CHAPTER 2- Another Year
"Ferst y'rs o'er here!" Hagrid's booming voice can be heard over the crowd of students making their way out of the train. As the Ministry Six, the moniker the Prophet bestowed upon Harry and his friends after the events of last year, reached the platform a group of Second Years started gossiping about them.
"Merlin's left nut, that's Harry Potter."
"I heard he battled You-Know-Who at the Ministry."
"Really? I heard it was Dumbledore."
"Nah mate, by the way, have you seen that redhead?"
"Oi! Move on, you!" Ron shouted at the sheepish looking second years.
Hermione gripped his arm, "You don't need to shout! You're a prefect!" she said.
'So begins another round of bickering', Harry thought.
"Harry!" they turn to find their favourite Gameskeeper approach them.
"Hello Hagrid." They all greet him.
"How are ye lot? Have a good summer?" Hagrid asks.
Scattered replies of 'fine' and 'good' were heard before an Auror called for Hagrid's help in assisting the First Years to their boats. Hagrid then returned his attention towards the sextet.
"I'll be goin' now. Try no' ter get yer selves int'r trouble this term. With Dumbledore allowin' more Muggles on the grounds…jus' try no' ter bother 'em, all right?" he says, with his gentle tone hiding his worry.
The group went quiet before Hermione told Hagrid that they'll do their best, which Hagrid nodded at happily and lumbered his way towards the first years.
"Come on, let's get to the carriages" Neville announced, jostling everyone out of their stupors and following him towards the direction of the carriages.
As they reached the road leading to the carriages, a relatively long queue was formed.
"Can these people get a move on, I'm starving-OW." Ron complained as Hermione pinched his arm and gave him a glare rivalling that of Molly Weasley.
"I think there's an inspection up ahead." Neville noticed as he was leading the way. They were surprised by the appearance of two soldiers; with different-looking 'firelegs' or "rifles" as mentioned by Hermione last year, and an Auror performing checks on the students. Harry noticed familiar patches on the soldiers' sleeves.
'Huh, Stars and Stripes.' He thought silently.
"Hmm, this wasn't here last year." Hermione realized aloud.
"The Ministry probably insisted on extra security around the castle with Tom and his gang mucking about." Ginny uttered.
"The castle does seem gloomier. Must be signs of things to come." Luna replied seriously.
The group stared at her, thinking about her ominous announcement.
"Let's just get to the carriages." Harry blurted out.
The group made their way towards the inspectors. Ron became wary of the beeping sticks being floated around by the Muggles and surreptitiously gripped his wand. Hermione noticed this and whispered, "Those are muggle metal detectors. Don't worry, they won't hurt anyone."
Ron visibly calmed at this, but still maintained his grip on his wand, much to the bushy-haired girl's chagrin.
Neville reached the inspectors first.
"Good evening, sir. Please raise your arms to the side. This'll only take a few." The soldier requested.
The sextet was a bit jarred by the man's accent.
"They're Yanks. Arrived just last week. Don't worry, they're just performing routine inspections." The Auror said amusedly.
"Oh." Was all Neville could say.
"A'ight, go on ahead sir. Next one please." The soldier ordered.
It was Luna who caused a beep in the alarm. This drew the soldiers' attention. The inspector looked at Luna in the eye and sternly told her "Please approach the soldier next to Auror Bowles and place all metallic items on the bin he's holding for inspection. Sorry for the inconvenience, miss." Next!"
"Oh, that was interesting. Muggles are very ingenious." She practically bounced on her way towards a bemused Private as she removed her things, one of which involved a strange looking ginger snap.
"Well, this is obviously not going to make us late for the Feast." Muttered Ron, who earned a smack from Hermione.
Ginny silently agreed and groaned in dismay as she remembered carrying a prank item with her, which was obviously metallic.
"You should probably go first." She said. Harry, Ron and Hermione looked at her and then understood, giving her sympathetic smiles.
After 15 minutes of 'inspecting the radishes' with Luna and a suspicions items report filed by Ginny, the group finally made it to their carriage.
Harry looked around and once again saw the Thestrals, beautiful yet strange creatures which can only be seen by those who have seen death. He felt a slight chill as he looked at them, wondering why looking at them now felt different than last year. It felt colder, more sinister.
It made him sick.
He rubbed the sides of his arms as he felt the chill grow colder before a small hand brought him out of his thoughts. He turned to see Ginny looking at him softly. She removed her hand from his arm and pulled out a maroon scarf. She must have seen him shivering.
"You're freezing, Harry. Here, wrap this around you." She said to him. Harry gratefully accepted the scarf and wrapped it around his neck. He sighed in relief.
"Thanks." He breathed out. Ginny smiled and returned to her conversation with Hermione about her study schedule for O.W.L.s, to which Ron visibly groaned and was smacked for by Luna, of all people. The rest snickered at this and continued their conversations as the carriages made their way towards the Castle. Harry continued to snuggle himself into the scarf, he began to relax and temporarily forget about the mess happening outside Hogwarts; vaguely, he noticed that it smelled just like the Burrow and flowers.
A loud 'woooosh' and 'boom' was heard, startling everyone on the carriages and causing them to look up to the sky. Surprisingly, the Thestrals continued on as if nothing happened.
"What the bloody hell was that?!" they overheard someone who sounded much like Seamus.
"Yeah, what was that?" asked Neville as he rubbed his ears.
"It was a jet plane." Said Harry and Hermione simultaneously.
The friends were astonished by this. "I never realized they could be so loud, and I've never seen one that fast!" Ginny said, who was more familiar with the model aeroplanes shown by her father back in his shed.
"That one just now was a muggle jet plane. It's mostly used by the Muggle military. They're not like any other planes, as they can move so fast they can break the sound barrier, hence the 'boom' you've just heard. They also carry weapons and are usually operated by two people…" Hermione proceeded give a lecture on the differences between jets and commercial airplanes which actually proved rather interesting to the group, except for Harry, who was familiar with jets from all those video games Dudley used to play and from the various documentaries he could catch a glimpse on from his cupboard.
By the time Hermione finished her lecture, with Ron still confused and Neville left speechless, the carriages stopped at their destination.
The students then disembarked from their carriages and together, the Ministry Six made their way towards the Castle Courtyard. The students looked around and can't help but look in awe at the muggle vehicles and machinery. They saw three Aurors and five soldiers patrolling the Courtyard and guarding the castle doors; the tense atmosphere palpable even as they entered the castle. Peeves was present as always, but his usual spunk just wasn't there.
'God, I hope this year won't be shite.' Harry groaned inwardly at how pathetic he sounded in his head.
The buzzing in the hall turned into quiet whispers as Harry and his friends arrived in the hall. Luna separated from them as she made her way to the Ravenclaw table. The remaining five sat together on the Gryffindor table. Harry noticed Dean shooting a dirty look in his direction and turned back to Seamus. Harry frowned and was thinking of a number of reasons why one of his dorm mates, and good friend of nearly six years, was cold-shouldering him and his mates. He then turned to Ginny, who was just settling in next to him and gave him a soft smile. He registered a warm feeling in his gut as she did this and couldn't help but smile back.
"Looking good, Potter. Looks like mum was right." She beamed.
It took Harry a second to process what she said and noticed that he still had the scarf on him.
"Oh!" he chuckled at this and gingerly removed the scarf. He then made to give it back to her but she held her hands up, her brown eyes growing slightly in surprise.
"No, no, you can keep it…if you want. Mum made it for you and I just happened to pack it with my things." She blurted out with a slight blush tingeing her cheeks.
Harry couldn't help but find her adorable as she blushed, he shook himself slightly at this and said "Thanks, Gin." He told her softly and then carefully folded the scarf and put it in his satchel. She gave him another smile and they turned to their dinners. Both Harry and Ginny failed to notice the slight grins Hermione and Neville had on their faces.
Dinner in the Great Hall proceeded as normal after the end of the Sorting despite of the Hat's gloomier lyrical rendition.
After dessert was served, Dumbledore approached his Phoenix pulpit and began his usual Address.
"Good evening to you all, and welcome to another year at Hogwarts. To our First Years, I hope that you will find your stay for the next several years fruitful and productive. Before we retire to our beds, I have a few announcements to make. Firstly, the usual reminders that the Forbidden Forest is barred from all year levels, unless accompanied by the Groundskeeper for detention purposes. Any student caught entering the Forest without express approval shall be subject to prescribed penalties. Secondly, I have requested your Head of Houses, and by extension your Professors, Head Boys and Girls and Prefects to confiscate any items under the revised Prohibited Items list in the hands of Mr. Filch, our caretaker. This list shall be posted by your Head of Houses in your Common Rooms. Thirdly, there has been a change in faculty for this term. For Potions, let us give our warmest welcome to Professor Horace Slughorn, who has agreed to return as Potions Master for this term."
At this announcement, a smattering of murmurs and applause was heard throughout the Great Hall, except from the Slytherin table. Malfoy and his goons can be seen fuming silently at this turn of events. Slughorn stood up from his seat and raised his glass in appreciation and sat back down, beaming.
Dumbledore raised his left hand, indicating silence, and continued his speech:
"For the second part, allow me to introduce our newest Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Severus Snape."
There was only applause from the Slytherin Table and a stunned silence followed by loud mutterings of 'Snape' and 'slimy git' and 'OWLs.'
On the Gryffindor table, Harry closed his eyes and had a slight headache,
'You just bloody jinxed yourself, you tosser.'
The rest of the Gryffindors were just as dismayed, with some of them whispering about continuing the D.A. They were questioning Dumbledore's wisdom on this one; even Hermione had to agree, albeit silently.
Dumbledore once again raised his hand, silencing the crowd. He paused before giving out his final announcement:
"Finally, you may have noticed upon your arrival, the presence of foreign muggle soldiers on our grounds. It is important to remind you all of the necessity of their assistance to Magical Britain and its government. Just like the men of Her Majesty's Armed Forces, they are to be afforded the same level of respect as any other. I need not remind you of the sacrifices they have made to assist us in the struggle against darkness. That is why I have requested your Head of Houses, Prefects and Head Boys and Girls to ensure the strict conformance to the Rules on Fraternization with Muggle Military Forces. A copy of these Rules shall be provided by the Head Boy and Girl. I wish to reiterate to all of you that the Auror Corps and the Muggle military forces shall not interfere with class work, are barred from entering the Castle itself unless allowed by the current Headmaster and are limited only to the Grounds and Forbidden Forest. Involuntary detentions are prohibited. Due process is to be observed."
The entire Hall grew silent at this announcement, no doubt feeling the tension in the air. Dumbledore continued on with his closing remarks.
"I understand that the past several terms have been rather difficult for some of you. With the growing darkness around our world each day, I cannot help but feel immense pride in your resilience, growth and perseverance in the face of hardship. I would like to end this by saying that there will come a time, when we will be faced with the choice between what is right, and what is easy. Remember to trust in your friends; you are not alone. Now let us say good night, and have a kip." He ends this and the entire Hall is abuzz with activity once again; with the Prefects leading out First Years towards the dorms.
"Well, that was some jolly speech." Muttered Ron.
"It's not exactly the same as our first year Ron." Hermione whispered back.
"Can you two go one minute without debating?" Neville said amusedly.
"She started it! Oi, what-"Ron started bickering as Hermione dragged him off to lead the First Years to the dorms. Hermione then whispered to Harry the password to the Tower before leaving. Neville followed the bickering couple, laughing.
This left Ginny and Harry together as they made their way to Gryffindor Tower. They made some small talk about when Ron and Hermione are going to have to admit to liking each other when Ginny bumped into Dean, who was walking with Seamus.
Dean looked surprised and was about to greet her when he saw who Ginny was with. His jaw tightened and his face hardened. Ginny looked unbothered and just straightened her uniform and said "Hey, Dean."
Dean shifted his attention away from Harry, "Hi Gin. Had a good summer?"
"Oh, it was fine." She replied nonchalantly.
"Oh…Good." Dean replied back, now looking like he lost all confidence.
Harry looked at Seamus, who looked back at Harry shrugging his shoulders as if saying 'Don't look at me, I don't know what's going on.'
"Look, I just want to go to bed. We still have classes tomorrow." Ginny said, clearly frustrated.
"Oh…okay. Gin, I-"Dean started but Ginny cut him off.
"I said I'm tired, Dean. Okay? We've been through this." She pulled her hair back and called out to Harry. "Come on, then."
Harry picked up the pace while feeling Dean's glares on his back as he made his way to Ginny.
They walked in awkward silence by the time they reached the portrait hole when Ginny realized something.
"Shite, the password." Ginny cursed.
Harry chuckled and said, "It's okay, Hermione told me. Oh wait, shouldn't we wait for Seamus and Dean? I don't think they know the password." He said this, completely oblivious as to what had happened between Ginny and Dean last year. With all that was going on, he practically forgot about things like Ginny dating Dean.
'Yeah, and you practically forgot about her possession by the Diary, you git.' He thought morosely.
He was met by an exasperated 'are you kidding me' look from Ginny. Harry felt like retreating.
"Just say the password and YOU wait for them then." She demanded. It looked like she was challenging him to do it.
Harry was weighing his options. On one hand he could go in together with Ginny, who was obviously knackered and pissed at Dean or two, he could let Ginny go on ahead and wait for his two dorm mates, one of whom was obviously very pissed at him for being seen with Ginny and would be made even more awkward if he realized that they probably would know the password. He liked Dean, he genuinely did. But he preferred to be asleep in his four-poster rather than having to endure an awkward conversation about Ginny.
Seeing Ginny's growing impatience at his indecisiveness, he said the password to the Fat Lady, who exclaimed her displeasure at being kept in suspense for too long. Ginny went through first but to her surprise, Harry went in with her.
As they reached the middle of the Common Room, with only the fireplace lit up, Harry gave Ginny a sheepish grin as they faced each other.
"I thought you'd wait for your mates. Wasn't there some sort of Code you boys adhere to?" Ginny asked him with a smirk.
Harry laughed at that and then stared at her. He realized just how….'Ginny' she looked. Her freckled face looked like it was glowing against the light of the fireplace. Her mane of red hair shone in the darkness. He can't help but smell the same waft of that flowery scent that was obviously coming from her. That last thought gave Harry a suddenly weird image of what that 'scent's' source was but he crushed it down in his head. What the hell, Harry?
"Nah, I thought I'd make an exception with you." He replied, wondering where this sudden bout of confidence came from.
Ginny's eyes widened, for a split second, at his admission and gave him a bright grin. "Well, looks like that makes me kind of special then." She tells him softly.
"Good night, Harry." She says to him before giving him a tight hug and a firm kiss on the cheek. She leaves him there gobsmacked at the base of the stairs to the girl's dormitories. Harry touched the cheek she kissed and, for the millionth time, asked himself what he was getting himself into. In a few seconds, a moment of clarity hit him like a Bludger to the kidney.
'Jesus Harold Christ on a rubber crutch; I fancy her. It took me six fucking years to realize it. I fancy my bloody best friend's sister. You are an arse, Potter.'
He made his way towards his dorms, already finding Ron and Neville asleep 'Thank Merlin for that.', changed his clothes, did his business in the restrooms in record time to avoid Dean and fell into the blissful abyss that was sleep. He was then plagued by visions of red and freckles and flowers.
FORBIDDEN FOREST- 0130H
An acromantula's life was always about protecting his home and eating a good meal. This youngling's favourite meal was a carcass. He was always known among his siblings as a voracious eater, and they didn't mind so long as he shared. As he wanders about searching for his favourite snack, he came across a bountiful food stack in a clearing.
'Oooooooh. Father's friend must have brought us some left overs.' The young acromantula hissed as he neared the buffet before him. 'Mine, mine, mine, mine, mine.'
As he neared the carcasses, it vaguely registered in his mind the strange pale color of these carcasses. He had never seen such things; they reminded him of the boy and his red-haired friend going off fighting Father. The creature felt a sudden pang of pain as it made contact with the carcasses. It noticed that it didn't stop and it continued on and on until it consumed his whole being.
'NOOOOOOO! SUCH PAIN. WHAT CURSE IS THISSSS!' the youngling hissed in the air as the curse consumed him, turning him into an ashen pile.
In six hours a patrol would find the bodies.