Harry and Ron ducked their heads under the table to check on Hermione.
"Sorry about that," Hermione said, blushing furiously as she got back in her seat.
As they looked around the Great Hall, they saw that Hermione was not the only one affected by Professor Greenleaf. Parvati and Lavender were whispering and giggling to each other. Hannah Abbott seemed to have fainted, as well. Cho was wiping tears from her eyes. And Pansy looked happy for the first time since Draco had turned his attention to the new Slytherin.
Professor Moody grumbled loudly. "You! Come with me!" he said to Professor Greenleaf, and escorted the new teacher from the hall.
"What the . . ." Harry began, but he was interrupted by Dumbledore clearing his throat.
"We seem to be a bit disorganized," Dumbledore said. "So why don't we begin the feast while Professor Moody sorts things out."
The plates before the students were instantly filled with all sorts of good things to eat. But nobody seemed particularly interested in their food, and the hall buzzed with conversation.
"I wonder why Moody made Professor Greenleaf leave the hall," Hermione said, blushing again.
"Well, he was a bit strange," said Ron. "I don't think I've seen anyone with pointed ears before, at least no one who wasn't a house elf."
"He couldn't be an elf," Harry said. "He didn't look anything like Dobby."
"And he wasn't enslaved, either," Hermione said, as Ron rolled his eyes.
After the feast ended, the students headed toward their dormitories. Harry was deep in thought. Something strange was happening at Hogwarts, that much was certain. But what exactly was going on? Harry sighed and resigned himself to another year of bizarre challenges.
The Fat Lady let them in to the Gryffindor common room. The password this year was "bobotuber pus."
"Bobotuber pus! Yuck! What kind of a password is that?" Ron shouted.
The Fat Lady said it was something that they were least likely to guess. But who "they" were, she refused to say.
"Hedwig!" Harry said, spotting his owl sitting on a table with a letter tied to her leg. He untied the parchment and gave an affectionate pat to Hedwig. Harry unrolled the letter, wondering who had written him.
Dear Harry, I hope you didn't have too much trouble on the Hogwarts Express and in your first day back. I know that Moody is back at Hogwarts, so he should keep things as normal as possible. Dumbledore was going to have me back as defense against the dark arts teacher, but things have gotten a bit complicated. There's been an explosion of snoggarts, and I always have a problem with them. Moody is the best snoggart-hunter in the country - nothing gets past him - so it was decided that he would be the best wizard to have at Hogwarts this year. I know the snoggarts will probably come after you even more than they come after me, but I hope they don't bother you too much. Just remember that you are a very talented wizard, and you should have no problem fighting them off. Let me know how you are doing. Remus Lupin
Harry read the letter over twice, and he still didn't understand what it meant.
"What are snoggarts?" he said.
Ron and Hermione just shrugged.
**** A/N: Stay tuned for a full description of snoggarts in the next chapter! Thanks to all the reviewers. It's nice to know people are reading my story.
"Sorry about that," Hermione said, blushing furiously as she got back in her seat.
As they looked around the Great Hall, they saw that Hermione was not the only one affected by Professor Greenleaf. Parvati and Lavender were whispering and giggling to each other. Hannah Abbott seemed to have fainted, as well. Cho was wiping tears from her eyes. And Pansy looked happy for the first time since Draco had turned his attention to the new Slytherin.
Professor Moody grumbled loudly. "You! Come with me!" he said to Professor Greenleaf, and escorted the new teacher from the hall.
"What the . . ." Harry began, but he was interrupted by Dumbledore clearing his throat.
"We seem to be a bit disorganized," Dumbledore said. "So why don't we begin the feast while Professor Moody sorts things out."
The plates before the students were instantly filled with all sorts of good things to eat. But nobody seemed particularly interested in their food, and the hall buzzed with conversation.
"I wonder why Moody made Professor Greenleaf leave the hall," Hermione said, blushing again.
"Well, he was a bit strange," said Ron. "I don't think I've seen anyone with pointed ears before, at least no one who wasn't a house elf."
"He couldn't be an elf," Harry said. "He didn't look anything like Dobby."
"And he wasn't enslaved, either," Hermione said, as Ron rolled his eyes.
After the feast ended, the students headed toward their dormitories. Harry was deep in thought. Something strange was happening at Hogwarts, that much was certain. But what exactly was going on? Harry sighed and resigned himself to another year of bizarre challenges.
The Fat Lady let them in to the Gryffindor common room. The password this year was "bobotuber pus."
"Bobotuber pus! Yuck! What kind of a password is that?" Ron shouted.
The Fat Lady said it was something that they were least likely to guess. But who "they" were, she refused to say.
"Hedwig!" Harry said, spotting his owl sitting on a table with a letter tied to her leg. He untied the parchment and gave an affectionate pat to Hedwig. Harry unrolled the letter, wondering who had written him.
Dear Harry, I hope you didn't have too much trouble on the Hogwarts Express and in your first day back. I know that Moody is back at Hogwarts, so he should keep things as normal as possible. Dumbledore was going to have me back as defense against the dark arts teacher, but things have gotten a bit complicated. There's been an explosion of snoggarts, and I always have a problem with them. Moody is the best snoggart-hunter in the country - nothing gets past him - so it was decided that he would be the best wizard to have at Hogwarts this year. I know the snoggarts will probably come after you even more than they come after me, but I hope they don't bother you too much. Just remember that you are a very talented wizard, and you should have no problem fighting them off. Let me know how you are doing. Remus Lupin
Harry read the letter over twice, and he still didn't understand what it meant.
"What are snoggarts?" he said.
Ron and Hermione just shrugged.
**** A/N: Stay tuned for a full description of snoggarts in the next chapter! Thanks to all the reviewers. It's nice to know people are reading my story.