Sarah Sue

SARAH-SUE

CHAPTER ONE - SWITCHES AND POTIONS

Jamie's PoV

I struggled to keep my eyes open and focused on the movie we were watching. Why did I let them pick it? Robin Hood? The obsession with Alan Rickman has got to stop! Like watching Robin Hood is what I needed after three straight hours of Abnormal Psychology!

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Elizabeth's PoV

Sarah was hogging the popcorn, as usual, and Jamie's eyes were visibly drooping.

"James, wake up!" I said loudly, reaching for the popcorn bucked on Sarah's lap. I felt both of their hands brush mine inside the bucket, a shock flicked briefly through my hand and the lights flashed suddenly. My eyes burned and the room appeared to shiver. The walls faded away, and the sofa beneath me became hard as rock. Funny, I thought, I don't remember falling asleep. I closed my eyes for a moment and then reopened them. This most certainly wasn't my living room anymore. We were sitting in a courtyard, surrounded by a stone building. The air was crisp, and there was snow on the ground.

"What the..." Sarah began, but the rest of the words eluded her. She was sprawled over a patch of grass, no longer on the hideous red carpet of our lounge, and Jamie was sitting next to me on the stone seat. The couch had vanished completely.

"Weird dream," Jamie muttered.

"Yeah, especially since it's my dream," Sarah said, almost accusingly.

Two figures came into view across the courtyard and the three of us turned to stare at them. My heart was pounding in my chest, wondering who these people were. They were dressed in long black robes, and that coupled with the fact that my house had just vanished, made me just a tad panicky. Sarah jumped to her feet, stared at us and mouthed, "Run!"

I couldn't find my legs, as much as I wanted to run. Then Jamie grabbed my arm and whispered harshly, "Look at them."

"What? No, let's get out of..." Sarah demanded. I glanced at the figures again, willing them to come into focus despite my desperate need for new glasses. I could make out the black cloaks, and then grey clothing beneath. As they came closer the thick stripes on the collar of their v-neck jerseys appeared, and then I saw one had on a pleated skirt and I turned to stare at Jamie, my mouth hanging open.

"Is that...?"

"Hermione Granger!" she said amazed. Sarah halted at these words and turned to stare, too.

"My god," she muttered. I noticed then that it wasn't just Hermione in my dream, but Ron Weasley too.

"There you two are! Merlin, Professor Snape is having a hippogriff! Says he's going to get you expelled! And where are your uniforms?" Hermione screamed as she got within hearing distance. She was staring directly at Jamie and I.

"Uh..." Jamie gave me a glance.

"Um," I said, staring at Hermione, quite shocked. "Um, sorry. We'll go change."

"No time for that! You'd better come to class now!" She gave Sarah a glare. "Guess that's what you get, hanging around with Slytherins." Jamie and I turned to stare at Sarah.

"Eh?" Jamie said stupidly.

"Come on!" Hermione insisted, stalking back to the castle. Ron gave Sarah a look of disgust and turned to follow Hermione. I looked at Sarah but she only looked utterly confused.

"What am I supposed to do?" she squeaked.

"Just follow us. Slytherin is always seems to have Potions with the Gryffindors," Jamie insisted.

"True," Sarah commented, and the three of us started after Hermione and Ron, keeping distant enough to talk. "So, which one of us is dreaming this?" she asked.

"No time for that now, I think we had all just better play along," I said as we entered a long corridor, grateful for the meagre warmth.

"Okay," she whispered, looking awfully pale.

"This can't be my dream, I wouldn't make us run through the dungeons. Unless it's a nightmare," Jamie said, hurrying a little so we did not lose sight of Hermione.

"Must be mine, I love the dungeons," I replied with a wink in Jamie's direction.

"We had better just go along with this. I mean, how hard can it be, right?" Sarah said, about three conversations behind. "We've read all the books, watched the movies, heck, we probably know Hogwarts better than anyone here." We continued down a set of stone steps, my heels clicking loudly.

"Yes, but I really would like to know who's dream this is. It's not very lucid is it?" I said quietly as Hermione came to a halt outside a large wooden door.

"Well, I guess I'll see you later then," Sarah said hesitantly, obviously not wanting the three of us to split up.

"Where are you going?" Hermione snapped at Sarah. She looked at us for support, but we couldn't offer any.

"Uh, class?" she asked quite innocently. I gave her a sharp look and an elbow in the side.

"Don't get smart with me, Parker! That's 10 points from Slytherin!" Sarah gave us another look, utterly confused.

"Well, I'll be going then," she whispered, looking terrified as she turned to walk back along the corridor where we'd come from.

"Potions is this way!" Hermione announced, with a condescending look.

"Bloody Slytherins," Ron muttered to himself. Hermione cracked the door to the dungeon open and slowly crept in.

"Ah, Miss Granger, Mr Weasley, I see you've found your silly little class mates! Welcome, ladies, so nice of you to stop by. That'll be ten points each from Gryffindor. You too, Weasley and Granger. Took your blessed time finding them, didn't you? Oh, and look, no uniforms! There's another twenty points each. Care to take your seats? Of course, I could go on taking points all day if you wish..."

Sarah stood there awkwardly as Snape continued to glare at the rest of us, ignoring her late arrival and mufti clothing. Draco Malfoy was furiously indicating for her to come and sit next to him, Snape gave her a confused glance and jerked his head towards the empty seat. She gave us one last worried glance, and slowly swaggered up to Malfoy and seated herself.

I spotted two seats halfway up the class, and grabbed Jamie's arm, tugging her towards them. Snape glided over to the desk we sat at, looming over us.

"Oh, and Miss Black?" Jamie looked at me, and I returned the same petrified look, realising this dream was way out of our control.

"Yes?" I piped up; knowing it was a fifty-fifty chance. Snape sneered.

"We all know you can talk, Miss Simons, but I have been assured that Miss Black has her own voice."

"Yes?" Jamie whispered.

"Yes, Sir! Take that hunk of metal out of your face! Another twenty points! And the same for you, Miss Simons, since you can't stop your incessant babbling long enough for your friend to answer to her own name, pathetic as it is."

"Yes, Sir." Jamie began to fiddle with the ring in her eyebrow. She struggled for a few moments before it popped free. Snape gave us one last glare, before stalking back to the front of the class.

"Now, get on with your potions!"

I picked up a bottle from the table before us and whispered to Jamie.

"Man, what an arse!"

"I'm sure he was nice once," Jamie replied.

"Wait a minute, Black? Your last name is Black! Girl, are you in for some serious trouble," I teased, looking up at the board and finding the first ingredient.

"Eek," Jamie whispered. "You're right. Could be another Black though..."

"I suppose..." I poured three drops of Dragons blood into the cauldron. "Pass me the phoenix feathers..."

"What are you doing? We can't make potions!"

"What? It's just like Chemistry, we'll be sweet." She passed the two feathers over and I dropped them in. "At least he has Alan Rickman's voice..."

"He has his body too," Jamie laughed at me.

"Eh, guess I'll have to live with that..." Jamie burst into a giggling fit, unable to help herself.

"Miss Black, perhaps you would like to share what is so funny with the class?" Snape was on his feet, his hands on his hips and glaring at us.

"Well, actually, Sir," I said carefully. "We were discussing Grey Undies."

The class snickered, not knowing what I was saying. Jamie however, gasped audibly and tried to sink into her chair. Snape had turned a shade of red I wouldn't have thought was humanly possible.

"DETENTION, MISS SIMONS!"