Harry Potter washed his glasses as he wiped them off on the white linen towel with the initials "H.P." on it next to the white towel with the initials "R.W.". The Dormitory Harry had initially thought was going to be sharing with a complete stranger but had been surprised to find that Ron had been assigned the same room as him which apparently was due to an arcane system that defined compatibility and the fact Ron and he had attended the same house in Hogwarts. It seemed like a decent enough system save for the screaming he'd heard down the hall when two Slytherins he had only peripherally known but who'd tried he was sure to kill each other at least twice their seventh year had ended up in the same room.

"Ron would you pass me Fawke's reeds from the river Nile?" Harry said resuming moving the boxes Sirius had sent over containing his supplies for the term as he began to get fully set up. Ron was doing the same, which included sorting through the things that his mother had packed that he would safely lock away in his closet and never see again. The "room" itself was actually a two-story house with all the enmities packed among the hundreds of other doors to he assumed were similar rooms in the circular building. Harry thought it would be good practice managing the house for when he was out on his own which he assumed was probably part of the point.

"Sure. Harry those reeds have got to be pricey. Have you considered asking the Phoenix whether he'll eat local? I'm sure the local swamp…hey hey I was just kidding!" Ron said before Fawkes starting squawking at him and the temperature in the room raising ten degrees at his anger. Harry chuckled at that putting down the box of awards he'd been presented at the end of his Seventh year including MVP for the Gryffindor quidditch team showing him on a gold broomstick carved specially for the occasion and the Order of the Merlin which Harry didn't know what to do with other than wave at Snape and gloat, which had kind of lost it's appeal after they'd come to an understanding during the war with Voldemort.

"So Harry when do your classes begin?" Ron said putting up his certificate for being Head Boy. It had been presented when Harry had been officially expelled for going after Voldemort but Harry couldn't imagine anyone, including himself, deserving it more.

"I'm afraid I don't know. I basically am just taking Hermione's classes. The way I see it a teaching degree can't hurt. Still I'm really here to play Quidditch." Harry sighed looking up as one starting changing the bed sheets of his room adjoining Harry's.

"I can't believe your serious about that Harry. Playing professi…hey Harry." Ron stopped changing the sheets "Do you think we should set up signals for our Dorm-house-room?"

"For what?" Harry said as he noticed Ron had picked up a letter from somewhere and was reading it. Harry then blinked as he realized what Ron was talking about.

Ron grinned folding up the letter.

"Ron!" Harry looked appalled.

"Harry I'm just saying we being two handsome upstanding young wizards might just simply have to consider methods of preserving our privacy and perhaps yes, romantic atmosphere." Ron smiled and planted the letter on Harry's chest as he gestured for Harry to read it. "Something I may need to be considering soon…" he got that dow-eyed crush look in his eyes as Harry adjusted his glasses and read the letter.

Dearest One

Since, the moment I saw you on the pier I have been unable to take my mind off of thee. You seem so gentle and yet strong I hope at some point see each other in private.

Please agree. I anxiously await your response.

-Isolde Devlin

"It's fate Harry. The moment we met on the dock I knew we connected in a mysterious manner that only the universe itself could arrange. I swear ever since I said I'd introduce you the cosmos has been trying…" Ron looked at Harry who was staring at him.

"Ummm Ron I hate to make this suggestion but are you sure she was delivering this to you?" Harry found this very peculiar that someone would send such a steamy note to someone they'd known three seconds.

"Harry who else would she be sending…." Ron stopped in mid-sentence as a look of shock came over his features and his mouthed dropped open in dawning horror.

***

Cho Chang sat at the dinning hall, which was one of the many restaurants on campus but the only one that served French food, something that Cho couldn't get enough of. To her side at the table was Amanda Perky who certainly lived up to her last name and had met Cho last year before becoming her first and fastest friend met here, Eloise Midgen who had accompanied her from Hogwarts and she was very glad to have her friendship here at the New Avalon collegium, and Isolde Devlin who had only started attending the last part of the term the previous semester but had quickly charmed her way through most of the collegium.

"Well I personally am NOT looking forward to this years Advanced Dark Arts Defense course, Professor Faustus just gives me the creeps." Eloise Midgen said, the young woman had decided to become an auror after the attacks on Hogwarts had become intolerable. Her acne had cleared up and she'd managed to grow into her nose, which resulted in her now being the most eligible young woman on the campus.

"I personally couldn't stand the thing the first few days so I dropped/added and took up magical weaving." Amanda smirked, the young woman was a long pony-tail wearing blonde and quite small but with a smile that covered most of her face. "Oh that reminds me.." as she produced another set of magical sweaters, Amanda had aspirations to market them. Cho accepted hers with a smile and hoped this one didn't end up trying to strangle her like the last one.

"Well I'm fine with my classes really but it's going to be murder having to lead the new team through all the routines." Isolde sighed eating her water-crest sandwich. The young woman was the captain of the Dragons cheerleaders since the Dragons were among the only collegium teams which didn't have it's actual mascots parading though that was mainly due to Old Sharptooth finally getting put out to pasture last term.

"Speaking of which I understand Harry Potter is attending New Avalon. You think he'll make a run for Seeker?" Amanda blinked giving a few playful bats at Cho who just shook her head. "I saw a picture of him just recently, much more photogenic than Baal."

Cho leaned on her hand "Yes I suppose he is…kind of…good looking." Cho tried to avoid blushing which her friends would never let her live down, she'd always liked Harry it was true but she didn't want to seem interested especially since he was a year younger and well…world famous.

"Eh if anyone's going to be Seeker it's going to be you Cho. If it weren't for that ogre descended horse Lilith you would have been the Seeker last year." Eloise patted her friend on the shoulder with an encouraging punch. Eloise was her biggest fan and Cho had to admit she was right, Couch Lilith Krell definitely had some of the giant cousin's in her blood and unlike Hagrid it reflected in her personality in most unpleasant ways. Especially in the way she doted on her ox of a son. Lilith certainly wasn't doing the team any favors by keeping him in the forefront no matter how nasty a cheater he was.

"Ooo dear that reminds me it's time for me to go." Isolde said, getting up, never embarrassed about how they talked about her boyfriend but never adding any derogatory comments about him and only speaking glowingly. Which worried Cho as she grabbed Isolde's wrist, which was bruised all long the arm just above where she took it.

"Isolde…" Cho began looking up with a half pleading look to the redhead who merely shook her head suddenly very self-conscious. The first time she had seen the bruises she had wanted to take her Ki-Rin hair wand and transform Baal into a statue. Isolde had repeatedly insisted she stay out of it however. Saying she'd eventually leave him but that had yet to happen.

"It's nothing really." Isolde said and Cho reconsidered calling the Peace-enforcers on Baal.

"Noth…" Cho nearly spat as Isolde walked off.

"I'm doing something about it."

***

Hermione walked through the Campus of New Avalon watching the throngs of students from all cultures including what looked to be what her mother would have called in muggle society the "disreputable" elements. Hermione had been horrified to find Neo Death-Eater literature posted on one board in the campus, which spoke about the coming annihilation of all Muggle blooded wizards in the world. It was a very disconcerting experience along with the increased amount of attention from the opposite sex she was getting.

'Well I wanted to experience new things.' She shrugged as she approached the admissions building of New Avalon, which was a combination of Greek, Hindu, and Egyptian architecture in a style that had properly been named "Atlantean". The building was on a separate island in the lagoon that required a wooden bridge to cross. Hermione took it passing the mermaids who were flirting with some young college students before jumping back into the water.

'Hmmmph.' Hermione frowned at such behavior as she walked in to find the building was full of incense, statues, and murals resembling more a temple than an office. Seeing an ornamental bell at the door she decided to take a chance and rang it, filling the building with an eerie reverberating noise. At that moment a six armed figure in an elaborate headdress with deep tanned skin and fiery coals for eyes despite great beauty appeared.

"I am Vashaon the Lord of Masculinity, Scimitars, and Paperwork. How may I help you infantile mortal!" the figure commanded as Hermione blinked.

'Well I never…' she looked at her scroll and offered it feeling rather silly.

"Ah yes you have come to have your classes confirmed….." he took a moment to look over the numbers and rooms "Unfortunately Magical Ethics 301 is canceled Miss Granger, it's teacher Solomon Creed was killed last year by the Death-Eaters, as is Philosophies of Mysticism 780112 due to Socrates Hobbes being similarly killed, Numerology 1313 unfortunately has it's teacher Goyle serving a life sentence for multiple-murder in Azkaban, and Advanced Transfiguration's teacher…." Vashaon was annoyed as Hermione.

"He's dead too?!" Hermione though horrified since the pleasant man had been her advisor.

"No he's simply getting married. I am afraid unless you want to drop these classes you will have to replace them." Vashoan returned the scroll.

"That's practically my entire schedule!" Hermione pouted frowning and not knowing at all what to take now.

"May I suggest something more feminine like magical weaving." The spirit said before Hermione gave him a look that even made a god pause.

It was then a elderly looking sorcerer in dilapidated looking clothes walked quite literally through the wall and looked around with a perplexed look on his face. He resembled Albus Dumbledore in the respect he had a long grey beard but was more broad- shouldered and dressed in a plainer almost depressed fashion.

"Pardon me are they're any books in here that need to be re-filed?" the man said before the god shook his head "No Librarian." And the man walked into the wall, before muttering something and walking back through it.

"Who was that?" Hermione blinked looking at the strange man.

"Our librarian Atrus Pandora. He long ago was the most brilliant wizard ever to attend and work at New Avalon but he became overwhelmed with his work and used memory charms to clear his mind of excess troubles to continue with his work, one day he overdid it and eliminated his entire life…or it gradually built up. Now he can't even do his job without student assistance."

***

"…yeah and there was the time that she started that House Elf liberation front called S.P.E.W. Hehe we didn't know it at the time but it was actually going to become an actual organization or that it would free all the house elves from their bondage. Still that was quite a whiles ago and I'm sure you'd love to hear some more current events eh Philip?" Hagrid said slamming his gigantic hand on the back of the young man who staggered a bit and would have landed on Hermes had he not braced himself for it seconds before it struck. Phillip Ashland had only asked the gigantic groundskeeper about the lovely young woman causally but had been surprised to hear the huge man have hours worth of stories regarding her and her adventures with Harry and Ron who Phillip was shocked to discover were apparently people of no small importance in the wizarding world.

"House elf liberation front." Phillip shook his head and tried to absorb all the conflicting images in his head regarding Diagon alley as it contrasted with what he had learned as the "real" world and the eerie memories of the place in his memory from nearly a century before placed there by magic. Phillip was an insurance salesman's son from Kentucky so this mysticism was giving him a massive coronary even as he couldn't resist wanting to see and experience more…it was a car wreck you wished you had been a part of. Still it was good to have all the pleasant people helping him out. He'd initially been terrified of the huge man, his bizarre and terrible pets that contrasted sharpely with the beautiful things he'd been shown earlier, and his swarty laugh but in the three weeks he'd known him he'd grown quite fond of the man whose demeanor resembled nothing so much as Little John from Robin Hoods.

"Well we're almost out of Galleons Phil. Plus we've got to buy you a broom. There arn't no proper wizard without a broom your age. I just happen to know an old friend of mine however who can provide us with one for the last bit of money we have and still leave us enough for lunch." Hagrid said as he proceeded to tell him about the broom vendor Icarus Sales whom apparently had been given a blast-ended Skrewt that despite or because of it's unsavory appearance had saved his life during a robbery the following year.

"Course it then bit off his hand the following week and it had to be re-grown but I'm sure he still remembers the creature fondly. So why did you want to know about little Herm-own-ninny?" Hagrid let out a bellowing chuckle as Phillip shook his head at the mentioning of her ex-boyfriend's nickname for you who was by all accounts a professional athlete, rich, good-looking, and charismatic.

"No reason sir." Phillip sighed shaking his head and putting his hands in his still awkwardly feeling robes. It was more because of the amount of sensory overload than he couldn't dress right really. He'd picked up magic remarkably well for the unusually short amount of time he'd been given to digest all this, certainly better than he'd picked up mathmatics back in what they called the Muggle world…something he'd considered quite derogatory sounding despite it's causal use by even the most pleasant of folk he met. Phillip decided to also add even as his mind dwelled on the lovely brown haired venus he had seen "Don't take us to that Ogre's bar and grill again….that place…the food didn't agree with me." Phillip shuddered, the place resembled a combination of a biker joint and a inn from a Dungeons and Dragons game…and he knew what Ogres ate in that!

"Icarus! I've come with another student of Dumbledores!" Hagrid said entering the quaint little shop, which was filled with all manner of brooms. Some were quite beautiful with gold trim and shining straw but most were made of twigs and rather plain looking but Philip could feel the pulsing presence of magic in each of them as he put he hand over one and it shot into his hands and he immediately put it down. He was still shocked witches rode brooms, then again if everything was ridiculous anyway why not accept it and move on?

Icarus Sales was a man who looked more like an owl than a human being and like a parody of Ebenezzer Scrooge from A Christmas Carol. He obviously wasn't happy to see Hagrid and the haggling session that was ensuing sounded more like a series of apologies and promises to never breed a Skrewt again than anything resembling money, it was then Philip noticed a broom which was very plaid looking and compact marked for 5 galleons.

'Hello what's this?' he thought, picking up the broom he felt the magical charge run up and down his spine and he was sure his hair was standing up on end (and in fact it was). The thing was very chaotic seeming and it gave Icarus a bad feeling as he looked at hagrid and Icarus who quite obviously was pointing at the broom as the only one he could afford with the money Dumbeldore had allotted to him with his parent's help.

"But can't we?" Phillip wanted no part of this broom but Hagrid shook his head and he figured any broom was better than none as he felt Hermes tugging at his robe's bottom and pointing frantically at the window of the shop. There a black-cloaked man was staring at him directly with a look that was completely without pity, compassion, or mistake in the fear it was meant to bring. It was even more effective because Phillip knew the man who had been hard to him but never threatening. The wizard in the window then walked away as hagrid turned around and looked where he was staring.

"What does Severus Snape want with me?" Phillip wondered aloud.