I'm really sorry for the wait, guys, but I've been busy and also there may have been a small amount of procrastination going on. Please review, they keep me going...And Happy Holidays to everyone!

-C

Chapter 3: The Sails of Durmstrang

"Don't-turn-around," I breathed, barely moving my lips. "Don't. Move." The wolf was pressing his wet nose to my leg, and growling.

"Oh hell, oh hell, hell-hell-hell-hell-" Melody bit back a scream. "I can feel it drooling on my leg!"

"We need to get on the broom, now. Now!" I whispered. I peeked, out of the corner of my eye, at the wolf. It was...retreating. Moving backward. "Oh, yes!" I whispered. "It's leaving-it's leaving, we're-"

Suddenly, it turned around at the edge of the clearing and growled, its yellow eyes locking onto mine.

A threat.

It threw its head in the air, and howled at the full moon. A heartrending, mournful keen.

"It's a werewolf!" I screamed, and just as I uttered the word, the woods on all sides of us erupted into snarls and howls.

We had stumbled into the den of werewolves.

"GO!" I screamed. "GO! GO! GO! Melody wasn't moving; she was standing stiff as a board, staring with eyes as wide as saucers into the trembling trees. I pushed her, hard. She snapped into movement and we scrambled onto the broom and shot straight up into the air. I could hear Melody's sobs behind me, but we didn't stop, or move, or say a single word until we were up in the air, safe, and high. The wind violently pushed us back, but the broom was stronger. I was shaking with cold and fright, my breaths coming in short gasps. The frigid wind was ripping the air right from my lungs.

We finally stopped, pulling the broom to a halt very, very far above that forest.

"Melody, were you bitten?!" I exclaimed, turning around.

She shook her head, wiping her tears with shaky hands. "I was so scared," she whispered. "I just froze."

"It's okay-it's okay now," I told her, half-turned around. We both looked down toward the clearing.

Below, the wolves-a whole pack of them-looked up at us, keening and howling at their lost prey.

"If-if that broom hadn't b-been there we would have died," Melody shook. "Why don't you think they attacked us right away?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "I don't know. I think-maybe-that the wolf who came up to us was waiting for the rest of the pack. Manners, you know." I burst into a high-pitched, hysterical laugh. I think were both in shock.

"Let's go back, Roxanne," Melody pleaded. "We're safe. We got out. We're safe," she chanted to herself.

"Let's not tell anyone about this," I said firmly, and my heartbeat was returning to normal. I let out a giddy, high-pitched whoop. "We're alive!" I screamed, pumping my fist into the air and laughing with pure exhilaration. "We did it, Melody! We can tell our grandkids we met a whole pack of werewolves and got out, unscathed! How lucky are we!"

"You're crazy," Melody told me, hugging herself. "Please, Roxanne, let's go back. I'm freezing," she said, her teeth chattering.

My adrenaline was beginning to leave me and I was beginning to feel the chill as well, deep in my bones.

I stared down at the clearing once more, mesmerized. It looked so peaceful now, a small clearing in the green woods at twilight. Only Melody and I knew what was truly lurking inside.

"Ah, there you are!" Ron shouted, pointing to us from across the street. "We were just about to go looking for you!" He had an ice cream cone in one hand, and many, many bags of school supplies in the other. "You missed ice cream-hold on, why're you all wet?" He looked at us suspiciously.

"We took a test drive-"

"On a broomstick," Melody finished.

"Got caught in that storm," I added.

"Oh yeah, that just missed us," Ron said thoughtfully. "Are you both alright?"

"Definitely." We both nodded our heads enthusiastically, sharing a look.

"Are you sure?" Ron squinted at Melody. "You look bloody pale." Then he looked at me. "You do too, I suppose...your mothers are going to kill us, you know, if you get sick."

"And here's to the returning students of Hogwarts!" Grandpa toasted us all, and everyone cheered and took a sip of their butterbeer. We were all gathered around the table at Grandpa and Grandma Weasley's, eating our traditional huge supper the night before the first day of school. The kitchen was stuffed, the table magically extended to fit all of us. I sat next to Melody, who was practically part of the family, and my little brother Fred. There were about ten different conversations happening at once, everyone laughing and eating Grandma's brilliant food. This was home.

"Stop elbowing me!" Fred whined, proceeding to elbow me in the ribs.

"Cut it out!" I hissed at my little brother. "Or the sorting hat won't even put you in a house tomorrow; he'll be put on your head and shout out this one can't be sorted!" I threatened. "In front of everyone, too!"

"Mum!" Fred screamed, outraged. "Roxanne's lying!"

"No, it's true, it happened to a boy in my year," Albus leaned in and said very seriously, his green eyes dancing with mischief. "McGonagall just put the hat on him and it sat there for a few minutes. Everyone was watching, and eventually McGonagall just took the hat off and said he couldn't be sorted. He was taken down to the dungeons, and never seen again."

"No, I saw him," James piped in. "Saw his ghost, at least-"

"Boys!" Ginny reprimanded, swatting them both. "Fred, your cousins and sister are joking. The Sorting Hat sorts everyone, all right?" Ginny glared at all three of us in turn.

"All right, if you say so," Fred said uneasily, going back to eating his supper.

At the other end of the table, Uncles Ron and Harry and Aunt Hermione were reminiscing about their Hogwarts days per usual, and Ginny was joining in; something about the Yule Ball.

"What house do you think you'll be in?" Hugo asked him, gravy dribbling down his chin. Hugo was a Slytherin going into 3rd year. Victoire was the first Weasley grandchild to be sorted; she was a Gryffindor, and so was her brother Louis. The middle child, Dominique, was a Slytherin. Our family was mainly composed of Gryffindors and Slytherins, with only two Hufflepuffs (Molly and Lucy) and two Ravenclaws (Lily and me.)

"I dunno," Fred shrugged, slopping potatoes all over the table as he reached across to get a spoonful. "Hope I'm not in Ravenclaw like Roxanne!" He snickered, sticking his tongue out at me. I rolled my eyes and flicked a bit of potato at him, which landed squarely in the middle of his eyebrows. In a cry of outrage he went cross-eyed and wiped it off, only to smack Rose in the face.

"Watch it, buster!" She laughed, grabbing his arm and standing up. They began to playfully wrestle, which made me even more peeved. Rose had her own brother!

Mid head-lock, Rose caught my eye triumphantly.

"Some people," I growled, turning to Melody.

"Why is your uncle staring at me?" She whispered out of the corner of my mouth. My eyes swept around the table. Uncle Bill, Uncle Charlie, Uncle Harry, Uncle Ron and Uncle Percy.

"Erm, which one?" I asked.

"Harry," she hissed.

I looked over at Uncle Harry who was, in fact, stealing glances at Roxanne every now and then, a strange look in his eye.

"Roxanne!" Louis bellowed, walking in from the kitchen. "Owl for you-he's outside."

I stood up from the table with a 'be right back' to Melody, and walked airily past Rose. Through the screen door, I half-registered Uncle Harry asking Melody if she would talk upstairs with him.

"Hello," I murmured to the owl I had never before seen, stepping onto the sloping porch which was beginning to droop into the middle. It was knee-length above the ground, with about thirty chairs all in a circle where the grown ups could talk when the kids were playing in the yard.

I untied the paper from the owl's leg, walking over to sit on the steps so I would be out of the way of the windows and doors, where light and laughter was spilling out. Crickets and frogs were singing noisily, the night air humid and thick. I looked up at the stars, and settled myself on the top step. The unfamiliar owl took off into the night. Was it Dominique?

I opened the letter, using the light from the house behind me to read. It was Dominique.

Dear Roxanne,

Sorry this letter took so long, I've been pretty busy. I seriously owe you an explanation, and everyone. I've decided I'm going to give you this whole story, no matter how painful it may be.

When Victoire and Ted started dating two years ago, I was devastated. I had loved Ted since I was thirteen. But they were so happy together, so perfect.

This is the hard part. It's all my fault, Roxanne. Ted loved her. He loved Vic, and he still does. I tried telling him lies, starting about a year ago. Small things like "oh, did you see Victoire look at that bloke?" Things like, "Teddy, could you please massage my shoulders? They're so sore." Roxanne, I'm crying as I write this. I've been so, so evil. I am a despicable person. I guess I was in Slytherin for a reason, I am manipulative. And so this went on for a year. The most I could do was make him the tiniest bit withdrawn around Victoire, and I was the cause of the few small spats they had the month before they wedding, when they didn't seem as close.

But.

That's not the worst I did.

Oh Roxanne, I gave Ted a love potion. The night before the wedding at supper I snuck some in his drink.

Bloody hell! I frantically turned the letter over, searching for more. Was there a second page? There had to be! I scrambled around the deck on my hands and knees, looking in between the cracks. My head was reeling. A love potion! Dominique Weasley, how could you be so cruel?

"Roxanne?" I heard someone approach the screen door and open it, squealing on its hinges. Victoire.

"Victoire!" I said frantically, hiding the letter behind my back, the letter of Dom's betrayal. Oh, why did I have to be the one to tell her?

I flew forward into Victoire's arms. She stood still for a moment, surprised, but then her hand came up to stroke my hair. I let out a sob.

"Roxanne," she said, chuckling a bit. "You have such a passion for life, you get carried away at times. surely things cannot be this bad."

"I got the letter from Dominique," I sniffled. Already, everyone from inside was staring at us, but now they went completely silent.

"She-she gave Ted a love potion, Victoire," I whispered so only she could hear. Victoire's eyes went wide with shock, and her arms dropped to her sides. She let out a colorful exclamation in French, and then snatched the letter from the hand I held out to her. Her eyes rapidly poured over the letter and when she was finished she handed it back gently, her eyes blazing with fire.

"Roxanne," she said, strangely calm. "I'm going to go find Dominique, and Ted. I'll get him back."

"Victoire?" Aunt Fleur called from the inside. "Girls, are you alright?"

"We're fine, Mama," Victoire said, using the French word for Mother. "She turned and strode briskly through the doors and I followed, the letter still clutched in my hand.

I sat back down in my old seat, suddenly noticing Melody was gone. I looked toward Harry with a start. He had been talking to her earlier-

"Roxanne, Melody's parents came to pick her up," he told me quietly.

"Why-" I started, but Uncle Harry shook his head.

What-?

"Mother," Victoire said in a slightly shaking voice. "Dominique gave Ted a love potion."

Andromeda Tonks, Ted's legal guardian, let out a gasp and put a shaking hand to her mouth.

Not a sound was made. Maybe Harry knew family drama was coming and wanted to get Melody out before she had to witness it all.

Then, Uncle Bill stood, his chair scraping the floor. He put his arm around his daughter and led her back outside.

"Love potion?" Rose whispered and I glared at her, nodding. She opened her mouth to say something but I turned away quickly. I felt indignation on Victoire's behalf.

Everyone erupted with words; angry words and shocked words. Little Louis, only fourteen, sat pale and shocked in his chair. His sisters seemed to be at war and he probably didn't even know half of what was going on.

"What's a love potion?" Fred said in my ear, having to speak up to be heard over all the commotion. It was times like these when I remembered my little brother was still a child.

"It's like a spell in a bottle, it made Ted love Dom instead of Victoire," I said so only he could hear. "It's a very mean thing to do." Fred nodded seriously and looked at Mum and Dad for confirmation, but they were absorbed in a conversation with Uncle Percy and Aunt Audrey.

I didn't think the night could have been any more filled with strange events until Uncle Harry gave me the strangest request in the world. I was confused, but I agreed. I had a while, he said, but I had to hurry.

Everyone left early that night to their respective homes, more tired than usual.

"Goodbye! Goodbye! Take care of your brother, don't forget to watch him!" Mother was yelling, running alongside the train as we picked up speed, smoke billowing behind us. She finally stopped, and allowed Dad to pull her into a hug, resting his chin on her head as she blew her nose.

The noise of the train on the tracks and the whistle singing were welcome and familiar; we were on our way to Hogwarts once more.

Fred and I turned away from the windows along with the rest of the cousins, running merrily to find the rest of our cousins.

"I don't want to be in Slytherin," Fred whispered to me secretly, his eyes filled with fear. Oh, no.

"Fred. Albus and Dominique and Hugo were all in Slytherin! Besides, we don't do house prejudice in our family any more, remember? We don't care what house we're in. They're all good. I promise. They all have their good and their bad. Although Ravenclaw's a little better than all of them..." I said, trying to get him to smile and pinching his cheek like I did when he was little. He wasn't amused.

"But Dominique was in Slytherin," he whispered, even quieter.

So that's what this was about.

"Fred, every house has their goods and bads. But remember what Uncle Harry always says...the world isn't split into good people and evil people," I said slowly, waiting for him to say with me the mantra that Uncle Harry always seemed to be saying. Harry would always look sad when he said it, and I knew why. The first person to say it had been Sirius Black, just another important person in Uncle's life that was taken away from him.

"We've all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are," Fred said with me, and I grinned. He smiled a bit, but then frowned.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

I sighed. "Dominique is a good person. She just made-erm-a few mistakes. Okay? That doesn't mean the whole house of Slytherin is bad.

"If you want to think that way, then Voldemort was in Slytherin. But the evil wizard Hitler who had his wand snapped was in Gryffindor. There were bad people from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw too, okay? Every house has its bad eggs. But you can't think about that, Fred. You're going to become a great guy, no matter how many dark wizards were in your house."

Well, it was a pretty good talk, I thought...for me, anyway.

"All right then." I sighed, standing up. "Take some money for the trolley, from Dad." Fred's eyes widened at the sight of the two sickles.

"Does Mum know?" He whispered, taking them carefully.

"Nope." I smiled smugly.

"Brilliant!" He exclaimed, face lighting up.

"Now go, find some friends!" I told him and he went running off happily. "I'll see you at the sorting ceremony!" I yelled after him. "It's okay if you're in Slytherin!" I yelled louder, but he didn't turn around. Several of the couples snogging after spending the entire summer away from each other broke apart and looked at me, annoyed. I flashed a white smile at them.

"Kids, they grow up so fast, don't they!" A voice exclaimed from me.

"LAINE!" I yelled, grabbing my friend unto a hug, laughing and squealing. Laine was a Ravenclaw, like me and Melody. She was the only girl I knew who was taller than me, at 1.88 meters, (6"2') but not by much. She was a Beater on the Quidditch team, an avid sports fan of all kinds; a devout tomboy. Her green eyes sparkled with mischief as she pulled back.

My mouth dropped open. "You've cut your hair off!" I whispered, fingering the ends of her once long and thick brown hair. Now it was to her jawline, even prettier now that it was short.

"What? Oh yes, I suppose I have, now it won't get in the way so much." She shrugged nonchalantly. "And I suppose you've done something to your hair too...it's not so wild now!" She laughed, pulling me into another hug. "I missed you, shorty!" That was a joke between us; we were the two tallest girls in the school, not to mention the year.

"I think you've grown another inch, Laine," I joked, patting the top of her head. That was another thing about Laine. Her name was technically pronounced Lay-nee, but she made everyone call her Lane without the ee sound at the end and you'd likely get a punch if you said otherwise.

It was a wonder that Laine and our other friend Anna Meadows, who was as girly as could be and therefore the total opposite of Laine, were as thick as thieves.

"Look, there comes Anna!" She said excitedly, pointing to a blonde, curly-haired girl walking down the aisle hand in hand with Scorpius Malfoy.

"Laine! Roxanne!" She yelled, and ran forward to pull us both into a hug. "I missed you both!" She exclaimed.

"Guess what-I flew the other day!" I said, not able to contain my triumph any longer. Now that it was all behind me and Melody and I had both escaped completely unscathed, it was more of a joke, a ha, ha! in the face of fate.

"What? Flew-as in levitated? Surely not on a broom!" Anna mock gasped, her blue eyes wide.

"Ha, ha." I messed up some of her ringlets and she playfully batted my hand away. "Melody made me fly."

"Merlin, your hair!" She shrieked, suddenly noticing. "I love it! And-and your hair!" She turned to Laine. "Did Melody do something to hers too? Did I not get the memo?" She put her hands on her hips and turned to the left.

Anna was a beautiful girl. But when she was a toddler, her father, an abusive drunkard, held her over an open flame and the left side of her face was never the same. It was warped and distorted. She was nearly deaf in the left ear and it was no wonder; it was all but shriveled up.

When she was in first year she wore all her hair to the left side of her head trying to hide it. She would constantly be ducking behind her beautiful hair, and wouldn't speak to anyone for fear they would see it and laugh at her.

Laine was the first one to talk to her, and Melody and I followed. We had been best friends ever since, and she no longer hid behind her hair. She was used to the staring. We loved her even more for her burn scars and we were so used to it that we no longer thought twice when looking at her face. And I know Scorpius didn't even see those burns when he looked at her.

"Oh Scorpius, you just want to go find Al, don't you?" She laughed. Then, her smile faded slightly as Rose walked up to the side of us. Scorpius hadn't moved yet and he smiled at the redheaded Weasley; he was completely oblivious to the slight animosity that existed between Rose and his girlfriend.

Through first year and halfway through second, Rose used to spend her time with Anna, Laine, Melody and I. Rose and Anna were always competing playfully, but then along came Scorpius. They fought over him. Anna ended up happy, and Rose ended up brokenhearted. No matter how much I pleaded, she had found a new group of friends. The two of us were still close, obviously, but she wasn't the best of friends with Laine or Melody. And of course not Anna. Although Anna was the one who continually tried to reach out to her over the years. She gave up after a while.

"Hello," Anna said politely to Rose. "How was your summer?" Rose ignored her and I glared at my cousin. The least she could do was pretend to be polite. Scorpius put his arm around Anna's shoulders protectively, apparently deciding to stay for the moment. I saw a hurt look in Rose's eyes flash before she turned her gaze to me.

"Roxanne, can I talk to you?" She requested, and I groaned inwardly. We left Scorpius and the two girls behind us, ducking into a compartment.

"You know, you could try, at least," I said, irritated. "Why is it that everyone in our family is willing to betray each other for boys?" I asked, exasperated.

"Oh, don't compare me to Dom!" Rose begged.

"Oh, so now you've gotten your facts straight?" I crossed my arms. Now she realized Victoire was the wronged, and Dom was the one who had done the wronging?

"Roxanne, I came to apologize," Rose snapped. We both had slight tempers.

We stared each other down, dark eyes meeting blue, waiting for the other to give.

Then, to my horror, my mouth began to twitch and my mouth betrayed me, trying to smile.

Rose let out a huge snort, now trying not to laugh herself.

"Why do we think we can ever be mad at each other?!" We exclaimed together. I burst out laughing, and so did Rose. We flung our arms around each other, and the only thing that would have made it better was if she and Anna could have made up.

"Let's go." I linked my arm in hers and pulling her out in the hallway. How could I get Rose back into our circle of friends again? How could I make her want to be?

"Hello," Rose said a bit stiffly as we walked back into the group, smiles left on everyone's faces from a joke told.

"Hey, Rose," Scorpius spoke up first, smiling.

"Hello, Scorpius," Rose said in a small voice. "Well, this was nice-"

"Rose bloody Weasley!" A voice shouted from down the aisle of the train, and we all turned to look.

An expression of relief spread across Rose's face and she sprinted forward to the blonde and grinning Scamander twins without looking back. Her usual group of friends consisted of the Scamanders of Ravenclaw, Carrie Knight of Slytherin, and both Becca Jordin and Landon Diggory of Gryffindor.

"Rosie!" One exclaimed-I could never tell them apart-and pulled her up into a hug, literally lifting her feet off the floor. I turned back to my friends once I made sure she was having fun. She turned back and gave me a small wave before rounding the corner.

"Where's Melody?" Anna suddenly asked. "She hasn't come yet."

"There!" I pointed into one of the compartments. Melody was sitting alone with her knees drawn up to her chest, eyes closed.

We opened the door quietly.

"Mel?" I whispered, and she woke with a start.

"Hm?" She asked, blinking rapidly. There were bags under her eyes, which especially stood out against the paleness of her face. She looked thin; sickly thin. I tried wrack my brains; had something happened over the summer that was causing her to act so different? On her vacation she had gone to Italy. She had told me about some guy she's met, what was his name? Roberto? Mario? Something with an "o" at the end...

"Why didn't you come find us?" Anna asked, sitting down next to her carefully like she sensed something was wrong.

"Oh, I just fell asleep. Sorry," Melody said, taking in a deep breath. "Well! I haven't seen you all in an while-come here!" She grinned and held her arms out for a hug, and she looked like her old self again.

"So, what's this I hear about you accomplishing the impossible?" Laine asked as we all fell back into the seats, Laine and Anna on one side, Melody and I on the other. She was met with blank looks.

"Getting Roxanne on a broom, you wankers!" She exclaimed, rolling her eyes.

"Oh!" Melody exclaimed. "That was a challenge, she kept squirming away." She laughed, punching me in the arm.

"Speaking of brooms, Melody, and getting off the topic of that horrid flying," I rolled my eyes. "Are you going to try out for the Quidditch team again this year?"

"I don't know..." Melody hesitated. "They haven't taken me for the past three years..."

"They'll take you now!" Anna promised. "You've gotten so much better!"

"If they don't...well, I can probably threaten to knock a few people off their brooms," Laine said menacingly, cracking her fingers and making us all laugh.

"Well, I suppose I'll-"

Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeech.

The wheels of the train ground hard against the track and we slid to a sudden stop, the loss of momentum squashing Melody and I into the back of our seats and flinging Anna and Laine onto the floor where they lay, groaning.

"Why have we stopped?" I asked, staring out the window. We were on the bridge over the lake-I rushed to the compartment door and flung it open, sticking my head out.

"Oi! Anyone know what's going on?" I yelled to all the other students who had opened their compartment doors, peering out curiously.

"The water-look at the water!" Laine suddenly gasped. "Roxanne, come here, I think the tracks are flooded!" They were all huddled around the window and I rushed over to see.

"Merlin's beard," I whispered. "If the train hadn't stopped in time we would have been pitched into the lake. Look how high the water is!"

"The tracks are flooded!"

"The water's rising!"

"We're going to be stuck here forever!" Shouts and exclamations flew from all over the train.

"Everyone back to your compartments! Sit back down! Back in, please!" The conductor of the train bellowed, his wand aloft and his gray eyes squinted. He hobbled down the aisles, and each compartment was refilled with its students. "We have encountered some water along the tracks," he said, using a spell to magically magnify his voice. "And I have alerted Headmaster Kingsley, he will be here in a mo-"

"Look!" Someone was yelling, and the cry was taken up until I was sure everyone was glued to their window. The conductor was no longer the main focus.

Out of the still blue waters, a mast was appearing. Then a sail, and an entire ship crashed up through the surface, water streaming down in waterfalls from the outside of the ship.

There seemed to be no one on it: it sat just next to the bridge, a few meters away, calmly rocking. The whole train was silent. Then, the doors of the chip's cabin opened and a large man came out, wearing heavy robes and furs: behind him, similarly attired students rushing to the sides to look at where they were.

"Hold on a moment-" Laine put her hands up. "Did that ship just come from under the water?" She asked, blinking hard and rubbing her eyes.

"If it's a hallucination we're all seeing it," I murmured. "Look!" I blurted suddenly.

"Professor Kingsley!"

"The Headmaster! He apparated onto the ship!" Someone bellowed from another compartment.

Professor Kingsley appeared to be conversing with the heavyset man...

"Ouch!" I hissed suddenly, a searing pain shooting through my head. I put my hands up to my temples.

"Are you alright?" Melody looked at me suspiciously.

"Fine," I nodded. "I just think...I've seen that man before." I couldn't quite place my finger on it. I wracked my brains, but nothing seemed to come up.

They made an odd pair, Kingsley in his blue and purple robes, his dark skin glowing in the sunlight as he politely spoke with the man in the furs.

"Durmstrang!" I gasped suddenly. "We were supposed to have students from Durmstrang come this year, I bet these are them!" I really got a look at the sails on the ships, and chastised myself for not noticing the Durmstrang emblem earlier.

"What?" Melody exclaimed. "You didn't tell us that!"

"It didn't come up," I said weakly.

Kingsley was gesturing toward our train, and they both began to scrutinize it.

All at once, the windows popped open in every single compartment.

"I didn't even know they did that," Anna murmured.

"Greetings everyone, and what a strange way to greet you all this is." Kingsley was speaking loudly enough for the whole length of the train to hear, even without his wand. His voice was rich and deep; it didn't matter if he was giving you a detention or praising your spell casting, he made you want to stay and listen.

"As I am sure you are all know by now, the tracks have flooded. However, earlier in the summer my good friend Grigor Nikola, Headmaster of Durmstrang Academy and I had planned for himself and several of his students to reside at Hogwarts for the year as an international exchange program, of sorts. It is not so much an exchange as a trip, I suppose, since our Durmstrang friends guard their school so carefully they will not let any of us know their whereabouts," Kingsley laughed deeply, but Grigor Nikola only inclined his head. "Lucky they found us at just the right time and have extended the generous invitation of taking us to Hogwarts themselves...now if you will all proceed to the stairs in front of your window," Kingsley swished his wand- "And proceed onto the ship, we will continue to Hogwarts, Durmstrang fashion."

Kinsgley swept into a bow as the students of Hogwarts erupted into cheers, clambering onto the stairs which the professor had magically produced, rushing onto the decks of the ships and making excited exclamations. We were absolutely overwhelming the students from Durmstrang; oh well, they would get used to it soon enough, if they were to stay at Hogwarts for the entire year.

Not long after the strangest trip to Hogwarts in the history of magic, we were all seated on the long wooden benches of the Great Hall, bathed in the warm light from the candles. A murmuring chorus of mingled talking and laughter filled the air; the ceiling above us was a deep blue speckled with a vast array of shining stars and a glowing crescent moon.

The Slytherin table was especially boisterous; the group from Durmstrang had chosen to sit with that particular house, but the professors that had come with them were sitting up at the staff table.

Back at the Ravenclaw table, Laine, Anna, Melody and I were staring at the Durmstrang students, along with the rest of the rest of the student body. Anna was a Gryffindor, but she usually sat with us Ravenclaws.

"They're sort of withdrawn," Laine observed as we watched Al demonstrate juggling for them to no reaction.

"Of course they are!" Anna exclaimed. "They've just come from a different country to a completely foreign school, they're bound to be a bit out of their element..."

"I wonder why they're really here," I said quietly.

"What do you mean?" Melody looked at me, startled. "Kingsley told us on the train, they made an agreement to come because they want to 'extend a hand in international cooperation between the schools...' remember?"

"Yeah." I nodded. I did remember; that didn't mean I believed it. I had no reason to be wary of them, but something about them was certainly making me uneasy.

Very soon after, the first years were paraded in, the majority of which looked pale and frightened; the minority looked as if they were pretending to be bold, swaggering in and bumping into their classmates when they stopped. Pretty soon they all began poking each other and whispering, glancing up at the ceiling and gasping as McGonagall tried to explain what they were to do with the Sorting Hat.

Professor McGonagall was Headmistress for three years after Headmaster Snape was murdered, but then stepped down for Kingsley when he in turn retired from Minister of Magic. She said she was more content teaching Transfiguration and being Kingsley's right hand woman rather than in charge of the whole school...she had always said that Dumbledore's shoes were a pair she felt herself not quite competent to fill.

"Roxanne!" Lily whispered as the Sorting Hat began. Her red head peeked down from a couple seats away where she was sitting with her fifth year friends. "What house d'you think Fred will be in?" She whispered.

"I dunno," I whispered back. "Gryffindor?"

She nodded thoughtfully. "We'll see," she answered before the glares from our housemates became too furious at us for disrupting.

Abbot, Kaylee. Andrews, Simon. And so on, and so on...finally,

"Weasley, Fred."

I watched my little brother intently as he made his way to the front, his usually dark face looking washed out and sickly pale. He looked very small, like he was drowning in his robes. My arm twitched a bit, longing to go up there and pull him back. He hated being in front of a crowd.

He sat down, the Sorting Hat sliding over his eyes. I saw him jump a bit, like the Hat had said something loudly.

Almost a thirty second contemplation later, bets were being thrown around and money was changing hands, as customary for all the Weasleys and Potters. And Fred was the last one, the youngest.

"Come on, Fred," I whispered, my hand gripping the table hard.

"Slytherin!" The Hat finally screamed, and the green-clad table erupted into exuberant cheers; hats were being tossed and flashes of gold were being seen reluctantly changing ownership. I tried to carefully scrutinize Fred's face as I clapped with the rest of Hogwarts; he looked surprisingly happy about the Hat's pick. He was grinning from ear to ear as he sat down with Scorpius and Al, both of whom clapped him hard on the back.

Another Slytherin! Ah well...can't argue with the Sorting Hat...Beans! Firecrackers! U-No-Poo! Is this working?

"What?" I turned, startled. "Did you say something?" I asked Anna, eyes flitting around. "Who said that?"

The Ravenclaws across the table gave me odd looks, and we all sat back down.

"I thought I heard..." I frowned deeply.

"What?" Melody asked, turning towards me.

"Hearing voices?" Laine chimed in.

"No..." I frowned. My eyes glazed over as I went into brainstorming mode.

Could it have been a student playing a prank? Or a ghost? I wasn't sure why I was becoming so fixated on this bodiless voice; I mean, I had only heard a sentence. But what had they said?

I wracked my brains, trying to recall.

Something about...there being another Slytherin? Right when Fred was sorted? Did that mean another Weasley Slytherin? And the rest...the rest just sounded like gibberish. Beans, firecrackers, and u-no-poo: what the bloody hell was that, anyway? It sounded like some sort of anti-constipation potion. Maybe the ghost who had spoken was some sort of intestinally challenged old lady.

The voice's gender was indeterminable, even; whoever it was wasn't giving me much to go off of.

"-our best to welcome the students of Durmstrang!" My head snapped up and I was pulled back into the world of glowing candles throwing light all over the clapping students of Hogwarts.

"What did I miss?" I whispered to Melody.

"Erm...the whole introduction of all the Durmstrang Professors and students...where have you been?" She looked at me quizzically.

"Hearing voices," I muttered under my breath as soon as she turned around.