This chapter is considerably shorter than most of the others, only about four pages I think. I hope it's okay with you all.

As you might recall, Marissa has been granted permission to stay at Grimauld Place for the remaining two weeks of Summer and even take up housing with Gryffindor during the school year. Will this cause any problems? Probably not.

Chapter Nine

Back at Grimauld Place, it occurred to Harry and Ron that they had not sent an owl to Hermione in a couple weeks, and the last one was just to announce that the Americans had arrived safely. They of course got a reply of enthusiasm.

Before dinner that very night, Harry sent the letter on behalf of Ron as well as himself. It was quite long-winded, as Harry wanted to tell so many things.

Dear Hermione,

We both wish you were here with us at… well, you know. It's been a very quick, yet fun few weeks with the new exchange students here. You'll love them. We've learned so much about them already, though we're sure we've only just touched the surface.

They've been really eager to learn everything about us and Hogwarts too. By now, they've got the hang of things, and even know just about all our friends' names, including you of course. They keep asking about all the things about our school, things some of which we don't even know. I told them they might be able to borrow your copy of Hogwarts: A History

They're pretty eager to meet you and learn even more. They're both very nice. The student assigned to me is Leo Arson, and Ron's is Blake Stintley. Two went to each house, but one of the students was being mistreated by a member of Slytherin (guess what family: The Malfoys), so Dumbledore allowed her to stay here as well.

It's getting pretty cramped. Fred , George, Ginny, Ron, myself, Leo, Blake, and Marissa (the new student), along with the Weasley parents, make things very tight, and we often have dinner guests over, such as Tonks and Lupin, even Shacklebolt.

Like I said, things have been a blast, but we both miss you very much. It'd be a lot more fun with you along. Ron was going mad at Diagon Alley today. He kept asking if we thought you'd be there, or if we'd run into you, or if you wanted to see him. It was really annoying to tell the truth. He was disappointed to not get to see you.

-"Hey, Harry!" shouted Ron, interrupting his writing from downstairs. "Are you finished yet? You better not be writing anything funny about me!" Harry chuckled to himself and continued writing.

We're about ready for dinner now. I hope your summer has been fun thus far. My I've written so much, but I'm making up for Ron and I not saying anything sooner. Sorry. Hopefully you can join us before we catch the train in a couple weeks, but if not, we'll definitely see you at the station.

Looking forward to seeing you as soon as possible,

Harry and Ron (The rest of the family says "hello" too)

Harry folded up the parchment and put it into an envelope that he tied to Hedwig's leg. "Give it to Hermione, okay?" said Harry, patting the snowy white owl on the head gently. "Be careful out there now." He let the bird fly away out of the window and disappear over the trees in the distance.

Harry received a reply rather quickly from Hermione a day and a half later, and the response wasn't long. She briefly just said hello and expressed her joy that he and Ron were having a good time. She said also that she couldn't wait to see the new kids and meet people from the other side of the world.

It was soon approaching the time when they would be returning to Hogwarts for their next school year. Harry was only slightly nervous, though he couldn't wait to get there. He loved that school more than any other place. The rest of the kids were expressing the same anxious behavior and moods, only all too ready to get back to the swing of school.

"We miss it of course," said Fred and George together while they sat at the dinner table. It was only the residents of the house who were eating tonight.

"The pranks-

"Secret passageways-

"The Great Hall-

"More pranks-

"Kicking Mrs. Norris," finished Fred. "We won't be dealing with Filch anymore, eh?"

"Getting rid of Snape isn't too much of a loss either," replied George matter-of-factly, gesturing with his fork. The kids laughed, but Mrs. Weasley scolded them for insulting a teacher.

"Well, he's a slimy git," said Ron.

"Hush," said Molly. "I'll hear no more of this talk."

"Well, I received good news today," said Arthur as he swallowed a mouthful of potatoes. "Hermione will be here in a few days."

"Really?" choked Ron. Harry slapped him on the back a couple times, and Ron came up, breathing fine, but a little red in the face.

"Yep," said Arthur, smiling. "She's been given permission to join us for the rest of your summer break."

"Aren't we, you know, running out of room?" asked Leo, looking around the house as if it could answer him. "I mean, all four of the spare bedrooms are packed."

"We can fit her in with us," said Ginny. "Right, Mom?"

"I don't see why not," said Molly. "We'll conjure up a bed before she arrives tomorrow so she has a place to sleep. Mind you, you'll lose a bit of your space."

"I don't mind," said Marissa, only just recently learning who Hermione was. They'd spent a while describing to Marissa all the things she missed by being with the Malfoy's. She, like the two boys, was amazed to hear of Harry's heroics and how different he was. She seemed to like hearing things from Gryffindor's perspective better than from Slytherin's.

"The more the merrier," said Fred and George together. "Of course, we're out of the house most of the day anyway, always at the shop, so you lot won't be seeing much of us here besides mornings and evenings."

"That's still too much time with you two," said Ginny with a laugh.

"Hah," said Fred unenthusiastically. "Careful Ginny. Though you're close to us, you don't want to be on the receiving ends of one of our latest pranks."

"A wonderful product we're about to release," chirped George. "Not going to spoil it though. You'll have to wait."

"Oh course, if you want a sneak peak at its effects on a young female, keep pushing," said Fred with a sinister grin. Ginny suck her tongue out at them and went back to eating. Harry laughed a little. He believed it was cute how they got into little spats like that. Of course, he knew they would never hurt each other.

"Do you play Quiditch, Marissa?" asked Ron.

"No," said Marissa. "I'm not the athletic type. I'd just get beat up. I like to watch Leo and the others play though."

"Harry's a star too," said Leo. "You should've seen him when we got here."

"It was awesome," said Blake in addition. "He did the most amazing maneuver. It's too complicated to describe."

"Yeah," said Leo. "You would've had to have been there." They tried relating the story anyway, using wild hand gestures and movements, as if it helped the point of the story. Harry blushed as they went on. It was really weird, obviously, to have people dictating a story about you while in your presence, but he allowed them to proceed.

He found himself looking forward more and more to his sixth year at Hogwarts, this time ready for his first full season of Quiditch since his third year. He had been banned last year, and then there was the Triwizard tournament before that. Of course, second year, the Chamber of Secrets scare stopped the later half of the season, and Harry was incapacitated for the last game of his first year. (They lost pretty bad to Hufflepuff) This year, he promised himself he would make every single game. Nothing would stop him, not even the Ministry of Magic, should they come up with some stupid reason.

Harry busied himself with eating his dinner for the rest of his time in their company, silently listening to the stories they began to tell about him to Marissa, and even a few new ones to Leo and Blake.

End Chapter Nine

Yeah, boring I know. Sorry. I guess the only real important thing is that Hermione will soon be joining everyone at the newly redecorated Grimauld House of Black. Oh well.

For the next chapter... Leo reveals what the strange, long object slung over his back is, while Hermione meets up with them and more stories are told. The chapter will end with the boarding of the Hogwarts express, and perhaps and encounter that was expected to come eventually. Draco seeks out Potter, intent on a fight with the boy who got his father locked up in Azkaban. You'll want to see it for sure. Oh yeah. I just wish I could accompany this story with my drawings and such.