Part IV: Revolution
Chapter VI: In Which They Have Another Unwelcome Back to Hogwarts
Aunt Andromeda, Dora, and Corinna retired to the sitting room. No one said anything as they all sat and stared at nothing. The silence around them was hot and heavy like humidity. They might have stayed like that all day if their vigil wasn't interrupted by an owl pecking at the window.
"I believe that's a school owl," said Aunt Andromeda as Corinna stood up to let the owl in. It gave an indignant hoot as it held out its leg so Corinna could untie the large envelope from it.
"Go on then," she said as she stepped away from the window so the owl could fly over to the open cage to drink some water and eat some food. The other two owls paid the intruder no mind as it was off again.
Corinna rejoined them, sitting down next to Dora. As she stared at the Hogwarts' seal with the four houses, Uncle Ted's request immediately came back to mind. She opened it up and the first thing she noticed was a small, gold badge. "They made me a prefect?" she said in astonishment.
"Makes sense," said Dora. She might have teased Corinna at one point, but didn't seem to have the energy to do so. "McGonagall is part of the Order, so she is well aware that Ron and Hermione had run off with Harry, leaving the seventh-year prefects spots open for Gryffindor."
But as Corinna pulled the badge out to examine it, her jaw dropped to the floor. "Bloody hell! They made me Head Girl."
"Congratulations! Explains why the envelope is so big." Aunt Andromeda took the envelope from Corinna as she was busy staring at her badge. "The Heads have a lot more responsibilities than the prefects. In fact, you should have a leaflet explaining everything since you will be running the prefects meeting on the train with the Head Boy, whoever he ends up being."
"Except I'm not going to be Head Girl," said Corinna.
"What?" said Aunt Andromeda as she looked up from where she was organizing all the parchment in her envelope. "Of course you are. It's the highest honor. It will look good when you go on to apply to be a healer."
Corinna swallowed thickly. "Uncle Ted made me promise I wouldn't go back to Hogwarts."
"He did no such thing," said Aunt Andromeda in a low voice. "He would never ask you to not continue your education."
"He believes that with the Ministry fallen to Voldemort that Hogwarts is next."
"Do not say his name," hissed Aunt Andromeda. "But Hogwarts is at least protected by the governors. McGonagall was appointed Headmistress and I'm sure they will be able to find someone to fill the posts."
"Look what happened my fifth year," Corinna reminded. "The Ministry was able to get Umbridge in to wreak havoc. They might be able to get someone in who's worse. Hell, Vol—sorry, You-Know-Who—wanted to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts before he decided taking over the wizarding world was a better career goal."
"I doubt You-Know-Who would be that obvious about it, if that were the case," said Aunt Andromeda.
"Actually, Cor, I don't think you have much of a choice."
Aunt Andromeda and Corinna turned to face Dora, who had taken the papers from Aunt Andromeda and were reading them herself.
"What are you talking about?" asked Corinna.
"They are now making education at Hogwarts compulsory," said Dora as she read through the letter. "Attendance is mandatory for all young witches and wizards, even those who are of age and can opt out of continuing their education. It even says that homeschooling and sending the students abroad is no longer an option. Which means," she looked up at Aunt Andromeda, "that You-Know-Who will have the whole wizarding population under his control from a young age."
"Wait, keep reading," said Corinna as she pointed to a different paragraph. "Students must also submit Blood Status. Meaning that students have to verify that they are of wizard descent from the Ministry."
"It's another way to weed out Muggle-borns," said Dora, looking as disgusted as Corinna felt. "Hogwarts really is no longer safe. It wasn't just Dumbledore's death that confirmed it."
Corinna felt like chucking the Head Girl badge out the window. No way was she going to be roped into working for someone like Umbridge because, at this point, if they don't bring her in, it will be someone either just as bad or much worse. It was hard to imagine worse since Umbridge had almost used the Cruciatus Curse on Harry. Now that Corinna had felt its affects firsthand, she thought only the worst kind of witches and wizards would use such a thing.
"It means I have to go," said Corinna. "It's too late for me to go with Uncle Ted and you lot can't go hide with me, because that also would go against what he wanted."
"So you are just going to go into the hippogriff's den," said Dora.
"It was one thing when I could just drop out without any repercussions," said Corinna, feeling like she was trapped between a rock and a hard place. No option was ideal, but at least if she went back to Hogwarts, she wouldn't be putting Aunt Andromeda and Dora in more danger.
"Then you will definitely come home for Christmas and Easter," said Aunt Andromeda firmly. "I don't care if you are busy studying for NEWTs, you are coming home."
"I promise," said Corinna, feeling like she was going to be ill.
"And keep your head down," she continued. "Don't go playing the hero as you like to."
"More like I get dragged into it, but sure," said Corinna, which she couldn't help but realize it sounded very familiar. "I'll keep my head down and focus on my studies."
"Good," said Aunt Andromeda.
A few days later, they decided to go to Diagon Alley to grab whatever she needed for school. Despite her reassurances that Dora was fine by herself, she went with Aunt Andromeda and Corinna just in case a Ministry official came by while they were gone. It seemed, if they were going to be forced to prove that they were somehow worthy of the magic they possessed, they were going to make the Ministry work for it.
All it did was leave a reminder to Corinna how much longer Uncle Ted could have stayed.
Diagon Alley was somehow more deserted than it was the previous year, which Corinna didn't think was possible. Even Weasleys Wizarding Wheezes wasn't as crowded, but at least Fred and George were back to work and the Weasleys hadn't suffered from Ron's disappearance.
They only got what was necessary and then detoured to Crouch Manor to grab Corinna's things. "Nice digs," said Dora as they went around the house grabbing the things they had scattered about. It didn't take long as they kept everything to the kitchen, sitting room, and her old bedroom.
"You might as well grab the food," said Corinna as there were a few things in the cupboard that were still good. There were only a few things that weren't stale or moldy, but it was better than letting the things that were still good go to waste.
It was a few days left of August that someone from the Ministry finally stopped by. It was a little wizard, barely taller than Corinna, who came by. Aunt Andromeda graciously let him in, but all three of them had their wands at the ready. He did not let his short stature get in the way of throwing his weight around as he gave the three women accusatory looks. "None of you have been to the Ministry to report your Blood Status," he said accusingly.
"I didn't think we would need to," said Aunt Andromeda as she easily sat down at the head of the dining table. It was the first time someone had sat in it since Uncle Ted left. "The Blacks are, after all, my birth family, which also means my daughter has proof of wizarding ancestry." As Dora was not showing yet, there was no need to mention the fact that she was with child.
They were still worried that Dora being married to a werewolf would affect her standing, but it seemed that this Ministry did not care about lycanthropy as much as they had moved on. "And what of this one?"
"My name is Corinna Crouch," she said. "The Crouches are a pureblood family, as you should be well aware."
"Do you have anyone who can vouch for that?"
"How about all the documentation that the Crouches are of the Sacred Twenty-Eight?" said Aunt Andromeda. "Just because she is the last of her name does not negate the protections it has."
"You can also check all of our birth records, which we have right here." They produced a file that had Aunt Andromeda and Dora's real birth certificates as well as Corinna's fake one. "Do you require anything else?"
The wizard looked over the documents. He lingered on Corinna's for much longer, but she kept her face neutral even as a bead of sweat fell down her neck. "Everything does seem to be in order. But, what of your husband, Mrs. Tonks. Is he home?"
"I do not know where the scoundrel has gone," she said, imitating anger as it did not meet her eyes. "He left without warning."
"When did he leave?"
"The second of August."
"Pretty convenient that he left the day before the Prophet reported it's finding about Muggle-borns, eh?"
Aunt Andromeda merely shrugged. "Coincidence, more like. I was suspicious that he was having an affair for a while now. It seemed he decided that we were too much trouble."
"And what of your husband, Mrs. Lupin?"
"I haven't seen him since the first of August, but that was only because we decided to keep up appearance for a friend's wedding. We get married and then it turns out he wants nothing to do with me."
"It seems you lot can't hold onto your husbands very easily." Neither of them rose to the bait. "As you know, it is a requirement to report your Blood Status to the Ministry of Magic. Failure to do so could result in time in Azkaban…or worse. Harboring someone you know is a 'Muggle-born'," he said this as if he doesn't believe there is such a thing, "is also a criminal offense."
"I would love nothing more than to tell you where the cheating bastard is," said Aunt Andromeda coolly, "but as I do not…" She merely shrugged again.
"You can always send the Muggle-born Registration Commission an owl if you do find out anything about his whereabouts. It can even be anonymous, if you prefer." He then placed three pieces of parchment down, one in front of each of them. "You will just need to sign these. This will verify your Blood Status. You should keep this on you at all times as you will need this to get jobs or go to school. The Ministry also holds the right to demand to see that paper if they have a 'reasonable suspicion.'"
"I will keep that in mind," said Aunt Andromeda as she stood up. "Now, unless you have other things to accuse us of, I will show you to the door."
Aunt Andromeda walked the wizard out and, as soon as he had stepped off the porch and Disapparated, they all released a collective breath.
"I hated every moment of that," said Aunt Andromeda as she rejoined them in the dining room. "It was Ted's idea that I should call him a cheater. He thought it would take some of the pressure off me."
"It was smart," said Corinna, as it seemed Dora had no qualms about how worthless her husband is. Corinna had stopped asking her about it as it was a very, very touchy subject, especially with someone who started crying if you looked at her a bit funny. "And it's to protect him as much as it is to protect us."
"I thought for sure he was going to call your birth certificate fake," said Dora. "I mean, it is, but it also an excellent forgery. Say what you will about how Crouch handled Death Eater arrests during the first war, he was still a brilliant and well-connected man." She made a face. "No offense, Corinna."
"Oh, don't worry, I know how scummy my grandfather was," said Corinna as she stared down at the piece of paper that confirmed her Blood Status. She wanted to tear it up or burn it or anything else to destroy it beyond recognition. Instead, she needed to get into the school that used to be open to anyone who wanted to learn magic. They didn't care if you were Muggle-born or pureblood or anything else in between. As long as you wanted to learn, you were welcome in the hallowed halls of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
They woke on the first of September to grey skies. Corinna was already packed for school as she hadn't bothered to unpack once they had gathered everything at Crouch Manor. Her trunk and bag were sitting by the front door and she was managing to choke down some porridge when the Daily Prophet arrived.
The only reason why they were still receiving the Prophet was to at least stay in-the-know as to what the Ministry was doing. As Dora has taken leave from both her work as an Auror and as an Order member, and now that Aunt Andromeda has resigned from her post as a healer at St. Mungo's, it was the most consistent way they knew what was going on in the world.
Corinna grudgingly threw a knut into the pouch before the owl flew away to its next delivery spot. As she unfurled her paper, she nearly threw it down when a familiar hooked-nosed man stared up at her. "What is this shite?" she demanded.
"Language!" said Aunt Andromeda who was busy fixing herself a cup of tea.
Corinna ignored her aunt. "They made that murderous bastard Severus Snape the bleeding Headmaster!"
"What?" Dora snatched the paper from Corinna, knocking a dry piece of toast off her plate in the process. It was the only thing she could manage to choke down in the morning besides tea. "They also made a couple of Death Eaters professors. Amycus Carrow will be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher while his sister, Alecto, will cover for Muggle Studies since the previous one resigned—most likely killed, honestly."
"Carrow, Carrow," said Corinna to herself. "Why do they sound familiar?"
"They were there that night Dumbledore died," said Dora. She opened the paper and pointed to the smaller portraits they included of them.
"You cannot go back there," said Aunt Andromeda.
"We suspected something like this was going to happen," said Corinna. "Granted, we did not think that they would override McGonagall as Headmistress, but still. We'll be worse off if I don't go. This won't change my plan to keep my head down and focus on my studies."
"It better not," she said coolly. "And I want you to send an owl every week. No, every day."
"I'll send an owl every week and a Patronus daily, how about that?"
"Fine," said Aunt Andromeda. "I'll still worry, but fine."
At half-ten, all three of them left the house and apparated to the alley by King's Cross. As Muggles were mostly unaware of the turbulent wizarding world, it was as crowded as it normally was. They hung around the barrier until there weren't any Muggles around and the three of them ran into it together.
This platform, however, was much less crowded as it usually was. It was usually crowded with families seeing their children off, to the point that one had to weave around groups like needle and thread. Now, it took nothing to wheel the trunk over to the scarlet steam engine. "Send a Patronus as soon as you are on Hogwarts grounds," said Aunt Andromeda.
"I will," she reassured. "I'll be okay."
"Good," she said, and she hugged Corinna tightly. "We'll figure out what to do to get you home for Christmas. For now, stay safe. And I love you, Corinna."
"Love you, too," she mumbled as she turned to Dora and gave her a hug. "And I love you."
She waved to them as she went onto one of the first cars behind the engine as that was where the prefect's compartment was. There were already a few students sitting around, talking tensely to one another.
Corinna had suspicions that they had made the appointments as soon as the Ministry had fallen to Death Eater control but waited until the last minute to announce it to lull parents and students into a false sense of security. There was still hope that the students would be safe if McGonagall was in charge.
When she saw Ginny and Neville walking into the compartment, Corinna visibly relaxed. "Thank Merlin," she said.
"You're Head Girl?" said Ginny in surprise. "Congrats, I think."
Corinna tried not to be disappointed that Neville's badge only said 'Prefect.' As she hadn't seen Terry yet, she held out hope that he would be Head Boy. That hope was quickly dashed when Draco Malfoy walked in with Pansy Parkinson.
"You're Head Girl?" Whereas Ginny had said it in a way that could be read as positive, Parkinson had a nasty tone to hers. "What was the Headmaster thinking?"
"I could have been appointed before Snape was made Headmaster," said Corinna coolly.
"Hah! Fat chance, as Draco here is Head Boy."
Corinna stared at the boy who was tasked to kill Dumbledore last year. He looked less than thrilled at the prospect of going back to school as he had his arms crossed and refused to look anyone in the eye.
"I should have been Head Girl! Me! Instead of a blood traitor like you!"
"Well, that sucks, doesn't it?" Corinna couldn't admit that she would much rather give the role to Parkinson, but she didn't want to give her the satisfaction. "Just take a seat. We'll start the meeting once the train starts going."
Pansy dragged Draco over to a couple of available seats and was talking lowly to him.
She turned back to Neville and Ginny. "I guess you two replaced Hermione and Ron, then," she said. "I replaced Lou Ann Perkis as her parents dragged her out of the school after Dumbledore died."
The various prefects filtered into the compartment. They were a few short and the warning whistle sounded that there was only a couple minutes left to get onto the train. Her heart pounded loudly in her chest as the train lurched and started to speed away from London.
"Corinna," Neville hissed once the train started gaining momentum. "You need to start the meeting."
"Er, right," she said, unfocused as her mind jumped to the worst possible conclusion as to what happened with Terry. She stood up from her seat and she noticed Malfoy made no move to join her. "So, er, hi everyone." As everyone's eyes strayed over to her, she completely forgot what she was going to say. "So, for those who don't know, I'm…I'm Corinna Crouch. I'll be Head Girl this year." She could see Parkinson leaning over to Malfoy to whisper something. She laughed behind her hand while he made no indication whether he heard or not. "As we have many new faces here, I figured we should go over what prefects can and cannot do as well as what we will be expected to do."
She focused mostly on the paper as she spoke and when she did look up, she avoiding looking over at Parkinson and Malfoy at all cost. She noticed Ginny and Neville staring at him with unadulterated anger, which is what she wished she could do at the moment. Instead, she focused on the task at hand. "Any questions?" When no one said anything, she continued. "I figured we can start the rounds with the fifth years taking an hour, then sixth, and then seventh. We'll repeat that pattern. Fifth years will also show the first years to the common room after the Feast and show them around. Sixth and seventh years will patrol around as well as give out the passwords for those whose common rooms have them. We will get those from our Heads of Houses. If you do have any questions you can ask me or the Head Boy. You are dismissed."
Everyone gladly gathered their things to go find their friends. Ginny and Neville were the only ones who hung back. "I sounded like Hermione, didn't I?"
"Little bit," said Ginny. "But at least you didn't make us sign a paper that would hex us if we spilled any secrets about the DA"
"Speaking of DA," said Neville as the three of them left after everyone else. "I think we need to restart it this year."
Both Ginny and Corinna stared at Neville, but he kept walking as if he simply made a comment about the sudden change in weather. "And what do you plan to do with the DA?"
"What we originally did," said Neville. "Learn Defense, defy the Ministry. You can't expect that we will have a good teacher with a Death Eater teaching the subject."
"Okay, but who will teach it?" asked Ginny. "Harry's on the run."
"Well, Corinna's good at it."
"You just heard my speech," said Corinna. "I am not cut out to lead or teach."
"It wasn't that bad. Boring, but it got to the point."
"Thanks for the feedback."
"Just think about it, okay?" asked Neville as they found the compartment that Luna was in. She was alone, her stockinged feet swinging as she read the Quibbler.
"Oh, is the meeting over already?" asked Luna as the three of them piled into the compartment. Neville sat down next to Luna, but neither of them made a move to be closer. Corinna knew that they went to Slughorn's Christmas party together, but she wasn't sure what happened to them afterward. Corinna was a little wrapped up in her own love life, something she desperately wished she could go back to. Those stolen moments sitting underneath the beech tree with Harry's arm around her or trying to find an empty room so they wouldn't be interrupted for a snogging session. It brought her back to when they were interrupted in the broom shed. She tried to think back to when the last time they kissed and she couldn't even remember.
Even Luna's disposition couldn't help them from turning the conversation sour.
"Dean had to go into hiding," said Ginny, looking down at the ground when she said it. "He doesn't know if his real father was a wizard or not, since he was raised by his Muggle mother and stepfather."
"My uncle had to go into hiding," said Corinna. "And I suspect Terry is hiding away with his family as his parents are both Muggle-born." At least, she hoped he was alive and hiding instead of dead.
"Poor Seamus," said Neville. "His mum barely let him come back, only since it compulsory now and she did not want to go against the Ministry. I suspect she hasn't fully realized that You-Know-Who has taken over."
"I knew that woman was thick, but I didn't think she was that thick." Corinna remembered Seamus being a proponent of 'Harry and Dumbledore are cracked' brigade since his mother believed the lies the Prophet had published about them after Voldemort's return. Seamus had eventually come around, and had even joined the DA during the final meeting.
But that was the beauty of their plan. It was all laid out for them. All they had to do was say that Rufus Scrimgeour stepped down and Pius Thicknesse took his place, as it made sense as he was already the Head of Magical Law Enforcement. Then, as only Death Eaters were up in the Tower with Dumbledore and Harry, they could easily form their own version of events that deflected suspicion off Snape and onto Harry, the new face of the rebellion. And no one could stand up for the tyranny without fear of death, either for oneself or of their family.
"I better get to my rounds," said Ginny, drawing Corinna back from her thoughts. "And just when the trolley arrives, too."
Corinna didn't buy anything, the idea of eating something so sugary made her nauseous. Instead, she looked out the window while Neville and Luna talked in low voices. He was talking to her about the DA, but Corinna noticed that Neville had placed his hand on top of Luna's. She tried not to let jealousy take over, so she sharply looked away. She wished Ginny was here, she would understand what Corinna was going through. But, when Ginny came back to the compartment, it meant that her and Neville had to go do their rounds.
As she was heading towards the caboose, she noticed Malfoy and Parkinson sitting with the other Slytherin seventh years. She thought about calling them out, but she remembered Aunt Andromeda's warning about keeping her head down and focusing on her studies. Antagonizing a known Death Eater was not part of the overall scheme. She kept walking and eventually ran into Ernie Macmillan.
"I don't think I offered my congratulations on your being Head Girl yet," he said as he turned around and walked with Corinna the way he came. "It seems there are a lot of Prefects missing this year."
"Yeah, I know," said Corinna with a sigh. "My uncle didn't want me to come back, but once we saw it was compulsory, there wasn't much of a choice unless my family wanted to go into hiding."
"So it's true," said Ernie. He leaned forward and whispered, "The rumors that You-Know-Who is controlling the Ministry?"
"Of course," said Corinna. "How else do you explain Snape and the Carrows being there? Unless you believe that Harry killed Dumbledore."
"Of course I don't," said Ernie quickly. "I might think he's privileged and has anger issues, but I like the bloke well enough. He's the only reason why I got an E in my Defense OWL."
Corinna had to admit that Ernie has grown on her over the last couple of years, but that didn't negate how annoyingly prideful he could be. One almost believed he was supposed to be in Gryffindor instead of Hufflepuff.
"I'm guessing with the absence of Weasley and Granger during the Prefect meeting that they are with Potter, wherever he's hiding out?"
"I am not at liberty to say," said Corinna dryly.
"Fine, fine, I get it," he said. "Just figured you would have been with him, since you two are dating."
And here was the part she was dreading. But, if Aunt Andromeda could pretend that her husband ran away with a mistress, then she can say what needed to be said. "He broke up with me," she said, not looking over at Ernie. "During Dumbledore's funeral, no less. He probably thought something like this would happen and decided to end things."
"Just as well," said Ernie. "I always thought you were too good for him, anyway."
"You're just saying that to butter me up so I will give you the better patrol shifts."
She told Ernie to double back as she yelled at a group of second years for throwing a fanged frisbee around. She confiscated it, knowing they were better off if she took it now than if Filch caught them with it. She also did not know how this new regime was going to be like. It was one thing when it was the entire school against Umbridge. She was just one person and only a Ministry official, at a time when that meant they weren't the equivalent of a Death Eater. This was three known Death Eaters in an even more unchecked Ministry.
For all of Fudge's faults, at least he wasn't Voldemort's puppet.
Even after her hour was up, she kept patrolling as it gave her something to do. She did stop when the lights came on in the train as the sun was setting. She went back to the compartment and changed into her school robes. The train slowed and eventually stopped at Hogsmeade Station and she walked out with Neville, Ginny, and Luna.
As they walked off the platform and to the line of carriages, Corinna froze. She always thought that they were horseless carriages until she learned about Thestrals her fifth year during Care of Magical Creatures. She even rode on one in the same year. But, as she had not seen anyone die, she could not see what the creatures looked like.
Until now.
Skeletal horses were the best way to describe them as they looked as if their rotten flesh was drawn taught over their bones. They paid the students no mind as they climbed onto the carriages. Except for the first years, who were following Hagrid to the boats.
"Now you know how Harry felt," said Luna in her usual singsong tone.
The sad thing was it took her a moment to even remember who she watched be killed. It was a Death Eater during the battle outside the Astronomy Tower at the end of last year. She didn't even know his name, but he was the reason why she could see the Thestrals.
"Come on, before they're all taken," said Ginny as she grabbed Corinna's hand and the four of them managed to get a carriage for themselves. They rode in silence as the Thestrals walked the carriages down the lane and through the gates. As she was distracted by the Thestrals, she almost forgot to send a Patronus to Aunt Andromeda, which Neville, Ginny, and Luna stared at. Corinna did not say anything as the carriages moved towards the entrance to the castle.
"Weird," said Ginny as they climbed off at the entrance. "Last year, Filch was standing there poking that Dark Detector anywhere he could reach. I swear, he even tried to shove it up our—"
Ginny stopped talking once they got into the Entrance Hall. The events of last year were still fresh in everyone's minds, and the article about Snape being the new headmaster had gone around the train like wildfire. No one was certain what they were walking into.
The hall was decorated as it always was for the Welcome Feast with floating candles and the night sky visible on the ceiling. It was mostly cloudy with only a few stars visible through patches of sky. The four tables for each of the houses seemed much less crowded as it did in previous years. The only table that seemed as full as usual was the Slytherin table, which were the only rowdy bunch in the entire hall.
Corinna glanced up at the staff table and anger burned at her throat. Sitting in the center where Dumbledore usually sat was the man who killed him: Severus Snape. He almost looked bored as he sat up in the chair and eyed all the students filtering in. Both McGonagall and Hagrid's seats were empty, as the former was always waiting at the entrance to greet the first years and the latter lead them to the castle by boat. The ever-rotated spot for Defense Against the Dark Arts went to a man with a pig-like face by the name of Amycus Carrow. In the spot that was always held by Burbage ever since Corinna had gone to Hogwarts, was now being held by Amycus's sister, Alecto, a stocky woman who always seemed to hunch over.
Luna broke away from them to go over to the Ravenclaw table and Ginny went to sit with some of her sixth-year friends, so Neville and Corinna took up seats at the Gryffindor table next to a miserable looking Seamus and Lavender. It was odd to think that they were the only four seventh years left for Gryffindor when there used to be nine.
"Have you heard from Terry?" asked Seamus in a whisper. It seemed no one else around them was talking much louder than that.
"Not since he came over for supper in the middle of July," said Corinna as she glanced over at the Ravenclaw table. Luna was sitting by herself while everyone else talked nervously around her. "Right now, no news is good news. I'm sure he is hiding out with his family."
"I hope so," said Seamus as he glanced over at the staff table again. "It's just wrong to see him sitting there."
Snape wasn't talking to any of his fellow staff members, merely looking about the Great Hall with a sneer.
"We're going to do something, aren't we?" asked Seamus.
"I think we—" Neville stopped talking when the doors open again and McGonagall walked out with a group of frightened first years. Normally they still had an air of excitement about them, but beyond staring up at the ceiling or around at the older students, they looked terrified.
McGonagall stopped next to the stool with the Sorting Hat, the patched up pointed hat that sorted each of the students into one of the four houses. Corinna remembered her sorting well as she looked over at the Slytherin table. She wondered how differently she would feel if she were sitting among them. Would she be acting like Parkinson who seemed to be on top of the world, or would she be acting like Draco who stared down at his empty plate as if it gave him the answers to get out of there?
She glanced back at the Sorting Hat as its mouth opened at the brim and it began his melancholy song. Much like in their fifth year, the song was very much a warning about what is happening with Hogwarts. He reminded them to stay united as the founders had tried to do but could not accomplish.
As the Sorting Hat gave its final note, no one clapped as the hat finished its song. In fact, it left the Hall with a sense of foreboding.
"After I call your name," said McGonagall, dragging everyone back to reality. "I will set the hat on top of your head and you will be sorted into your houses. Albright, Channing."
The group of first years also seemed smaller than in previous years, so it went by fairly quickly. By the time "Williams, Sarah" was sorted into Hufflepuff, everyone turned their attention to Snape. Dumbledore always said a few quick words before the feast began as he knew that students would much rather eat than listen to an old man yammer on. But, it seemed, Snape wouldn't even say anything as the plates simply filled with food. There were only a few moments of hesitancy before the students began loading their plates.
"What were you saying Neville?" asked Seamus.
"Don't talk about it here!" Corinna said in a low hiss. "We don't know who could be listening. At least wait until we get to the common room."
Corinna glanced back up at the staff table and McGonagall had purposefully turned to face away from Snape and talked to her other neighbor while she cut up a piece of chicken. Corinna looked down at her own plate where she had piled food onto it, but she was far from hungry. She just shoved some peas into her mouth to force herself to blend in.
As Corinna kept shooting Neville warning glances in his direction, they did not talk about much throughout dinner. After pudding, the plates cleared off and everyone turned back to the staff table where Snape stood up and looked about the students.
"For those who may be unaware," he said coldly, "my name is Severus Snape and I will be your new Headmaster here at Hogwarts. It is important to note that the Forbidden Forest, as it is in the name so it should be obvious, is out-of-bounds for all students, even for those who believe they are above the rules." If Harry had been in the crowd, he might have searched him out. "Magic is not allowed in the corridor nor will we tolerate students being out of bed past curfew. While my previous colleague ("Who you murdered!" Neville hissed under his breath, but Corinna elbowed him in the side before he could say more.) was more lenient in allowing rule-breaking and when it came to punishments of such, I will not allow such tomfoolery. I have asked the members of the staff to report any incidents that may transpire. Further punishment may be extended as necessary."
If the looks from the other staff members told the students anything, it was that they would do no such thing.
"I would also like to announce two changes in staffing this year. Taking over for Professor Burbage's post as Muggle Studies professor is Alecto Carrow. And we will also welcome Amycus Carrow who will fulfill my old post as Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."
There was only polite clapping coming from the Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff tables, while the Slytherins gave a much more energetic applause. There were a few, as Corinna, who did not even bother clapping, which earned them a sweeping sneer from Snape.
"Given the plunging numbers of students attending Hogwarts this year, we will not be hosting the Quidditch House Cup—" There were some people speaking up for that as that could easily be the one thing that people could look forward to. "Silence! I will not tolerate students talking over me. It is regrettable, but it seems that many of the houses would be at a disadvantage."
That made the Slytherins jeer at the others, but they were not silenced by Snape. He let them die out on their own.
"With that in mind, off to bed, now. First years, your Prefects will show you to your common rooms. Dismissed."