The New Girl

"You know, when we go back Harry, you’re going to get to be Quidditch Captain for Gryffindor," said Ron Weasley.

"I know Ron. But for some reason, I wonder if I'm ready for that. I mean, I've played since my first year and all, but Malfoy has gotten pretty good!"

"Oh come off it Harry! You know you're so much better than that stupid git!"

Harry laughed and put his head on his pillow. There was a long silence.

"Night Ron!" Harry looked over to Ron, but he was already dead asleep on his pillow.

****

Hermione Granger was looking through all of her things, making sure she wouldn't forget anything for her next semester at Hogwarts. Hermione was shorter than Harry and Ron but very thin; she had bushy brown hair but would use Straightening Spells to make it look nice and flat. She had beautiful brown eyes and was always reading a book. She picked up a few last things and stuffed them in her trunk. She took a picture of her Ron Weasley and Harry Potter, her two best friends, off of her nightstand and placed them on top of her wand box, shut her trunk, and locked it. She smiled and said in a whisper, "Tomorrow, I get to see you again Ron. After almost this whole summer, I get to see you!" and then she fell asleep.

****

The next morning, Molly Weasley came in the room. She pulled the covers off of the boys and they groaned. "Come on boys, breakfast is on the table and we have to be ready to catch the train in an hour! Come on then, hurry up!"

"Mum... please five more minutes?" whined Ron.

"Ronald Weasley! Get up! Your brothers and sister are already up and ready to go. Now come on!"

Harry got up and smiled at Mrs. Weasley and began to walk out the door.

"Come on Ron, you still have a little more packing to do. Get up!"

"You're not done packing yet?!" Mrs. Weasley shouted. "I told you to be done with that two days ago Ron!"

"Oh come on! I only have to put in my wand and a few little things." Ron got out of bed and followed Harry down the steps to breakfast.

"Good morning Harry!" said Ginny Weasley sweetly.

"Morning Gin," Harry said sleepily as he rubbed his eyes.

"Gee, and Good morning to you to Ginny!" Ron said, rather rudely.

"Oh, good morning Ron!" she giggled softly and smiled. The three of them sat down for breakfast and they noticed something, rather someone was missing - Hermione. Unfortunately, Hermione didn’t get to stay at the Burrow during the last few days of vacation this year, simply because her parents did not want her staying in a house full of boys, especially since she happened to have a crush on one of those boys. Harry and Ron knew that as they got older, it would be odd having a girl as their best friend and having her sleeping at the same house for a week, so maybe the tradition would have to change. Ron, Harry and Ginny all finished breakfast and headed up stairs to get their things ready for their trip back to Hogwarts. Ron locked his trunk just as Fred and George, Ron’s older twin brothers, came in to carry the trunks downstairs. Harry grabbed Hedwig’s cage and followed them out the door. Ron took one last look through his room, grabbed Pig’s cage and left, shutting the door quietly.

****

While making their way to Platform 9 34 the Weasleys and Harry were getting the odd looks they usually got when walking at the station. Not many people go places with owls and big trunks. There were a million Muggles, non-magical people, running around trying to get to their train, and Ron was amazed by the way they had their hair or how little they would pack. Mrs. Weasley said good-bye to each of her kids, kissing them on the cheek, which made all of them blush. Harry had spotted Hermione and smiled to her and waved. Hermione joined Harry and the Weasleys and smiled to Mrs. Weasley, "It is nice to see you Mrs. Weasley. I missed staying at the Burrow for the last few days."

"It was quite different without you; the boys did nothing but play Quidditch in the field and Ron had just finished packing this morning."

Hermione smiled as Mrs. Weasley gave her a hug as if she were one of her own. The four Weasley children, Harry, and Hermione walked right through the wall onto Platform 9 and 34 and smiled, seeing all of the familiar faces. Neville Longbottom came and said a quick hello before getting on the train. Colin Creevey smiled at Ginny and they had a short conversation.

"I see you still have your tag along, eh Potter?" said an ungrateful voice from behind Harry.

"I don’t see what you get out of trying to make fun of people, Malfoy," Harry said with disgust. Draco Malfoy just walked passed bumping into Ron purposely as he got on the train. Hermione, Harry, Ginny, and Ron all boarded the train and found a compartment with only one girl in it; a girl they had never seen before.

****

Chapter 2~ The Hogwarts Express

As Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny walked into the compartment the girl looked up but did not say a word. She was reading a copy of Hogwarts: A History. She had short, reddish hair and crystal blue eyes. After a short time, Hermione spoke up, " It’s a good book, isn’t it?" She smiled sweetly to the mysterious girl.

"Oh yes, I have been reading up on Hogwarts all summer. I am so excited to see it," said the girl.

"Are you new here?"

"Well, I am new to Hogwarts... Sort of. You see, I have been studying in my home in Michigan," the looks on everyone's faces were a bit confused and the girl continued, "It’s in the United States. My parents are Muggles, and when I received an owl at my window many years ago I was quite surprised. My parents didn’t think I was ready to leave home for that long, so Professor Dumbledore set up a fireplace in my basement where I could listen to classes and at the end of the week, I sent in my homework. Since I’m older now, my parents said it was okay to come here this year and try it out for a semester."

Harry and Ron stared in amazement. No one had ever attended Hogwarts from the U.S. There was yet another silence, so the girl stood and walked to Hermione and held out her hand, and said, "I’m Jenna North."

Hermione shook her hand and said, "Oh, I’m Hermione Granger."

Ginny jumped up to shake Jenna’s hand. "I’m Ginny Weasley and that is my broth..."

Ron got up quickly and shook Jenna’s hand. "I am Ron Weasley."

Harry smiled at Jenna and said, "I’m Harry, Harry Potter."

Harry was expecting the usual reaction, "So your The Boy Who Lived!?" or "Wow, Harry Potter? Can I see your scar?" but Jenna said nothing of the sort. Instead, she had continued her conversation with Hermione.

"So what year are all of you in?"

"Well, Ron, Harry, and I are all 5th year Gryffindors, and Ginny is a 4th year in Gryffindor as well. What year and house are you in?" Hermione asked looking around the compartment and noticed Ron was hoping she’d say 5th. Her smile slowly faded.

"I will be in 5th year, but I’m not sure which house. I’m kind of embarrassed to be the only 5th year student to be put under the Sorting Hat."

Ron and Harry’s smiles widened as soon as she said 5th. Hermione had noticed this and was just looking at her feet, only glancing up every now and then to try to catch a glimpse of Ron. Ginny saw Hermione’s face and shot Ron an evil glare, but he just looked to Jenna and said, "Oh, don’t worry about the Sorting Hat. No one really pays attention; they are all too excited for the food to come."

Everyone laughed and continued to talk during the rest of the trip. Hermione, Jenna, and Ginny talked about previous years at Hogwarts and the teachers and homework. Ron and Harry talked about Quidditch and Jenna’s "non-reaction" to the name Harry Potter. The conversations never ended until they noticed that they were at the train station at Hogsmeade.