Disclaimer: I don't own any Harry Potter characters apart from Leah, who is my creation.

A/N: well, here's another chapter for y'all. Enjoy, Mia xx

Chapter 3: Hogsmeade

Leah gave a sigh as she walked out of the door of the common room. She could hear the group of girls giggling as the door closed. She stood for a minute, regaining her confidence and started walking upwards. It wasn't until she had gotten to the library that she didn't know the first clue to getting to the Gryffindor common room. She sat outside the library thinking quickly at how she was going to get there. Perhaps the girls were meant to tell her but forgotten, or maybe it was part of her task. But the fact she had to face was that she was in a new school, in which she had to do something near to impossible for someone who was new, and had no idea what so ever, started to scare her. Before she became too scared, she decided to go into the library to find someone who could help her.

As she walked into the large building in which row upon row, shelf upon shelf of books were placed, stacked, and even crammed into it. She looked about her to find tables where people were reading, looking up or studying. As she looked around at each table, her eyes fell on two familiar faces. They seemed to have noticed her coming too and waved; a motion to come and join them. Leah made her way towards them.

"Hi, are you lost?" Annie said.

"Er, not really. I'm just looking around," Leah said, trying to sound convincing, both to herself and the two Gryffindors.

"Oh, do you want us to show you around?" Callisto asked excitedly.

Leah was positively speechless at her proposal, and nodded her head before they became suspicious of her reactions.

It was half an hour later that Leah came to stand in front of a life-size portrait of a fat lady. They proceeded to climb though the hole on the other side of the portrait after saying the password ('Chocolate frogs'). Leah walked into find a fairly lage, very cosy room with assorted lounges and chairs spread around a fire crackling merrily. Leah liked this common room, much more than the Slytherin one. She felt much more at home, the friendly warmth surrounding her.

Annie and Callisto walked over near the fire and fell into the couch, and motioned for her to join them. Leah sat down on a couch, sinking comfortably a few inches. There, they started to talk.

"So, do you have a boyfriend?" Annie asked shyly, going a little red.

Leah smiled, remembering her fond memory of home and her childhood friend and boyfriend, Chris. "Yes," she said and watched the two girls giggling, joining in herself. "He finished school last year and works for the ministry now a days. I think he lives somewhere near Oxford."

"What's he like?" Callisto asked when the giggles had subsided.

Leah thought for a moment, picking out the appropriate words to describe him. "Well, he's very sweet and conservative. But most of all he's a great friend," both of them looked confused and Leah added, "I mean, we've been friends longer than we've been a boyfriend/girlfriend. So sorry to bust your bubble, but not much has happened between us, really."

They both looked a little disappointed, like a flat tyre, but proceeded to keep the conversation going. Annie smiled a little when she said, "I finally got asked out by Dean Thomas the other day. We're going to Hogsmeade next weekend!"

Leah smiled, slightly puzzled, "Where's Hogsmeade?"

"It's the town next to Hogwarts. Actually, it's the only non-muggle town in England. It's great, the shops. The pub has the best Butterbeer too," Callisto explained.

As they sat and talked about their home, a black figure appeared though the hole. The figure came up to the fire and slid his hood off to reveal a head of messy, black hair and a pair of bright green eyes peering from under it. He smiled when he looked towards Callisto and then shifted his vision to Leah. "Hi," he said. "You must be that exchange student. I'm Harry, Harry Potter."

Leah didn't believe what she had heard at first and shifted her eye sight to his forehead to see a scar in the shape of a thunderbolt. She took in his extended hand to shake it and said, "It's nice to meet you."

"Harry's my boyfriend," Callisto said beaming at Harry.

Harry lowered his gaze to the ground, as Leah said, "Oh."

It was clear to Leah that Harry was a little embarrassed, so Leah was careful not to look at him and changed the subject. After a brief moment, Harry excused himself to find Ron, which Leah guessed was a friend of his.

Their conversation moved to what they were going to wear to the next Hogsmeade weekend, and they climbed up a staircase to the girls' dorm to go though their clothes.

As Callisto went though several outfits and was getting changed into her fourth, and Annie had gone to the bathroom, Leah saw a red and gold striped tie lying forgotten on the ground. She creped silently and pocketed the tie. She resumed her position on the bed and waited for Callisto to come out with yet another outfit while she fiddled with her ring.

After a further 10 minutes of going though all the clothes the two girls had, Leah was tired and felt ready to just hand the tie to Pansy and get into bed. She asked the girls to take her to the Entrance hall for she didn't know her way, and would make her way back to the Slytherin common room from there.

Once she had gotten herself to the door of the common room, she gave the password, and entered to see all five of them sitting on the couched deep in conversation. Once they had realised that she had returned, they rushed to her and started asking her questions. "What took you so long?" "What did you have to do?" "How did you get there?" But Leah didn't wish to listen and walked straight to Pansy, handed her the tie and sat down. The others sat around her as if ready to listen to a good story. Leah took this action into cue, took a deep breath and started telling her story from the start. No one interrupted her, but no one noticed Pansy looking very malicious either. Pansy clenched her teeth at the thought of Leah being triumphant. Secretly, Pansy had hoped Leah wouldn't succeed, but she cursed at the fact she didn't make her task hard enough and that the others had persuaded her to do so.  However, she pasted on a smile, congratulated her, and sat down to listen to the heroic tale.

The following week had passed by and no sooner had Leah come to Hogwarts, she was now able to walk about the school without assistance. She was also now familiar with the landscape, the teachers (and their habits) and the various corridors, stair cases and passages in the castle.

But it was now finally the weekend and the whole castle was bustling with the sound of excited voices discussing the events that would be held during that weekend.

Snatches of conversations remained in Leah's head from the days before, plans and places to go; the pub, a joke shop, a haunted house. Leah had never been to a non-muggle town before and was eager to go.

Even now, as she looked about from her table at breakfast, she could see a noticeable difference in the faces of the professors. Some she knew as strict and uptight, perhaps, where now a little more relaxed at the prospect of the weekend.

She looked back down at her porridge and raspberries and ate energetically as she thought about the weekend.

Later, Leah found herself at the edge of Hogsmeade with Pansy and Elise beside her, pushing and pulling her towards shops in all directions. Book shops, clothes shops, lolly shops, shops of any kind stood around her, and happy students in black robes bustling around her. Feeling a spur of energy rush through her body, she buzzed around every shop, every corner and every shelf. Time flew as Leah made her way about Hogsmeade and she soon realised that two hours had passed and only one shop stood not looked in to.

The Three Broomsticks stood, busy with people inside and noises of laughter and chatter coming out of the luminated windows. The three pushed their way through the crowd to the counter were Madam Rosmerta, a pretty land lady took their orders of three Butterbeers with a wide smile.

They turned to find a table to sit at and faced three figures – they were Malfoy and his goons. Malfoy sneered at them; perhaps his way of smiling, and Crabbe and Goyle stood behind him, hopeful of the chance to get their hands on some Butterbeer.

Pansy shot in from behind, "Hi Draco. Want to come and sit with us?"

Malfoy didn't look at all pleased at her suggestion, and started saying "N-," but thought better after catching Pansy's glare and flatly said "Alright."

They all sat down at a big round table and started discussing about the workload the professors had given them.

"I swear, that essay Professor Binns gave us, it's as long as I am tall. And McGonagall's not going easy on the homework either. Not like she ever does though," Pansy complained.

"Well, thanks to my mother telling Snape off for the work load he gave me the other day, I don't have any homework at all for this week. It's good that she's got a lot of influence, so I don't expect he'll make me do any home work at all for a couple of weeks either," Malfoy said looking pleased at himself. Either side of him, Crabbe and Goyle sat a little lost, but stupidly smiled as if something good had happened to them instead of Malfoy.

Elise gave them a strange look and continued the conversation. "Divination's getting a little harder; I'm running out of things to put in my homework. But she seems pleased with it anyhow." She continued to tell the boys with a sneer, "But it's lucky for Pansy – Leah's become Trelawney's new victim." Elise secretly shot a sympathetic look at Leah.

Pansy snickered, a facial expression that Leah had learned to despise. "Yeah, thanks for that."

"It's not like I really have a choice or anything…" Leah muttered.

Leah could see over Malfoy's shoulder Annie and a boy with dark features sitting huddled together, both a little embarrassed but neither unhappy of each others' presence. Leah suspected this was dark-skinned, dark-haired Dean Thomas and smiled. Two lovers - how cute, she thought. As she sat and watched the huddled couple, she realised that she hadn't received any letters from her boyfriend. She felt guilty that she hadn't written to him either, but it was his turn to write to her anyway. She didn't realise until now that she missed him so much either.

She jolted back to reality with the mention of Harry Potter. It was Malfoy, "Thinks he can walk around and expecting everyone to worship him, eh? Well, I'm not going to bow onto my knees for a crackpot idiot like him," he said oozing with disgust that you could clearly hear. Leah could hear him mutter under his breath, "Saint Potter."

Leah snorted at this remark, "Where'd you get that from, Draco?"

Malfoy looked at her, those cold grey eyes boring into hers, "What does it matter to a muggle-lover like you, Leah?"

Leah was quite taken aback at this, both at the fact that he knew her name and the fact that he had called her a muggle-lover. Leah felt herself burn at his remark, gave him a cold look and said, "What does it matter to you that I make muggle friends?"

Elise looked cautiously between the two and quietly placed her Butterbeer onto the table. Even Crabbe and Goyle seemed to notice that something was wrong and seemed to be extra quiet, not to break the silence in such a timid atmosphere. Only Pansy made any different facial expression; she was glaring at Leah. Others that passed the table may have noticed the unfriendly environment the table had created, or maybe even seen electric sparks fly between Draco and Leah. Each of them glared at the other for the last time and both turned their heads simultaneously away – neither of them had anything more to say to the other.

Malfoy drank the rest (which was at least half) of his Butterbeer in one huge gulp, set his flask down with a thud and ordered for Crabbe and Goyle to follow him. They stalked out of the pub, Malfoy giving Leah one last, cold look and shut the door behind him. Pansy immediately set into a rage with Leah, "Why the hell did you do that? Now, we've got no company, and he'll never speak to us again!"

"What are you complaining about, Pansy? I think it's good getting a little peace now and again, with his boasting and racist comments. The way you talk about him would make others think that Malfoy is God or something," Leah said, her temper getting the better of her.

Pansy reddened in the cheeks and pursed her lips, still glaring at her. Leah had had enough, and stood up, the chair making a high pitched dragging sound as she did so. Everything else went a blur as Leah stormed out of the Three Broomsticks, down the high street and up towards the castle.

A/N: so what do you think? R/R please!