A/N: I wasn't planning on starting another fic so soon after finishing Your Kiss, but this idea just sort of came to me…haha. I'm really not as pleased with the characterizations as much in this new one as I was in Your Kiss, but it sort of needs to be this way, & I think the plot will carry it. I'm also planning on starting another fic the same time, so be looking for that one, too!

I'm not really the type of girl that people always cheer for in romantic stories where two girls are attempting to win the heart of the same boy. In fact, I'm really not that girl at all. I'm not exactly Mary Sue enough, I guess…See, I wear makeup, my hair generally looks nice (except when it's in the wind), I was voted Hogwart's most fashionable 7th year, I have a wardrobe filled with trendy, offbeat clothing, and I own exactly fifty-two pairs of shoes. I'm not really what you'd call sweet like your basic romantic heroine either. I mean, yeah, I genuinely care about the human race and I constantly do volunteer work in St. Mungo's with my aunt, but no one really knows about it so it's like it doesn't count. I'm sarcastic, cynical, and I love to make fun out of what are supposed to be rather "touching" anecdotes or incidents. I'm not the world's greatest student. I'm smart enough, but I never work at it. I'm not best friends with the school librarian. I don't' do my homework. I'm great at sports and I enjoy them. I'm consistently tardy to everything I promise or don't promise I will be at. I'm not dependable, I don't have a 'sweet disposition', I'm loud and flashy, I enjoy getting into trouble, I fight back, and I constantly look for ways to start controversy. I have no qualms about disliking "Team Abercrombie & Witch" (what I call Hogwart's big & beautiful). Please don't take this as me being a stuck up prick who looks down on the rest of society because it's totally not. This is just who I am. I'm your typical eighteen year old never been kissed schoolgirl. Without the cliché that comes with it. So when Melanie Crow transferred from an all-girls muggle school to Hogwarts in our seventh year, all Hell broke loose on my perfect world.

"Anga-Freakin'-Leena!" I yelled at the top of my lungs over a bunch of milling first-years and their parents. Mum and I were at Hogwarts station, her seeing me off to school for what would be the last time. She was a bit teary about the whole thing, but I was fine and besides, she had my four other sisters to see off; one of them about to leave off for her first year. My sister Danielle had left her pet owl Taffy at our home and was upset about it, causing Mum to be a bit perturbed. Which was fine by me because it stopped her from being a water faucet in front of half the wizarding population. However, at the same time it did produce somewhat of an unpleasant effect.

"Kathryn, could you please keep your voice down?" she snapped, trying to button up Kendra's robes for her. Kendra was the first year, who hadn't a clue how to really dress herself properly.

I rolled my eyes. "Mum, how else was I supposed to get Ange's attention? She just got here!"

"You saw her yesterday," Mum pointed out exasperated.

"So?"

"Katie!" Angelina had crossed the platform and was now smothering me with a big hug. She was very much taller than I was and somehow it made it awkward for me.

"Ange, my head is in your bussie's!" I complained, pushing her away.

She laughed good-naturedly. "Have you seen Allie?"

"No, not yet…" I replied, glancing around. It wasn't long before I spotted the familiar blonde head struggling with her trunk, attempting to drag it along by herself. Alicia's parents were muggles and consequently never made the trip to see her off. I think they had some sort of dinner the night before…I'd been to it once. Fred and I had nearly burned her house down in a curious incident with a marshmallow. Apparently muggles light them on fire and use them as food. Fred and I had assumed more of an interesting game of quidditch was intended. Consequently, we hadn't been invited back. Oh well.

"AL!" I shouted.

"Kathryn!" my Mum moaned. We ignored her.

"AL!" I shouted again. This time, the blonde jerked up causing her to drop the trunk and all its contents to spill to the ground.

"Oh no," she moaned, bending over to pick it up.

"Sorry," I said guiltily, running over to help her with Angie in tow. Alicia groaned and put her head into her hands. "Today has been terrible!" she declared, violently running her hands through her hair. "I'm late, I look awful, I didn't get to finish my Potions assignment on time…"

"You started it?" I asked blankly. Angelina gave me alook.

"Aw, Allie, it'll be alright. We'll get a nice compartment on the train and get some chocolate frogs or something. That sound good? Hey, besides, I think I see George coming…that ought to cheer you up!"

Both of us looked up to wear Angelina was directing her gaze. Sure enough, the two Weasley twins trotted along jauntily, not a care in the world, with Lee Jordan not far behind.

"Sorry!" George called out cheerily when they arrived. "Got into a bit of a tough scrape back at the temporary homestead. Took a while to get here." He looked down at his girlfriend. "Why are you on the ground, Alicia?" he asked curiously.

Alicia just groaned. I turned to Fred as George bent down beside her and tried to cheer her up. "Where were you guys living again?" I asked.

"Can't tell you, Kate," Fred replied, and then lowered his voice. "It had to do with You-Know-Who."

"Oh, right." My parents had been disappearing quite frequently to some mysterious place called The Order of the Phoenix, of which they would tell me limited amounts. My correspondence with the Weasley twins hadn't informed me of much either. It wasn't until Angelina had her summer party at her vacation home in Brighton until I'd been filled in. I was still not allowed to know their location, however, and it bothered me a great deal.

"Cheer up," he said. "You know just about as much as I do and you know that. Where we've been really isn't that interesting. What's interesting is what we can't know."

"If You-Know-Who's really back," I said angrily, "It seems like the people who know the most would want the rest of us to know the truth so we know how to protect ourselves."

"I know," he agreed, and then clamped his arm tightly around my shoulder. "But let's look at positives, shall we? Here we all are again! You and me, George and Alicia, Ange and Lee. The dream team is back in business!"

I hope you didn't group that in terms of couples, because I'm not dating you," I informed him grouchily, throwing his arm off of my shoulder. "Just because everyone else has decided to go be stupid and-"

"Of course I wasn't, Katie," Fred replied. "You're not quite up to standard yet of what I'd want in a girlfriend."

I lunged for him and missed, leading to a chase scene around some first and second years, as well as a tall girl I didn't know. After knocking a couple of the first years and topping a second year into the tall girl who kindly offered him assistance, my mum caught wind of what was going on and decided, with her usual liking to end any sort of fun, to put a stop to it.

"Kathryn! Fred! Come over here!"

We both looked at each other and guiltily walked over to where my mum was standing.

"What are you two doing?" she asked scoldingly. "You're seventh years, what kind of example to do you think you're setting to the younger students like Kendra?"

"Sorry, Mrs. Bell," Fred muttered.

"Sorry, Mum," I echoed.

She looked at us appraisingly. "Alright then. Kathryn, come here for just one second."

I exchanged a glance with Fred and he sauntered of to go join the rest of our friends. I turned to Mum, expecting the worst, but instead found myself enveloped in a warm hug. "You be good," she whispered into my ear. "And be careful…you know better than most of these people what's going on. I expect you to set a good example for your sisters." She let go and I looked at her.

"Of course I will, Mum," I replied.

"I know," she said, sighing. "You just be yourself. We love who you are, and we're all so proud of you." She had tears in her eyes as she hugged me again. "I love you, Katie."

Taken offguard by the use of my nickname, I hugged her back tightly and then grabbed my trunk and left before the tears became infectious.

Angelina, Alicia, and I put our trunks away and scouted out a nice, large compartment a the back of the train. The guys were off at the moment, probably buying the entire cart from the cart witch. I was seated across from Alicia and next to Ange. We were just about to start a nice game of exploding snap when there was a knock at our compartment door. We looked at each other strangely. Who knocks at a compartment door? Curiously, I pushed it open. Standing there with a slight, self conscious smile was the tall girl I'd knocked the second year into on the platform. She looked to be about our age with long, pretty dark hair and a cute, unassuming face. She was already changed into her robes and clutching a fluffy cat.

"Hi," she said. "My name's Melanie. I'm new here, and I was looking for a place to sit, if it's not too much trouble…"

We looked at each other and then I shrugged, jerking my head toward the compartment inviting her to sit. I was pretty chill about most things and consequently didn't mind allowing the new girl to share the compartment. She sat down next to Alicia and looked at us smilingly.

"I'm Alicia Spinnet," said Alicia, smiling and sticking out her hand for Melanie to shake it.

"Angelina Johnson," Angelina said, also sticking out her hand.

Melanie smiled, shook them, and then looked at me. "And you are…?" she asked.

Oh, right. I guess I should introduce myself.

"Sorry," I said. "I'm Katie. Katie Bell."

"Nice to meet you all," said Melanie cheerfully. "I was getting so worried no one would talk to me." She laughed pleasantly and the rest of us smiled. "You see, this is my first year at Hogwarts…first year at any wizarding school actually."

"Why?" I asked curiously.

"I'm Muggle-Born," Melanie explained. "And for some reason there was a mix-up at the Hogwarts and Beauxbatons' offices and each thought I belonged to the other school. It wasn't until this summer I ran into Professor McGonagoll and she saw me levitating some of the blankets I was passing out to the homeless. You see, I've always known I could do things other people couldn't, but I never dreamed I was actually magic! Anyway, the professor noticed I wasn't doing it with a wand and started talking to me, and well…the rest is history!"

She made the little "hmm" noise that some girls make after they've finished laughing or talking. I just looked at her. The words "passing out blankets to the homeless" and "never dreamed" caught my attention. The girl was obviously some kind of Mary Jane, Mary Sue, whatever kind of girl. I decided to test my theory.

"What's your cat's name, Melanie?" I asked.

"Oh, him?" she smiled. "This is Truffles." She held up Truffles to show everyone, smiling again.

"He's cute," Angelina said approvingly.

Definite Mary Sue. But whatever, that's fine. Like I said, I was chill. She could be as bubbly as she liked. It wasn't really my style, but it didn't matter.

Just then, the boys came back, their arms loaded down with treats and snacks. They didn't even notice Melanie. Lee squished in between Angelina and I, dropping about a dozen pumpkin pasties on her lap. George sat on Alicia's lap before being pushed off onto Melanie.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, Truffles jumping off her lap and clawing Fred as he walked in. Fred's chocolate Frogs flew up in the air as he yelped in pain and grabbed his leg.

"What in the bloody--!" he asked incredulously.

"Sorry!" Melanie exclaimed, "It's my cat, Truffles. He got a little excited when your brother landed on him."

"Who're you?" George asked abruptly, turning to face the girl he'd been sitting next to without realizing it.

"Sorry, I should have introduced myself. I'm Melanie Crow, I'm new to the school." She explained her story for the second time.

"Well, welcome aboard," Fred said easily, flopping down next to me. "Name's Fred, this is my twin brother George, and that's our friend Lee. George and Lee are both dating these two fine young ladies here, but I'm available if you're interested."

Fred was joking, but it made Melanie stare at him incredulously. "I don't even know you," she said, sounding a little scared.

I laughed. "He's kidding, Melanie. That's what we do around here. We joke."

"Oh…"

She made a weak attempt at a smile and a nod.

"So, Mel," George began cheekily, cookie crumbs spilling out of his open mouth. "Where are you from?"

"Mount Hurst," she replied quickly. "It's a little town on the edge of Britain."

"Interesting," Lee put in. "And how's the male population in Mount Hurst? You must have left a boyfriend behind there. You're pretty good looking."

Angelina whacked him in the arm, but Melanie answered seriously, "Actually, I've never had a boyfriend. I went to an all-girls school all my life."

We all exchanged glances. She was more Mary Sue than I had thought.