Muggle at Hogwarts

"At least tell us where you're going next time," said Hermione, arms folded.

"What, at three a.m.?" replied Harry, grinning.

A frantic search for Harry that morning had led Ron and Hermione to Dumbledore's office, where various members of the Order had explained the night's events. Now Harry, Ron and Hermione were sitting by the lake, making the most of the sunny Sunday afternoon, while Harry filled them in on the rest of the details.

"So how's Sally now?" asked Ron.

Harry sighed. "She's still a bit shaken, understandably. Her parents arrived before I left, so I suppose she's talking to them. I said I'd go back and see her later."

"We can all go, after the meeting," said Hermione.

Harry turned to her, confused. "What meeting?"

"There's a meeting for all sixth years in Professor Flitwick's classroom at seven," said Hermione, yawning. "We'll get our timetables, I suppose, and they'll tell us about NEWTS."

Harry groaned. "Oh, that sounds fantastic."

"It'll be strange, not being in all the same classes any more," said Ron, wistfully.

The other two nodded in agreement.

To no one's surprise, Hermione had got Os in all her OWLS, as well as getting the highest marks in the country for Arithmancy and Charms. Having given up on SPEW, she was now pursuing a career in politics, and was therefore taking Arithmancy, Further Arithmancy, Transfiguration, Charms, History of Magic and Defence against the Dark Arts. It had taken several long chats with Dumbledore, McGonagall and Lupin to persuade her not to take Ancient Runes as well.

Ron, on the other hand, had had the opposite problem choosing his NEWT subjects. Although his results had been much better than expected, (two Os, five E's and two A's), the combination hadn't been the one he had been hoping for. One of his O's had been in Potions, and the other (to his horror) had been in Divination. As he was still hoping to become an Auror, he had grudgingly agreed to take Potions, but even the combined forces of Mr and Mrs Weasley and most of the Hogwarts staff couldn't persuade him to spend another minute with Professor Trelawney. Instead, he had decided to take Transfiguration, Charms, Defence against the Dark Arts and Astronomy.

However, Harry's subject choices had been the most surprising of all. He had also done incredibly well in his OWLs, with four Os, four Es and an A, as well as the highest mark in the country for Defence against the Dark Arts. Despite this, the idea of becoming an Auror had become less and less appealing to him over the summer, and he had decided to take subjects that he enjoyed and work out a career path later. After much deliberation, he had settled upon Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, Transfiguration, Charms and Defence against the Dark Arts. The thought of finally getting away from Snape had cheered Harry up greatly, almost as much as remembering the look on Snape's face when he had found out that Harry had got an O in Potions.

By ten past seven, the entire sixth year and the various House heads had assembled in Professor Flitwick's classroom.

"Well it's good to see nothing has changed," muttered Harry, nudging Hermione.

"What?" said Hermione, looking round.

"Snape has given me three death glares since we walked in…no, wait…four," replied Harry grinning.

Professor McGonagall stood up and waited for everyone to stop talking.

"As you know," she began, "this is the year in which you begin your NEWTS. Obviously, this means that you will be expected to work very hard, as these exams will ultimately determine the opportunities available to you in the future. However, many people find that their sixth year is their best year at Hogwarts. You are all young adults now, and this means that you will be given more freedom; but remember, this freedom is a privilege, and will be sanctioned if it is abused.

Firstly, sixth years who are taking five subjects or less will have free periods."

There was a ripple of appreciation, and those who were taking six subjects looked slightly annoyed.

"It is recommended that these are used for private study," Professor McGonagall continued.

The ripple of appreciation turned to laughter.

"Secondly," Professor McGonagall said, with a steely glare at those who had been laughing, "sixth and seventh years are also allowed to visit Hogsmeade at weekends."

There was a cheer from one corner of the room, and the students broke into excited chatter. Professor McGonagall put a hand up to quieten them.

"It had been suggested that this particular privilege be revoked this year, in light of the fact that we are at war. However, it has been agreed that as long as you are sensible, there should not be any problems. Students leaving the castle to go to Hogsmeade must sign in and out, and all students must be back by ten o' clock, no later. Any infringement of these rules will result in the entire year being banned from returning to Hogsmeade."

There was a stunned silence. Professor McGonagall smiled.

"I hope that you will all enjoy this year, and that you will make the most of the opportunity to study your chosen subjects in more depth, as well as getting to know each other better, and reaching your full potential."

There was a short burst of applause, and then everyone got up and began to leave. Even Draco Malfoy, who generally tried to avoid showing any emotion, looked thrilled at the idea of unlimited time in Hogsmeade. Harry smiled to himself. Maybe it wasn't going to be such a bad year after all.

When Harry, Ron and Hermione finally got to the hospital wing, Sally was making her way speedily through a large sundae. Around her were what looked like the remains of several other desserts, including some apple pie and half a muffin.

Harry approached the bed, while Ron and Hermione stood in a corner, watching.

Looking up, Sally stopped eating, embarrassed. "I was a bit hungry," she said sheepishly.

Harry laughed. "How are you feeling?"

Sally considered the question, not completely sure how to answer it. "Better," she said slowly. "I'm still a bit shell-shocked, I suppose, but I'm getting used to the whole soul binding thing. Things look a lot better from this side of a chocolate brownie."

"When are you going home?" asked Harry, sitting at the foot of the bed.

Sally shrugged. "Not for a while, anyway," she said, gesturing in the air with her spoon. "Professor Dumbledore said that he didn't think it was wise for me to leave until we know the extent of the spell and why I was left…here…" She paled and began to eat the sundae again.

After a few moments she looked up, and gestured once again with her spoon. "Are those your friends?" she asked, pointing to the corner in which Ron and Hermione were standing. Looking uncomfortable, they emerged, and allowed themselves to be ushered over by Harry, who was smiling reassuringly.

There was an awkward silence.

"Okay," said Sally, straightening up. "You're Ron, you're Hermione," she began, pointing to each of them in turn. "Ron has five brothers and a sister, all of whom have red hair. Hermione is really, really clever, and likes to read a lot."

"How did you know that?" asked Ron incredulously.

Sally laughed. "Harry may have mentioned it in passing."

The atmosphere became more relaxed, and soon the four were chatting amicably; Sally stopping the conversation every so often so that they could explain various wizarding terms to her. Harry was relieved. The fact that Ron and Hermione actually got on with Sally would make his life much easier.

When Dumbledore entered the hospital wing, he was surprised to see four people sitting on Sally's bed, sharing what was left of a sundae.

The headmaster coughed lightly to make his presence known. Seeing him, Hermione leapt off the bed and began to brush herself down furiously, while the other three tried to inconspicuously get the ice-cream off their faces.

Dumbledore chuckled. "I see the house elves obliged," he said.

Sally nodded.

"Well I won't interrupt," continued Dumbledore. "I just came to say that, as you will be staying with us for some time, it may be a good idea for me to tell the school, and save you some awkward questions."

Sally nodded again, this time more slowly.

"Brilliant!" said Dumbledore, turning to leave. "I'll make the announcement at breakfast tomorrow. With you there of course."

As the door swung shut, Sally swallowed sharply. "What did I just agree to?" she asked, burying her head in her hands.

Harry, Ron and Hermione met Sally at the entrance to the Great Hall. Clearly in an attempt to dress inconspicuously, she was wearing a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. However, in contrast to the sea of black robes, she may as well have been wearing a large neon sign.

Once they had sat down, Harry and Ron immediately began to pile their plates with food. It was only when Harry had started on his second helping of toast that he noticed that Sally wasn't eating. He nudged her.

"Eat something."

Sally shook her head. "After last night, I don't think I'll ever be hungry again," she replied.

Before Harry could say anything else, Professor Dumbledore stood up. Announcements at breakfast were unusual, and general chatter became hushed as people looked round curiously.

"I would like to announce," began Dumbledore, "that we will have a visitor with us for the next few weeks. Her name is Sally, and she is sitting at the Gryffindor table at the moment."

Everyone turned to look at Sally, who had now turned bright red and was studying her empty plate intently.

"I hope that you will welcome her warmly and make her stay here as comfortable as possible. Thank you." Dumbledore sat down.

There were another few moments of silence, and the normal level of chatter ensued once again. This time, however, most of it was clearly about Sally. People on the far ends of the hall were even standing up to try and get a glimpse of her.

Sally put her hands over her face. "Well, it could have been worse," she said through the gap in her fingers. "He could have made me get up and do a tap dance in the table."

A/N: As you can probably tell, I was very hungry when I wrote this chapter! As juno malabre pointed out, I forgot to thank quite a few people at the end of my last chapter. Probably because there was a teacher standing behind me saying "Shouldn't you be at registration?" Anyway, I will make amends:

Star19: Thank you!

Juno malabre: Ah yes. Because we never do French in French...Besides, less chat, more writing stockholm syndrome!

benwa: Glad you like it! Please keep reading.

Arloneyi: Well...I forgive you. But just this once, and only because you're so lovely...

Fippets: Ah you are a clever little bunny. You worked it out!

Fictionair: I love getting your reviews. They make me feel good about myself.: D