Please note that the old Chapter 9, the Author's Alert, has been deleted. This is why there were two alerts about a Chapter 11. I don't want you to miss out on the real chapter 11 before reading this one!

Chapter 12

Ron entered the common area between his room and Hermione's to find her sitting on one of the chairs, staring intently at an open section of a book that lay next to a piece of parchment. He walked over and looked down at them.

"What are you doing?" He asked. "Aren't those Nathan's test results, the ones you couldn't figure out either?"

"That's what I'm trying to do," Hermione sighed, sitting back. "I went into the library here to try and find some information as to what might have gone wrong. Unfortunately Durmstrangs has nothing on the library at Hogwarts, but I did manage to find this book." She held it up. "It's all about different permanent disguises that can't be removed by magical means. I thought that it might help."

"You think Nathan has some kind of permanent disguise on him?" Ron repeated, sitting across the table from his friend.

"Not necessarily. See, these kind of results would be typical of an Animagus or a Metamorphmagus as well. However, I do think that someone would have informed us if this was the case with Nathan. There's an unlikely possibility that he's hiding it from the school and the Ministry that he's an Animagus, but far more likely is that he has some kind of spell on him that changes his appearance."

"So why would he do that?" Ron said, looking up at Hermione. "You're not seriously thinking he could be Harry?"

"Do you disagree? Ron, it all fits this way!"

"I think I do disagree with you on this one," Ron sighed, leaning back in his chair. "I mean, you've talked to the guy, Hermione. He's nice, but he doesn't act like Harry. And even if he's acting, there's something else to consider."

"Like what?" Hermione demanded.

"Near as I can tell, he's Malfoy's new best friend other then a cousin who apparently also goes to school here." Ron raised his eyebrows at Hermione. "No matter what, do you really think Harry could move past differences with Malfoy that easily?"

"Well… maybe not…" Hermione looked doubtful. "I still want to know why the tests didn't work, though."

"Think of it this way. Maybe Nathan has some kind of birthmark or something else physical that he doesn't want anyone else to see. So, he changes his appearance permanently so that no one will ever know about it."

"It could be," Hermione admitted, closing the book and placing it back on the table. "When did you talk to Nathan anyways? You hadn't even met him before the interview today."

"Ah – I was taking a walk and ran into him," Ron said hastily. "We just talked for a while." He looked down at the table, not wanting to admit that he had gone to think about things for a while. He didn't want Hermione to think he didn't enjoy spending time with her, but he really did miss Harry, and he had needed some time alone.

"It's fine, Ron," Hermione said quietly. "I miss him too, you know." Ron looked up, his ears turning red.

"I never said – "

"You didn't have to. It was written all over your face." Hermione gave him a small smile. "And did you talk things over with Nathan a bit?"

"I – yeah," Ron admitted. "I mean, obviously not specifically. But he did help me feel a bit better." He bit his lip. "He mentioned that Harry probably misses us too and never wanted to make us feel bad. And I guess that's true."

"Of course it is," Hermione said. "Do you really think he would have written us letters if he didn't miss us at least a little bit?"

"Probably not." Ron looked Hermione in the eyes. "But that's why I've been thinking. After the interviews are over… why don't we slow down a bit? I mean, is there really a reason to push him if he's already feeling at least a little bad about this?" Hermione stared at him, her mouth in a little "o".

"I… well… I never thought of it that way." She broke eye contact to look at the floor. "I don't want to push him too far," she admitted in a small voice. "I already did that once, and I do care about him. You two really are my best friends."

"I know," Ron said, standing. "I just wanted to make sure that you knew it too."

Saturday morning, Matt appeared outside Harry and Draco's door at six in the morning. He pounded on the door until Harry, hair messed up and still groggy, opened the door to tell him to go away. Matt just grinned at him, silver eyes twinkling.

"No can do. I have plans for you two today, so get up and get dressed already!"

"Have I told you lately that I hate you?" Draco's muffled voice asked from the bed.

"Won't help," Matt said. "You might as well get up, I'm not leaving until you do." Harry sighed and shut the door. "Hey! I meant what I said about not going away!"

"I gathered," Harry informed him through the door. "Why on earth must your cousin always be so cheerful?" He asked Draco as he began pulling off his pajamas.

"I have no idea," the blonde boy muttered, sitting up in bed.

"Surely you don't think that's a bad thing?" Matt asked through the door. "I have natural charm that lights up the world around me and cheers up everyone I come into contact with."

"Right," Harry retorted. "Which is why I feel like killing you right now?"

"Exactly. Are you going to leave me in the hall forever? I have breakfast!" Harry rolled his eyes as he finished pulling on his clothes and walked back over to the door. He opened it again and Matt walked in and perched on the end of Draco's bed as his cousin got dressed. He looked eager as a little kid, and Harry couldn't help but laugh at him a little.

"So what on earth has you so excited at this time in the morning?" he asked, curious despite being sleepy.

"An adventure!" Matt announced. "As transfer students, you haven't been out on the grounds much yet. So, I have appointed myself your tour guide from this moment on. And if we don't hurry this morning won't be nearly as much fun. So grab your brooms and let's get going! Oh, and you're also going to need your cloaks."

"You mentioned food," Draco yawned. "Which is probably the only reason Nathan let you in here, so fork it over." Matt laughed and tossed Harry a bag, which when opened turned out to have fresh baked rolls in it, still warm from the oven. "I have a way with house elves," Matt informed him with a grin.

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me at all," Harry said, pulling one of the rolls out and biting into it. It was buttery and soft, warming him from the inside out.

"Come on, hurry!" Matt poked his cousin in the shoulder. "You're too slow!"

"You're too loud," Draco muttered, standing up and grabbing his broom. "You could have warned us about this." He pulled two rolls from the bag as he passed Harry, eating as the three walked out the door. Matt grabbed his own broomstick from where he had leaned it on the wall outside.

"That, my dear cousin, isn't nearly as much fun." Matt also grabbed a roll, then looked back at Harry. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah, I guess." Harry mounted his broom and took the last roll from the bag. The three took off and Matt took the lead.

"We're headed north!" He called back. "I want to show you two some of the mountains around here." They turned their brooms and flew in silence for a while, Harry allowing the chill wind on his face to wake him up. After a while, the scenery below them changed, and the mountains that stood by the campus grew nearer. Matt directed them higher into thin, cold air that made Harry sneeze and his ears pop. Finally, they angled down towards one of the peaks and landed. Harry now understood why Durmstangs had such warm cloaks in their uniforms. It was freezing up here.

"So what on earth do you expect us to find up here?" Draco asked. Matt simply smiled and pointed to the horizon. Looking, Harry stared. The sun was just coming up, glancing off the snow covered peaks in sparkling rays. The oranges and reds of the sunrise blended so that it looked like the sky itself was on fire. The contrast between the firey sky and the icy peaks was breathtaking. After a moment, Matt spoke up softly.

"Worth waking up early for?" Harry looked over at Draco and smiled. The other boy had a look of pure wonder on his face that Harry had never seen anything like before. It was as if the early morning and the beauty of nature had stripped yet another layer off the Slytherin to let Harry see even more of who he really was. Somehow, that made Harry almost as happy as the sunrise itself.

"Definitely," he told Matt, turning back towards the rising sun and the new day it presented.