Chapter 4

The next morning, Caroline went to breakfast with Hermione and her friends, Harry and Ron. Lavender and Parvati seemed to be scared of her, so she stuck with Hermione. Ron and Harry seemed to be a little scared of Caroline too, but they hid it for Hermione's sake.

After breakfast, Caroline was going for an evaluation of her powers and it was making her nervous.

"Just relax, Caroline," Hermione said. "You'll do fine."

"I've never used a wand before," Caroline said. "I've always used my magic just by thinking about what I want."

Hermione patted her shoulder. Caroline was sitting next to Hermione, with Ron and Harry across from them.

"Who's giving you the test?" Ron asked.

"McGonagall and Dumbledore," she said. Ron made a noise.

"What is that noise? That noise is not reassuring," Caroline said. "That noise says: Oh boy, she's screwed. She should start figuring out how to get back to her own world because she's going to get crucified here!"

"Calm down," Harry said. "McGonagall doesn't crucify people. In fact, I don't think she's made anyone cry in a few years either."

"Oh God," Caroline said. "I'm doomed."

Harry and Ron suddenly stiffened and glared at something behind her. She turned around on the bench and gasped.

It was Malcolm. He was the exact replica of Malcolm, Malcolm's version of Dani. He had way too much gel in his hair, making his head look slimy and he was wearing the Hogwarts uniform and looked cleaner than anything she had ever seen Malcolm, but it was definitely him. Behind him stood two huge boys who looked like his bodyguards.

"One day with you three and she already thinks she's doomed. That must be a record, eh Potter?" the boy sneered at Harry and Ron who glared back.

"Go away Malfoy," Harry said.

"It just so happens that I'm here to meet her," he nodded his head at Caroline. She shook her head and retrieved her senses.

"Um, hi, I'm Caroline Chant," she said.

He took her hand and kissed it. "Draco Malfoy, charmed," he said.

"Ok, she's met you. Now leave," Ron said.

"I don't think Caroline is done talking to me," Malfoy said. He looked back at Caroline who was trying to form a coherent sentence.

"Sorry, it's just that you look exactly like my best friend from back home."

Malfoy smiled. "Is he royalty like you?" he asked.

"No, Malcolm is a stable boy."

Malfoy made a sneering face. "He's a servant? Are you sure he's my doppelganger?"

"How dare you," Caroline snapped. "There is no shame in putting in an honest day's work, especially if it helps in the running of the country. Servants get well paid and their living expenses and those of their families are paid for from the treasury. Especially Malcolm, he's my horse's personal groom so I make sure that he is looked after. And another thing, I went from being a Queen to being a normal girl at a boarding school. I think that trumps spoiled rich kid to stable boy."

"Jeez, relax," Malfoy said. "I know that royalty can be uptight, but..." Malfoy turned around and stalked away, with his two cronies following him.

"Wow," Ron said. "Way to go Caroline." Caroline laughed and ate her toast to avoid talking.

Hermione twisted around and stared at Caroline. "You're quite the little firecracker aren't you?"

"I didn't like what he was insinuating. I had to tell him off."

"Ok, whatever you say." Hermione smirked.

"And stop looking at me like that," Caroline said.

"Like what?" Hermione put on her innocent face. "There is no look, I'm not looking."

"I have to go get evaluated," Caroline said. She got up from the table quickly and left.

* ~ * ~ *

Caroline took her evaluation and was placed a few years down, in some third year, but mostly fourth year classes, so she had most of her classes with Ginny, Ron's younger sister. The only class she had with the students her age was potions, but that was because she aced the potions test. Somehow it was just really easy even though she had never done any of it before.

Caroline quickly became friends with Ginny. The one year age gap made no difference.

Time passed and Caroline went to her classes. She had learned more magic in a month than she had in years of tutoring at home. She accounted her success to Dani's wand. Caroline had never had a wand, she'd always used her magic by willpower, and it had been weak.

The only part of her life that she kept hidden from her friends was the sword. She knew she was crazy to have brought it, but she couldn't bear to leave it behind. It was her family's legacy, and she'd be damned if she let a ditz like Gwendolyn ruin it.

She had found a loose wall panel behind the vanity, just like in her room at home, to keep it. She knew no one would find it because the girls all respected each other's space. No one would randomly pull the vanity away from the wall.

The whole school had found out about Caroline, so no one asked her to tell her story, she just got lots of stares as they walked to class.

"How did everyone find out about me?" Caroline asked one day. Ginny laughed

"Trying to keep secrets in this place is impossible and, believe me, they've tried." She told Caroline about the Chamber of Secrets incident during her first year.

Caroline stared at her and then pulled her into a hug. Ginny laughed and pushed her off.

"How can you be so nonchalant about it?" Caroline demanded.

"It happened, yes, but dwelling on it won't make it go away," Ginny said. "I mean, I don't understand how you can say your parents were assassinated so calmly either."

Caroline looked away.

"I'm sorry," Ginny whispered. Caroline smiled bravely. Her eyes had filled with tears that she brushed aside.

"I'm just a good actress," Caroline said. "Whenever I think about it, I feel like dying."

Ginny looped her arm through Caroline's. "It'll all be all right. I promise." And with that, they walked off to get lunch.

Then, around the beginning of October, strange things began to happen.

* ~ * ~ *

"Caroline, hurry up!" Ginny yelled. "McGonagall's going to kill us!"

Transfiguration class was about to start Caroline had had to stay late and talk to Professor Flitwick. The result was that she was now late and she still had to switch her Charms books for her Transfiguration book.

She dumped the contents of her bag on the bed. She turned to grab her book: and her hand met air. The book wasn't there. Caroline cursed and looked around frantically for it. She riffled through her books and the mess on her vanity, making an even bigger mess.

"What the hell?" she cried at the empty room. She whipped out her wand.

"Accio Transfiguration book!" she yelled. The book flew out from under the bed. Caroline caught it and stared for a moment. How had it gotten there? She could have sworn that she put it away after studying last night.

"CAROLINE!" Ginny bellowed up the stairs and Caroline forgot all about it. She threw the book in her bag and ran for her life down the stairs, out the portrait hole and to Transfiguration, where she and Ginny were each docked ten points and given detentions.

* ~ * ~ *

Later that week, Caroline pretended to take notes in History of Magic and thought about what had been happening.

Little things like the textbook incident kept happening. Caroline would put something away and when she'd go back for it, it would be somewhere completely illogical. Caroline decided not to tell anyone. After all, she was living with three other girls. One of them must have borrowed her book, and her hairbrush, and her toothbrush, and her coat. And one of them must have messed up her bed that one time.

But it made no sense. Why would they not have put things away? And why would they have denied using her things when she asked them? Maybe they were embarrassed; using her toothbrush was pretty embarrassing.

There was something else bugging Caroline. Malfoy was bugging Caroline. When she had seen him, she thought she was dreaming. Seeing him made her think that Hogwarts was a big dream, that she had hit her head falling off the wall and Gwendolyn and Hogwarts and everything had just been a hallucination. Then he opened his mouth. How could he be Malcolm's twin, yet his polar opposite at the same time?

Malcolm was kind and gentle and charming and...

Crash! Class was over and the noise of thirty thirteen-year-old kids was deafening.

Caroline gathered up her things and left the class. History of Magic was one of her only third year classes and she was glad it was a lecture class. Interacting with kids two years younger than her was awkward, especially since she was head and shoulders taller than them.

That was probably why she was so close with Ginny. Ginny had inherited her family's tall gene. At fourteen, she was 5'7" and her brothers were all over six feet.

She shook her head to clear it and went back to Gryffindor Tower. She gave the Fat Lady the password and went entered the common room.

Ron and Harry were playing Wizard Chess and Hermione was reading in a chair nearby. Caroline went over and sat in the chair next to Hermione, not wanting to disturb the boys.

"Hey," Caroline said. "Who's winning?"

"I am," Harry and Ron both said at the same time. Caroline laughed.

"Ron is," Hermione said. "Harry can never beat him."

"Hey!" Harry said. Ron looked smug.

"Rook to H8, checkmate!"

"Drat!" Harry exclaimed. Ron just laughed and they started to put the chess set away.

"Think you can handle another round?" Caroline asked.

Ron looked up. His face lit up. "Sure! Maybe you'll put up a better fight than Harry here."

"Hey!" Harry exclaimed again.

Caroline sat down and played Ron. After an hour, they were at a stalemate.

"Call it a draw?" she asked.

They shook hands. "Yeah, good game," Ron said. "I'm starved. Let's go for dinner."

"You're always hungry," she said.

"I am not," Ron was indignant.

"Actually, you are," Hermione said. They all laughed while Ron made some indignant sounds. They put the chess away, and all went down for dinner.