A/N: Hey everyone! I'm really sorry if my chapters are coming along really slowly…sometimes I just can't think of ideas, so I'm open to suggestions! Now, a couple thanks to my reviewers:
Ice queen11: Well I put her in Gryffindor! I don't think things would've worked out if she was in Slytherin…like that dream in the first chapter…and the fact that a death eater tried to kill her. And the thing about Malfoy…it might change…but it's a good change because at the end of the fic…wait I'm giving out too much…you'll just have to find out! Thank you so much for the review!
Kinz: Well there's your name! Thank you so much for reviewing FOUR times!!!
And, a thanx to my beta, Jessie! She's written a really great fanfic (so far at least) and would really like some encouragement so please R&R her fic as well as mine. Her user name is Tennistar514. Another really good writer is Bookworm127 so please R&R hers too! By the way, if this chapter doesn't get enough reviews, I may drop the story. Thank you so much for everyone who has reviewed. Now the story continues…
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"Harry? Hermione? Have you seen my new set of quills? I can't find them anywhere!" Kelli shouted exasperatedly while digging through her massive pile of clothes, socks, robes, and other pieces of clothing. She had been putting her things into her trunk and searching for lost items for quite awhile now, and it was driving her mad. She was excited, frustrated, and nervous at the same time. Tomorrow was the day she would be going to Hogwarts to learn magic and such. The thought of everyone not liking her haunted her mind for the past couple days now, even after Harry and Hermione tried to ease her nerves.
"I think you left it on my bed," Hermione called back from playing chess with Harry and getting impatient from losing 27 times in a row.
Kelli found her way through streams of brand new supplies and to Hermione's room. There, on the neatly-made bed, was her set of new and gleaming quills. She picked them up and made her way back to her own room, which was a pig pen compared to Hermione's. Putting the quills in a case, she set them on her desk to put into her trunk later.
Meanwhile, downstairs Harry and Hermione were having an interesting conversation while playing Harry's brand new chess set he had gotten from Ron for his birthday.
"So, what do you think of Kelli?" Hermione asked as she moved her knight.
"What do you mean? I think she's ok," Harry replied, staring at the chess board.
"I mean, do you fancy her?" she questioned with an insane grin that was very much unlike her.
Harry blushed at the question. He didn't know the answer. Part of him said she was super beautiful, with her long brown hair that shone in the light, and her bright green eyes almost identical to his, and slender body with a creamy complexion. The other part of him said he didn't know her long enough and shouldn't depend on first impressions or looks. After all, he had only known her for less than a month.
"I don't know. I don't know her well enough," Harry admitted. His stomach churned as Hermione grinned harder.
"Oh? I don't know about that. I mean, I've known her the same time as you and I seem to like her just fine," Hermione said lightly, trying to persuade Harry to confide his real feelings about Kelli to her.
"I don't know Hermione. I just don't know," Harry cried, getting very annoyed by her endless number of questions. They carried on like this for almost an hour with their forgotten chess game and Hermione not very successful with her goal. Fortunately for Harry, Kelli came down and plopped onto a nearby couch, tired and worn by packing.
"I'm finally done! I don't know how you manage with all that stuff! Where are your parents, Hermione?" Kelli said exhaustedly.
"Oh, they're out to dinner. Apparently they wanted to leave us alone and enjoy an evening together," Hermione answered nonchalantly. "We should probably get to bed. It's almost ten. We have to be there by 11 tomorrow to catch the train!"
The three of them trudged upstairs and went their separate ways into their own bedrooms. None of them fell asleep though. Harry was busy thinking about Hermione's questions and his two inside thoughts. Hermione was brewing up an idea to get Harry and Kelli together. She knew that they liked each other, but was afraid to admit it. Kelli was too excited and nervous to sleep. She wondered if anyone was going to like her, and if she would be sorted into a good house. Harry and Hermione were both in Gryffindor. She didn't want to be in Slytherin with Malfoy and Matt. The other houses seemed okay, according to Harry and Hermione. Soon she drifted off with images of what she thought Hogwarts would look like floating around in her head.
***
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP Harry turned off the alarm clock that Hermione had put in his room. Today was September 1st, the day that he would be going back to Hogwarts and be reunited with his companions. Most of them, anyway. Hermione had told him that the Daily Prophet reported a total of 20 deaths this summer, mostly Muggles. Voldemort didn't care whether everyone knew he was alive or not. Though he would have to plan his attacks very carefully, and make sure his death eaters would do the same.
Harry got up and got dressed in a garnet colored sweater and tan pants. He stuck his wand in his pocket and went to feed Hedwig an owl treat. Gazing out the window, he thought of Sirius. Sirius had "died" just about four months ago, and Harry had not gotten over the fact that he wouldn't be there to talk to, to complain to, to ask for advice from. 'It's all my fault', Harry thought. No matter how much Hermione and Ron tried to comfort him, he still felt that feeling of pure guilt inside him. HE was the one who led Sirius to the Department of Mysteries. HE was the one who caused the whole thing. HE was the one who acted without thinking.
A tear came out of Harry's eye and glided down his cheek, soaking into his dry lips. Another came after that and dripped onto the windowsill. He quickly wiped his face as a knock at the door brought him to his sense and opened it. There stood Kelli in a knee-length skirt and a silk blue blouse. She had tied her hair back into a bun and wore the tiniest bit of make-up. In her ears were big silver hoops. This was a common outfit for usual girls, but Harry thought she looked gorgeous!
"Hello? Harry? Breakfast is ready! We're leaving in 45 minutes," Kelli said, snapping her fingers in front of his face. He snapped back down to Earth and averted his eyes. Kelli laughed and turned her heel to go downstairs, dragging her new trunk full of supplies behind her.
Harry smelled fresh pancakes as he ambled into the kitchen rubbing his eyes. Sure enough, there was a stack of steaming pancakes dripping with syrup at an empty spot at the table.
"Good morning, Harry. Eat up now, we'll be leaving in 45 minutes," Mrs. Granger called from the sink.
Harry ate with big mouthfuls until finally there was nothing left on the plate, not even a single drop of the sweet sticky sap. This was all within a ten minute period.
"Hungry no, aren't we?" Kelli teased. She hadn't even finished half of her stack yet. Harry just nodded and glared, too full to speak. Kelli laughed.
***
Half an hour later, the four of them were loading the Grangers' truck. Harry, Hermione, and Kelli sat in the back with their trunks and pets. The ride took 20 minutes and before they knew it, they were this close to going back into the world of magic. When they arrived at Kings Cross, Kelli got confused. If she was going on a train full of wizards and witches, why was everything so Muggle-like?
"Platform 9 ¾. There is no 9 ¾!" Kelli exclaimed, looking around wildly for some sign of magic. She suddenly spotted a family of redheads in front of a barrier that divided Platforms 9 and 10, carrying trunks much like hers. Watching intently, she saw a girl about a year younger than her and the mom and dad walk toward the barrier, then…disappeared! Kelli gasped. She headed toward the last redhead, who turned out to be the boy she had met in Diagon Alley, Ron.
Dodging the streams of people milling about, Kelli tried not to lose the bright glob of fire, with Harry and Hermione at her heels. As she neared the barrier, Ron disappeared and she felt a hard shove from behind her. The three of them went tumbling into the wall of bricks. Kelli, thinking that she was going to collide head-on to the hard surface, put her hands out to stop her face from getting banged up. But it was taking her too long to get hurt, she thought, and opened her clamped eyes as a pair of arms enveloped her in a tight embrace to stop her from falling over. She looked up and found herself staring into a pair of ice blue orbs. They locked eyes for 5 seconds before Kelli realized that she was in Malfoy's arms gazing at him in front of all these people.
"What gave you the right to touch me?" Kelli snarled, pushing a stunned Draco away from her.
For a second it seemed like he was defeated, then his trademark smirk came back and he said, "Like I would want to actually touch a filthy Gryffindor-likers." Without another word, he stalked off with Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle right behind him.
Kelli blushed and clenched her fists. "I'm gonna get him some day."
"Don't, it's not worth it," came Harry's voice from behind her. She had totally forgotten that he was there. "We better go, the train's leaving in five minutes."
"Ok," Kelli replied as the two of them carried their trunks onto the scarlet steam engine. "Where are Hermione and Ron?"
Harry shrugged while suppressing a grin. "Probably off snogging somewhere like they usually do."
"Snogging?" Kelli wondered aloud.
"Oh yeah, sorry, I forgot you came from the Americas. Our word for what you would say making out," Harry explained.
"Oh," Kelli said, turning red once again(she seems to do that a lot, huh?)
Harry laughed and they chatted amiably while looking for an empty compartment. They finally found one at the back of the train, only occupied by Ginny.
"Hi Harry!" Ginny exclaimed enthusiastically. She hadn't totally gotten over him, but decided against being shy but outgoing instead. While he was occupied with his many crushes, she insisted to herself on having a boyfriend as well, knowing that when Harry comes to his senses, she'd dump her current lover for him. "Who's the girlfriend?"
"She's not my girlfriend. Her name's Kelli and she's Hermione's cousin from the States," Harry explained to her.
"Hi. I'm positive I've seen you before. What's your name?" Kelli asked, concentrating on Ginny's face. She HAD seen her somewhere, she just couldn't remember where.
"Ooooo a non-britsh accent, huh? That's bloody amazing. Well, my name is Ginny, and I'm Ron's younger brother. You probably saw me in Diagon Alley," Ginny gushed.
Kelli nodded, remember the family of red hair. Harry and Kelli silenced themselves and sat down. Soon, Ron and Hermione came bursting through the doors, breathless.
"Hey Harry. Sorry about leaving you two at the station. We needed to get onto the train before it started going," Hermione said.
"That's alright. Are you two going to be in here for the rest of the ride of patrolling the compartments?" Harry asked.
"We're supposed to be patrolling, but we can stay in-" but he was cut off by Hermione.
"No Ron! We're prefects! We have to be watching out for miscreants and such. Not goofing off. Now come on. We'll see you later, Harry," Hermione said as she dragged a disappointed looking Ron out of their compartment. The three of them laughed.
The train ride to Hogwarts was peaceful, until Malfoy and his two sidekicks came in.
"Well, well. We meet again, Kelli," he sneered. "You might want to be careful around Potty and the little weasel. Or I might have to give you a detention."
"Leave us alone, Malfoy," Kelli said, her voice calm and collected. "You don't have the authority to give us detentions. You're just a prefect."
Malfoy was taken aback. "Since when are you the brains of Hogwarts?"
"Since now. And I know a lot more than you think I do so you'd better get out unless you want some hexes from me," Kelli replied.
"Oh yeah? I'm not scared of you," Draco said, getting out his wand. Harry and Ginny both jumped to their feet and pointed their wands at Malfoy. But Kelli got there first. She uttered a word out of nowhere and green sparks sent their enemy and his two sidekicks out of the compartment. Harry and Ginny looked at Kelli with awe.
"Wow. I thought you didn't know anything about magic," Ginny whispered. "That must have been a N.E.W.T. level spell."
Kelli was terrified. She had used magic before even getting to school. She had sent a student flying through several compartments. She had injured a fellow human. She, Kelli Matthews, was going to be expelled before even getting to Hogwarts. "I-I didn't m-m-mean to. I really didn't. I don't know how it happened. I just know that he was really making me mad. So some weird word just came out of my mouth and I just knew what I was doing."
"Wow. That's amazing," Harry murmured.
"Yeah. I guess so," Kelli sighed. The rest of the train ride was silent until Hermione and Ron came back to inform them that they were almost there and they'd better change into their robes.
Kelli and Harry crossed the lake in silence and when they got to the carriages, Kelli gasped.
"Whoa. Creepy. What is that…THING that pulls the carriages?" she asked to anybody who was willing to answer her question. Several people gave her a strange look, but the one Harry gave her was the strangest, and for a different reason.
"You can see them? Who did you see die? The only people who can see them are the ones who have seen people die," Harry said.
Kelli's face fell. She didn't need another reminder of her childhood playmate's death. "I saw my best friend die when I was one. Just one. I don't even remember what happened. One second she's there with me the next a green light comes out of nowhere trying to hit me, but she ran in front of it."
Harry was thinking. It was probably a death eater. But why would they want Kelli? She might have a secret talent hidden somewhere. But they had reached the castle, so Harry had to think about it later.
A woman with a stern face brought them inside the castle and told them to wait there. Soon after, she came back and led them into the Great Hall. When Kelli was at the doorway, however, an old man with a silver beard so long it touched the floor came up to her and told her to follow him. He brought her to a nearby office and told her to sit down.
"Kelli Matthews. Welcome to Hogwarts. I am Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School for Witches and Wizards. Now, I was informed that you sent Mr. Malfoy flying through the compartments on the train. Am I correct?" he said to her, eyes twinkling.
Kelli blushed. "Yes sir."
Dumbledore pulled on his beard, thinking. "Hmm. Very interesting. Ok, let's take you to the Great Hall to get sorted."
Kelli, who was very confused, followed him out of the office into the Great Hall, where everyone was silent as the grave. Professor Dumbledore brought her to a dirty and frayed hat upon a stool and told her to stand next to it. He then walked up to his seat and announced the school.
"Welcome back to another year at Hogwarts! Firstly, I would like to inform you that the Forbidden Forest is off limits to the first years, as well as the older students. Secondly, you all know that Voldemort is on the loose, so be warn your families to be careful and do the same with yourselves. Thirdly, our new Head Boy and Head Girl are Cho Chang and Artemis Jevel. Lastly, we have a new student from the Americas. Her name is Kelli Matthews and I hope that you will all make her feel very comfortable and welcome here at Hogwarts. Now she will get sorted."
Kelli, knowing that this was her cue, put the hat on cautiously and sat on the stool. She jumped slightly when a little voice entered her head. Hmm. Very difficult. I suppose Slytherin would do. But you have great knowledge, so Ravenclaw wouldn't be bad. Very brave too. Gryffindor is perhaps a choice. Now which do you prefer?
Kelli, not knowing about the houses since nobody had told her, let the hat decide. I don't know. I thought you were supposed to sort me.
Of course. Then you can go into…
"Gryffindor!" The hat shouted.
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A/N: I was gonna make her a Slytherin, but decided against it. Anyway, please review! I really need some encouragement and stuff since I lost all those reviews! I know it's not exciting right now but I'm still like sort of on the background info and stuff…it'll get a lot better, I promise. If I don't get at least five reviews from different people, I may not continue. Anyway, review!