DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters in this story (Harry, Ron,
Hermione etc.) except for a character I have invented, Alyssa and
Hollwing's Hollow. Thank you.
Harry, Hermione & Ron sat on the Hogwarts express, munching away on Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans, & other items they had bought off the trolley. They were having fun trying to think of a way to get Draco Malfoy expelled from Hogwarts. "Well you know, if we couldn't ever find a way to get Malfoy expelled, then we could always try to put a spell on him" said Ron thoughtfully. "You know that if we put a spell on Malfoy, he'd be most likely to go & tell on us, and then we'd be the ones getting expelled, Ron" Hermione informed him. "It would be worth a try," said Harry, reaching for another Chocolate frog. "I wonder if there is a spell that could sort of, you know, make Malfoy want to leave Hogwarts?" he questioned. After a moment of silence, except for the sound of munching, Hermione suddenly spoke up. "There actually is a spell that does exactly that! It's called "Dicidius Palamorus" and it's a deciding spell. It makes the subject do whatever you want them to" she told the pair, Harry, who looked both surprised and amused all at once, and Ron, who was ogling at Hermione unbelievably, as he shoved yet another frog in his mouth. "Oh cool Hermione, where'd you find it?" Ron asked, licking the chocolate off his fingers. "Oh, just in one of the books Professor McGonagall recommended me. It was pretty easy. Only 3,012 pages long" she told them. "You call that easy?" said Harry, biting into the side of a cauldron cake. "Sheesh Hermione, we were just on holidays, and yet you still managed to read all those books." "Look, I only read it because I wanted to find out about this spell that I overheard Malfoy talking about on the trip back last holidays" she told them. "I was walking down the middle of the train to meet you two, & I overheard him saying to Crabbe that he was going to use it on one of the teachers when he got back to school. He mentioned something about "Cerioci Lunar", it's a sort of dozy spell. It makes you forget everything." "You mean like a memory charm," questioned Harry. "Yes, sort of" Hermione told him. "So what else did you find out about Ceri Loony or whatever it is"? Ron asked her, reaching for another handful of beans. "Oh, well I couldn't find much. I was thinking of researching it in the library as soon as we get back to Hogwarts" she told them. Ron & Harry exchanged unsurprised glances. They continued on munching, and watched the countryside rush by, as they headed further & further away from Kings Cross Station. Night was falling by now. Suddenly, Harry & Hermione heard a yelp, and then saw Ron spit something out, and wipe his mouth with a handkerchief. "I think, but I'm not sure.I think that I got a bogie flavoured bean. I always thought Fred & George were making that up, but..." "Oh Ron, I thought you had given up on them ever since you ate that horrible grey one on the train last year" said Hermione. "Yeah, so did I" Harry told him. "Yeah well, you can't resist them" Ron told the others, folding his handkerchief and placing in back in his pocket. "Apparently Ron had a bad case of indigestion for a week" Harry whispered to Hermione, who erupted with the giggles. "What's so funny?" asked Ron, looking rather baffled. "Oh, nothing" Hermione & Harry both muttered, before sniggering some more. The sound of approaching footsteps broke the giggling trance. "Oh, I think someone's coming into the compartment" spoke Ron, eagerly trying to change the subject.
With a creak, the door opened, and Draco Malfoy, and his two beefy buffoons slid into view. "I heard someone down this end of the train was researching "Cerioci Lunar" in their spell book. Wouldn't happen to be you would it Granger?" he sneered. "Oh no Malfoy, I already know about that one" Ever since Hermione had had the guts to slap Malfoy across the face, she wasn't as afraid of him. "Whatever you say, Granger. Who would believe you when you are just a mudblood, who hangs around with poor old Weasley, and Potter, who has no family at all" he fought back. "Say that again Malfoy, and I'll turn you into a-a Goat" Ron retorted. "A goat, oh that's tough Weasley". Crabbe & Goyle sniggered, then swaggered out of the compartment with Malfoy. "The cheek of him" said Hermione, flopping down onto the seat. "If he insults us one more time, I swear he'll be in for it," she told them both. "Yeah well, there isn't much we can do now, is there?" Harry told them both. "Hey, by the way, where's Neville?" he asked. "Oh, probably somewhere up further with Seamus & Dean." "We hope" Hermione whispered, knowing that even on a train, you could never be too sure with Neville Longbottom. "Hey look; I can see the lake already. We must be near Hogwarts." Suddenly; the great lake swam into view, closely followed by the Grand Hogwarts castle, with all its turrets & chambers. "Back for another year" Ron groaned. "Ron, where has your pride in the school got to?" Hermione asked. Ron grunted in reply. "Never mind" said Hermione, as the train slowed to a halt.
The next morning, when everyone was settled in with full stomachs from the previous night's feasts, Harry, Ron, Seamus, Dean & Neville lay asleep in their beds. It was nice & quiet, 6.00 in the morning. Suddenly, Neville jumped out of his bed with a yelp & bolted down stairs to the common room. After the rest of the dormitory sat bolt upright in shock, Harry asked the question on everyone's lips. "What was that about?" he questioned, as he put on his glasses & got out of bed. "Don't know" Dean replied, yawning, & putting on his slippers. The 4 boys left in the room followed Neville's tracks, & found him snuggled safely in a chair near the fire. He was trembling. "What's the matter Neville?" Harry asked. "B-big big.black thing. Looked like Gran, when she's w-hen she's m- mad." "Oh" Harry replied. Someone was coming down the stairs leading to the girl's dormitory. It was Hermione. "What is all this commotion?" she asked with a pestering tone, her hair wildly fuzzed behind her face. "Neville just ran down stairs because he saw a thing that looked like his gran" Ron told her. "Honestly Neville, all that fuss over an ounce of a nightmare? Are you sure you didn't just have a bad dream?" she asked him. "P-positive Hermione. It was big, black & it was on top of the 4 poster. It really looked like Gran. But it was a sort of image." "It wasn't real, I suppose" Hermione asked. "No, not really" he answered, his face tinged with pale grey. Neville was still trembling. "Just forget it Neville" Harry told him. "It was probably just a bad dream." "Yeah" Ron added. "Lets go down to breakfast."
Once dressed, everyone entered the Great Hall, with its wafting smells of sausages, bacon, hash browns, pudding, fruit & many other yummy eatables, and sat down at the Gryffindor house table. Harry dug into his sausages, and looked up at the roof. The enchanted ceiling was a lovely sky blue, with not a cloud in sight, the sun shining brightly. "Isn't in nice?" Parvati Patil asked Harry. "Yeah, it is" he answered, with a mouthful of bacon. He continued to eat his meal, and glanced around at the other tables. The Hufflepuffs were all enjoying breakfast, as were the Ravenclaws and the Slytherins. Harry took a closer look at the Slytherin table and it's residents. There was Draco Malfoy, his two dunderhead sidekicks Crabbe and Goyle, as well as the usual others on the Slytherin table. But there was another girl that no one knew of, sitting at the Slytherin house table. She had long, dark brown hair, and bright blue eyes. "Who's that girl, over there on the Slytherin table?" Harry whispered to Ron, who was munching away on his eggs & bacon. "Dunno" he answered. "Some new person I spose." When Harry turned back around to get another look, the girl, whoever she was, had gotten up from the table, and left. Harry was puzzled about who she was, but he was sure he'd find out .As they were all leaving the table, Hermione came up to Ron & Harry, and asked them the same question Harry had just asked Ron. "We don't know either, but our next class is Potions with the Slytherins so we'll find her out then."
In potions it was ritual that the Gryffindors sat on one side of the room, and the Slytherins on the other, only because they were enemies. But today, the class was gallantly scattered everywhere, because all they wanted to do was find out about the new girl. "What's her name?" "Where does she come from?" "Why is she here?" "Quiet" yelled Professor Snape loudly, as he swished his black robes and slinked into the room. The whole class was immediately silent. "As you have noticed, there is a new student in the Slytherin house, and I will not have you people, especially you Gryffindors, behaving like a pack of wild things around the classroom," he yelled. "It wasn't only us" Harry felt like screaming, even though he knew it would risk Gryffindor a loss of perhaps 10 house points. "Now her name" he said pointing to the girl "Is Alyssa, she comes from Germany, and she, as you are well aware, is in the Slytherin house. You can ask her any more questions later on" Snape told them, and started getting out ingredients for a Mounting potion. But nobody could wait until later on, and soon enough, the whole class was once again gathering around her table to talk to her. Draco Malfoy was especially interested. He kept looking at her, & asking her all different questions. And after potion class, it didn't stop there, because everyone in Hufflepuff & Ravenclaw had also noticed her, & kept crowding up the corridors to get a closer look. Hermione kept looking at Alyssa as though she already knew her from some place. Alyssa kept walking to her next class, with Malfoy asking her all different things. "Are you pure blooded?" "Yes" she answered. "Why?" "Well it would be funny if you weren't" "Really?" "Yes" he answered. Alyssa and the crowd of people turned the corner. Harry, Ron, Hermione & all the other Gryffindors headed outside for double Herbology with the Hufflepuffs.
As they headed out, they could still hear Malfoy going on & on to Alyssa: "I don't see why that old Dumbledore actually lets Mudbloods in. This is supposed to be the best wizarding school in the area, but it wont be if the old bonehead keeps running it like this"
"Sometimes I wish Malfoy would just get over the whole pure blooded thing" Hermione told them. It made sense for her to wish that, seeings Malfoy always made fun of the fact that both her parents were Muggles. "So do I" Harry told her. "I mean, as long as you are a wizard, its ok," he said.
"Oh great, we have to grow those poisonous vine things today" Ron whined, all of a sudden. "Strong-headed Achestings" Hermione informed him immediately. "They come from Rome." "Do they?" Ron asked sarcastically, fooling Hermione, who thought he was actually interested in the topic. "Yes" she answered. But when they turned up at class, none other than Madam Hooch was standing with a bunch of broomsticks and some ordinary tennis balls. "Professor Sprout has broken both her legs skiing in Australia, so in that case, I will be taking today's class. Now I'm not too good with plants, so I thought we'd have a miniature game of Quidditch. Gryffindor against Hufflepuff. Now I know there will be too many to play at once, because there is only 7 on a team, but we will have subs who will sit over there." She pointed to some wooden chairs. "Now, I'd like you to pick the best player of your house, then 3 girls & 3 boys as well. The 3 left over will sit on the chairs." Harry, Ron & Hermione went over to the other Gryffindors. "So who is the best player?" Hermione asked the others. "Duh Hermione, who'd you think? Harry, of course" Ron laughed, but it sounded more to the others like a groan. Soon, every one had voted Harry best player, then decided that Dean, Ron & Seamus would play for the boys, & Lavender, Parvati & Hermione for the girls. Then they went over & got a broom each. Harry got a Cleensweep 2, one of the oldest school brooms. "On my whistle, go," shouted Madam Hooch. Within an instant, a piercing sound filled the sky, and the players were off in the air. As most of them hadn't had as much experience as Harry, it was a pretty easy game. They didn't use bludgers or the quaffle, or the snitch, but playing with multi colored tennis balls was just as fun. For the snitch, Madam Hooch had a fluro bouncy ball that went high up into the sky & then bounced back down again. It was quite fun, but it ended up knocking Ernie Macmillan on the head, and so a replacement was put on. This was one of the most enjoyable games of Quidditch Harry had ever played, mostly because no one was seriously injured at all. To no one's surprise but Harry's, Gryffindor won. Harry caught the bouncy ball in the end, only because it was inches away from hitting his nose. "Yeah Harry, you did it!" shouted Dean. "No, we did it. I mean, you guys scored nearly a million goals before I even saw the bouncy ball" he told them. After packing up the brooms and balls, they all walked back inside, grinning. Even the Hufflepuffs were happy, because they had had so much fun, except for Ernie Macmillan of course, who was rushed to Madam Pomfrey for a head bandage. The Gryffindors sat down at lunch and told everyone the good news. Even Neville, who was still a bit worried about the earlier incident, was feeling good, because he didn't have to play. He was a touch afraid of falling off a broomstick, as his first experience with one was one he never wanted to experience again. As Harry wolfed down his midday meal, he turned around to see Draco Malfoy sitting right next to Alyssa, and still yakking to her, nearly forgetting to draw breath. It was nearly as bad as when Colin Creevey hung around Harry in his 2nd year at Hogwarts.
After lunch, Harry and Ron left the Gryffindor table to go and get their Divination books. They passed Malfoy, and Harry got a nip of what he was saying to Alyssa. "Did you see that girl in Gryffindor with the bushy hair? That's Hermione Granger. She's a mudblood. Try not to hang around people like her." "Oh" came Alyssa's reply. "Why not? She doesn't seem that bad." "She's a mudblood. Why hang around mudbloods?" "You really have it in for them, don't you?' she asked, looking puzzled at the fact that he didn't like Hermione. Harry & Ron kept walking. "Did you hear that?" Harry asked Ron. "Yeah. Hey, come to mention it, where is Hermione? She left us on the way to Lunch." "I don't know. She probably went to ask a teacher for some extra homework or something," answered Harry, turning around to look at Ron, and nearly loosing his footing on a trick stair. "Yeah. Hey, watch your step!" Ron exclaimed. "We'd better hurry for Divination" Harry told him, as they said the Gryffindor password and clambered through the portrait hole to get their books.
Harry & Ron entered the divination classroom and looked around. The room was dimly lit as usual, the fire crackling away. It was hot & stuffy already, so they sat down at one of the circular tables closest to the windows. Harry opened the huge window, & felt the cool breeze blow down his neck. Professor Trelawny entered the room in her wavy robes, entangled in loop over loop of coloured beads. "Good afternoon class" she spoke in her quiet, wistful voice. "Today, we will be going over most of the things you learnt last year, just to refresh your memories." Harry & Ron exchanged glances, Harry remembering the reason Hermione had left the divination class in their 3rd year. They got out their books, & started flipping through them, scarcely paying attention to Professor Trelawny at all.
After classes were over, Harry & Ron headed up to the Gryffindor common room, in search of Hermione. "Have you seen her yet?" Ron asked Harry, as they put their books away. "Nope. Why don't we go and ask some of the girls? She might have been in the dormitory" he suggested. "Alright" said Ron, and went over to Parvati Patil. "You seen Hermione any where?" he asked. "No. Neville said she was down stairs talking to the new girl, you know, the one we saw in potions," Parvati stated. "Yeah, thanks," said Harry, as they headed downstairs. "It's nearly dinnertime. What can she have been doing that can have taken so long?" Harry asked Ron. "Dunno. You think she woulda told us, but then again, it's Hermione we're talking about" Ron answered. "Oh look, there she is." Hermione was standing in the middle of the entrance, talking to Alyssa. "There you are, Hermione" Ron & Harry both called out. "Oh sorry, I forgot to tell you, you know Alyssa, who was in potions with us, well I only just remembered. I met her a couple of weeks ago. I completely forgot to tell you. She & I are doing special classes together. That why I had to dash off before." "Hi" said Alyssa, quietly, in her German accent. "So are you two friends now?" Ron asked Hermione suspiciously. "Yes Ron, of course we are" Hermione informed him, giving him a 'why-are- you-acting-like-that' kind of look. "Just wondering" Ron said as he glanced away. "Well, it's nearly time for dinner I suppose" Hermione said, waving goodbye to Alyssa. "Nearly time? Hermione how long have you been down here talking for?" Ron asked as they all walked into the great hall. "Oh most of the afternoon. You see, we had to talk with Professor McGonagall, but her office was being used by some men who came to take a look at Hogwarts, and she caught us out in the entrance, so we kind of just stayed talking there." Hermione was nearly out of breath.
"Alyssa is extremely smart" she told them, as they all sat down at the Gryffindor house table. "Really?" asked Harry sarcastically. "Yes, really" she answered, helping herself to some potatoes. "She speaks English very fluently, coming from Germany and all" "Yeah" said Harry, not really paying attention to Hermione's gabbing on. Instead, his attention was directed to the fact that it was strange that Alyssa was a good friend with Hermione, when she was also getting on well with Draco Malfoy. Besides, Slytherin & Gryffindor were opposing houses, and Hermione & Malfoy were the least bit friendly towards each other. He decided to ask her. "Hermione, why is Alyssa such good friends with you, and also with Malfoy?"
"Oh, um-I don't know, well maybe it's him that likes her. Although she was talking an awful lot about him." By the tone of her voice, & the fact that she kept pausing, Harry could tell Hermione didn't really know the answer either.TO BE CONTINUED.
Harry, Hermione & Ron sat on the Hogwarts express, munching away on Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans, & other items they had bought off the trolley. They were having fun trying to think of a way to get Draco Malfoy expelled from Hogwarts. "Well you know, if we couldn't ever find a way to get Malfoy expelled, then we could always try to put a spell on him" said Ron thoughtfully. "You know that if we put a spell on Malfoy, he'd be most likely to go & tell on us, and then we'd be the ones getting expelled, Ron" Hermione informed him. "It would be worth a try," said Harry, reaching for another Chocolate frog. "I wonder if there is a spell that could sort of, you know, make Malfoy want to leave Hogwarts?" he questioned. After a moment of silence, except for the sound of munching, Hermione suddenly spoke up. "There actually is a spell that does exactly that! It's called "Dicidius Palamorus" and it's a deciding spell. It makes the subject do whatever you want them to" she told the pair, Harry, who looked both surprised and amused all at once, and Ron, who was ogling at Hermione unbelievably, as he shoved yet another frog in his mouth. "Oh cool Hermione, where'd you find it?" Ron asked, licking the chocolate off his fingers. "Oh, just in one of the books Professor McGonagall recommended me. It was pretty easy. Only 3,012 pages long" she told them. "You call that easy?" said Harry, biting into the side of a cauldron cake. "Sheesh Hermione, we were just on holidays, and yet you still managed to read all those books." "Look, I only read it because I wanted to find out about this spell that I overheard Malfoy talking about on the trip back last holidays" she told them. "I was walking down the middle of the train to meet you two, & I overheard him saying to Crabbe that he was going to use it on one of the teachers when he got back to school. He mentioned something about "Cerioci Lunar", it's a sort of dozy spell. It makes you forget everything." "You mean like a memory charm," questioned Harry. "Yes, sort of" Hermione told him. "So what else did you find out about Ceri Loony or whatever it is"? Ron asked her, reaching for another handful of beans. "Oh, well I couldn't find much. I was thinking of researching it in the library as soon as we get back to Hogwarts" she told them. Ron & Harry exchanged unsurprised glances. They continued on munching, and watched the countryside rush by, as they headed further & further away from Kings Cross Station. Night was falling by now. Suddenly, Harry & Hermione heard a yelp, and then saw Ron spit something out, and wipe his mouth with a handkerchief. "I think, but I'm not sure.I think that I got a bogie flavoured bean. I always thought Fred & George were making that up, but..." "Oh Ron, I thought you had given up on them ever since you ate that horrible grey one on the train last year" said Hermione. "Yeah, so did I" Harry told him. "Yeah well, you can't resist them" Ron told the others, folding his handkerchief and placing in back in his pocket. "Apparently Ron had a bad case of indigestion for a week" Harry whispered to Hermione, who erupted with the giggles. "What's so funny?" asked Ron, looking rather baffled. "Oh, nothing" Hermione & Harry both muttered, before sniggering some more. The sound of approaching footsteps broke the giggling trance. "Oh, I think someone's coming into the compartment" spoke Ron, eagerly trying to change the subject.
With a creak, the door opened, and Draco Malfoy, and his two beefy buffoons slid into view. "I heard someone down this end of the train was researching "Cerioci Lunar" in their spell book. Wouldn't happen to be you would it Granger?" he sneered. "Oh no Malfoy, I already know about that one" Ever since Hermione had had the guts to slap Malfoy across the face, she wasn't as afraid of him. "Whatever you say, Granger. Who would believe you when you are just a mudblood, who hangs around with poor old Weasley, and Potter, who has no family at all" he fought back. "Say that again Malfoy, and I'll turn you into a-a Goat" Ron retorted. "A goat, oh that's tough Weasley". Crabbe & Goyle sniggered, then swaggered out of the compartment with Malfoy. "The cheek of him" said Hermione, flopping down onto the seat. "If he insults us one more time, I swear he'll be in for it," she told them both. "Yeah well, there isn't much we can do now, is there?" Harry told them both. "Hey, by the way, where's Neville?" he asked. "Oh, probably somewhere up further with Seamus & Dean." "We hope" Hermione whispered, knowing that even on a train, you could never be too sure with Neville Longbottom. "Hey look; I can see the lake already. We must be near Hogwarts." Suddenly; the great lake swam into view, closely followed by the Grand Hogwarts castle, with all its turrets & chambers. "Back for another year" Ron groaned. "Ron, where has your pride in the school got to?" Hermione asked. Ron grunted in reply. "Never mind" said Hermione, as the train slowed to a halt.
The next morning, when everyone was settled in with full stomachs from the previous night's feasts, Harry, Ron, Seamus, Dean & Neville lay asleep in their beds. It was nice & quiet, 6.00 in the morning. Suddenly, Neville jumped out of his bed with a yelp & bolted down stairs to the common room. After the rest of the dormitory sat bolt upright in shock, Harry asked the question on everyone's lips. "What was that about?" he questioned, as he put on his glasses & got out of bed. "Don't know" Dean replied, yawning, & putting on his slippers. The 4 boys left in the room followed Neville's tracks, & found him snuggled safely in a chair near the fire. He was trembling. "What's the matter Neville?" Harry asked. "B-big big.black thing. Looked like Gran, when she's w-hen she's m- mad." "Oh" Harry replied. Someone was coming down the stairs leading to the girl's dormitory. It was Hermione. "What is all this commotion?" she asked with a pestering tone, her hair wildly fuzzed behind her face. "Neville just ran down stairs because he saw a thing that looked like his gran" Ron told her. "Honestly Neville, all that fuss over an ounce of a nightmare? Are you sure you didn't just have a bad dream?" she asked him. "P-positive Hermione. It was big, black & it was on top of the 4 poster. It really looked like Gran. But it was a sort of image." "It wasn't real, I suppose" Hermione asked. "No, not really" he answered, his face tinged with pale grey. Neville was still trembling. "Just forget it Neville" Harry told him. "It was probably just a bad dream." "Yeah" Ron added. "Lets go down to breakfast."
Once dressed, everyone entered the Great Hall, with its wafting smells of sausages, bacon, hash browns, pudding, fruit & many other yummy eatables, and sat down at the Gryffindor house table. Harry dug into his sausages, and looked up at the roof. The enchanted ceiling was a lovely sky blue, with not a cloud in sight, the sun shining brightly. "Isn't in nice?" Parvati Patil asked Harry. "Yeah, it is" he answered, with a mouthful of bacon. He continued to eat his meal, and glanced around at the other tables. The Hufflepuffs were all enjoying breakfast, as were the Ravenclaws and the Slytherins. Harry took a closer look at the Slytherin table and it's residents. There was Draco Malfoy, his two dunderhead sidekicks Crabbe and Goyle, as well as the usual others on the Slytherin table. But there was another girl that no one knew of, sitting at the Slytherin house table. She had long, dark brown hair, and bright blue eyes. "Who's that girl, over there on the Slytherin table?" Harry whispered to Ron, who was munching away on his eggs & bacon. "Dunno" he answered. "Some new person I spose." When Harry turned back around to get another look, the girl, whoever she was, had gotten up from the table, and left. Harry was puzzled about who she was, but he was sure he'd find out .As they were all leaving the table, Hermione came up to Ron & Harry, and asked them the same question Harry had just asked Ron. "We don't know either, but our next class is Potions with the Slytherins so we'll find her out then."
In potions it was ritual that the Gryffindors sat on one side of the room, and the Slytherins on the other, only because they were enemies. But today, the class was gallantly scattered everywhere, because all they wanted to do was find out about the new girl. "What's her name?" "Where does she come from?" "Why is she here?" "Quiet" yelled Professor Snape loudly, as he swished his black robes and slinked into the room. The whole class was immediately silent. "As you have noticed, there is a new student in the Slytherin house, and I will not have you people, especially you Gryffindors, behaving like a pack of wild things around the classroom," he yelled. "It wasn't only us" Harry felt like screaming, even though he knew it would risk Gryffindor a loss of perhaps 10 house points. "Now her name" he said pointing to the girl "Is Alyssa, she comes from Germany, and she, as you are well aware, is in the Slytherin house. You can ask her any more questions later on" Snape told them, and started getting out ingredients for a Mounting potion. But nobody could wait until later on, and soon enough, the whole class was once again gathering around her table to talk to her. Draco Malfoy was especially interested. He kept looking at her, & asking her all different questions. And after potion class, it didn't stop there, because everyone in Hufflepuff & Ravenclaw had also noticed her, & kept crowding up the corridors to get a closer look. Hermione kept looking at Alyssa as though she already knew her from some place. Alyssa kept walking to her next class, with Malfoy asking her all different things. "Are you pure blooded?" "Yes" she answered. "Why?" "Well it would be funny if you weren't" "Really?" "Yes" he answered. Alyssa and the crowd of people turned the corner. Harry, Ron, Hermione & all the other Gryffindors headed outside for double Herbology with the Hufflepuffs.
As they headed out, they could still hear Malfoy going on & on to Alyssa: "I don't see why that old Dumbledore actually lets Mudbloods in. This is supposed to be the best wizarding school in the area, but it wont be if the old bonehead keeps running it like this"
"Sometimes I wish Malfoy would just get over the whole pure blooded thing" Hermione told them. It made sense for her to wish that, seeings Malfoy always made fun of the fact that both her parents were Muggles. "So do I" Harry told her. "I mean, as long as you are a wizard, its ok," he said.
"Oh great, we have to grow those poisonous vine things today" Ron whined, all of a sudden. "Strong-headed Achestings" Hermione informed him immediately. "They come from Rome." "Do they?" Ron asked sarcastically, fooling Hermione, who thought he was actually interested in the topic. "Yes" she answered. But when they turned up at class, none other than Madam Hooch was standing with a bunch of broomsticks and some ordinary tennis balls. "Professor Sprout has broken both her legs skiing in Australia, so in that case, I will be taking today's class. Now I'm not too good with plants, so I thought we'd have a miniature game of Quidditch. Gryffindor against Hufflepuff. Now I know there will be too many to play at once, because there is only 7 on a team, but we will have subs who will sit over there." She pointed to some wooden chairs. "Now, I'd like you to pick the best player of your house, then 3 girls & 3 boys as well. The 3 left over will sit on the chairs." Harry, Ron & Hermione went over to the other Gryffindors. "So who is the best player?" Hermione asked the others. "Duh Hermione, who'd you think? Harry, of course" Ron laughed, but it sounded more to the others like a groan. Soon, every one had voted Harry best player, then decided that Dean, Ron & Seamus would play for the boys, & Lavender, Parvati & Hermione for the girls. Then they went over & got a broom each. Harry got a Cleensweep 2, one of the oldest school brooms. "On my whistle, go," shouted Madam Hooch. Within an instant, a piercing sound filled the sky, and the players were off in the air. As most of them hadn't had as much experience as Harry, it was a pretty easy game. They didn't use bludgers or the quaffle, or the snitch, but playing with multi colored tennis balls was just as fun. For the snitch, Madam Hooch had a fluro bouncy ball that went high up into the sky & then bounced back down again. It was quite fun, but it ended up knocking Ernie Macmillan on the head, and so a replacement was put on. This was one of the most enjoyable games of Quidditch Harry had ever played, mostly because no one was seriously injured at all. To no one's surprise but Harry's, Gryffindor won. Harry caught the bouncy ball in the end, only because it was inches away from hitting his nose. "Yeah Harry, you did it!" shouted Dean. "No, we did it. I mean, you guys scored nearly a million goals before I even saw the bouncy ball" he told them. After packing up the brooms and balls, they all walked back inside, grinning. Even the Hufflepuffs were happy, because they had had so much fun, except for Ernie Macmillan of course, who was rushed to Madam Pomfrey for a head bandage. The Gryffindors sat down at lunch and told everyone the good news. Even Neville, who was still a bit worried about the earlier incident, was feeling good, because he didn't have to play. He was a touch afraid of falling off a broomstick, as his first experience with one was one he never wanted to experience again. As Harry wolfed down his midday meal, he turned around to see Draco Malfoy sitting right next to Alyssa, and still yakking to her, nearly forgetting to draw breath. It was nearly as bad as when Colin Creevey hung around Harry in his 2nd year at Hogwarts.
After lunch, Harry and Ron left the Gryffindor table to go and get their Divination books. They passed Malfoy, and Harry got a nip of what he was saying to Alyssa. "Did you see that girl in Gryffindor with the bushy hair? That's Hermione Granger. She's a mudblood. Try not to hang around people like her." "Oh" came Alyssa's reply. "Why not? She doesn't seem that bad." "She's a mudblood. Why hang around mudbloods?" "You really have it in for them, don't you?' she asked, looking puzzled at the fact that he didn't like Hermione. Harry & Ron kept walking. "Did you hear that?" Harry asked Ron. "Yeah. Hey, come to mention it, where is Hermione? She left us on the way to Lunch." "I don't know. She probably went to ask a teacher for some extra homework or something," answered Harry, turning around to look at Ron, and nearly loosing his footing on a trick stair. "Yeah. Hey, watch your step!" Ron exclaimed. "We'd better hurry for Divination" Harry told him, as they said the Gryffindor password and clambered through the portrait hole to get their books.
Harry & Ron entered the divination classroom and looked around. The room was dimly lit as usual, the fire crackling away. It was hot & stuffy already, so they sat down at one of the circular tables closest to the windows. Harry opened the huge window, & felt the cool breeze blow down his neck. Professor Trelawny entered the room in her wavy robes, entangled in loop over loop of coloured beads. "Good afternoon class" she spoke in her quiet, wistful voice. "Today, we will be going over most of the things you learnt last year, just to refresh your memories." Harry & Ron exchanged glances, Harry remembering the reason Hermione had left the divination class in their 3rd year. They got out their books, & started flipping through them, scarcely paying attention to Professor Trelawny at all.
After classes were over, Harry & Ron headed up to the Gryffindor common room, in search of Hermione. "Have you seen her yet?" Ron asked Harry, as they put their books away. "Nope. Why don't we go and ask some of the girls? She might have been in the dormitory" he suggested. "Alright" said Ron, and went over to Parvati Patil. "You seen Hermione any where?" he asked. "No. Neville said she was down stairs talking to the new girl, you know, the one we saw in potions," Parvati stated. "Yeah, thanks," said Harry, as they headed downstairs. "It's nearly dinnertime. What can she have been doing that can have taken so long?" Harry asked Ron. "Dunno. You think she woulda told us, but then again, it's Hermione we're talking about" Ron answered. "Oh look, there she is." Hermione was standing in the middle of the entrance, talking to Alyssa. "There you are, Hermione" Ron & Harry both called out. "Oh sorry, I forgot to tell you, you know Alyssa, who was in potions with us, well I only just remembered. I met her a couple of weeks ago. I completely forgot to tell you. She & I are doing special classes together. That why I had to dash off before." "Hi" said Alyssa, quietly, in her German accent. "So are you two friends now?" Ron asked Hermione suspiciously. "Yes Ron, of course we are" Hermione informed him, giving him a 'why-are- you-acting-like-that' kind of look. "Just wondering" Ron said as he glanced away. "Well, it's nearly time for dinner I suppose" Hermione said, waving goodbye to Alyssa. "Nearly time? Hermione how long have you been down here talking for?" Ron asked as they all walked into the great hall. "Oh most of the afternoon. You see, we had to talk with Professor McGonagall, but her office was being used by some men who came to take a look at Hogwarts, and she caught us out in the entrance, so we kind of just stayed talking there." Hermione was nearly out of breath.
"Alyssa is extremely smart" she told them, as they all sat down at the Gryffindor house table. "Really?" asked Harry sarcastically. "Yes, really" she answered, helping herself to some potatoes. "She speaks English very fluently, coming from Germany and all" "Yeah" said Harry, not really paying attention to Hermione's gabbing on. Instead, his attention was directed to the fact that it was strange that Alyssa was a good friend with Hermione, when she was also getting on well with Draco Malfoy. Besides, Slytherin & Gryffindor were opposing houses, and Hermione & Malfoy were the least bit friendly towards each other. He decided to ask her. "Hermione, why is Alyssa such good friends with you, and also with Malfoy?"
"Oh, um-I don't know, well maybe it's him that likes her. Although she was talking an awful lot about him." By the tone of her voice, & the fact that she kept pausing, Harry could tell Hermione didn't really know the answer either.TO BE CONTINUED.