Chapter Four
Raine Lionheart

During the dinner, Ron, Hermione and Harry spoke among themselves, after being congratulated by many, about the Snape situation, the Draco situation, and of course, the Raine Lionheart situation.

'He's from Canada?' Ron questioned. 'But, all the wizards from there are usually hyperactive and funny… he seems mysterious… he's got quite the frown…'

'Yeah…' Harry replied, 'wonder what it's like in Canada.'

'Well,' Hermione started speaking, 'I hear that it is rather cold there, and the governing system is different from that of the United States. The history…'

Ron looked to Harry, who mouthed, 'It's your own fault.'

After pudding (apple tart), Dumbledore stood and wished the students a grand new school year and led the singing of the school song. Professor McGonagall approached Harry, Hermione and Ron, who were putting on their prefect badges and told them the new Gryffindor password (Rombletop). The three of them then led their house to the Gryffindor tower. Harry noticed that Raine had stayed back to receive an envelope from Professor McGonagall

Because they had been here before, the second years and up all didn't have to follow the new prefects, but a few of their friends did anyway, with grins on their faces.

'Prefects huh?' Seamus Finnigan asked with a grin and poked Ron in the ribs, 'why didn't you tell me?'

'Classified information,' Hermione returned.

'Right…' he drawled with a friendly wink. He tagged along with the Weasley twins and Lee.

It seemed that Ron was taking the responsibility of being a prefect well.

'Gryffindor first years, follow me! We're off to our tower, follow me!'

Harry nudged Hermione and murmured, 'He's doing pretty good.'

'Almost like Percy,' she smiled to Harry.

They reached the painting of the Fat Lady in the pink dress, whom was accompanied by Violet, the old witch from the side room of the Great Hall.

'Yes, yes Violet, I do agree fully…' she glanced to Ron and the newcomers and yelped in surprise.

'What? Do you want in? What is the password?'

Ron remained unfazed.

'Rombletop,' he announced with pride.

The Fat Lady sighed and the painting swung open. Ron crawled into the hole, followed by Hermione and Harry. The Gryffindors followed.

Once all of the new students had piled into the common room, Hermione cleared her throat.

'This is the Gryffindor common room. It is used for free time, when emergencies arise, or when students are ordered to stay in their tower. Up the stairs and to your right is the girls' dormitory. To the left, the boys'.'

The students whispered among themselves, but then a shrill shriek pierced the air.

Little Charity O'Connell was gaping at the sight of Sir Nicholas, or Nearly Headless Nick, as the Gryffindors called him.

'Well now,' he huffed, 'is this anyway to greet a former Gryffindor?'

Harry stepped forward. 'This is Sir Nicholas, also known as Nearly Headless Nick. He's harmless, and very kind.'

'Nearly Headless?' Kyle Fringle asked in a confused tone.

A little miffed, Nick sighed. 'As always…' He tugged his left ear and his head fell sideways, left attached by a fold of skin and sinew. A few girls cried out in shock while a few boys laughed.

Nick flipped his head back and said, 'Well, welcome to Gryffindor. Now, you listen to these prefects, they are truly the best we have had.' He winked at the friends, then said, 'Oh, and, by the way…I'd watch out for Peeves. It seems that Filch was hit over the head by an… um… overly large turtle shell from Hagrid's hut. He has no recollection about that damned spirit… Well, tootles.'

He vanished through the wall, and the newcomers glanced around the common room nervously.

'I hope the Bloody Baron is around for while longer,' Ron whispered to Harry, who very much agreed.

***

The newest prefects sat in the common room for an hour after the first years headed off to their new rooms. A few students were sitting here and there. George and Fred sat with Lee and Dean, while Ginny (who kept looking over to watch Harry) sat by the fire, reading.

Soon the room was empty. Ron was the first of the three to head up.

He came back a few minutes later, looking very confused.

'Um, Harry, come with me for a sec, please?'

Harry got up from his chair and followed Ron up the winding stairs to the boys' dormitories.

'What's wrong Ron?'

'Just wait,' Ron breathed.

They came up to their dorm, the one that they had been in every past year; the one that they had shared with Seamus and Neville and Dean Thomas for the past four years was like home to Harry and Ron. Five of the new boys were strewn around it, sitting on their beds or by the window.

Ron gestured with his hand around the room. 'Where are our beds?' he hissed.

That struck Harry as odd. They had been in this dorm for four years. Why not now?

One of the first years, a blond boy named William Dempsey (called Will) asked, 'What are you guys doing here?'

'Uh… we're… just checking on you.'

'Hey!' Kyle cried, 'blimey, you are Harry Potter!'

The others gasped and started to ask questions.

'Did you really take on You-Know-Who four times?'

'Didn't you win the Triwizard competition last year?'

'Does Professor Snape really, really, really hate you?'

'Are you and Hermione Granger in lo-ove?'

Ron cleared his throat, saving Harry from the bombardment of awkward questions that would definitely lead to trouble. 'Did you all have a good trip here?' he asked.

It was at that moment that Seamus appeared behind them, a grin plastered to his face.

'There you two are! Come on, we have a new dorm!'

They followed him down the stairs to the middle of the tower. There was a door that he and Ron had never noticed. Seamus grinned and opened it.

Inside, Neville and Dean were already set up, but…

'What are Lee and Graham doing here?' Ron asked in an annoyed tone, pointing to Lee and Graham Becker, 'Where do we sleep?'

Seamus laughed, 'I didn't say you had a new dorm with us.'

Dean said, 'Um, didn't you see the door down in the common room?'

Ron and Harry looked at each other, back to Dean, then each other again and slapped their foreheads.

'Of course! Percy went through that door all the time!' Ron said.

They ran back down the stairs to find that Hermione wasn't by the fire anymore. Nobody was in the common room in fact.

The pair went to the door that they had always seen Percy go through. Ron twisted the knob, but it stayed locked.

'What the…?'

'There must be a password,' Harry intoned. 'Professor McGonagall probably just forgot to tell us it.'

He knocked, and it opened. Hermione stood in the doorway with a quizzical look.

'Don't know how to get in? The password is Cyclops.'

Harry stepped in and took a look around. 'What the… why do you have four beds to yourself?' he asked stupidly.

'Myself?' she asked with a hint of confusion. 'You are a prefect as well, aren't you? This is where we sleep.'

She left the doorway, leaving Harry and Ron to look around inside the room. It was large, which was unexpected. There had only been one prefect every year before them, not requiring much room. Though if Arthur Weasley could expand a car to fit a load of people, animals and trunks, then Hogwarts professors would have no trouble enlarging a room.

Each bed had a small side table, and the customary scarlet drapes with the Gryffindor emblem. There was a chest of drawers between each two beds, with ten drawers, five for each bedmate. There was also a handsome oak desk at the end of one of the beds, which sat against a wall next to another door, a bathroom Harry guessed (odd, considering that there was a prefects' bathroom in Hogwarts anyway). There was also a strange contraption between two of the nightstands, right under the window.

'They're letting us share a room with Hermione?' Harry asked incredulously as he sat down on one of the beds. 'This is wild.'

'I guess they trust us enough, eh?' Ron sniggered, 'but then again, who'd want to try anything here? Chastity curses and what-not.'

'Actually, there aren't any,' Hermione said as she entered from the bathroom. 'You wouldn't believe it… there's a doorway that acts as a portal. Leads to the prefect's bathroom.'

'You mean with that enormous pool?'

'The same,' Hermione confirmed. 'But there is a shower here as well.'

They took to their beds and unpacked. Harry put Hedwig's empty cage on his end of the chest of drawers. Then, they explored their new room with interest, poking and prodding little things here and there. Harry found that the contraption under the window was a perch and feeder for their owls.

Moments later, Professor McGonagall appeared in the doorway.

'I see that you have found your new room,' she observed as she entered the prefects' room.

'But… do we actually get to share with her?' he asked, pointing to Hermione.

'We trust you to be mature. After all, you are all fifteen and very close friends. We don't expect anything from you…' she smiled, 'and besides, we don't have two prefect rooms, only having one per house for the past several hundred years.'

The three new prefects looked at the fourth bed. Raine's trunk was on it, but nothing was unpacked.

'Pardon me, professor…' Hermione said, 'but where is Raine?'

She hesitated. 'He's speaking with Professor Dumbledore,' she said quickly, then with a glance out the window, she told them, 'Well, you should sleep now. Classes start tomorrow, after all.' And she left the room.

***

Once the professor had left, Hermione used the bathroom to change into her sleeping clothes, while Ron and Harry did so in the bedroom.

They stayed up for a while, hoping to speak to Raine when he came. It was almost ten thirty when they finally heard a knock the door. Harry, closest to the door, went to open it, but it swung open by itself.

Raine was there, looking weary yet ecstatic. He saw Harry and grinned, revealing oddly placed teeth. He grabbed Harry's hand and shook it hard.

'Harry Potter! I can't believe I'm actually meeting you!'

Well, he definitely wasn't British. He had an accent that was… plain. From what Harry had seen on the television, the stereotype of Canadians was sorely exaggerated. Raine didn't say 'eh' at the end of every sentence, and probably didn't say 'aboot'. He already liked this boy.

'I mean, wow… you faced up to Voldemort four times! And survived!'

'Yes… I suppose… "wow" sums it up,' Harry replied with an embarrassed smile.

They were quiet for a moment then Raine flushed pink. 'Oh, sorry, I'm Raine. Raine Lionheart.'

'That's Ron Weasley,' Harry said, pointing to Ron, 'and that's Hermione Granger.'

Raine smiled and said, 'Good to meet you two.' He shook both their hands, then said, 'So this is the famous Hogwarts, huh?' He looked up at the ceiling and grinned at the weathered stones.

He sat on his bed for a second, then said, 'Jeez, these beds are way better than the ones at Cap.'

'Cap?' Ron asked.

Raine replied, 'Capilano School of Magic. In Canada.'

'I've heard of that place,' Hermione said, 'it was just shut down, wasn't it?'

Raine grimaced and nodded.

'Nice school, this place is so far,' Raine commented as he rummaged through his trunk. He pulled out a wand ('Knotwood wand, eleven and a half inches, with a dragon scale core' he told them) and slipped it into his bedside table. He withdrew his books (including a few novels and other reference books), some jewelry (chains and charms), a binder and some objects that Harry recognized as pens. 2 leather cases, covered in stickers like Camel Clutch Tactics or 99.3 The Fox, followed. He also brought out sunglasses, a pouch of Galleons, Sickles and Knuts, some Muggle playing cards, and, to Harry's surprise, a Muggle Discman, complete with two speakers that could hook into an output slot.

'Wait a second. You can't use electronics here. The school's got too much magic…'

Raine laughed. 'Don't worry, I talked to Professor Dumbledore. He bewitched it to make it work with magical principles. That's why I was so long in coming here.'

Raine had been able to fit all of that in his trunk, so he surprised them when he pulled out a broomstick.

It was made of a wood that looked like a hybrid between ebony and ivory. Its bristles were long and it was shaped like Harry's Firebolt. It gleamed like gold.

'This,' Raine said dramatically, 'this is my second most prized possession. A Cadmir 2000.' He smiled sheepishly at Harry. 'The equivalent of a Nimbus 2000. What you got?'

Harry flushed with pride. 'A Firebolt.'

Raine nodded. 'Very nice. I'd heard that you had it.'

Ron glanced over to his Nimbus Two Thousand and One and grinned. He felt pride as well.

As Raine organized his stuff, Hermione asked, 'Your broom is your second prized possession? What's your most prized possession?'

Raine grinned. 'Well it actually comes in two parts: my Discman and my CD's.' He looked at his fellow prefects. 'What type of music do you like?'

'Hanna and the Mummies, and The Weird sisters,' Ron replied. Hermione shrugged and Harry said, 'A few old British bands. The Beatles, Pink Floyd…'

Raine gave them a blank look, then opened one of his leather pouches. He muttered something, a whirring sound was heard and he pulled out a CD. He put it into his Discman, connected the speakers and pressed a button on the unit.

A few moments later, Ron jumped at the sound of a guitar. Obviously, he had never heard one before. He listened intently, as did Hermione and Harry. After a minute of guitar, a new voice started to sing.

Seasons Change.
Your life I can't rearrange.
Time for a change.
Things will never be the same.

There's an absence of my answer.
Seems like I gave it all away.
Hear me now, I've got to tell you
Just the pain I've felt today.

If you take a walk with me
I'll hold your hand or let you be
Yes you've to see what's happened to me
I'm gonna take you there.

Yeah…

The guitar came up again and the room was silent of voices. The singer sang again.

Seasons Change.
Please I loved you by my name.

Wait goes to change.
I will never be again..

Yeah…

Raine hit stop on the Discman and the music was silenced.

'Travis Meeks, you are a king…'

Ron looked at him surprised. 'Hey, that was nice! I liked that. What was that?'

Raine unplugged the speakers and lay them in the trunk. 'That was Muggle music. A band called Days of the New. That song is rare though.' He beamed, 'Thank God for burning CD's!'

'Could you play more?' Harry asked, licking his lips. So long since he had heard Muggle music (the one thing that Muggles did better than wizards).

Raine frowned and shook his head. 'Low batteries. Need to recharge them.'

He pulled his wand out from his dresser.

'Harry, could you get the batteries from the player?'

Harry nodded, though he had no idea what Raine had in mind. He reached over to pick it up and turned it over. Dudley had had a Discman like this once, but he sat on it. So Harry was given it. It barely worked. He knew where and what batteries were. He slid off the cover and popped the batteries out of the unit. He handed them to Raine.

'Thanks. Now, watch carefully.'

Harry, Ron and Hermione watched in keen interest. Raine said, 'Wingardium Leviosa!' and the batteries hovered at eye level.

'Harry, use your wand now. Point to the batteries and say, 'Ennervate!''

Harry took out his wand. He cleared his throat and said, 'Ennervate!'

A beam of green light shot from the end of Harry's wand. It connected to the batteries, which glowed neon green. A few seconds later, the beam dissipated. The batteries still glowed a bit, but they stopped after moments.

Raine slowly lowered them back down to the bed. He picked them up and put them back into the Discman.

For a second, Harry hoped that Raine would play the song again, but Raine packed his Discman back into his trunk.

'I need some sleep. Classes tomorrow, says Dumbledore.'

He bowed low to the boys and kissed Hermione on the hand like a gentleman. He smirked at the surprised looks.

'What, isn't it proper to do that here?' he teased them. 'Well, g'nite. Nice meeting you.'

He took out from his trunk a pair of shorts and a muscle shirt and headed to the bathroom.

Harry crawled into his four poster, slid the velvet hanging back and lay on his side, thinking of the song this mysterious new wizard had played for him.

Your life I can't rearrange…

***

Harry had been dreaming of beating Malfoy in a Quidditch match, using a flaming Bludger and a spiked Quaffle. When he went for the Golden Snitch, he reached out to grab it, when he hit the play button on Raine's Discman. The song played, only it wasn't this Travis Meeks Raine had mentioned. It was Ginny's voice—

A/N: Well, I hope that you're all enjoying it so far. I had a blast writing it.

Quicksilver Fallen: I've written the story. I'm on year six right now, then starting on seven. And thanks, I'll make a note of checking it out.