sarah sunk down in her chair and said quietly, "I didn't do it on purpose."
Alright! That was chapter two, now time for chapter three! Reviews are always great- let me know what you think!