A/N: I said I'd be back soon! Here's the next chapter!

And just to remind you, I only own my OCs, the plot, my spells, my magical creatures…I know, I own a lot of this, but the basic background isn't quite in my possession. Someday…

Chapter 4: Intervention III – Of Sails and Foals

Lyrical Title: Now that We're Friends

Date of Writing: November 2018 (Post-UT)

Date of Typing/Editing: 12 & 14 November 2018 (Open your eyes, not-so-United States. Everyone else uses date-month-year, unlike you. For once, I follow the goddamn crowd, and you ought to change this bad habit of yours. No offense, but indeed – news flash, Al, no one follows you like a blind puppy anymore.)

Warning: Like the last chapter, this chapter focuses more on the magical human perspective of the events of Intervention. Also, mild ignorance in terms of experience and knowledge on the characters' parts and possibly cultural ignorance on my part. Please forgive me if I get anything wrong or any characters OOC.

1 September 1995

"Finally," the Headmaster concluded in his speech, "it is my pleasure to inform you that our school is conducting an exchange programme with Causeway Bay Enchantment Academy of Hong Kong, a Dependent Territory of the United Kingdom." Gasps and shouts of confusion were heard throughout the Great Hall. Vela herself raised a blonde eyebrow, but stayed silent. Her mind, however, was whirring. There's a wizarding school in that…wait, where is Hong Kong anyway? What's the school like? Is it a beautiful palace with gardens of magical plants and creatures? By Merlin, are there any Fairies or Puffskeins on the campus?

"Causeway Bay Enchantment Academy was founded in 1882 by Nick Kwan (it's pronounced KWAHN, by the way, like /ɑ:/ - sorry not sorry that I speak English Phonetics as well, and it's the British kind too!) and Antlia Black-Kwan, alumnus of our resident Slytherin House." That was when the fourth-year Slytherin's mind went into overdrive. Holy snallygasters! Phineas Nigellus Black! His oldest sister's name was Antlia Black! Her oldest child was Caelum Black II, author of Ancient Chinese Legends: Magical and Mundane! "I would like to thank my father, Nick Chun Kwan and my mother, Antlia Black for assisting me with research on these tales, both magical and mundane, and moral support"! How could I have forgotten all that?

Thankfully, Dumbledore paused for everyone in the Hall to digest what he had just said. "In order to promote cultural exchange between countries worldwide, magical schools around the globe will be hosting exchange students for a year and send the exchange students' voluntary guides to the other school for the next school year. Our current exchange has been chosen to kick-start the programme. Twelve volunteers from third to sixth year will be chosen to accompany the Causeway exchange students. Please report your name, year and house to Professor McGonagall or myself by Friday after receiving written permission from your parent or guardian if you are interested."

As the speech ended, Vela turned to her older brother. "Draco, do you want to join the programme?"

Draco turned his head and replied, "I'm afraid I'll be too busy studying for the OWLs, Vela. Do you want to participate?" She nodded frantically in return, unlike the cool, calm Slytherin she was supposed to be. "Do you think Mother and Father will approve of my choice?"

"Mother and Father has always wanted us to learn to contribute to society. Learning diplomacy by establishing international connections can be greatly beneficial to our future." Then he turned to the first-years. "First-year Slytherins! First-year Slytherins, follow me!" Vela took that as a yes.

8 September 1995

Around a week later, the students and staff were gathered on the grounds of Hogwarts, waiting for the arrival of the Causeway visitors, in a way that would give one nostalgia to the Triwizard (or should it have been Quadwizard, or even Tetrawizard?) Tournament the previous year, before everything went to hell with the Fourth Champion drama.

There were three other individuals at the front of the crowd, other than the Headmaster and the volunteer Buddies. One was a 'young' man that looked as though he were merely in his early-to-mid-twenties, with ash blond hair and green eyes. There was another man who appeared slightly older than the blond that shared physical features with him. He had red hair (and we thought that the Weasleys were more than enough redheads at the school!), and slightly thicker eyebrows than the blond – which was saying something, as the latter's 'brows were so thick that no human could surpass their thickness without the assistance of magic – and appeared slightly more at home in the Scottish Highlands, where the school was. The last was a brunette with the appearance of a fourteen-year-old teen girl. She was wearing the Hogwarts uniform, but the robe lining and tie indicated that somehow, she hadn't been Sorted yet. Her arms were crossed in front of her chest, right foot tapping at a quick rhythm on the lawn.

The names that most knew them by were Arthur and Alistair Kirkland, and Caoimhe Blackwood.

Their real names were England (or, formally, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland – God, that took quite a while to type out), Scotland and Hogwarts (School of Witchcraft and Wizardry).

As the minutes ticked by, a long shape…with wings…soared above the castle. Then followed another seven of the long things, all of them in different colours. The words "what?" and "Merlin!" (and their variations, such as "Merlin's saggy left buttock!") were definitely thrown around a lot.

"Are those…Occamies?" asked a voice from the Gryffindor crowd. I would apologize here, Hermione, that the answer to the question that you just asked is "no".

The first not-Occamy touched down in front of Professor Dumbledore and the trio of Personifications, who were now at the very front of the group. Vela finally got a closer look at the strange creatures. The first one resembled a giant snake, a Basilisk, even, at five metres (16-17 feet) in length, only with bat-like wings and brilliant scarlet python-esque scales. And no, it didn't have feet. Or legs. Or any limbs, as it seemed.

The first individual to alight from the not-Occamy looked like a teen boy of around fifteen to sixteen years in age, dressed in robes a shade of green so dark that it could almost be considered as black. The second – the other – was a girl around Caoimhe's age in appearance, but was in fact much younger, with dark hair tied into a neat ponytail and black robes…who looked as though the only thing keeping her awake was copious overdoses of caffeinated drinks (read: tea, coffee, yuenyeung and soft drinks).

"Mm goi sai, Tai Hang," murmured the 'teen' boy, reaching to brush against the not-Occamy's…well, where the nostrils would be if "Tai Hang" were a normal snake. Its – or was it supposed to be his or her? – head shifted as though to accept an embrace from the 'teen', burying into the outstretched hand.

The ones to get off from the next not-Occamy – this one a metallic gold one – were two women. One had her hair in a bun and wore dark blue robes. The other had shoulder-length hair (most likely dyed a lighter shade of brown) and had glasses. The other passengers – all of them teens aged thirteen to sixteen – too disembarked from their not-Occamies, two by two.

"Yeung, Ara," was paired with a Ravenclaw in her year – the half-blood called Juliet Wilson-Parker, also known as the Granger of her year – an absolutely proud know-it-all with a hyper personality.

"Yeung, Kitalpha," called Professor Dumbledore, then "Malfoy, Vela." She took note that "Yeung" is pronounced as YERNG, since it wouldn't do if she pronounced her Buddy's name wrong, though…what a strange surname…wait, isn't Kitalpha the name of a star?

"Kitalpha" stepped out from the very much dwindling crowd of exchange students – there was only one girl left. She wasn't all that bad-looking – quite the opposite, as a matter of fact. Her tanned-oriental (as in, East Asian 'yellow', as us Chinese say) face was framed by sleek, dark – almost black – hair that fell to her collarbones, deep brown eyes piercing into her own grey-blue. She was wearing a black windcheater-jacket, her school emblem – a gold and black Hippogriff over a white circle, the letters CBEA in where north, west, south, east would be on a compass – proudly shown on the left side of her chest. That plus a black skirt, dark blue socks and shiny black leather flats. She does look a little tired though…has she had enough sleep?

She nodded her head as she was in front of her. "Good evening, Miss…Malfoy. I am Yeung Kitalpha Pui, tertiary Heiress of the House of Yeung, descendant of the Houses of Mo, Ha, Tang, Kwan, Black, etc. Pleasure to meet you."

Only a true pureblood would introduce themself with their titles! Vela's heart leapt in joy. Hold on a moment, did she just say she's descended from the House of Black?

Yet she responded anyway. "Vela Narcissa Acacia Malfoy, secondary Heiress of the House of Malfoy, descendant of the Houses of Black, Rosier, Crabbe, Bulstrode and Flint."

"Wait, Black?" Kitalpha's eyes were wide, like brown-black Galleons. "How are you related to the Blacks?" Vela smiled in return.

"My mother was born Narcissa Black, and I'd like to ask you the same question, Miss Yeung," she retorted, almost gently, making sure to pronounce her Buddy's family name correctly.

Kitalpha looked as though she were caught off-guard, but soon her features were schooled once more. "My great-great-great-grandmother is Antlia Black, founder of my school. One of her brothers was Phineas Nigellus Black, whom I believe was the Headmaster of your school many years ago." Then she sighed.

"What, Miss Yeung?"

"She's gone. Gone for about around four decades before I was born. She's nice though. Her portrait's in the Mo family Ancestral Hall. I've talked to her at Lunar New Year sometimes. She has given me many tips."

It turned out that the two men, the unsorted girl and the teen with the not-Occamy were international diplomats there to oversee the first exchange programme. Vela was fine with that, only that she felt a…connection of sorts to the blond, and Kitalpha felt attachment to the guy with the red "fire-serpent" (as she called it). Neither of them had any idea what was up with them, but both of them decided, oh well.

Their discussion carried on well until the feast (for the exchange students) was over, when Vela had to retreat to her dorm and Kitalpha to her sisters and fellow exchange students. It honestly felt like the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

TRANSLATION: Mm goi sai – Thank you (for a service) – polite

A/N: Whew! Over 1600 words for a chapter! Not bad, huh? Next chapter will probably be a backstory chapter, because the next Intervention chapter is still WIP, though mostly written out. Did I mention that the Intervention arc is the main plot here? The rest is all for the sake of writing the extra-long drabbles, and to clarify certain plot points.

Thanks for reading this chapter that took over 3 hours to type – I got distracted and had to help my sister with her exam-studying. The next chapter will be up in the next few days, I think. Please leave a review and fave and follow if you wish to do so!

-Talons