A/N: Kellen's native dialect is the much like the one in the movie Fargo, though perhaps a bit less exaggerated. It's sometimes called the "Yooper" dialect, as it's the one used in the Upper Peninsula (U.P. – Yoo Pee, Yooper – get it?) of Michigan. As he has a British mother and has spent time in the United Kingdom, he has adopted some mild British speech patterns. His pronunciation is rather nasal and rhotic, so it is still considerably different from Received, but he pronounces some words as if he were British (i.e. he pronounces 'dormitory' as 'dor-muh-tree' instead of 'dor-mi-tore-ee, 'record' as 'reck-ohrd' rather than 'reck-erd', 'schedule' as 'shed-yule' rather than 'sked-yule' or 'direction' as 'die-reck-shun' rather than 'deh-reck-shun'). In fact, these pronunciations are consistent with some regional Canadian pronunciations, hence the confusion when Kellen tells people he's Minnesotan with a British parent as opposed to being Canadian.

Meanwhile, Neville's dialect changes somewhat as well due to his relative youth (he's 12 so his speech patterns are close to fully developed) and his increased exposure to North American English. He will always sound at least partially British, but similarly to Kellen, he adopts some pronunciations and terminology that's more familiar to American and Canadian ears. He will be developing a Transatlantic accent throughout his Ilvermorny tenure. A famous example of the speech patterns he would be using would be Carrie Fisher's 1977 portrayal of Princess Leia in Star Wars (that film alone, as her accent is more thoroughly West Coastal American in the sequels).

Ana's accent is General American, consistent with the middle part of the American Midwest. It's the most common accent used by news anchors, i.e. Tom Brokaw. While she is bright and fairly knowledgeable about the world around her, she's not the globetrotter Kellen is, nor has she been to England so her accent is very consistent.

Neville led Kellen to the Gryffindor table where Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat.

Neville grinned like a Cheshire cat. "These are my old Gryffindor mates – Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger." He turned to his former housemates. "This is my best friend Kellen Grimseth, the Ilvermorny whiz kid." Kellen's cheeks turned scarlet.

"Hiya, Kellen," Hermione said warmly. "I'm very pleased to meet you, finally. I wanted to give you a hug, if that's okay."

"The pleasure is all mine, Miss Granger," Kellen replied as he smiled coyly. "And sure, but a gentle one, please," he said quietly.

Hermione got up to give Kellen a gentle hug. "How's that?" she asked politely.

"Perfect," Kellen responded softly. "It feels very familiar, actually… very warm and a little tingly. You must really be a nice girl... not many hugs give me that sort of sensation."

Kellen whispered into Hermione's ear. "You're also far prettier than Neville described, you know."

Hermione blushed deeply. "Actually, I didn't," she whispered back.

Although she knew right away that Kellen was just a little bit off, she also sensed something special about him. "Kellen, look at me. In my eyes, please," she said, keeping her voice soft and gentle. Kellen slowly looked up at her, his vibrant blue-green eyes gradually moving from her mouth, to her nose, then finally meeting her warm brown eyes.

"I don't get called 'pretty' very much, outside of my parents," Hermione admitted. "Thank you, from the bottom of my heart." She hugged him again, a little more tightly this time. She looked into his spellbinding eyes again. "I understand you're exceptionally intelligent, but there is something else about you that's extraordinary…"

Her smile broadened. "When I looked into your eyes, I noticed something very different. There's a saying that goes something along the lines of 'the eyes are the windows to a person's soul'." She paused briefly, thinking of how to best phrase her thoughts.

"I saw the soul inside you, Kellen. It's so pure and innocent… you're very honest, you always put others before yourself, and you always take the high road even if it's not the easy way. I've only known you personally for a few minutes, but I can certainly see why Neville thinks so highly of you... you are a rare boy indeed." She winked. "Oh, and you are rather cute yourself, did you know?"

Kellen gave Hermione a bright smile. "That's a very roundabout way of asking me to be your friend, isn't it, Hermione?" He chuckled. "I'd be honored."

Hermione giggled. "You are indeed the clever one, Kellen. Thank you for wanting to be my friend." She giggled harder. "And that accent of yours… so cute!"

Kellen shook his head coyly. "Most people think it sounds ridiculous. A lot of people not familiar with the Upper Midwest think I'm from Canada, and even some Canadians that I've met were surprised when I told them I was from Minnesota… I do use some British pronunciations and vocabulary due to my mum being from London. Canadian English is sort of a mix between American and British English so I can understand the confusion." He then smiled at Hermione. "Your Received Pronunciation… it's very lovely, by the way. Definitely more pleasing to the ears than the pirate-like West Country, or the twangy Cockney accent."

Hermione nodded. "Thank you… and you know your British dialects well, Kellen. But I guess that shouldn't surprise me – you have a second cousin here that's a Ravenclaw. Have you been to England, or the British Isles in general, prior to this visit?"

Kellen grinned like a schoolboy. "Several times. I spent half a summer here a couple of years ago, actually. I'm very comfortable with British culture. Some people say I have a bit of a Mid Atlantic flair when I speak… I'm quite familiar with British terminology and slang and sometimes I inadvertently slip it in everyday speech."

"Yes, you do have a hint of Received in your speech patterns," Hermione agreed. "But I can't help but laugh when I hear you pronounce the 'oww' diphthong, it sounds more like 'oh'." She tried to stifle another giggle.

Kellen smirked. "Anyhoo, enough about me. I got to know Professor McGonagall when she came to visit Ilvermorny last April. She's a good witch, she definitely cares about her students. She really seems to be fond of Neville as well... " His voice trailed off a bit.

"She did say that we might not get along because we do have rather different personality traits, but I think we're off to a pretty good start. And I'm sure she'd be happy to eat her words."

Hermione cocked her head. "That was a bit presumptuous of her, wasn't it?" She then smiled sweetly at Kellen, and gently took his hand. "I can see why she might have thought that, Kellen. It's sort of an open secret that I am very self-conscious, Kellen. I can also be a bit bossy, I can get jealous easily, and I'm not particularly modest about my gifts…"

She smiled wistfully at Kellen. "All my life I've struggled to make friends, and it has always hurt to the core. I'm working on my shortcomings, really, I am… I want to be the best friend that I can be to my current friends, and I want to be the best friend that I can be to you."

Kellen returned the smile. "If it makes you feel any better, I don't have a lot of friends, either. I never have. But it's the quality that counts, not the quantity. You were sincere when you said you wanted to be my friend, and that you'd try hard to be a good friend to me… I will do the same for you."

Hermione nodded. "Speaking of quality, you're without a doubt the highest calibre friend I could ever want. You'd treat me like a princess… that's just who you are. Neville kept gushing about you – honestly, I was wondering when he'd stop – but I've finally seen for myself what an exceptional boy you are. Exceptional in many ways."

She gave Kellen a sincere look. "I'm sure Neville told you a few less-than-glamourous things about me… I guess I can't say I blame him, but thank you for looking past that… thank you for reaching out to a soul that longs for companionship. Neville, Harry, and Ron are all very nice boys and good friends… but you can offer something they don't…"

"Intellectual stimulation?" Kellen asked. "Help you become less bossy and more modest – those were your words, and not mine, for the record?"

Hermione giggled. "Well, yes…" She looked into his eyes once more. "You're not one to judge easily. I rub a lot of people the wrong way, and that includes even family and friends at times. My "teacher's pet" or "insufferable know-it-all" tendencies can still rear their collective ugly head on occasion, but instead of running away or saying something scathing, you'll still be there with a smile on your face, to let me know that you like me as I am."

She gave Kellen a bit of a hopeful expression. "You'll tell me that I'm pretty, or that I'm smart, or simply give me a little hug… simple, kind gestures like that, which let me know that despite my flaws I'm still valued. For very selfish reasons, Kellen Grimseth, I wish you could stay at Hogwarts, for good. You're the kind of friend that I've been craving my whole life… the one I want to go to first after I've had a bad day."

Neville looked at Ron. "I'm guessing they'll be chatting all day now, so would you play a round or two of Wizard's Chess? I may not beat you, but I promise I'll put up a fight this time. I'm actually a member of the Ilvermorny Wizard's Chess Club!"

Ron smiled at Neville. "That sounds brilliant, Neville. I'll go to my room to get the chess set and meet you in the common room in a few minutes. Harry, would you like to join us? We'll have a chance to talk to Kellen in a bit, but I don't think Hermione's interested in sharing him with us right now."

Harry shrugged. "Might as well," he said. "I know you have several stories from Ilvermorny that you haven't told us yet, Neville," he said as the three boys made their way back to the Gryffindor common room.

"Ron might be in for a rude awakening," Kellen told Hermione. "Neville's gotten pretty good at Wizard's Chess since I started coaching him. He's a card-carrying member of the Ilvermorny Wizard Chess club now. He's gotten very proficient, and rather quickly I might add."

"Perhaps," mused Hermione. "Ron can certainly hold his own. Poor Harry rarely stands a chance, even though he's not exactly awful at it." She gave Kellen a bit of a sly grin. "I'd like to see you and Ron play sometime. I'm sure you're good, but you might be really underestimating Ron's talent. He's quite good, easily good enough for that chess club of yours."

"I'm sure he's talented, and I won't be surprised if he beats me," admitted Kellen. "I like to think I'm a good chess player, but I'm not unbeatable."

Kellen smiled at his new friend. "So, tell me about yourself. I still know next to nothing about you, other than that you're very bright, you're very nice, and you're a pretty girl."

Hermione giggled. "I'm guessing you want me to describe myself without tooting my own horn then? Easier said than done." She giggled again. "I'm Muggle-born, the daughter of dentists. I really enjoy reading in general – spell books are fine, but I'd rather bury my nose in a good adventure or mystery novel. I sometimes prefer the company of fictional characters over real friends, as horrible as that sounds, but I guess I'm just used to not having many friends."

She sighed. "I felt so bad for Harry and Ron on my birthday a couple of weeks ago– I spent a good part the day studying, but they really wanted to spend the day with me. They wanted to let me know that they truly care. They were so sweet to want to do that, really. I just wasn't used to that. Most of my other birthdays I only had reluctant classmates as guests, and it was rather awkward."

Kellen smiled. "I suppose I can relate to that. I didn't have a ton of friends either growing up. Like yourself, I'm from a no-maj family – that's what we call Muggles at Ilvermorny – and my mum is a veterinarian, and my dad runs eighty acres of farmland. He's not uneducated – he does hold a degree in agricultural engineering, so he's a pretty sharp guy too."

Hermione's face brightened like a hundred watt bulb. "If I wasn't going to Hogwarts, I would have considered a career as a veterinarian. What does your mum specialise in, if you don't mind my asking?"

"She of course handles her share of cats and dogs, but she also works with livestock, which makes sense as we live on a farm," Kellen replied.

"What kind of livestock do you have?" Hermione asked.

"Sheep, we have about three hundred head," Kellen replied.

"And do you have any furbabies?" Hermione giggled.

"We have three Great Pyrenees to protect our sheep from predators, such as wolves or coyotes. Their names are Taran, Gurgi, and Eilonwy. They're characters from…"

"The Chronicles of Prydain," Hermione finished with a satisfied smile.

"I see you're a lot more well-read than Neville is," Kellen replied. "I tried to give him a copy of the Hobbit, but he thinks that's too advanced… I mean, I was reading Asimov when my classmates were still reading Dr. Seuss…"

"So much for you being modest," Hermione said with a giggle.

"Sorry, I didn't mean anything by it…" Kellen said with a rather embarrassed look on his face. "How about this, let's focus on your talents. Professor McGonagall says you know French and German. That's really impressive, you know."

Hermione beamed. "That's correct. My French is better than my German for sure, but if you plopped me on the streets of Munich I can hold my own."

Kellen nodded. "That's still really good. I'm completely fluent in Norwegian and Spanish, and almost fluent in German."

Hermione's eyes widened. "You're fluent in Norwegian? That's really cool! That's definitely more of a niche language than French, German, or Spanish."

Kellen grinned. "I am. My grandmother taught it to me when I was a little boy. I didn't really like it at first, but I slowly began to appreciate it. It's become our secret code, of sorts, which is nice when we're out in public so people can't eavesdrop on us. Oh, and Professor McGonagall knows some Norwegian... it took me by surprise a little bit when Professor Goode introduced her to me last spring. She doesn't sound like my grandmother - her pronunciation is a little bit off, but I can understand her well enough."

Hermione shrugged. "I'm sure you're proud of your Scandinavian heritage. I'm just English, as far as I know…"

Kellen chuckled. "You act like you wish you were something more exotic."

"There's nothing wrong with being English really… it's just a little boring, I suppose," Hermione said rather softly.

Kellen tried to stifle a chuckle.

Hermione couldn't figure out what Kellen found so amusing. "What is it?" she asked.

Kellen's hand was covering his mouth, unable to completely cover his grin. "Oh, nothing much really. I saw the letter you wrote to Neville a few days ago. You sound just like how you write. So formal, so proper, so… articulate."

He finally managed a straight face. "And to be honest, I love it, Hermione. Your spelling and grammar are beyond reproach. Your penmanship is immaculate. You obviously take pride in how you express yourself... you might think most people don't notice, or don't care… but I did, and to call your oral and writing skills impressive doesn't do you justice."

Hermione's face brightened again. "May I hug you again, please? That was perhaps the kindest, most sincere compliment I've received… ever."

Kellen smiled gently. "You don't have to ask, just go ahead and do it."

Hermione gave Kellen another gentle hug. "So you like my hugs?" she asked.

"I do," replied Kellen. "They really remind me of back home."