Note: Sorry if any part of this chapter or the rest of the fanfiction seems like it's going by really fast. I'm sort of on a time restraint.

Chapter 4: The Alliances

Aiden exploded through a fireplace, covered in soot, just as Hermione and Ron fell on top of her. Coughing up dust, she pushed the two off of her and got up, dusting herself off. It was then that she finally realized that she was in the middle of busy street.

"Ron, stay with Aiden. I'm going to drop off our bags at the Leaky Cauldron and go find Harry. I'll meet you two at Flourish and Blotts so we can help her get her books."

Ron nodded obediently and Hermione strutted off haughtily. A smile crossed Aiden's face.

"She's kinda bossy isn't she?"

Ron seemed to finally have something he could talk about with her.

"Kinda? She is a bossy know-it-all who apparently wants to rule the world and thinks everything can be found in books. But…(his facial expression softened a bit) She has heart in the right place."

Aiden laughed.

"Well, Ron. Why don't you gimme a tour of this uhh… Diagon Alley?"

"Trust me. Let's just go to Flourish and Blotts. You'll have a tour later because we'll be going to just about every store in this alley to buy school stuff."

Suddenly, a thought dropped into Aiden's mind like a lead weight.

"Ron… I don't have any money!!!"

"What????? You're broke????"

"I'm not broke! I just don't have money with me…It's all in the bank!"

"Oh! Phew! I was worried for a moment! Don't worry! Then we'll just go to Gringotts right now. Wizard Bank."

"Wizard… Bank?"

"Don't worry, they'll handle it."

About thirty minutes later, Aiden and Ron stepped out of an immaculately white, Greek structured building. There was a surprised look on Aiden's face.

"Who knew I could have my entire 'Muggle' bank account transferred into Gringotts?"

Ron smiled and put an arm around Aiden. With the other arm, he swung it out grandly.

"My friend… Welcome to the world of magic! Now let's get to Flourish and Blotts! I think we're late already…"

The two ran into a quaint little bookstore where Hermione was talking to a messy, black haired, green-eyed boy. The boy turned around and waved at Ron. In turn, Ron grabbed Aiden's arm and dragged her towards the two.

"Ron!! It's great to see you!!"

"Good to see you too, mate!"

Aiden smiled, pretending to fit in, but Hermione knew she felt left out, so she introduced her.

"Uh, Harry! You remember when I told you about that student that was transferring into Hogwarts and Dumbledore had asked Ron and I to help her out? Well this is Aiden Wang! She's transferring in this year!"

"Hi, I'm Harry Potter."

"Hi!"

Harry seemed taken aback that Aiden had absolutely no reaction to his name and no questions about his scar or whatnot. But nevertheless, he was extremely happy about this lack of attention.

The rest of the day went by in a blur. Aiden thought that when she left home, she had brought a lot of items with her, but after the day was done she decided she would have to buy a new trunk just to fit it all. She had nine new textbooks, which scared the crap out of her because she had never had more than seven classes before. There were new robes and uniforms in her bag. A model of the universe was weighing her back down and unfortunately; Hermione said that they still had more things to get. The four stopped in front of an old and shabby corner store.

"Welcome to Olivander's. You get your wand here," Harry said. The golden trio was taking turns introducing the wizarding world to Aiden.

"What exactly is a wand for…?"

"So you can use magic…duh."

"I can already use magic."

"So can all of us, but a wand is a way to control your magic and focus it."

"Is that all? Oh good! Then I'll be saving some money! I don't need a wand."

The trio's eyes bulged out.

"WHAT???? You don't need a wand?????"

"Why… is that weird?"

Harry and Hermione looked at Ron, the most experienced of the three.

"Uh, well Dad's never said that a witch or wizard really needed a wand. I suppose it's just become a formality over the years…"

"Aiden, you are sure you don't need a wand? Because you can't come back here for a while. Not until Christmas."

"I'm sure, Hermione."

"Well then I suppose the only thing left is do you want an animal?"

"Nah, one's enough. Fat, lazy Hermes."

The four laughed and joked around all the way back to the Leaky Cauldron.

The two weeks before the start of school were quiet, but certainly not uneventful. Everyday, Aiden learned a little more about this world she had never known about. Her eyes glazed over in happiness every time she thought about it. But there was a dark side too. There were questions that Aiden had…Why had she missed out on this her entire life? Why was she forced to believe that was some sort of freak when there was an entire world of people just like her?

She retained a lot of magical information in two weeks. Her head was swimming, but she enjoyed every minute of it. Aiden learned a something a little different from each person:

From Hermione, Aiden had learned just about everything about Hogwarts (the houses, the classes, etc.) and what books would be especially helpful to read for school, which she was extremely grateful for.

From Harry, she had learned the basic rules of the wizarding sport… Quidditch.

From Ron, she had learned about what Quidditch were good and why (hardly relevant but highly interesting)

She felt quite at home with the entire Weasley family, Mad-eyed Moody, Lupin, and Tonks. Between the nine of them, when September first came, Aiden felt like she had been a witch her entire life. Now, she could actually carry on a conversation with Fred and George about what spells could be helpful in sales, or a conversation with Lupin about how boggarts are extremely complex creatures with no real identity.

However, what fascinated Aiden the most now was Harry. She knew that he hated the attention he had gotten and for good reason. He had lost his parents to some evil jackass and grew up with abusive relatives. Harry made her feel extremely fortunate for the life she had grown up with. And yet, all the same, Aiden felt like she had a secret bond with Harry, like they had something in common, but mentioned none of it. It was took much to think about for her Californian, not-a-care-in-the-world mind.

It was raining the day Aiden, Harry, Ron, and Hermione left on the Hogwarts express and it was pretty much hailing when reached the actual castle. Aiden was awestruck by the magnificence of the castle. She had never seen anything so big in her entire life and she knew, the moment that she stepped into the Great Hall that this would be her favorite room forever. She saw Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall sitting at the front of the room and as everyone began to seat him or herself, Dumbledore stood up.

"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I think we all look forward to an exciting year! For many of you, sadly this will be your last year! So enjoy Hogwarts to the fullest! Now! Let the sorting begin!"

Aiden watched as tiny little kids stumbled up to the three-legged stool and the sorting hat was placed on their tiny heads. After a few moments of silence, the hat would yell out a house name and then move onto the next child. She was dying of curiosity to find out what house she would be in and decided she would have to talk to Dumbledore after the feast, but Dumbledore had not forgotten about Aiden. After the sorting had finished and a quiet chatter had commenced amongst the students, Dumbledore stood up again.

"I'm sorry everyone, but we still have one more student to sort. This girl is a special case. She is from America and is transferring into her seventh year at Hogwarts. Aiden Wang!"

Whispers filled the room, which made Aiden feel extremely nervous. Now she understood why the children were so anxious. The entire school was watching you, including the ghosts, which was slightly unnerving. She fidgeted on the stool as Professor McGonagall placed the hat atop her head. The hat spoke to her in a most frustrating tone.

Aiden Wang… Ah yes, it's all here… I still remember the day I sorted your grandfather. Your mind is a splitting image of his…Intelligent, cunning, hates following rules, and a bit sly. Do you like to lie a lot?

Umm, a little, not a lot.

Mmhmm, well, this is certainly a tough choice…I see courage is in your blood as well. Stubborn, but flexible… My, my you are certainly a complex child aren't you?

Aiden sat for what seemed like hours until finally the hat yelled out: "SLYTHERIN!!!"

The Slytherin table cheered as Aiden looked over at Hermione, Ron and Harry. The three looked crestfallen, as if Aiden had just died or something. She could understand why. Hermione had told her the Slytherin was not a good house.

Whatever, it's just a house right?

End.