Harry, Ron, and Hermione exited the carriage as soon as it came to a halt. All three stared up at the castle, shocked, as on every first day back, at how immense the castle seemed. They walked up the stairs in silence, each one reflecting in silence on the conversation they had had back in the carriage and on the train. Harry knew that Ron and Hermione were still worried about the break-in at Hogwarts. Harry was not sure how he could convince them that they were all safe- especially because he wasn't even sure of it himself.
Everyone entered the great hall in a huge rush and immediately headed to their respective table- eager to see people they had not seen since last June. Harry, Ron, and Hermione headed to the Gryffindor table where they sat down with Seamus, Neville, and Dean. Each tried to tell their summer tales before Dumbledore called for quiet so the sorting could begin. Only Seamus had managed to tell about his summer at his grandmother's house in the United States when everyone was hushed.
The Sorting Hat began the ceremony with its usual long poem, but this time the poem took a different turn. It seemed to be issuing a warning to everyone about the dangers the world now held and how the destruction of the wizarding world could be at hand. Only loyalty and friendship could save everyone from the dire peril that would be faced at the hands of Dark power-hungry wizards. The poem sobered everyone up and the mood in the Great Hall abruptly changed from excited to somber. But as the sorting began and each house gained new members the mood lightened with cheering, whooping, and whistling being issued loudly from each table.
Once the sorting had been completed Dumbledore stood and signaled once more for silence in the Hall. "The Forbidden Forest is still forbidden. The first Hogsmeade weekend of the year will be held in November. Certain students will not be able to attend due to various circumstances and security measures will have to be taken to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for all those attending. Due to events in the wizarding world at large I urge all of you to use great caution this year. Please report any and all suspicions you may have directly to one of your professors." Dumbledore paused and added, "That does not mean that you may lie about your enemies to get them in trouble." (Ron muttered something under his breath that sounded close to "Damn.") Dumbledore made a move as if to sit down but then, as if on second thought, he stood up again. "I almost forgot. As you all know we were in need of a new Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher. I was fortunate to find someone perfectly suited to the job. Unfortunately, for reasons I am not privy to, she is not here right now, but I'm sure she'll be here soon." Dumbledore sat down and began to eat and everyone else followed his lead.
"I wonder who our new teacher could be. I haven't read anything about it in the Daily Prophet- and you know how eager they usually are to print something bad about one of the teachers Dumbledore hired," Hermione said.
"My Dad says he hasn't got a clue about who it could be. No one at the Ministry has been able to figure it out," Ron piped in.
Harry nodded at them. He hadn't heard anyone speculate about who the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. He just hoped it was someone closer to Professor Lupin, rather than Professor Umbridge.
Harry and the others proceeded to eat with a few remarks popping up here and there about who the new teacher could possibly be, or how much harder sixth year was going to be.
Midway through the meal Dumbledore stood up and called for silence. "I have just received news that your new Professor is here right now and is trying to make her way to the Great Hall."
Just as he finished the doors to the Great hall slowly moved open and the new teacher walked in. Harry let out a shocked gasp and he could hear Ron, Seamus, Dean, and Neville doing the same. Harry immediately recognized the long black hair, the violet eyes, and the ghostly pale skin. His new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was July Riddle, Lord Voldemort's daughter. Ms. Riddle made her way up the walkway between two of the tables and reached the staff table. As she shook hands with Dumbledore Harry could see that she was just barely shorter than him. Even after she had taken off her cloak and sat down and Dumbledore had introduced her as "Professor Riddle" people continued to stare.
Harry returned to his gaze to the table only to notice that all four of the other boys were staring at Professor Riddle with wide-eyed expressions on their faces. Hermione was frowning at Ron and Harry couldn't help but smile at how jealous she was that Ron was looking at another girl. To help Hermione out Harry slapped Ron on the shoulder to bring him back to the present. He decided that the other three could remain in their trance for a while longer.
Ron still had a dreamy look on his face as he said, "Harry! I can not believe that she's our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. She's much too good looking to be a teacher. I hope I'm one of her favorite students." Harry could tell that Ron was going to start staring at the Professor again so he quickly hit him on the shoulder again. Ron seemed to snap fully out of it and jumped in his seat a little. He rubbed his shoulder while frowning at Harry. "Why'd you have to go and do that for?"
Harry looked at him pointedly. "Did you hear her name? It was Riddle! She's Voldemort's daughter. For God's sake Ron how can you look at her like that?" Harry tried to be more disgusted with Ron but in all honesty he couldn't really blame him.
Ron's eyes widened in shock and he stared at Harry as if he had just turned himself in to one of those bewitched bath towels that Aunt Petunia was so worried about. He opened his mouth as if to speak and then closed it again. He did this several times in a row and Harry was reminded very much of a fish; a very red fish. Finally Ron managed to squeak out, "Daughter?"
Harry nodded his head at Ron and said, "Yes. She's his daughter."
Hermione, always the rational one, was still skeptical of Harry's conclusions. "How are you sure that she's Voldemort's daughter? I'm sure there are plenty of Riddle's in Britain- it could be just a coincidence." Ron nodded his head as if willing Harry to agree with her and make it okay to like the new teacher.
"I went to her house." Upon noting the incredulous looks on his friends' faces Harry continued, "She turned this old castle that her father left her into a hotel and the Dursleys had to go there and they took me. I met her there and she was really nice, but it was very creepy. She decorated my room in Gryffindor colours with Quidditch wallpaper and the bookshelves were filled with books about Defense Against the Dark Arts, like she knew that was my favorite subject. She never admitted to being his daughter but they look exactly alike. One of the rooms was even painted in blood, she has snake decorations everywhere, she speaks Parseltongue, and she talked about how she inherited her father's laugh and his love of snakes." Harry lay out the evidence as if a prosecutor trying to convince the jury to find the defendant guilty and at the end both Ron and Hermione couldn't help but feel a little queasy, Ron more so. "And…she knows about… she knows that I killed Voldemort."
Hermione could see that Ron was getting very nervous and to reassure him said, "Well, Dumbledore trusts her, so I don't think she's getting ready to kill us all." She forced a laugh as if she had made a joke, but it died quickly.
At that moment Ginny Weasley ran up to the three of them with a panicked look on her face. "Please tell me that she's no relation of… the other Riddle." She looked at Harry obviously wanting him to tell her that everything was going to be fine. Harry wished he could but he was forced to tell the truth.
"Ginny, keep in my mind that Dumbledore trusts her- enough so that he would hire her to teach all of us." Ginny could tell that Harry was not gong to reassure her that Ms. Riddle was not related to Tom Riddle and her face began to look even more panicked. "Ginny! I'm sure everything is going to be okay. I've met her before and I don't think she's like her father."
Ginny still didn't seem very placated. "Father? She's his daughter?"
Harry sighed, knowing that he was not going to be able to help Ginny right now. "Ginny… I'm sure that…" He broke of midsentence as his attention was caught by three people sitting on the other side of the hall. Draco Malfoy and his cronies, Crabbe and Goyle were bent together and whispering furiously at each other. Harry could not hear what they were saying but he could tell that none of them were very pleased at the moment. Harry seized upon this and pointed it out to Ginny. "Look. Malfoy doesn't seem very pleased with the new appointment. If Ms… I mean Professor Riddle was in league with Voldemort don't you think they'd be tickled pink?" Harry saw Ginny's panicked expression began to ease up somewhat. "Let's see what happens tomorrow in class, okay?"
Ginny nodded her head a little shakily at first, but then more firmly, and then went to go take her seat with her other fifth year Gryffindors. Harry turned to Ron and thought, 'Now if only Ron were that easy to calm down,' because Ron did not look as if he had accepted Harry's explanation.
The three of them ate in silence, each thinking of what the consequences would be if the new Professor was in league with the Dark Lord. It was when the three of them were on their way up to the Gryffindor house that they started talking again.
Hermione said, "I don't really think we have that much to worry about. Dumbledore trusts her and that should be enough for all of us."
Harry added, "And she dislikes the Malfoys. She called Draco a 'stuck-up, arrogant, pretty boy.' And she seemed really disgusted when I told her that I was friends with Crabbe and Goyle."
Ron didn't seem as convinced as either of them. "Everyone makes mistakes. What if she cast a spell on Dumbledore so that he would make her teacher here and then she could get to you Harry? I mean Vol… you- know- who is her father and that's not something she's likely to forget."
Harry thought about this and said, "We should just keep our eyes ought just in case anything strange happens. We need to keep close together and watch out for each other. Okay?" He looked at each of them and they made their way up to the Gryffindor common room.
The common room was filled with shouts as everyone caught up with friends they hadn't seen all year and introduced themselves to the new first years who looked like cattle being sent to the slaughter. And with Michael Copper telling them all about Filch and Mrs. Norris, Harry couldn't really blame them. But the group that caught Harry's attention was the group in the corner of about fifteen guys and Harry could hear that their entire conversation centered around a certain new teacher. Harry tried to make his way over to the circle so that he could hear exactly what was being said but instead spent the whole night surrounded by the Creevey brothers, each trying to outdo each other with tales of their summer. By the time Harry had found a way to politely excuse himself the group had dispersed so Harry found Ron and they headed upstairs.
By the time Harry and Ron had arrived in their dorm room Neville, Seamus, and Dean were already in bed and Seamus and Dean seamed to be continuing the discussion that the small group downstairs had started. "She's so beautiful. And did you see her eyes? I think they were purple!" When Dean saw Harry and Ron enter the room he asked, "So, what did you two think of the new teacher? Pretty good, huh?" He waggled his eyebrows in a suggestive manner and Harry managed to smile weakly before getting into bed. Ron's slight green-ness became decidedly greener and Harry noticed that Neville was being surprisingly silent on the issue. Harry fell asleep with Seamus and Dean still chattering in the background.