Chapter 1

"Halo. I'm sorry. You don't mind do you?" Harry, Ron, and Hermione, looked up startled. A girl was standing in the doorway of their train cabin. "Well, that's alright. It's just that ... everywhere else is full." She looked at Harry pleadingly. She had deep green eyes and long brown hair that was pulled back into a loose braid.

"No, it's fine. You'll have to excuse those two. They're not the most polite." Hermione smiled brightly and held out her hand. "I'm Hermoine, this is Ron and Harry."

"I'm Mattie." Mattie shook Hermoine's hand, silently feeling very relieved. "I didn't mean to interrupt your conversation."

"Oh, that's alright." Harry smiled. "Are you a first year? I haven't seen you around the castle before."

"No ... well not technically." Mattie sat down, opposite Harry, next to Hermione. "You haven't seen me because I haven't been there. I'll be taking fourth year classes, but it's only my first year at Hogwarts."

"I thought they didn't let people in after first year?" Mattie avoided Hermione's eyes.

"Dumbledore must've made an exception." She fingered the edge of her robe, not wanting to meet anyone's eyes. "What year are all of you?" She looked up as Ron answered.

"Fourth. But this will be our fourth year."

"Ron!" Hermione smacked his arm. "That was rude!"

"Oww! That hurt! Bloody hell, Hermione! Did you see that Harry?" Ron looked at Harry who was apparently lost in his own thoughts. He was staring at Mattie.

"Is Mattie your real name?"

"Well ... no. It's Matilda, but no one calls me that ... anymore." Ron rolled his eyes as Harry blushed.

"Oh, bloody hell." Just then, Draco Malfoy appeared at the door of their cabin.

"Well look who it is, Potter, Weaslebe, and the Mudblood ..." Malfoy was about to say something about the fourth person in the car, but didn't recognize her.

"Halo."

"Umm ... Hi," he stammered. He straightened up, apparently remembering his image. "Who are you?"

"I'm Mattie." Mattie held out her hand to him.

"I'm ... Draco Malfoy." Draco shook her hand. Motioning to his two thugs, he said, "This is Crabbe and Goyle."

"Nice to meet you." Mattie smiled at them; Crabbe and Goyle looked at Draco, confused.

"You remind me of someone ... are you sure we haven't met before?" Draco asked vaguely.

"No, no I don't think so." Mattie shook her head, releasing more strands from her loose braid. Ron glanced at Harry; he was fuming mad. Hermione stretched out her hand and grabbed Harry's arm, mouthing for him to chill out.

"Would you like to come to our cabin? You won't have to mix with these ... that mudblood." Harry was about to say something, but Mattie quickly stepped in front of him.

"No, my stuff is all here. But thank you." Mattie smiled as Draco ordered Crabbe and Goyle back to his cabin.

Before leaving, he looked back at Mattie and said, "Let me know if you change your mind." He slid the door closed as Mattie sat back down.

"What was that about Harry?" Mattie looked at Harry, obviously annoyed. "He may have said some horrible things, but you haven't even gotten to school yet. Do you really intend to get yourselves in trouble this early?" Harry and Ron looked at her in shock while Hermione beamed.

"See, at least someone has some sense!"

"Hermione ... what? I can't believe ..." Ron stuttered.

"I may hate Malfoy, but I don't intend to get myself expelled over it. They're not very tolerate on the train, we should at least wait until we get to school to do anything to him." Hermione turned to Mattie and they started chattering about school and other things. Ron and Harry looked at each other and then back to Hermione and Mattie in shock.

As the train ride wore on, the three started to like Mattie more and more. Her smile was infectious and she seemed to be a genuinely nice person. Except that she would always turn away and change the subject quickly if anyone asked about her family. When they finally did reach Hogwarts, it was pouring outside. They all hurried into a coach and started towards the school.

"The first years will be placed in houses, I assume you will as well," Hermione explained.

"I don't think so ... Dumbledore said something about already having a house for me. However, he didn't really explain what he meant, so I'm not sure." They sat in silence for the rest of the ride; everyone was excited to be back at school.

When the coach finally came to a stop at the front of the school, everyone reluctantly ran from their warm coaches into the rain. As Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Mattie were about to enter the Great Hall, Professor McGonagall appeared behind them. Tapping Mattie on the shoulder, she smiled. "Hello. Good to see all of you. You will be in Gryffindor House, Ms. ... Mattie. Hermione, I trust you will make sure she knows all the rules. I don't intend on treating you like a first year, so you won't be getting away with anything."

"Yes, Professor." Hermione smiled and Mattie nodded. Professor McGonagall disappeared into the crowd; they heard her voice a few seconds later yelling at Malfoy. "Come on, Dumbledore's about to start." Hermione pulled them all inside, sitting down at the Gryffindor table. "This is brilliant, you'll be in the same house as us and in the same dormitories as me."

Mattie smiled warmly at Hermione, "I'm glad." She seemed as if she were about to say something else, but just then Dumbledore stood up and called for quiet. He made the usual announcements, nothing special this year, and the first years were put into houses. Gryffindor was especially lucky this year, receiving a wizard who was rumored to be an excellent Quidditch player.

Upon returning to the common room, all the fourth year girls rushed up to meet Mattie. Hermione, Harry, and Ron were pushed out of the way. The feast had been buzzing with news about a beautiful fourth year that hadn't attended Hogwarts for her first three years. They bombarded Mattie with questions, but she simply shook her head.

They all quieted down to listen to what she had to say. "First of all, I'm shocked at how rude you all are. Those are personal questions. If and when I decide to share them with you all, it will be at a time of my choosing and the information will be privy to only those I think are worthy of my trust." The girls around her murmured as Mattie searched the room for Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "Now, Ron. I heard you were wicked awesome at Wizard's chess, if you're up for it I thought we might play a game or two?" Hermione smiled, most girls would have just welcomed the popularity and forgotten all about her, Harry, and Ron.

"Brilliant." Ron smiled and walked over towards the fire, where four chairs were set around a small table. Just as Ron was finished setting out the pieces, an arrogant fifth year pushed him out of the way.

"I'm the best at Wizard's Chess in the Gryffindor House."

"I'm sure." Mattie gently pushed him out of the way and turned her eyes to Ron, motioning for him to sit down.

"Scared are you?"

"Oh, please! Fine, if you want to feel all macho about yourself, then I'll play you." Harry and Ron looked at Mattie, alarmed. The fifth year was Bruce Karam, he was a pureblood and ergo very powerful. He was the best Wizard's Chess player in the Gryffindor House, probably the best out of all the students at Hogwarts.

Bruce settled in, taking his time to get comfortable. Mattie looked at him, annoyed. "If your majesty doesn't mind, I'd like to start this game before the sun comes up." Looking very slightly disturbed, Bruce finished settling in and they started their game. Bruce sat back in his chair, apparently very comfortable. He didn't look at the board much, a huge mistake on his part. Mattie concentrated on the board, barely ever looking up. Ten minutes and five moves after they started, Mattie sat back triumphantly and said, "Checkmate." Bruce didn't comprehend at first and then looked down at the board, bewildered.

"How the bloody hell did you do that?" Bruce scratched his head.

"You underestimate me and overestimate yourself. Now, if you don't mind my friend and I were trying to play a nice quiet game and you, sir, are sitting in his chair." Bruce slowly got up and stumbled towards the boy's dormitories, still scratching his head.

"That was bloody brilliant! But, I'm not so sure I want to play you anymore." Mattie laughed as Ron sat down across from her. She leaned closer to him.

"I'm not actually that good; it's a simple charm. He knows exactly what moves would corner him. So I simply picked up on some of his arrogant thoughts and figured out what moves to use." Hermione's eyes glittered, although Harry and Ron were completely lost as to what she was trying to explain.

"That's brilliant! Can you teach me?"

"Of course, it's really quite simple." Mattie smiled as Hermione looked at her admiringly. "My ... a friend taught it to me as a backup for those oral tests that teachers just want you to fail." Hermione looked a little bit wary but Mattie added, "But I've only ever used it to put jerks like Bruce in their place." Hermione smiled again and sat down in one of the chairs on either side of the table. Harry and Ron looked at each other and then just shook their heads. "I promise Ron, I won't use the charm on you." Ron nodded and smiled, that he understood.