A/N: I've been sick for ages and have had nothing better to do than write fanfiction. Hooray. Anyway, this first chapter is going to scream Sue, but I promise when (if, haha) I finish it, it will all make sense enough and hopefully won't be too vomit-inducing. And no, she isn't some minion of Voldemort/related to Voldemort. Just thought I'd say that up front.

Not All Are Heroes

It had been twenty minutes since the Hogwarts Express pulled out of the station, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione were busy chatting and pulling wrappers off of things they had gotten off the food carts.

That was when the girl appeared, pulling open the door to their compartment and plopping down heavily next to Harry.

"Um…excuse me?" Ron said through a mouthful of pumpkin pasties. The girl giggled and waved her hand dismissively, as if she and Ron were old friends and he was only having a bit of a tease with her. She was tallish, pale, with long flaxen hair and clear blue eyes. She was beautiful, thought Ron. Beautiful, but obnoxious. He wanted her out.

"Can you please, um…not be in here?"

"Ron," Hermione said, a bit of annoyance in her voice. "Don't be so rude, this isn't our train." She flashed a weak smile in the girl's direction. Harry, meanwhile, was seated stiffly as a marble statue, looking awkward as the girl threw her arm over his shoulders.

"Hi, I'm new here." She informed them cheerfully. "Well, I mean, I'm coming in as a third year, but I'm new all the same. My name is Athena Willock, I'm from East Anglia, I'm so excited to be here, I'm going to learn loads of magic and get loads of friends." She nodded decisively. "You're my friends, right?"

"Eh…sure." Harry finally said, shaking her arm off of him with a shrug of his shoulders.

"So," Hermione said brightly, "You're new but you're a third year, does that mean you've transferred from somewhere? That's highly unusual, you know. Where did you go to school before?" It was meant as a friendly question, but Athena seemed taken aback.

"I'm from East Anglia." She said defensively.

"Well, yes, but there's no magic school there, Hogwarts would be closest, wouldn't it?"

"I guess, but…I was really sick for like…three years and so I'm only going to school just now. Well, I'll see you at dinner!" She stood up and hurriedly exited the compartment. The three friends watched her skip down the length of the train, popping in and out of other compartments.

Ron broke the awkward silence. "Well…that was…odd. Looks like she likes you, Harry. EVERYBODY loves Harry." he looked at Harry sideways and wrinkled his face. " I don't see why, sure you've been touted as a hero, but you can't say he's particularly good looking, can you, Hermione?" Hermione was not getting involved, and tugged a book out of her suitcase in which she pretended to be instantly absorbed.

"But really, remember last year? That Ravenclaw second year, Mary Pidgin?"

"Who?" asked Harry.

"Brown hair. Brown eyes. Skinny." Recited Hermione in a monotone, without lifting her eyes from the text.

"Oh yeah, I remember her. She was shy though…nice enough."

"Liked you. I know she did. And then, of course, there's my little sister! Ginny's had it bad for you since you met…"

"I know, I know"

Hermione put the book down. "Whatever happened to her?"

"My sister?"

"No, Mary. I haven't seen her today at all."

"I bet Athena ate her."

"Ron…why must you be so mean? Athena's new and just looking for people to be friends with….but it is strange. If you somehow didn't get to school for three years, wouldn't they have you start as a first year anyway? Seems odd that she's going to be a third year…has she even been Sorted?"

"What do you think Harry? Harry? Mr. Potter, strong and silent one…"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, Athena…she's…" but Harry couldn't quite express what he thought of Athena. There was something about her that seemed so forced, so awkward. His mind entertained various thoughts infused with Imperius curses and dead-eyed girls serving the will of the Dark Lord. No, that was stupid. He picked up a sweet that had rolled under the seat and offered it to Ron with a forced smile: "Chocolate frog?"