Author's Note: Everybody who loves me raise their hand. Better yet leave a review and make my day. By the time you read this, I will have assumed total parental responsibility for my seven year old niece for the entire summer. It would be nice to have something to look forward to after she goes to bed. (I'm openly begging, but I put out two chapters just like last time and I used my week vacation to finish up the entire story.)

Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, I could afford a baby-sitter. Since I can't afford a baby-sitter, then it is fairly obvious that I do not own the Harry Potter franchise. If I owned American Dragon: Jake Long, then I probably would have canceled the series by now, because my niece watches it incessently. I mentioned it out of exaustion and similarity only.

Warning: Clean as a whistle . . . I think. Too tired to really care.

I Never Thought I Would Be A Hero

Original Dark Angel

Chapter 8: Chaos as Per Usual

"Junior Agents Weasley and Malfoy, ma'am. Headmaster Dumbledore sent us to escort the exchange students."

"I see. Let me just go fetch them." The portly witch barely turned away before shouting "Addie, Andy, and Javon! The Aurors are here to take you little devils to the train!" The middle-aged woman turned back to them with an emphatic nod. "The American twelve-year-old, Andy, that's the one to watch out for. Found that horrible joke shop first day here. Real temper that one. Ah, here they are."

As the three kids lined up with their trunks, Ginny scanned them for the troublemaker. To her surprise there was only one boy and he looked to be about Draco's age, as did the oldest girl. A short redheaded girl appeared to be the Andy the woman spoke of. The older girl was very slender and pale as if sickly, but there was a strength in her voice as she reminded the woman, "My name is Adele, Mrs. Travers."

Draco stepped forward and referring to Dumbledore's letter, nodded to each in turn. "Javon Demi, Adele Courtier, and Andrea Davis?"

"Andy! Don't you ever call us Andrea!" the girl spat.

Draco ignored the outburst. "Draco Malfoy, and this is my partner, Ginny Weasley," he continued calmly. "The car is outside, so if you'll follow us." They managed to load the trunks and get to the station with no incident. But the train ride to Hogwarts was sheer torture. All Ginny wanted to do was lay down with her head in Draco's lap and catch up on her sleep, but Javon jumped at every little noise (usually caused by Andy), Adele had gone several shades paler, and Andy fired off impertinent questions, sarcasm, and rude comments in quick succession without waiting for an answer.

"You two are dating. We can tell! We bet you're a Slytherin, Malfoy. She isn't because she's a Weasley, but you've gotta be. How could a Slytherin and a Gryffindor be together? Isn't that like against the laws of nature? The new girl at Salem was a Slytherin." Here Ginny looked up, anxious for news of Carrie. "She's in our year, but she's really stuck up and we don't like her."

"We're Carrie's friends," Draco said coldly. "And we do like her so if you want to complain, don't do it in front of us. And what's with referring to yourself in plural?"

"They can split us apart, but they can't change us. They're idiots to think that they can. Ma and Andy are Oracle Twins. At least that's what we call ourselves after we watched 'Jake Long: The American Dragon.'"

"What?"

"The cartoon. Were you raised in Antarctica? Oh, wait, I forgot. You're from jolly old England," she said in a poor British accent.

While Draco attempted to regain control of the situation, Ginny allowed her mind to wander to the first letter that Carrie had sent them from America.

Dear Draco and Ginny,

I passed all my finals. I got an O in Potions and Charms. Salem isn't too bad, but they don't separate by houses. They separate by years, and I don't get along with my year very well. The Davis Twins practically rule the school. I hate them. Just because they're the youngest to ever qualify as full seers, everyone wants to be just like them. Bloody pathetic. I mean they have the same first name and one's a girl for crying out loud. Mum and Dad kind of ignore me during break, but I can live with that. Dennis Creevey writes all the time so I hear the news.

I hope you do well on your O.W.L.S. Ginny. Miss you both!

Carrie

"Ginny can you handle this for a moment? I need to step outside before I strangle that Brat."

"Sure. Bring back some chocolate frogs."

"Will do."

After finally turning their charges to McGonagall, it was a relief to finally collapse into the chairs at their favorite table. It was empty now. The younger generation of deatheaters had left, and sadly Blaise remained a petrified war prisoner.

"Welcome to Hogwarts!" Dumbledore's voice boomed over the crowd. "Good to see you all back again. As I can see you're hungry, the sorting will commence immediately. First we have three exchange students to be sorted followed by our new first years. Good luck to you all."

McGonagall cleared her throat. "Courtier, Adele."

"Gryffindor!"

"Davis, Andy."

"Slytherin!"

"Demi, Javon."

"Hufflepuff!"

Ginny blinked in surprise. She hadn't expected those houses for this lot. The exchange students stumbled down the steps to join them, the only familiar faces in the crowd. As she put a hand comfortingly on Javon's shoulder, she saw Draco lean forward to study the first years out of the corner of her eye. There were twelve altogether. The two on the end looked to be likely Slytherins.

"Brient, Timothy."

"Ravenclaw!"

"Browning, Jackal."

"Gryffindor!"

"Davies, Alexis."

"Ravenclaw!"

"Dijonne, Rain."

"Ravenclaw!"

"Elliot, Adrian."

"Hufflepuff!"

"Jedlen, Tigris."

"Gryffindor!"

"Kent, Joshua."

"Gryffindor!"

"Rockstorm, Nebulae."

"Ravenclaw!"

"Samuels, Rowan."

"Slytherin!"

"I knew it," Draco muttered to himself. "She looked like a Samuels."

"Sand, Jordan."

"Gryffindor!"

"Shiva, Ryan."

"Slytherin!"

"Sparks, Ian."

"Slytherin!"

Draco blinked in surprise. Sparks had looked like a Slytherin, but the slim Indian girl looked more the part of Ravenclaw. Well, the Sorting Hat had never made a mistake before, perhaps there was more to the girl than met the eye.

"Excellent, all! Well done, first years! Your prefects will direct you to your dormitories after the feast. Start of Term Announcements before you begin, I will be brief, succinct, and to the point. The Forbidden Forest is off limits to anyone who does not consider him or herself to be animal food. Mr. Filch has posted a new list of items that are not allowed at Hogwarts outside his office. Most of Weasley Wizard Wheezes stock is on the list, so please check it, before releasing those fine fireworks our former students invented. Our new Head Boy and Girl are Mr. Ron Weasley and Miss Hermione Granger of Gryffindor. Congratulations. Also, for the first time in twenty-seven years, the Aurors Academy has recognized two Hogwarts students to be worthy of Auror Training while still attending Hogwarts. Congratulations to Mr. Draco Malfoy of Slytherin, and to Miss Ginevra Weasley of Gryffindor. Now I'm finally finished, so please feel free to eat."

"I love you, Draco."

"Love you too, Ginny." He kissed her lightly and tugged the long red braid. "Wish me luck with the first years and the brat."

"You're gonna need it. Good luck. Meet you in the Great Hall for breakfast."

He allowed her to pull away and run to catch up with her housemates. He turned to join the little kids who were grinning like crazy and making kissing noises. "Oh, all right already. Hush up!" The first years obeyed instantly, but Andy didn't stop until Draco glared at her and threatened detention. "Now, if you are quite finished, I'd like to show you where the Slytherin dorms are. If you aren't, I'll leave you to the mercies of Filch and Peeves, neither of whom is enjoyable company." There were no objections so Draco continued, "The dorms are huge so there is no need for any of you four to bother me. Dumbledore is preaching school unity, but watch out for hexes because we're not well liked. I don't care if you trade insults with the other houses, but my girlfriends is off limits. Any of you bother her, and you'll be scrubbing the toilets for a month. There is a quidditch team and my girlfriend got special permission from Dumbledore to play for Slytherin, and since first years are now allowed to play this year, we'll only be playing one player down. First practice is on Friday. This is Syn Trunt, our portrait and the password is 'Dragon Blood.' I'll let you know when I change it. First Year Dormitories are up the first flight of stairs. Boys to the left, and girls to the right. Next flight up is Carrie's room on the right. That's where you stay, Davis. My room is on the left if you need something, but if you disturb me for anything less than World War III, I will hex you."

He started to dismiss them, but changed his mind. "Sit." He claimed the chair by the fire, and gestured to the other pieces of furniture. The three first years seemed to decide that they were more likely to survive if they stuck together and traveled in numbers, so they elected to take the sofa across from him. In an obstinate and defiant action, Andy dropped to the rug and immediately started messing with a magical pocket puzzle bearing the infamous triple W logo. He made a mental note to keep an eye on anything she gave out or touched from now on. Ginny's twin brothers were insane as far as he was concerned. He shook the thoughts from his head and faced the younger students with a look that could stop a fully-grown dragon in its tracks. "Slytherin only accepts purebloods with great ambition and cunning. The deatheaters withdrew their children from Hogwarts last year, and I wasn't expecting any new Slytherins, so I'd like some background information on all of you, because if I'm going to stick my head out for you, I want to know exactly who I'm doing it for. Now, I'm familiar with the Samuels Family Line, but I didn't know that they had a daughter, so we'll start with you. Rowan, isn't it?"

The short brunette nodded vigorously, bouncing a little on the sofa as she did so, her soft curls spilling out of the French braids that someone had tried to confine them in. "I'm Rowan Elise Samuels, but I'm a nobody in my family because I'm the only girl. It didn't matter to my parents whether I went to Hogwarts or not. My brothers are being trained at Durmstrang, but I was dumped here until next summer. I'm in Slytherin because I want to be great. I want to be someone that they can't ignore anymore."

Draco nodded. "My girlfriend could relate. You, boy."

"Ian Sparks, sir. My folks aren't deatheaters, at least I don't think so. I'm from an orphanage. My mum left a letter saying that I was magic and would go to Hogwarts. I'm pretty much in awe because the muggles I stayed with never had anything like this." The boy looked familiar, but Draco couldn't place him. There was something about those blue eyes.

"I'm Ryan Shiva," the last girl added dreamily, flipping her long black hair out of her face. "I moved here from India last year and my last name is the name of our devil god of dance. I love to dance," she drifted off, and smiled sweetly at them.

"We're Andy Davis, America's Oracle Twins. We don't like anything but chocolate frogs, American Dragon; Jake Long, and quidditch."

"If you're a twin, then shouldn't there be two of you?" Rowan asked.

The red head scowled. "They split us up. Old man Carmichael got sick of us and Dumbledore said we were too dangerous to have together. We're never apart. Never, ever, and we hate it."

"What's your twin's name?" Ian asked.

"Andy Davis."

"Isn't that confusing?"

"No."

Draco decided to cut in there, in hopes that it would prevent another outburst from the obnoxious thirteen year old. "I'm Draco Malfoy and I was disowned by my parents for not taking the Dark Mark. If any of you object to that, then transfer to Durmstrang."

"What's the Dark Mark?" Ian asked.

"Do you know anything about the Wizarding World?" The younger boy shook his head and Draco sighed. "Somebody teach Ian the basics by Friday. No one looks down on a Slytherin. If someone messes with one Slytherin, then they mess with them all. Understand? Good. It's getting late. Go up to bed."

Andy was sitting stock still for the first time he'd seen all day, her eyes glazed over. Then she shook herself and looked at Draco with wide eyes. "Malfoy, there's a spider on my bed. I hate spiders."

"How do you know that?" Ian asked in amazement.

"Seer," Draco supplied, before turning back to Andy. "What do you want me to do about it?"

"Kill it," the girl rolled her eyes.

"Boy's can't get into girl's dorms."

"But it's a spider!"

Draco sighed, and removing his wand from the cloak pocket, headed up the stairs. She was right, a tarantula sat on her pillow. "Wingardium Leviosa." He waited until the spider was in front of him to vanish it. "You're safe now, brat."

"Good." Andy rushed past him and slammed the door in his face.

"Good night to you too," he muttered before dismissing his first year audience.

"My mum was nuts. That's why she named me Jackal. I like it, but hey, I'm used to it. Most every one calls me Jack. I don't care. Did you know that Jackals don't actually laugh; it's really this weird sort of bark . . ."

Ginny put a hand to her head. This kid could talk forever and she had the distinct impression that he was trying to distract her. That must mean that his best friend, Tigris, was up to something. Two hours at Hogwarts and they'd already pulled half a dozen pranks. The Weasley Twins may be upstaged.

". . . and I figure that if you have to live with a name like Jackal, than you may as well-gotta go! Bye!"

Ginny sighted and counted aloud, "Three . . . Two . . . One."

"Aaahhhh!"

"Bingo. Jackal and Tigris! What did you do?"

Draco was attempting to explain the Hogwarts ceiling to Ian for the eighth time at breakfast and looked visibly relieved to see her. "Thank goodness, Ginny."

"Morning," she yawned sleepily.

"Didn't sleep well?"

"Two of our first years are pranksters. Think Fred and George with a malicious streak and complete disregard for other's safety."

"I've got Miss Oracle Twin. I can't decide whether to stage a protest, or send Dumbledore a thank-you note for not saddling me with the other one. The brat had me killing about every spider in the place last night. Any chance she's related to Ron?"

"She is a red head," Ginny shrugged. "But I can top that. We were searching for the six rattlesnakes that the pranksters set loose in the common room."

"You know that there are like ten extra rooms in the Slytherin House, if you want to sleep there. It's rattlesnake-free. I promise."

"If it gets bad enough, I may take you up on that offer."

"Password is 'Dragon's Blood.' Should be easy enough to remember, right?"

"Yeah." She leaned forward and kissed him. "Thank you."

"I've taken the liberty of adding five extra chairs to each table. Let's not have a repeat of last year," Snape said coldly as he walked by.

"When we come back for our twentieth reunion, he'll still be holding that over our heads," Ginny giggled.

"Wouldn't be at all surprised," Draco replied dryly.

"What do you think you're doing here, Slytherin?" Harry snapped. Ryan looked at him blankly and mumbled something about being lost. "Do I look like I care? Get out of here. This is the Gryffindor corridor."

"Eat slugs, Potter." Draco appeared out of the shadows and slung an arm around the younger girl's shoulders. "Hey little sister, we've been looking for you everywhere. This is a little far for you to walk alone. Especially with rubbish like him about."

"I saw a portrait of a dancer and she told me that there was a room here at Hogwarts that I could dance in. A room that would provide everything that I need to practice."

"Ah, the room of requirement. I'll show it to you later. But you're going to be late for dinner in the Great Hall, and then Ginny would have my head, so unless you want me to join the headless hunt-" Ryan giggled with pleasure. "It will simply have to wait until after dinner."

"Are you going to leave anytime soon?" Potter demanded.

"Go take a long walk off a short plank, Potter."

"Get lost, Malfoy, and take your new pet with you, you sodding id-" Potter's mouth kept moving, but he wasn't making any sound.

"Language in the presence of a lady is unforgivable, Potter." Draco calmly pocketed the wand. "When you're ready to apologize to Miss Shiva, I'll remove the hex." He turned and walked away, leaving a sputtering Potter in his wake.

"Why does Hermione look ready to spit nails, Draco?"

"Seen Potter recently?"

"No, I-what did you do?"

"He swore in front of Ryan, so I turned the volume of his voice off. I'll remove it when he decides to apologize."

"Honestly, one of these days, you're going to kill each other with your bare hands."

"Most likely. Can you keep an eye on the cannon fodder for me? I have to go to the library to look something up for that killer Transfiguration paper."

"Yes, but you promised to stop calling them that."

"I will."

"When?" she put her hands on her hips and raised one eyebrow.

"Sometime before I graduate. I'll be back in half an hour." He leaned forward and kissed her lightly. "Bye."

Ginny watched him walk away, before returning to her meal. A moment later, she felt someone tap her shoulder and she turned, expecting to see Hermione demand an explanation for Harry's predicament. But instead she came face to face with a good-looking tall boy with black hair and honest blue eyes.

Draco never reached the library. He heard screaming in his head, and recoiled sharply from the noise. His head started spinning as the familiar sensation of pain exploded behind his temples. "Not now." He dropped to the ground, rocking back and forth until blackness faded in.