Prologue
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Headmaster Albus Dumbledore ended the start-of-term feast with a flourish and waved students to begin their meals. He knew what many of the newly come seventh years were anticipating and purposely held back the results until dinner was served and eaten. He hoped the disappointed students would be too full of food and drowsy to put up an argument. After all, it was mostly Gryffindors who had won the contest; not that he was overly surprised.
The ceiling of the Great Hall bore a clear sky, dark blue in color with wisps of black to represent the starry night sky, more darkened with the clouds that enveloped it. Floating candles lit the dark hall, but still left the room with an eerie feeling only accomplished in a castle as old as Hogwarts.
"Bit chilly eh?" James Potter commented, looking around the hall. He had of course piled a monstrous load of food onto his plate including five each of chicken wings, whole potatoes, tablespoons of corn, pieces of steak, and cups of pumpkin juice. Sirius Black, his closest friend, held a smaller, but similar plate. Remus Lupin, the third member of their group called the Marauders, did not each much for he had filled up on treats from the witches cart on the train. Peter Pettigrew ate the same amount as James; unsurprising to the others.
Lily Evans, the love of James's life, then appeared at their side, eyebrow raised indignantly. "Eat much?"
"A growing man must eat his MEAT!" James snickered in a false Scottish accent, flashing his Head Boy badge at her. He wiggled his eyebrows up and down at her. "Looks like we'll be seeing a lot of each other this year, eh?"
Lily almost blushed, shutting James up immediately, who had been expecting a snappy retort or something of that nature. Never a blush. She merely walked away this time.
Remus laughed. "Charming."
"I think Evans may be warming up to you mate," Sirius snickered. "Well… Maybe not but it's always something to look forward to."
"And what about you and Polly?" Peter asked, smirking.
"That," Sirius said pointing at Peter. "Is none of your business."
The others laughed and continued with their supper.
"But if you must know, I dumped her when I found out she was from France and was returning soon for school at Beauxbatons Academy. You know how those Frenchies are… Shaving and nude beaches. I simply wouldn't be able to compete with other men gawking at her nakedness. And foreigners have always been quite the large NO in my book."
Remus pushed his plate away, still full of food. "NO LONGER HUNGRY!"
"I apologize but you know it's true. HEY!" Sirius roared when Remus dumped a pitcher of pumpkin juice all over his meal. "Honestly if one of us can't eat… None of us can." He sighed, resigned, and then snatched another pitcher and dumped it over James's plate… Accidentally pouring some over his head when he went to take another bite of his meal.
James then tackled Sirius to the floor, Peter and Remus roaring with laughter.
Dumbledore sighed to himself as the students skirmished. "God help the Americans."
One
"But Mrs. Watson, what are we supposed to do with them!" April Merriwether exclaimed, exasperated as she tried to concentrate on her work but with no success.
July, her twin sister, had to agree. "I have to agree. This is quite unusual, isn't it? Surely we have nothing in common with them. I mean come on…"
Mrs. Watson, the Shielding teacher at the Mayflower Wizarding School of the United States, tried to hide her grin at the students expressions of being informed that they would play host to the students of an English Wizarding school for six months of their final school year. The immediate response had been total silence for about a full minute or so straight. No one had known what to say because this was the first time that an over-seas exchange program would take place. Except none of the American students were leaving for England. No, it seemed as if the British Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, had wanted to set up a program where his top students could experience life in another Wizarding culture.
"Well, I personally won't be wanting to drag some foreigner around by a leash for six months," April snorted.
"You don't exactly have a choice, April." Mrs. Watson warned her student. She had been April and July Merriwether's teacher since they had first come to school when they were eight years old. Now they were seventeen and she smiled over the fact that she had the unique privilege of watching them grow up year after year. They were very talented young ladies, each in their own way. April had excelled so greatly in her wandless magic course that she took the advanced course in wandless magic for this school year. July was almost the exact opposite, wanting to enter the Foreign Relations department of the Congressional Board of Magic.
"Oh cram it, Apes. I think it will be wicked cool to have kids from England here for most of the school year…" July remarked.
But the girls did lack some in their personalities and we not without their own faults- April more so than her twin. April was occasionally rude and snobbish, sarcastic at times. She had a tendency to be unkind towards others and was a prankster at Mayflower. July was, for the most part, an all-around great student and friendly person. But she did get into her fair share of trouble along with her sister and her defense was that she was forced into going along.
"Now at least your sister has a considerable amount of intelligence," Mrs. Watson said, grinning slightly. But only slightly. "Okay everyone, get back to work. I want those essays on why the Patronus charm is not accomplished by many wizards successfully in by the end of the period." She looked at the clock on the wall. "You still have about forty-five minutes. Get writing people!"
April made a face at the teacher when she turned around.
"I saw that April, keep your nose on the paper."
The class laughed, April grinning lopsidedly as well. But she still wasn't looking forward to playing host to some snotty British witches and wizards. She didn't really understand why the British kids wanted to study them, which is what she assumed they must have been doing. She sighed and continued writing her paper.
July was finished ten minutes before the bell was set to ring. She read over the paper once more to check for spelling and grammar mistakes before walking to the front of the class and handing it in. As she walked back to her table at the end of the classroom, her boyfriend Jack Rousseau handed her a note, slipping it into her hand as she walked by. She flashed him a smile and returned to her seat to read it over.
April saw the exchange and whistled soft enough for July to hear as she took her seat. July laughed lightly as April went to the head of the class to hand in her paper.
When she returned she showed her twin the note. "He wrote that he's going to be a 'buddy' sort of person for one of the Brits."
April frowned. "Poor kid."
"April!"
"What?"
The bell rang.
"We have break next period, then lunch and another break so we don't have to come back here until half-past noon. When are those kids supposed to get here?" April addressed her question, naturally without raising her hand, to Mrs. Watson.
The teacher sighed over her rudeness. "Not until dinner tonight. Now do please leave my class."
April beamed. "Until Tuesday!"
"Yes, yes," the teacher said without looking up, while she shuffled papers about her desk.
April watched and stood by the doorway as the sixth graders meandered into the classroom. She tapped her foot impatiently. "WHY ARE THERE SO MANY OF YOU!"
"Why are you screaming in my ear?" One girl asked too politely. April noticed she was a Hissdore and glared at her.
July eventually managed to follow April out of the classroom. "They get nastier every year no? Seems as the Howelins get more merits and win the Tourney each year they get meaner and nastier. We've won it for the past three years now."
April shrugged. "Some of them are civil."
"Yeah the ones that play Quodpot." July smirked. "And I promise you that they are the only ones. And they're only nice to our faces."
"I know that."
"Speaking of Quodpot," July continued. "Aren't you holding double practices three times a week? Bit harsh, isn't it?"
"I don't think so. If we're going to be beat New York this year we need to be at our best. School break is forty-five minutes. I'm only asking forty of them!"
July scoffed. "Yeah, that's all."
"I don't see you up on a broom trying to help us out!"
"That," July pointed out seriously. "Is completely your fault."
July was, of course, referring to the incident that had happened with the girls when they had been about five years old. One day on their training brooms, April had been practicing flying at "high speeds" (or as fast as a training broom could go) and July had refused to meet the speed her twin had achieved so they could race. In her frustration, April had pushed July off the broom from the whole four feet it was suspended.
July had been afraid of flying, and most heights, from that day on.
April grinned at the memory. "Memories."
July snarled and smacked her twin upside the head. "Let's go."
April followed her sister outside the school and to the Muggle diner across the street where they ordered lunches for themselves. While they walked April merrily mumbled the phrase July had used to use when first trying out flying.
"I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I think…"
July jinxed her twin to walk across the street hunchbacked.
James roared with laughter. The story he'd just been told had been enough to set anyone into a state of hysterics. "The bloody moron didn't know what you were trying to say?"
"No!" Remus said, also grinning. He felt sorry for Peter but knew his other friends would not and, as he had anticipated, would laugh over it for their entire trip. He looked out the window as the Hogwarts Express zoomed across the country to its special, one-time destination: Diagon Alley.
Remus was looking forward to the trip and hadn't truly had any doubts that he would be one of the students chosen to participate. At the end of their sixth year, the entire class of sixth years (meaning all four houses of them) had been informed that for the first six months of their final and seventh year at Hogwarts, the top ten students in their year would be chosen to travel to the United States as a type of exchange program. They would be able to experience living in another type of Wizarding culture and they assumed it would be one very different from their own.
Apart from himself, Remus had also known James, Sirius, and Lily Evans would be admitted to participate as well. They were bright students and when told about the "competition" had worked their hardest to get the best grades possible to close the year.
Of course the four Marauders were never split up. But they knew Peter Pettigrew was not the sharpest tool in the tool shed and so James, Sirius, and himself had set up a plan to cheat Peter into the trip. Of course the bloody moron had not known the meaning of "copy" when mouthed across the table from him. Needless to say, he had not been chosen for the trip.
A few of the other students chosen to go had been Slytherins of course; Severus Snape… Or Snivvy as the Marauders liked to call him, was chosen. Also Sirius's cousin Bellatrix was invited as well. The other four students were a combination of Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs that had managed to climb to the top of the seventh year class. The Marauders assumed Lily had gone off to sit with them, not wanting the company of James Potter and his trio.
Sirius frowned. "Well I can't lie and say I'm surprised the great prat didn't know the meaning of copy."
"But he's been coping off us for years Padfoot," James pointed out.
Remus shook his head. "Yes but we never told him to."
"Right. Wormtail just looks on, thinking we don't mind. Which of course we don't, it's all in good fun. And if he gets caught, McGonagall can go ahead and use the truth potions. We never said he could!"
James snickered at this statement, knowing it would never work but they hadn't had to use it in the past six years. And for the next six months of their seventh, they wouldn't have to.
"So I hear the Atlantic ocean is pretty large." Sirius said thinking aloud.
"Yes." Remus replied simply.
"How do we get across it. We can't apparate, it's too large."
"They wouldn't make us swim!" James hollered.
The pure look of panic and fear on his face caused Remus and Sirius to exchange a look before bursting into laughter again and assuring James that not even Snape would have to swim across the Atlantic.
