Author's Note: Well here it is! Chapter four! I'm writing this on the Sunday before Christmas Eve, and I hope to have it out by Christmas. This will give me something to do so the Christmas anticipation won't drive me insane! ;) For those of you who are wondering, I do have a specific plot in mind now! I guess this is now my rendition of the fifth book -- although I know it probably won't be anything close to what Jo Rowling has in store for us!

Disclaimer: Guess what? I still own NOTHING! Oh, wait! I own Chloe, and several of the characters you may see here and in upcoming chapters. :) If you have read the Harry Potter books, you'll most likely know which ones are my characters and which aren't. (On another point, if you haven't read the Harry Potter books before this, I highly suggest you do so! You may be getting confused starting now!)

Chapter Four

By the time dinner rolled around, I knew almost everybody in the household. While I didn't really feel like a good friend of Hermione and Ginny, I think they were relieved to have another girl in the house. Everyone else in the house, were Aunt Molly and Uncle Arthur (of course), Harry Potter, Ron, George, Bill, Charlie, Percy, and Fred whom I hadn't met yet. Aunt Molly was almost livid -- apparently he had been visiting his friend Angelina for several hours now.

Bill, Charlie, and Percy had all graduated from Hogwarts all ready, George was in his last year, Harry, Hermione, and Ron were all in their fifth year (same as I, apparently) and Ginny was in her fourth year. I didn't know what year Fred was in just yet -- since I hadn't met him, I obviously hadn't been able to talk to him!

Sitting down to dinner, I was sandwiched between Hermione and Ginny. We were the first three at the table, having helped Aunt Molly with dinner. George trooped in next, followed shortly by Charlie and Bill. Harry and Ron came in then, and then Percy who was grumbling about having to finish his report.

I had just finished my first plate of food, when George came in. "Sorry I'm late, Mum," he said, as he sat down across from me. But... Wait a minute! George had come in first, hadn't he? Oh well, he must have left while I wasn't looking. I helped myself to more roast beef, when Hermione got up to go get her napkin -- her cat, Crookshanks, had stolen it. I laughed at his antics as she tried to snatch it back.

"Here, take this," George said, passing me a bowl of salad. It was quite a reach to get it -- he had been sitting on the other side of Hermione, so I had to reach across her seat to take it. I took some salad, then turned to Ginny.

"No thanks," she said. She pointed to George, sitting across from me. I stood up to pass it to him. Standing up though, I almost dropped the bowl in realization. George had been sitting next to Hermione... And across from me! I looked from one to the other, and said, "Which one of you is George?" Both Georges laughed -- the one who had been sitting next to Hermione spoke up.

"I am," he said. He pointed to the 'other' George. "That's Fred. We're twins!" I blinked in surprise.

"But..." I stammered. "But... You are?" By this time, everyone had noticed. They all were laughing. I blushed, and sat down. I was a little mad at Mom for not telling me that Fred and George were twins, but I was more mad at myself for making a fool of myself -- in front of people I hardly knew, and wanted to make a good impression for. I sighed.

* * *

Later that night, I had to turn in early. Because of a five-hour time difference, I was used to getting to sleep at what was 3 a.m. here. Ginny and Hermione couldn't sleep either, so we all stayed up talking. During this time I learned a lot about Hogwarts and it's history, and Harry and Ron. From the way Hermione talked about Ron, I gathered that she liked, or 'fancied' him, as they said here in England. Finally, I asked outright.

"Hermione?" I said. "Do you like -- er, fancy -- Ron?" She blushed a deep red. I took it from there. "Ahh..." I said. "Would you like me to... Um, that is..."

"Oh please, don't offer to tell him," Hermione said. "I think he knows all ready." Still blushing, she excused herself for the bathroom. Ginny leaned over.

"He does," she told me, grinning. "He likes her too -- but she doesn't know." I gave her a wide grin. "But," she continued, "you have to keep this a secret! Please, I told him I wouldn't tell her." I nodded again.

"I know how she feels," I told Ginny. "I've been in the same situation..."

Just then, Hermione came back. I shut up immediately.

"Hey, guys," I said. "Who's up for conjuring up a little popcorn?" Ginny's eyes went wide.

"You mean, you can do magic outside of school?" she squeaked. "You're allowed to?"

It was my turn to be surprised. "You mean, you're not?" They both shook their heads.

"We're threatened with expullsion if we do," Ginny said. "I guess security on magic is tighter here than in the States."

"Yeah," said Hermione. "I'd give almost anything to practice magic at home to get better..."

I blushed. Great. Just... great. The second time I kind of humiliated myself. I hadn't meant to sound like I was bragging!

* * *

The next morning, I awoke when a small white, feathery bundle flapped around on my face. I had asked Hermione and Ginny to wake me up when they did, so I wouldn't sleep though breakfast. Apparently this was it.

"Pig!" I heard Ginny call. "No no, don't do that!" Or maybe not. The feather duster was lifted off my face, and Ginny's head appeared there instead.

"Sorry about that," she said. "Pig still gets over-excited when he sees new people." She glared at the small bundle she held tight in her hand. It struggled to get away.

"What is that?" I asked.

"Oh sorry," she said, blushing. "This is Pigwidgeon, Ron's owl. He's not fully human-trained yet, but he's pretty good at delivering letters." I nodded. I wished that Mom hadn't insisted on my leaving Morgan behind -- though they were very good reasons to anyway. We didn't know if she was old enough to travel across the ocean yet, let alone navigate her way. I sat up.

"Is it time to get up all ready?" I asked. "I feel like it's only four AM."

"Well, it is back in your home," Ginny told me. "It's all ready nine o'clock. You'd better hurry getting dressed and all, because breakfast will be ready in just a few minutes." Hearing this, I jumped out of bed and grabbed a T-shirt, jeans, and a fleece pullover out of my suitcase. Ginny stared. "Muggle clothes?" she asked.

"Yes," I said. "We wear them at home, usually. It makes it easier for magical folk to get to our magical places without looking conspicuous." Ginny just nodded and stepped out.

I took out my calendar and looked at it. Yikes, only three more days until Christmas, and I hadn't gotten any shopping done for my cousins! I had wanted to wait until I knew them first, before getting them presents. I pulled on my clothes and went downstairs.

"There you are!" Aunt Molly said. "I was starting to get a bit worried. Here, sit and have some breakfast." She dropped a plate in front of me, a plate so loaded with toast and scrambled eggs and bacon that I didn't think I could eat it all. After all, my body wasn't used to eating this 'early' in the morning! "Eat up, quick," she told me. "We're going to Diagon Alley today for some shopping, and you need to get your books and the lot." I was relieved. I could probably get some Christmas shopping done there! I think Aunt Molly read my mind. "You can get some shopping done too, if you wish," she added, smiling. She turned back to the stove, and I dug into my breakfast.