Challenge
A whole new year, thought Neville as the doors to the Great Hall opened. Students flooded in, chattering and laughing, jostling him as he unhurriedly walked towards the Gryffindor table, looking for a seat.
Finding one, he sat down and Ginny slipped into the chair opposite him. On the Ravenclaw table Luna too found a seat and sat down. They were the only ones left from the group who had gone to the Ministry although there were still several members of Dumbledore's Army dotted around the hall. Harry, Ron and Hermione were still missing although they were as much talked about as ever.
At the staff table two new faces sat amongst the other teachers. Both were Deatheaters who had visited Hogwarts before: to help find, and murder, Professor Dumbledore - along with Snape. Neville tried to remember their names. Callom, Callow, Carrow - Carrow. The Carrows. They would be teaching Dark Arts and Muggles Studies, both now compulsory.
Neville had a vague recollection of receiving a letter during the holidays about this. It had been immediately consigned to the bin, along with all of the other rubbish they had received.
By now all the students had found a place to sit and Snape had stood to give the start of term notices. As he talked Neville remembered Professor Dumbledore's way of opening a start of term feast: "nitwit, blubber, oddment, tweak" and smiled ever so slightly.
Snape finished his speech with a sentence in which he urged the student body to "work together and with the teachers to make Hogwarts a better place for all." Neville, almost, but not quite, snorted.
Looking at Luna and Ginny he saw that they too were looking at both each other and him and knew they were thinking the same thing as him: that they would work together to make Hogwarts a better place. In fact, they would start straight away.
Slipping a hand into his pocket he found a fake galleon. He changed the date as Hermione had taught him before she left and withdrew his hand, watching as the other members of Dumbledore's Army surreptitiously slipped their own hands into pockets.