AN: Here's Chapter Two! Please R/R!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize including, but not limited to song lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin and original works of fiction by Frances Hodgeson Burnett. I make no money off this-I do it strictly for fun. Enjoy, R/R please!
Sophie re-positioned herself once again in her four-poster bed in the seventh-year girl's dorm in Ravenclaw Tower. She was once again musingover the events that had taken place earlier in the evening. It was well past midnight now, thewaning moon was high in the sky and cast light upon the walls; light which Sophie only saw in slivers through the places where navy blue panels that enclosed her bed met. Sighing, she rolled onto her back and closed her eyes. Sleep would not come, not for a while, and possibly not at all. For the past two months, Sophie barely slept at all. This insomnia, combined with her drastic weight loss and quieted demeanor gave her an exhausted and angst-ridden apperance. Thinking about the day's events sometimes lulled her into a shallow sleep; she doubted regaling herself with the day's excitement would help her sleep at all, but she'd decided to give it a try.
She quickly sifted through her memories and past the train ride in her mind. After getting off the train, Sophie was quite surprised to see mammoth beasts hitched to the coaches the other students were boarding. These black Pegasus-like creatures had skin that looked like that of a snake, red eyes and immense black wings. When one whinnied, she noticed,thr creature'smouth contained an upper and lower row of great, pointy teeth. Thestrals. The word sprang into her mind. Professor Hagrid, the Care of Magical Creatures professor, had taken students to the woods in their fifth year to see these great beasts, but Sophie was blind to them then. They were only visible to those who had seen death.
Alone now, as those who had shared the compartment left her as soon as the train stopped rolling, Sophie wearily climbed into a Tthestral-driven coach . A rather awkward looking Gryffindor she new as Neville Longbottom, and Luna Lovegood, a 6th year Ravenclaw, were already inside. Neville was staring into Rememberall filled with red smoke, his face contorted in concentration. Luna was reading the latest issue of the wizard tabloid, The Quibbler. They both looked up a she seated herself and Sophie nodded to them in acknowledgement. They braced themselves as the coach lurched forward and embarked toward the castle in silence. Why couldn't they have been my compartment mates? After a quarter of an hour, Sophie spoke.
"I don't know if either of you can answer this," Sophie paused as asked, surprised by what had come out of her mouth with out her consent, but decided to continue anyway. "Are those things pulling the carriage…are they Thestrals?"
"Yes," Luna answered, her unusually large eyes boring into Sophie. "According to my father, they're transfigured wizards who angered the Ministry. It was Scrimgeour's idea, back before he was Minister, and now that he's in charge, Dad says that they'll be an upward surge in the Thestral population." Neville gave Luna an incredulous look.
"Weren't you here when Hagrid took us to see them?" asked Neville.
"Yes, but I just had no idea they'd be so …evil looking."
"Oh.." A pitying look crossed Neville's face. "You saw someone die this summer, didn't you?" his question came out as more of a statement. "I'm sorry for that." And that was the end of conversation on their ride to the castle. Within a few short minutes, they reached the large oak doors and exited the students filed out of the coaches and into the Great Hall.
The students dispersed in the direction of their respective house tables, Sophie chose to sit near Luna, who had been avoided by the other students; she'd be left alone here. With out surprise, Sophie noticed that the Hall was decorated with all four house colours- blue and bronze for her house, yellow and black for Hufflepuff, green and silver, and scarlet and gold for Gryffindor. Above the tables floated everlasting candles, and the ceiling displayed a navy night sky with a waning gibbous moon. After the returning students were all seated and quiet, Professor Sprout led in the two long lines of first years. It turned out that Scrimgeour's warning had taken root in parents' minds; only about one fourth of the returning students were missing. Sophie glanced at the teachers' table and saw who she was looking for. Of course, McGonagall was Headmistress now, she wouldn't be conducting the Sorting Ceremony. Professor Sprout produced the stool and Sorting Hat, which sang a long ballad of Dumbledore's demise. After the Hat's tune ended, nervous looking eleven year-olds were distributed among the four houses. At McGonagall's signal, a feast appeared. After a few moments of eating, McGonagall rose.
" I want you to know, each and every one of you, that I know how hard it was for you to return this year. The terrible event of last June has left us all with broken hearts, and I know that we will always carry Professor Dumbledore in our hearts. Do not let his passing haunt you this year, for he would not have wished that of anyone. Some new rules will be enforced, such as a ten o'clock curfew, no walking on the grounds without supervision of a professor, and NO ONE will have access to the Room of Requirement. Also, all owls will be filtered and we will be having frequent emergency drills."
"And now, students," continued McGonagall in a somber voice, " I have a few announcements to make. I would like to introduce this year's Defense Against The Dark Arts and Transfiguration teachers." The soft rumble of hushed voices that had only seconds ago filled the Great Hall now ceased. All heads were turned toward the Headmistress's seat at the teachers' table.
"First, I must announce that Professor Slughorn has graciously offered to return as the Head of Slytherin House." The Slytherins let out a cheer at this as the aged walrus rose and bowed in mocked modesty. "I regret to inform you," McGonagall continued, "that I will not be able to handle the positions of both Headmistress and professor, so yes, you will be getting a new Transgifuration professor." at this point in the speech, her eyes caught something at the back of the room. "And," she perked up slightly," speak of the devil, here she, and your Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor are now." The students head's all turned as one from the front of the hall to the back. Conversations regarding the two before them began at once across the tables. There, at the entrance stood a rather surly looking young woman with hot pink, pixie-cut hair, and a red-faced Remus Lupin. McGonagall waved them forward and they walked toward the teachers' table.
"This," motioning toward the pink-haired young lady, "is Professor Nymphadora Tonks, your new Transfiguration teacher." Professor Tonks waved and smiled at the sea of students, then proceeded toward an empty chair at the far left end of the table, next to Professor Hagrid, who greeted her with a great bear hug that lifted her from the floor. Flustered, the young professor took her seat.
"And this," McGonagall ushered him forward with a push on his back, "is someone I need not introduce to the fifth, sixth, or seventh years, Professor Remus Lupin. Not only will he be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts, but he will also be taking over my position as Head of Gryffindor House!" McGonagall beamed as the Gryffindor table let out a roar of cheers. Lupin nodded shyly in acknowledgement and seated himself at the far right end of the table next to Professor Flitwick, who shook hands with the returning teacher.
Sophie noticed some subtle changes in her old professor- his sandy brown hair had begun to grey around the roots, and his face had become much more lined in the past three years. A fresh red scar cut across his right temple and his right palm was wrapped in a flesh coloured cloth bandage. He looked quite a bit older than his mere thirty-seven years; he looked troubled and worn- more so than Sophie remembered. As the meal continued, Sophie watched her new professors- Lupin stared at his plate and offered minimal responses to Flitwick's many questions, and Tonks, while seemingly engrossed in a conversation with Hagrid, stole several looks at Lupin, her eyes beckoning him to look her way.
The meal ended and students trudged to their various dormitories. Sophie had sped through the Ravenclaw common room to the seventh year girl's dormitory, where she lay in bed. It was now two in the morning and her mind was still wide awake. She rolled onto her side and grunted. She'd have to go sleepless tonight, something she'd got used to in the recent months. She hoped it would be remedied by her return to Hogwarts; this was apparently not the case.