Harry, Ron, and Ginny went through the barrier and entered the train. Ginny went to go look for her other friends, and Ron went to the Prefects car, leaving Harry alone for two hours. He walked around to go save Ron a seat. He walked in and out of a couple compartments before he picked one. Ron came back, and as he was just getting settled they were interrupted.

"'Ello," said a pale-haired girl as she walked into the compartment, "Can I sit in 'ere wiz you?"

"Sure, why not?" said Ron.

"I am Ashley Coultier and I am a foreign exchange student from France," the girl explained. She seemed like nothing but a wisp of a human, like she was not all there.

"I'm Ron Weasley, and he's Harry Potter," Ron introduced.

Harry didn't even begin to notice the newcomer, not even when the door opened, again.

"Is Ashley in here?" a very tanned boy asked.

"Julio, you must learn not to follow me everywhere," Ashley giggled.

"I'm Julio, from South America," he greeted. His hazel eyes set off a real contrast with his brown skin.

"I'm Ron; he's Harry."

"Hola." Julio sat down and began talking animatedly with Ashley.

"Excuse me, but I am afraid there is not enough room for me in any other compartment." Ron looked to Harry to see if this other person had irritated him. Harry just looked silently worried about something, not bothering with anyone else.

"I'm Ron; he's Harry," he said, sounding like a recording.

"I am Antonio. I live in Spain. My family's blood runs long with wizard lineage." He set his gray eyes on everyone in the room before sitting down.

"That's nice," Ron mumbled.

With the slightest curl of the lip and flick of the head from Antonio, Ron knew exactly what kind of a person he was. His arrogance seemed unmatchable, if, of course, you exclude one Draco Malfoy (who hasn't made an appearance, yet, thankfully). Harry and Ron knew they weren't going to be able to talk in secret. They got up to walk to the next compartment, but someone was in there that Harry didn't want to deal with.

"Hello, Harry," said Cho.

"Erm…hi," he muttered.

Ron understood his look and slight nod, and he kept walking to the compartment after that one, Harry following close behind.

"Malfoy," Ron snarled as closed the compartment door behind them. (There he is.)

Draco Malfoy was talking to a girl with wavy dark brown hair that fell below her shoulders and round brown eyes who was sitting in the walkway, with one leg curled under the other. Her face was oval-shaped, and she had high cheek bones. She had the slightest dent in her chin that gave her a look of defiance.

Her face was sort of pretty, but not something you take second glances at. No, what distracted Harry and Ron from coherent thought for about two seconds was her build. She had an hourglass shape in the most complete sense. She was top-heavy with thick thighs and a relatively trim stomach. They couldn't tell her height by the way she was sitting.

When Harry regained coherent thought, he could tell she really didn't care about what Malfoy was spouting off about. Ron and Harry didn't bother walking past, but they went back to their compartment, (with Harry ignoring Cho) only to find it empty.

"Who do you suppose that was with Malfoy?" Ron asked as they sat down.

"No idea," Harry replied offhandedly, "She was trying to look interested in what he was saying. But it looked like she was bored, or feeling something unpleasant. She's probably one of those annoying foreign exchange students." He really wasn't paying attention. He was thinking about something a little more pressing than Malfoy's new friend.

"What's wrong, Harry?" questioned Ron after a minute of silence.

"It's Hermione. Her last letter was in the beginning of July. She hasn't written since. Now she seems to not be on the train. I'm really concerned about her," he explained.

"Didn't I tell you about the new program?"

"Obviously not." The irritation in Harry's voice was clear.

"Well, Hogwarts is part in sponsoring a foreign exchange program. It's where four Hogwarts students are to go to different countries to learn about wherever they're at. Then, the other countries are to send one student each to spend a year at Hogwarts. If the student from wherever likes it here, they can graduate next year with us. Hermione's gone to a different country. In return, we're to get a same gender student from­­­­— "

That door opened again, cutting off Ron's sentence. "Can I sit in here?" a girl asked tentatively.

Harry scowled at her, really annoyed someone else had interrupted their train ride. "Sure," he replied derisively.

Ron noticed it was the girl from before; the one who was talking to Malfoy. "Eh…you mean that? Or were you being sarcastic?"

"Hey, Ron. One of those exchange students actually noticed I don't appreciate their presence," Harry remarked coldly.

She suddenly looked furious. "Dude, lay off me, alright? I seem to be pissing everyone off, today. I've been kicked out of too many compartments to take any more crap from people!"

"Calm down," said Ron softly to both of them. "You can sit here if you've no other place to go," he added to the girl.

"Maybe I don't want to, if he's going to hate me," the girl snapped. She switched a gray pet-carrier from her left to her right hand as she pointed at Harry. A black and white ball of fluff was mewing from inside the carrier.

Harry sighed. "I'm not going to hate you."

"Right…"

"I'm sorry, okay? The other three exchange students were really irritating. My other best friend is missing. I was just about to find out about her when you came in here."

The look of anger vanished and was replaced by one of understanding. She smoothed out her shirt that read, 'boo!' beneath her robes before she said anything. "I'm sorry, too. I'm kind of snappish. I haven't done anything, and two people have yelled at me and told me to get out. Three, if I count you. I…I don't take to that too well." She sat down hesitantly. They were silent for five minutes before Ron couldn't take it anymore.

"You're not from around here, are you?" Ron tried to make conversation.

She didn't look too thrilled with the question. "Nah. I'm with the foreign exchange program, just as this kid insinuated."

"You're the American, then? Or are you from somewhere else?" Ron inquired.

"USA! All the way!" the girl said with life as she shot her arm straight up to stress her point.

Her enthusiasm for her country caught Ron off guard, so he had to think for a minute to get back his train of thought.

"Know what I realized?" noted Harry.

"What?" said Ron.

"We've been sitting in the same compartment for about fifteen minutes, and not once have we introduced ourselves." The girl answered before Harry did. "I'm Elizabeth Pentillo." She stuck out her hand.

"I'm Ron Weasley. You already know about him—,"

"Um…what? I don't know him," Elizabeth said as politely as she could while she shook Ron's hand. Harry and Ron could see that she was starting to become more comfortable around them, despite the earlier riff.

Ron's mouth opened in surprise. He tried to say, "You really don't know anything about him?" but it wouldn't come out.

"I'm Harry Potter," Harry answered for himself, shaking Elizabeth's hand. "Nice to see that there's at least one person who doesn't know a thing about me."

"What makes you so special that everyone can recognize you? Famous or something like that?" Elizabeth questioned. Her eyes lay on the lightening bolt scar on Harry's forehead.

"Something like that," Harry smiled.

"You're sure you don't know," Ron said.

"I'd know if I knew this kid from somewhere. Seeing's how I don't, then I'm pretty sure I know nothing about him except his name."

It then dawned on Harry the reason why the American press wanted to do the article on him. Apparently, American citizens had no clue about him. "You mentioned before you were kicked out of a couple compartments. Why?"

"Some rich snob kicked me out once he found out my mom was a muggle." Harry knew instantly Malfoy was the one to kick her out of the first car.

"What about the other compartment? " Ron asked.

"Never mind." Elizabeth rolled her eyes, as though it were totally ridiculous.

"Well, I could tell you what every single witch or wizard knows, or I could give you every single bloody detail. I don't know you well enough to give you every detail. If I told you what everyone else knows, you'd just ask 'Why?' to everything."

"True, true," Elizabeth nodded.

"So, I'm going to get to know you a little bit better before I decide whether you're friend or foe." Harry hoped to Merlin she understood and didn't take it the wrong way.

But she just shrugged it off while Ron pulled out his chess set. Then her eyes widened. "I'll play you," she offered quickly.

"Alright," Ron agreed, a grin pulling at the corners of his mouth. She had know clue about who won Gryffindor fifty points in his first year because he could play chess, and she was about to find out; the hard way.

She put up a good fight, for someone against Ron, that is. After Ron lost count of his wins, he pulled out his Exploding Snap cards and taught Elizabeth how to play.

(A/N: Okay, then…I guess the chapters are going to continue to be this long…Hmmm…I wonder if I planned it this way…Nah, that'd be giving me way too much credit for something I didn't even do…R&R PLEASE!!! I just want five! Five bloody reviews! Is that too much to ask? Is it, I ask you? Ok…I'm finished rambling…*phew* Next chappie up tomorrow…maybe…possibly, don't count on it…)