Harry couldn't believe that he had let Hermione and Ron drag him to a Muggle party. He had absolutely nothing against muggles, but he didn't know anyone, and it was unbelievably dull! It was the run-of-the-mill "my parents are out of town" party, with drinking, dancing, etc. He would have left by now, but for two reasons:
1. Hermione was determined to make him have some fun, and this was the best they could do without magic. Damn that rule about magic away from school!
2. He had noticed someone, a girl someone. He had first noticed her eyes, shockingly green, not unlike his own. She wasn't very tall, standing only 5'4 or so, but she was a sight. She had skin so pale that it rivaled his own, and red-brown hair, and a pretty smile. She wore faded blue jeans with ripped knees , a black, long-sleeved top that ended just high enough to reveal a small sliver of pale skin above her jeans, and black boots.
As he was gathering his courage to talk to her, she wandered outside. He followed, greatly intrigued. There was something different about her. He couldn't tell what it was, but it was something. She wandered away from the house and laid down on the grass, staring at the stars. He walked over and sat down next to her.
"What do you want, Mug--I mean, what do you want, Punk?"
Harry's eyebrows shot up. He asked, amused,
"Did you just call me a Muggle?"
"I dunno…depends on whether or not you know what one is."
"Yes, I do, but I'm not. I'm a wizard…and I presume you're not one either."
"You'd be right. I'm a witch. I guess we're both out of place at this party, then."
"Yup."
"So why are you here?"
It took Harry longer to answer that question than he had expected.
"Uh--I'm here because I have nothing better to do. You?"
"Likewise, plus my nagging friends."
"I have those too."
They were interrupted by her friend, a short, petite, blonde, who called her to come back inside.
"Emma! Stop being anti-social and get back in here!"
Emma rolled her eyes and shouted back. "I be there in a few, okay Vic?"
"Emma, huh? Nice name. Maybe Emma would be willing to dance with me?"
She rolled her eyes at him before replying,
"This isn't fair! You know my name, and I don't know yours!"
"Hi. I'm Harry. I go to Hogwarts, play quidditch in my spare time, and also live with a muggle family in the summer."
Emma fought back a giggle.
"I asked for a name, not a life story!"
"So sorry, but now you must tell me more about yourself!"
"Fine. I'm Emma, I went to Beauxbatons, but I'll be attending Hogwarts this year because my father says I'm getting too French for my own good, I'm fluent in four languages, and in my spare time, I practice sword fighting."
"Sword fighting! That sounds fun!"
"Very."