ATTENTION: OK BEFORE YOU READ THIS CHAPTER PLEASE GO BACK AND READ THE PREVIOUS FIVE CHAPTERS FIRST, SINCE WE DID MAKE MAJOR ADJUSTMENTS AND DO NOT WANT YOU TO BE CONFUSED!

Stranger: After almost a YEAR, we finally got a new review. So, as promised, we’re updating this again.

Lone: You should have seen our reaction when I opened my email to find a new review. I LOVE YOU!

Stranger: It was priceless. And don’t scare our reviewer away Lone!

Lone: Whatever. Anyways, only Zally and other various things belong to us. HP still belongs to Jo. We love you Jo!

Stranger: Ok, now you just seem like a stalker.

Lone: Who asked you? –grumbles- wait… I thought we weren’t doing disclaimers?

Stranger: Well………

Lone: Stop putting words in my mouth Da--it!… YOU CENSORED ME TOO?

Stranger: YES. Now shut up and let everyone read the chapter.

Welcome to Hogwarts

Chapter Six

After two weeks of intense studying and a two-foot long essay on the properties of Wolfsbane for Snape, Zally was ready for a break. It was late Saturday afternoon, and she was seated on a plush loveseat by the fireplace. Over at a table, Harry, Hermione, and Ron were discussing Snape’s essay. The three of them had told her all about Snape’s utter dislike of Lupin, and the only reason he assigned that essay was to remind everyone how dangerous a werewolf was without the potion.

“See, Snape’s just mad because he has to brew the Wolfsbane potion for Lupin again, now that he’s a member of the Order. He doesn’t want to do anything that would help another person out.” Harry had told her yesterday over a rousing game of Exploding Snap.

“Greasy git” Ron had commented, and Hermione laughed with just a little too much effort, earning her an odd stare from the freckled Weasley.

Zally could hear the Trio talking from where she was seated, but she couldn’t quite make out the words. Abandoning the comfy couch, she walked over to the table and pulled up a chair. It creaked a little when she sat down, and she blushed slightly.

“Glad you could join us, Zally” Ron piped up in an annoyingly shrill voice.

“Yeah,” Harry added, “We were just planning an impromptu trip into Hogsmeade.”

Zally frowned, confused. “But the Hogsmeade trip isn’t for another month...”

Harry’s eyes sparkled mischievously. He leant in a little closer to the group, so that no one could eavesdrop on them. “Ah, but you see, we have an affinity for breaking rules.” He waggled his eyebrows for emphasis, making Ron and Hermione chuckle.

From out of Harry’s pocket came a tattered old piece of paper. “Go on,” he urged Zally, “Try and get words to show up.”

Zally thought him daft, but she attempted anyways. “Reveal your secrets,” she lightly tapped the parchment with the tip of her wand.

Words began to scrawl across the paper, in what could be politely called “less than perfect” handwriting.

Messr. Wormtail would like to insult you, but he can’t find something bad to say about such a pretty lady.

Messr. Padfoot agrees with Messr. Wormtail, but the latter’s taste in women is questionable, so that just might be an insult in disguise.

Messr. Prongs would like to point out that he is currently single, and looking for a good shag. (Zally gasped at this one, and both Harry and Ron chuckled. Hermione rolled her eyes, yet a small grin could be detected from her mouth.)

Messr. Moony would like to register that his friends are idiots, and wants to know why someone has bothered to read a blank sheet of parchment, unless that person is bored or simply a tad slow.

“Here,” Harry said and tapped the parchment with his wand. “I solemnly swear I am up to no good.”

That’s more like it, the map scrawled, before turning into the familiar blueprint of Hogwarts Castle.

Zally looked both intrigued and confused. “What is that?”

“The Marauder’s Map,” Harry explained. “, made by the Marauders Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, the greatest pranksters that Hogwarts has ever known. You’d be surprised, Zally, you already know one of them.

It’s a detailed map of Hogwarts. It shows where people are at different times, who’s patrolling where, and whatnot. It also shows exits out of Hogwarts. Some of them are known, but this one,” he pointed to a spot on the map where there appeared to be a statue of a crone, “hasn’t been found out about yet. Convieniently, it goes right into Hogsmeade.”

“Wicked.” Zally exclaimed, and Ron looked smug that his expressions were rubbing off on other people. Hermione tutted as she always did when they planned something against the rules, but she smiled nonetheless.

“So when are we leaving?” Zally asked.

“Whenever you’re ready” Hermione replied. Harry swished his wand and, with a cool and determined voice, added, “Mischief Managed.”

The ink vanished from the parchment and soon, it looked as before; a dirty wrinkled piece of writing material.

Zally and Hermione headed upstairs to the girls' dormatries to get dressed. Coming down Hermione had chosen jeans along with a pink shirt and sweater. Zally wore black jeans with a white wife beater covered by a half zipped dark green sweat shirt. Ron smiled and greeted them at the bottom of the stairs. "Hey guys, come on. Harry's waiting for us at the passage."

The trio wandered through quite a few hallways and staircases until they finally came across the one-eyed witch statue. "Harry?" Ron called out. "Harry come on, we're here."

"BOO!" Harry jumped right out of nowhere towards his friends. Ron and Zally, who were on either side of Hermione pushed her in front so that they were behind her.

Realising who it was a burst scoldings came towards Harry.

"Harry Potter!"

"Gosh, Harry that was not funny!"

"How'd you do that?"

"It's my invisibility cloak Zally." Harry explained.

"And it's not the first time you've done that!" Ron exclaimed. "So we should have learned by now!"

"Sorry mate, couldn't resist."

"Okay you guys. Let's go now before someone comes this way." interrupted Hermione.

Once out of the dirty passage all four teens had to cramp under Harry's invisibility cloak to sneak out of Honeyduke's cellar. For a few hours they went to the stores to buy food and little trinkets, Ron still sucking on an acid pop he had purchased earlier. Before leaving back to Hogwarts, the foursome trudged into Madame Rosmerta's. Ron took the opportunity to flirt shamelessly with Rosmerta herself, but the lady, clearly used to men drooling over her for years, didn't buy into any of it. Ron eventually became discouraged, and Harry managed to talk him into buying everyone another round of Butterbeers.

Walking out of the pub, Zally looked up to see the once blue sky now growing grey with clouds. Hermione noticed this and also glanced upwards. "Come on you guys. I think we'd better be going back now."

The journey back to the school was uneventful, unless you count the fact that Ron accidentally tipped over a box of chocolate frogs. The chocolate candies hopped around madly, one of them somehow ending up under the cloak and even becoming stuck in Hermione's curly hair. Harry brushed it away before realizing that another chocolate morsel was trying to wriggle up his pants leg.

'At least the store owner was distracted enough not to notice the cellar door open and close,' Zally thought. Back in at school Ron was the last one to crawl out of the passage when they heard footsteps. "Harry! Didn't you check the map?" asked Hermione.

"Yeah I did, but there's no use checking it again now!" The boy argued.

Ron was tugging at a thick drape along with Zally. "Come on, you guys! Behind here!"

Hermione and Harry followed suite, just in time as the person turned into the corridor. Luckily whoever it was did not stop in front of the curtains, or else they would have noticed a slight bulge in the already wide fabric. Just as the footseps vanished the students ran for the other hallway. Zally sighed, "That was close. What's a bloody drape doing in the middle of a hallway anyways?"

"Trust me, we've had closer." Hermione assured her, going back to the time the trio had barely slipped past Fluffy to find the Sorceror's Stone.

They were halfway back to the common room when they turned the next corner. "Ow! Watch where you're going! Oh, why if it isn't the mudblood and her gang of merry men."

Malfoy walked up to Zally and stared her down. "I see you've brought the newbie. Oh, Winnie. I never thought you'd go around with these gits. You shouldv'e been sorted to Slytherin. You're even wearing my colors! I'm proud of you, it shows you don't really belong with these people. But then again, Slytherin's for purebloods."

Zally had mumbled something which sounded like a strange breathy hissing noise, and her eyes flashed green briefly before she calmed herself slightly.

"I think you forget Malfoy, Voldemort was not a pureblood himself." Now Harry's wand was pointed straight towards Malfoy. "What's this? You're cringing?"

Hermione snickered. "Twitchy little ferret aren't you?" At this, Ron and Harry laughed.

Winnie stared up at Malfoy. "You guys put your wands down." she turned back to her friends.

"I'd listen to Winnie, if I were you Weasel. She's got more brains than you've got money, although that's not that much of a compliment."

Ron's nose wrinkled in anger and he made to go for Malfoy, yet Hermione gripped his forearm.

"Now if you'd let us pass." she gritted.

Malfoy smirked. "What's the magic word?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Please."

"No I don't want to hear it from you, Granger. I want to hear it from Winnie."

"Please." Zally was getting really tired of this game. Not knowing it, her eyes again had changed from their usual brown color to an emerald green.

"Please what? And do call me Draco."

"Draco...that's an unusual name. Means 'Dragon', doesn't it? Oh, and it's in the school motto! Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus; Never Tickle a Sleeping Dragon. Are you ticklish, Draco? Then we won't need wands to win this 'fight'. We'll just need a large owl feather".

Draco raised an approving eyebrow at Zally's retort, but he had still received a small blow to his ego. "You still didn't say it!"

Whipping out her wand, Zally pointed it right between Malfoy's wide eyes. "Please move Draco. Or I'll hex you. And believe me, Elven magic can be much more... effective."

"Fine." A smirk again formed on his smug face. He leaned in just close enough for only her to hear. "This is why you should be in Slytherin, the stand-offishness, the refusal to back down. Very sexy. I like your green eyes, by the way."

Zally gasped and her eyes flickered back to brown. Wearing a smug smile, Malfoy cut passed Ron and Harry and pranced down the corridor, his robes swishing behind him.

Lone: Whew! What a chapter! Heehee

Stranger: I don't know... There was a little too much Malfoy in it.

Lone: What, you'd prefer Harry? Or Luuuuupin?

Stranger: ...Maybe...-whistle-

Lone: Well I happen to like Malfoy!

Stranger: He's a bad guy, Lone.

Lone: No he's not! just misunderstood.

Stranger: Okay...whatever...

Lone: Okay fine, whatever. Review people! Please!