Chapter 11: Year Six
Harry awoke to Ron's voice. "Hurry up mate, or we'll be late again," he mumbled, attempting to
crawl out of bed himself. Harry could hear Mrs. Weasley in Ginny's room trying to wake her as
he fumbled around, looking for his glasses. He found them and, putting them on, leaned back onto
his pillow. September 1st had finally come. Crawling out of bed, he dressed quickly and went
downstairs for some breakfast. Only he, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were there, along with Mrs.
Weasley; the adults had left earlier in the day for work, and Remus had been at Hogwarts all
week, preparing his classroom. After munching on some toast, the Weasleys, Hermione, and Harry
all managed to cram their luggage into two muggle taxis which stood waiting outside. The drivers
looked quite unhappy, but as they were too young to apparate, unable to obtain a portkey, and 
didn't have a ministry car, this was their only choice. Soon they arrived at the train station.

"Take care, and stay out of trouble this year," Mrs. Weasley was lecturing. Ginny rolled her eyes
and pulled her luggage onto the train. The trio looked up at the scarlet steam engine. 

"Ready, guys?" Ron asked, smiling. Their sixth year had finally begun.

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Adele Fleur was a mess. She had quit her job, packed her belongings, and yet she still had three
more days to wait. Three!! She paced nervously back and forth through her small apartment. I have
to calm down, she told herself. Taking a few deep breathes, she knelt before one of the smaller
boxes in the room, all neatly labeled in black magic marker. She opened the lid and pulled out a few
objects: the dusty yearbook,some elementary spellbooks, and a long thin wand. 7 and a half inches, 
holly, with a single unicorn hair. She smiled to herself; she had not done magic in so long! For her,
it would actually be a relief to get out of this monotonous lifestyle. She was unsure why she had
even waited this long, except for her everpresent fear that everyone she knew would be dead when
she returned. She still didn't know anything though, still had no idea who was alive, what was 
happening at Hogwarts, what events had took place since she ran away, what Voldemort was doing.... 
all she knew was that he had returned. She had felt it, that fateful night...

Just then, a popping sound shook Adele from her thoughts. Turning she saw a man in dirty gray robes,
the mousy blonde hair on his head rumpled. Here's another, still alive! she thought estatically
to herself, grinning at the man. He smiled back nervously, his watery eyes staring into her clear
blue ones. "Hello, Peter!" she said happily, greeting him.

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Harry and Ron ran into the Great Hall panting. They both had been involved in a near-death experience
with Peeves, who had tried to drop several statues on top of them. Harry glanced at his watch, 
hoping desperately that the sorting had not started and that no one would notice they were late.
However, they weren't that lucky...

"Fifteen points from Gryffindor," came the oily voice from behind them. Spinning around, they saw
Professor Snape leaning against the brick wall, smirking. Grabbing Ron by his cloak, Harry dragged
him into the Great Hall before he could protest. What's wrong with this situation? Harry 
thought to himself. Aren't I supposed to be the one who gets angry so easily? What is wrong with
Ron?
"Why that little... I'm going to..." Ron muttered to himself, still pulling against Harry' grasp.

"Come ON, Ron, we have to get to our table!" he hissed. Sulkily, Ron gave up, and they took a seat
next to Hermione, who gave them both a reproachful look.

"Glad you two could make it," she said sarcastically. "You've missed the sorting, Dumbledore's just
about to begin his speech now."

Winking at Harry as he stood up (Harry knew he had seen them come in late; Dumbledore never missed
anything), Professor Dumbledore cleared his throat. 

"Welcome to another year at Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As you should all now know,
Lord Voldemort has returned, and in light of recent events, two new prefects from each class will
be patrolling the halls, in addition to the prefects from last year. This is only one of our many
increased security measures. On a lighter note, let me introduce - or shall I say, reintroduce - 
this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Remus Lupin." Loud applause could be
heard from every table, but especially the Gryffindor table. "May I remind you that the Forbidden
Forest is still forbidden and illegal objects are still illegal - if anyone has any questions as to
what is allowed in Hogwarts, please see Mr. Filch's office door, where the list is posted. And now,
tuck in! The feast will begin." Harry, Ron, and Hermione grinned at one another and began eating
hungrily. Once their plates had been cleared, they headed upstairs to the common room, Harry and Ron
sinking into comfortable armchairs while Hermione sat crosslegged on the floor. They were the only
ones in the room, seeing as how every other student had already gone to their dormitories to unpack.
Harry leaned back in his chair.

"Merlin, I've missed meals like that... I'm stuffed..." he laughed. Ron shook his head, looking at 
him. 

"You look like you've lost some weight, Harry, those muggles don't feed you properly..." Harry 
stifled a laugh.

"Ron, you sound just like your mum!"

"Oi, shut it!" he yelled back, laughing as well.

The common room door opened and all three were shocked to see Professor Dumbledore stroll in. 
"Harry, I think there is something we need to discuss," he said gravely. Harry looked at Ron and
Hermione, then nodded at Dumbledore, following him out the common room door.

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