Chapter 1- Everyone
"Neville let's go!"
Neville jolted awake. Luna was nudging him as the Hogwarts Express came to a halt.
"We can't miss our last first day." Luna smiled at him.
Neville slowly straightened up and rubbed his eyes, "Last year was supposed to be my last first day."
Luna pulled him to his feet, "But now we have our last first day together!" She smiled and pulled him out of the compartment.
"Luna slow down!" Neville complained as they ran to the carriages together.
"But I can't wait!" Luna exclaimed as she stopped to pet the thestrals, "Hi Terrance, Rosalie, Jacob. It's lovely to see you all again. I hope your summer holidays were nice. Thank you for taking us all back to school."
Neville smiled at his friend and climbed into the carriage first. Luna joined him. Neville looked around at his fellow students climbing into their respective carriages. He couldn't help but notice all of them pointing at the thestrals.
He overheard a few of them.
"I thought these were pulled by magic."
"Have they always been here?"
"Why can we just now see them?"
Neville put his head down and tried not to listen. After the battle, most everyone at Hogwarts could see the thestrals now.
Luna, as if reading his mind, put her hand on his, "It is sad. I think the thestrals know too."
They sat in silence. Ginny and Hermione walked through the carriages looking for an empty one. Luna jumped in her seat and waved them over.
"Long time no see," Ginny said as she helped Hermione in first.
"I would say it's been a few hours since we've seen you two," Hermione smiled at them.
"2 hours and 17 minutes actually," Luna piped as she hugged them both.
"Where's Ron and Harry?" Neville asked as the thestrals took off.
"Not sure," Hermione grabbed the side of the carriage for balance, "We didn't see them on the train."
Ginny rolled her eyes, "I swear, if my brother and ex decide to make a grand entrance and shake things up I'll-"
"What?" Hermione playfully snapped, "What in Godrick's Hallow would you do?"
Ginny lightly shoved her, "I don't know! I just want a normal year though!"
"That'll be the day," Neville snorted.
Luna laughed, a bit too hard, and added, "I bet Ron and Harry want a normal year too."
"I told you this wassss a bettttter idea," Dean Thomas slurred as he slammed his bottle on The Three Broomsticks table.
"Why would we take the train when we can apparate now? Very better idea!" Seamus agreed.
Harry nodded as he finished the last of his butterbeer, "Let's be honest, sitting on that train for hours or the pub for hours?"
"The Pub!" All three exclaimed.
"But it's getting close to the feast, we should head over." Harry stood up and crashed into Ron who was walking back to the table.
"Blimey!" Ron exclaimed as he steadied himself with a tray of shots, "Firewhiskey anyone?"
The boys cheered.
Dean spelled the drinks safely to the table as Ron and Harry sat back down, "Glad we learned apparation before the Carrows were here. Those 17 year-old seventh years don't know what is missing! They're…what is they're missing…what they…Oh fuck it!" They all laughed as Dean shouted "Expelliarmous!" at Seamus resulting in his empty beer bottle flying out of his hand.
"Didn't know that worked for anything other than a wand," Ron looked confused.
"You dated the smartest witch ever! How could you not know?" Dean asked.
"It was only a summer thing!" Ron drunkenly snapped back.
Harry hiccupped, "But you were friends with her for seven years, mate! Even I knew that!" They all laughed.
"Alright lads, listen up," Seamus grabbed his shot and held it in the air, "this is the year!"
"1985?" Harry asked.
"That's not even this year," Ron shook his head.
"What?" Harry looked down extremely confused.
"This is the year we get laid!" Dean patted Seamus on the back and grabbed his shot.
Ron and Harry looked at each other.
"But we've already been laid," Ron shrugged.
"Well we've never been laid!" Seamus said, a little too loudly.
"And you can always get laid again," Dean added.
Ron and Harry shrugged and picked up their shots.
"To getting laid!" They cheers-ed.
Neville, Ginny, and Hermione took a seat at the back of the Gryffindor table.
"I don't see them anywhere," Neville searched down the table and around the hall.
"Are they even attending this year?" Ginny asked.
"Of course," Hermione answered looking around as well, "There's no way they would-" She stopped short and stared at the professors at the front of the hall. A tall, bearded man with a curved nose sat at the end of the table. Hermione squinted, "Is that…"
Luna plopped down in Hermione's sight, "I think Professor Sprout is about to bring in the first-years!"
Hermione, completely forgetting what she thought she saw, hastily said, "Luna, this is the Gryffindor table! You aren't allowed to sit here."
Luna grinned, "I was held captive by Death Eaters and fought in the war last year. I think I should be allowed to sit wherever I want."
"That happened to a lot of us," Ginny said.
"Then you should all sit wherever you want," Luna added.
The doors to the Great Hall slowly opened and Professor Sprout lead the first years down the hall to the Sorting Hat.
"Hufflepuff!" The Sorting Hat shouted as Zachary Zickert smiled and ran to the Hufflepuff table.
Professor Sprout giggled gleefully and grabbed the hat, only to drop it out of fright. A loud noise came from the Great Hall door. Everyone turned to it.
BANG!
BANG!
Voices were heard from the other side.
"How do we get this bloody door open?"
"Alohamora that bastard!"
"It's not locked!"
The doors burst open and four boys stumbled in.
Ron squinted down the hall to see no first-years, "We missed the bloody song?"
"FUCK!" They all exhaled.
Dean pleaded down the hall, "Do it again!"
"Please!" Harry sank to his knees, "I've missed too many of them!"
Seamus bolted to the front of the hall reaching for the hat, he tripped and fell, "Come on, Professor Hat. Sing it again!"
"Mr. Finnigan!" Professor McGonagall said from her headmistress chair, "Get off the floor!"
Seamus stood up and stared in fright. He slowly bowed at his headmistress and backed up towards his friends.
Professor Sprout quickly took the hat and stool away. No one spoke. McGonagall stared down at the four boys clinging on to one another. "Sit," she demanded.
As quickly as they could they all ran to the table and sat down in silence.
McGonagall cleared her throat, "Anyway," she stood up to address he entire school, "Welcome first-years to Hogwarts. And welcome back all returning students. As you may as well notice, we have quite a large class of seventh years. After the tragedy of last year's term, we have opened up Hogwarts to last year's seventh years to return and finish their education. Everyone else will be expected to finish in seven years and not have to repeat any. If you need extra help in any of your studies please inform your professors, we aim to get everyone back on track. This year we have a few new professors. Defense Against the Dark Arts will be taught by Professor Vicktor Krum, Transfiguration will be taught by Professor Cho Chang, and Care of Magical Creatures will be taught by Professor Charlie Weasley."
Hermione and Harry both hid their faces, "Oh no!"
Ron stared up thinking hard, "Oh yeah, I think he mentioned all that."
The Slytherin common room was colder than usual. Draco walked to the armchair in front of the fire and slumped down.
"Draco, dear," Pansy startled him while sipping her tea on the couch, "Why are you down here and not at the feast?"
"Why are you even at Hogwarts? You're not attending this year. Shouldn't you be at Gringotts now or whatever?" Draco snapped back.
"I'm here because I was worried about you," Pansy crossed her legs and sank into the chair, "You should be celebrating the beginning of a new year with the rest of the school."
Draco crossed his arms and looked away from Pansy, "What if they don't want me there?"
Pansy rolled her eyes, "Oh stop this. I'm not going to listen to the 'Poor Draco Monologues' again. We've all moved on. Potter and the rest of the wizarding world has forgiven us. We even had tea with the Weasleys last month. Granger defended us in our hearing."
Draco looked back at her, "But what if-"
Pansy cut him off, "Draco. Listen to me. I say this from the bottom of my heart and with all the love I have for you: no one cares. You aren't as big a deal as you think you are. We all just want to move on."
"But what if we can't?"
"Sounds like you can't," Pansy said, "Draco I'm off to Egypt tomorrow. I won't be around. Please make some new friends. I will worry about you."
"Did you come all this way just to say that? I already have a mother."
Pansy pulled out a bottle of Dragon Barrel Brandy and smiled, "It's not always about you. I wanted to celebrate my going away with my best friend."
"I thought you wanted me to celebrate with the rest of the school," Draco smiled back.
"What can I say, I'm still a little selfish." She opened the bottle and took a swig, "I suggest we finish this elsewhere. I'm not interested in sharing with any third years."
Draco stood up and grabbed her hand, "Hogsmead it is!"
Professor McGonagall popped the fifth champagne bottle and the teacher's lounge erupted with cheer.
"To our new professors!" She yelled while filling up everyone's glasses.
"We've done us for the last two," Cho laughed.
"No matter," McGonagall continued pouring, "We can always celebrate educators, we don't get enough credit."
"Especially in this school!" Madam Pomfrey laughed, "I've seen my fair share of werewolves, petrification, dog bites, curses, internal to external bleeding and that's all before the war!"
Slughorn patted her on the back, "My dear, Poppy. This school wouldn't exist to this day without you."
Madam Pomfrey blushed, "Oh please, Pomona is the true hero. She works so hard and we use everything she grows from your potions to my healing."
Professor Sprout gave a small hiccup of appreciation from the corner.
Professor McGonagall held up her glass, "To all current professors and staff members and those who have passed before us. Let this be the year Hogwarts focuses on its student's education and that only. There is no elixir of life hidden in the castle nor a giant snake. No one has escaped from Azkaban and it is not the Triwizard year."
"But it will be next year!" Madam Hooch called out from the corner, sipping on her whiskey with Professor Flitwick.
McGonagall continued, "This is the year Godric, Rowina, Helga and even Salazar wanted." She tapped her wand in the air and began to sing "Hogwarts Hogwarts Hoggy Warty Hogwarts…"
"Teach us something please!" The rest of the faculty joined in.
They sang, drank, and rang in the new term as they've always wanted to.