~I own nothing but the plot, Mirabai Palmer, Avery, Aunt Phoebe, Uncle Tom, and the idea of the Triniti Wizards. Everything else, of course, belongs to J.K Rowling, and Mirabai's power was inspired by Piper's from Charmed. Steal my idea and I will have to kill you. Have a nice day. =)~

The journey to Hogwarts took almost all day, but Mirabai thoroughly enjoyed the time spent with Hermione, Avery, Harry, Ron and Ginny.

She also met a whole bunch of other Hogwarts students; Neville Longbottom, who tripped over Harry's feet as soon as he entered their compartment, Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas, two fellow fifth year Gryffindors, Justin Finch-Fletchy from Hufflepuff, and Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown, both Gryffindors, who asked Mirabai questions about her Australia till lunch time ('you have a beautiful name.' They told her, 'What does it mean exactly?' 'It means poetic, artistic.') when they were interrupted by the lunch lady.

But Mirabai's least favourite visitor of the day was at the end of the journey.

For about the hundredth time that day, the compartment door slid open again, but, judging by the looks on everyone's faces, these three visitors were about as welcome as rotten eggs.

Standing at the door was a boy of average height, who had silver-blonde hair and a pointed face. Beside him stood two more large and stupid looking boys, who both seemed like bodyguards for the blonde boy.

'Oh, I do feel sorry for the people in this compartment,'

he said, in a cold, drawling voice. Mirabai noticed his eyes flick from one person to another.

'You see, there's Potter, who has no parents...Weasley, who has no money...and Granger, who has no family pride. It's a little depressing actually.'

He smirked as the two bodyguards snickered stupidly beside him.

'Do you want something, Malfoy?' Asked Harry, managing to keep his voice cool but glaring at him from where he sat.

Malfoy smirked again, and his eyes fell onto Mirabai in the corner.

'Who're you?'

He demanded, taking a sudden step backwards. Mirabai, in reply, rolled her eyes and said,

'Mirabai...and I'm guessing you're that spine-less little git that everyone's been telling me about?'

Harry, Ron and Avery all burst out laughing, while the boys bodyguards flexed their muscles menacingly.

Malfoy's smirk faded for an instant, but quickly returned again as he said,

'I've heard about you. You're that Palmer girl, the freak,'

he said smugly.

'My Father's told me all about you, how Dumbledore has to look after you too, now. From what I've heard, you and Potter ought to get on well together. I mean, you both have no parents, you both live with your Aunt and Uncle, and you're both...well...pathetic.'

Mirabai jumped suddenly to her feet, the same time as Harry and Ron, but she felt two pairs of hands grab the back of her jumper, and turned around to see Hermione and Avery holding her back.

They were obviously worried that she would jump on Malfoy and hit him, which didn't seem like such a bad idea at the time.

Mirabai didn't know how she could feel so much hatred for one person in such little time...she could feel herself shaking with anger and the blood pounding in her ears, but she wasn't the only one. Harry also had to hold Ron back, as he lunged toward Malfoy, his hands outstretched.

'Ron, don't,' Harry said, warningly, giving Ron a meaningful look.

'Shove off, Malfoy,' Ron growled.

And with one last satisfied smirk, Malfoy and his two bodyguards turned and left.

'I hate him!'

Ron burst out savagely, once the compartment door was securely closed again.

'I'm sorry he was so mean to you on your first day, Mirabai. Hes always like that.'

Mirabai shrugged.

'Its ok, I can handle it.' She told them.

'Well that's all good and everything, but what did he mean when he called you a freak?' Avery asked Mirabai.

Her parents obviously hadn't told her about Mirabai's secret yet, but she was grateful for that.

Mirabai shrugged again, hoping that she looked casual, because everyone inside their compartment was watching her every move closely, as if trying to read her mind. There was a minutes silence, where the only noise heard was the train racketing along the track, and the rain, which was pouring down harder than ever on the windows.

'Do you...do you really have no...parents, too?'

Harry asked carefully, after a while. He was still studying her closely. Again, Mirabai looked up into Harry's green eyes, and after a few moments she nodded slightly, dropped her gaze and starred at the floor.

'My Dad was...killed first...four years ago.' She said with much difficulty, through the silence,

'Then my...mother, just - just recently.'

Mirabai could feel tears tickling the back of her eyes, and her throat suddenly seemed tight. She looked up at the ceiling and blinked them back; the last thing she wanted to do was cry in front of Harry and Ron. She didn't want them to think she was weak.

'I'm so sorry,' Harry whispered, softly.

No body in the compartment seemed to be breathing, and they were still watching her closely. Mirabai wished they wouldn't. She knew they were all itching to know more; like who killed her parents and why, but no-one seemed to want to ask.

Suddenly, Mirabai felt an arm around her shoulder, and she looked around to see Avery with her head resting lightly on Mirabai's shoulder, smiling up at her. The urge to cry almost overpowered her, and her eyes filled up with tears. She wiped them away fiercely, cleared her throat and said,

'Can't we talk about something else now?'

*

But for the remainder of the trip, no body spoke much. Avery tried, and failed, to start up a conversation again before busying herself in the Standard Book of Spells, Grade 5, Hermione, too, was reading, while Harry, Ron and Ginny swapped cards from their chocolate frogs.

Mirabai, however, merely starred, absent mindedly through the window, where the rain was still pouring and the wind howled stronger than ever.

She was extremely glad when the train began to slow down, and finally come to a halt at a small train station.

There came the sudden sound of students opening the train doors, laughing and talking excitedly, some screaming because of the rain, others jumping in puddles to splash their friends.

'Come on, Mira.'

Hermione said softly. Mirabai was surprised to hear Hermione call her 'Mira.' It was the name her friends used to call her back at her old school, and Mirabai liked it. It made her realise that Hermione really was one of her new friends now.

Ron, Ginny and Avery had already left the compartment, so only Harry, Hermione and herself remained. Harry was standing in the doorway waiting, and holding the door open for them both.

'You can leave your luggage here for now. They usually take it up to the dorms for us, that way we don't have luggage everywhere at the Sorting.'

The Sorting. Somewhere under Mirabai's thoughts about her parents and her past, she felt a small ripple of nervousness and remembered that she, also, was about to be sorted. Mirabai wondered, as Hermione left the compartment, whether she would be sorted along with the first years in front of the whole school, or privately.

Harry waited for Mirabai to pass him, before he slid the door shut and said softly

'You OK?'

'Im fine,' Mirabai replied, almost automatically.

'You know, that's exactly what I tell people, when I'm really not fine at all.'

Mirabai really had no idea how to reply to this statement, so she merely said 'Oh' and stepped off the Hogwarts Express and out into the freezing cold rain.

*

It was extremely hard to see anything through the heavy sheets of rain, and it felt as if buckets of water were being emptied repeatedly over their heads. The first thing Mirabai did notice, however, was a giant of a man in a huge sort of overcoat, who was holding a strong lamp and yelling

'Firs' years this way! C'mon firs' years over here! Don' be scared now!'

'That's Hagrid,' Harry yelled over the rain.

'Woah, hes giant!' Mirabai replied, loudly.

'Well, hes half-giant actually,' Mirabai saw Harry grin next to her. 'C'mon, we've gotta go this way, before we both drown in this rain!'

And he grabbed Mirabai's wrist and led her in the opposite direction, away from Hagrid and the first years, and toward (she could just make them out through the rain) a long line of what looked like horse drawn carriages - only, without the horses. Mirabai had just realised that the carriages were probably drawn by magic, when Harry pulled her up into the closest one, and shut the door with a soft snap.

He looked like he had just climbed out of a pool, and Mirabai guessed that she probably looked just as bad. She grinned at Harry and said

'Nice.'

'Right back at ya!' He laughed, and they sat down next to the window.

So far, they were the only people in the carriage, but they were joined shortly afterwards by Neville, Dean and Seamus, who all greeting Mirabai and Harry happily and joked about how the first years would probably have to swim across the lake in this weather, rather than sail. They, too, were drenched to the bone and shivering.

It wasn't long before their carriage gave a sudden wobble, and began the rocky journey up to the castle.

It was a very slow ride, compared to the train, and Mirabai felt as if the carriage was about to be blown over by the wind at any given second.

'You'll get your first look at Hogwarts in a second,'

Harry told her after a while, peering through the window as the cart began to travel up a slight hill.

And he was right. A moment later, the huge castle that was Hogwarts rose up in front of them, silhouetted against the stormy sky with its many lights shining through its many windows, sitting behind the lake, where the first years were attempting to make the traditional sail across it.

*