Chapter 11
Back to Hogwarts
"Where would we be without our traditions? Probably a lot farther down the road."
General (ret.) Jigme Dorji Wengshuk
Harriet, Ronnie, Dora, and Hermione flattened themselves against the wall as Mr Weasley hurtled past them. He was in such haste that his robes were on backwards. It was September the first, and they were finally getting ready to make their way to King's Cross for the train ride to Hogwarts.
The four girls entered the kitchen. Mrs Weasley was bustling around, muttering about trying to find a quill. Mr Weasley was bent over the fire and talking breathlessly. Harriet wondered what Mr Weasley was doing talking to a fire, before she finally saw past Mr Weasley. Her jaw fell open.
Mr Weasley wasn't talking to the fire. He was talking to Mr Diggory's head which was floating in the fire. It was speaking rapidly, apparently oblivious to the flames licking around its bearded chin and ears.
"—Muggle neighbours heard bangs and shouting, so they went and called those—what do you call them—please-men. Arthur, you've got to get over there."
"Here!" Mrs Weasley said, pressing a bottle of ink, parchment, and quill into Mr Weasley's hands.
"It's a real stroke of luck I heard about it," Mr Diggory's head went on. "Had to come into the office early to send a couple of owls, and I saw the Improper Use of Magic lot getting ready to set off. If Rita gets hold of this one, Arthur…"
"Well, what does Mad-Eye say happened?" Mr Weasley asked. "Did you hear?"
Mr Diggory's head rolled its eyes. "Says he heard an intruder in his yard. Says they were creeping towards his house but got ambushed by his dustbins."
"What did the dustbins do?" Mr Weasley asked, scribbling frantically.
"Made one hell of a noise and fired rubbish everywhere, as far as I can tell," Mr Diggory said. "Apparently one of them was still rocketing around when the please-men turned up."
Mr Weasley groaned rubbing his forehead. "And what about the intruder?"
Mr Diggory rolled his eyes once more. "Arthur, you know Mad-Eye. Someone creeping into his yard in the dead of night? More likely there's a very shell-shocked cat wandering around somewhere covered in potato peelings. But if the Improper Use of Magic lot get their hands on Mad-Eye, he's had it—think of his record! We've got to get him off on a more minor charge, something in your department. What are exploding dustbins worth?"
"Well, we've never charged him with any Misuse of Muggle Artefacts issues before, so we could just give him a warning…" Mr Weasley said, ink splattering as he dabbed his quill into the ink bottle hurriedly and continued writing. "Mad-Eye didn't use his wand, did he? He didn't attack anyone?"
"I'll bet he leapt out of bed and started jinxing everything in sight. But they'll have a hard time proving it. There aren't any casualties."
"All right, I'm off," Mr Weasley said, stuffing his notes into his pocket and hurrying from the kitchen.
Mr Diggory looked around at Mrs Weasley. "Sorry about this, Molly," he said, more calmly "bothering you so early and all, but Arthur's the only one who can get Mad-Eye off, and Mad-Eye's supposed to be starting his new job today. Why he had to choose last night of all nights…"
"Not to worry, Amos," Mrs Weasley said. "Sure you won't have a bit of toast or anything before you go?"
"Oh, go on then," Mr Diggory said, chortling.
Mrs Weasley took a piece of buttered toast from the stack on the kitchen table, put it in some fire tongs, and held it out for Mr Diggory. Mr Diggory's head took the toast in its teeth and smiled awkwardly.
"Fanks," he said cheerfully before vanishing.
A few minutes later, Mr Weasley returned to the kitchen. He called goodbyes to everyone, turned his robes around the right way, set a comb to start combing his hair all on its own and grabbed a piece of toast for himself.
"I'd better hurry," Mr Weasley said through a mouthful of toast. "Have a good term, girls. Molly, are you going to be alright taking the kids to King's Cross on your own?"
"Oh of course I will, Arthur," Mrs Weasley said. "I'll have Bill and Charlie with me. You look after Mad-Eye."
"Oh, right, right, right," Mr Weasley said hurriedly. He bid everyone in the room a further farewell before he Disapparated with the usual loud crack.
"Someone say Mad-Eye?" Bill asked as he entered the kitchen, Fred and George in tow. "What's he up to now?"
"He says someone was trying to break into his house last night," Mrs Weasley answered.
"Mad-Eye Moody?" George asked as he took a seat and began to spread marmalade over a piece of toast. "Isn't he that nutter—"
"Your father is very fond of Mad-Eye Moody," Mrs Weasley said sternly.
"Yeah, well, dad collects plugs," Fred muttered to Harriet as Mrs Weasley left the kitchen, leaning aside as Charlie leaned past them to grab some toast. "Birds of a feather…"
"Well Moody was a damn good Auror in his day," Bill said.
"Old friend of Dumbledore and Howe, isn't he?" Charlie asked.
"Yeah, well Dumbledore and Howe aren't exactly what you'd call normal either," said Fred. "I mean okay they're geniuses, but still."
"Um, if I can interject, uh, who is Mad-Eye Moody?" Dora asked.
"An old ex-Auror," Charlie explained. "Met him once when Dad took me to work with him. One of the best Aurors ever to work for the Ministry. Daniel was one of his protégés. Moody worked really closely with Howe from what I gather. Howe figured out who did it, and Moody brought them in. Made them both loads of enemies though, but as Moody was the one who did the actual arresting, he's had the bigger target painted on his head. He's been getting pretty paranoid about that now he's gotten older. Doesn't trust anyone… sees dark wizards everywhere…"
Mrs Weasley walked down into the town to order some taxis to take them to King's Cross. Percy wasn't coming as he had to work.
"Arthur tried to get Ministry cars for us," Mrs Weasley explained in an undertone as they loaded their trunks into the boots of the three taxis. "But there weren't any to spare, what with the Ministry hunting for Kinney and the former Death Eaters and all… oh dear, they don't look happy, do they?"
The taxi drivers did indeed look miserable as they helped load the trunks. It was a total downpour, and everyone kept slipping on the wet grass and muddy soil. Pigwidgeon was fluttering about his cage, screeching wildly. The mood wasn't helped when Fred's trunk fell and burst open, setting off some of his Dr Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks. It was made worse by the fact that the commotion startled Crookshanks who clawed his way up the nearest driver's leg.
They were crammed into the vehicles and to make matters even more unpleasant Crookshanks was still on edge. He would occasionally panic as they drove along resulting in Harriet, Hermione, Dora and Ronnie being covered in scratches by the time the taxis arrived at King's Cross. Not only that, but the rain had lost none of its potency and they were all soaked and shivering as they hurried up to the entrance.
Despite the driving rain, Harriet paused on the threshold and listened. She had to hear it. Hearing the violin the night of the attack on the World Cup campsites had reminded Harriet that last year she had not been able to hear the violin because she had been ushered under guard into the station by Aurors.
"Harriet, come on," Ronnie said sticking her head back out.
"Just a second," Harriet said, still listening.
"Are you mad?" Ronnie asked, looking bewildered.
Harriet sighed. The rain was coming down too hard for her to hear, and even then, the violinist would have to be mad himself to be sitting out in weather like this. Harriet felt her shoulders sag as she followed the rest inside.
Walking beside her friends, she pondered the violinist. Somehow, deep down, Harriet knew that the violin she'd heard at the match was the same as the one the man had played her first time at King's Cross. Yet, there was a tiny voice that told her it was unlikely. Overall, Harriet was sure it couldn't be a coincidence. She paused again as another memory sprang to mind. She'd also heard a violin the night Colin Creevey had been petrified, when she was trying to fall asleep afterwards.
What did that mean? She'd been greeted upon entering the magical world by a violin. Then other times when scary things had happened, there had also been a mysterious violin to comfort her. She thought of the violinist. What if he was an Auror assigned to guard her and look out for her? But that didn't make sense to Harriet. If that were the case, surely she wouldn't have needed Dawlish. And assigning an Auror to watch one person for four years was a bit excessive, wasn't it?
"Harriet, are you alright?" Hermione asked.
Harriet gave her head a shake as she came back to reality. "Oh, yeah, just remembering something."
"What's that?" Dora asked.
"My first trip to King's Cross," Harriet explained. "There was a violinist outside the door when I first arrived."
"Oh yes!" Hermione said. "I saw him too!"
"So did I!" Dora said, her eyes going wide in remembrance. "My mum put some coins in his cup."
Ronnie frowned. "I didn't see him…" she said sounding a little put out. "But we got there late and we were in a real hurry trying to get to the train. If it wasn't for Fred spotting you, with Hedwig, talking to the guard, we would have missed you too."
Harriet felt her cheeks get warm when she looked at Fred as he walked through the barrier. Without Fred, Harriet might not have made it onto the train in time for her very first trip to Hogwarts.
"Well, let's get to the train so we can get a good compartment," Dora said smiling.
"And find the boys," Hermione added.
They hurried over to the secret entrance to Platform 9 ¾. Dora and Ronnie went first, leaning against the wall as casually as they could and vanishing from sight. Harriet and Hermione then stepped up with their trolleys. Harriet paused again and her face broke into an instant smile. There it was; just loud enough to hear over the din was the unmistakable sound of a violin.
"Ready?" Hermione asked.
Harriet was about to ask Hermione if she could hear it but something about the look on Hermione's face told Harriet that she couldn't. Harriet simply smiled and nodded. They followed Dora and Ronnie's lead, leaning against the wall as though resting. At once, they popped through onto the other side.
The noise level tripled. Not only was there the din of voices, but there was also the hooting of hundreds of owls, the meowing of hundreds of cats, and most welcoming, the steady hissing of the big scarlet steam-engine that dominated the platform: the Hogwarts Express.
Ronnie and Dora had already found the boys. Harriet was relieved to see Marcus was smiling and laughing with everyone else. They had all been worrying about him over the last week since the attack. Dora had also found her own family though Harriet didn't see Emma with them.
"Where's Emma?" Harriet asked.
Dora smiled and rolled her eyes. "Running around finding everyone in her dorm to tell them all about Maximus."
Harriet laughed. They loaded their trunks into the same compartment as the boys, and hurried back onto the platform to say their goodbyes.
"Well, might be seeing you sooner than you think," Charlie said with a chuckle as he hugged Ginny goodbye.
"Why?" Fred asked.
"Oh you'll see," Charlie said, his grin growing. "But don't tell Perce I mentioned it. 'Classified information until the Ministry sees fit to release it' and all that."
"Yeah, maybe I'll get some time off to come watch some of it," Bill said rubbing his chin in thought.
"Some of what?" George pressed.
Just then, the whistle blew and Mrs Weasley began chivvying them all onto the train. They hurried to their compartment and leaned out the window.
"Thank you for having us to stay, Mrs Weasley," Hermione said.
"Oh you're quite welcome, dears," Mrs Weasley said. "I'd invite you all to stay for Christmas too, but—well—I imagine you'll all want to stay this year. What with one thing and another."
"Mum!" Ronnie moaned, her own impatience getting the better of her too. "What do you know that we don't!?"
"Oh I'm sure you'll find out this evening," Mrs Weasley said. "Mind you, knowing you lot I'm quite glad they've changed the rules!"
"What rules?" the whole group asked at once.
"I'm sure Professor Dumbledore will tell you soon. Now, promise me you'll all behave yourselves. Especially you two," Mrs Weasley said bending a suspicious eye on Fred and George. Apparently, she'd gotten over the fear of her last words to them being a reprimand.
At that moment, the pistons hissed and the train lurched forward. "Tell us what's happening at Hogwarts!" Fred called out the window after the three.
However, Mrs Weasley, Bill, and Charlie merely waved as they shrank smaller and smaller. The train hadn't even rounded the corner when she, Bill, and Charlie Disapparated.
Fred and George both hmphed and headed off in search of their best friend, Lee Jordan. The rest sat and quickly closed the window to keep out the rain.
"Bagman wanted to tell us what was going on at Hogwarts," Ronnie muttered darkly. "Remember?"
"Uh, no?" Harriet said.
"Oh yes, you were in the tent talking with Daniel and Remus," Hermione said.
"Shhh," Dora hissed and jabbed her thumb at the open door. The group went silent and listened as an all too familiar voice drifted in.
"…Father considered sending me to Durmstrang, you know. He knew the Headmaster, before, you know…"
"But it's so far away," Pansy said, sounding a bit shocked.
"Yeah, that's what my mother said," Draco replied. "Father thought Durmstrang had a more sensible line than Hogwarts, especially with Dumbledore in charge. You know, because Dumbledore's such a mud—gle lover."
"That's true," drawled Blaise.
Harriet squinted, thinking. She'd caught it, though she wasn't sure anyone else had. By the sound of it, Draco had almost said "Mudblood," but he'd corrected himself and said Muggle instead.
Hypocrite, Harriet thought, thinking of Kenley.
"Not only that, but at Durmstrang they used to actually learn dark magic, under Karkaroff, instead of just that defence rubbish."
"Apparently that's changing now," Pixie Fanfarró said, disdainfully. "Some new headmistress my father said. Most aren't happy with her, think she's an upstart. Apparently she only won by a single vote."
"That's democracy for you," Blaise muttered darkly.
Hermione glowered and tip-toed to the door, sliding it shut as quietly as she could.
"I Wish they'd all gone to Durmstrang," she said angrily as she sat back down. "Then we wouldn't have had to put up with them."
"Hear, hear," Marcus muttered.
"Where is Durmstrang?" Ronnie asked.
"Somewhere in the far north," Scott said. "Most people think it's somewhere in northern Scandinavia, like Norway or Sweden."
"You mean no one knows?" Harriet asked.
"Well, the people who go there, or went there, do," Hermione explained. "But it's a carefully guarded secret, just like Hogwarts."
"Hogwarts is a secret?" Ronnie asked in bewilderment.
Dora rolled her eyes. "Of course it is… could you really just hop on a broomstick and fly to Hogwarts on your own?"
"Well… no," Ronnie admitted.
"Right," Scott said. "I know it's unplottable too, because no one's been able to put it on a map."
"Un-what-able?" Harriet asked.
"Un -plot -table," Hermione said. "It's an enchantment on a location that keeps it from being placed on a map. Hogwarts is the same way."
"But Hogwarts isn't exactly discreet," Harriet said. "It's a dirty-great castle on a hill right next to a great big lake in the middle of a clearing."
"Well, the World Cup stadium was even larger," Scott said shrugging. "Besides, Hogwarts' defences are mostly meant to keep it hidden from Muggles."
"How so?" Ronnie asked.
"Well, for one thing, it disguises itself so to a Muggle it looks like a mouldering old ruin with a bunch of signs around it declaring it unsafe to enter."
Harriet felt a little light click on in her brain at this. She'd heard someone talk about seeing Hogwarts as a ruin before. But who, and where? Kieran was looking equally confused. Harriet shook her head.
"So, Hermione," Kieran said, sounding as though he was choosing his words carefully. "Have you, you know, heard anything more about Fern?"
Hermione's lips tightened and she sighed. "No… I didn't think to ask her about her address to send her letters or an owl, or a phone number to call," Hermione said. "There wasn't really time… and I wasn't thinking… I was just so…"
The rest of the group gave each other significant looks.
"Hermione," Scott said, sounding even more cautious than Kieran had. "There's… well… something I think I realised about Fern… When she arrived, we all had our—"
"Oh, that," Hermione said. "I know she's a witch."
"What?" Dora asked. "How? The wands?"
"Well, yes," Hermione said. "That and she told me."
"She told you?" Harriet asked. "When?"
"When I was giving her something else to wear," Hermione replied. "She saw our wands and asked. She wasn't really ready for anyone else to know that she's a witch though."
"Why not?" Harriet asked.
Hermione sniffed. "It's her business," she said, sounding bitter.
Harriet and the others exchanged looks again. Scott tried to smile. "Well, that's a funny coincidence though, isn't it? You both being Muggle-born."
"She's not a Muggle-born," Hermione said. "She's a half-blood, her father is a wizard."
"Ah…" Marcus said, gravely. "So… that's the reason her parents…?"
"Yes," Hermione said.
"So… did she tell you where she goes to school at least?" Dora asked, sounding much kinder than usual.
Hermione sighed. "No… I didn't even think to ask about that, either… it can't be Beauxbatons though. She and Camille would be in the same year and Camille said she had never seen her before."
The rain continued to fall hard as the train trundled on. They were quiet for a while before the conversation reopened on the subject of what was going to happen at Hogwarts. Harriet and Dora were hoping it was going to be a Quidditch exhibition, after the World Cup. Hermione and Scott meanwhile seemed convinced it was going to be something academic in nature.
They bought a sizeable stack of Cauldron Cakes off the lunch trolley. Before long, other friends of theirs popped in to say hello. Jeremy and Isabella stopped in first. Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan, and Neville Longbottom also stopped by. Seamus was still wearing his Ireland rosette, though its magic seemed to be fading, and it sounded exhausted as it continued to squeak "Troy! Mullet! Moran!"
They spent the next hour crowded into the compartment recounting the match. After a while, Harriet realized that Marcus and Hermione had been almost silent the whole time. She looked over and saw them sitting by the window, talking together quietly. Harriet grimaced and suddenly felt a great pang of guilt. Despite how much better he had seemed, clearly talking about the match was still a painful memory for him.
"We even got to see Viktor Krum right up close too," Ronnie said to Neville as he listened to their tales with awe. "Right in the top box."
"They let you in the top-box?" sneered a cold voice.
Harriet closed her eyes and willed herself to be calm. Pansy and Pixie had made their compulsory appearance in the doorway to torment them.
"I don't remember asking you to join us," Harriet said, coolly.
"Hmmm, I forgot the part where we were supposed to care," Pixie retorted. "Speaking of not caring; not so prettied up this year, is she Pansy?"
"No, but I suppose spending so much time with Weasley will lower anyone's standards," Pansy said, looking down at Harriet's outfit with disdain.
"Yeah," Pixie sniffed before turning to Dean and Seamus. "You two better watch out or it'll start affecting you too."
"Wow…" Dean said, his eyebrows rising high on his forehead.
"What?" Pansy snapped, narrowing her eyes.
Dean shrugged. "Nothing, just never thought I'd meet someone so genuinely ugly on the inside it shows on the outside. You, Seamus?"
"Think I'd rather snog me a banshee," Seamus agreed.
Pansy and Pixie's faces went red. Ronnie howled with laughter and Dora gave Dean a high-five. The two girls spun on their heels and stormed back into their compartment, slamming the door shut so hard that one of the panes of glass fell out and shattered.
"That was great," Marcus said patting Seamus' shoulder.
"Seriously," Dean said, snorting with disgust. "The hell do they think they are? Oooooo, we're Slytherins, we're pure-bloods, our families are rich; doesn't that make us the hottest things on earth?"
Dean went into a little sing-song voice and everyone laughed even harder. Before long, Dean and Seamus went to hunt down some other friends. They chatted quietly until finally the train gave another little lurch and began to slow down.
They hurried off the train, heads bent against the howling wind and the torrential rain. However, even the darkness of the storm and thick rain was not enough to hide the unmistakable silhouette of Hagrid as they neared the carriages.
"Hiya, Hagrid!" Harriet yelled, beaming up at the grizzled mountain of a man.
"All righ', Harriet?" Hagrid bellowed back. "See yeh at the feast, if'n we don't drown!"
Harriet grimaced looking down at the storm-tossed lake. The little crowd of first-years gathered around him didn't look all too reassured either, with the exception of one very small boy who was quite literally bouncing up and down with apparent excitement.
The crowd was moving slowly as everyone fought over carriages to get out of the rain and up to the castle. They finally reached one and everyone climbed in as quickly as they could. Kieran was about to pull the door shut when he paused.
"Come on," Dora said, wringing out her shoulder length hair. "It's soaking!"
"Where's Marcus?" he asked.
Harriet looked around. Marcus hadn't gotten into the carriage with them.
"Marcus, mate?" Kieran called leaning out the door and looking towards the front of their carriage.
Marcus slowly stepped into view. His face was ghostly white, and his eyes were popping. Beside him stood Ginny who was looking very worried, and Luna Lovegood who had a hand on Marcus' arm.
"S-sorry," Marcus said climbing into the carriage. "M-my… mind just played a trick on me."
Everyone gave him sympathetic looks and said no more. Ginny and Luna meanwhile had hurried off to another carriage. Kieran finally shut the door and the carriage began to move forward. Marcus kept looking determinedly away from the little window in the front of the carriage as they went.
Harriet meanwhile had her cheek pressed against her window as she tried to catch sight of Hogwarts castle. Finally, she could make out the lights hanging in the dark, rainy, night sky. It was too dark out to make out the castle itself until a bolt of lightning illuminated it.
The carriage stopped underneath the carriage port and the group hurried as quickly as they could up through the waiting open doors.
"Blimey," Ronnie said, brushing her soaking hair from her face. "The lake's going to flood at this rate—AHH!"
A large, bright red balloon filled with water had just dropped from the ceiling onto Ronnie's head. As a result, her hair now completely covered her face like a red sheet. Another water balloon fell and hit at everyone's feet. Harriet felt ice cold water splash over her trainers.
A panic began and people started hurrying into the Great Hall to escape the sudden onslaught of water-balloons. Harriet risked a glance up and was not at all surprised to see the flamboyant, diminutive figure of Peeves the Poltergeist floating some twenty feet above them, taking aim with another water balloon. His face was twisted in uncontained glee.
"PEEVES!" bellowed the angry and unmistakable voice of Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress and head of Gryffindor House. "Peeves, get down here NOW!"
Professor McGonagall had come storming out of the Great Hall. She was in such a hurry that she skidded on the wet stone floor. Her hand reached out and she accidentally caught Hermione around the neck as she tried to steady herself.
"Ack—oh, terribly sorry, Miss Granger."
"That's alright, Professor," Hermione gasped, massaging her throat.
"Peeves, I said get down here, now," Professor McGonagall snapped.
"Not doing nothing!" Peeves cackled and fired off another balloon at some passing fifth year girls. "Already all wet, aren't they? Little squirts! Wheeeeeeee!"
Peeves lobbed another balloon at some second years who had just entered and Professor McGonagall played her final card. "I shall call the Headmaster! I'm warning you, Peeves!"
That did it. The only two people in the school, as far as Harriet could tell, that Peeves ever listened to were Professor Dumbledore and the Bloody Baron, the Slytherin House ghost. Peeves stuck out his tongue at Professor McGonagall, threw the rest of the balloons up into the air to rain down on the rest of the students and rocketed off up the marble staircase, cackling madly.
"Well, move along," Professor McGonagall said stiffly to the soaked students. "Into the Great Hall, get along, now."
Everyone was slipping and sliding as they made their way into the Great Hall. Ronnie was grumbling miserably as she held her sopping wet hair out of her face and Dora was doing her best not to laugh too hard.
They parted going to their respective house tables. Even though during the year students could sit with their friends, during the start and end of year feasts everyone sat at their house tables. Traditionally, students had been expected to sit at their tables for all meals, but the arrival of the American students at the start of Harriet's second year had smashed that tradition to pieces on their very first day.
Harriet neared the Gryffindor table when something very large moved in front of her. Even without looking up, Harriet knew who had stepped in front of her at once as she heard the deep, rumbling chuckle.
"Aurochius!" Harriet said excitedly and jumped up to hug the towering minotaur around his middle.
"Hello, little one," Aurochius said, patting her back as she hugged him. "Happy to be back, I see?"
"Definitely," Harriet said, beaming as she let go and looking up into his bullish face. "So you're still guarding things?"
"Oh yes," Aurochius replied. "But we're only guarding the entrances to the grounds and castle now."
"Cool," Harriet said, smiling. While she hadn't been thrilled with Aurochius following her around all the time as her bodyguard the previous year, he had always been very decent to her. Harriet looked around. "Are Meinos and the rest still around?"
"Indeed," Aurochius said and nodded to the staff table. Meinos was there, sitting with tiny Professor Flitwick, chatting merrily. "And the fauns are around too. They preferred to celebrate in the village instead. It's… well… more their style."
Harriet rolled her eyes, taking this to mean that they were drinking. Harriet gave Aurochius one more quick hug, and then hurried over to the table to sit with the others.
"Hiya, Harriet!" called Colin Creevey, in his usual, overly-excited tone.
"Hi, Colin," Harriet said, warily.
"Guess what, Harriet? My brother's starting! My brother, Dennis!"
"Oh, that's very nice, Colin," Hermione said.
"He's really excited," Colin said, quite literally trembling with excitement. "Just hope he's in Gryffindor too! Keep your fingers crossed, Harriet!"
"Yeah, will do," Harriet said.
She turned her attention to the staff table now. There were the usual familiar faces, though it seemed as though there were more empty chairs than usual. Hagrid was crossing the lake with the first years, and Professor McGonagall was out cleaning up the Entrance Hall.
"Where's the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher?" Hermione asked as she surveyed the table.
It had been many years since Hogwarts had a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher who had lasted longer than a year. From what Harriet understood, it had been that way since before she was born. Many people thought the post was jinxed.
"Do you think they couldn't get anyone?" Hermione asked, anxiously.
"Well, maybe that'll mean Professor Dumbledore will teach them?" Marcus asked, sounding quite hopeful.
Harriet kept studying the professors. There was Professor Flitwick chatting with Meinos as she'd noted before. Then there was Professor Sprout, the Herbology Professor, who was talking with Professor Sinistra who taught Astronomy. Professor Spring, the Muggle Studies professor, was sitting on Professor Sinistra's other side.
Professor Dumbledore was sitting right in the middle of the table. He was leaning back in his chair, staring at the enchanted ceiling, which looked just like the stormy sky outside, deep in thought. There was an empty chair on his other side which Harriet assumed was Professor McGonagall's. Then came Professor Snape, his sallow skin, hooked nose, and jet-black, greasy hair unmistakable.
Harriet had a very awkward relationship with Professor Snape. She found him terribly confusing. He generally pretended that Harriet did not exist, and at the same time was very mean to all of her friends in his Potions class. And yet, at the end of Harriet's second year, he had risked his life to help save Ginny from the Chamber of Secrets, and very nearly got crushed by a cave-in. Then the following year, Professor Snape had very nearly turned both Sirius, Remus, and Daniel over to the Dementors to be Kissed and refused flat out to entertain the idea of their innocence, all because of a stupid (albeit deadly) prank that Sirius had pulled on him while they attended Hogwarts together.
After Professor Snape was another empty chair. Harriet guessed this one was for the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, as the next seat down was filled by the large, strapping form of Professor Stratton. Professor Snape had a known fear of Professor Stratton, which stemmed from the same prank Sirius had played all those years ago.
Professor Stratton had come the previous year to take Professor Binns' place as History of Magic professor. At least that's what the school was told. Harriet and her friends found out differently after Sirius kidnapped both Harriet and Erica, and Daniel and Remus told them all the truth. Professor Stratton, like Professor Lupin, was a werewolf, but not just any werewolf. He was known as a Blood Wolf, one born into a long line of werewolves, who were able to control the condition. He had come both to keep Professor Lupin in check when he transformed, and to act as a mentor to Jeremy Owen, who was also a Blood Wolf.
The final chair was enormous, and could only be Hagrid's. Harriet looked at the raging storm above them as lightning flashed across the sky. She discreetly crossed her fingers under the table that all the first-years would make it okay.
Harriet didn't have long to wait. Less than a minute later, the door to the Great Hall opened and Professor McGonagall swept into the room, leading a long line of first-years in front of the staff table.
All of the first years were completely soaked from head to foot. They were all shivering from both nerves and the cold as they surveyed the four house tables. The only exception was the smallest of them, a mousey-haired boy who was wrapped in Hagrid's moleskin overcoat. He looked positively beside himself with excitement. He gave Colin an excited wave and mouthed 'I fell in the lake!' By the look on his face, it was the greatest thing to have ever happened to him in his life.
Professor McGonagall moved to the centre of the lined up first years and set down a three-legged stool and placed upon it an ancient, patched and dirty wizard's hat. Everyone in the room watched the hat with rapt attention. The first-years with apprehension, the rest of the school with anticipation. Finally, a tear in the brim opened like a mouth, and the hat broke into song:
'A thousand years or more ago,
When I was newly sewn,
There lived four wizards of renown,
Whose names are still well known:
Bold Gryffindor, from wild moor,
Fair Ravenclaw, from glen,
Sweet Hufflepuff, from valley broad,
Shrewd Slytherin, from fen.
They shared a wish, a hope, a dream,
They hatched a daring plan
To educate young sorcerers
Thus Hogwarts School began.
Now each of these four founders
Formed their own house, for each
Did value different virtues
In the ones they had to teach.
By Gryffindor, the bravest were
Prized far beyond the rest;
For Ravenclaw, the cleverest
Would always be the best;
For Hufflepuff, hard workers were
Most worthy of admission;
And power-hungry Slytherin
Loved those of great ambition.
While still alive they did divide
Their favourites from the throng,
Yet how to pick the worthy ones
When they were dead and gone?
'Twas Gryffindor who found the way,
He whipped me off his head
The founders put some brains in me
So I could choose instead!
Now slip me snug about your ears,
I've never yet been wrong,
I'll have a look inside your mind
And tell where you belong!'
The Great Hall rang with applause as the Sorting Hat finished. It died down slowly and Professor McGonagall unrolled a large scroll of parchment.
"When I call your name, you will sit on the stool and put on the Hat. When the Hat calls your house, you will remove the Hat, and take your place at your house table," Professor McGonagall said before clearing her throat and calling the first name.
"Ackerley, Stewart."
"Ravenclaw!"
The young boy blushed but smiled as the Ravenclaw table welcomed him warmly. Harriet saw Scott make room for him and introduced himself to the new boy. Next to Scott, Atsuko leaned over to greet Stewart as well, and the young boy went very red indeed as she smiled at him.
"Uh oh," Dean chuckled nearby. "Looks like McIntyre will have some competition."
"Baddock, Malcolm."
"Slytherin!"
Fred and George began their usual boos and hisses they always reserved for students sorted into Slytherin. Erica Quoy, George's girlfriend, elbowed him in the ribs and he blushed and ceased with the booing. Fred rolled his eyes, but he too stopped. That was another change the Americans had helped bring about when they arrived. They didn't carry the same animosity for Slytherins that the local students had.
"Branstone, Eleanor."
"Hufflepuff!"
"Cauldwell, Owen."
"Hufflepuff!"
"Creevey, Dennis."
Tiny Dennis Creevey stepped forward, stumbling a little on Hagrid's moleskin, just as Hagrid himself sidled into the Hall through the door behind the staff table. Hagrid drew his massive wand, which he'd been allowed to have after Harriet had cleared his name at the end of her second year for both of the Chamber of Secret episodes. He pointed it at his cloak and said: "Accier."
The cloak jumped and did fly towards Hagrid, but not in a straight line. The hem of it caught Professor Snape in the face and Professor Stratton just managed to duck out of the way in time to avoid being covered in it himself. Professor Snape glared, massaging his cheek which was red from where one of the fasteners had caught him and Hagrid muttered an embarrassed apology before taking his seat.
The laughter that had broken out (which Harriet noted was more directed at Professor Snape getting hit than at Hagrid's inexpert spell-work), died down and Dennis finally took a seat and put on the hat.
"Gryffindor!" cried the hat, quickly.
Harriet applauded with the rest as Dennis took a seat next to his brother.
"Colin, I fell in!" he said, his voice high-pitched and squeaky. "It was brilliant! Something grabbed me and pushed me back in the boat!"
"Cool!" Colin said, just as excited. "It was probably the giant squid!"
"WOW!" Dennis gasped, as though this was the most amazing thing to have ever happened to someone in human history.
"Dennis! Dennis! See that girl down there? With the black hair and the glasses?"
Harriet groaned and returned her attention to the Sorting just in time to hear Emma Dobbs being sorted into Ravenclaw.
The Sorting ploughed on, with some familiar faces. The first was Lucy Flume, who lived with her aunt and uncle who ran Honeyduke's. There was also AJ's little sister, Mable. Both girls became Gryffindors.
Ronnie groaned and thumped her forehead down on her plate. "Hurry up," she moaned holding her stomach. "I'm starving…"
"Now, now, Ronnie," the Gryffindor Ghost, Nearly Headless Nick said in a cheerful reprimand. "The Sorting is much more important than food!"
"Of course it is if you're dead," Ronnie muttered.
"Madley, Laura."
"Hufflepuff!"
Harriet rolled her eyes.
"I do hope our Gryffindors this year are up to scratch," Nearly Headless Nick said.
"McDonald, Natalie."
"Gryffindor!"
They paused to applaud as Natalie joined the table before Nearly Headless Nick continued. "I mean to say, we don't want to lose our winning streak do we? House championship three years in a row!"
"Pritchard, Graham."
"Slytherin!"
"Quirke, Orla."
"Ravenclaw!"
Now the crowd had thinned down, Harriet spotted two more familiar faces in the crowd of new students. The first was:
"Seeley, Babette."
"Hufflepuff!"
A little ways down the table, AJ, Mable, and Ben, Babette's cousins and fellow American refugees, gave her sad little waves as she walked over to join the Hufflepuff table. The next, unmistakable face (given she was an identical twin), was:
"Sinistra, Rosie!"
Professor Sinistra's other twin daughter, who had been attending Rathlin, made her way to the stool. She sat, put the hat upon her head, and waited.
"Ravenclaw!" the Sorting Hat cried.
A little ways down the Gryffindor table, Nanette, Rosie's twin, moaned. Rosie gave her twin a sad little wave too as she joined the Ravenclaws. Harriet saw Parvati give her sister, Padma, a significant look from across the hall and Padma nodded, quickly making room for Rosie and greeting her warmly.
"I wouldn't worry too much," Parvati said, leaning over to talk to Nanette. "After this meal you two can hang out as much as you want other than in classes and such."
Nanette smiled looking quite reassured. Over at the Ravenclaw table, apparently Padma and her friends were telling Rosie the same thing, as Rosie smiled with the same look of relief.
Finally, only two students remained.
"Whitby, Kevin."
"Hufflepuff!"
"Wyrven, Spencer."
"Hufflepuff!"
The Hufflepuff table hooted and cheered uproariously as Spencer joined them. It was one of the common Hogwarts superstitions that the house that got the last new student in the Sorting would do well in the House Cup tournament. Although Harriet found it amusing that it was also a common Hogwarts superstition that the house which received the first new student in the Sorting would do well in the House Cup tournament.
Harriet watched Cedric Diggory beaming handsomely as he shook Kevin and Spencer's hands. Well… it is their turn I suppose… Harriet thought to herself as she watched Cedric, wistfully.
Then, something made her pause. Cedric was only wearing a Prefect's badge. This was his final year, Harriet recalled, the year when Head Boy and Girl were picked. Everyone Harriet knew had been sure that Cedric was a shoe-in for the position. Who could have been chosen instead?
Harriet was distracted by Professor Dumbledore rising to his feet and beaming around at them all, his arms open wide.
"Welcome!" he said jovially, his deep voice echoing around the hall in the reverent silence that fell anytime Professor Dumbledore was speaking. "I have only two words to say to you all: Tuck in!"
A wave of happy laughter and cheers of assent swept over the Great Hall as the empty serving trays filled with food before their eyes.
"You're lucky there's a feast at all this year, you know?" Nearly Headless Nick said as he watched them all eating with a mournful look. "After the trouble in the kitchens earlier."
"What happened?" Harriet asked before taking a bite out of a chicken drumstick.
"Peeves, of course," Nick replied. "The usual argument, you know. He wanted to attend the feast—well, it's quite out of the question, you know what he's like, utterly uncivilised, can't see a plate of food without throwing it."
Harriet flushed remembering the food fight she'd started in their second year.
"We held a ghosts council. The Fat Friar was all for giving him the chance but fortunately the Blood Baron put his foot down."
"Yeah… though Peeves seemed a bit more hacked off than usual," Ronnie grumbled. "What'd he do in the kitchens?"
"Oh the usual. Wreaked havoc and mayhem. Pots and pans everywhere. Place swimming in soup. Terrified the house-elves out of their wits—"
Everyone jumped as a Hermione knocked over her goblet with a clang, spilling pumpkin juice across the table.
"There are house-elves here?" she asked, looking scandalised. "Here at Hogwarts?"
"Well certainly," Nearly Headless Nick said. "Largest number of any dwelling in Britain, I believe. Over a hundred."
"I've never seen one!"
"Well, you wouldn't. They hardly ever leave the kitchen by day, do they? They only really leave to do some cleaning around the common rooms, tend the fires, all that. I mean, that's the mark of a good house-elf, isn't it, that you don't know it's there?"
"But… but they get paid, don't they? They get holidays and sick-leave and pensions?"
Nearly Headless Nick chortled so much at this that his head fell off and dangled unpleasantly from the small bit of sinew that still held it on. In spite of how hungry she had been and how much she respected Nick, the sight made Harriet push her plate away.
"Sick leave and pensions?" Nick said, putting his head back on right and fixing his ruff to help hold it on. "House-elves don't want sick leave and pensions!"
Hermione looked down at her plate, which she'd barely touched, and pushed it away as well. Though Harriet was quite sure it was not for the same reasons she had.
"Oh come on, Hermione," Ronnie said, her words garbled by a mouthful of Yorkshire pudding. "You're not going to get them sick leave and pensions by starving yourself."
"Slave labour," Hermione said, coolly. "That's what made this meal, slave labour!"
"Oh come on, Hermione," Marcus said, trying to sound more reasonable. "I mean, okay I don't really approve of the practice at all but think about it, is Professor Dumbledore likely to be treating them like the Malfoys treated Dobby, or Crouch treated Winky?"
"Well, no… but that's beside the point!" Hermione retorted. "He should set them free!"
"But Hermione, even with how horrible Crouch was to her, you saw how Winky reacted to being set free," Ronnie said.
"Yeah," Kieran said. "House-elves are pretty much all like that. It's not great but I agree you're not going to solve it like this."
Hermione sniffed, staring at her plate for a full minute before she slowly pulled the plate back to herself. She poked at the food a bit, but without any real enthusiasm. Finally, as the dessert was cleared away, Professor Dumbledore rose to his feet once more.
"So, now that we are all fed and watered—" Hermione 'hmphed' irritably "I must once more ask for your attention, while I make a few announcements."
Harriet, who remembered what Mrs Weasley had told them about Professor Dumbledore announcing the big mystery that Mrs Weasley, Bill, and Charlie had alluded to back on Platform 9 ¾, listened even more intently than usual.
"Firstly, Mr Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to tell you that the list of forbidden objects inside the castle this year has been expanded to include Screaming Yo-Yos, Fanged Frisbees, and Ever-Bashing Boomerangs. The full list comprises… well… the entirety of Zonko's Joke-Shop's inventory and can be viewed in Mr Filch's office, should anyone decide to check it."
Professor Dumbledore's mouth twitched a bit and he continued on.
"As always, I must remind you all that the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds to all students, and the village of Hogsmeade is off limits to all students under third year. Next, I must ask you all to extend a hearty Hogwarts welcome to our newest Head Boy and Girl. Please rise, Mister Benjamin Jackson of Gryffindor, and Miss Brenda Davies of Slytherin."
There was an astonished silence at this pronouncement, followed by a slow rise in murmuring before people finally started clapping as Ben Jackson and Brenda Davies rose to their feet. Over at the Slytherin table, Brenda Davies was looking rather put out. Despite the still quite present animosity between Gryffindors and Slytherins, Harriet felt a pang of sympathy towards Brenda Davies.
Both the Gryffindor and Slytherin tables were the loudest in cheering. AJ and Mable were hopping up and down excitedly and hugging their older brother with pride.
"Well, maybe now one of them has been given such a position of authority, maybe people will start showing the American students some more respect," Hermione said.
"Doubt it," Marcus said, darkly. Many of the students at the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables were giving Ben Jackson and the other Americans dirty looks. "Bet you anything they'll just think Professor Dumbledore picked him for just that reason."
Professor Dumbledore cleared his throat and everyone quieted down once more. He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by another burst of lightning and a deafening roar of thunder. At the same moment, the doors to the Great Hall banged open.
There was a man standing in the doorway, leaning on a long staff and wearing a thick, black travelling cloak. He removed his hood, revealing a mane of grizzled, grey hair and he began to walk towards the staff table. As he did, there was a noticeable thunking noise that did not seem to match the movement of the walking stick. Instead, it happened every time he stepped with his right foot.
Halfway to the staff table, another flash of lightning lit his face and most of the students in the hall gasped, Harriet included. It was one of the most unsettling faces Harriet had ever seen. It looked as though every inch of his face was scarred. His mouth was slanted at an unnatural angle, and a chunk of his nose was missing. The most shocking part, however, was his eyes.
The left one was small and beady. The other was large, almost as large as a galleon, and a vivid electric blue. Not only that, but it was moving rapidly in all directions, completely independently of the left one. It didn't seem to blink, either, and once or twice even rolled back so far that only whiteness was visible.
The man reached Professor Dumbledore and extended him a terribly scarred hand. Professor Dumbledore shook it, and the two had a quiet conversation in undertones so that no one else could hear. Professor Dumbledore then gestured to the last empty seat, and the newcomer sat. A plate of sausages appeared in front of him and he pulled the plate towards him, sniffing it suspiciously. He then took out a small knife, jabbed one of the sausages with it, and began to eat. While his normal eye was focused on the sausages, the large blue one was dancing around in his head still, taking in every student's face.
"May I introduce our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Moody," Professor Dumbledore said.
No one but Professor Dumbledore or Hagrid clapped. Everyone it seemed was still too shocked by Professor Moody's appearance to react.
"Moody," Harriet whispered to Ronnie. "You think that's Mad-Eye Moody your dad went to help?"
"Must be," Ronnie said, awed.
"What happened to him?" Hermione asked.
"Years of being an Auror," Nick said, his voice full of respect.
Moody didn't seem to care about his rather cold welcome. Instead, he simply reached into his robes pocket and pulled out a hip-flask, taking a swig from it. As he did so, the hem of his robes lifted just enough for Harriet to see that instead of a normal human foot, his right leg ended in a wooden leg that had been carved into a menacing, clawed foot.
"Now, as I was just about to say. It is my painful duty to inform you all that the inter-house Quidditch Cup will not take place this year."
"What?" Harriet gasped.
Her outrage was clearly evident elsewhere. Fred and George looked as though they had been clubbed by a troll.
"This is due to an event which will be starting in October, and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers' time and energy—but I am sure you will all enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts we will have the honour of hosting an event which has not been held in over a century. None other than the Triwizard Tournament."
"You're JOKING!" Fred blurted out, loudly.
"I am not joking, Mr Weasley," Professor Dumbledore chuckled as the Great Hall burst out in laughter. "Though now that you mention it, I did just hear one the other day about a troll, a hag, and a leprechaun who walk into a bar—"
Professor McGonagall cleared her throat.
"Er—right, perhaps another time. Anyway, as some of you I'm sure are not aware of what this entails, I will give a brief explanation. Those who do know what is involved in the tournament may let their minds wander freely.
"The Triwizard Tournament was first established approximately seven hundred years ago as a friendly competition between the three main magical schools of the day, Hogwarts, Durmstrang, and Beauxbatons. A champion was selected from each school, and had to compete in three magical tasks. The schools took it in turns to host the tournament every five years, and it was considered a most excellent way to facilitate ties between the magical schools and young witches and wizards of varying nationalities. That is, until the death toll rose so high that the tournament was discontinued late in the last century."
"Death toll?" Hermione whispered in alarm.
However, Harriet noted that she alone seemed to feel that anxiety. Everyone else seemed to be muttering excitedly with their friends. Even Harriet was excited to hear more.
"There have been several attempts over the last centuries to reinstate the Tournament, but with very little success. However, our Departments of Magical Games and Sports, and International Magical Cooperation, think that it is time for a fresh attempt. We have worked tirelessly over the summer to ensure that this time the five champions will not find themselves in any truly mortal peril."
More murmuring broke out at this.
"Five champions?" a nearby Hufflepuff asked. "Thought there was only three?"
Professor Dumbledore's mouth twitched again. "Yes, as a further measure at reinstating the Tournament, this year it is being opened up to two other schools: Mount Phoenix, and Four Nations."
"Why is it still called the Triwizard then?" asked a Ravenclaw.
"Ah, a good question," Professor Dumbledore said. "The heads of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, prior to the tragic incident at the World Cup, felt that it was a traditional name for the tournament and should remain so. So much so, they made it a necessary condition of their participation in the tournament. And as such, the number of challenges has remained at three. The heads of the four other schools will be arriving with their selected contenders in October, and the selection of the champions will take place on Hallowe'en. An impartial judge will decide which candidates are worthy to compete for the Triwizard Cup, their school's glory, and a thousand Galleons personal prize money."
"Oh I'm so in!" Fred hissed.
He was hardly alone. Many students were whispering amongst themselves, hungry looks on all their faces.
Professor Dumbledore spoke again. "Eager though I know all of you are to bring the Triwizard Cup to Hogwarts, the heads of the participating schools, along with the respective Ministries, have agreed to impose an age limit on contenders this time around. Only students who are of age—that is to say, seventeen years or older—will be allowed to put their names forward for consideration."
A wave of barely contained outrage swept over the students at this. Fred and George in particular were looking furious.
"This is a measure we feel is necessary, given that the Tournament tasks will still be difficult and dangerous, whatever precautions we may take. Thus it is highly unlikely that any students below sixth and seventh year will be able to cope with them. I will personally be ensuring that no underage student hoodwinks our impartial judge into making them Hogwarts' champion."
Professor Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as they glanced in Fred and George's direction.
"I know that you will all extend every courtesy to our guests while they are with us, as they will be remaining at Hogwarts for much of the rest of the year. And no doubt, all of you will give your full support to our school's champion when he or she is selected. However, that is not to say that there will not be plenty of other opportunities for fun and frolic as the year wears on. While the inter-house Quidditch Cup has been called off, we have agreed to also perform a trial run of the new Muggle-Sports Initiative which Mister Van Der Lakk of Gryffindor put forward last year."
Marcus' jaw dropped in shock. Ronnie beamed and patted him on the back. There was a mixed reaction to this. Most students Harriet could see seemed intrigued at the very least, but more than a few (most notably the Slytherins) did not seem very enthused about this prospect.
"We have decided that as a trial run, we will go with a single sport for this year: the muggle sport of football. It will follow the Quidditch formula of being inter-house, and mixed-gender teams. Team sign-ups will begin tomorrow morning at breakfast. And now, I'm afraid it's time we all turned in to get a good night's sleep before we get down to business tomorrow. Bedtime! Chop chop!"
Professor Dumbledore sat down once more to speak with Professor Moody. The students all got to their feet and swarmed towards the doors leading to the Entrance Hall. Fred and George however hadn't moved.
"They can't do that," George said mutinously. "We're seventeen in April, why can't we have a shot?"
"Awwww, my poor boy," Erica said, her voice thick with irony as she hugged George's arm and patted his hand with playful faux sympathy.
In spite of himself, George laughed and ruffled Erica's hair. She laughed too and stuck her tongue out at him in protest, before trying to comb her hair back into place.
"Well they're not stopping me from entering," Fred said, not losing his focus. "The champions will get to do all sorts that we don't get to do normally, and a thousand galleons prize money!"
"Yeah…" Ronnie said, wistfully. Kieran and Marcus rolled their eyes but smiled all the same.
"Oh come on," Hermione said. "We'll be the only ones left if we don't get a move on."
They all rose and hurried off after the rest of their house. Kieran was being particularly quiet as they went along.
"What's up?" Harriet asked.
Kieran shrugged. "Nothing really, just… I've heard of Moody before. Everyone talks about what a great Auror he was. But I didn't know that he was…well…"
Kieran trailed off. Harriet nodded knowing full well what Kieran was getting at. She could very easily see how, despite his rather horrible face and the crazy eye that shouldn't be allowed, someone like Moody would be inspirational to Kieran.
"Well, you can fly a broomstick now," Harriet said, smiling. "Suppose that means you can move on to stopping dark wizards."
"And losing most your face," Dean Thomas teased and patted Kieran on the back. In spite of himself, Kieran laughed too.