After the Rain

Chapter 5

Meetings

Harry did not know what to think. He lay in his four-poster bed, staring up at the dark canopy with a mixture of feelings. Hermione had interpreted what the password meant, but Harry wondered whether it actually signified anything. Why couldn't it just be a password? The Gryffindor dormitories had had everything from plant names to silly sayings the Fat Lady thought were cute for passwords. Of course, the Fat Lady was a bit of a flake, and as Harry lay there, he contemplated how every name in the magical world seemed to have significance. The Slytherin dungeons usually used things like "pureblood", spells used Latin for whatever they did as incantations, and even names had depth. He never would understand why Malfoy was named after a constellation.

Ray of hope. What exactly had Dumbledore said that evening in the kitchens? He couldn't remember it all, but he did remember the feeling that had accompanied the words. It wasn't a pleasant feeling, a little like deja vu with a horrific twist and magnified about a thousand times.

"Ron?" he called out, making sure he wasn't loud enough to wake up the others.

"Hmm?" came the muffled voice of Ron, sounding as if his face were buried in his pillow.

"Are you awake?"

"Harry, you twit, would I be responding if I wasn't?"

"Oh, right. I knew that."

"Sure you did. So, what's going on? You thinking about Cass and Cary and that Alex fellow?"

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

"Because I am too." Ron made a rustling noise that sounded like he was sitting up.

"Cass looked scared," Harry said, sounding slightly subdued.

'Yeah, well, I can't say that I don't blame her. Fate is a scary thing to think about."

Harry made an assenting sound. "And Alex...it was almost as if he knew what happened to them was going to happen. Do you think he has the Sight or something?"

"The Sight is such a crock. I don't care what Dumbledore says." Harry snorted. "No, I think he's just a lot more perceptive than he appears. And I'm willing to bet he's really powerful too."

"Funny to think of Lupin as a father."

"Yeah, he's always seems more like an uncle-type of figure."

"It must really be something to get to meet your father," Harry said quietly.

Ron was silent. Then he said, "Harry..."

"Don't Ron, just don't," he replied, a slightly bitter note in his voice. "What do you suppose Lupin's going to say?"

"Not a clue."

They were silent for a moment, and then Ron spoke up again. "You don't believe Dumbledore was really getting pumpernickel bread, do you?"

"Not a whit."

~

Though Harry and Ron did not know it, Ginny was less than a hundred meters from them, lying awake as well. On the nightstand lay the rose Alex had given her earlier, blooming ceaselessly, but Ginny wasn't thinking about that, though that had had to be one of the most romantic things ever to happen to her. She wasn't even thinking about the way Draco Malfoy had been looking at the girl, or the way Hermione had acted completely stupid. He has beautiful eyes, she thought instead, smiling slightly to herself.

Throughout Ginny's less than satisfactory romantic life, she had always found herself attracted to nice eyes. It was her weak spot, like Hermione's was smiles and Ron's (though he would not admit it) was petite brunettes who buried themselves in books and schoolwork. She wasn't sure what Harry's was, but at that precise moment she didn't care either. That was why she'd had such a humongous crush on Harry for so long--it wasn't because he was a hero or famous, it was because he had gorgeous eyes that you had to be blind not to notice. Her first boyfriend ever, Michael Corner, had had soft blue ones the exact shade of the bellflowers that grew in the meadows around The Burrow. Dean had these wonderful deep brown ones with flecks of copper in them, and Draco had absolutely wonderful silver-gray ones, like storm clouds, that were beautiful and mysterious and absolutely terrible all at once. Of course, she had known she shouldn't have accepted Malfoy's offer, but she couldn't help herself, and besides which, there had been more to the matter than it being the perfect way to get back at Ron for trying to talk Dean out of dating her.

But Alex's eyes...Alex's eyes were more exquisite than any she had ever seen. Harry and Draco's were striking, but Alex's were subtle and alluring. They were soft, and peaceful and calming, like the ocean before a storm. They were blue and green and gray and even violet, all mixed together, with a thick fringe of dark lashes surrounding them, and Ginny thought she could probably stare into them all day, given the chance, with no regard to Alex himself. The girl and the boy that he was with, Cass and Cary were their names, surely had handsome eyes too. Cass's were exotic and outlandish, and Cary's were incredibly bright and animate, a little like Dumbledore's in that repect. Cary could reflect the world in his eyes, and Cass's could enchant anyone if you peered into them long enough. But Alex's eyes were better. She didn't figure anyone but she had ever noticed before, because they were so subtle and she just made a habit of looking at people's eyes, but that made it even better. It felt like discovering a chest of treasure that had passed out of all human knowledge long ago.

But of course, it wasn't as if anything would happen between them.

Ginny slipped out of bed and quietly walked over to one of her housemate's bed, opening the lid to the trunk as quietly as she could. She took the Wizard's Wireless out, and shut the trunk. Bethany wouldn't mind, she never did.

Sitting back on her bed, she cast a silencing spell on the scarlet curtains. Opening up her remaining Potions homework at the same time, she switched on the small radio.

"--has decided the remaining prisoners of Azkaban will be transferred to a smaller prison, called simply "Dirus", location unknown. Not really sure how to take that, but whatever Cornelius Fudge wants, aye mate? Anyway, enough of that dismal rubbish..." The speaker on the wireless continued to talk, obviously just getting through with the important news, since the next thing of interest was the announcement of one of the Weird Sisters' wedding engagement.

"Moonstone, porcupine blood, essence of murtlap, piranha spleen," Ginny muttered to herself, counting off ingredients, trying to figure out what she had left out of the recipe for a Serenity Solution.

"...and that's it for the news. Now, you all know what time it is, especially if you're actually up this late listening. But to those of you who don't know, this is Muggle Madness on Monday at Midnight, say goodbye to Sunday mate, it's a new week, and what better way to start such a godforsaken day as Monday than with a little music. Say what you will about those Muggles, they have some absolutely fabulous music. Here's Sarah McLachlan, darlings, with 'Building A Mystery'. Try to get some sleep those of you out there listening."

"Yeah right," muttered Ginny as the song started.

You come out at night

That's when the energy comes

And the dark side's light

And the vampires roam...

~

"Hey, Ginny, what were you doing up so late?" Brittany Cramer asked the next morning, while reaching for the oatmeal.

"Oh, did I wake you? Dammit, I thought I cast that silencing spell well. I'm sorry," Ginny swore, handing her the bowl.

"No, you didn't wake me, I was dreaming about those stupid Geiko commercials again and I woke up. I saw your light on," said Brittany, blushing slightly.

"One night spent in an American Muggle hotel watching television and you're doomed for life," Bethany Springer remarked. "Remind me to never do that. Finishing your Potions were you?" she asked Ginny, raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah," said Ginny, giving a heavy sigh. "I was finishing that essay for McGonagall all yesterday and I didn't have time for Snape's. Merlin knows when I'll get my Charms done, I've got practice after class today and Katie'll have us out there until we can't see the brooms beneath us. Ron really wasn't exaggerating it, fifth year is a bitch."

"Can I borrow it before lunch then?" Bethany asked, grinning. "After all, you used my Wireless."

"How'd you know?"

"It was gone this morning when I looked for it and you always stay up for that hack Muggle music on Sunday nights." Bethany wiped muffin crumbs from the corners of her mouth with a napkin. "Duh."

"Hey, I happen to like Muggle music."

"Which I will never understand. Pass the eggs."

Ginny handed over the plate and stood up. "Sure, you can borrow it. Remind me about it later, though. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got places to go and people to see."

"Oh really? Who would that be?" Brittany asked slyly.

"No one. Dean. Gotta have him look over my Charms homework before he leaves for Divination," Ginny said briskly, slinging her bag over her shoulder.

"You just said you hadn't gotten it done yet," Bethany said shrewdly.

"Whatever, I meant Transfiguration."

"Sure you did," Bethany and Brittany chimed in at the same time. Ginny wasn't listening though. Instead, she was heading out the doors to the west staircase, the complete opposite direction of the Gryffindor common room, which was the only place to find Dean Thomas before 8 o'clock on Monday morning.

~

"Out of my way, Malfoy."

"Kiss my ass Potter, I have as much right to be here as you do."

"How can you too argue so well at such an early hour of the morning?" asked a tired voice behind them.

Whirling around at the same time, Harry and Draco were faced with a puffy-eyed Ginny giving them a withering look.

"He started it," Harry said, pointing at Draco accusatorily.

"That's mature, Potter," Draco sneered, crossing his arms.

"And telling me to kiss your ass is? You're such a hypocrite!"

"Oh, shove it, both of you. Honestly, could you be any more childish?" Ginny shoved past both of them and looked at the statue of Irma the Insipid. "Specula," she said clearly. The statue sighed and moved out of the way, revealing a stone staircase.

"Ginny! I cannot believe you're taking The Ferret's side!" Harry protested, as she began walking up the stairs. She didn't bother to respond as the stone door closed behind her.

Ginny walked on, shifting her bag and sighing as she contemplated the two boys she had left behind. Would they ever get along? Probably not, she thought, answering her own question. In fact, compared to the way they normally interacted, they had just been acting almost civil. But Ginny pushed these thoughts form her mind as she walked upwards.

What was she doing here? She should have been walking to Charms now, not going to visit some people she barely knew the names of. She stopped suddenly, biting her lip, wondering if this was the right thing to do. What would they say? Hell, they probably wouldn't even be awake yet. She certainly wouldn't be if she didn't have to be. Ginny sighed, steeling her resolve and walking on, deciding that if she had come this far, she would at least say hello.

Ginny was suddenly struck with the thought of Draco, who only managed to make friends by being sarcastic and cynical. She giggled, dismissing the thought, and walked on, finally coming to a plain wooden door.

She was about to knock when suddenly, a loud boom that would have done Fred and George proud emanated from the room beyond. Forgetting all about knocking, Ginny opened the door only to gasp at the state of the room, which was in complete and total disarray. To complete the scene was a dust covered Cass sitting in the middle of the disaster, giggling hysterically.

"Cary, did you see that? Alex looks like..." she managed to gasp, only to dissolve into giggles once again before finishing the sentence. Looking around, Ginny managed to finally locate Alex among the wreckage. He was quite the sight, she had to admit, having skin the color of grass and four extra arms sprouting out of the middle of his back. Cary was nearby, standing completely speechless with a piece of toast held forgotten in his hand.

"Uh..." Ginny looked at Alex and was, for the first time in a long time at a complete loss for words. Cary snapped out of his reverie and looked at Ginny with a slightly hysterical look in his eyes.

"Please tell me there's a way to reverse this."

"Why, I...well..." Ginny still struggled to find words to say. She cleared her throat and walked over to Cass, who was, by this time, completely incapable of speech because she was laughing so hard. "Cohibeo," she said, touching her wand to Cass's temple. Immediately, she stopped laughing. "Sobering spell," she told Cary in response to the questioning look he gave her. "Invented after the wizard Hubert Hornsby actually died from laughing too hard." Cary just nodded.

Cass took a few breaths and looked up at Ginny gratefully. "Thanks," she muttered, surveying the mess around her. She walked over to where Alex stood giving her a glare that would have frightened Lucius Malfoy himself.

"Oh, Alex, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to do that, really," she said, grimacing.

Just then, the door opened, revealing Draco, half towing Harry behind him who seemed to be clutching his ribs. "Draco, what did you do?" Ginny shrieked, swooping down on them.

"What did I do? He's the imbecile who punched me first!"

"And then he then kicked himself in his own ribs, right?" she snarled, taking Harry and touching ribs gently. Harry sucked in his breath.

"No, but you don't exactly see me looking like the epitome of perfection I usually am, either, do you?" he said indignantly. "The bastard almost broke my nose!"

"I suppose he did this completely unprovoked?"

"Yes!" Ginny quirked an eyebrow and Draco crossed his arms sullenly.

"And hell is just a sauna," she muttered darkly.

It was then that Draco noticed the room for the first time. "Merlin, what happened in here?"

Alex made an indignant sound.

Draco noticed him and stared for a few minutes. Then he began laughing, clutching his side within seconds of starting. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he laughed, shaking with silent laughter at the vision before him. Ginny stomped on his foot, and he yelped, stopping almost immediately. "Who is that?" he gasped, trying to catch his breath.

"Your mum, Malfoy," Harry snapped, still clutching his side.

"Potter, I'm warning you. Stop it with the cracks about my mother or I'll personally rip out your vocal cords so you can't say them anymore," Draco growled.

"Yeah, right Malfoy. I'd like to see you try it. You can't make me do anything, not unless your only son died for my sins." Harry stood up, massaging his side.

"Shut up, both of you!" Ginny cried, rubbing her temples. "Here, let me just do this," she said "Repurgo,' she said, flourishing her wand again. Instantly, the room was returned to its original state. "What?" she asked in response to Harry's questioning stare. "You think that after as many years as I've had to watch my mother clean up after Fred and George I wouldn't have picked up anything?"

"Yeah, okay, that explains that."

Draco turned to Cass. "What did you attempt to do, exactly?" he asked in a condescending tone.

She giggled. "The spells at the beginning of the book were boring, so I flipped to the back. I was trying to turn Alex's hair red. I guess it didn't work all that well, did it?" She grinned.

"No, you twittering idiot, it worked perfectly. That's why your friend looks like someone tried to cross a tree with a bug."

Her grin disappeared and was replaced with a glare that would have turned Draco to stone if had been possible.

Draco didn't seem to notice though; he was too busy giving Alex a calculating look. "Antea," he finally said. Slowly, Alex's skin color turned back to its original color and with a pop! the arms disappeared.

"How did you know that?" Harry asked incredulously.

"You don't spend as much time with Crabbe and Goyle as I used to without picking up a few handy counter curses. They attempted to do the same thing in second year, trying to turn their hair a bright orange that would have been an uncanny impression of a Weasley," he drawled, looking at his fingernails.

Ginny glared at him heatedly. "My hair is not orange," she said defensively.

"Of course it's not," Draco said absently, picking some dirt from underneath his thumbnail.

Ginny looked around the room for the first time, noting it was very elegantly decorated. Even Malfoy probably couldn't find a problem with it, except maybe the Gryffindor red curtains that hung on either side of the enormous window on the opposite wall, which stretched all the way from the ceiling to the floor, a height of forty feet easily. The window was immaculately clear, except in the middle where a beautiful stained glass picture took the place of the regular glass. It showed four people, two women, who were sitting down, and two men, who were standing behind them. They were each dressed in a different color; one woman in a rich golden yellow, the other in a deep blue. The darker man was in a vivid green and the other in a brilliant shade of scarlet. Their features were slightly distorted, being cast in glass, but there was no mistaking who they were. Ginny was looking at the founders.

"So, anyway," Cary said, attempting to break the awkward silence that had enveloped them. "Don't you all have class or something?"

"Oh, bloody hell," Harry said, looking at his watch. "I've got Divination in 5 minutes!" He picked up his bag, and clutching his side, half-ran to the door.

Ginny's shoulders slumped. "Bugger. That means I'm going to be late for Charms." She found her bag and started for the door after Harry, making sure to whisper in Cary's ear on the way, "Don't let Cass anywhere near the noisemaking charms."

"I suppose that means I should be in Transfiguration," Draco drawled, obviously not in as much of a hurry as the other two. Lazily, he found his bag and started for the door. "Have a good day," he said carelessly, leaving.

Outside, Ginny almost ran into Harry. "What did you stop for?"

"I wanted to talk to you."

"About?"

"Malfoy. What did you ever date him and why did you continue to associate with him after you two broke up?" Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Because he asked," Ginny said, not wanting to have this conversation. She started to walk towards the Charms corridor.

"But what about the fact that his father tried to kill you?" Harry asked bluntly, walking with her.

"Harry, you should already know the answer to that." He looked at her blankly. "He cannot help who his parents are anymore than you can." She sighed. "He cannot help that he was raised to show no emotion, no weakness, only cruelty to those who were not his equals economically, intellectually or in terms of lineage. He is vain, yes, spoiled, certainly, and more than a little spiteful sometimes, but the fact that he managed to turn out as well as he did is a miracle. He asked me out, not vice-versa. That in itself should show he's not like his father. I'm surprised I had to explain that, to you of all people." She shifted her bag.

Harry grumbled. "Alright, I can kind of see where you're coming from, but I still don't like him."

"And I wouldn't expect any less from you."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I'm just saying it's understandable that you don't like him. You've been bitter enemies since you got to this school and he's never treated you with anything but hostility. He's always shoving the fact that your parents are dead in your face. He's picked on Hermione about her heritage and my brother about our family's financial problems. He has never given you a reason to do anything less than hate him, and I'm certainly not condoning what he's done and said, but I will not condemn him for it either, because I know the real person hidden underneath it all."

Harry frowned.

"What?" Ginny asked him.

"Oh, I dunno Ginny. It's just, well, he never once gave you a reason to tolerate him the way you do until a couple of months ago when he finally decided to acknowledge you were more than the dirt under his fingernails. How can you forgive him for everything so easily?" He ran his hand through his hair.

"Like I said before, I know who he really is and that's not a person to hate, no matter what his history is."

"That was really weird of him, though," Harry said conversationally.

"What was?"

"The way he snapped at Cass a few minutes ago. It was so unexpected, considering he was almost actually acting like a human to her last night."

Ginny laughed. "Sometimes I think he has Multiple Personality Disorder," she said quietly, a smile playing on her face. "But do you want to know why he was so nasty to her today?"

"Yes."

"He was embarrassed about last night because he let his guard down to her when he had barely even spoken to her. So he's blaming it on her and punishing her for it. It's just the way he functions. Nothing is ever his fault, you see, there's always someone else to blame. In his eyes, anyway."

Harry raised his eyebrows.

"Really," she told him.

"Wow, and all this time I thought he had no more depth than a paper doll," Harry muttered, only half joking.

Ginny just rolled her eyes. "I've got to get to Charms," she said, turning down another corridor. "See you later, Harry."

~

"Hey Cary, d'you know what these things are?" Cass picked up a red object from the basket on the counter of the kitchen that the tower included.

"I believe that would be an apple," Cary said, looking up from the book he had picked off the shelf in the living room or the apartment.

"No way!"

"Yes, really. I've seen pictures of them. Take a bite, they're really very tasty." He smiled at the fascination his sister was showing the fruit.

"What about this?"

"An orange."

"And this?"

"A pear."

"This is so cool!" Cass bit down hard on the apple, the juices running down her chin as she chewed. "Umm, yum, this is really good."

All sorts of fruit trees had disappeared with the start of open nuclear war between several countries because of the unique composition of the radioactive chemicals used in the bombings. Legends told of a land overridden with every kind of fruit known, but the seriousness of such a tale was debatable and the story was often shrugged off as a fantasy created by the minds of desperate men. They had been able to biologically engineer new types of fruit, but never had oranges or bananas been truly replaced.

Alex sat down beside Cary on the sofa and drew his knees up to his chin.

Cass sat down on a plush blue chair next to the sofa, fruit bowl in hand, and looked quizzically at her friend.

"Everything alright, Alex? I mean, besides the fact that we've somehow traveled back in time and are sitting in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry eating apples." She bit into a yellow apple and let out a sound of contentment.

"Actually, you're the only one eating an apple. Are you going to devour that entire basket?" Alex pointed out, ignoring her question deliberately.

"Probably. Why? Do you want some?"

"No."

"Good, because I wasn't going to share anyway."

Alex laughed quietly. "Actually, one of those peaches would be nice..."

"Too bad for you that they're mine."

Alex laughed again.

"You never answered my question, Browning."

"Oh, so now we're using surnames, huh?"

"Answer the question, Browning."

"I don't seem to remember what the question is, Stratton," Alex said lazily, leaning back and looking up at the murals on the ceiling.

"You know very well what the question was."

Alex didn't respond right away. "Alright. No, something isn't alright."

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, you mean other than the fact that I'm going to meet my father in only a few hours and the only thing I know about him, besides his name, is that he's a lycanthrope?"

Cass didn't say anything for a while. After a few moments, she got up from her chair, setting the now half-empty fruit bowl down, and sat on the glass table opposite of the sofa. Leaning forward, she took Alex's clenched hands in hers and squeezed them gently. "Alex, look at me." Reluctantly, he turned his head and met her eyes. "Everything is going to be fine, do you understand me?" His mouth twisted into a very stubborn expression. "Alex, I promise, I will not let any bad come out of this, alright? You have wanted to know your father for too long, and I won't let anything ruin what you might have with him now. Do you hear me? I will not let anything ruin this or get in its way. I swear, on the entire universe and everything it holds, you will not come out of this with nothing. It's impossible to tell you how much I love my dad. All I want is for you to know that same affection for your own father, no holding back. I only wish you had this same opportunity with your mum." She gave him a small smile. "Okay?"

He smiled back reluctantly. "Okay." He stood up, pulling her with him. "Thanks Cass," he said hoarsely.

"Hey, don't worry about it," she said gently, hitting his arm. He tugged a lock of her hair that had escaped the ponytail she had pulled it back in.

"I hate to ruin the moment guys, but you're kind of standing on my foot," Cary said grumpily, finally emerging from the depths of his book.

"Oh! Sorry Cary, didn't mean to," Cass apologized, stepping aside.

"It wouldn't have been so bad if you didn't weigh so much. Honestly, haven't you ever heard of a diet? Oof!" Cass laughed outright as she plopped herself down on his lap.

"So I'm fat am I?" she questioned.

"Incredibly," her brother said, grinning, knowing she knew he was lying.

"You two," muttered Alex, rolling his eyes. "I pity your poor parents."

"And I," Cass said, standing up and giving Alex a shove, "pity your father for ever having to meet you."

"Oh yeah?" asked Alex in a mocking voice.

"Yeah. What're you going to say to that? Hey! Get away from that fruit! Alex, those are mine! That's not funny!"

Cass tackled Alex, as roughly as she could and beside them, Cary was laughing heartily. Within minutes, they were all out of breath and the victims of laughter that would not stop. It's worth wondering, however, how the days to come might have changed if one of them had simply taken time to look up at the window and notice the dark, hawk-like pair of eyes that were watching them through Helga Hufflepuff's lifeless, pale blue ones.

~

"You know Alex, it's already past 1:30. Do you even know where Dumbledore's office is?"

"Are you serious? Oh no!" Alex scrambled up from the rug he'd been previously pinned against and looked at the large clock on the wall. Sure enough, he little more than twenty minutes to find Dumbledore's office.

"Alex, do you want us to go with you?" Cary asked him seriously.

Alex thought about this for a moment. "Yes, but only there, if you don't mind. Do you?"

Cass looked at him incredulously. "Of course not!"

"Alright, then let's go."

Cass grabbed the cloak she had found inside her room, and fastened it around her neck. "Hey, look, we really are in ancient times," she joked, sweeping the cloak over her shoulder dramatically.

"Very funny, Cass. Now quit joking around and let's go!"

Alex grabbed her arm and rushed her out the wooden door, Cary close behind.

~

Fifteen minutes later, however, they were still as clueless as before. The only thing they could figure out was that they had passed the infirmary of the night before about three times. Walking down yet another unknown corridor, Cass looked into the window of a classroom and spotted Harry inside it. Grinning with her good luck, she tried to figure out a way to get him to notice her without having to barge into the classroom altogether. She didn't figure Dumbledore would be too happy with her if she did that.

Thinking for a moment, she brightened slightly. Concentrating, she stared at the quill lying motionless on the parchment in front of Harry, who was staring vacantly out the window beside him.

Inside the classroom, Dean Thomas slipped out of the doze he'd been in and rubbed his eyes. Looking sideways, he noticed Harry's quill behaving oddly. As far as he knew, Harry steered as far away as he could from Quick Quotes Quills, but for some reason, it was still writing something down on it's own.

"Harry," he said quietly, nudging him. "Harry!"

"Huh?" Harry said, tearing his eyes away from the window, where he'd been watching a few second year Hufflepuffs throw snowballs at each other.

"What's wrong with your quill?"

Harry looked down. Strangely enough, it was carefully writing something in loopy, uncontrolled handwriting. "Look at door," he read slowly as it finished and dropped onto the parchment again. Frowning, he did as it asked and sucked in his breath as he realized Cass was motioning frantically at him to come out into the hallway.

He bit his lip and looked back at Dean, who was attempting to fall back asleep. "Dean!" he whispered urgently. "Oh, leave me alone Hermione. What's the worst I'm going to do? Wake someone else up from their nap?" he hissed at Hermione, who was giving him a dirty look and putting her fingers to her lips.

Dean sniggered quietly.

"Want to get out of here?" Harry asked him conspiratorially.

"Now there's an understatement."

"Act sick."

"What?"

"Just pretend you're going to chuck your lunch or something."

Dean raised an eyebrow at him but did as he asked. Looking nauseous, he put one hand on over his mouth and the other on his stomach.

"Professor," Harry said loudly.

Binns looked up slowly, and blinked, looking at the class as if it were the first time he realized they were there. "Yes, Perkins?" he asked Harry slowly.

"I think Dean's going to be sick. Can I take him to see Pomfrey?" Dean moaned loudly.

"Oh, yes, yes..." he said, going back to his notes and resuming his lecture on goblin rebellions.

Acting as if he were supporting Dean to the door, he grabbed his bag as they passed his seat. Binns took no notice, continuing to drone on about Merrog the Malicious.

"You know, I think he has given us that same lecture every single class since we got here without realizing it," Dean said exasperatedly, straightening up as soon as they were out the door.

Harry looked around. Where was Cass? He hadn't been imagining her, had he?

"Harry, we've got a problem," she said, suddenly standing behind him.

He whirled around. "Merlin, don't do that! Where did you come from?"

"I was standing behind that statue over there. Some students passed by and I'm still unclear whether we're supposed to be seen by anyone else or not. Dumbledore didn't say either way."

"Uh, Harry..."

Harry looked sideways at Dean, who was obviously unsure whether he should go or stay.

"Oh! Sorry Dean. Cass, this is Dean Thomas, a friend of mine. Dean, this is Cass Stratton." Cass looked warily at the tall boy standing next to Harry and after a few seconds, stretched out her hand, deeming him trustworthy. She shook his hand.

"Hello," she said uncertainly.

"Hi," Dean said, smiling. "I don't think I know you. What house are you in?"

"House...?"

"She's not in a House, Dean, she doesn't go to school here," Harry told him.

Dean looked at him with a confused expression. "What is she doing here then?"

"It's a long story. Ask Ginny or Malfoy some time, they'll tell you." Dean still looked confused, but didn't say anything else. "Cass, what's wrong?"

"We can't find Dumbledore's office," she said. "And Alex has that meeting with Dumbledore in ten minutes..."

"Where is he?" As if on cue, Cary and Alex emerged warily from an unused classroom down the hall.

"Blimey, there's more of them?" Dean asked, surprised.

"Dean, this is Cary Stratton and Alex Browning. Alex, Cary, this is Dean Thomas." Cary and Alex nodded.

"Are you two related?" Dean looked from Cass to Cary.

"Yeah, he's my twin brother." Cass said, smiling slightly, knowing what his reaction was going to be.

"You two are twins?" Harry and Dean said together. The only experience either had had with twins previously had been Fred and George, who were so identical it was hard for Mrs. Weasley to tell them apart, and Padma and Parvati Patil, who were also identical looking.

"Yeah, amazing ain't it?" Cary laughed, pulling his sister's hair.

"Anyway, Harry, can you help us?"

"Yeah, sure, this way." Harry started walking down toward the end of the corridor, making sure to look at Dean in a way that showed it was okay for him to follow.

"Hey Harry, who are these people?" Dean hissed in his ear. "I've never even seen them before, and they sound English. I mean, if they were Muggle, they couldn't be here, but Hogwarts is the only Wizarding school in Britain. What's going on?"

"Ask me later, Dean. Or better yet, ask Ginny. I was kind of out of it last night." Harry sighed.

"Wait, does this have to do with why you and Ron came in so late?"

"Yeah."

Dean looked at him shrewdly but didn't say anything more.

"Here we are," he said, talking to the three behind him.

"I don't see an office," Cass said, crossing her arms.

Harry smiled slightly. "Cass, you should have realized by now, this is Hogwarts. Nothing is as it seems."

~

"Come in."

After knocking, Alex walked in cautiously. No one was there, however, except Dumbledore, sitting in the chair behind his desk.

"Ah, Mister Browning. I thought that might be you. It looks as if Professor Lupin is running slightly late, so I shall go and see what is keeping him." He stood up from his chair, and picked up his wand from the desktop. Seeing Cass and Cary standing in the doorway hesitantly, he smiled. "Mister and Miss Stratton. Why don't you come with me? I shall be wanting a word, if you please. Oh, and is that Mister Potter and Mister Thomas behind you? Goodness, it seems as if I've got quite a lot of visitors today. How are you, Dean? Professor McGonagall says you are doing excellently this year. Top of your class, ahead of Miss Granger, even, she says."

"Hello, Headmaster. I'm doing well," Dean said, smiling and looking pleased with himself.

"Well, that's always good to hear. However, why don't Mister Potter and yourself get to class? Thank you for showing Mister Browning the way to my office." His blue eyes twinkled knowingly.

Harry and Dean left, looking rather disappointed and Dumbledore turned to the twins. "Shall we then? Alexander, it shall not take more that a few moments, if you'll please wait here." The headmaster ushered Cass and Cary out the door and closed it behind him without another word.

Alex sighed, the butterflies in his stomach fluttering slightly. Looking around, he noticed a very ugly bird in a cage in the corner. It looked as if it were sleeping. Not wanting to disturb it, he walked toward one of the many bookcases, examining the strange silver instruments that seemed to hum slightly. There were portraits of people lining the walls, and he had the distinct impression they were watching him, though to all appearances they were sleeping, snoring softly in their frames.

Not seeing any other chair in the room besides the one behind the desk, Alex sat down in it and spun it around, facing the upper level to the room and looked at it curiously. There were more bookshelves up there, and a door behind them. He supposed that's where the headmaster's private quarters were, behind the door at the end.

Behind him, the door opened and someone walked in. Someone, Alex realized with a light flip of his stomach, with much softer steps than the headmaster.

Spinning the chair around slowly, Alex nervously looked into the face of the man that had just entered the office.

"Dad?"