Part One – Visitor from the Downpour
"Bloody hell, does this rain ever stop?" Ron's voice echoed with boredom as he sat next to the window, his head propped up on his elbows as he stared glumly outside. "It's been pouring for several weeks now. I wouldn't wonder if the place flooded in a couple days..."
"Well, this house already has a Flood-Repellant Charm on it, so I don't think it will actually flood, although a couple places might leak..." Hermione's voice came through muffled through an enormous volume she was reading; the dusty cover revealed the letters: "Ancient Theories in Foreign Spells". She went on, not bothering to look up. "Leaks will be especially likely if whoever put the charm up is gone for too long, or if—"
"Hermione, he was joking, aright? I don't we need an extra lesson special charms or anything when we're already bogged down with homework." Harry looked up from his notes, ink splattered across his nose as he shook his quill. "Stupid quill... doesn't pick up the ink quite right..." The quill giggled and spit out a spurt of ink in Harry's direction, the black liquid staining the floorboards.
The three were scrunched up in a spare room of the musty old house that was the Order's base. They were busy with their homework... or at least two of them were. Ron had given up half an hour ago, throwing his notes into the air and proclaiming that he was going to leave it for later. His thoughts were preoccupied by something else. "Say, what do you think the new person's going to be like? Mum wouldn't tell me much except that she was going to be a foreigner."
Hermione shut her book, giving Ron a rather impatient look. "Ron, you'll know in a few minutes when she gets here. Stop being so impatient."
Harry struggled to stop his giggling pen from shooting ink into his mouth at he spoke in Ron's general direction. "Yeah. Why are you so intent on knowing about her anyways? Interested in a romantic relationship?"
Ron nearly blushed as he shot back indignantly, "No, I am not!" Scratching his nose, he looked outside once more. "I'm just interested in what the new person will be like..."
Earlier that day, Mrs. Weasley had told them that a new person would be joining the Order and was expected to arrive today. "A foreigner!" She had exclaimed, her eyes twinkling with excitement. "A young girl, around your age, and pretty too! I'm sure she'll be a very interesting person for you kids to know." Inside, Harry mused the prospect. 'What would be so interesting? Wouldn't she just be another foreign student or something?' His quill gave another giggle and nearly jabbed him in the eye, sending him crashing to the floor on his side in surprise. The noise almost drowned out the sound of the front door creaking open and Mrs. Weasley calling upstairs: "Kids! The guest is here!"
Promptly chucking the quill down on the floor and trying to wipe the ink off his glasses, Harry got up, robes flapping wildly as he tried to keep up the pace with Ron, who had gone crashing down the stairs like a mad rhinoceros the moment he had heard the door. Hermione, with an exasperated sigh and a muttered "boys...", quietly followed suit, trailing down the staircase.
The front door was already closed again when the three students got down, and Mrs. Weasely was seen fussing over a black-robed figure with a fluffy blue towel in hand. "Dear, you should have brought an umbrella or something! You'll catch a dreadful cold if you just walk around in the pouring rain like this!"
"I am fine, Weasely-san. Do not worry about me." The black-robed figure spoke up for the first time. It was definitely a girl's voice, but more like a cat than a human. Silky and smooth, it gave the impression of a calm, poised adult rather than a young teenager. "... I see that the others you mentioned earlier are here..."
"Oh, dear me! And I didn't even notice you three!" Mrs. Weasly quickly backed off from the figure, giving the three students a good look at the visitor's face. "Kids, meet Ayumi Haruno, the guest that I was talking about. She's just come from Japan with her new Auror's license!"
Harry only had to take one look at the girl before he realized that he was looking at someone... foreign. Knee-length raven-black hair was shiny from the rain-water, and her mismatched gold and black eyes gleamed like jewels. Unblinking, she gave the three dumbstruck students a polite bow. "Please to meet your acquaintance." Her golden eye seemed to be watching them...
"Bloody hell, does this rain ever stop?" Ron's voice echoed with boredom as he sat next to the window, his head propped up on his elbows as he stared glumly outside. "It's been pouring for several weeks now. I wouldn't wonder if the place flooded in a couple days..."
"Well, this house already has a Flood-Repellant Charm on it, so I don't think it will actually flood, although a couple places might leak..." Hermione's voice came through muffled through an enormous volume she was reading; the dusty cover revealed the letters: "Ancient Theories in Foreign Spells". She went on, not bothering to look up. "Leaks will be especially likely if whoever put the charm up is gone for too long, or if—"
"Hermione, he was joking, aright? I don't we need an extra lesson special charms or anything when we're already bogged down with homework." Harry looked up from his notes, ink splattered across his nose as he shook his quill. "Stupid quill... doesn't pick up the ink quite right..." The quill giggled and spit out a spurt of ink in Harry's direction, the black liquid staining the floorboards.
The three were scrunched up in a spare room of the musty old house that was the Order's base. They were busy with their homework... or at least two of them were. Ron had given up half an hour ago, throwing his notes into the air and proclaiming that he was going to leave it for later. His thoughts were preoccupied by something else. "Say, what do you think the new person's going to be like? Mum wouldn't tell me much except that she was going to be a foreigner."
Hermione shut her book, giving Ron a rather impatient look. "Ron, you'll know in a few minutes when she gets here. Stop being so impatient."
Harry struggled to stop his giggling pen from shooting ink into his mouth at he spoke in Ron's general direction. "Yeah. Why are you so intent on knowing about her anyways? Interested in a romantic relationship?"
Ron nearly blushed as he shot back indignantly, "No, I am not!" Scratching his nose, he looked outside once more. "I'm just interested in what the new person will be like..."
Earlier that day, Mrs. Weasley had told them that a new person would be joining the Order and was expected to arrive today. "A foreigner!" She had exclaimed, her eyes twinkling with excitement. "A young girl, around your age, and pretty too! I'm sure she'll be a very interesting person for you kids to know." Inside, Harry mused the prospect. 'What would be so interesting? Wouldn't she just be another foreign student or something?' His quill gave another giggle and nearly jabbed him in the eye, sending him crashing to the floor on his side in surprise. The noise almost drowned out the sound of the front door creaking open and Mrs. Weasley calling upstairs: "Kids! The guest is here!"
Promptly chucking the quill down on the floor and trying to wipe the ink off his glasses, Harry got up, robes flapping wildly as he tried to keep up the pace with Ron, who had gone crashing down the stairs like a mad rhinoceros the moment he had heard the door. Hermione, with an exasperated sigh and a muttered "boys...", quietly followed suit, trailing down the staircase.
The front door was already closed again when the three students got down, and Mrs. Weasely was seen fussing over a black-robed figure with a fluffy blue towel in hand. "Dear, you should have brought an umbrella or something! You'll catch a dreadful cold if you just walk around in the pouring rain like this!"
"I am fine, Weasely-san. Do not worry about me." The black-robed figure spoke up for the first time. It was definitely a girl's voice, but more like a cat than a human. Silky and smooth, it gave the impression of a calm, poised adult rather than a young teenager. "... I see that the others you mentioned earlier are here..."
"Oh, dear me! And I didn't even notice you three!" Mrs. Weasly quickly backed off from the figure, giving the three students a good look at the visitor's face. "Kids, meet Ayumi Haruno, the guest that I was talking about. She's just come from Japan with her new Auror's license!"
Harry only had to take one look at the girl before he realized that he was looking at someone... foreign. Knee-length raven-black hair was shiny from the rain-water, and her mismatched gold and black eyes gleamed like jewels. Unblinking, she gave the three dumbstruck students a polite bow. "Please to meet your acquaintance." Her golden eye seemed to be watching them...