Chapter 3: It's your birthday? Happy birthday!
by Princess Cora aka AnneMarie
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The rest of the month went by quite smoothly. Katy and Harry still talked about anything and everything. AnneMarie and Caleb constantly argued about the stupidest things, the latest being whether Caleb's drawing was of a girl owl in an overcoat or a guy owl in drag.
Hermione was also quickly becoming a friend of Katy and (especially) AnneMarie. Her friends had usually always been been boys (except her childhood best friend Arachne), but now she was 15, and there were certain things you just couldn't talk to boys about. AnneMarie was alwyas willing to chat about guys or other "girl stuff." And yet, the times she liked best was whenever it was just her, and Ron, and Harry. They were still her best friends, and she theirs.
On Friday, September 27th, Hermione was eating breakfast with Harry and Ron. Or, rather, Harry was eating, Hermione was reading, and Ron was writing. He seemed to always be writing nowadays, and every now and then he would look up and ask weird questions out of the blue, like "Do you remember what you felt when you saw Snape?" "What?" Harry would reply. "Oh, sorry, when you first saw him, at the feast right?" and Harry would answer, and Ron would write it down. Hermione had no idea what was going on. She had been asked some questions like that too... not as much as Harry though.
She and Harry had both not asked about it... they had a feeling he might not want to tell them. But now Hermione's curiosity overcame her. "Ron... what are writing about?"
He ignored her for a second, then he put down his pen. "You really want to know?"
"Yes!" said Hermione with a laugh. Harry looked up from his oatmeal, suddenly interested.
Ron's blue eyes sparkled as he leaned forward over his notes. "Well, I'm going to-" But just then Katy, Caleb, and Andrew came over and sat next to the threesome. Ron gave a tiny shake of his head and mouthed 'later' at her.
"Where's AnneMarie?" asked Hermione, effectively changing the subject.
Katy shrugged. "Probably still asleep."
Hermione nodded. Ammie was not a morning person.
Suddenly the object of their brief discussion bounced into the Great Hall and over to their table. "Heyyyyyyyyla!"
Ron turned around with a start. "Well, you're looking special today."
And she was. Her long dark brown hair, usually vaguely messy and tied back in a ponytail or a sloppy bun, was beautifully curly and unknotted. Two strips of hair were tied at the back of her head, keeping her hair away from her face. She had done something to the usual school uniform, everything that had been red and gold was now various shades of pink. And, for a final touch, she had tiny pink jewels nesting in her hair.
"Well, it's my birthday today!"
"Oh, really? Happy birthday then."
"Yes, happy birthday! You're turning 15?" asked Hermione. Ammie nodded back.
"Oh yeah, that's right, happy birthday!" Katy smiled.
Harry looked up. "It's your birthday? Happy birthday."
"It's your birthday?" said Andrew. "Cool, happy birthday."
"Thanks." She sat beside Hermione and looked pointedly at Caleb.
Caleb finally said, "Yea that too."
"You know, if I could get to that side of the table quickly, which I can't, I would hit you."
They all laughed and started talking. "So, when's your bithday?" Harry asked Katy.
"November 24th. I'm turning 16." His eyebrows went up a few inches. No wonder she seemed so mature.
"My birthday's in July - the 31st. I just turned fifteen this past July...." and they kept on talking.
"So when's your birthday Hermione?"
"September 19th." Nobody noticed the brief expression of horror that suddenly crossed her face.
Ron looked up suddenly. "Really? Happy birthday Hermione!"
"Thanks." Now she just seemed a bit embarrassed.
AnneMarie looked from one to the other. "You never knew when your best friend's brithday was?"
"Well..."
"I mean..."
"She never said..."
"They never asked..."
"I knew it was in September.."
"It never really came up in conversation, you know?"
Harry caught wind of the discussion, and quickly turned towards them. "When's your birthday Hermione?"
She was very red now. "September 19th."
"Wow, happy birthday then!"
*~*~*~*
Draco Malfoy stormed down the corridor towards the Arithmancy classroom. Over the summer, his appearance had changed dramatically. Not only was he much taller, his blond hair was finer and silkier, and his eyes were a lighter and icier gray. His face had matured, the angles of it were more defined and more beautiful. His appearance wasn't softer as much as refined and almost elegant. It also wasn't that he wasn't evil - but he was evil more gracefully. He had turned insulting Gryffindors into an art. And there was a certain fluidity in every motion he made, a certain grace that hadn't been there before.
This was, perhaps, what attracted AnneMarie to him. When Ron and Hermione argued that he was obnoxious and horrible, she would say, Yes I know. But he has a stylish way of being so, a kind of elegant arrogance. Ron said she was crazy and there was nothing stylish about him, but Hermione too had noticed the change. That urbane panache. She would, of course, not even mention it to Ron. This was a perfect example of one of the things she couldn't talk to the boys about. She privately thought that something must have happened to him over the summer, something big that had caused such a change.
Even now, as he stalked down the corridor, he could not help moving with a fluid grace that turned heads and caught stares. This he did not notice, because Draco Malfoy was angry. At what, or whom, he wasn't certain. All he knew was that something very weird and totally embarrassing had just happened to him, and he had no idea what to make of it.
He had just come from a study period in the Great Hall, and met the Gryffindors coming up from Herbology. One of them popped up at his side... well at least he thought it was a Gryffindor. He wasn't sure about the Gryffindor colors suddenly being pink. She seemed very glad to see him. She had told him it was her birthday, he had told her to sod off... she seemed unfazed by his insults. She was actually quite pretty.
BUT SHE'S SO DAMN ANNOYING!!!!!! Who gives if it's her birthday??? Draco didn't get it at all. But... she does have a nice smile...
*~*~*~*
[[ ____________________________________________________________
[[
[[ SATURDAY
[[ September 28 Common Room
[[
[[ Good morning, world. Saturday... it feels so free. I'm the only one
[[ awake.
[[ So they know about my birthday. It can't be helped, I guess. It was
[[ really all my fault. I just wasn't thinking. What is wrong with me? Usually I'm
[[ so careful... it's because I'm hanging around AnneMarie. She's so much fun
[[ and a great person, but a total scatterbrain. At least I have Ron to keep me
[[ sane___
[[
"Hermione?"
She looked up from her little black leather-bound diary. To her surprise, Ron's face was as bright red as his hair, and he was looking very, very, nervous.
"Um... I was sort of wondering... if... well... could I borrow your diary?"
Hermione blinked.
"cuz you see, it's for the thing I'm writing... really... I wouldn't ask otherwise... if you don't want me reading it that's fine... I mean..." he trailed off, looking if possible more nervous than before.
Hermione looked down at her diary. It had never been much of a dumping place for her... perhaps except in the first year, when she had no friends and no one but the diary to talk to. There was also some stuff about Ron in the 4th year diary... but...
"I'll let you borrow it if tell me what you're writing."
He paused, debating. "All right... but I have to tell you and Harry at the same time."
"Then let's go wake him up and get this over with."
*~*~*~*
"So that's why you ask more questions abuot Harry and what he felt, and where he was!" Hermione looked relieved.
"Yeah, because if I'm going to write a book about him, I'd better know his point of view on things. I certainly know mine."
"If you're going to do our whole time at Hogwarts, you're going to have more than just one book."
"True... maybe I'll make it a series, you know like "Harry Potter and... I dunno the Sorcerer's Stone" to begin with."
"Harry? What do you think?" Hermione asked.
Harry was doing a rather remarkable impression of a deer caught in the headlights of the Knight Bus.
"You okay?" Ron looked worried.
"Yea I'm fine just... a bit awed."
"I just got the clearance this summer to publish it in the Muggle world as a fantasy book... that was my main idea, anyhow. The wizarding world has certainly had enough of you."
That woke Harry up. "Hey!"
"Joking, Harry, joking..." he looked at Hermione. "So... Hermione?"
"Oh right. I'll be back in a second." she went out of the boy's dorm room, down the stairs, up the OTHER stairs, and into her room. After a few mintues of rummaging, she came up with a diary almost identical to the one she held in her hands, but it had 1st & 2nd stamped on it in curly writing. She hurried back to the boy's dormitory, taking off the various wards on the book as she did so.
"Here you are. The first and second years. I took off the wards so it's safe to read, but it's still spelled against dirt and tearing."
"Thanks a bunch Hermione."
"No problem, really... It's your own fault if you read stuff you didn't want to!"
*~*~*~*
The lazy Saturday slipped by. Most of it was spent in the common room, mostly on account of the rain. By 3 in the sfternoon, everyone was bored and tired and wanted something to happen. Katy had gone up to the owlery, Ron was writing, Hermione was doing her Arithmancy homework with AnneMarie. Nobody to talk to. Harry was *bored*.
Sudenly Katy came running into the common room. "OH MY GOD!!!" She had a huge smile on her face and she was jumping around excitedly, a letter in her hand.
AnneMarie came up to her and snatched the letter out of her hand. She scanned it through. "Wow that's great and cool and awesome and.... COOL!!!!"
"What is it?" said Harry.
"Her mom just had a baby!" said AnneMarie.
"Oh really! A boy or a girl?" said Caleb
"A girl!!!" said Katy. "Her name's Brigid!!!!"
"Wicked." As Harry looked over to Ron, he gave Harry the thumbs-up. Of course, Ron was writing this all down. They had to put up with Katy being hyper all weekend, but by Monday she was back to normal. But since Katy is normally hyper it wasn't much of a change. Oh, well. At least she was quiet while doing her homework.
*~*~*~*
Tuesday, October 1st. It promised to be a normal day: the sun was shining, the wind wasn't too cold, they didn't have too much homework, and Mercury (Ammie's evil cat) hadn't attacked anyone. Unfortunately, Nature never keeps her promises. The sevensome was peacefully eating lunch, or in Ammie's case finishing their Charms homework. Then suddenly a girl appeared at their table. Her hair had once been brown, but she had dyed it blonde. Her eyes were brown, her skin was tanned. She was wearing a white shirt and khaki pants under the school robes. The red-and-gold Gryffindor tie was threaded through her pants like some kind of belt.
"G'day mates!!"
They gave her blank stares.
"Is this the Gryffindor table?"
They nodded. Slowly.
"Ok, awesome." She put down her plate and sat next to them.
"A-are you a Gryffindor?"
She nodded. "Name's Alexandria, call me Alexis. I'm from Australia."
According to Alexis, she was supposed to get here at the beginning of the year like all of the new transfer students. However, the plane she was supposed to have taken left without her, then never came back, then was full, then crashed, then it was two weeks before another plane was available, and then the engines blew out so it got a late start, and finally...
"Here I am!"
They were still a little dazed. She talked very fast, with a very Australian accent. And besides, some of them had no idea what an airplane was.
"Why didn't you just use some sort of wizarding transportation?" asked Hermione.
Alexis shook her head. "Don't you know anything about Australia?"
"A... a little. Just what I learned in the Muggle school I used to go to."
"Do you know about the Great Barrier Reef?"
Hermione nodded.
"Well, not only does it keep any ships and whatnot from going in and out, it's also a magical barrier. You can't Apparate, Floo, Portkey, or anything else out of there. It throws you right back in."
Hermione looked surprised, and so did everyone else. Surprised that Hermione didn't know it, that is.
"So the only way to get there is to fly over it. Either by broomstick - which would be pretty bad all the way to England, or on a Muggle airplane."
"What's an airplane?" asked Ron.
Hermione sighed. Ron *really* need Muggle Studies...
*~*~*~*
They had just left for Charms, Hermione explaining to Ron about airplanes, when someone stepped in front of Alexis, blocking her way.
"Well, well, well..." said Malfoy. "There's nothing better than an Aussie who thinks she's too good for the school uniform. What do they wear in Australia? Considering your taste... probably nothing."
"That's right." she said. "We all just run around naked all day. I'm sure you'd just love that, right?" They were glaring at each other now.
"Well, if a witch like you has no manners, god knows how the mudbloods at your school behave."
"My school is Hogwarts." she was starting to lose her temper.
"Oh really..." but before he could go on, Andrew moved forward and grabbed Draco by the front of his robes, nearly lifting him off his feet.
"Watch what you say, Malfoy." then, before Draco could think of something nasty to say, shoved him backwards with suprising force into Goyle.
One by one, the Gryffindors glared at Malfoy then turned away. Last was Alexis. "You know, in Australia, that would be considered verbal assault." She gave him stare for stare.
"Well, you're not in Australia anymore. As you mentioned before."
She glared at him, her anger building, and suddenly stamped as hard as she could on his toe.
He just smirked at her. "Was that your best, Aussie?"
"No!" she half screamed, half whispered. She turned and ran after her classmates towards the Charms room.
*~*~*~*
"Wow, you guys actually have a Defense Against the Dark Arts class?" They had come from Double Charms to find the DADA teacher, Professor Parvenah, missing so they were just chatting.
"Of course, don't you?" said Ron.
"No. We do have a required PFMC course."
"a what?"
"PFMC. Protection From Magical Creatures. Australia has about 90% of the world's dangerous magical creatures, and dangerous non-magical creatures, and we have to learn what to do about them and stuff." she grinned. "Your friend Lavender Brown had a run-in with a swamp dragon her very first day here. Totally harmless, but she got all frightened and nearly cursed the poor thing's head off. They put her with the first years in PFMC."
"Swamp dragon?" asked Hermione.
"Oh yeah, we have tons of those, all over the place. They're actually pretty sweet, but they make horrible pets. Never stay in the same place for very long."
"Swamp dragon?" said Hermione again.
"Yes. What's so big about that?"
"I... I didn't know such a thing existed."
She shrugged. "Well sure they do. Descended from regular dragons. Mind you, we've got quite a few of those too. We were just studying them when I left. It's a fifth-year thing. So what do you guys do in Defense Against the Dark Arts?"
"Oh, lot's of stuff." said Harry. "Dark creatures, curses, poisons, how not to be an evil overlord... that sort of thing."
"Cool. So is your DADA class just for Hogwarts or something?"
"I don't know. What about you guys?" he said, addressing the Americans. "Do you have DADA classes?"
"Well..." said Katy, "sort of."
"No, we have the Young Auror's Program instead." said AnneMarie.
"Really?" asked Harry.
"Mmm-hmm. If you're thinking of being an Auror, you sign up with the program and then you go through all sorts of training, to get you familiar with the idea of fighting evil. If you get too scared or whatever, you can drop out. It's so you can know what you're getting into before you head off to the Auror college."
"And then when the school is threatened by the Dark Side, the YAP as we call it goes and does some 'field work'," put in Katy
"Are you planning to be an Auror?" he asked Katy.
"Well, we're all in YAP together..."
"We're practically the head of it..." said AnneMarie.
"Correction: we *are* the head of it..." said Caleb
"Well, I'm not sure about being an Auror, you can be in YAP even if you don't want to."
AnneMarie spoke up again. "Yea, but we'll have enough practice-" Katy poked her in the side, hard.
"Don't tell them everthing!" she hissed under her breath.
She shut up. Katy was right. They shouldn't tell them everything. Not just yet.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Yay done! With this chapter obviously. Next chapter by Star Glitter, will be up ASAP. That is... if we get reviews....
REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! IT DOESN'T TAKE LONG PEOPLE!!!
Disclaimer: I own nothing but myself and Alexis. No she does not exist. Katy, Caleb, and Andrew belong to themselves and everyone else belongs to J.K. Rowling. Oh and my cat Mercury belongs to me too.
Next chapter: It's Halloween, more about YAP, and Mad Malfoy!!!
liacoraginger@yahoo.com - AnneMarie
Star_Glitter_Dreamer_Girl@starglitter.zzn.com - Katy
delyon@merlyn.zzn.com - Caleb
by Princess Cora aka AnneMarie
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The rest of the month went by quite smoothly. Katy and Harry still talked about anything and everything. AnneMarie and Caleb constantly argued about the stupidest things, the latest being whether Caleb's drawing was of a girl owl in an overcoat or a guy owl in drag.
Hermione was also quickly becoming a friend of Katy and (especially) AnneMarie. Her friends had usually always been been boys (except her childhood best friend Arachne), but now she was 15, and there were certain things you just couldn't talk to boys about. AnneMarie was alwyas willing to chat about guys or other "girl stuff." And yet, the times she liked best was whenever it was just her, and Ron, and Harry. They were still her best friends, and she theirs.
On Friday, September 27th, Hermione was eating breakfast with Harry and Ron. Or, rather, Harry was eating, Hermione was reading, and Ron was writing. He seemed to always be writing nowadays, and every now and then he would look up and ask weird questions out of the blue, like "Do you remember what you felt when you saw Snape?" "What?" Harry would reply. "Oh, sorry, when you first saw him, at the feast right?" and Harry would answer, and Ron would write it down. Hermione had no idea what was going on. She had been asked some questions like that too... not as much as Harry though.
She and Harry had both not asked about it... they had a feeling he might not want to tell them. But now Hermione's curiosity overcame her. "Ron... what are writing about?"
He ignored her for a second, then he put down his pen. "You really want to know?"
"Yes!" said Hermione with a laugh. Harry looked up from his oatmeal, suddenly interested.
Ron's blue eyes sparkled as he leaned forward over his notes. "Well, I'm going to-" But just then Katy, Caleb, and Andrew came over and sat next to the threesome. Ron gave a tiny shake of his head and mouthed 'later' at her.
"Where's AnneMarie?" asked Hermione, effectively changing the subject.
Katy shrugged. "Probably still asleep."
Hermione nodded. Ammie was not a morning person.
Suddenly the object of their brief discussion bounced into the Great Hall and over to their table. "Heyyyyyyyyla!"
Ron turned around with a start. "Well, you're looking special today."
And she was. Her long dark brown hair, usually vaguely messy and tied back in a ponytail or a sloppy bun, was beautifully curly and unknotted. Two strips of hair were tied at the back of her head, keeping her hair away from her face. She had done something to the usual school uniform, everything that had been red and gold was now various shades of pink. And, for a final touch, she had tiny pink jewels nesting in her hair.
"Well, it's my birthday today!"
"Oh, really? Happy birthday then."
"Yes, happy birthday! You're turning 15?" asked Hermione. Ammie nodded back.
"Oh yeah, that's right, happy birthday!" Katy smiled.
Harry looked up. "It's your birthday? Happy birthday."
"It's your birthday?" said Andrew. "Cool, happy birthday."
"Thanks." She sat beside Hermione and looked pointedly at Caleb.
Caleb finally said, "Yea that too."
"You know, if I could get to that side of the table quickly, which I can't, I would hit you."
They all laughed and started talking. "So, when's your bithday?" Harry asked Katy.
"November 24th. I'm turning 16." His eyebrows went up a few inches. No wonder she seemed so mature.
"My birthday's in July - the 31st. I just turned fifteen this past July...." and they kept on talking.
"So when's your birthday Hermione?"
"September 19th." Nobody noticed the brief expression of horror that suddenly crossed her face.
Ron looked up suddenly. "Really? Happy birthday Hermione!"
"Thanks." Now she just seemed a bit embarrassed.
AnneMarie looked from one to the other. "You never knew when your best friend's brithday was?"
"Well..."
"I mean..."
"She never said..."
"They never asked..."
"I knew it was in September.."
"It never really came up in conversation, you know?"
Harry caught wind of the discussion, and quickly turned towards them. "When's your birthday Hermione?"
She was very red now. "September 19th."
"Wow, happy birthday then!"
*~*~*~*
Draco Malfoy stormed down the corridor towards the Arithmancy classroom. Over the summer, his appearance had changed dramatically. Not only was he much taller, his blond hair was finer and silkier, and his eyes were a lighter and icier gray. His face had matured, the angles of it were more defined and more beautiful. His appearance wasn't softer as much as refined and almost elegant. It also wasn't that he wasn't evil - but he was evil more gracefully. He had turned insulting Gryffindors into an art. And there was a certain fluidity in every motion he made, a certain grace that hadn't been there before.
This was, perhaps, what attracted AnneMarie to him. When Ron and Hermione argued that he was obnoxious and horrible, she would say, Yes I know. But he has a stylish way of being so, a kind of elegant arrogance. Ron said she was crazy and there was nothing stylish about him, but Hermione too had noticed the change. That urbane panache. She would, of course, not even mention it to Ron. This was a perfect example of one of the things she couldn't talk to the boys about. She privately thought that something must have happened to him over the summer, something big that had caused such a change.
Even now, as he stalked down the corridor, he could not help moving with a fluid grace that turned heads and caught stares. This he did not notice, because Draco Malfoy was angry. At what, or whom, he wasn't certain. All he knew was that something very weird and totally embarrassing had just happened to him, and he had no idea what to make of it.
He had just come from a study period in the Great Hall, and met the Gryffindors coming up from Herbology. One of them popped up at his side... well at least he thought it was a Gryffindor. He wasn't sure about the Gryffindor colors suddenly being pink. She seemed very glad to see him. She had told him it was her birthday, he had told her to sod off... she seemed unfazed by his insults. She was actually quite pretty.
BUT SHE'S SO DAMN ANNOYING!!!!!! Who gives if it's her birthday??? Draco didn't get it at all. But... she does have a nice smile...
*~*~*~*
[[ ____________________________________________________________
[[
[[ SATURDAY
[[ September 28 Common Room
[[
[[ Good morning, world. Saturday... it feels so free. I'm the only one
[[ awake.
[[ So they know about my birthday. It can't be helped, I guess. It was
[[ really all my fault. I just wasn't thinking. What is wrong with me? Usually I'm
[[ so careful... it's because I'm hanging around AnneMarie. She's so much fun
[[ and a great person, but a total scatterbrain. At least I have Ron to keep me
[[ sane___
[[
"Hermione?"
She looked up from her little black leather-bound diary. To her surprise, Ron's face was as bright red as his hair, and he was looking very, very, nervous.
"Um... I was sort of wondering... if... well... could I borrow your diary?"
Hermione blinked.
"cuz you see, it's for the thing I'm writing... really... I wouldn't ask otherwise... if you don't want me reading it that's fine... I mean..." he trailed off, looking if possible more nervous than before.
Hermione looked down at her diary. It had never been much of a dumping place for her... perhaps except in the first year, when she had no friends and no one but the diary to talk to. There was also some stuff about Ron in the 4th year diary... but...
"I'll let you borrow it if tell me what you're writing."
He paused, debating. "All right... but I have to tell you and Harry at the same time."
"Then let's go wake him up and get this over with."
*~*~*~*
"So that's why you ask more questions abuot Harry and what he felt, and where he was!" Hermione looked relieved.
"Yeah, because if I'm going to write a book about him, I'd better know his point of view on things. I certainly know mine."
"If you're going to do our whole time at Hogwarts, you're going to have more than just one book."
"True... maybe I'll make it a series, you know like "Harry Potter and... I dunno the Sorcerer's Stone" to begin with."
"Harry? What do you think?" Hermione asked.
Harry was doing a rather remarkable impression of a deer caught in the headlights of the Knight Bus.
"You okay?" Ron looked worried.
"Yea I'm fine just... a bit awed."
"I just got the clearance this summer to publish it in the Muggle world as a fantasy book... that was my main idea, anyhow. The wizarding world has certainly had enough of you."
That woke Harry up. "Hey!"
"Joking, Harry, joking..." he looked at Hermione. "So... Hermione?"
"Oh right. I'll be back in a second." she went out of the boy's dorm room, down the stairs, up the OTHER stairs, and into her room. After a few mintues of rummaging, she came up with a diary almost identical to the one she held in her hands, but it had 1st & 2nd stamped on it in curly writing. She hurried back to the boy's dormitory, taking off the various wards on the book as she did so.
"Here you are. The first and second years. I took off the wards so it's safe to read, but it's still spelled against dirt and tearing."
"Thanks a bunch Hermione."
"No problem, really... It's your own fault if you read stuff you didn't want to!"
*~*~*~*
The lazy Saturday slipped by. Most of it was spent in the common room, mostly on account of the rain. By 3 in the sfternoon, everyone was bored and tired and wanted something to happen. Katy had gone up to the owlery, Ron was writing, Hermione was doing her Arithmancy homework with AnneMarie. Nobody to talk to. Harry was *bored*.
Sudenly Katy came running into the common room. "OH MY GOD!!!" She had a huge smile on her face and she was jumping around excitedly, a letter in her hand.
AnneMarie came up to her and snatched the letter out of her hand. She scanned it through. "Wow that's great and cool and awesome and.... COOL!!!!"
"What is it?" said Harry.
"Her mom just had a baby!" said AnneMarie.
"Oh really! A boy or a girl?" said Caleb
"A girl!!!" said Katy. "Her name's Brigid!!!!"
"Wicked." As Harry looked over to Ron, he gave Harry the thumbs-up. Of course, Ron was writing this all down. They had to put up with Katy being hyper all weekend, but by Monday she was back to normal. But since Katy is normally hyper it wasn't much of a change. Oh, well. At least she was quiet while doing her homework.
*~*~*~*
Tuesday, October 1st. It promised to be a normal day: the sun was shining, the wind wasn't too cold, they didn't have too much homework, and Mercury (Ammie's evil cat) hadn't attacked anyone. Unfortunately, Nature never keeps her promises. The sevensome was peacefully eating lunch, or in Ammie's case finishing their Charms homework. Then suddenly a girl appeared at their table. Her hair had once been brown, but she had dyed it blonde. Her eyes were brown, her skin was tanned. She was wearing a white shirt and khaki pants under the school robes. The red-and-gold Gryffindor tie was threaded through her pants like some kind of belt.
"G'day mates!!"
They gave her blank stares.
"Is this the Gryffindor table?"
They nodded. Slowly.
"Ok, awesome." She put down her plate and sat next to them.
"A-are you a Gryffindor?"
She nodded. "Name's Alexandria, call me Alexis. I'm from Australia."
According to Alexis, she was supposed to get here at the beginning of the year like all of the new transfer students. However, the plane she was supposed to have taken left without her, then never came back, then was full, then crashed, then it was two weeks before another plane was available, and then the engines blew out so it got a late start, and finally...
"Here I am!"
They were still a little dazed. She talked very fast, with a very Australian accent. And besides, some of them had no idea what an airplane was.
"Why didn't you just use some sort of wizarding transportation?" asked Hermione.
Alexis shook her head. "Don't you know anything about Australia?"
"A... a little. Just what I learned in the Muggle school I used to go to."
"Do you know about the Great Barrier Reef?"
Hermione nodded.
"Well, not only does it keep any ships and whatnot from going in and out, it's also a magical barrier. You can't Apparate, Floo, Portkey, or anything else out of there. It throws you right back in."
Hermione looked surprised, and so did everyone else. Surprised that Hermione didn't know it, that is.
"So the only way to get there is to fly over it. Either by broomstick - which would be pretty bad all the way to England, or on a Muggle airplane."
"What's an airplane?" asked Ron.
Hermione sighed. Ron *really* need Muggle Studies...
*~*~*~*
They had just left for Charms, Hermione explaining to Ron about airplanes, when someone stepped in front of Alexis, blocking her way.
"Well, well, well..." said Malfoy. "There's nothing better than an Aussie who thinks she's too good for the school uniform. What do they wear in Australia? Considering your taste... probably nothing."
"That's right." she said. "We all just run around naked all day. I'm sure you'd just love that, right?" They were glaring at each other now.
"Well, if a witch like you has no manners, god knows how the mudbloods at your school behave."
"My school is Hogwarts." she was starting to lose her temper.
"Oh really..." but before he could go on, Andrew moved forward and grabbed Draco by the front of his robes, nearly lifting him off his feet.
"Watch what you say, Malfoy." then, before Draco could think of something nasty to say, shoved him backwards with suprising force into Goyle.
One by one, the Gryffindors glared at Malfoy then turned away. Last was Alexis. "You know, in Australia, that would be considered verbal assault." She gave him stare for stare.
"Well, you're not in Australia anymore. As you mentioned before."
She glared at him, her anger building, and suddenly stamped as hard as she could on his toe.
He just smirked at her. "Was that your best, Aussie?"
"No!" she half screamed, half whispered. She turned and ran after her classmates towards the Charms room.
*~*~*~*
"Wow, you guys actually have a Defense Against the Dark Arts class?" They had come from Double Charms to find the DADA teacher, Professor Parvenah, missing so they were just chatting.
"Of course, don't you?" said Ron.
"No. We do have a required PFMC course."
"a what?"
"PFMC. Protection From Magical Creatures. Australia has about 90% of the world's dangerous magical creatures, and dangerous non-magical creatures, and we have to learn what to do about them and stuff." she grinned. "Your friend Lavender Brown had a run-in with a swamp dragon her very first day here. Totally harmless, but she got all frightened and nearly cursed the poor thing's head off. They put her with the first years in PFMC."
"Swamp dragon?" asked Hermione.
"Oh yeah, we have tons of those, all over the place. They're actually pretty sweet, but they make horrible pets. Never stay in the same place for very long."
"Swamp dragon?" said Hermione again.
"Yes. What's so big about that?"
"I... I didn't know such a thing existed."
She shrugged. "Well sure they do. Descended from regular dragons. Mind you, we've got quite a few of those too. We were just studying them when I left. It's a fifth-year thing. So what do you guys do in Defense Against the Dark Arts?"
"Oh, lot's of stuff." said Harry. "Dark creatures, curses, poisons, how not to be an evil overlord... that sort of thing."
"Cool. So is your DADA class just for Hogwarts or something?"
"I don't know. What about you guys?" he said, addressing the Americans. "Do you have DADA classes?"
"Well..." said Katy, "sort of."
"No, we have the Young Auror's Program instead." said AnneMarie.
"Really?" asked Harry.
"Mmm-hmm. If you're thinking of being an Auror, you sign up with the program and then you go through all sorts of training, to get you familiar with the idea of fighting evil. If you get too scared or whatever, you can drop out. It's so you can know what you're getting into before you head off to the Auror college."
"And then when the school is threatened by the Dark Side, the YAP as we call it goes and does some 'field work'," put in Katy
"Are you planning to be an Auror?" he asked Katy.
"Well, we're all in YAP together..."
"We're practically the head of it..." said AnneMarie.
"Correction: we *are* the head of it..." said Caleb
"Well, I'm not sure about being an Auror, you can be in YAP even if you don't want to."
AnneMarie spoke up again. "Yea, but we'll have enough practice-" Katy poked her in the side, hard.
"Don't tell them everthing!" she hissed under her breath.
She shut up. Katy was right. They shouldn't tell them everything. Not just yet.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Yay done! With this chapter obviously. Next chapter by Star Glitter, will be up ASAP. That is... if we get reviews....
REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! IT DOESN'T TAKE LONG PEOPLE!!!
Disclaimer: I own nothing but myself and Alexis. No she does not exist. Katy, Caleb, and Andrew belong to themselves and everyone else belongs to J.K. Rowling. Oh and my cat Mercury belongs to me too.
Next chapter: It's Halloween, more about YAP, and Mad Malfoy!!!
liacoraginger@yahoo.com - AnneMarie
Star_Glitter_Dreamer_Girl@starglitter.zzn.com - Katy
delyon@merlyn.zzn.com - Caleb