Author's notes: I've had a bit of a writer's block on the first part, so please excuse! It gets better though! I've had problems getting the chapters to appear, so bare with me…J xxx
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter! So don't sue!
"…"= Speech
(…)= My notes and random comments.
/…/= Thoughts
~*~*= Beginning and ends of chapters, scene changes.
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Harry just sat and stared, utterly shocked. He hadn't realized that Dumbledore had relations, especially her. But their eyes were similar.
"Well, hello Mr. Potter." She said cheerfully. "It's very nice to meet you again!"
"Yeah…" His voice seemed funny "you to!"
Dumbledore smiled, then turned to Alex,
"Are you on your own?"
"Yes, the others are ether out either shopping or working. I stayed behind to wait for you two, but they all want to meet him," She gestured in Harry's direction, "So they'll be back early."
"Good, I'll leave you two to become acquainted and work out sleeping arraignments. I'll be back in the morning to check on you all and give you some important news."
Alex grinned,
"Cool, I'll see you later then!"
She escorted him out.
They were now alone.
"Well, do you want to know where you're sleeping?"
Harry nodded.
"I'll need help with my stuff…"
"Fine."
There was a fairly awkward pause, while neither looked at each other, then Alex moved and grabbed one end of the trunk.
Harry took up her lead and helped her to the door she had entered from.
They forced the door open and dragged the trunk out into the corridor.
Alex groaned, and dropped the trunk down.
"How about I give you a tour as we go along?"
Harry stared at her as if she was mad.
"What, won't that take longer? This trunk is really heavy!"
Alex laughed,
"Come on, you're meant to be a big strong man! You're not going to complain about a little weight are you?"
"Yes!"
She giggled again,
"Don't worry, it wont take that long, you're only on the first floor, so we'll drop you're stuff and do the rest."
Harry nodded.
"Ok," She opened the door on there immediate right and turned on the light. "This is the living room."
Harry stepped over the trunk and peered in.
It was a large room, with bare wooden floors, covered in the middle by a large, thick, cream rug. The walls were a creamy yellow, and the two sofas and matching chair were white, strung with dark yellow cushions. There was a TV in the middle of the opposite wall, witch the chair and sofas faced, and there was a plainly decorated chimney on one wall.
"Pritty, isn't it?" Harry nodded; it gave off a warm, friendly feeling.
They stepped out into the corridor and dragged the trunk a bit further down the corridor to the next door on there left.
Harry opened it and turned the light on, to reveal a deep red dining room. It also had a bare wooden floor and a long, gothic style table and chairs. There was a large chandler hanging over the table, and a fancy fireplace on the opposite wall.
"Jenna designed this room, she's into the gothic look!"
"Oh…" He walked out, "Who did the living room and kitchen?"
"The kitchen and all corridors and landings were already done for us, Mandy wanted the living room, while Jenna did this room."
Harry nodded; he had no idea who these people were.
"Right, lets go upstairs."
This was the trickiest part, but after 20 minuets of uphill struggle, they made it onto the landing.
They sat down for a few minuets to get their breath back. Harry massaged his shin, Alex had lost her grip at one point and the trunk had nearly flattened him. She grinned,
"I'm sorry about that!"
Harry smiled back,
"Don't worry about it."
They stood up, and he followed Alex as she pointed out certain things.
"The door at the end hides the stairs that go to the third story and roof, the one on your left is the stairs to the second floor, and the door on your right, near the stairs we just came up, is to James, yours and my bedrooms."
They opened that door and dragged the trunk through into another corridor, which had doors down the right side and at the furthest end.
They all had plaques on them; the closest had 'James' written on it, the next door read 'Toilette', the next, much to Harry's surprise, read 'Harry' and the end had 'Alex' on it.
"There all named, so if we're really drunk or have visitors, we know which rooms which!"
Harry nodded.
Alex opened the door and they pushed the trunk into his new room.
It was very simple, plain white walls, a wooden floor, a large window with light green drapes and a double bed with green covers. There was a large desk and bookcase, including a wicker chair.
"Wow, it's nice!"
"Hay! Don't sound so surprised, we don't live in a dump you know!"
They smiled at each other.
"Well, come on, you can get settled later!"
He followed her back out into the main landing. And they made there way to the second floor.
"Why are you all separated?"
"Well, there isn't enough room for us all to sleep on one floor, I mean, we have to have rooms to study and stuff. James and I decided to sleep down here. We were going out at the time, so we wanted to stay near each other."
Harry suddenly felt a pang of jealousy,
"Are you still an item?"
"No, we were and still are really close friends. We tried dating to see what it would be like, as we get on so well, but it didn't work…"
They had climbed up the stairs to a new corridor. It was decorated in the same way as the others in the house. There was a door at the end, and a door across from them, leading to the other 4 bedrooms they used.
Alex didn't think it a good idea to go snooping around her friend's bedrooms,
"You never know what you'll find in there!" She shuddered, so they went up to the 3rd floor. It had two spare bedrooms, music and computer rooms, a storeroom, and stairs to the roof and comfy looking conservatory.
Harry was surprised to find a computer, and to that matter, a TV, but when he asked Alex, she explained,
"We also study muggle subjects, so we can blend in and even erne more money with a muggle job. There also a handy means of information. We also have a telephone, if you need it!"
After all this, they walked back to his room.
"Well, if you get settled, I'll go and begin dinner, do you like meatballs?"
Harry nodded.
"Good, I'll make them up and we can eat around 7 and start before the rabble get back." She leaned a bit closer, "They eat like animals," She grinned and left.
Harry inhaled deeply, he felt tired from all the traveling. He walked over and sat on his bed, this place didn't seem too bad, Alex was friendly, he really liked her, the others sounded a bit wild, but this was a school for…how could he put it…oddballs? That was what he didn't understand, what was someone as sweet tempered as Alex doing here?
He would find out soon enough. He got up and began to unpack his stuff.
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The smells floating up from the kitchen were delicious. Harry's stomach was making strange noises; he hadn't eaten much all day. It was nearing 7 o'clock, so he decided to go down.
It was pritty easy to get lost, but he made it to the kitchen.
Alex turned around from frying meatballs as he came in,
"Hay! How are you feeling?"
"Tiered!"
"Ahh…" She smiled, "You wouldn't mind laying the dining room table would you? The cutlery is in that cupboard, there should be 6 of us…eventually."
He nodded, happy to do something to get his mind off how hungry he was.
He had just finished and sat down when she walked in, carrying a try piled high with food and drink.
She set it down and sat next to him.
"Well, I'd eat as much as you can, they should be here soon, and you won't get much chance to eat after they attack it!"
"You make it sound like it's a matter of life and death!" Harry smiled, though slightly put out.
"Believe me, it is. You need arm training to fend off this lot."
They began to eat,
"You're a good cook, this is great!"
"Thanks, we all are, so we take it in turns to cook."
Now it was time for him to ask one of the many questions that had been burning inside for a long time now.
"What are the others like?"
"Well, I'll give you a rough idea. Jenna is a rocker, she can be scary sometimes, but she's a good judge of character, and can get on with anyone! Mandy is hard to manage, she comes across as arrogant and set in her ways, she judges people too quickly, but she's a great friend, and can help with any problem, she's also very attractive, but you'll soon find that out. James is my best friend in the world. He knows if there's a problem and is a great listener. Like Jenna, he's good at judging a character and is very likable! He's a bit of a lady's man though. Chris is strange, you could mistake him for Jenna's twin, but he's not. In fact, there personalities are quite different, he's very quiet and reserved, but you wouldn't want to get into a fight, either verbally or physically. He's a lovely guy though and sticks up for you. Then there's Dominic, Dom for short, who's at his parents house, but you'll meet at some stage. He's fun to be around, and a great drummer, he can be a bit too stupid though, and doesn't know when to stop."
There was a pause, "I think that every thing."
"I know this is a lot of questions, but…" He didn't know how to ask. "I didn't realize that Dumbledore had any relations, apart from a brother…what did he mean by niece?"
"Well, I'm not exactly his niece, but close to. His brother, Aberforth, married some time ago, but kept it quiet. That's why no one ever found out. It wasn't because he was odd; he just liked having privacy. You can imagine what it would have been like, with him being Dumbledore's brother, the press wouldn't have left him alone! They had one child, as my grandma died while giving birth to my mum; she married this muggle called Garry McNeal, but a Death Eater killed them both when I was 8. I've lived under the protection of Dumbledore and Aberforth ever since."
Harry stared, she look sad, telling him such a nasty story of her life, and he felt sorry for her.
Suddenly, music could be herd from outside, steadily getting louder.
Alex looked up and grinned,
"That'll be them."
She got up and left the room.
Harry's nerves were growing, and it felt as though butterflies were trapped in the inside of his stomach, trying to brake free.
Talking could be herd from outside, someone laughed loudly.
Then he heard the kitchen door open and some one screamed.
"Alex…my baby!"
There was more laughter, but then it died into silence.
"Oh…my…GOD! Jenna, what have you done to you're hair?"
"Not the most promising reaction, though it's better then James's 'Help, it's a mutant zombie, save me before I die!"
A deeper voice burst out laughing,
"I thought it fitted the scene perfectly!"
"Do you like it?"
"Well…it suits you…but…it's a bit loud. I mean…what did Miss. Maxwell tell us, we have to blend in, not make a spectacle of ourselves!"
"Well, fuck her. Just as long as you like it. Anyway, is Potter here yet, I want to meet him!"
"Yeah…were is he?" the other girls voice was getting nearer.
"He's in the dining room eating."
"Food!" The sound of footsteps got nearer, and the door opened.
In walked Alex, and sat back down, grinning, followed by her friends.
The girl who followed her had thin, strait brown hair and green eyes. She smiled at him, almost seductively and sat opposite him. She was very pritty. Two boys followed, the one with short dark brown hair, nodded, grinned, and headed strait for the food while the other did nothing but stair through his long dark hair. The girl, who came in next, gave him the shock of his life. She had short black hair and dark eyes. She would have looked fairly normal if she didn't have bright blue and pink streaks in her hair. She burst out laughing when she saw his jaw drop.
"I'm Jenna, I take it that you like my new hair style!" She walked over and sat on the other side of him.
Harry could only manage to say "hi".
Alex shock her head,
"You just wait Jenna."
"Yeah, yeah, go to hell!"
"Well…" Alex turned to Harry, "Opposite, is Mandy, the short haired boy is James…"
"Hello there Harry!"
"And that's Chris."
Chris brushed his hair out of his face and gave him a small, meaningless smile.
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Please Read and Review, should I carry on?