Great thing about moving to a different country is that I kind of get to reinvent myself. No one knows me here and I can be anyone I want to be! Unfortunately I'm already set in my ways.

Insert sigh here.

We had landed and were now boarding these carriages that were being pulled by these huge skeletal horse looking creatures. I gasped.

"What are those?" I squeaked, pointing to one of the horse things.

"What? Oh, pulling the carriages? Wait! You can see them?" Rose exclaimed.

I nodded, too freaked out to speak.

"Well, they're called thestrals and only people who have seen death can see them." Dominique added rather quietly.

Did I mention my Mom was murdered in front of me? No? Well, you know happy memories tend to be suppressed at times. (Hint the sarcasm.)

"Can you two see them?" I asked; my voice surprisingly hoarse.

They shook their heads.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to Paislee." Dominique said.

"My mom was murdered by some Death Eater five years ago. I don't know who, my Dad refuses to tell me his name. He killed her in front of me." I said quietly, still standing and staring at the thestral. Rose and Dominique gasped.

"We were shopping when a man grabbed her and asked for her money. He was trying to rob us. My Mom threw her purse at him and told him to take it and go. He was about to leave when he caught sight of me. He went to grab me and my Mom stood in front of him making a grab for her wand but she was too slow and he cast a killing curse at her. I screamed and people started to notice what was going on. He disapparated. He was wearing a hood so I never saw his face. My Dad caught him a year later. He was dead. It's kind of hard to think that my Dad is capable of such a thing, but I'm pretty sure my Dad killed him."

"I'm so sorry Paislee." Rose said and Dominique patted my shoulder comfortingly.

"It's okay. I miss her a lot, but at least I have my Dad." I said, trying my hardest not to cry. I hated crying. Have I mentioned that?

"It must've been hard leaving your home. But, hey! You've met us and I know we're going to be the best of friends!" Dominique said.

"Thank you Rose. Thank you Dominique." I said quietly.

"Please, call me Dom. All my friends do." She said smiling. I smiled back and the three of us climbed onto the carriage. Right as it lurched forward four more people climbed their way in it. Two of those people were James and Freddie. I groaned.

"Sick of us already American?" Freddie asked with a smirk. The two other boys that climbed in looked a bit younger.

James and Freddie forced their way on either side of me and the other two boys sat next to Dom and Rose. The boy on the left had blonde hair. I mean like super blonde hair. He looked to be about 15, Roses age. Rose blushed slightly as he sat next to her. I smiled. They're sweet on each other.

AWE!

The boy next to Dom looked slightly like James, but younger. He had the same messy black hair, but instead of hazel eyes, this boy had extremely bright green eyes. They were really pretty, mesmerizing almost. They shined behind his glasses.

"Introductions are in order. These two young gentlemen are Albus Severus Potter, my little brother, and Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, his best friend. This is our new extremely attractive American transfer student." James said with a grin.

I rolled my eyes and ignored his comment.

"Hi, my name is Paislee Hayes. It's nice to meet ya'll." I waved.

"It's Al actually. Please don't call me Albus. For some reason my parents hate me." Albus, I mean Al, said. I smiled. I knew how that went. Why did parents name their children atrocious names?

"Scorpius is just fine. James Sirius Potter is a git." The blond said smiling. I smiled back, then my eyebrows furrowed. Git?

"Git?" I asked. Another weird word. All these words are getting hard to keep up with.

James smiled.

"Git means stupid. And I am not a git Scorpius. Don't make me hex you in front of our beautiful American transfer student." He said pulling out his wand. Scorpius snorted and pulled his out.

"Bring it on Jimmy." Scorpius said with a grin.

"Rictusempra!" James got out before Scorpius could open his mouth.

Scorpius exploded in a fit of giggles. I winced. I felt bad for him. I was extremely ticklish. Like everywhere. All you had to do was threaten me and I was off. My Dad often uses that spell on me to get me to do my chores. He had in fact used it just last week to make me pack faster. Jerk.

Scorpius was holding his sides and moving around in his seat, trying desperately to stop the tickling.

"J-James! Plehehehease!" Scorpius begged. James, Freddie, and Dom were roaring with laughter. Rose was trying to act sympathetic but was giggling. Al was pulling out his wand to help his friend.

"Al, lift that spell and you'll be next." James warned. Al narrowed his eyes and then relented with a sigh. I guess he was ticklish too.

Scorpius was still laughing madly and was leaning on Rose for support.

"JAMES! HAHAHAHA! S-STOP!" Scorpius yelled. James finally waved his wand and Scorpius sighed in relief. Giggling every once in a while and twitching.

"I hate you." He said. James and Freddie laughed.

"Awe! You're too kind!" James said, throwing a hand onto his chest as if clutching his heart. I rolled my eyes.

"I take you two are quite the jokesters." I commented dryly.

"You take correctly American. Freddie here and I are the masters of all pranks. Not even my grandfather or our Uncle Fred have outdone us. We have been equaled by no one. However, we do owe The Marauders and Uncle Fred a lot. They've been great inspiration. Bloody brilliant they were." James said.

"Would you please stop calling me American? I have a name you know. Paislee Hayes!" I said irritated with the fact that they kept calling me American. I mean, my stinking accent was so thick I'm sure everyone knew where I was from.

Jerks!

I mean, Gits!

Ha! I could totally get the hang of their language.

James smirked. Did this boy have any other facial expression?

"Well Ms. Paislee Hayes do you have a middle name? You know all of ours so it's only fair we know yours." James said.

"Actually I don't know Dom's, Rose's, or Freddie's. Just yours, Al's, and Scorpius's since you said them out loud." I said.

"Yeah. You did. My first name's awful enough." Al said with a grimace. I stifled a giggle. James started laughing along with Freddie.

"I wouldn't make fun of his name if I were you. Sirius? I mean, seriously Sirius?" I said with a sarcastic (cheeky) grin.

Everyone started laughing. James scowled slightly but he couldn't stop the grin that started to spread across his face.

"I was named after my grandfather and my middle name is after my Dad's godfather. He was part of The Marauders with my grandfather. Atrocious name I know, my father is a bit of a sap." James said with a smile. "So out with it Hayes. What's your middle name?"

Ugh! My middle name was just as bad as my first.

"Jeanette." I said quietly.

"Oh that's not nearly as bad as Severus or Sirius." Al said.

"Or Hyperion." Scorpius added.

"Well what about you three?" I asked looking at Freddie and then at Dom and Rose.

"Well my middle name is Abella. It's French like my Mother." Dom said.

"Mine is Carolyne. Not after anyone in particular." Rose said.

"And mine is Dylan. Not after anyone special either." Freddie said.

"Alright so now that we all know each other's names I say we get to know the American a bit better." James said. I groaned.

"Well, might as well get this over with. I have a feeling ya'll are gonna stick to me like glue." I said.

Everyone laughed.

"I just can't get over her accent. It's so adorable. We need to make her talk all the time." James said.

"Okay, okay! Enough! I'll answer your questions, what do you wanna know?" I asked.

"First off do you know about Quidditch?" Freddie asked.

"Of course! Best sport ever. I play a lot. I'm a Chaser and quite fantastic if I do say so myself." I said rather smugly.

"That's actually amazing. I'm captain and we're down a Beater and a Chaser since ours graduated this past school year. You should try out." James said. I smiled.

"Sure. Couldn't hurt. Besides, you can learn how tough this American is." I said with a smirk.

"What do you do for fun?" Rose asked.

"I love to read." I said. Rose's face lit up and everyone else groaned.

"Great, another Aunt Hermione." Dom said with a smile.

"There's nothing wrong with reading! It expands the vocabulary and imagination!" I cried. Rose started nodding enthusiastically.

"I've been telling them this for ages. I'm so glad I'm not the only bookworm." Rose said.

"Okay, I have a question. What's your greatest strength?" Dom asked.

That was a loaded question.

"Uh…I'm not sure. I mean I'm a really good flier." I said.

"That doesn't count. I mean a real strength." Dom said.

"Okay. Um. I'm like fiercely motivated. Once I set my mind on something I will not stop until it's completed. And I mean it; I've never not finished something. I'm an unstoppable force once I put my mind to it."

"Now there's a trait Freddie and James need." Rose said with a sly grin. Al and Scorpius started laughing.

"Oi! We finish stuff!" James said.

"Yeah! We finish every prank we pull!" Freddie added.

"Pranks don't count. When's the last time you actually finished your own homework?" Al asked.

James and Freddie looked a bit sheepish and said nothing.

"I rest my case." Al said.

"What's your greatest weakness?" James asked suddenly. I blanched.

"I guess I'm a bit naïve. My dad says I'm the most gullible person on the planet."

"Excellent." James and Freddie said.

"Honestly boys, give her some time before you start pranking the poor dear. Honestly, can't you two wait a bloody minute?" Rose said. They just laughed. Al and Scorpius joined in and Rose scowled at them.

"What's your favorite color?" Freddie asked.

"Orange." I replied with a smile. "Now how bout' y'all tell me some things about yourself. Likes, dislikes, strengths, weaknesses things like that."

"But we already know each other." Freddie whined.

"Well I don't know y'all!" I retorted.

"Fine! Well I'm going to be 17 in two months. I'm captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. I'm a Chaser as well. I hate anchovies, disgusting little buggers; my greatest strength has got to be my devilishly good looks as well as my cleverness. Greatest weakness? Nothing. I'm perfect." James said with a smirk.

I snorted.

Everyone laughed.

"His weakness is his pratiness. Super cocky." Al said. James rolled his eyes.

"You wankers just can't see how great I am." James replied.

"Oi!" Freddie said, looking offended.

"Except you Freddie. You're the only one who understands me." James said mockingly tearfully while reaching out for Freddie's hand. Freddie reached his out and the two boys began to mock cry.

I snorted again.

Attractive right?

They two boys sobered up as Dom spoke.

"Well, I'm 17 already and a bit of a girly girl. I love make-up and doing hair and fashion and all that. I hate kippers, they're so gross. My greatest strength would have to be my fashion sense. My greatest weakness is that I'm quite doubtful. I second guess myself a lot. I'm also not strong, like in the physical sense." Dom said.

"I just turned 15 two weeks ago. I'm a total bookworm. I love homework and getting good grades. I hate chocolate. I know I'm a nutter, but I just can't stand the stuff. Too sweet. My greatest weakness would be that I try too hard to be perfect. I'm also a klutz. Can't walk a straight line if my life depended on it." Rose said.

I smiled.

"Well I'm 15 as well and a total disappointment to my family. I come from a long line of hatred and am now best friends with my family's arch nemesis. I'm bloody brilliant at Quidditch. I play Keeper for the Gryffindor team. I hate cheese, and no I'm not lactose intolerant the stuff's just gross. My greatest strength would be the ability to constantly tick off my family. Greatest weakness would be wanting to prove to everyone how different I am from my family. I'm also extremely ticklish as my dear friend Jimmy here proved. Git." Scorpius said.

We all laughed at that. I wondered at what he meant about his family though. It sounded rather sad but he didn't seem to upset by it.

"I'm 15 too and rather friendly with everyone. I don't have too many problems with people in general. I'm a brilliant Seeker, the spots mine on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. I hate Coca Cola, makes my teeth feel gritty. My greatest strength would be my friendliness I reckon. My greatest weakness would have to be trying to live up to everyone's expectations of me because of whom my Dad is. I'm expected to be brilliant at DADA but I'm actually better at potions. I'm also a bit on the clumsy side like my dear cousin Rosie." Al said.

I knew he was Harry Potter's other son the moment I looked at him. He was the spitting image of the man. Glasses and everything.

"I'm 17 already and I'm bloody brilliant at everything. Best Beater on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. James is the only one who matches me in pranks and in cleverness. I hate pears, it's a texture thing. I too have no weakness except for maybe I'm a bit too trusting. I'm drop dead gorgeous and have a wicked sense of humor." Freddie added and high fived James.

"There! Now you know all of us. So come one. Out with it!" James encouraged.

I sighed.

"Well, um. I'm 16. Won't be 17 for another 7 months, we started schooling when I was ten instead of 11. Like I said I'm a fantastic flier. I'm a really good Chaser as well. I hate anchovies as well. Most disgusting fish ever and I'll never understand why they put it on pizza. I too am a book word and I don't want to hear a word about it. I'm obviously from America. A small town named Brantley in Alabama. I've been homeschooled for most of my life by my Dad. My greatest strength like I said is my motivation. My weaknesses would be my naivety and I'm also…er…quite…ticklish."

James and Freddie's grins grew even wider.

Insert gulp here.

"This is very useful information. I'm quite excited about this year." James said, idly twirling his wand. I scowled.

"I'm also quick with a wand." I warned. James smirked.

"I can't wait to test that." James said. I rolled my eyes.

"Almost there." Rose said. I looked up for the first time and saw a huge castle. Towers were shooting up into the night sky. I gasped in wonder.

"Rather brilliant isn't it?" James whispered in my ear.

A shiver ran down my spine and I giggled as his breath tickled my ear and I slapped at him. He laughed.

Jerk.

I mean Git.

Phew, keeping up with all these different kinds of insults was getting to be tough.

"Stop that!" I shouted at him.

"Too easy." James said. And the carriages stopped.

Everyone started piling out, grabbing bags and purses as they jumped off the sides. I climbed out after everyone. They started walking towards the entrance of the castle, but I stayed rooted to my spot.

I can't do this.

I'm such a wuss, but this is all just too much too soon. A little more than a week ago I was just a normal (kinda sorta not really) teenage girl growing up in Brantley Alabama. Now I'm in another country, at a school full of kids I had never met.

Home now. Please? Thanks.

"C'mon Hayes. Surely you're not scared of a couple of Brits." James said, appearing next to me. I looked up at him. He was smiling smugly, but I could see a look of genuine concern in his eyes. He was challenging me, but also letting me know that I could trust him. All of them.

I smirked.

"No way Potter." I said. He smirked back and we walked together to the entrance of the castle.

Well, here goes nuttin!