Chapter three: Miss Mystery

After a wonderful sleep in their dorms, Sirius, James and Peter woke to the sound of the Remus getting ready. Remus was always up before anyone else was. Sirius sat up, rubbing his eyes, trying to wake up. When his vision focused, he saw Remus's pale, bare torso in front of him. He blinked when he saw four bright red scratches down the front of his chest. Remus wasn't built well. He was scrawny and lean so his skin looked papery thin and grey. Sirius blinked as he stared at the scars on his chest.

"Merlin's Beard, Remus, how did you get those?" Sirius asked in shock. James looked over at him and saw them too. He grinned.

"You run into a woman with sharp nails?" James asked with a sly grin. Remus blushed and quickly pulled his shirt on as Peter looked over as well and Sirius laughed.

"No, of course not. My dog scratched me." Remus lied convincingly, tucking his dress shirt into his pants neatly. Sirius scoffed.

"What dog?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah, you don't have a dog, Remus!" Peter exclaimed. Remus tried to think up of another lie on the spot, panicking.

"I-uh- got it this summer. I got it so my mum wouldn't be lonely when I left for Hogwarts." Remus said quickly. All three boys seemed to be pleased with that answer.

"What kind?" Sirius asked as they got up and got dressed quickly, not even bothering making themselves look presentable, like Remus was doing. Remus felt so frazzled from making up so many lies. He looked confused.

"What kind, what?" Remus asked. Sirius arched a black eyebrow at him.

"What kind of dog did you get?" Sirius asked him, blinking.

"Oh. Uh, a German Shepherd." He named off the only dog species he knew and quickly turned to fix his sandy brown hair nervously. Sirius nodded as he put his tie on and half-tucked in his shirt. After a few moments, the four of them left to go downstairs to breakfast.

The Great Hall was buzzing with the excitement of a new school year. The Gryffindor table was chatting about classes and who was in what class today. There were times tables passed around again, even though they had come with their returning-to-Hogwarts Owl. The four friends sat down with one another and they chowed down on breakfast as they talked about Transfiguration.

"Do you guys think McGonagall is going to spice it up this year?" Peter asked them as they ate. James and Sirius, who's cheeks were bulging with food, started to laugh loudly. Remus smirked and focused on his eggs as he looked around the table, trying not to get involved in this conversation.

"Does McGonagall seem like the type of teacher to 'spice it up' to you, Peter?" James asked him as he chewed. Sirius grinned and took another huge spoonful of potatoes and then a swig of his Pumpkin Juice. Peter looked uncomfortable at him asking that question and just shrugged with a smile on his face. As the boys continued to talk, the same girl that Remus had seen yesterday was walking towards the Ravenclaw table. Remus tried to focus on her face but she turned away to sit at the table with the other Ravenclaws (although she sat alone at the end of the table). Peter saw him staring at her and his eyes lit up.

"That's her!" Peter squeaked. Immediately, James and Sirius focused on Peter and so did Remus.

"Who's who, now?" Sirius asked confusedly.

"Her! That girl that's transferring here from that school for freaks in Greece or something!" Peter said enthusiastically. The other three friends exchanged looks.

"You mean Talantoúchos? The school for the Gifted in Greece?" Remus said.

"Yeah! Apparently she's come here because she's also a witch! She's come to learn magic and how to control her power." Peter said.

"What's her power?" Sirius asked curiously. Peter shrugged.

"No idea. I just know that a whole bunch of people at this school have been waiting for her. Even Dumbledore himself recommended she take extra classes to learn how to channel whatever power she has into helping her with magic." Peter said. James raised an eyebrow.

"And how do you know this, Peter?" James asked with a sly smirk on his face. Peter blushed and fidgeted a little.

"I…have my sources." Peter said. Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Alright Sherlock, come on," Sirius and James started to get up from the Gryffindor table. "We're going to be late for Transfiguration." He said. Remus didn't have Transfiguration with the rest of them. He had a special advanced class with McGonagall at Third Period. Remus had Ancient Ruins now and next period was Divination. He watched his friends walk off and got up too, grabbing his books and leaving his breakfast untouched on the table, hurrying to his first class of the day.

James, Peter and Sirius arrived in Transfiguration late due to James's inability to pass a lavatory without throwing toilet paper on the ceiling. He just couldn't pass up the opportunity to torture Mr. Filch. The three friends, after TPing the entire Third floor Boy's washroom, ran to their Transfiguration class. They knew Professor McGonagall would have their heads so they tried to sneak into class. James looked around the room as Sirius and Peter sat down. It looked like she wasn't here, or so they thought. James grinned and looked around at everyone from Gryffindor, who had immediately swamped him with hellos.

"Hello all," James greeted them, grinning. "Not a very lively class, is it?" James commented, looking around to see the utterly silent Ravenclaws on the other side of the room, glaring at him pointedly as they scribbled a note onto their parchment with their quills. James smiled slyly at them, going over. "Hey, Ravenclaws. Are you enjoying the lack of teacher supervision in this class room?" he asked. He wandered over to a couple of attractive-looking girls and leaned against their desks, smiling flirtatiously. "How about you ladies? How do you enjoy having Professor Crabby-pants as your Transfiguration teacher?" James inquired. The two girls glared loathingly at him.

"Bugger off, Potter." The one growled. Everyone in Ravenclaw house loved Professor McGonagall. In fact, almost all of them loved all the teachers there. Most of them spent too much time with the teachers, assuring they get the highest grade possible.

"Aw, why? Can't I sit with you ladies and enjoy the view of your beautiful faces?" he asked slyly. "It's got to be a lot of a better view staring at me than McGonagall's face, right?" The two girls folded their arms but before they could answer, James felt someone come up behind him and he suddenly felt piercing eyes in the back of his head. James's stomach sank and he slowly turned around to see an incredibly angry-looking Professor McGonagall. Hoping to save himself, James put on a stunning smile. "Ah, Professor. Lovely to see you, as always." James said charmingly. Professor McGonagall's lips were pursed so tightly that they seemed non-existent as she stared at him over her square spectacles.

"I'm glad you feel that way, Potter, because you will be seeing more of me tonight in detention. So will you Mr. Black and Mr. Pettigrew," McGonagall said sharply. When Sirius and Peter looked at her with shocked, innocent faces, she continued. "Peeves has just informed me that you three boys made a disastrous mess of the Third Floor boy's lavatory. You will all go to Mr. Filch for detention after classes end and scrub the toilet paper off the walls and ceiling without magic." McGonagall said crisply. The boys groaned dramatically at the thought of spending their free time in detention.

"But, Professor! How can you trust Peeves! He's a Poltergeist, for Merlin's Sake! He's lying!" Sirius exclaimed. McGonagall turned to the young boy sitting in his chair and stared at him pointedly.

"Is the terrified First year that was in one of the stalls lying to me as well, Mr. Black?" when Sirius went to answer her question, she interrupted him. "I think not. That is the end of this discussion, Mr. Black. I will see you in detention with Mr. Pettigrew and Mr. Potter." McGonagall went to turn around again but James spoke up.

"But, Professor, that's not fair!" James whined loudly. McGonagall turned to look at him with I-don't-care eyes.

"I'm sorry you think so, Mr. Potter. Besides, I am Professor Grumpy-Pants. I don't think from the sound of that unimaginative nickname that I'd be fair, don't you agree?" McGonagall said. James was gobsmacked for a moment before she spoke again. "Now, Potter, if you would be so kind as to sit down, I'd like to teach my class." She said crisply. James looked at her with outraged eyes for a moment before he strutted over to his seat, ran his fingers through his messy black hair, as if to show that this confrontation didn't matter, and plopped onto his seat, slouching immediately. McGonagall looked satisfied and quickly walked to the front of the room, taking out her wand. "Now, today we will be starting the term off with transforming something as simple as this rock-," she held up a rock that had been placed on a podium before her. She waved her wand and the rock suddenly became a long, silver sword. Everyone looked at it in awe, gobsmacked. "-Into a weapon. Now, you may be thinking, why is this useful? Well, the answer is right in front of you. You face many dangers, even today, that cannot be solved with something as simple as a wand." McGonagall explained. A girl from Ravenclaw raised her hand. McGonagall acknowledged her.

"But, Professor, what can't be solved with a wand? Where would we use this spell in real life?" she asked her. McGonagall pondered this for a moment before setting the sword down.

"Well, you see Miss. Livingston, there is a tale that is told for youngsters, quite like yourselves, who are practicing magic. In this tale, there is a creature of deadly power that cannot be stopped by magic of any kind. This creature was an Eagle of substantial size that spent years terrorizing small villages and slaughtering countless numbers of its people. A young warlock ventured into the mighty Eagle's lair and sought to destroy the beast, along with his friend, a young witch who was practised in magical arts. The young warlock, however, did not read up on his mythology and he tried to destroy the beast with magic. The Eagle quickly killed him with one slash of its giant talon, leaving the young lady all by herself with this horrible beast. But, the young witch was cunning. She had read many books on this creature and knew exactly how to kill it. This young lady transformed a simple tree branch into a mighty bow and arrow and she fought the beast. Soon, she killed it and now, the legend lives on about the cunning young witch who destroyed this foul creature. Can anyone tell me who the young witch was?" McGonagall asked the class. Everyone was silent for a moment but then, a voice rang clear from the back of the classroom.

"Rowena Ravenclaw."

Everyone in the class turned around to see who had entered the room. When Sirius turned around, he saw a beautiful girl standing there in her Ravenclaw robes. Sirius looked at her more closely and saw that she was the girl who Remus spotted sitting at the Ravenclaw table earlier that day and was also the girl that Peter said came from the "school for freaks" in Greece. As Sirius stared at the girl, he took in how extraordinarily beautiful she was. This girl had long raven-feather black hair that fell down her back in tight ringlets. She had very pale skin and very European features. The angle of her face was soft, not sharp and pointed. Her eyes were a stunning shade of bright electric blue with a ring of darker blue around the outside of the Iris. She had soft, pink lips and nearly perfectly shaped eyebrows. She was also medium height, or shorter, and had a slight frame. Overall, her appearance seemed…exotic. And Sirius liked it a lot.

The silence in the class was overwhelming for a few seconds before Professor McGonagall broke it.

"Ah, yes, Miss. Ziva! I was told you'd be coming. Class, this is Ziva. She's new to our school. I want you all to make her feel as welcome as possible." Professor McGonagall said, a slightly lighter tone to her voice. The class murmured to one another for a moment, whispering about her and the gossip that they'd heard about where she came from. "Come along now, Miss. Ziva. You can sit down beside Miss. Livingston over here." she said, gesturing to the chair beside the frightened-looking Ravenclaw. The girl, Ziva, looked around at the class as she walked slowly to her seat, holding her Transfiguration book to her chest. She seemed almost too calm as she sat down beside the girl and set her book on the desk. Everyone turned and looked at her as she looked at them all each in the eye. One by one, right after their eyes met, each person would turn away, looking uncomfortable. Sirius didn't get a chance to meet eyes with her and he was curious as to why the students were reacting that way towards her.

"And also," McGonagall started again to get back on track and to direct attention away from Ziva. "Miss. Ziva was quite right. Rowena Ravenclaw did battle the great Eagle and won the battle. She was known for her love for eagles and it was her spirit animal, even though she had the last name Ravenclaw. The Eagle represented her spirit more than a Raven did. Who can tell me why this is important to Hogwarts in particular?" she addressed the class again. Ziva put up her hand.

"Because the symbol of Ravenclaw is an Eagle, the same Eagle that was said to be the one that she slayed when she was young." Ziva said quickly, talking quite fast. Her voice was quite beautiful, also. It had a slight Greek accent in it and it was soft and knowledgeable, much like, it seemed, the rest of her was.

"Correct, Miss. Ziva, ten points to Ravenclaw," McGonagall said with a look of surprise on her face. She seemed intrigued. "Tell me, Miss. Ziva, how much more do you know of Rowena Ravenclaw's past?" she inquired. James and Peter exchanged looks while Sirius simply stared at the back of Ziva's head. Professor McGonagall was not the type of teacher to stray from her lesson, so this was an interesting twist from the ordinary.

"Well, I've heard that legend and many others. There is a conspiracy theory that I am currently reading about that suggests that the young warlock killed by the beast was also Rowena Ravenclaw's lover and that they had run away together to be married and start a new life away from pretentious parents, but when the warlock decided to try to kill the eagle, and he was killed, Rowena was heartbroken for years afterwards. There is also another theory that her daughter, Helena, was the warlock's child because she noticed she was pregnant four months after they had originally ran away and went to get married. The book states that she was seeing no other man at the time and that she never remarried and raised her daughter on her own." Ziva said. After that, she seemed embarrassed that she'd said that much so quickly. Sirius even saw her cheeks redden from staring at the side of her face long enough.

"Very good, Miss. Ziva, ten more points to Ravenclaw. I am very impressed with your knowledge on your house. Ravenclaws, you should follow in suit and read the book "The Eagle and the Raven." By Humplebatch Pentlend, an author who wrote many books about Rowena Ravenclaw and her life leading up to and including the founding of Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall told them. The Ravenclaws all took out their quills and wrote the title and the author down on their note pages. "Now, moving on. I would like you to take out your books and turn to page 23." McGonagall ordered as she returned to her normal everyday lesson.

James turned to Sirius, who was still staring in dazed wonder at the back of Ziva's head and James grinned.

"Fancy her, eh?" James said slyly. Sirius broke out of his façade and gave James a smack on the arm.

"Hey! Keep your voice down!" Sirius whispered frantically. James chuckled quietly as McGonagall wrote out how to say the spell phonetically on the chalk board at the front of the class.

"I'm just saying, mate, even though I don't have a thing for Greek chicks, I would totally reconsider if it were her." James said to Sirius.

"Don't you even try, James. You can't even get Lily Evans to go out with you and something tells me that this girl is going to be harder than Lily." Sirius said, getting slightly protective. James laughed quietly again.

"Calm down, bud. I've got a thousand chicks chasing after me all at once," He whispered. "I don't need another one doing the same thing. Besides, you deserve a girl. I say you talk to her after class. Maybe even ask her out." James said.

"…How do I do that?" Sirius asked him nervously. James put his arm over Sirius's shoulders, grinning.

"Just go with it, man. She'll totally dig you. Maybe try flipping your hair. Girls love hair, mate. It's like drugs to them, or something. They love it. Oh, and compliment her loads. Girls love getting complimented too." James said. Sirius looked at Ziva again and a smile lit up his face.

"Thanks for the advice. I think I'm going to do it." Sirius said with triumph in his voice. James patted him on the back hard, grinning like a Cheshire Cat.

"Atta boy!" James said a little too loudly. McGonagall turned around sharply, staring at the two of them at the back of the classroom.

"Potter! Black! If you can't control your outbursts, I'll have you in detention for a week!" McGonagall threatened. The two boys immediately piped down, muttering "yes professor" as they took out their books and turned to page 23.

When the bell rang to signal the end of Transfiguration class, everyone got up and grabbed their books, leaving the class room. Sirius had thought about nothing but Ziva all period and he was going to do it. He saw her gathering her books and quill. Sirius took a deep breath and just went for it. He strode over to Ziva and stopped right behind her.

"Hey there," Sirius said with confidence. Ziva heard him and slowly turned to face him. As soon as Sirius saw her eyes, he understood why people looked away from her after a few seconds of looking into them. Her eyes seemed to look too deeply into his eyes and it felt like his privacy was being violated. But Sirius didn't look away. Maybe if he acted like he didn't care, he'd be able to impress her more.

Ziva looked at the young boy standing in front of her with curious, but calm eyes. "Hello." She greeted him. Sirius smiled charmingly.

"I was impressed by how much stuff you knew about Rowena Ravenclaw. How many books have you read on her?" Sirius asked her. Ziva stared at him.

"A few. Would you excuse me?" Ziva asked politely, trying to sidestep him. Instead of blocking her path, Sirius walked beside her, snatching his books from his desk as they exited the Transfiguration classroom and entered a hallway.

"So, I heard you're from Greece. Fancy place, huh?" Sirius said, keeping up with her fast stride easily.

"Quite." Was all Ziva said as she walked. Sirius tried to keep the conversation going.

"So, what school did you go to before Hogwarts?" Sirius asked her. Ziva arched an eyebrow.

"I think you already know." Ziva said.

"And why would you think that?" Sirius inquired.

"Because that little squirt of a boy told you where I came from at breakfast, that's why." Ziva said. She wasn't being rude. In fact, she thought Sirius was quite handsome, but she could feel the cockiness coming from him and it made her somewhat defensive.

"Oh…you mean Peter?" Sirius said quickly.

"Yes, I'm sure that's his name," She said as they rounded the corner of a hallway. She looked at Sirius. "Is there a particular reason you're following me everywhere?" she inquired. Sirius grinned at her.

"I think a girl like you deserves to be followed to the ends of the earth." Sirius said with overwhelming charm. Ziva stared at him blankly for a moment.

"That's the best you can come up with? Sir, if you want to pick me up, you'll have to try harder than that." Ziva said, playing it hard. Sirius felt something like disappointment in himself leak into his chest.

"I-uh, how did you know I was trying to pick you up? I could have just been aching for your company." Sirius said quickly, trying to cover his embarrassment.

"But you weren't. A young man like you wouldn't want to be in my company unless you were trying to figure out if the gossip was true." Ziva said with knowledge.

"Oh, you mean the gossip about you coming from a freak house?" Once the words were out of Sirius's mouth, he immediately regretted it. He saw Ziva's face flicker with a new emotion: anger. "…Oh…I-I didn't mean that-,"

"No, on the contrary. You heard it everywhere and it fits, right? The mystery is solved. I understand." Ziva said with biting sarcasm. Sirius tried to backtrack out of this situation.

"No, I didn't mean that, Ziva, I just was curious about you." Sirius said truthfully.

"The entire school is curious about me but they aren't asking me whether I'm from a loony-bin, are they?" Ziva said with fire in her voice, walking faster. Sirius quickly stepped in front of her, making her stop.

"That's not what I meant at all!" he sighed quickly. "I just wanted to know whether the rumors were true. Besides, I really don't care if you came from a loony-bin," Ziva exhaled angrily and tried to walk around him but he stopped her again. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry! Look, we got off on the wrong foot, okay? Let's start over," Sirius said to her. When Ziva didn't move or say anything, he held out his hand to her, giving her a smile. "I'm Sirius, Sirius Black." He introduced himself. Ziva hesitated, looking at his hand. She slowly shifted her books to her other hip and freed her hand. She took his hand and shook it gently.

"Ziva." Was all she said.

"Ziva what?" Sirius asked. Ziva raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Like, what's your last name?" he clarified.

"I don't tell people my last name." Ziva said firmly.

"Well…how about your middle name?" he tried again.

"Ziva is my middle name." Ziva told Sirius, holding her books to her chest. Sirius's brow furrowed in confusion.

"Then what's your first name?" He inquired, so confused.

"I don't tell people my first name either." She said. Sirius felt frazzled.

"Well, what would you like me to call you?" Sirius asked her. Ziva began to walk again and Sirius followed.

"Anything but freak." Ziva said to him, a slight smirk on her face. Sirius felt as though he was getting somewhere.

"Deal! I'll call you…Olga. How about that?" Sirius asked playfully, grinning. Ziva rolled her eyes, trying desperately not to smile.

"That's attractive." She told him, holding back giggles. Sirius laughed.

"I know. I am quite attractive." Sirius said with a flick of his black hair. Ziva laughed quietly, putting her hand over her mouth, trying not to lose control of her laughing.

"Maybe lose the cockiness and you'll be twice as attractive." Ziva told him. Sirius smiled brightly.

"So, you do think I'm attractive?" Sirius said with a cocky smile. Ziva looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Not when you act like that," she said. "Cockiness is the least attractive thing in a guy. Well, to me anyway."

"Well, in that case, I'll try to be less cocky for you." Sirius said with a smile. Ziva gave him a fake smile.

"Oh, you're too kind." She said with fake sweetness. Sirius laughed.

"So, why are people calling you a freak? Is there something other than magic that you can do?" Sirius asked. "Or are you just mentally insane?"

"I'm not mentally insane in any way," Ziva told him. "I went to a school for the gifted. That's all." She said quickly.

"So, you're gifted? In what way?" Sirius asked. Ziva looked at him with her big electric blue eyes as she came to a stop.

"I'd rather not tell you right now, Mr. Black. I don't know you very well. Besides, how will I know that you won't tell anyone?" Ziva asked him.

"First of all, Mr. Black was my father," Sirius started. "I'm Sirius and only Sirius. And secondly, I would never tell anyone anything that you didn't want me to." He pledged. Ziva looked at him hesitantly.

"Maybe later. For now, I have to get to class. I suggest you do the same," she said, opening the door to the Divination classroom. She looked at him once more. "Goodbye." She said quickly and she entered the classroom, leaving a stunned Sirius outside the door.

Ziva stepped inside the Divination classroom and saw many people were already sitting down. Whispers followed her as she sat down at a separate table all by herself. She looked over and saw three girls giggling. One of them had long blonde hair and blue eyes, the other had brown hair and the third woman had short black hair with cold, black eyes. She knew immediately that this was going to be problematic with them in the class room because they were whispering about her a little too loudly. Ziva didn't know who they were but a boy in the class did: Remus Lupin sat in the Gryffindor section of the classroom and he looked at the girls. Narsissa Black, Bellatrix Black and Pepper Parkinson sat together at their table, whispering about Ziva. Remus even heard them talk about how unclean her blood was, seeing as she was a Muggle-Born. Ziva ignored them, though and she caught eyes with the boy, Remus, who looked over just in time to catch eyes with her. Remus immediately recognized her as the girl sitting at the Ravenclaw table at breakfast. Remus was intrigued by her eyes and couldn't help but give the girl a slight smile. Remus thought she was so beautiful. He had to talk to her. Of course, Remus wasn't cocky like James or Sirius. He was much more of a gentlemen who thought of the girl before he thought of himself. Maybe that's why most of the girls at Hogwarts didn't want to date him. He'd been told before that girls liked bad boys and he definitely wasn't a 'bad boy'. He was the complete opposite.

When class finally started, Mr. Limmer, an elderly man who was very close to retirement came out of his office carrying a cup of tea and his wand. This man was short, balding and had a scruffy beard. He also had a pair of thick spectacles perched on the edge of his nose and a very wrinkly, grouchy-looking face. He wore dust-grey old patched robes that looked like they hadn't been washed in a while and these black loafers that he had probably dug out of his father's trunk.

Mr. Limmer came and sat down at the table with his tea and wand and stared out at the few Gryffindors, the many Ravenclaws and the few Slytherins that had the brains to be in this class. Remus was shocked when he figured out Bellatrix had been asked to come in this class because she was not bright whatsoever. She spent most of her time lighting things on fire with her wand or zapping flies out of the air for fun. Pepper Parkinson was the same way. Narsissa, on the other hand, was very smart. She was sly and cunning, much like the traits of any good Slytherin. Remus was in this class because he was of a higher academic level than most of his fellow Gryffindors. There were only two other Gryffindors in the classroom, there were about five Slytherins and the rest of the thirty classmates were Ravenclaws. The Divination classroom was very hot and stuffy, due to all the incense that Mr. Limmer was burning. Remus found it hard to concentrate on anything with the diminishing air quality.

"Welcome Advanced Fourth year students," Mr. Limmer said in his monotone voice. "Today we will be doing an introduction to Advanced Academic Divination. In this course, we will be focusing on Prophecy readings, crystal balls, palm reading and lunar signs," he said to the class. Remus felt his stomach twist uncomfortably as he thought about the last course. He knew Professor Limmer would focus highly on werewolf studies in that unit and he wasn't exactly thrilled to learn about everything he'd already experienced as a werewolf and, knowing Professor Limmer, he'd focus on the negative nature of the werewolf.

The Divination class seemed to pass by quicker than Remus had imagined and it was now time for lunch. When the bell rang, Remus got to his feet and stretched a little before he picked up his Divination book and also the supplies Professor Limmer had given out for the class. Remus looked over to see Ziva collecting her books. She quickly walked out but she went too fast and her notebook fell to the ground behind her and she didn't notice. Remus leaned down and picked it up and looked at the page it landed on. There was a sketch in it of the moon and the cycle of moons. Apparently, she already knew about the moon cycles. Remus looked at the door as she walked away and followed her. He ran down the hall and caught up with her. He tapped her on the arm. "Miss?" he said. When Ziva turned, they met eyes and Remus went warm inside, his heart galloping fast. She was so beautiful.

Ziva stared at the young boy standing in front of her and she smiled at how timid he seemed. "Yes, can I help you?" she asked. Remus quickly held out her notepad to her.

"Y-you dropped this on your way out." Remus stuttered, blushing a little. Ziva smiled. She thought he was so cute.

"Oh," she took her notepad back. "Thank you. I'm always dropping things, it seems." She said with a slight embarrassment in her voice. Remus smiled at her.

"I know how you feel. I once dropped one of Mr. Limmer's Crystal Balls. It shattered everywhere. I think that's why he doesn't like me anymore. He said I let 'spirits of the Elders' out," Remus shrugged. "I dunno. He hasn't liked me since." He admitted. Zima giggled, smiling.

"Wow, he's such a grump. I think he needs to retire. He's too old for this kind of thing." Ziva said.

"Yeah. There's just that point where you've got to say enough." Remus said to her. Ziva giggled and nodded. She looked at Remus and held out her hand.

"I'm Ziva." She introduced herself. Remus smiled and shook her hand, noticing how small it was compared to his long hand.

"Remus. I heard you were coming to Hogwarts." He commented. Ziva's face immediately dropped a little and she pulled her hand away.

"Oh. So, you think I came from a school for freaks, too?" Ziva asked him, really fed up with the whole stereotyping ordeal. Remus shook his head, looking confused.

"Of course not. You came from Talantoúchos, a school for the gifted, right?" Remus asked her. Ziva blinked, totally surprised.

"Yeah…yeah, I did. But how did you know that?" she asked. He even pronounced the name of her school properly. She was in total shock.

"I've read about it," Remus said nonchalantly, shrugging. "I read the book on the school's history. It's an amazing place. I find it fascinating." He said truthfully. Ziva looked blankly at him for a moment, not actually believing him.

"You found it…fascinating?" Ziva asked.

"Yeah! I'd love to visit a place like that and talk to the people. I'm intrigued by how diverse the school population is too. Usually, Hogwarts only admits students from the UK but your school accepts people with gifts from all corners of the world. It's brilliant." He told her with a smile. Ziva's face was so filled with shock that it took a minute to actually recover.

"Well…you're the only person I've ever met that says you enjoy the concept of my school." She said with a faint air of curiousness to her tone. Remus smiled brightly.

"Oh, I don't just enjoy the concept- I love it! I'd love to have a gift like those people… I mean, like you guys do," He said, backtracking a bit. "I'm terribly sorry. I talk far too much." He said, embarrassed. Ziva smiled at him.

"It's funny. I never got that feeling from you." she said curiously.

"That feeling?" Remus questioned. It was Ziva's turn to backtrack this time.

"Oh, I just meant that I, uh, thought you were really quiet." She told him quickly. Remus accepted that answer and smiled.

"Oh, well, I'm normally very quiet. I just read and mind my own business. But when someone brings up my favorite books, I could just talk for hours," Remus admitted. He then began to backtrack again. "I'm sorry. I must sound like such a complete nerd." He muttered. Ziva giggled at him and smiled.

"No, I like it," she told him. "I like it a lot." She smiled. Remus blushed deeply. The warning bell rang. Remus felt the pull of anxiety on his chest, which usually happens when he's late for class, but he didn't want to leave her. He wanted to talk even more than they had. Ziva seemed the same way because when she heard the bell, she quickly asked him a question. "Would you like to…um, hang out after class?" she asked him awkwardly. Remus felt his chest lighten with excitement as he smiled down at her.

"I would love to! Where should I meet you?" Remus asked her. Ziva bit her lip.

"Well, uh, I have no idea where anything in this castle is yet." She explained.

"Oh, well, how about I meet you at your last class then?" Remus suggested quickly. Ziva smiled.

"Okay. It's Herbology with Professor Sprout, Greenhouse 4." She told him. Remus grinned.

"Alright, great! I'll see you then." he said.

"See you later, Remus." She smiled and left to her next class of the day. Remus stared after her for a moment before he rushed to Ancient Ruins. For once in his life, he was actually excited for classes to come to an end.