Harry Potter and the Plot of Pure Evil

“So you’re all sure you have everything,” Mrs. Weasley questioned worriedly.

“Molly, they’ll be fine, this is their sixth time doing it, remember?” Mr. Weasley chuckled.

“I know, I know, but I still worry. You have all the things I bought for you in Diagon Alley Harry?”

“Yes, Mrs. Weasley,” Harry responded patiently. “We should really be going now; we are going to miss the train.”

“Yes, yes, of course. Hurry up now.”

Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione lugged their trunks and various assortments up into the train and waved from a window as the train pulled away from the station, smoke billowing gaily.

“C’mon,” Ron said. “We should really find some seats.”

They walked down the hall to the end of the train.

There were no empty compartments.

“Damn,” Ginny swore. “Such disrespect…didn’t ma homegirls keep a place for me?”

“Guess not,” Harry replied grimly.

“Look,” said Hermione bracingly. “There are only three girls in that one, over there. Let’s go.”

And so they went. They placed their trunks, broomsticks and owls on the sides and turned to face the compartment’s occupants.

Harry gasped and Ron choked. Hermione stopped twirling her hair for a moment and Ginny stopped swearing under her breath about her homegirls.

The three girls were the most beautiful human beings they had ever seen. Each one was breathtakingly gorgeous in her way.

One girl had thick golden hair that cascaded past her shoulders. Her eyes were a clear aquamarine, the exact colour of lapis lazuli. Her lips were perfectly bow-shaped and glistened, as two rubies. Her skin was rather bronzed and complimented her hair marvellously. She was relatively tall, taller than Hermione and Ginny, but a little shorter than Ron and Harry. She moved with a polished air and refined gestures. The girl smiled at them, a radiant and pearly smile, and Harry thought his heart would explode.

The second girl’s hair streamed over her shoulders and onto her back like an ocean of fire. It was very curly and seemed to have a personality as lively as its owner. Her eyes were the colour of the wind: ever-changing. Right now, they were a leafy green and were sparkling with mirth. From what they could see, her body was toned and very muscular. Her smile was constant and she put on no airs, giving off a very down to earth feeling. She moved fluidly though, in the style of the playful waves. She winked at Ron and he blushed, causing her to laugh out loud, a sound as bright as a thousand songbirds. The first girl laughed as well, a sound so musical that instruments cannot imitate it and words cannot describe it.

The third girl however, wasn’t laughing. She was staring at Harry, her face solemn and serious. It did not deter her looks though. No, rather, it added a touch of the exquisite to the already wonderful. Her hair was as black as the blackest night and fell to her waist. She had flawless snowy skin and long elegant neck. She had a very slender frame. Her most striking feature though, was her eyes. They were a mixture of eternal violet spring and endless black winter, and when you looked into them, you would swear that you could see the past, present and future, the planets in their courses and the desires and secrets of the universe and beyond.

Harry tore his eyes off hers and swallowed hard. Someone was saying something somewhere. “Harry…Harry…” it was Hermione.

“Well, Harry,” she was saying, chuckling a little at Harry’s obvious discomfort, “Aren’t you going to say anything to our compartment mates? Like hello, or how are you, or ANYTHING?”

Harry nodded and opened his mouth to say hi but what came out instead was “Ssabmudeguhamai.”

The girls laughed. “What was that?” the redhead said teasingly. “I didn’t quite catch it the first time.”

“Oh,” said Ron heartily, evidently relieved to have regained his ability to speak, “You must forgive my friend Harry. He seems to have lost his tongue. It must have been stolen. Who stole it?”

The three girls giggled.

“Oh, I have a thought”, Ron said, unaware that he was rambling. “Maybe it was your fathers. Or one of them. Or all of them. Or just two.”

Hermione and Ginny looked at each other and the other three looked at Ron strangely. “What do you mean?”

“What I mean to say is,” Ron said, relieved that he had figured out what the hell he had been saying. “Your fathers must have been thieves. They stole Harry’s tongue, and they must have stolen the stars from the sky, and put them in your eyes.”

Finally comprehending, the girls cooed. “That’s so romantic,” the blonde girl sighed.

“You’re just so clever,” agreed the redhead.

“I never even saw it coming!” added the black-haired girl.

Ron exhaled, glad that it had all worked out in the end.

“Oh, we are so rude!” said Hermione, palming her head. “We haven’t even introduced ourselves. I’m Hermione Granger, but you can call me ‘Mione, and this is Ginny-”

“I prefer Ginevra.” Ginny broke in rudely. “Much more mature. The clever and romantic dude is my brother Ron Weasley,” she pointed. “And the gaping fish over there is Superman himself, Harry Potter.”

“Don’t be silly Ginny,” Hermione giggled. “Harry’s not Superman. Superman can fly and Harry can't. Oh wait! Harry can fly! But still...”

Ginny rolled her eyes. “A: It’s Ginevra. B: Whatever, biatch. C: Shut up and get a life.”

Hermione stopped talking but continued to titter.

“Harry Potter!” exclaimed the dark-haired girl excitedly. “You don’t mean, THE Harry Potter. Oh my GOD!”

Harry nodded and said his first word in almost an hour. “Yeah.”

“Amazing…” the redheaded girl trailed off then, staring at his scar. “I’ve dreamed of meeting you, I mean…oh…you don’t understand.”

She was right, Harry didn’t understand anything EVER, but he patted her shoulder and remarked bravely, “Oh yeah. I understand.”

She looked at him through her lashes, and he could see that her eyes were now as blue as the heavens. “You do?”

“Uhuh.”

She smiled then and her eyes returned to an alluring green. The blonde girl jumped suddenly and shook her hair wildly. “Oh my god, I forgot to introduce us. How rude. Let me see… my name is Jessica Serenity Crystal Maligna. But please call me Callista. Everyone does.”

“Why?” asked Hermione, curious.

“Why? Just…because. It’s been my nickname ever since I was wee.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“And my name,” announced the redhead, pushing a non-existent strand of hair off her face, “is Serena Raine Pot-”, here she broke off and looked enquiringly at her friends. They smiled at her in a reassuring way. “Pottingpoo” she finished. “Serena Pottingpoo. But call me Willow.”

“Willow,” Ron whispered.

“And you?” Ginny asked, jabbing her thumb in the dark haired girl’s direction.

“Oh!” she said, a little surprised. “My name is Artemisia Delia Riddle. But I go by Selena.”

Ron sighed. “Callista, Willow and Selena. It’s wonderful to meet you.”

“Riddle, did you say?” Hermione asked sharply. “Riddle as in, Tom Marvolo Riddle, as in LORD VOLDEMORT?”

Ron squeaked and dived under the seats, Ginny gasped loudly and the three girls looked at each other fearfully. “N-no,” Selena finally squeaked out. “N-not at all.”

“Oh, ok then” Hermione smiled happily. “I believe you.”

The tension in the air broke and they began to chat animatedly again. “Are you first years then?” Harry ventured.

Callista laughed and Harry drew in his breath at the sound. “No, no of course not. We’re going into sixth year. We’re exchange students. From an exchange program. Our school is called Magical Masters: A School for the Gifted and Intelligent. It’s in America.”

Ginny whistled and Ron’s mouth dropped open.

Hermione looked as if she’d died and gone to heaven. “Oh, in that case, you’ll know everything about everything, I mean the US is like, the coolest country, you’ll have the coolest clothes, because of course, the coolest stores are in the States and ya that’s so coo-”

“Really amazing,” Harry cut in and Hermione stopped speaking and giggling, long enough to nod sagely.

“Yes, we’re a little advanced I know and probably ahead of everyone, but we’re looking at this as a cultural experience,” Selena quipped.

“And of course,” Willow added, eyes sparkling, “We also wanted to educate all you British. Train you to speak, dress, walk, talk, smile, poop, etc in the American i.e. cool way.”

“Plus,” Callista put in. “We came to look at British boys. Their accents are just so adorable.” She cast a flirtatious glance at Ron who fainted.

“Hmmm” Hermione wondered. “You’re exchange students right? So then, which 6th years did we exchange for you?”

Ginny shrugged and Ron who had woken up from his faint, shook his head, puzzled. Harry brushed the question aside with a flick of his hand. “Who cares? They’re not important to us.”

By the time the train had pulled into Hogwarts, the seven knew every last detail about each other. Hermione could have penned a book on Callista’s fashion tips and Ron could have written a biography on Willow. Selena and Ginny were comparing nails. Harry was simply staring at Callista.

They jumped off the train and into the pouring rain. They ploughed their way through the endless mass of students and managed to grab a large carriage. Every one of them was soaking wet, but Ron and Harry weren’t complaining. Now they could see through the girls’ shirts.

The Great Hall was packed to full capacity and the seven grabbed the last seats at the Gryffindor table. Whispers were already surging through the hall as everyone pointed them. They were all easily the best looking people there, the three girls especially.

Dumbledore stood up to make his customary greeting speech. “Welcome, welcome all of you. I am sure you all have questions about Voldemort and his return to power and how this will affect the school, but I have MUCH more important news. We have started an exchange program!”

Murmurs and mutters could be heard in every corner and all eyes flickered to the Gryffindor table.

“Currently,” Dumbledore continued. “Three of our sixth year students are in America. They will be there for an entire year, and probably longer, if we like the new students better and choose to make the swap permanent.”

Not a single person doubted that they would like the new students better.

“And now,” Dumbledore went on. “I would like to call up our three exchange students and request that they go stand with Professor McGonagall.”

Callista, Selena and Willow stood gracefully and made their way to go stand next to McGonagall. The whisperers and pointers had completely given up on subtlety and were openly drooling over the girls, mouths hung open and eyes wide. A few people fainted.

McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on the stool and it opened its brim and began to sing:

Hoggy Warty Hogwarts, the most perfect of schools
We teach everything under the sun, with magic and magical tools.
Of students, well, what do you want me to say? We choose the best; dropkick the rest,
They’re sorted into houses; they have to pass my test.

Of all the houses, Gryffindor simply is the best
It’s just so much, much better than all the rest.
They’re brave, they’re noble, and they’re noble and brave and true
So what if they break rules? They only do it when they need too.

Of Ravenclaw, the brainy bunch goes in
Of Hufflepuff, it’s the duffer’s bin.
The houses now, in order from the top have been named
The bottom, the pit of voles, is now to be framed.

Slytherin, everyone knows, is for the baddies
The evil, the foul, the mean sugar daddies.
But someday into Slytherin, a good girl will come,
She’ll melt cold hearts and unleash the sun.

These then, are the houses. Take your pick! Do come!
In every single one (except the last three), you’ll have your fun.
I’m a hat! I’m unbiased! Neutral and fair and square, ok?
Just hurry it up though, I haven’t got all day.

When the hat finished its song, the hall burst into rapturous applause. McGonagall then addressed the new students. “I shall call the exchange students first and then the first years in alphabetical order. “Maligna, Jessica. Oh, wait,” McGonagall frowned at the list. “Maligna, Callista.”

Callista walked toward stool, sat down and put the hat on her head. “Hmmm, very interesting. You’re very beautiful and kind, but also brave and strong. Secrets…so many secrets…so many talents too. Hmm…special. Very special. Well, the only place for special people is GRYFFINDOR!”
Every single Gryffindor jumped to their feet and began to cheer and hoot wildly. Many reached out to hug/ grope Callista as she walked back to her seat next to Hermione and Harry.

“Our next exchange student,” McGonagall said. “Is Pot-”, she broke off and looked enquiringly at Willow who mouthed something to her. Briskly she started over, “Is Pottingpoo, Serena. I mean, Willow. Pottingpoo, Willow.”

Willow ran lightly to the stool, sat down and placed the hat on her head in one fluid movement. “Another one?” enquired the hat sounding surprised. “Lucky Hogwarts. Well, my dear, you have beauty in your soul and laughter in your spirit. As for brains in your head, you could do no better, I suppose. A dark secret though…oh! Many dark secrets…hmm. Well then, how about GRYFFINDOR!

To the chagrin of the other houses, Gryffindor had struck gold yet again. They cheered and whooped and flung their hats in the air as Willow smiled lightly and darted back to her seat next to Ginny.

“And our last new student,” said McGonagall, sounding aggrieved. “Is Riddle, Artemisia. I mean,” she corrected herself, sounding dangerously annoyed. “Riddle, Selena.”

Selena moved as if in a dream up to the stool and placed the hat upon her head. “Ahhh…another one? Three in one day? The prophecies shall unfold then and the magic shall course throughout the world, uniting and conquering and –”

“Umm, sorry?” Selena whispered, stopping the hat’s little speech. “But what about my house?”

“Oh, yes, right, sorry. About that…umm you can go into…SLYTHERIN!”

Everyone gasped. The Hufflepuffs, the Ravenclaws, but especially the Gryffindors and Slytherins, from shock, awe and in the case of the Slytherins, pure joy. Selena stood up uneasily and walked toward the Slytherin table. The silence was deafening.

Until suddenly, the Slytherin table began shouting and waving their hands madly, rejoicing at their good fortune. Many dropped to all fours and panted like pups as Selena walked by. Searching for a seat, she was beckoned over by a handsome blonde boy, who had a goofy smile on his face.

Harry, Hermione, Ginny and Ron were in shock but Callista and Willow only looked grave. They were silent for the rest of the sorting and only when food arrived did they begin to chatter, sneaking random looks at the Slytherin table where many boys were too busy staring at Selena to eat.

When night fell, most of the students, new and old, went to their dormitories, found their beds and fell asleep in minutes. It had been a long day.

But three girls, two in a tower and one in a dungeon, lay awake in the darkness as they reflected on how much life at Hogwarts was about to change.