Hi again to everyone who's been following my story!! I am really Glad to here that everyone's enjoying the story! Thanks again for your insightful reviews.......General Failure: (OMG I totally 4got that he broke the other mirror--oops.....oh well, I'll think of something! Thanks though!)

I hope you enjoy this chapter! I wrote the sorting hat's song myself (it's about the only good thing in this chapter.....I think.......well maybe not). The song's not as long or as good as the wonderful J.K.'s, but I tried! Enjoy!

I am dedicating this chapter to my sister, Tamara, for it is through her creative thinking that this chapter was brought into the making.

Disclaimer: I am not J.R. Rowling nor do I own any of her characters. However, I do take claim for the Sorting Hat's song in this chapter!!

Chapter 7: Long-Term Visitors

The Great Hall was now full of the excited chatter of students eagerly awaiting the Sorting Hat Ceremony. Harry, Ron and Hermione sat at their table surrounded by their fellow Gryffindors, who were also awaiting the moment when Professor McGonagall would lead the row of anxious first years into the dimly lit, yet elegant Great Hall.

Soon, the side door opened and one by one, the first year students filed their way to the front of the hall. Their eyes were full of fright, not knowing what was in store for them. All eyes were glued to Professor McGonagall as she placed the old, tattered sorting hat on the little stool. The first years were awe stricken as they soon realized that the rip near the hat's brim began to move and instantaneously broke into its annual start of the year song.

Oh I am the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
Though I may look quite old,
Yet in all truth I'm very wise,
Vast answers I behold.

I am the only hat, you know
That sorts the first year students.
There is no finer hat than I
For my answers are most prudent.

Great Gryffindor, and Slytherin
Ravenclaw, or Hufflepuff.
Which house will you be in?
You'll find out soon enough.

I choose by looking deep inside
Your body, mind and soul.
Putting you in the proper house
Is my one true goal.

The brave reside in Gryffindor,
While Slytherin's blood is pure,
Intelligent are the Ravenclaws
And Hufflepuffs are quite demure.

But before I sort you in your house
I warn you all once again,
United we stand, divided we fall
Or Hogwarts soon will end

So set me on your little head
And on this stool you'll rest,
As I the noble Sorting Hat
Will put your mind to the test.

The Great Hall erupted in a loud burst of applause as everyone began to clap, regardless of the fact that the Sorting Hat had again warned everyone sitting in the hall that the houses should come together and set aside their differences. Neither Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, or Hufflepuff were willing to stand on the same level as Slytherin, nor did Slytherin want to befriend them under any circumstances.

Shortly after, Professor McGonagall signaled for silence to begin the actual ceremony. Once the hall was calm and quiet, she then called the first student forward to be sorted. "Leanna Aberfoyle!" All eyes were now turned to see a rather skinny girl with long brownish-red hair emerge from the line of first years, sit down, and place the old hat over her head.

It was not too long before the hat roared out his very decisive decision. "RAVENCLAW!!"

A loud outbreak of applause could be heard coming from the direction of the Ravenclaw table. As Harry watched the young first year girl timidly make her way there, his eye managed to catch a glimpse of Cho Chang sitting next to her most recent boyfriend, Michael Corner.

Harry could feel his stomach lurch. Her face was the image of perfection and her long, black hair shimmered in the dim lights of the beautiful hall. It was apparent that his feelings for her had returned........and it was because of his ignorance that he had lost her, maybe even forever. "It's all my fault," he thought to himself recalling their first and last date ever.

All she needed was someone to help her through the hardships of the death of her former boyfriend. Harry thought of how she had cried at even the slightest notion of Cedric and how he never really seemed to care. Giving up all hope of being with Cho, Harry let out a long sigh and turned his head back to the sorting ceremony to catch the final girl get sorted into her house.

"Annabelle Wood!" Professor McGonagall called out. A small, brown-haired girl with beautiful nut-brown eyes was now making her way slowly to the stool. Sitting down with the Sorting Hat covering her entire face, she waited as the hat made his crucial assessment.

"GRYFFINDOR!!" it finally yelled.

Harry joined in the clapping as the little girl made her way happily over to their table, and sat down next to Hermione and the other new members. She had been the 9th and final addition to the Gryffindor house, and as she stared around with marvel at the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall, Harry began to notice that her face seemed rather familiar, yet he didn't know why.

Once Professor McGonagall had cleared the floor, Dumbledore stood up and all attention was turned to him. "Good evening everyone.........I will not make my start of the year speech just yet. But before our dinner appears, I want to take the opportunity now to introduce to all of you a 6th year student who has decided stay with us here at Hogwarts on a one-year internship program at his own school, the Katherine Cackles Wizarding Academy."

"Whoa, that's the wizard boarding school........only the smartest and richest wizarding children ever get accepted there," Ron was exclaiming his amazement to Harry. Harry had never heard of this school before and was surprised to hear that there even was such a place.

Dumbledore continued, "His name is Artemis Maximus the Third and I believe he has been previously selected to be in the Gryffindor house by the Sorting Hat prior to the First-Year Sorting Ceremony.........He will be residing in Gryffindor for the duration of the year.......Artemis would you please rise so that everyone here may be aware of your presence."

A boy stood up from the end of the Gryffindor table where no one had even paid attention to him being there. He was average in height for a boy around the age of 16 with short, dirty blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He smiled and waved as everyone clapped to acknowledge his stay at Hogwarts.

Dumbledore spoke again. "Artemis, I hope your stay here will be most enjoyable......Well, with that out of the way, I believe we are all quite famished so let the feast begin."

The food magically appeared on the table and everyone dug into the magnificent array of delectable dishes that had been prepared by the house elves. There were plates of honey-glazed ham and piles of mouth watering pork chops. There was so much food to choose from that Harry had difficulty on deciding where to start.

Harry, after long deliberation, helped himself to a piece of roasted chicken and a spoonful of mashed potatoes with gravy as he looked up at the head table. All the teachers were already enjoying their meal and engaging themselves in pleasant conversations with one another. Hagrid also seemed busied in his own discussion with--who Harry realized must be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

He was a man dressed in dark burgundy robes with short black hair. He looked around the age of 30 and wore black, thick-framed glasses with square lenses. Every now and then, Hagrid would take a large drink out of his goblet, only to return to what seemed to Harry, a very fascinating conversation.

Abandoning the idea of getting the attention of his giant friend, Harry turned his head back to his own table and began eating from his plate of food.

"Hey, aren't you Oliver Wood's sister?" Harry heard Ron ask and he immediately turned his head to see whom his friend was questioning. The small little girl seated next to Hermione was now looking at Ron. Harry now realized why she'd seemed so familiar to him. She had a slight resemblance to his former win-craving Quidditch captain who'd long left Hogwarts.

The girl swallowed the food in her mouth before replying. "Yes, I'm his younger sister, Annabelle," she said shyly.

"That's a pretty name," Hermione complimented kindly. "I'm Hermione, and that's........"

"Harry Potter!" Annabelle interrupted, not sounding as shy anymore. "My brother always talks about you........how you're one of the best seekers he's ever seen." Her brown eyes stared admiringly up at Harry.

Harry laughed, "Well your brother wasn't so bad either........he was a little crazy sometimes, but he was a good captain." He remembered how Wood would stop at nothing to win the Quidditch cup before leaving Hogwarts.....not even a rogue bludger, or a bunch of Dementors would stand in his way.

Ron changing the subject, began to speak again, "Hey guys, what's with the new kid, Artemis?.......we've never had a transfer student before."

"I don't know Ron.......it's quite strange isn't it?" Harry replied with much wonder.

"Well, whatever the reason is," Hermione added. "I think it's a wonderful idea that students from other schools want to come and visit ours."

Once everyone was finished eating and the tables were all clear, Dumbledore stood once again to make his speech and silence fell across the hall. He looked out at all the students with his sparkling eyes and smiled. "Welcome, once again to another exciting year at Hogwarts, I trust that everyone had a pleasant summer and has been looking forward to returning.......I wish to begin by simply reminding everyone that the Forest on the grounds is off limits to all students that do not desire an expulsion, and that magic is strictly prohibited in the corridors......Also, I would like to take the time now to introduce to you our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Lonnie Granita." The man who had been talking to Hagrid earlier stood up to be recognized.

"Hopefully, you will be staying quite a bit longer than our previous replacements," Dumbledore joked as the sea of students erupted in laughter. It had been a regular practice now for Hogwarts to go through one Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher per year and it was becoming difficult to find one that didn't believe the position was cursed.

Dumbledore motioned for silence and continued in a more serious attitude. "Next......as we all know I'm sure, the Dark Lord has indeed returned.....and the Ministry and Order both agree that it would be best if we took merely a few precautions this year." Students were giving each other alarming stares as if they believed something terrible was going to happen to them.

Dumbledore detected this and began to speak again in a comforting tone. "This does not mean that something will indeed happen.......we just want our students to be safe while studying here in the event that something does come about." Students' faces were now becoming a bit relaxed, though some were still quite unconvinced. However, they allowed Dumbledore to carry on without interruption.

"Now the Ministry has appointed a representative who will be personally monitoring the goings on around here. He will be staying at Hogwarts over the whole school year and I want all of you to make him feel welcome.......although, I will not say he is a complete stranger to some us." Dumbledore shot a quick glance towards the Gryffindor table then looked towards the direction of the entrance. "You may now come in."

With those words, a tall, shadowed figure entered the Great Hall, taking long strides as he walked. Eyes were fixed on him with bewilderment as he continued to walk towards the centre of the room. Once he came into the light of the hall, Harry finally recognized the mysterious figure to none other than Percy, Ron's brother.

"Why.......IT'S PERCY!!" Ron said with much surprise.

"What's he doing here?" Ginny added with an equal amount of shock.

Both Harry and Hermione shrugged their shoulders in response. Neither of them knew the exact reason why Percy was here, as did many others all across the Great Hall. Students all over were beginning to talk with confused expressions on their faces, disregarding the fact that Percy was about to speak.

"SETTLE DOWN NOW!!" came Percy's famous dominating voice. The elder students knew this tone of voice rather well, considering that Percy was a past Head Boy at Hogwarts and was very accustomed to telling others what to do.

"The Minister for Magic has personally chosen me as the Official School Patroller of Hogwarts as I will be making sure that Hogwarts stays as safe as possible while the Order and Ministry are busy with other affairs." He said with much pride in his voice.

"Right," Ron whispered to Harry. "What he means is they didn't want him bothering them and nosing around.......so they sent him off." Harry gave a slight chuckle and returned his attention back to Percy.

"My job is quite simple........I will carefully monitor the activity here at Hogwarts and if I suspect anything suspicious I am to inform the Ministry straight away."

Ron was again whispering in Harry's ear, "That's not very important!.........Any teacher at this school could very well do that job."

Percy, who had noticed this, gave Ron a very stern look and continued, "Also, for increased security, vacations with family during the Christmas holidays this year will be cancelled.......and for students 3rd year or higher, you will only be allowed ONE trip to Hogsmeade. The date will be announced later on in the year." Many cries of discontentment came from students at every table.

"I am sorry, but these adjustments must be made if you wish to remain at Hogwarts.......now if there are no further objections, I believe the hour is getting late and you have classes bright and early in the morning........you may now all go up to your dormitories."

"Look at that!" Ron exclaimed as he rose from his seat. "Not even here for a day, and he already has us following his commands!!.......I tell you, Percy's really something!"

"Now Ron," Hermione spoke in her usual authoritative manner. "It's just his job, you know that."

"Yes......I KNOW that Hermione!" Ron began arguing. "It's just that........I get enough of him at home, now I have to deal with him HERE, at Hogwarts!!"

"Well, it's ALWAYS about you, isn't it Ron! Don't you care at all that Percy's here for our own protection.....for Harry's protection!!" Hermione snapped.

"Come on guys," Harry cut in. He couldn't stand it when his two best friends fought. "It's too early in the year for you two to be fighting.....give it a rest. Let's just go to our common room like Percy said."

Slowly, the students left the Great Hall and went to their rooms just as Percy had instructed although, many were not at all thinking about going to bed just yet. With the feeling that Hogwarts might actually be in grave peril, students remained in their common rooms, busily discussing the matter.

Harry's mind had also lingered on the thought of the tightened security. He stayed behind in the common room by the fire, in spite of the fact that Ron and Hermione had already gone up to their rooms--neither of them felt like speaking to each other.

Shortly after, Harry too left the dark common room, and went upstairs to his dormitory, slowly climbing the steps as he went. Since Ron was already sound asleep, Harry quietly tiptoed over to his four poster bed so as to not wake him, although--Ron's snoring was so loud that Harry felt nothing could stir his slumber.

As Harry began changing into his pajamas, his thoughts pondered once again the last lines of the ominous prophecy......neither can live while the other survives......these horrible words revolved through Harry's mind as he began staring out of the window into the dark, starry moon lit sky--Somewhere out there, Voldemort was carefully planning his vengeful attack.

Whew! That was a pretty lengthy chapter! Sorry 'bout that! Well that's all for now, hope you liked!.......please remember to review!! Thanks!

Oh, and now that the scene is set at Hogwarts, I hope to start getting some Ron and Hermione stuff into the storyline......so all you shippers out there......stay tuned