Here we are at Chapter 1! Get ready to find out who Felicity's Prefect of a cousin is! We also find out about MJ's cousins as well. Not to mention we get some of Felicity's back story, AND travel with our two girls on the carriages to the castle. Yes, this chapter is chock full o' stuff!

Skittles: I'm so excited for this! Do you wanna know how long we've been working on this story? A long, long time! R&R!

Disclaimer: We do not own the Harry Potter series. J.K. Rowling doesn't seem to be willing to part with it anytime soon (which is probably a good thing). We also do not own any AVPM (A Very Potter Musical) jokes. That's all Starkidpotter's.

Again, constructive criticism = love. Or even just a "hey, cool story!" is nice too. ^_^

Hugs and butterfly kisses,

Snickers and Skittles

Chapter 1: You've Been Here Before?

Felicity's POV

I was trapped in the Department of Magical Transport. Brooms were everywhere, but I was afraid to try one out (heights aren't my forte).

Because this was a dream, I could tell that a few seemingly harmless objects were portkeys: a dolphin plushy, a football, and a mandrake elixir. For some unknown reason, I was afraid to use them.

I finally decided to use the Floo Network.

Strangely, I cried "HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!" as the green flames sprang up. I was spun around violently as I heard,

"FELICITY!"

I jumped out of my seat and tried to draw my wand, but it got stuck in my hair. I gave up when I realized that I was just in the compartment on the Hogwart's Express. I looked over at MJ who was staring at me strangely from her seat. "What?"

She raised an eyebrow. "You were talking in your sleep."

I blinked and sat back down. "What did I say?" I asked MJ.

Before she could answer me, I recognized a voice in the next compartment so I put a finger to my lips to silence her. I pointed my wand to myself and whispered, "Supria sensius". In seconds, I could see everything with startling clarity; MJ had a minuscule piece of blue lint stuck in her bangs. I could also smell and hear everything going on in our whole train car; something smelled like Stinksap, and a couple in one of the front compartments was making out. Yuck. But I focused my hearing on the conversation in the one where I heard my cousin's voice...

Listening hard while MJ looked on (she hadn't perfected the spell yet), I struggled to figure out who was talking to whom. Ooh, I hope it was him that just got called a git. I thought.

He insulted a few people. Then he must have left after a girl ordered him out. I was about to undo the "spidey-sense" spell, when a loud "BANG!" almost popped my eardrums.

"ARGH!" I yelled. And that made it worse because I heard it about 10 times louder than I normally would. I then took off the charm and looked at where the noise had come from; the door. A tall, blonde, pale boy was standing there, smirking. There were two HUGE boys behind him. He turned to them and said, "Crabbe, Goyle, I'll catch up with you two later."

They grunted ('grunted'? What are they, cavemen?), and went back up the hall.

My fifteen-year-old cousin turned back to me, a smile gracing his handsome face. "Felicity, it's been too long!"

I grinned widely and stood up to hug him. "Drakie!" I saw his face flicker in annoyance at the nickname before I enveloped him in a hug. "I didn't see you on the platform! My favorite little cousin!"

It was then that I realized I only came up to his chin.

I released him and looked up, "Wow, you got tall since June!"

He chuckled at me "Or maybe you just got shorter. I already visited Willis" he told me (that's my first year lil' brother).

Then, Draco seemed to notice MJ. He started a bit (he hates to show any good-humored emotion around anyone but me, his favorite cousin; even though my parents and his parents don't see eye-to-eye on a lot of things, he and I are still really close).

"Who's your friend?" he asked semi-stiffly as the smile disappeared from his face and turned into a smirk.

I made a "Psh!" sound. "She's not my friend!" I smiled at her "She's my best friend! This is MJ. MJ," I gave my cousin a playful punch in the arm, "this is Draco."

Draco nodded curtly toward her, putting his hands in his robe pockets. I was reminded that MJ and I would need to change soon. "Nice to meet you." He scrutinized her muggle clothing, with an expression of mingled distaste and admiration.

I had a feeling he liked her, but not her clothes. He didn't like that I liked a few muggle things. If he found out that MJ got me into it, he would try to keep me away from her. So I tried to quickly skate over this sticky moment.

"Did you know I still talk in my sleep?" I asked him cheerfully.

Draco raised his eyebrow and gave me a "why-the-devil-should-I-care?" look.

"Thank goodness it usually makes no sense" I continued brightly. "Isn't that right, MJ?"

She nodded just as animatedly, "Yeah, last time, all I understood was something about Valentine's Day."

I knit up my brow. "Really? I can never remember my dreams…"

Draco had been standing there awkwardly, shifting his weight from one leg to the other. Now he interjected with, "Not that this conversation isn't stimulating, but I've got Prefect duty to see to" he pointed to his shiny badge.

MJ rolled her eyes. "Your mother must be so proud," she mumbled sarcastically, but Drake acted like he didn't hear.

"Oh, well don't let us keep you!" I chirped at Draco as I went to gently push him out the door. "See you at the Slytherin table!"

He stopped right in the doorway. "By the way, what House are you in?" he asked MJ casually.

She shrugged. "I haven't been sorted yet, this is my first year here. I have an appointment with the Sorting Hat at dinner," she smiled.

He frowned. "Oh. Sixth years are allowed to be sorted with first years?"

"I'm a fourth year" she told Draco. "And there are no rules that say I can't be sorted with first years."

"Oh." Draco said, leaning on the doorway. "I guess you seem older than you are," he said in a husky voice, winking at my best friend.

I kicked his shin.

"OW!" he bent over to rub the area of abuse. "What was that for?"

"Flirting with my friend."

He frowned. "What's your problem?"

"I know you" I glared at him sternly.

He rolled his eyes. "So I guess asking her to Hogsmeade sometime is out of the question?" He half-directed the question to MJ as he looked at her over my head.

"Gag me with a shovel, hot-shot" I heard her say.

I turned to her. She was sitting in her seat and facing the window, looking utterly bored. I had warned her about my dear cousin's tendency to be a whiny, stuck up jerk, so she was definitely not interested.

Turning back to Draco I said, "Burn. And let's just see if you're still interested after she's sorted."

He stood up straight. "Why?" he asked suspiciously.

"Never mind!" I snapped. "Get to your Prefect duties." And with that I shoved him out and slammed the door.

Looking at MJ sympathetically I said, "Don't get me wrong, I love him to death, but he's a bit of a… jerk… I just don't want someone like that around you!"

She turned to face me. "It's ok, I get it; you've told me. I don't want him around me either."

"Good. When you're sorted into Gryffindor he won't look at you twice; I guarantee it. He's just that prejudiced."

"Why are you so sure I'll be sorted there?" she asked, frustrated.

"The rest of your family was, weren't they? Why do you think you'll be any different?"

She rolled her eyes. "Because I'm a total coward!"

"Don't you have a cousin with a rabid fear of spiders?"

"Yeah but—"

"If he could get in, you can get in." I stated matter-of-factly.

MJ brightened. "Yeah! We'll be the first Gryffindor/Slytherin BFFLs!"

I grinned. "Believe it! Although I doubt we'll be the first."

"Unless I'm in Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff..." MJ looked thoughtful.

"That's possible too", I admitted, "but Houses usually run in families. Why do you think I'm in Slytherin?"

MJ stared incredulously at me. "Other than the fact that you're totally shrewd, sly, and scheming?"

I blinked. "Oh yeah..."

"I could end up in any house BUT Slytherin, I think," MJ mused.

"I don't know; you're pretty devious..."

We continued to discuss her House options until the end of the train ride.

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MJ's POV

So this is Hogsmeade Station, I thought as we stood by the road waiting for the Hogwarts carriages. I stroked my little grey cat, Starburst. The journey had been a bit too exciting for her taste. And she kept going after Lis' rat, Zurina.

"What's with all the names about hogs?" I asked Lis, holding my struggling kitty. "Hogwarts, Hogsmeade."

"Don't forget about the Hog's Head" a person remarked from right behind me. Before I could turn around to see who it was, someone covered my eyes. "Guess who!" someone else said in a sing-song voice.

"Uh…" I hesitated. "George?"

"WRONG!" he yelled into my ear as he removed his hands from my eyes.

I turned around to grin apologetically to my tall, freckled, orange-haired cousin. "Sorry Fred."

He grinned. "I'm only yanking your wand, I am George!"

Standing beside him, his doppelganger laughed. "Don't let him fool you MJ, I'm George."

I heard Lis chuckle next to me. "Wow, they really ARE identical! How the heck do you tell who's who?"

"I can tell most of the time," I told her. "But it's so dark, I'm not sure right now…"

A tall, dread-locked, black boy ran over to the twins, out of breath. "I accidentally dropped an extendable ear, and McGonagall almost saw it! Thank God Angelina walked up to her and asked her a question or we would've caught it!" Then he noticed Lis and I; we probably looked completely confused. "Who're your friends?" he asked Fred and George.

One of them, I still couldn't tell who (I hadn't seen them in a year, ok? And it was DARK!) , nodded toward me and said, "This is our baby cousin, MJ" (I scowled). "And she hasn't told us who her friend is yet."

Crossing my arms contrarily, I pointed out, "You haven't introduced your friend either."

"We'll introduce ours' if you introduce yours'."

"Fine." I didn't bother gesturing to the twins when I made the introductions (I didn't want to give away that I still couldn't tell them apart). "Fred, George, Fred and George's friend; this is my best friend Felicity Byrd. Lis; this is Fred and George and their as-of-now-nameless friend."

Chortling, she nodded her acknowledgments as she said, "Nice to meet you all."

They, in turn, introduced their friend. His name was Lee Jordan. He seemed really friendly.

"Cute cat, MJ" George commented.

"Thanks. You wanna hold her?" I handed her off to him before he could reply.

Just then, the carriages pulled up, and Lis gasped next to me. Turning to her, I raised an eyebrow and said, "What?"

She was staring at the front of the horse-less carriages. Following her gaze, I observed "Whoa, nothing pulls them. That's weird."

She was quiet as we clambered into a carriage with Fred, George, and Lee, who were whispering and passing what looked like candy amongst them. I had already told Lis about my cousins wanting to start a joke shop, so she didn't ask any questions. Or maybe that was because she was turned around in her seat, clutching Zurina, and still staring at the front of the carriage.

Concerned, I asked, "What's wrong?"

"You mean you don't see the horses?" Lis asked, sounding kind of panicked.

Blinking, I turned and stared hard at the front of the carriage. "No" I said slowly. "Are you feeling all right Lis?"

Sitting across from me and next to Fred, George (I could now see that he had the pointier face, so I knew it was him) looked over to me and Lis as he stroked Starburst's ears and said, "What's up?"

"Lis thinks she sees horses pulling the carriages."

She shook her head exclaiming, "I mean, I am kind of tired, but they look as real as you! They're black, winged and... weird-looking!"

Lee nodded solemnly from the other side of Fred. "I've read about those," he said. "They're called Thestrals, a very bizarre kind of horse; they're invisible to most people. You can only see them if you've seen someone snuff it."

Fred and George were staring at Lee in shock. "You read?" they asked at the same time.

Lis had stiffened. That certainly explained why she could see them. I knew she had seen her grandmother pass away this past summer; that was one of the reasons her parents sent her back to Hogwarts in the first place—they didn't want her to become depressed by being stuck in her house; our old school was not a boarding school.

Lee was explaining his uncharacteristic act. "One brushed against me last year. I couldn't see it so I was scared stiff. Hagrid told me to look it up when I asked him about it, so I decided to actually crack open my copy of Hogwarts, A History and figure out what it was."

Fred and George looked satisfied at this. Then Lee turned to my best friend, "So who did you see?" he gently asked.

She was looking down at her feet. "My grandmother," she answered quietly.

"Sorry to hear that" Fred said sympathetically.

She shrugged and attempted a small smile as she pulled her robes on over her uniform, put Zurina in her pocket, and started fixing her tie, "Anyways, let's talk about something else. How come I haven't seen Ron or Ginny yet?"

The twins raised their eyebrows. "You've met them?" George asked.

"Yeah," I replied for her. "She met them when they visited this summer. Wonnykins developed a bit of a crush on her." I snickered. Lis just rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Oh yeah," Fred snickered. "Ginny talked a lot about you, and we couldn't get Ron to say much about you; that completely explains it!"

"Really?" Lis looked amused. "I spent half a summer with him and I didn't realize he liked me until MJ told me after they left."

"He's a shy child," Fred told her.

"Does he know you're here?" asked George, grinning like Christmas had come a few months early. He loved to tease his younger brother as much as I did.

Lis turned to me with an inquisitive expression. Shrugging exaggeratedly, I replied, "I think I neglected to mention it when I owled Ginny." George grinned even wider.

All of a sudden, Fred elbowed Lee who was frowning as he watched the scenery go by. "You've been awfully quiet, mate. What's up?"

Lee turned to his friends. "Have you noticed the colors on Byrd's tie?" he asked coldly.

Uh-oh.

Fred and George turned their heads so fast to look at Lis; I thought they'd get whip-lash for sure. They both drew in a sharp breath as soon as they realized the colors were silver and green and the insignia was a snake. Looking at each other they cried, "Throw her out!"

Lis merely raised an eyebrow at them, but I saw her slightly tighten her hold on the seat.

I, however, knew my cousins would never do that.

Not to a girl, anyway.

George chuckled. "We're only joking."

"We are?"

George kicked his twin, upsetting my cat. I took her from him and she settled down on my lap.

"Ow! Ok, we are" but Fred looked annoyed.

Then George frowned. "Wait, have you been sorted yet, MJ?"

"No."

Fred squinted at Lis. "So... you've been here before?"

"Mm-hm." She was still holding on to the railing of the carriage, just in case. "I was here for my first year because my dad got a promotion that made us have to move, but then it turned out he hated his new job and I missed my friends back home so we moved back at the end of the school year." She had said it all in one breath—typical of Lis.

"Did we ever meet you?" George inquired.

"I don't think so," she answered slowly. "I think I remember seeing you guys running through the halls a lot, though."

Lee asked without looking at her, "What year are you?"

"Sixth."

"That means we were second years then" George stated.

Fred and Lee still didn't look happy that they were in the presence of a Slytherin, even though said Slytherin was as nice as Lis. George's expression was hard to read, his face was hidden in shadows more than the other two.

"So you're being sorted with the first years?" he asked me. I nodded my reply.

At this point, the carriage was slowing down. I turned around to look at my new school. It was beautiful; even more majestic than I'd pictured it! I couldn't wait to see the inside…

End Chapter 1