Authors note: This is a chapter in Ellie's POV. It does contain a scene that you'll recognise from the books, but I tried to change and add bits so you don't get bored reading stuff you already know. If you like (or don't like) what you read, please review!

Ellie:

"What do you think the other schools are going to be like?" Cleo asked with excitement. "Durmstrang has a bad reputation, but I bet the students are really nice. And the students of Beauxbatons, in my books, are basically described as disney princes and princesses."

"Is disney a place?" Penny asked, dangling her legs off the branch we sat on. We had climbed one of the large ancient trees on the Hogwarts grounds so we could get a good look of the new arrivals. The autumn sunset beautifully shone down on us, illuminating the scenery in a golden hue. The tree was so tall that, without even sitting at the top, we had a clear view of everything. Not far away, the rest of the school also waited. They stood lined up in perfect order. We should have been over there too, but we didn't want to get snapped at by the teachers. They'd been on edge all day. Making sure that the school and students looked presentable. I didn't understand it. Durmstrang and Beaxbatons were living with us for the rest of the year so they're going to see what we were actually like eventually. The teachers didn't expect us to behave and look like that for the rest of the year, did they?

Cleo laughed and shook her head. "No, it's a muggle thing."

"Oh." Penny said. "Well I think that we should avoid them all when they arrive. The whole school will get really obsessed with them because they're new and I don't want to get involved in that mayhem."

"Everyone's going to want to hang out with them. I think we should stay away too." I agreed.

Emephia, whose hair was now a glittering silver thanks to Lee's latest prank, pouted. "But what if they're really cute or cool? I can't not talk to them!" I rolled my eyes and shared an exasperated look with Penny.

"You can talk to them if you want Em." I said and her pout turned into a smile.

"I'm probably not going to talk to them either." Cleo said sadly. "You know me. I'm shy and not good with talking to new people. Especially if they're centre of attention and popular too." I felt a pang of pity for my hufflepuff friend. I wished she had more confidence, but I wouldn't change her if I could. Her shyness was the main reason we were all best friends in the first place.

We'd met on the train on our first day at Hogwarts. We shared a compartment and, despite our different personalities, we became good friends. Penny and I naturally hit it off straight away and we warmed up to Emephia because we found her excitement to finally get to practice beauty spells amusing. Cleo was quiet and nervous at first but our loud characters wouldn't let her be left out for long. Cleo managed to come out of her shell with us and have fun.

However, when we were sorted into different houses we drifted apart. It was hard not to. Penny drifted because of the big divide between slytherin and the other houses. Emephia didn't really have anything in common with the rest of us so she drifted to other people. I drifted when I started causing hell with Fred, George and Lee. The only one that stayed our friend was Cleo.

Her shy nature hadn't yet made her open up properly to her fellow hufflepuffs so she stayed with who she was familiar with: us. She hung around us separately and Penny was the first to drift back. A few of the other slytherins were criticising Penny for being around Cleo because of her "poor blood" so Penny told them to go fuck themselves. Penny then accompanied Cleo when she came over to me and Penny and I were reminded of how much we have in common and started creating trouble together, causing me to drift back in. Then Emephia realised how much she enjoyed our contrasting personalities and our group was complete. The rest, as the muggles say, is history.

"We could get you a cute french boyfriend, Cleo." Emephia eyes lit up. A blush crept across Cleo's face.

"No way." She said softly.

"Or a cute Bulgarian boyfriend." Penny added with a wink. Cleo then buried her head in her hands and we all laughed at her reaction. The girl went into a complete mess when we ever mentioned her in a relationship.

"He'd have to fit the criteria though." I said thoughtfully. Penny and Emephia nodded. Cleo shifted uneasily away from us. She sat the closest to the giant tree trunk.

"Not that stupid list." Cleo muttered venomously. "I don't understand why you made a criteria of the type of person I should date."

"Because we know you better than you do." Penny stated and Cleo sighed in frustration.

"Enlighten me then, what is my perfect boyfriend like?"

Emephia flicked her wand and a piece of parchment appeared in her other hand. She rolled it out and handed Cleo the list. Cleo took the paper and read it out loud.

"1. Cute." She chuckled and rolled her eyes.

"Like adorable cute. Not hot or sexy." Emephia said.

"I guess we could compromise for handsome, though." I added. "If he fits the rest of the criteria."

Cleo gave us an odd look and carried on. "2. Taller than Cleo." She broke in a fit of giggles. "Like that's hard to achieve."

"Yeah but he can't be too tall. We don't want him towering over you. The boy can't be over 6ft. But 5'10 or 5'11 would be ideal." Penny said. Cleo again looked at us oddly.

"3. Can't have black or brown hair. What's wrong with black and brown hair?"

"We just can't see you with a wizards with that coloured hair. You're like a witch version of sunshine. We always pictured you with someone with bright hair." I explained. "Like blond, ginger or unnatural colours."

"But with ginger it has to be like fiery bright, not auburn. And with the unnatural it can't be a dark or neon colour, only light or pastel." Emephia added.

Cleo yet again looked at us oddly. "You've really thought this through, haven't you?"

"Down to every detail." I nodded.

"4. A love for books. That's obvious." Cleo smiled. "5. A love for animals. 6. A wish to travel. 7. Got to make Cleo laugh. 8. A loud or confident personality." She paused. "Why a loud or confident personality?"

"You need someone that's able to bring you out of your shell." Penny answered. Cleo happily agreed with that reasoning.

"9. Got to get on well with Emephia, Penny and Ellie. Well that's a definite one. 10. Doesn't run off after being intimidated by Emephia, Penny, Ellie, Lee, Fred, George, Leo, Cedric, Angelina, Alicia etc..." Cleo looked at us incredulously. "Why would you all intimidate my future non-existent ideal boyfriend?"

"Because you're too sweet and innocent to snog or do anything worse with anyone." Emephia said and Cleo's blush became a vibrant red. She quickly moved on to the last rule.

"11. Is not Kenneth Towler. Really? Was that necessary." She raised an eyebrow.

"Yes." We said in unison. "Kenneth is a shitbag who goes against all the rules on that list. So you need to get over the crush now." Emephia ordered. Cleo was about to reply but noise from the students on the ground distracted us. A few students were shouting and pointing over at the forbidden forest.

"It's a flying house!" One of them exclaimed. My breath caught in my throat when I saw what he was talking about. Skimming over the trees was a giant, pastel blue, horse-drawn carriage. The winged horses silky smooth fur glimmered in the moonlight and the carriage seemed full of life with the firelight from the castle bouncing off the walls. All the students and teachers were speechless as they watched the golden elephant-sized pegasi land the carriage with a large bounce and thump. Many students jumped back in fright.

"Wow." I said after I got over the shock and surprise.

"I was not expecting that arrival." Emephia claimed.

"We definitely need to see inside that." Penny stated.

"Those horses are so adorable!" Cleo's eyes shone with admiration.

The large door to the carriage opened to reveal a boy in light blue robes. After unfolding a set of shiny gold steps, an abnormally big woman followed. Penny gasped beside me.

"She's got to be as tall as Hagrid!" She cried. The witches and wizards on the ground then broke into an applause and the woman approached Dumbledore. I was too far away to hear what they were saying so I focused back on the carriage. A dozen girls and boys emerged from the door, all wearing the same coloured robes as the first boy. It wasn't long before they made their way into the castle and we were left again. Waiting.

"There wasn't as many students as I'd thought there would be." Emephia said disappointed.

"That's because only the students most likely to get chosen as champions have come." Cleo said.

"That sucks." Emephia complained.

We were suddenly distracted by rustling coming from branches underneath us.

"Ow! You just stepped on my hand!" A familiar voice cried from below.

"Not my fault I fell, Weasley." Another voice hissed back. I internally groaned.

"Well, next time, make sure to fall somewhere else." A third voice stated.

"I can't believe you guys have managed to bicker the whole way up here." A fourth voice chuckled. We all shared a glance and Cleo looked down beside the trunk to try and find the four boys making their way up. Judging by the smile on her face, Cleo could see them.

"What are you doing?" She called down.

"Got tired of standing, thought we'd join you." The voice of Cedric Diggory answered. Emephia's eyes sparkled. I caught Penny's gaze and we made a mental pact to sit them away from each other. I do not want Emephia flirting with him the entire time we were sat here waiting.

"These prats followed us." The voice of Leo Pure added and that time I groaned aloud. He was Cedric's best friend and a complete pain in the arse. I only put up with him because he's good friends with Cleo.

"We were not following you!" George snapped.

"You were following us." Fred claimed. It was Cleo's turn to groan and she banged her forehead against the tree trunk. The twins and Leo had been at each other's throats for well over a year. I wasn't sure what happened, they weren't exactly friends to begin with but they were alright with each other. I had asked them what happened but they wouldn't tell me. Cleo said that they wouldn't tell her either, which made me want to know even more. It was either to do with a prank or a girl. Maybe one of the twins flirted with Poppy Birkshore when Leo was dating her in 4th year?

Penny stood up and smirked down at the boys from next to Cleo. "So why are you two following them?"

"We weren't following them!" George enforced.

"We thought that if Durmstrang came in a carriage like that then we'd have a better chance at not getting squashed by being up here with you girls." Fred told her. Cleo bent down to help pull up the first person, which turned out to be George. Ever since the night that I spent talking to George, I had really wanted to tell the twins apart. I did a lot of studying, the girls would say "stalking", and I also asked Cleo how she did it. However, I still couldn't manage. In the end, I just plain asked them to sit next to each other and stay still while I tried to found out.


"You want us to what?" Fred asked confused. I sighed angrily. We were in the gryffindor common room. Since it was late, and no one was around, I thought I'd ask them.

"Sit down and stay still." I said for the fourth time. Fred and George exchanged a confused look.

"Why?" They asked together.

"Because something's annoying me." I answered vaguely. I knew that if I told them the proper reason then they wouldn't do it. They actually liked that people couldn't tell them apart. The twins again exchanged glances, though this time I could tell there was some mental conversation going on. After a minute they turned to me, reaching a conclusion.

"Alright." They answered together. They sat at one of the tables on two chairs next to each other. George sat on the left, Fred on the right. They looked at me expectantly.

"Now close your eyes." I ordered and, surprisingly, they obeyed. Without their questioning gazes on me, I found the task easier.

I grabbed a chair and sat opposite them, looking from one to the other. They were both slightly scowling, but George creased his eyebrows in thought while Fred's expression was peacefully neutral. George was fidgeting nervously.

"How long do we have t-" He started but I cut him off.

"Until I say so. Now be quiet" I snapped. "And stop moving!" George stilled.

I carried on looking at each in turn. I looked at their freckles, eyes, lips, nose, ears, expressions etc.. but nothing helped. Even their voices, when they annoyingly decided to question me, seemed exactly the same. It was frustrating. After about five minutes, when I gave a annoyed groan, George finally had enough and opened his eyes.

"What are you doing?" He asked, looking at me sitting opposite him in concern.

"I'll tell you when I've figured it out." I sighed softly, almost ready to give up. Fred opened his eyes too. However, when he saw me staring at them, he realised straight away what it was about. He burst out in laughter. George frowned at his brother.

"Why didn't you just say why." He asked in between fits of laughter. I crossed my arms in anger.

"Because you wouldn't let me if you knew." I replied. Fred laughed even harder.

"Very true." Fred came over and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "Can't have you knowing our secret."

George watched the exchange with a bigger frown, still not knowing what we were talking about. I thought that was interesting, usually the twins always know everything together.

"What are you two going on about?" He questioned harshly, casting his brother a judgemental look. I looked at him in shock. What was that tone for? Fred seemed to understand because he raised his arm off me and went over to his twin.

"Ellie was trying to tell us apart." Fred stated and George's features softened.

"Really?" George asked and turned to me. I nodded, embarrassed under his gaze. George reacted the same as Fred had and burst out in laughter. I huffed in frustration.

"That was what it was all about?" George chuckled hard. Fred then joined him.

"And we thought it was a prank!"

"I'm a little disappointed."

"Yeah, I was expecting to end up speaking in bird or something."

It wasn't long until I joined them in laughing. I had to admit , the situation was kind of silly and I didn't go about it the best way. Plus their laughter was contagious. Fred was cackling like a maniac while George snorted in between chuckles. It was almost impossible not to laugh with them.

That was when it clicked in my mind. Their laughs are different! I must have heard them laugh a million times, how could I have never noticed before?

"I've done it!" I announced and tackled the nearest one, George, in a hug. He obviously didn't expect it and lost his footing, causing us both to tumble to the ground. Fred's laughter somehow turned up in volume. George smirked up at me where I'd landed on top of him.

"You've done what?" He asked amused, one of his arms holding me in place.

"I figured it out!" I said happily and hugged him in celebration. I was feeling a sense of achievement in figuring out something that barely anyone could.

"What! How!?"


I couldn't believe how easy it was and how I hadn't been able to see it before. Now I knew who was who, I finally noticed other differences. The two actually looked surprisingly different. Fred had a slightly younger looking face while George had more sharp features. Also, George's voice was a little higher than Fred's, and he often spoke softer. They're actions were different too. George had a habit of fidgeting when nervous or bored and Fred had a habit of biting his lip. It was weird how before, everything they did was identical. But now, I had to think harder to see the similarities.

George smirked at Cleo and patted her head before looking around at the rest of us. When his eyes met mine he smiled widely and slowly walked over, being careful not to lose balance. Although the branch we sat on were thick and could hold a good twenty people, it wasn't hard to get toppled over by the wind. The next person to get pulled up was Cedric, to Emephia's delight.

"Cedric! How are you?" Emephia greeted cheerfully, showing off her perfect white teeth.

Cedric smiled back. "I'm good, you?"

"Brilliant now you're here." She basically purred. Cedric's froze for a moment.

"Hey, Cedric. Have you done the transfiguration homework yet?" Penny interrupted quickly, giving me an incredulous look. We didn't know she'd act that quick.

"Yeah." He answered and turned around. Penny feigned a look of relief and grabbed his arm.

"Do you think you could tell me if I got it wrong? I wrote that..." She dragged on while pulling Cedric to the end and away from Emephia. Our ravenclaw friend understood what Penny was doing and shot daggers at her retreating figure.

"This is a cool view." George stated and sat next to me, swinging his legs off the edge. I stayed cross-legged and watched nervously at his bold move. I wasn't big on heights.

"Yeah, you should have seen the carriage coming from up here. It was amazing." I gazed out to the forest. George chuckled and was about to say something when a person behind us opened their mouth first.

"I bet it was. Did you see it nearly crush the first few rows of students?" Leo Pure squeezed himself into the tiny gap between George and I. George looked at him irritated but reluctantly gave him space. However, Leo stayed pressed close to me.

"How do you think Durmstrang will come? Flying carriages doesn't seem like their thing." Leo said. He gave me a cheeky smile which probably had melted a lot of girls hearts but I was having none of it. If it wasn't for the constant flirting towards me, I would have said that he'd make a good match for Cleo. He fits 7 of the 11 criteria rules. A lot of girls thought he was cute, he was taller than her (but only by a few inches), he had blond hair, he made Cleo laugh, was way too loud and confident for his own good, he kind of got along with us girls, and he wasn't Kenneth Towler. He might fit more of the rules but I didn't know if he liked books, animals or travel.

"Leo, do you read?" I asked with a straight face. Leo gave me another one of his wide smiles.

"Of course, I love reading. Why?" He answered.

"Just wondering. Also, do you like animals?" I questioned. He raised an eyebrow in confusion but still answered.

"Yes?" He replied. Emephia and Penny, who were listening in on the conversation, realised what I was doing and had to cover their mouths to stop from laughing. George and Cedric watched us with bewilderment. Cleo, who had also heard, luckily didn't catch on since she got distracted by helping Fred up but stumbled a little and ended up falling. Fred almost got dragged down with her but gained his footing quickly and caught Cleo mid-air. He pulled her back up and they started laughing.

"What about travel? Would you like to go all around the world?" Penny carried on the conversation and turned to Leo. Cleo unfortunately tuned back in the conversation and understood what was happening. She blushed bright crimson and hid her head in Fred's chest. Fred looked startled for a moment but wrapped an arm around her and stroked her head in what he considered comfort. I bit my lip to stop the laughter.

"Not really. What is this. An interrogation?" Leo laughed. I shook my head in shame and Cleo raised her head from against Fred and glared at me dangerously. Well, she thought she was being threatening. That girl couldn't scare anyone.

"Leo. I'm disappointed in you. You were doing so well." Emephia said and it was the last straw. The three of us cracked and laughed our heads off.

The boys all looked at us puzzled while Cleo buried her head back against Fred. He then turned his puzzlement to her and back at us again, trying to connect the dots.

"What's so funny?" Leo asked, getting slightly self-conscious. We got saved having to answer by Durmstrang arriving.

"Look at the lake!" Lee Jordan's voice drifted up to us. We didn't need to be told though. Transfixed, all of us stared out at the water. The surface started to swirl, causing the muddy bank to get drenched. A whirlpool emerged from the middle and sent more waves tumbling over the edge. If that wasn't enough, a mast then appeared, slowly rising through the water. We sat there, mesmerised as a ship rose completely out of the water and glided towards the bank. A plank then lowered to the ground and a group of bulky people made their way over to the Dumbledore. I couldn't see much then because the sun had completely set, but I could make out one of them in silver clothes approaching the headmaster. A minute later and they made their way into the castle like Beauxbatons. The hogwarts students and teachers followed.

George clapped his hands together. "Well that was fun. Let's get going."

"Wait." Leo demanded. "Why were you guys laughing and questioning me before?" He asked. Cleo groaned and looked at me venomously. She was still leaning against Fred but got up and came closer to us.

"They were just going through some list. It was nothing." Cleo said and it was my turn to groan. She pretty much gave it away! Shouldn't she be embarrassed to tell anyone?

"List?" Leo said with interest.

Cleo nodded. "List." She confirmed and headed to the tree trunk to climb down.

"What list?" Leo asked. Fred, George and Cedric looked at her interested to know. Actually, Emephia, Penny and I were also interested to see what she would say.

"We made a list for Ellie's ideal boyfriend. They were asking you questions to see which of the rules you fit." She stated and a quickly jumped down before I could deck her. That little bitch! Emephia and Penny once again burst out in a fit of giggles.

"It wasn't my list! It was Cleo's!" I exclaimed but they didn't look convinced. Cedric and Fred looked amused while George frowned at Leo. Leo looked like he didn't know how to process that information.

I turned to Emephia and Penny. "Back me up here. It was Cleo's list." I told them but Emephia shook her head.

"I'm not getting involved." She said and Penny agreed. Cedric decided that he didn't want to get involved either and followed Cleo down the tree. I could hear her laughter drift up with the wind. The prat. Fred also shook his head and left. That left me, Emephia, Penny, George and Leo left.

"You have a list for an ideal boyfriend?" George questioned, starting to look slightly amused. I glared at him.

"No! Like I said, it was Cleo's list." I said with force.

"Why would Cleo have a list? She's never going to date." Leo said seriously with a frown. If I was in another situation I would've laughed along with Emephia and Penny. Even though he fit most of the criteria, Leo was far too protective and big-brotherly with Cleo to be considered a match. To be fair, Cleo's revenge was pretty good.

"Whatever. I'm going." I sighed and headed to the gap beside the tree trunk.

"Wait!" Leo called. "How many rules did I fit?" I ignored him and climbed down.

"9." I was still close enough to hear Emephia tell him.

"Out of 11." Penny added. I hated them all.