Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah, you know it. Not mine.

A/N: A shorter chapter for yah, but an important one… )

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The last few days of break flew by in a blur and it wasn't long before the Weasleys, Harry, Hermione and Kalea found themselves at Platform 9¾.

"Seventh year," Hermione sighed, looking at the train.

"I didn't think we'd make it," Harry mused.

"This is our last time to leave for Hogwarts, our last year really together…" she continued sadly.

"I know, I can't wait to blow this joint!" Ron grinned, clapping her on the back. Rolling her eyes, she turned around and left.

"What's with her?"

"You tell me," Harry replied. "And, 'blow this joint'?? Where'd you get that one?"

"It's American, mate—you know, it means 'get out of here', 'move on'… and knowing my dearest twin brothers, we could probably give that phrase a more literal meaning as well."

Harry laughed and said nothing, content to simply watch the first years nervously board the train. There was one group of particularly interesting girls, all seeming absolutely terrified by something or other in a rather suspicious and familiar looking box… not surprisingly, Lee Jordan's prodigy, Jeremy Frens, was crouching behind some trunks nearby, getting ready to jump out at them.

A flash of red appeared in the corner of his eye, and Harry turned to find himself face to face with Ginny.

"Hey," he grinned. "Where've you been?"

"Oh, around. I found Jessica, Taylor and Charlotte already, so I'm happy. What have you been up to? Just standing here?" she replied, putting her arm around his waist.

"Yeah, pretty much. I just keep thinking how sad it is that, after this year, we won't be coming back anymore."

"Don't talk like that—maybe we'll get lucky and you'll fail or something, and have to do the year over again…" she looked into his eyes and smiled.

"Yeah, because that'd look good on my transcript for Auror training," he smirked before bending down to give her a light peck on the lips.

"Look at that!" an all too familiar voice drawled in front of them. "Weaslette's finally got herself a body—but, awww, what a pity, she's wasting it on Potter!" Draco spat to Goyle. After Crabbe died in the final battle against Voldemort, Goyle stuck closer than ever to his idol's side.

"Shut—" Harry began before he was silenced by Ginny. She winked at him, turned around and slowly strode towards Malfoy, hips swaying subtly and suggestively. Grateful she'd worn her hip hugging black jeans and favorite emerald green halter top, she approached him and smiled. Running her tongue over her lips, she looked him over, head to toe and back, finally stopping at his stormy silver eyes.

"You seem to have filled out nicely over the summer yourself, Draco…" she whispered and smiled coyly, leaning towards him. Harry couldn't believe his eyes—what was she playing at?? Secretly surprised at this display, Draco smugly put his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. Watching as Harry turned redder and redder, he brought his lips to her neck and barely grazed her soft, supple skin before whispering something in her ear. Ginny's eyes flashed angrily, but she hid it with a quiet giggle before turning to whisper back. The two were almost completely embraced when suddenly her knee flew straight up into Draco's groin. Completely caught off guard, he flew backwards and landed sprawled on the ground in front of her, face red as fiery pain shot through his body.

"Awww, did the Slytherin prince just get his teeny tiny balls shoved into his throat? By a girl?" she bent over him. "Listen, Ferret, you're right. I have 'gotten a body' over the summer, and you know what? It's too good for the likes of you. If you harass me one more time, I swear, you WILL regret the moment you were born. GOT IT?" she glowered. Satisfied by his stunned silence, she spun around, slid her arm around Harry and walked away with him, not looking back once.

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Kalea looked at her reflection in the ornate mirror above the sink in the girls' toilet. Fred had had to leave a few minutes ago, their goodbye leaving her hair a bit tousled. She reddened a little as she thought back over the past few weeks—they really hadn't been as slick and secretive as they'd hoped, had they? She laughed, remembering Ginny's face when she'd walked in on them in the kitchen. Well in any case, it would be good to get away for a while and just chill…she'd miss him, but she needed some snog-free time to take everything in. She sighed and, stuffing her brush into her bag, went back outside. Harry and Ginny were standing together, saying something to Ron...but he seemed completely oblivious. They were laughing hysterically and he just stood there kind of stupidly… then she noticed he was glaring at something, or someone….She followed his gaze…Oh. Hermione was standing against the worn brick wall, George leaning (?!?) beside her, talking and laughing. Of course… Kalea smirked evilly to herself. Finally, something was going to happen! Competition spurns jealousy, jealousy spurns action…he was thickheaded alright, but at least now he seemed to be clueing in. This would be an interesting year… Staring into space, she began to imagine all sorts of amusing situations involving the two—being unexpectedly locked in random places together, being paired up for projects—something was tickling her shoulder. Absentmindedly, she waved it off, a grin spreading over her face as she devised one particularly wicked scheme. Only when the tickling turned into a sudden, sharp jab was she shaken out of her reverie.

"What?!" she asked irritably, turning towards the source of her frustration. A beautiful Asian girl looking about her same age stood in front of her, purple eyes sparkling with laughter.

"Sorry—you just…" she snickered, "You dropped this in the loo—I've been chasing you ever since you left, calling you 'miss' and tapping you on the shoulder… only when I actually poked you did you even slow down!" she continued, handing Kalea her sparkly blue hairbrush.

A little embarrassed, Kalea grinned at the slender girl, "It must have fallen out of my bag…Thanks."

"No problem," she replied, brushing a strand of her long silky black hair behind her ear.

"And I'm sorry for snapping at you, too—I was…well, I was distracted…"

"I noticed…but don't worry about it—there's a lot to look at when you're new," she laughed. "I'm Amber, by the way."

"I'm Kalea," she smiled back. "It's that obvious that I'm new, huh?" When Amber just nodded and laughed, she continued, "Actually I wasn't really looking around so much as plotting evilness for a couple of friends of mine that are in denial over being in love with each other."

"Ooooh, evil matchmaking?? I love it! Who are they?" Amber's eyes lit up.

"Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger," came the reply as Kalea pointed them out.

"Wow, you're aiming high—those two have been denying their smittenness ever since they got here—nothing's been able to get through to them!"

"You mean you know them??"

"Well, from a distance. Aside from Hermione being the only non-Ravenclaw female to dominate every class, except divination, and aside from the fact that they're both best friends of the infamous Harry Potter…Ron dated one of my housemates for a while. We've had a house pool going for a couple years now on whether or not they'll ever admit to liking each other, and if so, when, but so far, no luck." She shrugged.

"You have a BET? Hah! That's hilarious!! Put me down for two…galleons, right?... for two galleons that they'll admit it and be together by the end of this term!"

"Two GALLEONS? You're obviously American, I'll grant you that, and you're new to our currency, but do you realize how much two galleons is??" Amber looked at her, eyes wide with surprise.

"Alright, alright, keep your shorts on. Two galleons is a lot, but I have my ways…" Still seeing the incredulous look on her new friend's face, she added, "But you can make that one, instead, if you really want to. Do you wanna come meet them up close and in person really quick?" Shaking her head at Kalea's insane gamble, Amber grabbed her things and followed her.

Ginny looked up, mildly surprised when Kalea approached with Amber. She recognized her as one of Jessica's friends, but didn't really know her that well. She looked nice enough, anyway, and if Kalea had already befriended her, then she was probably fine. She couldn't help but notice that Harry seemed to check her out, though… the nerve, right in front of her! Not that she could blame him—the girl had to have some veela in her or something—there was just something unreal about the beauty of her presence. Though her looks were impressive—she was tan, had a black shimmering hair cascading almost to her waist, beautiful purple (definitely a sign of veela, she mused) Chinese eyes, and huge, pouty lips to die for—it was something more than just that. She seemed to carry a sense of intelligence, grace and even confidence with every step she took. She was breathtaking.

"Guys, this is Amber. Amber, this is Harry, Ginny and Ron." Sensitive to Harry's shyness about what he represented, she resisted the urge to look at his scar and simply smiled as she said hello.

"Where's Hermione?" Kalea asked, a twinge of amusement in her voice. Ron's face darkened, causing Amber to snort. Trying to cover it up with a coughing fit, she turned slightly, so he wouldn't see her laughing.

"Amber, are you ok?" Harry asked, concerned. Before she could answer, a shrill whistle sounded, telling everyone to get on the train.

Relieved, Amber took advantage of the moment and quickly said, "Alright, well I'd better hurry up and get everything on board early so I don't nearly kill someone in the process—but maybe I'll meet up with you again once we're on our way! It was great meeting you; I can't wait to see what house you're put in. Anyway, see you later…" she smiled again and, steadying her owl's cage, grabbed hold of her trolley and headed for the train. Kalea smiled after her and cast a glance in Hermione's direction only to see that both she and George had disappeared, leaving all her things alone by the wall. Oh well, she shrugged before awkwardly picking up her own things and following Harry and Ginny to the baggage car.

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"Hermione, can I…can I talk to you for a second?" George asked, glancing over his shoulder. He'd seen the look he was getting from Ron and didn't want to do this in front of him. He might be his little brother, but Ron could still be very physical, and he didn't want to see that happen—at least not until they got the chance to really sit and talk everything out. Anyway, that would come later. He looked back at Hermione as she leaned against the wall. "Please?"

Slightly confused, Hermione gave him an uncertain smile and replied, "Sure…" George grinned and, taking both her hands in his, led her around the corner toward the seemingly ancient wishing fountain and sat her down on its edge. Sitting next to her, he shifted a bit awkwardly and took a deep breath.

"I know you've been through a lot this summer—especially these past two weeks—but I want you to know that I care about you, and am always here for you. Anytime you want to talk or hang out, or just get away from Hogwarts, my doors are always open." He looked deeply into her almond eyes and smiled before reaching into his pocket. To her surprise, he pulled out a tiny shimmering box. "I got you a little going away present…" George blushed. Her heart began to beat faster and faster—what was this?!? Slowly, he opened the box, revealing a small sapphire and diamond coloured crystal dragonfly on a delicate silver chain. She gasped—it was gorgeous! Seeing the look on her face, he grinned and gently clasped the necklace around her neck. His own heart pounding as well, he leaned forward and gave her a sweet kiss on the cheek. "I hope you have a great, great year," he sighed, brushing her hair off her face. Just then, the train's whistle shrieked, making both of them jump.

"George…" she started, though she really didn't know what to say.

"Go on, you're gonna miss the train!" He laughed, giving her a warm hug.

"Thank you—it's amazing—I love it," she breathed before looking up at him. "I will call—I'm sure there'll be a few times when I'll just need to get away."

Even though he didn't really know what she meant by 'calling'—maybe she'd yell or something?—his heart soared. Stepping back, he let her pass and followed her around the corner to help her with her things.

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Ginny's eyes fluttered as she fell asleep, curled up by the window. Ron and Harry took turns at Exploding Snap; Kalea had disappeared all together.

"I can't believe she can sleep through all that noise," Hermione commented, looking up from her reading. Across from her, Ginny snored lightly, warmed by the sunlight.

"Yeh, well, when you live in my house, you get used to random explosions. If we weren't heavy sleepers, we'd never get any rest at all with Fred and George there. It's a good thing they're moving out, soon…" Ron answered as his winning hand once again incinerated Harry's losing one.

"They're moving out?" Harry asked, sticking his slightly burned fingers in his mouth.

"Yeh. They had this awful row with Mum about it and she let them have it—she loves them and all, but said that if they're gonna continue experimenting and selling their joke stuff, they had to move out as soon as they got enough money. They're taking a flat somewhere in October—gonna share it until they have enough to each have their own, I guess."

Moving out. So that's what George had meant, Hermione mused, absently reaching up and touching the crystal dragonfly that now hung around her neck. If only she could have had more time to—time!! Merlin!! She'd almost forgotten—was she late?!?

"What time is it??" she cried, making both boys jump.

"What?! It's ten 'till noon, why?" Harry answered, slightly afraid of her.

"Crap!!" Hermione jumped up and dashed out of the room, barely managing to close the door behind her. Both boys sat agape, staring after her for a second, before Ron ventured to ask, "Did she just say 'crap'?"

As she ran down the narrow corridor, Hermione managed to hurriedly put on her robes over her plain clothes. Once she got those on, she was forced to slow slightly so she could pin on her head girl badge and catch her breath before going in. Almost to the compartment, she glanced to her right and was surprised to see Kalea sitting with what looked to be a bunch of Ravenclaws. That's…interesting, she thought as she quickly pulled her hair into a loose braid. Taking a deep breath, she strode forward and pushed open the door to the prefect compartment to find herself face to face with the new Head Boy.

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