"Do you think he made it?" Liesel asked Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, looking at the fireplace in concern. It had been only a few seconds after Harry had just Flooed, and Liesel was still hesitant to do it herself.

"We can only hope..." Mrs. Weasley said under her breath. "You go on, Liesel..."

Liesel pursed her lips, but nodded. "All right," she said as she grabbed a pinch of the floo powder and threw it into the flames, watching them turn to a vibrant green. She stepped into the flames and shouted, "Diagon Alley!"

Soon, she was being sucked down a drain; or a rather tight tube. She could hardly breathe and was becoming a tad bit dizzy. She closed her eyes and kept her elbows tucked in. She opened her eyes and saw many fireplaces brushing past her. She looked at each of them unsurely until she spotted the vibrant red hair and stepped through the fireplace.

"Well, that was an odd experience," Liesel said as she dusted herself off.

"You'll get used to it after a while," George said as he brushed some soot from her shoulder.

"Wait, where's Harry?" Liesel asked, glancing around. "He went before I did..."

"Harry's not here..." Fred said.

"It's only us," George said.

"This isn't good," the twins said in unison.

"He could be anywhere!" Liesel shrieked. "We've got to do something!"

"Calm down, Liz," said George. "We'll wait until mum and dad get here. They'll know what t' do."

Liesel took a deep breath. "All right."

Soon, Ron made it through. He stepped out of the fireplace and glanced around. "Where's Harry?"

The twins shrugged. "He didn't come here," Liesel murmured.

Next was Ginny, who was bound to notice Harry's absence. When she stepped through the fireplace, she glanced around. "Where's-"

"He's not here," the twins said.

Percy came afterwards, wrapped up in himself, making sure to clean off his Prefect badge the best he could as he joined the group.

Lastly, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley made their way through the fireplace. Mrs. Weasley took as headcount of the group and buried her face in the palms of her hands. "Oh, Merlin, Arthur. We've lost him!"

"Where's Harry?" Mr. Weasley asked the group. All of the Weasley children shrugged.

"He never made it here," Liesel answered. "I think he's ended up someplace else."

"I feared this would happen," Mr. Weasley said to himself, frowning.


The group had broken up into a search party with Ron being Liesel's partener. "We've checked everywhere!" Ron groaned.

"I know," Liesel said. "D'you reckon anyone else has found him?"

"We haven't," Fred and George said as they joined the two.

"This is terrible," Liesel said. "I hope nothing's happened to him..."

"Ah, there the four of you are," Mr. Weasley said as he made his way toward the group. "No sign of him anywhere?"

"No."

"Nope."

"Not at all."

"This is very bad..." Mr. Weasley said to himself. He glanced up and down the street until his eyes rested on Gringotts. "Why, there's Hagrid," he said. Ron, Fred, George, and Liesel all turned to see Hagrid all the way down the road.

"That looks like Hermione!" said Ron.

"And look who they're with," Fred laughed.

"It's Harry!" Liesel and Ron said in unison.

"Let's go!"

They all rushed up the street, through the crowds with Mr. Weasley following not too far behind him. They all bombarded Harry with questions. Among the comotion, Liesel noticed Hermione and gave her a tight hug.

"I forgive you, Hermione!" she whispered, not wanting to make too much of a scene in front of everyone.

"Finally, Liesel," Hermione sighed as she returned the hug. "We've got so much to catch up on!"

"I know, I know," Liesel said. "My parents said they would meet me here," she said, glancing around. Hagrid left the group and headed off down the street not to soon after.

"I think they may be inside," Hermione said. Harry and Ron joined the two girls and greeted Hermione.

Harry began to explain how he'd seen Malfoy and his father, Lucius, in Borgin and Burkes in Knockturn Alley. Mr. Weasley began to rant about the Malfoys, and Mrs. Weasley, being as cautious as she was, warned him to be careful when dealing with them.

"I guess Malfoy's family really is trouble," Liesel murmured to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. As they waked further along, Liesel spotted her father among the crowds. "Oh, look, Hermione!" she said.

"Look, it's Henry!" Fred called.

"Hey, Henry!" George said to Liesel's father. Liesel blushed in embarrassment.

"Looks like our parents have found each other, Hermione," Liesel noted.

Hermione's parents looked a bit nervous and quite out of place as they stood at the marble counter. Liesel's parents, on the other hand, couldn't have been more excited.

"Oh, I've just been waiting for this moment!" Mr. Weasley said, pushing his way through the group. "Hello, Arthur Weasley," he said, shaking their hands enthusiastically. "Nice to meet you all!"

"Henry Greenwood, nice to meet you, Mr. Weasley," Liesel's father said.

"Marie Greenwood," her mother said, introducing herself.

Mr. Weasley began talking about strange absurdities to both Liesel and Hermione's parents. He went so far as to excited at the sight of muggle money. It was obvious that all of the Weasley children were used to it by now, while Mrs. Weasley, on the other hand, was irritated.

"Let's go, Arthur," she said firmly, grasping his arm.

Ron told Hermione and Liesel that He and Harry would meet the two girls in the same spot before the two ventured off in Diagon Alley.

Hermione turned to Liesel, a soft smile tugging at the coners of her lips. "So, how was your summer?"

"The beginning was alright, I guess," Liesel shrugged. "I mean, I was keeping an eye on Harry, which was dreadful, because I never actually got to spend time with him."

"Why not?"

"Even though his aunt and uncle believe that I'm a muggle, they still didn't him around me," she huffed. "What was worse was the fact that I was stuck with Tabitha again."

"Oh, that cousin of yours?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, and she was just as bad as she was last summer," Liesel sighed.

"It must have been horrible."

"Believe me, Hermione, it was."


"Ah! You're still here!" Mr. Weasley said excitedly as the Weasleys met up with Liesel, Hermione and their parents "We must go to the Leaky Cauldron for drinks."

"No, Arthur, I don't really think that it's-" Liesel's father began.

"No, no—I insist!" Mr. Weasley said as he urged Hermione and Liesel's parents down the street.

"See you later then!" Liesel called to her parents.

"Bye!" Hermione called.

The two girls then turned to Ron. "What's with your dad and muggles?" Liesel asked as they walked off, separating from the group.

"I dunno," Ron shrugged. "He's always been that way," he explained. "But, don't worry," he said. "You'll get used to it."

After an hour of wandering around Diagon Alley, Liesel, Harry, Ron, and Hermione made their way to Flourish and Blotts to meet with the rest of the Weasleys. When they approached the shop they immediately noticed how crowded the it was.

"What's with all of these people?" Liesel asked as the four eased their way through the crowd.

"I'm not sure exactly..." Hermione said. But, her eyes immediately locked on a banner hung above the doors. "That's why!" she said excitedly.

"That Gilderoy Lockhart bloke?" Ron asked. "Mum's going to have a field day," he grumbled as they forced their way into the shop.

They picked up a copy off The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2, and found Mrs. Weasley along with Liesel and Hermione's parents.

"Ah, there you all are!" Mrs. Weasley said. "I was afraid you were going to miss him."

"What's so great about this guy?" Liesel whispered to Ron, who simply shrugged in reply. She looked at all of the pictures of who she assumed to be Lockhart, and saw that he wasn't what you what call handsome, but fairly pretty for a man.

The man made his way into the room and seated himself at the table, flashing a pearly white smile, wearing robes that were almost as pretty as he was. A rather short man, holding a camera, rudely shoved his way past Ron.

"Hey—what kind of camera is that?" Liesel asked.

"What does it matter?" the man snapped. "Lockhart's here!"

"Who cares?" Ron drawled.

"I know," Liesel agreed. "I still want to know what's so great about him."

It appeared that Lockhart had heard Liesel and Ron's brief conversation, because his eyes had landed on the two of them. But he soon diverted his gaze to Harry, who stood to Liesel's left.

"Harry Potter?" Lockhart gasped. Liesel and Ron turned to look at Harry with worried glances as the crowd parted.

"Run for it, Harry!" Liesel urged. "You can still escape—"

But, Liesel was too late. Lockhart had grasped Harry's arm and pulled him to the front of the crowd and was shaking his hand almost as eagerly as Mr. Weasley shook Liesel and Hermione's parents'. "I don't like this guy already," Liesel muttered to Ron under her breath.

"Yeah," he said in agreement.

"Oh, isn't he just amazing?" Hermione cooed. Liesel and Ron both gave Hermione sideways glances, but said nothing.

It wasn't until Lockhart said "...this September, I will be taking up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!" that Liesel rolled her eyes and made sure to make her complaint as audible as possible, while Hermione smiled as widely as her lips would allow and clapped eagerly.

"Boo!" Liesel called, causing Ron to snigger.

"Liesel," her mother said sternly (who she hadn't even realized was back).

"Sorry, mum," Liesel murmured as she turned her attention back to Lockhart and Harry. Lockhart handed Harry a large stack of books (all written by Lockhart, himself, of course). Finally, Harry was able to escape from Lockhart and found his way over to the group. Liesel, Hermione, and Ron quickly made their way to the edge of the room, where Harry had gone.

"Well, I'm not too fond of that 'Professor'," Liesel said, glaring in the direction of Lockhart.

"Come on," Ron said to the two girls.

They came to see Harry and Ginny face-to-face with Draco Malfoy, himself. Liesel stood behind the group, but watched him intently. He was exactly the same as he was only a few months ago, except slightly taller. He still had the same pointed nose and unfriendly sneer permanently etched upon his features.

Liesel was lost in her thoughts and hadn't realized that Ron was lunging at Malfoy. "Ron stop it!" Liesel hissed in his ear.

Soon, Mr. Weasley found his way over with Fred and George.

"What's going on?" George asked.

"Ron lunged at Malfoy," Liesel said, glaring at the pale boy, who had somehow met her gaze and returned her glare. But, a man who had the same pointed face and pale eyes as Malfoy appeared behind him.

Mr. Weasley and Lucius Malfoy began exchanging words. Draco, on the other hand, managed to squeeze his way past Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny and stood before Liesel.

"Fancy seeing you here, Greenwood," he drawled.

"Too bad I can't say the same for you, Malfoy," Liesel replied.

"Careful, Liz!" George said, pulling her backward as Mr. Weasley lunged at Malfoy's father.

Liesel burst into laughter at the sight of Mr. Weasley beating up Malfoy's father.

"Get him, dad!" Fred called.

George covered Liesel with his arm, making sure that she wasn't hit with any flying books. But, luckily, the fight was broken up by Hagrid.

They all left the shop shortly after the fight. Liesel was amused and felt that she'd seen enough for one day. She headed back to the Leaky Cauldron with the Weasleys and parted ways with her parents, who went out to the Muggle street with Hermione and her parents.


Liesel went through the barrier right after Fred and George to Platform nine and three-quarters. "Come on, Liz," George said. "We want to get a good compartment."

"But, what about Ginny?" Liesel asked the twins.

"What about her?" Fred asked.

Liesel rolled her eyes at the two boys. "I think I'm going to find her," she said.

"What?" Fred asked.

"But why?" George groaned. "You promised you'd sit with us."

"And remember—"

"—a promise—"

"—is a promise."

"You two will survive without me," Liesel said. "Go find Lee or something," she said. "I'm going to find Ginny, and then we're going to search for Hermione."

"But, Liz!"

"Sorry," she said as she walked away and searched for Mr. Weasley through the crowd.

On her search, Liesel had bumped into her roommate, Fay. "Liz! It's been forever!" she said, pulling Liesel into a tight squeeze.

"You have to tell me all about your summer!"

"It was quite an interesting one, I'll admit," Liesel said. "You should join me in my compartment," she said. "Hopefully, I'll be with Ginny—she's Percy, Fred, George, and Ron's little sister," she explained.

"Oh, they have a sister?" Fay asked.

"Oh, yeah, she's really sweet," Liesel said. "I think you'd like her."

"All right, well, I'll catch up with you later," she said.

"All right," Liesel said. "See you."

She finally found Mr. and Mrs. Weasley talking to Ginny through a compartment window. "Ah, there you are, Ginny!" she said. Ginny smiled at her through the window and beckoned Liesel to join her on the train.

"Oh, Liz, would you like some help with your trunk?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"No, I think I've got it, Mr. Weasley," she said as she hoisted her trunk onto the train. "But, thanks anyways." She pulled her trunk behind her and slid the compartment door open to join Ginny. "It sure is crowded," she said. "Would you mind helping me lift my trunk up there?"

"Oh, of course not," Ginny said as she got to her feet and helped Liesel lift her trunk. After Liesel's trunk was lifted safely onto the shelf, Liesel turned to Ginny and snapped a picture.

She watched as the picture developed. "Ooh, that's a nice one," she said before plopping it into her bag. Liesel saw that Mrs. Weasley was still standing near the window. "Mrs. Weasley," she said. "Have you seen Harry and Ron?"

"Oh, no, I haven't," she said, glancing around the crowd. "I'm sure they're here somewhere."

"There you are!" Hermione said from the compartment door. "I've been looking all over for you two."

The train jerked and began to move. Ginny and Liesel stuck their heads out of the window to wave goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Once they were finished saying their goodbyes, the three girls seated themselves.

Hermione glanced around the compartment. "Where's Harry and Ron?"

"I was hoping you knew the answer to that question," Liesel said. "You haven't seen them?"

"No, I thought that they'd be with you," Hermione said.

"Maybe Fred and George have seen them," Ginny suggested.

"Hopefully," Liesel said as she and Hermione got to their feet.

They both headed for the door, but Liesel turned to look at Ginny, who was still seated. "Aren't you coming?"

"No, I think I'm going to write in my diary for a little while," she said.

"All right," Liesel shrugged. She was about to walk out of the compartment door, once again, when another thought struck her. "Since when do you have a diary?"

Ginny looked up at her in shock, her face turning pink. "I've always had one."

"Are you lying, Gin?" Liesel asked, peering at her.

"What? No."

"Then why do you look like a deer in headlights?" Liesel asked.

"What?"

"Nevermind," Liesel said, still eying Ginny suspiciously. "I'll be back soon," she said, following behind Hermione, who took it upon herself to check every compartment.

Liesel soon followed, checking over her shoulder, just in case she missed something. Hermione glanced into one compartment and quickly rushed past it. "Wait," Liesel said. "You barely even looked into that one."

"I know," Hermione said, turning on her heel to face Liesel. "I did that for a reason."

"But, why?" Liesel asked, stepping forward to look in into the compartment. "It's only Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle," Liesel said, turning to look at Hermione. "I garuntee you they've seen them," she said, sliding the compartment door open.

The three boys turned their heads to see Liesel in the doorway. Crabe and Goyle immediately stood up. "Oh, will you two buffoons sit down?" Liesel snapped. "All I did was open the door!" she said. "Anyways, Hermione and I, here," she said, grabbing Hermione's sleeve, and pulling her in the doorway, "are just here to ask you a quick question."

Malfoy gestured for the two to sit back down and turned to look at Liesel. "What do you want?"

"We'd just like to know if you've seen Harry and Ron."

"No, we haven't," Draco replied cooly.

"All right, then, we'll just be on our way," Liesel said as she and Hermione were about to walk off.

"Wait," Malfoy said.

"What?" Liesel asked.

"Aren't you going to say thank you?" Malfoy asked.

Liesel snorted. "Of of course I'm not." With those last words, Liesel and Hermione continued down the corridor.


Hermione, Ginny, Neville, Fay, and Liesel shared a carriage.

"Where could they possibly be?" Hermione asked.

"They missed the train," Liesel said in a distant voice.

"What, but—" Hermione began.

"They missed it," Liesel repeated with the same tone. "They'll be here, and they'll arrive in style."

"But how?" Neville asked.

"Liesel," Hermione said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Liz!" she said, shaking her shoulder.

Liesel jumped slightly and turned back to face Hermione. "Yeah?" she asked in a casual voice.

"Are you okay?" Ginny asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Liesel said, glancing around at her friends. "Why?"

"You didn't seem like yourself for a second," Fay said. "It was kind of creepy."

"That's strange," Liesel muttered. "All I remember is looking looking out the window," she shrugged.


Liesel and Hermione seated themselves at the Gryffindor table, across from Fred, George, and Lee Jordan. Fred and George, however, had wide grins on their face.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, please explain the look on your faces," Liesel said, eyeing them suspiciously.

"We think we know why Harry and Ron weren't on the train," George said.

"Really?" Hermione asked.

"Why?" Liesel asked.

"They took dad's car," Fred said.

"What?" Hermione and Liesel asked in unison.

"You're joking!" Liesel exclaimed.

"Pleasetell us you're joking," Hermione said in a serious voice.

"'Fraid not, Hermione," George said. "We saw it with our own eyes."

"That's the best thing I've ever heard!" Liesel said excitedly.


Liesel joined the Gryffindors in applause as Harry and Ron made their way into the common room, followed by Hermione.

She followed behind Fred and George as they pushed their way through the crowd to get to them. "Yeah, what was that all about?" Liesel asked. "We should've gone with you!" she said, tugging on Harry's sleeve.

"Percy looks just a little upset," Harry muttered in Liesel's ear. She peeked over at Percy, who looked livid.

"Oh," Liesel said.

"We'll tell you everything in the morning," Ron said to Hermione and Liesel.

"Ron and I are going to head to bed," Harry said.

"All right, goodnight, you two," Liesel said.

"'Night," Harry said to the two girls.

Hermione glared at Harry and Ron's backs as they headed up to their dormitory; she was just as livid as Percy.

"Oh, calm down, Hermione," Fred said.

"It was only a bit of fun," George added.

Liesel noticed Hermione's foul mood and placed her hand on her back. "Yeah lighten up, Hermione."

"We broke more school rules, sneaking out after curfew last year than Harry and Ron did with Ministry and Muggle laws combined," Liesel said lightly. "Hopefully."

Fred and George chuckled.

Hermione turned her glare to Liesel. "Of course you'd take their side!" she snapped. "You're just as reckless as those two combined, if not, more!"

Fred and George began glancing at Hermione and Liesel as the two girls went back and forth."You might want to pull that stick out of your bum, Hermione," Liesel retorted. "You're sucking the fun out of everything."

"Ooh," Fred and George said, making the matters worse.

"Another thing," Hermione continued, "you've got no right talking about sneaking out after curfew with me, Harry, and Ron!" she snapped. "You were too busy up here in the common room, pouting, while we were risking our lives to stop Quirrell and You-Know-Who!" she said hotly.

"Ooh," the twins said, becoming more interested in the heated discussion.

Liesel was flustered at that point, with her hands balled into fists by her sides. "And let's not forget the bossy know-it-all who locked herself in the girls' toilet last year, because Harry and Ron—her current best friends—hurt her feelings!" Liesel spat. "And because of it—she almost got killed by a troll!"

"Ding, ding, ding!" Fred exclaimed.

"And we have a winner!" George added, patting Liesel on the back.

Hermione was just as angry as Liesel and they were face to face, Hermione's brown eyes piercing through Liesel's green eyes. She seemed to be looking for something to say, and just when she opened her mouth to speak, Liesel cut her off.

"Remember who was there for you when no one else was Hermione," Liesel said in a low voice. "Because it sure wasn't Harry and Ron."

With those last words, lingering on the tip of her tongue, Liesel turned on her heel, marching to sit on the sofa until the common room cleared.

"Liz, that was brilliant!" Fred called excitedly, rushing to join her on the sofa.

"Sorry, Hermione," George said, placing a hand on her shoulder before joining Fred and Liesel at the sofa.


Author's Note:

Let me know what you think in a review!