Surprise! I wrote a chapter last night before I leave this afternoon. so.
enjoy!
- - - - -
Chapter 6 All's New in Wonderland
- - - - -
It was the shrill hooting of a very incessant owl that woke Buffy from a deep sleep. Sitting up, she tossed the covers off of her before realizing that the room she was looking at was different than the seedy, inexpensive room she'd spent the past month in.
She was at Hogwarts.
Across the room, locked inside her cage, was her new owl. It was a very pretty owl, a tawny-colored one she had decided to name Whisper, because the owl did nothing of the sort.
It stared at her with unblinking amber eyes as Buffy tripped her way around the dark room to dress. As she grabbed her boots, she stumbled over her broomstick, which had been left laying next to her trunk.
Finally, she stood up and rushed to the windows and pulled open the heavy curtains, revealing the bright sunlight flowing inside. The light illuminated her messy, disorganized room and she quickly hastened to pick things up.
Just the day before, she, Tara and Willow had arrived at Hogwarts. While Tara had been warmly greeted, she and Willow were approached like strangers. For the first time in her life, Buffy couldn't see a problem with working undercover. Except that now she was supposed to be Anne, not Buffy.
A distant noise from the other room jolted her. She pushed open the doors to her bedroom and retreated down a short hall into a large expansive room that opened up. Someone had already opened the curtains, which spilled bright light across a large stone fireplace and several long couches. With a happy sigh, she went over a small table between two of the dark chairs and glanced at the large pile of books.
Another door along the hallway burst open and Willow came tumbling out, wrapping herself in a bathrobe. "Aren't those beds amazing?" she gushed as she sat across from Buffy, automatically reaching for the book in Buffy's hands before turning the front cover and starting to read.
"Yeah, they really are," Buffy agreed as she took the second book off the stack and opened it up. "Is Tara awake yet?"
"She was up before we were," Willow replied, a hint of sadness in her voice. "She must really know where she's going, because for all I knew walking around last night, a lot of good that did me."
"What happened?" Buffy asked, absentmindedly turning pages now.
"Well," Willow began. "Once I got to this statue, this portrait of these older wizards playing cards suddenly call out to me."
"The pictures talk," Buffy said, her voice suggesting her disbelief.
"So I asked them where to go," Willow said, as though she hadn't heard her. "So I follow this hallway until this coat of armor starts wheezing. I thought there was someone inside, so I knocked on it, and this armor grabs my arm and asks me what I would think if he did that to me. I basically panicked and."
". started running," said Buffy with a nod, suddenly snapping her book shut. "Then what?"
"I ended back here," Willow said, looking confused. "I'm not sure how I did it. But all of a sudden, there was our door."
Buffy shook her head and set the book aside. Willow glanced at her reproachfully but before she could speak, the doors to their suite swung open and Tara appeared, carrying a large breakfast tray, followed by two small creatures pushing a tea cart.
"What." Buffy couldn't even begin to ask as she glanced at them. They were the most curious creatures, tiny green and brown, with long ears, little hair, and large noses shaped like a softball. Their eyes positively simpered at the presence, and they appeared to be comfortable with the attention, because neither one of them made any motion to hide themselves while Buffy stared.
"House elves," Tara replied, as though it were an everyday common practice for two house elves to walk into a room to serve tea.
"Would you look at that?" Willow asked in marvel, reaching out towards one. It turned its eyes to her, its ears flicking a bit, its tiny hands knotting in the tea cozy it wore.
"Would mistresses like some tea?" the other house elf squeaked, before offering Tara a cup.
"Oh my God," Buffy moaned. "I've walked into Giles' lair."
Willow suppressed a giggle and accepted her tea with thanks. The house elves quickly abandoned the car and darted out the door.
"They've got some pretty wicked magic on their own," Tara said, sounding mildly impressed as she added a dollop of honey to her tea. "Ea-Eat up. We have plenty to do today. We meet the staff in a bit. And we have to finish p-p-practicing your spells before the students arrive this evening." She consulted her watch. "We d-don't have m-much time."
"Okay," said Buffy, taking a sip of tea, astonished at how strong it was. She reached across the table and took a bit of toast. "Where did you get this?"
"The kitchens," Tara replied. "I'll take you on a t-tour as soon as we ge- get going."
- - - - -
Dawn was running late, she knew. As Xander waited out of the doorway to the Leaky Cauldron, far out of touch from the Hogs Head Inn, Dawn quickly shoved her last few possessions into her trunk. With a squeal, she tried to close it, and had to sit on top before she was able to stick the lock through the tiny keyhole.
She checked her watch. It was already after ten. With a quick curse, she grabbed her wand and turned to the trunk. "Locomotor trunk!" The trunk lifted a few inches from the ground. Turning next to her, she took her broomstick up and under her wand arm, seized her own owl cage. "Bloody bird," she muttered harshly under her breath. Her owl had to be the laziest ever sold. All it did was sleep. Hence its name, Sleeper.
She dragged her belongings through Diagon Alley through the Leaky Cauldron, where Xander was waiting for her. "Thanks for coming," she said, handing him her owl cage. "I was kind of worried no one would be here."
"You know you can count on me, Dawn."
So she could. Always had. And, now that she looked at him, he looked different. Maybe it was because his usual-eye patch was gone and had been replaced by a very real looking eye. When she had asked him about it the day before, he had said that wizards are excellent healers.
"Nice trunk you have floating," Xander pointed out. Dawn gasped and quickly flicked her wand so her trunk fell to the cement with a crash.
"Oh, my God. Did anyone see me?" Dawn asked, hiding slightly behind Xander, who was laughing.
"No one in the normal sense, anyway," Xander replied, grabbing a handle. "Would you care to help me out here as long as I have Sleeper?"
Dawn took the other handle and together they were able to carry and load it into the trunk of a cab, sitting across the street. The driver gave them a strange look, especially when Dawn set the owl in the front passenger seat before taking a back seat. "He likes the view," was her explanation when she saw the expression.
The moment they got to the train station, Dawn pulled out her ticket as Xander grabbed a luggage trolley and wheeled in her possessions. "Platform nine and three quarters," she muttered, confused. "Xander? Do you know anything about Platform nine and three quarters?"
"Sounds like a prank to me," he replied, out of breath because while he had pushed the cart, Sleeper had for once decided to wake and make a racket so loud the ticket conductor was muttering about animal abuse. Xander had shot him a glare before gently trying to soothe Sleeper.
Dawn was waiting for him between platforms nine and ten when he showed up, completely winded. "I hate to leave you here, Dawnie, but I need to get back to the office. If you need me," he continued, handing her a small business card. She was surprised to see that the letters kept moving and jumbling themselves into some sort of slogan. What surprised her even more was that Xander was employed at the Department of Mysteries. Putting it into the back of her mind to ask him about it later, she hugged him tightly before he ran off.
Now she was alone. Glancing at the column of stone between the two platforms, she sighed. "Now what?"
"Um, excuse me?"
Dawn nearly jumped a mile. "I'm so sorry," she cried, realizing she had nearly knocked the woman over. "Here," she said, taking the woman's hand and helping her to her feet.
"I'm here on your sister's orders," the woman continued, glancing at the clock. "We have only fifteen minutes, and I know this is your first time."
"Excuse me," said Dawn, hurrying at a rush to keep up with the woman who was now pushing the cart Xander had abandoned. "Who are you?"
"Not here," the woman replied tartly as she stopped suddenly. It was all Dawn could do to not crash into her. "This way," she said, speeding off in the opposite direction. "Here we are. Now listen to me. Run at that column."
Dawn stared at the column. "Huh?"
"Look," said the woman, taking Dawn's arm. "I know it sounds silly. But just take the column at a run. There's a barrier there and it will let you into the next platform so you can board your train."
Dawn turned toward the wall. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and broke into a full run, expecting herself to come in full contact with the wall. Instead, she stumbled out the other side and tripped over nothing, spilling out onto the platform amidst cheers and whistles.
"Ugh," Dawn muttered as she straightened, noticing the looks on students faces. Many of them looked mortified. "Um." Dawn stammered. "Excuse me."
As she attempted to break into a run, a cold hand took her elbow and she turned to see the woman standing there. "Here are your things," she said, surrendering custody of the cart to Dawn. "Find a nice compartment and stow them." Her eyes seemed to have caught something and she moved forward. Behind her, a voice cried out: "Tonks!"
"Go!" The woman ordered, pointing toward the train. "Get on!"
Dawn did as she was told, although it was with much reluctance. But as she faced the steps of the train and saw her very heavy trunk, she knew she was in way over her head. "Hey!" she shouted, seeing three boys scurry by. "Can I have a hand?"
The shortest stopped and turned to her. Dawn was surprised to see his face. He was tall, with pale skin and blonde hair that danced into his eyes, which were a soft silver-blue and alight with malice. "What do you want?" he called out rudely.
Dawn gestured helplessly at the trunk. "Help!"
"Crabbe, Goyle," the boy ordered as the two large and obnoxious looking boys flanking him stepped forward and began to lift her trunk onto the train.
"Thank you," Dawn said graciously, offering her hand.
To her surprise, he crossed his arms and stared at it. "Who are you?"
"I'm Dawn Harris."
"Are you one of those in the new American Exchange Program?" he asked in the same rude tone, indicating the tiny American flag pin she'd forgotten to remove from her purse.
"That's right," said Dawn, abandoning her own dignified tone. "And your name is."
"Malfoy," said the boy, extending his own hand at last. "Draco Malfoy." He noticed that her trunk and the rest of her possessions had been delivered onto the train. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to find the prefects compartment."
Dawn turned as he walked away before shrugging and boarded the train.
Once inside, she could drag the owl cage, her broomstick and her trunk through the crowded hallways and finally found an empty compartment near the end. Stowing her luggage took more work, but she finally was able to ask two larger looking boys who had already changed into their robes to help her put the trunk up high.
Finally, she sat down. No sooner had she finally let out a long sigh did the door burst open and a large cat came through, followed by a small crowd of both boys and girls. "Would you mind?" a muffled voice came from behind a large owl cage. "The other compartments are full."
"Not at all," said Dawn, shifting her legs aside so the figure belonging to the voice could set the cage down. The figure did and when she straightened, Dawn was surprised to see red hair and tired looking eyes.
"Harry, this way!" the girl shouted into the corridor before taking the seat across from Dawn. "I'm Ginny Weasley."
"Dawn Harris," said Dawn, adopting Draco's stance and crossing her arms. The cat purred loudly before leaping into Ginny's lap.
Three more figures burst back into the compartment. One was carrying an owl cage; the other two were dragging trunks. Dawn watched curiously as a third owl cage was added to the fray and soon everyone was settled and the train was moving. "All right there, Harry?" the boy who was sitting next to Dawn asked.
The boy named Harry nodded. He was sort of small, with messy dark hair and bright green eyes hidden behind glasses. It was then that he noticed Dawn and tilted his head in surprise. "You were at Diagon Alley last week."
"I was," Dawn replied. "I'm Dawn Harris."
"You don't have an accent," Harry said softly. "Where are you from?"
"I'm part of the American Exchange Program," Dawn replied, mimicking Draco's words.
"So that's what Draco was on about," Ginny replied, exchanging a dark glance with Harry, a sour expression on her face.
"Honestly," a vague voice filtered through. "These boys have no manners. I'm Luna Lovegood. And that is Harry Potter," she said, pointing to the boy who was sitting across from her. "And this is Neville Longbottom."
"Nice to meet you all," Dawn said with what she hoped was a friendly smile.
"So, Dawn," Harry said kindly, "where did you go to school before?"
"There was this school in California," Dawn replied, finding herself wistful about talking about her home. And yet the longer she talked about her life, the easier it was to remember.
"That was horrible," another voice groaned outside the compartment as another boy, this one tall and lanky, with the same red hair, freckles and eyes as Ginny stepped inside, followed by a shorter girl with long, bushy brown hair. "Malfoy was going on and on and on about his little secret."
"She's sitting right here," Ginny said, gesturing at Dawn.
The boy's eyes widened a bit. "Whoa."
"A pleasure," said the girl, stepping around the boy before giving him a dirty look. "I'm Hermione Granger. This is Ron Weasley. We're both the old Gryffindor prefects. And you are."
"Dawn Harris," Dawn replied softly.
Ron and Harry exchanged an amused look, further knotting the pit of anxiety inside Dawn as she looked away.
"Lunch, dears?" an older female voice sounded out.
"We'll take some of those. and some of those. and some of those." Harry was saying, handing the woman some coins before turning back, his arms full of brightly colored wraps. "Dig in!" he said, as the group dove for the packages now filtering from his arms.
Ginny took a small box and handed it to Dawn. "You've probably never had one of these before."
Dawn gently opened it. Inside, lay a chocolate frog. And it was breathing. "What?" she asked in disbelief. But before Ginny could answer, the frog let out a loud croak and leapt forward. The cat that had been resting comfortably at Ginny's ankles dove for it, chasing it through the compartment, listening to the mocking 'ribbit' and it scurried along.
"Rotten luck," Ron said, an unwrapped cauldron cake in his hand. "You might want to try the card. That's what you want, anyways."
Dawn turned the box over until the card fell into her lap. Pulling it out, she noticed there was a moving picture on the front.
"Who did you get?" Ron asked over all the sounds of noise and laughter.
Dawn didn't notice. She was still staring at the card.
- - - - -
To be continued.
Chapter 7 ( The students arrive at Hogwarts.
For the reviewers.
I have decided on a few pairings. I'm sure you could see the nice introduction into one of them. Anyway, next chapter should be up by tomorrow night! Happy Thursday!
- - - - -
Chapter 6 All's New in Wonderland
- - - - -
It was the shrill hooting of a very incessant owl that woke Buffy from a deep sleep. Sitting up, she tossed the covers off of her before realizing that the room she was looking at was different than the seedy, inexpensive room she'd spent the past month in.
She was at Hogwarts.
Across the room, locked inside her cage, was her new owl. It was a very pretty owl, a tawny-colored one she had decided to name Whisper, because the owl did nothing of the sort.
It stared at her with unblinking amber eyes as Buffy tripped her way around the dark room to dress. As she grabbed her boots, she stumbled over her broomstick, which had been left laying next to her trunk.
Finally, she stood up and rushed to the windows and pulled open the heavy curtains, revealing the bright sunlight flowing inside. The light illuminated her messy, disorganized room and she quickly hastened to pick things up.
Just the day before, she, Tara and Willow had arrived at Hogwarts. While Tara had been warmly greeted, she and Willow were approached like strangers. For the first time in her life, Buffy couldn't see a problem with working undercover. Except that now she was supposed to be Anne, not Buffy.
A distant noise from the other room jolted her. She pushed open the doors to her bedroom and retreated down a short hall into a large expansive room that opened up. Someone had already opened the curtains, which spilled bright light across a large stone fireplace and several long couches. With a happy sigh, she went over a small table between two of the dark chairs and glanced at the large pile of books.
Another door along the hallway burst open and Willow came tumbling out, wrapping herself in a bathrobe. "Aren't those beds amazing?" she gushed as she sat across from Buffy, automatically reaching for the book in Buffy's hands before turning the front cover and starting to read.
"Yeah, they really are," Buffy agreed as she took the second book off the stack and opened it up. "Is Tara awake yet?"
"She was up before we were," Willow replied, a hint of sadness in her voice. "She must really know where she's going, because for all I knew walking around last night, a lot of good that did me."
"What happened?" Buffy asked, absentmindedly turning pages now.
"Well," Willow began. "Once I got to this statue, this portrait of these older wizards playing cards suddenly call out to me."
"The pictures talk," Buffy said, her voice suggesting her disbelief.
"So I asked them where to go," Willow said, as though she hadn't heard her. "So I follow this hallway until this coat of armor starts wheezing. I thought there was someone inside, so I knocked on it, and this armor grabs my arm and asks me what I would think if he did that to me. I basically panicked and."
". started running," said Buffy with a nod, suddenly snapping her book shut. "Then what?"
"I ended back here," Willow said, looking confused. "I'm not sure how I did it. But all of a sudden, there was our door."
Buffy shook her head and set the book aside. Willow glanced at her reproachfully but before she could speak, the doors to their suite swung open and Tara appeared, carrying a large breakfast tray, followed by two small creatures pushing a tea cart.
"What." Buffy couldn't even begin to ask as she glanced at them. They were the most curious creatures, tiny green and brown, with long ears, little hair, and large noses shaped like a softball. Their eyes positively simpered at the presence, and they appeared to be comfortable with the attention, because neither one of them made any motion to hide themselves while Buffy stared.
"House elves," Tara replied, as though it were an everyday common practice for two house elves to walk into a room to serve tea.
"Would you look at that?" Willow asked in marvel, reaching out towards one. It turned its eyes to her, its ears flicking a bit, its tiny hands knotting in the tea cozy it wore.
"Would mistresses like some tea?" the other house elf squeaked, before offering Tara a cup.
"Oh my God," Buffy moaned. "I've walked into Giles' lair."
Willow suppressed a giggle and accepted her tea with thanks. The house elves quickly abandoned the car and darted out the door.
"They've got some pretty wicked magic on their own," Tara said, sounding mildly impressed as she added a dollop of honey to her tea. "Ea-Eat up. We have plenty to do today. We meet the staff in a bit. And we have to finish p-p-practicing your spells before the students arrive this evening." She consulted her watch. "We d-don't have m-much time."
"Okay," said Buffy, taking a sip of tea, astonished at how strong it was. She reached across the table and took a bit of toast. "Where did you get this?"
"The kitchens," Tara replied. "I'll take you on a t-tour as soon as we ge- get going."
- - - - -
Dawn was running late, she knew. As Xander waited out of the doorway to the Leaky Cauldron, far out of touch from the Hogs Head Inn, Dawn quickly shoved her last few possessions into her trunk. With a squeal, she tried to close it, and had to sit on top before she was able to stick the lock through the tiny keyhole.
She checked her watch. It was already after ten. With a quick curse, she grabbed her wand and turned to the trunk. "Locomotor trunk!" The trunk lifted a few inches from the ground. Turning next to her, she took her broomstick up and under her wand arm, seized her own owl cage. "Bloody bird," she muttered harshly under her breath. Her owl had to be the laziest ever sold. All it did was sleep. Hence its name, Sleeper.
She dragged her belongings through Diagon Alley through the Leaky Cauldron, where Xander was waiting for her. "Thanks for coming," she said, handing him her owl cage. "I was kind of worried no one would be here."
"You know you can count on me, Dawn."
So she could. Always had. And, now that she looked at him, he looked different. Maybe it was because his usual-eye patch was gone and had been replaced by a very real looking eye. When she had asked him about it the day before, he had said that wizards are excellent healers.
"Nice trunk you have floating," Xander pointed out. Dawn gasped and quickly flicked her wand so her trunk fell to the cement with a crash.
"Oh, my God. Did anyone see me?" Dawn asked, hiding slightly behind Xander, who was laughing.
"No one in the normal sense, anyway," Xander replied, grabbing a handle. "Would you care to help me out here as long as I have Sleeper?"
Dawn took the other handle and together they were able to carry and load it into the trunk of a cab, sitting across the street. The driver gave them a strange look, especially when Dawn set the owl in the front passenger seat before taking a back seat. "He likes the view," was her explanation when she saw the expression.
The moment they got to the train station, Dawn pulled out her ticket as Xander grabbed a luggage trolley and wheeled in her possessions. "Platform nine and three quarters," she muttered, confused. "Xander? Do you know anything about Platform nine and three quarters?"
"Sounds like a prank to me," he replied, out of breath because while he had pushed the cart, Sleeper had for once decided to wake and make a racket so loud the ticket conductor was muttering about animal abuse. Xander had shot him a glare before gently trying to soothe Sleeper.
Dawn was waiting for him between platforms nine and ten when he showed up, completely winded. "I hate to leave you here, Dawnie, but I need to get back to the office. If you need me," he continued, handing her a small business card. She was surprised to see that the letters kept moving and jumbling themselves into some sort of slogan. What surprised her even more was that Xander was employed at the Department of Mysteries. Putting it into the back of her mind to ask him about it later, she hugged him tightly before he ran off.
Now she was alone. Glancing at the column of stone between the two platforms, she sighed. "Now what?"
"Um, excuse me?"
Dawn nearly jumped a mile. "I'm so sorry," she cried, realizing she had nearly knocked the woman over. "Here," she said, taking the woman's hand and helping her to her feet.
"I'm here on your sister's orders," the woman continued, glancing at the clock. "We have only fifteen minutes, and I know this is your first time."
"Excuse me," said Dawn, hurrying at a rush to keep up with the woman who was now pushing the cart Xander had abandoned. "Who are you?"
"Not here," the woman replied tartly as she stopped suddenly. It was all Dawn could do to not crash into her. "This way," she said, speeding off in the opposite direction. "Here we are. Now listen to me. Run at that column."
Dawn stared at the column. "Huh?"
"Look," said the woman, taking Dawn's arm. "I know it sounds silly. But just take the column at a run. There's a barrier there and it will let you into the next platform so you can board your train."
Dawn turned toward the wall. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and broke into a full run, expecting herself to come in full contact with the wall. Instead, she stumbled out the other side and tripped over nothing, spilling out onto the platform amidst cheers and whistles.
"Ugh," Dawn muttered as she straightened, noticing the looks on students faces. Many of them looked mortified. "Um." Dawn stammered. "Excuse me."
As she attempted to break into a run, a cold hand took her elbow and she turned to see the woman standing there. "Here are your things," she said, surrendering custody of the cart to Dawn. "Find a nice compartment and stow them." Her eyes seemed to have caught something and she moved forward. Behind her, a voice cried out: "Tonks!"
"Go!" The woman ordered, pointing toward the train. "Get on!"
Dawn did as she was told, although it was with much reluctance. But as she faced the steps of the train and saw her very heavy trunk, she knew she was in way over her head. "Hey!" she shouted, seeing three boys scurry by. "Can I have a hand?"
The shortest stopped and turned to her. Dawn was surprised to see his face. He was tall, with pale skin and blonde hair that danced into his eyes, which were a soft silver-blue and alight with malice. "What do you want?" he called out rudely.
Dawn gestured helplessly at the trunk. "Help!"
"Crabbe, Goyle," the boy ordered as the two large and obnoxious looking boys flanking him stepped forward and began to lift her trunk onto the train.
"Thank you," Dawn said graciously, offering her hand.
To her surprise, he crossed his arms and stared at it. "Who are you?"
"I'm Dawn Harris."
"Are you one of those in the new American Exchange Program?" he asked in the same rude tone, indicating the tiny American flag pin she'd forgotten to remove from her purse.
"That's right," said Dawn, abandoning her own dignified tone. "And your name is."
"Malfoy," said the boy, extending his own hand at last. "Draco Malfoy." He noticed that her trunk and the rest of her possessions had been delivered onto the train. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to find the prefects compartment."
Dawn turned as he walked away before shrugging and boarded the train.
Once inside, she could drag the owl cage, her broomstick and her trunk through the crowded hallways and finally found an empty compartment near the end. Stowing her luggage took more work, but she finally was able to ask two larger looking boys who had already changed into their robes to help her put the trunk up high.
Finally, she sat down. No sooner had she finally let out a long sigh did the door burst open and a large cat came through, followed by a small crowd of both boys and girls. "Would you mind?" a muffled voice came from behind a large owl cage. "The other compartments are full."
"Not at all," said Dawn, shifting her legs aside so the figure belonging to the voice could set the cage down. The figure did and when she straightened, Dawn was surprised to see red hair and tired looking eyes.
"Harry, this way!" the girl shouted into the corridor before taking the seat across from Dawn. "I'm Ginny Weasley."
"Dawn Harris," said Dawn, adopting Draco's stance and crossing her arms. The cat purred loudly before leaping into Ginny's lap.
Three more figures burst back into the compartment. One was carrying an owl cage; the other two were dragging trunks. Dawn watched curiously as a third owl cage was added to the fray and soon everyone was settled and the train was moving. "All right there, Harry?" the boy who was sitting next to Dawn asked.
The boy named Harry nodded. He was sort of small, with messy dark hair and bright green eyes hidden behind glasses. It was then that he noticed Dawn and tilted his head in surprise. "You were at Diagon Alley last week."
"I was," Dawn replied. "I'm Dawn Harris."
"You don't have an accent," Harry said softly. "Where are you from?"
"I'm part of the American Exchange Program," Dawn replied, mimicking Draco's words.
"So that's what Draco was on about," Ginny replied, exchanging a dark glance with Harry, a sour expression on her face.
"Honestly," a vague voice filtered through. "These boys have no manners. I'm Luna Lovegood. And that is Harry Potter," she said, pointing to the boy who was sitting across from her. "And this is Neville Longbottom."
"Nice to meet you all," Dawn said with what she hoped was a friendly smile.
"So, Dawn," Harry said kindly, "where did you go to school before?"
"There was this school in California," Dawn replied, finding herself wistful about talking about her home. And yet the longer she talked about her life, the easier it was to remember.
"That was horrible," another voice groaned outside the compartment as another boy, this one tall and lanky, with the same red hair, freckles and eyes as Ginny stepped inside, followed by a shorter girl with long, bushy brown hair. "Malfoy was going on and on and on about his little secret."
"She's sitting right here," Ginny said, gesturing at Dawn.
The boy's eyes widened a bit. "Whoa."
"A pleasure," said the girl, stepping around the boy before giving him a dirty look. "I'm Hermione Granger. This is Ron Weasley. We're both the old Gryffindor prefects. And you are."
"Dawn Harris," Dawn replied softly.
Ron and Harry exchanged an amused look, further knotting the pit of anxiety inside Dawn as she looked away.
"Lunch, dears?" an older female voice sounded out.
"We'll take some of those. and some of those. and some of those." Harry was saying, handing the woman some coins before turning back, his arms full of brightly colored wraps. "Dig in!" he said, as the group dove for the packages now filtering from his arms.
Ginny took a small box and handed it to Dawn. "You've probably never had one of these before."
Dawn gently opened it. Inside, lay a chocolate frog. And it was breathing. "What?" she asked in disbelief. But before Ginny could answer, the frog let out a loud croak and leapt forward. The cat that had been resting comfortably at Ginny's ankles dove for it, chasing it through the compartment, listening to the mocking 'ribbit' and it scurried along.
"Rotten luck," Ron said, an unwrapped cauldron cake in his hand. "You might want to try the card. That's what you want, anyways."
Dawn turned the box over until the card fell into her lap. Pulling it out, she noticed there was a moving picture on the front.
"Who did you get?" Ron asked over all the sounds of noise and laughter.
Dawn didn't notice. She was still staring at the card.
- - - - -
To be continued.
Chapter 7 ( The students arrive at Hogwarts.
For the reviewers.
I have decided on a few pairings. I'm sure you could see the nice introduction into one of them. Anyway, next chapter should be up by tomorrow night! Happy Thursday!