Summary: AU It's the seventh year at Hogwarts, and things just aren't the same without Dumbledore. McGonagall has taken over as Headmistress with Flitwick as Deputy Headmaster. As usual, a new DADA teacher is needed, and there's only one person up for the job. But Harry is suspicious of this new teacher being a spy almost instantly, though no one else seems concerned. Could she be a Death Eater, or something else entirely, and is she a friend or foe?

Pairings: Ron x Hermione (finally) and hints at Harry x Ginny

I'm going to try and speed through this chapter, with Diagon Alley and whatnot, as things don't get really good 'til they get to Hogwarts.

Please leave a nice review. Now Read!

Chapter Two: The Sorting

"So that's Hogwarts," Envy said as he looked at the castle. "Pretty big. Bet it would be hard to attack from the outside, probably enchanted and the whole bit."

"Of course!" Hermione said. She looked as though she was about to go into a long explanation of what she'd read about the school in Hogwarts: A History when Hope screamed suddenly.

"What is it?" Envy asked immediately, his tone and expression far too worried for anyone's comfort.

But Hope didn't say anything. He just kept pointing out of the window, shaking uncontrollably while Wrath did his best to calm him.

Harry, Ron, Ginny, Hermione, and Luna all got up to look out of the window, as did Envy.

"I don't see anything," Ginny said finally, after a few minutes.

"That just makes things worse," Envy sighed.

"Why?" Harry inquired.

"I'm not telling you!" Envy snapped. "And as for you-" he pointed at Ron, "-quit staring at our mom like that, you got it?"

Ron yelped and dashed behind Harry. Envy was truly terrifying when he was angry.

"Brother, did you forget to take your medicine again?" Wrath asked.

"Huh? No," Envy shook his head, "It just pisses me off when some idiot stares at our mom that way. The fact that she's pretty doesn't give anyone the right to drool over her!"

"Ouch," Luna said simply.

"I'd hate to be his dad!" Ginny giggled quietly.

Apparently, not quietly enough. Envy turned to her quickly with more rage than he'd shown Ron.

"What… did… you… say?" he hissed.

"Brother!" Wrath said, grabbing his arm quickly, "Don't! She doesn't know!"

"And?" Envy roared, turning to him, "Just because she doesn't know, she can go off and say remarks like that and get away with it? I don't think so!" He whirled back to Ginny again, "For your information, we don't have a father! We don't need or want one, either! Mom did a great job of raising us by herself, thank you very much! Some man that she had to wait on hand and foot would only have held her back, understand? So don't even so much as think the words 'father', 'dad', or 'male parent' around us!"

"Hey, back off!" Harry said, getting between Ginny and Envy.

"Or what, Scar Boy?" Envy raged, "Going to use some magic spell to shut me up? Try it!"

"Stop it!" Wrath shouted, "Just stop it, Envy!"

"Why?" Envy asked, "Why should I?"

"Because…" Wrath said, looking on the verge of tears, "Because we never get chances to start over like this, and if you go around making enemies all the time, then there aren't going to be any people left to be your friends! And we all need friends, a lot!"

"You're right," Envy sighed, "Sorry. It's just… well, I lied. We did have a father, but… he could hardly be called a father, he just up and left us one day without saying anything, or explaining why in a letter... And thinking about him, or having someone mention him, it just makes me that angry… I'm sorry."

"It's okay!" Luna said, "We'll just be careful around those words so you don't get mad!"

Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione didn't look so forgiving, but after a few harsh stares from Luna they were muttering apologies and welcomes as well.

"See?" Wrath smiled, "We just need friends, that's all! Right Hope?"

Hope still looked a bit shaken up by whatever he'd screamed about, but he nodded.

"We're here," Hermione said as the train stopped.

The group moved to the front of the train and stepped out of the door. Hagrid's familiar 'firs' years this way' could be heard over the drumming of the rain. Peeves was nowhere to be seen, perhaps refueling his supply of water balloons to launch at people or planning some other prank.

There seemed to be a bit of security that year, as some students were being stopped at the door, a lot of them Slytherins. Envy, Wrath, and Hope were just in front of Harry and co. when the door security stopped them.

"You are the three transfer students, right?" the guard asked.

"Yes," Envy nodded.

"Can I see some verification of that?"

Sighing, Envy lifted his cloak to show the tattoo on his left thigh, and the twins kicked off their shoes so the tattoos on the bottoms of their feet could be seen.

Hermione tensed beside Ron and Harry, trying to get a good look at the markings. If Wrath and Hope had them too, then they had to mean something. The fact that she couldn't remember where she'd seen it before frustrated and annoyed her to no end.

"Alright, proceed," the guard said, and the three brothers stepped into the castle. The guard greeted Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Luna, and they entered without having to be verified.

Everyone took their seats at their house tables, and the Slytherin table was frighteningly empty.

The Gryffindors waved goodbye to Luna as she joined her fellow Ravenclaws. There were very few first years being sorted, but Harry quickly noticed that the twins and Envy were among them. Naturally, transfer students would have to be sorted.

"Before we begin the Sorting," McGonagall said, "I would like to welcome back all those students who have chosen to stay at Hogwarts to continue, complete, and begin their education. I would also like to introduce Professor Murder, who will be teaching advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts this year. Her three sons will also be attending Hogwarts this year; one is a seventh year, and the other two are both second years. Please do your best to make them feel welcome.

"Now, without further ado, let us begin the Sorting!"

The Sorting Hat sprang to life on its cue and began to sing its latest song. No one was really paying attention, though- or at least, the boys weren't. They were all staring at Murder, and Ron and Harry glanced over at Envy, who was clearly getting angry again. Hope and Wrath quickly grabbed his arms, and Murder sent him a calming, or perhaps threatening, look.

The Hat's song quickly ended and McGonagall pulled out her noticeably shorter scroll, and began calling out names.

"Bui, Glory!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Conway, Ashleigh!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Envy!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Fox, Samantha!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Garcia, Nadia!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Haran, Kevin Valentino!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Hope!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Le, Victor!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Pham, Kevin!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Wrath!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Zamudio, Cecilia!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

And so ended the Sorting. The three brothers uneasily split up and went to their other tables. Hope looked absolutely mortified to be apart from his brothers- he'd spent his whole life with them beside him every day, almost all day. Now he'd be apart from them for very long periods of time.

Murder looked a bit worried about her kids, as well. They did not do well apart- Hope helped tame Wrath's natural temper, and Wrath always managed to pacify Envy's rage. And Envy and Wrath made Hope braver. She resisted the urge to sigh with nervousness- this was going to be one of Hogwarts' more interesting years.

The feast began without any more after words, and Hermione looked with some level of curiosity and fret at Wrath, who was sitting beside her. He seemed to be devastated, as well, being apart from his twin. He barely picked at the sandwich in front of him, and sighed sadly.

"It'll be okay," Hermione said finally to him, causing him to look up. "You'll still see them at classes, and during lunch and breakfast. Now, come on, eat up."

Wrath smiled and took a decent sized bite of his sandwich, devouring it in seconds, then a chicken wing, a drumstick, salad, two rolls, another sandwich, some corned beef, and everything past that point was shoveled down too quickly to be identified.

"Don't make yourself sick!" Ginny laughed nervously as Wrath swiped some mashed potatoes, which were dangerously close to her hand.

Everyone at the table was gaping at the little wizard as he ate everything around him, even after Nearly Headless Nick flew through the chicken, at which point everyone usually lost their taste for it.

At the Slytherin table, Envy was doing no better in fitting in with his house mates. He seemed to be the oldest of the lot, and the rest were sniveling cowards as far as he was concerned, except for that girl Samantha Fox, who was far too bubbly.

He sighed as he chewed absently at a bit of chicken, wishing that one of his brothers had been sorted into Slytherin, or that he'd been sorted into Gryffindor or Hufflepuff with them. He would tear that stupid hat to ribbons for separating them later, but for the time being he was stuck listening to that idiot blabbermouth rant on about everything she liked, didn't like, wasn't sure she liked but didn't necessarily dislike, and her opinion on basically everything there was to be opinionated about along with several offhand statements and observations, all of which she said very quickly and in a very shrill voice that put Envy into a state of almost physical pain.

Hope was faring no better with the curious Hufflepuffs. They kept asking him questions, all of which he would not answer. He didn't say a word and he didn't eat, he just looked sad and held his head low, too shy to do anything under the other students' watchful eyes.

Murder tried her best to keep up with the other teachers' conversations, but she couldn't follow anything they were saying. They were using so many phrases and words that she wasn't used to hearing, talking about lesson plans that she couldn't understand to save her life and spells that she was sure she couldn't pronounce. Finally, Flitwick asked, "So, Professor Murder, what will you be teaching in Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

"Oh, well, I-" she stammered, nervous. She wanted to make a good impression, but was worried that her lesson plan was a bit revolutionary in comparison to theirs. But she replied, "I'm taking a more… physical approach to Defense Against the Dark Arts, should the students be caught off guard or without their wands. You know, pointing out how to defeat, slay, and otherwise remove and nullify threats without magic. I just hope that the older students will adjust quickly."

"How very interesting," Professor Binns droned, "Very original."

"I 'gree wit' Binns," Hagrid said, his face very red as he slurred his words, "What if ye hic can't use magic? Best te hic know how to hic take down somethin' widdout hic widdout magic!"

"I would assume that's why you were hired?" Sprout asked.

"Oh, yes," Murder nodded, "Minerva said that she wanted someone who could teach students how to defend themselves in a different way than simply magic spells… and I cough was the only cough applicant for the job cough, cough, cough."

"Well, good for you!" Flitwick smiled, and Murder seemed to have been successful in hiding the other reason for her being a teacher by coughing as she'd said it.

"Oh, and Professor Sprout, could you please keep an eye on Hope for me?" Murder asked, "I know that you're the head of Hufflepuff, and I'm just worried about him. I think Wrath will be okay on his own, and I'm the new head of Slytherin, so I can watch Envy, but Hope is… sheepish, to say the least. And I'm sure it won't be hard to find an excuse for watching after him, he's quite skilled with plants."

"Of course I'll take care of your son," Sprout replied, "As I do all the new students at Hogwarts. Rest easy."

"Thank you," Murder smiled.

After dessert was served, everyone was very full, especially Wrath, who had fallen asleep and looked cuter than ever with just a little bit of food at the corner of his mouth. Hope was still shaking terribly, and Envy was still enduring Sam's ranting.

Finally, McGonagall silence everyone with a wave of her hand.

"This year is undoubtedly going to be one of the hardest that Hogwarts has ever faced," she said, "But we must remember Dumbledore's wishes and try to put an end to house rivalry, and learn to get along with one another-"

"Still not being chummy with the Slytherins," Ron whispered. Hermione scowled at him but said nothing.

"-and make this the best year that Hogwarts has seen yet!" McGonagall finished. "Also, Professor Hagrid and Groundskeeper Filch would like to remind all students that the Forbidden Forest is strictly forbidden, and any student seen wandering in it without a teacher, day or night, will be expelled and sent home immediately."

"Does it seem like the forest gets more and more forbidden every year?" Ron asked.

"Yeah," Harry nodded, "We probably don't help much, do we?"

"Reckon not," Ron replied.

"Come on, Ron!" Hermione said as everyone stood up, "We've got to lead everyone back to Gryffindor Tower and give them the password."

"Oh, right… what's the password?" Ron asked.

"It's Ouroborous," Hermione sighed.

At this, Wrath's eyes shot open and he looked around frightfully.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked.

"Oh… nothing," Wrath blushed, standing up. He looked down at his feet to hide his embarrassment.

"The whole lot of them is loony," Ron whispered to Harry, who didn't know whether to laugh or just feel bad. It wasn't easy, coming to Hogwarts for the first time from somewhere far away. But transferring in had to be ten times harder.

Well, at least they had their mother with them.

"Come on!" Hermione called, "Everyone this way!"

And so the long march to the Gryffindor common room began. The convoy soon reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, who said immediately, "Password?"

"Ouroborous," Hermione said.

The Fat Lady swung open without another word, and the Gryffindors stepped through, eager to go to bed.

Harry and Ron took their usual bed, as did all of the regular Gryffindors. Wrath took over Neville's abandoned bed, and he was asleep the second he touched the mattress, without even changing into his pajamas.

"Must be tired," Dean said, "Wish I could fall asleep like that. Well, he's only a little kid. Probably missed his naptime on the train."

And so everyone settled into bed and were soon asleep.

Around midnight, Harry was awoken by a stabbing pain in his forehead- his scar acting up again. His heart immediately started pounding. What if Voldemort was nearby, what if the castle was about to be attacked again?

He became aware of someone screaming then, not him, though.

"Aaaaaaggghhh! No, NO! Let me go, get away, NOOOO!"

"Wrath!" Harry yelled, "Wake up, wake up, it's just a nightmare!"

The small boy was still screaming when everyone else woke up, too, and quickly came over to see what was going on.

"Everything's okay, you're just dreaming!" Harry tried to explain, but to no avail. Wrath was still mostly asleep, even though he was awake.

"What's going on?" Hermione yelled as she opened the door to the boys' room.

"Hey!" Dean protested.

"Hermione, get out!" Ron shouted, leaping behind a curtain, "You'll get in trouble! And I'm in my underwear, for God's sake!"

"Oh, rubbish!" Hermione rolled her eyes, "Now then, what's going on?"

"He's having a nightmare- a really bad one," Harry said, "But he won't wake up- not entirely, at least."

"Oh, no!" Hermione cried, "I tried to warn him about eating too much treacle tart… here, let me try. Wrath, wake up! Wake up!"

"I've only done that about a dozen times!" Harry snapped. "He just won't wake up. It's almost like he's under a spell, or something."

"Get away, get away, GET AWAY!" Wrath yelled. He was now thrashing about, and he brought his hands together with a loud clap, and slammed them down on the bed.

Everyone sprang back as there was a flash of blue light and a sizzle of energy. The bed soon rose up, and Wrath with it. Only it wasn't really the bed that was rising, just the sheets where Wrath had touched them.

To everyone's horror, when the light faded, Wrath was towering above them; his entire body from the waist down had become one with the sheets.

Wrath was now at least three-fourths awake and was screaming his head off.

"What's goin' on?" Hagrid said as he entered the room. "Good Lord!" he exclaimed when he saw Wrath, "Who did that?"

"He did," Hermione said, "I don't know how, but he fused himself with the bed!"

"Well, we've got to get him down!" Hagrid thundered, "Stand back now, this is going to be tricky…"

"Hold it!" Envy called as he entered.

"How did you get in here?" Ron demanded.

"I may have 'overheard' the password, or someone may have told me," Envy answered in riddle, "Either way, who cares? This isn't the first time this has happened- I know how to handle it. Just stand aside if you would, Professor Hagrid… thank you."

He stepped over to Wrath, who was still quite frightened and crying.

"Don't cry!" Envy snapped, and at once Wrath stopped. More gently, Envy grabbed his little brother's hand and said, "Can you remember your true form?"

Wrath nodded.

"Good," Envy said, "Now, just stay focused on that image… slowly now, slowly…"

The light appeared once again as the sheets returned to normal, and Wrath right along with them, still holding Envy's hand.

Wrath quickly wrapped his arms around Envy when he touched the ground, burying his face in his big brother's stomach.

"Please forgive my intrusion, and Wrath's behavior," Envy said politely, "Sometimes he gets bad nightmares and does things without realizing it."

"O' course," Hagrid nodded, "Jus' don' make a habit of showin' up in other houses' common rooms and what not."