Chapter Seven – The Prophecy Returns

Damien came out of the train looking around. He saw a sign hanging on a wall saying "Hogsmeade Station." What an interesting place this was to him. He then saw some kind of giant walk past him.

"Firs' years, this way! This way firs' years!" he shouted over the crowds. Neville came out of the train behind Damien and smiled up to him.

"Hi there, Hagrid," Neville said weakly. Hagrid turn to him as many young ones came up to him.

"Hello there, Neville," Hagrid said and turned back to the group in front of him. Neville tugged on Damien's arm and moved him over to the side.

"What was that?" Damien asked. Neville smirked.

"Oh, that's just Hagrid. He's the groundskeeper and also teaches Care of Magical Creatures. Come on this way." Neville pulled Damien towards the waiting carriages. Damien willingly followed him into a carriage, not knowing where it was going but sitting there none the less.

*****

Harry, Hermione, and Ron all got off at the same time to greet Hagrid, who had been taking the first years to the boats at the Black Lake. All the carriages had almost been taken when they found one up in the front with Neville and a darkish red-haired boy. They immediately went inside as the carriages started for Hogwarts. Moments after they settled down, Harry notice the new kid and eyed him.

"Hello," he said, "I'm Harry Potter." The boy looked up at him but didn't smile.

"I'm Damien. Damien Finch," he said, but then did a double-take. "Wait a minute. Harry Potter. Aren't you famous for something?"

"You're the only one that doesn't know…" Harry said. "I 'saved the wizarding world from You-Know-Who." He said this while flexing his fingers up and down.

"Oh yeah, congratulations," Damien said and started staring at the floor of the carriage. Harry raised an eyebrow at him.

"You don't care much about it?" Harry asked.

"Don't patronize him because he doesn't think you're a god, Harry," Hermione said. "Hermione Granger, prefect." She held up her badge to Damien as she said it. Damien then turned to Ron, who was eating another Pumpkin Pasty.

"And you?" Damien asked.

"Rbon Bleasmey," Ron said through filled cheeks. Hermione kicked him in the shin. "Hey!" Ron said, some bits of the food flying out of his mouth.

"Don't mind him," Hermione said, and Damien chuckled. "He's Ron Weasley."

"Great to meet all of you," he said. "And this is…"

"Neville!" Hermione said, "Where's your toad, Trevor?"

"I left him at home, I think," Neville said. "I wanted to keep him there, not to be a bother this year."

"I see you already know him," Damien said.

"He's in our house," Harry said. Damien nodded and turned to look out of the carriage. "Looks like we're getting close to the school." Harry suddenly was attracted to the thing around Damien's neck. It had a serpent in the shape of an "S" on the end. "Cool necklace." Damien chuckled and thanked him.

The carriages rounded in front of the school entrance until they came to a stop. All of the students poured out of the carriages and into the school. They all came from their carriage in the front and went inside. The walls were larger than they seemed to show from the outside, but they always were. The crowds of people went inside the entrance hallway and immediately entered the Great Hall. Damien seemed amazed with everything around him, like he was in some type of museum.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron went over to the Gryffindor table while Neville stayed and talked for a moment with Damien. Harry looked at Damien for a second with wonderment.

"Have you two seen anything…strange about Damien?" Harry asked.

"No," Hermione said. "What about him?"

"I don't know," Harry said. "I just have this feeling that there's something about him."

"He seems all right to me," Ron said. "Maybe it's just some déjà vu."

"Maybe," Harry said as Neville came over and sat down.

*****

Damien stood in the middle of the entranceway with Neville for a moment, just looking around as people passed them.

"So what do you think?"

"Not too bad…yet," Damien said with a chuckle. Damien looked all around for a moment then looked over at the teachers at the Head Table. "Who's that one in the middle at the table?"

"Oh, that's Dumbledore. The headmaster," Neville said. Damien then remembered him from the Famous Witches and Wizards card. He looked a bit older than his picture but the same none the less. Damien moved his vision down the line of teachers until he came to an unsightly looking one.

"Who's that?" Damien pointed at the third one on the left. Neville shuddered when he saw it.

"That's Professor Snape," Neville seemed to whisper. "He teaches Potions. Frightens the hell out of me." Oh no. Just what he had feared. Oh well, he had to deal with it now that he was here.

"Transfers! Could all transfers come up here please?" said an old witch near the front, speaking very good English. Damien waved goodbye to Neville and went up to the front of the room. There were about 20 transfers, not including him.

"I have little time to speak to you, so I shall speak quickly," the woman said, "I am Professor McGonagall. After the first years, you will be sorted into four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Now, if you will please be seated in these chairs." She pointed to the chairs at the front. All of them sat, Damien being on the end of the first row.

Damien looked to see who he was sitting next to and found it had to be someone who was part veela. Damien cringed then looked at the table in front of him. Above it hung the drapes of a snake with a green and silver background. He looked over at the last person on the table. It was a beautiful blonde haired girl with black eyes like small pebbles and lips that were full and perfect. She was hot!

Then she turned to see Damien staring at her. Damien then did the first thing he could think of doing, he winked at her. She then turned red in the face and Damien chuckled because he liked it. He didn't know why, but he liked it.

"What's your name?" he asked her, leaning out of his chair.

"Blaise. Blaise Zabini…" but she was interrupted by a nudge from the boy next to her. Good ol' Darco Malfoy. What a way to end a great moment. Darco glared at him with an icy glare then turned back to talking to his friends. Boy would he like to take his fist and give Darco one good punch right in the…

Silence went into the room as the first years entered through the front doors of the Great Hall. Heads turned to see them walking down the aisle to the front of the room. McGonagall stopped them right at the front of the room beside the chairs and placed down a tattered old hat on a stool. What was the hat for? He soon knew. A rip the hat opened and it started to sing.

For those of you that do not know,

I am the Sorting Hat,

What I do is sort you,

Into houses and that is that.

You may think you know where you go,

But I assure you I am right,

When I say the house that is yours,

To your fear or delight.

The Founders' Four who created me,

Each one did have a house,

To which you go, I do not know,

But I soon will announce.

To Gryffindor go the brave at heart,

The ones who stand their ground,

To Hufflepuff go the smart,

They use their brains to astound,

To Ravenclaw the wise will stay,

Using logic in many ways,

To Slytherin the cunning thrive,

Planning more through all the days.

So try me on and I will do,

What I can do best,

To find the house that suits you,

Are you ready for the test?

The whole room roared in applause. Damien joined in a moment later. Sorted by a hat. An old hat at that. And now he wondered what house he'd be good for. Maybe Gryffindor. Or maybe Slytherin. He didn't know for sure.

"When I call your name, can you please come up and sit on the stool?" McGonagall said. "I will then put the hat on your head and it will tell your house." Damien sighed. That was a relief. At least the hat didn't talk to you or something. "Applegate, Yolanda." A small girl with frizzy red hair stepped up to the stool. McGonagall placed the hat on her head. In a few moments the hat called. "HUFFLEPUFF!" The girl got up from the chair and headed over to the table applauding.

"Boone, Frederick." A larger boy with messy hair and green eyes pushed through the crowd of first years and to the stool. Almost even before the hat was on his head it cried "SLYTHERIN!" The boy smirked as he went over the applauding table. The same table where Draco was sitting. Now he knew he didn't want to be a Slytherin.

And so the ceremony went on from "Cerce, Michael" who became a Ravenclaw all the way down to "Yero, Tabitha" who became a Slytherin.

"And now we shall sort our transfers," McGonagall said. She then turned to the group. "Aravil, Montane." The boy behind Damien got up from his seat and sat on the stool. She placed the hat on his head and stepped back. In a few moments it called "GRYFFINDOR!" He smiled as he got up and went over to sit next to the new first years.

"Camboden, Samuel." A boy from the back seats got up and went to sit on the stool. Almost as the hat touched his head, it called. "RAVENCLAW!" He got up and headed over to the table.

"Darley, Sinestra." She got up and became a Hufflepuff. Her twin sister, "Darley, Sinsestra" went to Gryffindor. Then came…

"Finch, Damien." Damien took a deep breath and got up. He walked past the other people still sitting and up to the stool slowly. As he sat on the stool, McGonagall put the hat on his head, which actually went over his eyes. He sat there for a moment feeling nothing and looking into darkness.

"Hmm…" came a little voice in his ear.

Huh, he thought. What was that?

"Me. The Sorting Hat, of course," the voice replied. "Now for your house…oh, difficult. Very nice mind, oh, and a will to prove himself. Oh, and smart as a whip, I see."

I guess a whip isn't very smart, then, he thought.

"Don't put yourself down. You are as smart as they can get. Oh, and what's this. A spot of bravery there in the back of your mind. Hidden so far under, but I can still see it. Now, for your house. Oh, goodness, me. I feel…oh, no…I'm forced to say it…GRIZZELWOOD!"

The whole room fell silent.

Grizzelwood. The hat had said Grizzelwood. That wasn't one of the four they had said. What in the hell was Grizzelwood? Gasps could be heard from all over the room. Damien peeked out from under the hat to see all mouths gaped open at him. Then Dumbledore stood.

"It seems that the Sorting Hat has made its first mistake…ever," Dumbledore said. "Mr. Finch will be re-sorted into one of the four houses." He then sat and Damien sat back in his chair facing the students. He let the hat sit over his eyes again.

"Oh, I spoke too soon. I said that out of nowhere. I know where to put you."

Please just not Slytherin, Damien thought.

"Oh, and what's wrong with Slytherin. It is like Grizzelwood, in some respects."

What is Grizzelwood? Why am I for it? Tell me, Damien thought quickly.

"Alas, I cannot tell you that. But if you do not agree with Slytherin, there is only one place for you…GRYFFINDOR!" The last word was shouted to the audience, but the people at the table didn't give as much an applause as others had gotten. The only person who really applauded was Neville. Damien got up from the stool and sat next to Neville.

"Great job," Neville said. "What was all that Grizzelwood stuff about?"

"I don't know," Damien said. Neville shrugged and looked over to some other people. What did all the Grizzelwood stuff mean? He didn't know but the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to know.

*****

Harry, Hermione, and Ron applauded weakly as Damien came over to their table and sat next to Neville. What was it with this Grizzelwood thing? Harry had never heard of such a house. And why did it have to be Damien to go there? Harry had never heard of anyone else being called to this Grizzelwood.

"Hermione," Harry said, turning to her. "Do you know anything about Grizzelwood?"

"I'm just as puzzled as you are, Harry," she replied.

"Now, I'm sort of getting your drift, Harry," Ron said, staring at Damien weirdly. "There's just something about him." Harry nodded.

"What do you two think your doing?" Hermione said, making them focus on her. "You're stereotyping him. You know that, don't you?"

"Aw, quiet down, Hermione," Ron said. "I have a feeling that something's fishy, and I don't smell any fish." Hermione rolled her eyes then looked up to the Head Table. Dumbledore stood and the whole room went silent.

"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts. Now let the start-of-term banquet…begin!" Suddenly, all of the plates filled with food of all kinds. Ron, being the person he was, dug right into the food and ate whatever he could find in front of him. Harry chuckled and dug in also. At least he had been being fed this summer, but he still ate quite a lot.

*****

Voldemort and Wormtail sat in his chamber in silence for a few moments. Then Voldemort stood.

"Now is the time," he spoke. Wormtail said nothing. He just watched in agreement. Voldemort made a half-smile and took a few steps forward. He cleared his throat and took out his wand. He closed his eyes and pointed outward his wand. "Aurilia Serpentum Slavocus!" A long green light came out of his wand and swirled into a circle in mid-air. Voldemort held his ground, not blinking, as the swirling green came into a doll-like stance. The doll glowed red and still hung in mid-air. As Voldemort waited for the doll to turn green, he stood unmovingly.

*****

Damien took a bite into some chicken and suddenly felt weird. He looked around at the people around him, almost feeling ill.

"Neville, where's the nearest bathroom?" he asked. Neville swallowed the food in his mouth.

"Just around the corner…" Neville said and Damien ran out of the room. "…But that's the Girl's Bathroom…"

Damien ran around the corner and down the hallway to see the bathroom in front of him. He entered it to find that it was the girl's bathroom. And to hear crying from the third stool down. But that wasn't interesting him right now. His ill feeling had turned to a pain in his head, like a headache. He clamored into one of the sinks and knocked over a piece of soap from it. He held a hand to his head in pain and got up from the sink.

He suddenly felt like a heat wave had taken over him and threw off his robe. He seemed to be getting hotter and hotter, so he took off his shirt and threw it to the floor. Now bare-chested with his necklace on, he seemed to start to choke. He took off his necklace, but for some reason didn't throw it to the floor. He started pacing as he choked.

Suddenly, he slipped on the soap he had thrown on the floor and fell to the ground, the necklace getting thrown up from his hand. As the serpent on the necklace landed on his upper arm, the choking and heat went away. He now felt extreme pain as the serpent seemed to burn into the skin of his left arm. He cried out in pain for a moment then threw the necklace from his arm. He sat there on the ground recovering for a moment. When he did get up, he noticed that there was a ghost with tears weld up in its eyes standing over him.

"What are you looking at?" Damien asked. The ghost then looked shocked and went floating out of the bathroom. Damien rubbed his head for a moment trying to get what just happened into focus. Then he remembered the burning. He looked at his arm and saw the serpent embedded into his arm. He took his arm, picked up the piece of soap from the floor, turned on the water and started scrubbing at it.

It wouldn't come off.

It was like it was actually burned there. Damien picked up his shirt from the ground and pulled it on. He searched the floor of the bathroom until he found the necklace sitting on the floor. He cautiously touched it quickly with the tip of his finger, but it didn't burn. He did that a few more times longer and longer until he held it firmly in his hand. It wasn't hot. It wasn't even warm. It was stone cold.

He picked himself up from the floor and pocketed the necklace. He picked up his robes and pulled them over his head pulling them down and poking his head out. He let his arms come through the appropriate holes and started to leave the bathroom. He was stopped by a girl entering the bathroom. She gasped as they met eyes.

"What were you…?" the girl said.

"It's not what you think…" he interrupted her. "I couldn't find the boy's bathroom." She opened the door to the bathroom and pointed to the other end of the hallway. He smacked himself in the head, not seeing the boy's bathroom when he came down the hallway. "Stupid me. Oh, well. Oh, and could you…keep quiet about this? Don't want it getting out that I was in the…girl's bathroom." She giggled and nodded. He said goodbye.

"Goodbye, Bathroom boy." He rolled his eyes as he left. Now he had a new nickname from a girl he didn't even know. What a great start of the year.

*****

Voldemort still stood and awaited the doll, when it turned green and started to float downward. Voldemort smiled and took up the doll in his hand. "Wormtail."

"Yes, my lord," Wormtail said. Voldemort turned and glared at him. He didn't seem scared enough, like he usually was. Something was wrong. But Wormtail quivered into his usual stance and Voldemort released his glare.

"Make note that Phase I of my plan has been taken into action."

"Yes, my lord," Wormtail said and exited the room. Voldemort sat on his throne for a moment, thinking. Why had he been sent a vibe that Wormtail was not himself? But of course, what was his problem? Wormtail only did what he was told. He never would be unfaithful. Voldemort sat smugly, thinking this over and over. How wrong he was.

*****

Damien entered the Great Hall yet again and noticed that the feast was just about to end. Dumbledore, with a waft of his hand, cleared all the plates just as Damien sat down. Damien preferred not to say anything about the marking on his arm. Sometimes people who had stuff like that got questioned about it and got sent to places and…he just didn't want to be in that kind of position.

"Before I send all of you to your houses, there are some start of term notices that need to be announced," Dumbledore said, standing. "First years and new students are to note that the dark forest is forbidden to all students.

"Mr. Filch, our caretaker, is also again requesting that no magic be used between classes in the corridors or serious consequences will be upheld." Damien looked near the entrance doors at an unsightly looking man in rags with dirt all on him standing next to a cat. He had thinning hair and was missing many of his teeth.

"Also, there will be some minor construction on the fifth floor. There is no reason for any suspicion because we are just trying to add on to the school. So could all students please try to stay away from it." Some of the students snickered after he said it and he glared down, getting silence back into the room.

"Lastly, I would like us to give one last moment of silence for a student that will not be attending our school…again." All heads turned toward a decorated shrine above the entranceway with a picture of a smiling boy that looked the age of 14 or so. A name was embedded under it. Cedric Amos Diggory: 1977-1995. Silence followed for a minute while everyone made one last moment to think about Cedric.

Suddenly, a witch from the Head Table stood from her seat, her eyes closed. "Professor Trelawney…what in blazes…?" Albus said, but she interrupted him.

"15 years have come and gone,

The Dark Lord now ready to spawn,

His servant now chosen, he will arise,

Striking fear upon waiting eyes,

Using power unimaginable, they will rule,

Unless a life is taken, leaving a bloody pool,

All Hogwarts fear, for the servant is near,

And the wrath of its master will soon appear."

As the witch ended, she crumpled to the floor. All of the people in the room just seemed to stare. A dead silence only stayed for a moment in the room before an enormous amount of chatter filled the room. A moment later the room returned to silence as Dumbledore put up a hand.

"All students are to follow your prefects to your houses immediately," Dumbledore said. "Hagrid, can you take Professor Trelawney to the Hospital Wing?" The large man nodded and picked up the woman, taking her out of the room. "Professor McGonagall, my office. All other teachers to your rooms. You have your orders." After he finished, everyone moved quickly out of the room.

"Everyone follow me, and move quickly," Hermione said, leading the group with the other prefects. "We don't want anyone getting lost, especially first years. Oh, and watch out for the staircases. They like changing. Let's move it." They all quickly headed up a few staircases and down some hallways. When they finally stopped for a moment, it was in front of a portrait of a rather large woman in a white dress.

"Password?" the woman asked. "Hogswash," said Hermione. The woman in the portrait bowed her head and the portrait she was in swung aside to show a passageway. All of them filed through the passageway and into the room ahead. Most of the people looked like they knew where they were supposed to be going, so they went around the group of staring first years and transfers. Someone put a hand on Damien's shoulder and he turned to see Neville standing behind him.

"You're a fifth year, right?" Neville asked him. Damien nodded. "Follow me." Damien did as he was told and followed Neville up the left staircase (or was it right?) and up a few doors until they came to a door marked "5th years". Neville pushed the door open and saw that two of the boys had already made it to the room. There were seven four-posters in the room and they all had people's belongings next to them. "Looks like you're bed's in between mine and Harry's."

"Yeah," Damien said, going over to it. He quickly changed into something to sleep in and leapt into his bed. He felt sleep coming over him, but questions still were about his head. What was with the "tattoo" on his arm? And what was with the cryptic message this evening? Somehow he knew that all of this would come into focus soon. But he wished soon would come sooner. With that thought, he fell into a sound, dreamless sleep.

*****

Dumbledore paced in his office, as he had been for the last 10 minutes, and McGonagall sat watching him, not saying anything. This somehow seemed to be familiar to him and he had been wishing that it would pop back into his head. Finally, he felt fed up with it and stopped pacing.

"This occurance seems utterly familiar, Minerva," Dumbledore finally said. "I just can't put my finger on it."

"Albus, don't beat yourself with it," Minerva said. "We've got time to think about this."

"No. I don't think we have any time at all."

"Why do you say that?"

"I fear that by the time we have figured all of this out, it may be too late." Albus sat at his desk and started writing furiously on a piece of parchment.

"What are you writing, Albus?" Minerva asked.

"The prophecy that Sybill said," he replied. "I want to be able to remember it." When Dumbledore had finished, he place his quill down and rubbed his forehead for a moment. "Please leave me to think, Minerva. And if anyone asks you, particularly the staff, I have thought about it and know some of what I need to know. Without the hope of others, I think that I wouldn't have hope myself." Minerva nodded and stood, turned on her heel and exited the office to leave Dumbledore alone in his chambers.