That's right, folks! I'm still alive.

I would like to take the time to thank all of my lovely reviewers: Radar180; rachan-akari; sweet_lil_sunshine; sulfur angel; Aurora di Angelo; Happy; Me_Want_A_Cookie; and Lisanna Strauss. Thank you all so much!

"The Qudditch World Cup is the biggest sporting event in wizard history. It was held annually until 1862, when the game was decided to be quadrennially, or every four years. The match is played by the two most successful teams in the league, and they play each other for the grand prize. . ." Phineas read aloud from his book as they made their way into the stands. It was decided that Lawrence, Phineas, and Ferb should go, while the girls could get more shopping in.

A man came up to greet them at their seats, shaking each one of their hands vigorously. "Ah, you must be the lucky winners!" he exclaimed. "Which one of you is Phineas Flynn?" Phineas raised his hand. The man beamed at him. "Well, congratulations, boy! You're in for a real treat today. Do you know why? Because I'm going to be the announcer for the match!"

"You're Ludo Bagman?"

"That's right!" he said. "This game should be interesting. Ireland versus Bulgaria. It gives me goosebumps just to think about it. Would you like to place a bet, either of you? All in good fun, of course."

"Um . . . no thanks," Phineas said.

"Oh." Bagman looked somewhat disappointed, but smiled anyway. "Okay, then. Well, enjoy the game!"

"Thank you."

The trio heard a shoving sound as a couple of families made their way into the stands. One was made up of two young boys and their parents. The other group held a father and daughter. The girl looked around Candace's age, while the boys were considerably younger.

"They shouldn't even allow your kind here!" the girl sneered at the other family.

The smaller of the two boys gritted his teeth and clenched his hands into fists, while the elder remained fairly calm. "We bought the tickets, didn't we, Parkinson? Nobody else had a problem letting us in. I think that makes us just as sufficient."

"Yeah!" the younger agreed, sticking his tongue out at Parkinson.

The girl rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Come on, Daddy, let's go find Draco. Besides," she added under her breath, "the sooner we get away from these bottom-feeders, the better!"

The other family moved in next to Lawrence and his boys. "Hello," said the father, "my name is Henry Creevey. This is my wife, Mary, and my boys, Colin and Dennis."

Colin and Dennis immediately moved over to sit next to Phineas. "Hi, I'm Colin," said Colin, despite the fact that he had already been introduced. "Hogwarts, too? I'm going into my third year. If you ever need help getting around or anything, just ask me. I'm an expert. Oh, and, not to brag or anything, but I also happen to be very close friends with Harry Potter. He even gave me his autograph."

Phineas nodded politely. "Cool," he said. "I'm Phineas Flynn. My brother's going into his first year."

"So is mine. How old are you, then?" Phineas paused, but Colin resumed talking before he had a chance to finnish. "Nice accent, by the way. What are you, American? My Aunt lives in the states. Have you ever been to St. Louis? That's where she lives, my aunt, that is. I actually have a really funny story . . ."

Colin proceeded to talk nonstop, amazing Phineas with the prospect of anyone talking more than him. Dennis, meanwhile, decided to get to know his new classmate.

"This is my first Quidditch game!" he said proudly. "My brother's been to a bunch, though. Mostly at his school. He's practically best friends with Harry Potter, you know. He promised to introduce me. Maybe he can introduce you, too! I wonder which House I'll be in - - ooh, I hope it's Gryffindor, like my brother. Which House do you want to get into? I like your hair, by the way, I've never seen anyone who had green hair before. Did you dye it? Or did you use magic. Colin says you're not allowed to use magic outside of school - - I wouldn't know, I'm a muggle-born. That's why this is my first Quidditch game, so I'm really excited. The tickets were practically impossible to get. Mum had to talk to, like, a million people!" he paused taking a deep breath, and then proceeded to bounce up and down in his seat as if he were on a sugar-high. There was a long pause as he considered what to say. "My dad's a milkman!" he announced.

Ferb had absolutely no idea what that had to do with the rest of the boy's rant, but chose not to comment on it. Instead, he said, "Look, the game's starting." Had he not uttered those words, he had every right to believe that boy would have kept talking for hours.

The game intense. Loud and extremely fast, Phineas sat at the edge of his seat the entire time, as did the Creevey's. Ferb enjoyed the match in a more passive form leaning back in his seat and studying the strategy of the players. Perhaps when he went to Hogwarts, he would try out for the team. He could improve the brooms a lot, too. Like adding a seat belt, or a jet pack . . . yeah, a jet-pack could work. He made a quick note of that.

After the game, the Flynn-Fletchers drove back to London, where they met Linda and Candace at a hotel. Many of the other families were building camps around the stadium, but they decided that they had enough excitement for one day.

As it turned out, they were lucky to get out when they did. For mere hours after the group had left, a muggle family was publicly tortured by Death Eaters.

Ferb was packed and ready for school on the first of September. He arrived at King's Cross Station nearly an hour early.

Candace leaned over her brother, glancing at his ticket in confusion. "Platform nine and three quarters?" she said, reading aloud. "What does that mean?"

Ferb put down the Dickens book he was reading and glanced at his ticket. For a moment he thought that his sister was duping him, but sure enough, the card clearly said that the Hogwarts Express was on the said platform. The young boy furrowed his brow in confusion.

"Let me see that," Phineas said, taking a look. "Hmm. . ." he muttered thoughtfully. "Oh, I know! Maybe it's a secret code written in invisible ink to test us! Ferb, do you have our invisible-ink-seeing flashlight on you?"

Ferb did. Although he highly doubted it to be the case, he handed his brother the device.

"That's strange, there's nothing here." Struggling to come up with an alternative answer, he proposed that they look at all of the secret codes they knew to see if they could identify the message. "Or maybe it's just a play on words. What does nine and three quarters sound like?"

"Or," Candace interjected, "we could just ask somebody if they know how to get on. Excuse me," she said to a woman wearing a long, black robe like those they had seen in Diagon Alley. "How do we get onto the platform?"

"Oh, it's simple, really," she paused, studying Candace. "A muggle, are you?"

"Yes."

"I'm a muggle myself. My name is Mrs. Thomas. My son, Dean, is a fifth-year at Hogwarts."

Candace, not really in the mood for chatting (although was slightly curious if the boy was cute), nodded. "Okay, so how do we get on?"

"You just walk through platforms nine and ten, love. I know it seems strange, but - -"

"Actually, after what I've experienced, I'm not surprised. Thanks for your help," she returned to the family. "Apparently, we are supposed to run into the wall."

"Okay, easy enough. It'll be just like the time we made that device that let us pass through Mom's wall to get her ring."

"No! No!" Candace shouted, not caring about the attention she was calling to herself. "No inventions. We just walk through the wall - - wow, I can't believe I just said that."

"Are you sure? Because a wall in a solid object - -"

"YES I'M SURE! See, Mom? They always invent these ridiculous thing just to do simple tasks!"

Linda smiled. While she did not doubt her sons' ingenuity and intelligence, she still had a hard time believing that they could actually build such things. It was good to know that all of her children had such great imaginations.

Ferb glanced tugged on his father's shirt and pointed to his watch. "I have to go now," he informed them, "the train leaves at exactly elven o'clock."

"Yes, well . . . we certainly won't stop you. Good-bye, Ferb."

With a quick nod of the head, the green-haired boy departed, stepping through the wall.

It could not have been more than two minutes after he sat down when the train started. A short time after, he heard a knock on his compartment door. Ferb said nothing as it slid open and a girl peeked through. She was around his age - - perhaps a bit older, with long, flowing locks and dark brown eyes. The girl seemed a bit startled to see Ferb. "Oh. I didn't realize anyone else was in here." Ferb blinked. "Do you mind if I sit down?" Ferb shook his head, although he had a feeling that she would not have taken no for an answer anyway.

"My name is Vane. Romilda Vane," she introduced herself.

"Ferb," he replied, extending his hand.

There was an awkward pause.

"I assume this is going to be your first year, correct? Well, then it's good you ran into me. Not only am I a lot older and more experienced, but I am also the most popular girl in my year. Everyone loves me. Even the older kids - - and that's saying something, because they usually don't even look at us. Oh well, I can't help it if I'm so naturally attractive." There was another pause as she seemed to study the boy. "You don't talk much, do you?"

Ferb shook his head, and she sighed. "Well, I suppose that can be good at times. You probably don't have a lot of enemies, huh? Speaking of enemies, what House do you reckon you'll be sorted into?" There was a shrug. "Blimey! You really are a silent one, aren't you?"

Another shrug. "'It is better to be silent and thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.'"*

Vane hesitated, seeming to considering those words. "I've never thought about it like that," she admitted. Suddenly, the girl frowned. "Hang on," she said, standing up. "You aren't calling me a fool, are you? Because I'll have you know, I - -" Ferb shook his head. "Oh." She looked a bit embarrassed. "Well, anyway," the girl continued, "if you want the others to like you, just follow my lead and you can't go wrong. After all, it doesn't get better than me."

Ferb nodded, although he was a bit unsure of how true those words were. He hoped that he was right about that assumption, or else he might never get out of the school alive.

*Quote American author and humorist, Mark Twain

In the next chapter, the question we have all been wondering will be answered: which House will Ferb be sorted into? We also get to catch up with Perry and Doof!

Please review and tell me what you think! I cannot promise that all ideas will be incorporated into the story, but they will certainly be considered.