Chapter 6

When neither of the four turned up in their dorms that night, no one mentioned it, not too bothered. The Gryffindor fourth year boys knew Harry enjoyed sleeping outside or exploring the castle when he got his bouts of insomnia and the students of the visiting schools had become used to their classmates sneaking off at odd times of the night, none of them having questioned their friends since a few months after they had first met.

So them not turning up in the dorms that night wasn't strange, but when they were already there for breakfast was unusual. Usually, either they, any one of them, turned up at the last minute or went to the kitchens to get a quick snack, after spending the night doing whatever they did out and about and not in their dorms.

But what really surprised the students was that they were all sitting at the Gryffindor table. They had expected to find Harry Potter there, of course they did, he was practically the most Gryffindor Gryffindor anyone at Hogwarts had ever met, but to see the other three there with them surprised pretty much everyone. And the seating arrangements didn't tone down the surprise. Harry was sitting on one side of the table, the older, beautiful girl sitting close to his side, an arm around the fourth years shoulders. Directly across from them, only separated by the thick wooden table, sat the blonde boy from Durmstrang, the small elfin like girl sat comfortably on his lap.

Hermione walked determinedly up to them, thick brown hair tied back into an already crazy-looking ponytail, thick strands of hair being pushed back from her eyes.

"Harry!" She called. The black haired covered head didn't look up so she repeated her call. She couldn't help the fond smile that took over her face when the afore mentioned unmoving head snapped up in her direction and startled green eyes looked up at her as she moved in her best friends direction.

"Hermione!" Harry called out, slightly shocked. He hadn't realised she had been one of the people to enter the hall, though he should have known she would be one of the early birds.

"What are you doing?" She asked as she slid into the empty seat beside him. She was suddenly subjected to three evaluating stares, all coming from the three people sat next to and across from her friend. She looked in surprise at the stormy orbs across from her, surprised at the calculating gaze set on her. She hadn't thought someone so innocent could look that criticizing. "Oh, I'm sorry." She said, turning to the two opposite, deciding looking at them would be better than looking at the single person next to the last remaining main line Potter. "I'm Hermione Granger, one of Harry's best friends." She introduced, waiting for them to introduce themselves as she knew they would.

"Allison Cero."

Hermione whipped her head around to stare at the almost too pretty brunette sitting next to Harry. Hermione belatedly realised that they were holding hands, and very tightly too.

"Alexander Gates."

Hermione stared wide eyed at the blonde haired boy. He was extremely handsome, even more so up close than through the distance that she had evaluated him the day behind. Than her brain clicked in and she gasped.

The name Gates was extremely well known in the Wizarding world, especially in Eastern Europe. The men of that family were well known as advisors to all sorts of high society people, and the women were well known as powerful leaders of every social circle they stepped into, as well as ruling half of Europe's research labs.

She saw Alexander smirk at her wide eyed expression of shock, and the little girl on his lap smile genuinely as she turned her face against the noticeably broad chest behind her.

"And you?" She asked after a few moments of silence, before realising how rude she sounded - she had a tendency to do that, she knew - and sent an apologetic look at the girl who had turned to look her head on, instead of the sideways sit she had been in before.

"Rayne Grey." Was the short answer.

Brown eyes blinked at the curt answer, slightly offended, and opened her mouth to say something about the girls rudeness before Harry nudged her sharply in the ribs and shook his head. Instead, Hermione took a minute to wonder on the girls strange name before shaking it off.

"Where were you last night?" She asked soon enough. Even though this happened reasonably often, she still always worried, and this time was no different. Especially because of who he was last seen with - three strangers, who he is still with now.

. . .

Rayne sat on her brothers surprisingly comfy lap, pressed close to the constant warmth he gave off. It was a familiar feeling, one that she had missed in the three years she hadn't seen him. She had missed her other two siblings as well, tremendously in fact, but Peter had always been her favourite, her anchor in all the fighting and political battles they had been in in Narnia. She had missed the way she would sit on his lap for hours on end, just sitting there and absorbing the comfort he gave off. It was something both she and Edmund had had in common - using Peter as a comfort post, though they did it in different ways. She would sit on his lap, sleep next to him on occasion if she needed it, stand close to him when something was bothering her. Edmund would talk to Peter, tell him what was bothering the youngest brother and then be hugged almost to death if Peter deemed the action appropriate.

Edmund also found comfort in Susan, as the two most expected to keep up their sophisticated image. Lucy was known for unexpected jaunts through the forest, or running off for the night to help a family of badgers or the sort. There was also one memorable occasion when she had run off without word for more than a week to travel to a neighbouring island to help heal an influenza that had spread across the island that none of their own healers could properly heal.

Peter, however, was known for his eccentrics' in how he dealt with his land and his people. Although he was brilliant in court, and one of the best tacticians Narnia had ever known, he wasn't exactly known for patient, well thought out decisions. Lots of that ended up on Edmund. Peter was the rock, the person people told their problems too and he did their best to fix them, no matter who they were or what the problem was. Problem is, Peter had always been one for adventures, for going off and solving these problems as soon as possible. He wasn't one for patience.

Edmund was the one they all depended upon not to go charging into something without thinking.

. . .

When he sat down, Ron was aware of the three new people sat round his best mate. He ignored them until he caught sight of the absolutely gorgeous brunette sitting next to Harry. His eye zeroed in on the perfect figure and the glossy chestnut hair, and he felt a burst of jealousy when he saw her holding Harry's hand tightly.

'His best mate got everything', he whined to himself. 'The money, the fame, the girls'. He thought enviously, not appreciating that Harry had everything that he didn't, including recognised Quidditch skills.

He felt the thoughts leave his mind when he caught sight of the food, and he sighed before piling up his breakfast on the plate In front of him, not listening as Hermione started ranting about her first class - something about the homework.

Hey guys. Sorry for the long wait, I've been busy with Another Gibbs and school work. This chapter was just a bit of history and to fill in some gaps. Hope you enjoy it, the next chapter will hopefully include some action of some kind. Review!