Chapter Four:

An Unexpected Visitor

Harry had been at Hogwarts for just over two months, and they had been some of the best of his life. He had gotten to know his parents, Sirius, and Remus better. He could also see that Peter was starting to turn, and tried to drop subtle hints, but the boy was too thick. Harry gave up, because he knew that if Peter did get them, his future would be changed.

He had gotten many surprises (Mainly pranks by the Maruaders), so he was ready for anything. Or, so he thought. Nothing could prepare him for his next surprise.

Supper in the Great Hall was nothing new. A prank on the Slytherins, McGonagall yelling just to hide her grin, which Harry and Dumbledore failed at greatly, and everyone talking about 'How great the Marauders are,' and 'How they wish they could do that,' or the latest gossip.

Harry finished picking at the little food he had, when the door opened with a 'bang!' He leapt up beside Dumbledore, with his wand pointing at the stranger.

"Harry James Patterson!" She yelled and Harry visibly cringed, "Don't you dare shove that stick in my face or I'll snap it! When I talked to you-know-who and he told me you were here, well, let's just say he won't be able to hear for awhile. But, that's nothing compared to what I'm going to do to you, Mr. Patterson!"

"Ginny, please. Not here. Anywhere but here," Harry pleaded.

"I'll deal with you later; wherever I want, whenever I want." She sighed. "But, now I have to be a polite girl and introduce myself. But, so I don't forget about you, Bogety!" She had placed her legendary Bat-Bogey-Hex on him. Several students laughed.

Smirking, Ginny pulled off her hood and sweetly said to Dumbledore, "Hello, you must be Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts. Harry has told me all about you. My name is Ginerva West, but if you call me that, you'll end up like him. Just call me Ginny. Sadly, I'm one of that idiot's best friends, and I'd like to apologize for any stupid things he has done, is doing, or will do, because I'm sure he's done all of them, is doing them, and will do them."

"Well, Miss West," Dumbledore said, surprised, "Thank-you, I think. Would you mind accompanying me to my office, along with Mr. Patterson. And, would you please take that hex off of him."

Reluctantly, Ginny obliged and she and Harry followed.

"Whoa! She has a fiery temper, just like Evans!" James said, once people had gotten over the shock, and were eating and talking among themselves again.

"Yeah, she's a red-head too," Sirius said, "Pretty hot, if I do say so myself."

"How old is she? I mean, she's friends with Harry, so she's most likely between fifteen and seventeen," Remus said.

"Right in my age range then," Sirius said, "I wonder if she's still avalible."

Once they reached the office, Dumbledore asked, "Would you like a Sherbert Lemon? They're a muggle sweet I'm very fond of." Harry and Ginny both politely declined. "Now, I assume you are from the same place as Harry, Miss West?"

"Yes, and my last name is actually Weasley. Ginny Weasley."

"Okay, and can I have you're age?"

"I'm fifteen."

"But, I've looked ahead in the curriculum, and she is far ahead of that year, the sixth years too," Harry interjected.

"Then it seems appropriate to put you in seventh year. Will she be able to cope?" Dumbledore asked.

"Of course! After six brothers, seventh year will be easy!" Harry cried.

"And I'm in Gryffendor," Ginny said.

"Very well. Will you please take Miss West to Gryffendor Tower to introduce her? I'm sure Miss Evans will show her around," Dumbledore said.

"Okay Albus. Good-night."

"Good-night Professor."

"Have a good sleep Harry, Miss West."

They left, and walked to the tower in silence. Harry said the password, "Cleansweep Three. James made it up."

They entered to find a few people in the common room, one containing the Marauders, another with Lily and her friends. Everyone else was still at supper.

"Well-er-this is Ginny West, for those of you who don't know. She went to my old school, and will be in seventh year. Miss Evans, would you show her around?" Harry said.

"Of course!" Lily said, then got up slowly and limped over to Harry and Ginny. She had gotten out of the hospital Wing two weeks after the attack, and was slowly recovering, but couldn't do any quick movements, or pain would shoot throughout her body as one of the after-effects. "Come on Ginny. Let's head up to the dormitory. It's probably been a long day for you."

"Too true," Ginny muttered, "Good-night Harry. Good-night Ss-well, whoever you are."

"Night Gin," Harry said.

Once they had left, Sirius asked, "Harry, what was Ginny going to say when she said Ss- right before she left?"

"Habit," Harry invented, "There was this guy at our school, and he looked a lot like you. Plus his name was Simon. So, it is really just a habit."

"Okay."

"So, I have to go. Prepare for my classes. I still have no clue what we're going to do! Good-night."

He rushed out of the common room, silently cursing Ginny. 'Damn you Ginny!' He thought, 'Not even ten minutes with them, and you almost blew our cover! I'll deal with you after class tomorrow. You'll be sorry, I can assure that.'

Harry had the seventh year Gryffendors for the half-hour period before lunch the next day. He still had no idea of what he was going to do, when the class filed in. 'I'll have to improvise. Sounds like fun,' He thought. He saw Ginny standing with Lily and two of her friends. She looked bored and a little lonely. She was his inspiration.

"Okay class, we are going to do a little ice breaker here, seeing as you have a new classmate. Also, I don't know anything about you, and visa versa. So, I want you all to say your full name, family, and two things about you. Everyone stand up, and I'll explain what to do. I'll start with the ball, say my stuff, then throw it to someone standing. Once you have gone, throw it to someone else, and sit down. Everybody get it?" Heads nodded. "My name is Harry James Patterson. I don't live with anyone, because my last remaining family is my aunt, uncle, and cousin, but they died, and they hate me anyway. Also, the closest thing I have to a family is pretty all dead, except for Ginny and her two brothers. Umm-two things about me are…I love Quidditch and I'm a superb Seeker. Mr. Potter, go." He threw the ball to James.

"My name is James Nathanial Potter, and I live with my mom, dad, and Sirius. I'm a Marauder; I love Quidditch, so obviously, I'm the captain and a Chaser for the Gryffendor Team. Er-somebody catch!"

Lily caught the ball and said, "I'm Lillian Anne Evans. I live with my mom, dad, and sister. I love to read, and as a surprise to most people, I love to have fun, not just study. Black." She threw it to Sirius.

"I'm Sirius Procyon Black. I live with James, his mom, and his dad, who are more mine than mine really are. I love pranks, and I hate Astronamy, because my name. Your turn Moony!"

Remus rolled his eyes and said, "Remus John Lupin. I live with my parents and my brother. I, unlike the other Marauders, enjoy school for educational purposes, as well as others, and I don't like the moon.

Harry watched as the rest of the class took their turns, but he didn't pay attention to them. He was pondering on how much he didn't know about his parents, Sirius, and Remus. Lastly, it was Ginny's turn.

"My name is Ginerva Molly West, better known as Ginny. I lived with my parents, and six brothers, but all but three died, so I'm living with the my oldest brother, in his apartment. The twins are still recovering. I'm lucky I'm with them, not Percy, because they love pranks and jokes, and I do too, so we have a lot of fun. I, like James, am a mean Chaser, and not a half-bad Seeker, but the job's boring. I hate the colour red, which sadly is the one of Gryffendor's colours."

"Okay, thank-you Miss West. I believe that the class is almost over, so you can begin to pack up your things. And, can I see you Miss West?" Harry said.

"Yes sir," Ginny said, and when the bell rang, the entire class headed to the back of the room, except for Ginny, who headed to Harry's desk.

"What do you want Harry?" She asked.

"Hold on," He said as he magically locked the door, and placed an Imperbable Charm on it.

"Why not just a Silencing Charm, like everyone else does?" Ginny asked.

"Habits. I always do that now. I'm afraid of Extendable Ears," He said with a small grin.

"Ha, ha, ha, very funny," Ginny said sarcastically, "Now, what do you want?"

"To take a leaf out of your mother's book," Harry said, smirking. Then, he began to yell, "Ginerva Weasley! You almost blew our cover! Within ten minutes of them too! If you do that one more time, you will blow it, and then I'll let everyone hear this! Do you got it?"

"Yes sir," Ginny said meekly.

"So," Harry said, returning to his usual, calm demeanor, "Would you like to accompany me to lucn?"

"Of course, Mr. Pot-er-Patterson," Ginny said, pretending to be taken aback, "Let's go!"