The New Student

Harry was relieved to sit down at the Gryffindors' table. Neville and Harry were a little late having carried Ron. They had missed the Sorting Hat's song and the first few first years that had been sorted. Harry was hungry and tired, but he was forced to wait through the rest of the ceremony. He wondered what Dumbledore would say concerning what happened at the end of last year. He glanced around the teachers' table for the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Coming to the place where Umbridge had sat last year, his eyes fell on a man who seemed familiar. It was Mr. Collings! What was he doing here? thought Harry surprised. Mr. Collings looked a little nervous.

And he wasn't the only one. All the new first years-to-be looked very shaken up. Hagrid had taken his place at the teachers' table, while McGonagall held a list. The first years were still staring at the Sorting Hat with curious eyes.

"Green, Kelly," she called. The girl walked forward and sat on the stool. McGonagall placed the hat on her head, which, like usual, fell past her eyes. The hat sat there, and suddenly called, "GRYFFINDOR!" Harry's whole table applauded, and Harry, as tired as he was, mustered up enough energy to clap a couple of times.

"Harley, Kevin," McGonagall called. At this point Harry fell into a daze where he just stared off into nowhere and heard nothing.

"Harry, Harry!" Harry awoke from his daze to find Hermione looking at him. "Dumbledore's about to give announcements, so pay attention," she said smartly. Harry gave a hopeless sigh. Couldn't time move a little faster?

Finally Dumbledore stood up; the whole hall quieted down. "I also would like to announce that we have another new student. She has come all the way from Sweet Water, Texas of the United States to be here. Miss Evans would you please step forward," Dumbledore announced. Harry, who was still a little dazed, immediately looked up at the name Evans. A beautiful girl of about 16 years with long, perfect blonde hair, and the bluest of blue eyes walked forward to the teachers' table with a familiar confidence. Harry and Ron exchanged glances of surprise and question. She sat on the stool. Everyone waited silently as McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on her head. "I don't believe Hogwarts has had a student come in after they were eleven for decades," whispered Hermione seemingly taken aback. "This kind of thing doesn't just happen. She must be here for a reason," she finished. Harry wasn't sure what Hermione meant, but he didn't concern himself with it. He was watching the girl; she seemed somehow familiar, but he knew he had never seen her before. Suddenly, making the whole hall jump, the hat screamed, "SLYTHERIN!" She got up with a half smile and walked towards the Slytherin table, which seemed to be very proud of themselves to get the new student.

"Figures," said Neville in a disgusted tone. Dumbledore clapped, and the Hall followed suit.

"Welcome to all the new students," Dumbledore smiled as McGonagall dragged the stool and Sorting Hat away. "First of all," Dumbledore began again, "the usual school rules: students are not allowed in the Forbidden Forest, and certain items are not allowed in the school. See Mr. Filch for the list, which is... "Dumbledore calculated for a moment, "...well, it is quite lengthy." Harry managed a faint smile. "Second, and more importantly, the events of last year," he paused. The whole hall drew its breath. "There is no longer a High Inquisitor, and the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, has broken all former ties on Hogwarts issued by Dolores Umbridge. Because Voldemort has risen again, securities at the school have, of course, been tightened. Rest assured, you are quite safe here. Also, to the new sixth years, your O.W.L. scores will be sent up to your dormitories this evening. There was a problem with the grading, and the test scores had to be delayed." Dumbledore smiled, "and now to a tasty meal, dig in!"

What relief! Harry stuffed as much food as he could into his mouth, despite the raised eyebrows Hermione wore. Harry thought that Dumbledore's account of last year had been vague, and he wondered why; but he didn't argue. After Harry was pretty sure he was going to explode with all the food he had eaten, he sleepily dragged himself up to the Gryffindor tower where he awaited a prefect to come with the password. That prefect happened to be Hermione. As Hermione was about to call out the password she paused thoughtfully. "Uh... Companionship," she said uncertainly. Everybody else also seemed to think it was quite an odd password, but the portrait of the fat lady said, "Here, here!" She then swung to the side to reveal the entrance to the common room. Hermione, almost disbelievingly, exchanged looks with Harry. They entered, and Ginny and Hermione took the seats next to the fire.

"Come over here, and sit down," ordered Dean Thomas expectantly from the other side of the room.

"No, I think I'll go to bed," said Harry.

"All right," he shrugged. "Then I guess I'll see you in the morning." Harry and Hermione exchanged good nights, and Harry hurried up to his comfortable four-poster. He stuffed the poems Julie gave him under his pillow; he would try to read one every time sleep did not come easy. And then he noticed a very formal letter lying at the foot of his bed. He picked it up. His name was on the front. He opened it and unfolded the paper inside. His heart jumped; it was the letter about his test scores. He skipped past the opening paragraph to read his scores:

Astronomy P

Care of Magical Creatures E

Charms E

Defense Against the Dark Arts O

Divination P

Herbology E

History of Magic A

Potions E

Transfiguration E

His eyes searched over the page several times checking each score and trying to remember what he needed to be an Auror. And then his heart fell. He did remember that he needed an O in Potions, but he had received an E. What was he going to do? He had made all the other necessary grades for his N.E.W.T's. It wasn't fair that he had missed by one grade, especially in Snape's class. He thought for a moment feeling depressed. Then he noticed another letter in the envelope. He pulled it out. It was his schedule. He barely looked at it before realizing that Potions was on Monday. How could this be? He had failed Potions. But there it was in clear type. He decided he would ask McGonagall tomorrow. He put away the letter and thought about his future for a while. But really no time had passed before Harry fell fast asleep.