Harry Potter 1. Money, Dreams, and Explosions

"Molly! MOOOOOLLLYYYYY!"

"Arthur! For goodness sake! Lower your voice! You'll wake the children!"

"Wake them anyway, Molly! I have news!"

"What on earth are you talking about? What news?"

"Just go get the children Molly! I'll explain when we're all in the family room!"

Molly Weasly gave her husband a quelling look and crossed her arms, following him into the den. Upstairs, woken by his parents loud yelling, Ron Weasly sat up with a start. He heard his father ask his mother to get the children.

_Ha, children_, he thought to himself. _It's only Ginny and I at home now_.

Making his way downstairs in his worn pajamas, Ron yawned and nearly tripped over his equally confused and half asleep sister, Ginny.

"RON! Watch those big feet of yours!"

"Sorry Gin. Not awake yet."

"Well anyone with eyes can see that!" Ginny tugged on the sleeves of her outgrown nightgown, looking down on it with disdain.

"What do you think Dad's yelling about?" she asked Ron.

"IIIII...donno," he yawned, stretching his arms above his head. Rolling her eyes at him, Ginny made her way down the stairs, Ron closely behind.

"I wonder if Dad's finally gone completely mad," Ron mumbled, making Ginny giggle as they entered the kitchen. Two loud cracking sounds announced the arrival of their older brothers, Fred and George.

"Honestly Mum, couldn't Dad hold onto his good news for awhile longer? Fred and I have to open the store in three hours."

"George! Your father wanted you all here for a reason, although the reason itself escapes me as I have no idea what's going on!"

Ginny and Ron finally made their way into the small family room of the Burrow and jumped onto the couch before Fred and George could hog it. The old couch groaned with protest as the two of them plopped down.

"Hi George! Hi Fred! How's business treating you?" Ginny asked with as much enthusiasm as she could muster, being only half awake.

"It's going great Gin. The business we drummed up driving Old Umbridge crazy was enough to keep us going for a year!"

Ron and Ginny laughed, remembering the many pranks that had been pulled on their old Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Dolores Umbridge had been appointed the previous term by the Ministry of Magic, hoping to keep their friend Harry Potter's story of the resurrection of Lord Voldemort quiet. It had worked, for a while. Dumbledore had gone into hiding after their illegal Defense Against the Dark Arts club had been discovered, making Umbridge the acting headmaster of Hogwarts. If that wasn't bad enough, she'd created the Inquisitorial Squad, comprised of mainly Slytherin students, led by the poisonous Draco Malfoy. Eventually, the truth had been discovered when Cornelius Fudge had seen Voldemort with his own eyes.

"So when are we going to hear this news?" Fred asked, poking his twin who had fallen asleep on his feet.

"Bloody hell Fred, was that necessary?" George snapped, poking Fred back.

"Simmer down boys, we're just waiting for Bill and Charlie," Arthur said, fidgeting with excitement.

"What about Pe-" Fred began to say, but was silenced by an elbow to the ribs from George.

"Shhhh!"

Molly's eyes misted over, but she refused to let herself cry. Even though the truth about Lord Voldemort had come out and Percy knew that Harry was telling the truth, he still stood by all his statements about Arthur being an embarrassment to the Wizard community. Molly had hoped when the truth about Voldemort had come out, Percy would reconcile with his family, but he didn't. He still maintained that if he was to get anywhere in the Ministry of Magic, he'd have to separate himself from his family.

With a twittering screech, Ron's miniature owl, Pig, came zooming into the living room, flying around in circles, twittering madly.

"Shut UP Pig!" Ron exclaimed, snatching the owl in mid lap, holding him in his hands.

"Daaaaaaaad, why can't you tell us now?" Ginny began to whine.

"Ginny, we have to wait for your brothers. I only want to say it once, because honestly, I still don't believe it." Arthur said, glancing at the large clock. Bill and Charlie's hands began to move to traveling, then towards home.

"Ah, here they come!"

With two more loud cracks, Bill and Charlie Weasly appeared, both looking as confused as the others.

"Dad, what's going on? Is it He-Wh-" Charlie began to say.

"No, no boys. It has nothing to do with You-Know-Who. It's great news! Fantastic news! BETTER THAN FANTASTIC!" Arthur exclaimed, his face growing red with excitement.

"WHAT!" everyone yelled at him, knocking him back a step.

"Well, Perkins at the office heard about this muggle game called a 'Loppery'. You buy little pieces of paper with numbers on them, and if they pick the numbers on your paper, you win!"

"I think you mean 'lottery', Dad," Bill corrected.

"And..." Molly prompted Arthur.

"Well, anyways, Perkins and I went into muggle London and bought a couple of the tickets each."

"Ok..." Fred yawned, George's head falling on his shoulder and giving out a loud snore.

"Well... they drew the numbers and WE WON!"

Silence greeted Arthur's news. Fred was standing, frozen in his spot, his mouth hanging open. George had been snapped out of sleep by the announcement and his face mirrored that of his twin. Ron was sitting on the couch, waiting for the punch line. Ginny was glancing around the room, wondering if this was a huge joke and everyone was in on it but her.

"What?" Molly asked, her hands nervously fluttering to her mouth.

"You mean..." Ginny began to say.

"We're RICH!" Arthur exclaimed.

Everyone sat frozen. The silence began to get eerie, then all of a sudden, the news sank in and everyone began yelling.

"Oh my GOD!"

"We can actually buy firsthand goods!"

Molly began to cry and Arthur pulled her into his arms.

"Shhh Molly, we can finally have all the things we want!"

"But Dad," Ron yelled over the noise, quieting everyone down, "Isn't the winnings in muggle money?"

"Yes, I thought that would be a problem as well, but I've already contacted Gringotts and they said there would be no problem in converting muggle money to our money. I had either the choice of getting all the winnings in a lump sum, or payments over the years. I chose the payment option, that way we actually get more of the winnings. This amount makes us richer even then the Malfoy's!"

Ron's jaw dropped. Once he recovered he let out a loud yell, "Oh MAN! I'll bet Malfoy's head explodes when he finds out!"

"Now Ronald," his mother began in a stern voice. "Just because we're now better off than we were, there's no reason for you to brag about it. You'll become the person you detest so much."

"Muuuuuum..." Ron began.

"No Ron, your mother's right. If you brag about the money, you'll become just like Draco and I know you don't want that to happen."

"You're right, "Ron grudgingly agreed.

"Dad, when do we actually get the money?" Ginny asked, the situation finally sinking in. She couldn't wait! First on her list was a new nightgown... one that actually fit!

"I should have the first payment already in the bank. Tell you what, we'll all go to Diagon Alley tomorrow and pick up some new items! New robes for Ron and Ginny, all new books, the works!"

"Gee Dad; don't we get any new robes?" George joked.

"Do you think we'd forget about the rest of you?" Molly asked, raising her eyebrow. "Of course not! We'll replace the items we need to and pick up a few unnecessary ones as well!"

"But Dad!" Ginny yelled, remembering something. "We're supposed to get Harry today!"

"That's right!" Arthur exclaimed, slapping his forehead with his hand. "I completely forgot! Well, no matter! Ron and I will go get him in a few hours and we'll come back here, have a good breakfast, and head off to Diagon Alley!"

Too excited to go back to sleep, Ron sat back on the couch and began to daydream about all the cool stuff he could get now. That even meant...a Firebolt! Ron felt himself begin to drool as he fantasized about zipping around the quidditch field on a brand new Firebolt. He didn't know how long he sat on the couch day-dreaming, but all of a sudden he felt his mother shaking him.

"RON! Quit daydreaming and get dressed! You and your father have to leave soon to go get Harry! Ginny's writing to Hermione now to see if she wants to meet us at Diagon Alley to do school shopping."

"Yeah, yeah... ok Mum. Keep your knickers on!" Ron said as he pulled himself off the couch. Molly gave her son a curt look and he scurried away up to his room to get dressed.

"Kids," she muttered to herself as she picked up some loose parchment paper off the surface of the coffee table.

Meanwhile, over at Privet Drive, Harry was lying awake in his bed. He'd had that strange dream again. For some reason, for the past week or so, he'd had this strange dream of a school in a foreign country blowing up. He rubbed his forehead and groped around the nightstand for his glasses. Before the end of term, Hermione had put an unbreakable charm on them since Harry had a bad habit of constantly breaking his glasses.

"Thanks Hermione, that charm really helped," he mumbled gratefully to himself, swinging his legs over the side of his bed and planting them on the ground. He rubbed his eyes and raked his fingers through his perpetually messy black hair.

_God I hope this dream isn't a taste of things to come_, he thought to himself as he yawned and scratched his head. He glanced over at the small clock on the nightstand next to his bed. Not trusting that his eyes were telling the truth, he rubbed them and looked again. Nope, they were right. It was 4:00 in the morning. Trying to make as little noise as possible, Harry began to pack up all his school belongings. Books, pieces of parchment and spare quills were scattered all over the small bedroom.

"I really need to learn to pick up after myself," he muttered to himself. His stomach gave a strange jolt. Looking up at the small calendar he'd made to count down to when the Weasley's were coming to get him, he realized that today was his sixteenth birthday.

"Happy Birthday to me!" he laughed to himself. What could be a better birthday gift than leaving the Dursley's home? After what had transpired the day before, Harry couldn't count down the seconds fast enough.

It had all begun at breakfast. Aunt Petunia was avoiding him as usual, annoyed at having been told how to treat Harry that summer by a crazy man with an electric blue eye. She had held her tongue all summer, but she burned to tell Harry what she really thought. Dudley was at the table, as usual, eating roughly three pounds of bacon and a stack of pancakes that were at least 20 high.

"There dinky-diddydums! Mummy will make sure you have enough to eat! We must keep that physique if you are going to retain your title!" she fussed over her massive son.

As he had the previous year, Dudley had won the heavyweight boxing championship at Smeltings, and now neighborhood children ran away from him in terror. Petunia and Vernon had mistakenly interpreted it as how the neighborhood children looked up to Dudley, but didn't know what to say to him.

Harry knew better, Dudley was beating up the neighborhood like he had the previous summer, only this time he wasn't hiding it as well. Piers, Malcolm, Dennis, Gordon and Dudley had nicknamed themselves the Fearsome Five. Harry nearly burst out laughing every time he heard it. Soon after the boys had been released for the summer holidays, the Fearsome Five began to show up spray painted on any surface that was available. Usually in bright green paint. Harry had done his best to stay out of his cousin's way that summer, not wanting to be ganged up on by five stupid, fat bullies.

But yesterday during his daily neighborhood wanderings, Harry had seen Dudley and his crew picking on a seven year old boy, with a little girl crying nearby.

"I said give it up, you little punk!" Dudley sneered, grabbing the boy's ice cream cone. The little girl on the ground began to wail louder.

"Shut your mouth you little brat!" Dennis yelled at her. Terrified, the girl stifled her cries and tears continued to flow down her face.

The other kid had tried to run away, but wasn't fast enough. Dudley's right arm shot out, connecting with the small boy's nose. Blood began to spurt out of it and the boy began to scream.

"Big D! We better scram! The kid's drawing attention!" Piers hissed, snatching the money out of the hurt boy's hand.

Sickened, Harry began to run full sprint at his cousin. Once within tackling distance, Harry leapt at him, surprisingly taking his massive cousin down.

"DUD! POLICE!" Gordon yelled. "SCRAM!" The four other boys took off, leaving Dudley behind with Harry still pinning him to the ground.

"Get off me you freak!" Dudley yelled. "I always knew you were into guys, with your boyfriend Cedric and all, but incest is disgusting!"

"Don't flatter yourself Dud; you broke that kid's nose!"

"So?"

The wails of police sirens began to get closer and before he could escape, a police car pulled up right in front of Dudley, a tall, massive policeman getting out of the car.

"What's the problem here gentlemen?" the cop asked, the two small children still crying in the background.

"Nothing officer," Dudley lied, shifting his weight from one foot to another.

"Why are those children crying?" the officer demanded.

"I don't know. Ask him," Dudley said, jerking his thumb at Harry.

"Son, I know for a fact that he didn't do anything. A concerned neighbor called saying she saw you punch out a seven year old."

"What! That's a lie!"

"Really? Well, this can of spray paint in your jacket pocket matches all those tags we've found of the Fearless Five. You're coming with us son." The officer grabbed Dudley's arm and escorted him to the waiting car. Loading Dudley into the backseat, the officer turned to Harry and said, "You can ride up in the front with me. I'll give you a lift home."

"That's my worthless cousin," Dudley grumbled from the backseat.

"Well that works out better, only one phone call to make."

Harry knew that once his aunt and uncle were called all hell was going to break loose. They would not only find a way to blame him, they'd insisted Dudley was innocent and was just a boisterous little boy out playing with friends. It always amazed Harry how blind his aunt and uncle were to their son.

The ride to the station was short, but the wait for the Dursley's to show up seemed to go on forever. When they finally got there, Vernon had burst through the front doors bellowing, "WHERE IS MY SON?" a sobbing Petunia behind him.

The arresting officer took them into a private room where Harry assumed he told the Dursley's what had happened. The parents of the boy were pressing charges and the boy was in the hospital with several nasal fractures. When they finally left the room, Vernon had his teeth clenched so hard Harry swore he heard them grinding. Petunia was as pale as a sheet of paper. They said nothing as the officer released Dudley into their care. As they began to walk out the door, the officer had yelled at them, "Aren't you forgetting your nephew?"

Vernon had looked at Harry with a look so full of anger and disgust that Harry's blood ran cold. "Hurry up, boy."

Not wanting to make his uncle even angrier, Harry had followed quickly and quietly. He silently prayed that no one would say anything on the drive home and he could slip up to his room and lock the door. He wasn't so lucky. Once in the safety and privacy of their car, Vernon began to yell at Harry.

"Ok Boy spit it out! How did you get this blamed on Dudley?"

"I didn't! He punched that kid in the mouth!"

Petunia was sobbing and embracing her son like if she let him go he'd disappear. "Oh Duddy-kins, we know you didn't do it! We know he did it and bewitched that boy to say you did."

Dudley sneered at Harry over his mother's shoulder and made a swift movement across his neck. Harry felt his anger rising, but kept his mouth shut. All he needed was to make the Dursley's even angrier. The entire way home Vernon ranted about how Harry had done it and somehow blamed Dudley. Once home, Harry dashed in through the front door and up the stairs, taking them three at a time. Once in his room, he locked the door and barricaded it with a small dresser.

"Thank god Ron and Mr. Weasly are coming to get me tomorrow," he said to himself. With an exasperated sigh, he threw himself onto his bed. Not realizing how exhausted he was, he fell into a deep sleep, not even hearing his uncle yelling at him through the door. Which brought him to the present.

Rubbing his hand over his forehead, Harry tried to move the dresser as quietly as possible. Once his door was unblocked, he quietly opened the door and began to take his school trunk down the stairs. Once he'd moved everything to the living room, he sat in a chair and waited. Mr. Weasly said they'd come and get him at 9 o'clock. He sat in the chair by the fireplace, still missing its fake coal fire burner that Mr. Weasly had blown out of the fireplace two years ago. Ron had sent him a message with Pig saying they'd be coming by the Floo network and to make sure the fireplace was clear. A few hours later, the Dursley's began to stir, Petunia made her way to the kitchen to start breakfast while Vernon watched the news and drank his coffee.

The last newscast of the morning news caught Harry's attention.

"And lastly this morning, resources have reported a huge explosion in the United States. Officials say that at approximately four this morning, a devastating explosion rocked the city of Hilton Head, South Carolina. It appeared to happen in a remote, uninhabited warehouse district and there have been no reports of casualties. At this time, it is suspected to be a failed terrorist attack, but no group has come forward claiming responsibility. We will keep you updated as the details come in. Now onto weather, it's going to be a rainy one today..."

Harry tuned out the rest of the broadcast; thinking quickly, he tried to remember his dream. It happened at four am? With a jolt of dread, he remembered the time at which he'd woken up.

"What's going on?" he wondered to himself.

Just at that moment, the fireplace began to grow and the disheveled figures of Ron and Mr. Weasly came tumbling out.

"Hello Harry!" Arthur said cheerfully. "Ready to go?"

"Sure am." Harry replied.

"Ron, you take the trunk, Harry you take Hedwig's cage, and I'll grab the rest of this."

"Harry! Wait until I tell you..." Ron began.

"Not here Ron! Wait until we're at the Burrow!" Arthur told him, smiling.

"What's going on?" Harry asked.

"Oh man, wait until you hear!" Ron said, dragging Harry's trunk to the fireplace. Taking a pinch of Floo powder from his father, Ron said, "The Burrow!" and with a flash of green light, he was gone.

"Uh... Harry. Where are your aunt and uncle?"

"Avoiding me. Let's just go. I don't want to see them and I'm sure they don't want to see me."

"Well, if you're sure," Arthur assented.

Harry took a pinch of powder from Arthur's hand and stood in the fireplace and said, "The Burrow!" In another flash of light, he was gone.

Lastly, Arthur stepped into the fireplace, giving the Dursley's living room one more glance. "The Burrow!" and he was gone.

After a few seconds, Harry felt himself stop and he fell out of the Weasley's fireplace.

"Harry!" Molly exclaimed, grabbing him and crushing him in a huge hug. "How are you dear?"

"Molly, let him go," Arthur said from the fireplace. "We have a long day ahead of us!"

Ginny giggled from the table and scooted over so Harry could sit down and eat.

"Hey Harry! How are you?"

"Better thanks! Now Ron, what did you want to tell me?"

"Oh man, just wait!" Ron exclaimed.

Across the Atlantic, the situation was anything but jovial. The residents of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina were jolted awake by a deafening BOOOOM and an intense rattling. Alarms began to go off all over the island as cars flipped over and foundations near the explosion cracked and old buildings began to crumble. Buildings close to the explosion site became scored with black soot. Some of the more unfortunate buildings that were already collapsing came crashing to the ground, while a couple others caught fire. The Hilton Head fire department's large fire trucks came screaming out of the night to put the fires out. Police began to arrive in droves as well. Investigating the surrounding areas, they concluded it was probably left over dynamite that construction crews left behind when they had been blasting the new site across the street. No one made it to the actual site of the explosion. Once they got close enough, answers just came out of nowhere. Police and Firefighters both agreed that since there was no housing or residence areas close by, they could come back during the day to investigate further.

Though the site of the explosion looked like an abandoned warehouse district to the normal eye, to the magical one, it was once the grounds of Trinket's Academy of Magic. It was late summer, just a month before the new term started, and a majority of the student body had been at the school for the week long Phonaton Tournament. It was a yearly event where the best Phonaton players, both in school and out, competed in a week long tournament of logic and skill. Phonaton consisted of four members for each participating team. Alone, they would go into the Enchanted Forest, seek out the creatures, get clues on how to catch the next one, and off they'd go. Whomever got the best time for their team, headed onto the finals. There, the clues got harder and more vague, relying on the players resources to get them through. Since the tournament was set to last an entire week, the Academy had been opened so that those who wished it could sleep in the dorms and not have to drive home. There were so many people there that some of the younger attendees slept on the floor in comfy purple sleeping bags that were just as good as sleeping in a bed.

It was a grim sight that greeted Wendy Trinket, headmistress and founder of the Academy. Glancing around to make sure no one was watching her, she stepped past the barrier that made the once beautiful school look like a large abandoned warehouse. Once past the barrier, piles and piles of white marble, some scored black in places, covered the entire foundation of the school she'd loved so dearly.

"Oh my god... it's true!" came a voice from behind.

Wendy turned and saw two of the teachers, Professor Norka and Professor Tirorted standing behind her, grief and shock apparent in their faces.

"Zelda, Serena!" Wendy exclaimed, rushing forward to embrace the two shocked women.

"I can't believe it! All those students... Their families..." Serena began to say, but was overcome by emotion and began to cry. Wendy soothingly patted her back, her other arm around Zelda's shoulders.

"What are we going to do?" Zelda asked, tears streaming down her face as she let her eyes roll over the damage. "How do we even know who didn't perish?"

With a heavy sigh, Wendy said, "I have all the R.S.V.P's at home. First thing when it's a decent hour, I'm going to send word to some of our brother and sister schools, asking if they may be able to take some of the remaining students. No doubt they already know about this anyway."

"Who on earth would be able to help us out?" Serena asked. Zelda nodded in agreement. "We don't really have strong ties with any of the European schools."

"It won't matter. The tie of magic binds us all together. First thing, I'll send word to Hogwarts, Beaubaxtons, and Durmstrang. We'll let the remaining student's parents choose the school they send the children too. Maybe Beauxbatons and Durmstrang would be able to offer scholarship programs to those who can't afford the tuition."

"Wendy, that's asking a great deal, and you said it yourself; we are not on really good terms with the abroad schools."

"No, Serena, Wendy's right. Magic binds us. They'll help us out. They have to. Even if they don't want to. It's the future at stake. With the return of the Dark Lord in England and the fact we've never been able to confirm Jamie Dawson's death, we need to all stick together. Plus I'd feel better if the students were away from this area."

"Yes Zelda. I have a really bad idea that this was the intention of whoever set this travesty in motion."

The three women stood motionless, each with an arm around the other. The piles of marble were still smoking. Thankfully, no bodies could be seen, but they knew once the debris began to be cleared away, a grim sight would await them.

"Come Serena, Zelda. We have much to do."

The three women walked away from the smoldering pile of rubble and back through the barrier. The only person to see them was a homeless man, but no one would believe him anyway.

Wendy saw Serena and Zelda back to their homes and made her way back to her own small house. It was small and simple, that was all she needed. Walking slowly to her desk, she pulled out three pieces of parchment and her old quill. Dipping the quill in ink, she began to write:

Dear Albus,

As I'm sure you've already heard Trinket's Academy was destroyed early this morning. The building has been reduced to a pile of rubble and sadly, many lives were lost. I'm afraid this leaves us with a very big problem. We do have students who, thankfully, were not at the Academy when this tragedy happened. With the school gone, I am beseeching you to extend the hand of friendship and take in some of my students. I am also writing to Durmstrang and Beaubaxtons, so the sole brunt of this inconvenience doesn't fall on you. I am aware that our schools are very different, but I'm hoping that we can put the differences aside and do what's right for the children left. Please respond quickly so we can begin to iron out all the details.

Humbly yours,  
Wendy Trinket

Wendy sealed the letter with a bit of letter wax and walked over to her fluffy brown owl.

"Now Kita, please, take this to Albus Dumbledore right away! It's very important!"

As Kita flew away, Wendy proceeded to write similar letters to the headmasters at Beaubaxtons and Durmstrang, two more owls soon flying out the window. Once the letters were gone, Wendy pulled out all the RSVP forms for those that had been at the Phonaton tournament. Each black mark she made on her student list, cut deeper and deeper into her heart. Little over an hour later, she looked down at her revised student list and nearly cried. Only about 25 students were left. Unable to keep it in any longer, Wendy crossed her arms on the desk, rested her head on her arms and cried. She cried for all those that had been lost, until she couldn't cry anymore. Exhausted, she ended up falling asleep on the desk.

When she finally woke, she found Kita back on her perch, a small piece of parchment tied to her foot. Her head pounding with a slight headache, she made her way over to the owl and untied the letter. Walking back to her desk, she opened it and read Albus Dumbledore's neat handwriting.

Dear Wendy,

I give you my deepest condolences. We have heard rumors, but your painful words have confirmed our suspicions. I humbly offer you Hogwarts' complete cooperation in the relocation of your remaining students. We would be honored to take them under our wing. Please let us know how many more students to expect this term, and we will do our best to make the transition as smooth as possible.

I also must ask that if you send us any students with "special" abilities that you notify me immediately so I may prepare my staff. I'm afraid we've never dealt with the element of magic that your school is known for training.

Sincerely yours,  
Albus Dumbledore

Within a few hours, she had received similar messages from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons.

"Well that's one hurdle crossed," she sighed to herself. "Now where to place the students."

Taking the list of students that remained, she comprised three lists. She already knew where she was sending one student.

"Hogwarts is the only school that will be able to train her up to the Trinket's standards," she mused to herself. After much thought, she'd decided who she was going to send to which school.

With a sigh, she began to draft the letters to the remaining students, informing them of the Academy's destruction, and their transfer directions. Once those were done, she began her reply letters to Hogwarts, Beaubaxtons, and Durmstrang. Seven students to Hogwarts, ten to Durmstrang, and eight to Beaubaxtons. On a separate piece of parchment she wrote another letter to Dumbledore.

Dear Albus,

Enclosed is the list of students that will be transferring to Hogwarts. I've enclosed all their student files, along with their progress reports.

I must ask that you pay special attention to the file I have marked with a red flag. It is concerning that element you spoke of before. The student had impressive control, she just needs to be gradually taken from her wand. If our Academy hadn't been destroyed, it would have been her last year with a wand anyway. Any questions, please don't hesitate to ask me.

Sincerely Yours,

Wendy

Using different owls, Wendy sent out her new batch of letters. Sinking down into her chair, the full impact of the days events came washing over her. Shoulders shaking, she lowered her head onto her arms and began to sob.


	2. The Americans Are Coming!

The day before the new Hogwarts term began found Harry, Ron and Hermione sitting at a small table in front of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. A few of the surrounding tables were filled with their fellow Gryffindors; Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown were sitting to their right with Parvati's twin Padma, who was in Ravenclaw. They were giggling at the antics of Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas and a now more confident Neville Longbottom.

The sun beamed down on all of Diagon Alley and a definite air of end of holiday blues was beginning to become more apparent. Diagon Alley was always filled with people, but for some reason in the past few days, more and more foreigners began to show up. Last count had their numbers up to fourteen teenagers and one very frustrated adult.

"I wonder why they're all here?" Hermione wondered as she spooned up a bit of her ice cream.

"I dunno. Dad's been working a lot of overtime lately, but he won't tell any of us why."

Harry looked at Ron and Hermione and said in a low voice, "I don't think it's anything good. I never got around to telling you two, but on my birthday I had this horrible nightmare about a foreign school blowing up. I woke up at four in the morning, convinced it was real, but I pushed it aside until I heard the muggle news right before Ron and Mr. Weasly came to get me from the Dursley's. There was a huge explosion somewhere on the coast of America."

"So?" Ron asked, scraping his sundae dish for the last bit of melted ice cream.

"So, it happened at four in the morning!" Harry finished.

"Don't be so thick Ron," Hermione said, giving him a stern look. "Harry's had dreams like this before and they've always meant something."

Hermione got a thoughtful look on her face. Absently, she pushed the rest of her ice cream towards Ron who immediately began to shovel it into his mouth.

"Careful Ron, eat it too fast, you'll get an ice cream headache" Hermione warned.

"AUUUUGH!" Ron yelled, dropping his spoon and pushing his index and ring fingers into his temples. "Bloody HELL that hurts."

"I warned you," Hermione said with amusement.

The three of them were distracted by a group of about seven of the strange teenagers they'd been noticing for the past few days. They were a bit more rowdy and outspoken than everyone else. Their faces were a bit pale and Hermione couldn't figure out if it was from exhaustion or something else

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

"HEY! Watch it!"

"What? That was totally you! NOT me!"

"Would all of you shut up? You're making us look like flaming morons."

"Well YOU wouldn't have to try that hard."

One by one, the small group of teenagers made their way into the bookstore, still bickering with each other.

"Well that was different," Dean remarked from the next table.

"I don't think they're from around here," Parvati observed. Padma and Lavender began to giggle.

"See any cute new boys?"

Seamus nudged Neville. "It looks like there's more coming," and pointed towards three more girls who were making their way into the bookstore.

"Remember, we're only getting what we need. Not buying the entire store," a blonde girl in a khaki skirt told the other two.

"But..." another girl, this one with black platform boots and purple streaks began to protest.

"Come ON! I don't want to spend all day in here!" the third girl said, tossing her brown hair over her shoulder.

"Chill out Karen," the first girl said. The three of them finally made their way in after about ten people came spilling out of the front door.

"Wow. This place sure is busy," the last girl observed as they made their way in.

"They look like transfers," she finally stated to Harry and Ron, who were gaping at where the three girls that had just passed by disappeared to.

In a miffed tone of voice, Hermione snapped, "Take a picture. It'll last longer." When that still got no reaction from the two boys, one of which was starting to drool, she snapped her fingers in front of their faces.

"Snap out of it!" Hermione said sharply. "You two act like you've never seen girls before."

"Wherever they're from, they know how to make em!" Ron exclaimed, forgetting about the melting dish of ice cream.

"Yeah..." Harry agreed.

"I sure hope they're going to Hogwarts!" Dean exclaimed. "If the rest of them look that good... What?" Parvati was giving him an evil look.

"Oh please. They're just girls."

"Hot girls!" Seamus added.

"Idiots," Lavender mumbled.

"Oh come on Lavender, if those were boys you would have been checking them out," Neville protested.

"No! I wouldn't!"

"Yeah you would."

"You were asking about hot boys!"

"That was Lavender, not me!"

"Did you see that one girl? Awww MAN! If she's going to Hogwarts, I hope she's in Gryffindor!"

Hermione gave a disgruntled snort. "Oh please. Don't start this again. It's the Fleur Delacour syndrome all over again."

"Yeah, what about you and _Vicky_?" said Ron with a tinge of jealousy creeping into his tone.

"His NAME is Victor," Hermione snapped back.

"How is Victor?" Harry asked quickly before Ron could say anything else. "Did you go visit him this summer?"

Ron's mouth dropped open. "WHAT? You went to his HOUSE? And VISITED him? When the hell was this?"

"Early into the summer, a few weeks after we left Hogwarts," Hermione answered, her cheeks flushing a bright pink color.

"Does this mean..." Harry began.

"That Victor and I are dating? Yes. It does."

"WHAT!" Ron practically yelled.

"RON! Calm down," Harry said in a low voice, grabbing Ron's arm and pulling him back into his chair. People were beginning to stare and he knew Ron and Hermione didn't want to start the Hogwarts rumor mill already.

"But...but..." Ron sputtered, his ears turning bright red.

"But what Ron? Why him? I'll tell you why. He's always been upfront with me about how he feels. Unlike some who prefer to bury their feelings and pretend that they aren't there."

Harry dropped his forehead into his hand. He'd suspected that there were feelings a bit more than friendship between Ron and Hermione, but both of them had been too stubborn to admit them. Now, for Ron, it was too late.

"But... but..."

"Ron. You idolized him before we met him for the Triwizard Tournament. Why the sudden, intense hate?" Hermione asked.

"He was competing against Harry and he's not all that great..." said Ron, crossing his arms in front of his chest, a childish sulky look on his face.

"Gee Ron. Those are brilliant reasons."

Ron opened his mouth to retort, but the opening of Flourish and Blott's front door distracted him. Two girls, both blondes made their way out of the shop. One leaned against the left side of the door, facing the other girl. She stood out due to the fact she was wearing a khaki skirt and a bright orange tank top. Her sandals had a bit of platform on the bottom and her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. The other blonde was leaning against the left side of the door, reading a book. Where the one stood out just for looking a bit different, the second one stood out because there was nothing else like her in the whole area. Her knee high black boots had about two inches of platform under the toe and heel, her bright pink skirt was nearly blinding and the black shirt with 'charm school reject' screen printed in white stood out like a sore thumb. But what stood out most of all were the bright purple streaks in her long blonde hair. Upon closer inspection, the black eye makeup was also a sight rarely seen.

"Geez Jess. You haven't had that two minutes and you're already immersed in it."

"So?"

"You better not try to read and walk at the same time. We both remember what happened last time..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. And we both know you'll never let me live it down and it wasn't that bad! I only knocked over a few people."

"FEW? Jess, you took out the whole class!"

"She sounds like you Hermione," Ron joked, the argument already forgotten. He jabbed his thumb at the girl in the big boots. "Looks like Hermione's got competition for biggest Braniac."

"Oh boy. This should be fun, "Hermione groaned as she saw who was making their way out of the crowded bookstore. She didn't even notice that Harry was gaping at the girl with the purple in her hair.

The drawling voice of Draco Malfoy made them all groan. "Honestly...those ignorant Americans are so violent...I'm sure Hogwarts was prepared for this." Behind him Crabbe and Goyle agreed and Draco began to make his way out the front door, ignoring the two girls.

"Father always said they'd get themselves blown up. A blight on the wizard gene pool, the whole lot of them!"

Harry noticed that the girl with the purple streaks had looked up from her book, an extremely pissed off look on her face. Ron and Hermione saw it too.

"Uh oh. Looks like Malfoy just made a new friend," Ron said with anticipation. Hermione leaned forward a bit, not wanting to miss anything.

As Malfoy began to walk out the door, back onto the street, the girl they heard called Jess, brought her eyes back to her book, but her right foot was now angled out. Unaware that he was heading for a fall, Malfoy began to strut forward, only to walk right into her out turned foot.

"AUGH!" with a loud cry, Malfoy ungracefully fell flat on his face. The girl who'd tripped him had quickly turned her foot back forward and continued to ignore everything around her. The girl across the doorway buried her face in her hands and began to shake her head.

"Jess... We haven't even been here a day... "

Everyone surrounding Harry, Ron and Hermione had seen Malfoy's pratfall and the air was now thick with the sound of laughing students. Moving surprisingly fast, Crabbe and Goyle hauled Malfoy up off the ground. His pale face was pink with rage, his sleek blonde hair messed up with a few twigs in the front.

"WHO DID THAT?" he roared, glancing around. His eyes rested on the girls by the door and he immediately got into Jess's face.

"I'll bet you did it, you damn yank!" he yelled at her.

Completely ignoring him, she continued to read through the book she had in her hands. Steaming mad, Malfoy knocked the book out of her hands and continued to yell.

"I'll have you know that you can't just treat more influential members of the wizard community like that!"

Growing more annoyed, the girl pushed off the door frame and stepped in front of Malfoy so they were almost eye to eye.

"Is that supposed to scare me?" she asked her voice low and cold.

Sneering, Malfoy said to her with contempt, "I don't know why it couldn't have taken out all of you. It's not like any of you Half-Breeds really matter to us."

"Those are big words coming from a mouth that was eating dirt not to long ago," she snapped back.

"Draco! Enough! Let's go!" Narcissa Malfoy yelled from a few stores down the street. "Settle it later!"

"Yes Mother," Malfoy said grudgingly. Turning to face Jess again, he said, "See you later."

"I can hardly wait."

Malfoy began to walk away, but turned back and smiled at her, "I'll teach you how to respect your superiors."

"Pfft," she dismissed him, waving her hand contemptuously.

Even angrier, Malfoy stalked back to her real fast and got within inches of her face. "You'll learn your place. Mark my words."

Malfoy began to walk back towards his mother, a superior look on his face, believing he had gotten the better of the strange girl. All of a sudden, the sleeve of his robe caught fire. With a look of pure panic, Malfoy began to shriek and dance around, trying to put out the flames. Everyone around him began to panic, except for Jessica, who was picking her book up off the ground. Wiping the dirt from the pages, she again leaned against the outside of the bookstore, and continued reading.

By this time, the entire sleeve of Malfoy's robe had erupted into flames, his panicked shrieking getting louder and louder. Drawn to the scene by the sound of her son yelling, Narcissa Malfoy barged her way through the on looking crowd.

"DRACO!" Narcissa yelled, rushing forward and using her wand to put the fire out. "How on earth did that happen?" She herded her son down the street, finally disappearing in the large crowd. Once the Malfoy's were out of sight, Jess stooped down to pick up her book. Once she was upright again, she was looking into the angry eyes of the other girl.

"Jessica. What did mom say about that?"

"Geez Cate. You act like I made his head explode. Hmm... that's a good idea for the next time I meet that slimy piece of s-"

"JESSICA! Watch your mouth!"

"Yes Mom."

"You'll be lucky if I don't TELL mom!"

"Oh come on Cathryn! It's not like he didn't deserve it!" Jessica shifted her weight, the slipcover of her book sliding to reveal the real book underneath. Grabbing her sister's book, Cate flipped through it, before snapping it shut. She gave her sister an even look. When Jessica continued to give her a blank look, she began to tap her foot.

"Jessica."

"Cathryn."

Cate held up the book. "You know you shouldn't have this."

"So?"

Cate began to beat her head with the book. "Hexes and Other Unpleasant Spells was NOT on our booklist!"

"I'll say it again. So?"

"This isn't what your hyperactive brain needs. I think it'll be a safer place for everyone if I send this back home so Mom and Dad can take care of it."

"Pfft. Go ahead. I already read the whole thing."

"God help us all."

"You make me sound like an axe-murderer."

"And you're making me sound like a total control freak."

"You are."

"Jess..."

Finally noticing that they were the center of attention, Cate looked sideways over her shoulder and saw that Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Dean, Seamus, Lavender, and Parvati were all still watching them. Groaning as she met each of their glances, she grabbed her sister's arm and began to drag her away, stealing one more quick glance at Ron.

"OW! Quit it you slave driver!"

"Jess, shut up."

The two of them disappeared into the crowd. Almost immediately Seamus and Dean began to laugh hysterically. Parvati and Lavender were also giggling.

"Oh my GOD! Did you SEE THAT?" Lavender exclaimed, holding her sides as she laughed.

"I wish someone recorded that! Draco Malfoy! On the ground. Eating DIRT! Priceless!" laughed Ron. Dean couldn't even put his thoughts into words; he began to bang his fist on the table while tears of laughter ran down his face.

Neville also was laughing. "It seems Malfoy really has a way with people!"

Hermione was still staring in the direction that the two girls had disappeared. "Did anyone else think that was ...odd?"

"How so Hermione?" Ron asked, digging into the bowl of melted ice cream once again in between fits of laughter.

"Well for one, fire just came out of NOWHERE! And that girl Cate said about their parents forbidding them to do something. Didn't you find that weird Harry?"

"Huh?" Harry asked, snapping his head back in Hermione's direction.

"Did you hear anything I just said?"

"Um...no. Sorry," Harry admitted sheepishly.

Parvati giggled, "Seem like Harry had his mind on something else. Or should I say SOMEONE else!"

Lavender joined her friend in giggling and Ron looked up from his ice cream soup. "What? Did I miss something? Harry's got a new girl?"

"Not yet," Dean joked, elbowing Seamus in the side.

"Ha ha ha," Harry mumbled, his face turning a violent shade of red.

"Well that takes me out of the running if famous Harry Potter has his eye on her," Dean joked.

"Shut up Dean," Harry mumbled, his face going bright red.

"Awww but Harry, it's CUTE! She's much better for you than Cho ever was," said Lavender.

"Well since Harry's already called dibs on the one blonde, I call dibs on her sister."

"SEAMUS!" yelled Padma.

"What?"

"You can't just call DIBS on a person!"

"Really Seamus, she's not an object!" Hermione said, in a sniffy tone.

"So Hermione, how's your new boyfriend?" giggled Lavender.

"What? Hermione? Boyfriend? Girl you better get over here and spill it!" Padma exclaimed.

Ron glared at the dish in front of his face, "Yeah Hermione, go dish about your boyfriend."

"Grow up Ron," she said to him as she got up and walked over to Parvati and Lavender. The four girls began to chatter about Victor and the look on Ron's face got darker and darker.

"Ron. It's not like you didn't have a chance," Harry said to him.

"Yeah, I know. It just sucks I never took it."

"Why didn't you?"

"Didn't want to mess up our friendship."

"But won't this mess it up?"

"Nah. Mom said we Weasley's are tougher than we look. I'll get over it. It'll just hurt for a while. Enough about me, what's this about you calling dibs on our fellow Malfoy hater?"

"I didn't call dibs!"

Ron laughed and finished the melted ice cream in front of him. Pushing his chair back, he announced to Harry and Hermione, "I'm going to go tell Fred and George about this before any of the details start to escape me. Harry? Hermione? Want to come with me?"

"Yeah," Harry said quickly, standing up and dropping his napkin back on the table, Hermione quickly following suit. The three of them fought the masses of people that were out in Diagon Alley that day until they finally made their way to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Ron pushed his way through the front door, only to find the place packed.

"OY! Fred! George!" Ron yelled over to his extremely busy twin brothers.

"Ronniekins!" George quipped, making his way over. "Looking for more Skivving Snackboxes?"

"No man, I have to tell you what just happened!"

"You'll have to tell us later Ron, we're swamped!" Fred yelled from over by the counter. "We're meeting Mum and Dad at the Leaky Cauldron for dinner in a few hours. Tell us then!"

The three of them were practically pushed back out the doors back onto the street.

"Well, we may as well head on over to the Leaky Cauldron now. With all these visitors, it's probably a wise idea," Hermione suggested. Ron and Harry agreed, and it was good that they did. It took them at least an hour to make it through the crowds of people up and down Diagon Alley.

"Man! It's like everyone and their grandmother is out today!" Ron exclaimed as the three of them finally made it to the Leaky Cauldron. Once inside, they easily found the rest of Ron's family, as well as some of their other classmates.

"Harry! Ron! Hermione!" Hanna Abbot, a Hufflepuff sixth year greeted them. "Did you guys HEAR?"

"Hear about what?" Harry asked.

"It's all over the Daily Prophet!" Ernie McMillian, also of Hufflepuff, told them.

"What are you talking about?" Ginny asked, coming up behind Hermione.

"THIS!" Hannah handed Ron her copy of the Daily Prophet. Harry and Hermione crowded around Ron so they could see as well.

**_Devastation Rocks the American Wizard Community_**

_Late last month, tragedy shook the American magical community right down to its foundation. During the last week of July, Trinket's Academy of Magic was mysteriously obliterated. The Academy was fully destroyed early July 30th at about four o'clock in the morning. Muggle news reported an earth shattering explosion in an abandoned warehouse district._

_Normally at this time of year, the school would have been empty, but Trinket's Academy was playing host to the annual Phonaton Tournament._

"Phonaton? What the bloody hell is Phonaton?" Ron asked.

"It's an American sport," Hermione answered, matter-of-factly. Ignoring the two of them, Harry continued to read.

_Due to the weeklong nature of the event, the Academy had been opened up and the Dormitories available for those who did not wish to leave the premises of the tournament. Countless lives were lost, as well as the near obliteration of the student body. Entire families were wiped out and only a handful has been reported as surviving. _

_Among the survivors were 16 year olds Lisa Cooper and Charlie Moore who miraculously ended up in a pocket of rubble._

_"We were heading back to our families after an incredibly long match when we heard a deafening BOOOM!" Charlie told the American publication, The Dispatch._

_"All of a sudden the walls were caving in around us. There was so much screaming… I pulled my friend Lisa back, just missing being hit with a huge chunk of marble. We backed up against the first floor girls bathroom and crouched into a ball. When we opened our eyes, we were in a pocket barely bigger than the two of us."_

_It took the Magic Government's rescue workers two days to reach the scared teenagers. Of all the people that had attended the event only six survived, two of which were students. _

_Wendy Trinket, founder and Headmistress of the Academy had this to say, "I am deeply saddened at the loss of my school, but more so for the families that were destroyed or those who lost loved ones. At this present time, we don't have any clues as to why or how this happened. We have been graciously offered the opportunity to send our remaining students abroad to some of our foreign brother and sister schools."_

_Reports have said that Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore has offered space at Hogwarts for a small number of the remaining student._

Hermione finished reading the report, her attention drawn to the front door of the Leaky Cauldron. A group of ten students, varying in age came walking through the doors, each of them weighted down by many packages and bags.

"I don't see why we can't wear our old Trinket's uniforms. It's a waste to have to buy new ones." A short girl with wavy reddish blonde hair said.

The blonde Hermione recognized as Cate put her arm around the other girl and said, "Colleen, it's a standard uniform. We have to wear it."

"But couldn't we have altered our old uniforms? We could have saved a lot of money."

"Colleen, the bookstore didn't charge us for books. I think it all evens out."

"I guess. Though it was nice of them to give us all free books."

"Yeah. It was."

Tom, the owner of the Leaky Cauldron made his way over to the group and led them to a large table in the back of the dining room, away from all the curious stares they were receiving.

After he led them away an exhausted woman walked in with four others, one of them the girl with the purple hair.

"Professor Tirorted, what are you going to do once we leave tomorrow?" a short, young, scared boy asked.

"Well Craig, I'm going to go back to Hilton Head and help Wendy with the school." Noticing the young boy's petrified face, she kneeled down and added, "Don't worry Craig! Hogwarts is a good school. There's nothing to be afraid of here." Glancing up at Jessica she added, "Except for those coming with you."

"Ha ha ha. I didn't get in THAT much trouble at Trinkets."

"Yes you did," the short reddish-blonde haired girl said.

"Colleen! When did you get in?"

"Today. I heard you were already causing trouble!"

"ME? Pfft. Don't believe everything you hear."

"Ok, so the story of a jackass blonde boy eating dirt and then exchanging words with you isn't true?"

"Well Colleen, I'm a woman of mystery."

"You mean your brain's a mystery!"

"Ha ha. Sooooo funny."

The two girls laughed as they made their way to the back of the room. It was obvious to everyone around them that they were still rattled about what had happened to Trinkets, but didn't want to show how upset they really were.

Molly Weasly made her way over to her son and his two friends, a look of pity on her face as she looked over at the group in the back of the dining area.

"There you are dears. Why don't we go have a seat? Fred and George will be joining us in a bit."

When Harry, Ron, and Hermione didn't move right away, Molly followed their gaze to the back of the room.

"Those poor dears. I can't imagine what they've gone through." She placed her arms around Ron and Harry, leading them and Hermione towards their own table. Once everyone was sitting, Molly got back up and made her way to the drink counter. After a few minutes they noticed that three servers were making their way back to the American's table, trays full of Butterbeer.

"Mom?" Ginny asked.

"Yes dear," Molly answered, taking her seat.

"Did you do that?"

"What dear?"

"Send them those Butterbeers?"

"Why yes Ginny. Why?"

"Because I was going to ask if we could."

Molly hugged her youngest child, cuddling her close.

"I don't know how they can stand it; most of their friends gone. Whole families..." Molly misted up, a tear making its way out of her eye. She hugged Ginny closer and reached across the table for Ron's hand.

"I don't know what I'd do if I lost any of you."

"Don't worry Mum, we're not going anywhere," Ron answered, squeezing his mother's hand.

Fluttering of wings drew Harry's attention and he watched as a black owl about Hedwig's size made its way to the back of the leaky cauldron. A few minutes later, he saw a few of the girls run up the stairs to where the rooms were located. The older woman, the one they heard called Professor Tirorted, came into view, tears streaking her face. A few moments later, Jessica, Cate, and Colleen were making their way upstairs, all three of them crying.

Harry could barely make out what they were saying, but he did hear parts.

"Oh God. I never liked them, but Eden and Danielle didn't deserve that," Colleen cried.

"And Angela! I didn't even know she was even there," sobbed Cate, holding onto her sister for balance.

"I can't believe it. Angela and I were supposed to move the administration office onto the front lawn of the school this year," Jessica sniffled, her black eye makeup streaking down her face. Harry felt a sudden, hot pang of grief himself. He knew exactly how these people felt. Just before the end of the last term, he'd lost his godfather and the closest person to a real father he'd ever had.

Hermione had also caught part of the conversation and watched as the Americans began to make their way up the stairs, all in varying emotions. Some looked indifferent, afraid to show anything, some bawling openly. Molly saw this as well and let go of Ginny and Ron and reached for Harry and Hermione's hands.

"Harry, I know you still grieve for Sirius. If anyone can empathize with these children, it's you. I know regardless of what house these poor souls are sorted into, that the three of you will show them nothing but kindness."

"But Mum, if they're sorted into Slytherin..."

"Ronald. House affiliation doesn't matter. These children are bound by grief. They're going to need kind souls to help them through this, and their transition into a whole new school, not to mention a whole new country."

"You're right Mom," Ginny agreed, nodding.

The other witches and wizards in the dining area had also noticed the abrupt departure of the American group and whispers began to buzz.

"I heard that the entire school was wiped out!"

"Nonsense! There were some survivors."

"I wonder if they'll be able to be in the same year that they were their old school."

"I heard Dumbledore has already put them through aptitude tests so they could place them in the correct year."

"I heard that too. It seems that the American students are way more advanced in some areas than our Hogwarts students."

"But I also heard they lack in some areas as well. Like the Dark Arts."

"Well our kids didn't fare to well their either. We haven't been able to keep a teacher in that position for more than a year for the past six years. We even have a new teacher this year."

"So we don't know who it is yet?"

"No. Dumbledore hasn't revealed who they chose yet."

Ron and Harry listened to the others for a while and soon, they lost interest. Ron grew thoughtful and began to drum his fingers on the table.

"What's keeping George and Fred?"

No sooner were the words spoken, then the twin Weasley's popped through the front door.

"Speak of the devil," Hermione smiled.

"GEORGE! FRED! Wait until you hear what I have to tell you!" Ron began excitedly.

"If it's about one of our new American friends tripping a certain brainless git named Malfoy, we already heard about it. Not two minutes after you left the shop, word was buzzing."

"Aww MAN! I wanted to tell you about it!" Ron complained.

"What's this?" Molly asked, her eyebrows scrunching up a bit.

"Well, Malfoy, being Malfoy, was walking out of Flourish and Blotts. He was saying some pretty nasty stuff about that American school and the girl with the purple in her hair tripped him!" Ron began.

"Then when he confronted her, she basically ignored him until he got in her face," Harry continued, smiling at the memory. His stomach fluttered nervously and he felt his face get warm again.

"But the strange part was when he was walking away, his robe sleeve caught on fire," Hermione finished.

"Really? Well then. That'll teach Draco Malfoy to keep his mouth shut," Molly said.

"MUM!" Ron said with surprise. "Don't tell me that just came out of your mouth!"

"It's no surprise how I feel about the Malfoy's Ronald. I'm just saying he probably deserved what he got."

Ginny groaned, "And I MISSED this! Well it sounds like Slytherin won't be inheriting her as a member."

Fred and George laughed and sat down on either side of Ron, who began to fill them in on the details of the encounter. Hermione and Ginny were discussing the coming term and Molly began fretting over how skinny Harry was.

"Honestly Harry dear, you need to eat more. You're nothing but skin and bones! Don't your aunt and uncle feed you when you're there?"

"Not if they can help it," Harry mumbled.

Tired of waiting for Arthur, Molly went ahead and let everyone order. "At this rate it will be midnight before we order and the lot of you have to leave for the new term tomorrow. So once you have eaten, you need to head off for bed. It's going to be a busy day."

About halfway through their meal, Arthur showed up, exhausted. He began to tell Ron, Harry, Hermione and Ginny about Trinkets, but Molly assured him that they already knew.

"A bloody mess. That's what it is over there. I can't believe how many people were killed."

"Dad? Do you think You-Know-Who had anything to do with this?" Fred asked in a low voice.

"There's no telling at this point Fred. But I do know that the Americans had their own psychotic witch, bent on attaining more power. She's thought to be dead, but no one knows for sure."

"You mean there's someone as crazy as Volde-" Harry began to say, forgetting that most of the wizard community didn't use Voldemort's name. Backtracking quickly, he said, "You-know-Who?"

"Yes. Apparently there was a sorceress named Jamie Dawson, who began to crave more and more power. She succeeded for a while but as mysteriously as she'd appeared, she was gone."

"A sorceress?" Ginny asked, her face showing her confusion.

"Yes. Sorceress. They're a rare find in the wizard community. Has to be the right amount of magic in the bloodlines of the parents to create a sorcerer or a sorceress."

"How are they different than a witch or a wizard?" Ron asked, his mouth full of bread.

"Ron! That's disgusting! We don't need to see that!" Hermione exclaimed before continuing, "A Sorcerer or a Sorceress can create magic without a wand. Those in training are required to use wands so they can harness the power better."

"Thank you Hermione, not many people believe they actually exist. Just as a squib is a rare find, Sorcerers and Sorceress's are even rarer."

"Oh my! Look how late it's gotten!" Molly hurried the others to finish their dinner. Once they were done, she said to them, "Hermione and Ginny, you two will be sharing a room, same with you and Harry, Ron." Molly gave them the room numbers, and the four of them began to trudge up the stairs.

"See you guys tomorrow," Ron yawned as he waved good bye to Hermione and Ginny. They waved back and disappeared into their room.

Ron opened the door to the room he was sharing with Harry and walked in. Just as Harry was going to follow, a door opening a couple rooms down caught his attention. He glanced over to his right and saw Jessica walk out of the room, her arms wrapped around herself. She began to walk his way, her eyes cast down to the floor. He could tell she'd been crying and stood frozen as she walked by. As she got closer he accidentally dropped his room key with a clatter on the floor.

Jerking her head his way, they looked at each other for a few moments before she continued down the hall.

Harry ducked into his room, his heart hammering in his chest. He didn't understand this. He'd never been like this about Cho Chang. It was like his entire brain had melted and he couldn't even form coherent thoughts. Ron noticed the distracted look on Harry's face.

"You saw her again, didn't you?"

"Who?"

"That American girl who makes you get this doofy look on your face."

"I do not."

"Yeah, you do. But it's cool. Anyone who picks a fight with Malfoy is a winner in my book."

"You're a true romantic Ron."

"Nah."

"So what are you going to do about the Victor/Hermione thing?"

"Nothing. If I try to mess it up, she'll hate me. I'd rather her be my friend and dating someone else, than not being her friend at all."

"Wow Ron. That was so profound and mature of you."

"Cork it Harry."

The two of them laughed and began to get ready for bed. After checking to make sure all his items were in his trunk, Harry climbed into his bed. Ron had already fallen asleep, his slight snoring coming from across the room.

Back downstairs Molly and Arthur were having a more serious discussion.

"They told you what?" Arthur asked, scratching his head.

"They said one of the American girls got into a bit of a fight with Draco Malfoy. Once he was walking away, I guess, the sleeve of his robe caught on fire."

"Well, if he was to close to the torches..."

"Arthur. This happened late this afternoon."

"And the torches are lit about the same time. Molly, we have no idea if it was accidental or coincidental. I can't run to the ministry with this if we don't have solid proof." noting his wife's concerned look, he sighed. "I'll send Dumbledore an owl about this. He'll be able to see the signs better than us. He's actually been around a Sorcerer."

"Is it safe for the children if she is a sorceress?"

"Of course Molly. If anything, it'll be safer for them to have one around. A Sorceress has untapped magical abilities. If she in fact DID set Malfoy's robe on fire, I'm assuming she's already gotten control of the elements."

"Harry already seems taken with her," Molly continued to fuss.

"Molly, its just infatuation. I've read the student files on all the Trinkets students transferring to Hogwarts. If it's who I think it is, she's exactly like Ron, Hermione, and Harry. Plus, Harry's 16 Molly, he's bound to start looking at girls."

"Yes, Arthur, I know. I'm also worried about Ron."

"Ron? Why?"

"Ginny told me that Hermione is openly dating Victor Krum."

"Ahhhh. Well Molly dear, Ron will bounce back. The three of them have a friendship too strong to let something like this break it apart. Who knows, maybe Ron will meet a different girl this year."

While Molly and Arthur discussed the possibility of a sorcerer or a sorceress at Hogwarts, Harry tossed and turned in his bed. Restless, he got up and walked over to the window. Sitting in the chair, he put his chin in his hands and gazed out into the night sky. People were still milling about Diagon Alley, mostly those who were closing shop and heading home for the night.

He let his thoughts wander over the strange occurrences of the past few days. First, the Weasley's won the lottery and become filthy stinking rich. He could admit to himself without any feelings of jealousy, that he was happy for the Weasley's. No one deserved that amount of gold more than them. Harry knew that part of that gold was going to be funded into the Order of the Phoenix. With that kind of money, the house on Grimmauld Place would soon be clean and free of any infestation. Now if they could only get that portrait of Sirius's mother off the wall.

Thinking of Sirius made Harry a combination of sad and angry. He still didn't want to accept the fact that Sirius was dead. He rested his head on the windowsill and just let his mind empty out.

With Sirius's passing, everything that had been his was now Harry's. In turn, Harry offered it to the Order for whatever help it might provide. The Grimmauld Place had officially been re-named The Phoenix Headquarters and there were at least six to seven order members there at all times.

Harry was somewhat comforted by the fact it was being put to good use. He continued to rest his head on the window sill, watching the stars. Eventually, he began to get sleepy and made his way back to bed.

_Tomorrow will be interesting_, he thought as he fell asleep.

But sleep did not come easily to Harry. Soon he began to dream so vividly, he felt that he was there. Walking through a large wooded area, he crept through a section of bushes and came across what looked like a small village. Everyone was dressed in black and hooded. Harry felt his blood go cold as he recognized the robe of Voldemort's Death Eaters. All of a sudden a large flock of crows flew into the air, cawing as they flew up into the sky. Once the crows had flown away, Harry looked around and saw that all the Death Eaters were gone. Then he heard the laugh. That cold, maniacal laugh. Only this time, it was joined by another laugh, a woman's laugh.

Harry began to back away, his heart hammering in his chest so loud he thought the Death Eaters could hear it. In a blind panic, he tried to make his way back into the woods. Halfway back into the heart of the woods, he tripped and fell into someone. Picking himself up off the ground quickly, he spun and found him face to face with an old woman. The two of them just stood there sizing each other up for a few moments and then the old woman spoke, so clearly Harry thought she was placing her thoughts into his head.

"She'll need you when she finds out."

"What?" Harry asked, confused. "Who is 'she' and what's she going to find out?"

"You'll know. Just remember, she'll need you when she finds out." As silently as she had appeared, the woman was gone.

With a start, Harry bolted up in his bed, sweat dripping down his face.

"Not another one," he groaned as he tried to fall back asleep.


	3. Trinkets

"HARRY! RON! GET UP! WE OVERSLEPT!"

Both Ron and Harry jolted awake at Ginny's panicked yell.

"What's she yelling about?" Harry yawned. Before Ron could answer, Molly came barging into the room. Her face was flushed and she began tearing around the room.

"Boys! Get up! We overslept! If we don't hurry, we're going to be late to Kings Cross!"

The words finally sinking into their sleepy minds, Harry and Ron both lept out of bed. Ron missed the nightstand and smacked his knee on the corner.

"Bloody HELL!" he yelled, limping around the room.

"Ron!" Molly exclaimed as she began to drag his trunk out of the room. "This is ridiculous! Locomotor Trunk!"

"That HURT!" Ron continued to yell as Arthur walked in. Raising an eyebrow at his son who was now cursing the nightstand, Arthur snapped his wand at Harry's trunk and said, "Locomotor Trunk!"

"Hurry up boys, get dressed and get downstairs. Molly and I will take your trunks downstairs."

"What about Hermione and Ginny?" Harry asked as he pulled his pajama shirt over his head.

"They're getting ready as well. Now no more talking. Just get downstairs."

Ron continued to curse under his breath while he made his way to the Hogwarts uniform his mother had laid out for him, Harry's right next to it.

"You OK Ron?" Harry asked as the two of them began to dress in rapid speed.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. It bloody hurt! Those damn things shouldn't be allowed in these rooms," Ron said grumpily as he pulled his sweater vest with the Gryffindor colors over his head. Harry began to laugh.

"What?"

"You're hair is sticking out all over the place," Harry laughed as he pointed.

"Yours doesn't look any better. And your vest is on backwards," Ron retorted.

"What?" Harry looked down at his vest and sure enough, it was on backwards. Groaning, Harry pulled his arms inside the vest and twisted it around until it was facing the right way.

"Come on Harry, we better hurry up or Mum will have kittens."

Grabbing their school robes, Harry and Ron made it out into the hallway the same time Ginny and Hermione slamming their door shut as well.

"Morning Ron, Harry," Ginny chirped as she pulled on her black robe. Ron went to answer, but doors slamming down the hallway interrupted him and four of the American girls began to run down the hallway. They were led by the girl they heard called Colleen. She was closely followed by Cate, who was dragging a third they didn't know with them. Bringing up the rear was Jessica who was slinging a huge messenger bag type purse over her shoulder.

"Jess, get your butt in gear!" Colleen yelled from by the stairs.

"Colleen..." Jessica said in a slightly exasperated tone as she rushed up to her.

"If your purse didn't weigh ten tons, you'd be able to move faster."

"But Colleen! You know I keep my purse heavy just in case I have to throw it at someone's head! Hmmm... Actually, I'm considering hitting YOU with it. So cram it."

"Would both of you shut up?" the third girl asked as Cate began to laugh at them.

"Tell Jessica that. She never can keep her mouth shut."

"Awww that's so sweet!" Jessica said to Colleen, rolling her eyes. Remembering something, she began to dig into the pocket of her robe, swinging her purse around and knocking it into Colleen's stomach. On the backswing, she accidentally clipped Ron on the knee that he'd already hit on the nightstand.

"JESUS CHRIST THAT HURT!" Colleen yelled, clutching her stomach.

"Why me?" groaned Ron. Ginny and Hermione tried to suppress their giggles. Cate noticed that Jessica had hit Ron as well and walked over to them while Colleen yelled at Jessica.

"You did that on purpose!"

"What?" Jessica asked, pulling her wand out of her pocket and looking at Colleen with a blank look on her face.

"Sorry, she didn't mean to do that," Cate said to Ron.

"Well, considering she freaked out Malfoy yesterday, I won't hold this against her."

"Malfoy? OH! You mean that blonde pompous ass jerk from yesterday?"

"Yeah. You better keep an eye on your friends," Hermione warned, pointing at Jessica and Colleen.

Laughing Cate began to push Jessica and Colleen down the stairs. "Let's just say the lethal purse of doom has struck again."

The four of them disappeared from sight and Ginny began to giggle.

"I like them. I hope at least one of them is in Gryffindor."

"They seem kind of flighty to me," Ron observed. "Especially Harry's girlfriend."

"What?" Ginny asked, her eyes bugging out of her head. "You've got a new girlfriend?"

"NO." Harry said firmly, smacking Ron upside the head.

"Well, not yet," Ron laughed as he dodged Harry's second attempt to hit him.

"RON! HARRY! GINNY! HERMIONE! LET'S GO!"

"Oh crap. Mom sounds ticked," said Ginny, bolting down the stairs.

"Yeah, we better move. Now!" Hermione said to the other two.

"Right behind you," Harry replied, following Hermione and Ginny down the stairs.

Ginny began to tease Ron about being clipped by Jessica's purse.

"Shut up Gin!"

Once the four of them made their way down the stairs, they were hailed by Neville.

"Harry! Ron! Hermione! Over here!" he called to them.

"Hey Neville, what's up?" Hermione asked him.

"Not much. Gran's trying to hail down a cab to take us to the train station."

"That's probably what Mom and Dad are doing right now as well," Ginny commented.

"Hey Ron, is it true what everyone's saying?" asked Neville.

"What's everyone saying?"

"That your family is now richer then Malfoy?"

"Oh. THAT. Yeah. That's true. Dad won the loppery."

"That's 'lottery' Ron," Hemione corrected. "I think you need to spend some time in the muggle world."

"Nah. Muggles are boring."

"Brilliant observation," joked Harry.

Molly pushed her way back into the crowded pub and began to wave at them. "Ron! Get everyone outside! Neville too!"

Ron gave his mother a confused look and began to push everyone out the door onto the street.

"What's going on Mom?"

"All of you kids are going in these two taxi's. We've already packed your trunks into the back."

"Aren't you coming with us?" Ginny asked, ducking into the cab with Neville.

"No, we got called up on Order business just after we woke you up. Don't worry, the cab knows where to go and they've both been paid."

"But Mom..." Ginny began.

"Now now Ginny. Everything will be fine. You know where the barrier is and I'm sure Ron will keep an eye on you."

Ron gave a disgusted groan. "Mum, she's fifteen, she doesn't need to have an eye kept on her."

Molly crossed her arms and gave Ron a stern look. "Fine. Maybe SHE should keep an eye on YOU."

"So you want me to keep an eye on Ginny Mum? Good idea. I won't let her out of my sight."

"Very good Ron. Send me and Arthur an owl once you settle in."

"Sure thing Mom," Ginny called from inside the taxi.

"You three, quickly! Get into the other taxi!" Molly exclaimed, pushing Harry, Hermione and Ron into the second taxi. Once they were in and the door was closed, they were off to Kings Cross Station.

"This is different," Ron remarked, once they were in the taxi, speeding down the interstate.

"What is?" Hermione asked, paging through one of her new school books.

"Boarding the train by myself."

"You won't be by yourself," Harry said.

"I mean without Mom or Dad there. It's... just strange."

"I guess I can see your point."

The rest of the trip continued in silence, each of them lost in their own thoughts. Harry was debating if he should tell them about the most recent dream he had. As the taxi pulled into the parking lot of the train station, he decided against it.

_If I have the dream again, I'll tell them,_ he thought to himself.

Once their taxi had come to a complete stop, Harry opened the door and the three of them piled out of the car. The taxi driver had already unloaded their trunks and secured them carts to transport them on. Ginny and Neville were waiting for them at the entrance of the station.

"COME ON YOU GUYS! WE ONLY HAVE 10 MINUTES TO GET TO THE TRAIN!" Ginny called to them.

"Oh man, we better move a bit faster," said Harry as he grabbed his cart and began walking rapidly towards the other two, Ron and Hermione right on his heels.

The five of them came to the barrier quite quickly and with Ron acting as the lookout, one by one they each passed through the barrier.

Once on the Hogwarts Express Platform, Harry began to relax a bit, but it was short lived.

"Hey Potter!"

Groaning, Harry turned around and now stood face to face with a sneering Malfoy.

"What do you want Malfoy?" Harry asked with impatience.

Malfoy began to open his mouth, but almost in an instant, his face changed from contemptuous to what Harry thought was fearful. Turning slightly, Harry glanced over his shoulder and saw Colleen, Cate and Jessica a few feet away. Jessica was smirking at Malfoy and gave a cheery wave.

"Heya Blondie. So you going to teach me how to treat my superiors now?"

With one last evil look at Harry, Malfoy quickly stalked away, followed by Crabbe and Goyle. Puzzled as to what just happened, Harry looked from Jessica to Malfoys' quickly retreating back.

"What was THAT all about?" Hermione asked. "I could have sworn he looked afraid of her."

"Yep. It's official. She just gets cooler and cooler," laughed Ron.

The boarding whistle sounded and there was a mad dash for the entry doors to the train. A few doors down, Collen began to walk up the stairs with Cate right behind her. Miscalculating where the step was, Cate stumbled a bit, but regained her composure quickly. Right behind her, Jessica began to climb up the stairs, but accidentally stepped on the hem of Cate's robe.

"Uh oh..." she said before she, Cate and Colleen all ended up on the ground.

"JESSICA!" Colleen yelled.

"Damnit! Get OFF me!" came a muffled yell.

"Oops! Sorry! Heh heh heh..."

The three of them finally detangled themselves and made their way onto the train.

Ron just shook his head at the display and continued onto the train. "It'll never be a dull moment with them around," he observed as they witnessed Jessica stepping on her own robe and crashing to the ground.

"WHY DO THESE THINGS HAVE TO BE SO LONG?" they heard her yell before she was herded into the head compartment.

"Hmmmm, those are the Prefect compartments," Hermoine stated, her eyes narrowing with curiosity.

"I wonder why they're being kept separate," Harry asked.

"I don't know. There's probably a good reason."

"They're being explained all the rules and stuff," came a voice from behind.

"Oh... hey... Luna," Ron said to the girl in the doorway of their compartment.

"You're family won the lottery. Draco Malfoy really hates the fact that you're now better than him," Luna said to Ron in her matter of fact tone.

A huge grin spread across Ron's face. "Well now. How about that!"

"Ron!" Hermione said from by the window, scooting over so Luna could sit down. "That sounds like something Malfoy would say!"

"AHHH!" Ron yelled, pressing his hands over his ears. "That's the second time I said something Malfoy-ish!"

"Ron..." Hermione started to say. Ron continued to press his fingers into his temples, as if trying to get rid of a headache. Hermione cautiously put a hand on his arm. "I didn't mean it like that. You'll never be as bad as Malfoy is. It's not in you."

"Thanks Hermione, I'm still just getting used to the idea that I don't have to get second-hand stuff anymore. It kind of hasn't sunk in yet."

Wanting to lighten the mood, Harry asked Luna, "So Luna, have you talked to any of those Americans yet?"

Twirling her wand around her fingers, Luna thought for a moment. "I did talk to the sisters."

"Sisters? Which ones are the sisters?" Ginny asked.

"Probably those blonde girls," said Neville.

"You think?" she asked him.

"Well, yeah. Because that day, in Diagon Alley when the one with the hair and the shoes set Malfoy on fire, the other one got pissy about the book she was reading."

"Yeah, then she said she was going to send the book back to their mother," Hermione remembered, sitting back down on the seat.

"That's right. They did mention it then," Harry agreed.

Luna smiled. "They're nice. I don't think they'll be in Ravenclaw though."

"Why not?" asked Ron, finally sitting back down across from Hermione.

"Well, it's not because they aren't smart or anything, from what I've heard, the transfer students we're getting are the smartest left of the surviving student body. I can't actually say why I think that though. It's just a hunch."

"Well, we also know that they won't be in Slytherin. Not with the way they treat Malfoy..." Neville began to say. A loud ruckus in the alleyway made him stop talking, drawing their attention out to the hallway. Their compartment door was still open, the noise began to get closer to them. A few seconds passed and an extremely agitated Malfoy made his way past their open compartment, Crabbe and Goyle right on his heels.

A few moments later, Jessica came past, her eyes blazing with anger. Right behind her was Colleen. Stopping in front of their compartment, she called after them, "RUN BLONDIE RUUUUUUN!"

Cate came to a skidding halt right behind Colleen, trying not to knock them both over. Laughing hysterically, she also yelled after Malfoy and Jessica, "You can run but you can't hide Blondie boy! She can smell fear!"

"What's going on?" Ginny asked excitedly, making her way to the open doorway. Poking her head out into the hall, she saw Malfoy disappear into an open compartment, Jessica right behind him. Colleen and Cate continued to laugh, so hard in fact that tears began to stream down Cate's face.

"Oh MAN! He's going to regret saying THAT to her!" Cate managed to get out between spurts of laughter.

"What? What did he say?" Ginny practically pleaded her.

"Oh, sorry, we didn't mean to ignore you," Colleen apologized, sticking out her hand. "Hi, I'm Colleen Forsythe, this is Cate Zeigler. The psycho that just ran past is Jessica Zeigler."

"Pleased to meet you," Ginny said as she shook Colleen's hand. "You guys are from Trinkets, aren't you?

"Yeah," Cate said, her good mood darkening a bit.

"Oh! Sorry! I didn't mean to say that..." Ginny apologized quickly, her face flushing bright red.

"It's ok," Colleen said to her, trying to make her feel better. "So, who's everyone else?"

"Oh! Sorry! The redhead boy in the back is my brother Ron Weasly, the girl next to him is Luna Lovegood. Next is Neville Longbottom. On the other side is Hermoine Granger, and Harry Potter. Oh yeah, I'm Ginny Weasly."

For a moment, Harry was astounded that neither of them began looking for his scar or say, "So YOU'RE Harry Potter!" He discovered he liked not being gaped at like a circus freak.

Everyone began saying hi to each other. Once the basic introductions were done Cate asked, "So what's the deal with the houses? Everyone keeps saying Jessica won't be in Slytherin. I take it that's the good house?"

Ron snorted in laughter, "Slytherin is the WORST house to be put in. Everyone in it is mean and a bunch of jerks."

"So I take it that the blonde jerk is in Slytherin? What's his name again?"

"Draco Malfoy."

Colleen snickered. "You're kidding right? That's really his name?"

Harry smiled at them, liking both of them immediately. "Yeah. It is."

A high pitched shriek came from the back of the train. Colleen began to laugh again. "Ok, I think she got him. Shall we go drag her away before she turns him into a real jackass?"

"Yeah, we better. We don't want her getting expelled before we even start the new year," Cate agreed. "I can only imagine what she did to him..."

"When you find out, come back and tell us!" Ginny laughed, bouncing in her seat.

"No problem. We'll have to pass you guys back on our way to our compartment," Colleen said as she waved good-bye to them.

The two of them disappeared and Ron began laughing again. Luna also began to giggle and Harry grinned widely at his friends. This was definitely shaping up to be the start of a good term.

Loud laughter filled the hallway a minute later and slight struggling could be heard as Jessica, Cate and Colleen made their way back to the front of the train. As they got closer to the Gryffindor's compartment they could hear Cate cracking up and Colleen praising Jessica.

Once they reached the doorway, Harry and everyone else saw that both Cate and Colleen were pushing Jessica back to their compartment. Jessica on the other hand didn't look amused. "That vile, evil, pompous ASS! He's going to regret what he said!"

"Jess, you gave him donkey ears. Those aren't coming off for a while. I think he's gotten your point!" Cate said, then burst into hysterics again.

Colleen peeked in the compartment and laughed, "She gave that Malfoy kid Donkey ears! And those two blubbery boys he has with him like bodyguards, they got donkey tails. It's a good thing we dragged her away when we did. Some pug faced girl was about to get it next."

"You mean you dragged her away before she could hex that cow Pansy Parkinson?" Hermione asked with slight disappointment.

"Is that the dog girl?" Cate asked.

Hermoine began to laugh. "That's Pansy!"

While Cate and Colleen were talking with Hermione, Jessica had taken advantage of their distraction and barged back to the area of the train Malfoy and his friends were.

All of a sudden they heard her yell, "YOU THINK WE'RE SO STUPID AND POWERLESS NOW?"

"Oooooh crap," Cate said, jerking her head towards the sound of her sister's extremely agitated voice.

"Let's get her," Colleen said quickly. Sizing up Neville and Ron, she added, "Redhead boy, Neville is it? Would you kindly assist us?"

"Sure," Ron said, making his way out of the compartment and following Cate down the hall. Neville gave Colleen a slightly fearful face.

"Um... I don't think I should go..." he stammered.

"If it's because of that Malfoy kid, I wouldn't worry. Jess's probably turned him into a fruit fly or something by now."

"Ok..." Neville said with trepidation, following her down the hall.

"I wonder whey they didn't ask me," Harry wondered out loud to Hermione, Ginny, and Luna.

"You're not sitting in their line of vision," Luna said, twirling her necklace of Butterbeer caps around her finger.

"Oh."

"Oh he's so going to get it. He thinks he's better than me, just wait!"

Hermione and Harry snapped their heads towards the open door once again and saw Jessica stomp past, her face red with rage.

"That idiotic bag of horse vomit doesn't know who he's messing with!"

Ron and Neville came through the door next, their faces red also. Only it wasn't with anger. Upon closing the door of the compartment, they began to laugh hysterically.

"WHAT?" Ginny pressed them. "What did she do?"

"Malfoy... donkey ears...tail...HOOVES!"

Neville began to laugh harder as Ron tried to talk. It was a good twenty minutes before the two of them had calmed down enough to tell the others what they'd seen.

"Come on you two, what did you see?" asked Hermione anxiously.

"Ok... ok... I'm better now..." Ron managed to get out.

"Let's just say the new students from Trinkets know some pretty powerful spells..." laughed Neville."I've never seen ANYONE get the best of Malfoy! Well other than the time the guy impersonating Mad-Eye Moody turned him into a ferret and bounced him all over the hallway... but this is superiorly better!"

"Come on you guys! Quit beating around the bush!" Harry exclaimed.

There was a knock on the compartment door. Once it slid open a bit, Cate poked her head through the door and said, "Hey Neville, Ron, thanks for helping us get her out of there."

"Ok, since they won't tell us, what happened in there?" Hermione asked Cate.

Rolling her eyes and trying to suppress a laugh, Cate answered, "Jessica basically turned them all into half donkey-half people. That Pansy girl? Yeah. She has the head of a donkey right now."

"You're kidding..." Hermione asked, her eyes going wide.

"Nope!" Ron laughed out. "Oh God I wished I had a camera!"

The train began to slow down, and Cate lost her footing, nearly falling over. "Is this a good thing? The train is stopping."

"That means we're at Hogwarts," Harry reassured her.

"Oh. Well, we'll see you guys inside!" she waved cheerily and walked back to the rest of her group.

Significantly calmer, Neville told the rest of them, "Whatever house the rest are in, I don't care. I hope we get Jessica and Cate. Those two are fantastic."

"Jessica looks like she has a temper though," Hermione said cautiously.

"Malfoy said that the whole american magical community should have been taken out," Luna said from behind. All heads snapped her way.

"He said WHAT?" Harry asked, not believing Malfoy could be THAT cruel.

"He told that Jessica girl that she should have perished in the blast with the rest of their inferior race."

"Oh my god. No wonder she went after him like that. Not many whole families are left in America," Hermione said, her hand over her mouth in shock. The train began its final stopping procedure and the hallways began to fill with students. Watching out the window, Harry noticed that four students were being hurried off the train and put into a separate carriage that began a hasty ride to the school.

"I'll bet that's the four of them," Ginny said to Harry as they stood up and began to fight their way out of the compartment.

"I think you're right," he grinned back to her.

In a mob of yelling students they made their way over to where the Thestral pulled carriages were waiting. Luna waved goodbye to them and made her way over to a few other Ravenclaws. Patting one of the Thestral's on the neck, she stepped up into one of the carriages. Harry and Ron just looked at each other and shrugged. There was no figuring that girl out. Hermione and Ginny had already made their way into a nearby carriage. They made their way over to the carriage the girls were in, Ron heading in first. Harry took the first step up and looked out at the others. The Trinket's students were walking around the carriages trying to figure out what pulled them. He heard Cate say with annoyance, "THESTRALS! They're pulled by THESTRALS! Get over it!"

Laughing, Harry climbed the rest of the way into the carriage.

"What's so funny Harry?" Ron asked him.

"Did our american friends strike again?" Ginny asked.

"Yeah, they were trying to figure out how the carriages are pulled."

Hermione gave a short giggle. "I imagine they don't' know what Thestrals are."

"No, Cate did," Harry said to her.

"So, Hermione, what do you know about that Trinket's school?" Ron asked her.

"Well, not much. They really are not talked about much in any book I've ever read. But I do know that the founder of the school is a sorceress. In some areas, Trinkets surpasses all the other magic schools."

"How so?" asked Harry.

"Well, Trinkets is the the only school to ever have sorcerers or sorceresses attending it. Though, that's a pretty rare occurrence. They also are advanced in the areas of potion making and divination."

"Well, I guess Snape will like them ok," Ron remarked.

"Not if they don't go into Slytherin," Ginny reminded him.

"Oh yeah."

"FIRS' YEARS! FIRS' YEARS OVER HERE!"

"It's Hagrid!" Harry exclaimed, leaning out the window and waving at the mountain of a man twenty feet away.

Hagrid waved happily back, and then turned his attention back to the obviously terrified first years.

"Were we EVER that small?" Ron asked, leaning his head on his arms and gazing out the window.

"We were. It's almost amazing we were, isn't it?" Hermione asked.

The carriage jerked suddenly and Harry nearly fell out of his seat. "I wish they'd ring a bell or something before they start moving," he grumbled, leaning back in the seat as Ron laughed at him.

The five of them traveled in a bumpy silence until the massive Hogwarts castle came into sight.

"It's almost like coming home," Harry said to the rest of them. The carriages came to a halt and everyone began to jump out and head towards the castle.

"I hope the sorting goes really fast, I'm SOOOOO hungry!" Ron moaned, holding his hand over his stomach.

"You're ALWAYS hungry," Ginny said to him, pushing him up one of the front steps.

"I'm a growing boy. We need food. And lots of it! Right Harry?"

Instead of answering, the heard Harry's stomach growl. "Boys." Hermione said, shaking her head. Harry felt a warm feeling of Homecoming wash over him as he walked thought he massive doors of Hogwarts. This truly was his home, he was always happy to return to it. Catching a glimpse of Cate and Colleen, he waved to them and they waved back while Jessica was being talked to by some other boy.

"I swear, if she'd finished with them, there's no telling WHAT damage could have been done!"

Harry looked up and saw a tight lipped Professor McGonagall coming down the stairs that led to the hospital wing. Professor Flitwick was with her and he just laughed.

"Seems like we inherited a rowdy bunch, eh Minerva?"

"Looks like it. But I can't say I'm angry with the girl. From what I hear, Malfoy did say some horrible things, but she'll still have to learn control like everyone else. Special circumstances or not."

Before Harry could hear anymore, the professors had walked away, heading towards the scared first years.

"Special circumstances? What do you think they meant by that?" asked Ginny, twirling a lock of red hair around her finger.

"I have no idea. Let's go into the hall. The sooner we sit down. The sooner we can eat."

"That's Ron Weasly. Thinking with is stomach rather than his brain."

"Thanks Gin."

Once the student body was seated, Professor Dumbledore stood up and spread his arms out in a gesture of welcome.

"Welcome welcome! Now we begin the new year! As I'm sure all of you have read, a great tragedy has befallen our American friends. I won't go into great detail, but I'm asking that you please refrain from asking these students about their old school. They are still grieving and it would be in poor taste. Welcome them like you would anyone else walking through those great double doors! They are just like all of us, even if they are from a different country."

Professor McGonagall opened the great doors and led the scared, hungry and exhausted lot of new students. The first years were in front, followed by Professor McGonagall, with the seven Trinket's students bringing up the rear of the group.

Harry found he couldn't concentrate on the Sorting Hat's new song. He was to busy watching all the Slytherins trying to trip Jessica, the knowledge of what she did to four of their housemates common knowledge by that point. Harry fought the urge to laugh when he saw her step on all of their feet, flashing them each a small smile. Once Harry turned his attention back to the front of the room, the first years had already been sorted.

"Wow. That was fast," he murmured across the table to Hermione.

"Not paying attention Harry?" she joked, glancing over at Jessica and back at him. Harry felt his face turning red and slouched down in his seat.

"Now that the first years have been sorted, will all the Trinket transfers please step forward?" Professor McGonagall ordered. The seven remaining students stepped to the front of the room.

"Bartlett, Paul!"

A tall skinny boy, with patches of freckles on each cheek and choppy brown hair stepped forward and sat on the stool. He watched apprehensively as the Sorting Hat was lowered onto his head.

"RAVENCLAW, 4th year!" the Sorting Hat announced as the Ravenclaw table erupted into cheers.

"Forsythe, Colleen!"

Colleen skipped forward, and sat down on the stool. She wasn't even paying attention when the Sorting Hat was placed on her head.

"RAVENCLAW! 6th year!" The Ravenclaw table erupted again as Cho moved sideways a little bit, making room for Colleen at the table.

"Reyes! Craig!"

A short, stocky boy with dark hair and a slight case of acne nervously made his way to the stool. He watched Professor McGonagall intently as she came towards him with the hat.

"HUFFLEPUFF! 5th year!"

It was the Hufflepuff table's turn to cheer. Ernie McMillian reached out and shook Craig's hand as the other boy nervously sat down.

"Sanders, Karen."

The other girl from the Leaky cauldron that morning walked forward and gave Professor McGonagall a shaky smile as she sat down. The Sorting Hat slipped off her head and fell to the floor. She gave a nervous laugh before she reached down and put it back on her head. The Hat took a little longer with her before finally announcing to the hall.

"RAVENCLAW! 7th year!"

Relieved, Karen rushed over to where Craig was sitting and the two of them finally began to relax a bit.

"Wheeler, Drake!"

A tall lanky boy made his way to the stool. He sat there as if bored as the Sorting Hat was placed on his head. He didn't even flinch when the Hat announced, "HUFFLEPUFF! 7th year!"

"Wow, he looked like he just didn't care," Dean remarked to the Gryffindor table.

"I wonder why we haven't gotten any new students," Parvati said to everyone around her.

"We aren't the only ones," Harry remarked, nodding over to the Slytherin table.

"Zeigler, Cathryn."

Cate walked up to the stool and sat down. She smiled at Professor McGonagall as the Sorting Hat was lowered onto her head. Almost immediately it announced, "GRYFFINDOR! 6th year!"

The Gryffindor table erupted into cheers, high fiving each other. Ginny scooted to the side so Cate could slip in beside her, next to Ron.

"Allright!" Neville cheered, knocking over a glass goblet.

"I'm so relieved! I heard this was the best house," Cate said, her face glowing. Her smile wilted slightly as her sister's name was called.

"Zeigler, Jessica."

A hush fell over the great hall. Everyone by that time had heard of what she'd done to Malfoy on the train and unknown to the teachers, there was a bet going on that she would be placed in Slytherin.

Jessica walked carefully up the stairs, holding her robes up so she wouldn't trip on them. She sat in the chair and gave her sister a nervous glance. The Sorting Hat seemed stumped. For nearly fifteen minutes it stayed silent. Cate groaned.

"Not again..."

"What do you mean, not again?" Harry asked her.

"It took forever for her to be placed at Trinket's too. They had no idea where to put her."

"Is she... I mean, Is she a MEAN person?" Hermione asked.

"No. Not usually. That Malfoy kid just seems to bring it out of her."

Cate turned her attention back to her sister who was now starting to get fidgety. Five minutes later, the Sorting Hat finally announced, "GRYFFINDOR! 6th year!"

"Oh thank god," Jessica muttered as she took the hat off and handed it back to Professor McGonagall. The Gryffindor table was roaring with joy. Harry noticed the cheers she was getting were even louder than the ones he'd received when he'd been placed in Gryffindor. He had to admit, he understood why. Anyone who turned Draco Malfoy into a Donkey was bound to score big points.

Jessica began to make her way over to the Gryffindor table, a beaming smile on her face. Harry moved over quickly, trying to make her room, but was to late when she sat right across from him, next to Hermoine.

"Well, I'm glad THAT'S over," she announced, giving everyone a relieved smile. "For a minute or two I thought they were going to put me in the Donkey House."

"Why on earth did it take so long to sort you?" Cate asked from down the table.

"No idea," answered Jessica, shrugging her shoulders.

Over at the Ravenclaw table, Cho had her hands full with a sobbing Colleen. Glancing over her shoulder, Jessica excused herself for a moment and walked over to her. Cho gave Jessica a look that quite plainly said, "HELP ME!"

"What's wrong with Colleen?" Ron asked, puzzled.

"She wanted us all to be in the same house," Cate said softly, looking down at her empty plate. Colleen finally calmed down a bit and Jessica sat back down at the Gryffindor table. Quickly making his way down the aisle, Professor Flitwick put a hand on Colleen's shoulder and led her out of the Great Hall, still crying.

Once the two of them were gone, Professor Dumbledore once again held up his arms. "Old students and new students. I have five words for you. Are you ready to ruuuubllllllle?"

Dumbledore's weird announcement was met with a eerie silence. The students began to whisper to themselves until Craig, Cate, Jessica and Karen began to laugh loudly.

"I take it you understand this?" Hannah Abbot asked Karen.

"American... wresting... they say it before the match," Karen managed to get out, wiping tears from her eyes.

Jessica was also laughing so hard she was crying. "I never ever heard it said like that!"

Cate wiped a tear from her face and blurted out, "Our brother Leo would go into conniptions if he heard that." Once the rest of the student body began to laugh, the great feast materialized.

"Really Albus? What was that about?" McGonagall asked him as he sat back down.

"Only trying to make our American students feel more welcome Minerva. They have a rough transition ahead of them. I will expect they'll start to feel the culture shock soon."

"I was thinking Albus, why not let them form a few of their teams here? It would do our students good to be exposed to other countries activities."

"Excellent idea Minerva. Now our only problem is finding a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

"I thought if we couldn't fill the position, the ministry would appoint someone."

"Not after that disaster with Delores Umbridge. The Ministry's going to give us a little more time."

"I hope we find a suitable candidate soon."

"So do I Minerva."

Back at the Gryffindor table, Harry and Ron were stuffing their mouths full of food.

"Man, it feels like I haven't eaten in years!" Ron exclaimed as he forked another piece of bread into his mouth. Harry nodded in agreement as he picked up his goblet full of pumpkin juice. Hermione gave them a disgusted look.

"Can't you two eat like humans?" she asked them.

"Our brother did that when he was their age. He ate everything in the fridge. It's a wonder he didn't weigh 500 pounds," Cate said as she took a drink out of her goblet. Jessica nodded as she swallowed what she was chewing.

"Our brother Leo was the human vacuum cleaner."

"I meant to ask you two before, are you twins or something?" Ginny asked.

"No," Jessica answered before taking a drink of water.

"Then how are you in the same year?" Harry asked her, nervously knocking his fork onto the ground.

Not noticing Harry's act of clumsiness, Jessica answered matter of factly, "I'm adopted."

"Yep. That she is," Cate agreed.

"Does it bother you?" Ron asked, nearly spraying them all with chewed up food.

"Ew! Ron, swallow before you speak!" Hermione said to him, using her empty plate as a shield.

Jessica went to lean away from the table, but lost her balance and fell backwards off the bench.

"WHOA!" she managed to get out before she landed on her back, one leg in the air, the other hooked under the table. "Ow. That hurt."

"JESSICA! Where's your form? Where's the style?" Karen called over from the Ravenclaw table.

"I meant to do it that way," Jessica retorted lightly, picking herself up off the ground.

"You American's are crazy," Ron stated.

"Awww! Ron! You've only known us for under an hour and you give us that compliment?" Jessica said sweetly, batting her eyelashes at him. "You sure know how to sweet talk a girl."

Ron sat frozen in his seat, his fork halfway to his mouth. Cate put her hand on his arm. "Ron. She's teasing you. Don't worry, you'll get used to it."

"Uh... yeah. Oh look! Dessert!"

The dessert trays began to appear, replacing the empty dinner ones.

"OOoooooh chocolate!" Jessica said, her eyes wide.

"No! No Chocolate!" Cate said, slapping her sister's hand away from the chocolate pudding.

"Why won't you let her have any?" Harry asked.

"You think she's bad now? Wait until the first time you see her on a full blown sugar high. Last big one she was on was last year during finals week. She downed a whole bunch of pixie sticks," noticing Ron's confused expression, she added quickly, "It's an american candy. Basically it's colored sugar in paper tubes. Anyways, she and Angela..." Cate's voice broke for a second and Jessica looked down at her plate.

Harry didn't know what to say. He didn't want to let them know he'd overheard the news in the Leaky Cauldron about their friend dying in the blast. Before he could think twice he blurted, "I'm sorry about your school and all those people who died."

Jessica looked up at him through her eyelashes and smiled weakly. "Thanks. It's still sinking in. It's hard to believe all those people are gone. But Cate, finish your story. Angela would want our exploits remembered."

"Ok," Cate continued. "Jessica and Angela both downed about a hundred of them apiece and they were so hyped up during our divination final that they couldn't hold the tea-cups still. They were clattering all over the place. Not to mention neither of them could keep still."

"That doesn't seem hard to believe, "joked Ron. Jessica laughed and motioned for Cate to finish the story.

"So anyways, they caused so much noise that our Professor made them stay after to clean up. That was mistake number one. The second one was leaving them alone. When our professor got back to the classroom everything had been stuck to the ceiling with sticking charms."

Harry, Ron and even Hermione laughed. "You really did that?" said Harry.

"Yep. It took them two weeks to get everything down. Needless to say, Ang and I passed our Charms final."

The empty trays began to disappear, along with all the goblets and table linens.

"Prefects, please lead your houses to the dormitories," McGonagall announced, signaling the end of the feat.

"Prefects?" Cate asked.

"Is that the most responsible person from each house or something?" asked Jessica, a slightly confused look on her face.

"Responsible? Then how did RON become a Prefect?" Hermione asked, making Ron roll his eyes.

"Come on, let's get this over with. HEY YOU! YEAH! YOU TWERPS!"

"RON! Didn't we go through this last year?" Hermione snapped at him. "FIRST YEARS! FOLLOW ME PLEASE!"

Cate and Jessica snorted at Ron and Hermione. Cate leaned over and asked Harry quietly as they were standing up, "Are those two... you know..."

"Dating." Jessica finished for her.

"JESS!"

"Oh come on Cate. We'd be 80 by the time you spit the whole question out," Jessica said to her sister, checking her robe pockets, making sure her wand was still in the inside pocket. Glancing up she saw Harry's amused expression.

"Cate thinks he's cute."

"JESSICA AMBROSIA ZEIGLER! I told you NOT to say anything!"

"Harry won't tell, will ya Harry?"

"Nope. Won't tell a soul."

"See? He won't tell Ron you want to..."

Cate made a sound in the back of her throat like an angry cat and Jessica immediately shut up.

"Oh look! A bright shiny change of subject. Should we follow them since we have no idea where we're supposed to go?" Jessica said quickly, ducking away from her sister as Cate reached out to smack her.

"Probably a good idea, I'll show you guys the way," said Harry. All of a sudden, he was pounced on both sides of his body. Cate grabbed his left arm and looped her arm around it while Jessica did the same with his right.

"Our own personal tour guide."

"Awww so sweet!"

"Such a charmer, he is."

"Oh yes. A real ladies man."

"Loooook! He's turning red!"

"Isn't that cute?"

Harry knew his face was flaming red as he walked out of the hallway, a pretty girl on each of his arms. Cho passed them by and gave them all a dark look.

"Awww, she's jealous!"

"Yep. She wants a piece of our boy here."

"Well to bad."

"Yep, we call dibs!"

"Dibs," Harry managed to laugh, remembering the conversation from the previous day outside the ice cream parlor.

"Yep. You're officially our property."

"A nice new acquisition to our collection!"

The teasing continued as the three of them made their way up the main staircase.

"Whoa..." Jessica said with admiration, watching all the staircases moving.

"Do they ALL do that?" Cate asked.

"Yeah, don't worry, you'll know which ones you'll need to get to the Gryffindor tower in no time," Harry reassured the two girls still attached to his arms. He led them onto the first staircase and they were quickly joined by Neville, Dean, Seamus and a few Ravenclaws, Colleen among them.

"Man! Why is Potter the chick magnet?" Seamus said, throwing his arms in the air.

Jessica and Cate began to giggle and the group of students made their way up the staircase where the Gryffindor and Ravenclaws would go in separate directions. Just as Colleen and Neville stepped up a step, Harry forgot to warn them about the disappearing step.

"What the hell?" Colleen yelled as she began to fall backwards, grabbing onto Neville's robes.

"Don't take me with you!" he yelled.

Faster than a blink of an eye, Jessica whipped around. Using her free arm, she made a wide sweeping gesture with her arm, pulling Neville and Colleen up onto solid staircase. For a second, Harry didn't see her wand, but after he blinked, there it was.

"That's some quick reflexes," Dean complimented her.

"Thanks. You guys ok?" Jessica asked Colleen and Neville.

"Yeah..." Colleen stammered, locking her hands onto the banister of the stairs. They reached the top of the stairs and were greeted by Ron and Hermione.

"Geez Harry. You move fast," Ron joked.

"Awwww Ron feels left out Cate. Why don't you make him feel like a part of the group?" Jessica said to her sister with a smile. Cate shot Jessica a glare, and then quickly made her way up to Ron, looping her arm around his.

"Is this better?" she asked him, smiling widely.

"Uh... I guess so..." Ron managed to say, stunned.

Harry and Jessica began to laugh and Jessica released Harry's arm.

"You're not bad as a tour guide," she told him.

"Thanks," he said, his stomach getting jumpy. The two of them joined Hermione and followed Cate and Ron to the portrait hole leading to the Gryffindor tower.

"Expecto Patronum," Hermoine said clearly and firmly.

"Welcome back Gryffindors. And I see we have a couple new ones as too. Well, in you go!" the Fat Lady said, giving Cate and Jessica a smile of welcome. Ducking their heads, they passed through the portrait hole and into the welcoming common room of the Gryffindor Tower.

"Here it is! The Gryffindor Tower," Ron announced proudly, detangling himself from Cate. She didn't notice due to the fact she was looking around at everything.

"Nice," Jessica stated, wandering around, looking at everything. She began to cross the room towards the fireplace, but one of her platformed mary janes caught the hem of her robe and she went sprawling onto the floor.

"I think you need your robes hemmed," Hermione told her, rushing forward to help her off the ground. Lavender and Parvati came skipping down the stairs.

"Hey Hermione! Hi Cate! Hi Jessica! You guys will be staying with us in our room. We'll help you get settled in. Coming Hermione?" Lavander gushed as she grabbed Cate's arm.

"I'll be up in a moment," Hermione told them as Lavender dragged Cate upstairs, followed by Parvati who was dragging Jessica. The giggling quartet disappeared around the corner of the stairs and could be heard all the way into their room.

Smiling, she turned to Harry and Ron." So Harry...what was that little display all about?"

"I don't know! They just did that! They're weird!"

"Yeah, but you should have seen the look on your face when the three of you were coming up the stairs," Ron agreed, pointing at Harry.

"But... they... I didn't..."

"Harry, it's ok! We're just teasing you," said Hermione, sitting down in one of the lounge chairs.

Loud twittering from the Boy's Dormitory caught Ron's attention. "I'll bet that's Pig with news from Mum and Dad. I'll be right back." Ron began to rush up the stairs, taking three at a time.

Hermione looked after him and just shook her head. Sitting back she asked Harry, "Is Ron ok? I mean with me?"

"Dating Krum?" Harry asked.

"Yeah."

"No, he's hurt. But he knows that his chance passed."

Hermione sat silent for a few seconds. "That's not how I wanted him to find out. I wanted to tell him sooner, but the right time never came up." She leaned forward and began to massage her temples. "I don't want Ron to hate me."

"He doesn't. He told me that he'd rather be your friend and have you date Krum, then not being your friend at all. Plus, let's just say someone has their eye on him."

"Who? JESSICA?" she asked with surprise, glancing at Harry.

"No. Cate."

"Oooooh, that's good."

Harry laughed. "Why?"

"Well, because, you know. I've noticed you've had your eye on Jessica since we first saw them in Diagon Alley."

"Um..."

"Harry, anyone with eyes could see you gaping at her like an idiot."

"Oh. I didn't know I was that obvious."

Hermione smiled at him. "So why did those two grab onto you like that?"

"I was their tour guide. I think they like teasing me. It really amused them when Cho walked past us. She didn't look to happy about the three of us."

"Hmmmm... So that's it." Hermione said thoughtfully.

"What's it?" Ron asked from behind as he jumped off the last few steps.

"I've just been hearing some... stuff about Cho lately," Hermione answered him. Ron sat in the chair next to Harry.

"What have you heard?" he asked.

"Well... let's just say that Cho has regrets about how things ended between her and Harry."

"What? You're kidding?" exclaimed Harry. "She dumped me! Because she couldn't stop talking about Cedric!"

"And her friend betrayed us to Umbridge," Ron added.

"And she had a fit whenever you said you talked to me," finished Hermione.

"So what on earth does she have to regret?" Harry wondered.

"Well, from what Luna told Ginny, Michael Corner broke up with Cho during the summer because she did the same thing to him. Always compared him to Harry, stuff like that. He had enough and broke it off. Can't say I blame him," she told them.

"Huh. Well, I guess that's too bad. That ship has sailed, hasn't it Harry?" said Ron.

Glancing over to the stairway leading to the girls dormitories, Harry nodded. "Yeah. That ship has sailed."

Hermione rose from her chair and stretched her arms over her head and yawned.

"Good night you guys. I'm going to head up. Hopefully Lavender and Parvati haven't hurt Cate and Jessica too much,"

"I highly doubt it," Ron said, also rising from his chair. Hermione made her way up to her room while Ron and Harry trudged up the stairs to the boy's dormitory.

"Well, this looks like it's going to be a good year, all in all." Ron stated to Harry.

"It sure does."


	4. Let the Games Begin!

"Hey Harry, could you pass me the sausage?"

"Ron! That's your third helping!"

"I can't help it, Hermione, I'm hungry!"

Hermione shook her head as Harry passed Ron the plate of sausages next to him, but not before he took half the plate for himself.

"Boys," she muttered, snapping shut her copy of The Dispatch and opening The Daily Prophet.

"Why are you getting the American paper, Hermione?" asked Harry, spearing a sausage with his fork.

"I think it might be a good idea to keep up with what's happening over there. Taking out that school while all those people were there seems a little too coincidental to me."

"Dat's true, 'Ermione," Ron agreed, his mouth full.

"Ron, don't talk with your mouth full," Hermione said to him, scanning an article in the Daily Prophet. "Oh look, Harry's in the newspaper again."

"Imagine that," Harry said as he shrugged it off. "I wonder when they'll stop doing that. It's really annoying."

"What's he in it this time for?" Ron asked, loading up his plate again.

Hermione looked at Ron's plate with disgust. "Are you sure you're not a pig, Ron? That's your third plate."

"Come on Hermione, just tell me why he's in the paper this time."

"Fine. Let me see... oh! It's about the capture of all those Death Eaters before the end of term last year. You know what? I've been thinking why don't they just make up The Harry Potter Daily?" joked Hermione.

"Ha ha ha," scoffed Harry, pushing his now empty plate away from him. Leaning back a bit he said to them, "Did you guys notice how the American kids..."

"Didn't know who you are?" Ron finished.

"Yeah. It was weird. Nice... but weird."

"I don't know. Maybe that will be the first article in the Harry Potter Daily!" laughed Hermione.

"Harry Potter Daily? What's that?"

"Why would Harry need his own newspaper?"

Hermione turned around and saw Jessica and Cate walking over to them. Smiling, she said to them, "Good morning!"

"Yeah, what she said," Ron said as he plowed his way through the food on his plate.

Harry scooted over on the bench and this time, Jessica did sit down next to him. She went to reach for an apple out of one of the bowls and asked again, "Why would Harry need his own newspaper?"

"What? You're kidding right?" asked Ron, his eyebrows shooting up. "Don't tell me you don't know who he is!"

"Yeah. He's Harry Potter. Kid with glasses and in the same house as us. What else is there to know?" asked Cate, her face puzzled.

"You mean you really don't know?" shocked, Hermione just looked at the other two girls.

"Know what? DAMNIT! NOW I KNOW THIS ROBE IS TO BIG!" Jessica shook the arm of her robe that was now drenched in water. The goblet she'd knocked over reaching for her apple was rolling down the table.

"Here," offered Harry, handing her a napkin.

"Thanks. How do you guys manage these things? Ugh. That's it, it's coming off." Jessica stood abruptly, nearly knocking over another goblet. She quickly whipped off the black robe and set it down on the bench. Sitting back down she announced, "Much better."

"Ok, now that today's display of Moron Theatre is over, can someone please answer my question?" Cate asked again, giving her sister the apple that had rolled over to her side of the table.

"Well, I don't really know how to explain this..." Hermione stammered.

"When I was about a year old, this really bad wizard, Voldemort, came and killed my parents. When he tried to kill me, his spell backfired and gave me this scar," Harry explained quickly, pushing his hair off his forehead so Jessica and Cate could see the lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead.

"So you're famous because you lived, and he died," asked Cate, taking a piece of toast off the serving tray.

"Well, he didn't really die. But at the end of our fourth year, he did somehow manage to get his body back," Ron finished for Harry.

"America has never heard of Vol- I mean You-Know-Who?" asked Hermione.

"Why do you call him You-Know-Who? Just use his name. But I guess either way he has a stupid name," stated Jessica right before she bit into her apple.

"The wizard community here refuses to use his name," Harry explained.

"Oh."

"So, why have you never heard of him?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Well, I guess about the same time you had your Psycho wizard, we had our own crazy sorceress. Jamie Dawson. Man she was about four cans short of a six pack from what we heard. No one knows why she all of a sudden went on a power trip, but she and her Shadows," noticing Ron's blank stare, Cate added, "Her followers were called Shadows. You never knew who was a Shadow or not. The Hunters really had to be on their toes."

"Hunters?" asked Harry.

"I think here you call them Aurors, if I'm correct," Jessica answered him, absently twirling a lock of purple hair around her index finger.

"Yeah..." Harry mumbled as he watched her. Not paying attention, he put his arm up on the table and rested his chin in his hand, not noticing the goblet of pumpkin juice. As he turned slightly to watch Jessica, his elbow shot out a bit to the side, knocking into the stem of the goblet, sending the goblet and it's orange contents spilling all over the table.

"AUGH!" Ron yelled, leaping back from the table, pumpkin juice running down the front of his robe.

"What the..." Cate said as she jerked back from the table, her white shirt spotting with orange.

Hermione kicked Harry in the shin under the table. "Wha...?" he stammered. Hermione pointed to Ron and Cate who were now trying to dab the spilled juice out of their clothing.

"It's no use. I'm going to have to go change," Cate mumbled.

"Hang on, I'll walk with you. I'm going to have to change too," Ron called after her, throwing the napkin on the table. "Smooth move Harry," he muttered as he passed by.

"How did that happen?" Harry asked Hermione.

Hermione stifled a laugh. "You're kidding... oh... you really don't know..."

Dean and Seamus walked past them and Seamus leaned over and said in low voice into Harry's ear, "You sure know some good moves. Can I take lessons from you?"

"What are you talking about Seamus?"

"Harry, you were gaping at..." Hermione jerked her head in Jessica's direction. Jessica, on the other hand was still twirling her hair around her finger, but she was now reading over her class schedule. Once Hermione was assured that Harry knew what she was talking about, she continued," You weren't paying attention and knocked over Ron's goblet of Pumpkin juice."

Dean and Seamus began to laugh, snapping Jessica back to attention. "What did I miss?"

"Just the smooth stylings of our friend Harry here," laughed Dean as he and Seamus walked away.

"Huh? Where are Cate and Ron? Don't tell me she's made a move already..." Jessica asked, looking around for her sister.

"No... I guess I knocked some pumpkin juice on them. They went to go change," Harry answered her, the back of his neck getting red.

"Well, they better hurry up. Classes start soon," Hermione observed. "So what do we start the new term off with?"

Harry groaned. "Double potions with the Slytherins and Snape."

Jessica grinned widely. "Ooooooh, so my favorite group of people will be there, eh? Heh heh heh..."

Hermione looked at Jessica, stunned. Noticing Hermione's stare, Jessica quickly added, "I'm being sarcastic. Isn't Snape the head of that house of jerks?"

"Yeah, he favors them," Harry told her, pushing anything he could knock over away from him.

"We'll see." Jessica answered him, shoving her schedule back into her pocket.

"Isn't Trinkets advanced in potion making?" Hermione asked eagerly. Realizing what she said, she clamped her hand over her mouth. Jessica stood up and gave Hermione a small, reassuring smile.

"It's ok if you ask about the school. We'll have to deal with the questions eventually. Plus I know most people won't say anything in bad taste."

"I wish that didn't happen," Hermione told her solemnly.

"I wish a lot of things, but it won't do any good now," Jessica stood up from the table and picked up her black robe. Putting it on, she answered Hermione. "I guess Trinkets was advanced in potion making. We had some excellent teachers. One even worked for the Magical Administration. I think she even worked for the C.E.O. of Magic, Rayelle Masons."

"C.E.O?" Harry asked, standing up and grabbing his books.

"Yeah, don't ask me. I think it sounds stupid too, but you know us americans. We have to do everything different."

Jessica reached for her books, but Harry grabbed hers too. Giving Harry a confused look, he answered simply, "I know how you walk in that robe. This way if you trip you won't have lethal objects of doom to launch at poor unsuspecting students."

"I'd only launch them at pompous blonde jerks who think we should lie down on the ground and let him walk on our backs," she said with a smile.

"Wouldn't he enjoy that," Hermione agreed, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "Shall we?"

"Oh yes. Let's get the fun train on the road," Jessica said, walking towards the main door of the great hall. Just as the three of them walked out, they ran into Ron and Cate coming down the stairs.

"I really wish we'd get another Potions teacher," Harry said to Jessica and Hermione as he put both books under his arm.

"I really can carry that," Jessica said to him.

"I stand by my previous statement," Harry joked.

"Well if you're sure..."

"Harry's a big strong boy, he can handle it," quipped Hermione. "Since you're being so chivalrous," Hermione took her large backpack and put it on Harry's other arm. "Thanks Harry, you truly are a gentleman."

"Urk.." Harry staggered a bit under the massive weight of Hermione's bag. "Sure... No problem..."

Jessica and Hermione began to giggle as Harry fumbled around the corridors with all their books. "Harry, I'm kidding, I'll carry my own bag," Hermione laughed. Harry waved her off.

"It's ok, I got it."

"Ok..." Hermione said in a sing songy voice.

"I sure hope we don't have to go up any stairs," Jessica laughed, watching Harry struggle with all the books out of the corner of her eye.

"No. We're heading towards the Dungeons."

"Well at least it's all downhill from here."

"I sure hope your sister and Ron make it to potions on time,"

"Me too. Though letting Cate be alone with Ron may be a bad move."

Hermione laughed as the three of them made their way to the dungeons. Once they were within sight of the classroom, Hermione spun around and took her bag off Harry's shoulder.

"You didn't have to carry them you know," Hermione said to him in a low voice.

"It's ok," he told her.

"Uh huh. Trying to prove your macho-ness to the girl who's caught your fancy?" she teased.

"Um..." Harry turned bright red.

"Is this it?" Jessica asked from the doorway.

"Yeah, this is it," Harry said quickly, making his way to her quickly, avoiding Hermione's smug smile.

"Do we just sit anywhere?" Jessica whispered to Harry.

"Yeah, you can sit by me and Hermione. Since Ron and Cate aren't here yet. Plus with how the Slytherin's are glaring at you, it might be better if you stuck by us."

True enough, when the three of them had walked through the door, every Slytherin sixth year had intense glares of hate focused on Jessica. Ignoring them, she whipped her blonde and purple hair over her shoulder and began to walk across the room to a empty table.

"Hold it," an angry voice said to her.

Turning around, Jessica came face to face with an extremely pissed off Malfoy.

"Not you again. I thought you'd know better by now than to pick a fight with me," Jessica said to him in a cold voice.

"That little stunt you pulled yesterday? No one gets away with doing that to me!"

"Um... Ass face, do I have to remind you that I DID?"

"Such vulgarity. Of course, you american wankers never did show much respect to authority."

"How are YOU superior to ME?"

"For one, I'm a pure-blood..."

"You mean you're family's full of incest and kissing cousins?" Jessica interrupted her temper boiling again. "Everyone knows there are only four pureblood families now. And to stay a "pureblood" you need to marry between those families. I'm surprised none of you are retarded or anything!"

"No one speaks to Draco Malfoy that way! You'd do best to curb your tongue you jumped up mudblood!"

All the Gryffindors in the room gasped at Malfoy's insult. Harry quickly walked forward and pulled Jessica away.

"Ignore him, he's all talk," Harry told her, taking her arm.

"Well, this is fitting. Of course the American reject will get involved with Saint Potter."

"Why don't you cram it Malfoy?"

Malfoy looked over at Neville, who had quickly shoved his chair back and was on his feet. He glared at Malfoy with incredible distaste.

"Oh boy. This will be good. Longbottom seems to have grown a spine over the summer holidays."

"Well maybe you should have grown a brain," Jessica snapped at Malfoy.

"Well well well," a cold voice said from behind Jessica.

"Oh hell," Harry mumbled. Malfoy stepped back from Jessica and a slow smile spread across his face.

"Now you and your stupid house are going to get it," Malfoy said to Jessica with amusement.

Glaring at Malfoy again, she slowly turned towards the new voice. Once she'd turned around completely, she found herself face to face with Severus Snape.

"I see. This explains it all. The new Gryffindor. Well, at least one of them. Since you obviously didn't learn any manners at that school of yours, ten points will be deducted from Gryffindor for you outright rudeness to others in this class."

Snape barely finished speaking before Ron and Cate came barging through the doorway.

"Are we late?" panted Cate as Ron bent over and placed his hands on his knees, attempting to catch his breath.

"Ten more points from Gryffindor. Apparently Trinket's didn't teach punctuality either."

Ron glanced up at Snape and groaned. "What a way to start of the new term..."

"Now that the show is over, everyone take your seats. On the board is the list of ingredients you will need for today's assignment."

Snape waved his wand at the blackboard and ingredients and instructions appeared on the board in yellowish chalk.

"You have one and a half hours. I suggest you get started now." Snape swept his voluminous robes around him and made his way back to his desk. Once Snape was out of earshot, Jessica began to snicker.

"What's so funny? Trying to loose us more points?" Hermione hissed at her as she began to set up her work station.

"No. We made this potion two years ago. I can do this in my sleep." Cate answered for her sister. Looking around they noticed the only empty space was next to Malfoy. Groaning the two of them set up next to him and quickly began to gather the ingredients needed for the potion. Annoyed, Malfoy glanced over at the two of them and saw that neither Jessica nor Cate had even glanced at the blackboard. He narrowed his eyes as he watched the two of them cut ingredients and sprinkle them into the simmering cauldron.

Glancing up, Jessica caught Malfoy watching them and she said coldly, "You know, you only have an hour left to make this potion. First time making it is difficult. Why don't you quit watching us and do it? That is, of course, if you have the mental capabilities to do the work."

Harry and Ron snorted with laughter from behind Malfoy. "Yeah Malfoy. Get to work. We don't want Snape's favorite student to fail do we?"

"Shut your mouth Potter. I'll get this done before you do."

"Uh huh. Riiiiiiiight."

Malfoy turned back towards his own cauldron and noticed that Jessica and Cate were already simmering their potion. He felt a swift and violent stab of hot anger. How dare they finish before him? He was the best in this class. Not them. He quickly got to work on adding his ingredients, determined to finish before Jessica and Cate.

"Draco," Pansy whispered from his left. "Don't rush this potion. It's very dangerous."

"If those american wankers can do it, so can I."

"But... Draco, they've been making this since their fourth year."

"So?"

"Just be careful. As much as I'd love for you to wipe those smiles off their faces, if you make this wrong, it'll hurt you."

"I'm not going to be one-upped by a couple of homeless, schoolless, classless half-breeds!"

"Remember Draco, I warned you."

Jessica and Cate sat back in their chairs as they waited for their potion to finish simmering. Draco glared at them from the table next to them and began to drop in his ingredients. Pansy still had a worried look on her face and soon Snape saw it. Sweeping up out of his chair, he crossed over the room in remarkable speed. He managed to make it to Draco's cauldron just as it started to billow out black noxious smoke. Just as it began to hiss, Snape whipped out his wand and tapped the cauldron, making it disappear.

"Foolish boy!" Snape hissed at Draco. "Don't you know how volatile this potion is? How dare you try to hurry your way through it!"

Draco opened his mouth to protest, but Snape cut him off angrily. "I know you were trying to keep up with the new students, but even I'm aware of the fact they have two more years of experience making this potion and all the others we're going to learn this year. If that's one thing Trinket's Academy did right, it was the potions classes."

Pointing his wand to the blackboard, Snape made Draco's name appear and a large zero next to it. Rounding back on the boy, Snape glared at him even harder. "Due to your... inability to follow simple instructions, I am going to deduct ten points from Slytherin."

Everyone gasped. They'd never heard Snape deduct points from his own house before. Spinning around to face the rest of the class, Snape said to them all in a cold, even tone, "Yes, I will deduct points from my own house. That is the level of highly dangerous, complicated potions we will be dealing with this year. Anyone else caught showboating like Mr. Malfoy here, will be thrown out of this class and not allowed back in."

A hissing followed by a couple loud pops came from the cauldron in front of Jessica and Cate. Jumping up out of their chairs, they quickly ladled a bit of the potion into the silver flasks in each of their hands. Writing their names on the flasks, they both walked to Snape's desk and set them on the wooden surface.

Brushing her hands off on her robe, Jessica asked Snape, "Here's the finished potion Professor Snape. Is there anything else you want us to do?"

Clenching his teeth, Snape told the two of them, "No. Take your seats and read the chapter on truth potions."

Jessica's hand shot in the air. Snape glared at her and hissed through gritted teeth, "What do you want now?"

"We've already done this. Last year at Trinkets..."

Snape cut her off with an angry flick of his hand. "Miss Zeigler. I'm fully aware that you're well beyond my class. But I'll be the judge of whether or not you're done with truth potions."

"We've made Vertiserum."

Every head in the class snapped towards them. Cate was sitting at the desk, her face buried in her hands. Jessica was now on her feet, her arms crossed, facing Snape almost defiantly.

Harry watched in awe as Snape shakily sucked in his breath and held Jessica's gaze. He swore Snape looked a bit... scared of her. Harry also noticed Snape looked a bit... pale.

_He knows something, _Harry thought to himself. _But what?_

The air in the classroom was thick with tension. No one blinked as they watched Snape and Jessica stare each other down. Eyes swung from one to the other, waiting to see who would crack first.

"I said sit down Miss Zeigler. If you and your sister are so inclined to, you may go help some of the others that are having a higher level of difficulty. Might I suggest Mr. Longbottom?"

Jessica glanced back over her shoulder and saw Neville shaking in his seat. When she glanced back at Snape, she saw that he was walking back to his desk. Glaring at the back of his head and sticking her tongue out at him, she nudged Cate and the two of them made their way to the back of the classroom, making a beeline for Neville.

"Hey Neville, don't worry. We'll help you get this right," Cate said to him in a low voice, patting his arm.

"Yep. We'll make sure you ace this one," Jessica agreed.

Behind Harry, Hermione leaned forward so her head was right in between him and Ron.

"Did you SEE that? I've never seen Snape afraid of ANYTHING!"

Ron sat still for a moment, going over the events in his head. Biting down on the nib of his quill, he glanced back at Hermione and agreed.

"I think there's something going on that we students don't know about. That's just too bizarre."

"I agree with Ron. Something just doesn't add up."

Leaning back, Hermione nodded. "It's not just their advancement in this class either. Weird things have been happening since the Trinket's kids came to the school."

"ENOUGH TALKING!" Snape bellowed from his desk.

Harry glanced back to where Neville was sitting, a Zeigler sister on each side of him. Neville looked a bit pink in the face and seemed to be a bit nervous about both of them helping him.

Seamus gave a short laugh and leaned over to Dean and said under his breath, "It looks like Longbottom doesn't know what to do with two pretty girls!"

Rolling her eyes, Jessica leaned over and said into Seamus's ear, "You wouldn't know what to do with one if she fell in your lap with an instruction manual."

Dean's face began to turn a shade of purple due to his efforts to hold back the laughter. Jessica winked at Seamus and leaned back in her seat. Hermione gave a stifled giggle as well. Next to Harry, Ron just shook his head and began trying to figure out the potion. A quarter of an hour later, Harry still found himself struggling with the difficulty of the complex truth potion. A tap on his shoulder startled him. Looking up he saw Jessica standing over his shoulder.

"You look like you could use a hand," she offered, dragging a chair up next to his.

"Yes, please," he managed to choke out.

"Ok, number one. Relax. I don't think Professor Snape expects you all to get it right the first time. I did what Malfoy nearly did and gassed everyone out of the school. Our potions teacher may have been brilliant, but she didn't really pay attention to the... ah... troublemakers?" Jessica giggled at the memory and pulled her wand out of her pocket and set it on the desk in front of her.

"You? A troublemaker? I don't believe it," Harry joked, finishing cutting up the leeches for the potion.

"I know, I'm so sweet and innocent right?"

Harry nearly snorted with laughter but managed not to. With Jessica's help, he barely managed to finish the potion on time. "Thanks," he said to her after he dropped the silver flask onto Snape's desk with the others.

"No problem. I always help out friends," she said as she leaned back in her chair, tipping it back onto its hind legs. Only once did she nearly loose her balance, but she was able to steady herself in time.

"So, what's next?" Ron asked his surrounding Gryffindors.

"Care of Magical Creatures I think," answered Cate, rummaging around for her schedule.

"Where's your timetable? It should be on that," Hermione said to Cate.

"Timetable?" Jessica asked with confusion.

"You know what a timetable is don't you?" Ron asked.

"We know our times tables," Cate retorted a bit hotly.

"Yeah. Five times five is twenty five," said Jessica.

"And nine times four is thirty six," followed Cate.

"And six times six is thirty six."

"And nine times nine is eighty one."

"And three times four is twelve."

"And five times two is ten."

"That one's easy."

"Not for you. You still have to count on your fingers."

"I DO NOT!"

"Jessica you liar! I just saw you counting on your fingers!"

"Nuh uh."

Stepping in, Harry said loudly, "That's not what we're talking about."

Stopping in mid-fight, the two girls looked at Harry and Cate blurted out, "Well then what were you talking about?"

Holding up his schedule, Harry said, "This is a timetable."

"OH! You mean a schedule!" Jessica exclaimed.

"Weirdo's," Ron muttered.

"I know you are but what am I?" Jessica shot back, right before her sister elbowed her in the stomach. "Owww..." she groaned as Hermione led the way to Hagrid's hut for their next class.

"Is this just Gryffindors, or is it with another house?" Cate asked Harry.

Groaning, Harry said to her, "This one is with the Slytherins as well."

"Well doesn't that suck," Jessica grumbled as she nearly lost her balance. Nearly getting nailed with her textbooks, Harry once again took her books.

When she opened her mouth to protest, Harry said quickly, "I stand by previous statements."

"What happened before?" Cate asked, raising an eyebrow.

Walking behind Ron, Harry and Jessica, Hermione filled Cate in on the events that occurred after she and Ron had left the great hall that morning. A thoughtful look fell across Cate's face. Jessica had once again removed her slightly too large robe and was dragging it along by the hood, the rest of the robe, trailing behind her on the ground. It was then everyone noticed that she wasn't wearing the standard white knee socks, but black and purple striped tights with a pair of platform mary janes.

Shaking her head at her sister's weird fashion sense, Cate caught Hermione's eye and the two of them just shrugged.

"This may be a stab in the dark, but does Harry have a thing for my sister?" Cate asked.

"How about another stab in the dark, do you have a thing for Ron?" Hermione asked easily.

"That's not a problem is it? I mean, you two..."

"We're not together if that's what you're asking. I have a boyfriend that lives in Bulgaria."

Cate whistled. "That's quite a distance. But you never answered my question."

Hermione fidgeted a bit. She didn't want to betray Harry's trust, but if Cate was already picking up on it...

"Ok, here's the deal. I won't confirm or deny it. Whatever Harry's told me stays with me. I'm not into gossiping."

"Fair enough," smiled Cate already knowing the answer.

"What class are we headed to?"

Jessica's voice floated back to Cate and Hermione. Snatching a pine cone up of the ground, Cate playfully tossed it at the back of her sister's head. It made a soft thunking noise as it made contact. Spinning around, Jessica shot Cate the glare of death.

"What was THAT for?" she demanded.

"For asking stupid questions Jess," Cate giggled. Jessica began a retort but was cut off by Hermione.

"We're here."

"We're where? This looks like someone's house..." mumbled Jessica, glancing around with slight apprehension.

"Yeah, where are we?" asked Cate as she took in the sight of Hagrid's hut.

" 'Arry, Ron, 'Ermione!" came a joyful, yet thunderous voice. Jessica and Cate's eyes nearly popped out of their heads as they caught their first glimpse of their next Professor, Rubeus Hagrid.

"Hagrid!" Harry exclaimed, Hermione rushing forward to hug the half giant.

"Eh've missed yeh to 'Ermione," Hagrid said to her after she let go.

"Hey Hagrid! Meet our new friends," said Ron, grinning up at Hagrid.

"Uh..." Jessica said as her eyes reached up to Hagrid's face. Cate didn't say anything as she struggled to compose herself.

"Yeh must be the new Gryffindors, 'Ate and Jessica. Nice to meet yeh," he said warmly to them, holding out his large hand. Cate reached forward first.

"Yeah, I'm Cate," she managed meekly. When Jessica continued to gape at him, Cate elbowed her.

"OW! Geez Cate! That one HURT!" she moaned as she rubbed her ribcage where she'd gotten elbowed.

"Ah yes. Yeh are Jessica," Hagrid said in a slightly more serious tone. "Eh've heard about deh hex yeh used on Malfoy on the voyage here."

"Stupid jerk deserved worse," she muttered, crossing her arms. "And now I hear I have yet ANOTHER class with that pompous jackass."

Hagrid raised a bushy eyebrow. Obviously Malfoy had already made yet another enemy, a powerful enemy. Before Harry or Hermione could ask him why he got serious all of a sudden, he herded them along the path into the Forbidden Forest. "Well, we better be off to teh rest of teh class."

"No one answered my question," Jessica said again, trying not to trip over tree roots.

"Care of Magical Creatures, Jess" Ron answered as he ducked under a low branch.

"Oh. Ok. Well this will be Cate's favorite cla... OOF!"

Harry and Cate spun around to see Jessica sprawled on the ground, her right foot hooked under a partially viewed tree root. Cate tried to suppress her laughter as Hagrid rushed to help her up.

Ron rolled his eyes and said, "I guess it's a good thing Harry's carrying her books."

"Yeh are now?" Hagrid shot Harry a knowing smile.

Harry knew his face was probably getting red and said quickly, "Well you've just seen how she walks."

"I'm right here you know."

Cate laughed out loud and re-assured her sister, "We love you Jess."

"Right."

"Ooooo!" Cate exclaimed as they reached the clearing. The Hippogriff's from Hagrid's first lesson were lying contentedly in the late morning sun.

"And here we go," Jessica announced.

"You guys have seen Hippogriff's? REAL ones? Holy Cow! Oh my gosh! Was that a Unicorn I saw in the forest?" Cate continued to squeal.

"Harry's gotten to ride a Hippogriff," Ron told her. Cate's jaw dropped open and she began to pelt Harry with questions as they made their way to the rest of the class.

"All right, yeh all here? Now then, today's lesson will be a practical one. I'm sure you all remember these." Hagrid opened the crate next to him and pulled out a few creatures that looked like fat shoelaces.

"These were useless the first time we studied them," Draco snarled at his surrounding Slytherins.

"Flobberworms." Cate announced. "Don't those need to stay in water and filter feed through their skin?" Ignoring Draco's comment she looked at Hagrid, waiting for an answer.

"Well, look here. Someone who knows more that Granger," Pansy snickered from the other side of the crate. Her friends began to laugh.

"Well I really didn't need to know how to keep these things alive," Draco drawled, bored.

Cate glanced down at the ground, unwanted tears beginning to pool in her eyes. Ron and Dean stepped in front of her so none of the Slytherin's would be able to see her if she did begin to cry. Hagrid was getting ready to tell Malfoy to quit talking when Jessica marched over to him.

Sensing what she was going to do, Crabbe and Goyle stepped in front of Malfoy, flexing their muscles, trying to look threatening.

"Do you really think you scare me? Get out of my way," Jessica snapped at the two of them, pushing past them with little effort. Marching up to Malfoy, she grabbed his shirt, physically lifting him up the ground by and inch or so and got in his face.

"Just because you lack the ability to retain information and have this compulsive need to be a raging jackass, doesn't mean we're going to let it fly anymore. Maybe instead of trying to make yourself better by cutting others down, you should try to crack a book and learn something. But then that would take some effort wouldn't it?"

Releasing him, Malfoy fell backwards, landing on the ground on his butt. He swore he saw fire flashing in her eyes. The air around them suddenly took on a heavy, oppressing feeling.

"You've been warned," she told him before she headed back to her sister.

"Jess, as much as I appreciate you sticking up for me, let's try NOT to get you expelled on your first day here," Cate whispered.

"Fine," she grumbled, crossing her arms, glaring at the other Slytherin students.

Hagrid cleared his throat loudly. "Eh, Jessica, can yeh do meh a favor? I left some lesson aides in Dumbledore's office. Could yeh get them fer meh?"

Shrugging her shoulders, she said, "Sure. Whatever."

Hagrid quickly scrawled a note to Professor Dumbledore. Sealing it shut, he handed it to Jessica. She began to walk up the path to the school, but hurried back to where Harry was standing.

"Hey Harry, I'll take my books. Just in case I don't come back."

"Don't be silly," Hermione said in a sniffy voice. "They're not going to expel you over something like that."

"I know they won't. I know why Hagrid's sending me to Dumbledore. Don't worry about it," Jessica told them. Taking her books from Harry's outstretched arms, she cheekily blew a kiss to the rest of the class and disappeared into the woods.

The rest of the class passed by in a blur for Harry. He was too distracted by daydreaming about Jessica beating up Malfoy and what it would be like to date her. Harry did recall a few moments, but mostly it was just Cate answering all of Hagrid's questions before he was done asking them.

"Teacher's pet," Pansy hissed at her after the lesson ended. Cate just glared at Pansy as she and a gang of Slytherin girls passed them.

Turning her back on them, Cate said in a loud voice to Ron and Harry, "It seems that Pansy would WANT to know about animals, considering she looks like a dog."

Pansy spun around, her face contorted with rage. Walking quickly back to her, Pansy yelled, "What did you say to me?"

Feigning a look of innocence, Cate opened her eyes up wide and said, "I have no idea what you're talking about. Are you sure you're not hearing things."

"You said I looked like a dog! NO ONE talks to me like that!"

"Well someone has a mighty high opinion of herself."

"That's it! Let's see how brave you are without your sister here to protect you!"

Pansy lunged at Cate, taking both of them to the ground. Pinning Cate to the ground, Pansy lifted her arm up and brought it down quickly, trying to punch her in the face. Cate moved fast and dodged the blow, flipping Pansy onto her side, face down into the dirt. Standing up quickly, Cate flipped her hair out of her face while Pansy stumbled to her feet. Once again Pansy lunged at Cate, but this time, Cate easily dodged it, bringing her knee up sharply into Pansy's stomach.

Stunned, Pansy's eyes got wide and she sank to her knees. Struggling for breath, she brought her eyes up to Cate's face, anger blazing in her eyes.

"Don't think you've won Zeigler. This is FAR from over."

"I'm scared. Really." Cate said dryly. "And about my sister? Who do you think taught me how to fight? I don't need magic to beat you."

A couple of Slytherin girls rushed forward to help Pansy off the ground. With one on each side, Pansy began to make her way back to the Slytherin dungeons.

Sighing, Cate said to the other remaining Gryffindors, "I'm bored. Let's go to lunch." Mouths agape, Dean, Seamus, and Neville rushed after Cate, followed closely by Hermione, Ron and Harry.

"Whoa. I think I'm in love," Ron declared dramatically, clutching his heart with his hand.

"I'm sure she'll be thrilled," Hermione said to him.

They were still laughing about how Pansy fell to the ground when they entered the Great Hall. Jessica was sitting at the Gryffindor table with a bunch of lower year boys who were all gazing at her with goofy love struck looks on their faces. She kept throwing them weird looks and was relieved when Cate and her friends walked through the doors. Standing up quickly, she accidentally knocked a tray of sandwiches onto the floor.

"Damnit," she grumbled. Looking back up she began waving at the others. "Hey guys! Over here!"

"Oh my god. Did you SEE her face?" Dean laughed.

"I wish I had a camera!" exclaimed Lavender.

"What? What did I miss?" whined Jessica, grabbing onto Harry's arm. "Tell me!"

"Pansy insulted your sister then when Cate said something back, Pansy tried to beat her up and Cate ended up kicking her butt," Harry told her, still smiling at the memory.

"Way to go CATE!" Jessica exclaimed, grabbing her sister around the neck and giving her a hug.

"Jess, please let me go. I can't breathe," chocked Cate. Still feeling giddy, Jessica grabbed the next closest person to her and hugged them in the same way.

"Jess... breathing, that's a good thing," Herminoe choked.

"Hey Jessica, Harry wants to have the life choked out of him," Seamus joked from behind Ron.

"Shut up you idiots," Ron said to them. "Let Harry spit his own game."

"I'm hungry," Jessica announced out of nowhere, sitting down at the table. Everyone else followed suit. Soon the air was filled with conversation and laughter. Midway through the meal, Karen, another Trinkets transfer student, came over and plopped herself next to Hermione. Almost immediately, Colleen was next to her.

"Cate," Karen said in a serious tone.

"Jess," Colleen said in a similar voice.

"Karen," Cate said with confusion.

"Colleen," Jessica said with boredom.

"What's this we hear about you two getting into a fight? Ok, Jess we're not surprised about, that's a everyday occurrence. But Cate? Someone must have really pissed you off," said Karen, leaning bit a back on the bench.

"Hey! I don't get into fights every day!" Jessica protested.

"No... you have. Since coming here that is," Harry corrected. Jessica retaliated to the comment by giving him a playful shove.

"Really. I'm not some psychopathic person who lives to beat people up. He just... PISSES me off!" Jessica exclaimed, wringing her napkin like it was Draco's neck.

"He probably likes you," Colleen joked, then began laughing. Jessica had a look of absolute horror on her face.

"EW!" she screeched.

Everyone at the table began to laugh. Jessica began to make gagging noises and faces like she was going to throw up. Glancing over at the Slytherin table, they noticed that Draco and Pansy, plus their followers were absent from the table.

Colleen noticed it and jerked her thumb at the Slytherin table. "It seems they're off licking their wounds."

"They're probably planning a retaliation," Neville said as he sat down next to her.

Colleen smiled at Neville and said, "Hey."

"Uh... hi," he answered back, slightly confused. For the rest of the meal the Gryffindors and Trinket transfer students began speculating about how Draco was going to retaliate to that days' embarrassment.

"He not only owes you for getting in his face, but there was that whole fiasco in Potions," Hermione brought up.

"Yippee," Jessica said dryly, making a twirling motion with her index finger.

"Colleen! Leave Neville alone!" Cate said, throwing her napkin at Colleen. "You're scaring the poor boy."

"Aw man! Even Neville's got a girl now Dean," Seamus groaned.

"What?" Neville said, shocked. Looking around, he saw everyone laughing and he felt his face go red.

"He's so CUTE when he blushes!" exclaimed Colleen.

"Poor Neville!" Cate laughed. "He doesn't know what's going to hit him."

"Don't worry Neville," Jessica said to him from across the table. "Colleen isn't as strange as us."

"Yeah, I wasn't dropped on my head as an infant," Colleen quipped.

"As much as I hate to break this up," Hermione said, looking at her watch. "Lunch is over. It's time for our next class."

"What's next?" Ron asked, shoving another sandwich into his mouth.

"History of Magic," she answered.

"I don't have that down," Cate answered.

"Neither do I," murmured Jessica.

"Let me see your schedule," Karen said to Cate, snatching it out of her hand. Looking it over, she handed it back and said, "I think us transfers are supposed to meet Professor Dumbledore for the rest of the day."

"I wonder why," Hermione said.

"I know why," Jessica answered.

"Why?" Colleen asked.

"I guess last year the sixth years had tests called O.W.L's. We don't' have those tests at Trinkets. I guess this is a cram session for our own testing."

"Have fun," Ron said dryly, recalling his own O.W.L's.

"Well we better be off," Cate said to her fellow transfers.

"See ya later," Karen said, waving at everyone.

"Bye Neville," Colleen giggled.

"Uh... bye," he stammered back.

"We'll catch up with you guys later in the common room," Jessica told Ron, Harry and Hermione.

"Later!" Ron said.

The four girls made their way out of the Great Hall, shoving each other around and nearly taking out a large group of fourth year students.

"Well then boys. Shall we be off?" asked Hermoine.

"Guess so," said Neville.

Trudging along the hallways, the sixth year Gryffindor class reluctantly made their way into the History of Magic classroom. This was by far their most boring class, and everyone wondered why they still had to take it. Much to their surprise, Professor Binns, the ghost who taught History of Magic wasn't there. It was an older woman with white hair that reached down to the floor.

Making their way to their seats, there was a lot of whispering in the class. No one knew who this woman was or why she was even there. Smiling at the class, she held up her hands for silence.

"Please students, take your seats."

Everyone quieted down and took their seats. Immediately Hermione's hand shot up in the air.

"Yes?" the woman asked.

"Are we going to need to take notes?"

Smiling, she shook her head no. "This is purely an informational class only. Now that you're all settled in your seats, let me introduce myself. My name is Wendy Trinket."

"You founded the academy in america," Neville blurted out.

"Yes Mr. Longbottom. I did. I also had the opportunity to meet your parents. But that was a long time ago."

Neville bit his lip at the mention of his parents. Just last year he'd admitted his parents had been tortured into insanity by Voldemort's Death Eaters.

"I'm here to give you all some background on your new classmates, as well as enlighten you on schools in other countries. As Mr. Longbottom pointed out, I founded and ran the Trinket's Academy of Magic. Our students hailed from all over America as well as the occasional foreign exchange student. Our school was set apart by there rest of the wizarding world by one thing. Our school was the only one that could properly train and prepare a Sorcerer or a Sorceress."

"Those don't exist. My parents said so," Parvati said, one eyebrow raised suspiciously.

"They do exist Miss Patil. They are just very rare. I myself am a sorceress."

Excited murmuring began to fill the classroom.

"Is it true you don't need a wand?" asked Hermione.

"That's very true. Witches and Wizards need wands to accomplish magic. But a sorcerer or a sorceress has magic actually inside them. During the training years, they use a wand to help harness and focus their magic. Traditionally in the sixth year, they are gradually taken off the wand so they can learn to use their magic unfiltered."

"Cool!" Seamus exclaimed.

"Now, I'm sure you're all very well knowledgeable about The Dark Lord and his followers. You may also know that our students don't know much about him, or about the history of Mr. Potter. There's a reason for that. While your families were fighting against the Dark Lord, we had our own Sorceress with the same ideas. Her name was Jaime Dawson. She very much rivals your Dark Lord in cruelties and mad desire for more power. She had her own followers too."

"Shadows," murmured Hermione. Noticing Wendy's gaze on her, she added quickly, "Jessica and Cate told us a very brief history of these events. You also had your Dark Wizard and Dark Witch catchers called Hunters, right?"

"Yes. What you all know as Aurors are called Hunters in America. Your Death Eaters are our equivalent of Shadows."

"Did she die?" asked Lavender.

"No one knows what happened to her. As fast as she rose in power, she fell. Not to long after your Dark Lord either."

"Wow," sighed Ron. "I thought we had it bad."

"Now students, I'm not telling you all this to scare you. Your Headmaster and I agree it would be beneficial to all of you to understand where my students come from."

Snickering, Dean asked, "Were Cate and Jessica like this there too?"

Laughing, Wendy said with her eyes twinkling, "Yes. Yes they were. Though I believe they're holding back here somewhat. But once they are comfortable, they'll just be more amusing."

"That's hard to believe," Hermione said to Ron. Ron just laughed and leaned back in his seat.

"I won't bore you anymore with the history of American magic, but if any of you want to know more, I'll be staying here for a few days. I'm just helping Professor Dumbledore coordinate a few things."

"I think she's here to help with their O.W.L testing," whispered Hermione.

"That's probably true," Harry whispered back.

Glancing up at the clock, Wendy clapped her hands and announced, "Well, it's about that time children. Enjoy the rest of your day and remember any questions, please don't hesitate to ask."

Signaling the end of class, everyone began to rush out of their seats and out the door. Looking back at Wendy, Harry noticed how sad she looked as she gazed around the room. As he walked out the door, he saw her sit at the desk and begin to cry. Hermione put her hand on Harry's shoulder and joined by Ron, the three of them began to make their way to their next class.


End file.

Harry Potter, Adventure, Romance