Chapter 1

17-year-old, brown-eyed, curly red haired Fred Weasley walked up the stairs to Gryffindor Tower, hoisting his book bag up onto his shoulder. Professor Snape had asked him to stay late and clean up the mess one of his firecrackers had made. And it wasn't even his firecracker! I mean, cleaning up a mess for a prank that you played was semi-reasonable, but cleaning up a mess for a prank you didn't play was the most preposterous thing in the world. He stopped as he heard a troubled voice around the corner, seeming to recite passwords.

"Was it 'fussiwek' . . . or it might have been 'flureflum' . . . or . . .damn my bad memory!"

Fred poked his head around the corner, hoping it was a younger student he could play a prank on. Instead he found a girl about his age with wavy/curly red hair down to her mid-back a shade darker than his, and she was standing reciting passwords to the wrong portrait. He tried to pop back behind the corner, but the girl had already noticed him.

"Excuse me!" she called. She sounded American because of the way she talked. Fred stepped out from behind the corner.

"Yes miss?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Um . . . I was wondering if you could help me." the girl confessed. "You see . . . I was sent up to Gryffindor Tower . . . this is Gryffindor Tower, right?" she asked, pushing a stray hair behind her ear. It fell back in her face instantly, but she ignored it. When Fred nodded, she continued. "And she told me to go into the dormitory and find Lee Jordan and Fred and George Weasley, but I can't seem to remember the password at all!"

"What did we do this time?" Fred asked. The girl looked taken aback.

"Pardon me?" she asked. "Are you . . ."

"Fred Weasley, at your service." Fred told her, holding out his hand. The girl smiled, shaking his hand.

"I'm Tsunami Nudelman. Don't ask about the name. For some reason my parents gave me a Japanese name when I'm American." she stated. Fred grinned.

"So . . . do you mind me asking why you were sent to find us?" he asked.

"Well . . . I'm new at the school. I just transferred from a school in America, and after the Sorting Hat selected me for Gryffindor, Professor McGonagall said that I should find you and your . . . brother and friend?" she said it as a question.

"Right, my brother and best friend. Well, come on then!" Fred said.

"Um . . . that's great . . . except I don't know the password." Tsunami said.

"Well, for one thing, you're talking to the wrong portrait." Fred said. Tsunami turned crimson. He motioned to the Fat Lady. "That's the portrait you're supposed to talk to." He strode over to the Fat Lady, Tsunami following sheepishly behind. "Flabergrick." he told the Fat Lady. The portrait swung open, revealing the hall that served as the passage to the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Cool . . . " Tsunami said, clambering in after him. The portrait swung shut behind them, and Tsunami jumped slightly, and hurried to catch up with Fred. "So . . .do all the seventh-year students have the same classes?" she asked.

"Basically, though it depends on which electives you take. " Fred answered. "We all have the same base classes though. Potions, Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and History of Magic." The two entered the commons, and were greeted by an empty room.

"Where is everyone?" Tsunami asked.

"Probably at lunch. I got out late from class, so everyone would be down in the Great Hall by now." Fred told her.

"Is that that huge place with the weird ceiling?" Tsunami asked, and Fred nodded. "I've heard the food's good here, is that correct?" Fred grinned at her.

"Why do you ask?" he questioned.

"Well, don't get me wrong, but the food at my last school, Merlinarina's, wasn't the best in the world, so food is pretty important."

"Oh, Lee'll like you." Fred laughed. Tsunami raised an eyebrow.

"Really, why?"

"Lee's crazy about food. It's all he cares about . . . accept playing pranks and finding new ways out of the castle of course. Well, speak of the devil." Tsunami look from Fred to in front of them, where two boys, one, who looked exactly like Fred, the other, an African American with braids that might've been dreadlocks.

"Um . . ." the boy who looked like Fred started.

"Tsunami, this is my twin brother George. George, this is Tsunami. She's a transfer student and McGonagall told her to tell us to show her around." Fred explained. George grinned.

"Nice to meet you." he said, sticking out his hand. Tsunami smiled back, shaking it.

"Pleasure."

"You American?" the African American boy asked. Tsunami nodded.

"Yup. Born and raised in the good ol' US of A." Tsunami stated before holding out her hand. "Tsunami Nudelman."

"Lee Jordan." Lee smiled down at her. "I bet you twenty Sickles you can't tell the Weasley twins apart." Tsunami grinned.

"You've just lost twenty Sickles. You're on." she stated.

"That was very stupid." George told her.

"No it wasn't." Tsunami stated, turning and walking out of the room. Once gone, she shouted through the door, "Okay! I'm ready!" Fred and George looked at each other and shrugged, one sitting on the couch, the other sitting in an overstuffed chair.

"Alright! You can come in!" Lee shouted. Tsunami poked her head in the door.

"You ready?" she asked.

"Yup." Lee said. Tsunami entered, raising an eye at the two boys.

"Is this supposed to be hard?" she asked. She pointed a finger at one of the boys. "George." was all she said. George's eyebrow's shot straight to his hairline.

"How did you know?" he asked incredulously.

"You cheated!" Lee accused.

"Now, that's not very nice. You want me to do it again? I will if you want me to." Tsunami said. "And by the way, you owe me twenty Sickles."

--- ~* ~*

Meanwhile, in Professor Dumbledore's office, Dumbledore and McGonagall were discussing something of great importance.

"But Albus, what if the boys don't accept her for what she is?" McGonagall asked.

"Minerva, I have a feeling that, once they get to know her, they wouldn't mind even if she turned out to be a troll. What she is, is thankfully less horrible than that." Dumbledore told her. McGonagall nodded, still unconvinced. "She will be fine."

--- ~* ~*

By the time they made it down to the Great Hall, Lee was still grumbling about losing twenty Sickles, and Fred and George were stunned and impressed. She obviously intrigued them, so they were shooting questions at her like fire from a pistol. "What school did you transfer from?" Fred asked.

"A school in Alabama called Merlinarina's School for Witches and Warlocks." Tsunami answered.

"I've heard of it." George stated. "Didn't Randle Serfiggin transfer there?"

"I don't know." Lee grumbled. Tsunami grinned at him.

"Oh, don't be so morose." she told him.

"Oh shut-up." Lee grumbled, and Tsunami laughed.

"You are a sore loser, aren't you?" she asked.

"Yes." Lee wined, pouting.

"Ah, don't worry about it! It's only twenty sickles. If you like to play cards, I'm sure you'll win them back eventually." Tsunami told him, and Lee brightened.

"Those twenty sickles are mine!"

--- ~* ~*

Tsunami gaped in awe at the huge Great Hall and the enchanted ceiling above her head. "It's beautiful!" she said in awe.

"It's okay." George shrugged.

"Okay?" Tsunami asked, her voice barely audible in the din of the Great Hall. "It's magnificent!"

"Alright, you have all year to admire the ceiling! Come and meet everyone!" Fred grinned, grabbing her arm and hauling her over to the Gryffindor table. The boys plopped her down in a seat across from a boy with the same fiery red hair as the Weasleys, a girl with brown hair frizzier than Tsunami's, and a boy with glasses, black messy hair, and a weird, lightning shaped scar in his forehead.

"Hey guys!" Lee greeted.

"Hey Lee. Fred. George." The boy with glasses greeted them each in turn. Then his eyes flicked to her. Tsunami smiled and held out her hand.

"Tsunami Nudelman. I just transferred here."

"Harry Potter. It's nice to meet you." The boy told her. Tsunami's eyebrows lifted in mild interest.

"Really? Have I read about you somewhere?"

"Probably." the girl with brown frizzy hair broke in. "He's in a lot of text books." Harry shot the girl a look. Tsunami seemed to be thinking.

"I think I might've had a test with some of that content.oh well!" Tsunami shrugged, shaking his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"I'm Ron Weasley." the boy with red hair said, speaking through a mouthful of cupcake.

"Weasley?" Tsunami asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He's our little brother." Fred told her.

"I wondered why you guys looked slightly similar." Tsunami said. "Well Ron, it's nice to meet you." Tsunami said, shaking his hand.

"Same here." Ron answered, swallowing the rest of the cupcake.

"Ron, you really shouldn't speak with food in your mouth." the frizzy brunet scolded.

"You are . . . ?" Tsunami asked.

"Hermione Granger." the girl told her, holding out her own hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Hermione." Tsunami told her, shaking it.

"Well, if it isn't Potty and the Weasel entertaining the new mudblood I see." a smarmy voice stated. Harry and Ron stood up, as did Fred, George, and Lee. Tsunami turned slowly in her seat.

"What did you call me?" she asked, standing and facing him. Her small stature made it so that she was looking him in the eye. He was a boy about Harry and Ron's age with sleek blond-almost white-hair that was gelled back.

"I called you a mudblood." Malfoy laughed.

"Now, I know you don't mean that." Tsunami said, with absolute calm. Her eyes had changed, and now they looked slightly sad instead of angry.

"Y-yes I do." Malfoy stuttered, looking slightly baffled.

"No you don't. You pretend to be evil. Why?" Tsunami asked.

"What-" Malfoy started, but Tsunami interrupted.

"Family pressures, perhaps? You don't have to be if you don't want you, you know. People would like you a lot more. I know it hurts you to call people mudbloods." she stated, tilting her head to the side curiously. Malfoy was staring at her in a mixture of shock and amazement.

"Who are you?" he asked in a whisper of fear and amazement.

"Tsunami Nudelman." Tsunami told him.

"I'm Draco Malfoy, and I've never heard anything about you, so you've never heard anything about me, so you know nothing about me and you can't judge!" Malfoy shouted at her.

"Do you really want me to hate you? To react as I would if you really meant the mudblood comment?" Tsunami asked, cocking her head to the side. The others watched in wonderment.

"Of course I do!" Malfoy yelled. He seemed to be in a state of hysteria. Tsunami shrugged.

"Fine then." Suddenly, she seemed to change. Her eyes flashed fire and her hand struck out, slapping Malfoy across the face and sending him sprawling. "You son of a bitch! How dare you call me that!" Tsunami shouted. Crabbe and Goyle started forward threateningly. The whole Great Hall turned to watch.

"I dare say, what is going on?" McGonagall was striding toward them at an alarming rate.

"Malfoy called Tsunami a-" but before Fred could finish, Tsunami interrupted.

"Nothing that hasn't been resolved." she finished. "I appreciate the concern professor." Tsunami held out a hand to Malfoy. "Up you go." she told him. Malfoy stared at her as if he'd never seen anything like her, but took her hand as she pulled him up in one swift movement. "Go back to the Slytherins, Malfoy." she told him. Malfoy glared at her, motioned to Crabbe and Goyle, then turned and strode back to whence he came. Tsunami turned to the six who were staring at her. "Uh . . ." She sounded as if she were searching for an excuse. "Sorry 'bout this, but I have to go get my books from Dumbledore," Tsunami started, wrapping a couple sandwiches in a napkin. "So I have to go now. I'll see you in class, okay?" she said, then hurried out of the Great hall.

"That was so weird." Lee said, blinking after her.

"I think there's more to her than meets the eye." Hermione observed.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"Well, she has all the characteristics of an aurasee."

--- ~* ~*

"Wow! That was close!" Tsunami told herself, leaning against the wall outside the Great Hall.

--- ~* ~*

"A what?" Ron asked.

"An aurasee is a person who can see auras, which is the energy crackling around a person that tells about them. Very few people can see it." Hermione explained.

"No wonder she could tell us apart." George said in awe.

"I knew she cheating." Lee wined.

--- ~* ~*

"Hey! Nudelman!" The voice stopped Tsunami in her tracks just as she was heading towards Dumbledore's office. She turned, finding Malfoy trying to catch up with her.

"Oh, hello Malfoy!" she greeted cheerily.

"You can see auras, can't you?" Malfoy asked, getting straight to the point. Tsunami's smile faltered.

"Pardon?" she asked.

"You can see auras, can't you? That's why you knew." Malfoy accused. Tsunami shoulders slumped.

"Ya, that's how I knew. Why do you do it Malfoy?" she asked, looking at him pityingly.

"Because I have to. You don't understand." he told her, running a hand through his hair.

"You're right. I don't." Tsunami agreed. "But I do understand why you always wear pants, even in the summer." Malfoy's breath hissed out between his teeth.

"Tell anyone and you're dead." he told her.

"Malfoy, you couldn't hurt a fly, and we both know it." Tsunami told him. "And no, I wouldn't tell. Not for all the money in the world." Malfoy ran a hand through his hair again. "Malfoy, go back to Crabbe and Goyle. They'll start to wonder. We'll finish this conversation later. For now, should I continue to hate you?" Tsunami asked, raising an eyebrow. Malfoy nodded.

"Ya . . . for now, ya . . ." With that, he turned and strolled back into the Great Hall. Tsunami shook her head.

"There are so little of people like you today Malfoy, it's so sad you have to hide. A sheep in wolf's clothing, that's what you are. You poor little sheep." Shaking her head, she turned and strolled the rest of the way to Dumbledore's office.

--- ~* ~*

"Professor?" Tsunami asked, stepping into the elaborate office. A voice from the closet answered her.

"I'll be out in a minute!" Tsunami shrugged and looked around the cluttered office, spotting the sorting hat on one of the shelves. Tsunami took it off, plopping it on her head.

'Hello, did I just see you an hour ago?' the hat asked.

'Yup'. Tsunami answered. 'But I want to ask you about Draco Malfoy. Does he really belong in Slytherin?'

'Good heavens, no.' the hat told her. 'He's only in there because his someone, presumably his father, paid one of the teachers to hex me to put him in there.' Tsunami's brow creased.

'Thank you. I was worried there.'

'You saw him, didn't you?' the hat asked.

'I made a mess of it.' Tsunami admitted.

'I'm sorry. But don't worry dear. It'll all turn out fine.' The hat assured her. Tsunami smiled.

'Thank you. I appreciated it. You've been a big help.'

'Glad to be of service.' the hat said as a final word right before she lifted it off her head. Tsunami, grinning with pleasure, put the hat back on the shelf, feeling much better.

--- ~* ~*

Tsunami was looking through her books on her way to her first class after lunch when suddenly a blur came running down the hall and right into her. Her books went flying, knocking her to the ground. She groaned, sitting up and rubbing her head.

"Hey! Watch it!" the person shouted scrambling up and glaring at her.

"You're the one who knocked into me!" Tsunami shot back. Now that they'd slowed down, she could see that it was a boy with dark brown hair combed into two stiff spikes on the side of his head, with the rest hanging down to the tips of his ears. His chocolate brown eyes were angry and insulting. Tsunami's temper flared. "You have no right to yell at me! You were the one running in the halls!"

"Bitch."

"Jackass."

"Whore."

"Bastard."

"Slut."

"Jackass."

"Ha! You already used that one!" the boy exclaimed triumphantly.

"Uh . . .mother fucker!" she shouted, but the was already walking toward his next class.

"Nope, you already lost loser! I hope not to see you later!" with that, he disappeared around the corner.

"Damn it!" Tsunami shouted, stamping her foot. "I hate people like that!"

--- ~* ~*

"What's got you in a foul mood?" George asked, noticing Tsunami's angry expression as she sat down between him and Lee.

"Well, all I was doing was heading to class and this guy just comes running into me and starts to insult me!" Tsunami fumed.

"What'd he look like?" George asked.

"Well, he had dark brown hair in two peaks with the rest hanging down and had brown eyes and was about Lee's height." Tsunami said.

"You must mean Mondo Sullivan." Fred told her, turning around in his seat to face her.

"Who?" Tsunami asked.

"Oh, he's a 7th year Ravenclaw with a foul temper. He's a beater on the Ravenclaw team and all the girls seem to swoon over him. You'll probably see him in this class actually." Lee explained.

"Oh goody." Tsunami stated, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Well, speak of the devil." George said, motioning to the door with his eyes. A collective sigh went up from most of the girls, and looks of admiration from the boys were directed towards the front of the room as the same boy Tsunami had bumped into strutted in.

"Literally." Tsunami muttered, and George snickered.

"Well, it's good to know one girl doesn't fall at his feet." Fred grinned.

"Oh, don't get me wrong. He's handsome." Tsunami told them. "But looks aren't everything. I mean, look at Lee."

"Hey!" Lee protested, and Tsunami tugged on one of his dreadlocks to show she was joking. Mondo's eyes scanned the room to where the indignant cry had come from, and his eyes landed on Tsunami's. His brows raised, and he smirked. Tsunami didn't say a word, only followed him with a gaze that would've turned a lesser man to stone until George spoke.

"Ya know, if looks could kill, Mondo would be dead on his feet." he said. Tsunami turned the glare on him, and he let out a high-pitched squeaked and hid under the desk. Luckily for George, before he could be turned to stone, their new teacher strutted in.

"Good morning class!" The class stared in shocked silence. It was Gilderoy Lockhart, all dressed up in robes of beautiful forest green. "I am your teacher Professor Lockhart. As you know this is a required course for the whole school this year to learn how to act if you are married to a muggle." Tsunami hand rose in the air. "Yes miss . . ."

"Nudelman, sir. Tsunami Nudelman." Tsunami answered, lowering her hand. "What if we have muggle parents? Do will still have to take this course?" Tsunami didn't think she could stand being in the same class with hotshot-Ravenclaw-beater-boy.

"Then you will be paired with a wizard who has both wizard parents so that they may learn from you." Lockhart told her. "And yes, you still have to take the class." Finishing with her question, he turned to the rest of the class.

"There are a few ground rules for the class." he began again. "Rule number 1: You may not kill your partner, no matter how much you want to." There was a collective sigh of disappointment from the class. Lockhart gave the class a look, then continued. "Rule number 2: Unless your partner is the same sex as you, you may not switch partners. Rule number 3: You must keep a diary of the events at all times. The fourth and last rule: You must stay with your partners at all times . . ." The boys in the room began to look hopeful. "Accept for when you go to bed, change, or eat, in which you will be seated with your House." The boys slumped back in their seats.

"Damn." George muttered, and Tsunami gave him a half-hearted slap on the arm.

"George." she hissed.

"What?" George asked.

"Remember," Lockhart continued. "You must remember to try to get along with the person you are placed with, for you will be bunking with them for the rest of the year. Now, shall we get started?" Lockhart took out a roll of parchment. "Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley . . ." he read off the first name. Fred and George's eyes widened, Lee burst into laughter, and Tsunami's hand shot straight in the air.

"Yes Miss Nudelman?" Lockhart asked.

"Um, sir . . .not to be rude sir . . .but those are the 5th years . . ." Tsunami told him. Lockhart flushed red and began to stutter.

"T-terribly sorry. Let me get out 7th years." Lockhart put the parchment back into his desk and pulled out another one. "Alright, I'm sure this is the right one. Ah, here we go! First pair, Tsunami Nudelman and . . ."

--- ~* ~*

"I'm paired with WHO?" Tsunami screeched, standing and knocking her chair over. The Weasleys and Lee were howling with laughter.

"Mondo Sullivan. Did I not be clear enough?" Lockhart asked in innocent confusion.

"Why lord? Why do you do this to me?" Tsunami wailed, sinking in her seat.

"Oh, don't worry toots. It won't be that bad." Mondo smirked. Tsunami head shot of the desk. She stood and glared at him.

"Call me toots one more time and I'll dump you outside in the lake so it will cool off those raging hormones of yours, got it?" Tsunami asked venomly. Mondo stared at her in a mixture of shock and horror.

"Oh fuck. I'm doomed." he voiced. Tsunami turned to Lockhart.

"Professor Lockhart, may I please switch? Please?" Tsunami begged.

"I'm afraid not, Miss Nudelman. The rules clearly state that you may not switch if you are pared with someone of the opposite sex." Lockhart told her.

"But he's not the opposite sex." Tsunami protested. The room went dead silent. Mondo looked at her, fire in his eyes as he stood. Tsunami gulped, knowing she'd pushed the wrong button as Mondo started toward her. The Weasley twins and Lee, seeing her distress, stood to help her. Just as Mondo reached her, they stepped in front of her.

"Leave her alone Sullivan." George said in a stone cold voice.

"Ya, she's our friend, leave her alone. She doesn't like being stuck with you, and logically so. So leave her alone." Fred added. Tsunami looked at the backs of the three boys blocking her from her doom and felt a sense of a feeling she couldn't describe surge through her.

"What are ya gonna do weasels?" Mondo asked vehemently. Tsunami's blood heated. How dare he call them that! "You're daddy's so poor he couldn't even afford proper robes. To bad they aren't even paying him enough at the Ministry." Fred and George's ears were bright red, and Tsunami'd had enough. She pushed Fred and George out of the way.

"Look here, you conceited son of a bitch!" she shouted, getting right up in Mondo's face and poking a finger in his chest. She looked like hell on wheels, and she wasn't gonna stop until she'd said her fill. "You have no right you be picking on my friends like that. You think you're a big hotshot just because you're a beater for the Ravenclaw team. Well guess what? So are Fred and George! And you know what? I bet they're even better than you are! You just are admired more because you make a big deal out of it! Fred and George could be as popular as you could if they told what kind of heroics they did, but they don't. Why? Because they're modest! Unlike you, you stupid jerk! You call yourself a Quidditch player?! You're a disgrace! Apologize!" Tsunami shouted, pointing behind her to Fred and George.

"Why--?" Mondo started, but Tsunami interrupted.

"Now!" she yelled, louder this time. Mondo looked down at her, this fiery little vixen with who he was to spend the rest of the year with.

'Better now then later.' he decided. He looked at the Weasley twins, who were still staring at Tsunami in shock and surprise.

"I'm sorry." he started. Fred and George looked at him. "I didn't mean it. I was just angry, that's all. I shouldn't have said it." Mondo held out his hand, and Fred and George shook it each in turned.

"Thank you." Tsunami said stiffly. Mondo raised his eyebrows at her once, then turned and went back to his seat. The rest of the class was stunned. No one had ever had an outburst like that, especially to one of the most popular 7th years in the school. Tsunami sat down, as did Fred, George and Lee in their respected seats. "Alright Professor Lockhart." Tsunami told him. "Please resume."

--- ~* ~*

Tsunami looked up at the new portrait that was supposed to be her new dorm it was a picture of a bowl of fruit. In that bowl was a pear, an apple, a banana, an orange, and some grapes. She was about to speak the password, which she'd written on her hand, when a voice spoke behind her.

"Trying to get into the kitchens, are you?" it asked. Tsunami spun around, preparing herself for a fight. Mondo was looking at her with mild interest.

"See, all you have to do," Mondo stepped up beside her. "Is tickle the pear." Mondo scratched the side of the pear and as it giggled, the door swung open.

"Cool." Tsunami said, peaking in. "Is it alright to go in?" she asked.

"Oh sure. The house-elves love guests." Mondo told her, stepping in before her. As Tsunami stepped into the kitchen, she thought she'd stepped into a miniature world. Little house-elves up to her waist, each of their pillowcases stamped with the Hogwarts seal, running here and there, making food, washing dishes, scrubbing the floor, and all other sorts of odd jobs.

"Wow . . ." Tsunami stared at the scene before her until one small house- elf with long lashes trotted up to her.

"Hello miss." it squeaked, bowing. "We are here to serve. What would you like?"

"Um . . .do you have any hot chocolate?" Tsunami asked, never having seen a house-elf before.

"Yes miss. Please! Come sit down!" the little elf motioned to a small table at the center of it all.

"Um, do you mind if I watch you work?" Tsunami asked.

"No miss! Not at all!" the house-elf told her, her eyes conveying her delight, though she did not smile.

"Excuse me." the elf turned at her call. "I don't think I've had the pleasure of learning your name."

"It's Winky, miss." she said, bowing low.

"Well Winky, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Tsunami." Tsunami told her, smiling gently. Winky flashed her a shy smile, then hurried off.

"You got Winky to smile. You've become the automatic favorite of the kitchen." Mondo told her, and Tsunami jumped.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" she asked, turning to him as he sat down across from her.

"Winky's had a though time." Mondo explained, as they watched the elves scurry around with their chores. "Just last year her family for twenty years, the Crouches, got into a whole mess of trouble, and poor Winky got involved and blamed and it nearly tore her apart. Thankfully the whole mess was resolved, so now she's happily working at Hogwarts."

"No wonder . . ." Tsunami muttered.

"No wonder what?" Mondo asked.

"Oh, nothing that concerns you." Tsunami told him.

"Oh, but honey, everything about you concerns me. You're my wife now, remember?" he asked in a fake endearing voice, cupping her chin in his hand. Tsunami gave him a glare that could melt ice in two seconds flat. She took a snap at his hand with her teeth, and Mondo let out a yelp, snatching his hand away. "Jesus. Some wife you're gonna make." he told her nastily.

"For your information hotshot, if I was going to marry someone, it will be because I love them, not because of some stupid school assignment." Tsunami told him stonily. "And I hate to break it to you, hotshot, but I'm not one of those girls that falls at your feet and caters to your every whim, so get used to it." She felt a tugging on her robes, and looked down to see Winky holding a cup of hot chocolate proudly up to her. Tsunami immediately warmed and smiled down at her. "Thank you so much Winky." Winky beamed.

"It was nice meeting you, miss Tsunami, but I need to get back to my duties! Thank you for letting me serve you!" Winky squeaked, and hurried away. Tsunami stood, taking the cup of hot chocolate with her, and wandered around the room, watching the house-elves work.

Mondo watched Tsunami walk around the kitchen, asking one elf here what they were doing, then watching for a while, then asking another there what they were doing, then watching for a while. He watched her walk up to the one lone elf wearing clothes; Dobby was his name, right? And began to talk to him cheerily. He answered cheerily up until she said something obviously carefree, but it seemed to make Dobby freeze. He asked her something, Mondo couldn't make out the words, but it was said in all seriousness, and Tsunami just smiled and gave her reply just as cheerily, then turned and walked away. Dobby stared after her with an unreadable expression, then turned and went back to his dough.

She was a queer one, Tsunami Nudelman. He couldn't seem to figure her out. She was loyal to her friends, and had a fierce temper. She seemed to laugh as easily as she got angry, and couldn't win a swearing contest if her life depended on it. She was short, and seemed, from what he'd seen from class, only good at dual magic and memory spells. Anything else seemed to blow up in her face. But there was something about her he couldn't quite place. Something that just kept nagging him in the back of his mind . . . telling him to be careful . . .

'Nah.' he thought to himself. 'She's mostly harmless.'

--- ~* ~*

"Well, what did you think of the kitchen?" Mondo asked, as they walked over a couple portraits down.

"It was awesome!" Tsunami replied happily, her arms loaded with all sorts of goodies that the house-elves had insisted she'd take. Tsunami took a quick peak at her hand. "Ribbetip." she stated, and the portrait swung open, revealing a hall with dozens of other locked doors leading to other partner's dorms. "The house-elves were so nice!" Mondo stuck one of the paper bags in his mouth and searched in his pocket for the key, finally coming up with it and unlocking their door. Tsunami dumped the bags onto the small couch then headed into one of the bedrooms.

"Not to shabby." Mondo admired.

"I got dibs on this bedroom!" Tsunami shouted. Mondo poked his head in. She'd gotten the only bedroom with a window.

"Oh no you don't. I'm not giving up this one without a fight." Mondo told her. Tsunami stood and glared at him. He glared right back.

--- ~* ~*

"Damn it, why did I give up without a fight?" Mondo asked himself as he unpacked two minutes later. It had taken one full minute of Tsunami staring at him viciously, then stating "no, this bedroom is mine." Before giving in though, he'd left her with the last comment that "this war isn't over yet." Mondo sighed, closing the drawer and laying down on his four- post bed. It was going to be a long year.

--- ~* ~*

Tsunami popped one of the eclairs from the elves in her mouth as she stared at the wall of their small table a few feet away from their couch and contemplated their living quarters. It was a typical enchanted room, where the small space was stretched. Where it looked like, from the halls, that there'd only be room for a bed and a bathroom in there, there were two small bedrooms, each with a dresser and shelves to put their stuff on, hers with the only window. They had a small couch and a tiny table next to it with four chairs. Tsunami couldn't guess why they would need four chairs, but maybe one of their assignments was to have dinner guests. It also had a hotel room sized refrigerator (Tsunami guessed it was so they could store random food in there if they needed to), a stove (they'd probably have to do some cooking), and a small cupboard with measuring cups and a few bowls, plates and utensils. It also had one bathroom with a shower/bath and a toilet.

Tsunami stood, gathered the rest of the treats from the house-elves and put them in the refrigerator and then walked to her bedroom, closed the door, and began to change into her pajamas. As she lay down and turned off the side lamp, Tsunami contemplated her living partner for the next year.

'He's the usual popular one,' she thought. 'The huge ego, extremely handsome, girls are falling at his feet . . .but there's something about him . . .something I just can't place . . .' And then it hit her. She couldn't see his aura.



***** Preview of Next Chapter:

"I'm sure she's an aurasee." Hermione stated. She pulled a book out of her bag and opened it to a marked page in front of the two boys. "See, look." Hermione pointed out.

"It says here, 'Aurasees are very sensitive and are quick to be loyal and quick to hate all who are hateful and mean to those they are loyal to. They are very determined, though not very good at most types of magic, are mostly skilled in dueling magic and memory charms. Their stature tends to be slightly short . . .'"

Everyone glanced at Tsunami. "Well . . .I guess she is a little short." Ron admitted. "But she is pretty." Hermione glared at him and hit him on the arm. "What?"

"Anyway . . . 'Their stature tends to be slightly short . . .though this doesn't dwarf their fierce temper when let loose.'" Hermione closed the book with a snap, almost catching Harry's nose. Ron was leaning over her shoulder, and he was getting a little too close for comfort. For some strange reason, it was making her tingle . . .