DRACO'S POINT OF VIEW
Draco Malfoy closed the door of the carriage that was carrying him, Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy at school and grabbed his trunk. His friends looked happier than ever, smiling, laughing and pushing younger students away of them. However, Draco wasn't sharing their joy. He wasn't even looking at the castle, his gaze was fixed on the carriages. All this years he never ever wondered how the carriages kept moving all the way to Hogwarts but now he could see. Thestrals, dark, skinny and scary thestrals were carrying the carriages and he knew why he could see them. He saw someone dying, that's what the giant thing said, Hagrid, when he introduced them to the creatures. Of course, Draco couldn't see anything and he accused his professor of being stupid for showing them something they couldn't see. But now he could see and looking all around he saw other students staring at the skinny creatures, surprise and fear mirrored on their faces.
Pansy grabbed his arm and pushed him forward, they entered the hall and sat at their seats at Slytherin's table. The Slytherin table was almost full of students but at Ravenclaw there were some empty seats, at Gryffindor more empty seats and at Hufflepuff half of the seats were empty.
Draco scanned the Gryffindor table and saw Weasley and Longbottom sitting with Finnegan, whispering something to each other. Weasley's gaze was fixed at the professor's table and he knew that she was staring at Severus Snape.
The new Headmaster of the school.
AT THE HUFFLEPUFF TABLE
Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbott were talking about their new school year and the fact that Snape would be their new headmaster.
Ernie never really hated Snape or any other professor but seeing him sitting at the chair of the man he murdered was driving him insane. He knew well to not believe Daily Prophet's story about Potter killing Dumbledore at the Astronomy Tower, he doubted Potter too many times in the past but he knew that the boy could never kill Dumbledore. He knew that Potter had a special connection with the headmaster and he was the only one he ever heard being addressed by his first name and not his last name.
The headmaster ordered them to be quiet and started talking about their new school year. He introduced the new professors, the Carrows and told them to not in any circumstances try to enter the forbidden forest or do anything reckless or they would be punished. He closed his speech by advising everyone to address him if they knew anything about Harry Potter. And threatened them that if they knew anything and didn't talk they would be punished, without mercy. Snape kept looking at the Gryffindor table and in particular at Ginny and Longbottom. Ernie expected Ginny to lower her gaze but she didn't, she kept looking at him with stubbornness written all over her face.
The sorting hat ceremony started and more and more students were going to Slytherin.
Ernie ate his pie and beans and told Hannah that he wanted to sleep.
They went inside their common room, which was located next to the kitchens and Ernie went straight to bed but after a few minutes of trying to sleep he gave up and went back to the common room.
Hannah Abbott was sitting in a couch, holding a cup of tea and a newspaper.
Hannah didn't seem to acknowledge his presence but after several minutes she broke the silence.
" Did you see her face?" Ginny Weasley's face. Did you see it when Snape was talking about Potter?"
" Yeah, I did…"
" The Gryffindor's are starting their resistance"
Ernie who was drinking a cup of tea and eating some homemade cookies nearly chocked at the statement. He didn't know how to react because frankly he didn't know what to think. He saw the stubbornness on Ginny's face and he knew how much she hated Snape. But starting a resistance? That was insane.
Hannah put her cup of tea at the small table and looked straight at Ernie's eyes.
" You'll see it. The Gryffindor's are starting their resistance"
She gave Ernie a small hug, took several cookies with her and left.
GINNY'S POINT OF VIEW
Ginny entered the great hall and found an empty seat at the Gryffindor's table next to Neville and Seamus. Unfortunately Luna could not seat with them since she was a Ravenclaw. Parvati and Lavender Brown joined them after a second, Ginny wasn't happy seeing Lavender sitting next to them but she couldn't do anything to send her away.
She saw professor Sprout and professor Flitwick sitting next to Slughorn. She never liked that spoiled prat, he was too obsessed with meeting famous and powerful people but even he didn't irritate her that particular moment.
She spotted the Carrows at the table laughing and talking loudly and felt frustrated and ready to jump out of her seat and knock them out of that table.
Later the snake, Snape started talking about the new rules of the school and introduced the new 'professors'. Ginny breathed deeply trying to calm herself down, she felt Neville's hand resting on hers and turned to see him looking at her with worried eyes. She nodded that she was ok and turned her head back to the teachers table. Snape continued talking about rules and then changed completely the subject and started talking about Harry, her Harry.
That made Ginny absolutely furious, Snape didn't only take Dumbledore's position as the headmaster and sat proudly at this seat but dared to talk about Harry as he was the criminal, the dangerous one.
She felt her hands shaking and her eyes started shooting fire. Snape was looking straight at their table but she didn't give in. She returned the gaze in a way that made Snape freeze for a second.
She felt Neville moving next to her and turned to see the boy's face red and filled with frustration. His eyes looked menacing and his body was shaking uncontrollably. She squeezed his hand trying to reassure him that he wasn't the only one feeling that way. Even Seamus looked at Snape with hate pictured at his eyes.
Snape ended his speech by ordering for the doors to open and the first year students to come in.
Ginny saw professor Macgonagall entering the hall accompanied by several young students. She looked fierce as always walking down the corridor and asking for the first year students to wait for their names being called. Ginny looked more carefully at her professor. She looked aged and tired but other than that she was still the same Minerva Macgonagall she met the first year she came to Hogwarts.
Ginny was happy to see her there.
They tried to change her school, they tried to change her world but as long as Minerva Macgonagall was still there, Hogwarts would always be Hogwarts.
The sorting hat began singing, Ginny expected it to say something different now that the times had changed but she guessed that it was charmed to just sing the song. The sorting began and more and more children were sorted to Slytherin. Every time a student was sorted to Gryffindor she listened to her housemates cheering and clapping but she didn't move her hands, she couldn't find the strength. Seamus clapped and cheered and talked to the new students, she wondered how he could be that happy when the world was ending.
Neville gave her a small smile and whispered:
" Don't misjudge him… he's seeking a sense of normality in this new world. We are all seeking a sense of normality."
The sorting ended and food appeared all over the place. She saw Seamus stuffing down some pie and meat but she didn't touch her plate.
She looked all around the hall and saw Luna sitting next to a small girl. She wasn't talking to anyone or eating, she was staring intensively at Snape and the Carrows. She saw Terry Boot and her ex boyfriend Michael Corner, Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbott who was strangely staring at her.
The dinner ended and they all headed towards their common rooms, no one seemed to be in the mood of chatting or playing a chess game so the students went straight to their bedrooms. Seamus and Neville were talking quietly at the corner of the common room.
" I never imagined saying that but I miss the old times. Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! "
Ginny thought for a second that Seamus had lost his mind but then Neville laughed.
" Come on Ginny, don't you remember? The first words he said to us when we came to Hogwarts! Ohhh right I always forget you weren't going to school back then. It was our first year. Dumbledore said that and everyone thought that he was nuts"
Neville and Seamus continued grinning but the smile fainted at the mention of their old headmaster.
" I'll go to my room, I am tired"
Ginny went upstairs to the girl's room and sat at the bed without taking her robes off. She thought of Harry, Ron and Hermione. She worried about them, not knowing what they were doing, if they were alive and safe. She thought of Snape and the Carrows and the way her life changed so suddenly. She thought of what would Harry do if he was there, he would rebel, he would resist, she thought of the D.A and Neville and Luna.
Ginny shifted her body and laid her head at the soft pillow, wishing she would have a dreamless sleep.
NEVILLE'S POINT OF VIEW
Neville and Seamus were left alone at the common room. Seamus said something about being tired so they went to sleep.
Neville opened the bedroom's door and expected Harry, Ron and Dean to be sitting on their beds chatting and saying jokes. But what he saw was heartbreaking. The room was empty, their beds were neat and organized and no voices could be heard.
Seamus looked uncomfortable and nervous, he missed his friend.
" It's so quiet, yeah? Do you think they are safe?"
Neville didn't reply, he stopped next to his bed and took off his clothes.
The next morning, Neville woke up with a terrible headache. He expected his grandma to storm into his room but he remembered that he was back at school and the one snoring loudly was not his grandma but Seamus.
He wondered how he could sleep that easily, he had slept only a few hours and kept waking up every hour.
Neville put on his clothes and woke up Seamus. They got ready and went to the common room where professor Macgonagall was waiting for them. She was holding a pile of papers and other documents and looked strictly professional.
" As you all know, I am here to give you your schedules. From now on every one of you has to attend Muggle studies and there's nothing I can do to stop that from happening so please take your schedules without complaining. Mr. Longbottom and Mrs. Weasley please come here and take your new budges. You are from this moment the perfects of Gryffindor. I trust you to follow the orders and behave. As for everyone else, my children, this is a dangerous world we are living in" Neville saw the professor taking off her glasses and looking at everyone carefully. Her face wasn't strictly professional anymore, it was apologetic and tired. " You need to behave, you can't do reckless things. I am afraid that even us, the professors, won't be able to help you. We are not in a better position than you are. So please behave and take care of each other. Thank you"
Neville's first class was herbology and it was with Hufflepuff. At least he didn't have to see the Slytherins and Draco Malfoy.
As I've already mentioned this story is focused mainly at the inner thoughts and emotions of each character this is why I didn't write Snape's speech. (Many fan fictions have already done that).
I put Ernie and Hannah to my story because it seemed interesting to show their side of the story. Also Hannah's comment about the Gryffindors starting their resistance will change the course of things at later chapters.
P.S if you watched the deathly hallows part 1 you too saw the scene where Hermione is taking care of Ron's arm and we can't see the pain painted on Ron's face but we 'sense' it and 'understand' it through Hermione's reactions. I found that part of the movie thrilling and decided to do the same. We never really see Neville's thoughts during Snape's speech but we get the feeling by Ginny's descriptions.
P.S Do you think that it is too tiring to read all those different points of view?
Thank you for all of your reviews, they fill me with joy. Please feel free to write any comment, even negative ones. I take really seriously my writing and want to improve as much as I can.
Sarah B I understand what you are saying, it´s difficult to present the events exactly like they happened but still write something completely new since the events have never been written at the deathly hallows but only implied.