An Aussie Adventure

"Now, before we go any further, you gotta drop the word 'Australia', and use the word 'Aussie-land'. Got it?" Cassie said, stepping in front of Harry.

"Got it, Cap's," Harry replied, saluting Cassie.

Cassie laughed. No, try howled and doubled over with laughter. "You are hilarious, T-Bolt!" she screamed.

"Hey Cap's! What's shakin', mate?" a teenage boy on a skateboard said, rolling down the hill.

"Hey, Mel! What's shakin' with you, boy-o?" Cassie said, slapping the teen five, low and high.

"Not too much," he said. "What's this, a gringo?"

"Not just any gringo. Melville 'Mel' Dempsy, meet Harry 'T-Bolt' Potter," Cassie said, pointing at Harry.

"The Harry Potter?" Mel asked. "Cool! Did you show him the windboard yet?"

"Totally! I was just taking T-Bolt here to the Nautica Shop for some new surfside clothes. Catch you on the flip side?" Cassie replied.

"Definitely. See ya on the flippie!" Mel said, and rolled down the hill and turned the corner.

"Let me guess: another Charmers graduate?" Harry asked.

"Yep. Mel is the coolest peep in the whole of Aussie-land. He and I got into so much trouble in our fifth year, and Mel almost got expelled," Cassie explained as she opened the door to a shop.

"Oh. That couldn't have been good," Harry said. He started looking at the jeans and long sleeved shirts, but Cassie dragged him over to the summer wear.

"T-Bolt, you're in Aussie-land right now, in the middle of summer. What are you doing buying trousers and long cuffs?" Cassie asked.

"In England, it's always pretty chilly. I thought I would pick some clothes up to wear when I got back," Harry replied. "But I'll do it later."

"Coolie. Now, there's this Summer Block Party for wizards only on the sunroof of the Australian Wizard Hotel tonight. Do you want to go?" Cassie asked.

"Sure! I love Block Parties!" Harry said. He had gone to the Weasley's block party the night after graduation, with the rest of the Gryffindor seventh years.

"I don't think you've ever been to an Aussie Block Party. We have huge kegs of mulled mead, and tons of candy, and really loud music, and we have fairy lights dancing around. We even have break dancing contests, solo or duet," Cassie explained. "Now, what do you think I should wear?"

"Well, how warm is it supposed to be tonight?" Harry asked.

"About seventy-two degrees. That's pretty cool, here," Cassie said, picking out a few different tank tops and guy's zip-off pants, and went to try them on.

Harry walked over to the guy's area, and picked out a Quiksilver tee shirt and board shorts, and went to wait for Cassie to see how she looked.

"Ready for me?" she called from behind the curtain.

"Yeah, I guess," Harry replied.

Cassie walked out wearing an olive green and white backing tank top, and beige zip-off pants.

"I think those are pretty cool," Harry said.

"Then I'll go with these," Cassie said, and went to change back into her old clothes. "Your turn," she said when she walked back out.

Harry got up and walked behind the curtain. When he came back out, he was wearing black and orange board shorts and a blue Quiksilver shirt. It looks pretty cool.

"T-Bolt! That looks Aussie-aussie awesome!" Cassie yelled, jumping up and hugging Harry tightly.

"Okay, Cassie! I can't breathe!" Harry gasped.

"Sorry there, mate. Got a little over excited. I've never been to a block party with a date before," Cassie said

"Oh. Well, why don't we head back? It's getting kind of late. What time is the party?" Harry asked.

"Not 'till seven. But it's only five o'clock. Let's go back to the Pub, grab some grub, and then we can head back to Magic Side," Cassie said.

* * *

After they paid for the clothing, Cassie led Harry through back alleys to the Hungry Cub Aussie Pub. There was one remaining table for two, which Cassie grabbed before anyone else could.

"So, what'll it be, T-Bolt?" Cassie asked, looking at the menu.

"Umm, where are the hamburgers?" Harry asked.

"Oh, I'll order for you. A Coke, too?" Cassie replied.

"Yeah," Harry said.

"G'day, mates! What'll it be tonight?" a waiter asked, coming to their table.

"We'll have two Dingo Patties, medium rare, and two fizzing Coca-Cola's," Cassie said, handing the waiter the menus.

"Righty, then. Order'll be up in a jip," the waiter said, and walked away from the table.

Cassie smiled, and then looked behind Harry with disgust.

"What?" Harry asked, turning around.

"Paige Matthews and Greg Williams," Cassie glared. "They went to Charmers with me. Both rotten to the core."

"Oh," Harry said, looking at a young woman with black hair and brown eyes. Her boyfriend had spiked blonde tipped hair and gray eyes. Neither of them looked very nice.

"In school, my group and I called them the King and Queen of Hell. I bet they still are," Cassie whispered. Then Paige and Greg started to walk over to their table. "Oh, bloody hell. Here they come to wreck the day."

"Why, is that Cassie Turner? I thought you would have turned gringo as soon as school got out," Paige said menacingly.

"Well, I always thought you would turn from Lady of Hell to Duchess of Hell. But it seems like you've moved straight up Queen!" Cassie retorted.

Paige glared. "Who's this pale boy you have with you tonight?" she asked, glancing at Harry.

"Harry Potter. But he's with me, and you seem to have the half-wit with you tonight. Who was it yesterday, Paige?" Cassie replied.

"Well, Harry. Don't think that this low-life is as high as it gets. You could come join our posse tonight, at the Block Party, if you want," Paige said, running a blood red fingernail under Harry's chin.

"You know what, hag? You touch him again, and something dangerous could happen," Cassie said, slapping Paige's hand away from Harry.

Paige glowered at Cassie. "Come on, Greg. Let's get out of here," she said, and walked out of the door.

"I hate her. If she and Greg are going to the Block Party tonight, then we're going to have to team up to win the dance contest," Cassie said. "You up for it, T-Bolt?"

"Yeah. I may be a little rusty, but seeing other Aussie's do it will get my mind back into gear," Harry replied.

"All righty, mates. Two Dingo Doggies, and two fizzing Cola's. Enjoy!" the waiter said, placing the burgers on the table.

Harry stared at the enormous burger in front of him. Cassie giggled as she lifted hers.

"You don't have to finish it, Harry," she said. "We can take it home and have it tomorrow."

"Oh, okay," Harry replied, and took a bite of the burger. It was better than the ones in England, that's for sure.

Cassie and Harry eat in silence, laughing every once and a while when one of them would have ketchup or mustard dribbling down their cheek, but other then that, silence.

When they had both stuffed themselves, they got the rest of the burgers to go and Apparated back to the beach, where Cassie started up her car.

"You want a ride home, mate?" she asked.

"Sure," Harry replied, getting into the passenger's seat, which was on the same side (the left; driver's on the right) as it was in England.

"Thanks for teaching me to windsurf, Cassie," Harry said as they pulled up to Customs at the gate.

"Thanks, mate," Cassie said to the officer, and drove through the wall. "You're pretty good at it, you know."

"Thanks," Harry said.

"Those greens are really, really green," Cassie said, staring at Harry.

"What?" Harry asked, looking around.

"You're eyes, silly. They're as green as," Cassie stared had at Harry's eyes. "Well, they're really green."

""Thanks, I think," Harry replied.

"Have you ever been to an h2o Quidditch match before?" Cassie asked as they pulled up to her house.

"A what?" Harry asked. He really needed to learn the lingo around here.

"Water Quidditch. Instead of broomsticks, we use windboards," Cassie explained, getting out of the car.

"But that basically redefines the meaning of Quidditch!" Harry said, abashed.

"Don't get your hair up! We still have traditional Quidditch, but during the summer, when it's the off-season, we play h2o instead," Cassie reassured him as they walked across the street to the hotel.

"Oh, okay. Well, no, I've never been to an h2o match before," Harry said, opening the door to the lobby. "Does that receptionist ever leave?"

The same blonde was sitting in the chair behind the desk, talking to somebody in the fireplace.

"No," Cassie said flatly. "Do you want to come to one?"

"An h2o match? Sure!" Harry replied as they walked up the stairs.

"Coolie! We have one the day after tomorrow," Cassie said. "Wow, is this your room?"

"Yeah. It looks like my old common room at Hogwarts," Harry said.

"Tell me about Hogwarts. It seems like a really interesting school," Cassie said as she walked into the bathroom to change.

"Well, there are four houses; Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. But there isn't a single witch or wizard who didn't go bad that was in Slytherin. And you get sorted be this hat.

"The staircases are always changing, so sometimes it's really hard to find your way. And the classes are all rather agreeable, Except for Potions," Harry explained. Cassie walked back out of the bathroom in her party clothes.

"I liked Potions; my professor was really nice," Cassie said, sitting down on the velvet covered bed.

"Well, my Potions master, Severus Snape, was horrible. He didn't like anybody except the students who were in his house, and he always seemed like he had it in for me," Harry explained.

"I know what you mean. My History of Magic teacher, Andrew Levine, was horrible. He hated me so much. The headmistress had to watch him while he was grading our classes test, so he wouldn't automatically flunk me," Cassie explained.

"My History of Magic teacher was a ghost," Harry said bluntly.

"Wicked! What class was your favorite?" Cassie asked.

"I liked all of them the same. You?" Harry replied.

"Charms and Transfiguration were my favs. Maybe tomorrow I can show you Charmers," Cassie said, looking at her watch. "But right now, we have to head up to the sunroof!"

She grabbed Harry by the wrist, and dragged him out of the room. They ran all the way up to the sunroof, where there were Chinese lanterns and fairy lights lining the edges. There was a refreshment stand, and a magical DJ.

"Harry, do you know how to...Oh, my god!" Cassie screamed, jumping up and down. "I love this song!"

Mel ran over to Cassie and Harry. "Cassie, this is it! Come on!" he said, grabbing Cassie and dragging her out into the center. Harry made his way over, and watched with glee.

Cassie and Mel started break dancing, doing flips over each other's backs, and hip hopping. The song sped up, and Mel backed away from Cassie. Obviously, this part of the song was her turf; she started dancing at an incredible speed, spinning, twisting, and flicking her wrists.

Flick-kick, spin, handstand, somersault, headlock, Cassie thought to herself as she danced to her part. The song slowed, and Mel joined her again. When the song ended, everybody was cheering and clapping.

"That was amazing!" Harry laughed, hugging Cassie. She was laughing too; apparently she had stubbed her toe doing a flip over Mel's back.

"Thanks, T-Bolt," Cassie replied. "Come on, slow song."

Harry walked nevously out into the center.

"You do know how to slow dance, right?" Cassie asked.

"Umm, sort of," Harry replied.

Cassie giggled. "You'll do fine, mate," she said as she put her arms over his shoulders.

Harry put his hands around Cassie's waist, and they started to dance. Cassie could feel Harry's breath on her shoulder; he was just a little shorter than she was.

Cassie looked around, and saw Mel dancing with his long-time steady girlfriend Ashlee Fuller dancing; Ashlee had her head on Mel's shoulder. It was a cute image. If only T-Bolt were a few inches taller.

Cassie looked to her right, and saw Paige and Greg. Greg's hands were traveling at an extremely slow pace, and Cassie looked away before she saw their end point. She was having enough fun with Harry.

When the song ended, Cassie walked over to the DJ and whispered something in his ear. The DJ nodded and gave her the thumbs up, and Cassie took the microphone from the stand.

"Can everybody hear me?" she called. The roar of the crowd answered her. "Good! Now, all you Aussie's out there know what time it is, right?"

"Shower time!" the crowd roared.

"Right! Wands ready," Cassie whipped her wand out from her pocket. "Charmers on three! One...two...three!"

The crowd raised their wands and shouted, "Cumulous rainus!", and rain started to fall from the sky.

Cassie placed the microphone back and slid over to Harry. "Isn't this fun?" she called over the music.

"Yeah, but what's with the rain?!" Harry asked, dancing.

"It's a tradition. If it ain't raining on a Block Party night, then the Charmers make it rain!" Cassie laughed. "And when you see Charmers Academy, you'll have fun. They always let old scholars in to see what's up, and they normally let you stay overnight," she explained. Her curly hair had gotten so wet that the curls looked like they were forming dreadlocks.

"Cool!" Harry said. Paige walked up from behind him and grabbed him, snatching him away from Cassie. Greg strolled up behind Cassie and started dancing with her.

"What are you doing?" Harry asked, trying to get out of Paige's vise-like grip.

"You're a very cute gringo; you know that, right sugar?" Paige asked.

"I guess so. What do you want?" Harry asked, looking very annoyed.

"Just you," Paige said. "Meet me in room thirty-five on the fifth floor tomorrow morning at three o'clock." She dragged a finger underneath Harry's chin again before walking back to Greg.

"What was that about?" Cassie asked, walking over with Cola.

"Paige is starting to freak me out," Harry replied. "She told me to meet her in room thirty-five tomorrow night at three."

"Ooh, she likes you. Be careful," Cassie said.

"What, you expect me to go?" Harry asked, dumbfounded.

"Well, yeah. We can find out why she likes you," Cassie said.

"That's easy. Because I'm adorable," Harry said, smiling.

Cassie laughed, punching Harry on the shoulder. "I'm gettin' tired. I think I'll go home now," she said, yawning.

"Okay; I'll walk you down and out," Harry said, and they Apparated down to Cassie's front porch.

"I had a great time today, Cap's," Harry said to Cassie.

"Yeah, me too. Be up around ten or eleven, I'll take you to Charmers. Bring a change of clothes, because there's a chance we'll sleep over," Cassie said, smiling.

"Well, see you tomorrow," Harry said, and kissed Cassie lightly on the cheek.

"See you in the A.M, T-Bolt," Cassie said, touching the spot where he had kissed her.

"See you in the A.M," Harry replied, waving and yawning at the same time.

Cassie walked into her house and turned the lights on. Well, not the electric lights, but she shot a few bright fairy lights out of the tip of her wand, and that worked. She walked up the carpeted stairs to her room, which was blue from top to bottom, with gold lining and curtains.

In Charmers, there were five different posses that you were placed into: Tasmanian Devils, Kangaroos, Koalas, Dingos, or Platypuses. Cassie had been placed into the Dingos, where people weren't afraid to party the night away. The Dingos were the party animals of Charmers. The colors were blue and gold, and the coat of arms for the posse was a dingo standing in a shield, with gold and blue stripes behind it.

T-Devils were people who were very sly and devious, Kanga's weren't afraid of a fight, Koala's were shy people, and Platypuses were smart kids (mostly nerds and geeks). They were placed in the posse by the animal that shot out of the person's wand when he or she thought really hard about what they were like.

* * *

Harry woke up in the hotel room the next morning from a dream about Voldemort.

Voldemort was the man (actually, he wasn't human enough to be a man) who was responsible for the death of Harry's parents, and gave him the lightning bolt scar that had made him famous. Voldemort's killing curse had ricocheted of Harry and hit him, leaving him as a powerless spirit. He had fled, and had followed Harry everywhere he went. Eventually, in Harry's fourth year, Voldemort had come back using a spell of his own creation.

When Harry had graduated from Hogwarts, he had immediately started working for the Ministry. At the beginning of the year, Voldemort had finally been defeated, and Britain was free of his evil tyranny. Ever since then, work had been very dull (one of the reasons Harry took his vacation. Something was bound to happen while he was gone).

Harry rolled out of bed and got changed. He packed some extra clothes in a backpack and walked down the stairs to the lobby. The blonde witch was smiling at him.

"G'day, cutie," she said, flashing her brown eyes.

"Do you ever go away?" Harry asked, shaking his head. The witch shook her own, and smiled.

Harry shrugged and walked out the door. Right into Cassie. "Ow," he moaned, rubbing his forehead.

"I was just coming to get you," she said. "Let's go!" She was carrying her own backpack, which was green and brown. It looked like a sporting one.

"So, how far is it to Charmers?" Harry asked as they got into the Jeep.

"About an hour," Cassie replied as they pulled up to the Customs agent.

"Destination?" he asked.

"Charmers Academy of Magic," Cassie replied, showing her wizard ID.

"What's in the bags?" the agent asked.

"Clothing to sleep over," Cassie replied, unzipping the bags and showing him the cloth.

"You're clear to go," the agent said, waving them through.

Cassie put the pedal to the metal, and blasted through the wall. "Let's get some music in this car!" she yelled.

Somebody had some sugar with her cereal this morning, Harry thought as Avril Lavgine's Sk8er Boi. Cassie started mouthing the lyrics, but stopped when she saw Harry looking at her.

"What? Don't you know this song?" she asked.

"Yes. But it's a Muggle song," Harry replied. "Don't you guys have any wizard singers?"

"We do, but they really suck," Cassie said. "I mean, a few of them make it to the radio, but they normally play Muggle music on the WWWNetwork that it doesn't matter which station you tune to."

"Oh," Harry said.

The trip to Charmers was a pleasant one. Harry guessed it was outside the city, probably in the wilderness, like Hogwarts. They passed a lot of forests, and finally Harry saw it coming around the bend in the road: a beautiful building, ten stories high, and as wide and long as two Quidditch pitches put together. It was a midnight blue color, and seemed to be made of solid stone.

"Beautiful, ain't it?" Cassie asked as they pulled up the driveway and parked.

"It's wonderful," Harry replied.

"We have a lake, too. But it's in the back, and our Quidditch pitch is on the other side of those trees. Come on, I'll show you around," Cassie said. They got out of the car and walked up the stone steps to two huge oak doors. There was a coat of arms carved into them; a shield with a wand in the middle emitting stars, with five different animals on the sides (inside the shield), a dog-like animal in the middle.

Cassie looked upon the coat of arms with admiration. The Dingo had always been the center of the coat of arms because there were plenty of dingo's (as well as other creatures) in the desert lands surrounding Charmers. And plus, the Dingo posse had always been the most prosperous posse out of the five.

"Come on," Cassie said, pushing one of the doors open. The entrance hall was magnificent. A ceiling painted with different mythical creatures and ancient witches and wizards. "Over there is the Great Hall, and up three fights is the library. Let's go up to the Dingo room; that's where I stayed." Cassie rushed up the stairs.

"Cassie Turner," a voice said from the foot of the stairs.

"Oh, wonderful. Andrew Levine," Cassie replied, turning around. "I thought I'd be rid of you after I graduated." She slid back down the banister to the entrance hall, landing in front of her old professor.

"The feeling is mutual, Miss Turner," Levine said coldly, glaring at his former pupil.

"Well, me and T-Bolt here were just going up to the Dingo collective room. If you'd excuse us," Cassie replied, and she and Harry walked back up the stairs.

"Cassie! I never thought I would see you back here!" a young woman with fiery red hair called from a classroom.

"Oi, Abigail! Abigail Wilson!" Cassie yelled, rushing over to the person. Harry walked slowly over after.

"Holy cricket! I've missed you so much, Cassie!" Abigail said, hugging Cassie.

"Same here, chica!" Cassie replied. "So, what are you doing in robes over the summer? Not even the older wizards wear them in this heat, except maybe Levine."

"Well, I'm teaching this year. It gets very drafty in this citadel," Abigail said.

"No way! You're teaching? That's so cool!" Cassie said.

"So, what are you doing here?" Abigail asked, smiling.

"Oh, me and T-Bolt here are going to spend the night," Cassie replied, pointing to Harry.

"What's his real name, Cassie?" Abigail asked.

"Oh, Harry Potter," Cassie replied.

"Wicked! Harry Potter!" Abigail said. "How are you, Harry?"

"Fine, thanks. And yourself?" Harry replied.

"Pretty good," Abigail said. "Well, see you on the flip side!"

"You too!" Cassie called, starting up another flight of stairs. "Come on, T-Bolt. Three more flights."

Harry looked at Cassie with wide eyes. Cassie laughed, and started walking.

When they arrived on their last flight, there was a tapestry hanging on the wall. Cassie pulled it over, revealing a lock. She placed her wand tip inside, and there was a faint glimmer. The lock clicked, and the wall swung open, revealing a common room like none other Harry had seen.

On the walls were blue and gold trimmings, the drapery was gold and blue. There were paintings of ancient wizards doing great deeds; Harry could have sworn he saw Dumbledore on a wall.

"This is amazing," he said, staring around.

"Ain't it? Eight years here," Cassie said, plopping down on a couch of blue velvet.

"Eight? At Hogwarts, we only spend seven," Harry said.

"Well, I think our headmistress wanted us to stay eight years just to torture us," Cassie explained, raising an eyebrow.

"What age do you start at?" Harry asked.

"Ten. You started at eleven, right?" Cassie replied.

"Yeah," Harry said. "How many houses do you guys have?"

"Houses? Oh, right...we call them posses. There's five of them; the Dingo's, which we're in right now, the Platypuses, Kangaroos, Koalas, and Tasmanian Devils," Cassie explained.

"So you were in the Dingo's, right?" Harry asked.

"Yeah. How were you sorted?" Cassie replied.

"A hat. It kind of read our minds and our strengths and weaknesses, and puts us in Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Slytherin," Harry explained. "I was in Gryffindor."

"Cool. Our own wands sort us. We have to think really hard about what you're like, and your strengths, and then the animal shoots out of your wand," Cassie explained. "It's really weird. The animal is all slivery and everything, and as soon as the headmistress calls out the house, it disappears."

"Weird. Anyway, where are we going now?" Harry asked.

"Well, we have to go up to the dorm room, and see what beds are left. Then, I can give you the grand tour," Cassie said, getting up and walking up the stairs.

"Wait, dorm room?" Harry asked. "Aren't there boys and girls dorms?"

"No," Cassie replied as they reached a wooden door with a brass handle. "There's a curtain surrounding each bed, so you have a little privacy. But there aren't boys and girls dormitories. Why?"
"That's what we had at Hogwarts," Harry explained. "But, whatever."

Cassie smiled, showing her straight teeth. She pulled her wand out, whispered, "Alohamora," ,the lock spell, and the lock clicked again. Cassie pulled the heavy door open, and walked in.

There were backpacks on almost every bed. There were two right next to each other that were empty, and that was it. Cassie and Harry rushed over to them before anybody else could come up, and pulled the curtains to make sure they worked.

"Wow. These beds are just like the ones at Hogwarts," Harry said, looking at the four-poster beds with blue hangings.

"Really? Coolie," Cassie said, putting her backpack on the bed and putting her wand up her sleeve. "Ready?"

"What? Oh, yeah," Harry replied, and pulled his own wand out. They walked down the stairs again, though the blue and gold common room, and out to the corridor.

"This way, Harry," Cassie said, pointing down to the left.

They walked a ways before ending up at a classroom. "This is where I had Charms with Headmistress Calaghan. She was so nice," Cassie said, looking into the classroom. "Come on."

They walked in the same direction, up a flight of stairs, and stopped at another classroom.

"This is where I had History of Magic," Cassie said. "That's a place of evil, it is."

"Levine?" Harry asked.

"Duh," Cassie replied. She pulled out her wand, pointed at something on Levine's desk, and whispered, "Accio," ,the Summoning Charm. A blue orb soared towards them, and Cassie caught it.

"What is that?" Harry asked.

"Oh, this? You can leave messages in here. I just want to leave him one to go off during his first class," Cassie replied. She prodded the globe with her wand, and a silver stream of air soared into it. "Finished."

They walked back down the stairs, all the way to the first floor. Cassie opened a black door; "Lumos," she whispered, and the tip of her wand lit up. Harry followed suit, so there was enough light so they could see fairly far. Harry noticed that there were dusty cauldrons and glass vials of stuff he didn't want to know the name of.

"Are we in a Potions room?" he asked.

"We're in the Potions room," Cassie replied. "I don't know why it's so gloomy in here, though. Professor Pierson is normally here right now."

"He is here right now," a voice said from the shadows. "Cassie Turner. What is heavens name are you doing?"

The torches on the walls flickered to life, and there was a man with gray hair and square glasses sitting on a stool. He looked very thin maybe it was the fact that black it a very thinning color.

"Professor Pierson! How's life without your favorite trouble maker?" Cassie asked, walking over to the man.

"Oh, I weep every night and pray you come back," Pierson replied smartly. "What do you think?"

"Oh, I see I'm not wanted," Cassie said, putting on a puppy-dog pout.

Pierson laughed. "What are you up to, Cassie?" he asked.

"Oh, just showing Harry here around the school. He's from England," Cassie replied. "Harry Potter, meet Professor Pierson, Potions Master."

"Nice to meet you," Harry said.

"Nice to meet you too, Harry," Pierson replied, shaking Harry's hand.

"Well, we really should be going. Got to surprise a few more teachers before dinner starts," Cassie said. "Catch you on the flip side, Professor!"

Pierson waved as they left the classroom. The door closed slowly, and clicked.

"He seemed nice," Harry said.

"He is nice. So nice, in fact, that he passes almost everyone that takes his exam. And he never yells," Cassie replied.