People kept staring at Harry, all the way down the corridors until they found Slughorn's compartment. When they did eventually find it, they noticed many other people there as well. As Harry opened the door, hoping he wouldn't be noticed, a booming voice shouted:

"HARRY M"BOY! COME SIT!"

Exactly what Harry didn't want…all of a sudden, every eye was on him.

"Glad to see you brought the others with you…come, sit, sit…"

They all squeezed into the little space there was, and waited for something to be said by this short, enormous man. He started off by questioning the few kids nearest him, and then moved onto those furthest away from him.

"Now now everyone, we all know Harry Potter…or some are saying now…the "Chosen One". What have you got to say about that, m'boy?"

"Nothing much sir…"

"Ah so modest!" boomed Slughorn.

Harry was wondering why Neville was here, and Harry thought that maybe he was going to be interrogated to see if he was as good as his parents. Amera and Tashia were sitting in the corner opposite them, trying their best not to laugh at something Tashia had just said.

"What's to be said there?" Slughorn suddenly asked of Tashia and Amera.

"Nothing, sir…we were just commenting on your…lovely waistcoat." Amera tried her best to keep a straight face, but ended up smiling at Slughorn anyway.

Slughorn took this as a great compliment and started questioning Amera instead.

"Thank you so much! Now you are…" Slughorn asked, obviously not sure who she was since she walked in.

"I'm Amera Genesse, sir."

"AH YES! You look so much like your dear mother. Talented witch she is…still working so hard?" Slughorn asked.

"Yes sir…she just took this summer off since Tashia and I …"

"AH Tashia Truevale! Yes, your parents were some of my favourites. Very talented they were. I hope you have inherited some of their wit?"

Tashia was caught off guard by this sudden change of questioning, and just threw something out.

"I hope so sir…"

"Also so modest! They are some of your friends, Harry?"

Harry nodded, and Slughorn laughed again.

"Birds of a feather hey, Harry? All these modest people in one carriage…" Slughorn took to offering some bread rolls, many of which were happy to take. Slughorn promptly questioned many of the children sitting alongside him, while the scenery outside grew wilder and darker. Harry knew that they were nearing Hogwarts and hoped Slughorn would notice the same.

"Oh my! Is that the time already? You all better go and change into your robes. Off you go…" Slughorn scooted them all out his compartment and back to their own.

Harry got lost somewhere along the way back to their compartment, but Amera and Tashia carried on walking with Neville.

"Strange man he is…" said Tashia just before their compartment.

"Tell me about it…" said Amera just before opening the compartment door.

Amera walked in first, then Tashia and Neville. They saw the girl and redheaded boy seated in the compartment. Amera and Tashia stood still for a while, and getting some stares back Amera eventually spoke.

"Hi, I'm Amera. This is Tashia. We saw you when we were going out…"

"Yes, I'm Hermione, and this is Ron. We're friends of Harry's."

"Great to meet you, kind of bad timing though!" said Amera with a laugh.

"We better get changed into our robes." said Hermione smiling at Amera.

They took down their trunks and pulled their robes over their heads. Harry had still not found his way back to the compartment when the train had stopped at Hogsmeade station.

"Did Harry come with you?" Ron asked suddenly of Amera.

"He did come out with us, but somehow he just went missing." said Amera, taking her trunk down.

"You can leave that, it gets taken to the school." said Hermione, smiling again.

They shouldered their way into the crowd, and onto the platform. They waited to see if Harry would climb off the train, but after several minutes the crowd started thinning.

"Maybe he went with the first carriages…" said Hermione.

The six of them went in one carriage to Hogwarts, where it stopped outside the gate topped with two winged boars.

"This is so…gothic." said Tashia, climbing out the carriage.

"This is beautiful." Amera replied.