So… here's where the story really takes off
For reviewing, thanks to: Adora81, XxX Fred Weasley's Wife XxX, Oogie, the Anonymous Reviewer, and rowellylovesgryffindor
Disclaimer: I only own Mia and blah, blah, blah…
Chapter 2: The Feast and The Speech
Mia, Fred and George shuffled into the Great Hall and sat down at the Gryffindor table, Mia and George next to each other with Fred opposite them. "New Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher… new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher… new Defence Against the Dark Arts te-" Mia stopped as her eyes landed on a woman with a pink cardigan, a pink hat and toad like face. "I'm guessing that's her…"
"Her?" Fred asked, looking for the woman.
"Hes, Fred. Her," Mia replied, rolling her eyes.
The next minute, Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet were sliding into seats either side of Fred, while Katie Bell sat down next to Mia. Angelina was grinning broadly.
"Guess what?" she said, excited.
"Hello?" Mia said.
"Oh, hi. Guess what?"
"What?"
"I'm Quidditch Captain!" Angelina sang. The twins stared at her for a second while Mia grinned and congratulated her.
"So… that means you're in charge of us during Quidditch practice?" Fred said.
"Yes, Fred. That is generally what a captain does."
At the front of the Hall, the double doors flew open and the group of First Years entered the Hall, looking pale and scared. "I swear they're shorter then last years!" Mia muttered to George. McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on the stool and most of the First Years stared at it. The rip that acted as its mouth opened:
In times of old when I was new
And Hogwarts barely started
The founders of our noble school
Thought never to be parted
United by a common goal,
They had the selfsame yearning,
To make the world's best magic school
And pass along their learning.
"Together we will build and teach!"
The four good friends decided
And never did they dream that they
Might some day be divided,
For were there such friends anywhere
As Slytherin and Gryffindor?
Unless it was the second pair
Of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw?
So how could it have gone so wrong?
How could such friendships fail?
Why, I was there and so can tell
The whole sad, sorry tale.
Said Slytherin, "We'll teach just those
Whose ancestry is purest."
Said Ravenclaw, "We'll teach those whose
Intelligence is surest."
Said Gryffindor, "We'll teach all those
With brave deeds to their name,"
Said Hufflepuff, "I'll teach the lot,
And treat them just the same."
These differences caused little strife
When first they came to light,
For each of the four founders had
A house in which they might
Take only those they wanted, so,
For instance, Slytherin
Took only pure-blood wizards
Of great cunning, just like him,
And only those of sharpest mind
Were taught by Ravenclaw
While the bravest and the boldest
Went to daring Gryffindor.
Good Hufflepuff, she took the rest,
And taught them all she knew,
Thus the houses and their founders
Retained friendships firm and true.
So Hogwarts worked in harmony
For several happy years,
But then discord crept among us
Feeding on our faults and fears.
The houses that, like pillars four,
Had once held up our school,
Now turned upon each other and,
Divided, sought to rule.
And for a while it seemed the school
Must meet an early end,
What with duelling and with fighting
And the clash of friend on friend
And at last there came a morning
When old Slytherin departed
And though the fighting then died out
He left us quite downhearted.
And never since the founders four
Were whittled down to three
Have the houses been united
As they once were meant to be.
And now the Sorting Hat is here
And you all know the score:
I sort you into houses
Because that is what I'm for,
But this year I'll go further,
Listen closely to my song:
Though condemned I am to split you
Still I worry that it's wrong,
Though I must fulfil my duty
And must quarter every year
Still I wonder whether Sorting
May not bring the end I fear.
Oh, know the perils, read the signs,
The warning history shows,
For our Hogwarts is in danger
From external, deadly foes
And we must unite inside her
Or we'll crumble from within
I have told you, I have warned you,
Let the Sorting now begin.
Mia started to clap slowly along with the rest of the people in the Hall. "'For our Hogwarts is in danger'?" she asked, slowly letting her hands fall to the table.
"'From external deadly foes'…" Angelina continued.
"D'ya reckon that's-?" Alicia started.
"The Death Easters," finished Fred.
"And You-Know-Who," said George.
"Even the Sorting Hat believes he's back," Katie muttered. They all looked at each other for a second, before McGonagall called out the first name
"Abercrombie, Euan," she called, and a tiny boy sat on the stool.
"Gryffindor!" the Hat shouted, and the whole of the table burst into applause. Finally, the last student was Sorted into Hufflepuff, and Dumbledore stood up. Mia started tapping impatiently on her plate, telling him to hurry up in her mind so she could eat.
"To our newcomers, welcome! To our old hands - welcome back! There is a time for speech-making, but this is not it. Tuck in!" the plates along the middle of the table filled with food, and Mia grinned, stabbing a piece of chicken with her fork.
They forgot about the Sorting Hat's song while they were eating. Angelina started going through a list of people who she hoped would turn up for the Quidditch tryouts, seeing as they needed a new Keeper. "Maybe you could try, Mia," suggested Katie, "I mean, your friends with the captain, I'm sure she could, er, pull a few strings."
"Um… no, I don't think so…"
"Aw, why?" Alicia asked.
"Have you seen me fly?" Mia asked.
"Yes," Fred replied, "you're terrible."
"Ok, I'm not terrible," she said, indignantly, "but I'm not the best. There's definitely someone here better then me." Alicia opened her mouth, but didn't say anything as the bits of desserts left on the plates disappeared and Dumbledore stood up.
"Well, now that we are all digesting another magnificent feast," he started, "I beg a few moments of your attention for the usual start-of-term notices: First-years ought to know that the Forest in the grounds is out-of-bounds to students - and a few of our older students ought to know by now, too. Mr Filch, the caretaker, has asked me, for what he tells me is the four-hundred-and-sixty-second time, to remind you all that magic is not permitted in corridors between classes, nor are a number of other things, all of which can be checked on the extensive list now fastened to Mr Filch's office door."
"Yeah, like anyone would want to read that," Fred muttered.
"Even if they did," Mia replied, "they wouldn't be able to. Filch'd hang anyone who went anywhere near his office!"
Up the front, Dumbledore was introducing the new professors. "-We are very pleased to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank, who will be taking Care of Magical Creatures lessons; we are also delighted to introduce Professor Umbridge, our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."
"Told ya it was her!" Mia smirked at Fred as they clapped politely for the teachers.
Dumbledore continued, "Tryouts for the house Quidditch teams will take place on the-" up the front, Umbridge stood up, not really looking any taller then she did then when she was sitting down. She was smiling sweetly, stretching the skin on her face. Dumbledore stared for just a second, then sat down. The other professors held expressions of surprise on their face, and all around the Hall, the students were staring at Umbridge, as if she was crazy.
"Thank you, Headmaster- for those kind words of welcome," Umbridge said in a high, girly voice that reflected the clothes she wore, but not her face.
"Hem, hem," she gave a fake cough, "Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say! And to see such happy, little faces looking up at me!" all around the Hall, nobody was smiling. Mia looked ahead at the short woman clad in pink with her eyebrows raised.
"I am very much looking forward to getting to know you all, and I'm sure we'll be very good friends!"
"Whatever you say," Fred muttered under his breath.
Umbridge cleared her throat again with that little fake cough, and continued, this time in a business-like drone.
"The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance," she said, looking around the Hall, "The rare gifts with which you were born may come to nothing if not nurtured and honed by careful instruction. The ancient skills unique to the wizarding community must be passed down the generations lest we lose them for ever. The treasure trove of magical knowledge amassed by our ancestors must be guarded, replenished and polished by those who have been called to the noble profession of teaching."
Mia blinked once, then started to look around the Hall. The enchanted ceiling was black, without stars. Maybe they were covered with clouds? Around the Hall, other students' attention was flowing away from Umbridge as well.
"Every headmaster and headmistress of Hogwarts has brought something new to the weighty task of governing this historic school," Umbridge continued "and that is as it should be, for without progress there will be stagnation and decay. There again, progress, for progress's sake, must be discouraged, for our tried and tested traditions often require no tinkering. A balance, then, between old and new, between permanence and change, between tradition and innovation."
Behind her, George started to trace a pattern between her shoulder blades, dragging his finger lightly across her back. A few students around the Hall were whispering to each other, others were staring glassy-eyed at Umbridge, intent on at least giving the impression that they were listening to her. A girl with blonde hair sitting at the Ravenclaw table was reading a magazine. The only people in the Hall who were actually listening to Umbridge were Dumbledore, a few other teachers, and Hermione.
Umbridge was either oblivious to the fact that nobody paying her any attention, or pretended to be. Still droning on, she said, "Some changes will be for the better, while others will come, in the fullness of time, to be recognised as errors of judgement. Meanwhile, some old habits will be retained, and rightly so, whereas others, outmoded and outworn, must be abandoned. Let us move forward, then, into a new era of openness, effectiveness and accountability, intent on preserving what ought to be preserved, perfecting what needs to be perfected, and pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited." Finally, she sat down, and Mia snapped her head back up as Dumbledore started clapping. "huh, what? Oh, right…" Mia boredly brought her hands together twice before the short applause died out.
"Thank you very much, Professor Umbridge, that was most illuminating," Dumbledore said as he stood up again. "Now, as I was saying, Quidditch tryouts will be held within the next week…"
Down the table, Harry, Ron and Hermione were having a whispered conversation, but every other student in that Hall were silent and seemed to have turned their full attention to Dumbledore. Though George still traced his finger across Mia's back.
Angelina, Katie, Alicia, George, Mia and Fred entered the common room a little after the rest of the Gryffindor. There was a few students still in there, a couple first years still staring with wonder around the room, and a fourth year searching one of the corners for something.
Angelina, Alicia and Katie headed up to bed. George was about to follow his brother up the stairs towards the boys' dormitory when Mia grabbed his hand and tugged him back. He looked down at her confused for a second and she reached up, pressing her lips to his, slipping her arms around his neck. When she pulled back, she smiled coyly. "Night," she told him, turning and running towards the dormitory. Before she turned the corner, she looked back and smiled again, winking at him.
So… how was that? It seemed alright to me…
Right… well… I don't actually have much to say here… other then…
Please review! (Oh, c'mon, you knew it was coming!)