Romance Americana

September 1, Platform 9 ¾

"Harry!"

Harry Potter turned in time to have Hermione fly into his arms. He loved her; but that was to be kept secret. He would nave told her, had it not been for Krum, and Ron as well. His best and first friend had had a crush on Hermione since Krum had dated her. With a kiss on her cheek, they began chatting.

"Hullo, Hermione. Have you seen Ron yet?"

"No, I haven't seen him since our last term ended. My family and I went back to France this summer; I didn't get the chance to stay at the Burrow. What about you?"

"I didn't visit the Weasleys over the summer either; did you hear about Mr. Weasley's promotion?"

"Yes. No one deserves a promotion like that then Ron's dad. It's about time the wizarding world woke up and kicked Fudge's arse out of office. We need strong leaders at a time like this."

The silence lasted for a few minutes while they contemplated the situation. True, Voldemort was back. But that didn't mean hope was dead. Harry knew that he would fight to the death to keep everyone he loved safe; Hermione above all. He didn't matter, no one else did unless his 'Mione was there.

"Enough with the sadness. Let me see your Head Girl badge."

"Only if you show me the Head Boy badge," she playfully replied with a grin. "Malfoy's pissed about that. I heard him bitching about five minutes ago." She cleared her throat and proceeded to do a perfect imitation of Draco Malfoy. "How the bloody hell did POTTER get Head Boy? All because of a fucking scar! I bet he had to buy his way in..."

"Did he really say that, Hermione?"

She returned to her normal voice. "Yes, he did. So, seeing as how we're Head Boy and Girl, we both know about the Americans coming to Hogwarts."

"Ah, yes, the exchange students from The Americana School of Sorcery; where is it exactly?"

"Chicago, Illinois, the third largest American city, on Lake Michigan, and almost in the middle of the country."

She would have gone on had Harry not stopped her.

"Been studying up on American geography, are we. What else do you know about them?"

"Well, the students are from all over the country. Americana is the largest wizarding school in the world. It's hidden under the streets of Chicago, with entrances all over the city. The school has as many students as three Ivy League schools put together, with a teaching staff to match. They start their education when they come out of what they call the eighth grade. But they go for eight years, not seven, and they have more classes in one day than we do. That's because it's run like an American public secondary school. They have forty-five-minute classes, split up into eight periods. They have core classes like, Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Astrology. All of them branch off into subcategories as the students get older, and the classes meet everyday! Not to mention, the school requires all students to become fluent in a foreign language; they can chose from Spanish, Italian, French, or German. Then they have extra classes, they call them electives, which they can take to get credits. It sounds so amazing!"

Harry chuckled through Hermione's entire speech. It sounded just like Hermione to get so excited about learning. "So, did you want to go to Americana?"

"Yes, but I wouldn't be allowed to, at least not until graduation from Hogwarts. Americana only allows foreign students in after they graduate from their own schools. It's an honor to be accepted into the collegiate portion of the school. Very few who haven't gone there get in. I'm sending an application as soon as I can get my hands on an owl."

"Hermione, that's wonderful, but I thought wizarding schools made themselves Unplottable to stay hidden. How do we know where Americana is?"

"Well, as much as I love the degree of education there, the school and its students are known to be a bit... snobbish. They let people know where they are just to taunt them. Whenever someone has tried to break in, they meet security charms and wizards. The school wants to be found, just to embarrass other American wizarding schools that cannot manage to break in."

"There are other schools?"

"Yes, just not a prestigious as Americana. Very few are of the same caliber."

The whistle on the Hogwarts express signaled the students to board the train. As they boarded, Harry noticed that an extra car had been added on to the train.

"Hermione, how many students from Americana are coming?"

"Twenty or so, all seventeen or eighteen; in other words, our age."

"Oh. Okay. Let's go get a compartment."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

As Harry and Hermione headed towards their usually compartment, they heard a strange sound. Not strange, but out of place. It sounded as if someone was snogging in THEIR train compartment! Harry looked back at Hermione, wide-eyed and jaw hanging down.

"Hermione," he whispered," stay behind me. I want to see who's in our compartment."

She nodded and prepared to follow him through the door. Harry put his hand on the handle, singled to Hermione, and burst through the door. All they saw was a flurry of red hair, arms, and legs and the two people worked to disentangle themselves. Hermione gained control of her tongue before Harry did.

"Ron! What the hell are you thinking?! Oh, wait, you WEREN'T THINKING! We have guests from America, which, by the way, you are not supposed to know about, and you give a wonderful impression by snogging on the train!"

Harry, noticing the look on Ron's face, quickly put a hand over Hermione's mouth, silencing her and her tirade.

"Hermione, I'm not going to take my hand off your mouth until you calm down, okay? Ron's a big boy; he can snog whenever he feels like it, okay? Nod if you understand me."

She nodded her head, and Harry tried not to think about her lips pressed to his palm. Now was not the time. He slowly took his palm away, and stepped away from Hermione. She immediately missed his warmth, but forced the thought to the back of her mind. A strange girl suddenly stepped out from behind Ron. She was also a redhead, and was wearing a small, form fitting jean skirt and a green sweater that stretched over her breasts. Knee high boots and silver jewelry completed the ensemble. Harry's eyes narrowed as he took in her outfit.

"Who are you? What house are you in?"

"House? What the hell are you talking about? Ron, what's going on here?"

Ron grinned sheepishly at his best friends as they took in the girl... and her accent. Both of them had realized she was an American as soon as she opened her mouth.

"So you're an Americana student?" Ron rolled his eyes at Harry's question.

"Yes, I am. Can we sit? Or is this an English thing?"

There were laughs all around, and the four of them sat.

"So, tell us about your self."

"Well, my name's Kate Morgan, and as you guessed, I'm a student of The Americana School of Sorcery. How about giving me your names?"

"I'm Hermione."

"Harry. Please, continue."

"I'm from the Midwest, Chicago to be exact."

"Tell them the other stuff."

"Like what, Ron?"

"Like how you make your money."

"Oh, that. I'm an actress."

Hermione's interest was peaked. "What kind of acting?"

"I'm a Hollywood actress."

"What have you been in?"

"Hmm, let's see... The Gold of Malthus, Lagoon, This Side of Paradise, The Morning After You, and Love Hate Relationship. Those are probably my biggest movies."

"You act in MUGGLE movies? How can you manage going to a wizard's school, but film Muggle movies? How can you keep you secret?"