It was dark by the time we arrived at Hogsmeade station. I give Maisie a small hug before she follows Hagrid. Julia and I trudge up to the carriages and get in with a couple of other students. I look to the other passengers and give them a small smile and a nod which they return. We sat in silence as the carriage began to move. I turn to Jules and whisper into her ear.
"Who the hell are these guys?"
"Fourth years"
I look out the window up towards the castle. It looks relatively the same, its lights welcoming us however there is tension in the air. As we approach the gates a chill sweeps over the carriage. Outside floats a dementor at each side of the gate, guarding the castle.
"I wonder how many more there are?" says one of the fourth years suddenly
No one responds; all of us too scared to put a possible figure on it. As the carriage makes the final leg to the entrance hall, we share a look that says nothing more than good luck. We exit as it pulls to a stop and make our way in our paths quickly stopped by two burly men.
"Names?" one of them grunts
"Isobel MacDonald"
"Julia Bishop"
They search the list in their hands.
"Year?" the other grunts
"Sixth" we say in unison
They turn pages before finally crossing our names off the list. We make to move forward again before being stopped again.
"Where's professor Flitwick?" I ask
"Busy with other duties that don't concern you"
"Any illegal contraband?" the taller one says
"No" we say
"You won't mind being checked then?" they say holding probity probes
We soon get ushered into the hall and we make our way into the great hall. We walk down the table and sit near the back of the hall along with the other sixth year Ravenclaws that had already arrived.
"Hey guys" I say as we sit
They murmur in reply and sit looking sullen. I look around the hall. It resembles much what it looked like last year. Though there did seem to be fewer candles giving the room a rather gloomy atmosphere. I look to the head table where some teachers had already assembled along with two new professors, I couldn't help but find familiar. I turn back to the table and see that Terry Boot and Antony Goldstein had arrived at the table.
"Hey guys"
"Hey MacDonald" says Terry "Ready to heat up the quidditch pitch this season?"
"You bet I am, Crabbe is getting payback for that bludger to the shoulder last year, and I've still got the scar from when a shard of wood from the stand forced itself into me"
"You've still got that scar?"
"Yep, it's my little memo to get back at him"
More students file into the hall and teachers begin to take their seats at the table. Finally, the last students come in and the doors close. We sit in silence and the doors open again, Professor McGonagall leading in the first years into the hall. I spot Maisie and give her thumbs up. They walk up to the front of the hall and I start to zone out like I do nearly every year listening as each table politely claps when it receives a new member until I hear the professor call out.
"Maisie Pollock"
She moves slowly up to the stool and sits nervously while the hat is placed on her head. I sit straighter to try and hear better. She sits there in silence for a minute before the hat lets out a small sigh. I can sense Julia's eyes on my back, and I turn my head giving her a small smile.
"Hat staller, runs in the family" I whisper, and she smiles
"Mmmm… yes I think I dare say you'd do well in Hufflepuff though but maybe not, better your brave heart, better be GRYFFINDOR!" says the hat
The Gryffindor table claps, and I let out a small whoop which I immediately regret when as I receive a glare from one of the new professors sat at the teachers table. My aunt will definitely be proud. I zone out for the last couple of names until the sorting is over and Snape rises from his chair. The hall goes silent.
"Good evening, this year marks a new beginning at this school; a number of changes will be taking place in a bid to restore this school to its former glory as a school of deserving witches and wizards. The first of these changes have already been implemented in the posting of dementors at every entrance and the appointee of two new staff members, professor Carrow and his sister, also professor Carrow, their positions will be revealed when you receive your timetables tomorrow morning. From now on discipline shall be handled by myself and both professor Carrows alone and I must warn you now, stepping out of line would be ill advised and a mark of low intelligence. Breach of school rules will result in a hefty punishment for all those involved, guilty or otherwise"
With that he sat down before quickly signalling the beginning of the feast.
"Where do I know them from?" says Julia, eyeing up the two Carrows.
Its then when I realise who they are. Death Eaters. Great, just bloody fantastic. Two wanted madmen for teachers and a psycho ex headmaster killer in charge. This is just what I need for my education. We'll be cursing each other by the end of next week. Give it a month, and Crabbe and Goyle will have blown up a classroom, killing innocent students who just wanted to learn some spells to help them survive in the war. Fan-bloody-tastic.
"Well that was welcoming" I say tucking in.
"Yes quite" say Luna Lovegood from down the table
"Hi Luna, how was your summer?" I ask
"Oh it was very nice, my father and I attended the wedding of the oldest Weasley boy and Fleur Delacour, and it was very nice until the death eaters' gate crashed it"
"Oh right… how about you Goldstein?"
"Mum and dad went security mad all over again and wouldn't let me out of their sight and overall quite shitty really, you?"
"Much the same, mum and dad are both worried about their jobs, you know with my grandfather being an ex auror but quite shitty like you said" I say picking up some chicken legs and adding them to my plate.
"what do they do?" says Terry
I finish swallowing some potatoes before answering.
"Mum is second is charge of the Portkey Office and dad is an obliviator"
"That doesn't seem very threatening"
"I know right, so anyway mum and dad have gone a bit 'crazy' over security as well, protecting the entire street they are"
"My dad did the entire street as well" pipes up Declan Cornes, a fellow sixth year "He says that after last time, it's better to do the entire street in case they try get information out of any of them"
The conversation turns quiet at this stage. We all sat in silence for a while until dessert appears. I heap some ice cream onto my pumpkin pie and scoop a spoonful into my mouth.
"So, who made captain?" I ask still chewing
"no one" says Anthony sulking
"What? You were up for that for sure though!"
"No quidditch. At all. Not even allowed friendly matches apparently. I got a letter from Flitwick a few days ago. I didn't know how to tell you all. Just wait, you'll have your broom confiscated"
"I can kind of see why. Can't really leave without brooms. Also, out of a pure game mindset, Slytherin have no real possible captains, Hufflepuff… half of the team aren't here. And Peakes and Coote are way too young for it if you ask me and I doubt that they would have let Ginny be captain" says Michael.
"Surprised she came back actually, what with Ron being on the run, apparently he has spattergroit though, ran into Mr Weasley last week, he said that they had no idea where he got it from but we all know where he is really" Terry says, looking around before whispering "with Harry"
"What about Granger?" Declan asks
"Disappeared with her parents apparently, but who is really going to believe that? Potter and Weasley couldn't survive without her, she's the only one who can really do magic, I mean Potter and Weasley have their moments, but Granger is the only one who knows any practical magic, I doubt the boys know how to cook or any protective charms"
"With that amount of deduction Boot, I'm surprised you haven't been asked by the ministry to head up the search party" I say
"I'm only saying"
"Yeah, well keep that to yourself from now on, they might drag you in for questioning if you keep going on about it"
"You're right, I think all of us should keep quiet about how much we know about anything, if it's a lot or a little" says Padma Patil from down a table
We all look at each other alarmed. Clearly, we weren't so subtle in our conversation.
"Right, unless in the company of people we can trust, keep our mouths shut, the common room is the only safe place we have, hopefully" says Declan
We all nod and return to our dessert. As I heap some ice cream into my bowl, I can't help the feeling that someone is staring at me. I turn around to face the Slytherin table to see Blaise Zabini staring at me, as if he was making his mind up about me, like a possible purchase. He realises that I'm looking at him and turns his gaze before glancing back slightly. I turn back to my ice cream. What the hell was that about? Why the hell would he be staring at me? I highly doubt that I ever would be considered stare worthy by him. Little old blood traitor me, we don't exactly hold the same moral compass as each other. I look back again and see he is still looking over at me. I send him a glare before returning to my ice cream. Soon the food disappears, and we are signalled to leave by year group. We nod at the seventh years as they leave, and it isn't long before the sixth years are signalled. We walk quietly together through the halls up to the Ravenclaw tower. When we climb the steps to the door, we find the seventh years standing, having a small argument.
"It's clearly-"
"Maybe it's-"
"What about-"
"NO! That's stupid-"
They continued yelling over each other until Russell Pascoe, a fellow sixth year, shot red sparks out of his wand, gaining their attention. They looked at up sheepishly and pointing at the door with grimace.
"Stupid door" says Michael Corner
"What's it asking?" says Daniel Kirke.
"The shorter I am, the bigger I am. What am I?" says Morag MacDougal, miming the knockers voice
"I say its Flitwick's ego"
"THAT'S A STUPID ANSWER CORNER!" shouts Morag
"Alright Morag, no need to lose your temper" I say
Suddenly the knocker pipes up.
"Correct" and the door swings open to reveal the common room.
"Well, are you going in or are we all going to stand out here all night" I say ignoring the stares and pushing past them into the tower.