Chapter 3: A Warning Aborted

[In which our heroines return to Hogwarts, and while some things change, most stay the same.]

Monday, 24 August 1992 Urquhart Mansion

Lilian arrived at the Urquhart Mansion on the Monday before she and Mary were to return to Hogwarts. To Mary's immense surprise, she greeted Catherine formally and correctly, and successfully hid her awe at the sheer scale of the house. (Mary briefly thought that Lilian must have more money than she had thought, but the other girl explained later that evening that though the Moons were quite well-off, they weren't anything like so rich as to have a mansion.) 'Miss Moon' was introduced to the older women of the family at tea, and managed to successfully hold a conversation with Madam Urquhart, without a single snub passing the old lady's lips. Mrs. Urquhart even complimented Lilian's mother on how well she had raised Lilian, and Lilian accepted the compliment on her mother's behalf, promising to pass it on without batting an eyelash.

After tea, a very amused Lilian explained to her slightly shell-shocked friend that she had actually been raised with all the "proper pureblood nonsense," but had simply been embracing the relatively lax social standards and general informality of Hogwarts all year.

Mary had practically dragged Lilian into the sitting room she and Catherine generally occupied between tea and supper. "What was that?"

"Mother was a Rosier once upon a time," Lilian said with a shrug, as though that really did explain everything. It sort of did. Rosier was a Noble House.

"Why didn't I know that?" Mary asked Catherine, who was pretending to read a novel nearby, while actually just grinning at Lilian's prank.

"Moon is a Common House," the older girl explained. "You've only looked at the family trees for the Old Families, and they're all Wizengamot Nobles. And there's just so many Rosiers, I didn't make you memorize the ones that married out of our set."

"Father's family has only been pureblood for five or six generations," Lilian added, "and they've raised dogs longer than that. It's a peasant occupation, according to her lot," she nodded at Catherine, who made a rude gesture in response – Mary was finding that Just Catherine was a lot less formal and proper than 'Miss Catherine'. "But mum's father was something like twelfth in line for the head of the house before the last war, so they didn't mind that she wanted to marry common, so long as she stuck with a pureblood, and she thought she was well out of it, distancing herself from her cousins' reputations. She did raise all of us well enough to visit grandmother Rosier, though, and hold a polite conversation."

"So you could have been helping me learn all this last year? Why didn't you say anything, you daft doxie?" Mary threw a pillow at Lilian, who caught it and tossed it back.

"You did well enough for Hogwarts. How was I to know you were going to spend all summer with one of the Old Families?"

"She's not old enough, anyway," Catherine said from her sofa.

"What?"

"It's true. Proper training goes until you're presented to society, either the midsummer or midwinter after you turn fifteen. Miss Cat, here, is stuck teaching all the little Urquharts until the next girl is fifteen or her grandparents marry her off."

"Purebloods are weird," Mary grumbled, as Catherine sent a Stinging Hex at Lilian, who dodged easily.

"I told you that you could call me 'Catherine,' not 'Miss Cat,'" she snapped.

"Same difference," the younger girl said with her usual cheeky grin.

Mary thought it was funny to watch Lilian and Catherine interact. The first time Lilian spoke back to Catherine, Mary was shocked, but Lilian was used to having older siblings, and Catherine might be the youngest in her generation in the house anymore, but she had been raised with younger cousins, just like the little Urquharts. She fell into the older-sister role easily.

"Peasant." Catherine flipped a page, affecting boredom.

Lilian rolled her eyes. "Snob."

"Wait, what did you mean I did well enough for Hogwarts?"

Catherine sighed. "Remember how I told you we would wait until Lilian joined us to discuss interactions with your peers?"

"Yes…"

"Well, that was because Hogwarts has much different standards of interaction than proper society. Between mixing with other classes and half-bloods or muggleborns who have completely different upbringings, and the fact that you're not always under the watchful eye of grandparents or great-grandparents, people kind of let the proprieties slide. I know that there's been a certain informality about Hogwarts since at least the early 1900s, and probably before then. Lilian, here, is going to help me teach you how to deal with peers your own age, in and out of school."

The soon-to-be second-years looked at each other, and spoke at the same time: "She is?" "I am?"

"Yes."

And so the last week of break was spent painfully un-learning all the new habits Mary had drilled into herself over the course of the summer, in favor of formalizing the code of behavior she had more-or-less picked up on in Slytherin over the course of the previous year. The rules were much easier to deal with than those outside of school:

Call your friends by their given names, and familiar peers, such as your housemates, by their family names. (Though as Lilian noted, girls had more leeway to call people by their first names than boys.) Address anyone older than yourself and any stranger as 'Miss' or 'Mr.' unless they invited informality. Always call professors 'Professor' or 'sir' or 'ma'am.' If by some stroke of fortune a professor extended an offer of informality, one could call them just by their last name in conversation or their first name to their face.

Don't bow or curtsey to anyone, though nods of greeting and farewell were common and perfectly acceptable. (Catherine went on a long tangent about how kisses of greeting and farewell were used among the "adults" in fifth year and up as a prelude to courting, before realizing that the girls probably wouldn't care about any of that for another year or two at least.)

Do not correct anyone's behavior. If they didn't know better already, it looked bad for their house, but it wasn't the other students' job to teach them. If other purebloods were embarrassing themselves and needed to be reminded of their status, they could be reminded of this fact by calling them 'cousin.'

It was not technically a rule, but frowned upon nonetheless if one failed to hide one's emotions. Any display of emotional distress would be considered a weakness by one's peers. Following from that, it was considered uncouth to go waving one's hand in the air to answer questions ("Remind me to tell Hermione that," Mary had asked Lilian, who only laughed in response).

And finally: Maintain appropriate grace and decorum at all times, including meals. (Mary thought that this was why Slytherin House as a whole was so disapproving of the School Song.) Following from this, it was considered stuck-up, affected, or a sign of ill-breeding if one were to use out-of-school manners in school, simply because it was improper and not done.

The final rule had its exceptions, of course: if one had attained a certain level of power within the school, or Slytherin house, one could demand to be treated with proper respect, and institute a short-lived formality within Hogwarts, as Lilian pointed out Miss Carmichael preferred for her court. Catherine said that one must demonstrate fully and unequivocally that one knew, understood, and could follow the rules before deliberately breaking them, and then only in socially approved ways.

The three young women spent most of Thursday and Friday play-acting the roles of different classmates, teachers, and society figures meeting in different circumstances, in order to test Mary's understanding of the game. The best one, they all agreed, was when Isabella Zabini (Catherine) came to the school to inform Blaise (Lilian) that her seventh husband had "tragically" passed away. Mary had to express her condolences while responding to "Blaise's" subtle jokes about how odd it was that Isabella's husbands kept dying and then express to "Isabella" that even though she knew the woman had to be killing them off, there was no risk of her telling anyone, without actually admitting that she knew anything.

Mary failed – Catherine informed her that if she were Isabella, she would have just obliviated Mary first chance she got – but the conversation itself was very funny. Second-best, and slightly more useful, was Mary running into Professor Snape (Catherine) and Draco Malfoy (Lilian) in Knockturn Alley, the "sketchy" part of Wizarding London. Mary didn't think she was ever likely to be there, but it was interesting to see how Catherine and Lilian thought a "formal" interaction between Professor Snape and Draco would go.

Lilian left on Saturday morning, and Mary spent the day packing, double checking that she'd done her homework, and playing with the little Urquharts, while Catherine peppered her with last-minute advice. The best of it was probably, "Confidence will take you a long way. Just pretend you know exactly what you're doing and bluff your way through, if you have to," but "When in doubt, more polite is always better than less polite," and "If you don't know how to deal with a person or situation, pretend to be someone who would," were close seconds.

Sunday, 30 August 1992 Hogwarts Express

In comparison to the previous year, when the train to Hogwarts was Mary's crash-course introduction to the truce, the Weasleys, Draco Malfoy, and a cabin full of first-year purebloods who ended up in different houses, this year's trip was uneventful.

Mary floo'd to the platform with Catherine, who shrank and un-shrank her trunk to make it easier to transport through the fire, before fleeing the chaos of the platform with a quick farewell and a reminder to write. Mary met up with Lilian, whose family had been hanging around since just after nine. Her parents hadn't bothered to come see their children off – they said goodbye at home, and trusted Sean to keep an eye on Lilian and Aerin on the train as well as at school. Hermione and her parents portkeyed in at 10:37, and, as they had arranged by owl, Mary and Lilian met them at the landing pad.

The elder Grangers helped the girls load their trunks (Aerin said they could use magic once the train left the station, but not before), and said goodbye to Hermione, promising dire punishments if she failed to keep them properly informed about anything that happened this year, including anything bad. Hermione waved them off, and as soon as they were gone, stuck her nose in one of the Lockhart books (Mary had skimmed them, and thought they were like a cross between adventure novels and adverts for Gilderoy Lockhart). Mary was fairly certain she didn't notice when the train left. It quickly became a game for anyone who visited the girls' compartment (Fred and George, more often than not) to try to distract her from her reading. None of them were very successful. Hermione managed to finish two of the seven "textbooks" before they reached Hogsmeade station.

It was, Mary thought, a very pleasant trip, overall, with the exception of Malfoy's visit, which was awkward for more reasons than one.

Fred and George caught the girls up on their summer the first time they came through. They were working on designing a line of prank products to rival Zonko's, the most popular wizarding joke shop, and had spent most of it working on that, or stealing their father's flying car to go on joyrides around Ottery St. Catchpole (only on the ground). They'd tried to teach their sister, Ginny, to fly, only to find that she already knew how, and had been sneaking their brooms out of the shed for ages, firmly cementing her place as their favorite younger sibling. Their father had raided Malfoy Manor for enchanted muggle artifacts, which was why Mr. Malfoy had picked that fight in Diagon Alley. Their mum was going nuts over the fact that the Gilderoy Lockhart would be teaching DADA. Mary informed them that the Gilderoy Lockhart was a prat.

They stuck around for a bit after the Slytherin pranksters – Morgana, Perry, and Adrian – came in, mostly discussing whether Professor Vector was likely to let Perry switch into her class, because he really wanted to get out of Divination, but needed a second elective. The Muggle Studies Professor had retired at the end of last year, and the Slytherins had heard that Professor Kettleburn was leaving soon, so he didn't want to take either of their classes, for fear that he would be stuck with another terrible professor. The twins said that Vector was a good sort, and as long as Perry could manage basic algebra and a bit of statistics, and knew his numerology, he ought to be able to catch up easily enough. They hadn't started spellcrafting yet, and that was the point where it would be really hard to switch. Then they bounced away to make sure their sister was making friends, and Morgana, whose cousin had seen Mary with Catherine in the Alley, turned the conversation to what they had done over the summer.

The Slytherins didn't stay too long after Morgana got her questions answered (and threw a few wads of parchment at Hermione, who batted them away without really looking). After they cleared out, Mary and Lilian spent a few minutes talking about Mary's new broom, and whether they were going to go out for Quidditch. Lilian thought they should, though it was rather unlikely that they would make the team. Only one of their chasers had graduated, and all the rest of their players were quite good.

That conversation was interrupted by Aerin and two of her friends, who really only stopped to say hello, and then more permanently by the re-appearance of Fred and George, with their little sister in tow. They threw something at Hermione that made a loud banging sound and a puff of green smoke, and she stopped reading long enough to tell them off and greet Ginny before retreating back into her book. The boys ran off again, both missions (introducing Ginny to other girls, and getting a rise out of Hermione) complete. Ginny apologized for the behavior of her brothers, and made small talk until the lunch trolley arrived, at which point she excused herself to go find the lunch she had left in her original compartment.

After lunch, Mary and Lilian were trying to decide if they should go visit others for a while when a quartet of Ravenclaws from their year arrived. They chatted for a while about their summers and expectations for the year. The Patils had visited family in India, and Michael Corner had joined the betting pool on how the DADA professor would be removed from his post, with a galleon on total memory loss. Terry Boot, who was giving a skeptical look to the "textbook" Hermione was reading, said he would have been better off with fraud. Unlike most of their guests, however, the Ravenclaws actually sympathized with the fact that Hermione had been punished by not being allowed books for half the summer. They didn't even care why, just gave her understanding looks and excused themselves so that she could read in peace, much to the amusement of the Slytherins.

The quiet didn't last long, as Fred and George returned with their friend Lee, the Littlest Weasel (who arguably wasn't the littlest, now that Ginny would be at Hogwarts as well), and Neville Longbottom in tow. Neville and Ron, they declared, were being antisocial at the end of the train, and were being forced to get out and meet people. Neville tried to protest that they already knew each other, while at the same time making polite conversation and generally stumbling over himself, while Ron just pouted about making nice with Slytherins, his ears slightly red. Fred, George, and Lee, meanwhile, staged a very loud and distracting conversation about Percy and all the things he could possibly have been up to, while he was acting so odd all summer. They didn't leave until Hermione finally cracked a smile at them and they had a chance to crow over their victory in making even the most staid and boring of Ravenclaws laugh. She pretended to be upset that they thought she was boring, and then laughed at them when they apologized. They ran off cackling, and Lee ushered Neville and Ron out after them, following the chaos.

Blaise, Daphne, and Theo arrived next. They had heard similar rumors to Morgana, about Mary's summer experience, and were happy to chat about their own in exchange for finding out all she had learned in her 'society boot-camp,' as Blaise dubbed it. Daphne, who had, of course, started learning the same sort of things at age seven, quizzed her a bit, and declared herself impressed by Mary's progress. Mary was quite gratified by this declaration, because out of all the girls in her year, she thought Daphne was the most socially adept. Theo was fairly quiet. All he said about his own summer was that he spent it mostly with his father, except when he was invited to the Malfoys' little get-togethers with Draco, Pansy, and Millicent. Blaise and Daphne both rolled their eyes at this. Apparently the Malfoys' summer parties were little more than an excuse for the old Death Eater crowd to get together and drink. Daphne wouldn't have put it so baldly, but she nodded along with Blaise's characterization of the events.

Fay Dunbar and Zacharias Smith poked their heads in soon after that, and said they were looking for firsties and placing bets on their sorting (and also teasing them a bit with different lies about the sorting ordeal). Blaise and Daphne, who had been looking to make new allies outside of Slytherin, accompanied them, and Theo followed along with a vague, "this could be amusing." Mary wasn't sure if he meant Dunbar, Smith, and the firsties, or watching Blaise and Daphne court the other second-years. In any case, she and Lilian decided to stay behind, hoping that they might actually have a quiet moment. Keeping up such a level of constant conversation was a big change from Lilian's days spent roaming the countryside, or Mary's interminable lessons.

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Unfortunately, quiet was not to be had. Not ten minutes after the other five left, Draco, Greg, and Vinnie wandered in. Draco, true to form, wanted to know exactly what Mary had been on about, curtsying to his father in Flourish and Blotts. Lilian rolled her eyes at his bold question, and said that obviously Mary had spent the summer with the Urquharts – why else would she have been shopping with Miss Catherine? Before the boy could think of a snide response (Vinnie and Greg just stood, looming quietly, also true to form) several things happened in quick succession: There was a crack, like the sound of a whip; a familiar, bug-eyed, long-nosed elf appeared in the middle of the compartment; there was a very high-pitched screech and a simultaneous "Dobby?" from at least three occupants of the carriage; and there was a second crack as the elf vanished.

"Dobby!" Draco called sharply, and the elf appeared again, with yet another crack. "Why are you here?"

"Master Draco is calling for Dobby," the elf squeaked, groveling.

"No, you stupid elf, why were you here the first time? And why did you leave?"

"Dobby is havings a message, but Dobby was not expectings Master Draco to be in the train with these other studentses. Dobby has done wrong. Dobby shoulds not be seen. Bad Dobby!" The elf began twisting his ears.

"Nevermind that now. Stupid elf. Where else would I be?" The elf stopped hurting himself, and Draco developed a considering look. "You two shouted too," he said, looking at Mary, and then Hermione.

"Erm, what?" Mary said intelligently.

"You yelled Dobby when he showed up. How do you know my family's elf?"

"No, I didn't," Mary denied it quickly, "I, that is, we, erm…"

"Oh, honestly, Lizzie," Hermione sighed, apparently finally giving up on her book and snapping it closed.

"Hermione, what –"

Hermione cut her off. "You shouldn't be ashamed of how you were raised!" she turned to Draco and gave him her best 'you're an idiot' look. "We didn't yell Dobby, we yelled Bobby. It's a muggle thing, like Merlin. It's short for 'Sweet Bobby Robinson' and it's something you say when you're taken by surprise, instead of a really foul swear word. Why would either of us know your elf?"

Draco looked like he didn't quite believe her. "Dobby, do you know either of these girls?"

"Oh, yes, Master Draco," the elf said, and Draco looked momentarily triumphant, doubtless thinking he had caught Hermione in a lie. Fortunately his attention was on the elf, because Hermione looked murderous, until Dobby continued, "Of course Dobby is knowings Mary Potter! Missy Mary bes famous! And Missy Mary is callings other Miss, Missy Her-my-nee."

Draco considered this for a moment. "Fine. What did mother want to tell me?" The elf hesitated. "Was it Father?" the boy sounded surprised.

"No, Master Draco, sir… is just… Mistress worries for Master Draco, and wishes for him to be careful this year at Hoggy Hogwarts, sir."

"My mother wanted to tell me to be careful at school?" Draco looked extremely irritated.

The elf nodded frantically. "Dobby was supposed to deliver message in private, but Master asked what Mistress would say to Master Draco, and Dobby must answer… Bad Dobby!" he yelled suddenly, biting one of his long fingers.

Draco gave his elf a scornful look. "Go home, and tell my mother that if she has anything to say to me from now on to use an owl, like everyone else!"

"Yes, Master Draco, sir!" Dobby said, nodding frantically again, and vanished with yet another crack.

Draco looked around the carriage, and immediately turned red, probably because his mum had just apparently sent a servant to tell her ickle Drakey-poo to be careful at school, but possibly because he still didn't believe them and thought they were up to something with his elf. "Crabbe, Goyle, let's go," he said, turning on his heel and stalking out of the compartment.

Mary and Hermione burst into laughter as soon as he left, explaining to Lilian in hushed tones that the elf had been trying to warn Mary away from Hogwarts since her birthday. Mary was impressed by the elf's ability to talk around the requirement to answer his family truthfully, but Lilian was even more impressed by Hermione's quick thinking.

"Is Sweet Bobby Robinson even a real muggle swear?" she asked, after the others explained about the scene at the Grangers' and speculated on whether the Malfoys were up to something, or if the elf was just mad.

"No. He's an American singer. My dad likes his music," Hermione admitted.

They were still laughing when Fred and George returned yet again, and demanded to be let in on the joke.

"Hermione was lying to Malfoy about muggles," Lilian said, gasping for breath.

"What did," "you say?"

"Sweet – Bobby – Robinson," Mary choked out. "He's a singer, not a swear word."

Hermione took several deep breaths and mastered her features before saying primly, "You had to be there." And then she devolved back into giggles.

The boys thought about this for a moment, then nodded at each other.

"Not a swear word, you say?"

"But it could be!"

"We knew we liked you for a reason, Granger!"

"Sweet Bobby Robinson, was it?"

"I think we have a project, George!"

"Indeed, brother Fred!"

And the boys ran off cackling once again. The girls heard an angry-sounding twin yelling, "Robinson, Longbottom! Watch where you're going!" just as the five-minute warning sounded throughout the train.

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The train rolled into Hogsmeade station after dark, and the students stumbled off, leaving their luggage behind. The first-years flocked to Hagrid's call, easily identified by their hats (which none of the older students bothered with, outside of classes). There seemed to be an awful lot of them. After they had gone (trailing several behind them, who asked nearby prefects where they ought to be, and then had to run to catch up), the older students started meandering down the high-street of Hogsmeade. Mary wished she could see it in the daylight, because all she could really make out by the tiny crescent moon was the fact that buildings generally existed. They did walk past a pub that had its torches lit, the Three Broomsticks, but everything else was dark and closed. What looked like a hundred black stagecoaches were lined up along the main road, waiting for the older students.

The coaches were pulled by winged… horses? They looked kind of horse-like, at least. Or maybe like a cross between a horse and a dragon. They were skin and bones, dead black, with pupil-less, white eyes, and enormous black, leathery-looking wings folded at their sides. She had never seen anything like them before, and certainly never pulling the carriages. Hadn't they been horseless, when they showed up over the Winter Hols? "What are they?" Mary asked, approaching the nearest one. Its head turned, keeping a blind eye trained on her, and it stomped a hoof restlessly.

"What's what?" Hermione asked, looking at Mary as though she had gone mad, just as Lilian said, terribly sarcastically, "I believe they call that a carriage."

"Not the carriage, you twit. The thing pulling the carriage."

"I thought they were horseless," Hermione said. "Hogwarts, a History made it sound like they're enchanted."

"Do you not see the horse? Dragon? Whatever this thing is?" Mary pointed to it, and it snapped sharp teeth at her finger.

"Noooo…" Lilian drew the word out.

"Horse-dragon-thing?"

A load of older students had pushed their way onto the carriages, and they began to roll away. About half the students were still waiting. A Ravenclaw prefect announced loudly for the benefit of a panicky, dark-haired girl, and all the other second-years, that they would simply have to wait until the carriages returned.

"Yes! Horse-dragon-things! Black! Skeletal! Massive bat-like wings! Pulling the carriages!"

Hermione and Lilian exchanged a look, then turned to Mary with something like concern in their eyes. "You're not having us on?"

Blaise, who had apparently been watching for some time, snorted with laughter at this.

"Blaise! You saw them, didn't you!" Mary accused the Slytherin boy.

"Yes," he said with a grin. "Yes, I did. And may I say, the look on your face when Granger and Moon didn't was hilarious."

Mary glared at him.

"What are they then?" Lilian asked.

"And why couldn't we see them?" Hermione added.

"They're thestrals, and you can't see them unless you've seen someone die."

Hermione looked like she was making a mental note to look up thestrals when she got to the castle, but Lilian said, "You've seen someone die?"

"Yes, genius. And so has Potter, apparently."

"Yeah, Quirrell. We already knew about that. Who have you seen die?"

Mary rolled her eyes. "Are you some kind of idiot, Lils? You can't just ask that!"

Lilian flushed, much as she had when Hermione and Mary had told her off for saying that she wished she had seen Quirrell die. Hermione was apparently thinking of the same instance, because she said, "You know, Lili, I'm beginning to think you have an unhealthy fascination with death…"

"Shut up, Hermione."

Blaise smirked at them. "It's fine, Potter, Granger. And in answer to your question, Moon: Husbands number three, five, and six." Then he looked past them and shouted, "Hey, Daphne!" running off after her as the carriages returned.

"Husbands three, five, and six?" Hermione whispered incredulously as the girls found a coach.

"It's kind of an open secret that Blaise's mum is killing them off. She's very good. She's on number seven, now, and they haven't got any real proof," Lilian explained, also in a whisper.

"It's one of those things you just don't talk about," Mary said.

"Are you serious?"

Both Mary and Lilian nodded earnestly as a Ravenclaw girl from their year, who was called Turpine or Turvin or something like that, joined them. The ride up to the castle was rather tense.

Sunday, 30 August 1992 Great Hall

The returning students filed into the Great Hall and settled at their usual tables, already populated largely by older students who had made it into the first round of carriages. Mary shook her head as she saw Hermione pull out her book again, and took a seat between Lilian and Theo. Slytherin table, as it had been the year before, was the quietest of the four, its conversation more along the lines of a susurration of whispers, rather than the joyful bellows of Hufflepuff or lively debates of Ravenclaw on either side. Gryffindor was practically roaring their greetings down the length of the table, always the loudest. Honestly, it was as though they hadn't all just spent eight hours on a train together.

Professor McGonagall stood at the center of the High Table, waiting for the latest arrivals to sit, and then set off a bang with her wand. Silence fell.

"The Sorting Ceremony will begin momentarily. We ask you to direct your full attention to our newest students as we welcome them to Hogwarts, and to whichever house in which they find their true home," she said, and disappeared to fetch the firsties from their waiting room.

The convocation of ghosts entered the Hall a moment later, finding their places among the students or hovering near the ceiling and in odd corners, and after that, the new first-years followed the Professor in, to stand before the High Table, facing the sea of students. Mary tried to remember if she had been as scared as most of them looked.

The Professor retrieved the Hat and its stool from somewhere off to the side of the hall, and stood back to allow it to sing. Mary didn't remember the exact words of the last year's song, but she was fairly sure it was different this year. The tune was jauntier, now, and she was fairly certain she had disliked something about the Slytherin stanza before, and she didn't have a problem with it now. This time around, though, the Hat tried to rhyme 'idea' with 'library-a' in the Ravenclaw bit. About half of that table winced.

The song ended, and the hall burst into applause, Slytherin just as loudly as any other table. It was probably, Mary thought, because they cared more about tradition than the silliness of a singing hat.

Professor McGonagall stepped forward with her parchment, and explained to the new students that they would simply put on the hat to be sorted. Most of them looked very relieved. Then, without further ado, she called the first name:

"Abbott, Janine!"

A little blonde girl who looked just like Hannah Abbott from Mary's year stepped forward nervously, sat on the stool, and pulled the Hat down over her eyes.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Janine went to join the lions, who were cheering wildly. At the Slytherin table, a few coins changed hands, where people had bet on which house would get the first student.

"Avery, Courtney!"

A tall brunette who Mary thought was the cousin of the now-seventh-year Slytherin prefect strolled out in front of the crowd. There was a short pause, and then:

"SLYTHERIN!"

Slytherin cheered, drumming their hands on the table and benches. Charisma Avery whistled loudly as her cousin joined them. They were still not as loud as the Gryffindors.

James Blackwell became a Hufflepuff, and then Honora Blum became a Slytherin. There was a bit of murmuring along with her cheers, since Blum was not a widely known name, but before she reached the table, an older boy, maybe a fourth- or fifth-year, said that they were an old German family.

Bottle became the first Ravenclaw of the year, and Bumper became a Gryffindor. Ignotius Carmichael and Charles Carpenter, both of whom had older sisters in the House, came to Slytherin, and by the time they reached Creevey, a thin boy with mousy, brown hair, Mary had stopped paying attention to everyone but the Slytherins. It wasn't as though she knew many of the first-years, anyway. The only one she had met so far was the Weasley girl.

Aside from Blum, there were no surprises for Slytherin. Tracey Davis apparently had a little brother, Roderick, who got a few looks as he joined them, as did Artemis Seran and Blake MacDougal (who had a sister in Ravenclaw), all of whom were half-bloods. Victor Turpin (That was that girl's name!) and Rhiannon Prewett also had family in other houses, but they were both purebloods, so no one had a problem with them. Among the boys, Derek, Higgs, Rowle, and Young all had family in Slytherin already, as did Flint, Lestrange, and the two Rosier girls.

Ginny Weasley became a Gryffindor, to the surprise of absolutely no one, and Phineas Zimmerman, the last firstie to sort, went to Hufflepuff.

The Headmaster stood, looking as much like a storybook wizard as ever in his star-spangled robes and pointed hat, long silver hair and beard flowing. "Welcome," he said, "to yet another year, or, if you are only just joining us, to a most excellent first year, at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! Before we get started on our delightful feast, I must, as always, say a few words: Xeriscaping! Mnemonic! Advise! Curmudgeonly! Thank you!"

Mary clapped politely, along with her nearby housemates. Lilian leaned over and whispered, "Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. If this is not where you're meant to be, please make your way back to the train…" which was more or less how Professor Flitwick began each of his lessons: "Welcome to first-year Charms. If this is not where you're meant to be, please make your way to the correct classroom now." In fairness to him, they had actually had an OWL student wake up and leave after that announcement, one day at the end of last April. Mary smirked at her friend. It was good to be back.

After a full year of Hogwarts food, Mary had decided she liked the roasted chicken the best, so unlike the previous welcome feast, where she had insisted on trying some of everything, she actually managed to take a full serving of something, like a normal person. She talked quietly with Lilian and Theo about the new students, and from there how many of them there were, and why Slytherin had ended up with fewer than most, and the population boom that had happened after the end of the last war. It turned out that most of the school had younger siblings or cousins who had been born between 1982 and 1984, so there would be several large classes coming in over the next few years. Lilian was one of the few who didn't, as she was the youngest Moon in her generation. Theo volunteered that he didn't have any little siblings, but the two Rosier girls were his cousins – his father's sister's children. Theo and Lilian had then had a short conversation about how they were all related, and Mary very quickly began to see the advantages to the policy of just calling all the purebloods 'cousin.'

Then Lilian, bringing the conversation back to the population boom, pointed out quietly that there would even be more muggleborns now, as young muggleborns had been targeted toward the end of the war as soon as they started showing signs of magic. They hadn't been well-represented in their cohort or the few before them. Mary couldn't decide whether she ought to be horrified about that. On the one hand, she thought yes, because targeting children just wasn't right, but on the other hand, she had been targeted as a baby, too, so it was a bit difficult to get worked up about it. While Mary was considering this, Lilian started a conversation with Perry Wilkes, who was on her other side, and Theo with Blaise.

Rather than trying to break into either of the conversations surrounding her, Mary returned to her favorite hobby – people watching. Most of the new Slytherins just looked confused as to why no one was talking to them, or slightly withdrawn, or had caught on and were whispering quietly amongst themselves. Mary didn't envy them the experience. Her first day at Hogwarts was probably the longest of her life – they still had to make it through meeting Professor Snape. The few prefects she could see were talking to each other, probably planning their exodus. Professor Snape was also watching the Slytherins, and raised an eyebrow at her when she caught his eye. She gave him a small smile, and he gave her the barest of nods. A positive interaction, on the whole. Professor Sinistra grinned and winked at her before attempting to engage her on-again, off-again lover in conversation.

Professor McGonagall was talking animatedly with Professor Flitwick, and Professor Sprout was slowly leaning further and further away from 'Professor' Lockhart as he gesticulated at her. The Headmaster was talking to Professor Vector, and Hagrid was carrying on a booming conversation with Professor Kettleburn, though she couldn't make out his words over the din, only the occasional sound of his voice. A new witch with plain features and limp brown hair was talking to old Professor Babbling, who taught Runes.

Unfortunately, Mary had sat on the side of the table that only had a view of Hufflepuff, which was a bad choice because she didn't actually know anyone in Hufflepuff, and so had no one in particular to watch. In general, they were welcoming their new cubs, or kits, or whatever baby badgers were called, with open arms. She couldn't see a single Puff not talking animatedly to at least one other person. She wondered what they thought of the Slytherins and grinned. Probably that they were all miserable, lonely people.

"What are you smiling at?" Lilian asked.

"Just wondering what the Puffs must think of us, being all quiet and un-friendly."

Lilian winked at her. "Didn't you know, those slimy Slytherins are horrible bastards, even to their own. They hate friendship and loyalty, and – oh, wait, Dumbledore's standing up again." Mary sniggered at the change of topic.

"Now," the Headmaster announced, "I do believe it is time for a few words more! First-years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all students. And a few returning students could use the refresher, too, I dare say."

He looked at the Gryffindor table, and the Weasley twins called out, "Guided tours," "For a Galleon!"

"Weasleys!" Professor McGonagall snapped, "Detention!"

"Sweet!" "Bobby!" "Robin-" "-son!" Mary and Lilian went very red trying not to laugh at that, especially when they heard Hermione's familiar giggle behind them. Draco, on the other side of the table and several people down, looked livid, probably reminded of his embarrassment on the train.

"Ahem! I have also been asked by Mr. Filch to remind you all that this year, as every year before, and every year after, there is to be no magic used in the corridors, before, during, between, or after classes. Ever. None. Not even if – Actually, no, sorry, Argus, if their lives depend on it, they may use magic, even in the corridors."

Most of the students laughed at this, even in Slytherin. The caretaker was less well liked than the Headmaster. At least he was just dotty, not malicious.

"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of term. Please contact both Madam Hooch and your team Captain if you are interested in playing for your house. Following last year's inquiries, Madam Hooch notes that as only second years and up may own their own brooms, first years are highly unlikely to make the team, but they are welcome to try out anyway.

"Some of you may be aware that Professor Quirrell has passed away, and will be unable to continue as our Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor. Professor Lockhart has graciously taken on the role." Lockhart bowed elaborately. "Professor Pierce has declined to renew his contract for the Muggle Studies post, and so that position will be taken over by Professor Burbage." The new, plain-looking witch stood awkwardly and waved before sitting back down.

"And finally," continued the Headmaster, "older students may recall that I warned of the possibility of a very painful death for anyone who trespassed on the closed wing in the third-floor corridor last year."

"Quirrell was warned!" someone shouted from Gryffindor. Dumbledore ignored him.

"It has been brought to my attention that a total of ninety-seven students made one-hundred and forty-nine excursions into that corridor. Of these, sixty-two managed to reach the end of the obstacle course, twelve after it was fully competed. You are to be commended on your bravery and perseverance, and I offer my congratulations to you all on your adventurous spirit and not-dying, even as I must condemn your listening skills." He shook his head in mock-sorrow. "In the future, I urge you most stringently to consider well whether curiosity and adventure are worth the risk to life and limb you undertake in pursuit of an unknown goal." But his eyes were still twinkling, and they could tell he was pleased with them. Several other professors, including Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall, glared at their students or gave exasperated sighs. All (pretended) seriousness vanished from the Headmaster's face as he twirled his wand like a baton, ribbons of light growing from its tip. "And now, before we go to bed, the song!"

Slytherin, as was their habit, plugged their ears during the school song, abstaining in protest of the cacophony which resulted when no two members of any other house chose to sing the same tune.

Dumbledore sighed, a radiant smile fixed on his face, "And now, to bed! Dismissed!"

Then Mary had a moment of complete déjà vu, as a prefect's voice sounded directly behind her ear. "This is Gemma Farley, speaking. Second-years and above are to make their way to the common room asap, in order to meet the first-years when they arrive. The password is Causinae resimus. Please recall, you have a five-minute head-start. Again, the password is Causinae resimus."

Mary was very impressed. The Direct Whisper Charm looked like it should be fairly easy to cast on a group, or to add one person at a time, but it was deviously difficult to cast on only certain members of a group. Leaving out the first-years would have been a tricky bit of concentration.

Then another girl's voice said, "This is Meissa Tiffald, fifth-year prefect. First-years, meet in the entrance hall by the main doors in five minutes."

And with that, all of Slytherin house stood, the older students arranging quickly to meet with friends in other houses if they hadn't on the train (most had, or had standing meetings), before hurrying down to the common room. The firsties in their pointed hats meandered toward the main doors, several new Slytherins nearly being run down by the mob of Gryffindor firsties following their new prefects, while the Hufflepuffs waited for the hall to clear, and the Ravenclaws argued about who ought to do what. None of their prefects really ever wanted the job, according to Hermione.

Hermione caught Mary and Lilian's eyes and waved as she was swept out the door by a flood of upperclassmen. They would meet in the library tomorrow after classes, like always. Mary heard a Gryffindor upperclassman yell, "Bobby Robinson!" as a pair of oblivious Ravenclaw boys forced her into one of the Great Hall doors. She had to laugh. She wasn't surprised that the Twins were getting their new favorite "muggle swear word" to catch on, but she was a bit surprised it was happening so quickly.

Down in the dungeons, Mary and Lilian found spots near Blaise, Daphne, and Theo to wait for the first-years. Daphne and Theo began to discuss whether Draco's clique would try to recruit the new students as allies, and whether they ought to bother. While they did so, Mary recalled her first sight of the dorms, and marveled that she had ever thought Slytherin House was a unified, terrifying mass of people. It was clear to her now, looking around, exactly where the lines between each group or clique lay, even if she didn't know everyone by name or exactly what their relationships were, yet, outside of the now-second-years.

It was broadly understood that there were two cliques in Mary's cohort, one led by Draco, and the other by Blaise. Within these groups, Pansy and Draco led sub-cliques of three each (Pansy-Millicent-Tracey and Draco-Vinnie-Greg), while Blaise and Daphne were generally seen together, as were Mary and Lilian (and Hermione and Aerin, but they didn't count, because they were Ravenclaws). Theo tended to go off on his own or hang out with Blaise and Daphne. He was more Blaise's friend than anyone else's. Mary thought it might be worth seeing if any of the new students were interesting additions to her little Slytherclaw group, but she wasn't terribly interested in trying to recruit them just so Draco couldn't.

Professor Snape arrived a few minutes behind Mary and her friends, and the first-years nearly ten minutes behind him. He flicked his wand. 10:25.

"Two minutes faster than last year," the professor noted. Mary had to wonder if he'd written it down somewhere. "Congratulations, Strega, Tiffald."

"They didn't have Crabbe and Goyle," Lilian whispered. Daphne shushed her.

"I am Professor Snape, Head of Slytherin House, and your Potions professor," he addressed the first-years. "Welcome to the House. Please introduce yourselves, one at a time."

Mary distinctly recalled that no one in her cohort had wanted to be the first to speak.

A very short girl with long, wavy hair looked around quickly, then cleared her throat before Professor Snape could "choose" someone to go first. "I'm Melinda Lestrange," she said, then poked the sandy-haired girl next to her.

"Carina Rosier. I go by Carrie."

"Amanda Rosier. Mandy."

Mary stifled a yawn. Fortunately, from what she remembered, the returning students were allowed to leave almost immediately after introductions.

The other first-years stepped forward quickly enough, giving the names Iggy Carmichael, Courtney Avery, Teddy Rowle, Victor Turpin, Nora Blum, Charlie Carpenter, Mel Flint, Blake MacDougal, Will Higgs, Artie Seran, Travis Young, Ria Prewett, Gus Derek, and Erick Davis.

Mary was certain she would forget all of their names immediately, at least the first names, and would have to be introduced to them all again, one-on-one. But she was more concerned about the fact that they had to be up for breakfast in eight hours already. Compared to this, the Urquharts went to bed early.

"Excellent," said Professor Snape. "The first House Meeting will be Saturday, the fifth of September, ten o'clock. My office hours remain Saturday, seven to nine in the evening, unless otherwise posted on the notice board. Note that Calvin Strega and Meissa Tiffald are your new fifth-year prefects. You all know my rules and expectations for you. I expect you to abide by them, as always. Slytherin House, you are dismissed. First-years and prefects, remain behind."

With a sigh of relief, Mary retreated down the girls' tunnel, following Lilian and Daphne. Her room was exactly as she'd left it, and she only just remembered to set her alarm before falling into bed and ordering out her lamps. It was certainly not the longest day of her life, but she thought it might have been the longest summer. She was glad to be back.