A/N: well I dunno if I should proceed so fast all of a sudden - I feel 10 chapters are sufficient enough of a start to the story, so in this chapter I'm going to move to Hogwarts. Well unless people wanted to see details of their training and stuff, in which case I could easily make this the 12th or 13th chapter… Give me your thoughts! Also, my update schedule will be sporadic from now on until about the end of November since I need to prepare for a government level exam (look up SPM or Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia if you want to know more about that). Feel free to check on my progress on the story through emails and stuff. Rest assured I will never forget this story. Now, onward to the next chapter!

Chapter 11: The start of the new school year

-Friday morning, September 1st-

"Oi, Ron! Hurry it up already or we're gonna be late for the train!" Fred said loudly next to Ron in his room, where he was still packing and trying to get ready as fast as he can.

"Shut up or come help me or something! If you don't wanna help then go bother someone else!" Ron said in slight annoyance.

"Oo, how polite of you. Perfect example of how prefects should speak at school. Prefect Hermione should learn from you," Fred said sarcastically. Ron scowled but decided not to reply and take the bait. George broke the momentary silence by saying, "Well little brother, everyone else are ready, save you. Also it was mum who asked us to come and hurry you up."

Ron growled, stashed everything into his trunk in a completely messy order, and said, "Fine, fine. I'm done now. Happy?" he said, trying to drag his trunk with him out of the room and to where the others are waiting, but he had quite a bit of difficulty as it is quite heavy. Even though he had gained some muscle mass in the past month due to the rigorous training they were put through, he still had a little bit of trouble with it.

"C'mon and help me, would ya?" Ron said. Fred sighed in mock annoyance. "Fine, but only this once," he said and with a smirk, he raised his wand and levitated the trunk for his younger brother.

"Must be nice to be able to cast magic without restrictions now," Ron muttered.

OOO

After a few moments of riding in ministry cars (the adults going onto one while the students going onto another), they finally arrived at King's Cross and immediately moved past the barrier to Platform 9¾. Fortunately for the students, they arrived a few minutes before 11, and started saying goodbye to their parents and the other adults there that they knew.

"Have a nice school term, Draco, and be sure to write often. Also, stay closer to Blaise and Ted. They're the friends you should have now, and you could work together to help others since you have the same ideals," Narcissa said in a soft whisper, trying not to let anyone hear her, save her son.

"Sure, mother. I'll be fine," Draco smiled, hugged his mother and went onto the train, shouting as he went, "See you in Christmas!"

Meanwhile, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley also said goodbye to their children in their own way, Mrs. Weasley by hugging them firmly and giving the twins an earful of advices and Mr. Weasley by shaking their hands and sending them off with a pat.

Before Harry went onto the train, Sirius stopped him with an outstretched hand. When Harry turned to look at his beloved (and now younger-looking) godfather, Sirius slapped something into his hands.

"What's this?" Harry questioned while looking at the rectangular package in his hands. Sirius smirked mischievously.

"Two-way mirror. You can talk to me simply by saying my name into the surface of the mirror. James and I used this a lot during our school days to plan mischief while we're at separate detentions." He then became more serious. "Given the current circumstances, I feel that giving you a way to contact me, and consequently the order, directly through your mirror is a must. Use it if you need anything or some sort of emergency occurs," he whispered into his godson's ear. Harry nodded.

"Thanks, Sirius." Harry said, waved, then went onto the train.

Orion hugged his parents and sister and stayed like that for a few moments, then slowly extricated himself from them, now ready to start his first year at Hogwarts.

"Now you better behave yourself at school, young man. I don't want to hear about any mischief or pranks done out of malicious intent by you from the school, got it?" Andromeda said sternly. Her husband nodded in agreement before adding, "That said, you should still have some fun at school. You can be a little fun-loving and mischievous, as long as your pranks don't hurt anyone."

Orion's older sister Nymphadora then spoke up. "Remember to write to us often, little bro. And good luck in your studies!"

Orion smiled happily. "I will. Thanks for the advices, mom, dad, sis. Love you all. And sis?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for allowing me to use the family protection necklace. I really can't thank you enough. As I said before, I'm scared, but with your love and protection on me I am less afraid now," Orion spoke, a thankful smile appearing on his face. His family members all nodded, patted him, waved, and sent him off. Hermione's parents also hugged and waved at their daughter and asked her to be safe at school. Even though they were muggles, they knew quite a lot about the magical world and knew that a war is slowly escalating, but they did not want Hermione's education to be influenced. Hermione promised them to be careful and boarded the train. With last waves and shouts of goodbye, the train lurched forward and then started moving to its destination.

OOO

On the train, the Weasley twins sat with their friends in a compartment, Draco went into a compartment with Blaise, Ted and a few other friends, Orion went in search of a compartment for himself with the excuse of wanting to make new friends, and the golden trio went into a compartment together with Ginny. Now sitting comfortably in the compartment, Harry started thinking about recent events. After the research about the Fidelius charm and family protection necklaces in the black library near the end of July, they brought their research notes and shared the results with the Order of the Phoenix. Consequently, new and significantly improved wards were added to #12, Grimauld Place, to increase its protection. The original Fidelius charm was also modified in such a way that anyone not directly told the secret by the secret keeper can no longer enter, effectively denying access to the beetle animagus who spied on them last time. Harry thought that the beetle might have been Rita Skeeter due to the woman in his visions looking familiar. As for the family protection necklace issue, Andromeda and Edward Tonks originally did not want to let Orion have it, stating that Nymphadora needed it more, but after much debate, Nymphadora decided to give the necklace to her younger brother, stating that she could protect herself as she is an auror. Eventually, the Tonks parents agreed with their daughter's decision after realising what she said was the truth. Orion also started learning runic magic and a few other types of magic that day, mainly taught by Remus (who got an O in his ancient runes N.E.W.T.s and knew a lot about other types of magic). They had all physically, magically and mentally grown at a rapid pace for the past month, due to the training they were put through under the tutelage of Kingsley, Moody, Remus and a few others.

As for the political state of the country, Cornelius Fudge had been sentenced for life in Azkaban due to committing treason, attempted murder, corruption, and other charges that he was found guilty of. Voldemort had also not made any other moves after the Diagon Alley attack at the end of July, which was pretty surprising for all the order members. Madam Bones had also secretly joined the Order of the Phoenix (Harry only knew because he overheard a conversation between Remus and Mr. Weasley about that). Rita Skeeter had also been writing articles, but most of the order members believe that the articles are either written out of desperation or written by an imposter, since they believed Harry when he said that the beetle animagus he saw might have been the annoying reporter. The whole of the wizarding world seemed to be at peace, and Minister Malfoy said that aurors and other DMLE personnel are being recruited and trained for war. Even though there was peace and no war in the world at the moment, the sense of tension was still there, and the whole situation of peace seemed strained and might change at any moment. Sure, more and more death eaters were caught recently, but many people thought that the whole thing might be a ruse. It wouldn't have mattered if they caught 100 death eaters or even 500, because most of them knew that as soon as the war escalated, Azkaban would be Voldemort's first target.

Harry frowned as his thoughts wandered and touched on the horcrux still within him. He had been using the connection between himself and the dark lord (against his better judgment) to receive visions and warn the order members about Voldemort's next possible moves. After he started occlumency training with Professor Snape, the connection had weakened significantly. He could no longer receive any visions from Voldemort unless he consciously lowered his occlumency shields, which he dared not do especially after the professor warned him that Voldemort realised what he was doing before the occlumency training and was planning to use the connection against him. Harry and Professor Snape's hatred for each other had cooled, mainly because the older man realised that Harry was not the boy he thought him to be. Harry was not arrogant, egotistical or annoying - in fact, it was quite the opposite. When the professor stopped hating Harry, naturally Harry stopped hating the man as well. This situation helped both of them a lot, particularly Harry, since a calm mind without hatred is essential to maintain occlumency shields. Also, after Harry talked to Dumbledore, the old man went back to #4, Privet Drive, to check on the Dursleys to see if they were, in fact, affected by the horcrux inside Harry. Dumbledore had confirmed Harry's thoughts, saying that they were indeed affected but it was not too late to help the Dursleys overcome the negativity the horcrux had brought them in life. The problem now was convincing the Dursleys to come closer to a bunch of wizards (as the cleansing ritual requires a group of wizards standing in a circle around the person who is to be cleansed), but Dumbledore said that he was working on it. Harry wasn't supposed to participate in the ritual though, since the horcrux within him will just re-influence the Dursleys again. After a while of thinking about recent events, Harry answered the call of Morpheus and drifted off to Dreamland.

OOO

Draco, Blaise, Ted and a few other Slytherins of the Light Alliance (they have adopted that name after Harry jokingly referred to them as such) sat in awkward silence in the compartment, looking at each other uncertainly. It was Draco who broke the silence when it got too tense and unbearable.

"So I guess… We'll be considered enemies by a lot of the Slytherins this year."

Many of the Slytherins with him nodded, except Ted who shook his head slightly.

"Not if we can convince them to join us, and not if some of them already realised their mistakes for being pureblood supremacists and supporting You-Know-Who," he said. The Slytherins once again nodded, more uncertainly this time.

"We have to look out for ourselves and each other from now on. It's kinda dangerous, being on the side of light when most of our housemates are probably You-Know-Who's supporters. I say we just try to avoid trouble from them. Also," Draco stopped, then sighed heavily before forcing himself to continue speaking. "Look out for our friends who might be under compulsions. I was under one, after all."

Everyone in that compartment stared at Draco, completely speechless. Draco sighed again, before telling his friends about the compulsion his father placed on him that was only discovered near July's end. That fact boiled the blood of all the Slytherins there.

"We have more reason to fight then," said Blaise. "If people, especially our own parents, dared to put compulsions on us… then… then we dare to fight back for our rights to choose freely!"

"yeah!" the compartment was filled with the sound of about 7 students shouting with zeal, now even more determined and motivated to fight than they ever were before.

OOO

Many would've thought that the compartment with the twins, Lee Jordan and a few other students would've been chaotic, noisy, and full of laughter. Instead, if anyone had stumbled in, they would've seen the students absentmindedly play wizard's chess or exploding snap with each other while discussing… serious issues.

"You guys heard of the Diagon Alley attack near the end of July?" Lee inquired. Most students there nodded, save the twins who frowned deeply.

"We didn't hear of it. We participated," Fred said grimly to the surprise of most.

"You what?" Lee asked again, his voice sounding disbelieving.

"Not that hard to believe, is it? The news did say Hogwarts students evacuated people and stuff, and Ron, Ginny, Harry, Hermione, and a few others were involved. Even Malfoy was!" George said, surprising their friends again. Before anyone could ask, Fred spoke up.

"Malfoy wasn't actually a git by choice, or so I think. I know for a fact that a compulsion was put on him by his own father when he was 4. It was removed recently, and when Malfoy realised what he did, he felt true guilt and decided to join the light in the war, instead of the side of his father or the death eaters."

The others were yet again shocked. They never realised the ever-so-annoying blond brat of Slytherin was actually under a compulsion. They knew, of course, how Lucius Malfoy was, and probably still is, a death eater, but they never suspected he would do such a foul thing to his own son… and wife, as is soon revealed by the twins.

"I pity him now," Lee said grimly. "At least, if all of that is true."

"It is," both Weasleys chorused.

"I have an idea," George smiled somewhat evilly. "We have been making pranks ever since our first year practically, why not develop our pranks into something… well… more?" he said, to the confusion of most save his other twin, whose evil grin matched George's own.

OOO

Orion found an empty compartment and immediately dragged his trunk into it. With effort, he lifted the trunk and placed it on the overhead carriage, before sitting down and starting to meditate. He had started practicing meditation and control ever since the beginning of August because of his seer abilities going out of whack.

FLASHBACK.

It was a day after Harry's birthday. The celebration was grand last night, with cakes and a lot of presents for the birthday boy. Everyone was tired from the intense partying done, so they decided to relax and enjoy the nice weather today… save Orion who just sat rigidly on one of the cushioned chairs, tensing ever so often. It wasn't long before Harry noticed.

"What's wrong, Orion?" he asked, only for his friend to flinch, as if surprised by the question. Without warning, Orion suddenly jumped up from the chair and punched Harry in his arm, startling the older boy and bruising him slightly. Andromeda glared at her son and began scolding him.

"What the hell is wrong with you, boy! I thought I told you never to punch anyone?" Andromeda shouted, making Orion flinch again. The younger boy then shuddered, not in fear of Andromeda, but in fear of… something else. His eyes looked haunted and distant, before he suddenly blinked and regained focus.

"Mum? What are you shouting about?" Orion asked before gazing at Harry, who was cradling his arm.

"Harry, what's wrong?" he asked, causing the older boy (and subsequently everyone else) to gaze at him curiously.

"You just punched him when he asked you why you were so tense, didn't you remember?" Sirius asked in confusion.

"He's obviously lying or something. How could he not remember what he did to Harry?" Andromeda said, glaring at her son.

"I… what?" Orion inquired, similarly confused. It was then that Dumbledore moved closer to Orion, gazing directly into the blue eyes of the young boy before him. After a while, the old man spoke.

"He isn't lying, Andromeda. HE truly has no recollection of what he did. I can confirm that with a hundred percent certainty. He doesn't have occlumency shields up and I could see into his mind, and what I saw is… disturbing. He seemed to have fuzzy… memories… of horrible events, which is fading even as we speak. Events where the war has escalated. He seemed to be seeing battles that-" he suddenly stopped as he saw Orion's eyes glaze over again, his whole body tensing. Expecting the boy to speak, he was surprised when he remained silent, flinching ever so often.

"Hmm," Dumbledore hummed to himself, thinking, before suddenly realising what was happening. He drew his wand, then held Orion in place with one hand, the boy not even reacting to the almost-too-harsh treatment. Waving it across Orion's forehead and over his head at times, Dumbledore started to chant… in English.

"Oh inner eye of the seer, focus on the reality, on the present, and close thy lids. With ancient magic I plead thee rest, and with ancient energies I beg the chakra of the third eye and the chakra of the crown to be temporarily sealed. I command thee to return from thy visions of the futures. Oh gateways to the futures, be sealed!" a glow suddenly surrounded Orion's eyes before spreading out, over his head. Orion relaxed again, eyes completely clear once again.

"What just happened?" he asked curiously. "One second you were there," he said to Dumbledore, pointing slightly away from him, "And the next you were here pointing your wand at me."

Andromeda had calmed by this point and gazed at her son curiously. "You really don't remember?"

Orion raised his eyebrows but before he could speak, Dumbledore raised his hand to silence him.

"He wouldn't remember. He was, in a way, stuck in his visions of the future. His inner eye was just too strong and he did not know how to control his powers so that he only sees what he wants to. Sure, you can't control the seeing of prophecies, but normal visions like this can be controlled."

"What does that have to do with anything though?" Orion's father questioned curiously.

"It has everything to do with it. He was so stuck in his visions that it seemed to be reality to him. I assumed that in his visions he saw something horrible and acted to ward it away, hence the accidental punch on Harry's arm. He only reacted to your scolding, Andromeda, because his willpower was strong enough to exert moderate control over his inner eye, stopping the visions temporarily. IT came back, though, so he stopped reacting to you again." Dumbledore explained.

"I.. I never intended to punch you, Harry! I'm sorry! Please, I really didn't know-" Orion said in guilt, but was interrupted by Harry saying that he forgave him.

"So, how to control his inner eye? You said it's possible," Hermione asked.

"Meditation. He must learn to sense his inner eye and learn to incorporate it into his consciousness so that he could open and close it like he could his normal eyes. I'll have Severus teach him simple meditation - he can't learn occlumency yet at such a young age since his mind is still developing, but when he can, it certainly would help."

END FLASHBACK.

Professor Snape started teaching him meditation a day after that incident, and Orion had been using it every day since then. He liked the calmness meditation provided him, and due to him being used to it, he could do it on the train no problem despite the noise of it moving. He also made sure that he was still aware of everything around him while meditating to not get caught off guard if anything happens. He received a small crystal ball from Harry on his birthday (the 28th of August) that helped him a lot in using his seer abilities as the crystal strengthens his control over his inner eye and allowed him to see things more clearly when he decided to open the eye. Harry didn't give him a larger crystal ball because according to him, the larger crystals radiate too much energy and would overwhelm Orion since he was still new to being a seer.

About five minutes after Orion entered the compartment, a hesitant knock sounded at the door, causing the young boy to stand and open it while peering out.

"H-Hello," said a small, timid boy with dark hair and emerald green eyes similar to Harry's, who was standing right outside uncertainly, his trunk right beside him on the ground. He was slightly shorter than Orion himself, and seemed to have trouble catching his breath, probably from dragging the heavy-looking trunk around. The boy continued by asking, "Is this compartment occupied?"

Orion smiled warmly and answered, "No, I am the only one in here. Come in and have a seat if you'd like to."

The boy smiled and accepted Orion's invitation, but when he tried to drag his trunk again he ended up tipping it over and falling himself.

"Oh, are you alright? I'll help," Orion said, reaching out a hand to help the boy, who accepted it with a blush appearing on his face.

"Thanks. Sorry, I didn't mean to trouble you."

"No trouble at all. We'll get your trunk in there together," Orion said, holding one of the trunk's handles while the boy held the other, and they dragged it in, Orion closing the door with one hand while doing so. He then lifted it and placed it lightly on the overhead carriage right next to his own trunk. When he gazed at the boy again he saw that the boy was still standing there and still blushing slightly.

"C'mon and sit," Orion said with a grin, gesturing to the large empty space next to him. The boy accepted the invitation.

"I didn't mean to trouble you, and twice in a day at that. Sorry. By the way my name is Mark. Mark Evans. I'm going to Hogwarts for the first time. What about you?" the boy asked shyly.

"It's no trouble at all, like I said earlier. And my name is Orion Tonks. I'm a first year too, and it's nice to meetcha," Orion replied, his warm smile still intact.

Orion and Mark talked to each other all the way to Hogwarts, even playing a few rounds of exploding snap (Mark didn't know what those were as he is a muggleborn but Orion taught him how to play) while they're at it. They got to know each other well and wished that they would be sorted into the same house. They shared their experiences with each other, Orion curious about life as a muggleborn and Mark's reaction when he knew that magic really existed, and Mark himself interested in Orion's life as a pureblood and what he might know about magic.

OOO

A few hours later, all the students got into their robes and got down from the train as they have just arrived at the Hogsmeade train station. There, standing slightly away from the tracks as usual, was Hagrid.

"Firs years! Firs years over ere and follow me!" Hagrid's voice boomed out as he scanned the crowd for those who came to the school for the first time. Many of the first years looked a little fearful, but followed Hagrid without asking too many questions. The rest of the students also moved along, towards the direction of the school.

"Firs years tah the boats. No more than 4 in one. The rest of yas know what tah do and where tah go," Hagrid said again. The rest of the students all moved towards the horseless carriages and got in… save Harry who gazed at the empty space in front of the carriages in surprise and slight fear.

"What're those things pulling the carriages?" Harry asked curiously, gesturing to what seemed like empty air in front of him. Hagrid, hearing the commotion from afar, looked up and walked over after asking the first years to stay put.

"Wha's up ere?" he asked.

"Hagrid… What're those things pulling the carriages?" Harry asked.

"Honestly Harry, there's nothing there… You were gesturing at empty air!" Hermione said in answer, but Harry shook his head.

" Something's definitely there. I dunno, they looked like skeletal horses with-" Harry was interrupted by Luna, who said, "With black, bat-like wings?"

Harry just nodded curiously. "Yeah. You can see them too?" He asked, and was answered with a nod from Luna, but the rest of the students were completely at a loss. Hagrid sighed slightly while gazing at both Harry and Luna.

"Those are thestrals. Mighty smart creatures they are, with a good sense o direction, but mos of ya dint see em an tha's usual. Those o you who can see em had seen death before. Only those who had grieved for someone who died can see em," he explained grimly. Harry and Luna both nodded in understanding, though Harry shuddered slightly as he knew exactly who he had grieved for… Cedric.

With a shrug, Harry went into one of the carriages, forcing himself not to burst into tears after remembering Cedric's death. Hermione, Ron and Ginny went into the same carriage as Harry, and they moved along to Hogwarts as Hagrid lead the boats where the first years are in, through the black lake and to the school.

OOO

After a few minutes, they arrived at the school, and the second through seventh years went to the Great Hall to wait for the first years and for Professor McGonagall to get ready to sort them. Soon enough, the double line of first years came into the hall and stood in front of all the other students, most looking frightened or nervous.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, first years. And to all the other students I say welcome back. Now before we start with our welcoming feast, we shall sort the first years into their houses, which will either be Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff or Slytherin. Each of you should be on your best behaviour at the school, as good behaviours, academic achievements and so on will earn your house points, and bad behaviour, bullying and so on will make you lose points. Alright, let's start with the sorting." Professor McGonagall said while bringing out the stool with the sorting hat on it. All the students remained silent, waiting for the sorting hat to burst into its song, while the first years waited anxiously and curiously. It wasn't long before the sorting hat started to sing. Its song was quite unlike usual, as instead of just introducing each house, it also sang about unity, encouraging all students from different houses to unite and face the dark times together as one. That unnerved many of the students, but before any of them said anything, Professor McGonagall started to call the first years forward, one by one in alphabetical order to be sorted.

"Abercrombie, euan" went to Ravenclaw, "Ashlee, Adams" went to Hufflepuff… and the sorting continued with many other students being sorted into their houses, some of them taking longer to be sorted.

"Evans, Mark!" The professor called out, and the dark haired student from before stepped forward shyly, sat on the stool and placed the hat on his head… and waited.

"Evans?" Hermione said curiously. "I heard his last name correctly, right?"

"Yeah… Why're you so interested in that?" Ron asked in confusion.

"Well it's just… I've seen him, with emerald green eyes and all… And Harry's mother is an Evans too, isn't she? So do you think they might be related somehow?" she said, her own curiosity peaked.

"Hmm… I've seen him in Little Whinging before, but I never gave much thought as to whether we might be related. It's always a possibility I guess," Harry said thoughtfully before falling silent to watch the boy be sorted into Gryffindor, to much cheering from his new housemates. "Tonks, Orion" was called forward after about a dozen more students after Mark was sorted.

Orion stepped forward nervously, his eyes looking down towards the ground. Even after meditating, he didn't feel calm about the sorting. He sat on the stool and placed the hat over his head, which slipped down over his ears and covered his eyes slightly.

"Well, well, well. Mr. Tonks… I didn't think I would have to sort such a complicated mind like yours today…" the sorting hat said in the boy's head. "Yes, this will take time, but I can sort you. Hmm, let's see… Oo, runic magic, eh? And a thirst for knowledge rivaling many Ravenclaws… but oh no, no, you are not suited to that house, as you have other stronger traits…

"You definitely are hardworking, but then you usually work hard only on things you are interested in, so not Hufflepuff… You are loyal but nah, that's not your strongest trait.

"You definitely could be cunning and are definitely ambitious… No, no, not Slytherin. You won't mix well there. There may be a few students there that you could befriend, but… nope…" the sorting hat continued to sift through Orion's memories and experiences, trying to find his strongest traits and inner strength. An image of war suddenly flashed in Orion's mind as his control over his inner eye slipped slightly but he managed to get it back to normal again. The sorting hat gasped slightly in his head.

"Ah, so you are a seer after all… I saw the memories of Dumbledore saying that you are but I never saw any proof, probably because seers forget what they see unless they know what they are doing back then… But then, this complicates matters." The hat continued saying.

"Please," Orion whispered. "Sort me to where I belong, not based on my visions…"

"Of course, child. I never sort based on those things. Let's see here… Your innermost strength lies in your… your bravery. You may not feel that way yet, as you haven't done any brave deeds so far, or so you think… Most 11-year-olds would've been scared half to death in the Diagon Alley attack but you, you stayed and helped, that's bravery to its finest. So, I will sort you in…"

"Gryffindor!" the last part was shouted out by the hat to the whole school. The Gryffindors cheered loudly, none more so than Harry, Ron and Hermione, who personally knew the boy, and Mark, who liked him ever since he met him on the train. Orion blushed at all the cheering, involuntarily causing his hair to turn red for an instant, causing Mark and a few others to gasp in slight surprise.

The sorting continued with about 10 more students being sorted to their respective houses, before the welcoming feast began in earnest. Everyone at the Gryffindor table introduced themselves to each other, making sure that the first years knew the other students and the other students were acquainted with the newcomers. After they had all stuffed themselves full with food, the feast ended with all the plates vanishing from the table and Dumbledore knocking his glass with a spoon to gain attention.

"Before you all leave, I have a few start-of-term notices I wish to announce. The first years, please note that the forbidden forest is forbidden. No one is to enter without permission and without the presence of a professor. Secondly, the number of banned items has increased, and a list of all the banned items can be seen pasted on the door of Mr. Filch's office. Next, I'd like to introduce you to Professor Dolores Umbridge, the senior undersecretary to the Minister of Magic, and your defense against the dark arts professor." As Dumbledore finished speaking, a short, toad-like woman wearing all pink clothing stood up to… well… no applause. The students were all finding the situation strange at the very least, and didn't really know how to react. As soon as the professor stood up, however, Orion tensed and started to clench his fists in anger for some reason, and the golden trio and Ginny seemed to pale slightly. Mark looked at Orion curiously, as his fists were shaking with suppressed annoyance.

"What's up?" Mark asked softly. Orion frowned, then turned to mark. "I dunno. Just this strange hatred I feel towards her, and I didn't even know her," he answered, his voice strained. 'And I'm losing control of my inner eye this very moment. There's this strange evil aura surrounding her and I keep on seeing visions of her torturing students and stuff…' Orion thought to himself. He never mentioned the last part to Mark because Mark didn't know what a seer is yet, and Orion didn't intend to reveal it to him just yet. Soon enough, the toadish professor started to speak.

"Hem-hem." She made a high-pitched, throat-clearing noise that somehow infuriated Orion even more and made Harry and the others pale more than before.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, students! I'm so happy to see your young and eager faces, and your eyes, full of determination, looking at me. Your smiles are so heart-warming…" Orion, Harry, Ron and Ginny completely tuned out what Umbridge continued to say, too disgusted by her falsely sweet voice to even continue listening. Most students (even the dumber ones like Crab and Goyle) stopped listening to her and started their own conversations. The only student listening to her now was Hermione, and even she seemed to be angered and tired of her speech. The professor seemed completely oblivious that she had lost the students' attention, only increasing her volume, as if that would help. Orion had to literally hold his fists under the table to prevent himself from exploding in rage. As it stood, his hair had completely turned crimson, his knuckles had turned white, and his teeth were clenched so tightly that his jaw began to quiver slightly. After a while, the toad sat down, but no student noticed, and so she accepted no applause. After a while, the students realised that Dumbledore was the only professor standing now, and all of them fell silent as Dumbledore readied himself to speak. Dumbledore's voice actually faltered slightly, as if at a loss for words for a moment, before he said, "Off to bed with you, and may Morpheus watch over your dreams. Study your books and get ready to learn on Monday - you have a full weekend ahead of you that you can use as reading time. Now, see you students!"

All the Gryffindors followed Ron, Hermione and the other Gryffindor prefects to the Gryffindor common room and were told that the password was "warrior's pride". Orion, Mark and the other Gryffindors went up to their own dorms as Harry, Ron and Hermione went to the 5th-year's dorms and Ginny went to the 4th-year's dorm. Harry was frowning slightly as he entered the room.

"Notice how Orion looked like he was ready to punch Umbridge when she was speaking? I wonder why, I mean he didn't even know her yet back then," Harry said to Ron.

"Dunno. I'd wager that he saw some sort of vision or something that shows him that Umbridge is evil or something? You never know. He seemed to tense for a bit before he started getting all riled up," his best friend answered him tiredly. "Also, that Evans boy does look like you, his eyes at least. He might really be related to you after all."

"Yeah, probably. I'll see if I could talk to him and Orion tomorrow, see if I can find out about Orion's anger towards Umbridge and whether Mark is a relative of mine." Harry said before he went to bed. Even though the day had been exciting, he slept soundly without any dreams.