A/N: You guys, I am SOO SORRY FOR THE WAIT!!! I have a couple good reasons, though! 1) I got a new computer, 2) I had Writer's Block, and still do a bit, 3) Fanfiction took off one of my fics, so I've been really pissed off, and 4) I've been working on Quizilla since won't let me post some of the fics I've written. So, here you go with the next chapter. Oh, and I would like to thank whoever made these absolutely incredible Harry Potter music videos; they rock! Also, a HUGE THANK YOU to all you wonderful people who reviewed. You were my inspiration to update this! Thank you all! Also, a big thank you to Maggie, cause she's the one that keeps threatening me about updating. She also helped me with the idea for this chapter a bit, so Mags, you are an amazing friend; I mean it!!!

The Other Half

Playboy Bunnies & Pumpkin Juice

Maggie and Harry walked into breakfast, holding hands. She smiled at her sister from across the hall as they sat down, and began eating. "So, Maggie, what are you and Wonder Boy over here going to be for the ball, eh?" Maggie glanced across the table. "Hmm, I'm not sure, Sri. What do you think, Harry?" Harry turned away from his conversation with Ron and Hermione to look at his girlfriend. "Um, I honestly don't know. I think that it would be safer if you found something, alright?"

Maggie laughed. "Alright, Mr. Potter. I'll think of something. Besides, we're going into Hogsmede on Saturday, so we can look for something there. How's that sound?" She then turned back to Sri and started a conversation with her. Just then, the mail arrived. There were two birds that stood out from the rest; one of the owls had silver feathers and purple eyes, which landed in front of Artimis with a rather large package wrapped in silver. A beautiful blue hawk with piercing golden eyes flew to the Gryffindor table, dropping another large package wrapped in bright blue paper in front of Maggie. The hawk then perched itself on her goblet, nipping at a few crackers that were laid out. "Starlight, what have you brought me today, hmm?"

Just then, Maggie noticed the stares she was getting from a few people; rather, Starlight and the package were getting. Sighing, she proceeded to open the letter that was attached to the package. Opening the pale purple envelope with the family crest on it (a sword through a heart with a tiara in front of it), she proceeded to read the message from her parents.

"'Dear Maggie,

I'm so glad that you and Artimis have been writing to us; note the heavy use of sarcasm there. How has school been?! It's kind of quiet around here without you and Artimis; can you stay there over the summer? Nah, we'd miss you too much here at the CrawfordMansion. However, I did get a letter from my cousin the other day; said that his son met a couple of foreigners who have already started a riot in Hogwarts……… Hmm, I wonder who that could be…? Please don't tell me that means you guys aren't already causing a major incident there; I'd hate to have to explain to your father why you've been expelled and sent home already, ok?

Also, I hope that you've met Mr. Potter. I get the feeling from the way you've been drooling over that picture that Artimis found on the net last summer that you'll probably try to hook up with him in the near future…… least I can hope, anyway. Well, I'll keep this brief; I've sent both of you something that I'm sure you'll want later, and I modified them so that you can actually use them on school grounds! Impressed that your old mother can do that, eh? Don't worry, I am too. Well, try to write more to me, will you? I've been getting gray hair from worry, so I'm hoping that you're still alive over there; I mean, they all drive backwards, for Pete's sake! Ok, ok, bad joke, I know. We miss you tons!

Lots of love,

Chandra & Surya Crawford; your loving – and worried – parents

Maggie smiled softly at what her parents had written. 'What cousin…? I'm so confused now. Mom never said that she had a cousin in England, so…' "Hay, Babe? You ok in there?" Harry's voice snapped Maggie out of her thoughts. "Oh, yah; I'm fine, Sweetie. Just remembered that I haven't written to my mother since I left home is all. Now, what could she possibly have sent me…?" Opening up the package, Maggie made a mental note to pick up her mother something from Hogsmede when they went.

Laying on gold tissue paper inside the box was her metallic baby blue laptop. Lifting the lid from it, she turned it on, noting that her mother must've replaced the batteries. Once it was finished loading, she entered her password into the computer, pulling up her settings. A black background with a yellow rose lying on its side greeted her, and she checked her mail. "What the bloody hell is that thing, Maggie?" "Oh, honestly, Ron; it's called a laptop. L – A – P – T – O – P. Is that clear?"

"Clear enough. But I mean, what does it do?" Maggie sighed. "That, my friend, will take far too long to explain. Simplest way to put it: A computer is an electronic Muggle device that allows you to do virtual things, as well as connect to the world via the Internet. Harry, 'Mione, if he wants to know about it any more, please explain it to him. I can't actually explain it without getting confused."

Just then, Dumbledore stood up while people looked like they were getting ready to start getting ready for classes. "Attention, students," he said loudly, "I have an important announcement. Classes will all begin an hour late today; do to the late arrival of one of our teachers." There was a wave of excited whispers through the students; well, not through too many Slytherins, though they did arch a few eyebrows.

"As you know, you have been under the instruction of a substitute teacher for Defense Against the Dark Arts since the beginning of the year. That is due to the fact that your originally planned teacher needed to take care of a few things. Many of you already know him, so please give a warm welcome back to your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher…"

The Great Hall was deadly silent as they waited for their D.A.D.A. teacher's name.

"Professor R. J. Lupin."

A frail – looking man stood up from the teachers table that no one had seen before, and bowed his head slightly. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and several other Gryffindors rose from their seats and began applauding. Many of the students looked a little wary of this professor, but welcomed him back none the less. Soon, the entire hall was in uproar over Lupin's return to Hogwarts. Even Artimis and her Slytherin friends were applauding.

After they finally calmed down, Dumbledore then continued. "He will also be accompanied by an assistant, so those of you who were here three years ago can tell your parents that everything is fine. Therefore, without further a due, I would like to introduce his assistant, Miss Tara Damayanti."

As soon as he spoke, a young woman – probably in her twenties – stepped forward. Her silky hair was a sandy blondish – brownish color, and her skin was very tan. Her eyes were icy blue, yet they were still warm. She didn't dress in any wizarding robes; instead, she wore a pair of tan jeans that were frayed at the bottom, a white V – neck T – shirt, and a beige denim jacket. She also had silver and ice blue streaks in her hair, which was tipped in red. She had on beige fingerless gloves, and a lot of gold jewelry that looked like it came from Egypt. All in all, she looked – there is no other word for it – cool.

"Now, I hope that you will all treat your teachers with respect–" Dumbledore clanked over his half – moon glasses at the Gryffindor table and Artimis – "and not cause any problems for them. That is all; you may return to your schedules." Harry sat down, talking excitedly to Hermione and Ron about Lupin's return. However, the Crawford sisters were eying Professor Damayanti like a hawk as they finished their breakfast.

As soon as they were done, Maggie looked at Artimis from across the hall, and Artimis nodded back at her sister. Standing up, they headed to the teachers' table, where Lupin and Miss Damayanti were having a conversation about something that they didn't catch. "Hello, Professors." Maggie greeted. Both teachers smiled at them.

"So, how may we help you two?" Lupin asked.

"Actually, Professor Lupin, we'd like to speak with Tara, if you don't mind us borrowing her for a moment."

"Ah, you must be Artimis, eh? Tara's told me so much about you two. Please, feel free. I need to get my lesson plans together, anyway." Lupin stood up, exiting the Great Hall. Tara turned to the two students, smiling. "So, ya found me out, eh ladies?"

"Tara, what the fuck are you doing here? I thought you went home when your mother got sick."

"Artimis," Maggie hissed, "that's not how to address a teacher! Tara, we're just curious as to why you're suddenly teaching; last time we checked, you were doing street races in the U.S. and digs in Egypt."

Tara leaned back in her chair, sighing. "Look, you two, I had to go back to Egypt because my mother was dying. Turns out, she wasn't sick in the first place; she's sixty – years – old and still alive and kicking." The young Egyptian woman sighed again. "Also, you know that I've had to work on a lot of spells and enchantments, curses and hexes, along with an assortment of charms and demons that were set to guard the tombs where I work. Being an archaeologist doesn't pay the bills as much as you'd think it does, ya know.

Also," she continued lowering her voice a bit, "I happen to know a thing or two about werewolves, and I think Lupin trusts me more for making that potion than Snape over there, don't you? I'm probably going to end up teaching when he needs to be out of class, and I'll be sitting in, helping teach the lessons throughout the rest of the year. He was in Egypt, so that's why my mother pretended to be sick; she needed to get me to come home so that I could take the job offer. So, in short, I'm the assistant D.A.D.A. teacher, so get over it. Anything else I can help you ladies with right now?"

Artimis smirked, and Maggie grinned. "Welcome back, Tara; or should we say, Professor Damayanti?" They all laughed while the two students exited the Great Hall to finish getting ready for their classes.

It was finally Saturday, and everyone was in Hogsmede, doing their shopping for the Halloween ball. Artimis had told her Slytherin friends that she needed to swing by a couple shops with her sister, then she'd go with them to get their costumes; and look for hers, as well.

"Argh! We've been to almost every store and I can't find a costume for any of us!"

Artimis stood in front of Maggie, grabbing her by the shoulders. "Maggie, chill, ok? Look, let's head into that shop over there, and see what they have, ok?"

"Yah, what Artimis said, Babe."

"Harry?"

"Yes, oh sweet sister of mine?"

"Take the nicknames and sarcastic family remarks and shove them up your –"

"Artimis, let's just go look for the costumes, and not get into a family feud in the middle of the street, ok?"

Artimis sighed. "Fine, fine; whatever you say, Mags." With that, they entered Belle's Masquerade Boutique. The place seemed to have everything; from the incredibly gorgeous to the exotically unique. Leafing through the racks of clothing, they found several different outfits that they liked, but none of them struck the three shoppers as what they were looking for.

"Artimis, I've still not found a single friggin thing in here!"

Artimis flipped through the clothes, ignoring her friends comment. Suddenly, she stopped. "Mags," she said, "Come. Look. Now." Maggie walked over, and her jaw dropped. "It's perfect! Now, do you think they have -?"

"– they do. It's right here."

Both girls grinned broadly at each other. "Oh, HARRY!!!" They called. Once Harry came over, his eyes grew wide. "You've got to be joking, right? Please tell me you are." Both girls shook their heads, pulling the costumes off the rack, and then heading over the accessories. "Harry dear, you told me to pick out something."

"So technically, Mr. Potter, it's your own damn fault, and as your older sister, I'm ordering you to wear it; you'll have fun!"

Once they had picked out the accessories, Artimis shoved Maggie and Harry into the dressing rooms and waited for them to change. They both came out at the same time, only to find Hermione and Ron standing with her, and from the looks of it, they had finished their shopping and wanted to see their friends' costumes.

Maggie's costume was a pink Playboy bunny suit. Well, sort of, anyhow. The suit had a skirt attached to it, making it actually look really awesome. The skirt stopped right at her knees, and then as you got to the back, it got longer until it was trailing a bit on the floor. The front was sheer, but again, as you got to the back it darkened into the same shade as the rest of the outfit; there were also little crystals scattered around the outfit. On her feet were a pair of white high heels with pick heels, and she even had the whit bunny ears – one bent of course – and the cotton tail.

Harry – as you might have guessed – looked like a younger Hugh Heffner. Yup, he had the black satin pajama pants, the crushed red velvet robe with gold lapel, trim, and cuffs, even the slippers. He was even carrying a pipe!

Their three friends hooted and whistled at the couple, while Artimis was falling over laughing as well. "Maggie, Harry," she said when she was able to breathe again, "if you don't buy those, I'll kill you." Harry looked like he was about to say something, but Maggie and Artimis pushed him back into the dressing room, so Maggie went ahead and paid for I all.

Just as they were walking out the door, Artimis' Slytherin friends popped up. "Artimis, you are coming with us now; you promised you'd go shopping with us, so we're going to drag you off from your sister and her geek friends!" Artimis got a look of fear in her eyes. "Uh, I changed my mind! I'm not going to go!"

Anila crossed her arms. "Artimis, are you planning to stand up Draco?" Artimis cringed as Harry and his friends looked at her wide – eyed. "YOU'RE GOING TO THE BALL WITH MALFOY?! WHAT IN THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!" Before she could respond, Áine and Moriko grabbed her arms and dragged her off. "ASK MAGGIE!!! RIGHT NOW, I'M BEING DRAGGED OFF TO MY DOOM!!! NNNNOOOOOOOOO!!!!!"

The Slytherins dragged their friend into the Gothic Century Costume Shop, where apparently they had already found their gowns. "Now," Gwen said, "you are going to buy a gown from here, or I'll have to hurt you with my physic powers; ya got that, Crawford?" Artimis cringed. "Do I have to buy a dress? I mean, they're so frilly!"

"Yes you do, Aygül; otherwise, we'll pick one for you." Áine crossed her arms over her chest. "Now," Moriko said as Anila dragged Artimis towards the back wall, "I think you'll find something you'd want to wear in here."

Artimis leafed through the gowns, not really paying attention to anything in particular. Suddenly, something in the back display shelf caught her eye. Walking over, she saw something incredibly gorgeous. "Um, excuse me?" The shopkeeper, who happened to be nearby, walked over to her.

"May I help you girls?"

"Yes, I was wondering how much this dress was?"

The shopkeeper smiled. "You have excellent taste, miss. This dress is very old; my great grandmother had that made for the Winter Solstice celebration where she came from; I just haven't found someone who wanted to buy it."

"So it's for sale, then?"

"Yes; I can't fit into it, and I was sure that someone would want to wear it. The price is thirty Galleons for it."

Artimis arched her eyebrows. "Only thirty for something that gorgeous; I think you just found yourself a buyer!"

The elderly woman smiled. "Excellent! Would you like me to include the shoes and jewelry with that?"

"Sure, why not. I've got enough money, anyway."

Artimis paid for the set, and exited the shop. It was already starting to get dark, and she needed to get ready for the ball; it started in just two hours!

A/N: YES!!! I'm done! Ok, next chapter's the ball, and you get to find out what everyone else is going to wear! MWAHAHAHAHA!!! So, REVIEW, MINNA – SAMA!!!

Serenity

Goddess of the Moon