Chpt. 2-An Old Hat and New Potions

By the time they got off the train, the dark and stormy skies had turned to a full-blown monsoon. Rain poured from the sky as lightening and thunder threatened everyone in its path. Hagrid, the groundskeeper, was standing with a lantern screaming over the noise of the storm for the first years to follow him. A small red-headed first year ran head on into Tristan, not watching where he was going.

The boy looked up at Tristan, frightened by his height. "Sorry," he managed to squeak out before running off.

"Why are all of the first years so terrified of me?" Tristan asked.

"Probably because you're over six feet tall, and that can be intimidating," Iona answered. "Or the fact you were dancing around naked on the train."

Crossing the lake to Hogwarts can often be a very relaxing journey. But with the storm, it was more akin to be shaken fiercely, dunked in ice cold water, and trying like hell not to heave your lunch over the side of the boat.

As soon as the boats landed, everyone scrambled to get out of the rain and into the main dining hall. Upon entering, everyone's clothes were magically dried, and the students were suddenly very warm. The first years were in awe of the dining hall. To the older kids, it was familiar, and heartwarming.

Iona, Tristan, and Lyric took their seats at the Gryffindor table and waited for the Sorting ceremony to begin. This was Lyric's favorite part of getting to school. She loved watching the frightened first years nervously wait to be sorted. As the students settled in their seats, the house ghosts entered the dining hall to see their houses students.

"Well hello Tristan!" bellowed Nearly Headless Nick.

"Hello, Sir Nicholas. How was you're summer?"

"Pretty good I suppose, I guess I spent most of it in high spirits," laughed Nick. He made this same cheesy pun every year, and the students were forced to laugh politely. "Ooh, first years. Forgive me, I'm off to bother them. Got to show them what it means to be Nearly Headless."

The Sorting Hat was brought out and the first years called one by one.

"Abernathy, Huberta," called Professor McGonagall.

Hufflepuff

Adams, Geoffrey."

Slytherin

The list continued through all of the first years.

"Mack, Conrad"

Ravenclaw

"Merton, Tallula"

Gryffindor

"That's my girl," shouted Tristan at his baby sister. She looked about the same as Tristan in his first year, but given the way his other sisters, Tara and Tamara now looked, Tallula had nothing to worry about. Tara was a third year and surrounded by boys fighting to get her attention, and fifth year Tamara had a Gryffindor boy's arm place firmly across her shoulders. That is until Tristan gave the boy the look of death.

The list went on and on until McGonagall reached the last name.

"Weasley, William." It was the little red head that had ran into Tristan.

Gryffindor

The Sorting was complete, and all of the first years settled with their houses. The hall was alive with chatter. Then an old silver bearded man with twinkling blue eyes and purple robes stood up, everyone immediately got quiet. Lyric smiled privately, it was her beloved uncle, Albus Dumbledore.

"Students," he began, "this is a very special year for Hogwarts. The apparent defeat of the Dark Lord has left the Wizarding World with a new sense of joy and jubilation."

The students erupted in cheers, though the Slytherin table looked somewhat less thrilled than the rest of the students. Dumbledore raised his hand, and the hall fell silent again. "And though we can be truly grateful for the recent turn of events, we must not forget those that suffered at the hand of such Dark Magic. I can only hope than none among us now could ever consider performing the dark deeds performed by those Dark wizards. My heart goes out to all those here who have lost friends and family. We honor your losses in the highest regards. I am confident that every witch and wizard here today will never lose sight of the magic that binds us all." Again the students cheered. "Now, down to official Hogwarts business. It has been many years since we felt safe here at Hogwarts. I'm sure you older students know about the heightened security measures that were taken. So, this year, I am pleased to announce that we will be reinstating the visits to Hogsmeade for our students in or above their third year."

This announcement got a very large applause from the seven years. The visits to Hogsmeade had been cancelled at the end of their second year, so they had never been able to attend. Finally, their last year at Hogwarts and they would get their chance.

When the noise died down, Dumbledore continued, "You will need permission from your parents of guardians, though. Please use the school owls at your disposal. There are some new faces among our staff this year. As you can see, we have a new Herbology professor. Allow me to introduce Professor Sprout. We have Professor Wendell Ripley taking over the Defense Against the Dark Arts class."

This was no shock; in the seven years that Lyric had been at Hogwarts, there had been five Dark Arts professors. No one lasted long in that position.

Dumbledore continued, "And I regret to inform you that our beloved Potions master, Professor Slughorn, has retired. In his place is Professor Severus Snape," he pointed to the pale, greasy-haired man sitting at his right.

The name Snape echoed in the large hall and fell silent. Then, the silent room fell even quieter. Fear and hatred filled the faces of the students. From all over the hall, whispers of "murderer," "death-eating scum," and "evil" filled the room.

Tristan turned to Lyric, his eyes bugging out of his head. "Your uncle hired a suspected Death-Eater as our new Potions master. Bloody hell, the old man must have finally gone off his rocker."

Lyric would normally hit anyone that criticized her uncle; however, she was also astonished at her uncle's decision. The pandemonium grew. Some students had left their seats and were headed for the door.

Dumbledore pulled out his wand and shouted "Silencio!" across the room. Students immediately shut up, as they found they could no longer open their mouths. Dumbledore took a moment to collect himself, while Snape leered at the students. "There is no reason to fear this man. Charges were never brought against him, and he was never convicted of any crime. He is innocent. I have the utmost confidence that Professor Snape is no more a threat to the safety of Hogwarts than I am. Because I trust him, I ask that you will too."

With that, students found themselves able to speak again, but they also found themselves with nothing to say. Those who had gotten out of their seats, sat back down quietly. They wanted to trust their beloved headmaster, but they also had heard stories about Death-Eaters that still haunted their dreams. The air in the school had definitely sombered a bit, and the students ate dinner with hardly any chatter.

After dinner, the students were asked to retire to their quarters, and they silently followed.

"With me, Gryffindor first years," said Amaryllis as she prepared to lead them to Gryffindor hall. Lyric caught up with her.

"I'm going to see my uncle," said Lyric, "what's the password to Gryffindor?"

"Hookah bar," she replied, "Did you know about the new professor?"

"Amaryllis, you know better than anyone that he doesn't discuss these things with me," Lyric was again annoyed.

"Right, I knew that," she responded. "I'll see you later tonight."

"Yeah," Lyric called out as she made her way to her uncle's office.