DISCLAIMER: How many times do I have to tell you?! I don't own HP anything!

Chapter 9: Hogwarts or Home?

"That was delicious Mrs. Weasley." The group of people staying in the house had finished their dinner and were chatting idly and finishing their drinks. Alana had met many more wizards during supper and found most of them remarkably funny. One wizard, Mundugnus Fletcher, amused Alana with his stories of thievery and deception. Another, Alastor or Mad-Eye Moody, told her stories of his days as an auror and how it made him remarkably paranoid.

"But tell anyone I admitted it." He whispered gruffly with a chuckle "I've got to keep up my reputation of being a right old pain."

"Alana, we're going back upstairs." Harry said "Are you going to come with?" Alana nodded and followed him, Ron and Hermione back to their rooms.

"So did Dumble dore tell you if you're going to come to the school yet?" Hermione asked impatiently "Do you want to come to school with us?"

"I haven't heard a thing of him since this afternoon and it would be great to go to Hogwarts with you guys." Alana said excitedly. "I still haven't heard anything from my aunt Ailbe yet either. She'll have the final say in what happens I guess. I just hope she doesn't ship me off to another mortal school. I'm so tired of not being able to practice magic or fighting arts." She rolled her eyes and flopped back on the bed.

"Fighting arts?" Harry asked

"Yeah. Hand to hand combat, sword fighting, defensive magic, and ambushing tactics. By far the best class I have ever taken."

"So the Taestai have schools too?" Ron questioned

"Not a chance. Our parents and aunts and uncles teach us everything we need to know and in some cases, way more." She raised her eyebrows and made a face of disgust. "Especially if you have such a broad age difference between the oldest and youngest."

"Oh Lovely" said Hermione as she realized what Alana was trying to say.

"Okay, moving away from such topics as classes and other things," Ron too was a little uneasy. "are you going to come with us to Diagon Alley?"

"Diagon Alley? The market?" She had only ever heard about the place and thought it sounded very interesting. "Yeah I'll go."

"Great. You'll love it there." Ron responded. "There are so many great shops and you'll get a kick out of my brothers' store. 'Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes'. It's a joke shop."

"And there are other places too Ron." Hermione said. "Like Flourish and Blott's, The Apothecary, and the used book store."

"Hermione's a book worm." Ron said rolling his eyes. "Don't listen to her. Those places are only fun if they've got something dangerous in 'em." Alana laughed and agreed that most places were. Then each Harry, Ron and Hermione launched into their own descriptions of Hogwarts and what the best parts of each were. Hermione's were the library and classes, minus potions of course. Ron and Harry's were Quidditch, since they both were on the team.

About fifteen minutes into Harry Ron and Hermione's explanation of each of their professors, They heard a knock on the door. Hermione answered it this time and left the boys finish describing Professor Trelawney, their divination teacher.

"She's a fake if anything. I've never heard her say anything major that came true, only the occasional 'you'll break a teacup' or 'you're pet is about to die'. She's a pain really." Ron commented disapprovingly.

"Not always Ron." Harry said. "She predicted that Peter Pettigrew would go back to Voldemort remember?"

"That was a once in a lifetime chance. It probably never happened before, I doubt it'll ever happen again." Ron said and Harry's eyes dropped to the floor. Knowing that he must have something other on his mind than just being outsmarted by his best friend, Alana made a mental note to talk to him later.

"This Trelawney person reminds me of someone, but I can't place who...." Alana said almost to herself. "Hopefully I'll find her out for myself. I really want to go to Hogwarts now. You guys made it sound like a load of fun."

"Your mum wants us all to go to bed Ron." Hermione said as she returned from the door. "Says she wants to leave early tomorrow since Fred and George will have loads of customers and are bound to need some extra help."

"I haven't a nightdress." Alana said as she and Hermione headed to their room. "Dumbledore was supposed to send my things along after me but by the looks of it he didn't." She sighed and rubbed her palm to her forehead. "The man must be getting senile by now. Finally. And do you have anything for a headache? I feel like by head's been cleaved in two." Hermione nodded and gave her a vial of some sort of pain relieving potion from the bathroom.

Hermione snuggled into her covers and started pondering her day. She had learned a lot, not least of all that Taestai are real and easily aggravated. Was Alana really what she said she was? There had to be some other way she could do what she did, make herself and eyes glow and such. A potion or spell maybe? But she hadn't seen a wand.....

Ah...Hermione and her reasonable explainations for everything...Stubborn little... Nevermind