Chapter Three: An Interference at Hogwarts

"I'll meet you on the other side, okay Liz?" I said, barely having to bend down to reach my sister's height. She'd been feeling suffocated by me recently, so I decided to let go and feel free having her find a compartment with Ginny.

Fred and I ran through the barrier at nine and three quarters, and scurried through the cars to find the compartment where George and Katie were residing – they were still going strong. Upon glancing quickly through every window we passed, Fred came across George in a compartment holding Harry, Ron and Hermione, and we decided to slip into that one.

"George, where's Katie?" Fred asked as he plopped down next to his twin and me, next to Harry.

"Oh, she's with Angelina and Alicia."

After spending the rest of the summer with the Weasleys, Harry and Hermione at twelve Grimmauld, I didn't have many new topics to bring up, but I knew there was one thing I wasn't sure about. "Hey, Harry, why'd you end up going to the Ministry with Mr. Weasley that day?"

"Oh, the story hasn't made its way around to you yet?"

With Fred and George as my primary sources of information about Hogwarts, I was often left out of Harry and Hermione's business. "Nope, not yet. Would you like to fill me in?"

"I hate telling this story over and over."

"You don't have to..."

"No, it's fine." Harry made sure everyone else was deep in conversation before leaning in closer to me and explaining just what had happened. "I live with my aunt and uncle, and one day my cousin and I were out, and we were attacked by Dementors."

"Aren't they muggles? Why were Dementors in a muggle suburb?"

"Exactly." Harry sighed. "Anyway, I had to use a Patronus to stop them, and because I'm underage and used magic in the presence of a muggle," he mocked a more sophisticated, higher class, wizard, "I almost got expelled from Hogwarts."

"Expelled? That's mad! They can't expel you for that!"

"They're not."

"Well of course not, you're on the train, aren't you? So, what happened?"

"Dumbledore showed up and saved my arse."

I grinned and patted Harry on the back. "Good on you, mate. I knew you were the Headmaster's favourite for a reason."

He chuckled along with me. "Well, you know, I didn't..."

"Hiya, everyone." The voice that had interrupted Harry's made me beam from ear to ear.

"Neville!" I exclaimed, jumping up like a Chocolate Frog from my seat and wrapping my arms around his neck. "How are you?"

He hesitantly hugged back, making everyone else in the compartment laugh. "I've been fine, thanks..."

Once I noticed how close we were to arriving at the Hogsmeade station, I'd changed into my uniform. It was odd, but I felt more comfortable in my pleated kilt, itchy sweater vest, and black robes than I had the previous year, and surprisingly, even more than the clothes I'd been wearing all summer. It was as though the family I'd sorely missed for two months had gladly accepted me back into their lives.

"Come on, Sara!" Fred's voice called. I had been walking through the train with Neville, talking about summer and hadn't realized that Fred, George and Katie were already making their way across the platform. That month last year when everyone refused to speak to me under the belief that I was cheating on Fred with Cedric, he was the only one who knew I wasn't lying and spent the whole month with me. It had brought me and Neville a lot closer.

"Coming!" I shouted after him. "I'll see you at supper, Neville."

"Bye!"

We'd clambered into a carriage for four – Fred, George, Katie and I – and allowed it to pull us up to the castle's front door. Regardless of all of the terrible things I'd experienced at Hogwarts the previous year, the number of breathtaking experiences was twice as many, and I was extremely happy to be back.

Unlike most of the seventh years that would be sitting down for the Sorting Ceremony that night, I would be the only one who would be witnessing it for the first time. Yes, that's right, seventh year – my last year of school. Just the thought of being out in the working world made me squirm... oh, in a good way, don't get me wrong. It was just nerve-wracking.

I soon came to realize that the Sorting Ceremony was really boring if you weren't subjected to being a part of it. Names were called. People cheered. I guess, seeing as how I had only been in Hogwarts a year, it just didn't seem as exciting as it was for people who understood the tradition more thoroughly.

Once Dumbledore got up to say a few words before we started eating, I knew I was to pay attention.

"Welcome back for another year at Hogwarts!" he greeted enthusiastically. "First things first, I would like to introduce you to two new changes in staffing: Professor Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank who is temporarily taking the Care of Magical Creatures position for Professor Hagrid." At the sound of this statement, Harry, Ron and Hermione all looked at each other with furrowed brows mouthing 'Where's Hagrid?' just before Dumbledore continued. "Also, taking the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts is Professor Dolores Umbridge."

Harry cocked his head and turned in to face the rest of the Gryffindors in our group. "She was at my hearing... she works for Fudge."

Completely ignoring the fact that Dumbledore was not yet finished his speech, Umbridge got up from her seat at the Head Table and made her way to his podium. She was a short, plump witch dressed all in pink. "Thank you, Professor Dumbledore. I am so excited to meet you all, and it is such a pleasure to be here with all your bright, happy faces smiling up at me. I hope we will be very good friends."

Her condescending tone made George scoff to my left. "Less likely."

"While every Headmaster has added something truly amazing to this historic school, the Ministry disbelieves in progress for the sake of progress; we should perfect what can be perfected." This did not sound like a motivational speech at all, but a way of controlling us.

Dumbledore began an applause for Umbridge as she went back to her seat, and he continued with his own, that somehow lost all importance. "What the bloody hell just happened?" Ron asked, making the group around him chuckle uneasily.

Hermione sighed. "The Ministry is interfering at Hogwarts."

"But why?" I'd never felt so out of the loop before, but I would never know if I never asked.

Hermione, who sat across from me, leaned in so our noses practically touched. "Fudge doesn't believe You-Know-Who is back." She spoke barely above a whisper even at our distance; I struggled to hear her so I focused on the lip-reading tactic. "He's putting it out there that Harry and Dumbledore are nutters and they're lying about the whole thing!"

"Why wouldn't he believe Dumbledore, though?"

"He's mad. He recognizes signs from the last time he was in power, and refuses to see them again."

I leaned back on the bench and sighed. "This is absolute madness."

Fred, George, Katie and I had gotten to the empty common room with full bellies before the rest of our friends, so we landed on the sofa and waited for them to arrive. "I can't believe this is already happening." Katie sighed and fell back onto George's chest. She continued to vent as he wrapped a section of her dirty blonde hair around his forefinger. "I knew things would start to go mad, but I didn't think it would happen the night we got back."

"I just hope this doesn't get everyone in trouble." Fred expressed, stretching his arm over my shoulder. "I mean, if there was another war, I would be one of the first to jump in and fight, but I'd hate to see anyone get hurt."

"Double-edged sword." I looked at him and sighed. "If there was a war, I'd fight, too."

"Would you?" George asked, obviously surprised at my bravery.

"I have friends, family and an amazing boyfriend to live for, and I'd fight like hell to keep them."