SS: Hey Guys! Sorry its taken so long to get this chapter to you - some rolling blackouts are to blame, don't you just love winter... actually I really do, dunno why the sarcasm ;o) Please enjoy!

Old Friends and New

Temperance Starfall

The Great Hall was alive with laughter as the first years chatted loudly with their new friends. Suddenly the doors at the entrance to the hall were thrown open as a young woman made her way through the rows of tables. She strode confidently, her grey cloak flowing high behind her. Her hood was down and in its place she wore a beret in matching grey which seemed to be holding her hair as all that was visible were a few silver strands framing her face. Albus laughed to himself as he made his way once again to the podium. 'She always did know how to make an entrance,' he thought to himself.

"If I could interrupt you all for a moment," he began, raising his arms for silence. "We have a new member of staff joining us this term. She will be our school counsellor so if you have any problems, please be sure to pay her a visit," he greeted her with a warm smile. "Everyone this is Professor Starfall," he held his hand out to introduce her as she arrived at the podium beside him. She offered him a quick smile before giving an elegant pirouette and bow to the students taking her hat off as she did so and letting her long sliver-blonde hair fall down around her. When she stood up she smiled warmly towards the students then made her way to the table where the other teachers were sat and took a seat beside Professor McGonagall.

"Merlin's beard! I haven't seen you in nearly a decade!" she exclaimed as Temperance sat down.

"I've been… travelling," she replied with another smile taking a sip of wine from the cup that had appeared before her. She wrinkled her nose at the taste, 'I hate wine,' she thought to herself. She turned back to Minerva, "Hogwarts hasn't changed much?"

"It never does. Except in terms of staff," she nodded along the table. Temperance leaned over and had a quick glance down. There were old faces she knew well and ones which were completely new to her.

"Well, well, if it ain't lil Tempest Starfell," laughed Hagrid as he walked over to them.

"Hagrid!" she exclaimed excitedly. "How have you been?"

"Oh well, you know, this and that," he mumbled and Temperance could tell he was slightly tipsy.

"I think you had better return to your seat and get some food down you!" Professor McGonagall was saying as Temperance giggled.

"Right you are then," he replied and made his way back to his seat at the other end of the table.

Temperance smiled as he left and looked out at the students.

"I don't know if you heard, but we have a celebrity of sorts joined Gryffindor this year," Minerva said proudly and nodded out at the table almost directly in front of them. Temperance followed her gaze and looked along the table, no one stood out to her in particular but then she had been leading more of a muggle existence lately. She was about to ask who Minerva was talking about when something caught her attention. One of the young boys was not talking with his new friends; instead he was looking up at the other end of the table she was sat at and rubbing his head as though he was in pain. When he stopped and moved his hand, Temperance's eyes widened in surprise.

"Harry Potter!" she whispered.

"So you haven't been so out-of-touch then?" Minerva asked.

"Everyone knows who he is," she was still whispering as a thousand thoughts swirled around her head. 'This is why Albus wanted me here, how can he possibly think this is going to help anyone. This is a bad idea!' she was beginning to feel her heart racing as panic and fear took over.

"Are you alright dear? You've gone very pale," she could hear Minerva say although she sounded miles away. She took her eyes away from the student and mentally shook herself.

"I'm okay, really. It was just a shock to see him there in the flesh," she forced a smile and looked down at the plate of food which had appeared much the same as the wine. She decided that if she started to eat maybe she could avoid speaking with anyone… for a little time at least.

Astrid Graves

After the dinner the first years were shown to their living quarters for the time they would spend at Hogwarts.

Astrid and Neville stuck together as they followed the Gryffindor prefect who was introduced to them as Percy Weasley, Ron's older brother. They made their way up a series of moving staircases that connected together. Astrid had never seen anything like it; she stood looking up as they made their way up higher and higher. She had never been so high up in her life and was glad that she did not have a fear of heights.

At last they came to the very top floor, they were faced with a painting of a large dark haired lady wearing a Grecian style dress. As Percy approached the painting the lady moved and asked "Password please." Astrid was amazed as Percy explained.

"To gain access to your dorm you need to know the password, do not forget this and do not let anyone from another house know it. The password for this term is Caput Draconis."

As the word passed Percy's lips the portrait swung back revealing a large circular room with a fireplace on one side and a staircase on the other. Astrid thought it was the nicest room she had ever seen.

"This is the Gryffindor common room," Percy explained. "The stairs to your left lead to the boys and girls dorm rooms where your trunks and possessions are waiting for you," with that he showed the boys up to their dorm and Astrid and the other girls followed the female prefect to the girls dorm.

Temperance Starfall

After the meal the students were lead to their rooms by the various House prefects. Albus had asked the staff to stay behind after the meal to allow him to introduce them to Temperance.

"This is Professor Quirinus Quirrell, our Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher this year," Albus said.

"Professor Starfall, it is an honour to meet you," he said taking her hand and lightly kissing it. Temperance squirmed a little at the gesture hoping he hadn't noticed. "It is not everyday we meet one of the Headmasters personal acquaintances."

"It is very nice to meet you also," she said politely, slowly taking her hand from his grasp.

"And of course you know Professor Snape," Albus continued.

"I remember Professor Snape, very well, although I am doubtful that he remembers me at all," she quipped with a smile, taking a small bow in his direction. Severus returned the bow and left abruptly. "And I see he hasn't changed," she said more to herself than the others still standing in the room. After a few moments more of awkward chatter Albus made his excuses to leave taking Temperance with him. As they walked along the hallways he gave her his arm to hold and they slowed their pace.

"You didn't tell me you had such a gifted student joining you this year?" she said breaking their silence.

"I'm not sure who you are referring to? Indeed there are many students beginning this year that I have high hopes for," he glanced down at her. She looked at him from the corner of her eye and smirked.

"You know very well who I am referring to Albus, our very own Mr Potter."

"Aahh, I didn't tell you? Must have slipped my mind," he said in a most innocent tone. "I do believe you told me I was looking old," he smiled warmly at her and she couldn't help but laugh slightly. They walked along chatting about times past and laughed at how bad Temperance was at potions and charms, when they stopped in front of an old wooden door.

"Why have we stopped here?" she gave him a quizzical look.

"These are your new chambers," he opened the door. "I believe you will find them quite comfortable," he said as they walked inside. Temperance slowly gazed around the dark room. To her left was an old wooden dresser and matching closet – both painted white. Beside them stood a beautiful four poster bed, the silk sheets and matching curtains a faint lilac colour. There was a small bedside table to the right of the bed and a trunk at the bottom matching the wardrobe and dresser. Next was another door which Albus told her lead to her bathroom. Directly in front were six huge windows split in the middle by a large fireplace. A row of raised cushions ran under the windows allowing one to sit and gaze at the magnificent view of the lake and forest beyond. There was a comfortable looking sofa and two armchairs in front of the fireplace and in the right side of the room were a desk and many bookshelves – filled with books. An exquisite black grand piano sat in the furthermost corner. Temperance also noticed some boxes and suitcases lying on the floor on the other side of the door.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Those are some of your things, I managed to acquire from your home," Albus said matter-of-factly, Temperance shook her head. "Well, it's been a long day for all of us. I'll leave you to unpack now, come by my office in the morning and I'll take you to your office," he said goodnight and as he closed the door to leave Temperance added. "You know this is a bad idea Albus. The first sign of danger and I'm gone," she looked at him her tone serious. Albus nodded and left silently. Temperance looked around the room and sighed a little. The décor was far too dark for her tastes – this would be the first thing she would have to sort, after she unpacked.

Astrid Graves

Astrid found she was sharing a room with Hermione and two other girls introduced as Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil. They were busying themselves unpacking their trunks and putting their things away. Astrid was finished first not having many possessions so she sat down to observe her surroundings and wondered how Neville was getting on with the other Gryffindor boys. She was woken from her reverie as she heard someone saying her name.

"Astrid? Hello can you hear me?" she recognised Hermione's voice and looked up to find her standing in front of her bed.

"Sorry did you say something?"

"I asked if you were ready to head down to the common room, we were just going to head down now."

"Oh yes that would be great," Astrid replied and got up, heading towards the common room with the other girls.

The boys were nowhere to be seen when they got downstairs so they found a table that could seat them all and sat down to chat.

"So Astrid where are you from?" asked Lavender. Feeling a little uncomfortable saying where she grew up Astrid hesitated.

"I'm from London, I grew up in Wools orphanage. I've been there since I was about seven months old," she explained. Lavender and Parvati looked shocked.

"How awful!" Hermione said.

"it wasn't too bad," replied Astrid. "I've never really known any different," Hermione questioned further "do you know what happened to your parents?"

"No, no one does I was found alone in front of a grave marked Gaunt, with no sign of who had left me there. I only had a piece of paper tucked into my carry basket with the name Astrid. The home gave me the surname Graves because of where I was found," she explained. All the girls looked shocked, Lavender had a tear in her eye "That's so sad!" she exclaimed. Astrid was starting to feel uncomfortable and decided to change the subject.

"So Hermione, where do you come from?" Thankfully Hermione was happy to indulge them and started to tell them about her home life. Astrid's first night at Hogwarts was very uneventful; she spent the rest of the evening chatting with Hermione, Lavender and Parvati, it was the most fun she could ever remember having. She had not seen Neville and all the boys from his dorm were also absent, at nine o'clock although it was early they were exhausted and decided to head to bed so that they would get up in time for breakfast and to go to their first class.

Temperance Starfall

It took three full hours for Temperance to finish unpacking and tidying away. Of course a large part of that was because she had done everything by hand – all those years hiding had meant she was used to not using magic for every little thing. She looked up at the clock hanging above the desk – it was eleven-thirty p.m. She walked over to the window and looked outside, the sky was clear and the moon was full. She smiled deciding to take her nightly walk – even though it was past the time she would usually venture out at. She threw her beret down on the bed and pulled on her cloak, pulling the hood up before leaving her room. The air was crisp outside though it was not too cold. She giggled to herself as she ran too quickly down a hill and almost fell, then wandered along a path she found. The grounds were as beautiful as she remembered and it was not long before she came across a familiar hut. Walking quietly up to the window, Temperance peered inside only to see Hagrid sound asleep and snoring loudly still in his dinner clothes. She smiled to herself, everything was as she remembered. She walked on a little further still, picking some wild flowers as she went. 'At least these will brighten that room up a little,' she thought and began skipping along the path now. She hummed a cheerful tune as she neared the edge of the forest and stopped peeking into the darkness. She thought about venturing forward for a moment before deciding to turn back as a hand clamped down on her shoulder.

LL: Hope you all enjoyed! Thanks for reading!