A/N: Ooh, lots of apologies here! I am so sorry about the delay. I had most of this chapter written back in April, but then I got back up with schoolwork and now I've lost the disk. ;_; So, I have to start from what I remember for this chapter. I apologize for the wait.

Disclaimer: I own nothing here, except the plotline. Characters and places belong to people much richer than I. I am just a (somewhat) poor high school student who likes to spend her money on Anime and Harry Potter. I reiterate: I own not these things!

Changing Worlds – 3

Three best friends looked at each other with wide eyes after the strange girl had departed to the dormitories. A rather tall boy with Red hair looked between his friends, a shorter boy with unruly black hair and green eyes, and a girl with bushy brown hair. All three nodded, silently agreeing that that was definitely one of the oddest things they had ever experienced.

"Hermione," spoke the black haired child, "did she have a tail?" The girl of the group's eyes widened slightly more as she took in the information. Before she could speak, however, the other boy spoke.

"Harry, Hermione, why don't we just discuss this in the morning, once we get a chance to know her?" Hermione sighed as Harry agreed with Ron. It almost sounded to her as if Ron was interested n this new girl. Hermione carried these thoughts with her as she proceeded up the stairs to bed.

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The early morning sun shone brightly on Dagger's face as the curtains around her four poster bed were ripped aside, accompanied by a rather cheery "Good Morning!" The princess promptly groaned and rolled away from the rays of evilness in an attempt to gain a few more minutes of sleep. She became slightly more awake when then same voice as before said, "Wake up! Surely you don't want to be late on your first day here, do you?"

At this Dagger rolled back and opened her eyes to see a girl with bushy brown hair dressed in black robes. Both girls quickly glanced at the princess's jumpsuit and decided that it would have to do until robes could be acquired. They eyed each other warily for several moments before Dagger extended her hand.

"Hi, I'm Dagger Tribal." The other girl smiled.

"Hermione Granger. Umm… Out of curiosity… Why do you have a tail?" Hermione asked uncomfortably. Afraid she was being rude, she rushed, "I mean, I'm not trying to be rude, I'm just curious, I've never seen anyone with a tail like that before…" The young witch's voice trailed off at the amused look her new friend was giving her.

"It's okay, really," the princess laughed. "I get it all the time from people who don't know my family. Let's just say it's part of my inheritance." She smiled mysteriously at her new friend before pulling her down the stairs to the Common Room. Waiting for them were Ron and Harry, who gaped in surprise at Dagger's outfit. Dagger, oblivious as she tended to be regarding male hormones, greeted them with a smile.

From there, Hermione took the lead. "Ron, Harry, this is Dagger Tribal. Dagger, these are my best friends Ron Weasley and Harry Potter." All three looked at Dagger for some kind of recognition of Harry's name, but, alas, it was in vain. Dagger showed no reaction to Harry, and the group took it in stride, though they were a bit curious. The now foursome walked down to the Great Hall chatting about unimportant things, like teachers and classes. Dagger was mostly silent, quietly taking in the useful information.

Upon arrival at the Hall, it fell silent, reminding Dagger eerily of the night before. Just then, however, the Headmaster stood up and began his introductions.

"I believe that most of you have noticed our new student here at Hogwarts. Her name is Dagger Tribal and she uses a style of magic quite different from what we all use. Miss Tribal is in fact from a different world. She has somehow jumped dimensions and arrived here last night. I ask that you do not overly harass Miss Tribal or bother her about her appearance. She has been sorted into Gryffindor and will follow the 5th year class schedule. Thank you." Dumbledore returned to his seat.

Now Dagger, having had experience being the center of attention, put on her "princess mask" and calmly walked with her new friends to the Gryffindor table. Even for that short distance, though, the feel of all of the eyes in the Hall on her was unnerving.

The princess sat down between Hermione and Harry, with Ron on Hermione's other side. Sitting across from them were three boys and two girls. The boys, one of who had oddly dark colored skin, stared wide-eyed at Dagger while the girls oohed and aahhed at her clothes. Dagger looked uncomfortable before snapping a somewhat hushed "What?"

That snapped everyone out of their respective dazes. Hermione, having become Dagger's tour guide, began the introductions. "Dagger, these are Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, Neville Longbottom, Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown. Guys, this is Dagger Tribal." Handshakes were exchanged all around before everyone returned to breakfast.

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As Dagger, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were leaving the Great Hall on their way to their fist class of the day a blond boy approached them. The princess was slightly surprised to see her new friends' faces turn sour at the sight of this boy.

"The name's Malfoy. Draco Malfoy," he introduced himself. Dagger couldn't help but think of how he reminded her of the nobles at court back home. The thought of home depressed her for a moment before she recovered and shook his hand.

"Dagger Tribal. Pleased to meet you," she replied, returning for a few moments to the task of being a princess and being forced to be nice to everyone. Her smile was bright, but it didn't reach her eyes. Her new friends were a bit shocked by her behavior, staring at the civil interaction. Malfoy nodded to her and moved on down the corridor.

Dagger let her mask drop and was met with the confused gazes of her friends. She sighed and then giggled. "I've had to deal with his kind before," she said by way of explanation. "So full of themselves, thinking that they are the sole reason I exist." She grinned and rolled her eyes, causing Hermione to burst out laughing. Ron and Harry follow a few seconds later with more guarded laughter as the quartet moved toward their first class.

Said first class was Defense Against the Dark Arts, currently being taught by Remus Lupin once again*. The first thing he did was call Dagger to the front of the classroom. "Now," he began, "Professor Dumbledore has enlightened some of the staff to your…peculiar powers. Since this is a defense class, would you please show them your…" he looked at a slip of paper on his desk, "float spell." He smiled encouragingly at her.

Dagger swallowed and was just about to cast the spell when something occurred to her. "Excuse me, sir," the white mage asked softly, "on whom would you wish me to cast Float?" Professor Lupin seemed intrigued by her request and, after scanning the class quickly, motioned Harry to the front.

"Try it on Harry. He's good at being a guinea pig." Lupin smiled a bit at the two teenagers. "Go ahead, Miss Tribal." Dagger looked uncertainly at her friend. Harry nodded, giving his new friend his consent. Dagger took a deep breath, pulled out Hamelin and blew a now-familiar melody into it. A swirl of magic surrounded her briefly as she faced Harry. Almost immediately the famous wizard began to float about two feet off the ground. The class gasped in astonishment. Dagger couldn't help but grin at Harry and the professor, who were also looking at her in amazement.

"Harry," the mage began, "you should be fine as for moving around. It'll wear off in about an hour, I think. My mom cast Float on the whole castle staff when we had the carpets redone a few years back." Dagger started giggling. "That was an amusing sight, especially Quina…" Chuckling to herself, Dagger looked at the professor for his reaction.

Lupin regarded the princess with a good deal of respect. "I have never before seen a spell quite like that one. Would you mind demonstrating some of your other spell for the class?" Dagger considered the question for several moments before replying in the affirmative. At a request for volunteers, both Ron and Hermione raised their hands and were told to proceed to the front of the room.

"Hermione, I'm going to cast Mini on you, but I also have a Remedy to cure you, so don't worry." Dagger used the Healing Rod to cast Mini on Hermione, who was soon only about a foot tall. After letting Hermione experience the spell for a few minutes, Dagger pulled out one of her two remaining Remedies and poured it on her friend. The class cheered. Ron was next,

Dagger looked at him nervously before turning to Lupin. "Professor, would it be okay to slightly injure Ron in order to do the next spell?"

Lupin's eyes widened. "If Ron doesn't mind, but be careful." Dagger looked at Ron and he nodded a yes, not trusting his voice. She reverently pulled out the Gladius daggers from their sheaths, closing her eyes in brief homage to her father. Before Ron could react, she had slashed across his upper arms.

Quickly Dagger sheathed her namesakes and pulled out the Healing Rod once again, cast Cura hastily. Almost immediately the wound closed and the bleeding stopped. Dagger grinned. "I'm getting better. That looked to be about twenty points of damage, but I healed it with about 600 points. Shoulda used Cure instead of Cura…" the princess's voice trailed off.

Professor Lupin startled the mage-summoner out of her thoughts. "Miss Tribal, I would like to see you after classes this afternoon. Please stop by my office before diner." Dagger nodded and moved back to her seat, aware of the stares on her. Professor Lupin then began his lesson.

*I didn't feel like creating a new DADA teacher, so Lupin's back.

A/NII: Well, sorry that took so long to get out. I'm trying here, but I'm leaving for work at a Girl Scout camp in about a week, so I probably won't get any more chapters out before then. I'll work on the next one while I'm up there, but it'll take a while. ^_^;; Next chapter, look for a talk with Remus and Dumbledore, Daggers summons, and more group bonding!!

3 June 2002 8:46 PM