A/N: Thank you for reading so far! I really hope you've been enjoying the story as I've been loving writing it! :)

"Firs' years! Firs' years over 'ere!" Instantly recognisable, the voice of Rubeus Hagrid boomed over the chatter of the crowd as they departed in groups from the train. "Firs' years!"

"Hi Hagrid!" Hermione called across the small gaggle of timid first years who were gathering around him, most of them barely coming up to his waist. Hagrid looked over the group and spotted Hermione, he beamed at her and Hermione suddenly felt much more at home; ready to be back at Hogwarts.

"'Ello there Hermione!" He called, "See you at the feast!" Buffeted by the crowd of students, Hermione followed along behind Ginny, Neville and Luna towards the coaches; on approach to the queue waiting for carriages, Hermione gasped. Black-skinned, horse-like creatures with leathery wings were fastened into the shafts of the coaches: thestrals… Hermione had never seen them before, and despite having read all about them, there was something intensely eerie about their luminescent white eyes shining in the dark. Ginny, too, had made a convulsive twitch as they were approached by one of the carriages.

"Can you see them now?" Luna asked quietly, both Hermione and Ginny nodded, although Hermione didn't take her eyes off them. "They're quite gentle really…" Luna explained, stretching out her hand and patting the nose of the thestral, which closed its eyes lazily, as though enjoying the sensation. "See?"

"I had forgotten about the thestrals…" Hermione muttered, once they had climbed into one of the coaches and it had started its way up towards Hogwarts castle. "That more of us would be able to see them now…" Ginny had gone very quiet and was staring at her lap – Hermione wondered whether she was thinking about Fred. ..

Look at the castle!" Neville distracted them from thought about the thestrals; he had been leaning out the small window and staring up at Hogwarts." Look at all the repairs!"

It was the case that Hogwarts had been damaged seriously during the battle of Hogwarts, but Hermione had expected that they would just repair it back to what it had looked like. However, the closer they got to the castle, the more obvious were the repairs that had been done. Where huge chunks of stone wall had been blasted away, what looked like transparent glass material had been used in the repairs…

"Wow…" Ginny breathed, she too was hanging out of the carriage window to look at Hogwarts; the moon and sky behind the castle were shining through the glass sections of the buildings. "It looks amazing!"

Getting out of the carriages at the front of the castle, all four of them stared up at Hogwarts castle, the illuminated windows shone yellow and echoed the stars overhead. Hermione spotted Draco Malfoy climbing out of a carriage which had just pulled up behind them; he was on his own and barely glanced up at the castle before rushing inside.

The Great Hall was very different from the last time Hermione had been in it; the four house tables were laid out as they usually were, and long banners displaying all of the houses' emblems were hanging above the tables. There was an uncoiling sensation inside of Hermione, all of her fears and preoccupations that she had been aware of with coming back to school were melting away now she was here.

"I'll see you guys later," Luna bid farewell at the entrance of the Great Hall and drifted off towards the Ravenclaw table.

"Shall we get seats quite near the front?" Ginny suggested, "I want to see the sorting."

Sitting as far down the table, while still leaving space for the new first years, the three of them were able to get a good view of the other three house tables, and the staff table. Professor Minerva McGonagall was positioned in the centre of the staff table, in the seat that had been, for years previously, Albus Dumbledore's. Headstrong and intelligent, Minerva McGonagall seemed to be the perfect choice to lead Hogwarts back to what it had once been, and what it would be again. No one could claim that she was under qualified, she had been teaching at Hogwarts for over thirty years, stepped in for Dumbledore in times when he was away from the castle, dealt with individuals like Dolores Umbridge, and fought in the war against Voldemort. Hermione had no doubt that she would be a wonderful headmistress, The chatter in the hall was loud as all the returning students caught up with their friends, waiting for the sorting to begin; Hermione knew that it would be soon when she spotted Hagrid sidling into the hall and taking his seat at the staff table. The doors to the Great Hall swung open, and the chatter from the existing students dropped almost instantly as Professor Flitwick led the long line of scared looking first years up to the front. The line appeared to be particularly long, and there were several individuals throughout the line who looked like they were older than eleven.

"That's a huge year…" Ginny whispered to Neville and Hermione, her eyes following the progression of the line filtering down to the front.

"Perhaps McGonagall has invited the muggle borns who were meant to start last year…" Hermione suggested lowly, as the last of the new students lined up at the front.

"Oh…" Ginny breathed softly, her eyes widening as though recognition had just shot through her.

Professor Flitwick had just placed the small, three legged stool on the raised platform where the staff table was situated, and rested the sorting hat on top of it:

'From ages past the sorting hat has been.

And far too many fights and trials has it then seen;

Through all those years it's been my job to divide you house by house,

But recent times have brought more chance and division is now false.

For Slytherin, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw are to be united again as one,

Here a new era of friendship and companionship has begun.

So no longer will each house be singe,

For together we are strong;

I leave you now with a new vision for the future,

Of hope, and caring nurture.'

The hat fell silent, and after a few infinitesimal moments in which everyone realised it was done, the hall broke out in applause.

"That was shorter than usual…" Ginny said, through the applause from the surrounding students.

"I guess it doesn't have much to warn us about now that Voldemort has gone…." Neville commented, shrugging his shoulders as the clapping faded to a stop. "Now that the houses aren't being divided by anything…"

"I wonder if the Slytherins will get that message…" Ginny wondered aloud to the two of them; Hermione cast a glance across to the Slytherin table which was furthest away from the Gryffindor one. Once again, her eyes fixed on Malfoy, who was sitting pretty far up the table, and wasn't interacting with anyone around him.

The sorting had already begun, and Hermione, Neville and Ginny watched intently as Professor Flitwick called out names. 'Barr, Violet' became the first of the year to be sorted into Gryffindor and the three of them clapped along with the rest of the table as the tall, black haired girl stumbled towards the table and sat at the empty seat across from them. The sorting took longer with the increased numbers, but finally, when it was finished, Professor McGonagall got to her feet to address the students:

"Welcome to Hogwarts!" Her voice rang out, crisp and sharp throughout the hall. "I bid that you have all travelled far, and are now in need of some sustenance – so enjoy!" She sat down, and very suddenly there was food on the platters which had been laid out on all of the tables. It was thrilling to see the startled expressions on the faces of the first years, who had never witnessed such an event as this before.

Once the feast was finished, and everyone had had their gill of food, the remaining extras vanished from their plates and left them gleaming. Professor McGonagall again stood before the students once more:

"I presume that you have had a pleasant meal; now before you head to bed, I have a few announcements to make. As many of you know our world is no longer under threat from Lord Voldemort…" She was interrupted at this point by a spontaneous round of applause which broke out among the students, a few people even cheered; Hermione could see baffled expressions on several of the first year's faces, which she took to mean that they were muggle borns. Professor McGonagall smiled briefly and continued: "Our world has changed more than ever before, and I want that change to begin from inside Hogwarts. From now on, except at feast meals, students are encouraged to sit at different tables for breakfast, lunch and dinner – intermingle within the houses, sit within friends and make new friends. The houses in Hogwarts shouldn't remain divided; we are all on the same side…" Her words appeared to be particularly emphasized towards the Slytherin students. "First years this year are a combination of the intake of this year, and those students who should have started last year, and I hope you will all feel welcome in the school and its community." Her eyes were sweeping around the great hall at the students. "And lastly a few housekeeping rules: no one besides the prefect team should be out of their house common room after 9:30 in the evening; the forbidden forest is out of bounds unless you are unaccompanied by a teacher; and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask your heads of house or a teacher. Now that that is cleared up: goodnight, sleep well and be rested before classes tomorrow."

A great scraping noise was omitted from the benches as they were pushed back from the tables and the hundreds of Hogwarts students poured out of the Great Hall towards their respective dormitories. Hermione walked along with Neville and Ginny, chatting about McGonagall's speech at the end of the feast.

"I thought the first year looked bigger than usual." Ginny was saying. "So McGonagall's invited all the muggle borns who didn't get to come last year."

"It's really good of her." Neville was nodding. "I can't imagine how sad I would have been to receive a letter from Hogwarts and then not be able to come…"

"They're probably entering the Wizarding World at the best time…" Hermione agreed, "No Voldemort, people pushing for equal rights for muggle borns."

"It's going to be interesting now that we don't have to stick to our own house tables during the week, won't it?" Ginny said. "It means we'll be able to sit with Luna!"

"I think it's a really nice idea, to get all the houses cooperating together." Hermione replied, for some reason her mind flicked back to Malfoy – who had been sitting alone, quite clearly being shunned by other students. Hermione wondered whether his parent's involvement in the War had tarnished people's feelings towards him…

As Hermione climbed into her four poster bed, she felt very comforted; her first evening back at Hogwarts had confirmed to her that she had made the correct choice in coming back to school… The school year ahead would be one of change that she would be able to help with… and not once during the course of the evening, had she missed Ron, or regretted her decision… she knew it was right!

A/N: Thanks for reading, I'd really love to know what you think/feel about this story so far! :)