"Hurry up, will you?" Augusta muttered as she ushered her grandson through the mass of people. "It's almost eleven! Why are we always running late?"

The young man with the black haired muttered a quiet apology as he pushed his trolley forward, hearing the complaining croaking of a toad as he almost lost control over it. Again he muttered an apology as finally the number 9 came in sight, giving him another boost and he hurried forward, his grandmother following on his heel. He didn't take a look around and quickly ran through the wall, closing his eyes in the process and only opening them again when he heard the chatter of people around him again.

"Go, go, Neville," the old woman pressed on as the male came to a halt due to the fascination that always seemed to overwhelm him whenever he saw the scarlet steamer.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts and then hurried towards one of the open gates before someone suddenly grabbed his arm. "Hey," a man with sunken, blue eyes and a deep voice told him, "What's your name?"

"How dare you!" Augusta Longbottom exclaimed. "Leave my grandson alone, he will miss his train if you don't leave him be."

"Just checking his status, ma'am," the man replied with a sly smirk before he turned his attention back to the male. "So, tell me your name, young boy."

Neville frowned a little and yanked his arm away from the man before straightening his posture. "Longbottom. Neville Longbottom. Now, if you excuse me, I have a train to catch."

Before the man could check Neville's name on this list in his grip, the black haired young man was off already, his grandmother on his heel once more. "You got everything?" She asked him.

"Yeah, gran. I'm fine. Trevor's in here as well," he replied and showed her the fat toad in a little box. He just hoped that for once it wouldn't try to escape. Just in time he heaved his heavy trunk into the train before the doors shut before his eyes and the wheels started to turn on the iron below.

Neville breathed out in relief that he had managed to get on just in time before he strolled down the hall to find a seat. Every compartment he found was full or filled with people of whom he knew that they didn't want his presence, so he just kept on walking, when a quiet voice behind him said,

"Hey, there you are."

Blinking his eyes, Neville turned around and smiled when he was met by a pair of protuberant grey eyes looking into his. The girl, in whose head the eyes were, had straggly, dirty blonde hair and on top of it sat a pair of weird looking glasses. "Luna," the boy breathed out in surprise. "I've been looking for you, actually. I don't know where to sit."

"You've been walking in the wrong direction, silly," the girl smiled and turned on her heel, already walking off into the other direction.

Neville stumbled over his own suitcase in an attempt to follow her and then he had to run to catch up with her, but she didn't seem to notice his absence for those mere seconds they had been apart. "Ginny and Seamus are waiting for us already. I told them I'd go and look for you."

Neville couldn't help the smile that appeared upon his features as he heard the blonde girl say so, but he didn't say anything about it. He ducked his head and followed her quietly until she stopped and he bumped into her, causing his cheeks to turn a darker shade of red.

The door opened and a tuft of ginger hair popped out, taking Neville by surprise. "Hey, Ginny," Neville smiled as the girl took a step aside to let him and Luna inside. "Where are your brother and Harry?"

She frowned and everyone got quiet for a while before she sighed and took a seat next to Seamus with her arms crossed. "They won't come," she replied quietly.

Neville looked at her for a few seconds before he nodded his head. Now with Snape being the headmaster, Dumbledore dead and You-Know-Who out in the open, it was probably the best for Harry, Hermione and Ron not to return to Hogwarts this year. He wondered what they were up to and how they had managed to disappear from everyone's sight but he didn't want to pester the poor girl. She obviously missed them, even though Neville wasn't sure whom she missed more.

"What happened?" Seamus asked bluntly.

Ginny looked up through her long lashed and exhaled deeply before falling back into her seat. "My brother got married in August, after Harry's birthday. We threw a birthday party and then Scrimgeour came because Dumbledore mentioned them in his last will and they now got their new possessions. Anyway, during Bill and Fleur's wedding a lynx Patronus appeared and it was Kingsley's voice who told us that the Ministry had fallen. People disapparated and so did Harry, Ron and Hermione." She seemed to bite her tongue as if she was withholding details or memories she wasn't ready to share with the other three, but Neville had heard enough already.

He opened his mouth to speak soothing words to the ginger but his words were caught in his throat as he slumped forward due to a sudden stop of the train. He frowned and looked outside the window to see where they were and why they had stopped and his eyes widened when he saw a couple of men in black cloaks and silver masks enter the train.

He grabbed his wand immediately, getting ready to defend himself against what he expected to be Death Eaters, even though he had literally no idea how they were allowed to enter the train. Things really had changed since Dumbledore's death.

The door to their compartment opened as a black heard man with a stubble beard stepped inside. His eyes narrowed at the sight of the red haired girl and he looked around, taking his wand out and pointing it at Neville before letting it sink again. "You're not Potter."

Neville snorted through his nose, annoyance evident in his eyes as he rose from his seat with his wand in his hand. "He's not here," he told the man, who was obviously a Death Eater. "And he won't come either."

…

Neville watched as the small First-Years walked through the Great Hall, eyes wide with amazement. Their eyes were everywhere, shining with such brightness that it warmed his heart and let him forget about all the madness around him for a few seconds. He smiled as one of them stumbled and a remembrall fell out of his pocket.

Neville went to pick it up and handed it to the boy, whose cheeks turned furiously red as he stammered a small 'thank you' and then hurried to follow the rest of the kids up to where McGonagall was leading them. She had a list rolled between her fingers and turned around to face the students when she stood beside the old, shabby hat, which was still resting on a chair and looking like every other chair.

"You will now be sorted into your houses and I will call your names in alphabetic order," McGonagall explained and Neville watched as Snape kept watching the rest of the school from his seat in the middle of the big table for the teachers. It made Neville's blood boil with anger when he thought about how Dumbledore had been sitting there not more than a year ago making him believe Hogwarts was the safest place on earth to be.

Now it felt the opposite.

He also noticed that there were two new teachers sitting in the row and that one of them was missing. Charity Burbage, who had been teaching Muggle Studies last year, was gone and a stocky little woman with an emotionless face and dark blonde hair, which was tied back into a bun, was sitting in her seat. Not too far from her sat another new teacher.

It was a man with tiny eyes and a dull, pallid face; his body was more or less shapeless – squat and lumpy would be adjectives to describe his form best. Neville wondered what they would teach and he was pretty sure he'd seen their faces somewhere before…

"Hey," a voice said and the black haired whipped his head around to be met by Ginny. "Aren't they those two Death Eaters?" She asked and pointed at the two new teachers Neville had been examining just a second ago.

"Bloody hell," Neville cursed under his breath, "You're right!" He got even angrier at Snape now for letting two Death Eaters become teachers in Hogwarts. It was like he was spitting on everything that was holy to not only Dumbledore but also every other prior headmaster with a little more bravery than Snape would ever have. He wished he could just scream out his anger but he felt Ginny's hand on his arm, which seemed to calm him down a little then.

He sighed and grabbed a cup filled with pumpkin juice, which was standing right in front of him as McGonagall called another eleven year old girl to the front. There were fewer people now standing there and Neville realised she'd already gotten to the letter T in the alphabet. "Tremlett, Arabella," McGonagall exclaimed and he watched as a black haired girl stumbled upon the stairs on her way to the chair with the hat.

"Is that Donaghan Tremlett's sister?" A voice asked across the table and Neville stretched his neck to get a better view of the girl who was supposed to be the sister of the famous singer from the band 'The Weird Sisters' as he heard another voice,

"Impossible. He's muggle-born, his sister wouldn't be let in. Also, from what I know is Donaghan an only child."

Neville frowned at that. He knew that everyone had to attend Hogwarts this year, without any exception but the fact that muggle-borns weren't allowed bugged him a little. He only seemed to notice now that his table was emptier than usual – so were Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff's – and only the table at Slytherin seemed to be as loud and full as always.

Soon every child was sorted into a house though, and Neville, along with the majority of other students, watched as Snape rose from his seat. Silence fell upon everyone immediately, even those who had chatted quietly during the sorting and everyone's eyes were now upon their new headmaster.

"Good evening," he said and a chill ran down Neville's spine. "My name is Severus Snape and I'm the headmaster of Hogwarts. I will now introduce our new students to their new teachers. On the very right from my side we have Rubeus Hagrid… who will teach you in Care of Magical Creatures. Then we have Filius Flitwick, who is your teacher for Charms and also the Head of Ravenclaw. Moving on, we have Amycus Carrow, who is now your teacher in Dark Arts –" A few students started murmuring quietly at that and Neville turned his head around to look at Ginny, whose eyes were widened in shock. Dark Arts? What on earth was that supposed to mean? "– and next to him we have Minerva McGonagall, who is your teacher in Transfiguration and also the Head of Gryffindor. Cuthbert Binns will teach in History of Magic, so you will find out what is the story behind these four walls. Aurora Sinistra will teach you in Astronomy, which will only occur during the night time. Now, to my left we have Sybill Trelawney, who is teaching those, who have reached their third year, in Divination. Next to her we have Pomona Sprout, who is the teacher for Herbology and also the Head of Hufflepuff. Alecto Carrow is teaching you in Muggle Studies, which is now an obligatory subject to each and every one of you. Horace Slughorn will teach you in Potions and he is also the new Head of Slytherin. Rolanda Hooch will teach the First Years so you will learn how to control a broom and she is also referee in our Quidditch games. For those who are interested, the team captains' names will be written on the black boards in your common rooms, although I must tell you that it is a rarity that a First Year manages to become a member of the Quidditch team. Last we have Septima Vector at the other end of the table, who is teaching you Arithmancy. I hope you remembered who the Head of your house is now. Furthermore, the professors Amycus and Alecto Carrow are Deputy Headmaster and Headmistress."

An uproar of protests occurred immediately on three of the four tables standing in the Great Hall and Neville noticed a small, proud smile dancing around McGonagall's lips as she noticed the resistance of the students. Some of smaller ones looked frightened and Neville had to admit, if he were in their shoes, he would be scared as well. He was older now, he had learnt how to fight and he had learnt how to stand up for himself but they were just children.

"Silence!" Snape's threatening voice echoed from the walls and once again, oppressive silence fell upon everyone and Neville wondered if the new headmaster had just cast a spell on all his students. He knew, Dumbledore would have never done that and once more, anger rose within his chest. "Tomorrow you will receive your new timetables during your breakfast. Now, start eating." He took a seat at that and within the matter of half a second, the tables filled with food and drinks.

And as he looked around to see the hungry faces of his friends, who started chatting happily about their holidays and their experiences, Neville felt a little better, even if it was just for a moment.