She was up in the attic when she found the photo. Alexa Potter was up in the attic rather than allowing herself to dwell on the recent demise of the only real person to actually give a damn about her. Losing Sirius had been a devastating blow, and he was the only one who genuinely seemed to care about how she was doing, or the fact that Dumbledore's demands of her were slowing driving her insane.
Forcing her to endure the Dursleys after losing him was beyond stupid, it was a recipe for disaster and outright depression.
So when she brought the photo down to Petunia, and found out that she had more cousins in America, she quickly seized on a chance to leave and never look back.
Without Sirius, she found it increasingly difficult to find a reason to even want to stick around. A reason that was disappearing faster every day, magical education be damned.
Of course now the clock was ticking to see if the private investigators Vernon discreetly hired to find said cousins (most of them had moved by the time Alexa found the photo after all) and see if they would be willing to take her in. Alexa had some serious hopes they'd find at least ONE cousin before she had to return to that evil school.
Just in case, Petunia helped her gain a passport and pretending to be renewing theirs for another overseas trip. No one asked questions, as it wasn't that uncommon...and Alexa had hidden under her cloak until they were far from Privet Drive so that no one knew she was going with them.
It seemed luck was finally on her side as the P.I. found a Chuck Shirley in America. Once the situation was explained (and the fact Alexa could pay for her own education, thus relieving the financial burden) she went on a one-time shopping trip with Petunia for a new wardrobe and glasses. When she got back, the first thing she did was sort which things she planned to keep and which things Vernon was going to burn in the fireplace that Mr. Weasley more or less forced open two years ago.
The first thing to go were the Lockhart books. Alexa was quite gleeful destroying those.
With a much lighter trunk, she promptly began sorting things out into the old roll-on baggage Petunia gave her that she had been planning to replace because it didn't look fancy enough. It was more than big enough to put the remaining things from the trunk in, and what little couldn't fit easily went into the carry-on bag. One that apparently belonged to her mother, because it was enchanted to be bottomless.
Lily had apparently left it behind by mistake once, and Petunia had thrown it up in the attic and forgotten all about it.
Hedwig, however, was slightly complicated. However Alexa found a way around dealing with customs by having her send a letter to her cousin. Hopefully she would get to America before her beloved owl, thus avoiding him having to read the awkward letter she had written in case Hedwig beat her to the house.
She just hoped Chuck wasn't afraid of birds, or allergic to owls.
Alexa didn't even look back once when she got on the plane. Thanks to the fact she at least had some common bloody sense, she was able to slip out of the house while Petunia raised hell about "her freak of a niece" doing something to earn her being locked in her room. Thanks to the blackout curtains, no one would be able to see inside. With it being so close to when she was usually "rescued" from the house, no one would look too closely.
The fact she slipped out into the car late last night, when there weren't any actual watchers and made it look like Vernon forgot to close the door properly made it easier. He knew she was there, her baggage and carry-on were in the boot after he made a big production of carrying both of them out before dinner so he could dispose of them later.
And really, sleeping in the back of the car low enough to avoid anyone seeing her wasn't any less awkward than the cupboard under the stairs for ten years.
Once they were far from Surrey and in London, it hadn't taken much to hail a cab to the air port with Vernon's blessing. Sure he was a bit late to work, but it was a small price to pay.
As they lifted off the tarmac, she could only breath relief. The weight on her shoulders lifted entirely as they left Britain far, far behind in the clouds.
Sure she would have to take two connecting flights, but it was so worth it.
Chuck looked around nervously for a pale British girl about sixteen with an old carry-on with glasses and green eyes.
Once the flight from Indiana was unloading, it didn't take long to find her. She was very noticeable, not that she seemed to notice herself.
Auburn red hair, bright green eyes behind new glasses, wearing somewhat loose clothing that looked brand new.
"Alexandrite?" he asked cautiously. Who in the world named their poor kid something like that?
"It's Alexa. Honestly I have no idea why on earth my father insisted on naming me after a precious stone like that instead of a flower," she corrected.
Chuck looked relieved. Alexa was quite a bit easier to say.
"So are you Chuck?"
"Yeah, I'm your cousin," he said nervously. How the hell was he supposed to handle raising a teenage girl?
Seeing his nervousness, she had a tired smile for him.
"Relax. I'm more mature than most teenagers and the most you have to do is act as my 'guardian' until I turn eighteen. Or in the event we can't stand each other, long enough for me to file for emancipation," said Alexa.
Aside from the awkwardness of getting used to having a teenage girl in the house, it was surprisingly easy for Chuck to adjust to having "Rachel Black" living with him. In an effort to avoid the people she left behind, she had gotten her name legally changed.
It certainly confused the owls enough that they never found her.
Rachel had her own issues...namely the immaturity of high school. She still managed to have great fun in her English class, despite having a command of the language superior to her new classmates.
Case in point, she had great difficulty mentally translating American slang...much to the relief of her teachers. At least her papers were legible.
Even if her book reports were a bit...short and somewhat quirky.
Frankenstein- "Man creates life. Creation takes revenge when man decides he made a mistake. Creation stalks man until death after killing the man's wife. Still makes little sense."
Wolfman- "Man gets bitten and is given communicable PMS. Decides to spread the misery. Gets killed by angry townsfolk."
It quickly became apparent to the teens and the teachers that Rachel was very much a loner. She didn't really gravitate to any cliques (though her accent, bank account and general looks could easily fit her into the 'popular' crowd), but she also didn't antagonize anyone to earn enemies.
More importantly (and this baffled practically EVERYONE in her age group) she had no computer, cell phone or social presence.
In terms of the modern teenager, she was a ghost.
Rachel found it downright hilarious that she had gone from 'Girl-who-lived' to being called "Ghost".
Literally, her name in high school was Ghost. Something that would cause her a great deal of amusement very soon.
Sam Winchester was not a small sixteen-year-old. Far from it, he had recently started having a growth spurt and was starting to tower over his older brother Dean. Something that annoyed his twenty-year-old brother greatly.
He could not wait until he was eighteen and allowed to live on his own. He hated hunting. It wasn't the research or the things they encountered, but what it was doing to his family.
His father had gone from a somewhat good man (according to Dean) to a hardened soldier out for revenge against the monster that murdered their mother.
And Dean... Dean had to act as the 'father' of the two, rather than be himself and enjoy being a kid while trying to keep John happy. Sam wished his brother had an outlet that didn't involve drinking or sleeping around a lot. He could see Dean wearing down a little more every hunt.
So no, Sam wasn't that enthusiastic about hunting.
As he walked into yet another new high school (they tended to blend in after a while) he wasn't expecting much. There wasn't much point in getting to know people, let alone joining clubs when he would have to leave in a month or so anyway.
There was another reason he hated hunting. The constant moving around and being thrown into walls by the things they were after.
So far this was looking like a simple salt and burn, but they needed to stay in one place for a while if they didn't want child services on their ass again.
Hence why John was hunting and Dean was acting as the 'guardian'.
It wasn't until lunch (with Sam trying not to get lost in yet another school) that he saw her.
Deep red hair like fire, green eyes like the forests, pale skin and wearing comfortable clothes that were clean, but not overly fashionable. She also had a hint of a scar on her forehead, but it was hidden behind her gold and silver headband.
Sam felt himself nudged by one of his fellow 'nerds' as Dean would have called them.
"See you've noticed the Ghost."
"Ghost?" repeated Sam, his hunter instincts on full alert in an unfamiliar environment.
"Rachel Black. Not really a mover or shaker, but also not really active in school. Moved here from England to live with her cousin two weeks ago. Everyone calls her the Ghost because she tends to fade into the background despite her looks," he clarified.
She was nice, but not overly friendly and a bit guarded. The official reason she gave to the others about why she had to leave her home country was that she had an abusive and highly possessive ex-boyfriend with a meddlesome grandfather and several uncles. All of whom came from which influential families more than happy to drag her back into a situation she had narrowly escaped from because this "Tom" fancied her. The guy kept pressuring her to get into her pants, but made it very clear he had no intention of marrying her if she got knocked up.
Needless to say the girls were highly sympathetic and agreed to spread lies about anyone fitting Rachel's description, while the guys recognized that the odds of her dating them or sleeping with them were next to nill for the foreseeable future.
Sam noticed Rachel was in most of his classes. And that she had a dry acerbic wit with a wicked sense of humor she hid behind a lot of snark. She wasn't cruel or cold, but she did make it clear she wasn't looking to make friends just yet.
He idly wondered what she'd look like if she smiled, rather than hide behind a flat expression.
Rachel noticed Sam just as quickly as he noticed her. He was tall, but not to giant-like proportions like Hagrid. He fit in easily with the more...intelligent...crowd but held himself like a perpetual outsider who didn't want to get too close. According to school rumor mill, Sam's father moved around a lot and he rarely stayed in one school more than a few months before leaving.
Under most circumstances she wouldn't have even noticed him. Except there was a certain aura, almost palpable in the way he held himself and reacted to others. One that said he knew of the unseen side of the world and how to act accordingly to deal with it.
She suspected Sam might be a Hunter. Or at least the son of one.
Almost immediately after she settled in, she had been visited by the American equivalent of the Ministry. They made sure she knew the laws of secrecy, was registered as "home-schooled" (thus allowing her to cast magic in the confines of Chuck's house and within reasonable limits outside it so long as there were no witnesses), and she was given a list of things that she was to avoid if she didn't want to end up arrested, killed or have other unpleasant things happening to her for being a witch.
In the top five list of things to avoid were hunters. So long as you knew how to apparate or had an appropriate level of skill erasing memories and evidence, you could live peacefully without worry of attracting their attention.
For those that had difficulty with such things, there were magical enclaves carefully hidden, or they were given minders who could erase evidence and memories in the same general area.
The only reason they didn't deal with hunters in a permanent manner to get out of a little work was because they actually provided a very useful, if unspoken service to the community. Namely the eradication of things that would expose the magical side of things too soon.
Magical creatures were kept in check by the wizards and witches... nuisances like rogue werewolves (such as Fenrir Greyback, if he ever dared step foot in the States) were dealt with by hunters who knew the signs to look for.
So yes, Rachel was morbidly intrigued by a hunter in her school.
As the week slowly crawled by, she became aware of Sam's personal interest in her. Considering she had an equal interest in him, it wasn't that much trouble to make the opening overtures of friendship.
She sat next to him in the library with a book that wouldn't look out of place in a pagan's library.
"Hello. I'm Rachel Black," she said, holding out her hand.
"Sam Winchester," he replied, holding out his own. He eyed her book oddly.
"I'm a Wiccan. Means I observe the old ways and pray to gods most consider defunct," she said by way of explanation. The book she had under her arm was something written in old Norse.
It was actually her textbook for Ancient Runes.
"So I heard you come from Britain," said Sam, trying to break the ice.
"London. Hated every minute of it. You have no idea how glad I am to be out of that dreary country. I'm sure you've heard about how cloudy it is in England... let me assure you that the rumors are true. Sunny days are a rarity," she said with a smirk.
Especially with the dementors everywhere these days.
Ice officially broken, the two began a cautious rapport together. It quickly became apparent that they had a lot more in common and that a friendship wouldn't be too out of the question.
