Okay I have a few thank you's to give out!

The Spirit Eternal: OMG YOU ARE AMAZING! I read your profile and I'm convinced I've found my long-lost twin!!! I can't STAND pink!!! black is so much better! YAY FOR BLACK! and mushy fics suck! they should burn in Hades! and I'm reading Eragon right now and its only reeeeeeeeally amazingly awesome! thanks so much for reading and PLEASE email me!!!!!! it'd make my day! ^^

Everyone else!: you're my peeps and I love you dearly (not queerly! lol Katie!). anywho, yeah I'd type u all individual notes, but I'm too lazy at the present moment! so read the chappie and have fun! ^.~

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, but I DO own a nice pair of woolen socks. They keep my toes nice and toasty! ^^

Chapter Two: The Owl

She was staring at a sea of black—the legs of all the students milling around in the Entrance Hall. It was obviously dinnertime. She looked behind her and there were the oak front doors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This was the castle, not from the Harry Potter films, but her Hogwarts, the way she pictured it.

She was brought out of her thoughts by someone pulling her to her feet.

"Honestly, Claire, you should be more careful where you're walking!" said a small girl about Claire's height with short, light brown hair and dark eyes. "You nearly knocked over that sixth year in front of us! She looked like she could've clobbered you—"

Claire was hardly taking in a word this girl was saying. What was this? Was it a dream? Was this her mind just wandering before she drifted off to sleep? But, she felt so awake! She was wearing the black Hogwarts robes; she could feel their weight on her skin. And, if she wasn't mistaken, there was something long and thin in her pocket—a wand!

She was at Hogwarts!

"Am I really here?" she thought aloud, her excitement barely containable.

The girl that had helped her off the floor stared.

"Did you hit your head when you fell?" the girl asked her.

Claire turned to look at her in curiosity. She, too, was wearing the robes. Her outline wasn't blurry at all. Claire reached out and touched her arm. She was solid.

"Oh my God, I'm awake?" Claire said, a smile spreading again across her face. "I'm really here?"

"Claire, maybe you should go to the Hospital Wing?" the girl suggested, staring at Claire in concern.

"Oh no, really, I'm fine!" Claire insisted. "Listen, can I ask you something without you thinking I'm crazy?"

"Well, no matter what you ask, I can't possibly think you're any crazier than I already think you are," the girl replied simply.

I like her, Claire thought. She speaks her mind.

"Am I at Hogwarts?" Claire asked her, wanting to make sure this wasn't a dream.

The girl continued to stare at her as if she had escaped the insane asylum.

"Yeeeeeah, where did you think you were?" the girl answered. "Did you think when you tripped just now you'd get back up and be on another planet?"

Claire laughed.

"No, of course not," she told the curious girl. "I just—oh my God!"

Over the girl's shoulder Claire saw three people coming out of the Entrance Hall. One was a tall boy with flaming red hair and freckles. Another, a girl with bushy brown hair and pretty brown eyes. And the third, was a skinny boy with jet black hair, bright green eyes, and black glasses.

"Is that Ron Weasley???!!!" Claire nearly squeaked in her moment of discovery (for Ron was her favorite character of all time ^^), grabbing the girl that'd helped her and spinning her around. "And Hermione and Harry?! Is that really them?!" She was fighting the impulse to run up and hug them.

"Well, the last one is right, and I don't know who the other two are. Just his friends. They're in our House, you've seen them before Claire," the girl said, looking at her quizzically. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"You mean I'm in Gryff—hang on, what do you mean I've seen them before?" Claire asked curiously. "I've never been here before...have I?"

"That's it, I'm taking you to Madam Pomfrey," the girl said, grabbing Claire's hand and trying to lead her up the marble staircase. "You've lost it."

"No, no, no!" Claire told her. "I swear I'm just fine. Listen, if you can help me by answering some questions and not asking me until I can figure out what's going on, I promise I'll explain everything! We're obviously friends, so don't you trust me?"

The girl sighed and said, "Yeah, I guess so. But you are really worrying me."

"I told you, I'll explain everything in a minute," Claire said, thinking quickly of all the things she'd need to know. She was obviously a student here, a student that had always been here, if that made any sense. If that was true she'd have to make sure she didn't look completely brainless. If this girl was walking with her, they were probably friends and in the same House, which meant she could be of some help.

"First of all, and please don't think I've lost my marbles, what's your name?" Claire asked her.

The girl looked all the more worried but still answered her question.

"Bethany," she replied. "Bethany Anderson."

"Well, nice to meet you, Bethie," Claire said shaking her hand. Bethany looked somewhat relieved when Claire said that.

"Well, I know you're not totally nuts now," Bethany said with a sigh. "You're the only person who's ever called me 'Bethie'."

"Really?" Claire said, speaking what was on her mind without thinking as usual. "That's cool. Okay, can you take me to our dormitory?" After another worried glance from Bethany she added, "I'll explain everything later, I promise!"

"Alright, follow me," Bethany said, beginning to climb the marble staircase after Harry, Hermione, and Ron.

As soon as Bethany lead her through a door concealed behind a tapestry, Claire knew exactly where they were going.

I'm in Gryffindor, she thought triumphantly, the same house as Harry and Ron and Hermione! This is so cool! I wonder if we're in the same year...

That would be a good thing to know.

"Hey, Bethie?" Claire said, running in front of her so she was walking backwards. "What year are we in?"

"This is too weird," Bethany said to herself, shaking her head. To Claire she said, "Second, why?"

"Just curious," Claire replied, beginning to walk correctly again alongside Beth. "And what year is Harry Potter in? Do you know?"

"He's a year older than us! Don't you remember how excited we were after the sorting? When we went back to the common room he and his friend with the red hair, Ron's his name I think—"

"Yeah, it is," said Claire, watching Ron who was walking ahead of her.

"Riiiight, well, don't you remember how they were being congratulated for flying that car to school?"

"Yeah, I remember!" Claire said, getting excited as she remembered that part of the second book. "And when Ron's wand broke?! Oh, I felt so bad for him! Poor guy...hey, what did you stop for? I thought the Fat Lady was the portrait we were looking for!"

Bethany was stopped dead in front of a picture of Wilma the Wonderful and gawking at Claire in shock.

"How is it you can remember stuff like that, but you can't even remember what House and year you're in?" Bethany asked her, eyes narrowed as if Claire was playing a trick on her. "Like Harry Potter's friend's name, and that he broke his wand last year?"

It was then Claire realized she had said too much. She needed to be way more careful about the stuff that she knew about Harry, if he himself didn't even know certain things—

She gasped. Excitement though flooded her. She knew everything there was to know about the Harry Potter books! She practically had them memorized! And if Harry was only in third year...so many things hadn't happened yet! So many bad things—maybe she could somehow stop them from happening! And maybe, just maybe something she changed would save Sirius's life in the end, by making Harry do something differently now! It was brilliant!

"Here we are," Bethany said as if she was giving Claire a tour around the school.

"What a minute," Claire said, staring at the picture of a knight next to a chubby pony. "This is...Sir Cadogan! Beth, did Sirius Black break into the castle last night?"

This simple question caused Ron, halfway through the portrait hole, Harry and Hermione, who were already inside, to turn around and stare. It was the only thing anyone was talking about all day! How could she not know?

"Hi, Ron, how are ya?" Claire asked with a big smile. Then she turned back to Bethany and said, "So did he?"

Bethany looked horrorstruck. Ron had just muttered something to Harry about "stupid second years".

"Could you save the weird questions until we get up into the dormitory?!" Beth hissed angrily. "And yes, he did. Don't you remember? We had to spend the night in the Great Hall!"

"I told you, I know absolutely—wow! This place is even more amazing than what I thought!" Claire exclaimed happily as she entered the common room, causing more people to stare as if she'd announced she was going to join a heard of lemmings and jump into the ocean and drown.

"C'mon!"

Bethany grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the girl's staircases. They had the dorm second from the top of the tower. Inside were four four-posters.

"Wow!" Claire said to the empty room. "Which bed is mine?"

Bethany pointed to the one second from their right. Claire ran and jumped on it, and to her surprise, found that she landed on some important items.

"What the—"

Sitting on her bed were two more sets of wizard's robes, all of the books she's need if she was to attend classes, a cauldron, a clapsable telescope, and—

"Oh my God!" Claire said, staring at a full set of brand new Harry Potter books.

"What are those?" Bethany asked her curiously. Picking up The Chamber of Secrets and flipping through it's pages.

Claire was just starting to look through a trunk of other equipment at the foot of her bed, when a small brown and white owl flew through the open window. It landed on top of The Standard Book of Spells: Grade 2 and brandished a small roll of parchment attached to it's leg.

With Bethany reading over her shoulder, Claire unrolled the parchment and read:

Dearest Claire,

Welcome to your birthday present from your great-grandmother! Whatever you last read last night, you will find yourself sucked into that part of the story. All the necessary equipment for your classes has been sent along with you. Also, I'm sure you found the set of Harry Potter books that also went into the story. These have been sent so that you'll be able to know exactly what Harry and his friends are up to, and, if you feel it necessary, can try and help them along. Remember: READ BETWEEN THE LINES! You will be sent home when, and only when, you know it's time. Have fun and READ BETWEEN THE LINES!

~Love from, Grandma~

"What does that mean?" Bethany asked, totally bewildered.

"It means," Claire said, a smile playing at her lips, "I'm never going home and I'm going to be having a lot of fun tomorrow. What's our first class?"

"Transfiguration, why?"

"Because, I can hardly wait!" Claire said, flopping down on her bed with a feeling of immense excitement.

[a/n: DUN DUN DAAAAAAAAaaaa! What will happen in Claire's first class? How will she be of help to Harry and his friends? Will Ron continue to think she's a loony? Tune in next chapter to find out! ^^ Thanks for reading!]