Chapter 2
The feast in the great hall to celebrate the new school year was no different to any other – a horde of frightened first years needed to be sorted, the headmaster stood and said a few words, and each student and staff member in the hall ate to their heart's content.
"Where do you think Snape is tonight?" Ron asked Harry across the table.
"Oh really Ronald, we haven't even started classes yet and you're already suspicious of him?" laughed Hermione,
"C'mon Hermione the man's evil! You know it and I know it!" Demanded Ron.
"And yet he hasn't even done anything to give you that impression,"
"He doesn't need to – it's just a natural instinct of mine to know when someone can't be trusted"
"Oh yeah, so you knew who Scabbers really was all along?"
"Guys – will you give it a rest!" Ordered Harry "Ron, it doesn't matter if Snape isn't here – personally I'd take it as a compliment"
"Yeah well at least you can distinguish his disappearance as a good thing" muttered Ron under his breath. As if just on time, Severus Snape walked in a side door and sat at the staff table – looking over the Slytherin table, and glancing at the other three house tables in disgust. Luckily, dessert had started, so Ron was occupied for the time being, and Hermione took her chance to peek over at Snape – secretly thanking him for her victory.
Even after his dessert, Ron had appeared to go quiet, so Hermione left him and Harry to help the first years find their way around the castle. This year didn't seem like it would be any different to the years beforehand. The sorting and feast still went the same way, the houses were already in competition with each other for the house cup, quidditch was still the main topic for conversation, and Ron and Harry still detested Snape's existence, and not surprisingly, he theirs. Yep, Hermione was sure that this year would be much the same as every year had been since she'd discovered she was a witch, except, perhaps she anticipated that there wouldn't be so much drama to disrupt her from her NEWTS. How very wrong she was.