OFF THE TRAIN

lancing up from his silent contemplation of a textbook, Draco slid a blood red ribbon inside and closed it, glancing out the window as the train slowed. Against the starry backdrop stood Hogwarts, aged and formidable, its towers spiking up into lazy swirls of clouds, dull orange light emitting from the windows. The castle was much the same as it had been the last time he'd been to it, and he doubted if it would ever change.

Suppressing a sigh at the thought of directing scattered and afraid first years through the castle, he drew himself up and offered a hand to Pansy, expression blank and cool. He'd taken a potion to ease his migraine, so motion no longer bothered him, but he would have a lingering headache for a while.

Without saying a word she slipped her hand into his and allowed herself to be aided, shifting her bag over one shoulder as she offered him a small smile and turned. Those blasted cats were still mewing cheerfully on his clothing, but with any luck they would wear off soon, as all spells eventually did. It would just irk Weasel if he wore them and made them look good, he knew, and accepted it without a hint of embarrassment.

Besides, after the way he'd exposed himself in front of the mongrel's little sister, nothing could even come close to mortifying him any more.

A slight smirk turned one corner of his mouth up as he watched Pansy tilt her chin upward, dark hair swinging just above her hips as she stalked out of the compartment, arrogance in the way she held herself and looked down her nose on those who stood before her. A defense mechanism, he knew, but an effective one. For the most part people left her alone. And those who didn't, had him to answer to.

Draco was well aware that he was drawing stares as he stepped off the train dressed in muggle business attire, but he didn't care. He hadn't had time to change before the train had stopped, nor had he the inclination. His outer robe hung over his arm, and he contemplated whether or not he should just wear it, when he was stopped by a teacher.

"Mr. Malfoy. Hagrid is confined in his hut with a bit of a head cold. You and Miss Granger will assist the first years across the lake."

Ah, it would be McGonagall. He tilted his head, smiling, and slowly drew his robe up and around his shoulders, slipping his arms through the soft fabric deliberately slowly. "Of course, Professor. It will be a pleasure."

Her lips thinned into a small, disapproving line, but she said nothing, merely turned and glided off to the castle to intercept the first-years.

Left with no choice, he reached into a pocket and tapped his throat with his wand, murmuring, "Sonorus."

"If I could have your attention," he spoke in a normal tone, though his voice carried impressively. Most of the movement ceased as he spoke, and he strode forward, no smile on his face.

"I will be your Head Boy this year. I assume most of you know who I am; if not, then you will presently. As those of you who know him can see, Hagrid has not arrived." A small smirk lifted one corner of his mouth at this. "In light of this, myself and your Head Girl will be attending the first years to the castle. First year students will do well to separate themselves from the crowd and gather to my right."

"The rest of you, find your seats in the carriages. If the Head Girl would join me, then that is all."

He tapped his throat once more, turning to eye the students next to him with a small sneer as he waited for Granger to separate herself from Weasel and Potter.

Shaking her head at Draco's speech, Pansy pressed one hand down on the flap of her bag and hurried over to a carriage. Her eyes lingered on the Thestrals standing in front of it for a moment before she mentally shook herself, resting one hand on the side of a carriage and lifting herself inside of it.

She fully expected to ride alone this year. Aside from Draco, no one bothered to sit by her, and she was not blind enough to believe it anyone's fault but her own. But sometimes... sometimes she wished someone would look past her front and decide they wanted to get to know her.

Goyle had been pleasantly sitting on his chair when he felt Crabbe pushing him to the floor. "mrrff..."...*Wha?? oh, now I'm on the floor. Weird.*

"...doof?" *are you quoite alright,my dear chum? i hope you are not worse fo the wear....* "

mmrr..." he responded, grumbling, meaning, "no thanks to you, knucklebrain. Thanks for making sure I was awake..."

Angry with Crabbe still, Goyle trundled off the bus. His spleen was still hurting, so his already-weak self-transportation skills were hampered even more. He pushed someone in the train to the floor, and seemed to notice a bump in his steps. On his way out, seeing the food cart and needing consolation for his wounded spleen, he stole 10 chocolate frogs while the lady was looking the other direction. Stepping off the train, not looking for Crabbe behind him, he listened to what his instincts told him to do in this kind of a situation: Find Draco. He walked around, knocking into people here in there, bellowing out, "Draaaacoooooo...." It would have taken him longer to find him, but he overheard the commandeering voice of his "buddy." he trundled to the spot where he heard Draco--but...Draco was getting on a boat...'urk..' Goyle said, incapable of thinking without talking at the same time. Goyle didn't like boats. They had too much of a chance of letting him fall over. Plus there was that one time over the summer when he had fallen through the bottom just by stepping in...

So he couldn't follow Draco--even the smallest insect with no brains at all has an instinct to survive. He did, however, see someone else...another slytherin, perhaps, get into a carriage nearby. He trundled towards the carriage and jumped inside. Sitting on the soft cushion, Goyle looked up to see who it was that he had followed--when his eyes met the gaze of Pansy Parkinson. Goyle immediately looked back down. Although he didn't understand that it was because she was the only person in the world Draco didn't treat with contempt, Goyle had always felt respect towards Pansy, and even held her in awe. Attempting conversation, or his idea of it anyway, Goyle pulled out one of the chocolate frogs from within his robe and thrust it towards her. "Frog?"

Blinking, Pansy sighed inwardly and folded her hands on her lap. She eyed the frog speculatively for a moment before seeing that it was unopened and took it, smiling slightly at him. "Thank you, Goyle." U

nlike Draco, Pansy didn't think that just because Crabbe and Goyle had limited vocabularies it was any reason to treat them poorly. They were, after all, a few of the people Draco had taken under his wing, much like herself. It wouldn't do to be unkind to them.

She placed the frog on her lap and glanced back over at him. "Why aren't you sitting with Crabbe?"

Shinobu stretched, and let out a small yawn that likened to a kitten stretching out for a bell. As shinobu reched up to her eyes, she noticed how her limbs were filled wioth new energy---

Shinobu then realized--oh, that boy! where did he go? Shinobu threw up her hands.

whatever. he most likely saw me faint and freaked out... and I'm in my original form,aren't I? He might have seen me shift...drats. Everyone's finding out now, arent' they? I'm definitely going to have to check out the school records now...

and that Pansy Parkinson...I think I siad some very wrong things back there...I'm oging to have to find some way to apoligize without her knowing..because I don't wnt her to knw that I apologized--that would just kill me.

Sometimes Shinobu hated her goody-two-shoes impulses. She had NO idea what side of the family they came from,afterall--her mother was a Hogwarts prannkster in her own right, and her father was...evilish. The world works in strange ways..

Shinobu popped her head out from the compartment she was in--and realized, that since she only had 5 mintues, she might as well use this time to get into "proper wizarding attire". Bleh.

Shinobu rushed to the girl's bathroom, and on her way there, passed by the red-headed girl that THAT BITCH MALFOY had been pestering earlier (ooc--is it alright for shinobu to call him that? bastard sounds too nice..)

I would say "hi" to her, but i doubt she knows me--I mean, I'm so short, most people look over me most of the times anyways...sigh...

Shinobu just slipped through the narrow opening to the loo--not much of a problem with Shinobu's small frame...

The uniform was too big! how in blazes did this happen!! It fit me fine last--ooo...ohoho, very funny, you two, hilarious...

Shinobu woudl ahve cursed her two cousins--fyord and greg--but she figured that ahving an over-sized uniform would help in any shape-shifting endeavours she might persue, besides making ehr look even more likea first year.

shinobu, recognizing that t was time to leave, jumped off the train platform and made her way to the cartriages

Shinobu headed off to one of the carriages and, with much effort, jumped up into one of them to gain a seat.

Severus pulled the collar of his robe up to over his neck and twitched his sleaves into a place that pleased him. Very few people realized that there were actually several shades of black. Severus had familiarized himself with all of them.

Only a quick glance in the mirror told him that his appearance was exactly as he liked it, and he headed out of his quarters and up the stairs to the Great Hall.

"You never change." Rowena announced as their paths converged. "You never did wear anything but black."

"You're one to talk." Serverus retorned, regarding the DADA teacher's own outfit. Like his, it was enterly black, and made her look very much like an old schoolmarm. "Taking dressing tips from McGonagall these days?"

"I don't have much choice when it comes to color, as you very well know. And I think this outfit suits my new position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."

"They're more afraid of us than we are of them. Don't you remember being a First Year? I know I do."

"All too clearly, Rowena. All too clearly." Severus opened the back door to the Great Hall and let Rowena pass through before he entered. They were the first teachers to get there, though the others would be at the Teacher's Table soon.

"Sit with me. I hate not having anyone to talk to during these things." Rowena said, practiaclly pushing Severus into a seat before sitting herself.

Luna gathered her magazine and was heading towards the door when Blaise reappeared and asked if Mystic was any trouble. Luna smiled at her as Aubrey told her that everything was fine.

"So, do you guys want to get out of here before we miss all the carriages?" Luna asked, as she made her way into the hall. She was suddenly getting excited, and her stomach was beginning to protest in hunger.

As she awaited their response, she was suddenly swept into the crowd and away from the compartment she had so recently shared. Deciding to go with the flow and not fight against the crowd, she made her way off of the train and began looking around for someone she knew.

"Maybe we should catch up with her," I thought out loud. But before the other girl could answer I found myself being pushed out the door, just like Luna.

I stepped out to the cool night air and began looking for a carriage. Malfoy was saying something to the first years, but I payed him no attention.

There was a small carriage by the lake. It looked nice enough. I took a step up, opened the small door, and climbed in. Inside, I found Parkinson and Goyle sharing a chocalate frog. I sat down near the window.

"Hello, Pansy, Goyle," I said in a netural, unemotional tone. One had to be careful when around Slytherins, even if you are one.

Pansy inclined her head, her gaze intent on Blaise for a few moments before she slipped the chocolate frog into her bag and folded her hands again. Being around people who were exceedingly pretty always left her feeling particularly trollish, and she did not care for the feeling. However, Draco was decently kind to her, and as she was only being polite, Pansy was not going to go out of her way to be rude. She would not, however, make an actual effort to illicit conversation.

"Fine," she replied impassively, reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "Yours, Blaise?"

Rose silently gathered her things, and Moonshine,her cat, acted as a silent familiar, jumping from her perch on the seat and into Rose's great big bag, her head in view just above the edge of the bag.

The Silent third year then, taking a look bacvk intot he compartment at her trip companion, gave a dim smile, without really smiling at all. She turned, and walked over to the nearest exit on the train.

Not sure if Neville had followed her or not, but not really wanteing to check to make sure, Rose's right hand--the gloved one--shuddered as she stepped outside into the open air.

Rose's voice had gone up slightly in pitch--it was a welcome cahnge from the drowsy monotone-ish gray voice that ginny had heard in the compartment.

He didn't know quite why, but the way Pansy took his frog, smiled at him and said thank you made him feel very happy.

My, that was a good question. Crabbe was with him just a moment ago. He muttered "crabbe.." and dazedly wondered, with an expression so blank it was white, where the poor blighter must have got to.

Just then Blaise Zambini entered their carriage, inquiring to the nature of their summers. Goyle was still confused about the whereabouts of Crabbe, when, after both Pansy and Blaise had answered each other's questions, he felt as though he had an obligation to answer too. Perhaps it was the influence of the two pretty slytherin girls inside the carraige.

"meh. went to japan. bad food--" wait. NO. that was Crabbe's summer. How could he expect other people to tell them apart when he got himself confused with crabbe? He would, quite frequently, answer to Crabbe's name whenever Draco called him. It just began to sink in, after a while...It did, however, make him wonder once again about the whereabouts of his chum. Then Blaise mentioned food...the stuff that those green things made...and, well, in his ungentlemanly manner..Goyle started to drool..only a little.

Luna had vaguely heard Harry say, "Would you like to join us as well? And maybe Aubrey could take a look at your Quibbler on the way..." as she was being sucked down the hall and out into the crisp air. Now as she stood on the train platform clutching her magazine to her robes, she turned and glanced around for any sign of either Harry or Aubrey. /They had probably been swept up in the crowd also,/ she thought as she turned her head quickly back towards the train (causing her dragon hairclips to uncurl their tiny wings and roar in protest) and tried to spot them through the crowd.

"uh..." *nooooo!!! my deartest comrade hast been devoured by scallwaggin gcorwds of impenind students,and they might be pressuring him for his food! hwo darest them...or..*

another thing entered Crabbe's mind--something that Crabbe found disturbing--not only the fact that the thought was disturbing, but the fact that a thought had poppedinto his head. He had found that that had been happening a lot recently. about 1 every few days. scariness...

His face certyainly had a slightly mixed expression, but other than that, his expression was mostly blank..

"Fine, doof, be that way." *i'llseek out my revenge on you, Goyle, for this! you'llrue the day you abandoned me!!*

and with that, Crabbe stormed off--well, he usually ahd a heavy step anyways, but when he tried, his steps were absolutyely thunderous.

He saw ahead of him a carriage. Good. Empty. Doof will never find me here. I'll just get revenge by avoiding him. HA! take that!

Japan....hmmm. I've never been. Always sounded nice. I have had sushi before. It didn't taste the best.

I turned my head and looked around. Where was Crabbe? I've never seen the two of them apart. And what about Draco? He's always with Pansy, when he doesn't have Quidditch practice. That's odd.

"Oh no! The crowd ate Luna! It ate Blaise a few minutes ago, it must be very hungry... I'm hungry." Aubrey turned to Harry with her hand on her stomach and a smile. She laughed, "I feel like a little kid off to her first day at kindergarten...don't mind me, I'm easily amused. Thanks for letting me join you. Shall we go?" Resisting the urge to jump up and down like an idiot and resisting the urge to bite her thumbnail (which was a nervous habit she was trying very hard to break) she grab Harry's hand and practically ran to the platform

Ginny was waiting for Neville and Rose to come out when the train suddenly came to a stop. The doors opened and everyone pooled out onto the platform. Ginny was powerless against the eager people, and so she went outside too, waiting for someone she recognized to come out also. She looked around and spotted Malfoy. An almost feral growl came to her throat as she remembered his absolute rudeness towards her. She glared at him and his arrogant posture, his commanding air, and his overall self.

Ginny remembered her last words to the two, and smiled a bit mischievously, "Yeah, did you and Neville have a... er... nice time while I was away?"

Something sounded odd about the way Ginny said nice. Any other girl might have blushed in some way--Rose simply held onto her gloved hand.

Ron (Hermione nearby, I'm assuming), stepped off the Hogwarts Express, and Ron was very confused.

Then a rather drawl and annoying voice cut through... Ron hardly understood the words--It was that evil Malfoy bastard talking, after all--but what he said caught Ron in his stomach.

Shinobu's small ears perked up attentively to the sound f someone nearly crashing up into the carriage that she was in.

Crabbe, that no-good, nasty yellow-bellied moronic trash-picker of a soddy git who was one of that bitchy miscreant Malfoy the Malicious' lapdoggies of unusual size....grrr....

Shinobu's eyes turned to slits as she looked up at that most horrendous of creatures, and wondered, Why are they all out to get me today?

Ron and Hermione stepped off the train and looked around for Harry. Before they could find him, Draco demanded everyone's attention and said that he and Hermione would be assisting the first years across the lake.

"The rest of you, find your seats in the carriages. If the Head Girl would join me, then that is all." Draco said.

"Sorry Ron! Good luck finding Harry, and I'll see you in a bit," Hermione said. She loved the responsibility of being head girl, but she wished it didn't mean having to spend time with Draco. She headed over to him and had the first years form a line behind them.

Harry looked down in surprise as Aubrey grabbed his hand and flew to the platform. He felt like he was being dragged along like a little rag doll.

When they made it onto the platform, Harry stood and took a second to catch his breath. Smiling at Aubrey, he said, "In a bit of a rush, are we?"

Kael hurriedly got off the train, amidst the bustle of ALL the incoming Hogwarts students who seemed as though they couldn't stand it in there any longer. Kael also felt that way, but he wasn't going to let it bother him.

But the head had already emerged into one of the carriages. Kael smirked. "You can run, but you can't hide, dear brother..." he remarked to himself, and made a dash into the carriage. Sitting down, and looking Anzel square in the face, he, with a very beautiful smile, asked, "Didja miss me??"

"O good lord," Anzel said with a disgusted tone accompanied by an eye roll, closing his book on his finger.

"Is there something wrong with me that you don't like??" Kael asked frantically, acting offended.

'Oh no. Not this again,' Anzel thought to himself. Whenever Kael started talking in that tone of voice, something severely annoying seemed to happen. He said to Kael, "Umm..."

Kael's eyes flashed. He pouted. "Well...since you seem SOOO glad to see me, I need you to answer something for me. Honestly. Be Brutally honest." Kael smiled to himself, thinking, 'Heeheehee...I wonder how he'll react.' Had Anzel been prone to showing his emotions, his eyes would have bulged out of his head. However, he didn't do things like that--they showed weaknesses. There was no visible change in Anzel's countenance, but his thoughts became panicked.

'O...not..again...why is it that he always acts like this??' He sighed. "Okay." It wasn't as though anything he could say would make Kael refrain from asking the question.

"Do you think I'm fat?" Kael asked, with innocent expression. Another inward eye-bulge. Could he be serious? Anzel gave Kael a cool and calculating look. Sitting in front of him was the skinniest boy of 15 years he had ever known. "No," he said, determinedly, and turned back to his book. Kael thought, 'Turning back to your book, are you? Bad move. Veery baad moove...no girl will ever appreciate YOUR advice! MUST..MAKE...CLEAR..." "YOU THINK I'M FAT DON'T YOU!!" Anzel, flustered, turned his face abruptly from his book. "What? I just told you, you're not fat!"

"It doesn't matter, the way you said it says that YOU THINK I'M FAT!! YOU ARE SUCH A LIAR!! LIE!! LIE!! LIE LIKE THE DOG YOU ARE!!" Kael's face was quite red, and looked quite annoyed, but inwardly he was quite happy. It had been a whole summer since he'd been able to tease his brother like this. Anzel looked at him and groaned, ears ringing from the loud shouts and the enclosed space. He plugged his ears with his fingers, and thought, 'Well, at least this way he won't kill my eardrums...'

"So...what do you think of Neville? Nice guy, huh?" Gin knew the girl didn't understand her drift...maybe she was just not at that stage yet. Even though she was in 3rd year...

Gin looked around and saw that the platform was quickly emptying. She looked back at Rose and said, "I really think we ought to get a carriage, as they are filling quick. I'm going now, but you can stay and wait for Neville if you'd like." Ginny winked at Rose, and then started making her way to the carriages.

Ginny made her way to the carriages. She noticed that they were full by now, and so she went along them, trying to find a seat. Upon coming up to one of the carriages, she heard incessant screaming. Halting, she opened the door.

Inside the carriage were two incredibly gorgeous guys (teehee....) and there was room for more people. She looked at the two and said, a bit shyly, "Can I join you?"

Kael smiled * a rather beautiful smile at that*, and moved aside to let her in. He noticed other people behind her (ooc--Rose, because she's my character as well, and maybe Neville, too, because he's kuaki's character, and then there would be funky multi-posting taskage...)

Ron couldn't help but feel that Hermione had brushed him off somehow. It was not a pleasant feeling to have starting off their seventh year, but...oh well, it was Malfoy interference. He screwed everything up.

Ron felt a twinge of color stripe across his face--no doubt due to that recent recollection of Malfoy screwing around with Ron's love life...Grr...

"He's the nastiest git alive...I don't even want to think about what of mine he's going to attack next..."

Dragos went along with the crowd, noting that more then once, someone in the crowd had decided not to wash before getting on the train. The smell was just starting to bother him when he finally emerged out into the fresh air, still crowded around, but at least it was better then inside the train. "This is why I hate crowds... More specifically... Crowds of people." He murmured to himself as he continued along, noting how chaotic everything seemed. He hoped it wouldn't be like that all the time in school as he went over to one of the carriages and got in without so much as a glance to see if there were other occupants. Finally he picked a seat, settling in against one of the walls of the carriage on the floor.

"Very much so," Aubrey said still trying to control herself and not jump around all over the place, but then she caught sight of the carriages. Her arms fell limp and she frowned for the first time in a long while. "Why are thestrals pulling the carriages?" she asked. She had never liked the sight of them, but only because they reminded her of her father. She couldn't help herself from biting her thumbnail.

Asriel stood up and stretched his long legs as he felt the train come to a stop. He couldn't believe that he had fallen asleep after the Prefect meeting! It was only when he felt the slowing of the train that he had woken up and wiped away the drool that had fallen onto his hand. Ugh...he hoped no one had seen him sleeping.

As he made his way out of the empty compartment he was immediately engulfed in the mass of bodies that were all flowing towards one thing...the exit. He burst out onto the platform, and was instantly pushed aside and out of the way of the door.

He quickly began moving through the crowd looking for a familiar face. He saw a few people that he knew, but not the one person in particular that he was looking for. Asriel was just about to give up and grab a carriage when he saw an unmistakable girl standing a few feet ahead of him.

He snuck up behind Luna and playfully tugged on a strand of her long hair. He liked Luna. She was funny, even when she didn't intend to be. And she was quirky without even realizing it. She was also loyal, and that in itself was a hard quality to find in a person nowadays.

As she turned around to find out who had tugged her hair, he quickly dodged her view and moved in front of her. She turned back around and he smiled down at her, "Hey." She smiled back, "Hey yourself," she said giving him a quick hug, "How was your meeting?"

As he began to tell her about the Prefect's meeting, they made their way to one of the last empty carriages and climbed in. "So," he said finishing up, "How was your train ride?" "Oh...you know. The same as usual. There is a new girl in Gryffindor this year. She's a 7th year from Beauxbatons named Aubrey. She seems really nice. I sat with her and Harry for most of the trip. Oh! Also, Blaise Zambini popped in for a while." Luna saw Asriel's eyebrow arch at the mention of the last name. "Oh, stop it," she said. "Blaise seemed nice. Not much like most of the Slytherins, at least I don't think she was. Anyway, Harry and Aubrey were right behind me, but I don't know where they have gone off to. We were all going to share a carriage." As Luna continued to scan the now diminishing crowd, Asriel leaned back against the seat and groaned inwardly. /Great, the wonderful Harry Potter makes an appearance again,/ he silently hoped that Luna didn't find-

Gin climbed into the compartment. She looked out and motioned Rose in too (OOC: in case Neville doesn't come). She sat down next to Kael and looked at both him and Anzel, saying with a pink tinge on her cheeks, "Hi, My name is Virginia Weasley, Gin for short," while extending her hand first to Kael. She let Rose introduce herself.

In a Galaxy Far, Far Away.... More Commonly Known as The Untied States of America...

Music blasted from Luci's radio as she locked her apartment Her brother Keith was sprawled on the couch, while her sister Helena was looking through her CD collection. "Don't you dare stop that song. I like this song." Luci warned.

"Can't we listen to some real rock? I'm sick of this angry chick shit." Keith said, sitting up on his elbows. No one who did not know would have thought he was Luci's brother. They looked nothing alike... Both Keith and Helena were dark haired and swarthy, like their parents, while Luci was pale and blond. At Durmstang, she had often been accused of being half Veela.

Helena raised her head, her ears twitching. She sniffed, then abandoned the CDs for the window. "Something wrong?" Luci asked, her hand going into her pocket for her wand. Helena nodded, taking a step back away from the window. She let out a low growl, and Keith rolled off the couch, quietly tipping the coffee table over to form a bit of shelter.

As Helena moved behind the makeshift shelter, Luci slowly went over to the wall and pulled two of the swords off it. The sheathes were decorations, but Luci kept the swords razor sharp

The two swords went into the hands of Luci's dark haired siblings as she waited. It wasn't a long wait. The black robed, masked Death Eaters crashed through the windows, throwing spells where their targets had been. Luci and Keith threw a blinding light spell right back at them as Helena charged out, swinging the sword.

The first Death Eater fell before he even realized that the slimy, ropey thing hitting his feet should have been inside him. Helena chose to be merciful, and cut his head off the moment he hit the floor instead of letting him suffer.

The other Death Eaters froze for just a moment as they saw their companions head roll quietly across the floor, his blood staining the beige carpet a brilliant crimson.

That was their ultimate undoing. Wizards never expected physical attacks from one of their own...but the scions of the Mox family specialized in them.

Luci summoned the Scythe with her wand and leapt over the coffee table with her brother. She brought it around to take the head off the Death Eater nearest her, but her swing missed, and the blade cut through his shoulder and ended up lodged in his sternum instead. His eyes widened with fear and blood gurgled up through his mouth, leaking out of his mask as Luci pulled the blade free.

The blood spilled down the shaft of the scythe and stained her hands, also splattering her face and clothes. A quick glance around told her that Helena had decimated a second attacker, and Keith was pulling his blade from the spine of yet another.

He tried to escape through the window, only to be blocked by quick moving Helena, her hair plastered to her skull with gore, her eyes glowing an unearthly gold. In another minute, she might even attack the death eater with her bare hands.

"We need him alive, Helena." Luci said calmly, stepping over the body of the death eater she had split open. "I think I would like to know what Death Eaters are doing here..."

Rose followed Ginny into the carriage, and got a clearer view of the boys inside it.

Her voice gave no inflection as she spoke, no light in her eyes, and her lips only moved enough to have the words be un-slurred...

A small flicker of pain flashed through Rose's eyes--but only the sharpest of eyes would have caught it, for it passed by quickly...

Rowena watched as the children finally began to arrive inside the great all. She glanced at Severus out of the corner of her eye and thought, Were we ever that young? Surely not... Severus was born old, and I... She watched, slightly puzzled, as his eyes flicked about the student body, his expression darkening.

Lucriza grabbed a towel off the rack and tried to wipe some of the blood on her hands away. She didn't look at the still twitching Death Eater in her bathtub as she started cleaning up. He had ceased to interest her the moment she had cut out his tongue. She knew she would have to kill him soon.... the question was, did she want to use him as a warning to others or not.

"Luci! Pete's on the phone!" Keith called from the other side of the door. "He says some of those death eaters tried to get him, and Gwen can't get through to Salem."

"Tell him we'll all meet at the Salem Institute. Pass the word along to the others."

Rowena let out an involuntary hiss as a face that was far too familiar for her liking came into view. For a moment, she thought she was looking at Lucius as he had been, years ago...but no. The hair was too short, and she had seen Lucius only a few hours ago. "Who is that?" she whispered to Severus, pointing a finger in the direction of the blond.

"That," Severus rumbled, a bit of pride creeping into his voice, "is Draco Malfoy. Lucius' son, and my best student."

"I... see." Rowena murmured back, feeling the old anger stirring in her gut like a sleeping dragon. The resemblance was utterly uncanny. There could be no doubt as to the blood relation.

The Death Eater in the bathtub raised what was left of its hand, trying to grab hold of Luci's already soiled skirt. It burbled noisily, blood bubbling up through the gash that was his mouth. She pulled her skirt away irritably. "Stop that, or I'll leave you alive."

That would have been true torture for the poor wreck, to leave him without his tongue, permanently maimed. Despite all the blood, she hadn't done enough damage to kill him. But if he didn't get medical treatment soon, there would be no doubt that infection would set in, which would kill him slowly.

"Don't like that very much, do we Mr. Death Eater? Don't like the thought of ending up like all those Muggles you've done like this, do you?" Luci clucked her tongue. "Not nice to be on the receiving end of it." She picked up one of her small knives and sighed.

Rowena's nails dug into her palm. Lucius had mentioned a son during their brief reunion, but the thought of having to deal with him and not truly entered her mind. Now that thought flooded in, along with many others. This is the boy that had all that should have belonged to my children...this is the son that Lucius Malfoy raised...this poor child. The evil monster. Will he fall too, when the time comes to put an end to Lucius? Or can he be saved?

"I imagine he would be excellent, if only the school could get a decent teacher. They even had Lupine doing it for a year."

Rowena's lip curled up at the thought of Remus Lupin. She had never been fond of the Gryffindor Prefect, nor of any of his hooligan friends. She shook her head and shoved that thought out of mind. Remus Lupine was no longer of any importance to her. "Who's that boy you keep glaring at, Severus?" she finally asked, her eyes going to the black haired boy with glasses.

"That," Severus hissed, his voice filling with venom, "is the famous Harry Potter."

"What's he famous for?" Rowena asked, wondering what the devil the boy had done to earn Severus' dislike. She studied him for a moment before it hit her. Of course. That hair, those glasses...this must be James Potter's son.

"That is the Boy Who Lived. The one who brought about the Dark Lord's first Fall, and to hear some people tell it, the Second Coming of Jesus Christ." He sneered.

"Oh, that boy. I remember hearing a few things about him..." Rowena shrugged. "I never did pay much attention to the news."

Lucriza Mox was well known within her family and her Guild for being merciful... a trait not often found on either side of her biological family. In dealing with the Death Eater, there was no exception. She pulled his head back and slit his throat quickly, watching his blood flow in a crimson wave down into her once pristine bathtub. He died quickly.

She stepped back from her work and surveyed her bathroom. Everything was a mess. Thankfully, a quick wand wave and a few murmured words would make the whole mess go away, and she would be able to collect her safety deposit when she moved out.

Luci sat on the toilet and did just that, her mind going elsewhere. There would be no doubt that her mother would bring everyone to England now. She might even transfer Junior to Hogwarts, if she thought he would be safer there.

That would mean Luci would have to break her lease, and then she would have to move her things... "You lot are far more trouble than you should be." she informed the corpse in the bathtub with considerable annoyance. "I hope you know that."

"I can't wait till the Feast. The house elves make pretty good baked potatoes. And their sweet peas are to die for! What do you think?" I said looking back and forth from Pansy to Goyle.

Pansy barely managed to keep her facial muscles to keep from twisting into a grimace. Lovely. The one thing that she could not stand in Blaise Zambini was her tendency to go from sulky to perky to depressed all over again. The girl did not seem to know what stability was, and it was trying on the nerves. Friendly Pansy was not, but at least she was consistent.

"It all tastes the same eventually," she returned, folding her hands in her lap. Really, she didn't eat much at all; it just didn't appeal to her. And then there was the constant worry of becoming fat. The last thing she needed was for the general population (Gryffindors especially) to find something else to tease her about.

Pansy paused and glanced over. "I have no idea." She then looked back out the window, wishing that she was alone again and no one had bothered to come sit by her.

"Momma's gonna have a cat when she finds out," Byron Junior announced, trying very hard not to look at the mess made of his dorm room. His roommates had already been taking to the Salem Institute's infirmary...save for Luke.

"Whatever... Luci, what the hell are we gonna do?" Junior turned to his older sister, looking more than a little desperate.

"We're all going to go to Gran and Gramps, and I am going to send Momma an owl." Luci said firmly.

"Why did they come after us?" Byron asked, only to get shot eight identical dirty looks.

"Lets think.... could it be because they killed Dad and tried to kill Momma?" Keith said, his voice dripping sarcasm so acidic it threatened to burn a hole through the floor.

"Has anyone managed to get ahold of Uncle Abe yet?" Luci asked, determined to keep things on a proper track.

"No." Luci said, whirling around. Her siblings took an instinctive step back from her as she advanced, her black cloak seeming to expand into the shadows of the room. "We will not be involving our honored grandsire in this. It is our affair, not his. Have I made myself perfectly clear?" "Yes Luci..." they whispered.

Luci took a deep breath to calm herself. The room returned to its normal brightness, and her cloak returned to its proper dimensions. "Good. This would become an utter mess if he got involved." she said, smiling brightly. "Junior, go tell the headmaster that you're going to be missing the next few days of school. Everyone else, outside. I'll clean up the mess.

It's like no matter what I do I can't convince you for once just to hear me out

"He looks like his father." Rowena whispered to Severus. "Draco, I mean. If his hair was a bit longer, he would look just like Lucius, back in the day."

Severus grunted in agreement. "I do hope your past relationship will not poison you against the boy."

"Nonsense. I am an educator, and it's not his fault his father is an utter asshole. I would never allow something like that to cloud my judgement." She turned her head to look at Severus, then followed his gaze to the Potter boy. "Why is it," she mused, "I have a feeling that Mr. Potter feels unfairly put upon by you?" "All my students feel that way."

Harry turned to see Aubrey all of a sudden very quiet and a bit scared. He looked towards the thestrals. "They've been pulling the carriages forever. They're tame, don't worry..." But Harry couldn't help noticing that she seemed very sad all of a sudden. Of course, it must have been the sight of the thestrals-that meant she had to have seen someone dead. He squeezed her hand and gave her a small smile of reassurance before hearing Luna yell, "Harry! Aubrey! Over here!"

Harry turned towards Luna and waved, yelling back, "We're coming!" He didn't recognize the guy beside Luna, but still headed that way anyway, this time pulling Aubrey along.

Barely sparing her a glance, he folded his hands behind his back and watched with a bored expression as the first-years dragged their feet. He was quite irritated with having to do this at all, and that on top of the stress from his migraine and recent bout of vomiting, did not leave him feeling his most hospitable. It actually left him feeling rather childish, and if he was faced with Potter, he would probably do something extremely infantile.

Brows drawin together slightly, he snapped, "Get along, now. I've not got all evening."

Neville was a little lost in the crowd. One moment Rose had been standing next to him, the next--she was gone. He inched his way through the throng, over to where the carriages were. Much to his surprise, Neville managed to spot her--next to Ginny. His heart did another flop, for what seemed to have been the millionth time that day. He rushed over to the spot, hoping to get into the same carriage as they did. The door to the carriage was still wide open, so Neville peered inside and asked, "Is there any more room in here?"

Instantly after looking inside, his face fell. Also inside the carriage with Ginny and Rose were two boys, and although he didn't particularly find other boys attractive, he could tell by the looks of these two that to girls, they would be. Not only that, but they were so tall that they seemed to take up the whole carriage. He started to say, "Oh, nevermind..." and turned away.

Anzel looked over to the opening of the carriage to see a redheaded girl standing there, looking a little out of breath. 'Most likely from the hustle and bustle of the crowd,' he mused. Kael's high-pitched voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Sure! Do come in, we wouldn't dare refuse! Your friends can join us, too, if they like!" Anzel let out a sigh. More people. Hopefully they wouldn't be as bad as Kael. The two girls entered the compartment and introduced themselves, although Anzel was only half-listening. Then, shooting a dirty look in his direction, Kael asked, bossily, "Well, aren't you going to scoot over to make room?"

'OH.' An epiphany. 'So that's what this is about,' he thought. 'Kael is using this opportunity to embarrass me!' He began, "erm," when another character showed his face in the opening of the carriage and asked, "Is there any more room in here?"

'Bingo,' Anzel thought cheerfully. 'Here's my chance to escape.' However, the boy suddenly turned around from the carriage.

"NO!" Anzel shouted, apparently to the surprise of everyone around him. He hadn't actually meant to be that loud. "Erm, there's plenty of room," he said, fussily, "Actually, I was just thinking about how a good breath of air might do me, maybe for a less crowded compartment. I'm too big to fit with these people, but you look smaller than me, so here!"

Anzel practically jumped out of the carriage, not listening to the enthusiastic thank-you that there might have been from the boy, and started scavenging for a better compartment. He thought, slightly cockily, "Kael won't follow me out, not after he invited those girls in...'

He quickly encountered another carriage, and, looking inside, noted that there was still room. Not only that, but the people inside didn't seem to be too friendly with each other. 'Perfect,' He thought. 'They'll probably just leave me alone then.'

Without even asking permission, he entered the carriage, and sat down next to a girl who, without taking a good look at her, he could tell had too much makeup on. (ooc: unless Blaise sat down next to her, but I'll just say this for now). He mumbled a "H'lo," and turned to his book, congratulating himself on a job well done.

Before he had the chance to run away, as he almost felt he was doing when he turned his head, a loud "NO!" shook him, and he turned around, eyes wide open and slightly panicked from the shock. Although, looking at his face, the boy who had apparently made the outburst seemed to be more panicked than he was.

"Erm, there's plenty of room," he said, fussily, "Actually, I was just thinking about how a good breath of air might do me, maybe for a less crowded compartment. I'm too big to fit with these people, but you look smaller than me, so here!" With that, he jumped out of the carriage and practically dashed off, without even leaving Neville a chance to say thank-you.

'That was awfully nice of him,' he thought idly, and entered the compartment, not knowing what to say after that outburst. He settled for,

"My name's Kael Tier", he chirped, with sweet smile, "and I'ma sixth year hufflepuff...and you're Neville Longbottom, right? one of Harry Potter's friends..that right?"

Rose's eyes would have widened if they were ones to do so. /Neville must be a really great guy to be friends with him../

He mumbled a "H'lo," and turned to his book, congradulating himself on a job well done.

As soon as he hopped into the carriage doors materialized and closed them in. Pansy stared at them in mild consternation for a moment before turning away, focusing her glance on the person that had entered briefly. He seemed as little inclined to conversation as she was, if the way he only barely murmured a greeting and turned away again was any indication. Not that she minded; perhaps having two socially inept people and a student with a near-caveman mentality would dissuade Blaise from talking too much.

Blinking soberly at him, she quickly took in his soft features, pale blonde hair and striking blue eyes. Idly, she compared him to Draco, who had a more angular, rigid face, and wondered at herself. She should not compare every boy she met to Draco Malfoy; it was almost unfair, because in her eyes no one could surpass him. Though there was something wanting in his eyes sometimes, a coldness that never quite seemed to leave them, she could still honestly say that Draco was the most handsome boy she knew, aesthetically and personality-wise. Most people just wouldn't take the time to notice it.

This boy also had glasses, and she felt a quick, helpless flop in her stomach when she realized it. Pansy had glasses as well, but she only needed them for reading, and was teased mercilessly when she wore them. She'd taken to studying either in the sanctuary of her four-poster when no one was looking, or late at night. For her classes she didn't even bother to wear them, no matter how much of a headache she got later. It was just one more weakness for people to prey upon.

When she realized that she was staring Pansy dropped her eyes, biting down on her lower lip. He probably thought she was a freak, but then, that wasn't anything new to her. People generally did. The thing that bothered her was that she'd never done anything to the general population of Hogwarts before she'd been labeled an outcast. She just hadn't been as pretty as all of the other girls, and suddenly everyone thought it would be great fun to make her life miserable. If she hadn't found a friend in Draco, then she didn't know where she would be. He was the only person will to stand up to them for her.

"Hello," she murmured quietly, shaking her head so that the hair tucked behind her ear would fall forward and obscure her face.

He was reading, and probably hadn't heard her. Oh well. It wasn't as though she expected anyone to notice her. In fact, reading seemed a good idea. If she expected to do well in Potions again this year then she was going to need to study. Ah, yes, among her many faults was the fact that she had to actually study for her grades, unlike perfect Hermione Granger.

Reaching down beside her, she groped for her bag, mildly bemused when she didn't find it. She tucked some hair behind her ear, pursing her lips, and looked down only to find empty floor space.

"Of course," she muttered, dropping her hands uselessly into her lap. She hadn't expected anyone to come into her carriage at all, much less sit by her, and her bag was tucked neatly in a corner. The corner that just so happened to be blocked by the boy who had come in.

Taking a calming breath, she turned to him and began to speak softly, lips barely moving as she did so. "Excuse me. My bag is just there, and my books are inside... could you please?" She did not even try a smile. On her face, they always ended up looking like the grimaces carved on stone gargoyles, anyway.

"Erm..yes.." Nevile replied. Something about the brown-haired wonder's response to his name bugged him. Immediately, he had known his name..and the connection to Harry Potter. Did this boy know so much about Harry that he knew the names of all of his friends? That was just a little creepy. And besides...He asked about Harry. Not really him. He sat down next to Rose, and looked back up at Kael. tentatively, he asked, "How did you know that?"

"Hello," the girl who he sat next to had murmered quietly. He relaxed. It seemed he had done better than he thought he had done. He had at least expected to be asked his name, or perhaps what house he was in, but had only received aknowledgement of his presence. 'Wonderful,' he thought, pleased with his luck. Normally, Anzel might have welcomed more talking, but his recent encounter with Kael had made him a little peevish and unsociable.

after reading about 20 words on the page, the girl said, "Excuse me. My bag is just there, and my books are inside... could you please?"

"Oh?" Anzel said, a little startled from having to look up from his book so quickly. "um, sure," he responded, and promptly looked over to where the bag was, picked it up, and handed it to the girl, who accepted it gracefully. (ooc: u don't mind her accepting it gracefully, do you?) While his eyes were diverted from the page, He saw her face in careful detail, although, it almost seemed as if she was trying to hide it. The impression he had gotten that she wore too much makeup as he had just entered the carriage was quite understated. It seemed as though with what she had on her face, she could beautify an elephant. 'For a year,' he thought, with a slight touch of mockery in it. Although, it made him wonder why she wore so much. Even more than that, it made him wonder what her face looked like underneath the layers...

He shook his head, and diverted his attention back to his book. Had he been staring? He wasn't sure. Whatever he had been doing, he didn't want to ask. After all, he had come into this compartment to avoid social contact, not to engage in it. Besides, after being screamed at by Kael for calling him fat when he really said he was skinny, Anzel was feeling slightly paranoid, and didn't want to risk any sort of confrontation. He probably wouldn't be given any lucky chances this time if he blew it. He began to concentrate on his reading, although this feat was attained with difficulty, because he was still perplexed as to the reason of her extreme make-up-wearing tendancy. After a while though, his thoughts settled on his readings, and he failed to aknowledge the other people in the carriage.

Crabbe, being unable to connect her with either Draco or Harry potter, supposed that she was a nobody, and sat down.

Crabbe wondered why he said that--for about two seconds, but by then he didn't really care. RON:

And not true thoughts were there--Harry was one out of many other black-haired students--there was dean, there were the patil tiwns, there was goyle, and many, many others...

Harry was about to greet Luna when he suddenly felt someone mess with his hair. He turned around and greeted Ron. "Hi Ron! Haven't seen you in ages! How was your Prefect meeting?" He smiled brightly and suddenly remembered that he was with Aubrey. He pulled her forward and said, "Hey Ron, this is Aubrey. Aubrey, Ron."

"The meeting was boring, what else? Oh, Hi Aubrey--you a transfer student? I don't recognize you as someone who's gone here for a while..."

Aubrey tore her eyes away from the thestrals, feeling Harry give her hand a squeeze. He sees them too, she thought, though it didn't surprise her. "Thanks," she said looking up. One could definately fall for him... She heard Luna calling to them and waved. Then Harry pulled her over to meet a very tall, very redhead who had just come over. Mon dieu he must be Ginny's brother or something, you don't see hair that same color everyday. "Hi Ron," she shook his hand. "Yeah, I'm from Beuabatons, just here for seventh year. You're not Ginny's brother by any chance, are you?"

Pansy was very acutely aware that she had been the object of scrutiny for longer than could be considered a polite glance, and her face burned underneath the make-up as she tried vainly to ignore it. The boy had seemed rather preoccupied with reading and just keeping to himself, so she had assumed that he would continue to do just that and pay her little to no mind. She was wrong, of course. After all, who could sit next to someone that looked like she escaped from a freak show and -not- notice?

She realized that her hands were shaking and took a quick, shallow breath, trying to calm her nerves. It was difficult to figure out how to act; she was in the same carriage as Goyle and Blaise, which meant that she could allow her guard to come down and not be so haughty, but there was a new person there, too. She didn't want to lose the good favor of the people that she liked (even if it was only a little bit), but then she didn't want to expose herself to ridicule. The entire ordeal was thoroughly stressing her out.

Her skin felt hot and suffocating all of a sudden, and she bit her lip again, trying her hardest to choke down the fear she felt welling up. Her mother had often told her that she had social anxiety disorder, but she'd never really taken her seriously. After all, nine times out of ten she was with Draco and trailing along in his shadow. People tended to not bother her then. But now, sitting in a compartment and faced with other people... it was strange how very small and very ugly she suddenly felt.

"Thank you," she managed, gripping the strap tightly. She willed herself to be under control, and taking another breath, tilted her chin up and squared her shoulders. When all else failed, as Draco told her, the only thing she could do was hold her chin up and face whatever happened. If that boy felt like staring at her face again, then she would tell him exactly what she thought about it.

The tremblings stopped suddenly and a slow smirk curved one side of her mouth. Excellent. No matter how much she was still shaking inside, they couldn't see it now. She was very aware of how the entire atmosphere of the carriage had just changed. Instead of feeling small and trapped, now the wind lifting her hair gently felt cool and refreshing. She was safe now, because she wasn't letting herself be afraid.

Angling her body, she fixed her eyes on the glass pane next to her and tried not to grimace at the sight of her face. She was wearing a -bit- much make-up, even for her. However, she was not going to tidy it up right here. It would just give him more of an excuse to stare at her.

Goyle, amidst his droolings of food, was quite surprised when someone else entered the carriage. It was someone he didn't recognise--that meant he probably wasn't in slytherin. He didn't feel as though one needed to pay attention to those who weren't in slytherin--although, something about the way he sat down next to Pansy made him want to be..bigger. Stronger. Better. As if it were possible--Goyle already was the biggest, strongest, and best, with the possible exception of Crabbe--but still, he puffed out his chest, just in case. He noticed Pansy saw the boy too, since she was talking to him. He probably wouldn't have noticed otherwise. He didn't notice that she was talking to him differently than she would talk to Draco, or differently than to himself, or to any other slytherin--or anyone who wasn't a slytherin, for that matter. If he had noticed...he probably would have started a fight, in that carriage. As he didn't notice, He instead decided he ought to lord over his superiority over the fellow--as he did with most who weren't slytherins.

"Marg," he intoned, with a gravelly voice, and raised his index finger in the direction of the newcomer, "Name. Year." Even though through his motions and the words that he meant to come out were quite clear in his mind, the gutteral tones with which he had made them turned them into a wave of the hand and something that sounded like, "Ram. hmear!!"

Anzel looked up from his book. It seemed as though the large boy wanted to be sociable...or was that threatening? He couldn't tell.

Goyle repeated, with the same amount of clarity as before, and Anzel squinched up his eyes in confusion. He turned to the girl sitting next to him, who was now looking out the window.

Turning to face him, Pansy arched her eyebrow barely, wondering at his speaking to her again. He could just as easily have asked Blaise. But then, Blaise generally did not 'hang around' Goyle, so she wouldn't be able to translate anyway. Of course, it wasn't as if the boy would know that. Which could only mean that he was talking to her again to get a good look at her face.

Brows drawing together slightly, she pursed her lips at him a moment before saying finally, voice cool and without the slightest tremor, "He is asking about your name and year."

And then, because she felt it was necessary, Pansy held out a hand toward him. "His name is Gregory Goyle, by the way. And I'm Pansy Parkinson." Her voice dropped just a bit as she introduced herself, though her expression didn't waver.

There. He could either be polite and introduce himself, or go back to his book again. It really didn't matter to her. No one could accuse her of being ungracious or rude, and there wasn't reason for this to go beyond their carriage in any case. She sincerely doubted that she would ever be seeing this boy again, except in passing or classes.

He would know who she was soon enough, anyhow. A good looking boy like him would naturally fall in with Potter and his crowd, and they would have a lovely time making fun of pug-faced, fat, ugly Pansy. He would probably laugh and share his stories of how he'd been forced to sit by her on his first day.

"It's nice to meet you." Her tone, however, clearly stated exactly the opposite.

I looked down at my shoes. What else was I supposed to do? They were all being introduced. Clearly, I was not welcome. Although that guy was sorta cute..... Ugggh! I slapped myself with my hand. Then, reliezing what I did, I quickly folded my hand neatly in my lap.

I looked around turning very red. I hope no one saw that. I turned an even deeper shade of red and looked out the window. Stupid hormones! First Draco then Harry, and even some Gyrffindor mudblood. There MUST be something wrong with me.

And why are they ignoring me? I tried being nice. Some year this is. Sure it started out different, but it won't change. I've been such a fool. I can't stand being invisable. That's all I am. Just some girl who's always there, but nobody notices. Oh, how I hate being invisable! Thats the only word for it.

***While Blaise is rambling on (in her head of course) the carriage starts to move***

At the soft sound of what was unmistakably a slap, Pansy glanced over in the window and saw Blaise's reflection glance around nervously before folding her hands in her lap. Deciding it was best not to draw attention to the girl's more... neurotic habits, Pansy decided to ignore her fully, when she caught a glimpse of something shifting behind her eyes that she recognized. Almost cursing herself for feeling so hospitable today, she cleared her throat lightly and turned back again, expression starting to show a bit of frustration in the way her lips were thinned and her eyebrows drawn together just so.

She opened her mouth to speak as the carriage lurched forward a bit, and she paused, eyes inadverdently drawn to the Thestrals she could see over Blaise's head. They were such ugly, frightening beasts. She really wished that she couldn't see them, like she'd always pretended when that idiot Hagrid brought them out. Really, he had no common consideration for other people; she doubted if he would realize the emotion if it jumped up and bit him on his great bottom.

Shaking her head slightly, she directed her attention back to Anzel again and continued in her low, quiet voice, "And that is Blaise Zabini. It was incredibly rude of me not to introduce her before."

While her voice could not be considered soft, it was low for a girl, and might have been pleasing had she not always looked so carefully detached as she spoke. As it was she was trying very hard not to think about the great, black beasts outside, who were beating their leathery wings almost lazily. Horrible creatures.

"Do accept my apologies, Blaise," she intoned quietly, turning her large, olive green eyes on the other girl. She was right; she had definitely seen a familiar expression in Blaise's eyes earlier. Feelings of worthlessness.

While she did not particularly care for the girl, she wasn't exactly going to sit back and watch someone else suffer through the same hell she did. Perhaps she might find a friend in the boy next to her, or even a boyfriend. Some girls were lucky like that. Others, like Pansy herself, would never date, much less ever marry. It simply didn't happen to poor, ugly girls.

Anzel let a surprised "Oh" escape his lips. 'Really?' he wondered. It sounded far too much like caveman speech to him. The girl spoke once again. "His name is Gregory Goyle, by the way. And I'm Pansy Parkinson." Her voice dropped just a bit as she introduced herself, though her expression didn't waver.

While she had begun talking, he had almost felt exasperated that they might get into a conversation, even though the thought had intrigued him just moments before. But then she said her name. 'Hm,' he thought, idly, 'That's a pretty name.'

She told him, "It's nice to meet you." Her tone, however, clearly stated exactly the opposite--at least, it would to most people. Anzel was a character who took words for face value, and, although he might understand undertones from a big guy staring at him brandishing a club, from any sort of girl, he didn't understand them at all.

"It's nice meeting you too," he responded, taking Pansy's hand perhaps a little too firmly and shaking it, as he was accustomed to doing when offered a hand. Directing his attention to the big one, called Gregory, he said, in response to his question, "My name is Anzel Sköldpadda, and I'm in my sixth year." As his gaze was diverted from his book, however, he noticed there was someone else in the carriage who Pansy hadn't introduced. "And that is Blaise Zabini. It was incredibly rude of me not to introduce her before." Hm. That was a pretty name too. "Do accept my apologies, Blaise," she intoned quietly With all sorts of innuendo soaring over his head, Anzel had the feeling that he had gotten himself stuck in a rather quaint carriage, and resisted sighing anew.

Mildly surprised, Pansy allowed her hand to hover in the air for a few moments after he shook it, wondering to herself when (and if) she had offered her hand to him, and what made him think he needed to grip so hard? She had delicate, finely-boned hands... or she -had- had them. Now it felt like they were ground into dust.

Directing his attention to the big one, called Gregory, he said, in response to his question, "My name is Anzel Sk�ldpadda, and I'm in my sixth year."

One of Pansy's eyebrows quirked slightly, but she didn't say anything. It was a... different name. Foreign, to be sure. She idly wondered where he was from, but did not pursue the thought. If it was anything important then Draco would let her know later. For now, she thought with a small sigh that she didn't know was aloud, Pansy turned back to the window again and watched the lake waters ripple as the first-years crossed them.

No doubt soon Blaise and Anzel would be chatting up a storm and just getting along perfectly, she thought with no small amount of bitterness. It was always that way for pretty girls.

She smothered the laugh that threatened to rise up with difficulty, and did not succeed entirely. It was hard to remember Draco Malfoy saying that to her. Of course, he had only been twelve, but it was really such a silly thing to say....

Goyle looked at the boy with a humored expression on his face. 'Huh huh huh, he stupid, can't understand me...' He was so amused with this new boy's apparent stupidity that he missed when Pansy translated for him, and her introduction of himself...and her getting her hand shaken by this new character. He did, however, hear the name of this dark-looking fellow.

"My name is Anzel Sk�ldpadda, and I'm in my sixth year." Goyle couldn't contain himself--not that he tried--and he burst out into mad guffawing. "Hu ha ha, your name stuupid!! Hahahaha!!!" His amusement was so much that he started hitting his knee, and before he knew it, his face had turned grim with the pain.

After hearing his reaction, Anzel decided he didn't like this big fellow. He didn't seem to bright. His face grew rigid, as he supressed his indignation. 'It's not like I picked my name,' he thought, 'There's no reason to laugh so much.' However, what shocked him most was that he thought he heard Pansy, that intriguing girl sitting next to him and looking out the window (ooc: ;D ), stifle a laugh too. He glowered inwardly. Surely, he had a weird name--it did have umlauts over the o--but he didn't think it was all that funny, and thought it a little rude and...not like her to laugh at him. Not that he had known her for very long. Still, he hadn't laughed at her name...then again, she didn't really have a name that could be laughed at. She had a pretty name.

"Listen," he began, with a tone as inflection-less as he could muster, yet still carried a tinge of his annoyance. The piercing gaze from his ocean-blue eyes was mainly directed at the Big Idiot, but a few side-long glances at Pansy also escaped him. "I know that it sounds like a weird name, but you didn't have to laugh at it."

With that, he turned back to his book. 'This is what I should have done in the first place,' he grimly thought, 'to avoid getting into some stupid conversation.' Then it occurred to him that he had done exactly that, and it still hadn't worked. He shifted in his seat.

When she'd heard Goyle laugh, Pansy had frowned in the glass, but hadn't felt it her place to interfere. After all, it was Anzel's name, and he could stand up for himself if he wanted to. She was not a protector; she was the protected, almost all the time, except when it came to Draco. She could never seem to stand up for herself against bullies, but if the infamous Potter trio ever spoke a cross word about Draco in her presence, she rose to the occassion magnificently.

She was a bit surprised to catch Anzel's gaze flicking to her a few times, and did not like the intensity or the irritation she saw behind it. From what she had obseved of him, he seemed the quiet, introverted type, not one to just lash out at everyone because he was angry. After all, -she- hadn't done anything to annoy him. Simply because Goyle was her friend did not mean she should be guilty by association.

He was absorbed in his book again when she turned, and she stared at him for a few seconds before clearing her throat lightly. Her tone was icy and almost unbearably calm as she spoke, a trait she had picked up from Draco. "I'll thank you not to assume that simply because I am a friend of Goyle's the reason I laughed was the same as his."

She reached up and tucked some hair behind one ear again. When she continued, her voice had warmed none. "I was not laughing at your name, and never would presume to. It's a perfectly elegant name. And after all, given mine, I have no room to make fun of others'."

Satisfied that she had made her point, Pansy folded her hands and glanced over at Goyle. Her expression became a bit stern, but her voice warmed. "Goyle, that was very rude of you. Do apologize to Mr. Sk�ldpadda," she intoned, pronounciation near-perfect. "Please."

She offered him a small small as she said the last, and nodded her head. When dealing with Goyle at least, she had found it was best to be kind as well as stern, if you ever wanted to get anything accomplished. Pansy didn't know why exactly she was striving to prove to Anzel that she hadn't been laughing at him; she would have never cared before. She just didn't want to get off on the wrong foot with someone new already, she told herself. He would hear all the stories soon.

After hearing Pansy introduce me, I looked up from the window a bit. Atleast I haven't been forgotten completly. But, of course, Pansy just didn't want to seem rude. She didn't care for me at all I could tell.

Anzel seemed alright. I looked over at Goyle. It was very rude of him to make fun of Anzel's name. It was definatly foreign. I think a have a third cousin named Anzel if I'm not mistaken. Nasty little thing he was, but his parents did give me a nice book for Christmas one year.

I glanced over at Anzel again, who kept glancing over at Pansy. There was quite an attraction there. It'd be interesting to see how things turn out.

"What's that you're reading?" I asked Anzel, trying to make polite conversation.

"how do I know?" kael asked back , almost unbeleivably, "you and harry potter and some other people's names were all over the news back a few years ago, when I was in...my 4th year! yeah! that whole thing with the Department of Mysteries, how you guys fought against those Death Eaters? I thought, Wow! that kid must be really brave to be able to follwo Harry around!"

"That's how I knew about you. Come to think of it, you were in the article too--Ginny? you were there fighting death eaters too! You guys are soo cool!"

Ginny nodded, and said a bit sarcastically, "Yeah, really cool... about to lose your life and running around... not quite my idea of fun but hey!" She smiled a bit. She looked out the window and sighed. She knew she was being a bit unfair but everyone thought it was all great and everything that she'd killed Death Eaters... it was more sad that they had to lose Sirius to do so, and even then, she hadn't been sure she would survive the encounter. She looked back and smiled at Kael, "So, what about you? I don't think I've seen you around much before. Where have you been these past couple of years??"

"WEEELLL", Kael started off in an aloof tone, "i've been doing things round and round and round the school..." *here, Kael brushed his long hair out of his eyes, although that didn't do much good, as it only revealed his eyes for a few seconds* "stuff such as hiding away from the world to hide my face away from thousands of girls and boys who thought I was really pretty", an experience Kael remembered with mixed feelings of amusement and fear, as too many girls thought he was a doll whose hair they could play with and too many boys mistook for a girl

"And also trying to make good friends who weren't in it solely for my looks, which had proved much harder than I thought it would be. Although, I know i'm not really all that cool, but apparently some people disagree with me, which was an ego-booster as well as a bit weird....Oh! and then there was the time 2nd year when that Lockheart guy was here...ermm...actually, forget that i said that--"

Kael had never liked that guy--being a guy, he saw him as the enemy of good girls everywhere who was trying to steal girl's hearts with a smiling face and behuiling them into buying his things so he coudl be friggin rich, and as a girly-boy, he was annoyed that Lockheart called him a tramp.

"erm...and... I've generally tried to stay within school rules, erm, so that's why i don't stand out too much, except when I call Snape a turd in his classroom because he's mean to students who are taller than him, and occasionally staying up past curfew because, erm, I get stuck on one of my friend's relationship problems, and...oo yeah, i started an 'i love procrastination' club, but its members were too apathetic, and oo, yeah, there was that chocolate cake thingy my third year...the common room was tasty for weeks, that it was..and...and...the rest is boring!"

Ginny raised her eyebrows and her eyes continually started getting bigger and bigger. She had meant it as an innocent question but apparently that wasn't how he'd taken it. She couldn't really follow him... he talked sort of brokenly. She nodded her head helplessly but when he'd finished she gave him a weak smile and said, "Well... so far I think you are a very cool person... and even though you seem... *ahem* easy on the eyes..." she started blushing and said very quickly, "Well I think it's very cool that you talk to your friends about their problems- you sound very sympathetic, if not empathetic... That's awesome. I don't know many guys who could say that... say, why did your brother leave in such a hurry?"

<"We're coming!" Luna heard Harry yell back as he gave her a small wave. She watched for a minute more as Harry - with Aubrey in tow - made his way over to the carriage that her and Asriel occupied. Just as they were coming up to her, Ron suddenly appeared behind Harry and yelled "BAH!" and playfully tousled Harry's already messy hair. As he turned around in surprise Ron said, "'Lo Harry! What happened?"

"The meeting was boring what else," Suddenly as if remembering that Aubrey was there, Harry pulled her forward and said, "Hey Ron, this is Aubrey. Aubrey, Ron."

"Oh, Hi Aubrey-- you a transfer student? I don't recognize you as someone whose gone here for awhile."

Aubrey looked up at him and said, "Hi Ron. Yeah, I'm from Beaxbatons just here for seventh year. Your not Ginny's brother by any chance are you?"

Asriel listened from his seat in the carriage at the exchange that took place on the platform. Realizing that they would soon have three more people in their carriage, Asriel moved over till he was sitting right next to Luna.

"It's going to get a little cramped in here," Asriel said quietly as he made himself comfortable.

"Oh it'll be fine," Luna quipped as she turned towards him and smiled. Glancing back out the open door she said, "Hey guys! Hi Ron!" Still smiling, she waved at the people standing outside.

Harry quickly glanced down the line of carriages and noticed that indeed the first carriage had started moving. Aware that he was still hanging onto Aubrey's hand, he pushed her up to the carriage and began helping her up. When she was inside he went in himself and shut the door. In a few seconds their carriage had started going. He turned and smiled at Luna's friend. He stuck out his hand and said, "Hi, I'm Harry."

"Goyle, that was very rude of you. Do apologize to Mr. Sk�ldpadda," she intoned, pronounciation near-perfect. "Please."

Goyle looked at Pansy with a touch of surprise. Granted, if he'd had a shread of intelligence, it probably would have been more of a surprise, as he would be able to more clearly understand that Pansy seemed to be taking the other person's side. the new boy, whoever he was. He wasn't slytherin. Goyle was almost certain of that.

However, as he revered Pansy with a sense of honour, and perhaps bordering on the side of worship, Goyle did as she requested.

"Sorry," escaped a mumble from his mouth. Even though he respected Pansy, that didn't mean he had to do what she asked enthusiastically--just as long as it got done.

"I'll thank you not to assume that simply because I am a friend of Goyle's the reason I laughed was the same as his."

Anzel didn't know what to say to that. What was he supposed to say? Something to the effect of, "oh, oops. ha. sorry. i thought you were, but I guess I was wrong. ha." He cringed at the thought. He hoped words like that would never escape from his mouth. Surprisingly, the Big Guy did as Pansy requested--although, a simple apology didn't exactly make him feel any better. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something seemed a little...odd...about how the big guy apologized, at Pansy's request. He smirked at himself, and thought, 'Kael would probably know exactly what it is...'

He shook that thought out of his head. He had come to this carriage for refuge from Kael. But he knew that Kael did tend to be right about things that he didn't understand.

Anzel, once again with thoughts interrupted, looked up at Blaise's face. He almost sighed. He'd really had far too much of this "socialization" today, and no attempts he had made to make them leave him alone had worked. He resignedly, with his face turned back to his book, said, "..Its the textbook for Arithmancy."

Neville couldn't help but feel jipped once again. He had managed to get himself in the same compartment as Ginny..and...she was flirting with Kael, the obvious favorite in a looks match between him and himself. From what it sounded like, personality too. He sighed anew. He was tired of always being beaten in everything--in heroics by Harry, in popularity by Harry, in ...just about everything by Harry--and Ron, and Hermione. But he could never bring himself to feel bitter against them--just against himself. Here, again, he was being beaten--and he just couldn't feel bitter, because this war seemed half-waged already. Still...just this morning, he had told Gran that he would be strong this year, his last at Hogwarts. He gulped, and, remembering his promise, began to speak.

"Um..ya. That was really nice of him to let me come into the compartment like that." 'Well,' he thought, a little displeased. 'That was productive.'

Asriel watched as everyone clambered inside the carriage. He saw Harry, Ron and a girl he did not recognize who must be Aubrey. Suddenly Harry stuck out his hand and said, "Hi, I'm Harry." Asriel glanced down at the hand before him and then gripped it firmly and said, "Hello, I'm Asriel."

As the introductions were made suddenly there carriage began to move slowly forward and they were on their way to Hogwarts.

"And I'm Aubrey," she said giving a little wave. "What-?" Aubrey got cut off by her stomach growling. Of course for most people this would be embarassing, but this is Aubrey and she couldn't remember if she had been embarassed, ever. "Wai! I'm hungry!" Thankfully she could already see Hogwarts quite clearly out the window. "Anyway, what house're you in Asriel?" She asked, unconciously tracing the shadows of the thestals that were playing on the side of the carriage.

As they clambered on, the girl who had entered their carriage with Harry waved and said, "And I'm Aubrey." She was just about to say something else when her stomach suddenly gave out a loud growl. "Wai! I'm hungry!" Asriel smiled and laughed, "I know the feeling! Well, it's nice to meet you, anyway. It looks like we will be up at the castle any minute and the food is always delicious."

"I'm in Ravenclaw. Do you know what house you're going to be in yet?" As he glanced in her direction, Aubrey began tracing a pattern in the air. He watched curiously as he awaited her response.

"Oh, I'm in Gryffindor," Aubrey answered. "I opted to be sorted earlier. The thought of being sorted with kids my little brother's age didn't really appeal to me much," she said with a smile. She left out the fact that the Hat had taken such a long time to sort her anyway, not really seeing a reason to add that in. If only he hadn't--- she mentally kicked herself, Summer is in the past and there's no reason to dwell on it. Plus how else could I have gotten Mother agree to me going to Hogwarts? Her thoughts disappeered as the carriage rolled to a stop.

Luci sighed as she sat on the stoop of her mother's in-laws. "So they can't take us all." she explained to her uncle. "They can only keep a few of us. And we still haven't been able to get in touch with Mother."

Abe took a drag off his cigarette and shook his head. "I'd offer to put you all up, but Amy tossed me out after I ate her cat."

"Maybe.... we should just go on to Hogwarts. Try to find her there. There've got to be hotels or something there, right? What kind of place doesn't have a place for visitors?"

"I dunno, kid. I really don't." He shook his head. "Have you talked to your grandfather?"

Luci stood up and pulled out her wand. "Get everyone but Byron. We're taking a trip."

If that annoyingly high-pitched voice scarily remniscent of Professor McGonagall's didn't stop adressing him as Mister Malfoy, he was going to lift the eleven-year old girl out of the boat by her pigtails and dangle her over the giant squid until she sobbed for mercy. As it was, he settled for grinding his teeth and turning to survey the little blonde girl with barely masked dislike.

"What now?" The annoyance seeped into his tone, and she merely blinked at him, adopting a haughty expression.

Exhaling in one explosive breath, he stared down his nose at her and then snapped, "Yes, and I'm going to murder you in your sleep with my gigantic basilisk. That's what happens to annoying girls who tie their braids too tightly," he muttered, turning back to stare across the water.

"I don't think you are." Her voice was crisp and matter-of-fact. Draco considered taking the oar and beating her with it.

There was a certain amount of smugness in her voice. "You'd look a long stronger if you were."

Turning, lip curling, he was about to say something else to her when the boats bumped along the sand and began to slide up of their own accord. She really wasn't worth wasting energy on, especially not considering he would have to exercise every ounce of patience he had to get all the students to the commons room and give out passwords, explain dorm rules, etc. etc.

Stepping out onto the sand, robes swirling about his ankles, and turned and didn't bother to magnify his voice. He had the effect on most people that, when he addressed a crowd, most stopped to listen. Those that didn't, were soon nudged by the ones closest to them when they were favored with a well-placed look.

"Now that we're all assembled and hopefully dry," here his eyes slid to the inevitable first-year that always fell into the lake, "I trust you will be able to make it to the castle without event. You will receive further instruction from Professor McGonagall there, and then will be sorted. If you will all follow me."

He turned then, his strides long and unhurried, though the little kids had to hurry to keep up with him as he went on his way.

Shinobu really didn't understnad this guy. To make his friend jealous, he was hanging out with her?

Crabbe saw the shortie girl give him a glare at eye-level--which was easier, as they both were sitting down..

Shinobu gritted her teeth. /Sooo, neither one of these guys likes me..goood..but the quirt comment was a bit much, neh, baka?/

And shinobu saw a glorious window of opportunity./kick 'em when they're down.../

/What the--who is this squirt?/ Crabbe was dumbfounded---but he would defend Goyle--the pact depended on mutual protection!

Shinobu was only slightly startled by his sudden interest--idiots oftentimes forget they're argueing about somehting..

Harry quietly chuckled. It felt good to be back at Hogwarts yet again. He looked up at the looming tower and felt warmth rise up in his chest. He was home, once again. He looked over to their group and got up, dusting his robe and getting down, holding the door and saying, "Come on! We don't want to be late for the feast!"

"Actually, if I remember my geography lessons correctly, Hogwarts is in Scotland."

"Because that's where Mother is, and I'm not making a move without her approval."

"I know they used to have a werewolf teacher. It was all over the papers, and the AWCR made a big stink about him being fired."

"Yes. Him. Besides, Hogwarts contains the most precious thing to all of the Wizarding world."

As the carriage pulled up to the castle, Harry got out and held the door for everyone else. <"Come on! We don't want to be late to the feast!">

Luna stepped down cautiously and then turned to Harry and smiled, "Thanks Harry."

She quickly stepped aside and made room for everyone else who was making their way out of the carriage. Asriel slowly followed, a smile playing across his face as he looked up at the castle that now towered over him. He said a quick goodbye to Aubrey, Harry and Ron and headed towards the steps leading up to the front doors. /Merlin, it's good to be back,/ he thought to himself as he shoved his hands in the pockets of his robes and made his way up the stairs and into the Front Hall.

He stepped aside and waited for Luna, who - after a quick wave to everyone - was slowly making her way up the steps and trying desperetely to push her way through the thrall of people who were all moving towards the Great Hall. As she finally reached him, Asriel said, "Come on let's go and find a seat at the table."

Ron watched as Harry took in the scene that stood before him--the maginificent steps of Hogwarts.

/That bastard surely can't handle it all by himself, the arse. Hermione could, but...*blush*/

"lump of lard--look, have you no creativity whatsoever? all you say is 'shortie' and 'hamspter': If I'm going to be insulted, I prefer originality! MORONIC BRAINLESS...DIPHEAD!"

Just as things were about to get reeeeally ugly (due to a blowup of Shinobu's temper), the carriage stopped.

The two refugees escaped from each others company, both with wishes to never see the other again.

"Hum? Anzel? oh, you know..not that touchy-feely kinda guy, ya know?Can't stand his attraction to me. But that's what's so cute about him! *snicker* too bad that other girls can't notice that.."

"nice to meetcha guys in person! You're my idol, Neville!" Kael turned his head in Ginny's direction:

"And for your love-fortune of the year, Madam Ginny! You'll find the guy of your dreams! I dare you to kiss him when you find him!"

/of course, I bet any of the guys around here would love to kiss her--pretty, red-head, nice--but not me!/

"SHIIII-CHAAAAN! It's me, the most devout of your teasers, come to attack you! Wait for meeee!!!"

Before Rose could ask anymore, the carriage came to a stop, and--The boy did the strangest things:

said some obviously made-up prediction for Ginny--here Rose wondered about Ginny's popularity--and then-

Ginny walked up to the huge oak doors of the entrance hall, and was pushed into the crowd, none too gently. Right as she was about to get into the hall, she ungracefully bumped and slammed into some hard, muscly body... :)

Absorbing the impact easily, Draco reached out with one hand a steadied the girl in front of him, arching an eyebrow as his gaze fell on the Weasley girl once again. What her obsession was with throwing herself into his path today, he did not know, but she seemed to have an uncanny knack for it. Something her brother would have found highly offensive, he knew, and the thought caused the corners of his mouth to twitch ever so slightly. Any chance to make Weasel burst a blood vessel was appreciated.

But then... she had been kind to him. Why, he couldn't fathom. He'd never given her cause and from his experience, Weasleys did not waste their time being saints. Her brother always went after him with a bloodlust that would have been almost frightening if the dolt didn't trip over his own feet at every turn. Much as he despised it, the Weasley girl deserved at least civilty for her kindness. He had been raised as a gentleman, after all, and he was duty-bound to respect those limits. His father would have his xhead if he did not.

He stared down at her, eyes carefully shuttered against his thoughts. His expression was still and unmoving as he took her arm by the elbow, leading her away from the crowd that was pushing so insistently to get through the doors.

Voice lacking its usual rancor, he angled his xhead toward her, speaking without inflection as he paused. "Weasley, you really should watch where you're going. You might trip into a less gracious host next time."

It was strange for him to be speaking to her without a sneer in his tone, and he wondered if she would react just the same regardless. He expected nothing else of her. His version of polite was not generally accepted by the public, and he did not think that Virginia Weasley would care. It was his way of showing gratitude for her assistance earlier, however, and whether or not she chose to acknowledge it, he had expressed it.

Anzel, barely noticing Blaise's comment, instead noticed how the carriage stopped moving. It was time for the feast--or at least, it was time to get out of this carriage, to move away from talking, and just eat at his table, where everyone else would be paying attention to their own food and not try to disturb him. He closed his book and exited the carriage. He paused, thinking that there was something he was supposed to do. He snapped his fingers as he remembered--and turned around, nodded his head at his new acquaintances, and walked off to the hall. He sat down at one of the corners of the Ravenclaw table--the one closest to the teacher's table, and farthest away from the onslaught of the multitudes of students entering the hall.

Goyle watched indignantly as the funny-sounding guy who had stepped into their carriage got off first. "Who think is, going off a'fore me!" Goyle iterated, as he was somewhat incapable of understanding what he was thinking unless he spoke it aloud. Huffily, he bounded off the carriage, bumping Blaise's knees on the way out. "Where is, i'll show him," he bellowed. However, instead of finding his target, he bumped into another rather large fellow, and the two of them fell down from the impact, nearly killing some poor second year. Goyle got up, not failing to step on his cushion, *although one would argue he has enough of a cushion surrounding him to line the walls of every room inside saint mungo's assylum for the insane,* and looked at the person who had so brashly rushed into him (according to his perspection.)

SAMILA: Samila gloomily slid out of her carriage, much to the delight of everyone else who had been in it. It wasn't that she was outwardly offensive--she just had a habit of bringing dark clouds with her everywhere she went. When she entered the carriage, the people already inhabiting it had greeted her warmly, excited for the new year--and she had responded with a simple "h'lo," and looked out of the window for the rest of the ride. After several attempts to get her to respond to their questions with more than monopalabric (ooc: its a new word. it means ...one word....)sentences, they finally turned to each other and began talking in quiet voices, looking her direction every now and then. Although she pretended not to notice, or see them--she did. She just didn't care about them at all.

She walked slowly, looking down at her feet as they walked on the stairs that led to the great hall. Her carriage-mates quickly passed her, chattering to themselves about how they were excited about the feast. She wrinkled her be-speckled nose. To her, this day would be the worst day in the entire year--for the exact reason why so many other people looked forward to it the whole summer.

She passed by Crabbe and Goyle, squishing someone underneath their huge mass. Her stomach began to feel queasy--not because she felt bad for the kid who had to get so close to them, but because she remembered what they had looked like at the feast in the previous years. Stuffing their faces, smearing the food over their faces--hell, just their faces--were sights she didn't think she could stand this year without barfing. Sure, she hadn't done it last year--but that was before food became unappealing to her. It was this summer at Pansy/Blaise's house where suddenly, she had drawn the connection between her family's death, the pheasant and watercress on her plate, and the term "Death Eaters." Ever since then she had avoided eating as much as she could, without starving--because the nausea that accompanied intense hunger made her feel sick, sicker than the nausea she felt as food passed though her esophagus. She passed underneath the doorway where so many other students were passing, and decided to sit at a corner of the slytherin table where she would see the least amount of eating. Draco usually sat at the middle of the table on the side she had taken, and wherever Draco sat, Crabbe and Goyle accompanied him. Trying to eradicate the image of Crabbe and Goyle from her head, he stared at her empty plate trying to think of happy thoughts. Happy thoughts had long since ceased to develop in Samila's brain, but she did muster up a grisly, "Well, there's nothing on the plate yet."

"Come on, I'm starving! Let's go get some food!!!" She practically ran up the steps to the entrance hall.

Neville looked at Ginny as she dashed off to the Great Hall. Although he had already eaten some chocolate frogs, Neville had managed to keep some room in his stomach to hold an appetite. 'And,' he thought, 'If I hurry, I might be able to sit next to Ginny at the table!' Excited at the prospect, he turned to Rose and said, "It was really nice meeting you Rose! I'll see you later!" and rushed off after Ginny. However, Ginny was a much faster runner than him, and by the time he got to the door, He'd already lost sight of Ginny. A little saddened, he sat down at the Gryffindor table, and waited for other friends to arrive.

Ginny stared hard. It seemed as if she couldn't stop falling into this man. She smirked at him first and said, "Well, I'm sure I couldn't find ANYONE who'd be as gracious as you... nope... no one at all..." Then she felt confused. She had learned to read people, probably after her encounter with that horrid diary... and she had learned this to survive and see people's intentions through body language alone. He didn't seem to be mocking her, though she doubted he'd pause to do so. She figured it must have been about the loo... No. She shook her head. He obviously didn't want her help ever, and she was very surprised that he still held her.

Looking to all the people streaming, she knew she could just walk away and get lost in the crowd, but something made her pause and say, "If you're sure you won't be contaminated by my presence." She felt his formality and his sense of debt to her, and she wasn't quite sure she wanted to relinquish that power just yet. But something froze her body and prevented her from moving away...

He was not an idiot, and he couldn't help but notice the emphasis on the word 'contaminated'. He drew himself up perhaps a bit more stiffly, but aside from that, made no other motion as to his being offended. His features were marble-blank and cool as he took her elbow again and nodded once toward her.

Draco knew he shouldn't be surprised with how the girl was reacting; he'd expected as much. People seemed so intent on thrusting him into their preconceived notions of his personality that they did not take the time to observe if he really was all they thought him to be, or if it was rumors coloring their views. He'd given up a long time ago trying to convince anyone otherwise, and had fallen back to being defensive and haughty, finding that aloofness was the most foolproof armour to any attack. When people began to think you didn't care, and assumed you were something less than human, they either left you alone, idolized you, or hated you.

He had, had his fair share of people that hated him, and did not particularly care if Weasley joined the ranks. She seemed to be dominated by her family's opinion in any case; he was glad he was not so easily influenced as to see everything the way his father did, or he would be a far worse person, and people would have just cause to hate him. No, the students of Hogwarts took for granted just how controlled a person he was, but he did not intend to dispell their notions. If he let them be, they would leave him be.

No doubt, Weasley would go back to her normal affairs as soon as he left her be.

"Do you prefer one side of the table to the other?" He asked, tone soft and surprisingly low. When he wasn't actively sneering or infusing his voice with slick venom, he could almost sound like an average person, perfectly amicable and all friendliness.

It was amazing the lengths people would go to in effort to disguise how utterly empty they were.

Ginny stared back at him, thoroughly and completely confused. She said quietly, "No, not really... but maybe the right side, today..." She hoped he didn't notice that it was the one facing the Slytherin table. "Err.... thank you Malfoy. Really. I didn't expect you to act this way after... well, after the encounter. I'm surprised you'll risk your reputation just for my sake. For that thank you."

"She's not going to like this one bit." Luci sighed, pointedly ignoring the desk attendant in the post owl office.

"Of course not. But we don't really have that much of a choice, now do we?" her uncle said, giving the rented owl the letter.

Luci turned a cold glare on the man. "We are aware of that, yes. But we have more important things to concern outselves with that a gaggle of schoolchildren gorging themselves." She flipped her hair over her shoulder, revealing the tiny scythe and dagger pin on her collar. The man immidiatly turned his full attention to shuffling papers.

Abe let the owl loose, a short note clutched in its beak. They both watched it fly straight for Hogwarts.

No one should have expected an owl to come flying into the Great Hall during the Feast, and no one should have expected it to perch on the back of the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher's chair and drop the letter, which was not even stuffed into an envelope, right into her lap.

Rowena snatched it up immidiately, scowling as she read over the quickly scrawled note. Severus peered over her shoulder, and felt his blood freeze as he read the first words.

Death eaters showed up. We're all safe at Hogsmeads.

Hate to inturupt Sissy, but thought you should know.

Abe

Rowena folded the letter up and sighed. "I've got to run into town." she whispered to Severus. "Tell Dumbledore what happened." She rose from her chair and made a quick exit through the teachers enterance.

Severus rested both elbows on the table and clasped his hands, looking out over the student body, and taking note of who had noticed the newest professor's sudden departure. "This is not the way to start your tenure..." he murmured to the empty chair from behind his hands.

"not another" was all she could make out before Kael nearly tackled the poor girl.

He was grinning ear to ear with a face slightly flushed from excitement. Some stray hairs swung into his eyes as he tapped Shinobu on the nose.

"Miss me over the summer, shi-chan?"Kael laughed. /She's almost more fun that Anzel to tease at times!/

Shinobu's face contorted to an anguished (yet very cute) expression of "no, duh, you moron!"

/geez/ shinobu wondered, /is it "wackoes attack Shinobu Behemoth day"? they seem to keep coming...but at least this one is slightly mroe creative and prettier than the last one.../ Shinobu mentally slapped herself.

/Noo!! Men are pigs! That Kwon Guy is perfect proof of males going back on their sweet words! trust nothing!/

Kael recovered from his look of confusion, turning it back into a look of glee. He rightly picked up Shinobu and held her high in the air

Shinobu beat back Kael (or tried to, anyways) in a manner that made her look even younger than she already was.

Kael laughed as he carried Shinobu off, kicking and (not screaming, that's not dignified enough for her) shouting profanities in Japanese.

Rose eased herself out of the carriage, slightly dismayed at how easily everyone had left her behind, all negligent to talk to her some bit afterwards.

/I guess I only expected as much/ she mused, expression solemn and grey as she nearly glided to the Great Hall for the feast.

She heard some great commotions as she entered the hall--there was that pretty boy tackling another girl student, there was a great commotion over two boulder-like figures being in some sort of scramble, and ahead--

/Ginny seems to be having a fun time, anyways/ Rose thought, eyeing Ginny ahead with a blonde boy.

Rose gripped her gloved hand. Her eyes nearly shifted from expressionless to pity.

Rose quietly made her way to the Hufflepuff table and effortlessly slipped onto the bench. She looked up at the teachers.

/That's strange. She seems to be flustered. Maybe something happened with her family or something../

"Whuh--" was all Crabbe could get out of him before his head was successfully used as a footstoll for the rising attacker.

/There's only one person I know who could knock ME down../ Crabbe exclaimed inside as he got himself up.

"DOOOOF!!!" *oh Goyle, my dear chum, I missed you so much where ever did you go don't leave me ever again!!*Tears of joy streamed down Crabbe's face--rejoined with his companion!

Crabbe knocked Goyle on the head. "DOOF!" *you smashed my heart to pieces with your disappearance, and then you have the audacity to crush my school, you meanie!! Meanie!!*

Crabbe felt better and assumed a face of chummy disposition. Before Goyle could retaliate, Crabbe placed his hand (that monstrous hand, may it never rest upon the head of any other who is smaller than him, which just about includes everyone at the school other than Hagrid),and swiveled it in the direction of the great hall:

"Food. There. Come!" With that, Crabbe linked arms with Goyle and proceeded to march towards the Slytherin table. One must get one's spot reserved afterall with all the new years coming in...and if there weren't any left, Crabe reasoned, he was certain that "with their powers combined" (i.e. crabbe and goyle) they could shove off as many people necessary to get their seats.

Goyle needed no second bidding. He happily followed Crabbe, glad once again to be reunited, and laughed merrily (although others might seem to think of it as maliciously,) to their favorite spot at the Slytherin table. Life was good.

"Ha," said Crabbe. Goyle looked at him in confusion? What reason had he to be laughing? (ignoring, of course, the fact that he had been laughing earlier.) Instead of being rational, he decided that Crabbe must be laughing at him...for who knows what reasons. Leaning over the distance that was always reserved for Draco, he smacked Crabbe over the head. (not even noticing that Draco wasn't there...)

"U what!! meh.. arrg..." *How could you? just after you were earlier talking about how incredibly glad you were to be reunited with me, u decide to laugh at me! I am insulted!* He begrudgingly fidgeted in his seat, wondering when the food would arrive.

Tired of staring at her plate, Samila looked up around the hall. There were..so many people. They all seemed...something. Animated, she supposed. Their facial expressions kept changing, at least. From smiles, to frowns, to...whatever all those other expressions were called. Dimly, she wondered, herself wearing a pokerface so lifeless it was fit to kill squirrels, if she'd ever been so...fickle.

Soon, Crabbe and Goyle showed up at the table. She them from her view by looking back down at her plate, not daring to look back up..not until the food arrived, when she knew they would certainly be occupied. They were likely to start fighting without a reason to not fight--food in front of them, or in their stomachs, although she was sure they'd already eaten before they came to the table.

Still looking at her plate, she felt a twinge of anxiousness, and her mouth twitched. All she wanted to do was eat a little something, leave, and go to sleep. She wished some students who were wasting their time talking to their friends would hurry up and just come to the table. They were all likely quite hungry, and they could just talk to their friends later. Small warnings of nausea started to form in her stomach.

"Come on. We're going to be late," I said. When there wasn't an answer right away I continued by myself up the stairs to the castle.

I walked quickly toward an empty seat at the Slytherin Table and pulled out a chair....then...uh.....ate.

After the first years were all sorted into their respectful houses and sitting anxiously at their tables, Dumbledore slowly rose from his seat to deliver his traditional opening-of-the-school-year speech. He surveyed the entire room, turning his head slowly, so as to spend the same amount of time on all of the tables in front of him. With a chalky sound from his vocal cords, he cleared his throat and began to speak, in a loud voice:

"Welcome! blah blah blah forbidden forest blah blah lake blah blah quidditch blah blah Voldemort back, be careful, blah blah blah houses, blah blah etc etc.

I would also like to introduce to you your new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher--" Dumbledore turned to the spot where Rowena had been sitting, but it was empty. "--however, as you can see, she is currently attending to some other business, and the introductions will have to wait for later."

He turned again towards the seemingly impatient students, and finished with, "without further ado, Rubadub dub, thanks for the grub, yaa~~aay HOGWARTS!"

with that, the tables sprang to life as food seemingly apparated onto the plates. Satisfied, Dumbledore took his seat and began eating as well. 'It almost seems as if they starve those children on the train,' he mused, 'by the way they so ravenously take to their plates.'

Other people would see a giant of a pretty boy with a very small girl hanging over his shoulder.

Shinobu then made her escape to the Ravenclaw table one of the boys sniggered, and was then silenced by shinobu's avenging toe-squashing move.

"Eh? Oh! Hi miss I-forgot-your-name-could-you-remind-me-what-it-is- again....ERM.."

Kael was embarrassed that he couldn't remember the name of the blonde girl he'd just met in the carriages--though, it wasn't as if she was all too prominent a person in respects of presence.

There had been little to no activity outside the norm during the Feast; Professor Dumbledore had said his piece, the new teachers had introduced themselves, and then everyone had fallen into quiet conversation. For her part, Pansy had merely eaten quietly, as she was several chairs away from Draco and didn't particularly care to socialize with anyone else. Unless she was forced to, she rather didn't like social situations, especially not where she was expected to be pleasant.

Which is why, as soon as the feast ended, she stood quickly and wove her way through the bodies as quietly as she could. She had a bit of a headahce, and didn't particularly want to be stopped by anyone.

She'd almost made it without seeing anyone she would be obligated when her gaze fell on Anzel. She'd talked to him just briefly in the carriage, and though he hadn't made any special gesture in her direction, she -had- been ungracious when dealing with him earlier. It wouldn't do to give someone else something to hold over her head.

Pausing, clasping her hands in front of her waist, she murmured, "Mr. Sk�ldpadda. Good evening."

Anzel had finished his meal, and was going to go back to his common room when Pansy had confronted him. Surprized, partly because not many had tried talking to him before, and also because he had thought their conversation hadn't gone exactly well, he looked at her a little confused. "Um..Good evening." Was this going to end up another long, dreary conversation, he wondered? He had done an awful lot of talking that day, so he hoped not.

Then again, another part of him was curious to see why Pansy had come up to him. "Is..there anything you want?" he asked.

She blinked once, the solemnity of her expression never changing, though the corners of her mouth twitched slightly. "No. I was just going to apologize for being abrupt with you earlier."

"oh...alright," Anzel said, easing up a little bit. apologies normally didn't take too long..maybe he could get in some extra reading before going to bed. "Go ahead--although, I don't mind abruptness." He thought a bit about that statement. 'Better to be honest,' he concluded, 'even if i don't know her that well'--"i prefer it most times."

That was an interesting statement. She prefered bluntness herself most often--she'd come to expect it from people, and had learned not to trust anything other than the plain, flat truth. Perhaps she wouldn't find Anzel's company terribly intolerable, if she found herself in a position to interact with him more often.

"I feel the same," she said at length, gesturing down the hall. "I'm not keeping you from something important, am I?"

"er.." he wondered about that. He did want to read a little before he went to bed, but it wasn't completely necessary. And it was quite awhile before bedtime. So he supposed not. Although, he didn't quite like the way this "apology" seemed to be turning into a conversation. But he dispised lies. "No." he said plainly. Not discouragingly, and not invitingly--although the emptiness in his voice might seem to many to be taken in a discouraging manner.

"So I'm keeping you from something unimportant, then," she murmured, the barest hints of a smile on her face. Pansy wasn't someone who was exceptionally skilled in reading people, but two encounters with Anzel had proven to her that he disliked social encounters as much as she did. The kind thing to do, would be let him go on his way, while she attended her Prefect duties. Though she doubted Draco would have any use of her. He was almost brutal when it came to responsibility and managing it all by himself.

Pansy's comment surprised him, although he refused to show it. Most people he knew, AKA Kael and Sofie, would have taken that "no" as an invitation to pester him as much as humanly possible...but he'd learned to run away, if possible, whenever he was stuck anywhere near them. With a little hesitation before he spoke again, just because the shock had caused a bit of a pause, he responded, "...Yes. I--" Anzel surprized himself. Usually, he would leave it at "yes," and hope to be left alone after that, but he found himself wanting to tell her a little more. "I ..was going to read a little."

Pansy angled her head a bit, hand absently sliding to the bookbag at her side. She was in the middle of a particularly good book herself. If she got the time before bed, she intended to read a few more chapters. Normally she wouldn't have said anything, but she figured one confession deserved another.

"I'm considering reading more in my book as well. The one I had in the carriage..." she trailed off, resting her hand on the outline of her book. "What genre do you typically read?"

Anzel blinked. "Well..usually i read textbooks...but...mysteries are also good." He wondered if that sounded strange. Kael always balked whenever he saw Anzel reading a textbook...but he would like to think that Kael was a "special case."

Without even realling thinknig, she reaching up to push her hair over her shoulder with one hand. "Mysteries are interesting if they're well done. I like the classics as well. Muggle classics," she amended, a small quirk to her lips. "I don't know if you read them?"

"Well.." he responded, "I haven't really been able to find too many muggle books..." He thought about his father. He wondered if he'd always been opposed to muggles, or if that had begun because of his mother..."but I think I liked one of them. Agatha Christie, I think."

Pansy pursed her lips, raking her memory for the author. "She wrote "Death on the Nile", didn't she? A unique style, but not one I prefer. I enjoy reading JD Robb," she added. "I don't suppose you've read her work, however... they're an interesting read, though."

"No...I haven't," expressed Anzel. He wasn't sure why, but he felt a little lost for not having read the book that Pansy had mentioned. At the same time, he felt relieved with the further evidence that she was not like Kael, when she didn't go ballistic about the textbooks. 'Such a strange mix of emotions,' he wondered. It almost made him want to tell her that the village he'd grown up in was strictly muggle, so he'd only had the chance to explore books in his move to England...but that seemed...undignified? Perhaps a little rushed. Why should he tell someone he'd only just met about his life-story? Not even..well..actually, the only people who he had any sort of relationship with besides "classmate" or "student" and "brother of kaels that we like to torment" were parts of his life story, so he hadn't really told it to anyone.

Pansy waited a few moments for him to say more, but found that he didn't. It was strange, that she didn't mind conversing with him. He was very different from most people. So far, he hadn't even insulted her, which she found surprising. But then, there were people would could be perfectly charming to your face and then turn around and spread nasty black rumors. However, as Anzel wasn't attempting to give off any particularly strong 'charming' rays, she found that she might trust him, if just a little.

Then she did something rather uncharacteristic. Reaching into her bag, she bit her bottom lip and sorted through the books she carried. When she found the one she wanted she withdrew it, battered though it was. "I have her first, if you would like to read it."

Normally Pansy didn't lend any of her possessions out to a soul save Draco, whenever he had want of something of hers. She had learned the hard way that they would come back either completely defaced, in pieces, or not come back at all. For some reason though, she felt that this wouldn't be the case with Anzel.

Anzel looked at the book a little dubiously. No one had ever lent him a book before..well..except for the librarian, and his father, and Sofie had attempted to push her books of "romantic passions" at him, but he'd normally declined in that case...well, at least, this wasn't something that he was used to. He somehow felt like there was something very..different..about this time. It made him feel like he ought to..do something in return. "Thank you," he muttered a little awkwardly. He started looking through his own bag to see if he had any worthy reading material inside it...

'Hm, Arithmancy textbook...i'm sure she's probably already seen that..and...er..' It seemed his bag was completely full of textbooks. Dissatisfied, He rummaged a little more, and pulled out something too small to be a textbook--unfortunately, it wasn't exactly good reading material either. Hoping she hadn't seen the title of "An ocean-lovers guide to surfing," he dumped it back inside his bag.

He took the book from Pansy's hand and said, "I think I'll read it tonight, if i have the time"

Trying to school her expression back into polite detachment, Pansy nodded and tried not to get mental images of Anzel streaking along the ocean on a surf-board. She didn't know why, but she found it amusing. He didn't seem the type to surf. But then, she hadn't really known him for all that long. Perhaps he did surf. Perhaps he did it often.

"If you like... you needn't feel obligated," she added, carefully closing the flap on her school bag. "Though it is a good book. If you find you like her writing style, I have more."

"Alright," he responded, feeling a little silly that he didn't have any 'fun reading' material on him. Then again, he usually never did any of that type of reading during the school year, just because he preferred to devote his time to classwork. "I might find myself busy with studies.." he said quietly. "But if I have the time, I suppose i might ask for more." A mixture of different feelings were currently going through Anzel's conciousness. He supposed that now would be a good time to take his leave, since he'd already done more than enough talking for the day, but for some reason he felt a little reluctant. True, this conversation was a little tiring, but that was most likely due to his unuse of talking at such length, not due to stress. But the fact that he hadn't felt compelled to run away...five times by now, he calculated, made him wonder a little. This Pansy character seemed a little intriguing.

Pansy shrugged once, shifting the strap of her bookbag a little higher on her shoulder. She could relate when it came to studies--she wasn't an exceptionally good student, and had to take more time than most when it came to her assignments. Mostly because she liked to have well thought-out papers, and tended to check her work over several times so that it wouldn't get returned with numerous red marks and an impending conference. There was nothing that Pansy hated more, except perhaps most conversation, than sitting in front of a teacher and having to explain why she was having trouble in a class.

Best not to think about that at the moment, however. "I can usually be found in the library. That's where I do the majority of my schoolwook, considering the commons room is generally considered Crabbe and Goyle's play area." A faint scowl lined her features before she caught herself, shaking her head slightly. "It's not conducive to a proper study environment more often than not."

Anzel tried not to let his unrecognition of the word "Crabbe" show on his face, but if he was anything like Goyle, he supposed it wouldn't be. Actually, Anzel usually studied in the Library as well, just because it was the one place he could count on to be quiet--Kael had never found it necessary to enter it, and the ravenclaw common room usually had a few ravenclaws who weren't studying in it. Feeling it unnecessary to respond to her comment about Goyle and Crabbe, or the usefulness of the library, he settled for, "Then I'll tell you how I liked it there," making an attempt to look at her eyes, as Kael had often stressed. It was a difficult task, as the makeup she wore was piled so high it looked as if it might engulf those facial features at any moment.

Finding that she didn't like the eye contact, Pansy quickly averted her eyes, murmuring, "All right." Then, rolling her shoulders restlessly, she said suddenly, "If you'll excuse me, I have prefect duties... it was nice talking with you, Mr. Sk�ldpadda."

"You too, Ms. Parkinson." He began walking towards the Ravenclaw common room, feeling a little strange. He shrugged. So apparently Kael was wrong about eyes--that shouldn't surprise him in the least. At least now he knew for sure what his advice was good for--nothing. Reaching the dormitories, he undressed (ooc: lol...its necessary to say that, of course ^^; bic:) and lay down in his bed, eyes looking up at the bunk on top of his. After letting his head fall to the pillow, he realized how much his shoulders had tensed up during his conversation. He supposed they, like him, simply were not used to such extreme conversations, and maybe he ought not put them through that again. 'Well...' He reflected, 'We'll see.' Remembering about the book, he took it out of his bag, and began to explore its pages--until he became so exhausted that he had to set it away, and he fell deeply into a dreamless sleep.

The morning sun sprinkled through the windowshade and shone through the Hufflepuff Boy's dormitories. Kael blinked himself awake, and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He attempted to get up--

Kael was not awake enough to remember that he was, erm, tall, and had the bottom bunk.

Kael was now a bit more awake than what he was before. As he rightly stumbled out of bed, his reddish-brown hair in perfect dissarray, he barely noticed the other person until that person was standing right next to him...

The scream of a half-asleep Hufflepuff 6th-year reverberated throughout the entire Hufflepuff boy dorms.

Unbeknownst to many, Kael himself was a victim of getting teased by his friends as well..just a different kind. Kael was always especially vulnerable to their teasing in the wee hours of the morning.

"Wha-wah-wha-whaaa--what was that for, Justin??" Kael stammered at the Hufflepuff 7th-year trouble-maker.

"Nothing--just wanted to get these slugs out of bed. Unlike me, they probably need to get used to waking up early again." The boy beamed.

Kael looked around and noted the presence of boys waking up..and how scary some of his comrades looked in the morning. 'especially that scary brute over there...hum, he looks familiar..oi!' Kael remembered the friend from last night--

"Well, of course I know that Matthias, but do you really have to point that out every 3 minutes?"

Kael then snapped his attention back to Finch-Fletchy. his eyes went into super-cute mode, and said in a mocking tone,

"that was mean..seducing me as a methods to wake everyone else up..you scoundrel!"

Then he laughed and got up from the floor (his former position) and went to retrieve his uniform.

But for some reason, Kael felt extremely nervous about changing into it at the moment.

The door to the Defense Against the Dark Arts room swung silently open as the first students approached. Once again, the insides of the room had been redecorated to fit the tastes of the teacher. It was fairly dark, the only light coming from the candels that lined the walls. The only real light in the room seemed to be coming from the podeum at the front of the class, where Professor Xanathos stood. Her robes where simple, auster black, with her hair pulled away from her face in a thick black braid. The only ornaments she wore where a plain gold band on her finger and a Ravenclaw pin on her robes.

Behind Professor Mox stood a stunning blond woman dressed in a slightly more ornate black robe trimmed with emerald colored embrodery. The broach she wore at her throat looked more like a coiled serpant than a peice of jewelry... but it certainly seemed to fit.

"If you would take your seats, ladies and gentelmen?" Professor Mox drawled. "We have a great deal to cover, and not near as much time as I would like to cover it in."

Professor Xanathos started pacing across the raised platform, regarding her students. "I'm sure you all are wondering what could have possessed me to bring Slytherin and Gryffindor into the same classroom. I assure you, I am well aware of your animosity, and I intend to take advantage of it. You will find this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts class to be a bit... different from any other year."

She stopped her pacing and looked at her students head on. "My policy is 'Know your Enemy.' We will be doing an indepth study of those creatures most likely to be a threat to you... including your fellow wizards Which brings me to the great variation. I will be teaching you to defend yourself, both with your wands, your hands, and any weapons you might be able to avail yourselves on. Every other class period will be spend outside, weather permiting, where you will learn the arts of physical combat."

Professor Mox returned to her podium. "Which brings me to the pairs. On those days that focus on combat, you will be working in them. I have already chosen your partners." She cleared her throat. "Scarborogh, Zanbini. Thomas, Davis. Potter, Goyle. Granger, Parkinson. Longbottom, Crabb. Weasley, Malfoy. Brown, Bullstrode. Patil, MacDougal. Finnigan, Moon." She went on to list the rest of the students and their pairs, but the pattern remained the same. Gryffindor paired with Slytherin. "Has everyone got that? Good. I will be posting the names of the partners on the class door... just so no one forgets." She put down the list.

"Now, I'm going to see just how good you are at cursing. When I call your names, come up to the front of the class." She glanced at the list. "Malfoy, Weasley, you're up first."

"You will find this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts class to be a bit... different from any other year"

Draco, who had been drumming his fingers softly on the surface of his desk, slowly straightened and eyed Professor Xanathos with a bit more interest than he had been a moment before. He was used to Dumbledore's watered down curriculum, and didn't have much hope for the class this year, but perhaps it would be slightly different. Anything to break the monotony of teaching them how to countercurse like six year-olds.

"My policy is 'Know your Enemy.' We will be doing an indepth study of those creatures most likely to be a threat to you... including your fellow wizards Which brings me to the great variation. I will be teaching you to defend yourself, both with your wands, your hands, and any weapons you might be able to avail yourselves on. Every other class period will be spend outside, weather permiting, where you will learn the arts of physical combat."

A little more interesting indeed, Draco thought, reaching up to brush some white-blonde hair from his eyes. In his eyes, the wizarding world at large commited a great folly by merely training their children to defend themselves with their wands and not their minds and bodies. Which was why Lucius had subjected Draco to various training from a very young age.

"... Granger, Parkinson. Longbottom, Crabb. Weasley, Malfoy..." She went on to list the rest of the students and their pairs, but the pattern remained the same. Gryffindor paired with Slytherin. "Has everyone got that? Good. I will be posting the names of the partners on the class door... just so no one forgets."

Pansy couldn't suppress a small sneer as she found she was paired with Hermione, and she turned slowly, pinning Draco with one highly expressive look. His eyes flashed utter mischief at her when he heard his name, and she groaned inwardly. Why teachers persisted in pairing Draco with people like Harry Potter, who Draco was bound to provoke, or Ron Weasley, who was bound to provoke him.

"Now, I'm going to see just how good you are at cursing. When I call your names, come up to the front of the class." She glanced at the list. "Malfoy, Weasley, you're up first."

Sighing inwardly, wondering if he had a sign around his neck that said 'use me for every bloody class demonstration', Draco rose and walked swiftly up to the front of the room.

"Professor," he said, nodding once, and then asked, "Are we to pick our own or will you be assigning them?"

"I want to see your best curses, Mr. Malfoy." Professor Xanthos said. "That goes for you too, Mr. Weasley. Natrually, I expect the Unforgivibles not to be used. Otherwise, it is up to you." She sat down behind her desk, the blond woman moving in behind her. "Feel free to begin at any time."

Ron had thought the teacher had her brains screwed in wrong or something, ever since he'd stepped into the classroom. Now he was certain she was screwballs.

/Malfoy? Partner with Malfoy?? Jerky Malfoy??-/ /...Must kick the living **** out of him before the blighter gets to me!!/ (ooc--return of WTKTLSOOTSM Ron!!! yaaay!!)

Ron could barely contain his sheer joy at the chance of being able to endeavour in hand-to-hand combat with Malfoy without getting detention. It was almost too good to be true...

oh yeah, Malfoy was a devious evil wizard who knew evil tricks and didn't play fair. Darn.

Ron listened intently as he stood in the front of the room--in too close of peramiters to TSM (that sod malfoy) for his comfort--a bit red from being stuck in the front, too, where all eyes of the classroom were scrutinizing him.