Daphne: To anyone who might be interested, I have come up with an idea for
a sort of prequel to this story. It is a Lily+James story, with all the
other obvious couples that you've met in this story. If you are interested,
and think that it's a good idea, review and tell me, or send me an E-mail.
I'd really appreciate your imput. (And yes, the side-story and the sequel
are still in the works, but I promise that they will be out soon after this
one!)
Thanks for your time, and I hope that you enjoy this chapter! Ja Ne!
~*~*~*~
The Phoniex's Prophesy
by: Daphne Li
Chapter 12.
~*~*~*~
"I hate flue powder. I hate flue powder. I hate..."
"We know, Harry. Now get up and dust yourself off, for goodness sake!" Shirah sighed, back to her old self. The group had flued back to Dumbledore's office, and suffice to say, Harry was not pleased with his ride...considering, of course, that he had fallen on his head on the way out of the fire-place...
Dumbledore was nowhere in sight, so the group decided to go to their rooms. There was only one problem.
"Where are your rooms?" Harry asked curiously. Jackson shrugged.
"In the Gryffindor house. We're staying there all year...not to mention sitting with them at meals. But we get our own rooms, while the rest of our classmates have to bunk together!" He crowed. Harry jumped when he heard where they would be staying.
"Well, I can show you where the Gryffindor common room is, give you the password, even lead you inside...but where on earth could they possibly fit an addition of at least ninety students?!" Harry asked in shock. Rose smiled.
"You'll see, Harry. You'll see."
It was with only this explanation, that Harry led them to the Gryffindor house, said the password 'Fummbly-jumble', and led them into the common room.
"Wow." Jackson exclaimed, looking around the room with wide eyes. Harry couldn't help but stare as well. The room had obviously been enlarged for the guests convenience, so that many more tables chairs and cushions were scattered around the overly-large room. Everything else was the same, however, which made Harry give a sigh of relief.
"Now, where exactly are you supposed to stay?" He asked again. Jackson grinned and turned away from him, going to the far side of the fireplace, where there was a bare brick wall. Jackson studied at it for a moment, then with a grin, stuck his hand out and touched the wall.
Correction. He stuck his hand out and his hand went right *through* the wall!
"This way." He grinned, as he walked forward, the wall seeming to almost...suck him in. It was like watching water ripple as Jackson walked all the way through and disappeared, then the wall returned to looking normal.
"How...how..." Harry sputtered.
"Come on, Harry!" Rose laughed, pulling him forward and walking into the wall, Harry close behind her. He cringed as the 'wall' began to close around him, but relaxed as he felt a cool, liquid feeling rush over him. Then it was over. Opening his eyes, Harry found himself in a huge, airy hallway.
There were three sets of double doors in this hallway, and Harry immediately realized that they were not normal. They were gold color, quite tall, reaching to the ceiling, and a bit narrower than normal doors. The tops of the doors arched near the ceiling, in a very Arabian style, and they had flowery markings all over them.
Rose walked to the set of doors at the very end of the hallway, and opened them towards herself. Harry blinked as he saw a curtain of sheer, see- through, white billowy fabric still blocking the view of the room beyond. Rose gently parted the soft material, and motioned Harry inside. When Harry entered the room, he was once again rendered speechless.
"Shirah's mother likes her to live in an environment as close to her own as possible." Rose explained, as she too, entered the room. Harry hardly heard her.
The room was magnificent. It was *huge* and circular, with tall, arched windows all along the far wall. Every one of the windows was outlined in gold, and curtains of the same fabric as the door covered them as well. The ceiling was impressive as well, high and domed, and gold as well, though it also seemed to have a swirling pattern to it.
The floor of the room was tiled with real white marble, and the white walls were hung with sheer yellow fabric, and gold tassels. The gold mantle over the white marble fireplace had little statues of gold figures on it, not to mention some priceless-looking vases.
Elegant-looking back-less couches (or recliners, as Rose called them), were placed around the room, while huge cushions that resembled bean-bag chairs, resided here and there. These were usually red or yellow in color, though soft oranges were common, too. Soft Persian rugs were placed tastefully around the room, they too, in reds and yellows. All-in-all, a very Arabian looking room.
"I suppose the theme is 'Arabia'?" He asked teasingly, still in awe of the room. Rose giggled and nodded. Harry then noticed that the rest of the group had joined them, Neville gazing around the room in open wonder.
"You got that right. Mommy wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. Of course, Dumbledore thought it was the best idea in the world, and agreed to it right off..." Shirah said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.
"Come on, Harry. Come see our rooms." Rose called, pulling at his hand. Harry followed her back out into the hallway, and then raised an eyebrow as she opened the door on their right. A pale purple curtain of that sheer fabric hung in their way again.
"This is our room." Rose announced, pulling him through the purple cloud and into another room. Harry stood, enchanted.
This room was just as big as the first. It was circular as well, with a gold domed ceiling, though this one had strange designs cut into it, allowing the sky to show through on the different levels of the swirled dome.
This room, however, had those tall windows scattered all around it, not just on one wall. These too, were lined in gold and arched, though they were opened, allowing the green billowing fabric to swing lightly in the breeze, unless tied back. The floor was white marble, and the white walls were hung with purple, green, blue, and rose colored fabrics.
A few of the 'recliners' and cushions like those in the other room, were scattered around the room, though these were lavender and rose in color. Three gold dressing-tables were placed around the room, each one with it's own oval, gold-outlined mirrors. Gold wardrobes were lined along the walls where windows weren't placed, and small gold tables filled in the rest of the space.
But it was the three beds, that most impressed Harry.
They were circular, and covered in velvet blankets and satin sheets. The three beds each had their own color scheme, one being blue, another green, and the last a rose color. Large, fluffy pillows were also covered in satin of the same colors, though these had gold tassels hanging off of them.
The beds were low to the ground, and each placed strategically near one of the three dressing tables. But the strangest thing of all was the fact that sheer curtains hung around all sides of the beds, held there by a large gold hoop that was suspended magically above each bed.
"Interesting." Harry murmured, wondering if all Arabian styles looked so...feminine. Shane noticed this and laughed.
"Don't worry, Harry. Our room is like the family room, all gold and yellow and red. Our beds are normal, too, and four-posters. But they still have those pillows." He muttered, grinning. Harry noticed that this didn't seem to bother him, and he soon learned why.
"Comfortable!" Jackson crowed, collapsing onto the rose colored bed. Shirah growled and pushed him off.
"No touching my bed, McBride." She snapped, settling herself onto it. Rose giggled and sat on the green bed, which left the blue for Raya. The boy's settled down on the huge cushions, refusing to be seen sitting on those back-less couches, or 'girlie chairs', as Jackson called them.
"Now what? We have a full five and a half hours before we have to meet up with our class." Shirah muttered, rolling over onto her stomach, and resting her chin on one of the many pillows on her bed. Shane sat up straight and grinned at Jackson, who nodded.
"This is the part where we all find out our patron animals, and yell 'oh, what a wonderful life we have!'." Jackson announced. The others rolled their eyes.
"That is a good idea, actually. We could find Neville's patron animal, and we could make sure that we got yours right, Harry." Rose commented, sitting up from her own bed. It was then that Harry noticed that three gold filigree trunks had appeared in the room, one beside each bed. These must have been the girls school trunks. Rose opened hers and pulled out something that looked like a book.
"This is a 'revealing' book, Harry. Jackson, Shirah, Shane, Raya, and I made it so that we wouldn't have to do the spell ever again. All you have to do, is put your wand hand on the book, and then open it." She explained, handing Harry the seemingly normal black book. He looked at it cautiously.
"Are you sure?" He asked, putting his right hand on the cover of the book, and then flipping it open to the very middle pages. He was shocked to see a plume of smoky substance rise from the book, and form the figure of a stag. It looked at him for a moment, then it turned back into a cloud and sank into the book once more.
"We were right! You're Prongs Jr., no doubt about it!" Jackson laughed. Harry nodded, still a little dazed, and handed the book to an eager-looking Neville. Harry watched as Neville placed his right hand on the book, and then opened it gently. The plume of smoke re-appeared, and this time, it formed itself into a Great Horned Owl. The smoke figure stood motionlessly, and then it too, sank back into the pages.
"I'm an owl?" Neville's voice was amazed.
"Not just an owl. A Great Horned Owl. One of the most majestic owls there are!" Raya murmured, looking impressed.
"But aren't owls supposed to be smart and wise? I'm not either of those." Neville sighed. Rose smiled.
"Oh, yes you are. You are very smart, and you make wise decisions...like helping Harry last year, even when you knew it could be dangerous." She commented.
"She's right, Nev. Without you, I probably would be dead." Harry admitted. Neville blushed and looked at his feet, while the other's exchanged smiles. Then Harry got an idea.
"Does this work without the person actually being here?" He asked, gazing at the book Neville still held in his limp hands. Jackson looked thoughtful.
"Dunno. We've never tried. Why?"
"I wanted to see what Ron and Hermione were."
"Ginny too?" Rose asked teasingly. Harry ignored her knowing look, and nodded.
"Neville, hand that here."
Neville did as Harry asked, and Harry put his hand on the book, thinking all the while, of Ron. He filled his mind with images of Ron...Ron's personality, his habits, his likes, his dislikes. Then, with cautious wonder, Harry opened the book and watched as the plume of smoke turned into a fox.
"IT WORKS!!!" Harry exclaimed, jumping to his feet in his enthusiasm. The others stared in amazement at the fox.
"That was Ron's. He's a fox...better not be the sly kind." Harry chuckled. Then he closed the book and thought just as hard about Hermione. When the book was opened, Harry was not quite as surprised to find an otter appearing out of the smoke. When Hermione had done her Patronus last year, it had been an otter as well. Perhaps a persons patron animal, was their Patronus as well...
"Now Ginny." Rose said eagerly. Harry rolled his eyes and grinned, filling his mind with as much as he could about Ginny. But when the book opened, Harry got a shock.
The smoke slowly formed into a deer figure.
"Harry...that's a hind! A type of deer!" Rose gasped, her emerald eyes wide. Harry stared at the figure for a moment, then shut the book as if in a trance. Ginny was a hind. A female version of Harry's own Stag.
"Well, that was interesting." Jackson said slowly, his eyes twinkling. Harry snapped out of his reverie and glared at him, but Jackson simply smirked back.
"How about a nickname for Neville." Shane suggested, noting the warning signs. They all fell silent, thinking.
"Wings?" Raya suggested. Neville wrinkled his nose.
"Horny." Jackson sniggered. Neville shot him an ugly look, and shook his head violently, while Shirah pelted Jackson with a pillow.
"Eventide."
"What?" Neville asked, looking over at Shane, who had spoken. The blonde boy held up a book, which was titled, 'Thesaurus'.
"It means sunset, dusk, evening, or nighttime. That's when owls come out, right? Sort of like my name. Moony. We could shorten it to Evan, or Tide, or even Tai." Shane suggested. Neville looked thoughtful and then he nodded.
"Eventide. It has a nice ring to it."
"It sounds just as majestic as the animal it's representing!" Raya giggled, her amber eyes sparkling. Neville blushed again.
"Anyway, enough with this. I want to see the grounds of Hogwarts, before the students leave classes." Shirah said quickly, looking anxiously out the window. Harry smirked.
"I could introduce you to Hagrid..." Harry said, feeling mischievous.
"Hag...who?" Jackson asked, scratching his head.
"Hagrid. The Grounds-Keeper and Care of Magical Creatures teacher. He doesn't have a class right now, and I think he'd really like to meet you..."
~*~*~*~
"Ok. Next time you ask us to meet someone, warn us if he is any bigger than six-foot, alright?" Jackson asked, still a bit pale from his encounter with Hagrid. Lets just say he had made the mistake of eating one of Hagrid's food offerings...
"Yeah. And warn us that he is a half-giant." Shane agreed, collapsing onto a chair in the Gryffindor common room. Harry grinned slyly, his green eyes twinkling.
"I thought he was nice."
"He was funny."
"His accent was funny, you mean." Shirah added dryly, to Raya's comment.
"You didn't eat his cooking." Jackson groaned, holding his stomach. Harry winced.
"I suppose I should have warned you about that..."
"Duh." Neville laughed. He seemed to be the only one of the boys un-fazed by their encounter with Hagrid, besides Harry, of course. Jackson shot him a mean look, and then sighed.
"What now? We still have two hours to waste." He groaned, looking at Shane's wrist-watch. Harry shrugged.
"How would you like an encounter with the house elves?" He asked. Neville, who had obviously had an 'encounter' with them before, nodded eagerly. The others looked curious.
"What?"
"Come on! But be prepared to eat..." Harry chuckled as Jackson groaned at his comment.
~*~*~*~
"I feel lonely." Neville groaned, as he and Harry headed for Dumbledore's office. Jackson, Rose, Raya, Shane, and Shirah had all gone back to where they were supposed to meet their class, while Harry and Neville continued on to Dumbledore's office. Harry chuckled at his comment.
"Don't worry. You'll see them again!" Harry assured him in a teasing tone. Neville rolled his eyes.
"You think?"
"Actually, I do think, thank you." Harry returned, gaining a dirty look from Neville. Then the other boy's face lit up.
"Hey! I just realized! We missed Potions!" He crowed, jumping into the air in triumph. Harry's eyes widened as he realized that this was true, but then another thought came to his mind, completely abruptly. It had been bothering him for some time, and he felt that he needed to share it with someone, just to have someone understand.
"Neville? You know the DA group, and how we're taking on new members?" Harry asked hesitantly. Neville nodded.
"What if I told you that there were going to be several Slytherins joining as well?"
"WHAT?!?!" Neville's face turned into a thundercloud, and Harry winced.
"Dumbledore believes that they are worthy. He was the one who suggested that I allow them to join." Harry informed him. Neville's face grew darker as he thought about this one, then it lightened.
"If Dumbledore trusts them, I do too."
"That's just what I said. But there is one catch."
"What's that?"
"We have to trust one of Malfoy's cronies...or ex-cronies, though he doesn't know it."
"WHAT?!?!"
"Nev, quit doing that." Harry sighed. Neville was frozen in spot for a moment, then turned disbelieving eyes towards him.
"Which one is it? Tweedle-dumb, or tweedle-dumber?"
"Tweedle-willing to face hatred from other members, to prove his loyalty to our side." Harry murmured. Neville grinned at the joke, but then returned to seriousness.
"Which one?" He repeated.
"Goyle. But Neville, you can't tell anyone. Just understand that I have had a few run-in's with him, and I can assure you that as far as I can see, he is completely sincere about doing this. Don't ask me why." Harry sighed. They continued to walk silently as they neared Dumbledore's office.
"Alright. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, if you will." Neville agreed. Harry's mood lifted. If Neville was on his side, that was one less person who would be hostile to Goyle during the DA class.
"Thanks, Eventide. I knew I could count on you." Harry said, causing Neville to smile at the use of his new nickname.
"Welcome, boys. I assume you had a good afternoon?" Came Dumbledore's voice, as they entered his office. Neville and Harry glanced at each other and winced.
"Except for the part where the girls made us stand like dress-dummies and model our new dress robes, which, by the way, we didn't know we needed until they sprung it on us at the last minute." Neville said accusingly, glaring lightly at Dumbledore. The old professor chuckled, his eyes sparkling with mischief.
"I'm glad the rest of your day went well. Now, I have some things I need to tell you. After the feast tonight, I am going to allow the Prefects to show the guests to their rooms, before the Hogwarts students are allowed to leave. However, since your friends already know the way to the Gryffindor common room, I will allow them to stay with you, and go up with the rest of the Gryffindor's." Dumbledore murmured. Harry and Neville grinned at each other.
"Also. If there is ever a time when either of you need or want to sleep in the rooms with Mr. McBride and Mr. Biederon, you are welcome to. But steer clear of the girl's rooms, unless you have the purest intentions in mind." Dumbledore's eyes sparkled at this, and Harry wrinkled his nose at what the professor was implying. Neville, however, turned bright red and looked at the floor.
"Now, I believe that it is time for us to assemble in front of the school." The old professor informed them. Harry and Neville exchanged glances, before following him down the stairs and out to the grounds. Most of the school was already assembled there, watching eagerly for the first signs of the arriving schools.
"They'll be coming in a magicked airplane, according to Shane." Neville hissed, as he and Harry wandered over to Ron and Hermione.
"HARRY!!! Where on earth have you been? We were so worried you'd been expelled or something." Hermione exclaimed, pulling Harry into a quick hug. Ron, who had looked so relieved before, now looked as though he wanted nothing more than for Harry to be gone again. Harry smirked at this and quickly disentangled himself from her, as Neville snickered behind him.
"Where have you been?!" Demanded Ginny, turning from her place just in front of Ron. Harry quickly shook his head and then turned to look for signs of the arriving schools.
"Look! The flying carriage!" Dennis Creevey noticed it first. The whole audience watched as the horses and carriage landed, a bit harder than they remembered. Madame Maxime was again, the first out, followed by a truckload of students. Dumbledore said a few soft words to the woman, before she and her lot disappeared inside.
"If that was how many extra students we are having from them, I'd hate to guess how many more have yet to arrive." Ginny whispered, slight sarcasm in her voice. Harry and Neville once again shared significant looks, before turning to watch the Durmstrang boat rise from the lake. Dark figures walked towards them, led by a man that Harry had never seen before. All the figures were again bundled up, making it hard to see their faces.
"Spoilsports." Ron grunted, causing Ginny to giggle and Hermione to elbow him in the ribs.
"Look! Look, there!" Cried out a Ravenclaw third-year. Everyone turned to where she was pointing, and noticed a group of royal looking white horses, pulling carriages, coming up the path towards them. Three people got out of the first carriage, two woman and one man. They walked up to Dumbledore and spoke to him several minutes, before motioning to the other carriages. Immediately, smaller figures piled out, and hurried to follow their teachers inside.
"Did you see them? They are from Dormouff, I'm sure of it! I swear, they were all wearing at least one piece of gold on them, each!" Lavender Brown squealed, her blue eyes sparkling. Hermione rolled her eyes and then jumped as she spotted something behind Harry.
"But...but muggle things don't work at Hogwarts!" She exclaimed in a near- shriek. This caused everyone to turn and stare at the huge aircraft that had appeared in the middle of the grounds. Harry smirked as a figure bolted out, and began to dance a ridiculous tango with another figure who had appeared after it.
"Jackson and Shane, always the same." Neville rhymed, causing everyone around them to stare at him.
"Are they drunk?" Ron hissed, leaning over. This was meant as a serious question, but Harry simply smirked.
"Nope. Just high on themselves, like always." He muttered to Neville, who snorted. More people tumbled out of the airplane, and began to walk forward, the two dancing figures stopping as another person hit one over the head.
"Shirah." Neville whispered, chuckling. Harry winced.
"I wouldn't like to be Jackson right now." He hissed back, sniggering. They watched as two figures led the huge group of students to Dumbledore.
"The taller one's Professor Moore. The smaller one is May. She's here to help out, you know." Neville reminded him. Harry nodded, trying eagerly to catch a glimpse of the woman he had heard so much about. Somehow, Harry knew that Rose was the smaller figure just behind May, and Raya was right next to her. But there was a much smaller figure, whom Rayana seemed quite protective of, standing beside them as well, who Harry did not recognize.
"That's Raya's younger sister, Victoria. She's on the Quidditch team, and a first year...the youngest ever in Salem history." Neville explained, obviously proud of his young cousin. Harry stared, impressed, at the tiny figure, and then his eyes drifted over to Matthew, who was looking eagerly at the new arrivals. Harry couldn't help but wonder if the two young Quidditch players would come to know each other...
"Come on, Harry! We're going inside!" Hermione exclaimed, looking excited. Harry rolled his eyes and nodded.
It was time to face the music.
~*~*~*~
Thanks for your time, and I hope that you enjoy this chapter! Ja Ne!
~*~*~*~
The Phoniex's Prophesy
by: Daphne Li
Chapter 12.
~*~*~*~
"I hate flue powder. I hate flue powder. I hate..."
"We know, Harry. Now get up and dust yourself off, for goodness sake!" Shirah sighed, back to her old self. The group had flued back to Dumbledore's office, and suffice to say, Harry was not pleased with his ride...considering, of course, that he had fallen on his head on the way out of the fire-place...
Dumbledore was nowhere in sight, so the group decided to go to their rooms. There was only one problem.
"Where are your rooms?" Harry asked curiously. Jackson shrugged.
"In the Gryffindor house. We're staying there all year...not to mention sitting with them at meals. But we get our own rooms, while the rest of our classmates have to bunk together!" He crowed. Harry jumped when he heard where they would be staying.
"Well, I can show you where the Gryffindor common room is, give you the password, even lead you inside...but where on earth could they possibly fit an addition of at least ninety students?!" Harry asked in shock. Rose smiled.
"You'll see, Harry. You'll see."
It was with only this explanation, that Harry led them to the Gryffindor house, said the password 'Fummbly-jumble', and led them into the common room.
"Wow." Jackson exclaimed, looking around the room with wide eyes. Harry couldn't help but stare as well. The room had obviously been enlarged for the guests convenience, so that many more tables chairs and cushions were scattered around the overly-large room. Everything else was the same, however, which made Harry give a sigh of relief.
"Now, where exactly are you supposed to stay?" He asked again. Jackson grinned and turned away from him, going to the far side of the fireplace, where there was a bare brick wall. Jackson studied at it for a moment, then with a grin, stuck his hand out and touched the wall.
Correction. He stuck his hand out and his hand went right *through* the wall!
"This way." He grinned, as he walked forward, the wall seeming to almost...suck him in. It was like watching water ripple as Jackson walked all the way through and disappeared, then the wall returned to looking normal.
"How...how..." Harry sputtered.
"Come on, Harry!" Rose laughed, pulling him forward and walking into the wall, Harry close behind her. He cringed as the 'wall' began to close around him, but relaxed as he felt a cool, liquid feeling rush over him. Then it was over. Opening his eyes, Harry found himself in a huge, airy hallway.
There were three sets of double doors in this hallway, and Harry immediately realized that they were not normal. They were gold color, quite tall, reaching to the ceiling, and a bit narrower than normal doors. The tops of the doors arched near the ceiling, in a very Arabian style, and they had flowery markings all over them.
Rose walked to the set of doors at the very end of the hallway, and opened them towards herself. Harry blinked as he saw a curtain of sheer, see- through, white billowy fabric still blocking the view of the room beyond. Rose gently parted the soft material, and motioned Harry inside. When Harry entered the room, he was once again rendered speechless.
"Shirah's mother likes her to live in an environment as close to her own as possible." Rose explained, as she too, entered the room. Harry hardly heard her.
The room was magnificent. It was *huge* and circular, with tall, arched windows all along the far wall. Every one of the windows was outlined in gold, and curtains of the same fabric as the door covered them as well. The ceiling was impressive as well, high and domed, and gold as well, though it also seemed to have a swirling pattern to it.
The floor of the room was tiled with real white marble, and the white walls were hung with sheer yellow fabric, and gold tassels. The gold mantle over the white marble fireplace had little statues of gold figures on it, not to mention some priceless-looking vases.
Elegant-looking back-less couches (or recliners, as Rose called them), were placed around the room, while huge cushions that resembled bean-bag chairs, resided here and there. These were usually red or yellow in color, though soft oranges were common, too. Soft Persian rugs were placed tastefully around the room, they too, in reds and yellows. All-in-all, a very Arabian looking room.
"I suppose the theme is 'Arabia'?" He asked teasingly, still in awe of the room. Rose giggled and nodded. Harry then noticed that the rest of the group had joined them, Neville gazing around the room in open wonder.
"You got that right. Mommy wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. Of course, Dumbledore thought it was the best idea in the world, and agreed to it right off..." Shirah said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.
"Come on, Harry. Come see our rooms." Rose called, pulling at his hand. Harry followed her back out into the hallway, and then raised an eyebrow as she opened the door on their right. A pale purple curtain of that sheer fabric hung in their way again.
"This is our room." Rose announced, pulling him through the purple cloud and into another room. Harry stood, enchanted.
This room was just as big as the first. It was circular as well, with a gold domed ceiling, though this one had strange designs cut into it, allowing the sky to show through on the different levels of the swirled dome.
This room, however, had those tall windows scattered all around it, not just on one wall. These too, were lined in gold and arched, though they were opened, allowing the green billowing fabric to swing lightly in the breeze, unless tied back. The floor was white marble, and the white walls were hung with purple, green, blue, and rose colored fabrics.
A few of the 'recliners' and cushions like those in the other room, were scattered around the room, though these were lavender and rose in color. Three gold dressing-tables were placed around the room, each one with it's own oval, gold-outlined mirrors. Gold wardrobes were lined along the walls where windows weren't placed, and small gold tables filled in the rest of the space.
But it was the three beds, that most impressed Harry.
They were circular, and covered in velvet blankets and satin sheets. The three beds each had their own color scheme, one being blue, another green, and the last a rose color. Large, fluffy pillows were also covered in satin of the same colors, though these had gold tassels hanging off of them.
The beds were low to the ground, and each placed strategically near one of the three dressing tables. But the strangest thing of all was the fact that sheer curtains hung around all sides of the beds, held there by a large gold hoop that was suspended magically above each bed.
"Interesting." Harry murmured, wondering if all Arabian styles looked so...feminine. Shane noticed this and laughed.
"Don't worry, Harry. Our room is like the family room, all gold and yellow and red. Our beds are normal, too, and four-posters. But they still have those pillows." He muttered, grinning. Harry noticed that this didn't seem to bother him, and he soon learned why.
"Comfortable!" Jackson crowed, collapsing onto the rose colored bed. Shirah growled and pushed him off.
"No touching my bed, McBride." She snapped, settling herself onto it. Rose giggled and sat on the green bed, which left the blue for Raya. The boy's settled down on the huge cushions, refusing to be seen sitting on those back-less couches, or 'girlie chairs', as Jackson called them.
"Now what? We have a full five and a half hours before we have to meet up with our class." Shirah muttered, rolling over onto her stomach, and resting her chin on one of the many pillows on her bed. Shane sat up straight and grinned at Jackson, who nodded.
"This is the part where we all find out our patron animals, and yell 'oh, what a wonderful life we have!'." Jackson announced. The others rolled their eyes.
"That is a good idea, actually. We could find Neville's patron animal, and we could make sure that we got yours right, Harry." Rose commented, sitting up from her own bed. It was then that Harry noticed that three gold filigree trunks had appeared in the room, one beside each bed. These must have been the girls school trunks. Rose opened hers and pulled out something that looked like a book.
"This is a 'revealing' book, Harry. Jackson, Shirah, Shane, Raya, and I made it so that we wouldn't have to do the spell ever again. All you have to do, is put your wand hand on the book, and then open it." She explained, handing Harry the seemingly normal black book. He looked at it cautiously.
"Are you sure?" He asked, putting his right hand on the cover of the book, and then flipping it open to the very middle pages. He was shocked to see a plume of smoky substance rise from the book, and form the figure of a stag. It looked at him for a moment, then it turned back into a cloud and sank into the book once more.
"We were right! You're Prongs Jr., no doubt about it!" Jackson laughed. Harry nodded, still a little dazed, and handed the book to an eager-looking Neville. Harry watched as Neville placed his right hand on the book, and then opened it gently. The plume of smoke re-appeared, and this time, it formed itself into a Great Horned Owl. The smoke figure stood motionlessly, and then it too, sank back into the pages.
"I'm an owl?" Neville's voice was amazed.
"Not just an owl. A Great Horned Owl. One of the most majestic owls there are!" Raya murmured, looking impressed.
"But aren't owls supposed to be smart and wise? I'm not either of those." Neville sighed. Rose smiled.
"Oh, yes you are. You are very smart, and you make wise decisions...like helping Harry last year, even when you knew it could be dangerous." She commented.
"She's right, Nev. Without you, I probably would be dead." Harry admitted. Neville blushed and looked at his feet, while the other's exchanged smiles. Then Harry got an idea.
"Does this work without the person actually being here?" He asked, gazing at the book Neville still held in his limp hands. Jackson looked thoughtful.
"Dunno. We've never tried. Why?"
"I wanted to see what Ron and Hermione were."
"Ginny too?" Rose asked teasingly. Harry ignored her knowing look, and nodded.
"Neville, hand that here."
Neville did as Harry asked, and Harry put his hand on the book, thinking all the while, of Ron. He filled his mind with images of Ron...Ron's personality, his habits, his likes, his dislikes. Then, with cautious wonder, Harry opened the book and watched as the plume of smoke turned into a fox.
"IT WORKS!!!" Harry exclaimed, jumping to his feet in his enthusiasm. The others stared in amazement at the fox.
"That was Ron's. He's a fox...better not be the sly kind." Harry chuckled. Then he closed the book and thought just as hard about Hermione. When the book was opened, Harry was not quite as surprised to find an otter appearing out of the smoke. When Hermione had done her Patronus last year, it had been an otter as well. Perhaps a persons patron animal, was their Patronus as well...
"Now Ginny." Rose said eagerly. Harry rolled his eyes and grinned, filling his mind with as much as he could about Ginny. But when the book opened, Harry got a shock.
The smoke slowly formed into a deer figure.
"Harry...that's a hind! A type of deer!" Rose gasped, her emerald eyes wide. Harry stared at the figure for a moment, then shut the book as if in a trance. Ginny was a hind. A female version of Harry's own Stag.
"Well, that was interesting." Jackson said slowly, his eyes twinkling. Harry snapped out of his reverie and glared at him, but Jackson simply smirked back.
"How about a nickname for Neville." Shane suggested, noting the warning signs. They all fell silent, thinking.
"Wings?" Raya suggested. Neville wrinkled his nose.
"Horny." Jackson sniggered. Neville shot him an ugly look, and shook his head violently, while Shirah pelted Jackson with a pillow.
"Eventide."
"What?" Neville asked, looking over at Shane, who had spoken. The blonde boy held up a book, which was titled, 'Thesaurus'.
"It means sunset, dusk, evening, or nighttime. That's when owls come out, right? Sort of like my name. Moony. We could shorten it to Evan, or Tide, or even Tai." Shane suggested. Neville looked thoughtful and then he nodded.
"Eventide. It has a nice ring to it."
"It sounds just as majestic as the animal it's representing!" Raya giggled, her amber eyes sparkling. Neville blushed again.
"Anyway, enough with this. I want to see the grounds of Hogwarts, before the students leave classes." Shirah said quickly, looking anxiously out the window. Harry smirked.
"I could introduce you to Hagrid..." Harry said, feeling mischievous.
"Hag...who?" Jackson asked, scratching his head.
"Hagrid. The Grounds-Keeper and Care of Magical Creatures teacher. He doesn't have a class right now, and I think he'd really like to meet you..."
~*~*~*~
"Ok. Next time you ask us to meet someone, warn us if he is any bigger than six-foot, alright?" Jackson asked, still a bit pale from his encounter with Hagrid. Lets just say he had made the mistake of eating one of Hagrid's food offerings...
"Yeah. And warn us that he is a half-giant." Shane agreed, collapsing onto a chair in the Gryffindor common room. Harry grinned slyly, his green eyes twinkling.
"I thought he was nice."
"He was funny."
"His accent was funny, you mean." Shirah added dryly, to Raya's comment.
"You didn't eat his cooking." Jackson groaned, holding his stomach. Harry winced.
"I suppose I should have warned you about that..."
"Duh." Neville laughed. He seemed to be the only one of the boys un-fazed by their encounter with Hagrid, besides Harry, of course. Jackson shot him a mean look, and then sighed.
"What now? We still have two hours to waste." He groaned, looking at Shane's wrist-watch. Harry shrugged.
"How would you like an encounter with the house elves?" He asked. Neville, who had obviously had an 'encounter' with them before, nodded eagerly. The others looked curious.
"What?"
"Come on! But be prepared to eat..." Harry chuckled as Jackson groaned at his comment.
~*~*~*~
"I feel lonely." Neville groaned, as he and Harry headed for Dumbledore's office. Jackson, Rose, Raya, Shane, and Shirah had all gone back to where they were supposed to meet their class, while Harry and Neville continued on to Dumbledore's office. Harry chuckled at his comment.
"Don't worry. You'll see them again!" Harry assured him in a teasing tone. Neville rolled his eyes.
"You think?"
"Actually, I do think, thank you." Harry returned, gaining a dirty look from Neville. Then the other boy's face lit up.
"Hey! I just realized! We missed Potions!" He crowed, jumping into the air in triumph. Harry's eyes widened as he realized that this was true, but then another thought came to his mind, completely abruptly. It had been bothering him for some time, and he felt that he needed to share it with someone, just to have someone understand.
"Neville? You know the DA group, and how we're taking on new members?" Harry asked hesitantly. Neville nodded.
"What if I told you that there were going to be several Slytherins joining as well?"
"WHAT?!?!" Neville's face turned into a thundercloud, and Harry winced.
"Dumbledore believes that they are worthy. He was the one who suggested that I allow them to join." Harry informed him. Neville's face grew darker as he thought about this one, then it lightened.
"If Dumbledore trusts them, I do too."
"That's just what I said. But there is one catch."
"What's that?"
"We have to trust one of Malfoy's cronies...or ex-cronies, though he doesn't know it."
"WHAT?!?!"
"Nev, quit doing that." Harry sighed. Neville was frozen in spot for a moment, then turned disbelieving eyes towards him.
"Which one is it? Tweedle-dumb, or tweedle-dumber?"
"Tweedle-willing to face hatred from other members, to prove his loyalty to our side." Harry murmured. Neville grinned at the joke, but then returned to seriousness.
"Which one?" He repeated.
"Goyle. But Neville, you can't tell anyone. Just understand that I have had a few run-in's with him, and I can assure you that as far as I can see, he is completely sincere about doing this. Don't ask me why." Harry sighed. They continued to walk silently as they neared Dumbledore's office.
"Alright. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, if you will." Neville agreed. Harry's mood lifted. If Neville was on his side, that was one less person who would be hostile to Goyle during the DA class.
"Thanks, Eventide. I knew I could count on you." Harry said, causing Neville to smile at the use of his new nickname.
"Welcome, boys. I assume you had a good afternoon?" Came Dumbledore's voice, as they entered his office. Neville and Harry glanced at each other and winced.
"Except for the part where the girls made us stand like dress-dummies and model our new dress robes, which, by the way, we didn't know we needed until they sprung it on us at the last minute." Neville said accusingly, glaring lightly at Dumbledore. The old professor chuckled, his eyes sparkling with mischief.
"I'm glad the rest of your day went well. Now, I have some things I need to tell you. After the feast tonight, I am going to allow the Prefects to show the guests to their rooms, before the Hogwarts students are allowed to leave. However, since your friends already know the way to the Gryffindor common room, I will allow them to stay with you, and go up with the rest of the Gryffindor's." Dumbledore murmured. Harry and Neville grinned at each other.
"Also. If there is ever a time when either of you need or want to sleep in the rooms with Mr. McBride and Mr. Biederon, you are welcome to. But steer clear of the girl's rooms, unless you have the purest intentions in mind." Dumbledore's eyes sparkled at this, and Harry wrinkled his nose at what the professor was implying. Neville, however, turned bright red and looked at the floor.
"Now, I believe that it is time for us to assemble in front of the school." The old professor informed them. Harry and Neville exchanged glances, before following him down the stairs and out to the grounds. Most of the school was already assembled there, watching eagerly for the first signs of the arriving schools.
"They'll be coming in a magicked airplane, according to Shane." Neville hissed, as he and Harry wandered over to Ron and Hermione.
"HARRY!!! Where on earth have you been? We were so worried you'd been expelled or something." Hermione exclaimed, pulling Harry into a quick hug. Ron, who had looked so relieved before, now looked as though he wanted nothing more than for Harry to be gone again. Harry smirked at this and quickly disentangled himself from her, as Neville snickered behind him.
"Where have you been?!" Demanded Ginny, turning from her place just in front of Ron. Harry quickly shook his head and then turned to look for signs of the arriving schools.
"Look! The flying carriage!" Dennis Creevey noticed it first. The whole audience watched as the horses and carriage landed, a bit harder than they remembered. Madame Maxime was again, the first out, followed by a truckload of students. Dumbledore said a few soft words to the woman, before she and her lot disappeared inside.
"If that was how many extra students we are having from them, I'd hate to guess how many more have yet to arrive." Ginny whispered, slight sarcasm in her voice. Harry and Neville once again shared significant looks, before turning to watch the Durmstrang boat rise from the lake. Dark figures walked towards them, led by a man that Harry had never seen before. All the figures were again bundled up, making it hard to see their faces.
"Spoilsports." Ron grunted, causing Ginny to giggle and Hermione to elbow him in the ribs.
"Look! Look, there!" Cried out a Ravenclaw third-year. Everyone turned to where she was pointing, and noticed a group of royal looking white horses, pulling carriages, coming up the path towards them. Three people got out of the first carriage, two woman and one man. They walked up to Dumbledore and spoke to him several minutes, before motioning to the other carriages. Immediately, smaller figures piled out, and hurried to follow their teachers inside.
"Did you see them? They are from Dormouff, I'm sure of it! I swear, they were all wearing at least one piece of gold on them, each!" Lavender Brown squealed, her blue eyes sparkling. Hermione rolled her eyes and then jumped as she spotted something behind Harry.
"But...but muggle things don't work at Hogwarts!" She exclaimed in a near- shriek. This caused everyone to turn and stare at the huge aircraft that had appeared in the middle of the grounds. Harry smirked as a figure bolted out, and began to dance a ridiculous tango with another figure who had appeared after it.
"Jackson and Shane, always the same." Neville rhymed, causing everyone around them to stare at him.
"Are they drunk?" Ron hissed, leaning over. This was meant as a serious question, but Harry simply smirked.
"Nope. Just high on themselves, like always." He muttered to Neville, who snorted. More people tumbled out of the airplane, and began to walk forward, the two dancing figures stopping as another person hit one over the head.
"Shirah." Neville whispered, chuckling. Harry winced.
"I wouldn't like to be Jackson right now." He hissed back, sniggering. They watched as two figures led the huge group of students to Dumbledore.
"The taller one's Professor Moore. The smaller one is May. She's here to help out, you know." Neville reminded him. Harry nodded, trying eagerly to catch a glimpse of the woman he had heard so much about. Somehow, Harry knew that Rose was the smaller figure just behind May, and Raya was right next to her. But there was a much smaller figure, whom Rayana seemed quite protective of, standing beside them as well, who Harry did not recognize.
"That's Raya's younger sister, Victoria. She's on the Quidditch team, and a first year...the youngest ever in Salem history." Neville explained, obviously proud of his young cousin. Harry stared, impressed, at the tiny figure, and then his eyes drifted over to Matthew, who was looking eagerly at the new arrivals. Harry couldn't help but wonder if the two young Quidditch players would come to know each other...
"Come on, Harry! We're going inside!" Hermione exclaimed, looking excited. Harry rolled his eyes and nodded.
It was time to face the music.
~*~*~*~