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The next week passed in a blur of tears, hugs, and farewells to her muggle friends, promising to be back during the holidays. There were many tears (on her part anyway) when the time came to say goodbye to Brad. She had dreaded the day and held it off for the last. As it turned out, he was more understanding than she thought he would be. Kami swore that he knew her better than she knew herself sometimes. He gave her a hug and told her that he couldn't wait for Christmas vacation and he would be counting the days until he could see her again.

It was still two days until September the first but Mr. and Mrs. Weasley sent her a letter about her staying with them for a day or two, since her mother would be incapable of bringing her to platform 9 ¾ . Kami had already discussed this with her mother, who had in turn discussed it with Dumbledore, who agreed that it may be a good idea for her to stay with them for a couple of days.

Mr. Weasley arrived at her house, this time without the boys, to pick her up later that very afternoon. "Hello Mr. Weasley!" Kami said a little too cheerfully. Her face was still all red and puffy from saying goodbye, and she knew that Mr. Weasley noticed from the look he gave her "I just said goodbye to my friends… I'm gonna miss them, but I promised to come and see them at Christmas. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be actually…" He nodded.

"Do you have your things ready?" He asked her, changing the subject.

"Yes. Be right back, I'll go get my trunk" Kami walked down the hall and turned into her bedroom. Artemis was still asleep on the pillow. Kami grabbed her trunk and carefully picked up Artemis to avoid waking her and proceeded back to the kitchen where Mr. Weasley was waiting for her. She followed him to the Ford Anglia, placing her trunk in the back and climbing into the passenger seat. It was a long drive to the Burrow, which was where the Weasley family lived, but Kami was glad for it. By the time they reached the Burrow, Kami no longer looked as if she had been crying, and decided not to mention it.

"Kami!" Exclaimed Fred, who had been facing the door when they came in. George turned around and gave her a huge hug spinning her around in circles. Kami eeped from surprise at his sneak attack, breaking into a fit of laughter as he let her regain her balance.

"Hey guys!" She responded once her laughter had subdued.

"So you're staying with us 'till we go to Hogwarts?"

"Yup"

Fred laughed. "Ronniekins will be happy, won't he George?"

"I believe you may be right Fred. Shall we alert him of our friend here's presence, or shall we let him find out for himself?" He grinned wickedly.

"I vote we let him find out for himself. With a little bit of our help of course"

"What are you two planning?" Kami asked. She could tell there was something going on that she wouldn't want to miss.

They looked at each other. "You'll see."

At that moment, a girl came rushing down the stairs "Mum said-" She looked at Kami. "Oh! Hello. I guess I should tell mum that you've arrived, seeing as no one else has bothered" She turned around and hurried up the stairs, calling over she shoulder as she went "and don't worry. I won't tell him if you don't"

Kami was completely lost. She guessed she would just have to wait and see. Several minutes later, Mrs. Weasley came down the stairs. "Hello dear. I was just about to get the boys to help me start supper. You'll be staying in Ginny's room with her. If you like, I can have Ginny show you where it is."

Ginny's bedroom was up the stairs on the second landing, the door on the left. Across the landing was a bathroom, and up the stairs were the other bedrooms. Kami set her things on the bed which had been conjured for her. She sat down with Artemis in her arms, while Ginny sat on her bed facing Kami. "Fred and George said for us to wait up here until it's time to eat."

Ginny and Kami talked for what seemed like hours, and began to run out of things to talk about when they heard someone on the stairs. It was Fred. "Food's almost ready. We'll be in our room. Come down just after you hear us coming down the stairs okay?"

"Yup." He closed the door. Ginny rolled her eyes to Kami.

"So, do you know what they're planning?" Kami asked.

Ginny shrugged. "All I know is it has something to do with not telling Ron that you're here…" Suddenly, they could hear the sound of thumping and laughter as the twins raced downstairs to eat. Ginny laughed opening the door. "You can never keep a Weasley boy from his food."

Kami followed Ginny down the winding flights of stairs. As they reached the kitchen, she realized the twins' plan and smiled evilly, whispering to Ginny not to sit beside Ron. She nodded and sat down.

"Why is there an extra chair?" asked Ron looking at the place beside him confusedly.

Kami snuck up behind him and whispered so softly that only he could hear "That's where I'm sitting" and sat down in the empty seat smirking at Fred and George.

Ron stiffened and looked at her with wide eyes. He stammered for a minute. Kami was right. This WOULD be something she wouldn't have wanted to miss. "When'd you get here!?" He finally managed to get out.

"This afternoon" replied Kami calmly, scooping some potatoes onto her plate.

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"I still think you guys should've just told me when she got here, instead of getting her to scare me like that last night" Kami listened to the conversation amusedly.

George leaned over Fred and whispered something in Ron's ear, which made him blush. "Either way…" He sighed "whatever. Who wants to play a game of quiditch after lunch?"

Kami looked up "I've never played before" She said plainly.

"It's simple really. There are three chasers who try to get a ball through the hoops, two beaters who hit another type of ball at the other team, a keeper, who guards the three hoops, and a seeker, who attempts to catch this really small golden ball before the other team's seeker... You look like you would be more of a seeker or a chaser…"

"But I've never flown!"

"Well then, we'll just have to teach you then won't we?"

After a quick lunch, which consisted of ham and cheese sandwiches, Ron, Fred, and George brought Kami outside into a field along with four broomsticks, one for each of them, which they placed on the ground.

"Okay, come up here and stand beside the broom so it's on your right side." Kami looked at the broom, looked up at them, back at the broom, and did as they said.

"Now, put your right hand out over the broom like this, and say Up!" Freds broom flew up into his hand.

Kami stuck out her hand like he did, and feeling really weird, said "Up!" as commandingly as possible. To her surprise, the broom jumped into her hand, and George and Ron echoed this movement. Ron showed her how to mount it, and fixed her hands so that they were in the right position to ensure she didn't fall off the other end once they were in the air.

"Great. Now all you have to do, is gently push yourself upwards as if you were about to jump in the air. Nice one! To go higher, just pull up a little on the handle, and if you want to go back down, just lean forwards and put pressure on the top of the handle"

"What if I want to turn?" asked Kami who hadn't moved since she had become airborne.

"Just push lightly on the sides of the broom, like if you were trying to spin the arrow on a spinner.

"Sweet." Kami experimented tilting the broom this way and that, rising and descending. "So… to go forwards, you would just…" She leaned forwards, urging it forwards a little bit. "This is amazing! I love it!" Kami flipped the broom backwards laughing in delight. It almost reminded her of the feeling of a rollercoaster that you can control where you go mixed with the carnival ride muggles called the zipper. She faintly wondered if they based them off of the sensation of flying, attempting to re-create it.

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The next morning Kami woke up early from a really weird dream breathing heavily and adrenaline pumping through her veins. In her dream she had been wondering along a path in the rain which led through a large gate into dark forest where she couldn't see very far ahead of her. She had begun to run through the forest, loving the feel of the cool air against her exposed skin, her hair whipping around her, feeling utterly connected to everything around her.

Kami got up, knowing that there was no way she would get back to sleep at this hour, and began getting her things ready for the trip to Hogwarts later. She then realized that the only thing that wasn't already packed was her clothes for that day. She had fallen asleep wearing her shorts and sweatshirt from the day before, exhausted from the game of mock-quiditch they had had. She crept out into the landing closing the door silently behind her. Kami descended the stairs as carefully and as quietly as she could, hoping that she wouldn't wake anyone up. She pulled out a piece of parchment which she had pocketed and left a note in case they woke up earlier than she thought they would using a quill she found on the table.

She then snuck outside to the field where she had spent the day before and, pulling off her sweater, sprinted. She ran through the line of trees which surrounded the place, back and forth across the open area, and finally picked up her sweater pulling it back over her head. Now that she had expelled all of the built up energy from that morning she felt better than she had all summer. Everything was really starting to sink in. Kami smiled to herself and jogged back down to the burrow.

Just her luck, Mrs. Weasley was just descending the stairs as she came back in the front door. "Hello Mrs. Weasley"

"Hello Kami dear. What were you doing outside this early in the morning?"

"I already had all of my things ready to go, and I woke up really early, so I decided to go for a run. I'd left a note in case everyone woke up before I was back saying where I was, but obviously I came back just in time."

"Well you must be hungry after a run this early in the morning. What would you like for breakfast? Eggs? Toast?"

"Erm… Just toast, thanks…"

Mrs. Weasley busied herself with making toast and, while Kami was eating, went up the stairs to wake every one up. While she was gone, Ron came down the stairs, fully dressed. He grabbed a couple of pieces of toast from the pile that Mrs. Weasley had set on the table. "Why were you up so early this morning?" he asked.

"I had this really weird dream, and I couldn't get back to sleep, so I went outside for a run… I didn't wake you did I!?"

"Nah, I was already awake."

"Well that's good… I mean that I didn't wake you! Not that you were already awake… Not that it' a bad thing to be awake early in the morning…" Kami blushed, flustered. "I think I'm gonna get dressed and bring my trunk downstairs" She stood up and hurried away up the stairs. 'What was with that!?' she thought to herself. 'That was totally not like me!'

Kami's mind was somewhere else as she pulled on her clothes. She grabbed her trunk and lifted it down the stairs. Ron was still sitting at the table, now joined by the rest of the Weasleys. They finished eating and, making sure they had everything, began putting their trunks in the trunk. Ron handed her Artemis, saying something about her lying under the table.

They all climbed into the car and drove off. Mrs. Weasley and Percy were in front, and Fred, George, Kami, Ron, and Ginny were in the back, with Mr. Weasley driving. They arrived at Kings cross at ten thirty three, and Mr. Weasley enchanted their trunks to become weightless to be easier carried to the platform.

They turned to face the brick wall between platforms nine and ten. "Okay, Percy goes first, Fred and George, you next. Ron, Kami you two go after them. Hurry! We'll follow" Percy walked towards the brick wall, and at the moment of impact, vanished. Fred and George ran forwards the moment he disappeared. They too, vanished. Kami looked at Ron, and they ran towards the barrier. Kami found herself emerging onto a platform filled with people getting ready to go to Hogwarts and their families. They said their farewells and Kami thanked them again before climbing into the large scarlet steam engine.

It jerked a little, and began to gain speed as Kami and Ron made their way down the train, looking for somewhere to sit. They came across an empty compartment and slid into it, placing their trunks up above. Kami sat beside Ron, her legs up on the seat across from her and leaned into Rons shoulder while her kitten curled up into a ball in her lap. She closed her eyes and sighed. "I'm so tired" she said "I should've just forced myself to go back to seep this morning…" Ron stayed silent, but Kami could feel his heart beating faster against her skin. The witch with the trolley walked by. "Hey, I'll be right back, okay? I think I'll get something from the trolley…" Kami stood up.

"Sure" Ron turned away to look out the window.

Kami slid open the door to the compartment and left in search of the trolley. She was sure that it had been going towards the end of the train. After a few minutes, Kami saw a blond boy walking in the opposite direction of her. He stopped directly in front of her, barely two inches away. She stopped too.

"Watch where you're going Weasley! You almost walked right into me!"

Kami thought wildly, going through her options. She decided to stick with his attitude. "Excuse me? You'd better learn how to talk to your superiors!"

He smirked, holding out his hand. "Draco Malfoy"

Kami took it. "Pleased to meet you. First Year?" He nodded. "See you in class then" And with that, she continued past him. She then realized that she no longer wished to get anything from the trolley, and returned to the compartment where she had last left Ron.

When she reached the compartment, she saw that he was still watching out the window. She slid inside. He didn't look up. Kami sat back down beside him. He looked up then, finally realizing she had returned.

"I thought you were getting something from the trolley?"

"I was, but I couldn't find it, so I came back"

She looked at her watch. "It would probably be a good idea to put on our robes now." She reached up into the rack, opened her trunk, and pulled out her robes. Climbing back down, she closed the blinds and turned away from Ron, pulling them on. She guessed he had done the same thing, because when she sat back down he was in his robes too.

She curled up with her feet underneath her as the compartment door slid open and a boy asked them if they had seem a lost toad. They replied no, and he closed the door again. Next she knew, someone was shaking her slightly by the shoulders. Kami opened her eyes and blinked a couple of times. "Aw man! Did I fall asleep!?"

"Erm… yea…"

Kami blushed when she realized how exactly she had fallen asleep. "Sorry. I knew I should've gone back to bed this morning!"

"That's okay… I didn't want to wake you up or anything, so I just let you sleep until we arrived." He blushed too. They grabbed their trunks and hurried outside with the rest of the students. Kami breathed in the cold air, waking herself up. She couldn't help but spin around a couple of times and laugh.

Then came a loud booming voice over the crowd. "Firs' years over 'ere! Firs' years!"

"That's us" Said Ron. Kami looked over and joined him. Together they sought out the man that had spoken. He was twice as tall as the average man, and at least five times as wide. There was a group of students gathering around him. Kami saw Draco Malfoy on the other side of the group. She followed the man along with the rest of the first years down a long winding slippery path, until they made it to the edge of a giant lake, where there was a fleet of boats waiting at the shore. Kami and Ron climbed into a boat with the boy who had been missing his toad, and a girl with rather bushy brown hair. They crossed the lake in silence, mesmerized by the growing image of the castle that was to be their home for the next seven years or so.

As the first boats reached the mountainside, the man told them to duck their heads, and they passed through a curtain of Ivy. She smiled. It reminded her of her wand which was currently sitting in her trunk. They now found themselves in a dark tunnel. Eventually, the boats stopped and everyone climbed out onto the beach of rock and pebbles. The man ascended the steps, and knocked on the large door.

A tall woman with dark hair opened it. "I shall take them from here Hagrid." Kami and the rest of the first years followed her through the door and down a hallway light with torches along the wall. They came to a door on their right, from which came the sound of talk and laughter. They continued on past it and the woman lead them into another small room.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start of term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the great hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common-room.

'The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

'The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you smarten yourselves up while you are waiting. I shall return when we are ready for you" said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly" with that, she left.

A few people broke out in whispers. "Ron, how do they sort us into our houses?" Kami asked nervously, looking around at the other students.

"Some sort of test I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking"

'OhMyGosh! A test!? In front of the rest of the school no less! We haven't even learned any spells yet! I wonder what they do to decide where you belong…' Kami's thoughts were interrupted by a few screams coming from the back of the room. She spun around and immediately saw why.

About twenty ghosts had just come through the back wall, white and semi-translucent, and glided across the room, taking no notice of the students who had now all turned to see what was going on.

"Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance-"

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost- I say, what are you all doing here?" A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had noticed the first years standing there.

No one spoke.

"New students!" exclaimed the friar, smiling down at them. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?"

A couple of people nodded.

"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" he said. "My old house you know"

"Move along now, The Sorting Ceremony's about to start." Professor McGonagall had returned to the room. "Now, form a line and follow me" She told them. Kami got in line behind the blond boy who said his name was Draco, and they followed Professor McGonagall back through the doors the way they came, this time entering the room that had been so full of talk and laughter. There were thousands of little candles floating above their heads, and four long tables which ran the length of the room, and one table which faced the rest of the room, where Albus Dumbledore sat. Kami assumed that the other people at this table were the teachers. They lined up in front of this table facing the other students.

Professor McGonagall placed a stool in front of the line of first years and placed a pointed hat on top of it. Kami stared at the hat, waiting for something to happen. All of a sudden, a rip near the brim of the hat opened up, and it began to sing.

When it finished, the Great Hall exploded into applause and the hat bowed to each of the four long tables, before becoming stationary once again. Professor McGonagall stepped forward carrying a large scroll of parchment.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"

A thin blonde girl stepped out of line and sat down, pulling on the hat. There was a moment's pause.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" cried the hat. The table on the right cheered and Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table.

"Ace, Kami!"

Kami sat on the stool with Artemis in her arms and put on the hat. It was big on her head. The hat chuckled in her ear. 'Well now, isn't this interesting… cunning… brave… loyal… willing to learn… a determination to push the limits too… I think you would do well in

"SLYTHERIN!"

The table second from the right broke out in applause. Kami turned to Ron who stood gaping at her. 'Sorry' he mouthed and walked over to sit at the table with the rest of her house. The boy and girl they had sat with crossing the lake were both sorted into Gryffindor. It was Draco Malfoys turn next. His eyes sought out hers before he pulled on the hat.

"SLYTHERIN!" He stood up, handed the hat to Professor McGonagall, and walked over to the cheering Slytherin table, sitting next to Kami. She smiled at him.

"So, I guess we Will see each other in classes then?" he asked, smirking.

"Yes. I suppose we will" Kami turned back to the remaining first years.

"Weasley, Ronald!" called out Professor McGonagall. Ron looked at Kami, and she smiled, crossing her fingers under the table. She hoped that he wouldn't hate her for becoming a Slytherin. He sat beneath the hat for several minutes and Kami began to get worried. The hat opened its mouth, and Kami held her breath. It paused for a minute.

"…GRYFINDOR!" Ron stood up and walked over to the Gryffindor table where Kami saw Fred and George congratulating him, along with Percy. They caught her eye she smiled weakly. They responded sadly and turned back to Ron. 'Well fine then. If he won't even look at me, then I don't care!' She crossed her arms stubbornly, and turned to face Draco next to her.

"Hello. Sorry I haven't properly introduced myself. My name's Kami Ace."

"Nice for you to finally tell me your name"

"Well, I had been slightly pre-occupied with the ceremony, and I was looking for something on the train when we first met."

After the start-of-term feast, Dumbledore asked the prefects to show the first years to the dormitory. Kami and Draco stood up and followed a large dark haired boy out of the hall, turning down a flight of steps and down a corridor, where they came to a dead end. "Parsletounge" said the prefect.

A concealed door within the stone wall slid open and they entered the common room for the first time. The walls and ceiling were of rough stone, and there were a number of leather couches and chairs gathered around the fire. There was also a large tapestry bearing a large silver snake against a dark green background. The group stopped. "The girls' dormitories are up the stairs on the left, the boys' are up the stairs on the right."

"Meet me here in the morning, and we can go down to the great hall together tomorrow morning?" suggested Kami. Draco nodded and they parted to go up the stairs, Kami leading the girls.

The top of the stairs opened up into a long corridor with eight doors leading off of it. The first seven were dormitories, and the eighth was the shared bathroom. Kami walked down the corridor, taking it in. Theirs was the last dormitory, at the very end. She opened the door and walked in. The walls were the same as in the common room, and there were five beds arranged in a circle. Kami's bed was directly across from the door, which suited her fine. She opened her trunk and pulled out some shorts to wear to bed, along with her charms book and her wand which she hid under her pillow, placing her trunk back beneath her bed once she changed. Sitting on her bed (which was surprisingly comfy) she pulled the curtains around it closed, taking out her book and wand.

Kami opened Standard Book of Spells to the index page and scanned it until she found the Lumos spell on page 251. She read through carefully, making the movements with her wand occasionally, and practicing in her head. Finally, she placed the book face down on her bed, and focused on the task at hand. Kami closed her eyes, picturing the beam of light being emitted from the end of her wand, and the feeling of accomplishing her first spell. Smiling, she opened her eyes and said "Lumos" flicking her wand the way the book directed her to. As it turns out, magic is harder than it looks. After a few frustrating attempts, she put her wand and text book away.

Kami crawled beneath the black silk bed sheets, and lay back on her pillow. Artemis climbed up onto her pillow beside her head, and the two fell asleep at Hogwarts for the first time.