"I think he's coming around," said a fuzzy voice somewhere above Paise's head. She blinked, and a face came in to focus, bright green eyes worried. She was just trying to decide whether or not she recognized the red-haired boy looking down at her when the pain hit. The twitching curse had left all her muscles exhausted, and she could feel every kick. She'd have bruises to show for this tomorrow. But above all else, her right hip was on fire. A groan escaped before she could suppress it, and the boy's brow furrowed with concern.

"You okay?" he asked.

Paise nodded and pushed herself up into a sitting position, careful not to let the pain show on her face. Besides Green-Eyes, two more older red-haired boys, the twins, and a plump woman had joined Jesse, Dante, the red-haired girl, and Paise in the compartment.

"Are you sure?" asked the woman. Paise nodded again, and the witch went on in an entirely different tone, "Well, young man, you've done a very foolish thing, making an enemy of that boy. Not even at school yet, and already fighting. I'll tell you now, the professors won't look kindly on this sort of behavior."

"It wasn't his fault," protested Jesse, "That boy insulted him, and then cursed Paise when he laughed." She was shocked. Why was he defending her?

"The Skank started it," put in Dante, "He always goes after little guys and Weasleys. He—"

"But I'm not a Weasley!" broke in Paise at last. Her two new friends turned to her in astonishment.

"You're not?" asked Dante confusedly.

"I told you, my name is Weissli!" she said exasperatedly, purposely not allowing it to show through how touched she was that they had stood up for her. You were safer if people thought of you as a tough guy.

It was one of the twins that spoke up, "They call us all Weasley, but that's not necessarily all of our's name. Our surname is Johnson, Fred's and mine. Our mum's maiden name is Weasley."

Dante laughed, "Well then, maybe you'll end up in my house after all." To Paise's questioning glance, he explained, "All the Weasleys are in Gryffindor House. I'm in Slytherin."

After a bit more fussing, the plump witch left, leaving the children alone. Paise turned to the red-haired girl who'd come in alone against such odds to help her, without even knowing her first.

"I want to thank you," she said after a moment's hesitation, wondering how to show her gratitude without appearing soft. Most boys her age would be embarrassed to accept a girl's help, but she couldn't be as callous as that. "You are exceptionally brave."

The girl was blushing rose. "I only did what needed to be done," she muttered, looking down rather than meet Paise's eyes.

Paise laughed, "Oh, yes, as in single-handedly attacking six experienced and armed wizards twice your size. Nothing beyond the call of duty!" The girl who had leapt into the fray with such abandon now looked up and gave a shy smile. Paise noted how pale and tired she seemed. The uncontrollable laughter of the cheering charm seemed to have taken a lot out of her. "I'm Paise Weissli," Paise said, extending a hand. The girl took it.

"Becki Weasley." They shook hands.

The other newcomers went around and introduced themselves. The twins were George and Freddie Johnson, the two older boys who'd come with Green-Eyes were Tylor and Jared Weasley, and Green-Eyes himself was Dallin Potter. The three of them were maybe fourteen or fifteen years old.

"So, what's that boy—Skank—got against you guys?" she asked, purposely breaking eye contact with Dallin.

"It was their brothers, really," said Tylor, indicating the twins, "and my brother Shawn, and Gwen. This past year was their last. They always kindof did their own thing, whether it was against the rules or not, but they never hurt anyone."

"Right from the start, The Skank—Sceptus Skanchy—would go after anyone smaller than him," continued Jared, "Those five were a year older and were always catching him at it, stopping his fun. It turned into a feud between his group and them, and then against all of us Weasleys. At least it's his last year, though."

After a moment's pause, Paise addressed the twins. "Wait, I missed something, exactly how many of your brothers graduated last year?" Everyone laughed, including the twins.

"Three," answered one.

"Jason, Joseph, and Joshua," said the other.

"They're identical triplets," said the first.

A stab of jealousy took Paise by surprise. These boys always had each other, as well as a large family and a huge extended family watching out for them. She forced the sentiment down, looking away. She could not resent their happiness, and she'd done just fine on her own, hadn't she? But then, she wasn't alone just now, was she? Looking around at the faces surrounding her, she was shocked to find tears welling up—a result of pain and exhaustion, it must have been. Taking a deep breath, Paise forced her reaction down. Eleven-year-old boys did not cry in public.

"Well, thank you all," she said. What else was there to say? She was so tired, and in so much pain, and she couldn't even get up off the floor and find someplace to be alone, because they'd see she wasn't really okay if she moved to rise.

"Who wants to play Exploding Snap?" asked Tylor, bringing a set of cards out of his pocket.

"How?" asked Paise, mustering some enthusiasm from she knew not where.

"You don't know Exploding Snap?" said Jared incredulously, "Are you muggle-born, or what?"

"No, from Austria." Jared looked sheepish, and Tylor began to explain.