In this chapter, I am either assuming there is a bathroom and somewhere to store clothes in the dormitories or else inventing them – I don't know which.

Thankees:

Sandra/Sandra S.: Thanks for reviewing TWICE! I really appreciated it. I'm not quite sure what you meant about people from the north, cos I'm from the north of Australia if that's what you meant. I'm glad you like my story! I will put you in next chap, most probably!

RBM: Thankyou too for reviewing TWICE! You are weird, you do know that, don't you?

Michelleywelley: Thankyou again. I'm glad you like Ben.

Cat-lvr-92: That's true. And I guess you're right about the song, too. Maybe I'll change it. I'll add you in too. And thanks for reviewing TWICE as well!

Gidget: I certainly will! Thanks Steph!

Chapter Eight – The Great Harry Potter

"Girls, your dormitory is through this door, boys, through this one. Your luggage has already been brought up. Goodnight!"

Ben waved to Charlotte and headed through the door. Charlotte followed Victoria through their own door and up a spiral staircase into a rather large room with five four-poster beds with scarlet hangings. Charlotte recognised her trunk on the end of the row and made for it. Victoria was next to her, which was a relief.

She opened her trunk and began rifling through it, trying to find her pyjamas. Then she looked around and saw a door, which she presumed led to the bathroom.

Inside was a small bath, a mirror and a bench, with a cupboard underneath. A closer inspection of the cupboard revealed soap, shampoo, conditioner and cloths for all of the girls. There were towels stacked in a corner and the whole thing was tiled with red and gold.

Charlotte quickly changed and emerged from the bathroom.

"What?" exclaimed Amanda, the American girl. "Are you going to bed already?"

Charlotte's eyes widened slightly and she froze to the spot. Once again, Victoria came to her rescue.

"Why not?"

"Because it's a weekend tomorrow," replied Amanda, shaking her head and speaking slowly as if she were explaining the one plus one equalled two to a small and slow two-year-old. "We can sleep in, so we don't have to get to bed early."

"What do you suggest we do in the meantime?" asked Victoria.

"Talk," replied Rachel. "You know … get to know each other a bit. Come on, where is everyone from?"

"Well," Philippa said, "I'm Philippa Ryde, also known as Phil or Pip. I'm eleven and I'm from London. My parents are both magic, by the way."

Rachel nodded. "Well, I'm Rachel Reilly. I'm eleven and I live in Dublin. My brother is that prefect, Shay. Git."

Amanda raised her eyebrows. "Well, I'm Mandie Elcovitz. I'm from San Francisco and I hate England, so there."

Victoria spoke up next. "My name's Victoria MacDougal, though I much prefer to be called Vic, and I'm from Edinburgh. My big sister is Stephanie, and she's in Slytherin."

Everyone turned to Charlotte. "I … I -" Charlotte broke off, took a deep breath and then continued. "I'm Charlotte Vaughan. I now live in Surrey, but I lived in Darwin, Australia for all my life until this June. I'm a Muggle born, apparently."

"Cool! You're from Down Under! Is it hot down there?" asked Rachel.

"Yeah, it is in Darwin, but in Sydney and Melbourne and all that it can get pretty cold in winter. It even snows in some parts."

"Hey Charlotte, you said that you knew that Ginny girl, and she showed Ben Harry Potter! Did you meet him?" asked Vic suddenly.

"Yeah," replied Charlotte slowly. "Why?"

"Oh my God!" shrieked Rachel. She tumbled off her bed, where she had been sitting with the others crowded around her, and crawled to Charlotte's feet. She stood and looked up to Charlotte, about an inch away from her, and demanded, "Is he cute?"

Charlotte was startled by such a question. "I … guess so …"

"Oh, he is so talented!" Rachel cried. "I can't wait to see him play Quidditch. He's meant to be really good. And he has a Firebolt!"

Pip whistled appreciatively. "Wow," she said enviously. "I've only got a Comet Two-Sixty!"

"And that's not to mention all the things he's done!" cried Vic. "I was sitting on the train with a seventh-year called Ernie Macmillan and he was only too happy to tell me. In his first year, he saved the Philosopher's Stone from You-Know-Who. It was some stone that gave you eternal life or something. In his second year, he saved Ginny Weasley, the girl Charlotte knows, from Tom Riddle, the sixteen-year-old memory of You-Know-Who, and saved the school from a Basilisk. In his third year – Ernie didn't know this for sure but it was a rumour – he helped Sirius Black to escape from the Ministry and saved him and his friends from Dementors, and then in his fourth year -"

"He helped Sirius Black to escape?"

Pip was staring at Vic in horror. "Why on Earth would he do that?"

Vic shrugged. "Anyway, in his fourth year, he was in the Triwizard Tournament and got past all these horrible monsters and stuff, and then he witnessed You-Know-Who's return. Only, no one believed him and we all thought he was a lunatic, but in his fifth year You-Know-Who turned up at the Ministry and everyone was apologising and everything. Then last year, Ernie says that his friend, a werewolf, was kidnapped by You-Know-Who and Harry tried to save him, but it was too late. You-Know-Who's still out there and … yeah."

Vic suddenly looked embarrassed for babbling on for so long, but everyone was drinking in every word.

"Wow …" murmured Rachel. "I never knew that."

Charlotte was amazed that the polite, modest, helpful boy from the train had done all of these things. She was just at a loss to understand one thing …

"Who's You-Know-Who?"

Three of the four girls around her suddenly looked uncomfortable. "Well," said Pip slowly, "Nobody says his name. He's the darkest wizard alive and Harry Potter was the one who nearly defeated him when he was just a baby. Now he still fights him and he always gets away. Nobody knows how."

"Do you mean …" Charlotte struggled to remember the name. "Lord … Voldemort?"

The three British girls flinched. Amanda studied her nails, looking bored.

"Yep, that's him," said Rachel weakly. "Please don't say the name again!"

"All Harry's friends did," Charlotte told her.

"Yeah, well … they've probably all fought him. They all know what he's capable of. We don't … we're scared."

Charlotte nodded. "Um … you guys don't mind if I go to bed soon, do you? Only I'm really tired
and -"

"Go ahead," said Pip.

Charlotte smiled gratefully. She walked back to her trunk was and pulled out a toothbrush, toothpaste, a hairbrush and her glasses case. She headed for the bathroom.

OK, I know it's a boring chapter, but the next one should be better, kapeesh? Review, kapeesh?