Disclaimer: Most of the characters mentioned in the following story are borrowed from JK Rowling and are not of my own imagination. Any characters in this story that are not mentioned in any of the Harry Potter books are my own.

A/N: Ok well I seemed to have had more requests for longer chapters and less updating so that's how things will happen. Those of you who pointed out the mistakes in the last chapter, thank you. It was done in a rush and I didn't reread it. (Then again I never do.)

Chapter 9

Finally the train slowed and Harry got his first glimpse of Hogwarts since he had left. Finally he was home. Hagrid was there to greet them, with his usual calls of "Firs' years this way! Firs' years this way please!" Dumbledore's death had taken its toll on him and Harry was surprised to see how old he looked. His strong shoulders were slumped as though he carried a heavy burden and his hair and beard were streaked with grey. He smiled and waved when he saw Harry and Ginny, his eyes lighting up for a moment.

They found a carriage with Ron and Hermione quite quickly. Harry stared up at the castle as they approached. Just as they pulled up out the front the heavens opened and it began to rain. As soon as they had been scanned by Filch they ran inside and made their way through the crowd to the Gryffindor table. When they were seated, Professor McGonagall stood up and silence fell over the room. The doors to the Great Hall opened again and Hagrid led in the soaking first years. When they reached the front of the room he left them to sit at the staff table, his eyes sweeping the room automatically as he sat down. The room was utterly still, all eyes on Professor McGonagall.

"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts," she said quietly, but her voice echoed throughout the room. She left the staff table to begin the sorting, the hat and a stool in one hand and a roll of parchment in the other.

"That was it?" Harry whispered to Ginny who shrugged. He turned and looked at the first years, remembering his own first day at Hogwarts. They looked as scared as he had felt. There were less of them this year. Quite a few less. Harry wasn't surprised. Especially with Dumbledore's death parents were becoming more and more hesitant at letting their children attend Hogwarts. Looking around he saw that there were quite a few empty places at the house tables too. He made a mental note to himself to check the Daily Prophet the next morning, hoping that the absences were due only to parents refusing to let their children continue attending.

When he looked back to the front table he was surprised to see that he had missed the Sorting Hat's song and more then half the sorting already (not that there were many first years to sort) and before he knew it, Professor McGonagall was carrying the Sorting Hat and it's stool away. All eyes were on her as she returned to the front of the room. She paused for a moment, surveying the room before beginning.

"Because of recent… events at the school, we have been forced to add further… security measures to the school in order to keep our students safe. We ask that you travel around the school in groups of no less then three if possible. This means that all students have at least one other person with them at all times, even when making trips to the bathroom. An earlier curfew has been also been put in place. We expect you to be in your house common room as soon as dinner has finished every night. Your Head of House has also been moved closer to your dormitories. You will find their chambers in the door leading from the Common Room. Every night after the curfew has come into effect the entranceways to the Common Rooms will be sealed. If there are any problems you will contact your head of house. I am sorry to say that all Hogsmeade trips will be cancelled, as there is simply no way to keep track of every student. All mail will be scanned and any illegal items or items that may cause harm will be confiscated and the students involved will be dealt with accordingly. And last but not least, quidditch will still be held, but matches and practises will be heavily supervised by both teachers and aurors sent from the Ministry for Magic. I know that these restrictions may cause a great deal of inconvenience, but they are necessary to keep you all safe. You may now begin the feast."

She sat down and the tables fill with food. The others dove right in, but Harry had lost his appetite. He stared at the fried chicken rather sadly, thinking about the new rules. He felt a small hand slip into his and he turned to his right to see Ginny watching him, her forehead slightly creased. He gave her a small smile to reassure her and helped himself to some roasted potatoes to show her that he was alright. But he could not push the thoughts from his mind, and the guilt that was slowly creeping into his heart whenever his eyes found an empty seat or when he saw Professor McGonagall sitting at the head of the staff table. He pushed the potatoes around his plate with his fork until the others around him had finished. They rose and headed back to the Gryffindor common room, Ron and Hermione leading the first years. When the password was set Harry lead Ginny through the portrait hole and over to the couches in front of the fire. He stared into the flames, watching them lick around the edges of a huge log. Ginny curled up next to him and he put his arms around her. They were soon joined by Ron and Hermione who were looking equally as sober.

There was no conversation as they sat looking into the flames, the common room buzzing quietly around them. Harry gave a small sigh. After just one evening here, it didn't feel like home anymore. Hogwarts wasn't Hogwarts without Dumbledore, the twins and all the others who had gone that made the castle what it was to Harry. Ginny looked up at him, hearing his sigh. She could tell what he was thinking without even asking him; it was written all over his face. As much as he would try to hide it from her, she would always know what he was thinking. She knew him too well.

Before long he stood up, more then ready to go to bed. He bent down and kissed Ginny softly, breaking apart as he heard a cough behind him, undoubtedly from Ron.

"Goodnight," he told them all softly, and made his way up to the dormitories.

The next morning he was up quite early. When he arrived at the Great Hall for breakfast there were only a few others around. He munched on a piece of toast slowly, waiting for others to arrive. Realizing that no new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher had been introduced the night before he searched the staff table, but saw no new teachers. Some of the seats were still empty though.

At that moment he was joined by Ginny, who looked as if she was still half asleep. She looked at Harry blearily and sat down next to him.

"Morning Gin," he whispered to her, kissing her cheek softly.

"Morning," she muttered in reply and poured herself some pumpkin juice. They sat in silence for some time, the Great Hall filling fast around them. Above them the mail owls flew into the hall, the flapping of their wings sending gusts of chilly air over the students. A large brown owl flew straight towards Harry, knocking over a bowl of fruit as it landed. He untied the paper from its leg and his eyes widened when he saw the headline on the front page. 'Another 4 Dead: Death Toll Stands at 18'. Harry scanned the article quickly, reading through the names of those who had encountered Voldemort or the death eaters and had not escaped. He closed the paper, feeling sick. As he stood to leave, Professor McGonagall's voice projected loudly from the front of the room and he sat down again to listen.

'As I did not have a chance last night, I would now like to introduce you to your new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Brooking."

Harry watched as the grey-haired petite woman waved at the students. She looked vaguely familiar but he could not remember where he had seen her before. He was interrupted by Professor McGonagall passing him his timetable as a late Hermione and Ron rushed into the hall.

"What did we miss?" Ron asked as slipped into a seat on Harry's left and helped himself to toast.

"Just the introduction of the new Defence teacher… Professor Brooking I think it was."

Ron actually remembered to swallow before replying "Who?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "The only new teacher at the staff table, Ron."

"Oh," was the only reply he received.

A/N: Yeah, I know, still short, but I'm working on that. I can do more now that I have my own laptop (yay!) and I don't have to kick everyone else off the computer so will hopefully have the next chapter up soon. Thanks for all the great reviews so far.