**Under Slight Editing**

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Before anyone could touch dessert, Dumbledore stood from his chair at the head of the hall, "I have a few things to say to you all, and one of them is a very serious topic," He cleared his throat and continued, "As you will all know after their search of the Express, our school is currently playing host to some of the dementors of Azkaban due to official Ministry of Magic business," He paused again and I could tell he was not happy with the dementors being here.

"They are posted at every entrance to the grounds," The headmaster continued, "and while they are with us, I must make it completely clear that no one is to leave the school grounds without permission. Dementors are not fooled by tricks or disguises - or even Invisibility Cloaks," he added blandly with a slight glance to a boy with rather shaggy black hair and glasses, "They will not understand pleading or excuses. I warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to hurt you. I look to the Prefects, as well as our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure no other student runs afoul of the dementors."

"Oh, Honestly," Ginny groaned quietly, "Look at Percy."

I followed her gaze to see an older boy with flaming red hair like her's. He sat with his chest puffed out seeming very full of himself. "He seems lovely," I commented sarcastically.

Ginny sighed, and leaned onto the table with her head in her hands, "Why do I have to be related to that prat?"

Dumbledore went on to announce that the man sitting beside Remus, aka Rubeus Hagrid, would be the new Care of Magical Creatures professor, and that Remus would be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. A grungy-looking man down the table was scowling down at my dad, and I briefly wondered why.

After he finished his announcements, I turned to my new friend, "So, I take it that he's your brother?" I said glancing back at Percy.

She rolled her eyes. "One of them. I have six older brothers."

My eyes widened comically, "Six?! Oh, you poor girl!" I laughed at the look she gave me.

"Well, it's not all bad with the other five," She leaned up, looking down the table, then pointed down at another red-headed boy sitting by a girl with rather poofy brown hair. I noticed the boy across from them was the one Dumbledore had glanced at earlier, and then I realized who he was almost instantly. "That one down there is Ron, he's a bit of a dope, but he's remarkably protective."

This time she leaned a bit further over the table, "Erm, normally it's easy to find...Ah! There!" her arm shot out pointing, nearly knocking a goblet of pumpkin juice over onto the girl beside her, "Those two down there are Fred and George. I couldn't even try to tell you which is which, but I don't even know if they know who's who."

Neville moved back a bit so I could see down the table easier without having to lean onto it, so I sent him a thankful smile. 'Boy can this kid blush,' I chuckled mentally, before looking down the table to where Ginny was pointing. All I could really see was two more heads of fiery red hair ducked together, apparently whispering to each other.

"Oh, that can't be good," Ginny groaned, "And it's only the first night here."

I looked at her confused for a second. What could be so bad about them whispering to each other?

"Those two are my heroes!" a boy said from beside the girl that Ginny had pointed over, "They're bloody brilliant! I want to know how they get around the castle so well without getting caught."

Ginny leaned around the poor girl beside her, and tossed a grape from the dwindling dessert platters, at the boy, "Oh, hush Keegan, you have no say so here."

He gasped in mock hurt, then tossed some pudding on her before running quickly from the hall, followed by an angry red-head.

Not long after the two left the Great Hall, it was time for everyone to head to their common rooms. Neville and I walked together, chatting as we walked up to the seventh floor. Luckily for us, we were close enough to the rest of the students to hear the password "Fortuna Major".

"I don't know why I'm so terribly forgetful, but I never can remember those passwords," Neville confessed as we climbed through the portrait hole.

Moving over to a table off to the side of the room, I thought for a second, "Well, I can't do this for you every time, but I can do something about that for a bit. Put your arm on the table, please."

Slowly, Neville lifted his arm from his lap, sitting it on the table in front of me. I rolled back his sleeve a bit, touched my wand to his skin, and muttered "Cutem Atramento". Scribbling the password on his forearm, I quietly gave him my warning, "This isn't an easy spell, Neville. If someone mispronounces it or shakes as they do the wand motions, bad things can happen. One example is: if it's pronounced 'Cut-em' the ink would boil as it joined your skin," I tapped the letters twice, "Also, it will only last a couple of days, so after then you'll need to remember the password yourself."

Neville thanked me profusely, causing me to get a bit embarrassed, so I hurriedly tried to change the subject by asking what his best class was. I took a mental note after he brightened, and went chattering about the greenhouses, that if I ever needed to change the subject with Neville Longbottom, all I had to do was bring up Herbology.

Not much later on, we bid each other goodnight and parted ways to our respective dormitories. As I entered the small room, I glanced around, noting the four beds, each with a trunk at the foot of the bed. I was extremely grateful for the small bathroom that was across from the entrance. Sharing a bathroom with three other girls would be trying enough as it was, so I was grateful that I wouldn't have to share it with every other girl in Gryffindor.

Quickly, I changed out of my uniform skirt into a random pair of shorts, and took off my button-up uniform shirt, flopping down on my bed in just my white bra and shorts.

"I'm so tired," I grumbled into the scarlet blanket that covered the mattress. Heaving myself up with a sigh, I pulled back the blanket, and closed the curtains once I had laid down, not caring one bit that I had left my clothes on the floor.

Just as I was getting comfortable, the curtains at the foot of my bed opened just enough to reveal a sliver of a porcelain-skinned face and one moss-green eye.

"Bloody hell!" I gasped as I shot up in the bed, "May I help you?"

The girl opened the curtains more, showing her whole face this time. "I'm really sorry, honestly, I am. I was just lookin' for my cat, Ryker. He's never been too much of a fan of the train ride here. He always ends up hidin' somewhere for the first week or so," She started chewing on her pinky finger as she looked behind her worriedly, "Haven't seen him have ya?"

I stared at her for a moment longer, "You're American," I stated dumbly.

She snorted, running her hand over her face, and I couldn't help but notice her nails were all different colors. "Boy, you're observant. Back to my cat now, ok. He's 'bout yay big," She held her hands apart in front of her, "And he's black and grey, with like half a tail that puffs out weird at the end. Kinda looks like a little explosion."

I shook my head, "No, I'm sorry, I haven't seen-"

Just then, a small meow was heard above us. The girl clambered up onto the footboard of my bed, I assumed to look on top of the fabric above me. "Ryker! There you are, honeybunch!" She hopped down with a small bundle in her arms.

The strange girl smiled down at her cat, then turned her brilliant smile on me, "I'm really am sorry to have bothered ya. It's just, I've had him since I was 10. He's really, really important to me."

I nodded in understanding, offering a small smile, "Well, I'm glad that you were able to find him, and that he is fine."

Suddenly, I remembered that I didn't have a shirt on, and flushed a bright red, covering myself hurriedly.

The girl laughed, and waved her hand around dismissively, "Oh, don't worry yaself, hun. I wasn't payin' you any attention. Besides, we're both chicks, so it's nothin' new. Oop, my manners have vanished," She stuck her hand out towards me with a large smile on her face, "My name's Harper Kompten."

"I'm Deliah Lupin," Shaking her offered hand, I couldn't help but continue wondering about her accent, "I'm sorry, I know you're obviously American, but where is that...tone from?"

Harper laughed. "Oh, well, ya see I was born in Texas, but my family started travelin' this way for summer vacations. Then suddenly, the summer after I turned eleven - which my birthday is March 31st, just so you know," She winked slyly, "That summer I got an owl while we were in London. So, now my parents vacation here for a month before school ends, we go back to the US for a visit when it's officially summer, we come back here when school starts, and they vacay another month before goin' back home. It's a really good thing that my parents have their own business. All the traveling costs..." She blew out a quick puff of air.

I nodded along with her, and couldn't resist the small smile tugging at my lips. Her bubbly demeanor was infectious. I could see a friendship building already in these few minutes that we've talked.

Suddenly, the door opened, and the other two girls walk in. We chatted with them for a couple of minutes, me learning their names were Angelina and Alicia. Soon after, though, we all decided it was best that we finally call it a night.

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The next few weeks of classes seemed to fly by, at least for me. I had always been relatively good with cramming for lessons, and this year I knew was going to be an extreme test of that ability. The dread for the OWLs chilled me to the core from about Wednesday that first week. That Wednesday was when all the professors had decided we had recovered enough from the summer and needed to start learning as much as possible for the OWLs.

Luckily for me, I was a rather well-rounded student as well. I wasn't too keen on History of Magic, Herbology, and Astronomy. Muggle Studies fascinated me to an extent, but I didn't really excel in the subject despite the fact that I knew more about Muggle life than most. I was always amazed by everything new we would learn in Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Charms, and Care of Magical Creatures, so that made things easier for me.

Though I loved learning new things in the majority of my classes, I was eternally grateful when my last class was let out every Friday. This current Friday was the last one of the month.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I slid down in my chair, resting my head against the edge of the backrest. I didn't move as the rest of the class filed out of the room, simply choosing to close my eyes and relax for a moment. The strain from holding back my heightened senses was rather taxing.

"Alright there, Miss Lupin?" A voice called from the front of the classroom, and a small smile tugged at the corner of my lips.

"Oh, yes just lovely here. I'm just slightly exhausted after class. You know, my last professor of the day is absolutely barmy, though," I laughed, peaking an eye open to look out at him.

Remus shook his head and chuckled quietly. "Really? I had thought he was a rather nice chap. A bit rough around the edges, but an adequate professor," He sat at the desk beside me, "Honestly, Deliah, are you doing alright? You look a bit pale."

Sitting up, I nodded. "I'm just not used to how much strain this causes, and the pressure of OWLs seems to already be hitting me," I sighed, then looked at him, knowing what next Thursday was going to bring, "Speaking of being pale, are you going to be needing any help next week?"

His face hardened a bit as he looked away towards the window, "No, I will be alright, Deliah. Dumbledore has arranged things to make it easier for me. I do have to say, though," He looked back at me, his face still grim, but his eyes were pleading, "This isn't home. I cannot have you come out looking for me. There aren't the same wards and precautions. Nothing can happen to you, so you must stay in Gryffindor Tower, no matter what you might hear or see. Is that clear?"

I chewed on my bottom lip for a second, looking at him worriedly, then sighing as I nodded again. "Crystal clear," I smirked slightly, "That doesn't mean I won't find you as soon as I can the next day with a fantastically gigantic bar of chocolate."

He instantly softened, smiling at me sadly, before bringing me into a warm hug. "Thank you, pup," I chuckled at the childhood nickname. He kissed the top of my head lightly, then sat back up in the chair, "Merlin only knows what I would do if something happened, though."

"Oh, hush, Remmy," I sighed, "You never have to worry about that because I'm not dumb enough to go running off into a full moon night. Like I said, I will find you the next day, give you loads of chocolate, and everything will be fine until the next month," I smiled at him.

He risked so much by taking me in when I was just a toddler. I'm still not positive about who had watched me each full moon, but I was obviously fine while he was away. In my opinion, waiting with chocolate was the least I could do for him. I had started that habit when I was around four. Remus had told me that one morning, he had just gotten back home when I waddled my small little self over to him with a tiny hand full of chocolate chips. I had been eating out of a bag of them, and apparently, had figured that gifting him some as well would keep me out of trouble.

We eventually bid each other goodnight after talking a bit longer, and I left his classroom headed towards Gryffindor Tower.

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Saturday.

I had never looked forward to them much before, but this Saturday seemed like it deserved my being extremely lazy. I had even planned my day as I tried to fall asleep the night before. Most importantly, I was going to sleep in - hoping that I would wake with enough time to catch the tail end of breakfast, though. Maybe I would wander around the rest of the day, or maybe spend some time with Remus.

My plans, however amazing they were, didn't exactly start out correctly. I was cuddled deep into my mattress, cocooned in the blanket, with my head halfway under my pillow, when I felt a sudden jolt and light pressure behind me on the bed. At first, I thought nothing of it, at least until something ice cold and wet touched my cheek.

I had a mini heart attack, before realizing Ryker had decided to join me, "Urgh. Why, Ryker, why~?" I whined, peeling myself from the mattress. I could tell my hair was stuck to my face in random places and sticking up at all kinds of angles, but I couldn't bring myself to care.

"Ah, we forgot to tell you, no one sleeps past eight with that cat in here," Angelina's voice called from beyond my curtains. I could also hear Harper murmur her apologies. "We're just lucky that he's normally not in here."

I glared at the hairball of a cat, "Well, I'm bloody awake now, feline, so go on then! Leave me be."

For a moment he only stared at me, which irked my sleep-addled self to no end. Thankfully, he turned a second later, trotted over to the curtain, then slid between it and the bed.

"Bloody hairball," I grumbled, smoothing out my lovely mess of chestnut-brown hair.

Slowly, I made my way to the bathroom. I had taken to actually wearing a shirt to bed after the first night here, so I didn't have to worry about feeling awkward around the others.

After a quick shower, I noticed the others had already left. I hurriedly put on a pair of jeans, a light blue t-shirt, and my tennis shoes, before walking out of the dormitory.

Down in the common room, it was rather empty, so I was able to pass through without interruption. Though, as I walked through the halls, I felt as if I was being watched, and not by the portraits. Finally, about halfway to the Great Hall, I whipped around trying to find out what had been following me. I was greeted with an empty hallway.

"Oh, bollocks," I huffed, continuing on the way I had been going, "Now, I'm getting paranoid."

I had just reached the final flight of stairs to the entrance hall when my left foot suddenly sank into the top step. Unable to stop my momentum, I fell forward, feeling a lovely snap as a jolt of pain spread from my ankle.

"Oi, Fred! I told you that sink step was a bad idea," I heard a voice say from behind me, and then I noticed rushed footsteps. I didn't even bother trying to see who was coming at me. Bloody hell my ankle hurt, not to mention whatever else had collided with the stone.

"Mister Weasley! What, might I ask, are you doing running down the - Is that a student there?!" More rushed footsteps headed towards me. "Oh, dear! Miss Lupin are you alright?"

Recognizing the second voice as Professor McGonagall, I slowly turned my upper half a bit to lean more to the left. "I've been better, Professor. Bloody hell, all I wanted to do today was sleep in," I groaned.

"Language, Miss Lupin," McGonagall said off-handedly as she knelt down beside me. She looked down towards my foot, scowling before tapping the stone with her wand. Instantly the step seemed to liquefy again, and my foot shifted out of it, causing me to groan again as the sudden movement sent another jolt through the injured joint.

McGonagall looked up towards the hall, and her scowl grew. "Honestly, those two just seem to always be into something. This time they went too far, and vanishing without a word, at that!"

She turned back to my foot, examining it for a moment, then nodding, "We will need to get you to Madame Pomfrey to have that looked at." She slowly helped me onto my good foot, and we made our way to the Hospital Wing.

Madame Pomfrey bustled out of her office when she heard the doors open. "Hello Minerva, what do we have here?"

Professor McGonagall's mouth tightened into a thin line, "The Weasley's, need I say more?"

Madame Pomfrey huffed, shaking her head, "Bring her here, and I'll take a look."

They both guided me to a bright white bed, helping me to sit on it, then Madame Pomfrey had me lay back so she could get a better look at my ankle.

"And this movement does it-" She very slightly turned my foot, and I grimaced, "Right then," This time she waved her wand over my foot, and suddenly diagnostic images materialized in front of her, "Well, it seems, Miss Lupin, that you have a dislocation here, along with some minor bruising, which is obvious. I'm going to fix up the ankle, then I will have a potion for you to take for the pain."

Rather abruptly, she swirled her wand, then jabbed my poor ankle. I cried out as it painfully snapped back in place. "Oh, that was just lovely," I grumbled.

Madame Pomfrey shook her head at my comment, "If you thought that was lovely, Miss Lupin, just take a swig of this," She held out a small vial of a sickly yellow liquid.

I took the vial from her and tossed it back. As soon as I could, I coughed at the awful flavor. Pomfrey hadn't been lying, that was absolutely terrible.

She nodded at me, with the smallest of smiles, "I'm going to keep you here today, as the pain potion tends to cause drowsiness. You should be alright to go about your day tomorrow." Madame Pomfrey instructed before heading back into her office.

I looked over at Professor McGonagall, who was just turning to leave as well. "Professor, I know you're going to tell my dad, but can you tell him that I'm fine. I just don't want him overreacting."

She nodded and continued on out of the room.

.

.

Shortly after McGonagall had left, I heard the door open again. I groggily looked up to see the worried face of my dad rushing over to me.

"Merlin, Deliah, are you alright?"

I attempted to shrug, which ended up being a sad little flop of my hands. "Jus' got caught up in a prank trap, 's all. Dislocated my..." I wiggled my toes sightly, "ankle there."

Remus rolled his eyes with a small grin, "Ah, McGonagall did say you had a light pain potion. Feeling like taking a rest yet?" He asked, looking me over as if to make sure I had no other injuries.

"Yeah, actually," I yawned, cuddling into the bed more.

"Well, get some rest, pup," He chuckled and pulled more of the blanket over me. "Pomfrey most likely won't be letting in any visitors other than me."

I nodded, not really caring, as I drifted off to sleep. Oddly enough, I was back in the same dream I was woken up from this morning, yet it was slightly different. I was running through the forest, and couldn't help but feel like something was wrong. Taking a quick glance around as I climbed over a rather large tree root, I suddenly heard a loud howl. I could've sworn that my blood actually froze in my veins.

I was so terrified, and yet...something in me seemed to be enraged. A part of me was telling me that I needed to turn and face what was chasing me. That scary feeling made me kick myself back into gear. I sprinted forwards, hoping I could get out of this damned forest. Finally, I saw slivers of the night sky, and could just make out the outline of a lake through the branches. I was nearly out; I just knew it! Just as I burst through the final branches, though, a huge black dog lunged forwards at me. I escaped one creature trying to kill me just to have another do the honors!

Suddenly, I was shaken awake, for which I was extremely grateful.

"Bloody hell, woman, nearly knocked our eyes out!"

"If this is the thanks we get for coming to apologize..."

Gasping for breath, I looked around, confirming I was still in the Hospital Wing. It must have been just after lunch, judging by the number of students I could see and how bright it was through the window nearby. Then, I finally registered the two that had woken me.

"Oh, Godric, I'm sorry! I..." I looked up at the two identical faces, noting the shaggy, fiery red hair instantly, "I was having a nightmare, apparently. You're Ginny's brothers!"

The two boys looked at each other with a raised brow each, then they both looked back at me like I was a strange new creature.

"Well, yes, we are," The one to my left said.

"The best ones, at that," The one to my right added.

"We also have had weeks worth of classes with you," The first one commented with a slightly entertained expression.

"You know, it's rather hurtful to think that you've just now noticed us," The other had a feigned pained look.

I shook my head slowly, "Well, I've noticed you, but never talked to you. Also, I'm still feeling the effects of a pain potion Madame Pomfrey had given me around breakfast. You know, dislocating an ankle is rather unpleasant."

"Ah, well, about that," The twin on the left started, "Fred here had decided a sink step at the top of the stairs would be a rather brilliant idea."

"Oi! It would have been brilliant, George, if she had been coming up the steps," The twin on the right, who must have been Fred, huffed giving his brother a small glare.

My brows scrunched together as I listened to them. 'So, they're the reason why I'm in here?' "You two do realize that there's a charm to make those work only one way, right? It can make it so you don't, oh~ I don't know, dislocate someone's ankle, and ruin their whole Saturday in one go," I oddly wasn't really mad, which was probably due to the potion.

They both stared at me for a moment, then Fred smacked his forehead, "Oh, Merlin, I knew that!"

I raised a brow as I looked at him, "Did you now?"

George let out a laugh, and cuffed Fred's shoulder, "I like this one!"

Fred shook his head, but he was grinning as well, "Well, we should be going before dear Poppy catches us. She's already turned away Ginny and Neville. Ginny of course is pissed off that she can't check-in."

George smirked, "Of course, we'll update her later. She'll most likely go bloody mental thinking Poppy let us in."

They looked at each other again. "Worth it," They both chimed with a smirk, and a devious glint in their eyes.

"It's been lovely..." George held out his hand.

"Deliah," I provided shaking his hand.

"But, alas, our time is cut short," Fred said overdramatically, shaking my hand as well.

They then headed away from my bed. As they were opening the doors to the Hospital Wing, they looked back, speaking at the same time, "Be seeing you, Dels!"

.

I apologize for the meeting the twins being kind of awkward...it was meant to be kind of rushed so Pomfrey wouldn't catch them.

The reason why Deliah was all loopy from the light pain potion is due to her strengthened senses. All potions have slightly different effects on her than they do on others.