A/N: It is now three days before Christmas, 2004 and I have three announcements. The most important one is that last week, in Thailand, the Scottish team took the World Championship Title by winning their Final Match in Elephant Polo. Truly a great moment for that Celtic Nation.

Slightly less important is JK Rowling's announcement that she has finished writing book six. By the time you read this, the publishers may already have announced a release date.

The least important of these announcements has to do with this story. I suddenly realized that I had the story completely wrong and spent all night rewriting the last nine chapters. Malcolm would never have met Ron first. They would never have introduced him to the floo network just like that. Being new to the world of magic, Malcolm would have gone to England by ordinary means. Naturally, the school administrators would have made sure that someone met him at the airport. I sincerely regret any inconvenience this may cause you, the readers, but I felt I should write the story properly.

That's rubbish and even I know it. He planned on doing this from the beginning. But now he's got me curious as to who I'm going to meet.

Chapter Twelve: Crossing The Pond.

"Malcolm," Lois yelled. "Hurry up or you'll be late.

"I'm coming," Malcolm yelled as he closed his suitcase.

"This is great," Reese said. "Now I have my own room."

"Hey," Dewey yelled. "This is my room, too."

"Not for long, you little jerk. If they can get rid of Malcolm, they can get rid of you, too."

"They're not getting rid of me, Reese," Malcolm told him. "I'm going to an exclusive school overseas where I can develop my skills."

"Yeah, and Francis is the President of the United States."

"Francis was elected President?" Dewey asked. "No one tells me anything."

"Reese, you don't even know who the President is."

"Yes, I do?"

"Who is he?"

"That guy on television. I don't have to remember his name."

For Reese, that's pretty close.

"I've got to go. I have a plane to catch."

Malcolm grabbed his suitcase and walked out of the bedroom.

"Did you say goodbye to your brothers?" Lois asked.

"REESE, DEWEY, GOODBYE. Yeah, Mom."

"Good, now get in the car."

Malcolm looked out the window as they drove to the airport. Hal looked in his rearview mirror and saw the frown on his face. "What's the matter, Malcolm? I thought you'd be excited."

"I guess. I've never been away from home before. What happens if I don't like it or something?"

"Well," Hal said, pausing. "Lois, do you want to field this one."

Lois scowled at Hal then turned back to look at Malcolm. "You'll have a great time, honey. You're going to learn all sorts of new things, and make new friends. By this time next month you won't want to come home."

"Like Francis?"

"No, not like Francis." Lois took a deep breath. "Malcolm, our agreement was that you have to go. What if it turns out to be great? Then you'll feel like a jerk for talking us into not sending you. And nobody said you have to stay . If it's that bad you can come home, but you have to give it a try. Can you live with that?"

Malcolm nodded.

"Promise me you'll give this school a chance, Malcolm. Don't complain just because you feel like it."

"I promise, Mom."

"I mean it, Malcolm. These people are going out of the way to help you. They even have that Mister Granger meeting you at the airport. He's going to help you get you school supplies and everything when he takes his daughter to that Magic Mall or whatever it is."

"It's called Diagon Alley."

"And you be nice to them, too. That little girl could be a good friend to have."

"But what if she's like the Krelboynes? Mom, I hated that class."

"And you learned a lot there, too. Don't forget that."

"Yeah, Mom."

"Malcolm." Lois made sure she had his attention. "We're doing this because we love you. You have a gift, and you have to learn to use it properly. What kind of mother would I be if I let you do anything you wanted regardless of how dangerous it was, or even worse, made you do only those things I wanted you to do? You're like a bird, Malcolm, and I don't like it either, but it's time to push you out of the nest so you can learn to fly."

It's weird but I actually feel better.

"I promise, Mom. I'll learn to fly."

Lois returned her son's smile. "Get ready. You have a long flight ahead of you."

"Do you have your ticket?" Lois asked.

"Yeah." Malcolm answered.

"Oh, I almost forgot. You need this."

"What is it?"

"Your passport."

"Thanks, Mom." Malcolm looked at the booklet he was given. "Mom, this is a British passport?"

"That's right. You were born there."

Malcolm swallowed. "It's all real?"

Lois gave him a hug. "Don't think of this as leaving, Malcolm. Think about it this way. You're going home. It will make you feel better."

"I'll miss you, Mom. And could you tell Dad?"

"You could tell him yourself if he hurries up and parks that car."

Malcolm snorted and said his last goodbye.

"MOM, MALCOLM," a voice called out.

"FRANCIS!"

Lois turned around. "Francis, You're supposed to be working at that summer camp.

"Those kids can cook their own meals for the last couple of days. I want to say goodbye to Malcolm before you send him away, too."

"Francis, this is great. I thought I wouldn't get to see you."

"You almost didn't, sport. Are you Okay?"

"Nervous. All of this is new for me."

"Make the best of it, Malcolm. If you play your cards right, you can get thrown out and be home by Christmas."

"FRANCIS?" Lois yelled.

"He's kidding, Mom. I promised I'd give it a try." Malcolm turned to Francis. "Mom already promised that I could come home if I didn't like it."

Francis arched an eyebrow. "So Mom, you're really not kicking him out."

"Um, Francis," Malcolm said. "I don't know if Mom and Dad told you . . ." He showed his brother the passport.

"They finally told you? I guess you're old enough to know."

"Francis? You knew?"

"I was there when they brought you to the house. Of course I knew."

"You never said anything?"

Lois looked surprised. "Francis? You never said anything?"

Francis looked embarrassed about being caught doing something decent. "He's my brother. That's all he needed to know."

Lois put her hand on his arm. "Thank you. But you're still going back to that Military School."

Francis grabbed Malcolm's hand. "Goodbye, squirt. I guess I don't get any time off for good behavior."

"Malcolm," Lois prompted. "It's last call for your flight."

Malcolm paused. "It really is goodbye."

"Get going," Lois insisted. She turned him around and pushed him toward the gate so he wouldn't see her cry. As Malcolm left, Francis hesitated, then put his arm around his mother to console her.

Malcolm was wide-eyed when he walked off the plane with the stewardess.

She's a Flight Attendant. They don't like being called Stewardesses anymore.

"That's him. Mum," a girl called out in a bossy voice. "I'm sure of it."

Malcolm looked over to see a girl his age with bushy brown hair and large front teeth. "Over here." the girl called, while her mother said, "Now, Hermione."

"You're him, aren't you," Hermione said.

"Who?"

"Malcolm. Of course you are. It's right there on you're name tag. You have to wear that I suppose."

I wonder if it's too early to check on return flights.

"I'm Reese. I traded name tags with this other kid."

The flight attendant laughed. "This is Malcolm. Don't let him tease you. He was a model passenger."

Yeah, right. I stayed up all night last night so I could sleep on the Red Eye. Who wants to arrive someplace at Nine in the morning and be dead tired.

"He was a regular sleepy head," the attendant assured Hermione.

"That was smart," Hermione said to Malcolm. "I'll wager you stayed up all night to make sure you could sleep. I'd hate being tired at nine in the morning."

"Uh, yeah."

"We're ready, Malcolm," Mrs. Granger said. "Let's get your trunk and we'll settle you in. We have a busy day tomorrow."

"Mum, if Malcolm's rested, we could finish our shopping today?" She turned to Malcolm. "Mum worked it out so we have most of your supplies," then she added conspiratorially, "but there were some things we couldn't get for you." Malcolm nodded as he showed the customs officer his passport. "You have a British passport? That is curious. I didn't think the school accepted Americans. Do you live there or where you just visiting? You're not very talkative, you know."

"You haven't given me a chance to say anything," Malcolm said testily. "Where's your mom?"

"Getting your trunk." Hermione answered. "Look, I'm sorry for how I'm acting but you don't know what it's like. I haven't had anyone to talk to about this." She paused as Malcolm glared at her. "I guess you do know." Malcolm nodded. Hermione lowered her voice to a whisper. "Do you want to see Diagon Alley today? I know I can talk my mum into it."

Hermione would fit perfectly in the Krelboyne class. She has everything. She's smart. She's eager to show off. And she never thinks about anyone else. On the other hand, everyone's been talking about magic, but . . .

Malcolm smiled. "Okay."

Hermione waited for her mother to return with Malcolm's suitcase. "Mum, Malcolm said yes. So we can get it out of the way."

"Is that the truth, Malcolm."

"Yeah, sure."

"Should I stop by the house so you can change, or go directly downtown?"

"Mum, this is the wrong way."

Hermione was exasperated. First, they had to go back home, then she had to wait for Malcolm to change. Now they were taking the wrong road to Charring Cross. She also made sure that Malcolm and her mother knew she was upset.

"Hermione," her mother said. "Diagon Alley isn't going to disappear, and we still have plenty of time. I thought I'd drive by some of the sights for Malcolm's sake. This way he can decide where he wants to go tomorrow." She added in that tone which said do this or else, "Why don't you point things out to Malcolm?"

"There's a chemist," Hermione said testily.

"No it isn't," Malcolm replied. "It's a drug store."

"We call it a chemist," Hermione said pointedly.

"Hermione," Mrs. Granger said. "Malcolm is a guest in our country."

"He's as British as we are, Mum. It's only he talks funny." She took a deep breath and then talked to Malcolm in a condescending voice. "This is Trafalgar Square. It's named in honour of Lord Nelson."

"Then why don't they call it Nelson Square?"

"Because," Hermione said with polite annoyance, "Lord Nelson won a great Naval battle against the combined fleets of the French and the Spanish at," she looked snidely at Malcolm, "guess where?"

"Where?" Malcolm asked ingenuously.

"Trafalgar, of course." Hermione screamed..

"Hermione," Her mother cautioned. "Don't take that attitude with Malcolm."

"I can't help it, Mum. I asked him which naval battle Trafalgar Square was named after and he couldn't figure it out."

"Not everyone is as smart as you are, Dear." It was obvious that Mrs. Granger had used the line many times before.

"But it's so frustrating. I can recite Pi to twenty places off the top of my head and this boy can't even put two and two together."

"Look," Malcolm said. "It's Big Ben."

Mrs. Granger was mildly impressed. "I see you studied up on London, before you came here, Malcolm."

"They always show pictures of it. It looks bigger in real life."

"It is interesting to note," Hermione pointed out. "Big Ben is actually the name they gave to the largest bell in the clock tower. They named it after Sir Benjamin Hall who was the chief commissioner of works when the clock was built."

"That's marvelous, Hermione. I never knew that. Did you, Malcolm?"

"Uh, yeah. I think I read it somewhere."

"Really?" Hermione said in mock surprise.

"Really. I think it was in one of those trivia books you buy for the bathroom."

"Mum, are we almost to Charring Cross yet." Hermione decided it was best to end the conversation.

"Maybe you should wait until tomorrow," Mrs. Granger said and turned the car around.

Hermione had successfully avoided Malcolm until dinner but now she had to join him at the table.

"How's my little precious," Mr. Granger said to his daughter.

"I'm fine, Dad," Hermione answered. "Where's Malcolm?"

"The guest room. Your mother said he was taking a nap. Jet lag, I assume. Could you run upstairs and get him?"

"Could we leave him there?"

Mr. Granger laughed. "Don't you like our guest."

"Dad, I'm not saying he's stupid or anything, but if he isn't standing still, he'll lose his train of thought."

"Now dear, everyone can't be as smart as you. Why don't you run up and fetch him."

"He'd probably feel more at home if you yelled for him," Hermione gruffly replied.

"He's not what she expected," Mum said to Dad, stating the obvious.

"Then let's make him feel at home. MALCOLM, DINNER."

Hermione looked at her father in surprise, but his grin was too much to keep her in a bad mood. Then Malcolm came running down the stairs, and she actually smiled.

She's laughing at me. I know it.

"Did you have a good nap, Malcolm." Mr. Granger asked as he showed Malcolm to his seat.

"I was kinda tired, but that bedroom's weird. Everything's pink."

"My sister uses it when she comes to visit. I think you're the first boy to use that room. Peas?"

Malcolm looked surprised. "You serve the food?"

Mr. Granger looked at Malcolm in surprise. "How does your family do it?"

"Mom puts the stuff on the table and calls us, then stands back."

Mr. Granger smiled. "How many brothers and sisters do you have?"

"Three brothers, but Francis has to work at a summer camp, and then he has to go back to military school, so we hardly ever see him."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"And it's really unfair. It's not like it was even our car." Malcolm paused, not noticing everyone staring at him. "I guess I'm just not used to things here. Sure, I'll have some peas."

"Ah, yes," came the reply.

This is the strangest meal I've ever had. Everyone is actually polite and they ask for things. I asked for another bread roll and you know what they said? "Do you want the butter as well?" If it were Reese, he'd grab the last one and tell me "too bad".

"That was good," Malcolm said as he finished.

"You had a healthy appetite, Malcolm," Mr. Granger told him. "Hermione, why don't you show Malcolm the neighborhood while we clean up?"

I like this guy. He gives orders more politely than anyone I know of. But I do have one problem with Hermione showing me around. I have to go with her.

"That sounds like fun, Mr. G," Malcolm chirped.

"I'd love to, Dad." Hermione gave a look of complete resignation as Malcolm followed her out of the house."

"I like your house," Malcolm said politely. "It's a nice color."

"White is a lovely color," Hermione agreed. "And this is the street."

"I guessed."

Hermione began walking and Malcolm followed her. She would point out something now and then and Malcolm would say it was nice and make some bland comment.

I know. She isn't enjoying this, but I am. If she wants to boss me around, she's going to have to work at it.

Then she paused and said, "Let's not go this way."

Malcolm looked at the large building ahead of them. "Is that your school?"

"My old school."

"Those girls looking at us. Are they your friends?"

"No," Hermione said too quickly.

"Well, they're walking this way." Malcolm smiled as Hermione became distinctly uncomfortable.

I know what's going on. Those aren't her friends. They're her classmates. Hermione doesn't have any real friends. She's too smart for them to deal with. Any friends she has are probably this country's version of the Krelboynes. A bunch of losers. Malcolm paused. Just like my friends. Dang, it's those stupid morals Dad warned me about.

Malcolm eyed the approaching girls carefully. They were obviously coming toward him and Hermione, and Hermione couldn't walk away without extreme embarrassment.

At least I've got a plan. It's really Francis' plan, but I've seen it work.

"Hermione, I need to tell you something before your friends get here." Malcolm took her hand as he said, "Two."

"What are you talking about." Hermione was clearly surprised by Malcolm's change of tone. "What do you mean by Two.

"Pi. The twenty-first place after the decimal.

Hermione looked at Malcolm in surprise, forgetting about the girls for a second, and forgetting that Malcolm was holding her hand. All she could think about was that Malcolm had spent all day lying to her. The stupid moron she had been stuck with was at least as smart as she was.

"Hermione," a girl called out as she walked up, a big smile on her face. "We saw the two of you walking." Then she asked in a tell me everything voice, "Who is he?"

Hermione suddenly remembered the girls, and the fact that Malcolm was still holding her hand and smiling at her.

"I know I've never seen him before." another girl said, eyeing Malcolm curiously.

"Your boyfriend's cute," a third girl added.

"This is Malcolm," Hermione said as she began to blush, which only made her former classmates more eager to learn about her new boyfriend. " He's from the States. We're going to school together."

"How long have you known him?" "You never talked about him before?" "Does that mean he's not staying?"

As they walked back to the house, Hermione couldn't help herself. "Thank you, Malcolm. I don't know how you did it but you managed to make them interested in talking to me."

"It was easy. All they needed was something to talk to you about."

Hermione began to laugh. "I don't believe I fell for it."

"Fell for what?"

"Trafalgar Square. I should have known you were having me on."

They were both laughing as they walked up the path to the house. That fact caused Mrs. Granger to shake her head. She would never understand children. Not even her own.