Ok... ya, the disclaimer. I don't own HP or anything like that but I do own Harmony Westershire and beware if you try to use her ::growls:: Ya, I own the plot too. Please be gentle, this is my first fic. They'll get better, I promise.
Chapter I:
A New Gryffindor
It was that time again. Back to school. Most Muggle children hate this time of year. However, it was the best time of the year for Harry. Well, I mean, who could blame him, living with the Dursleys... anyhow, I'm getting off track. Back to the story.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione were already on Hogwarts Express when the door of their car opened. A girl that looked their age walked in. She was very pretty, dragging a gigantic trunk with a wicker cat cage strapped on top. She had soft green eyes and auburn hair. None of them had ever seen her before. The girl had on a pair of jean capri pants, a red baseball shirt, sunglasses, and sandals. A black purse was slung over her shoulder. Ron automatically jumped up to help her. He had always been partial to a pretty face.
"Is this spot taken?" she asked, gesturing toward an empty seat. She had an American accent.
"Oh, no. Feel free. I'm Hermione Granger. This is Ron Weasley. And this is-"
"Harry Potter. I know. Very pleased to meet you all. I'm Harmony. Harmony Westershire." Harry was surprised to see Harmony not look at his scar and still be able to tell who he was.
"You're American, aren't you?" said Ron.
"Yeah. I only ever go there on the summer holidays though."
"I've never seen you before, Harmony. You look our age. Where did you go to school before?"
"Beauxbatons. My grandmother went there, so she wanted me to go there too. My grandfather finally got fed up with them teaching me etiquette and `girly things' and sent Dumbledore an owl asking if I could attend Hogwarts. Of course, he said yes. My grandfather and Dumbledore are old friends."
"How are they going to sort you? I mean, will you just put on the Sorting Hat or what?" asked Hermione.
"To tell you the truth, I dunno. What House should I hope to be in?"
"Gryffindor!" all three shout.
"I take it that's your house?"
"Of course! It's the best. Harry's our Seeker on the Quidditch team. In the third year he won us the Quidditch Cup! Last year he won the Triwizard Tournament...but I suppose you already know that?" Ron said apprehensively.
"Yes. Fleur sent me an owl. We are close friends. She seemed to think very highly of all of you."
There was an awkward silence. It was broken by Harmony. Of course.
"Um, is it okay if I hang with you guys? I mean, you could show me where everything is, at least if I'm in Gryffindor. And you guys are really nice and not snobby. Unlike that ratty old Draco Malfoy I ran into on Platform 9 3/4..."
"Oh, you've met him? Malfoy and Harry are archenemies. We all hate him." replied Ron, with a note of disgust in his voice.
"Oh, I don't blame you. He tried to touch my face and called me his pretty. I bit him. He wasn't too happy," answered Harmony, gritting her teeth. Harry and Hermione laughed uproariously, but Ron stayed silent, gazing at Harmony with nothing short of admiration. As though she could sense him looking at her, Harmony turned around, smiling at him. Ron felt his heart jump from his chest. He was in love. Harmony smiled even wider, giving Ron the impression that she could tell what had just happened.
Harry and Hermione glanced at one another. They had never seen Ron act like this before, not even with Fleur Delacore, the Beauxbatons Triwizard champion from last year, who was part veela. Now he was staring into the eyes of an American girl he had met fifteen minutes ago. Harry couldn't help but feel jealous. Harmony was staring into Ron's eyes with the same look in her eyes.
Hermione spoke up. "Of course you can hang with us. We'd be honored."
"Thanks so much. I don't know anyone in England, except a pen pal I had in Wales once...she was a Muggle though," answered Harmony, tearing her gaze from Ron's eyes.
The compartment door opened. Harry, Ron and Hermione expected Ginny, Fred and George, or Neville Longbottom to come in. It was none of them though. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle entered.
"Well, well, well, what have we here. Hey Weasley, where'd you get the American girl?"
Ron stood up. Harmony did too. She placed her hand on his shoulder to hold him back. "Let me handle this," she whispered in his ear.
" I don't believe you're wanted here, Malfoy. Actually, I don't believe you're wanted anywhere. But I suggest you stay away from this car."
" Oh, yeah? And what are you going to do to me?" sniggered Malfoy.
" You must have an exceptionally bad memory. Do you not remember that bite I gave you early on? Do I have to stir your memory a bit with another one?" Harmony replied coolly.
Malfoy turned beet red, turned around and left. Harmony also turned around. Ron, Harry, and Hermione were staring at her with open mouths. She shrugged. "I have some rather useful acquaintances back in America. They taught me the use of a smart mouth and loads of comebacks. They were only Muggles, but not all Muggle tricks are useless."
The whole compartment was filled with laughter.
* * *
Over the next hour Harmony met many people including all the Weasleys still at school, the entire Gryffindor House Quidditch team, Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan, Parvati and Padma Patil, Lavender Brown, Lee Jordan, Cho Chang, and Neville Longbottom. Everyone stayed. Harmony became popular almost immediately. When the witch with the food cart came by, Harmony treated everyone to Chocolate Frogs and Drooble's Best Blowing Gum. The witch left the car smiling, red in the face and with her hat askew. Her cart was half empty. A few hours later the car was so filled with bluebell colored bubbles that the windows had to be opened to let them out. Eventually, everyone left.
" That was one wild party! Your brothers are great at entertaining, Ron. I'm glad everybody's gone now, though." She glanced at a tiny silver watch on a chain around her neck. " Oh, no! We're almost there! I haven't changed yet!" She dashed to her trunk and opened it. A wide assortment of things flew out, including a Sneakoscope, a crystal ball, and an Invisibility Cloak, which landed on the seat where Harry was dozing. He sat up and pulled it off of his head, crying hoarsely, " What happened? Where am I?"
" I'm sorry Harry. I was a bit tightly packed and when I opened my trunk, everything sort of flew out. Sorry."
Harmony bustled about collecting everything that had flown out, and then began digging in the trunk. A loud meow from the wicker cat cage made her stop. She opened the cage. A small, lean, black kitten leapt out. " Sorry, Boo," she cooed. She reached inside the cat cage and pulled out a small owl cage. Inside was a baby snowy owl. " Sorry `bout that, Tundra." She then let it out. It nipped her finger and began flying around the car. Harmony resumed digging in the trunk. She pulled out a black cloak, a silver cloak, beautiful silver silk dress robes, silver high heels, black platform boots, plain black tights, and plain white tights. Her books were at the bottom, with her plain black robes. She pulled one of these out and a small silver case. Inside this case was a wand, about 12 inches long. This was confirmed when she pulled it out and muttered something about 12 inches long, phoenix feather, hazel, bendy. Then she pulled out a pointed black hat, gathered up her robes,
tights, black boots, and cloak and tore out of the car to change.
Harry and Hermione conversed quietly once she had gone. Ron just sat there and stared at Harmony's trunk with a remorseful look in his eyes. Harry finally broke off his and Hermione's conversation.
" Hey, Ron, you okay?" he inquired.
" Not really."
" What's wrong?"
" Look at her trunk. She's rich. Once she finds out how poor I am-"
" She won't care. She already likes you. I can tell. Why should she care if your poor or not?" interrupted Harry.
" He's right, you know. Sparks flew when you looked at each other earlier. It was love at first sight." Hermione added.
" I hope you're right...Oh, hi Harmony!"
Harmony had returned looking much more composed. She grinned, then began packing her trunk up again.
Soon Harmony was packed up again and began staring out the window. The others went to change into their school robes. Ron came back first. Without turning around, Harmony said, " They were right, you know."
" Right about what?"
" Me liking you. I like you very much, you know. Will you go out with me?"
Ron's ears turned beet red as he stood there staring unintelligently at Harmony with his mouth hanging open. " What does that mean?" he whispered feebly.
" When a Muggle likes another Muggle, they ask the Muggle they like if they will go out with them. It's like dating. So will you?" she explained, her face getting closer and closer to Ron's every second.
" Yeah. I love you, Harmony. At least I think I do. Its not like how I felt with the other girls. I really think I'm in love."
" Good." Harmony whispered, giving Ron a kiss on his cheek. " I love you too. I know I do."
Harry and Hermione burst in talking animatedly as Harmony settled into her former position, gazing out the window.
* * *
" Professor Dumbledore, sir, my name is Harmony Westershire. I'm new. May I ask where I am supposed to go?"
It was several hours later, at Hogwarts. Harmony was inquiring where she should go. Dumbledore looked up, surprised. " Hmmm, Westershire, I know your grandfather well. You seem to have befriended Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, and Miss Granger, so you can go with them. See me later, after the feast. We shall then ask the Sorting Hat where you should be."
" Thank you sir. Indeed I shall see you later."
Harmony rejoined Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They trouped up to the castle with the other students. Harmony was having trouble tearing her eyes from the old castle.
" Magnificent," she muttered. " Stunningly beautiful. So rough, yet so homey. I could definitely learn to love it."
When she got inside, she was even more stunned. In the Great Hall, she could not stop staring at the ceiling that was bewitched to look like the sky outside.
" Where should I sit?" she asked Ron.
" Right beside me, my dear," he replied with a grin.
After the scrumptious feast, Harmony went up to the staff table accompanied by her three new friends. Professor Snape stopped them.
" Mr. Potter? Mr. Weasley? Miss Granger? What are you doing here? You should be going to your Common Room with the others. And who is your little friend?"
" Excuse me Professor, I am Harmony Westershire, and I have business with Professor Dumbledore, so if you would kindly remove yourself from my path, I would be on my way."
" Let them through, Severus. The young lady does have business with me."
Dumbledore spoke in a tone of voice that made Snape stand aside immediately.
" Well, then, young lady, let us see what house you shall be in. Just put on the hat and we'll see what happens."
" Thank you sir. That I will!"
Harmony placed the hat on her head, upon which the hat shouted immediately, `Gryffindor!'
" Thank you Professor. May I ask where my common room is?"
" I believe your friends shall know where it is. Oh yes, the password is `cream puff'."
The four friends exited Great Hall and started finding their way toward the Gryffindor House common room. They met more than one suspicious sight but by far the most suspicious was three pairs of shoes, one small and two gigantic, disappearing around the corner. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle had heard the Gryffindor password.
* * *
" Well, what can we do? I mean, we can't give `em a Memory Charm. That would raise suspicion. And, well, does anybody have any other ideas, ones that we could do?" Harmony whispered to the rest of the Gryffindors. " They could be out there right now, waiting for us to go to sleep."
" Then we won't go to sleep!" Fred yawned.
" Aye, we'll be up waiting for the blood-thirsty savages to burst through our front door and woe and behold to any who try to oppose us!" George shouted sleepily.
" Shut up! McGonagall'll hear you! Besides, we can't stay up! Look at you two! You're a mess!" Harmony hissed.
" Maybe we should tell her. Or Dumbledore. They can change the password." Hermione suggested quietly.
" No! We must catch them in action! Malfoy'll just say that he had to ask Snape a question and didn't mean to hear the password. And everyone knows Snape'll stand up for him. If we catch them in action there'll be nothing he can say or do that'll get him off." Harry replied, in a rather irritated tone of voice.
" Don't get snappy, Harry. We have to pull together to get through this. And Hermione has a point. I don't see how we can stop them. Malfoy's out either to steal something or hurt someone. And the latter is more probable." Harmony glanced at Harry.
" Now, we have to make a plan. Should we tell the Fat Lady or not?"
" I don't see why not. None of the teachers really talk to her, do they?" Hermione said in a nervous whisper.
" Right then, Fred, George, and Lee, you go out and tell her to not let any student, except us, the Gryffindors, entry. That should do it. No way Malfoy could do anything. If he told a teacher the Fat Lady wasn't letting him in, they would know he had been trying to get in. And if he tried to cut her painting, well, Filch can restore her and she could tell us who it was. And-" Ron was interrupted by Harmony.
" Wait! It won't work! What if Malfoy tells Snape the password? And if we told the Fat Lady to not let teachers in...well, no one would be too happy. Everyone knows how much he would like to hurt Harry, and he's not too fond of the rest of us...especially me-"
" How do you know?" asked Ron.
" If you were Snape, would you like me very much if I smarted off to you on our first meeting and then were told off by your boss because of me?" retorted Harmony.
" No, I guess I wouldn't!"
" What did you say?" urged George.
" Well, he was in my way when I was trying to get to Dumbledore and spoke to these three and myself quite rudely, so I spoke rudely back."
" What did you say?" Fred excitedly repeated. Everyone was excited about hearing someone put down Snape.
" Okay, I said ` Excuse me Professor, I am Harmony Westershire, and I have business with Professor Dumbledore, so if you would kindly remove yourself from my path, I would be on my way.' and then Dumbledore said ` Let them through, Severus. The young lady does have business with me.' and then Snape got out of the way fast."
The Gryffindor common room throbbed with laughter. No one liked Snape the least little bit.
" Ok, everyone, get in bed! Miss Westershire, I'll see you in my office!" McGonagall had just then walked in. Harmony pulled herself out of her chair and followed her out of common room.
" Miss Westershire, hmm, I knew your father well. I couldn't believe it when he married that Muggle. She always despised of anything out of the ordinary. I'm very sorry about his death."
" Please call me Harmony, Professor. And my father is not dead."
" What's that, my dear? What makes you say that?"
" Nobody found any evidence, therefore I refuse to believe he is dead."
McGonagall changed the subject rather fast. " Well, my dear, what extra subjects would you like to take this year?"
" Care of Magical Creatures and Divination."
" Well, that was the quickest response to that question I've ever heard!"
" That's what my friends are taking."
" Oh, yes. You've asked them?"
" No. I just know these things."
Professor McGonagall became the second one that day to realize that they weren't dealing with an ordinary person.
Chapter I:
A New Gryffindor
It was that time again. Back to school. Most Muggle children hate this time of year. However, it was the best time of the year for Harry. Well, I mean, who could blame him, living with the Dursleys... anyhow, I'm getting off track. Back to the story.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione were already on Hogwarts Express when the door of their car opened. A girl that looked their age walked in. She was very pretty, dragging a gigantic trunk with a wicker cat cage strapped on top. She had soft green eyes and auburn hair. None of them had ever seen her before. The girl had on a pair of jean capri pants, a red baseball shirt, sunglasses, and sandals. A black purse was slung over her shoulder. Ron automatically jumped up to help her. He had always been partial to a pretty face.
"Is this spot taken?" she asked, gesturing toward an empty seat. She had an American accent.
"Oh, no. Feel free. I'm Hermione Granger. This is Ron Weasley. And this is-"
"Harry Potter. I know. Very pleased to meet you all. I'm Harmony. Harmony Westershire." Harry was surprised to see Harmony not look at his scar and still be able to tell who he was.
"You're American, aren't you?" said Ron.
"Yeah. I only ever go there on the summer holidays though."
"I've never seen you before, Harmony. You look our age. Where did you go to school before?"
"Beauxbatons. My grandmother went there, so she wanted me to go there too. My grandfather finally got fed up with them teaching me etiquette and `girly things' and sent Dumbledore an owl asking if I could attend Hogwarts. Of course, he said yes. My grandfather and Dumbledore are old friends."
"How are they going to sort you? I mean, will you just put on the Sorting Hat or what?" asked Hermione.
"To tell you the truth, I dunno. What House should I hope to be in?"
"Gryffindor!" all three shout.
"I take it that's your house?"
"Of course! It's the best. Harry's our Seeker on the Quidditch team. In the third year he won us the Quidditch Cup! Last year he won the Triwizard Tournament...but I suppose you already know that?" Ron said apprehensively.
"Yes. Fleur sent me an owl. We are close friends. She seemed to think very highly of all of you."
There was an awkward silence. It was broken by Harmony. Of course.
"Um, is it okay if I hang with you guys? I mean, you could show me where everything is, at least if I'm in Gryffindor. And you guys are really nice and not snobby. Unlike that ratty old Draco Malfoy I ran into on Platform 9 3/4..."
"Oh, you've met him? Malfoy and Harry are archenemies. We all hate him." replied Ron, with a note of disgust in his voice.
"Oh, I don't blame you. He tried to touch my face and called me his pretty. I bit him. He wasn't too happy," answered Harmony, gritting her teeth. Harry and Hermione laughed uproariously, but Ron stayed silent, gazing at Harmony with nothing short of admiration. As though she could sense him looking at her, Harmony turned around, smiling at him. Ron felt his heart jump from his chest. He was in love. Harmony smiled even wider, giving Ron the impression that she could tell what had just happened.
Harry and Hermione glanced at one another. They had never seen Ron act like this before, not even with Fleur Delacore, the Beauxbatons Triwizard champion from last year, who was part veela. Now he was staring into the eyes of an American girl he had met fifteen minutes ago. Harry couldn't help but feel jealous. Harmony was staring into Ron's eyes with the same look in her eyes.
Hermione spoke up. "Of course you can hang with us. We'd be honored."
"Thanks so much. I don't know anyone in England, except a pen pal I had in Wales once...she was a Muggle though," answered Harmony, tearing her gaze from Ron's eyes.
The compartment door opened. Harry, Ron and Hermione expected Ginny, Fred and George, or Neville Longbottom to come in. It was none of them though. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle entered.
"Well, well, well, what have we here. Hey Weasley, where'd you get the American girl?"
Ron stood up. Harmony did too. She placed her hand on his shoulder to hold him back. "Let me handle this," she whispered in his ear.
" I don't believe you're wanted here, Malfoy. Actually, I don't believe you're wanted anywhere. But I suggest you stay away from this car."
" Oh, yeah? And what are you going to do to me?" sniggered Malfoy.
" You must have an exceptionally bad memory. Do you not remember that bite I gave you early on? Do I have to stir your memory a bit with another one?" Harmony replied coolly.
Malfoy turned beet red, turned around and left. Harmony also turned around. Ron, Harry, and Hermione were staring at her with open mouths. She shrugged. "I have some rather useful acquaintances back in America. They taught me the use of a smart mouth and loads of comebacks. They were only Muggles, but not all Muggle tricks are useless."
The whole compartment was filled with laughter.
* * *
Over the next hour Harmony met many people including all the Weasleys still at school, the entire Gryffindor House Quidditch team, Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan, Parvati and Padma Patil, Lavender Brown, Lee Jordan, Cho Chang, and Neville Longbottom. Everyone stayed. Harmony became popular almost immediately. When the witch with the food cart came by, Harmony treated everyone to Chocolate Frogs and Drooble's Best Blowing Gum. The witch left the car smiling, red in the face and with her hat askew. Her cart was half empty. A few hours later the car was so filled with bluebell colored bubbles that the windows had to be opened to let them out. Eventually, everyone left.
" That was one wild party! Your brothers are great at entertaining, Ron. I'm glad everybody's gone now, though." She glanced at a tiny silver watch on a chain around her neck. " Oh, no! We're almost there! I haven't changed yet!" She dashed to her trunk and opened it. A wide assortment of things flew out, including a Sneakoscope, a crystal ball, and an Invisibility Cloak, which landed on the seat where Harry was dozing. He sat up and pulled it off of his head, crying hoarsely, " What happened? Where am I?"
" I'm sorry Harry. I was a bit tightly packed and when I opened my trunk, everything sort of flew out. Sorry."
Harmony bustled about collecting everything that had flown out, and then began digging in the trunk. A loud meow from the wicker cat cage made her stop. She opened the cage. A small, lean, black kitten leapt out. " Sorry, Boo," she cooed. She reached inside the cat cage and pulled out a small owl cage. Inside was a baby snowy owl. " Sorry `bout that, Tundra." She then let it out. It nipped her finger and began flying around the car. Harmony resumed digging in the trunk. She pulled out a black cloak, a silver cloak, beautiful silver silk dress robes, silver high heels, black platform boots, plain black tights, and plain white tights. Her books were at the bottom, with her plain black robes. She pulled one of these out and a small silver case. Inside this case was a wand, about 12 inches long. This was confirmed when she pulled it out and muttered something about 12 inches long, phoenix feather, hazel, bendy. Then she pulled out a pointed black hat, gathered up her robes,
tights, black boots, and cloak and tore out of the car to change.
Harry and Hermione conversed quietly once she had gone. Ron just sat there and stared at Harmony's trunk with a remorseful look in his eyes. Harry finally broke off his and Hermione's conversation.
" Hey, Ron, you okay?" he inquired.
" Not really."
" What's wrong?"
" Look at her trunk. She's rich. Once she finds out how poor I am-"
" She won't care. She already likes you. I can tell. Why should she care if your poor or not?" interrupted Harry.
" He's right, you know. Sparks flew when you looked at each other earlier. It was love at first sight." Hermione added.
" I hope you're right...Oh, hi Harmony!"
Harmony had returned looking much more composed. She grinned, then began packing her trunk up again.
Soon Harmony was packed up again and began staring out the window. The others went to change into their school robes. Ron came back first. Without turning around, Harmony said, " They were right, you know."
" Right about what?"
" Me liking you. I like you very much, you know. Will you go out with me?"
Ron's ears turned beet red as he stood there staring unintelligently at Harmony with his mouth hanging open. " What does that mean?" he whispered feebly.
" When a Muggle likes another Muggle, they ask the Muggle they like if they will go out with them. It's like dating. So will you?" she explained, her face getting closer and closer to Ron's every second.
" Yeah. I love you, Harmony. At least I think I do. Its not like how I felt with the other girls. I really think I'm in love."
" Good." Harmony whispered, giving Ron a kiss on his cheek. " I love you too. I know I do."
Harry and Hermione burst in talking animatedly as Harmony settled into her former position, gazing out the window.
* * *
" Professor Dumbledore, sir, my name is Harmony Westershire. I'm new. May I ask where I am supposed to go?"
It was several hours later, at Hogwarts. Harmony was inquiring where she should go. Dumbledore looked up, surprised. " Hmmm, Westershire, I know your grandfather well. You seem to have befriended Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, and Miss Granger, so you can go with them. See me later, after the feast. We shall then ask the Sorting Hat where you should be."
" Thank you sir. Indeed I shall see you later."
Harmony rejoined Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They trouped up to the castle with the other students. Harmony was having trouble tearing her eyes from the old castle.
" Magnificent," she muttered. " Stunningly beautiful. So rough, yet so homey. I could definitely learn to love it."
When she got inside, she was even more stunned. In the Great Hall, she could not stop staring at the ceiling that was bewitched to look like the sky outside.
" Where should I sit?" she asked Ron.
" Right beside me, my dear," he replied with a grin.
After the scrumptious feast, Harmony went up to the staff table accompanied by her three new friends. Professor Snape stopped them.
" Mr. Potter? Mr. Weasley? Miss Granger? What are you doing here? You should be going to your Common Room with the others. And who is your little friend?"
" Excuse me Professor, I am Harmony Westershire, and I have business with Professor Dumbledore, so if you would kindly remove yourself from my path, I would be on my way."
" Let them through, Severus. The young lady does have business with me."
Dumbledore spoke in a tone of voice that made Snape stand aside immediately.
" Well, then, young lady, let us see what house you shall be in. Just put on the hat and we'll see what happens."
" Thank you sir. That I will!"
Harmony placed the hat on her head, upon which the hat shouted immediately, `Gryffindor!'
" Thank you Professor. May I ask where my common room is?"
" I believe your friends shall know where it is. Oh yes, the password is `cream puff'."
The four friends exited Great Hall and started finding their way toward the Gryffindor House common room. They met more than one suspicious sight but by far the most suspicious was three pairs of shoes, one small and two gigantic, disappearing around the corner. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle had heard the Gryffindor password.
* * *
" Well, what can we do? I mean, we can't give `em a Memory Charm. That would raise suspicion. And, well, does anybody have any other ideas, ones that we could do?" Harmony whispered to the rest of the Gryffindors. " They could be out there right now, waiting for us to go to sleep."
" Then we won't go to sleep!" Fred yawned.
" Aye, we'll be up waiting for the blood-thirsty savages to burst through our front door and woe and behold to any who try to oppose us!" George shouted sleepily.
" Shut up! McGonagall'll hear you! Besides, we can't stay up! Look at you two! You're a mess!" Harmony hissed.
" Maybe we should tell her. Or Dumbledore. They can change the password." Hermione suggested quietly.
" No! We must catch them in action! Malfoy'll just say that he had to ask Snape a question and didn't mean to hear the password. And everyone knows Snape'll stand up for him. If we catch them in action there'll be nothing he can say or do that'll get him off." Harry replied, in a rather irritated tone of voice.
" Don't get snappy, Harry. We have to pull together to get through this. And Hermione has a point. I don't see how we can stop them. Malfoy's out either to steal something or hurt someone. And the latter is more probable." Harmony glanced at Harry.
" Now, we have to make a plan. Should we tell the Fat Lady or not?"
" I don't see why not. None of the teachers really talk to her, do they?" Hermione said in a nervous whisper.
" Right then, Fred, George, and Lee, you go out and tell her to not let any student, except us, the Gryffindors, entry. That should do it. No way Malfoy could do anything. If he told a teacher the Fat Lady wasn't letting him in, they would know he had been trying to get in. And if he tried to cut her painting, well, Filch can restore her and she could tell us who it was. And-" Ron was interrupted by Harmony.
" Wait! It won't work! What if Malfoy tells Snape the password? And if we told the Fat Lady to not let teachers in...well, no one would be too happy. Everyone knows how much he would like to hurt Harry, and he's not too fond of the rest of us...especially me-"
" How do you know?" asked Ron.
" If you were Snape, would you like me very much if I smarted off to you on our first meeting and then were told off by your boss because of me?" retorted Harmony.
" No, I guess I wouldn't!"
" What did you say?" urged George.
" Well, he was in my way when I was trying to get to Dumbledore and spoke to these three and myself quite rudely, so I spoke rudely back."
" What did you say?" Fred excitedly repeated. Everyone was excited about hearing someone put down Snape.
" Okay, I said ` Excuse me Professor, I am Harmony Westershire, and I have business with Professor Dumbledore, so if you would kindly remove yourself from my path, I would be on my way.' and then Dumbledore said ` Let them through, Severus. The young lady does have business with me.' and then Snape got out of the way fast."
The Gryffindor common room throbbed with laughter. No one liked Snape the least little bit.
" Ok, everyone, get in bed! Miss Westershire, I'll see you in my office!" McGonagall had just then walked in. Harmony pulled herself out of her chair and followed her out of common room.
" Miss Westershire, hmm, I knew your father well. I couldn't believe it when he married that Muggle. She always despised of anything out of the ordinary. I'm very sorry about his death."
" Please call me Harmony, Professor. And my father is not dead."
" What's that, my dear? What makes you say that?"
" Nobody found any evidence, therefore I refuse to believe he is dead."
McGonagall changed the subject rather fast. " Well, my dear, what extra subjects would you like to take this year?"
" Care of Magical Creatures and Divination."
" Well, that was the quickest response to that question I've ever heard!"
" That's what my friends are taking."
" Oh, yes. You've asked them?"
" No. I just know these things."
Professor McGonagall became the second one that day to realize that they weren't dealing with an ordinary person.