A/N: Another chapter in just a few days! I amaze myself. I have just one thing to say: if you read this story and you enjoyed it, please let me know. It's very discouraging when no one ever reviews it. If I didn't want to share my ideas, I'd just keep them in my head; there would be no need to write them down and post them on a website. I know everyone says this, but as a reader and an author I can say that I understand why. Your comments are my bread and butter – please write a review. And if you don't want to write one for mine, write one for someone else. It will truly make their day.
Chapter 12: The Unexpected Speech
The Hogwarts Express was not five minutes gone from King's Cross when Hermione dug her school robes and prefect badge out of her trunk.
"I hope you're not taking Mum's words to heart, Hermione," said George, eyeing the shiny gold badge suspiciously.
"I suppose that would depend on what you do," she said crisply. "I'll let your behavior be my guide."
"I wonder who the other prefects are," said Ron absently, fiddling with the lock on Pigwidgeon's cage. "Pig, will you shut it?" He opened the door and the little owl zoomed out, hooting happily as it circled above their heads. "Barking mad," muttered Ron.
"One galleon says Malfoy's one of the lot," said Fred.
No one would take his wager. "Malfoy's such a prat," Ron said irritably.
"Yes, but then most of the Slytherins are, and Dumbledore has to pick someone, doesn't he?" said Ginny.
"I hear his marks can be quite good when he wants them to be," said Hermione. "If he actually applied himself instead of just skimming by most of the time… He's clever. He could be dangerous."
"To you as top of the class, you mean?" snickered Fred.
"No," snapped Hermione. "I mean that he could be a powerful wizard someday."
Ron snorted in disbelief. Harry didn't say anything, but he was inclined to agree with Hermione. When Ginny spoke up Harry felt as if she were reading his mind. "Hermione's right," she said. "Malfoy's smart, but he's a pampered little prince who's never had to exert himself."
"Except at Quidditch!" said George triumphantly. "Malfoy's oh-for-four against Gryffindor, and this year will be no different, the Slytherins are all still prats."
"We've lost Wood, though," said Harry, "and he was the best Keeper on any of the teams. He won't be easy to replace."
Fred and George frowned. "We'll have to elect a new captain and have tryouts ASAP," said Fred. "I've heard Seamus Finnigan say he knows how to play Keeper."
"There's that third year, Buckley, he's got the build –"
"Or that one in Ginny's class, Jane Clay -"
"How about your brother?" interrupted Ron.
The twins' heads whipped around to look at him. "Ickle Ronniekins is going to try out for the Gryffindor Quidditch team?" exclaimed Fred.
"I've been practicing," Ron said defensively.
"No, no, it's grand!" Fred continued. "Three Weasleys on the same team, we'd be unbeatable."
"Yeah, because the other team will be blinded by all the red hair," said George, and everyone laughed.
They spent the afternoon playing Exploding Snap and Wizard's Chess. After midday the snack witch came by with her trolley and they bought some of everything, including a large pile of Chocolate Frogs. George pulled a pair of blue-tinted glasses out of his robes, put them on, and picked up a boxed frog. He held the package up in front of his face, turning it this way and that before discarding it into Fred's lap. He then proceeded to pick up another, examine it, and discard it.
George was peering at his third box when Hermione spoke up. "Something wrong with your frogs, George?" she said over her book.
"Just looking for the right one, Hermione," he said lightly, and continued to inspect the boxes. Hermione eyed the twins critically for a moment before rolling her eyes and returning to her reading.
Harry was in the middle of chess match with Ron that he was losing dramatically. His pieces were frantically shouting advice, but Harry knew there was nothing for it.
"Come on, Harry, just make a move, you're done for whatever you do," said Ron.
"Have a Chocolate Frog, Ron," said George, turning to look at his brother through the odd spectacles.
Ron narrowed his eyes. "What've you done to it?"
"Nothing," said Fred innocently. Ron's expression remained unchanged. "On my honor, it's a normal Chocolate Frog, no jinxes, no hexes, just thought you'd like one!"
"Oh, all right," said Ron. "As a matter of fact, I would like a Chocolate Frog, thank you very much!" He began to open the box. "But if my hair turns blue or my nose falls off…" Ron gasped. "Morgana!" he exclaimed, looking at the card inside the box. "I looked forever for her! Too bad I haven't really collected the cards for a while…"
"You don't want it? Well, we'll take it off your hands –" Fred began.
"No, I'm keeping it," said Ron. "This is a personal triumph."
George snorted. "This is our triumph. I gave you that frog because I knew what was inside."
"You – what?"
"Well, we don't really have a good name yet, but we call it Weasley Vision!" said George. "Invented by Fred and George Weasley, Inventors and Jokemasters Extraordinaire. Guaranteed to see through any piece of paper to the back side."
"Let me see those," said Ron. He put on the blue glasses, picked up a Chocolate Frog, and peered intently at the package. "Excellent!" he exclaimed. "They do work – looks like Daeric the Dreadful is inside this one."
Harry took the frog from Ron and unwrapped it. Sure enough, Daeric the Dreadful glared up at him from his little portrait, snarling and brandishing a rusty dagger.
The glasses were passed around the compartment. "Very interesting," said Ginny as she tested them on a page of Hermione's book. "But are they really useful for anything? I can see through the page, but everything is backwards. You can't read it."
"We're working on that," said Fred.
"They can't see through anything other than paper, can they?" said Harry. Hermione jumped and clutched her book to her chest like a shield.
Fred gave Hermione a disgusted look. "Of course not! They can look through one layer of paper at a time, and nothing else. We're pranksters, not perverts."
Hermione flushed and opened her book again. "I can only think of one practical use for those," she said darkly. "Cheating in class."
"We didn't make them for that!" said George indignantly. "We may cause trouble, but we're not cheaters, we earn our bad marks fair and square. Even if we were going to use them to cheat, do you think we'd be stupid enough to tell a prefect how we'd do it?"
"You tell me," said Hermione dryly.
"Well, why did you make them, then?" asked Ron.
The twins shrugged. "Because we could," said George. "We think that there are several ways of enchanting glasses that would be useful and profitable. This might not be one of them, it's just a first test." He retrieved the blue spectacles from Ginny's face and pocketed them.
Harry smiled quietly to himself. It seemed that Fred and George were still serious about starting their own joke shop, especially if they were trying to create their own novelties.
The compartment door slid open and Neville Longbottom entered. His golden prefect's badge was gleaming on his chest.
Fred and George did a double take; Ginny blinked in surprise. "You're the other Gryffindor prefect!" exclaimed Fred.
Neville blushed scarlet. "Hermione, I've been looking for you, the prefects are meeting at the front of the train." He avoided looking at anyone but her.
"Oh, well done!" said George. They stood up and began shaking Neville's hand exuberantly.
Neville turned even redder. "Please don't, no one thinks I deserve it, the Slytherins have been laughing at me all down the train," he said miserably.
Hermione stood up and tucked her book back into her bag. "Never you mind, Neville, Dumbledore picked you and that should be enough for anyone."
"Oh, I'm never going to be able to face Malfoy," Neville moaned.
"Nonsense," said Hermione briskly. "Everything's going to be fine, you'll see."
"Cheer up, mate, Gryffindor will support you," said Ron.
"Yeah, we'll have an after-feast party," said Fred, who was still shaking Neville's hand.
Hermione pried Neville's hand out of Fred's and they left together. "Care to lose another game, Harry?" said Ron as the compartment door slid closed again.
"Sure, I'll play one more. Maybe this'll be the one that I don't lose," said Harry.
"Well, there's no denying that you've really improved, but I wouldn't count on it," said Ron.
Harry lost himself in the chess match for the remainder of the trip. He focused all his attention on the board, striving to see moves four and five ahead, something that Ron was very good at himself. Harry was pleased to see that Ron was focusing as hard on the match as he was. They barely noticed when Fred, George, and Ginny all left the compartment, leaving them alone with the board.
"Queen to D-6," said Ron after a long and thoughtful pause, and the black queen slid across the board to smash Harry's white knight. Harry looked at the board and groaned. The game would be over in two or three moves; there was nothing he could do about it.
Ron apparently saw it too. "Yes!" he exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air. They both sank back on the cushioned seats with a sigh. "Whew! Nice game, Harry, you really gave me a run for the money. Almost had me back when your knight took my castle."
Harry grinned. If Ron approved, then he must have played well indeed. "Thanks, but next time you're going down, I mean it."
The train's whistle blew shrilly, and Harry and Ron both felt the force on their bodies as it began to decelerate. A few of the remaining chessmen slid off the board, and they bent to retrieve them. They packed away the remaining sweets and Exploding Snap cards and pulled out their black school robes. By the time the train ground to a halt, they were ready and waiting to go.
Students were streaming off the Hogwarts Express in droves, heading for the waiting black horseless carriages. The twilight was now very deep; stars were winking in the sky above and it was difficult to see, but there was one lantern shining through the dark, held by an enormous man.
"Firs' years!" called Hagrid. "Firs' years this way!" Small figures swimming in their black robes were making their way over to him, staring wide-eyed at the half-giant.
"All right there, Harry?" called Hagrid, raising his lantern and waving. Several of the first years turned to look in Harry's direction and began whispering and pointing. Harry ignored them.
"All right, Hagrid!" Harry called back.
"Right then, firs' years, follow me..."
"Hullo, Dean!" called Ron, spotting their fellow Gryffindor as they disembarked. Dean, who was climbing off the train with Seamus, waved back. Harry and Ron made their way over to them, and together the four of them climbed aboard one of the waiting carriages.
"So what do you think about Neville being a prefect and all?" said Seamus as the carriage gave a sharp lurch and trundled off toward the castle. "I was sure it was going to be you, Harry."
"Yeah, me too," said Dean. "I hope Neville's up to it."
Harry fought the urge to smile. It made him feel good to know that his fellow students thought he'd deserved the position, but it wouldn't do to be smug about it. It meant more to Neville than it would have to him, however embarrassed he seemed, and Harry said as much.
Dean shrugged. "Well, whatever the reason, Neville's it," he said. "That git Malfoy came by our compartment looking for him. He's a prefect too –"
"No kidding," said Ron acidly.
"-And we don't know how he heard, but he knew about Neville," finished Seamus. "All he wanted was to make fun of him. We threatened to curse him back to the Stone Age and he pulled that 'You can't threaten me, I'm a prefect' tripe on us."
"White as snow," chuckled Dean. "He didn't have Crabbe and Goyle with him."
They spent the rest of the trip to the castle happily disparaging the Slytherins. After a few minutes the carriages stopped moving, and Harry piled out onto the lawns with the others. Hogwarts Castle loomed before them, vast and majestic, light shining from many of the windows. I'm home, thought Harry as he gazed up at Gryffindor Tower.
The flood of students trooped past the statues of winged boars, up the stone steps, and through the great oaken doors at the top. They entered the Great Hall, ablaze with light from the white candles floating above their heads. Golden plates and goblets lined the four long House tables, glinting in the candlelight. The ceiling was hung with banners representing each of the four houses: the Eagle of Ravenclaw, the Lion of Gryffindor, the Badger of Hufflepuff, and the Serpent of Slytherin.
The tables were already filling with students, and Harry and his friends hurried to find places. They sat down next to Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil who were whispering excitedly together.
"Hold on there, save places for Neville and Hermione," said Ron, stopping two third years from taking the seats directly next to them.
Right on cue, Neville and Hermione came hurrying up to the table. Neville looked thoroughly miserable. Looking over his shoulder, Harry could see why: Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were pointing and laughing, and some of the other Slytherins were starting to join in. A golden badge just like Hermione and Neville's was gleaming on his puffed-out chest. Pansy Parkinson was standing beside him, sporting her own badge.
"Look, everybody, Longbottom's a prefect!" drawled Malfoy. "It must be a mistake, I'll bet Dumbledore's going to stand up and announce the real prefect during the feast..." Pansy shrieked with laughter.
All the Gryffindor fifth years turned to glare at the Slytherins – everyone except Neville, who looked down at his golden plate, his face as red as it would go.
"Oi, Gryffindors!" came a shout from the head of the table. Fred and George were standing up. "Let's have a cheer for the new Gryffindor prefects, Neville Longbottom and Hermione Granger!"
Gryffindors all down the table raised their goblets or banged them on the tabletop. "Huzzah!" shouted Fred and George, and everyone began to join in. Students sitting near Neville and Hermione thumped them on the shoulders.
"Well done!" called Ernie MacMillan from the Hufflepuff table, turning so that everyone could clearly see his own badge.
Fred and George bellowed their congratulations to Ernie in turn, and before long, the new prefects from all the houses were being acknowledged and cheered – except for Draco and Pansy, who stood glaring murderously at them all. They stalked over to their own table where the Slytherins raised a cheer of their own, but it paled in comparison to the din in the rest of the hall.
Hermione was clearly trying not to smile, but she gave up after a few seconds and beamed around at everyone. Even Neville began to grin shyly after a while, politely saying thank you to the students who reached forward to shake his hand.
Eventually the cacophony died down to the general buzzing of conversation. Harry turned his attention to the staff table. Dumbledore sat in the center as always, deep in conversation with tiny Professor Flitwick on his left. The place on his right was empty, waiting for Professor McGonagall to fill it. Professor Bellaton was there, resplendent in scarlet and gold robes, talking with Madam Sprout. The Herbology professor was a short witch, and Bellaton's considerable height only made her look smaller. On the other side of the table Harry saw a green-robed Professor Thornby talking with Professor Snape who was garbed in his usual black.
The new professors had been spotted by many of the students by now. The attention went seemingly unnoticed by Bellaton and Professor Thornby who continued to chat with their neighbors.
"Two new teachers..."
"He's the spitting image of Godric Gryffindor, I've seen his portrait..."
"Wow, who is she?"
When the students had finished filling the House tables, Dumbledore stood up and the Great Hall fell silent. He sat down again and the heavy wooden doors at the end of the hall, which had closed themselves, opened wide. Professor McGonagall, in her usual deep green, swept in followed by a crowd of frightened-looking first years. They walked up the path between the two central House tables to the tattered Sorting Hat, which was waiting on its stool.
McGonagall and the first years stopped. The students all leaned forward, watching intently. The rip along its brim slowly opened, and the hat began its song.
Now begins a brand new year
So welcome students, one and all;
I am pleased that you've come back again
To Hogwarts' magnificent Great Hall.
You've been selected to attend
Because there's magic in your veins,
But more than that, I also hope
That you've got spirit, heart, and brains.
Here within this old school's walls
There's much to learn about yourselves
And it goes far and beyond
Your basic hexes, charms, and spells.
Now to the first years who are brand new,
All standing there as pale as paste,
It's painless what you undergo:
Into your House you'll soon be placed.
I was made a thousand years ago
By noble Godric Gryffindor
To divide the student body up
Into the Founders' Houses four.
Cunning Salazar Slytherin
Was ambitious far beyond the rest
And 'twas his firm opinion that
The students most like him were best.
Kind-hearted Helga Hufflepuff is next,
She never was a one to shirk;
In her House is where you'll find
The students who don't mind hard work.
Graceful Rowena Ravenclaw
Wanted those whose minds were quick.
If that's your strongest quality,
Then that's the House I'll surely pick.
Lastly Godric Gryffindor
Made the bravest ones his choice.
If in his House you do belong,
Then to his name I'll give voice.
But I must tell you something more,
And this you'd do well not to forget:
Though I do divide you up
You're all one group of students yet.
Your house is like your family
But do not shut your neighbors out;
Your greatest strength's in unity
Against the darkness from without.
Enough of this old hat's dark thoughts!
I'll have a look inside your mind.
Just take a seat and put me on;
I'll tell you what I find!
The Great Hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. "That was a little bit different, wasn't it?" Hermione said to Harry in a low voice.
"What do you mean?" said Harry.
"Against the darkness from without?" she said.
They fell silent as Professor McGonagall began to read the first years' names from a roll of parchment. "Avery, Janet!"
Harry, Ron, and Hermione all looked at one another in complete shock. Avery like the Death Eater, Avery? wondered Harry.
Professor McGonagall placed the hat on Janet's head. Harry barely had time to register an upturned nose, cold brown eyes, and a hard mouth before the hat shouted "SLYTHERIN!" The Slytherin table burst into cheers, proud to have the first catch of the evening.
"Ugh, they can have her," said Ron in a low voice.
"Bradshaw, Jocelyn!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
The students continued to be Sorted one after another, but after nearly a quarter of them had come and gone, Harry had become keenly aware that none of them had been put into Gryffindor. More people than Harry had realized this; the Gryffindors were all eyeing each other nervously. Students at the other House tables were beginning to mutter amongst themselves. Even the staff seemed disconcerted; Dumbledore was leaning forward in his chair, Bellaton was frowning over his goblet, and Professor McGonagall's mouth had gone very thin. It wasn't until after Edward Frost became a Hufflepuff that it happened.
"Grantham, Sheldon!"
"GRYFFINDOR!"
The Gryffindor table exploded in the loudest cheer for a new student yet. Professor McGonagall exhaled slowly and her shoulders drooped, but she instantly squared them again, and the Sorting continued.
"Hawkley, Georgiana!"
"GRYFFINDOR!"
After this, no one seemed to worry anymore, and the Sorting eventually concluded with Stuart Yates becoming a Ravenclaw.
Dumbledore stood up again, and the clapping and cheering died down. "Welcome to Hogwarts, everyone. I shall bore you with a speech in good time, but for now – enjoy the feast!"
Instantly the four House tables were laden with every good thing: hams and roasted chicken, potatoes and salads, puddings and sauces. Everyone set to with a will.
"Did you catch what the Sorting Hat said?" said Ron through a mouthful of bread.
"Watch it, Ron, you're going to start spraying crumbs," said Harry.
Ron swallowed. "Sorry."
"And yeah, we did," said Harry.
"How would the hat know about what's going on in the world? It's a hat, you see," said Ron.
"Yes, but it sits in Dumbledore's office, doesn't it?" said Harry "And it's not exactly an inanimate object. Godric Gryffindor gave it the ability to think."
"Well, in any case, it knows that You-Know-Who is back," said Hermione, dropping her voice very low. "I think that hat is pretty smart, and I think that we should listen."
"No way I'm getting chummy with the Slytherins," said Ron darkly, glaring over at their archrivals' table.
"They aren't going to want to take the first step either," hissed Hermione.
"Now Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, they're all right –"
"You only think that because they hate the Slytherins too, they want to win the House Cup as badly as we do –"
"No, I think that because they're not a bunch of arrogant, nasty –"
"Would you please stop?" snapped Harry in complete exasperation. Ron and Hermione turned to stare at him as if they had entirely forgotten that he was there. "Look, the hat may think we should stop being rivals, but there's no way I'm going to be friendly with Malfoy."
"This isn't about him," began Hermione, but Harry cut her off.
"So here's what I'll do. I'll do my part and leave them alone."
Ron snorted. "We always leave them alone, they pick fights with us."
"Yeah, well, then the ball's in their court," said Harry. "If they want to go on being prats then we'll know who destroyed the school, won't we?"
"That's not funny," said Hermione, but Ron raised his goblet in salute.
"Too right," he said.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione ate until they could hold no more. Eventually most of the students had finished eating, and Dumbledore stood up again. The chattering students fell silent one by one until the entire Hall was quiet.
"Thank you," said Dumbledore. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I expect that most of you enjoyed a long, lazy summer, but now that you are back, it is time to fill up your heads again.
"We are most fortunate to have two new professors with us this year. First, Professor Ardoc Bellaton will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts." Bellaton stood up and smiled down at them all, his short dark beard making his teeth look very white. Dumbledore and the rest of the staff clapped politely, and the students joined in.
"Look at those shoulders!" Harry heard Lavender say to Parvati.
"Oh, I love his beard…"
Harry and Ron laughed silently into their hands.
"And next we have Professor Celeste Thornby, who will be teaching History of Magic." A flurry of whispering began as she stood up.
"History of Magic?"
"What happened to Professor Binns?"
"Wow, look at her…" Apparently it was the boys' turn to admire a teacher.
There was more polite applause; Professor Thornby sat down and Dumbledore continued. "Now for some more general announcements. First years should be aware that the Dark Forest is out-of-bounds for all students unless accompanied by a teacher. Mr. Filch has asked me to inform you that Self-Blowing Bubble Gum has been added to the list of banned items, bringing the total up to four hundred and forty-one. And finally, I do not think that I have to remind any of you that the world is not as quiet as it once was." If Dumbledore had not had everyone's full attention before, he certainly had it now. "Hogwarts is perhaps one of the safest places to be in times like these, but you are only as safe as you allow yourselves to be. Students out-of-bounds at any time will be strictly disciplined. The rules are in place for your protection, and I –"
"THE ENEMY GAINS STRENGTH. HIS RANKS MULTIPLY."
Harry's heart skipped a beat. Dumbledore stopped talking abruptly and looked down the staff table. Professor Trelawney was speaking in a harsh, carrying voice that was completely unlike her usual misty sighs. She was staring straight ahead, her face completely blank. Harry had heard her speak like this during his third year at Hogwarts. He knew what was happening – Professor Trelawney was Seeing.
"THE ONE WHO IS MARKED STANDS NOT ALONE AGAINST HIS NEMESIS. THEY WHO STAND WITH THE ONE WHO IS MARKED WILL REALIZE THEIR UNKNOWN POTENTIAL."
The Great Hall was completely silent; every eye was upon Professor Trelawney.
"THE SACRIFICE MUST BE MADE TO SAFEGUARD THE ONE WHO IS MARKED. THE MOST ANCIENT OF MAGICS DEFEATS THOSE WHO BRING DEATH. UPON THIS THE FUTURE DEPENDS."
Professor Trelawney stopped talking but continued to stare straight ahead. For one long moment, nobody breathed; then Professor Trelawney blinked, shook her head, and said, in her usual misty voice, "Oh, my. Did I say something?"