Chapter 1-Journey to Hogwarts

Airen Weasley looked a tad uncomfortable. The looks she'd been attracting since stepping onto
Platform Nine and Three-Quarters were discomfiting.

Oh dear.

"Aunt Calla?"

"Yes, dear?" remarked her Aunt.

"People are staring at me."

"I know that, Rain."

"WHY are people staring at me? I don't look odd, do I?"

Skye snorted. Rain turned her head to her cousin and raised a brow in inquiry. He threw an arm
around her shoulders and grinned cheekily.

"You honestly have no idea? Look down at what you're wearing, will you? The boots, the tight
shirt, the black pants-Rain, you look like a fashion plate."

"She doesn't look like a fashion plate!" spluttered Aunt Calla indignantly. After all, she was
the one who had bought this outfit. "And it isn't that tight-it's just flattering."

Skye waved a hand.

"Whatever you say, Mum. In my opinion, she looks ridiculous."

Thanks for the assessment, Skye.

"Skye, if I dressed myself being conscious about your opinion all the time, I'd still be in
pigtails right now," Rain retorted, making her father, Uncle and Aunt behind her snicker.

"Good one. She has a point, Skye," said her Dad.

"Uncle George, your daughter isn't even sixteen, and you're okay with her showing off her---" and
here Skye broke off, motioning wordlessly to her chest.

Rain smiled embarrassedly. She had grown over the summer, and Skye wasn't at all pleased with the
changes her body had gone through-which meant they had to be good. Really, Skye was being
overprotective. She wasn't about to get ambushed and assaulted just yet.

"Why shouldn't I be okay with it? Do you know how hard I tried to get her to wear things like
that? Alex would have killed me if she'd seen Rain in a getup other than this."

Ever since she was old enough to make decisions for herself, Rain had chosen to wear the type of
clothes that didn't restrict movement. Rain had grown up surrounded by her male cousins, as
she always chose to play with them, and wanted to fit in. Ergo, she had almost always been
clad in a t-shirt and loose pants, until Aunt Calla took her shopping at the end of last
term.

Rain looked up at her Dad gratefully. She appreciated the fact that he deliberately took time off
from Quidditch practice to see her off like this. He was a very busy man-what with Quidditch
and the shop; frankly, she was amazed that he still had time for her.

I love you, Dad.

"Well then Aunt Alex never expected most of Hogwarts' male population to fall for her daughter
once she's cleaned up like this. You don't see numerous idiots gaping at her when
she passes. They treat her like Veela," Skye muttered.

"A veela? Me?" Rain simply had to laugh. She was anything but a veela.

Deliberately, Skye ignored her. Instead, he turned to his own parents for help. However, Uncle
Fred was still chuckling and Aunt Calla was rolling her eyes. They were used to this sort of
argument between Skye and Rain, after all.

"Skye, calm down, will you? After a few hours on the train she'll be back in those black robes
that cover all the necessary parts very modestly. What are you worrying about, anyway?" said
Aunt Calla.

****

What am I worrying about? I'm worrying about my best friend, that's what I'm worrying about.

At the end of last term, his best friend since First Year, Jonathan Wycheck, confessed something
that made Skye uncomfortable. Jon liked Rain-in a way that Skye didn't really approve of. And
now that Rain was parading herself in tight clothing, who knows what might happen?

"Really, Skye. Please. I won't do anything wrong, okay? Stop worrying about me," came Rain's voice, "Now,
kindly help me get my trunk into the compartment. It's rather heavy."

Well, she may have changed physically, but she's still as bossy as ever.

Resignedly, Skye looked left and right. Nobody was paying them attention. Then, he pointed a
finger at Airen's trunk and levitated it into the compartment they were going to share.

"SKYE!"

Uh-oh.

"Yeah, Mum?" he said in an innocent voice that fooled no one.

"How many times have I told you no to use your powers in public?! You aren't supposed to do that!
What if somebody sees you?" His mother was speaking in a voice barely above a whisper, but the
anger behind her words made Skye wince a bit.

Any ordinary spectator would have been surprised at the way Calla Weasley reacted to Skye's
actions. However, it was a big deal. Skye, like his mother before him, possessed the secrets of
Elemental Magic-a branch of magic believed to have been lost ages ago. He had control over all
four elements and their behavior; he could levitate and lift things without a wand; summon and
banish objects at a whim; the only aspect of the elements he didn't have control over was the
weather.

"Sorry, Mum. Really. But how was I supposed to lift that large thing?"

The trouble with Rain's trunks are that they're usually half-filled with books that aren't even required.

"What are these Beaters behind me for then, eh?" but his Mum's tone was softened as she continued,
"Skye, you can't fool around with your powers. How many times have I told you that?"

"About a million, I suppose, ever since I discovered I had these powers. Oh, come on, Mum. I
looked around and nobody was looking!"

She was about to say something, but his Dad's hand on his Mum's shoulder stopped her.

"Calla." was all he said, but the effect was instantaneous.

Calla Weasley sighed.

Thank you, Dad!

"The combined charms of the two of you get me every time. Yes, yes, Fred. I'll shut up about the
subject. However, if I get word of you using your powers without due reason again, Skye..."

The train's whistle cut his Mum's words off. Skye sent out a silent thanks to the conductor of
the Hogwarts Express.

"We have to go. Love you Mum, Dad. See you, Uncle George!" Skye hurriedly climbed onto the train,
Rain following him.

"I'm serious, Skye. I'm having Rain keep an eye on you," his mother said as he and Rain leaned out of the
open windows.

"The Prefect always keeps an eye on me, Mum. You know that. Besides, she's not exactly very
well-behaved herself, you know."

"Alright, darling. Keep your hair on. Be safe, alright?"

Be safe. His mother always told him that when they were to be separated for any amount of
time. Skye had wondered why she always said it instead of the more common Take Care.
However, he didn't ask, and she didn't provide him with an answer. It was one of those
things that were never asked, like why his Mother was so scared that someone might find out about
his powers, or why Rain wore a Wishkeeper around her neck. Skye knew that the hollow,
silver cylinder had belonged to Aunt Alex, but the reason why Rain never took it off was a
question Skye could never force himself to ask.

There were some things that were better off let alone. If he was meant to have answers, they
would come to him in due time. Skye believed in destiny-as his own was one that had been
explained to him since he was old enough to comprehend. Of course, Divination in itself was, in
his opinion, dragon dung, but destiny...destiny was something else altogether.

Smiling slightly, Skye nodded. His mother then turned to Rain. Skye looked at his father.

"Dad-"

"Don't worry. I'm sending you the first batch we whip up, as soon as we know it won't blow up in
your face. Mind, George and I have to be very careful about this-your Mum will go ballistic if
she finds out that we keep supplying you two with pranks," Fred spoke quietly.

"Oh, and be sure to feed the Slytherins a double dose. I'll owl you the plans," added Uncle
George in an equally quiet tone.

The Weasley twins may have grown up, married, had their own children and managed their own
joke shop, but that in itself really wasn't enough reason for them to stop wreaking havoc in
Hogwarts. No, they continued on their mission; two brilliant masterminds whose love for pranks
never really faded, even with the onset of what their so-called maturity.

"I reckon Rain was able to get the Marauder's Map from Uncle Harry," Skye whispered.

Harry Potter was Rain's godfather, as he had been close friends with Aunt Alex. The reason for
this was yet another one of those unasked/unanswered questions.

Both of the men that stood in front of him grinned their approval. Fred clapped his brother on
the shoulder.

"And here I was, thinking that your daughter was going to turn out like Percy. Guess I was
wrong."

"I'll consider that a compliment, thank you," George replied.

~*~



The Hogwarts Express was rolling past lush green fields when he finally stood. Flanked by Crabbe
and Goyle-the equally stupid sons of his father's equally stupid friends-he stepped out of his
compartment.

"Pontiard, you're to stay here. Continue to read that chapter on Illegal Animagi that Father
requires you to."

His brother looked up from the book on his lap.

"And where are you going? If I remember correctly, Father required you to read something as well.
Your report on Magical Methods of Eavesdropping is due tonight, isn't it?"

He raised a brow at his younger brother. They looked alike; they had their mother's deep blue
eyes, and their father's blond hair. Pontiard was seated comfortably, twirling his wand in his
hand.

"I've finished that report last night and am going to send it as soon as Camelot gets back from
whatever errand Mother's sent him on."

Turning to walk away from their compartment, he stopped and turned to his younger brother once
more.

"Oh, and Pontiard? Don't ever question my actions again, lest Father learn about your little
spending spree last week. I expect he won't be pleased if he finds out how you've squandered away
his money over some girl you met in Knockturn Alley." And with that, he left.

He was the older one of the two Malfoy heirs, and his authority, decisions and actions were not
to be questioned by Pontiard, who was younger than him by one year.

The corridors of the Hogwarts Express were, as usual, crowded. People were running up and down,
launching items of food and such at each other, and generally being very noisy. He walked past
all of them, not stopping to pay attention to Crabbe, who had spoken, until he was tapped
on the shoulder.

"What is it?"

"I asked where we're going."

Well congratulations for having a brain, Vince. I never knew that you had one.

"To the witch with the Lunch Trolley. I'm hungry."

Any person with two brain cells to rub together would have known that it was not his purpose to
actually go up to buy food for himself. However, Vincent Jr., and Gregory Jr. were very-er-unique
individuals.

Walking to the next car, he could make out a very familiar voice coming from the first
compartment.

"-the use of telling him off? He won't listen to me. You're his best friend, you tell him off,"
came the voice of Airen Weasley, laced with slight irritation.

Vince and Greg turned to him, waiting for instructions. Obviously, they thought they were going
to go into that compartment and start another fight with the Weasleys. He continued walking,
though. There was no way he was going to pick on her-not after last term. Maybe Skye would be fun
to hack off, but for now, at least...Rain was off limits.

~*~



She frowned a bit.

"I told you, it's virtually useless to pull that off if there's a 75% chance of us getting
caught! We need to do this carefully."

"Oh, gee, Rain. Doesn't every prank we pull have a 75% chance of us getting caught? What's the fun
of pulling pranks if there's no risk?"

Rain leaned back in her seat and shook her head. Skye alone was terrible, but Skye and Jonathan
Wycheck as a team...

"I suppose I'll just have to add this to the growing list of your detentions, then."

"Stop idolizing Aunt Hermione, Rain. It's taking a toll on your attitude. Besides, even she had a
detention for being out of bed in her First Year, right?"

Her cousin looked to his best friend for help. The two had reached an unspoken agreement not to
discuss the matters of last term, and were now comfortable with each other once more. Rain
thought it ironic that a boy she had had a crush on since Second Year now liked her in the
way she had wished him to for so long-just as she had set her sights on someone else.

"Skye's right, you know. You've been no fun ever since you became a Prefect."

What's wrong with being a Prefect? Pursing her lips, Rain sighed and turned her attention to the book on her lap once more. They
could tease her all they wanted about being a Prefect, but her job wasn't going to stop her from
getting even. After all, Skye had been merciless during the summer. He had pulled numerous pranks on her successively, giving her no moment of peace to plan her retaliation.

The two male inhabitants of the compartment seemed to notice Rain's sudden surrender into
silence.

"Oi, Jon, how about Exploding Snap? Reckon it'll pass the time."

"Sure."

****

The moment he saw her, his heart had started beating painfully-and it hadn't stopped. Rain had visibly grown over the summer, and the changes weren't just in height. Out of the corner of his eye, Jon watched her every move, fascinated. Her hair was cascading down to her shoulders, held in place by a simple purple headband that matched the blouse she had on. She had put on cologne or perfume-ever since when did Rain start using scented oils?-and the scent made his head swim slightly. She had certainly changed a lot over the summer...

"Oi, you paying attention, Wycheck? Better not let Wood catch you daydreaming like that; he might
make you sit out a few matches," Skye's slightly amused voice interrupted his voice.

Leonard Wood, son of the virtually legendary Oliver Wood of Puddlemere United, was both a Chaser
and Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. He was quite manic during practices-both Skye and Jon had been on the
team since they were in Second Year. Skye was a Chaser, like his Mum, and Jon was a Beater.

"Very funny, Weasley. Hey, what's the owl count since June? Anybody send you her knickers again, Skye?"

The look Skye shot him made Jon laugh. Skye Weasley was, as his cousin had once put it, the most
fantasized boy in all of Hogwarts. Ever since those hormones began to kick in, girls had been
flocking to him like moths to a flame. Of course, Skye was flattered by the attention, but he
never appreciated being teased about it.

"No dirty remarks about knickers, Jon. There's a Prefect in the same breathing space as you are,"
Rain said from her corner.

"What are you going to do, report me for making dirty jokes about girls' knickers?" Jon
asked incredulously.

"I meant there's a female Prefect here, Wycheck, and as term hasn't officially started yet, I can
still throttle you with my bare hands," she shot back, a gleam in her brown eyes.

"That's my girl," Skye muttered under his breath.

Oh, great. He's never going to get over the fact that I like her.

Turning back to the game and dropping the subject completely, Skye and Jon played on for a few
more minutes until the whole pack exploded. Then, as it usually does with young wizards, the talk
went to Quidditch.

"I heard your Mum is thinking about switching teams, Skye. Of course, I only heard
that off an old geezer while I was walking down Diagon Alley..."

"Nope, actually, despite how the Daily Prophet has made it into such a big issue. Mum has no
intention of leaving the Irish International Side."

Jon nodded his agreement. Being Muggle-born, Quidditch was new to him when he had entered
Hogwarts. Now, however, he was an enthusiast. His best friend being the son of two of his
favorite players made it even more interesting.

"The English Beaters are still going strong, then? They say there was some pretty wicked
bludgerwork during that match against Uganda," he said, grateful that both Skye and Rain loved Quidditch as
much as he did.

"Oh, yeah. You'd better believe it. Rain and I were there, you know. This Chaser..."

And Skye launched into a tale about the match between England and Uganda as the Hogwarts Express
sped along the tracks towards its destination, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

~*~