Endless Waltz

Chapter Four

French Flare

After a moment of silence, the Sorting Hat, "GRYFFINDOR!" the house cheered as Fay took off the hat and went to sit with her new housemates. A girl about her age with big bushy brown hair motioned for her to come and sit next to her.

"Hermione," she said. She then pointed at the red haired boy next to her. "To my left is Ron,"

"Hello" Ron replied. Hermione turned her attention back to Fay.

"And to Ron's left, is Harry."

"Hey, Fay."

"Nice to meet you, Harry," replied Fay with pink cheeks. "You too, Ron." Just then, Professor Dumbledore rose once more.

"I'd like to extend a warm welcome to our students, both new and old." The Hall broke out in cheers. Once they had quieted down, he continued. "Please, those of you who know the school, take a new student under your wing. Show them the ropes." Dumbledore winked at Hermione. "That's all. Now, tuck in." At once the golden plates filled with food and supper began. The new students settled into their tables among their new housemates and conversations began.

"You're Ginny's brother, right?" Fay asked as she spooned a large portion of steaming mashed potatoes on her plate and passed them to Ivy on her left who smiled and went back to her conversation with Seamus and Dean.

"Yeah, how do you know Ginny?" Ron asked as he poured some gravy on his turkey while spooning squash with the other hand.

"We met on the Platform. She helped me through. Please pass the gravy." Ron handed Fay the gravy boat and she proceeded to drench her potatoes.

"That was nice of her," Hermione commented after chewing a bite of apple. "Oh, these are good! Here, Fay, try one." She handed Fay one of the large apples. Fay bit in.

"Yeah, these are really good! Here, Harry, try one." Fay handed one of the apples to him but he was too busy staring off into space to notice.

"Harry, earth to Harry, come in!" Hermione waved her hand in front of his face.

"Huh?" He snapped out of his daze, somewhat.

"I said, here, try one of these apples." Fay handed it to him. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"He's just in a daze because for once he's sitting with a REAL girl." Harry blinked for a second, then blushed as red as the apple, so did Fay.

"Hermione!" Ron was appalled.

"What? It's not like you two treat me like a girl anyways." Hermione explained as she meticulously cut her chicken.

"That wasn't it!" Harry shouted. Harry had chosen the worst time to speak loudly for a break in conversation left the hall quite as he rose his voice and again, Harry blushed. After a moment, conversation resumed as normal and he continued more softly this time, "It's just that she reminds me of someone and I can't place who, that's all."

"Cho." Ron coughed into his napkin.

"What Ron, I missed that?" Fay asked.

"Oh, nothing. Just a tickle," he said without taking his eyes off Harry.

"Am I missing something here?" Fay asked as she looked from Harry, to Ron and back to Harry.

"Not unless I am too." Hermione said. "Pass the salt, will you Harry." Without a word Harry handed Hermione the shaker still staring at Ron, slightly horrified at his remark. Though, in truth, he was the only one at the table who had gotten the joke.

"Geez, tough crowd." Hermione commented under her breath. Fay heard her but said nothing. Things, again it seemed, were not going as smoothly as they should. Something was amiss. Then again, smoothly was never the way things seemed to go anymore.

*********************************

After dinner, while being lead to the Gryffindor common room by Alexander, Fay nudged up beside Hermione. "Hey," she whispered. Hermione pulled her out of line.

"Hi! Are you enjoying yourself so far?" Hermione asked as she straightened her tie.

"Yes, of course I am. This place is great but, umm, what's up with your friends, if you don't mind my asking?" Fay questioned. It was really none of her business but curiosity never killed anyone. - Maybe it did, but only in very special circumstances.

"Oh, don't mind them. They're too vacuous to accept new people. They'll-", she was interrupted by Ron who stepped out from behind a pillar. He put his hands on his hips and glared at the two girls.

"Hermione! If you're going to insult us, you could at least do it to our face, and with words we understand!"

"Us?" Fay asked. Just then, Harry tumbled out from behind another pillar. He'd lost his balance and tripped over the molding. He got up quickly, very embarrassed.

"Oh! So now you resort to spying on me! Well fine!" Hermione threw up her hands in exasperation and stomped off. Fay closed in on Harry, and pursed her mouth to speak.

"Don't you start on us too," Harry said as he fixed his robes. Fay went over to him and tucked in his tie.

"I was just going to say," she said in a soft voice, "vacuous means shallow." Then, she turned to follow Hermione leaving behind a confused and embarrassed Harry Potter.

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Ivy Marfil and Nikki Sheldon chatted at they got ready for bed that night. Being from Adelaide, they were already friendly with each other and had finally found a mutually convenient time to talk in the confusion of the first day at new school.

"So how was the train ride??__ asked Ivy as she pulled down her scarlet comforter to reveal golden sheets below, "Oh these are very pretty!?__ She settled in and began to plait her hair into two brown braids that reached just to her shoulders.

"Rather uneventful. I met some nice girls; Becca, Beth and Fay were their names I think. They all seemed very nice, though Fay was rather shy in my opinion." Nikki finished buttoning her nightgown, picked up a boar bristle brush and began to untangle her dark hair.

" Really? She seemed to be more of a snot to me." Ivy said as she raised an eyebrow. She also seemed to be very out of place, in Ivy's opinion but she said nothing of this to Nikki. She probably would not have been interested anyway.

"Well you know looks can be deceiving. Maybe she's a very nice person. Although she does seem to be odd. I'm not sure what it is about her but something just isn't right. You know what I mean? "Nikki climbed into the small canopy bed next to Ivy's. Ivy nodded and rolled over. Maybe she was right; she'd just have to find out.

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The next morning, Fay awoke to Hermione yapping away in the other room. "I just can't believe them! Most boys here won't do that, well, Draco and them maybe, but pretty much everyone else is nice." Fay yawned and climbed out of bed. "Hurry," Hermione stuck her head around the corner and directed as she tried to fix her tie. "Breakfast starts in fifteen minutes." She struggled some more. "Stupid tie!" she said at last, as she threw it in Fay's direction, exasperated. Fay got up out of bed, her hair a frizzled mess.

"Here, let me help." Quick as a wink she fixed the tie for her. Then she went to find her own robes, which was considerably harder than fixing a stupid tie. Unlike Hermione, she had horrible organizational skills.

"How'd you do that so fast?" Hermione touched her tie and glanced at

Fay.

"I have to do it all the time. Anyway, let's hurry; I want a good seat at breakfast," replied Fay as she searched through her trunk for a clean pair of socks. She dressed quickly and braided her hair as she talked to Hermione. "So, what's up with you and the guys?"

"Ron can be so, argh, I don't know, such a guy!" Hermione said as she went into the other room to make her bed, and Fay turned from her mirror to stare in Hermione's direction. She looked up, feeling watched. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You like him!" Fay called into the other room. Hermione peered around the corner and looked at Fay horrified.

"No, I don't! Besides, he likes that, Fleur." Hermione spat, coming back to where Fay was seated. "She's such a jerk; he doesn't deserve a girl like her." Fay merely smiled and went back to her hair. Hermione blushed deeply and was about to defend herself again when Ivy came in.

"Hey. Do you have an extra brush anywhere? I think I lost mine." Hermione saw this as the perfect opportunity to get away.

"Umm, I have to go. I'll save you a seat though, Fay, if you want. You too, ummm-" She struggled with the new girl's name for it had escaped her.

"Ivy, Ivy Marfil, and thank you." Ivy smiled at Hermione. She seemed nice enough.

"Ok, thanks!" Fay shouted as Hermione dashed out the door. "Here you go." She handed her brush to Ivy. "Did you drop it when you ran into Harry, the boy with the glasses you hit in London with your trolley cart?"

"No, that clod was standing in the way. He's lucky he hit the pavement so hard. I'd have knocked him out myself if not." Ivy said as she sat on Fay's bed. "I just forgot to pack one I think. Thanks."

"Your welcome." Fay paused. "Guys are like that. Thank God I don't have any brothers!" Fay mused as she tied her shoes.

"Really, me neither. I have one older sister, but that's all. Do you?"

"I don't have any siblings." Fay answered briskly, as Ivy gave her brush back. Ivy buttoned her cuffs and pulled up her knee socks.

"Wow. You're parents must have been satisfied with just you ."

"I wouldn't know. My mother and father passed away when I was about a year old." Fay answered softly as she stuffed the brush into her trunk and shut the lid quickly.

"Ohmigod! I'm so sorry!" Ivy got up and put her hand on Fay's

shoulder. She felt awful.

"It's not a big deal. I never knew them so I don't know what I'm missing out on. My feelings aren't hurt, you didn't know." Fay assured her as she stood. Ivy nodded, but noticed that the corners of Fay's eyes were moist. So much for making a new friend; that would be rather hard since she'd made her cry the first time they ever spoke. "Come on, we should get to breakfast, we don't want to be late on our very first morning, do we?"

"Of course not." Ivy agreed and they started out of the room. "Now, which way was the staircase again?"

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Meanwhile, Harry and Ron were already halfway to the Great Hall. "Remind me again why we had to get up extra early." Harry yawned as he tried to keep up with Ron's quick pace.

"To beat Hermione! Really, Harry. Lately you've been totally out of it."

"No, I've just been thinking." Ron nodded, understandingly.

"About Cho."

"No. About stuff and bringing it up, I really didn't appreciate it last night at dinner when you did that." Harry snapped.

"Oh, come off it. I was kidding around. The girls didn't get it, so no harm done. Besides, if you weren't thinking about her, they why should you care?" Ron retorted.

"I was thinking about a letter I got from Sirius when I well, some pretty weird things happened at home these past holidays that I really don't understand. The long and short of it is that Dudley's been kidnapped."

"So?" Ron had his devil smile on. "Couldn't have happened to a nicer fella, if you know what I mean."

"The kidnappers asked for Sirius as the ransom."

"What?"

"Do you think they know you've been in contact?" Ron turned to look at

Harry.

"Of course that's what I've been thinking! I got a letter from him the same time as the ransom, but I never read it and can't find it anywhere! I hope it wasn't important because I've got the sneaking suspicion that the cat took it." Ron looked at him quizzically.

"Cat? Since when've you got a cat?"

"My uncle nearly killed it on the way home from the station at the end of last year. Then, he just up and brought her home." Harry took off his glasses and rubbed his nose.

"Wizard cat? Or an Animagus?"

"Might've been, but she didn't say a word all summer." Harry put his

glasses back on.

"But Harry, most Animagus can't talk! For all you know, that could've been He Who Must Not Be Named!"

"Ron, it was a girl." Harry looked at him pointedly.

"But still, it's the principle of the matter." Ron stated smugly.

"You sound like Hermione." Ron blushed. "Anyway, I still can't find the letter, wizard cat or not."

"Just write him again and explain that you never got the letter last time."

"I suppose." Harry replied slowly. Ron was right, he would just write to Sirius and everything would be alright.

Just then, Harry noticed Hermione coming down the opposite staircase. "Look, it's Hermione. Why don't we apologize? I don't want to start the year in a fight." Harry poked Ron in the arm and gestured to her.

"I hate to say it, but you're right, we were kinda mean." Ron agreed as they approached her. She turned. "Listen, Hermione. I'm real sorry about-" he started.

"Ron, I must interrupt you. I was so wrapped up in having someone new we can become friends with," Ron made a face "that I didn't realize how rude I was being. Please forgive my childish behavior."

"Oh course, Hermione. Though, we weren't too nice either and we're real sorry about it." Harry said. Ron just stood there. Harry elbowed him but all he could do was nod dumbly.

"Alright then, see you at breakfast!" Hermione shouted over her shoulder as she hurried down the hall.

"Smooth." Harry muttered as he turned to Ron. "You were a regular old brick."

"Thanks. It means so much to me to have your never-ending support." Ron said as he pushed past Harry and left him standing in the hall.

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Fay and Ivy made their way to the Great Hall in record time. They got there early and went to hang out before breakfast began. Lucy spotted Fay and ran over to her as Ivy went to talk to Hermione.

"Comment __otes-vous, Fay?"

"L'amende, merci, Lucy. Et vous?" She answered shakily. Her French was more than a little rusty.

"Je suis tr____s fatigu___ aujourd'hui. Je n'ai pas dormi bien. O____ ___tiez-vous apr____s le d_ner?"

"Je marchais avec Hermione quand-" Suddenly a hand appeared on Fay's shoulder and she stopped mid sentence.

There were two boys by Draco's side, and they were smirking up a storm. "No, Draco, why do you like your women that way?" fawned the two boys in unison, looking up at him with looks of adoration.

"Because then, there's no obvious communication. You could call them a gay cow and they'd smile, nod and perhaps wink coyly." He moved his hand towards Fay's waist.

"I hope you can remove your filthy hand on your own." He looked up in surprise and after horror. "Because if not, I'm afraid I'll have to dislocate it from your shoulder in order to get it off, and return it to you in a to-go baggie. Paper most likely." He moved his hand quickly, as if she were on fire.

"As if, that wasn't enough, this was a private conversation." Lucy saw this as the perfect time to add in her two knuts. The young man looked from Fay to Lucy and back to Fay in horror.

"Petits gar_ons." remarked a passing girl.

"Si jeunes, donc na_fs." Remarked another and sent Fay and Lucy into fits of giggles as they walked away, leaving behind a French-speaking Draco Malfoy.

Once breakfast began, Ivy started up a conversation with Faye. Shehad saved her a

seat and was busy handing her breakfast materials. "So, I couldn't find you guys last night after dinner. Where did you all go?"

"Yeah. Hermione and I dragged our feet and ended up at the end of the line." Fay said pointedly as she looked at Ron. Hermione nudged her in the arm.

"Oh." Ivy missed the tension in the air and casually passed the bread to Ron.

"Anyway," Fay quickly changed the subject. "What class do we have first?" Harry, Ron, and Hermione groaned in unison. "Potions!"

"Is that bad?" Ivy asked as she buttered her toast. Harry looked at her in disbelief and Ron's fork clinked loudly on his plate as he dropped it in mid-bite. Ivy looked up. "What? Was it something I said?"

"Bad? You're asking if it's bad. That's the understatement of the year!" Ron nearly shouted. Ivy blushed and looked back at her toast.

"Well, Ivy, that means you've reached your unnecessary question quota for today." Fay smiled at Ivy and took a sip of the orange juice in front of her. Suddenly she felt a chill down her back. She put her goblet down and glanced behind her and caught the eyes of a tall man with greasy black hair in the back of the room, watching her. "Hey, now it's my turn to ask a stupid question. Who is the guy with too much hair gel glaring at our table like we've just murdered someone?"

Harry glanced over at the teachers' table and suddenly doubled over in pain. Fay started to wring her hands with a horrified look on her face. Ivy stood up. "'Migod Harry! Are you okay? What's wrong?"

"I'm fine." He tried to croak another word but it was unintelligible, such was his pain.

"Harry, is it your scar?" Hermione touched his shoulder. He threw off her hand roughly.

"I'm fine!" He shouted, got up quickly from his seat the the table and ran to the infirmary. Ron looked after him worriedly. Hermione sat back down, however. She began to eat again, but then noticed something.

"Fay, what's wrong?" She was still wringing her hands with a pained look on her face. Ivy eyed her worriedly; was it contagious?

"I burned my hand. I'm going to the infirmary. I'll be back for Potions, don't worry." Fay got up to leave but Ivy touched her elbow.

"What did you burn your hand on?" Ivy asked, worry in her voice.

"On my coffee." She pointed to the steaming cup in front of her on the table. Ivy nodded and Fay walked away, still wringing her hands. Hermione merely stared at the cup.