These characters aren't mine, sadly, and I make no profit from (insert story the particular fic of mine you are reading is based on here). I cry out to the stars, "If only, if only."

By the by, watch out, a few of the characters may be ooc. (out of character for those of you who don't know what that stands for.)

Chapter 7: A Puzzlement

Deena walked through the doors of Hogwarts. The inside was even more impressive than the outside. She was staring at the interior in awe when something collided with the back of her head. She found a book on the floor behind her, and Peeves was floating around the ceiling, laughing hysterically.

"Peeves," Deena said quietly. He was forced to stop his laughing so that he could listen to her.

"How do you know Peeves' name?" he asked her.

"If I am correct, you're a type of ghost," Deena continued.

"How do you know Peeves' name?" he demanded furiously.

"If you ever throw anything at me, drop anything on me, or perform any other form of trickery and jokes on me, I'll do at least one of the following: rebury your corpse, stake your corpse or grave, or pray to God to smite you," Deena threatened.

"You...you wouldn't dare. You wouldn't dare get rid of Peeves," Peeves gasped.

"Try me," she answered in a voice that clearly stated that she was not to be trifled with.

"Peeves will tell Dumbledore on you," Peeves screamed, floating up through the ceiling.

"How do you know to get rid of a poltergeist?" Draco asked curiously.

"I read it in the encyclopedia. It wasn't for a report, it was just for fun," Deena added.

"What're we going to do now?" Sue asked.

"We'll go see Dumbledore, of course," Draco replied, leading them in the right direction.

Deena followed, nervous. What if Peeves told on her? Would she be expelled before she even participated in a single class? She fiddled with her wand as they walked through twisting and turning corridors. It was a nice wand; she didn't want it broken. She could hide it and lie, saying she forgot to buy one, but she was an awful liar. They reached Dumbledore's office and went in. Draco flopped down into a chair in front of Dumbledore's desk, almost as though he owned the place.

"How nice to see you back so soon, Malfoy," Dumbledore greeted him with a smile.

"I got what you wanted," Draco drawled carelessly, motioning to Deena.

Deena turned to look at Sue and what she discovered scared her. Sue was dancing around the room, going through things, and was less than a centimeter away from breaking a few glass ornaments. "Sue!" Deena reprimanded. "Get away from that. You're gonna break something!"

"Deena, nice to meet you," Dumbledore said, getting up and coming around his desk. "Who is this...energetic friend of yours?" Dumbledore inquired, shaking Deena's hand.

"I'm Sue," Sue introduced herself. "Deena's sister and best friend."

"Worst nightmare is more like it," Deena muttered. "We're not sisters by blood, but we're like sisters, so we say we are," Deena explained.

"Where's the kitchen?" Sue asked. After being given directions from Dumbledore, Sue took off.

"Malfoy, you may return to class. Deena and I have a few things to discuss," Dumbledore said.

When Draco was gone, Deena got ready to apologize for threatening Peeves. "Professor Dumbledore, sir, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to threaten Peeves, it's just that"-

"Threaten Peeves? You did? Well, it's about time someone did it," Dumbledore replied.

"Am I...not in trouble for that?"

"Not at all."

"Then what did you want to talk about?"

"Well, I've arranged a tutor to help you catch up, and I thought perhaps you'd like to make a schedule for classes. Also, you do need to be sorted. Now, what electives would you like?"

"Well...Divinations and Arithmancy for sure. What else have you got?"

-

"Where were you all this time, Draco?" Pansy inquired crossly. "You just left, and didn't tell anyone."

It was dinner time in the Great Hall, and Draco felt like eating, not answering Pansy's stupid questions. He was also busy scanning the other tables for Deena. He wanted to know what House she was in. Draco was buttering a slice of bread (and not looking at it; he was busy with examining the occupants of tables) when Pansy tapped him on the shoulder. He slid the knife down too far and cut his hand.

"Oh, Draco honey, you cut yourself," Pansy exclaimed.

"Only because of your stupid jabbering. How do you expect me to concentrate with your nasal voice whining in my ear?" he snapped at her.

"Fine. I'll leave you and your bread alone," Pansy retorted nastily, scooting away from him on the bench.

A small group of Hufflepuffs came in the doors, just a tad late to dinner. One broke away from them and headed for the Slytherin table. Draco recognized it to be Deena. She seemed happy when she saw him and sat in the empty space between him and Pansy (which seemed to upset Pansy).

"Hi Draco," Deena said.

"Hey Deena," he answered. "So, you're in Slytherin?"

"Yeah. I'm kinda relieved about it. I was afraid I'd be put in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. I don't know anyone in those Houses," she said. She looked at the floor, then back up. "You cut yourself," she observed. She picked up her napkin with one hand and took his cut hand in her other. She pressed her napkin to his cut, keeping pressure on it.

"Ow," he whined. "That hurts."

"No it doesn't. Anyway, applying pressure stops the bleeding," she replied.

"So, why was it so important for you to come here?" Draco asked to make conversation.

"Actually, Dumbledore wouldn't tell me. I asked him, but he said it wasn't necessary for me to know right now. He said things would be hard enough for me as it is, what with catching up and all."

"Oh. What happened to Sue?"

"She's cooking in the kitchen. She's gonna work down there. Dumbledore's even paying her. With my luck, she'll pop up randomly everywhere I go," Deena said. "She calls it "poofing", I call it a curse."

It was silent for a bit. Deena picked at her food rather than eat it. She was also staring off into space. Finally, she tossed her fork down.

"What could it possibly be? I wish he'd just tell me. I'm going to go insane not knowing," she hissed. Draco figured she was talking about Dumbledore not telling her why she'd been brought to Hogwarts. He decided she looked cute when she was angry.