**Hello all! Half term – YAY! I might even get more than one chapter up this week. Won't that be a novelty?

Anyway I thought I should warn you that this chapter will not be particularly exciting, because it is mainly just Harry's explanations to Ron and Hermione about what is going on at Hogwarts, and decisions about the new year.

However there are a couple of new twists that you don't want to miss!! Aren't I one for the ever-complicated plot line…?

Oh yeah and thanks to everyone who said good luck for my French exams. I didn't have to worry cause I did really well and nearly fainted!! Ahem. On with the story. **

The Quidditch team came and plonked themselves around Harry, Ron and Hermione.

"How you doing, mate?" said George.

"Did you get any practice in?" asked Angelina. 

"A bit," said Harry.

"A bit?" said Katie Bell. "What were you doing the whole time?"

"You said something about extra lessons?" said Ron, interested.

"Yeah," said Harry.

"Were they with the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher?" Hermione asked eagerly.

"Hermione, why is that always the first thing you worry about when we get to school?"

"It's not, Ron," said Hermione. "Go on then, Harry, what's he like?"

"She," Harry corrected.

"She?" said Fred, incredulously.

"Why not?" said Hermione, hotly.

"Is she a banshee?" Dean Thomas asked, as eager as Hermione.

"Of course not," said Harry. "She's OK."

"Just OK?" said Ron with raised eyebrows.

"Ron!" said Harry, and punched him on the shoulder.

"Hey!" said Ron. He seemed surprise at the weakness of his friend's blow, but said nothing of it.

"Where is she then?" said Neville, raising himself off his seat slightly and craning his neck to see the staff table. "I don't see her."

Harry made a face. "She's probably upstairs preparing a dramatic entrance. She's like that."

"Snape's not there, either," said Neville, sitting down.

"Where do you reckon he's got to?" said Hermione.

"Obvious, isn't it?" said Ron. "He's concocting even more gruesome ways to make our lives even more of a misery this year."

Harry felt a knife churn in his stomach. Where was Snape? If something had happened…

"Oh shut up," said Hermione, but she was smiling. She looked up to the starry sky of the ceiling happily. "It's good to be back."

"O.W.L.s this year, Hermione," teased Ron. "Better start revising now."

She stuck out her tongue at him, just as the door opened and a load of frightened looking first years piled in, led by Professor McGonagall, who had a list in one hand, and the Hogwarts sorting hat in the other.

She fetched the stool from a corner, put the hat on it and stood back.

Everyone waited in silence until the tear near the rim opened and the hat broke into song:

"A merry eve, to one and all,

A brand new year I spy.

A throng of brand new students

Do also catch my eye.

My rim is frayed and torn with age,

My patches failing too,

But I'm the Hogwarts sorting hat,

And I will sort you true.

Which home, which house, which room, which bed?

From where your minds will grow,

I'll have a look inside your head

And see where you will go.

If you've a loyal caring soul

Then Hufflepuff is where you'll stay

If you know how to reach your goal

Then Slytherin's the smarter way

I you have cleverness and tact

Then Ravenclaw is what I see

If your are brave and quick to act

Then Gryffindor's the choice for me.

Pull me tight around your head

I'll shout it way out loud.

And off you go, to work, to learn

And do your houses proud.

Desires, secrets, feelings, thoughts

Inside your head, this hat, are held

And then with G, R, S or H,

Your house's name is spelled."

There was a pause, and then the whole room started clapping and cheering as Professor McGonagall unfolded her roll of parchment.

She had to wait a few minutes before it was possible for her to be heard, frowning deeply at the students until they quietened down.

"Appleton, Holly!"

The small girl with a chubby face came forward onto the stool and pulled the hat onto her head. No sooner had she done so, the hat yelled out for the whole hall to hear,

"Hufflepuff!"

The table burst into applause as Holly Appleton sat down on the nearest empty bit of bench.

Harry watched the Hufflepuffs greeting her, until –

"Avery, Simon!"

Harry looked up with a curse on his lips.

"What is it?" whispered Hermione.

Harry couldn't answer, because Avery had put on the hat, and the hat screamed:

"SLYTHERIN!"

And the next table along clapped enthusiastically.

"We'll have to watch that one," said Harry quietly once the noise had died down.

Hermione and Ron looked like they wanted to ask more questions, but they didn't because "Birder, Isabelle!" had just been called to the stand.

They watched in silence while Isabelle was made a Ravenclaw, and a boy was made a Hufflepuff.

And then, Professor McGonagall called "Blake, Oliver!" the young man in question put the hat on his head, the hat called,

"Gryffindor!"

And it was their turn to cheer.

The sorting commenced in normal fashion as more and more Gryffindors joined the table to make up for the absent 7th year of the year before, and Harry greeted them with everyone else.

"Pordell, Sarah," called Professor McGonagall.

Harry felt something clang in his chest as he watched Sarah sit on the stool. Where had he seen her, or someone like her, before?

She was short, with light brown skin and longish black hair in plaits over each shoulder. Unlike the other first years, she did not look frightened. She looked sad.

The hat took almost a full minute to decide. And then –

"Gryffindor!" almost casually.

Harry clapped a little, but he was intent on watching the girl as she sat down. She didn't smile; she just politely returned people's handshakes as she sat down on the other end of the table.

There Harry lost his view of her. Damn.

He hardly concentrated on the rest of the sorting, even when "Weasley, Juliet!" was sorted into Gryffindor. Ginny hugged her as she sat down.

"My cousin," Ron explained sullenly. "She's awful, especially when she and Ginny get together. How am I going to survive this year?"

Then Dumbledore stood up.

"I will not say much," he said. "Because I know that you are all happily anticipating your dinner!"

"He's got that right," said Fred and George, together.

"But I do have a few things to say to you," continued the Headmaster. "First of all, we only have one new member of staff this year, but she appears to have been detained, so –"

The doors flew open with a crash. A few people screamed.

Wendy stood in the doorway, a big trademark grin on her face. "Good evening," she said cheerfully. "Sorry I'm late."

"Quite all right," said Dumbledore, and then to the school, he added, "I have great pleasure in introducing you to our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Little!"

Everyone clapped, except the Slytherins, but that was understandable.

Ron wasn't' clapping. He was staring at Professor Little, mouth wide open.

Hermione dug him in the side.

"Ow!"

"Well stop staring at her like a hungry dog."

"I'm not!"

"Well, you were."

Ron ignored her and went back to staring at Wendy as she joined the staff table.

"Ron, what is the matter with-?"

"Furthermore." Dumbledore went on, "I would like to remind you all that the forbidden forest is out of bounds, no magic in the corridors, etcetera, etcetera."

A few people laughed.

"But on a slightly more serious note," said Dumbledore, his expression growing grim, "I am sure that you have all heard of the attacks over this summer."

There were mumblings around the hall, and Harry thought his heart might have stopped.

"I must tell you that even though you are at Hogwarts, your safety is not assured if you care to wander outside of the school. Please, for your own safety, stay inside the school grounds unless given express permission to leave.

"I know that many of you will have experience some kind of hardship already over the last two months, or before," he went on. "Family or friends whisked away by the Dark Powers. You are safe here, but please, be on your guard. Do not talk to anyone you do not know; do not follow anyone you do not trust entirely. Thank you."

Dumbledore sat down. No one clapped.

There were whisperings down one end of the Gryffindor table as Dumbledore sat back down.

"What is it?" Alicia Spinnet, chaser for the Gryffindor team, whispered to a third year nearer the disturbance.

"It's that new girl, Sarah Pordell or whatever her name is," said the boy. "She's crying."

No one questioned any further, because at that point the food arrived.

Hermione loaded both Harry and Ron's plates before they could argue.

"Eat your vegetables, they're good for you," she said firmly.

Harry laughed. It certainly was good to have them back.

Later, while they were all still tucking in furiously, except Harry, who'd reached the picking stage by now, Hermione said:

"What was up with you back then, Ron?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Ron, taking a big swig of pumpkin juice.

"Oh yes you do. Why were you staring at Professor Little like that? You cant' tell me she's a Veela! Look at her hair."

"I was looking," said Ron with a dreamy expression on his face.

"Oh Ron, you're hopeless," said Hermione.

"Harry," Ron said quickly. "We saw Hedwig on the way up to the castle."

"Yeah…" said Harry, knowing what was coming.

"Well, she had this black one with her."

"Yes!" said Hermione. "It was gorgeous."

Gee, thanks, Hermione. I didn't know you cared.

"A black what?"

"Owl, you dunce."

"A black owl? Oh… right. That's erm…" He put his hand in his pocket for inspiration. "Quill. Yeah."

"Quill?" said Hermione.

"Yeah."

"Who does he belong to?" asked Ron. "I've never seen him before."

"Er… "

"Harry, if you know its name, you have to know who he belongs to."

"I… just don't want to say it here, Ok?"

"All right," said Ron, but he looked just as puzzled.

"I'll tell you later. It's one of those things."

"Ah. Well that explains everything," said Ron, and rolled his eyes. 

"Are Quill and Hedwig courting?" asked Hermione, interested.

"Hermione!" said Ron.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"No," said Harry. "But Hedwig and Flash are."

"What?"

"Just what I said."

"How do you know?"

"Hedwig's got eggs."

"EGGS?"

"Whose eggs?" said George, looking up from his food with gravy all round his mouth.

"Doesn't matter," said Ron quickly.

"Don't yell it then," said George. 

"Has she really, Harry?" asked Hermione.

Harry nodded. "Three."

"Oh brilliant!" then she became thoughtful. "Maybe Quill could court Madeline…"

Er… no thanks actually. Madeline's ok, but I really don't want to father a nest full of baby owls thanks all the same.

Ron shot Harry the 'women' look, and Harry laughed out loud. The situation was so like the one he'd been in that morning that he couldn't really do anything else.

"Harry," said Hermione when he'd stopped laughing. "I've just realised something."

"Yeah?"

"You're not using your glasses."

"Oh, well spotted."

"No I mean, you're really not using them. Sometimes you just don't wear them but you always squint at things. You don't need them anymore, do you?"

"So?"

"Harry, that kind of thing doesn't happen in a week."

"It's a long story."

"We've got time."

"I'll tell you later."

"Looks like it's going to be an interesting discussion," muttered Ron in Harry's ear. Hermione had her studying face on.

Later, when the dessert arrived (of which Harry couldn't eat a single bite) someone broached the subject of the new keeper for the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

"The captain issue is no problem," said Fred confidently. "Angelina was vice-captain, so she has to do Oliver's job until she finds someone else mad enough to do it."

"Thanks a lot Fred," said Angelina, aiming a whack at the back of his head, which he ducked.

"But we still need a new Keeper," said Katie. "Any ideas?"

"There's a third year that isn't bad," said Angelina. "Kate something. I'll look into it."

"What about a new vice-captain, if Angelina's moved up?" said Harry.

"YOU!" said all the other members of the team.

Harry stared at them. "Why me?"

"I'm certainly not doing it," said Katie.

"No way," said Alicia.

"As if," said Fred and George in unison.

"But I'm youngest!"

"So? Three years ago we didn't even have any sixth or seventh year players, remember?" said Fred.

"Oliver was captain then, in his fifth year, and he was captain the year before that, when Paul was Seeker," said George.

"Oliver was Quidditch captain in his forth year?" exclaimed Hermione.

"Yep," said Alicia. "We got pounded by the Slytherins that year."

Harry felt the bottom drop out of his stomach.

"No need to look so worried Harry," said Katie. "The chances of Angelina getting mortally injured are about ten million to one."

Everyone else laughed, and all too soon the plates were clean, the food was gone, and Dumbledore was standing up.

"An excellent start to the year," said the Headmaster. "Now, off you trot."

"Let's avoid Malfoy," said Ron. "We had a bit of an unpleasant run in on the train."

"My pleasure," said Harry.

The sixth and seventh year prefects led the Gryffindor first years out of the door.

They waited until all the Slytherins had already gone out of the door. Just as they themselves were about to leave, they heard:

"Harry! Just a second!"

Harry turned. So did Ron and Hermione.

It was Wendy, sauntering down the aisle to meet them. "I just wanted to meet your friends," she said loudly. Then she lowered her voice so that only they could hear,

"You haven't seen Snape, have you?"

Hermione looked taken aback, Ron was gaping again. Harry knew precisely what she meant.

"Not since this morning. Do you reckon he'll make it back all right?"

"Of course he will. He always shows up eventually, like a bad penny. Only I'm still worried."

"I know. Me too, in a weird sort of way."

"If he isn't here by tomorrow, even Dumbledore will be worried," said Wendy.

She raised her voice again. "So you must be Ron and Hermione. I've heard a lot about you."

"Yes," said Hermione, stepping on Ron's foot heavily.

"Er… right, yeah."

"I look forward to teaching you," said Wendy. She started to walk away, but then she looked back at Harry.

"And once again, well done for passing the test."

She left. Harry took a deep breath, then turned around to face his friends. They both had their arms folded.

"All right, Harry. You've got some explaining to do."

*************************************************************************

"And that happens every night?"

"Along those lines. Usually it's worse. Rarely it's better. Some nights when nothing important is going on it doesn't happen at all."

Harry leant back in his chair and watched his two best friends ponder over everything he had said.

It was now almost midnight, and most of the other students had gone to bed. Had Harry, Ron and Hermione not been prefects, they would not have been allowed to stay up.

It seemed that even Ron was starting to see the advantages of their new station, though he didn't say as much.

"Right," Ron said finally. "Let me get this straight. Our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher is really Sirius' twin sister and has been hiding from the ministry in Poland for the last fourteen years. She's also one of the best Aurors the wizarding world has ever seen, and she's been teaching you extra Defence, Charms and Transfiguration."

"That's what they tell me," said Harry.

"You're not using your glasses anymore because of a form of Defence that we're learning about early this year so you don't have to explain it. The black owl we saw this evening belongs to Sirius."

Harry smiled inwardly. He'd made up that lie on the spur of the moment. It was quite a good one, considering he told Sirius about 'Quill' before someone else asked him about it.

"Remus Lupin is now hiding in rooms on the other side of the castle and we can't tell anyone or he'll be kicked out."

Harry nodded.

"Our Potions master is vitally important to us because he's pretending to be a Death Eater on Dumbledore's orders and is now our only living link to You-Know-Who, and his life is hanging by a thread.  We know this because you found out through one of those visions or dreams or whatever you call them."

"That sounds about right," said Harry.

"And we're all Prefects and Harry's vice captain of the Quidditch team," Ron said finally. "Looks like it'll be an interesting year."

And that isn't all, thought Harry.

He couldn't tell them everything, so he'd cunningly skimmed over certain areas, and not even approached others.

Hermione would explode if she found out that he was now able to pass his N.E.W.T.s in three subjects with top marks.

He also didn't tell them about that other little thing that had happened since he'd arrived at Hogwarts.

Fortunately neither of them guessed the perfectly likely fact that he might now be able to turn into a snake, a cat or an owl, and many more besides, once he got the permission.

They didn't' really need to know that yet.

Who are you kidding? Harry asked himself. You just want a couple of secrets to yourself.

Or are you afraid? Said another voice in his mind. Are you afraid of what might happen to them if they knew? Are you scared of someone needing them for that information?

Of course I am, said the first part of his voice. But mainly I just want a couple of secrets. Hermione's not stupid. She'll find out soon anyway.

But his mind was still unsettled.

Remus and Sirius told me, said the first voice firmly. They told me I mustn't tell.

"Well, I've taken in more than I can stand already tonight," said Hermione, getting up and stretching. "I don't' know about you two, but I'm going to bed."

"Yeah," said Ron. "It's past midnight. See you, Hermione."

"Mmm," said Hermione, her voice muffled with tiredness. She started to climb the girl's staircase that led two the dormitories, but she stopped suddenly.

"Can you hear something?" she whispered. Harry got up and stood beside her. Ron followed.

Harry could hear something. It was a faint, snuffling sound that seemed to be coming from the direction of the girls' dormitories.

"Sounds like crying," said Ron.

"There was a first year crying at dinner," said Harry. "Maybe it's her."

"Wasn't that Sarah Pordell?" asked Ron.

"Yeah, think so."

"It probably is her then."

"How come?" said Harry.

"Don't you -? Oh of course, you wouldn't know. Her parents were very useful Aurors during You-Know-Who's rise to power," said Ron, very quietly. "They were both killed about six weeks ago."

"And she still came to school?" exclaimed Hermione in a horrified whisper.

Ron shrugged. "Prob'ly better than staying at home without them. I know I'd rather be here."

Hermione shook her head and climbed slowly up the staircase. Ron was just starting to climb the boys' one when he realised his friend was not following him.

"Harry?"

Harry stood stock-still. He had known. Why hadn't he remembered?

 "I knew it," he said softly. "I knew I'd seen her somewhere before."

"What?"

"She looks just like her mother. That's why I recognised her."

Harry fought to keep his voice and his stomach calm. Now was not a good time to be sick, especially after all that food. Madam Pomfrey would skin him.

"Harry," Ron said. He sounded just like Harry felt. "How do you know what Mrs. Pordell looked like?"

"Both of them, Ron," said Harry, still unable to move from shock. "I saw both of them. I watched it. It was on a farm somewhere, no one even heard them scream…"

Would you rather freeze to death…?

Ron was looking scared now, backing away towards the staircase. "Harry?"

Harry shook his head firmly. It was bad enough him having nightmares about the deaths of first years' parents, he didn't have to bring that upon his friends as well.

"C'mon," he said through his teeth. "Let's go."

Ron led the way up the staircase. When they reached the dormitory, Harry looked around and saw the lumps that were Neville, Dean and Seamus underneath the covers of their four posters, the curtains still tied back.

The two of them tumbled into bed. Harry thought he heard Ron mutter, "I knew it was a good idea."

"What was a good idea?" Harry whispered. There was no answer. Either Ron was asleep or he was avoiding the question.

Harry climbed in between his sheets after removing the warming pans. He knew there was one thing he had to do before dozing off.

'Sirius?'

'What? Harry, you all right?'

'If anyone asks, you've got a black owl called Quill, Ok?'

'What's that supposed to mean?"

Sirius never got an answer.

Harry didn't even have time to wonder what had happened to Sleeve before he fell asleep.

**What did I tell you? Next chapter defiantly looks to be more promising. Sorry for boring you.

Here be thanks:

Dominey: did you press the button eight times by accident or for fun? Oh well. Sorry about chapter ten. Maybe I'll come to your funeral if this isn't in time to save your life.

Kat: I wouldn't think of not having a Sirius/Wendy reunion. I'm just not sure how to do it yet…

Windswift

Fiddy

Ranger

Centra-gal86

Katani Petitedra

Gotta Luv Pippin

Sabrina: Harry's journal is currently a mystery to the whole world, including me… Not really! I do have a plan, I swear!

Bumblebee Bucy: !!!!! To you too! Thanks for your review.

Ivette Jamaya

Bananafanayou

AllAboutMe

Jordan: Sleeve, good quesssssstion. Looks like you'll have to wait till next time, doesn't it? He he I'm so evil.

Ernie Prang : You're funny! Thanks for your review!

Lady Russell Holmes: I know. I'm like Harry, I LOVE secrets…

Karen

Suna

Temporary Insanity: You are right. I too think it is time for some Trelawny torture

Schulyr

Serpentina

chanzo654

Silent dragon

Skahducky: ah poor Remus, eh? He'll probably get bored after a while… he he he….

august wynd

AllieSkittllez

lover of the Dragon

Jen

Evil Willow

shinystars007

Lanfear: Bah hate French

Nova

Darienetta Stoke

the Queen of Fire and Ice

That's it. Oh, yeah, hopefully you can expect another update this week, since I'm not doing anything else. HALF TERM RULES!!!

Love,

Laterose. **