Like A Star

I think we've been over this enough. I own nothing! ('cept the plot I suppose).

Thanks to Natalie and Lucille

I like reviews

Thanks to all those who have reviewed this so far.

That being said:

*****

"Harry, do you have your cloak?" Fred asked. Fred, George, Ron, and Harry were all standing in Ron's room furiously throwing things into their Hogwarts trunks.

"Yes, I packed it first," Harry said.

"Good," Fred said. He smiled at George mischievously as he dropped another box of Filibuster's Fireworks into his trunk. Ron was desperately trying to get Pig to fly into his cage. Fred and George's dignified Barn Owl, Argus, already sat in its cage watching the proceedings closely. Fred and George had named their owl after Filch. Its full name was Argus Without Whom We Would Have Never Gotten So Many Detentions, but they reckoned that was a bit long so they just called him Argus. The people at the Owl Registration Bureau had a fit with the owl's name.

"Boys! We're leaving for Kings Cross in 5 minutes!" Mrs. Weasley called from the bottom of the stairs.

"How are we getting there this year?" Harry asked as he shoved his underwear filled cauldron into the last available space in his trunk and tried to pull the lid closed.

"Bill is driving us," George said. He, too, closed his trunk. Ron threw a few more things haphazardly into his trunk and deemed his packing complete. The three boys headed out of the room, not waiting for Fred. They dragged their trunks out to where Hermione and Ginny were already waiting. Bill, Charlie and the two girls were standing next to a yellow and purple Volkswagen Beetle.

"We're all going to Kings Cross in that?" Ron asked incredulously.

"Yes, something like that," Bill laughed.

"How much have you enlarged it?" Fred asked. He had just appeared out of the house in time to hear the conversation transpiring between his brothers.

"I haven't," Bill said.

"And you expect all," George stopped to name everyone silently and count the people off on his fingers, "nine of us to fit in there?"

"No, I expect you four, Hermione, Ginny and myself to fit in here. Charlie and mum will Apparate," Bill explained.

"Still, won't that be a little difficult?" Fred asked. Bill pulled at his wand and pointed it at the assembled luggage. He muttered a few words of Latin and suddenly all six trunks, four owl's cages and one cat basket were miniature.

"Way to go, Bill! We won't know whose is whose till they're big again!" Fred exclaimed. He picked up one of the little owls cages and peered inside. "I think this is Detention, George." George took the miniature from Fred and looked closely at it. Everyone else picked up a trunk and put it in his or her pocket.

"If I pull out Ginny's knickers when I'm unpacking tonight, you're going to get it, Bill!" Ron exclaimed as he dropped his chosen trunk into his pocket. Ginny turned red at the mention of her knickers.

"In the car, kids!" Molly Weasley exclaimed.

"I get the front seat!" Fred and George both cried at the same time.

"All right, I'll share," they continued. Harry, Ginny, Hermione and Ron all climbed into the backseat of the Beetle. Fred and George arranged themselves in the front seat and Bill slid into the driver's seat.

"Alright, mum, we'll see you there," he said as he closed his door. Mrs. Weasley and Charlie waved as Bill backed the atrociously colored car out of the driveway.

"Bill, are you sure you didn't magic the backseat?" Hermione asked. The four friends found they had no problem fitting into the seat. Bill smiled mischievously at them in the rearview mirror.

"Mum wouldn't approve after dad's flying car," he said.

"Does this one fly?" Fred asked.

"Not yet!" Bill said excitedly, "I'm working on it though." Fred and George immediately became interested in the gadgetry Bill had already installed on the car. Ginny stared blankly out of the window, more than likely thinking of Braeden. He had owled her every day since his visit to the Burrow. Hermione pulled a book out of her shoulder bag and began to read, while Harry and Ron immersed themselves in a conversation about their second favorite topic; girls.

*****

"Hurry boys, you're going to be late!" Mrs. Weasley urged. She and Charlie met Bill and the others just outside of Kings Cross. Hermione and Ginny had already headed through, but Fred, George, Harry and Ron were straggling just a bit. Mrs. Weasley jumped behind them and herded them towards the barrier.

"Mum, won't it be a bit obvious if we all go through the barrier at once?" Fred asked.

"Good point, Harry and Ron, you go," Mrs. Weasley instructed. Ever since the unfortunate incident in their second year, Mrs. Weasley never let Harry and Ron go through the barrier last. Fred and George followed Harry and Ron and Mrs. Weasley followed the twins. Bill and Charlie had gone ahead with Hermione and Ginny.

"Well then, I expect you all to behave," Mrs. Weasley said as she began on her round of bone crushing hugs.

"Bill Weasley!" A familiar voice called. Fred, George and Harry all turned to see Arabella Figg rushing towards Bill.

"Bella!" Bill exclaimed, he turned an enveloped her in a hug.

"Hey Ms. Arabella, what are you doing here?" Harry asked.

"My nephew Gus is starting his first year. His parents are away in America on business, so they asked me to bring him here and get him on the train," Arabella explained. She pointed over at a very small boy with curly red hair. Before the conversation could progress any farter, Mrs. Weasley wrapped her arms around Harry and pulled him into one of those hugs.

"Now Harry, I want you to be safe this year. Don't get into any trouble and always listen to what your professors say," Mrs. Weasley instructed.

"Like he'll pay attention to that," Ron snorted, but Mrs. Weasley moved on to telling Hermione goodbye.

"Hey you guys, look at that!" Hermione exclaimed just after Mrs. Weasley moved to Ginny. She pointed over behind the boys. Harry and Ron both turned to look in the direction she was pointing.

"It's Malfoy," Ron stated rather bluntly.

"Yes, it's Malfoy, but look what else," Hermione prompted. Harry and Ron looked a little closer. Malfoy stood shaking hands with his father. Narcissa stood just past them giving instructions to two smaller versions of Draco. The only difference between the two small ones and Draco was that one of the new children was obviously a girl. Her Malfoy-blonde hair hung down to just past her shoulder blades in soft waves. The boy looked almost exactly like Draco.

"I think we're all seeing things," Ron said, rubbing his eyes. Harry took his glasses off, wiped them on his robe, then returned them to his face and looked at the scene again.

"No, I don't think we are. That surely looks like two little Malfoys."

"Exactly what I was thinking," Hermione said.

"Why didn't he ever mention having little siblings?" Ron asked.

"When have you ever had a civil conversation with Malfoy for that topic to come up?" Hermione countered. Harry laughed and Ron turned bright red.

"This year just got interesting by a lot," Harry said.

"And we're not even on the train yet," Hermione muttered. Ron just shook his head and pulled his friends towards the train. Bill, Charlie and Mrs. Weasley all waved at their retreating backs. Fred and George had already disappeared and Ginny was off somewhere with a friend from her year.

"Do we get to sit in the prefect compartment this year?" Ron asked.

"Yes, but, if it's all the same to you, I'd rather not," Harry said. Hermione directed them over towards their regular compartment near the back of the train. The three went into the compartment and sat down, Harry and Ron sat on one side and Hermione sat with her back to the front of the train, facing the boys. Then the train started moving and Harry and Ron pressed themselves against the window. Harry hung his tongue out of his mouth and Ron blew a raspberry on the glass. Hermione jumped up behind them and waved to the three remaining Weasleys. Charlie and Bill (who had his arm around Arabella) both doubled over in laughter. Mrs. Weasley put her hand on her hip and said something to the boys that they couldn't hear. When they could no longer see the three people on the platform, they all collapsed back into their seats.

"You boys are too much!" Hermione laughed.

"What would you do without us?" Ron asked, smiling sweetly.

"Be sane?" Hermione suggested.

"Shove it, Hermione," Ron instructed. Hermione crossed her arms over her chest and tried to look hurt. It didn't work very well, and all three friends dissolved into a fit of laughter.

"Hey guys, can we sit in here?" Fred asked. He and George pulled open the door of the compartment and stood in the doorway.

"Sure," Hermione said. She patted the seat next to her and Fred sat down. George took the seat next to the door on Harry and Ron's side of the compartment.

"Have either of you seen Ginny?" George asked.

"She left with Jae back on the platform," Hermione said.

"A friend in her year?" George queried.

"Honestly George, don't you pay attention to anything? Jae Lucas is one of Ginny's closest friends in her year, and the only girl she actually associates with," Fred exclaimed. Hermione looked across the compartment to Harry and Ron and raised her eyebrow at Fred's perceptiveness. They just shrugged their shoulders.

"Anyone for Exploding Snap?" George asked. He fished a deck of cards out of his pocket. Harry and Ron jumped at the opportunity, but Hermione declined and pulled a book out of her backpack instead. The boys settled into their game and Hermione settled into her book and none of them realized that the entire train ride passed without a single interruption from Malfoy until the train stopped in Hogsmeade Station.

"I wonder why Malfoy and his goons didn't come bother us," Ron said when the train jolted to a halt and they all realize at approximately the same time how peaceful their ride had been.

"He's probably showing the kids around the train and just never made it back here," Harry said logically.

"What kids?" Fred asked.

"Didn't you see?" Hermione replied.

"Malfoy has a little brother and sister or some little cousins or something here as first years!" Harry exclaimed.

"More than one Malfoy at Hogwarts?" George asked.

"Yes, more than one Malfoy," Hermione laughed.

"Only it's not really funny," Fred said. He and George had identical shocked expression on their faces.

"Fred, George, over here!" Lee Jordan cried from next to a horseless carriage.

"See you guys up at the castle," Fred cried and he and George ran over to join Lee. Hermione, Ron and Harry headed over to their own horseless carriage.

"'ARRY!" A familiar voice boomed out over the crowd before the three friends could get to their carriage. They all three turned to look at Hagrid.

"Hi, Hagrid," Harry replied. Hermione and Ron waved furiously at their half-giant friend.

"'S good to see ya. Come down to the hut for some tea soon," Hagrid instructed.

"We will!" Hermione replied.

"Of course!" Harry and Ron agreed.

"Right then. FIRST YEARS! THIS WAY!" The smallest of all of the children present (the exception possibly being 2^nd year Dennis Creevey) fought their way towards Hagrid. Harry, Ron and Hermione climbed into their horseless carriage. Ginny was already seated inside.

"Where is Jae?" Hermione asked as she took a seat next to her friend.

"She went with Colin and two of the guys," Ginny replied, "and I decided to come find you guys."

"Have you seen the two little Malfoys?" Ron asked.

"Yes, I saw them. I think they're twins," Ginny said, "And they're definitely Malfoy's younger siblings. I heard him say something about his brother to Crabbe and Goyle, and the boy and the girl look too much alike for her to be a cousin."

"So Ginny knows more than we do," Ron laughed.

"I can't believe there are two more Malfoys!" Harry exclaimed.

"I can't believe I'm not going to get to see Braeden until Christmas, possibly later," Ginny whined.

"Is that all you think about?" Ron asked. Ginny considered his question for a moment before honestly answering "no."

"You could have fooled me!" Ron exclaimed.

"Well, I think about him all of the time except when thoughts of being hungry or needing to use the loo cross my mind," Ginny explained. Ron rolled his eyes. Harry and Hermione laughed at the two of them.

"He owled me the other day!" Ginny squealed.

"As he has every day since he left the Burrow," Ron muttered. Harry nodded in agreement.

"He did?" Hermione decided to act like Ginny's news was actually news rather than something they had all learned to live with. "What did he have to say?"

"He said to tell you all he says hello," Ginny told the group. Then she turned to Hermione. "I miss him so much."

"I'm sure you do, Gin," Hermione replied. She squeezed the younger girls shoulder.

"He's the sweetest guy. You'll never believe what he said in the letter!"

"If it's anything as saccharine laced as his French statement at the restaurant, I'm not sure I want to know," Hermione replied.

"Honestly Hermione, you've been hanging around with those two for way too long!" Ginny cried, "But at any rate, he said ' if I could reach up and grab a star for every time you've crossed my mind, the entire night sky would be in the palm of my hand.'" Hermione clasped her hands to her open mouth.

"Gin, that is about the sweetest thing I think I've ever heard!"

"Isn't it?" Ginny asked. Ron's face was turning a dangerous shade of red and Harry was beginning to look a little nervous.

"I really didn't realize Braeden could be so sweet!" Hermione cried.

"So Ron, how about those Cannons?"

*****

"Man, it is GREAT to be back!" Ron cried as he and his friends stepped inside the doors of the castle.

"I suspect this would be a bit nicer than your family's shack," Malfoy spat from just behind Ron.

"Don't pay attention to him," came the general comment from Harry, Hermione, and the three other Weasley children.

"He's not worth my time," Ron said.

"You don't want to get a detention before the feast," Hermione pointed out.

"Braeden already broke his jaw," Harry reminded his friend. Surprisingly enough, Ron stayed calm until they reached the Gryffindor table in the great hall where he could totally relax. Harry took the seat across from Ron. Harry sat across from Ron and Ginny sat to Harry's right. Hermione sat to Harry's left. Fred sat across from Hermione and George sat on the other side of Fred. Dean took the seat on Ron's other side and Neville sat next to Ginny. As soon as he took his seat, Neville promptly turned red and couldn't form a sentence of coherent English. Dean, Ron, Ginny and the twins promptly started up a conversation about Quidditch that lasted right into the sorting. Harry and Hermione decided that, as prefects, they should probably watch the sorting, but they were quite distracted by the Quidditch conversation.

"Shh, I want to see little Malfoys get sorted," Harry finally spat at Ron when McGonagall finally got to the part of the sorting he and Hermione were waiting for. He peered around his best friend to look at the two miniature Dracos standing at the front of the line of first years.

"Why are you so interested?" Ron asked.

"Possibly since there are now three of them here and, well," Harry didn't finish his sentence because Professor McGonagall had called "Keiran Malfoy." The male twin strode confidently to the three-legged stool, a la Draco five years before. Professor McGonagall began to place the hat on Keiran's head, but before it came within six inches of his white blonde hair, it screamed "SLYTHERIN!"

"Figures," Ron spat.

"It would be oddly appropriate wouldn't it? His name means 'little dark one,'" Hermione said. Harry looked at his friend, surprised the she knew the meaning of the boy's name.

Keiran ran over and took a seat next to his older brother and idol at the Slytherin table. Draco clapped the boy heartily on his back. Keiran smiled up at his brother.

"Abigail Malfoy!" Professor McGonagall called. The female twin walked up to the stool.

"Oh goodness. If Keiran's name means "little dark one" and Draco's means "dragon," then Abigail must be something else," Hermione muttered more to her empty plate than to either of her friends.

"Abigail means 'the insufferable git known as Lucius Malfoy now has too many sets of ears and eyes inside Hogwarts for our own good?'" Ron guessed. Hermione glared at him.

"Almost as bad, Abigail means 'my father rejoices,'" Hermione replied, giving Ron a look that said quite clearly "you should know that."

Abigail nervously approached the stool and sat down. She wasn't nearly as confident as either of her brothers had been. Professor McGonagall began to lower the sorting hat onto Abigail's head. She paused about six inches from the small girls silvery hair, but the hat didn't sort the child just yet. McGonagall placed the hat fully on Abigail's head.

"So Lucius's favorite child isn't a Slytherin before the hat touches her head," Harry laughed. The hat was still on Abigail's head. People around the Great Hall were beginning to look anxiously at Abigail. A hush fell over the room as Abigail still sat on the stool with the hat on her head. Draco and Keiran looked especially worried. Draco had his hand on his younger brother's shoulder and both of them looked at their sister with especially puzzled looks on their faces. McGonagall turned to shoot Dumbledore a quizzical look. Dumbledore offered his characteristic half smile, his blue eyes twinkling merrily.

The rip at the brim of the hat opened. Everyone leaned in closer even though hearing the hat was never a problem

"Are you sure?" the hat asked.

"YES!" Abigail insisted indignantly.

"Alright then," began the hat.

Everyone leaned in a few inches farther. Draco and Keiran wore identical terrified expressions. The Malfoy tradition of not showing emotion had obviously been abandoned.

"GRYFFINDOR!!" The hat screamed, rather louder than usual. No one in the hall made a sound. Abigail pulled the hat off her head and handed it McGonagall. A broad grin broke across her typically Malfoy face. Hermione, Ron, and Harry all looked at each other, dumbstruck. What would having a Malfoy in Gryffindor house mean for the three of them, especially Harry?

"She's a Malfoy!" Ron exclaimed, rather loudly.

"Well noticed, Weasley!" Draco sneered from the Slytherin table. Abigail climbed onto the bench in the seat next to Hermione.

"Hi you guys!" she exclaimed. She smiled a very un Malfoy like smile, showing two rows of perfectly white teeth.

"Hi Abigail," Hermione said. Harry and Ron just stared warily at the little girl.

"Oh please don't call me that name," Abigail said.

"Why not?" Hermione asked.

"Because it's a bit of a joke. I go by Astrid," Astrid explained.

"How is your name a joke?" Ron asked, not trying to conceal the hatred in his voice.

"It means," began Astrid.

"My father rejoices," supplied Harry, "Hermione's already told us that much.

"Yeah, well, my father didn't rejoice to much when my sister and I were born. He never wanted daughters, just sons," Astrid explained, matter of factly.

"So Keiran is really a girl?" Ron asked. Harry tried hard not to laugh out loud, as the sorting was still going on.

"No. Keiran is as male as Voldemort is back. We have a little sister. Her name is Emma and she's a year younger than us." Astrid said.

"There is another one of you?" Ron asked.

"Oh shove it. Its not like there aren't enough of you Weasley's running around," Astrid snapped. Instantly four red heads snapped towards the small Malfoy.

"And I'm sorely outnumbered aren't I?" Astrid asked, "I'm really sorry about that you guys. I didn't mean it that way. Its just that after spending all summer with Draco and Keiran."

"Don't you mean your whole life?" Harry asked. He tried to ignore the comment about his best friends family.

"Not really. Emma and I went to Muggle boarding school from the time we were five until now," Astrid explained, "Mum wanted to keep us as far away from Lucius as possible."

"TUCK IN!" Dumbledore called from the head table. The questioning of little Malfoy had made all of them completely miss his welcome speech. Instantly the plates in front of them filled with all sorts of delicious food.

"So how did you manage to get into Gryffindor?" George asked.

"I simply told the stupid hat not to put me into Slytherin," Astrid said. Everyone besides Harry looked a little bewildered.

"And it listened?" Ron asked.

"Well, I accompanied my anti Slytherin thoughts with some particularly vicious ones about my hair turning to razor wire," Astrid laughed.

"Why would you want your hair to turn to razor wire?" Neville asked.

"If her hair were covered in razors, and the hat were on her head, what would happen to the hat?" Dean asked. Neville turned bright red and looked into his food.

"So you basically," began George.

"Played a prank," continued Fred.

"On the SORTING HAT!" they finished in unison. Astrid looked at them, a sort of half-smile playing across her lips.

"Yeah," she said, "yeah I did." The Weasley twins looked at each other and then both looked at Astrid.

"Unbelievable," said George.

"Amazing," continued Fred. Ron rolled his eyes and glared at his brothers.

"Who pissed in your cornflakes, ickle Ronniekins?" George asked. He and Fred laughed outright. Ginny smiled into her food. Ron's eyes grew wide and he looked from one of his brothers to another.

"Ron! Chill out! It's a muggle expression meaning what's wrong with you? No one pissed in your breakfast food this morning!" George exclaimed.

"This morning," Fred echoed. Ron glared coldly at him. Ginny had her head between her knees under the table trying to hide her laugher. She only succeeded in making herself look more suspicious.

"So are there any more little Malfyos running about that we need to know about?" Ginny asked when she finally emerged from under the table.

"Well, of course you're all very familiar with Draco. And then Keiran. You won't meet Emma until next year, and Barrett died when Keiran and I were 6," Astrid said, quite bluntly.

"Barrett?" Hermione asked.

"Our baby sister. She was only three and a half," Astrid looked down into her plate and didn't finish her sentence.

"How did she die?" Ron asked. He immediately felt three kicks under the table; one each from Harry, Hermione, and Ginny.

"Which one of you broke Draco's jaw this summer?" Astrid asked, quickly changing the subject.

"That would be my cousin Braeden. He goes to Beaubaxtons," Hermione replied.

"Tell him thank you. Lucius insisted on making Draco heal the muggle way, meaning he had to be quiet for almost a week before Lucius finally healed him magically," Astrid laughed.

"ATTENTION STUDENTS!" Dumbledore's magically magnified voice echoed though the hall. All of the conversations stopped and all of the students looked up at their headmaster.

"I have an additional announcement that I need to make. In lieu of last years Tournament, the headmasters of Durmstrang, Beaubaxtons, and Salem Academy, the Eastern American wizards school, and I have organized a inter-school Quidditch tournament," Dumbledore announced. Harry, Ron, Fred, and George all exchanged excited glances. Hermione and Ginny looked generally worried. No one noticed the look of pure happiness on Astrid's face. "The team will consist of players from each house team, chosen by an impartial judge."

"Yeah, we know what happened last time one of those was used," Draco muttered just loud enough for a few certain people to hear. His pointed glare in Harry's general direction was enough for everyone who didn't hear him to figure out basically what he said.

"Will we still have the inter-house cup?" someone at the Ravenclaw table asked.

"Yes, we certainly will. The inter-school matches will just be an added bonus," Dumbledore smiled down at his students and took his seat. The idle chatter started up again.

"I wonder who the new Defense professor is," Ron stated. All of the older Gryffindors turned to look at the empty seat at the head table.

"I wonder why Dumbledore didn't mention it in his opening statements," Fred said.

"You're saying you paid attention to the opening statements?" Hermione looked at Fred accusingly.

"Hermione, dear, as a matter of fact, you're not the only one here perceptive enough to pay attention to more than one thing at a time," Fred said, glaring sweetly at Hermione. Hermione looked shocked.

"Are you saying you can?" Ron asked his older brother.

"Ah, well, actually yes I can. How do you think we've managed to pull off half of the pranks we've done?" Fred replied. Hermione rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to Astrid. However, before she could start another conversation with the girl, Alicia Spinnet approached their section of the table.

"Hermione, Harry, Ron. I need you three to show the first years to Gryffindor tower and their dorms," Alicia instructed.

"Sure thing, Alicia," Ron replied. Harry and Hermione just nodded. Ron turned to his brothers with a broad grin plastered across his face, making sure his prefect badge was shining right in their faces.

"Third bloody prefect in the family," George muttered under his breath.

"You'd think they'd have learned by now that we have more fun than the rest of them combined. Who'd want to be a prefect?" Fred added.

"As a matter of fact, I do," Ginny spat.

"Yeah, me too," Astrid piped up.

"Great," muttered Fred.

"We're surrounded by three prefects and two prefect wanna be's!" George continued.

"Draco's a prefect," Astrid said.

"Who's the other Slytherin prefect?" Harry asked.

"Blaise," Astrid replied, "Blaise Zabini. Evidently he's been being absolutely arrogant about it, too."

"A little Percy, except in Slytherin?" George asked.

"Percy being one of your older brothers?" Astrid asked.

"Yeah, the completely un-cool one," Fred said.

"He can't be that bad," Astrid said.

"Do you find cauldron bottoms interesting?" Ginny queried.

"No."

"He's that bad," replied George. Astrid rolled her eyes and looked down towards the end of the table. "Who are all of these people?"

"How about we explain later?" Harry asked. He looked at the massive amount of people at the Gryffindor table.

"At least who are the first year girls? I'm going to have to share a room with them, so I should probably at least know their names to make it look like I was the least bit interested in the sorting." Ron and Harry looked helplessly at Hermione.

"The girl sitting across from Seamus and Dean is Seamus' little sister Karey Finnegan. The girl sitting next to her with the curly black hair is Madeline O'Conner. The little girl sitting down at the end with the chasers is Hailey Johnson, Angelina's little sister, and then the little girl with the Creevey brothers is Evelyn Creevey," Fred explained. Astrid nodded and tried to remember everything Fred had just told her. Everyone else looked at Fred with varying degree's of shock on their faces.

"The Creevey's have a sister?" Ron asked. Everyone else was more amazed at the way Fred recounted the names of the new kids.

"No, I believe she's their cousin," Hermione replied, "I heard them say something about it on the train." As if on cue, Colin Creevey got up from his seat and ran down to where Harry and his friends were sitting, pulling the little girl along with him. His brother followed the two of them a little more slowly.

"Harry, how's it going?" Colin asked. He was trying to be cooler about his adoration than he had in previous years, but he was obviously not doing very well.

"It's going pretty well Colin. How was your summer?" Harry asked.

"Oh my summer was great. I want you to meet my little sister Evelyn," Colin said. He pushed the shy looking girl towards Harry. "See Evie, I told you Harry Potter went to my school. I told you you'd get to meet him!"

"Hi." Evelyn said, rather quietly. She never looked away from Harry's scar.

"Come on Colin, I think they want to finish their dinners," Dennis said. He tugged at the back of his brother's robes. Colin and Evelyn went back down to their seats at the table.

"Smart one, he is," said Ron, looking after Dennis.

"Mark this day in your calendars ladies and gents, cause it's going down in history as the day the great Hermione Granger was wrong!" George exclaimed.

"Eat dung, George Weasley," Hermione spat. Only Harry's hand on her wand arm stopped her from hexing him into next week.

"Chill out Hermie, I was only joking!" George exclaimed. Hermione reached for her wand again.

"Don't you EVER call me that name again! My name is HERMIONE!" Hermione screeched. George and Fred both looked dumb struck, Ron and Harry were slightly taken aback by the outburst from their friend.

"Go Hermione!" Astrid cheered.

"Way to tell the dumb boys," Ginny added, with a smug look at her older brothers.

"Yeah, uh, George, I'd chill. She's already tried to hex you twice," Harry laughed.

"I'm not scared," George replied.

"Then I'd ask Malfoy what its like to have hairy tentacles growing out of your face," Ron replied.

"You know, now that there are three of us here, you're going to have to specify," Astrid instructed.

"How about this," Harry suggested, "Malfoy for Malfoy, Little Malfoy for Keiran, and Astrid for you?"

"Sounds good," Astrid laughed.

"Wouldn't littlest Malfoy work too?" A familiar voice asked from somewhere behind Harry's left shoulder.

"No Drakie, sorry. Littlest Malfoy is Emma and she's not here," Astrid spat.

"Don't you EVER call me that name again. My name is DRACO!" Draco screeched. George and Fred promptly went Ginny style head between the knees under the table to conceal their laughter. Ginny shot pumpkin juice from her nose all over the twin's backs. Hermione turned bright red and Ron tried desperately to remember where he had heard Draco's statement. Only Astrid and Harry remained calm.

"Away Malfoy," Astrid commanded. A "go to hell" stare from Harry accompanied her statement.

"Make me, traitor," Draco spat. Crabbe and Goyle appeared from nowhere on both sides of Malfoy. Keiran stepped around Crabbe and Goyle to stand at Draco's right elbow. He looked equally as evil as his older brother. Hermione and Ron immediately pulled their wands out of their pockets and turned to face Malfoy. Fred and George's wands appeared above the table, even if their heads didn't. Ginny pulled her wand on Malfoy, then realized she probably wouldn't be taken seriously with pumpkin juice dripping out of her nose, so she wiped her face on her robe. Harry and Astrid added their wands to collection. Draco surveyed the seven wands pointed at him and decided that was his cue to leave. He and his posse strolled back towards the Slytherin table. The Gryffindor's pocketed their wands again.

"Astrid, I don't think pulling your wand is a good idea until you know what you're doing," Ron said. He clutched his stomach with both hands. Harry and Hermione knew he was remembering the slug incident from second year.

"Ron, I'm a Malfoy," came the only reply necessary from Astrid. Several of the friends shuddered visibly at the thought of how many spells and curses the small girl sitting with them probably knew.

"So why exactly did you not want to be in Slytherin?" Ginny asked.

"That's a long story that has a little to do with Voldey, a little to do with Lucius, and a lot to do with Kieran, my mum, and my sister. It's also best saved for later," Astrid explained.

"Voldey?" Fred and George gasped, looking incredulously at the little girl.

"I wouldn't advise calling him that. I'm the only person on earth who can get away with it," Astrid laughed.

"Why?" Harry asked.

"I could tell you," Astrid began, "but then I'd have to kill you." Harry and Hermione laughed. The Weasleys all looked stonily at Astrid.

"Geeze guys, lighten up. It's a muggle joke," Hermione insisted when she realized that the majority of their number hadn't joined in the laughter.

"All right, goodnight!" Dumbledore said from the staff table. The plates returned to their normally spotless condition and all of the students split up. The next few minutes rushed by in a blur of trying to collect the first years. Ron and Harry had six first year boys to deal with, and they weren't even sure which students were supposed to be theirs. Finally they were on their way up to Gryffindor tower with six small boys, while Hermione walked her five girls along with them.

"Mr. Harry Potter, sir, I have to go to the bathroom!" a small pudgy boy with blonde hair cried. He looked startlingly like Neville.

"We'll be in the common room soon enough. The bathrooms are in there," Harry replied. Ron, Hermione and Astrid all laughed at the moniker the boy had given Harry.

"Are you Neville Longbottom's brother?" Ron asked. Harry glared at him, but Ron didn't know about Neville's parents, so Harry's glare did no good.

"No. I'm Nathan Algernon Longbottom," the little boy replied, trying to look dignified.

"Would Neville call your grandfather uncle Algie?" Hermione guessed.

"Yes, Neville does," the boy replied. Harry and Ron looked at Hermione, clearly puzzled.

"In first year Neville said his Great Uncle Algie dropped him out the window in hopes of making him magic and he bounced all of the way to the end of the street. Algie is a shortened form of Algernon and we can assume that Nathan over there is named after his grandfather," Hermione explained under her breath.

"Ron, when can I call my parents?" a small boy with brownish blonde hair asked.

Ron looked desperately at Harry. Harry turned to face the student.

"Are you muggle-born?" Harry asked.

"Yes," replied the boy.

"Well, there are no telephones here. However I'll help you send an owl to them sometime tomorrow if that's okay," Harry replied.

"Thanks Mr. Harry Potter, sir," the boy said.

"Okay, my first rule as prefect!" Harry announced. "NO MORE OF THIS MR. HARRY POTTER, SIR STUFF!"

"They sound like a bunch of little Dobbys" Astrid laughed. Ron and Hermione looked at her but then remembered that she was a Malfoy and had known Dobby before Harry got him clothes back in second year.

"What are all of your names?" Ron asked.

"Nathan Algernon Longbottom," Nathan replied.

"DUH!" Harry exclaimed. All of the first years laughed.

"Astrid Malfoy," Astrid said. All of the other's looked at her like she had just said she was going to make them drink undiluted bubotuber puss.

"Hailey Johnson," Hailey replied.

"Charlie Lawson," said the little muggle-born who had asked to use the phone.

"Evelyn Creevey," Evelyn squeaked.

"Augustus Figg," said Arabella's nephew, "But you can call me Gus."

"Madeline O'Conner," came Madeline's thick Irish accent.

"Sawyer Lewis," said another little boy.

"Jason Black."

"Carson Callahan," said the last boy.

"Karey Finnegan," said the final little girl.

"Did you say Jason Black?" Harry asked a taller boy with black hair and brown eyes.

"Yes, my name is Jason Black. My grandfather's name is Orion Black. His brother is Sirius Black," Jason explained, looking at the floor. The group of people gathered were more receptive to Jason be related to Sirius than they were to Astrid being a Malfoy, which disturbed the three fifth years quite a bit. Before they had time to really think about it, they reached the portrait of the fat lady.

"LISTEN UP!" Ron called over the heads of the first years.

"The password is Weasleys rule!" Hermione called. Harry turned to glare at Ron so fast he almost fell over.

"Fred and George are in charge of making up the passwords this year. Be prepared for some good ones," came Ron's only explanation. Harry and Hermione rolled their eyes. They must have still looked a little mad when they went through the portrait hole, because George, Fred, and Ginny were all lying in the floor laughing. Their hysterics were only increased when they saw Harry and Hermione.

"Isn't the password great?" Fred gasped. Hermione kicked him lightly in his ribs.

"First year girls this way!" Hermione called.

"Boy's this way," Ron said. Harry and Ron took the boys up the stairs to the very top to the dorm designated for them. The boys instantly found their trunks at the bottom of their beds.

"All right boys, you have a long day ahead of you tomorrow with classes and all. Your bathroom is right through there." Ron pointed at a door in the corner of the room. Nathan ran for it without waiting to hear the rest of the speech.

"You should probably go ahead and go to bed and get some sleep. We'll be either in the common room or in our dorm if you need anything," Harry finished what Ron had begun to say.

"Goodnight!" Gus Figg called.

"Night, boys," Ron said. Harry waved at them and the two older boys headed back down to the common room. Hermione was already sitting on one of the couches in front of the fire with the three other Weasleys. Harry flopped down onto a pile of pillows in the floor, and Ron sat in his favorite armchair. Hermione had a very worried look on her face.

"I'm worried about the first year girls," Hermione announced before Harry or Ron could ask her what was wrong.

"What's the problem?" Fred asked.

"Astrid. They had a fight over who was going to sleep next to her," Hermione explained. "they seem very turned off by the idea of a Malfoy."

"THAT'S STUPID!" Ron cried.

"You weren't all that happy about it yourself when it first happened," Ginny reminded him.

"I'm not saying I'm all that happy about it still, but she seems like a nice enough kid. And the fact that she didn't spend her entire childhood with Lucius Malfoy makes me feel a little better about the whole ordeal," Ron admitted.

"And the fact that she didn't call him Draco. She called him either Malfoy or Drakie," Hermione laughed.

"The look on his face was priceless!" Fred and George cried, before looking warily at Ginny. She held her hands up to show that they were empty.

"No pumpkin juice!"

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Harry asked.

"She should be. She seems like a pretty tough kid. But Karey, Hailey, and Evelyn all have ideas about how Malfoys should be already," Hermione said, "So she may have problems finding friends among her own year." Ginny looked wistfully up at the ceiling.

"She can always hang out with us, but I can't guarantee that will work out because she is just a first year," Fred said.

"And she is still a Malfoy after all," Ron replied. Harry, Hermione and Ginny glared at him but Fred and George didn't seem to pay attention.

"So when are Quidditch trials being held?" Harry asked.

"Don't you guys need to go unpack?" Hermione asked almost as soon as Harry completed his question. She wanted to avoid another conversation about Quidditch at all costs.

"You're right, we do," Harry said. He jumped up and headed up towards the dorm with Ron on his heels.

"Thank you Hermione," Ginny laughed as soon as the boys were out of earshot.

"Did you see Mandy Brocklehurst at the feast?" Ron asked as soon as he and Harry and closed themselves in their dorm room. They walked over to their bed.

"Yeah, I noticed her. She's definitely improved over the summer!"

"Bloody hell, where is my trunk?" Ron cried when he didn't find it at the end of his bed.

"It's in your pocket, remember? Bill shrunk them!" Harry replied.

"Oh, right," Ron said as he reached for his mini trunk and owl cage and his wand. He quickly muttered the counter spell and the trunk and owl cage returned to their normal size. Harry did the same for his own trunk and both boys began un-packing.

"Did you see Hannah?" Harry asked as he opened the lid to his trunk. He had actually managed to get his own trunk, as he noticed his underwear stuffed cauldron right off.

"BLOODY HELL!" Ron cried.

"I thought she looked nice too," Harry said, but Ron didn't hear him. Instead, he tore from the room waving something very small, black and lacy in his hand. Harry followed him closely.

"Hermione Lenore Granger! You've got some explaining to do!" Ron cried before he even reached the bottom of the stairs in the common room. Everyone in the room turned to look at him. Only then did they realize that the thing in Ron's hand was a very small female undergarment made more of strings than of actual fabric. Hermione looked closer at the thong in Ron's hand.

"That's Ginny's," she said automatically. Instantly every boy in the room looked ten times more interested in the conversation. Hermione and Ginny both turned bright red; Hermione because of what she had said and Ginny because of Hermione's correct identification of her undergarment.

"How would you know?" Ron plowed on with his line of questioning.

"I saw it when she was at my house this summer," Hermione replied. Almost sooner than the words were out of her mouth, she clamped her hands to her mouth and turned a brilliant shade of purple. Ginny turned the exact same color. Several catcalls and whistles issued from the various boys in the room. Ron turned red and looked from his sister to his best female friend.

"I DIDN'T MEAN IT THAT WAY!" Hermione cried.

"Sure you didn't!" a random voice from the corner replied. Ron sank to his knees, tossed the thong at his younger sister and ran his fingers through his red hair. "She's with the other Granger. She's with the other Granger. She's with the other Granger," he mumbled like it was some sort of mantra. Ginny ran up to her dorm as fast as her legs would carry her.

"Hermione's with another Granger?" Neville asked quietly.

"NO!" Fred and George roared. Neville turned red and ran up to his dorm.

"Right then!" Harry exclaimed, taking on what he hoped was an authoritative tone, "everyone up to bed!" He flashed his prefect badge around the room and it quickly cleared except for the twins and his two best friends.

"RON!" Hermione cried once everyone had left the room. What she didn't realize is that behind every dorm room door were the occupants of the room with their ears pressed against the wood. Ron looked up at Hermione.

"I didn't do ANYTHING with your sister! The thong was lying in the floor when I was fixing her hair for her date with Braeden and I saw it."

"Promise?" Ron asked pitifully.

"I promise," Hermione replied. Ron narrowed his eyes at Hermione. "How can I be sure?"

Before anyone could say anything, Hermione leaned over and brushed her lips against Ron's. The twins and Harry looked at each other with very surprised looks on their faces. Almost instantly Ron and Hermione jumped back from each other.

"YUCK! That was like kissing my SISTER!" Ron cried.

"I FEEL LIKE I JUST KISSED MY BROTHER!" Hermione squealed. Both were wiping their lips off furiously.

"Right, now that THAT'S been resolved, I think we all need to get some sleep!" Harry announced. Everyone agreed whole-heartedly.