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Harry and Hermione waved to Susan and the other Prefects as they entered the Great Hall, joining Ron, Neville, and Ginny at Gryffindor table. Before they had any time to talk, McGonagall was entering the room, leading a group of scared first years behind her.
Harry listened to the Sorting Hat's song with half an ear, noting with interest that it spoke about uniting the houses and forging bonds to last, the same thing he had been trying to accomplish through the DA.
One by one, McGonagall called up the nervous new students. Harry clapped for each one, no matter what house he or she went to, and made a mental note of the names so that he would be able to acknowledge them later. Especially if any of them joined the DA.
Finally, the first years were all sorted, and Dumbledore stood up. "There is a time for speeches, but this is not it. Tuck in!" He sat back down as the tables suddenly groaned under the weight of the food that appeared.
Harry and his friends immediately dug in, Ron with more relish than the rest; it had been a long time since the candy they had consumed on the train.
Once they all had some food in their stomachs, the Gryffindors began to speak of their summers, sharing information and greeting friends they hadn't seen during the trip to school.
When the food had disappeared, Dumbledore stood up again, spreading his arms and smiling. "To our new students, welcome! To our returning students, welcome back! I hope you have all had wonderful summers, and are ready to get back to a year of learning. I have a few start of term announcements to give before I send you off to your beds. First years should note that the Forbidden Forest is off limits to all students. A few of our older students should remember that as well." His eyes drifted to the Gryffindor table. "And next I would like to introduce two new professors. Professor Grubbly-Plank is here to take over for Professor Hagrid as your Care of Magical Creatures instructor." He waited while the applause died out. Many people were enthusiastic, as the lovable man tended to be a bit keen on the more dangerous creatures, but the reception at Gryffindor table was lukewarm, as they wondered where Hagrid was. "And Professor Umbridge is here to take over Defense Against the Dark Arts."
There was a minimal amount of clapping, as the new professor was an unknown, though Malfoy and a few of the more worrying Slytherins were applauding loudly, clearly knowing her through their parents.
Dumbledore beamed. "Those wishing to try out for their Quidditch teams should see –"
He stopped, but most people didn't know why, until he turned to his right, and they saw their new Defense professor standing up. As she was so short, most hadn't even realized it until that moment.
"Hem, hem," she spoke, her voice a girlish squeak that didn't match her body.
Parvarti and Lavender were grimacing at her horrendous pink cardigan and frilly outfit. On top of her head sat a huge black bow. Harry's only thought was that she looked like nothing so much as a huge toad, with that bow representing a large fly. Harry actually expected her tongue to snap out and grab it.
Umbridge waited as Dumbledore sat down and gave her his full attention. She smiled widely, but it didn't seem to reassure most students. "Thank you, all, for your wonderful welcome. I so look forward to getting to know you all. I'm sure we'll be such good friends!"
She paused briefly, and Harry, looking around, could see many students looking confused, or slightly sick, at the speech – it sounded like it was made for five year olds.
"Hem, hem. The Ministry has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. Each headmaster has brought something new to this historic school, and while each new head of this school has brought so much to the table, progress for the sake of progress must be prohibited." Harry looked around the room as he listened to Umbridge drone on and on, noticing that most students seemed to be tuning out, their eyes glazing over as their new professor talked. Some conversations broke out amongst the students around the hall. Only a few people actually seemed to be paying attention, other than the professors; Harry, Ginny, and Hermione were three of them. "...We must preserve that which needs to be preserved, perfect what can be perfected, and prune those practices that should be prohibited."
She sat down, and Dumbledore started clapping, his expression conveying polite interest. Most students were caught unaware, and only had time to bring their hands together once or twice before Dumbledore stood up and continued speaking. "Thank you, Professor Umbridge, for those… illuminating words. Now, as I was saying, Quidditch Captains will see to the tryouts –"
"Well, he was right about one thing," Harry murmured. "That certainly was illuminating."
Hermione nodded, but Neville and Ron seemed confused. Ginny looked as unsettled as Harry.
"What do you mean?" Ron asked, keeping his voice low as Dumbledore spoke.
Hermione shook her head. "Honestly, Ron, weren't you paying attention?"
Ron shrugged, but didn't speak, and after a moment, Harry continued. "Did you hear that about progress for progress' sake being prohibited?" Hermione and Ginny both nodded.
Neville leaned forward. "So what's it mean?"
Harry grit his teeth as Dumbledore dismissed the students at that moment. "It means, the Ministry's interfering at Hogwarts."
None of them had anything to say about that, as Hermione stood up and started calling for the new Gryffindor first years. Harry joined her, and together, they gathered up the eleven new students. Hermione beamed. "Welcome to Hogwarts! I'm Hermione, and this is Harry. We're your fifth year Gryffindor Prefects."
Harry put his hands in his pockets, and smiled reassuringly. "If you have any questions or problems, come see us. We're here to help."
With that, the two of them led the new students up to their new home for the next seven years. They explained about the staircases, and a few tricks they had learned to learn their way around the castle. Finally arriving at Gryffindor tower, Hermione informed them all of the password, and the Fat Lady's portrait opened, showing them all the comfortable common room.
Once inside, Harry and Hermione gave them a few last minute notices. "Boys dormitories are up the stairs and down you your left, and girls are the same on the right. Be warned though, boys, you won't be allowed in the girls rooms, so I wouldn't try it." Harry grinned as the six boys all turned red, while Hermione just rolled her eyes. "Once again, we're here to help you, so if you need anything, please don't be afraid to ask. We'll be around, so you should see us all the time." Harry looked around at the group, and then he glanced at Hermione, before continuing. "The last thing we wanted to tell you about is the DA. It's a study group that we formed last year for students who need or want some extra assistance with their schoolwork. It's an inter-house group for all years, so I hope you'll all consider joining. We'll let you know when the first meeting is."
Hermione nodded, as she wrapped up. "Now, it's getting late, and I'm sure you all want to settle in, so why don't you go up to your dormitories."
The first years all scattered, and Harry and Hermione moved over to the chairs by the fireplace, where a group of students was gathered. It included Ron, Neville, and Ginny, in addition to several now second year students, and a few third years.
Harry smiled at little Evan and Sheila, who were now proud to be second years. "Hey guys, how was your summer?"
Evan grinned. "It was great," he chirped excitedly. "My parents were really pleased with my marks. They took me on holiday to France as a congratulations present."
Harry nodded, his smile widening. "That's great, Evan."
Sheila chimed in, talking about her own summer for a few minutes, before she paused. "We were wondering if you knew when the first DA meeting would be," she asked nervously.
Harry shrugged, glancing at his friends. "We haven't really talked about it yet. This year it'll be a little more challenging, since we'll need to coordinate between the Quidditch practices as well. It might be easiest to move the meetings to the weekend. We'll talk about it with McGonagall, Flitwick, and the other leaders, and we'll put up a notice when we have a time."
Evan and Sheila nodded, thanking them, before jumping up and returning to their friends.
Harry shook his head, chuckling as he watched them run away. "Were we ever that energetic?" he asked rhetorically.
Hermione looked like she wanted to say something, but Harry, looking at her, knew exactly what she was going to bring up, and held up one hand, as the other moved to rest across Ginny's shoulders, drawing her closer to him. "Don't answer that, Hermione," he admonished.
His fellow Prefect simply smiled and shook her head, leaning closer to her own boyfriend, who copied Harry's movements, though not without a look of amazement that she was being so open with him in public. Hermione was usually a very reserved person, and limited their actions to pecks on the cheek or lips, and handholding, when in view of other people. Not that she went much further when they were alone, but he knew she was a cautious person, and wanted to take their relationship slowly.
"So where do you think Hagrid was?" Neville asked.
Harry bit his lip. "I don't know, but the fact that Dumbledore didn't say indicates that he probably doesn't want any attention drawn to his absence."
Hermione nodded. "Most likely, he's doing something for… you know," her voice dropped to a whisper as she leaned in, "the Order. You told us about it, Harry. Remus and Sirius even told you who some of the members are. Did they tell you if Hagrid's involved?"
Harry shook his head slightly, his voice just as quiet as he answered, "They didn't say anything specific about him, but they did give me a picture of the Order from the first war, and Hagrid was in it."
They stayed up talking for another half hour, before heading up to bed themselves. They were lucky this year that September First had fallen on a Friday, so they had the whole weekend to get back into the swing of things, but it had been a long trip, and they were all tired.
XXX
Harry and Hermione spent most of Saturday showing the first years around the school, so that hopefully they wouldn't get too lost trying to find their classes. They ran into Susan and Justin with the Hufflepuff first years on the grounds during their tour, and decided to band together for the rest of the day. Harry and Hermione had spent a lot of time at the end of August discussing what they would do as Prefects, and Susan had joined in as well, wanting to be a good leader for the younger years. Harry had mainly drawn on what he wished he had had someone to do when he was a first year, and they had gone from there. Since they had the whole weekend, Harry thought it would be a good idea to help the new students get acclimated to the castle.
The Gryffindor and Hufflepuff first years quickly got to know each other, as the fifth years encouraged them to talk about themselves and their lives. It was easy to see which ones were more used to house boundaries, as those were more hesitant to talk to the others, but they soon opened up. The ones who were more eager were obviously muggleborns, or came from more liberal families, as they had no reservations about interacting with another house. It was sobering to see just how divided Hogwarts had been for so long, that new students had learned from their parents or older siblings to be wary of those in different houses. Even if, traditionally, the only real rivalry was between Gryffindor and Slytherin, house boundaries had existed between the others as well, so Harry was glad to see that coming to an end.
Sunday, Harry and Ginny went out to the Quidditch pitch immediately after breakfast, and, as suspected, ran into Blaise and Daphne. Surprisingly, they were joined by Luna as well; Harry saw the way the Slytherin male looked at the younger Ravenclaw, and smiled. Those two made no sense, but they really did seem to work, and he was happy for his friends. He was glad they were still together.
Daphne and Luna went to the stands to watch, while the other three immediately took to their brooms and started to fly.
A short while later, a fourth broom joined them, and Harry waved hello to an excited Colin Creevey. Blaise and Ginny also said hello and the four spent another half hour flying together.
Eventually, Harry came to a rest beside Blaise, and the two of them watched Colin and Ginny for a few moments, before Blaise spoke. "You know, as much as I hate to admit it, you Gryffindors are growing on me."
Harry chuckled, looking over at his friend. "Colin does take some getting used to," he admitted. "Are he and Daphne actually together? I saw them getting closer at DA meetings last term, but I didn't think there was more to it."
Blaise shrugged one shoulder. "I think she's amused by his… tendencies. She's got that whole 'ice queen' reputation, but for some reason, I think she actually likes him."
Harry nodded his understanding, and spent another moment in silence, watching his girlfriend fly. She really was quite good.
After a minute, he looked over at the Slytherin. "How's Malfoy been?"
He sounded genuinely concerned, which was nice for Blaise to hear. He shrugged again. "As unbearable as ever. He and Parkinson are already lording their badges over the rest of us. They just brought the first years back to the common room and told them not to bother their betters." Blaise sounded disgusted.
Harry was as well. "I can't believe you and Daphne didn't get it. You two deserved to be Prefect so much more."
Blaise just rolled his eyes. "Unfortunately, things don't work that way in Slytherin."
Harry nodded, understanding. Once more, he wondered just why Dumbledore kept Snape around: he was a horrible professor, an all around bully, and a disgraceful head of house. Things had been a little different last year, slightly better once Harry had proved that he had improved in the subject, but the man was still an all around tyrant.
The students spent the rest of the morning outside, before they all headed in for lunch together. Snape and Umbridge both glowered at the mix of houses entering the Hall, but most people didn't even bat an eye. They had gotten used to the change over the last year, and were actually enjoying it; many students had made some good friends in other houses that they wouldn't have without the DA.
The Gryffindors waved goodbye to the others and headed to their own table to eat, sitting in the empty seats by Ron, Hermione, and Neville.
XXX
Angelina Johnson sat down next to Harry as he and his friends were talking in the common room that afternoon.
Harry looked up and grinned. "Hey, Angelina, congratulations by the way," he nodded to the Captain's badge pinned to her robes.
Angelina smiled. "Thanks," she replied. "Listen, I want to hold tryouts for a Keeper next weekend. Saturday morning work for you?"
Harry nodded. "I actually wanted to speak with you about that. Something Viktor and I talked about last year was the benefit of having a reserve team. Have you thought about maybe holding tryouts for all positions? After all, next year it'll just be me and Katie, plus whomever gets the keeper spot, assuming they're not a seventh year as well. Not to mention all the problems with injuries we've had over the last few years," he grinned ruefully, knowing that those injuries mostly involved him.
Angelina thought about it. "That's a good idea, Harry, thanks. All right, I'll put the notice on the board tomorrow."
She went off to speak with the other members of the team, and Harry looked over at his girlfriend.
Ginny grinned. "They're not gonna know what hit them," she said confidently.
Harry nodded and leaned down to kiss her. "You're going to blow the competition out of the water, Gin."
Ron bit his lip and shifted in his seat. "Erm, Harry?" The couple pulled apart, and looked at him. Ron coughed. "I was wondering if you might… erm… well, I want to try out for keeper, but I'd like to get some more practice in before tryouts."
Harry nodded understandingly. They had played a lot of Quidditch over the summer, and he knew Ron was a contender; his only problem seemed to be nerves. "How about we go down to the pitch a couple times this week, to practice."
Ron smiled. "Thanks, mate. And Ginny, I know you're really good at chaser, so I hope you'll be able to whip me into shape."
Ginny laughed lightly. "I won't hold back," she promised.
XXX
Early Monday morning found the six friends on their now customary run. Five laps around the Quidditch pitch before five of them returned to Gryffindor tower, and Susan to Hufflepuff, to get ready for their first day of classes.
McGonagall handed out schedules at breakfast like always. She gave Harry his with a strained smile, which he returned. He knew that she was feeling some pressure, both from Dumbledore and Umbridge; she hadn't said anything, but she had returned from a meeting with the headmaster later into the summer almost literally breathing fire, and he had heard several loud crashes come from the dueling room before she had re-emerged, looking slightly calmer.
And Umbridge just needed every drop of patience anyone had, to stomach. That wasn't exclusive to Minerva.
Harry examined his schedule, studying it to see which books he would need today.
Schedule for Harry James Potter
Monday:
0900-0950: History of Magic
1000-1150: Potions
1300-1350: Arithmancy
1400-1550: Herbology
1600-1750: Transfiguration
Tuesday:
0900-1050: Charms
1400-1650: Care of Magical Creatures
2300-0100: Astronomy
Wednesday:
1000-1150: Arithmancy
1300-1350: History of Magic
1400-1550: Herbology
1600-1750: Defense Against the Dark Arts
Thursday:
0900-1050: Potions
1300-1450: Ancient Runes
1600-1650: Charms
Friday:
0900-1050: Transfiguration
1400-1550: Defense Against the Dark Arts
1600-1650: Ancient Runes
Ron groaned as he read through his schedule. "Look at this, History and Potions back to back, first thing this morning! Are they trying to kill us?"
Hermione and Harry rolled their eyes at Ron's dramatics, but Harry couldn't help but agree.
Ginny chuckled a little. "Make sure you eat a good breakfast. Can't have Snape dock all those points on an empty stomach, now, can we?"
Harry laughed, and obediently dug into his breakfast with relish.
Ron grimaced, but returned to his food, easily eating three times what any normal teenager would by the time they had to leave to get their books.
The fifth years separated from Ginny early on, as she headed to Transfiguration and they made their way to the History classroom.
XXX
Potions class started promptly, as it always did. Snape never failed to keep the attention of his students, without even raising his voice. "As I'm sure you are all undoubtedly aware, this year is your OWL year. As such, come June, you will be sitting your Potions exam. I only take those who achieve O's on their exam, so unfortunately, at the end of the year, quite a few of you will be saying goodbye." Snape looked extraordinarily pleased by this, as his eyes ghosted over to the Gryffindor side of the room, to Harry in particular.
Harry just met his glare head on, ready to prove once and for all, that he wasn't as horrible at this subject as Snape thought.
The professor flicked his wand at the board. "The Draught of Peace. Instructions are on the board, you have an hour and a half. Begin."
The students immediately got to work. Harry and Neville were working together, as Harry knew Ron and Hermione would like to share a table.
Harry knew Neville's nerves were a big issue in this class, so he spent a good deal of time calming the other boy down as they got out ingredients and started to chop. Since Neville had read the book Harry had leant him, it was pretty obvious that the boy had improved greatly since last year. All he really needed help with was blocking out Snape's presence.
Ron was also doing significantly better, and the results of their summer studies were passable potions that they actually felt proud of. Snape's eyes bore into Harry's as he passed in the vial, but the professor didn't say anything, though his sneer was large enough. Harry knew that, no matter how good he was in class, Snape would never see him as anything other than his father. It wasn't right, and it wasn't fair, but it was what it was, and he couldn't change it. He was only too thankful for the fact that OWLs were graded by an impartial third party, rather than the professors themselves.
XXX
The rest of the week continued to pass predictably. Each professor spent a few minutes at the beginning of their first class discussing OWLs. Harry knew that he would need to put in a lot of work this year to keep on top of the load of homework, especially if the first week was just 'easing them into the new year'. Hermione, of course, was on top of everything, but Ron and Neville were definitely feeling the strain, before they even made it halfway through the week.
Harry was somewhere in the middle, but he figured that, considering he also had Prefect duties as well as DA planning, he was doing all right – he ignored the fact that Hermione had all that as well and was doing much better than him. She was just incredibly brilliant, and he knew he could never hope to match her.
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