Ron glanced at the clock, impatience written in his every action, "Mum, can we please go? There'll be enough people to greet them!"

"Ron Weasley, you will stay here. It's not everyday we host children from other countries!" Mrs. Weasley ordered.

Harry Potter sighed, as much as he wanted to meet these two... Americans, weren't they? More than anything, he wanted to play Quidditch. Harry was a very good Quidditch player for his house team at Hogwarts.

"What house will they be in, mum?" Ginny, the youngest Weasley asked.

"I'm afraid Dumbledore didn't say. I expect they'll be sorted with the first years." Mr. Weasley replied.

"Perhaps they've already been sorted, so they can simply drop directly into the fifth year routine." Percy commented from his seat by the window, "In any case, it's Dumbledore's decision on how they'll be integrated into the mesh."

"Who are they, anyway?" Fred asked.

"What do you mean, dear?" Mrs. Weasley responded.

"Well, they've got to have names, right?" George elaborated.

"Let me see," Mrs. Weasley glanced at the letter that had arrived early in July. "Dumbledore writes that six Canadian students will be attending Hogwarts this year. They are each extremely advanced in their studies. He has been assured by... Shaman Gag-none? that they are sociable and willing to adapt to any situation," she glanced at the twins, "All we know is that two Canadian wizards will be staying here for a week. A boy and a girl, I believe. Canadians usually travel in pairs, so two guests is not entirely unusual."

"Canadian wizards are known for being a little odd," Mr. Weasley added, "Fudge visited the Minister of Magic over there once. Apparently, the poor chap spent half their meeting conversing with trees."

There was a moment's silence before Hermione joined in the conversation, "I've read somewhere that they live in Muggle cities and that some even hold Muggle jobs."

"Really now? I hadn't heard that. I wonder how much these two will know about parking meters?" Mr. Weasley mused.

Harry turned his attention away from the conversation to stare at the fireplace. How would they be coming? He thought back to the beginning of his fourth year and the spectacular entrances the visiting schools had made. A flying carriage, a ghostly ship... What could the visitors of today bring?

"Good Lord, is that the time?" Percy exclaimed, pulling Harry from his reverie. "I must get to the office." He then Disappparated into thin air.

"Why's Perfect Percy in such a rush?" George queried.

"Doesn't want to put a blotch on his spotless record by being tardy," Fred gasped in horror, "he'd be a nightmare if he was!"

"As the acting head of the department of International Cooperation, Percy must sign the documents allowing our guests to stay for an extended period of time. Especially nowadays," Mr. Weasley explained, "I must ask you all to be careful. It will be difficult to know who to trust with You-Know-Who on the rise..."

As he spoke, Percy's head appeared among the flames. "We're coming through. Ginny, for goodness sake! Stand clear!"

With an "Oof!", a burly boy tumbled out of the fire. A slender girl and Percy followed him closely. The two former picked themselves up quickly. Harry noticed first how tall they were. The boy had a messy mop of hair, somehow clumping together to give the impression of many layers. He was deeply tanned, whereas the girl beside him was almost his opposite pole. Her long white hair reached her waist. A few stray wisps hung in her bright red eyes.

"Welcome to our home," Mr. Weasley stretched out a hand to the boy.

"Thank you, sir. I'm Oak Hain and this is Willow Baum," He replied, shaking Mr. Weasley's hand.

"Thank you for letting us stay," Willow added.

The next few moments were a whirl of activity as two trunks arrived. A cot was unfolded next to the one occupied by Harry. Willow was placed with the two girls' in Ginny's room. Giggles were coming through the walls.

"I don't want to know what they're up to," Ron stated decidedly.

"I'm guessing you like the Chudley Cannons," Oak commented.

"Yeah, do you play?" Ron responded.

"Once in a while. How about you two?"

"I play Seeker for Gryffindor house," Harry responded.

"I'm going to try out this year," Ron added.

"Oh, cool. Quidditch isn't as popular back home, but it's almost as common as our sport," Oak chewed his lip thoughtfully, "maybe a bit more popular..."

"So what is your sport?" Harry asked.

"I'll teach it to you one day. As soon as we get to Hogwarts anyway. You'd need your wands to play," he responded, "this is a bit embarrassing but, I didn't catch your names."

"This is Ron Weasley and I'm Harry Potter."

To Harry's shock, Oak didn't do the familiar eye flick upwards to look at his scar. The tall boy merely raised an eyebrow, his face unreadable. It wasn't a condescending look, but obviously unimpressed. He turned to Ron, "Weasley...? There's a girl at Windigo by the name of Cedrat Weasley. Are you related?"

"I dunno. My family is rather large; it's hard to keep track of them all. I might be though," Ron said thoughtfully.

The remainder of the day was filled with laughter as they swapped stories with the two guests.

"What's Hogwarts really like?" Willow asked.

"Well," Fred began, "you'll want to avoid being in Slytherin at any cost. And I mean any. Nasty lot, they are."

"Draco Malfoy and his gang for starters," George growled.

Harry noticed that Oak and Willow looked at each other as if sharing some dark secret at the mention of Malfoy. He wondered if the others had seen the identical look flash across their faces.

"Malfoy? Who is he?" Oak leaned into their circle.

"He's awful. He'd like to think he's popular, but everyone except the Slytherins hates him. He spends most of his time insulting any Muggle born he can find. You know, calling them Mudblood and the like," Ron's ears began to turn a peculiar shade of pink.

Willow narrowed her eyes, "The bastard. Anyone else we should avoid?"

"All the Slytherins," they chorused.

"What about teachers?" Willow twirled a blade of grass in her fingers.

"McGonagall is strict, but fair," Hermione recited, "Professor Trelawney is an airhead. Her Divinations class is useless."

"Snape favours the Slytherins," Ginny chimed in.

"Flitwick always has a good class," George added.

"But let's not forget Professor Binns," Fred laughed.

"What about him?" Oak asked.

"You'll see..." Fred and George gave them two identical grins.

"Why am I suddenly scared?" Willow joked.

Later, in the middle of the night, Harry awoke to the sound of footsteps. He opened one eye cautiously. To his astonishment, he saw Oak climb onto the windowsill. He perched there like a bird for a few seconds before jumping out the window.

Grabbing his wand with a shout, "Accio Firebolt!" Harry tore across the room to the window. His broom sprang into his hand as he leapt out, hoping to catch Oak before he hit the ground. There was no one. No body on the ground, no one in the air. Only Harry, hovering on his broom. He flew slowly around the outside of the house and garden, searching for a clue. Greatly perplexed, he returned to Ron's room. He was shocked to find Ron and Oak fast asleep as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Harry never saw the two pairs of eyes watching him from the trees.