Sorry for being late! I'm lazy, soooo...yeah :)

And did I mention that in this, none of the Dark Lord shit happened? No Draco killing Dumbledore, no Room of Requirement Lost Items Whatever, no nothing like that. It's what a normal year would've been like for Harry if he wasn't the Chosen One. So, imagine that there's an 8th year and everything in 6th year is pushed to 7th, and 7th to 8th. Leaving 6th to be free and careless! YAY!

Off to see the buskers this week! :D

"Firs' years, this way!"

Annabelle smiled at the familiar sound of Hagrid calling all the first years. In the back of her mind, she still remembered her first boat ride to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Kenzie had been in her rowboat, and being the klutz she is, she knocked it over, sending Annabelle, Rose, Eryn, Sam, and herself into the Black Lake.

"'Ello, Belle!" Hagrid called over the hustle and bustle of students. She waved at him in return, and began to follow the stream of people.

Near the place where the carriages stood, starting to wheel away children, she leaned up against a tall, particularly dreary-looking tree; their designated meeting place to get a carriage together. She would've been there with Sam, had the latter girl not gotten lost in a crowd of boys all complimenting her on growing over the summer. Which she did quite a bit of, especially in the chest area.

Crossing her arms and looking around with only slight interest, Annabelle smiled at familiar faces and cringed at the less friendly ones. It was when Blaise Zabini, Draco Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy Parkinson (their slut) passed that something interesting happened.

Blaise met her steady gaze, and a cold breeze passed through the air, making everyone shiver. She levelled him easily, not taking her light blue eyes off of his dark chocolate ones. He nodded slightly, to which she felt something creep up her neck.

Was she blushing?

What the hell did she have to blush about? It wasn't the first time Blaise had simply nodded at her. Numerous times, only from cold indifference, did he show the similar sign. Yet suddenly, it was making some damned heat filled her face. She hurriedly shook away the feeling.

Annabelle and Blaise had never spoken to one another. Through six years of Hogwarts, not a single word exchanged. And now, for some strange reason, that bothered her. She had never felt that way before, yet suddenly, it was there. Maybe it was the damn bet.

"Annabelle!" She spun around to feel Sam's arms wrap around her neck. The blush subsided, replaced with an inward warmth of friendship. She hugged back.

"Hey, Sam," she grinned. "Where's the rest of em?"

"Rose and Eryn are here, see?" She pointed a slender finger into the mass of black robe-clad students filling the carriages. Annabelle squinted a bit behind her glasses and finally saw Rose's and Eryn's blonde in a group of dark hair.

"How'd your train ride go?" Annabelle asked her friends, smiling at Rose's bored look and Eryn's giddy one.

"Lovely."

"Hellish." They said this in unison, making both look at each other and giggle lightly.

"It was fine," Rose sighed. "Weasley was an asshole -"

"- Harry was so kind -"

"- he thinks I'm the spawn of Satan -"

"- he got his hair cut!"

Annabelle and Sam rolled their eyes in time just as Kenzie peeked out from the hordes of people. She looked worse than any of the others. Her eyes were tired, her hair was a mess, and she practically fell into Rose's arms.

"What happened?" Eryn asked in shock, trying to contain laughter at her friend's dramatic actions.

"Don't ask," she groaned. "Let's just find a carriage, then I'll tell you."

They took one of the remaining ones, fitting in nicely, and let it creak away, invisible creatures tugging on unseen reins. Kenzie nestled her head onto Sam's shoulder.

"Aw, what's wrong, Kenzie-Boo?" the former girl whispered in a baby voice. Kenzie literally cringed at the nickname so like the one that Pansy had tagged onto Draco.

"Don't call me that," she hissed. Sam put her hands up in surrender, to which Kenzie just smiled. "I'm sorry. It's just…I had to spend my entire ride with Malfoy, Zabini, Crabbe, Goyle, and Parkinson." She didn't notice the slight heat that filled Annabelle's cheeks at the second name.

"Did you get any good work done?" Eryn asked suggestively.

"Not that I wanted to," Kenzie gagged. "But even if I did, Pansy was there, and she would've ripped me apart with her cheaply-manicured hands if I went anywhere near her Dracy-Poo." She shivered again, and the rest laughed.

"Well, it's nice to know that I'm not the only one who had a shitty trip," Rose sighed.

"Oh, Ron wasn't that bad. If anything, you were just as bitchy as him," Eryn chastised. Rose shrugged.

"I suppose," she sighed, leaning back. "But he still has no bloody right to act like he's the Queen of Sheba! I mean, the man has no ambition, no interests, no passion of any kind!"

"Can't deny that," Sam sighed. Everyone nodded.

"Well, Harry and Eryn are going to hit it off, even if Rose does end up starkers in the Black Lake," Annabelle giggled. Rose stuck out her tongue.

"I can't wait to see that!" Kenzie cried out, squirming. "They've been hinting forever! I want them together so much!"

"I know, me too," Rose sighed. She leaned into Eryn, who turned the darkest shade of pink possible.

"I hope you all realize that I am, in fact, still here! I'm not some character in a story!" she snapped. Sam shrugged.

"Tomato, tomahto."

"That didn't even make sense!"

Giggling ensued, then a comfortable silence that they all basked in. The full moon shone over them, pale and pleasant, dying their skin a lighter color than it already was. Sam's waves shone, shimmered, gave off the faint scent of strawberries. A carriage behind theirs filled with second years, who knew by then to stay away from Rose, gawk at Sam, and make friends with Eryn, Kenzie, and Annabelle as best they could, breathed deeply.

They'd really built up a bit of a reputation, and they weren't too damn bad either. Kenzie was the nice one, the one you really found sweet on all levels. Eryn was the one who was kind and loving. Annabelle was the shopper who liked people. Rose was the bitch you stayed away from when she was in a bad mood. And Sam was the one you admired from afar. The boys who got too close could no longer have children, thanks to Sam's spiked heels and Rose's temper.

"So, Samantha, darling," Rose said, cutting the quiet in half. "How has your time with Neville been going? You have a firm hold on every other male in Hogwarts, don't you? Is Neville within your clutches as easily?"

Sam groaned loudly. "He's so damn difficult!" she whined. "He didn't fall for anything, not a touch of the knee or a wink of the eye, nothing! I fucking hate you guys for choosing him!" Kenzie laughed.

"The point is to make it as difficult as possible for you!" she pointed out. "I know I'm having the time of my life."

"Oh, we know, dear," Eryn giggled. "And Annabelle, how about you and Zabini?"

Again, her face heated up, and she shook her head as a sign to drop the matter. She didn't want to talk about him. She never really did. Having never spoken, it would be as painful as stabbing her eye. Which she didn't really want to do either.

The castle approached almost immediately after, and they toppled out, heading with the hordes of students into the Great Hall. It was just as majestic as they remembered, with floating candles and long tables. The girls stopped for a moment, taking it in as teens passed their frozen figures.

They were all in different Houses, and therefore headed for those tables. They normally didn't give a damn about the rules, and simply meshed together, but they felt that they should honour tradition and separate for the first meal. Kenzie went for Slytherin, Sam for Ravenclaw, Eryn for Hufflepuff, and Annabelle and Rose for Gryffindor.

As Neville passed them before they went off, Sam grabbed hold of his tie, making him sputter a bit. He looked at her with wide eyes, and she flirtingly giggled.

"Nice to see you again, Neville, isn't it?" she whispered, her voice dripping with honey and seduction and empty promises and sex. But he simply gently removed her hand from his tie, straightened out his collar, and ran off. Sam stammered in indignation before huffing, stomping, and going to Ravenclaw.

First years were Sorted with ease, and each House attained ten new students. Dumbledore then stepped up to the winged podium, cleared his throat - making everyone quieten - and spread his arms.

"I see you all here tonight," he began loudly, yet with a calm tone. "And I cannot help but wonder if you at all miss your summer holidays. Jovial faces, kind and honest and true, all stare up at me, all eager to learn and study and prosper and succeed. And that shall be of much enjoyment on your teacher's parts.

"For first years, welcome to your new home. For returning students, welcome back, and my, how you've all grown!" A slight laugh let out. "I truly am happy to have you all back here, to see you all once more.

"Now, Mr. Filch has a list…" Of course, most students tuned out for Filch's list of unacceptable objects in the school, and didn't zone back in until he clapped. "And now, to feast."

And piles upon piles of food appeared on platters. The tables creaked under the immense weight, and much shuffling and grabbing began. The five friends all made for their favourite forms of delicacies.

"Go chat up Ron," Annabelle mumbled to Rose, who immediately shook her head.

"Hell no," she snapped. She grabbed a roll, about to whisper an incantation to make it gluten-free, but she felt it magically change in her hand, and she grinned a bit. She truly loved magic.

"C'mon -"

"I'll chat my guy up when you do yours." Annabelle blushed a bit, but remained belligerent as ever. She smiled sweetly and called across the table.

"Hey, Ron!"

Rose's eyes widened. Ron looked at Annabelle curiously, as she had never sought to have a conversation with him before.

"What?" he called back. Annabelle quickly searched her mind for some kind of lie that would sound at least a bit believable. He might've been dumb, but he wasn't stupid.

"Rose here just told me what a fabulous talker you are!" She received numerous rolls to the head for that.

"Oh?" He looked completely unbelieving. "Well, she's quite a talker herself. Not fabulously, but in her own annoying way." Harry tapped his shoulder, trying to get him to back off, but he wouldn't have any of it.

And it was too late, too. Rose had gotten hold of the bait and would pull him into the ocean with her.

"Oh, I know, aren't I just?" she laughed flakily. "I may be a talker, but at least I don't have the IQ of steel."

"Steel is strong."

"So what are you, then?"

"Smarter than you."

"Any O's on your OWLs?" She had him there, and smirked. "Didn't think so."

"Remember, Carson: O stands for object. And that's all you are, and ever will be. A pawn moved by your damn temper and your friends will."

"Like you're the poster child for even tempers!"

"Well -"

"ENOUGH!"

They both looked up at the Head table, as did every other student. McGonagall was shaking with fury, her black cloak billowing as she shivered. And her glare was directed immediately at the pair who had been bickering so well.

"Enough of your meaningless bantering!" she cried. "Any more of that, and you shall both receive a month's worth of detention! Please be civil on your first day back at Hogwarts! If not, you'll be scrubbing bedpans for weeks! Now sit down, hush up, and eat your roast!"

They grudgingly plopped onto the bench and listened as the Great Hall filled with chatter once again, getting over that brief little spat. But hatred never left their eyes.

"Oh, what a great start to this year," Eryn muttered to herself at the Hufflepuff table.

A little longer, so that's for your trouble of waiting. I was gonna add a Kenzie/Draco bit, but I'll save that for later :) It'll be good!

God, I love me some Ron Weasley! :D

REVIEW! :D