Return To Hogwarts

It was the start of a new term, their last and final year; the regular and only train to Hogwarts was filled with energetic students, laughing and running from carriage to carriage to greet their fellow classmates they'd missed over the summer, and
the atmosphere with thick with warmth and happy voices talking anxiously about returning to their school.

In one of the carriages a girl sat her raven waves framing her pale and solemn face as she sat looking out at the countryside flying past her, she had not even noticed when a bunch of loud students started filing in and falling heavily into their
seats with the exhaustion from carrying their trunks.

A bespectacled boy named James and a girl with flame red hair, Lily, were deep in conversation and took their places in the corner grinning and laughing quietly; Remus a thin boy with a scar diagonally cut across his left eye was eating some every
flavour beans when he gagged in disgust and ran over to the window to spit out a suspiciously orange looking one. Sirius entered last, a handsome boy and one of the most popular in school, he was tall and slim with fashionably messy chin length
hair and a cheeky grin. As the others made their hellos to the girl by the window and talked amongst themself, Sirius was the only one who had made any attempt to break her gaze away from the rushing countryside outside.

"Hey, looking forward to going back Amalthea?" he asked touching her on the shoulder gently. The girl jumped with a start and stood up pulling her wand out and pointing it directly between Sirius' eyes.

"Sirius." She said with relief, "I didn't know it was you! Don't do that to me I could have hexed you!" she said calming down once she'd realised who it was.

"No need to get so touchy!" Sirius said with a wide grin on his face he sat down and leaned back against Remus, who gave him a disgusted look.

"Get off me!" Remus said pushing Sirius away. "What are you like? I don't know who's worse, you or him." He continued looking over at James.

"What?" James said trying to sound innocent.

"What indeed." Remus said quietly and with that resumed inspecting his sweets for something safe.

Lily turned to Amalthea whilst the boys started fighting playfully. "Are you ok...Manage to get things sorted over the summer? Wish I could have come over to help you, but mum and dad had the trip already planned to see my grandparents, it was really
boring actually..." She trailed off with a guilty look.

"It's alright, I did, I was really busy actually...but at least we're going back now." Amalthea said trying to conceal her feelings as much as possible, she had had an awful summer but wasn't going to share her bad mood with the others.

Lily and Amalthea had been friends since the start of Hogwarts when they met on the train and even though they were in different houses it had never been an issue. Over the past year though Amalthea had kept her distance from Lily and all her friends
preferring quiet solitude, her father had been killed the previous year in suspicious circumstances and she was still deep in thought about the whole thing trying to hide all emotion from them.

James rubbed his hands together. "Yeah, back to Hogwarts. You know what this means don't you Padfoot." He laughed.

"Mischief managed." Sirius said patting his trunk.

"You better watch yourselves this year." Lily said looking at James and Sirius in turn, who had both turned to her knowing exactly what she was talking about. "It's our final year, we've got the prefects watching us, and I don't want any trouble
from Slytherin trying to expel us at the last minute."

Amalthea continued to gaze through the window but listened more closely in interest, but also trying to make sure that no one could see her. She had received a letter back in the fourth year and had opened it to find a blue and silver prefects badge.
She had not felt surprised for some strange reason; she had had a feeling that she would have been picked, she'd kept herself out of trouble as much as was possible around the Marauders.

"Bloody Slytherins. Bloody Lucius controlling them." James huffed, a look of gloom spreading over his darkened face. "I don't think I can face that smarmy look on his face this year without punching him." James crossed his arms and thrust his head
against the cushion of his seat.

"No James, I don't think you will have to worry about Lucius, he caused too much trouble last term, like you and Sirius, you all need to be careful." Lily sighed, but Sirius and James just looked at each other and shrugged. "Well, I'm warning you
anyway."

"Yes there's only one Slytherin we need to worry about." Remus said with a small sigh and Lily nodded in agreement. "Just think who gets all the outstandings in their work? Its not hard to imagine a certain someone landing us in it for revenge, hmm?"
A huge groan suddenly rose in the cabin, loud enough to pass down the entire carriage and attract some interested and nosy students who were passing by.

"Snivellus. I hope you're wrong, Moony." James said giving him a stern look.

"Don't call him that." Lily muttered under her breath and James sighed giving her a weak smile.

Remus shrugged his shoulders, "It was just a thought. Well we'll find out when we get back won't we." Remus looked over and caught Amalthea looking down at something she had pulled out of her pocket gleaming in the remaining sunlight.

"They made a good choice in Ravenclaw at least." Remus said smiling. "Lease we've got allies looking out for us, eh? Amalthea?"

"Yeah, you too." She smiled.

"My beautiful girl is a perfect prefect!" Sirius said in baby patronising voice leaning over to look at her badge and lean on her shoulder. "So that's two people who aren't going to land us in trouble we don't have to worry about!"

"Get off." Amalthea grinned pushing him away by the face.

"I wouldn't count on that just yet." Remus said coolly.

"Don't forget about me and James." Lily said placing her hand upon James' their fingers entwining, head boy and head girl, together. "We'll be watching too."

A short boy with blonde hair poked his head around the corner and smiled. "Didn't know where you were, so I met Arthur and sat with him next door." The boy said excitedly, sliding into the seat next to Remus, who offered him a sweet.

"No thanks." The boy said, "I had a bad experience with a brown one I thought was chocolate!" and he looked a little ill.

"Had a nice summer Peter?" Lily asked.

"Not too bad." He said.

They all continued to talk and tell stories of the interesting things they had done over the summer but Amalthea had begun staring out of the window again and she looked a little distant. She'd been terribly lonely all summer; she had spent most of
it sorting out some of her fathers remaining affairs, seeing to things she had no understanding of and signing forms all day, she had not been in the mood to do much else but when she had some spare time she had sat out in the garden thinking
and wishing her father back into existence. Amalthea thought coming back to Hogwarts she wouldn't be as lonely but she felt as isolated as ever.

"You ok." Sirius said leaning his head on her shoulder.

"It was very long summer, I'm exhausted from it all." She sighed turning to face him.

"Well, you would have been welcome to come and visit us over at James' house. Remus came, we played quidditch most of the time. Mum even asked about you the last time I saw her..." Amalthea looked even more miserable now and leaned her head against
the window.

Sirius was always putting his foot in things, sometimes she wished he would just be quiet or a normal good student who didn't get into trouble, but then he wouldn't have been Sirius, and he wouldn't have been one of her closest, if not best friend.
The Black and Erised families had been close for many years, Amalthea still remembered the day she first met Sirius, a scruffy five year old clad in dark attire next to her, a five year old Amalthea bright and full of hope for the future, how
their lives had changed.

"But we thought you might need time alone after what happened. Was that right? Are you alright?" Sirius whispered, he put his arm round her and she sighed.

"Yeah." She said sadly and then smiled faintly up at him. "I will be."

Sirius wiped a small tear from the corner of her eye and then she continued to look out the window until she drifted asleep against him.

"Hey, hey, come on, we're here." Someone said nudging Amalthea a few hours later. She opened her eyes and saw Remus leaning over her. "You two slept through the whole journey! We're here now, come on, get your stuff." He said then left the compartment
to find his own things. Amalthea and Sirius sat up wearily and then left for the platform, which was bustling with excitement.

All the students were hauling their luggage off the trains and then lining up with their fellow classmates and awaiting orders. Amalthea put her stuff alongside all the others and ran over to Lily who was gesturing her over.

"Carriages again, better find one quick before we have to jump in with Slytherins. At least it's a fine evening for the first years." Lily said and they both looked over at the small first years, all who looked like they were trembling with fear,
their wide eyes looking around them nervously. "Do you remember the rain when we went in the boats that first year?"

"I know. It doesn't seem that long ago we were standing there. "Amalthea remarked. "Now we're the oldest in the school. Have you been studying this summer for your NEWT's?"

Lily looked a little embarrassed and wrinkled her nose. "Well, erm, I should have been but I was extremely busy... er... not really, maybe a bit, come on!" she said quickly and began to walk ahead as the crowd started moving.

Sirius and James were having fun taking it in turns prodding Remus in the back with their wands and frustrated as he was becoming he tried to ignore them but to no avail, instead he produced his own wand and began returning fire.

Amalthea and Lily looked at each other, shook their heads but then looked at each other slyly and produced their own wands creeping quietly up behind Sirius and James then thrust their wands into their side. The two leapt with a yelp and as they returned
to the ground rubbed their sides and shot the giggling girls a disdainful look.

"What did you have to do that for?" Sirius whinged.

"Oh come on, leave Remus alone will you, he always gets on the receiving end of your pranks." Lily said running up to Remus who was looking slightly pleased with himself when Lily stated to mother him.

"Poor Moony." James said retching but trying to conceal his jealousy.

Amalthea was now looking around the crowd for the people from her own house Ravenclaw, she didn't share Gryffindor like Sirius, Remus, James, Lily and Peter. Amalthea was more of a loner, she didn't really care for hanging around with her own housemates
as they were all a little strange and most of them snobbish because they were all from very clever and very well thought of wizarding families.

Amalthea had no one in her family now, she and her father had been the last, and they'd had to keep themselves hidden in the Muggle world lest they end up the same as their siblings. Amalthea's family were the Erised's, a long line of seers who had
been killed off rather than died. Thirst for knowledge and power was a common thing in both the past and these dark days now and so was the ability to stop at nothing to get it. It had recently claimed her father Astralabe and she had sworn she
would not let it claim her.

Pausing in her tracks for a moment she thought she saw someone looking her way through the crowd then Lily pulled her onwards to meet up with the others but Amalthea continued to look back trying to search for a pair of familiar eyes that had been
staring at her. Lily came to a halt and Amalthea bumped into her, so she apologised and then gave up looking.

"Come on; get in before some other lucky girls do." Sirius smiled leaning out of a carriage and Remus and James began clambering in.

"Quick, we wouldn't want to miss this one." Amalthea said sarcastically.

"Hey!" Remus and James shouted in unison as they both fell onto the ground awkwardly. Sirius followed them with a loud thud and hysterical laughter preceded the menacing stature of Lucius Malfoy.

"Enjoy your trip." He smirked.

"That's our's Malfoy!" James shouted getting to his feet and brushing himself down.

"I don't see your name on it Potter." He sneered. Through the crowd the other Slytherins came through pushing students aside as they neared the carriage. Narcissa entered the carriage first, her long blonde hair flowing behind her as she held her
nose in the air; then Crabbe and Goyle followed leering at students who were reluctant to move; then Snape, taller than all of the students around him, his overly large and layered robes billowing out across the ground so that it did not look
as if he were walking at all.

Snape glared at Sirius and James as he passed and jumped into the carriage leaning out of the window. He looked across his 'enemies' as though they were lesser than him and then turned to watch Lucius as he started to taunt them.

Lucius stared at them with his piercing blue eyes. "You better watch your backs. I've got people watching you lot, don't want to get expelled before graduation do we..." His eyes then turned to Remus. "Count yourself lucky you're a prefect Lupin,"
he said coldly staring at Remus' golden badge, "but if I see you deducting points or giving detention to any of my housemates then I'll find a way to have each and everyone one of you expelled including you; and believe me, I have ways." He slammed
the door and the carriage pulled away.

"One of these days I'll... I'll!" Sirius growled.

"He's not worth it!" Amalthea said pulling Sirius towards another carriage.

"How has he got the cheek to tell me what to do?" Remus said. "I'll get them when they're not expecting it. I'm sick of people thinking I'm a pushover, and I might just use my authority one day..."

"Don't let if get to you. I hate him. He's a disgrace to this school. Well if that's what a long line of pure blood looks like then I feel ashamed to not be a mudblood." Lily scowled, she looked over at Amalthea suddenly realised. "Oh... sorry...
well you and your family are decent pure-blood's."

"What's left." She huffed. Her gaze strayed back to the Slytherin carriage and she caught a glimpse of Snape looking back at what seemed to be her, but she could have been mistaken, or not, Amalthea hadn't been particularly nice to him in the past
either . Snape and Amalthea had not had a run in with each other for many years now, because over the years they had both grown up more than the others and they had never given each other reason to argue. He was always quick on the draw to say
something very cold and callous to the others, at times he could be worse than Lucius because his remarks were well thought out first in his calculating mind.

Amalthea wouldn't have liked to be on the receiving end of one of his retorts these days, she wasn't too good at receiving them as she often got very angry and had landed herself in detention in the past but these days she feared she was too weak
and would end up in tears. Most of all she didn't like the way Sirius always went for whoever insulted her.

Sirius had liked Amalthea since their fourth year at Hogwarts, he had never said anything to her but the others had, and by now teasing him about it had got rather old. They had all just accepted that Amalthea and Sirius were too good as friends to
ever make anything happen now. Amalthea didn't like Sirius that way; she had always felt a close bond to him, more of a brother than anything else. He protected her and looked after her even though she told him constantly that she could look after
herself.

The night was completely black when they arrived at the gates of Hogwarts. Keeping close to each other as not to loose their friends, all of the students huddled together wrapping their robes around them to shield themselves from the cold night air.
Inside Hogwarts they all began chatting again as they walked in two's into the great hall for their start of term feast, they were all seated and the regular proceedings went ahead. The first years were sorted into their houses and then seated
themselves at the tables then Dumbledore rose from his seat to give out the beginning of term notices.

"Welcome! Welcome all. It is lovely to see some familiar faces and some new ones." He smiled down at the first years that were still trembling. "Now, this year we have some interesting news, I and my staff have decided that we will make a prestigious
offer to the students studying NEWTs in their final year." The hall fell silent but there were murmurs of excited talking.

Dumbledore began to speak again but louder, "We have something else in mind, something that will test yourselves and your minds in very different aspects." Dumbledore for a moment smiled looking around the hall pausing on different people. Amalthea
was surprised to find that she was one of these people. "For this year, we have added an extra optional challenge for students studying NEWTS to gain a distinction in one of the subjects they are taking. It will be a test of skills." Talking ensued
again, but not for long. When the hall quietened again Dumbledore resumed, clearing his throat.

"This year you will have the option to be paired up into two's and be set the assignment of both studying together, working as a team and completing a project that will be judged by the teachers and myself. These projects will be judged and there
will also be prizes for first, second and third position for the best and most original ideas alongside a special distinction."

"Wow think of that." Sirius said in an awed tone looking over a James. "Us two redeeming our soiled reputations by winning."

"Yeah, then everyone would love us!" James exclaimed. Lily pouted looking disregarding at both of them; she could tell they were both just messing around as usual.

"Well I think this is quite serious. We're certainly going to have a good go at it, aren't we!" she said in contempt and turning to the table behind them where Amalthea sat. "You're going to take up this offer aren't you? We're going to win this aren't
we?" Lily repeated to Amalthea who was somewhere in dreamland as usual.

"What? Oh, yeah." But truthfully Amalthea didn't care; she was still deep in thought and feeling relieved she was back at Hogwarts as lonely as she still felt. Amalthea looked up at Dumbledore and was surprised to see his eyes fixed on her. He and
her father had known each other before she had been born and he had spent days sat drinking tea in her garden discussing matters of the wizarding world that she didn't have a clue about. It had been halfway through her schooling that Dumbledore
had invited Astralabe, her father to come and teach Divination at the school before the previous year of his death.

"Quiet." He said, and the room fell silent. "Before you begin pairing yourselves up and deciding your projects, I have a final word on our competition." Dumbledore straightened up and cleared his throat once more. "You will not be choosing your partners
yourself. To make the task more testing and difficult we have decided to use The Goblet of Fire."

"What?" Sirius exclaimed banging his fist on the table. "Oh come on!"

"Shhh!" said Lily.

"That's a bit of a turn up for the books!" Remus joined in but Lily shot him a disgusted look also and he stuck out his tongue, smiled and turned back to Dumbledore.

"If the people interested would all like to write your names on the parchment before you and place it in the Goblet of Fire after the banquet you may all then go up to your common rooms and rest for the evening. Tomorrow morning the chosen few will
remain behind in here after breakfast and will receive further instructions. In these dark days it is essential that we come together as one and unite in our endeavours to vanquish fear and segregation. I'm sure I will not be disappointed.

Amalthea was not phased by Dumbledores cryptic words, she knew exactly what he meant, the inevitable war.

"Lastly I would like to introduce the prefects to our new first years, they will be looking after you in your coming years. From Hufflepuff we have..." Dumbledore introduced the embarrassed students that stood up from the table to the left
of the Gryffindor one slowly and smiled.

"From Gryffindor, Remus Lupin and James Potter, Lily Evans..." Remus and James stood up highly proud but Lily looking mortified simply turned bright red and remained in her seat until someone nudged her to stand.

"From Ravenclaw, Vance Argall and Amalthea Erised..." Amalthea and the other Ravenclaw prefects a little further down the table did not hesitate but rose slowly and surely. Amalthea did not look dare look round at all the students in the hall and
kept her eyes fixed on the table, she'd always hated being in the limelight.

"And finally, from Slytherin," Dumbledore said loudly over the murmurs, "Narcissa Black, Severus Snape..." Narcissa stood shaking her blonde hair over her shoulder and smiling serenely. Opposite her next to Lucius, Severus stood slowly and too kept
his eyes down at the table as the others jumped to their feet looking smug.

"I hope you will all respect their positions and hope they will not give you too much of a hard time. Again, welcome back and good luck!" and with this Dumbledore wearily sat down and the feast appeared.

The seventh year students were too busy talking and writing their names to even remember anything about the prefects or to notice the glorious food scattered across the table, and continued to talk enthusiastically through mouthfuls. Everyone was
talking about how the Goblet was going to choose partners, some thought it would be random, others said it would choose their best friends; others didn't care and were more interested in the prize.

"I hope I get someone really clever to match me." Lily said scribbling her name.

"I bet I get stuck with someone I've never met." Remus said a little hopefully.

"They'll put me with you." Sirius said swallowing a piece of chicken leg and pointing the bone at James. "That Goblet knows we can't be split up, and anyway I think we might be able to do a little spell to fix us together."

"Who said I wanted to be with you." James said in mock disgust. "I want to be with my best friend Lucius of course." Everyone guffawed. Amalthea was eating her ice cream when her mind began to wonder who the Goblet would put her with. She wasn't really
bothered; she didn't really have any problem with anyone, as long as it wasn't any of the Slytherins because they were generally nasty to everyone. She would have liked to work on her own; she didn't feel like being around anyone, maybe she wouldn't
take part...still, a distinction called to her Ravenclaw roots and she couldn't resist.

Pushing the half eaten ice cream aside she pulled the parchment towards her and fished around in her pocket for a quill. She stared down at it blankly for a moment then neatly wrote her name. Everyone had finished their meals and the seventh years
were hurriedly running to the front desk and placing their names into the goblet then finding their friends and hurrying off, most likely up to their common rooms to discuss ideas.

Amalthea rolled her eyes and got up with a huff, 'Let's go for it.' Making her way past the hundreds of students streaming the opposite way past her she began to feel rather angry as she was constantly bumped into and pushed aside, it didn't take
much her emotions were raw and volatile still. There was still as small crowd near the goblet of about twenty students all lining up to put their names in.

Amalthea waited patiently and when she saw a space emerge she frustratedly stomped up but at the same time as someone else she had not seen. With a bit of a bump she turned to face the ignorant person who had nearly pushed her over into the flaming
goblet with such a look of scorn it might have set them alight.

"Watch it!" Amalthea said and stepped back with a bit of a start and stared up. It was Snape, and he looked almost as moody as her. He looked down on her resentfully for a moment holding her stony gaze; Amalthea however did not flinch, she would have
liked it if he had started something this time because she hadn't had a row with him since her early years in Hogwarts, it might make her feel better to have it out with someone.

Amalthea decided against starting anything, turning on her heel, her long black hair swished through the air and nearly hit him in the face; feeling a little triumphant she pushed her parchment into the goblet and it went up in a blaze of purple flames,
then she walked back down the steps and held his gaze for a little longer before she marched from the room.

"What's the big idea?" said a voice running up behind her. It was Lily.

"Sorry?" Amalthea said her bad mood slackening.

"Your little run in with Snape. Looked as if you two were going to duel the way you were staring at each other." Lily said almost tripping up in an attempt to match Amalthea's steps.

"He practically knocked me over. He's so ignorant." Amalthea said through gritted teeth, her irritation increasing.

"Well, that's just Sev these days for you...More Slytherin by the day." Lily said dishearteningly and then smiled and held up her hand to wave to James and the others who were stood by the stairs waiting.

"Where've you two been? Come on, we're knackered." James said yawning loudly at the end.

"Doesn't take that long to put your name in a cup does it?"

"It's a Goblet." Amalthea said flatly.

"Sounds like someone's in a bad mood." Remus said under his breath to Sirius.

"I think you need some sleep more than all of us." Sirius said putting an arm around Amalthea's shoulders. "You lot go ahead, I'll meet you in the common room in a bit." The others giggled and made snide comments to each other before all walking off
up the stairs to Gryffindor tower.

"Come on, I'll walk you back before I go up. Make sure you don't have any more run-ins with the Slytherins." And with that they began to set off for the Ravenclaw common room, hidden behind the Knight.

"I can't stand him, or any of them, they're rude and nasty. I just wanted him to say something to me, something to really make me angry and then...and then..." Amalthea said clenching her fists.

"Yeah, but if anything had kicked off I wouldn't have just watched." Sirius crushed her into his side and then looked down. "No one messes with you whilst I'm around."

"Thanks." Amalthea said looking around; hopefully no one would see Sirius being so syrupy towards her. "I don't know what I'd do without you." Amalthea felt herself growing weary of Sirius already and began to quicken her steps as they came closer
to her destination.

When they arrived Sirius leaned against the wall and fumbled around with some words. "So, tomorrow... yeah... can I meet you... you know if you want to I mean... I'll meet you in the morning... we could walk down together?"

Amalthea quickly uttered the password and then said, "I'll just see you down at breakfast like I always do. Goodnight James." Amalthea patted him on the shoulder and entered the safety of her common room.

Sirius banged his fist against the wall. "Great! Smooth, really smooth." And then he too marched away feeling very unimpressed with himself.