The large, empty platters filled with food in the time it took Rose to blink; meat pies, potatoes, vegetables of every imaginable variety were now piled high on every available surface. Rose scanned the hall as she began to eat a buttered roll. Scorpius sat at the Slytherin table with spaces open on both sides of him. He kept his gaze fixed on his plate. It looked like nothing had changed with his housemates over the summer; none of them were interested in fraternizing with Draco Malfoy's son.
The welcome feast only served to make Rose increasingly drowsy as her stomach filled. Albus kept her awake only by kicking her under the table. Rose began to watch the professors at the head table, trying to keep her brain occupied. She watched Professor Slughorn animatedly recounting a story to his peers, who laughed. Perhaps he was telling the story of how Lily had snuck onto the train. People would know soon enough.
Professor McGonagall stood, holding her hands up to the ready students. Louis Weasley, in the middle of a lively conversation with his friends, was the last one left talking. He looked around, confused at the sudden silence.
"Up here, Mr. Weasley," said Professor McGonagall with a slight smile. Louis grinned bashfully and turned to his headmistress. "I have some very important start of term announcements," she continued. "First, I would like to remind first years, as well as other students with particularly... lax memories, that the forest on the Hogwarts grounds is, in fact, forbidden. Students may enter only while accompanied by a teacher for class purposes."
James snorted and began to choke on the pumpkin juice he had been drinking. He didn't need to explain his reaction. What's teacher would be mad enough to hold classes in the Forbidden Forest?
"Now," continued Professor McGonagall, "there is a matter of the utmost importance I must discuss with you all."
Complete silence fell over the room. Rose had only seen the hall this silent once before, during the previous year when the Triwizard Tournament was announced. Professor McGonagall, clearly aware that she had the students' full attention, adjusted her spectacles.
"This year," she said, "Hogwarts will be participating in an innovative new learning experience with a group of Italian witches and wizards. They have been working in their chosen field all their lives, and the Ministry of Magic has accepted their student initiative program for this year. This group will be arriving next month and remaining for the duration of the school year."
The student in the hall were growing restless. Professor McGonagall's announcement wasn't nearly as interesting as they had all hoped. Rose knew she was one of the few still raptly listening to the headmistress.
"These are no ordinary witches and wizards," continued Professor McGonagall. "This year, Hogwarts will play host to the Italian League of Dragon Riders."
One would have thought a Weasley's Wizarding Whizzes firework had gone off in the Great Hall at that moment. Kara Walsh screamed; Cameron Thornton shouted "No way!". Other students made their exclamations or confessed their ignorance in equally loud measures.
Albus looked to Rose for some sort of explanation, but it was James who spoke first.
"Here?" he wheezed, cheeks flushing with excitement. "The Riders - they- they're coming - here?"
Professor McGonagall shot her wand into the air with a bang. The students fell silent as a shower of silver sparks rained down around the headmistress, who was giving them all a stony look.
"I expect that to be the last I have time I have to silence you," said Professor McGonagall sternly. "Now, I expect that you have all hear rumors about this group, so I would like to straighten out a few things before they arrive."
Rose frowned. She hadn't heard anything about a group of wizards riding dragons in Italy. From how James was bouncing up and down on the bench, it was clear that he had, and Rose was unaccustomed to being one-upped by James.
"The League of Dragon Riders comes out of Giorni," said Professor McGonagall. "It is true that they began their project in secret and without the proper approval of various international groups that regulate the handling of dangerous magical creatures. However, our Ministry has been aware of their existence for some time now, and has sent multiple representatives to their training site to make sure that these creatures would not pose a danger to our students. They have been labeled as domesticated by the Italian Ministry."
That part Rose had heard about. Her parents had come home from work together one winter afternoon before Rose had left for Hogwarts. Her mother had been nearly as red as James was now.
"You can't domesticate a dragon!" Hermione had insisted. "Do they not remember the Bulgarian wizard was just mauled by a Horntail?"
"Which Bulgarian?" Ron had asked eagerly.
Hermione had shot an icy glare that wiped the look off his face.
Now, Rose was confused. She had agreed with her mother without much thought. Uncle Charlie had told her some horrifying stories when she was younger, until Hermione found out that they were giving Rose nightmares.
"I would like to remind you all," continued Professor McGonagall, seeing the students shift, "that this is a Ministry-sponsored, Ministry-approved program."
"Is the Ministry trying to kill us?" muttered Albus.
"The program," said Professor McGonagall loudly, trying to close the side conversations, "involves a series of voluntary lessons about dragon physiology and, later in the year, training techniques."
One girl from the Slytherin table laughed loudly, and Professor McGonagall's eyes turned to ice. But Rose noticed that there were people at the Gryffindor table who looked just as amused at the thought of taking voluntary lessons.
"At the end of the spring term," said the headmistress, "there will be four students chosen, one from each house, who have been studying diligently. These four will learn the basics of riding and perform with the Riders in an end-of-term exhibition."
There was no amount of cold glares that could have stifled the uproar this announcement caused. Rose caught Scorpius' gaze from across the room. He seemed to be teetering between terrified and exhilarated.
"We're gonna get to ride dragons?" said James, his eyes as wide as galleons.
Lysander's pale brows were nearly lost in his hairline. "Alright," he said, clearly shocked, "was not expecting that. They're...?" He couldn't even finish his thought.
Professor McGonagall began to speak again, plowing over the student's conversations. The room quickly quieted, all eager to hear what she would say next.
"Interested students are required to have permission forms signed by their parents or guardians. You do not need a permission form to attend lessons, but no one will be considered for the end-of-year exhibition without one. Your prefects will distribute the permission forms, which are due back to your heads of house by Halloween."
Rose found Hagrid's seat at the head table. He was hard to miss, especially now that he wore an enormous grin that threatened to leap from his glowing face.
"More information will be available to all students closer to the Riders' arrival," said Professor McGonagall. "Until then, I advise you to pay attention in all of your lessons. I will have final approval of their exhibition selections, and I won't have it conflicting with your studies. Off to bed, now. Classes begin in the morning."
She clapped her hands, and the prefects hopped to their feet. The Gryffindor prefects beckoned for the students to follow them, then strode away at a brisk pace.
"I still can't believe it," said Albus with wonder. "Dragons? Here? For a year?"
Rose frowned. "You seem awfully excited about this," she said as they fell in with their classmates. "Don't you realize how dangerous this is?"
"Don't be a downer," said James as he came to walk beside them. "The Ministry says they're fine, and they wouldn't let us get hurt."
Rose was tempted to mention the events of the Triwizard Tournament but did not.
Albus' face had fallen. "As long as it doesn't interfere with Quidditch," he said carefully.
James stopped dead in his tracks. Eyes wide, his mouth fell open in shock. Rose giggled and grabbed his sleeve, pulling him forward to keep with the crowd.
"McGonagall didn't say that the season was canceled," she reminded him. "She would have told everyone, like last year."
"Yeah," said James, nodding vigorously. "Yeah, you're right."
They entered the common room to find a mob around the fireplace. The prefects were trapped in the center of the ring, fighting to give permission forms to all the bustling figures around them.
"I'm going in," said James, rolling up his sleeves. "Al, you're in, right?"
Albus looked hesitant but nodded.
"Great," said James. "Rose, you get one, like it or not."
Without giving Rose time to protest, James entered the writhing mass of bodies.
Rose sighed wearily. "I'm off to bed," she told Albus. "I'll see you in the morning, okay?"
"Night," said Albus.
Tia Marsh was the only one in Rose's dormitory, which now had a plaque reading "Second Years" on its door.
"About time someone showed up," said Tia with a friendly grin. "I thought I'd have to pry you out the mob downstairs."
"Not a chance," said Rose, beginning to unpack. "Seems like a terrible idea to me."
Kara Welsh, Mary Deverill, and Loren Nicosa flew through the door, laughing madly. Each girl clutched a slightly-crumpled permission form.
"We got them!" cried Kara, as if Rose and Tia had not yet noticed the forms in their hands. "We got the permission forms!"
"Congratulations," muttered Tia, turning from the girls and rolling her eyes. "I'm all in for the night."
"Me too," chimed in Rose. If they decided to sleep, the other girls would have to be quiet. She decided to do most of her unpacking the next morning and closed the curtains around her bed. A few minutes later, she had tuned out the background noise of the others and was drifting to sleep.
Breakfast brought a flurry of owls in the great Hall. Rose watched as they landed in front of their owners, bearing letters from eager family members and small items they had left behind.
"There's James' owl," said Albus. He had spotted her swooping down with the rest. "He sent her out last night with our forms."
"I'm worried Selena got lost," said Rose, watching James' owl land next to the porridge. "Maybe she didn't know how to find Durmstrang. I should have asked Dmitri how to get an owl there."
James shrugged as he unfurled the forms. "Could have," he said. "Here's your form, Rose."
"Oh," she said, looking at it in surprise. "I didn't- I'm not really interested in the flying bit, just the lessons."
James rolled his eyes. "You're the only one," he said.
One of the school's owls landed before Lysander. He took the letter and gave her an owl treat before sending her off.
"Hardly expected you to join in their madness," said Rose, raising a brow. "Dragon riding? Really?"
"Probably not," said Lysander, unfolding his form. "Good, Mum remembered to sign it. Anyway, I figured I'd rather have it in than not."
Laden with stacks of schedules, the house heads began to go down the four long tables. Professor Evariste shook his head as students attempted to hand in signed permission forms.
"At your first class," he said automatically when James tried to give him his form. "Here are your schedules, now."
"I'm excited to start Astronomy this year," said Rose, noting the midnight lessons on Wednesday nights. "Why didn't we start them last year?"
James shrugged, looking over his schedule.
"We didn't start until second year either," put in Lysander. He had finished reviewing his schedule and was buttering a piece of toast. "I think they took it out of the first your schedule because they didn't want to overload them. Anyway, it gave you time to do Foreign Studies."
"Fair enough," said Rose. "Is it difficult?"
"The class?" said Lysander. "No."
"Staying awake?" said James." Absolutely."
"Hey, we have double Defence Against the Dark Arts on Fridays again," remarked Albus. "And after lunch Wednesday-"
"And first thing Monday morning," interrupted Rose. "Beats Herbology."
The meal ended and Rose and Albus split off from James and Lysander, who were off to Care of Magical Creatures. Rose stopped to scan the Entrance Hall as all the students headed for their first classes of the year.
"Looking for someone?" said a voice from behind her. It was Scorpius, wearing a playful smile. "Still have Defense with me?"
"If you're heading there now, then yes," said Rose.
They all began the trip to the third floor.
"So that's the cousin of yours," began Scorpius. "Fred, was it?"
"Yes," confirmed Rose. "First Weasley of our generation to be a Hufflepuff. Actually, I'm not sure if there's ever been a Weasley in Hufflepuff. I'll have to ask Dad."
Scorpius looked like he had something to say, but he stopped himself just in time. Instead, he merely said, "Ah," and left it at that.
Professor Evariste was beaming when they arrived, clearly thrilled to be starting a new year. "I'm glad to have all of you back," he said enthusiastically. "Even you, Mr. Leach. Don't think I didn't hear about you trying to switch out of my class."
The students chuckled good-naturedly- well, some more good-naturedly than others. Odessa Blackwell and Tomasa Kerpbow snickered nastily in a corner, but no one paid much attention to the pair.
"This year," continued Professor Evariste, "we will be starting off with binding spells. As these have some associated risks, we will be doing book work for the first week. Next week we'll start some discussions, then we'll see about a practical next Friday. How does that sound?"
Albus made a face at the prospect of the book work, but Rose was excited. The rest of the hour flew by as she read the chapter on binding spells. The book was full of pictures of witches being bound by their hair and wizards tied up their socks. She had just begun reading about specific knot variations when the bell rang.
"I think going to stop by the library before lunch," she told Albus and Scorpius as she stowed her book in her bag. "I want to see if they have anything on these Riders. Interested?"
"I'll tag along" said Scorpius. "I don't know about you, but I'm excited."
Albus rolled his eyes. "Don't get her started," he begged Scorpius. "Please."
Rose sighed, exasperated. "Let's go History of Magic," she said, tugging on Albus his sleeve. "Scorpius, I'll meet you at the library."
The rest of the morning seems to drag by. Rose struggled to focus on History of Magic and eventually gave up. She had realized partway through her first year that everything she needed to know for her exams could be found in her textbook. The classtime was much more productively spent doing other assignments. Professor Binns' voice droned on in the background as she paged through more illustrations of binding spells. She didn't have that luxury in Charms, which was an incredibly boring review of what they had done the year before. Finally, the bell rang, dismissing them for lunch.
"I'll be there in a bit," Rose told Albus, who had already packed his bag and was heading for the classroom door.
"Sure," he called over his shoulder, obviously distracted.
Scorpius was already in the library when Rose arrived, leaning against one of the study tables.
"Madame Abbott's getting a few books out," he said, looking embarrassed. "I couldn't reach, and nearly brought the whole row down when I tried my wand."
"Mister Malfoy?" called Madame Abbott from deeper within the library. "Mister Malfoy, are you here?"
Scorpius and Rose followed the sound of Madame Abbott's voice down a row and around a corner. She was setting a stack of books on a table.
"There you are," she said. "Good morning, Miss Weasley. Now, these are some of the books we have on dragons. We don't have any specifically on the Dragon Riders, but I found one about an Armenian wizard whose life goal was to ride a dragon."
Rose nodded and examined the pile of books. She and Scorpius each chose two, thanked Madame Abbott, and left the library.
"Do you mind stopping by Evariste's room?" asked Rose. "I was reading more in Binns' class and I have a quick question."
Scorpius shrugged. "Sure. I mean, who needs lunch?"
They continued to talk until they reached the third floor. They were walking down an empty corridor when Rose to stopped, holding arm out for Scorpius to do the same.
"What?" he said. Rose shushed him, holding a finger to her lips. Loud female laughter was coming from the girls bathroom at the end of the corridor.
"That's Moaning Myrtle's bathroom," Rose told Scorpius quietly. "Why on earth would she be laughing?"
Moaning Myrtle was one of the Hogwarts ghosts who Rose had grown up hearing stories about. She had only seen her once the year before, and the sniffling ghost had seemed horrified that one of the students had seen her. She certainly wasn't the type to laugh, unless something in her afterlife had undergone a drastic change.
"Well, let's find out," said Scorpius.
"I'm not sure if we should," said Rose, but Scorpius had already started down the corridor. Rose followed him, still hissing warnings.
"It'll be fine," muttered Scorpius as they reached the door to the lavatory. "Just put the books down over here. She's a ghost, remember?"
Sighing, Rose left the books stacked against the wall. "If those disappear, Madame Abbott will have our heads," she warned. Ignoring her, Scorpius opened the door.
As Rose stepped through the doorway, she heard a quiet hiss, like air being let out of the balloon. The next thing she knew, she was encased in a bubble of light. She went to draw her wand and found she could not move. A bang, then Scorpius shouted from somewhere beside her.
They were under attack.