PreHarry

- CHAPTER ONE -

Return to Hogwarts

'Here we go, another year at Hogwarts,' George Weasley muttered to his twin brother Fred.

'Come on George,' Fred replied. 'You're saying that going back to Hogwarts is a bad thing. Don't you find that every year that we go back to Hogwarts, things just seem to get better? I mean, we found all of those secret passageways that no one else knows about, except perhaps Filch. We also get to visit the village of Hogsmeade this year. I can't wait to get into Zonko's Joke Shop. I've heard that it's wonderful.'

Even the mention of the famous joke shop didn't seem to cheer George up at all. Returning to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry didn't seem to be very tempting to George, nor of the all-wizard village of Hogsmeade, which was not far from the school.

'You're not still upset about losing the Quidditch Cup last year are you?' Fred asked. 'You've had all summer to brood about Slytherin winning for the second year in a row. Cheer up, this year will definitely be better than last year.'

Fred and George both played on one of the four Hogwarts House Quidditch teams. They played for Gryffindor, the best team of the lot. Slytherin, the dirtiest team, had cheated the most to win their matches, had beaten Gryffindor for the second year in a row, and had also won the House Championship for the sixth year running.

Quidditch was the most popular game played by witches and wizards, and is compared to football in the Muggle world, but it was a game played on broomsticks with seven players on each team. There were three Chasers on a team, and it was their job to score goals with a big red ball called the Quaffle. The Chasers tried to score in one of the three golden hoops at the ends of the pitch. Ten points were given each time the Quaffle went through one of the hoops. The Weasley twins' position was as the two Beaters. The Beaters was responsible for keeping two hard black balls called Bludgers away from their team. The Bludgers zoomed around the pitch trying to knock players off of their brooms. There was also the Seeker, which was usually the smallest and fastest player on the pitch. The Seeker had to catch a small golden ball called the Golden Snitch, which was the size of a small walnut. The Snitch was very difficult to see and the Seeker had to have a very sharp eye in order to see it. The last position was the Keeper. The Keeper had to defend the three hoops and prevent the opposite team from scoring.

The Weasley twins didn't have much time to talk as their mum was hurrying them along the platforms until they reached the barrier dividing platforms nine and ten at King's Cross Station.

'Percy, you go first dear,' said Mrs Weasley. She was a plump woman who was ushering the twins' older brother towards the barrier. Percy, who was rather tall and shared his family's fiery-red hair, pushed his trolley containing his suitcases and a cage containing the family owl, Errol, straight at the barrier. To any common Muggle (a person that didn't have any magical blood in them) in the station, it looked as if Percy were going to crash into the barrier, but instead, he vanished.

'Come on Fred, George, you're next,' Mrs Weasley said, pushing the twins at the barrier. 'Hurry up, or you'll miss the train.'

'Wouldn't that be a tragedy?' Fred said mischievously. 'Just think of ten months with us at home to distract you.'

'I've had you two home long enough. Now, GET GOING!' she snapped, pushing them harder towards the barrier. 'Remember what I told you. If I receive one owl telling me that you two have been up to no good, you'll be in trouble when you get home!'

'We never do anything that's not good,' Fred hollered to his mother as he pushed his trolley right at the barrier.

Instantly, Fred and George were on the platform next to a shiny scarlet steam engine. This was the Hogwart's Express that would be taking them to Hogwarts. Quite loudly, the train's whistle pierced the air.

'Fred, George, hurry up!' a voice called. It was the twins' friend Lee Jordan. He had his dreadlocked head poking out of a window.

The twins quickly heaved their heavy trunks onto the train and hopped aboard just as the train began to move. An attendant on the train helped Fred and George lift their trunks onto the overhead compartments.

It wasn't long before the twins were playing a game of wizard's chess. Wizard's chess was quite similar to Muggle chess, except that the pieces were alive.

'So what did you two do over the summer?' Lee asked as he waited for Fred to move.

'The same thing we do every summer,' George said glumly.

'Yeah, listen to Percy boast about his marks, listening to mum lecture us about our inventions, listen to Percy boast about his marks, de-gnome the garden, listen to Percy boast about his marks, and getting yelled at for pushing Ron off of his broom while we were practising Quidditch,' Fred droned on. 'The list never really ends.'

Ron was the twins' younger brother. It would be his first year at Hogwarts the next year. He was only ten, and all Hogwarts students received their letters telling them that they were accepted at Hogwarts when they were eleven.

'Was Ron alright?' Lee asked.

''Course he was. Ron can be a real actor when it comes to getting hurt,' George grumbled.

'Bet you got yelled at for it,' Lee said.

'Yeah, Mum never gives us a break. She always sticks up for Ron.'

Their conversation was cut short as their compartment door slid open. Marcus Flint was standing in the doorway wearing a nasty grin. Flint was the captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team. He was tall, muscley and one of the nastiest people at Hogwarts, with the exception of Professor Snape, the Potions master. Professor Snape was the head of Slytherin house; he favoured all of the Slytherins and detested all of the other students.

'Talking about Gryffindor's well-earned loss in the Quidditch Cup last year?' Flint sneered.

'What do you want?' Lee snapped.

'To see if Gryffindor's going to come up with any new strategies for winning some of their matches this year. I really don't think that Gryffindor can afford to lose the Quidditch Cup again this year. It would be a terrible record if Slytherin won again.'

Neither Fred, George nor Lee answered.

Flint's sneer grew. 'So, do you two still have your same sorry excuses for brooms? That's a real shame. It's a real loss for Gryffindor when its team members can't even afford decent brooms.'

'Since when do you care about Gryffindor's chances in Quidditch?' Fred snapped.

'I thought that was rather obvious, Weasley,' Flint replied. 'It will just be a worse loss for you when we beat you again this year.'

George whipped out his wand. He wasn't going to take any of Flint's mockery this year.

'Planning to use that on me?' Flint mocked. 'Going to put a curse on me, Weasley? Go on then, give it your best shot.' At this, Flint took out his won wand from his black Hogwarts robes.

George was just beginning to mutter the words for a curse when Flint quickly shouted, 'Expelliarmus!'

George's wand flew out of his hand. Flint caught it and began to twiddle it in his fingers. 'Little Weasley want his wandy back?'

'Give it back Flint!' Fred said, but George lunged at Flint. George's wand landed with a clatter on the ground as Flint landed on his back. The two of them were rolling on the ground in a heap when Fred clambered over them and picked up George's wand. When George noticed that his wand was no longer in Flint's possession, he made to get up when Flint to a swipe at George. George took Flint's hit hard on the cheek and fell back holding his face.

'What did you do that for?' Fred snapped. It looked as if Fred and Flint were going to get into a fight when the plump witch who came by with the food trolley stopped outside of their compartment.

'What is going on here?' she asked. 'I could hear shouts and bodies being thrown around from the next car!' She then noticed George still holding his cheek, which was already turning, purple and blue. 'I hope that you all realise that fighting is strictly forbidden on the train! I'm going to have to send a message to Professor Dumbledore about this! And you!' she said looking sharply at Flint. 'You go back to your own compartment this instant!'

Flint cowered under her stare and quickly got up, straightened his robes and left, giving the Weasley's a deadly glare.

'I've always known that one to be a trouble-maker,' the witch said, bending over George. 'It looks as if you've just taken a good blow to the face that's all. Though I recommend that you see the school nurse when you arrive at the school just to be sure.'

George nodded and pulled himself onto his seat.

It seemed like an age until the train finally came to a stop. All of the students quickly left the train and began to walk in groups to the horse-less carriages that awaited them. The first year students however, followed Hagrid, the school's gamekeeper to the boats that would take them across the lake to Hogwarts separately.

When Fred, George and Lee were seated in their own carriage and heading off to Hogwarts when George spoke for the first time since Flint had punched him.

'I hope that Flint gets a detention for that. If I'd lost any teeth...I don't know any spells about growing teeth back.'

Lee and Fred laughed. 'It's nice to see that you're feeling a bit better George,' Fred said. 'I bet that you'll be back to your normal mood when you've finished eating the start of term feast.'

When the entire school (except for the first years) were all seated at their tables in the Great Hall, Professor McGonagall came marching up to the Gryffindor table and stopped behind Fred, George and Lee.

'Jordan, Weasleys, Professor Dumbledore would like to see you in his office immediately,' she said sternly. Everyone at Hogwarts knew better than to cross McGonagall. She didn't only look strict, she actually was. The three of them stood up and followed McGonagall from the Hall. There were hushed whispers from the other students as they watched them leave.

Suddenly, Professor McGonagall stopped at the base of a staircase. 'George Weasley, I've been ordered to tell you to go and visit Madam Pomfrey to make sure that you're alright,' she said, pointing up the stairs.

'I'm fine Professor, really,' George started.

'I won't hear of it Weasley. It's Professor Dumbledore's orders.'

George started to march up the stairs when McGonagall called out to him, 'Tell Madam Pomfrey to show you to Dumbledore's office when you are done.'

Lee and Fred paid no attention to where they were going until Professor McGonagall stopped next to a large stone gargoyle. 'Peppermint twist!' she said. The gargoyle jumped aside and the three of them stepped onto a spiral staircase that led them up to a landing where there was only a door. 'Professor Dumbledore is waiting inside. I have to go and complete the sorting ceremony.'

When she had gone, Lee and Fred looked at each other. What were they supposed to do now?

'I reckon we have no choice but to knock,' Lee said.

'Go on then,' Fred said, beckoning at Lee to knock on the door. Lee reached out to use the brass knocker, but the door opened before Lee could even touch it.

Professor Dumbledore was standing there with an expressionless face. 'Please come in,' he said.

Lee and Fred both entered the office and were shocked at what they saw. The office was quite large and circular. There were many small silver instruments that Fred and Lee had never seen before. The walls had many portraits of old Hogwarts headmasters and headmistresses. There was also a desk with clawed feet and near it was a golden perch with a beautiful bird perched on it. The bird had beautiful gold and red plumage and large dark eyes.

'I've never seen a bird like this before, have you?' Lee muttered looking at Fred.

Fred just shook his head.

Professor Dumbledore followed their gaze and smiled. 'This is Fawkes,' he said, stroking the bird's back. 'He's a phoenix. Quite attractive isn't he?'

'Yes,' Fred and Lee said together.

Professor Dumbledore smiled at them. 'Please have a seat,' he said, motioning to two chairs.

Fred and Lee sat.

'I have been sent a message that you were acting inappropriately on the train and that Mr George Weasley was injured. Can you tell me what happened?' Dumbledore asked calmly.

Fred and Lee didn't speak for a few moments. Then Fred finally spoke.

'The three of us, Lee George and I were all sitting in our compartment minding our own business when Marcus Flint came along and started to mock us. Then he took George's wand away from him. Then George lunged at Flint and they started a fight with each other. Then I picked up George's wand and Flint took a swipe at him.'

'I see,' Dumbledore said. 'I know that some of the Slytherins can be quite unbearable at times, but that is no reason for anyone to start a fuss with them, even if they are saying very cruel things about you. I do not approve of fighting but I do approve of standing up to people and telling them to leave you be.

'Since the term has not started yet, I will not deduct any points from Gryffindor or Slytherin for this, but I will be sending a message to both Mr Weasley's and Mr Flint's parents. If Mr Flint continues to bother you, please see Professor McGonagall or I immediately. I do not want you to begin a brawl with each other. Is that understood?'

Fred and Lee both nodded.

'Good. Then I think it best to head down to the feast and enjoy some time with your friends,' Dumbledore said. And Lee and Fred left the office.

'What happened?'

'Why did you have to go and see Dumbledore?'

'Did you get into trouble?'

When they returned to the Great Hall, Fred and Lee were pelted with questions from fellow Gryffindors. They quickly explained what happened and then they began to eat the delicious food that awaited them.

'I have the greatest news!' someone said, distracting Fred and Lee from their meal. They both looked up expecting to see George returning from Dumbledore's office, but instead they saw Skye McAndrews walking along the Gryffindor table and stopping next to Fred.

'What is it?' Fred asked, stuffing his mouth with mashed potato.

Skye plopped down between Fred and Oliver Wood, the Gryffindor Quidditch captain. 'I received a very important letter over the summer,' she began.

'Save us the anxiety and tell us,' said Oliver turning towards Skye.

Skye was about to begin when she caught sight of what was on the table in front of her. She wrinkled her nose in disgust and turned away.

'What's the matter?' Fred asked.

'That,' Skye said, pointing to a cooked turkey that lay on a golden platter.

'What's wrong with it?' Lee asked curiously.

'I suppose you two don't' know that Skye's a vegetarian. She can't even stand the sight of meat, cooked or uncooked,' Oliver said, giving Skye a ridiculous smile. 'Pass those potatoes Fred.' Oliver then switched the turkey with potatoes and Skye finally turned around.

'That's better,' she said.

'How do you know she's a vegetarian?' Lee asked Oliver.

'Oh, Skye and I have been friends forever and we know everything about each other,' Oliver explained.

'I thought George and I told you about that Lee,' Fred said. 'I think we told you at least twice.'

'I must have forgotten about it,' Lee said, returning to his food.

'Tell us about your letter Skye,' Oliver said.

'Well, I thought that it was someone playing a joke and I sent them a letter back asking me if they were serious,' Skye said.

'Who's they and what were they serious about?' someone asked.

All of them looked up to see George standing there and looking as if Flint had never punched him.

'Hey, your bruise is gone,' Lee said.

'Yep. Madam Pomfrey fixed me up with some potion she had and I feel fine,' George said, piling food onto his plate. He was just about to take a bite of turkey when Skye stopped him.

'George how can you eat that? It's disgusting,' Skye said in disgust.

'What?' George asked.

Skye pointed at George's fork.

'What?' George asked again. But there was a glimmer of mischief in his eyes.

'Who cares about George the carnivore. Tell us about your letter,' Oliver said.

'Okay,' Skye said pulling a rolled up piece of parchment out of her black robes. 'Mr Darien Hopkinson sent me this and he asked me if I would want to play for England's national Qui-' she stopped in mid-sentence.

'What is it?' Fred asked.

'Nothing,' Skye said blushing. She quickly hid the parchment in her pocket. She was stupid to want to mention that she was going to play for Quidditch for England in front of Oliver. She realised how jealous he would probably be and decided not to tell him just yet.

'You can tell us,' George said.

'Yeah, trust us,' Fred chimed in.

Skye gave them a look of disbelief. 'Since when would I trust you two? If I told you, it would be all over the school in less than an hour. I don't want everyone to know.'

'Then why did you bother to mention that you got a letter?' Fred asked.

'I just want my close friends to know, people that I can trust not to tell others.'

No one was able to respond to this as Dumbledore stood up at the High Table to make an announcement.

'I have a few notices that I need to say before everyone heads off to bed. First, to all students, the dark forest is strictly forbidden. It has come to my knowledge that a few students have attempted to enter the forest and I ask you not to try it again. Secondly, no magic is to be used in the corridors between your classes. No fighting is to be tolerated either.

'And one final note. The International Confederation of Wizards has decided over the summer that they are going to hold a tournament this year for all witches and wizards of seventeen years of age. Over the past few weeks, students from several countries have received letters that have been accepted to compete in the tournament. One student has been chosen to represent their country in this tournament and I have received notice that one of our very own students here at Hogwarts has been chosen.'

The Great Hall was suddenly alive with talk of who the lucky person was.

'Whoever it is, they're in their seventh year,' Lee said.

'I hope it's not Flint,' George said, looking across the hall to where Flint was sitting at the Slytherin table.

'It can't be him,' Skye said.

'Why not?' Fred asked.

'That's obvious. Flint's not seventeen.'

'I wouldn't put it past him to try to enter the tournament though,' George said.

Dumbledore waited for the hall to be quiet before he continued.

'It has been said that the entrants must be an all-around excellent wizard or witch, meaning that they must have close to perfect grades, have many skills in each subject they study and be looked up to by students and staff alike. So, with these requirements, one student from Hogwarts has been chosen to represent England in the tournament. Before I announce their name, I must say that I couldn't have picked a better person to be a participant. Therefore, I would like you all to congratulate Miss Skye McAndrews.'

For a few moments there was dead quiet. Everyone seemed to be in shock that she had been chosen, then the hall exploded with cheers and shouts.

Skye though was dumbfounded. How could she have been chosen? Indeed, she did have all of the requirements that Dumbledore had mentioned, but why her out of all of the people that had entered?

When Dumbledore had dismissed everyone to go to bed, many people swarmed around Skye asking her questions of how she was chosen, where the tournament was going to be, and how long she'd be gone for.

'Okay everyone, that's enough,' someone said in the crowd as they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady where the entrance to Gryffindor Tower was.

'Everyone go to your dormitories now.' Percy Weasley, Fred and George's older brother made his way through the crowd. 'All of you are to leave now!' he said loudly over the voices of the other students.

'Who put you in charge Perce?' Fred asked.

'NOW! Percy shouted and the students scuttled of like frightened mice.

'You don't have to boss the other students around Percy, they just wanted to talk to me,' Skye said. 'After all, I'm a Prefect and I should be telling you what to do.'

Percy's face was almost as red as his hair. He muttered the password 'dragon fire,' and the portrait swung open. 'I just like to be in charge, really,' he said before climbing the hole and entering the Gryffindor common room.

Gryffindors buzzed around Skye when she entered the common room. Skye didn't seem to mind the attention either.

When the crowd finally parted, Oliver, Fred and George caught up to Skye. They all found some empty chairs and sat down.

'So how long will you be gone for?' Fred asked.

'I really don't know. I think it's going to be for a couple of months at least.'

'MONTHS?' Oliver said so loudly that the entire common room went quiet for a moment. 'Months? But if you're gone for months then Gryffindor won't be able to compete in Quidditch. We don't have a reserve Seeker.'

'Calm down Oliver,' Skye said. 'First of all, if I weren't able to play, you wouldn't have difficulty finding another Seeker. I'm sure that there are plenty of Gryffindors who would jump at the chance to play. Secondly, you don't have to worry about finding a reserve Seeker because I'm going to be here to play. Never in my life would I miss a Quidditch match for Gryffindor.'

'But...how?' George asked.

'I don't know. I suppose if I ask Dumbledore he'll make special arrangements for me to be here.'

'I doubt that,' Oliver said.

'Why?' Skye asked.

'You don't even know where the tournament's going to be taking place, so the travel time might be a problem. Add the fact that you might not be allowed to leave the tournament and Gryffindor might as well stay in last place in the House Championship because we'll never win at Quidditch without you.'

'Thanks Oliver, that makes me feel better,' Skye said. 'Now I'm almost beginning to regret that I even entered the tournament.'

'Why?' Fred asked.

'I don't know...probably because people are thinking that I'm not qualified enough or that I shouldn't even have been considered because I'm related to Dumbledore. Now everyone's glad that it's me, but you wait. A few days from now, they're all going to start to say that I only got picked because I'm Dumbledore's second cousin.'

'If they say that, I'm going to curse them,' Oliver said.

'Says who?' George demanded.

'Says me. Everyone here knows Skye's related to Dumbledore, they'd have to be stupid to not know. But, everyone, well mostly every Gryffindor, doesn't seem to think that matters much.'

'That's what you think,' Skye replied. 'I know some people here think that I spend my summer's getting tips from Dumbledore on how to do some complicated magic -'

'Which we all know is a load of tosh,' Oliver said. 'We both live in the same village and I've seen you almost every summer. You just study too much; you spend so much time in the library and such.'

'Well thanks a lot!' Skye exclaimed. 'Anyway, I'm not going to worry about it. I'm just going to send my mum and dad a letter telling them about this. I can't imagine what they'll say.'

When Skye was gone, George brought up the feast, to distract everyone from Skye's troubles. 'What a great feast. I think it tastes better each time we come back. Don't you Fred?'

'Sure,' was all Fred said.

Oliver was silent too.

'Well if you two are going to worry about Skye's problems than I'm going to bed.' Getting up from his chair George turned to face them. 'Don't worry so much about Skye. She's not stupid and she'll be able to sort out her problems. We all know that she's fearless. She's probably just nervous about being in the tournament. I bet you that by tomorrow she'll be fine, and all of her worries will be gone.'