Fred slid some sickles over the table to George with a sigh. They had been placing bets on the new first years' houses, and Fred had got almost every other one wrong. George was just making a grand gesture of putting the money into his pocket when the chatting in the hall died down. Dumbledore was standing at the Front.

"I would first like to welcome our new students to their first year at Hogwarts," Dumbledore said, "And would also like to say welcome back to all our other students." There were a couple of cheers.

"However," Dumbledore continued, "There are a few matters that I must get through before the feast can begin. First, I would like to welcome the newest addition to our staff Professor Remus Lupin who will be the Defense against the dark arts teacher." A tired-looking man with patches on his robes stood up and there was polite applause except for the small group of Gryffindors, who clapped loudly and cheered for his actions against the Dementor on the train.

After he had sat down, Dumbledore continued. "Finally, as many of you are already aware of from their inspection of the Hogwarts Express on your journey here, this year we will be housing some of the dementors of Azkaban. Now, these creatures are looking for Sirius Black and are here for our protection. However, this does not mean that they will not attack any students who may get too curious for their own good."Dumbledore paused, giving all of the students a stern look.

"But now I ask that you enjoy your meal and then get well rested for the year ahead." There was a round of applause as Dumbledore finished and the plates filled with food.

Ebony began to wolf down her food quickly as if someone might come and take it away from her. She was hungry, having spent the previous week holed up in her room after arguing with her mother and was only fed when her parents remembered she existed. Which wasn't often.

Once the feast was over, they made their way up the stairs and Ebony and Neville got a telling off from Percy for blocking the way and being an obstruction, even though Neville was clearly stuck in the trick step which he failed to jump almost every time.

Ebony had to wait for everyone to pass before she could help him up. She pulled with such force that she sent herself toppling over and Neville fell on top of her.

"Er...sorry," Neville said, blushing. But for a brief moment, all Ebony wanted was to look into his eyes. They were calming. Made her feel safe. It was as if she was looking right into his soul-

Then an Irish voice came from the landing above them.

"Once you two have stopped flirting the password's collywobbles."

They continued to stare for a moment. Then both of them burst out laughing.

Author Note:

I would first like to thank everyone for their support on this series - never really expected anyone to read this.

On another note, I would like to add that I'm not very pleased with this chapter. If you couldn't tell already I think I am better at writing interactions and emotional stuff rather than stuff that just happens.

So bare with my dodgy writing and hope you enjoy what's to come!

:)