Flutter.

Pausing, she looked up from her copy of 'Basic Magical Plants: What They Do, Where They Can Be Found, And Their Uses', looking towards where the sound had come from.

Flutter. Flutter.

Annoyed, Claire turned her head towards the window outside; trying to figure out what was disturbing her.

Flutter. Flutter. Flutter.

It was more urgent now. Claire pulled the heavy window up just in time to let the small owl nervously fly in. Raising an eyebrow, Claire took the roll of parchment from the owls stuck out leg. Unrolling it, she quickly read over the letter. She then turned it over and wrote her response and whispered in the owl's ear. After taking a bit of Claire's snack, he dove off in the direction he had come from.

Claire sighed and turned to her small cupboard, and began packing.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Elsewhere in London, Steve had just replied to a different owl that had come down through a small hole in the roof.

"Strange," He thought and then turned to packing.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Claire pulled the heavy bag towards the platform.

"Almost..there." She panted, not used to the heavy weight.

When she reached the platform, she quickly glanced around to make sure no one was watching her.

When she was about to go, she spotted a strangely familiar face.

Steve? What's he doing here in London? More specifically, what's he doing at this train station, heading towards the same platform as I? She thought of a boy she used to know in middle school.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Oh, Merlin," He mumbled, when he got sight of the teenaged girl staring at him like she'd seen a ghost. "What's she doing here?!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Claire shrugged and walked right through the imposing brick wall that led to the platform 9 ¾. Steve watched her move through the bricks with grace, wondering why she was going to the same place he was.

Standing on the platform, she saw the Head Boy and Girl, waiting for Claire and Steve to get on so they could get the train started.

Seconds later, Steve stumbled through the wall.

Claire, rolling her eyes, muttered graceful, just loud enough for him to hear.

Steve turned around and glared at her.

"Well, let's get a move-on then, shall we?" Brett, the Head Boy asked the two.

(A/N: Sorry for murdering this! I'm too lazy to see how it's really spelled.)

"Windgarum Levaiso!" Claire pulled out her wand and her suitcases flew up beside her as she got on the shortened version of the Hogwarts Express.

Steve lugged his heavy suitcases onto the train, only to find out that there were two compartments; one for the Head Boy and Girl and one for himself and Claire.

He pulled his suitcases on to the train while the Head Girl tapped her foot restlessly. After putting away his bags, he sat down on the seat furtherest away from Claire. As the train started up and left the station, Claire rolled her eyes and looked out the window, content to sit and watch the England country side go by.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

After an hour or so, Steve was restless. It goes against his nature not to talk to someone or do something for over ten minutes, let alone an hour.

He looked over at Claire again to see if she had fallen asleep. She was still staring out the window, a calm expression about her face.

Steve cleared his throat. Claire looked over to him, obviously bored.

"Well, er, what are you doing in England?" He asked the pretty brunette.

Claire sighed. "Waiting."

After giving her a minute or two to expand her answer, Steve sighed himself. "Well, waiting for what?"

"I wasn't sure until it came," Claire answered. "What were you doing in here?"

"My family came here on vacation. Some kind of educational trip," Steve waved his hand to illustrate the abstractness of it all.

"Mmm," Claire mummered.

"Look, Claire, if we are going to be stuck on this train together for two more hours-" "Three, actually." "-And then a month alone in Hogwarts-" "Literally, it's only a few days. Technically, it's about five years." "-Then we are going to have to get along. Why can't you just be nice to me?" "Why can't YOU be nice to ME?" "Look, it wasn't my fault, okay?" "It wasn't exactly my fault either." "It's not my fault you had to embrass me like that!" "Do you think I wanted everyone to ask you?" "You probably did!" "Yeah, sure. Look, Steve, it didn't turn out the way I wanted it to, okay? And I'm sorry." "Suuure." "You are so immature. Here I am, apologizing to you when I really shouldn't be, and all you can do is act sarcastic." "Oh, like what, am I supposed to apologize to you, too?" Claire glared at Steve. "Well done Einstien." "That'll be the day." Claire closed her eyes and massaged her temples. "That day will come closer than you think." "Yeah, right!" "Yes, I know I'm right." "Merlin, you're so self centered!" "Not really, at least I'm NICE!" "Only when you have to be!" "You're just jealous." "I AM NOT JEALOUS!" "You're also shouting." "I'M NOT SHOUTING!!" "At least I can control my temper." "Well isn't that special." Brett walked in and glared at the two 14 year olds. "Could you keep it down? We're trying to read the letters we were sent from Dumbledore." Both of the teenagers glared at the stuck up Head Boy as he left. After the compartment door was slammed shut, Claire pulled out her wand again and placed a silencing spell so the Heads couldn't hear them arguing anymore. Steve looked at her again. "Pray tell, what made you such an expert at magic? I don't remember there being such a course at Junior High. What, did you take an honors course or something for it?" Claire looked at him, first with anger, then with pity. "It's called.reading." "Bookworm." "Oh, I'm sorry; do you expect me to stoop to your level?" "Well at least I'm not a show off." "Well at least I looked at the books we were supposed to read." Steve snorted. "How's that going to help you?"

Claire shook her head sadly and opened her largest suitcase, opening up a huge bag full to the brim with magical books.

She waved her thin, white wand over the bag, muttering a realivtily new spell.

The brunette then bent down and picked up a few basic books, and handed then to Steve.

"Open them, and make sure you look at every single page."

Steve began to laugh. "How's that going to help me?"

Claire rolled her eyes. "You just love showing off your ignorance, don't you? I placed a memorization charm on the books. You look at the page, and you will have it memorized. It's a little tip I learned from the tenth book I read." She rolled her eyes and sighed; sorry that she hadn't read that book first.

Steve looked at her and then picked up the top book and leafed through it.

"No, no. Make sure you look through each page. At each page. Give your brain some time to copy it. Then go onto the next one. And so on."

Steve gave her a blank expression and did what she said.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Another hour slipped by.

Steve looked up from the pile of books to look at Claire.

He found her gaze looking out the window.

"Er.I'm done the books."

Claire snapped out of it.

"Oh." She said staring at him.

"Oh, sorry, were you asleep?" Steve asked with concern.

Claire started at him oddly. "Why would you care.? You never cared about me before."

Glaring at her, Steve answered. "Well excuse me for attempting to be kind. I see now that it won't work anymore."

"Well.why don't you just go and practice some then."

"Oh, yeah, I see there is plently of room in this small compartment to do just that," Steve answered sarcasticly.

"Right, well, just try a spell you learned on me."

Steve thought for a moment and then raised his short wooden wand.

(A/N: I have no idea what a spell would be like so I made on up!)

"Hairum pink!"

Claire watched as a pink light zapped from Steve's wand and ended at her hair. With mild interest, she tugged her hair out of the pony tail and watched as the pink strands fell down.

"That was pretty good. But I think you missed a few places in the back."

Claire conjured up a mirror and looked, using the compartment one way window. "Yup, see that strand there? Could you get that one?"

Steve glared at her and muttered the spell again, this time ending in that all of her hair was bubble gum pink.

"Much better. But here's one for you." Claire raised her wand and did a double whammy of a jinx-Steve was soon suffering from jelly legs and a tickle curse. Claire was soon laughing hard as he tried to wobble over to her, laughing hysterically.

She then did the hair changed curse on him, turning his hair a strange shade of aqua after using the counter-jinx on him to stop his wiggling and giggling.

He glared at her and raised his wand again. Seconds later, Claire was on her hands doing a handstand.

"Nice," She called, dismounting after the train hit a bump on the track.

"Wait a second," Steve said, "How can you just jump out of that? The only way you are supposed to be able to get out of it is to use the counter cur- " Steve was stopped in the middle as he watched her hair grow back into it's normal color.

Claire sighed. "I think it's time for a change, don't you?" She asked him as her hair grew back very blonde this time. "I think it needs a little something extra." She mummered as black highlight grew out.

"Well," she said, turned to the stunned boy in front of her, "How do you think I look now?"

Steve gaped at her. The once brunette with freckles had morphed into a blonde with neat black highlights, and her complexion was completely clear.

He was almost scared.

Claire cocked her head, and then went back to zoning out the window, lost in thought again.

Another hour went by, with Steve just staring at the girl.

Claire turned, and looked him straight in the eye. She looked into his deep, chestnut brown eyes. "You know.I meant it when I said I was sorry."

Steve looked right back at her unchanging bright blue eyes.

He answered her, mesmerized."I'm sorry, too."

Claire smiled again, her whole face brighter.

Steve smiled too, he had too; anyone looking at her would have to smile. She looked like a little kid who had just been given the toy she'd wanted the most for a long time.and in a way, she was that little kid.

Toot, toot!

Claire looked up and out the window. "Geeze, we're at Hogwarts already!"

She jumped to her feet, and using a cleaning up spell, all of her book folded themselves back into the bag, which then zipped itself up. She then removed the silencing charm, and was immediately greeted by Amanda, the Head Girl, telling them to hurry up and get inside the castle.

She lifted hers and Steve's bags using a basic lifting charm, and they walked into the castle, following the Heads.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Yay my first chapter in my first story :DD

Well I need a beta reader, please aim me (Czech point x) if you want the job lol. Eh it's a confusing story. It's hard to understand it at all now, you just have to wait. It will all be cleared up in the next few chapters!

Well I'm out!

Claire