Lumos Et Nox

Juliana Black, resident freak of Lumos et Nox Academy, rolled through the school, her Arithmancy teacher shouting after her about skateboarding in the hallways. Her black and purple hair whipped around her face as she sped up, trying to get down to the main entrance quickly, zooming over the small sets of five stairs that were strategically placed to discourage skateboarding and rollerblading through the school.

"Out of the way! I'm picking up the newbies!" she shouted through the crowd, zipping past her crush and best friend at their lockers without saying 'hi'. She jumped off the skateboard, snatching it up in her arms in one quick movement and ran like mad the rest of the way, panting as she stopped in front of the office and main entrance.

"Are the Brits here yet?" she asked breathlessly as Mr. Arbor, the school's principal, gave her a disapproving look and tapped her skateboard, which by all rules shouldn't be out on this level of the school. She kneeled slightly, not seeing the look and tried to catch her breath, hair pooling down her shoulders, and cresting over her front. She pulled up sharply when she heard footsteps, pulling back her hair in one sharp movement.

"They are the foreign exchange students Juliana," Mr. Arbor said, clearly amused but still taking the disciplinarian's tone of voice. "Not 'Brits'. And no, they haven't arrived yet." Mr. Arbor took a quick glance at his watch and tapped it, looking up at the clock on the wall. "But they do have two minutes left before they are late," he said with a smile.

"Yo Missie! Get ya'self over here!" she said, waving over to her friend who, leaving Hot-Mike alone for the moment, had decided to investigate where her friend had gone in a rush.

"What's with the wheels?" the brunette asked with a smirk. Juliana faked an innocent look.

"It was either that or be late. And punctuality is very important!" she said, trying not to burst into giggles. Missie snickered and said her hellos to Mr. Arbor, raising her eyebrow as Juliana opened her knapsack and pulled out a hunter green robe from it.

"What's with the formal-wear Jewlz?" Juliana slipped it on quickly as she heard the footsteps getting louder.

"Apparently these poor kids have to wear these ugly black things over a uniform. It's awful. Anyway, I don't want to make them feel like freaks any more than they will when they arrive." Juliana shrugged, straightening it out as a bushy haired girl, hugging a book to her chest rounded the corner, chatting to a gorgeous boy with messy black hair and to-die-for green eyes.

"Harry! I told you. Everything's different here. It will be wonderful. I mean, I read all about this school, it's simply fascinating. I read over A Brief Overview of Lumos et Nox Academy four times, and every time it sounded better and grander!"

"And we all know how unbrief the 'Brief Overview' really is," Juliana said with an amused grin and stuck out her hand to shake the girl's. "I take it you're the Br- exchange students?" she said, quickly changing her wording, not wanting to offend them.

"Oh yes, I'm Hermione Granger," she said matter-of-factly, shaking Juliana's hand very business-like. Her smile never wavered, and from behind them two more students came around the corner, both blonde, and the girl had a yellow decorated uniform, while the boy's was green, differentiating from Hermione and the green-eyed boys' uniforms. While Missie could hardly tear her eyes away from the nameless black-haired boy, Juliana's sole attention as fixed onto the boy in green. She wasn't normally into blondes… but this boy's hair… was like platinum. His eyes were a cold silver and his delicate features were so… fitting. She could barely remove her attention from him to smile and introduce herself to them.

"I'm Juliana Taryn-Jade Black, but all my friends just call me Jewlz." She shrugged, going for the flippant effect and motioned for them to follow. "Maybe soon you will too. I have the pleasure of showing you four poor souls around the school, hook you up with some peeps and some rooms for ya'." Juliana slipped a piece of chewing gum into her mouth and began chomping on it. "Anyhoo, I take it y'all are all fifteen or whatever, right? Or am I going to have to go searching through like three different grades worth of records and some shit?" she asked with a frown.

"We're all Fifth Years," Hermione said with a smile, causing Juliana to blink dumbly.

"You don't look ten," she said in disbelief. "No way in hell you're Fifth Graders, stop pulling my leg," she said oddly, causing Missie to burst out into giggles. "What's so funny Margaret?" she said snapping, causing Missie to instantly stop laughing.

"Not cool Jewlz. Way not cool." She hated her full name. "It means they're like… in Tenth or whatever. They start years at Middle School or something," Missie said with a shrug, catching a basketball that was tossed her way. "Remy told me about it," she said in response to the surprised look Jewlz gave her, dribbling the basketball once, and tossing it back to the guy who tossed it over. Juliana's eye caught over to him and she screamed, throwing herself at him, completely in a literal fashion. She hugged him tightly, then immediately began to berate him.

"Brandon please explain to me, now, exactly where you have been, please!" she asked, lightly slapping his stomach with the back of her hand.

"Hey kitten," he said with a smile, pushing the decorative cowboy hat on his head further back, showing off his clearly gorgeous face. "Family crisis at home; Michelle decided it would be a good time to have the baby," he said with a bright grin on his face. "They named him Keith. The poor child has Michelle's hair." His smile was bright and Juliana couldn't help but giggle.

"That's so sweet! I guess I can let you off the hook. I missed you and Brandy. Oh! Brandon! These are the exchange students from that stuffy old English school," Juliana said, holding onto him with an arm. His face lit up when his eyes caught them and Juliana smirked, whispering into his ear, causing his eyes to light up too.

"Anyway, I get the privilege to show them around the school and tell them who to avoid and whatnot. See you at the basketball game tonight, right?"

"Hell yes. Go M.A.!" he shouted, dribbling the ball down the hallway, narrowly missing having run into a football jock.

"Go M.A." she said with a grin after him, and started walking backwards, holding the skateboard to her chest.

"I've been meaning to ask- what's with the board?" Missie questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Tony's been teaching me. What do you think we do everyday after Quid? Make-out under the bleachers?" Juliana said sarcastically, slapping her forehead when Missie nodded. "Argh."

"Well, anyway, I better scram. Talon's going to help me study for our Latin exam," Missie said, rolling her eyes and pulling a face.

"Utinam coniurati te in foro interficiant!" Juliana called after her with a wave as her friend ran down the hall.

"If I remember enough of that for Talon to figure out what you said- you can bet you're a dead-person!" Missie sniggered, turning the corner.

"I'm counting on it. Okay," she said, turning to the Hogwartians, "let me see if I can remember your names from the paper I was given. Unfortunately I left it in my dormy, so after I get you four lockers we'll be checking out rooms for you guys. Alright; you're Hermione… Granger. Ummm… oh gods, Hannah Abbott? Um… well, your looks are way too sexy to have a name like Harry Potter," she said to Draco, "so you would have to be… Draco Malfoy. Right?" she asked, hoping she hadn't offended him.

Draco snorted, "You don't know who Potter is?" he said with a sneer, not commenting on the fact she had just called him sexy.

"Oh I know who he is, just not what he looks like. I take it Scarface over here is Harry, righ'?" she said casually. Harry's brow furrowed in anger and he gave her a look.

"Sorry if I hit a sore spot," she said sarcastically, and turned around, falling back as they walked to be next to Draco. "Dorms are up this way," she said to them all and flashed a brilliant smile at Draco. "So are you interested in any specific type of person to date at all or are you one of those guys who don't date?" she asked.

"Are you… are you hitting on Malfoy?" Hannah asked in a shocked disbelief, her first word yet. The only one who still hadn't spoke was Harry. Juliana really didn't care one way or another, but she did wonder why it was so.

"Hell yeah. Why wouldn't I? Is he gay or something?" she asked making a disappointed face, causing Hermione to burst into a fit of giggles.

"That's not funny Granger," Draco scowled as the bookworm could hardly contain herself.

"What's so funny? And is it just a British thing to call everyone by their last name or something? Like- my uncle is always calling Missie's uncle by his last name, but hey, I thought it was just something he did because he's a dork." Juliana said, opening a door to a stairway and heading up.

"We just don't like him," Harry finally spoke up quietly, giving her a piercing look. Juliana looked shocked.

"Why?"

"Why what?" Draco asked with a scowl.

"Why do they not like you? You look like a decent enough guy, if a bit moody. But who isn't?" she asked, making a face. "So are you looking for someone to date or what? 'Cause I can let you know who'd be your best bet if you just tell me your type; guy, girl, trendy, gothic, punk, jock, musician, geek, nerd, what; attitude, personality? Just a hint?"

"What are you, a matchmaker?" Draco asked with an evil look.

"No, I just want to set you up with someone I don't like so that I can feel free to bitch about them even more than usual, guilt free," she said with an airy laugh, stopping finally at a landing from the stairs, after having already passed like five or six of them. She directed them down a hallway of closed doors, pulling out a key from her knapsack.

"Once we get you your rooms, I suggest you change asap. People are going to think you're freaks if you walk around in those things. Do you have anything that isn't a uniform?" she asked, causing both Hannah and Harry to shake their heads 'no'.

Draco was always prepared. He had everything; even designer clothes that looked like muggle clothing. Hermione on the other hand, did have muggle clothes.

"'Kay. Hmmm, I think Shadow has some old clothes that might fit you," she said to Hannah, "until you can get some of your own. And the wonderful thing for you is that if she'll part with some of her wardrobe, she can't wear it," Jewlz said mysteriously.

"As for you… Hot-Mike's the only one short enough for you, Harry. I'll see what I can do about convincing them to let you guys borrow some stuff." She opened the door to the dorm, revealing four beds inside. There were three doubles, and one very large bed that looked like someone had squeezed two beds together. And they had.

Jewlz threw her stuff onto the bed that was really two, and tugged off the green robe, revealing an overly large purple T-shirt with an evil smiley face and some writing on it, and a pair of boot-cut Day-Glo orange pants.

"I guess one of you are rooming in here since that bed wasn't here this morning," she said, pointing at the bed with no furnishings near it or any clothes lying around on it, nothing to prove ownership. "Lessee…" she said, kneeling on the floor and pulling a piece of paper from underneath her bed.

"I can't believe I didn't notice before!" she exclaimed. "Apparently Hannah's rooming with me, Missie, Hot-Mike and Brandy.

"I don't mean to sound rude, but why exactly were you chosen to show us around?" Hermione asked, getting more into her element, the longer she was in the building. By now she had put her book into her shoulder-bag, but she still had a book-ish air about her. Jewlz smirked and rummaged through a section of the closet nearest her bed, pulling out a dark gold colored T-shirt, handing it to Hannah.

"I don't think you'll appreciate Shadow's taste in shirts," she said. "I got chosen because I'm one of the few people in our grade that can afford to miss a day's worth of classes, at least today's… and also because I have a range of friends all with different tastes. Arbor probably figured each of you would get in good with at least one of them.

"Okay, heh, Draco, they stuck you in with… ouch." Juliana grimaced and picked up a small bag with the Lumos et Nox symbol on it. "You're with Melanie Richards and Jason Forbes. I feel bad for you. It's upstairs in room 24B. This is 69C in case you were wondering. Here is your key, pamphlet, rulebook, locker number, lock, and combo, and a map of the school. You need to memorize the rule book because they give surprise tests out in classes on the rules, but no one every obeys the ones except the really punishable ones.

"Like, Shadow was almost expelled for doing it on school grounds."

"Doing what?" Hannah asked, oblivious, causing Juliana to smile.

"She was getting laid," she said bluntly, causing Hannah's eyes to widen. "You can get two suspensions a year without being expelled. Just be careful all of you. We wouldn't want Professor Snape knowing you've been naughty, would you?" she said innocently.

"How do you know about Snape?!" Harry asked, surprised. He wasn't counting on anyone knowing about the greasy potions professor over here of all places. Who'd have figured that Snape's reputation had traveled all the way to Rhode Island?

Juliana shrugged, ignoring him and checking her paper again.

"You're in room-" but she was cut off by Hermione.

"We have co-ed dormitories?!" she said incredulously.

"Ah, the joys of chastity spells in the dorm rooms. If you touch someone with lusty feelings in the dorms and those lusty feelings are returned then you both suddenly get tossed back about two or three feet," Juliana chuckled, knowing this from experience. "Anyway Harry, you're in room 19C, which is this floor, and Hermione you're in room- ouch- 88B with Lex and Queenie. I wish you luck. Those two fight like cats and dogs, but with more bloodshed. Harry… you're rooming with Shadow, Talon, and Chloe Smyth- she works on the school newspaper."

Juliana spent the next hour or so showing them their lockers and rooms and getting clothes for the four exchange students. This was going to be one weird year, what with a couple British kids invading school grounds… and it was only October 1st- so much could go wrong between now and then.