Stumbling in a War

It was May. The sun was rising, bathing the sky-scrapers with a bright orange light as thousands of people left to go to work or to go drop their children at school. Apple trees were blossoming in the suburban parks of Hamburg, and there was a fresh dew dangling on the green leaves and blades of grass.

A small yellow bird decided to land in a net, watching his surroundings intently, perhaps in search of a worm for his first meal of the day. What wasn't on his plans was a huge sphere violently hitting the nets where he had landed, making them spasm and frightening him. He quickly flew away with noisy shrills.

A child cried not very far away. She was facing the sky above her with eyes closed and hands balled into small fists. She was screaming with anger.

'I can't do it!' she snapped when she finally looked down and turned to the woman behind her. The woman was very tall and kept running a hand through her light-brown hair. When the little girl kicked another nearby black and white sphere towards her, the woman sighed.

'The stupid ball won't go through the loop! Here! You try it!' the infant dared with annoyance.

The young woman sighed again with exasperation, uncrossed her arms ,and shot the ball towards the goal in front of them. The ball flew through one of the loops placed on the corner and balanced the net at least four times harder than before.

She heard the little girl groan and saw her blond hair glistening an orange shade in the early-risen sun. As the woman peered down she saw that the child was finding the grass to be a very interesting thing to look at, although her small mouth was curled in frustration.

The woman stuffed her hands into the pockets of her trousers and started walking away, no words said. Her footsteps rustled in the green grass. The girl's head jerked up in surprise.

'Hey!' she called, stepping forward to follow the woman. 'What are you doing? Where are you going?' she asked, her voice curious, demanding, and annoying.

The brunette turned around calmly to face her. 'I thought you were going to quit,' she answered, her tone even. 'I have many more things to do but hear a silly little girl whine.'

The child showed she was offended by narrowing her eyes and pouting her lips while mumbling something. The woman's light eyebrows shot upwards in a mocking attitude.

'What did you say?' she asked, putting a hand on her ear in a exaggerated show of emphasis. The girl took a deep breath.

'I don't want to quit!' she shrilled in her childish voice. 'I want to enter the team!' she demanded.

' "You want, you want, you want...",' the woman leered while giving a few steps in her direction. She then crouched to be eye-level with the little girl - in vain; she still had to tilt her head down. The child was so tiny, her full height barely reached the woman's waist when she was standing. 'Wanting is not everything, little girl,' she scolded teasingly.

The child looked at her with an angry frown, an expression many people thought was adorable. The woman, however, knew the girl well enough to acknowledge she was angry about being called a little girl for she was prideful child. She knew this child well, despite the dislike they had for each other, and knew how to incite her to do what she wanted. She knew which strings to pull. Seeing that girl was quiet, she continued with her lecture.

'Wanting it is half of the way through, though. The rest of the path is hard-work. You can't just wait things to fall from the sky and land on your lap. You have to fight for them. Understood?'

The blonde nodded, although there was still a pout of uncertainty on her face. The woman stood up, and the little girl's head followed her movement. She smiled when she noticed that her pupil never broke eye contact with her.

'So... what do you want?' the woman asked knowingly.

'I want to be in the team,' the little girl answered slowly, but determinedly.

'Not that,' she dismissed the answer with a shake of her head and a chuckle of her tongue. 'What do you really want?' the woman insisted.

For a second, the girl's brown eyes twinkled with a precocious fire the woman had seen some times before.

'To be world champion!' she answered in a stronger tone than before causing her voice go an octave higher, if that was humanly possible.

'You have the will, you have the talent,' the woman commented, but more to herself than to the child. Her mouth twitched in a prideful half-smile. 'And what do you need to achieve that?'

The child thought for a while as her stare finally rested on the grass below her.

'Practice and hard-work,' she mumbled in a somewhat ashamed tone as her fringe covered her eyes. 'I'm sorry...'

'Hey...' the woman called softly as she put two fingers on the girl's chin and tilted her little head up. 'You can apologise to me by restarting practice... and take this advice in mind. Always, understand?'

The girl nodded eagerly with her short blond hair shaking up and down.

'Besides,' the adult said in a merrier tone this time. 'if you do the exercises right, not only you'll get in the team, but you'll also have an ice-cream. Deal?'

The girl's eyes widened with surprise. She hadn't been expecting that proposition. The woman smiled knowingly as she saw the child's mouth curl into a grin. The girl turned and ran to the goal cage to pick up the football there.

'What now "coach"?' she asked enthusiastically when she put the leather spheres down and placed herself.

'Easy, "Blondie",' the coach soothed her and then laughed at the small scowl the girl gave when she heard the nickname. 'Let's try the upper left corner, shall we?'

Chapter I - Kick off

"Here we are now, entertain us." ~ Nirvana, Smells like Teen Spirit

'Over here Harry!' a red-haired boy called out as he balanced himself on a handle next to the door of the train. Harry had to squint his eyes against the sun to finally see Ron Weasley's lanky silhouette dangling from the entrance. The red train was glistening by the burning Sun hovering above the Platform 9 ¾ . This September, the weather had become too warm for the population's taste. It was welcome in the beginning, but the temperature had risen as the days passed by. The British weren't accustomed to that kind of heat.

Harry Potter hurried to join his long time friend while dodging the crowd that filled the platform. Students, parents, sons, daughters, brothers and sisters were all saying their farewells as they left for another year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

When he reached the entrance of the train, Harry was met not only by red haired Ron Weasley, but by two other pretty faces.

'Hermione! Ginn--ouf!' was all that he managed to say before his voice was muffled by a high-pitched Harry and two pairs of arms smothered him until he was unable to breathe.

'Now Harry, I know that you know lots of people and you have to keep in mind each name of them, but my name isn't Ginnouf... it's Ginny!' said the redhead clinging to him with mischief in her voice.

'Oh, sorry... and you are?' Harry asked between grins as he turned towards the brunette supported on his other shoulder. He only received a friendly slap on his arm. 'Hey!'

'Harry Potter, may I introduce you to Hermione Granger, this year's Head Girl,' Ron said chuckling.

Green eyes turned ecstatically towards the brown ones. 'You made it to Head Girl? Congratulations! I should have seen it coming, though. Everyone was expecting it!' he added with a grin.

Hermione beamed proudly at his praise while flashing a smile.

'You know, I can't wait until school starts,' she said excitingly while talking for the first time in what seemed like ages to Harry. 'Being Head Girl is a job of great responsibility. And I read in Hogwarts, A History that-'

'-- Spare him, will you, Hermione?' said Ron patting Harry's shoulder sympathetically. 'He just arrived here. Give him a rest.'

The bushy-haired girl sent Ron a death glare and had opened her mouth to retaliate until Ginny chimed in.

'We already saved a compartment for us,' she said looking over her shoulder with her long red hair tumbling with each step she gave as she walked towards the end of the carriage. 'It's the last one, actually, but we figured you'd want to get out of all the ruckus.'

Harry smiled gratefully to Ginny while the trio followed her. This last summer had been awful for him. He didn't remember the last time he spent the entire holidays at the Dursley's. His relatives still feared him though which was a small break from the otherwise awful summer. They also were ignoring his presence which Harry considered good at the beginning.

This 'good' soon became uncomfortable after a while. Harry couldn't leave the house due to Dumbledore's strict orders, and he knew he was being closely watched by members of the Order of the Phoenix. He also missed his friends terribly. Harry was completely idle, and he wanted someone to talk that could really understand him. This made him anxious and curious about what was happening in the Wizarding world. He tried to visit Mrs. Figg once, the Squibb that lived next door, but there was some spell that hit him whenever he tried to go past the garden's fence. The spell would cause his mind to go blank, and forget what he was about to do. He would come back to the house and once he was inside his memory came back along with the information that it would happen again if he tried it again.

Hedwig didn't fly much over the summer which caused her to be visibly thinner than ever. She did fly to the Little Whining, the Burrow and Surrey, where Hermione lived. She looked healthy and the exercise seemed to make her faster. The only things that kept Harry aware of the things going on in the Wizarding world were his friends' letters from Ron, Hermione and...Ginny.

Harry had been surprised at first when he received Ginny's letter. She wrote in her first letter that he would need some other point of view about what was happening in the magical world because Ron kept exaggerating and mixing up facts while Hermione spent some much of her vacations in a foreign country so she wouldn't no what was happening in England. Ginny told him she was going to be his "private reporter" for the holidays, and that he should feel flattered. Harry remembered how much he had laughed over that comment.

He took a deep breath, and closed his eyes for a while savouring the ring of his friends' laughter, the familiar charcoal scent of the train, and the feeling that he was finally heading home.

'You coming, mate?' asked Ron, his freckled head peeking from the compartment door. Harry snapped his eyes open and his mind out of his reverie.

'Yeah,' he answered with a soft smile tugging at his lips. Yes, he decided as he slid the compartment door shut behind him; he was definitely going home.

Harry sat next to Ron while Ginny and Hermione sat in the seat across them. Hermione had Crookshanks on her lap, and was scratching the fur behind his ear. The cat purred contently.

'Hermione, weren't you supposed to have a meeting with the Head Boy and McGonagall?' Harry asked, which reminded him of the Prefect meetings they had before arriving at Hogwarts. Hermione shook her head with her curls waving from side to side.

'I've asked McGonagall if I could skip that meeting, and she accepted. Besides, while we were waiting for you she gave me an important lecture on--'

'--Hermione,' Ginny interrupted, and Harry heard Ron letting a sigh of relief. That hadn't gone unnoticed by the newest Head Girl and she glared at him. Ron blushed. 'who is Head Boy, this year?' the redhead asked.

At this question the Head Girl blinked.

' I have no idea,' Hermione responded, her eye slightly wide with the realisation that she missed an important detail. 'I... I think I forgot to ask.'

'Oh, we don't blame you, Hermione,' said Ron in a strange, soothing way. 'After all, you were so interested in her lecture about "whatchamacalit",' he teased.

Hermione huffed and held Crookshanks more tightly. The ginger cat seemed not to like that idea, and started squirming uncomfortably.

'Honestly, Ron. It really was interesting. It was about the responsibility of becoming Head Girl and such. But I wouldn't be worrying to much about who's Head Boy, Harry, it's probably a Ravenclaw--'

'Five points from Gryffindor for making wrong assumptions,' said a deep voice from the door as it slid open. Harry shivered. Already?

The four Gryffindors turned to see Malfoy smirking in his green and silver uniform under black robes, and a golden glint over his heart.

Harry squinted his eyes.

'Head Boy' it read.

He had to be going mad, Harry thought... no actually Dumbledore had to be going mad. The elder Headmaster had finally started to show why he had such a bad reputation concerning his mental health...

'So, Malfoy, whose boots did you have to lick this time to get that badge? Or did you just asked your cronies to nick the badge from the Head Boy so you could show-off around?' Ginny asked surprising everyone with her shrewdness.

Malfoy also looked surprised,and his mouth opened only to shut again before finally opening when he regained his composure. His lips drew a cruel sneer.

'Well, if it isn't the Gryffindor Whore...' the Slytherin replied nastily. 'Tell me Weasley Junior, how much money did you earn last year when you rode half the school?'

Ron sputtered and was building up in raging fury. He was looking ready to beat Malfoy into a pulp. Hermione sensed it and subtly whispered an incantation that caused the Weasley to become glued to his seat. Neither Malfoy or Ginny noticed the little interaction.

Ginny, however, seemed to manage on her own.

' I'm sorry if I dated any of your love interests, Malfoy,' she replied like she was truly sorry. Only the glint in her eyes and the arched eyebrows said otherwise. 'I hope you didn't get too jealous'.

Hermione gasped, but was wearing a smile nonetheless. Harry was staring, and so was Ron. When did Ginny become so sharp-tongued?

Malfoy had to be thinking on the same lines too, but he already knew a reply for that.

'Nice comeback, Weasley,' he said, and the quartet took a double take. He really seemed to be complimenting her. 'Too bad it lacks originality. It has "Zabini" brandished all over it,' the Slytherin finished with a pitiful shake of his head. It didn't last long. His face became a cruel mask in a matter of nanoseconds. He scoffed. 'I knew you Gryffindors weren't the smartest of the lot but I never thought you were this dim-witted. Stealing your boyfriends quotes, Weaslette, you should be ashamed. What would dear old Blaise do?'

Ron's head turned to face Ginny in shock. Her ears were starting to match with her flaming hair. He turned again to the Head Boy.

'Go grow a fungus, ferret-boy,' he spat. Malfoy made a face at his nickname. Ron wasn't done yet. 'Before I turn you into one.'

Draco, always the poseur, leaned against the door nonchalantly as he ran his hand through his hair.

' I'm not sorry to say this Weasel, but that has to be the most--' he stopped abruptly with his hand still in his blonde strands, and his mouth morphing from the arrogant smirk to a perfect "o" in astonishment.

'What the--?' Draco started as he brought his hand in front of his eyes. On each fingertip tiny mushrooms were growing, and another was appearing at the pointy tip of his nose.

The trio started laughing like they did the time the Weasley Brothers made that chaotic revenge against Umbridge in Harry's fifth year. Harry's sides were starting to ache as he saw Draco's hair turn a pasty green and more mushrooms come out of his face.

'Love... hahah... the hairstyle, Malfoy,' Ron said between hearty laughs.

Malfoy was getting a weird tinge on his cheeks that would probably have been pink if it weren't for the "situation" he was in. He was touching his face with a horrified expression while Crabbe and Goyle, who were looming behind him and hadn't yet said a word (or a grunt, for what mattered), were looking at each other not knowing what to do.

'Eeeeww!' squealed Ginny like a ten-year old, yet seeming appropriate to this occasion. Ron's laughter was mixed with Harry's, and Hermione's crystalline laughs were also rang in his ears.

Malfoy's head snapped up furiously.

'You'll pay for this, Potter!' he spat and hastily motioned Crabbe and Goyle to follow him. He slid the door shut with such strength that it bounced of the frame and opened up again with a loud "clack!".

Right after the three Slytherins went away a round face peeked inside the compartment with a friendly smile.

'Funny thing is that you will always have to "pay for it", Harry,' said Neville Longbottom producing himself from the door and twirling his wand like he always did. 'You didn't even said a word!'

'Neville! That was you?' asked Hermione, her brown eyes wide with astonishment. Neville blushed profusely.

'It's a trick I found out when I was studying Advanced Herbology over the Summer,' he said, shrugging and examining his shoes. 'I saw Malfoy and I heard Ginny's voice. Ron said something about fungus and I decided to try this little spell.'

'Speaking of which,' said Harry, turning with a smile to Ginny. 'Nice answers Ginny. I didn't even got the time to say anything.'

Ginny's ears were instantly an exuberant shade of red, a reminder of her old crush on the Boy-Who-Lived. It made Harry shift in his seat uncomfortably. In spite herself, she replied calmly with a grin. 'Thanks.'

At this, Ron's ears perked up.

'Wait a second.' he started, leaning forward, since Hermione had forgotten to take of the spell on him. ' Ginny, what did Malfoy mean with "stealing Zabini's quotes"? You didn't date him, did you?'

The red-haired girl's ears were no longer red. Apparently Ginny was more at ease dealing with her brother than receiving a praise from Harry.

'So what if I did?' she asked, shrugging as she scavenged in her bag. Ron squirmed in the seat next to Harry.

'Ginny, you dated a Slytherin?' he spat the last word like if it tasted foul in his mouth.

She waved her hand dismissively while she pushed a copy of The Quibbler in front of her face. 'A hundred and one ways to catch a Jigglypuff' and 'Super quiz! Is your wand up to the task? A test on Defense Against the Boogeyman.'

'Ginny, were you out of your mind?' Ron was tall enough to reach over and snatch the magazine from Ginny's grasp. She looked shocked.

'Hey! Give it back!' she protested while she attempted to reach for it. 'That's mine!'

'What were you thinking Ginevra Weasley?' Ron insisted. 'You dated a foul, smarmy--'

'--That's enough Ron,' prompted Hermione sternly, and the Keeper's voice died on his throat. Her tone was calm and serious, and he acknowledged that was a deadly combination. 'Ginny's old enough to know what she's doing.'

Ron sputtered again, and Harry had to wipe some of his saliva from his hand.

'You-you're defending her?' he asked, his outrage evident in his voice. Ginny had stopped trying to snatch the magazine from her brother, and now was leaning back with her arms crossed over her chest to show how happy she was with Ron's attitude. She was determined to ignore his little speech by looking through the window.

Harry frowned at this new knowledge. He did think that Ron's idea of scolding his sister for making her decision was wrong because Ron had no right to meddle into Ginny's affairs. But apparently Ginny had dated a Slytherin. He scrunched his nose at the thought. Slytherins were sneaky, vile and rude. What was Ginny thinking when she decided to go out with one?

A loud whistle and a sudden push on their torsos announced that the train was starting to move and head to Hogwarts. Neville almost lost his balance and practically fell onto the seat beside Harry while trying to give the impression that he actually wanted to do that. The round-faced boy looked around, expecting some snickers, but due to the circumstances between Ron and Ginny no one except Harry noticed his clumsiness. Harry pretended he didn't notice and smiled quietly at his colleague.

He looked again at Ginny, and saw her nudge Hermione with her elbow. Ron was still giving his perfect imitation of his brother Percy as he continued rambling on about how vicious the Slytherins were and unaware that nobody was listening to him.

'She's not going to make it,' mumbled Hermione, who was leaning into Ginny's side and peering through the window with a curious frown on her face.

'Hey! Are you even listening to me?' Ron asked realizing that the two girls were observing something else. He turned to watch the window. 'What are you two looking- oh,' he stopped as he saw what was happening outside.

Harry and Neville shared a curious glance, and simultaneously got up and leaned to see what was going on.

Platform 9 ¾ was really long. The train had started moving, but the last carriage

hadn't left it still. A girl was running on the platform, struggling to get to the last carriage door to enter the train. She must have arrived late, and was now running like her life depended on it to catch the train. That didn't seem very easy, Harry noticed, as the train kept gaining speed.

'The train will leave the platform soon,' Ron noticed as he turned his head to look ahead. 'If she doesn't hurry, she'll miss it. Come on!' he shouted eagerly, inciting the girl, although Harry doubted she could hear him. He turned to see the platform's edge approaching.

'Just a little more,' Ginny said, like she was watching a particularly interesting Quidditch match. 'You can do it.'

The girl stretched her hand to the handle next to the door. She was still too far and couldn't reach it.

The edge was about 20 feet ahead.

Her blonde hair glistened against the sun as she lowered her head down and tried to increase her speed.

10 feet.

She tried reaching for it again. Her hand was almost there.

5 feet.

She grabbed the handle and with a last burst of effort she jumped inside the last carriage. There was a loud "thump!" outside of their compartment, and the five Gryffindors hurried to get out and enter the corridor. Harry heard Hermione let out a gasp.

The girl was lying on the floor with her eyes closed as her chest heaved up and down, wheezing as she inhaled. Sweat beads were covering her brow and hair line, and she was looking particularly fragile in that state. Hermione tried to approach her with quick hurried steps thumping on the carpeted floor, but the girl heard them and stretched her arm up to signal Hermione to stop. The Head Girl stood her ground, but kept staring wide-eyed at the girl laying there.

'Are you alright?' asked Neville with a concerned expression, and asking the question that everyone wanted to ask but were all too stunned to even say it out loud.

The girl nodded, swallowing and starting to breathe deeply again. She hadn't opened her eyes yet. They all stayed (stood?) motionless until she caught her breath.

She sat up and now Hermione had kneeled in front of her, putting her hands over the girl's shoulders. Ginny closed the carriage door, which was still open and was letting in a disturbing wind. Neville stepped forward and crouched next to Hermione.

'Are you alright?' asked Ginny this time, her voice the softest she could manage as she leaned over Hermione's head.

The girl let out a tired chuckle, and the Gryffindors looked at each other with raised eyebrows. Was this girl mad?

'Yes,' croaked the girl. 'I haven't run like that for a while,' she managed to say, her voice strained, finally opening her eyes and looking at the students around her while still panting. 'Thanks.'

'Nice sprint,' Ron said at last. 'We saw it all. Just one bit slower and you'd miss the train!' he complimented cheerfully.

The girl chuckled again, but let her head fall down between her knees in fatigue with a sigh.

'You can sit with us if you'd like,' said Hermione, her Head Girl side showing up. 'The other compartments must be full, and you would need some rest.'

'We don't mind,' added Ginny, eyeing the girl hopefully.

The girl ran a hand over her dark blond hair, but said nothing either from exhaustion or indecision. She looked up and eyed each one of them, and a smile tugged on the corner of her lips. She stood up, although awkwardly, and tried to straighten her back. Her somewhat sharp shoulders slouched down with tiredness.

'You're new here, aren't you?' asked Ron, his eyebrows knitting together as he helped her walk inside the compartment. 'I don't think I've seen you at Hogwarts before, and you're too tall to be a first-year...' he commented, eyeing her up and down. She was indeed very tall, almost as tall as Harry and towered over Hermione and Ginny. Ron, as usual, was the tallest of them all.

Once they reached the couch he let her go, and the girl slouched heavily on the seat.

'Yes, I am,' was the only answer she gave. Ginny sat by her side along with Neville while the Trio sat across. They were all eyeing her curiously.

Hermione practically hopped of her seat to stretch her hand. 'I'm Hermione Granger,' she said, sounding extremely important. 'I am Head Girl here at Hogwarts. Pleased to meet you.'

The girl's dark eyebrows shot up with amused surprise, but she took it nonetheless.

'Ariane Hauer,' she answered, her name pronounced with a strange accent. 'The pleasure is mine.'

'Is that even a name?' mumbled Ron mischievously, snorting, like he had done with Malfoy in their first year, but Harry nudged his ribs.

'I'm Ginny Weasley,' the red-haired girl introduced, and she turned back to Neville. 'And this is Neville Longbottom.'

Neville straightened in his seat and stretched a sweaty hand to Ariane while mumbling something that no one could hear. His cheeks were pink and he seemed to be quite uncomfortable.

'This humongous git is my brother, Ron Weasley,' Ginny said, and Ariane's eyebrows shot up again with such an introduction. 'But you can call him Ronniekins; he likes it,' Ginny added with a smirk on her lips. Apparently she found out a perfect way to get some revenge from the previous argument.

Ron's face was a deep shade of red making his freckles almost disappear. He glared at his sister.

'I do not!' he exclaimed. 'I'm Ron,' he said with a frown on his red face.

'I've noticed,' Ariane noted, smirking. And Harry had to muffle a chuckle with a cough. Hermione's expression, though, was hard as stone. The bushy-haired girl leaned forward with her brown eyes narrowed.

'Hauer isn't a British name...' she mused. 'Where are you from exactly?' she pressed on.

Ariane blinked, surprised, but Harry had an idea why his friend was being so suspicious. During the summer, word came out that Lord Voldemort was gathering his Death Eater army somewhere in the islands of the United Kingdom. It was rumoured that a good part of that army was foreign. He frowned.

'I'm from Germany,' Ariane answered, her eyes narrowing slightly, taking in Hermione's reaction. The Head Girl kept insisting.

'You don't sound very Germanic,' she said. 'I can't trace any accent on your voice and I know that Central Europeans have difficulties to speak the English language correctly.'

Harry noticed Ron flinched from probably remembering Hermione's friendship with Victor Krum. This didn't go unnoticed by Ariane whose eyes had flicked to the Weasley, but she said nothing. Instead, the newcomer just leaned back and faced the girl across her with an annoyed scowl on her lips.

'That's maybe because I left Germany nine years ago and I've been following my father around the world,' she spat, her voice low, calm, and determined. 'I learned so many languages in the meantime that I lost the accent from my home-country,' she stood up, and headed to the door. 'I better go. It's been nice talking to you.' she said dryly over her shoulder, and slid the door open.

'Wait! Ariane!' Ginny called after her. The blonde girl turned around with a curious frown. 'Don't go. Stay here with us!'

'What for?' the German spat. 'So I can be judged and mistrusted even though people don't even know me? As much as that appeals to me, I'll pass,' she answered nastily, and turned and shut the compartment door behind her.

A disturbing silence filled the next few moments as the Gryffindors glanced at each other. Hermione looked outraged, Ginny pitiful and Neville a bit insecure. Ron looked at Harry each other and shrugged.

Someone knocked at the door and each of them gave a jump of fright. The door opened slowly, and everyone leaned their heads forward expecting it to be Ariane returning and apologising for her outburst. Harry heard Ginny sigh with disappointment when she saw it was only the trolley lady.

'Well, this has to be a first,' the old lady commented, seeing the group's reaction. 'It's the first time that I open a compartment and people look at me with faces like that.'

This made Harry hop from his seat and dig in his pocket for money, and started asking for some Chocolate Frogs and a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. Neville did the same, asking for other sweets like licorice wands and pumpkin juice. They all ate more cheerfully, and even laughed when Ginny made a disgusted noise and threw her bean onto a handkerchief.

'Salt' she said, and grabbed a bottle of pumpkin juice.

'You know, Hermione,' started Neville, although he was watching the uneaten part of his Chocolate Frog with a blush on his face. 'You shouldn't have suspected of Ariane like that.' He bit another piece of chocolate smudging the corner of his lips.

Hermione's eyebrow shot up.

'And why not?' she asked. 'For all we know, she could be a spy from Voldemort (Ron winced) or even worse, a Death Eater.'

Neville shook his head, still eyeing his chocolate.

'She isn't a Death Eater for sure.' he said lowering his voice sadly. 'The Hauers were colleagues of my parents. I remember them visiting in St. Mungos when I was very little.'

Hermione straightened in her seat, her face utterly surprised.

'Why didn't you say so?' she asked, eyes wide. 'Oh my...'

'I-I was a little shy,' he answered, then looked at the girl apologetically. 'Sorry.'

The Head Girl leaned back again, and looked at her lap, thinking. Harry could swear he could hear the little wheels in her head turning. 'clack clack clack'

She stood up so quickly that he, as a seeker, had to appreciate her speed. Ron jumped, face blank.

'Don't do that!' he said. 'You'll scare someone to death like that!'

Ginny giggled and shook her head. Ron sent her a glance that clearly said 'What?' Hermione ignored them with her face resolute.

'I'm going to search for Ariane, and apologise.'

'I'll go with you,' jumped Ginny enthusiastically, and Harry had the feeling that she didn't want to be in the same compartment as her brother without another girl to defend her. The girls left, and they stayed looking after them.

'Why is, that women always go somewhere in pairs?' he wondered out loud. Neville shrugged, clueless, and Harry stood silent, arching his eyebrows for a moment, telling his friends he had no idea as well.

Lance Stevens sat in his compartment watching the land outside. He always thought it was fascinating the way the world seemed to pass him by in a blur while the train looked completely still. The soft balancing of the carriages one time or another told him it was the other way around, and not like he once, when he was very little, believed.

The door of the compartment slid open, breaking his current of thought, and two pretty girls, one blonde and one who looked like she came from India, were standing in the doorway.

'Ooh! Sorry!' apologised the blonde one. 'We thought that this was empty.'

Lance smiled awkwardly. He was about to open his mouth to say something, but the darker girl said a hurried and embarrassed 'Sorry!' and slammed the door shut.

Lance heard both of them giggle from outside the door.

'Oh, by Merlin's beard...' He heard one of them (he presumed it was the dark-haired one, by her voice) 'did you see how cute he was?' She asked in a pretty loud whisper, almost hysterically.

Lance blushed uncomfortably and shook his head glad no one was in there to see his embarrassment. He usually felt quite uncomfortable with some particular glances and comments some girls sent his way. He didn't like the kind of attention they gave to him. His mother always said it was normal to girls act this way, because he was turning into a charming boy. He didn't believe her, still. She was his mother, for Merlin's sake, don't all mothers think their children beautiful?

He sighed and moved his black eyes to watch the landscape again. He missed his mother, although he had only left recently. He was starting to worry sick about his parents, since they were going on an important mission, or so they said. Before he left, he made them promise they would write to him every week, leaving no detail behind. He hated not knowing what was happening around him, and he knew that this new school wouldn't be the same as his old one where he could go home each day after classes.

Lance had to admit he was pretty nervous about this new school. He had always heard of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry since he was a little boy. It seemed to him like it was a distant, but really important school in the Wizarding World. It was where his parents had their education, and he had asked them a thousand questions about it when he learned he would be going there for his seventh year. In answer, they just gave him an old dusty book from their library - Hogwarts, a History.

He searched on his satchel and took the thick volume out opening it to the page where a velvety bookmark with a maroon braided cord lay on the edge. The last time he read the book he had just finished the chapter concerning the life of one of the school founders, Helga Hufflepuff, who, he seemed to remember, was from a Icelandic family and loved English Muffins, or at least the medieval recipe that developed into the ones that were used for cooking today. He was starting to read a new chapter with the curious title - The Sorting - when the door slid open again.

He turned to see who it was hoping that it wasn't the two girls again, finally deciding to talk to him with giggles as punctuation. What he saw made his cheeks burn like they had never before and his jaw slacken.

'And what the hell are you doing here?' the voice asked from the door.