The day before the new Hogwarts term began found Harry, Ron and Hermione sitting at a small table in front of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. A few of the surrounding tables were filled with their fellow Gryffindors; Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown were sitting to their right with Parvati's twin Padma, who was in Ravenclaw. They were giggling at the antics of Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas and a now more confident Neville Longbottom.

The sun beamed down on all of Diagon Alley and a definite air of end of holiday blues was beginning to become more apparent. Diagon Alley was always filled with people, but for some reason in the past few days, more and more foreigners began to show up. Last count had their numbers up to fourteen teenagers and one very frustrated adult.

"I wonder why they're all here?" Hermione wondered as she spooned up a bit of her ice cream.

"I dunno. Dad's been working a lot of overtime lately, but he won't tell any of us why."

Harry looked at Ron and Hermione and said in a low voice, "I don't think it's anything good. I never got around to telling you two, but on my birthday I had this horrible nightmare about a foreign school blowing up. I woke up at four in the morning, convinced it was real, but I pushed it aside until I heard the muggle news right before Ron and Mr. Weasly came to get me from the Dursley's. There was a huge explosion somewhere on the coast of America."

"So?" Ron asked, scraping his sundae dish for the last bit of melted ice cream.

"So, it happened at four in the morning!" Harry finished.

"Don't be so thick Ron," Hermione said, giving him a stern look. "Harry's had dreams like this before and they've always meant something."

Hermione got a thoughtful look on her face. Absently, she pushed the rest of her ice cream towards Ron who immediately began to shovel it into his mouth.

"Careful Ron, eat it too fast, you'll get an ice cream headache" Hermione warned.

"AUUUUGH!" Ron yelled, dropping his spoon and pushing his index and ring fingers into his temples. "Bloody HELL that hurts."

"I warned you," Hermione said with amusement.

The three of them were distracted by a group of about seven of the strange teenagers they'd been noticing for the past few days. They were a bit more rowdy and outspoken than everyone else. Their faces were a bit pale and Hermione couldn't figure out if it was from exhaustion or something else

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

"HEY! Watch it!"

"What? That was totally you! NOT me!"

"Would all of you shut up? You're making us look like flaming morons."

"Well YOU wouldn't have to try that hard."

One by one, the small group of teenagers made their way into the bookstore, still bickering with each other.

"Well that was different," Dean remarked from the next table.

"I don't think they're from around here," Parvati observed. Padma and Lavender began to giggle.

"See any cute new boys?"

Seamus nudged Neville. "It looks like there's more coming," and pointed towards three more girls who were making their way into the bookstore.

"Remember, we're only getting what we need. Not buying the entire store," a blonde girl in a khaki skirt told the other two.

"But..." another girl, this one with black platform boots and purple streaks began to protest.

"Come ON! I don't want to spend all day in here!" the third girl said, tossing her brown hair over her shoulder.

"Chill out Karen," the first girl said. The three of them finally made their way in after about ten people came spilling out of the front door.

"Wow. This place sure is busy," the last girl observed as they made their way in.

"They look like transfers," she finally stated to Harry and Ron, who were gaping at where the three girls that had just passed by disappeared to.

In a miffed tone of voice, Hermione snapped, "Take a picture. It'll last longer." When that still got no reaction from the two boys, one of which was starting to drool, she snapped her fingers in front of their faces.

"Snap out of it!" Hermione said sharply. "You two act like you've never seen girls before."

"Wherever they're from, they know how to make em!" Ron exclaimed, forgetting about the melting dish of ice cream.

"Yeah..." Harry agreed.

"I sure hope they're going to Hogwarts!" Dean exclaimed. "If the rest of them look that good... What?" Parvati was giving him an evil look.

"Oh please. They're just girls."

"Hot girls!" Seamus added.

"Idiots," Lavender mumbled.

"Oh come on Lavender, if those were boys you would have been checking them out," Neville protested.

"No! I wouldn't!"

"Yeah you would."

"You were asking about hot boys!"

"That was Lavender, not me!"

"Did you see that one girl? Awww MAN! If she's going to Hogwarts, I hope she's in Gryffindor!"

Hermione gave a disgruntled snort. "Oh please. Don't start this again. It's the Fleur Delacour syndrome all over again."

"Yeah, what about you and Vicky?" said Ron with a tinge of jealousy creeping into his tone.

"His NAME is Victor," Hermione snapped back.

"How is Victor?" Harry asked quickly before Ron could say anything else. "Did you go visit him this summer?"

Ron's mouth dropped open. "WHAT? You went to his HOUSE? And VISITED him? When the hell was this?"

"Early into the summer, a few weeks after we left Hogwarts," Hermione answered, her cheeks flushing a bright pink color.

"Does this mean..." Harry began.

"That Victor and I are dating? Yes. It does."

"WHAT!" Ron practically yelled.

"RON! Calm down," Harry said in a low voice, grabbing Ron's arm and pulling him back into his chair. People were beginning to stare and he knew Ron and Hermione didn't want to start the Hogwarts rumor mill already.

"But...but..." Ron sputtered, his ears turning bright red.

"But what Ron? Why him? I'll tell you why. He's always been upfront with me about how he feels. Unlike some who prefer to bury their feelings and pretend that they aren't there."

Harry dropped his forehead into his hand. He'd suspected that there were feelings a bit more than friendship between Ron and Hermione, but both of them had been too stubborn to admit them. Now, for Ron, it was too late.

"But... but..."

"Ron. You idolized him before we met him for the Triwizard Tournament. Why the sudden, intense hate?" Hermione asked.

"He was competing against Harry and he's not all that great..." said Ron, crossing his arms in front of his chest, a childish sulky look on his face.

"Gee Ron. Those are brilliant reasons."

Ron opened his mouth to retort, but the opening of Flourish and Blott's front door distracted him. Two girls, both blondes made their way out of the shop. One leaned against the left side of the door, facing the other girl. She stood out due to the fact she was wearing a khaki skirt and a bright orange tank top. Her sandals had a bit of platform on the bottom and her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. The other blonde was leaning against the left side of the door, reading a book. Where the one stood out just for looking a bit different, the second one stood out because there was nothing else like her in the whole area. Her knee high black boots had about two inches of platform under the toe and heel, her bright pink skirt was nearly blinding and the black shirt with 'charm school reject' screen printed in white stood out like a sore thumb. But what stood out most of all were the bright purple streaks in her long blonde hair. Upon closer inspection, the black eye makeup was also a sight rarely seen.

"Geez Jess. You haven't had that two minutes and you're already immersed in it."

"So?"

"You better not try to read and walk at the same time. We both remember what happened last time..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. And we both know you'll never let me live it down and it wasn't that bad! I only knocked over a few people."

"FEW? Jess, you took out the whole class!"

"She sounds like you Hermione," Ron joked, the argument already forgotten. He jabbed his thumb at the girl in the big boots. "Looks like Hermione's got competition for biggest Braniac."

"Oh boy. This should be fun, "Hermione groaned as she saw who was making their way out of the crowded bookstore. She didn't even notice that Harry was gaping at the girl with the purple in her hair.

The drawling voice of Draco Malfoy made them all groan. "Honestly...those ignorant Americans are so violent...I'm sure Hogwarts was prepared for this." Behind him Crabbe and Goyle agreed and Draco began to make his way out the front door, ignoring the two girls.

"Father always said they'd get themselves blown up. A blight on the wizard gene pool, the whole lot of them!"

Harry noticed that the girl with the purple streaks had looked up from her book, an extremely pissed off look on her face. Ron and Hermione saw it too.

"Uh oh. Looks like Malfoy just made a new friend," Ron said with anticipation. Hermione leaned forward a bit, not wanting to miss anything.

As Malfoy began to walk out the door, back onto the street, the girl they heard called Jess, brought her eyes back to her book, but her right foot was now angled out. Unaware that he was heading for a fall, Malfoy began to strut forward, only to walk right into her out turned foot.

"AUGH!" with a loud cry, Malfoy ungracefully fell flat on his face. The girl who'd tripped him had quickly turned her foot back forward and continued to ignore everything around her. The girl across the doorway buried her face in her hands and began to shake her head.

"Jess... We haven't even been here a day... "

Everyone surrounding Harry, Ron and Hermione had seen Malfoy's pratfall and the air was now thick with the sound of laughing students. Moving surprisingly fast, Crabbe and Goyle hauled Malfoy up off the ground. His pale face was pink with rage, his sleek blonde hair messed up with a few twigs in the front.

"WHO DID THAT?" he roared, glancing around. His eyes rested on the girls by the door and he immediately got into Jess's face.

"I'll bet you did it, you damn yank!" he yelled at her.

Completely ignoring him, she continued to read through the book she had in her hands. Steaming mad, Malfoy knocked the book out of her hands and continued to yell.

"I'll have you know that you can't just treat more influential members of the wizard community like that!"

Growing more annoyed, the girl pushed off the door frame and stepped in front of Malfoy so they were almost eye to eye.

"Is that supposed to scare me?" she asked her voice low and cold.

Sneering, Malfoy said to her with contempt, "I don't know why it couldn't have taken out all of you. It's not like any of you Half-Breeds really matter to us."

"Those are big words coming from a mouth that was eating dirt not to long ago," she snapped back.

"Draco! Enough! Let's go!" Narcissa Malfoy yelled from a few stores down the street. "Settle it later!"

"Yes Mother," Malfoy said grudgingly. Turning to face Jess again, he said, "See you later."

"I can hardly wait."

Malfoy began to walk away, but turned back and smiled at her, "I'll teach you how to respect your superiors."

"Pfft," she dismissed him, waving her hand contemptuously.

Even angrier, Malfoy stalked back to her real fast and got within inches of her face. "You'll learn your place. Mark my words."

Malfoy began to walk back towards his mother, a superior look on his face, believing he had gotten the better of the strange girl. All of a sudden, the sleeve of his robe caught fire. With a look of pure panic, Malfoy began to shriek and dance around, trying to put out the flames. Everyone around him began to panic, except for Jessica, who was picking her book up off the ground. Wiping the dirt from the pages, she again leaned against the outside of the bookstore, and continued reading.

By this time, the entire sleeve of Malfoy's robe had erupted into flames, his panicked shrieking getting louder and louder. Drawn to the scene by the sound of her son yelling, Narcissa Malfoy barged her way through the on looking crowd.

"DRACO!" Narcissa yelled, rushing forward and using her wand to put the fire out. "How on earth did that happen?" She herded her son down the street, finally disappearing in the large crowd. Once the Malfoy's were out of sight, Jess stooped down to pick up her book. Once she was upright again, she was looking into the angry eyes of the other girl.

"Jessica. What did mom say about that?"

"Geez Cate. You act like I made his head explode. Hmm... that's a good idea for the next time I meet that slimy piece of s-"

"JESSICA! Watch your mouth!"

"Yes Mom."

"You'll be lucky if I don't TELL mom!"

"Oh come on Cathryn! It's not like he didn't deserve it!" Jessica shifted her weight, the slipcover of her book sliding to reveal the real book underneath. Grabbing her sister's book, Cate flipped through it, before snapping it shut. She gave her sister an even look. When Jessica continued to give her a blank look, she began to tap her foot.

"Jessica."

"Cathryn."

Cate held up the book. "You know you shouldn't have this."

"So?"

Cate began to beat her head with the book. "Hexes and Other Unpleasant Spells was NOT on our booklist!"

"I'll say it again. So?"

"This isn't what your hyperactive brain needs. I think it'll be a safer place for everyone if I send this back home so Mom and Dad can take care of it."

"Pfft. Go ahead. I already read the whole thing."

"God help us all."

"You make me sound like an axe-murderer."

"And you're making me sound like a total control freak."

"You are."

"Jess..."

Finally noticing that they were the center of attention, Cate looked sideways over her shoulder and saw that Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Dean, Seamus, Lavender, and Parvati were all still watching them. Groaning as she met each of their glances, she grabbed her sister's arm and began to drag her away, stealing one more quick glance at Ron.

"OW! Quit it you slave driver!"

"Jess, shut up."

The two of them disappeared into the crowd. Almost immediately Seamus and Dean began to laugh hysterically. Parvati and Lavender were also giggling.

"Oh my GOD! Did you SEE THAT?" Lavender exclaimed, holding her sides as she laughed.

"I wish someone recorded that! Draco Malfoy! On the ground. Eating DIRT! Priceless!" laughed Ron. Dean couldn't even put his thoughts into words; he began to bang his fist on the table while tears of laughter ran down his face.

Neville also was laughing. "It seems Malfoy really has a way with people!"

Hermione was still staring in the direction that the two girls had disappeared. "Did anyone else think that was ...odd?"

"How so Hermione?" Ron asked, digging into the bowl of melted ice cream once again in between fits of laughter.

"Well for one, fire just came out of NOWHERE! And that girl Cate said about their parents forbidding them to do something. Didn't you find that weird Harry?"

"Huh?" Harry asked, snapping his head back in Hermione's direction.

"Did you hear anything I just said?"

"Um...no. Sorry," Harry admitted sheepishly.

Parvati giggled, "Seem like Harry had his mind on something else. Or should I say SOMEONE else!"

Lavender joined her friend in giggling and Ron looked up from his ice cream soup. "What? Did I miss something? Harry's got a new girl?"

"Not yet," Dean joked, elbowing Seamus in the side.

"Ha ha ha," Harry mumbled, his face turning a violent shade of red.

"Well that takes me out of the running if famous Harry Potter has his eye on her," Dean joked.

"Shut up Dean," Harry mumbled, his face going bright red.

"Awww but Harry, it's CUTE! She's much better for you than Cho ever was," said Lavender.

"Well since Harry's already called dibs on the one blonde, I call dibs on her sister."

"SEAMUS!" yelled Padma.

"What?"

"You can't just call DIBS on a person!"

"Really Seamus, she's not an object!" Hermione said, in a sniffy tone.

"So Hermione, how's your new boyfriend?" giggled Lavender.

"What? Hermione? Boyfriend? Girl you better get over here and spill it!" Padma exclaimed.

Ron glared at the dish in front of his face, "Yeah Hermione, go dish about your boyfriend."

"Grow up Ron," she said to him as she got up and walked over to Parvati and Lavender. The four girls began to chatter about Victor and the look on Ron's face got darker and darker.

"Ron. It's not like you didn't have a chance," Harry said to him.

"Yeah, I know. It just sucks I never took it."

"Why didn't you?"

"Didn't want to mess up our friendship."

"But won't this mess it up?"

"Nah. Mom said we Weasley's are tougher than we look. I'll get over it. It'll just hurt for a while. Enough about me, what's this about you calling dibs on our fellow Malfoy hater?"

"I didn't call dibs!"

Ron laughed and finished the melted ice cream in front of him. Pushing his chair back, he announced to Harry and Hermione, "I'm going to go tell Fred and George about this before any of the details start to escape me. Harry? Hermione? Want to come with me?"

"Yeah," Harry said quickly, standing up and dropping his napkin back on the table, Hermione quickly following suit. The three of them fought the masses of people that were out in Diagon Alley that day until they finally made their way to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Ron pushed his way through the front door, only to find the place packed.

"OY! Fred! George!" Ron yelled over to his extremely busy twin brothers.

"Ronniekins!" George quipped, making his way over. "Looking for more Skivving Snackboxes?"

"No man, I have to tell you what just happened!"

"You'll have to tell us later Ron, we're swamped!" Fred yelled from over by the counter. "We're meeting Mum and Dad at the Leaky Cauldron for dinner in a few hours. Tell us then!"

The three of them were practically pushed back out the doors back onto the street.

"Well, we may as well head on over to the Leaky Cauldron now. With all these visitors, it's probably a wise idea," Hermione suggested. Ron and Harry agreed, and it was good that they did. It took them at least an hour to make it through the crowds of people up and down Diagon Alley.

"Man! It's like everyone and their grandmother is out today!" Ron exclaimed as the three of them finally made it to the Leaky Cauldron. Once inside, they easily found the rest of Ron's family, as well as some of their other classmates.

"Harry! Ron! Hermione!" Hanna Abbot, a Hufflepuff sixth year greeted them. "Did you guys HEAR?"

"Hear about what?" Harry asked.

"It's all over the Daily Prophet!" Ernie McMillian, also of Hufflepuff, told them.

"What are you talking about?" Ginny asked, coming up behind Hermione.

"THIS!" Hannah handed Ron her copy of the Daily Prophet. Harry and Hermione crowded around Ron so they could see as well.

Devastation Rocks the American Wizard Community

Late last month, tragedy shook the American magical community right down to its foundation. During the last week of July, Trinket's Academy of Magic was mysteriously obliterated. The Academy was fully destroyed early July 30th at about four o'clock in the morning. Muggle news reported an earth shattering explosion in an abandoned warehouse district.

Normally at this time of year, the school would have been empty, but Trinket's Academy was playing host to the annual Phonaton Tournament.

"Phonaton? What the bloody hell is Phonaton?" Ron asked.

"It's an American sport," Hermione answered, matter-of-factly. Ignoring the two of them, Harry continued to read.

Due to the weeklong nature of the event, the Academy had been opened up and the Dormitories available for those who did not wish to leave the premises of the tournament. Countless lives were lost, as well as the near obliteration of the student body. Entire families were wiped out and only a handful has been reported as surviving.

Among the survivors were 16 year olds Lisa Cooper and Charlie Moore who miraculously ended up in a pocket of rubble.

"We were heading back to our families after an incredibly long match when we heard a deafening BOOOM!" Charlie told the American publication, The Dispatch.

"All of a sudden the walls were caving in around us. There was so much screaming… I pulled my friend Lisa back, just missing being hit with a huge chunk of marble. We backed up against the first floor girls bathroom and crouched into a ball. When we opened our eyes, we were in a pocket barely bigger than the two of us."

It took the Magic Government's rescue workers two days to reach the scared teenagers. Of all the people that had attended the event only six survived, two of which were students.

Wendy Trinket, founder and Headmistress of the Academy had this to say, "I am deeply saddened at the loss of my school, but more so for the families that were destroyed or those who lost loved ones. At this present time, we don't have any clues as to why or how this happened. We have been graciously offered the opportunity to send our remaining students abroad to some of our foreign brother and sister schools."

Reports have said that Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore has offered space at Hogwarts for a small number of the remaining student.

Hermione finished reading the report, her attention drawn to the front door of the Leaky Cauldron. A group of ten students, varying in age came walking through the doors, each of them weighted down by many packages and bags.

"I don't see why we can't wear our old Trinket's uniforms. It's a waste to have to buy new ones." A short girl with wavy reddish blonde hair said.

The blonde Hermione recognized as Cate put her arm around the other girl and said, "Colleen, it's a standard uniform. We have to wear it."

"But couldn't we have altered our old uniforms? We could have saved a lot of money."

"Colleen, the bookstore didn't charge us for books. I think it all evens out."

"I guess. Though it was nice of them to give us all free books."

"Yeah. It was."

Tom, the owner of the Leaky Cauldron made his way over to the group and led them to a large table in the back of the dining room, away from all the curious stares they were receiving.

After he led them away an exhausted woman walked in with four others, one of them the girl with the purple hair.

"Professor Tirorted, what are you going to do once we leave tomorrow?" a short, young, scared boy asked.

"Well Craig, I'm going to go back to Hilton Head and help Wendy with the school." Noticing the young boy's petrified face, she kneeled down and added, "Don't worry Craig! Hogwarts is a good school. There's nothing to be afraid of here." Glancing up at Jessica she added, "Except for those coming with you."

"Ha ha ha. I didn't get in THAT much trouble at Trinkets."

"Yes you did," the short reddish-blonde haired girl said.

"Colleen! When did you get in?"

"Today. I heard you were already causing trouble!"

"ME? Pfft. Don't believe everything you hear."

"Ok, so the story of a jackass blonde boy eating dirt and then exchanging words with you isn't true?"

"Well Colleen, I'm a woman of mystery."

"You mean your brain's a mystery!"

"Ha ha. Sooooo funny."

The two girls laughed as they made their way to the back of the room. It was obvious to everyone around them that they were still rattled about what had happened to Trinkets, but didn't want to show how upset they really were.

Molly Weasly made her way over to her son and his two friends, a look of pity on her face as she looked over at the group in the back of the dining area.

"There you are dears. Why don't we go have a seat? Fred and George will be joining us in a bit."

When Harry, Ron, and Hermione didn't move right away, Molly followed their gaze to the back of the room.

"Those poor dears. I can't imagine what they've gone through." She placed her arms around Ron and Harry, leading them and Hermione towards their own table. Once everyone was sitting, Molly got back up and made her way to the drink counter. After a few minutes they noticed that three servers were making their way back to the American's table, trays full of Butterbeer.

"Mom?" Ginny asked.

"Yes dear," Molly answered, taking her seat.

"Did you do that?"

"What dear?"

"Send them those Butterbeers?"

"Why yes Ginny. Why?"

"Because I was going to ask if we could."

Molly hugged her youngest child, cuddling her close.

"I don't know how they can stand it; most of their friends gone. Whole families..." Molly misted up, a tear making its way out of her eye. She hugged Ginny closer and reached across the table for Ron's hand.

"I don't know what I'd do if I lost any of you."

"Don't worry Mum, we're not going anywhere," Ron answered, squeezing his mother's hand.

Fluttering of wings drew Harry's attention and he watched as a black owl about Hedwig's size made its way to the back of the leaky cauldron. A few minutes later, he saw a few of the girls run up the stairs to where the rooms were located. The older woman, the one they heard called Professor Tirorted, came into view, tears streaking her face. A few moments later, Jessica, Cate, and Colleen were making their way upstairs, all three of them crying.

Harry could barely make out what they were saying, but he did hear parts.

"Oh God. I never liked them, but Eden and Danielle didn't deserve that," Colleen cried.

"And Angela! I didn't even know she was even there," sobbed Cate, holding onto her sister for balance.

"I can't believe it. Angela and I were supposed to move the administration office onto the front lawn of the school this year," Jessica sniffled, her black eye makeup streaking down her face. Harry felt a sudden, hot pang of grief himself. He knew exactly how these people felt. Just before the end of the last term, he'd lost his godfather and the closest person to a real father he'd ever had.

Hermione had also caught part of the conversation and watched as the Americans began to make their way up the stairs, all in varying emotions. Some looked indifferent, afraid to show anything, some bawling openly. Molly saw this as well and let go of Ginny and Ron and reached for Harry and Hermione's hands.

"Harry, I know you still grieve for Sirius. If anyone can empathize with these children, it's you. I know regardless of what house these poor souls are sorted into, that the three of you will show them nothing but kindness."

"But Mum, if they're sorted into Slytherin..."

"Ronald. House affiliation doesn't matter. These children are bound by grief. They're going to need kind souls to help them through this, and their transition into a whole new school, not to mention a whole new country."

"You're right Mom," Ginny agreed, nodding.

The other witches and wizards in the dining area had also noticed the abrupt departure of the American group and whispers began to buzz.

"I heard that the entire school was wiped out!"

"Nonsense! There were some survivors."

"I wonder if they'll be able to be in the same year that they were their old school."

"I heard Dumbledore has already put them through aptitude tests so they could place them in the correct year."

"I heard that too. It seems that the American students are way more advanced in some areas than our Hogwarts students."

"But I also heard they lack in some areas as well. Like the Dark Arts."

"Well our kids didn't fare to well their either. We haven't been able to keep a teacher in that position for more than a year for the past six years. We even have a new teacher this year."

"So we don't know who it is yet?"

"No. Dumbledore hasn't revealed who they chose yet."

Ron and Harry listened to the others for a while and soon, they lost interest. Ron grew thoughtful and began to drum his fingers on the table.

"What's keeping George and Fred?"

No sooner were the words spoken, then the twin Weasley's popped through the front door.

"Speak of the devil," Hermione smiled.

"GEORGE! FRED! Wait until you hear what I have to tell you!" Ron began excitedly.

"If it's about one of our new American friends tripping a certain brainless git named Malfoy, we already heard about it. Not two minutes after you left the shop, word was buzzing."

"Aww MAN! I wanted to tell you about it!" Ron complained.

"What's this?" Molly asked, her eyebrows scrunching up a bit.

"Well, Malfoy, being Malfoy, was walking out of Flourish and Blotts. He was saying some pretty nasty stuff about that American school and the girl with the purple in her hair tripped him!" Ron began.

"Then when he confronted her, she basically ignored him until he got in her face," Harry continued, smiling at the memory. His stomach fluttered nervously and he felt his face get warm again.

"But the strange part was when he was walking away, his robe sleeve caught on fire," Hermione finished.

"Really? Well then. That'll teach Draco Malfoy to keep his mouth shut," Molly said.

"MUM!" Ron said with surprise. "Don't tell me that just came out of your mouth!"

"It's no surprise how I feel about the Malfoy's Ronald. I'm just saying he probably deserved what he got."

Ginny groaned, "And I MISSED this! Well it sounds like Slytherin won't be inheriting her as a member."

Fred and George laughed and sat down on either side of Ron, who began to fill them in on the details of the encounter. Hermione and Ginny were discussing the coming term and Molly began fretting over how skinny Harry was.

"Honestly Harry dear, you need to eat more. You're nothing but skin and bones! Don't your aunt and uncle feed you when you're there?"

"Not if they can help it," Harry mumbled.

Tired of waiting for Arthur, Molly went ahead and let everyone order. "At this rate it will be midnight before we order and the lot of you have to leave for the new term tomorrow. So once you have eaten, you need to head off for bed. It's going to be a busy day."

About halfway through their meal, Arthur showed up, exhausted. He began to tell Ron, Harry, Hermione and Ginny about Trinkets, but Molly assured him that they already knew.

"A bloody mess. That's what it is over there. I can't believe how many people were killed."

"Dad? Do you think You-Know-Who had anything to do with this?" Fred asked in a low voice.

"There's no telling at this point Fred. But I do know that the Americans had their own psychotic witch, bent on attaining more power. She's thought to be dead, but no one knows for sure."

"You mean there's someone as crazy as Volde-" Harry began to say, forgetting that most of the wizard community didn't use Voldemort's name. Backtracking quickly, he said, "You-know-Who?"

"Yes. Apparently there was a sorceress named Jamie Dawson, who began to crave more and more power. She succeeded for a while but as mysteriously as she'd appeared, she was gone."

"A sorceress?" Ginny asked, her face showing her confusion.

"Yes. Sorceress. They're a rare find in the wizard community. Has to be the right amount of magic in the bloodlines of the parents to create a sorcerer or a sorceress."

"How are they different than a witch or a wizard?" Ron asked, his mouth full of bread.

"Ron! That's disgusting! We don't need to see that!" Hermione exclaimed before continuing, "A Sorcerer or a Sorceress can create magic without a wand. Those in training are required to use wands so they can harness the power better."

"Thank you Hermione, not many people believe they actually exist. Just as a squib is a rare find, Sorcerers and Sorceress's are even rarer."

"Oh my! Look how late it's gotten!" Molly hurried the others to finish their dinner. Once they were done, she said to them, "Hermione and Ginny, you two will be sharing a room, same with you and Harry, Ron." Molly gave them the room numbers, and the four of them began to trudge up the stairs.

"See you guys tomorrow," Ron yawned as he waved good bye to Hermione and Ginny. They waved back and disappeared into their room.

Ron opened the door to the room he was sharing with Harry and walked in. Just as Harry was going to follow, a door opening a couple rooms down caught his attention. He glanced over to his right and saw Jessica walk out of the room, her arms wrapped around herself. She began to walk his way, her eyes cast down to the floor. He could tell she'd been crying and stood frozen as she walked by. As she got closer he accidentally dropped his room key with a clatter on the floor.

Jerking her head his way, they looked at each other for a few moments before she continued down the hall.

Harry ducked into his room, his heart hammering in his chest. He didn't understand this. He'd never been like this about Cho Chang. It was like his entire brain had melted and he couldn't even form coherent thoughts. Ron noticed the distracted look on Harry's face.

"You saw her again, didn't you?"

"Who?"

"That American girl who makes you get this doofy look on your face."

"I do not."

"Yeah, you do. But it's cool. Anyone who picks a fight with Malfoy is a winner in my book."

"You're a true romantic Ron."

"Nah."

"So what are you going to do about the Victor/Hermione thing?"

"Nothing. If I try to mess it up, she'll hate me. I'd rather her be my friend and dating someone else, than not being her friend at all."

"Wow Ron. That was so profound and mature of you."

"Cork it Harry."

The two of them laughed and began to get ready for bed. After checking to make sure all his items were in his trunk, Harry climbed into his bed. Ron had already fallen asleep, his slight snoring coming from across the room.

Back downstairs Molly and Arthur were having a more serious discussion.

"They told you what?" Arthur asked, scratching his head.

"They said one of the American girls got into a bit of a fight with Draco Malfoy. Once he was walking away, I guess, the sleeve of his robe caught on fire."

"Well, if he was to close to the torches..."

"Arthur. This happened late this afternoon."

"And the torches are lit about the same time. Molly, we have no idea if it was accidental or coincidental. I can't run to the ministry with this if we don't have solid proof." noting his wife's concerned look, he sighed. "I'll send Dumbledore an owl about this. He'll be able to see the signs better than us. He's actually been around a Sorcerer."

"Is it safe for the children if she is a sorceress?"

"Of course Molly. If anything, it'll be safer for them to have one around. A Sorceress has untapped magical abilities. If she in fact DID set Malfoy's robe on fire, I'm assuming she's already gotten control of the elements."

"Harry already seems taken with her," Molly continued to fuss.

"Molly, its just infatuation. I've read the student files on all the Trinkets students transferring to Hogwarts. If it's who I think it is, she's exactly like Ron, Hermione, and Harry. Plus, Harry's 16 Molly, he's bound to start looking at girls."

"Yes, Arthur, I know. I'm also worried about Ron."

"Ron? Why?"

"Ginny told me that Hermione is openly dating Victor Krum."

"Ahhhh. Well Molly dear, Ron will bounce back. The three of them have a friendship too strong to let something like this break it apart. Who knows, maybe Ron will meet a different girl this year."

While Molly and Arthur discussed the possibility of a sorcerer or a sorceress at Hogwarts, Harry tossed and turned in his bed. Restless, he got up and walked over to the window. Sitting in the chair, he put his chin in his hands and gazed out into the night sky. People were still milling about Diagon Alley, mostly those who were closing shop and heading home for the night.

He let his thoughts wander over the strange occurrences of the past few days. First, the Weasley's won the lottery and become filthy stinking rich. He could admit to himself without any feelings of jealousy, that he was happy for the Weasley's. No one deserved that amount of gold more than them. Harry knew that part of that gold was going to be funded into the Order of the Phoenix. With that kind of money, the house on Grimmauld Place would soon be clean and free of any infestation. Now if they could only get that portrait of Sirius's mother off the wall.

Thinking of Sirius made Harry a combination of sad and angry. He still didn't want to accept the fact that Sirius was dead. He rested his head on the windowsill and just let his mind empty out.

With Sirius's passing, everything that had been his was now Harry's. In turn, Harry offered it to the Order for whatever help it might provide. The Grimmauld Place had officially been re-named The Phoenix Headquarters and there were at least six to seven order members there at all times.

Harry was somewhat comforted by the fact it was being put to good use. He continued to rest his head on the window sill, watching the stars. Eventually, he began to get sleepy and made his way back to bed.

Tomorrow will be interesting, he thought as he fell asleep.

But sleep did not come easily to Harry. Soon he began to dream so vividly, he felt that he was there. Walking through a large wooded area, he crept through a section of bushes and came across what looked like a small village. Everyone was dressed in black and hooded. Harry felt his blood go cold as he recognized the robe of Voldemort's Death Eaters. All of a sudden a large flock of crows flew into the air, cawing as they flew up into the sky. Once the crows had flown away, Harry looked around and saw that all the Death Eaters were gone. Then he heard the laugh. That cold, maniacal laugh. Only this time, it was joined by another laugh, a woman's laugh.

Harry began to back away, his heart hammering in his chest so loud he thought the Death Eaters could hear it. In a blind panic, he tried to make his way back into the woods. Halfway back into the heart of the woods, he tripped and fell into someone. Picking himself up off the ground quickly, he spun and found him face to face with an old woman. The two of them just stood there sizing each other up for a few moments and then the old woman spoke, so clearly Harry thought she was placing her thoughts into his head.

"She'll need you when she finds out."

"What?" Harry asked, confused. "Who is 'she' and what's she going to find out?"

"You'll know. Just remember, she'll need you when she finds out." As silently as she had appeared, the woman was gone.

With a start, Harry bolted up in his bed, sweat dripping down his face.

"Not another one," he groaned as he tried to fall back asleep.