"How did you do it?" Bella's voice was petulant, and Sirius, who'd done his best to ignore her on his other shifts in Azkaban, found himself looking at her. Marlene hovered behind him, eyes narrowed, and fixed on his cousin. She'd been pretty once, in a dark sort of way, but Azkaban had long since taken her beauty and warped it. If Sirius had to find a word to describe his cousin now, it'd probably be thin, or haunted.
That said, Bella had been in prison for nearly eleven years, and seemed more like her old self than Peter, who'd only done a few years so far. Sirius couldn't help but wonder what her coping mechanism was; after the things she'd done, she shouldn't have been able to last this long, and still hold a coherent conversation.
"Well?" She tapped her grubby, bare foot on the floor of her cell.
"Do what?" Sirius asked.
"Ruin my nephew," she said, and pouted at him. "Cissy says Draco's a Gryffindor." Sirius didn't think she could have said mudblood with any more disdain than she'd just used.
"We can't all be Death Eaters," Sirius told her. "There've got to be a few decent members of every family." Bella curled her lip.
"Decent, Sirius?" she cackled. "Auntie Wal would be rolling in her grave if she could see you now; a filthy, blood traitor Auror, raising that abomination you call a godson." After looking at the utter loathing on her face, Sirius promised himself he would do everything he could to make sure Harry never had to meet Bella. "I suppose you're back with this slag, too?" Marlene folded her arms. There was nothing on her face but scorn, and Bella, who seemed to have wanted a response, looked disappointed. "Or perhaps that beast of yours? You know the one I mean; Greyback's little friend. Either way, it's disgusting."
"Think what you want," Sirius said, shrugging. "It's been a long time since we last spoke, so I'll forgive you for forgetting that I genuinely don't care for your opinion at all." Again, Bella looked disappointed; no doubt she'd been wanting news, even if it was just from Sirius. News was hard to come by in Azkaban, and fuel for hours and hours of thought. Sirius didn't feel any desire to offer her that, if he could help it. She'd have to wait for Narcissa's next visit.
Bella was silent after that, and Sirius took the chance to walk away. A pair of dementors were lingering at the end of the corridor, but Sirius gave Padfoot a happy memory (or rather, a happy expectation; that he'd get to talk to Harry and Remus when this was all over) and walked on, with Marlene at his side.
Each year they climb upon my stool,
Nervous and young and only eleven,
Welcome, young first years, to Hogwarts school!
Introductions first, yes, we'll start with that,
I am the original and the only;
I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat!
The Founders, in their wisdom, left me to serve;
My job's to sing, then sit and listen,
And then to put you in the House you deserve!
For example, if you're bold and born of fire,
Then to Gryffindor you'll go,
To have adventures and lend a wand, when times are dark and dire.
If that's not right, perhaps you're of earth,
And belong in kind Hufflepuff,
Where you value dedication, teamwork, and people's true worth.
Or if you're full of dreams and water's friend,
Then off to Slytherin with you,
And on your cunning and practicality, we always can depend.
And if still none of those quite seem to fit,
Then you're with air in Ravenclaw,
Clever and calm, and ready to learn all the teachers permit
So think a thought and through I'll comb,
I'll check your heart and mind,
And together, we'll decide: will Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw or Slytherin be your new home?
"Go," Harry whispered, nudging Ron into the Great Hall. Under the cover of applause for the Sorting Hat's song, they were able to reach Gryffindor table without drawing too much attention to themselves; Draco and Hermione had saved a small amount of bench-space that they were able to squeeze into. Fred whispered something, but Ron shook his head at him.
Hermione seemed to be trying to ask a thousand questions all at once with her eyes – the result was a very, very odd facial expression – and Draco was staring at Snape, who, along with Lockhart, had just reached the staff table with much less fanfare than Lockhart had probably hoped for.
Snape had deposited him in a chair at the very end of the table, beside the teacher with big hair and glasses that Harry didn't know, and Snape had claimed his seat beside McGonagall. Harry scanned the table and was disturbed to find two things; one, that Moony wasn't there, and two, that now that Snape and Lockhart had arrived, that all of the staff chairs had been filled.
McGonagall caught Harry's eye for the briefest moment – probably just to unnerve him and let him know that she'd noticed them sneaking in – and then read the first name on her list of first years.
"Well?" Hermione hissed. Draco was watching the first years, but Harry could tell he was listening too.
"Long story," Ron muttered back. "We'll tell you over dinner."
"You're just lucky you made it in time," Draco said, out of the side of his mouth, as a tiny boy in too-big robes bounced up to the Hat and jammed it onto his head. "She-Weasley would've killed you if you'd missed her Sorting." He nodded at the mob of first years, where Harry could see Ginny's bright hair. She turned, spotted him and Ron and looked a tiny bit calmer.
"Good luck," Harry mouthed, and she smiled nervously at him, then turned to listen to something a blond girl was saying.
Hermione nudged him, and gave him a pointed look; Harry started to clap as the tiny boy hopped off the stool and made his way over to the Gryffindor table. He sat next to Neville, who patted him on the back, and grinned around at them all. Then, his eyes grew very round.
"You-"
"Quiet until the Sorting is over, please," Harry heard Percy whisper, from Neville's other side. The boy bobbed his head, and fell silent, but his eyes were fixed, rather unnervingly, on Harry.
Jack Entwhistle and Madeline Gnoller both went to Hufflepuff, and Astoria Greengrass went to Slytherin, while her sister – or twin, Harry wasn't sure – went to Ravenclaw. Draco looked thoughtful, but clapped more genuinely for those two than he had for the other first years. Harry wondered if he knew them. Then, Gryffindor gained a few new members; Andrew Higgs and Andrew Kirke went to sit down by Lavender.
Harry glanced over at Higgs – who was on the Slytherin Quidditch team - and looked resigned, but not angry at his younger brother's Sorting. Draco had already scooted over to talk to the new, unsure looking Gryffindor Higgs, and Harry and Ron exchanged grins and went back to watching the Sorting.
Luna Lovegood – who Harry had heard Ron and Ginny both talk about – went to Ravenclaw, Alice Noshi went to Slytherin, Gryffindor gained Demelza Robins and Georgina Trace, and then, finally, it was Ginny's turn.
Amidst whispers of "Another Weasley?!" and "Did they say Ginevra? As in, a girl?" she shuffled up to the stool and sat down.
Harry was nervous for her – he knew how much she wanted Gryffindor – and could only imagine how Ron was feeling. Draco had stopped his whispered conversation with Higgs, and was watching as well, and Fred and George looked unusually intent.
They needn't have worried, though; after only a few seconds, the Hat called "Gryffindor!" and Ginny hopped up, looking delighted, and came to sit opposite them, next to the tiny boy who'd been told off by Percy.
"Welcome," Dumbledore said, getting to his feet. "I hope you all had safe and pleasant journeys here." His eyes landed on Harry, who grinned. Ron had a very sheepish expression on his face. Seeming amused, Dumbledore lifted a hand. "I won't keep you from your meals much longer," he assured them. Fred and George cheered. "But I must inform you – those of you returning, at least – that at very short notice, Professor Lupin has accepted a position at Beauxbatons Academy!"
The announcement was met mostly with stunned silence, but Harry could smell disappointment rippling through the Hall. Harry didn't know whether to be pleased (if he remembered right, Beauxbatons was in France, and there was only one real reason for Moony to have gone there) or to feel sick; there was only one member of the staff table whose job Harry didn't know.
"As a result," Dumbledore continued, "I would like to introduce your new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher; Professor Gilderoy Lockhart!"
Next to Harry, Hermione broke out into a fit of applause. She wasn't the only one, either, though Harry did notice it was mostly girls. Harry rolled his eyes and clapped twice, politely, before letting his hands drop into his lap. McGonagall and Snape, up at the staff table, had done the same thing, and so had Ginny, Percy and the twins (who looked absolutely devastated that Moony'd been replaced).
Lockhart had stood and tossed his hair back. He was giving the Hall a toothy smile and waving around at them all. Hermione sighed happily.
"Brilliant," Ron muttered, glaring at the front of the Hall. "There goes my appetite."
Dumbledore managed to talk Lockhart into sitting down again – with some difficulty – and then announced dinner, which popped into existence the moment he'd finished talking.
"I'm Colin Creevey," the tiny boy next to Ginny said breathlessly. "And you're Harry Potter!"
"Nice to meet you, Colin," Harry said, a little awkwardly.
"Do you-"
"Hi, Colin, I'm Ron," Ron said, coming to the rescue. "That's Hermione-" She looked up from loading her plate, and smiled. "-and that's Ginny."
"Are you related?" Colin asked, pointing between Ron and Ginny. "You look alike, but I suppose that might not mean much; I don't think I look very much like my brother Dennis, and-"
"Fred," Fred said, appearing behind Harry with a plate in his hand. George, who was behind him, introduced himself as well, and then promptly shoved Ron aside and the pair of them slid into place beside Harry.
"Evening," Harry said, arching an eyebrow at them.
"Did you know about this?" George waved a chicken wing in Lockhart's direction, with a rather menacing look on his face.
"I had no idea," Harry said honestly. "And Dumbledore's not joking when he said short notice; Moony was here, getting ready on Thursday."
"But Beauxbatons?" Fred asked, pulling a face. "I mean, there are Veela in France, but he's with Tonks-"
"Who's gone to France for an Auror program," Harry said. Fred and George exchanged looks. "What's a Veela?"
But Fred and George weren't listening to him anymore; Ron had started to explain to Hermione, Ginny, Draco – who'd returned at some point and wedged himself into the seat beside Colin – and Colin what had happened that day.
"-sealed itself, and Harry and I ran straight into the stupid thing," he said.
"Sealed itself?" Fred asked. "Ron, that-"
"It can happen," Ron said, obviously sensing where the conversation was headed. The twins – and even Hermione for that matter – looked skeptical. "It's true," Ron said. "Isn't that right, Harry?"
"You should see the bruises," Harry said, pulling a face.
"But that's tricky magic," Hermione said. "That barrier's been there and functioning for years, and the Ministry do checks and repairs and things. Surely-"
"Hermione," Harry pointed out, "half of magical Britain was there today. I'm sure someone among them was capable-"
"Why?" Draco asked, frowning.
"What?" Ron asked.
"I mean, why bother?" Draco asked. "If it was a plan to get you alone, they could have."
"Easily," Harry agreed, making a face.
"So why didn't they?" Draco asked.
"Maybe it was Lockhart," Ron suggested.
"Ron!" Hermione said crossly, "Professor Lockhart is a very well respected-"
"Git," Ginny said to herself. Harry didn't think he was meant to have heard, but he grinned at her anyway, and got a sheepish smile back.
"-a joke, Hermione," George was saying.
"You're entitled to think that," Hermione said stiffly, making it clear she didn't agree. "Besides, what's he got to do with you two missing the train?"
Ron told the rest of the story – about almost trying to fly the car, before deciding on the Knight Bus, and Lockhart's eye mask, and meeting Snape on the way up to the school – with Harry adding bits and pieces that he'd missed. By the end of it, Draco and Ginny was sniggering, Fred and George were eyeing Lockhart, Hermione was frowning in Snape's direction, and Colin was wide-eyed with awe.
"Do you always do such exciting things?" Colin asked, looking from Harry to Ron.
"Unfortunately," Draco drawled, buttering his baked potato. "Granger and I are trying to correct that habit, but with rather limited success, I'm afraid."
"I just can't believe Snape's punishing you," Hermione said, "even if it is only with a letter." Ron mumbled something sarcastic about just a letter.
"If you're feeling upset about it," George said consolingly, "just imagine how many detentions you'd have if you had taken Dad's car-"
"None," Harry said. Everyone looked at him like he was mad. "We'd have been expelled for sure." No one tried to argue with that; even Draco, who was usually Snape's defender just nodded and reached for the gravy.
"So what happens after dinner?" Ginny asked.
"Usually the fifth year Prefects take you firsties up to the tower, so you should end up with the Lloyd twins." Fred nodded at a blond girl and boy sitting with Percy, Oliver and Angelina. Harry vaguely recognised them, but couldn't have named them.
"But," George said, "Percy the perfect Prefect will probably usurp them both, so make sure you listen to him, and stay close."
"You absolutely mustn't wander off and get lost," Fred said. "And you definitely shouldn't get lost on purpose, or try to get lost in a group." He winked. Ginny scowled.
"You two are mean," she said, looking down the table at Percy, who was eating his Yorkshire pudding, oblivious.
"You're meant to be the fun one," George said, reaching over the table to nudge her.
"Well, I agree with Ginny," Hermione said. "Percy would be so upset if he thought he'd lost someone, particularly if it was Ginny that went missing."
"Imagine that," Ron – who'd looked disgruntled that he wasn't the 'fun' one – said. "Dear Mum and Dad, I don't know how to tell you this, but I seem to have misplaced young Ginevra-"
"Shut up, Ronald," Ginny said, scowling again. Ron opened his mouth to say something in response, but at that moment, desserts started to appear and distracted everyone.
Ginny, Tom wrote, so relieved that she'd remembered him. It's been a while.
Sorry, Tom, she scribbled back. I've just been very busy. Hogwarts is incredible! It's so nice to have my brothers around again, but I'm missing Mum and Dad lots. Percy showed me where the Owlery is, though, and he said I can borrow Hermes whenever I need to.
How kind of him.
And Draco said I can use Caesar too; his poor owl doesn't get to carry very many letters.
The Malfoy boy? Last time she'd written – admittedly, on the night she'd been Sorted into Gryffindor, a week ago – she'd still been calling him Malfoy.
That's him, she wrote. Tom watched the words fade back into the page, and thought what to ask next. She'd told him all sorts of things about her friends – or rather, her brother's friends – and he'd questioned her at length (as subtly as he could manage) on the Potter boy, though he'd thrown in questions about Malfoy and Granger and Ginny's brothers to keep her from growing suspicious.
He'd had to reveal his own, parentless past to get her to open up about Potter, but it had been worth it. As a child from a large, apparently loving family, Tom imagined he must have broken poor Ginny's heart when he'd told her about the orphanage. But, it had made her open up about Potter (who she'd mentioned had a godfather), and Tom had slowly pieced together the last fifty years.
His older self – for when Ginny had very reluctantly written the words Lord Voldemort in the diary, late one night he had recognised the name at once – had messed up, and badly. He was dead – or, would have been, had Tom not had the foresight to make his old diary a horcrux. There'd been a very messy war, that Ginny didn't know much about, and then Tom's older self had managed to get himself killed by an infant. Frankly, it was embarrassing, and he was hoping to rectify the situation as soon as possible.
Tom stabbed his quill into his inkwell.
Are you enjoying your classes?
Some of them, Ginny replied. History of Magic is boring; our teacher's a ghost, which I thought would be fun, until I actually met him. He calls me Woolsy, when he talks to me at all. You'd think after six brothers, he'd know our name by now! Tom waited. Transfiguration is great, but I'm not very good at it. I might have to ask Hermione or Percy for some help, but I love Charms and Potions is easy, once you get past the fact that Snape is a git.
I hope he hasn't been too rude to you, Tom said, and could almost imagine Ginny's smile. She'd be so flattered that he cared… or so he hoped.
No, but he doesn't like Colin very much.
The boy from the feast?
He's one of my friends, now, she told him. He and Demelza are in all of my classes. And I have Charms and Transfiguration with Luna, and Luna introduced me to Vivienne, who's in Ravenclaw, and Vivienne's sister is in my Defence and Potions classes, but I don't know if I like Astoria yet.
I see, Tom replied, bored.
Oh, and speaking of Defence, Lockhart is… well, I really don't know why Mum likes him so much. I've only had one lesson with him so far, but he seems pretty thick. He talked about himself for ages and then he gave us a quiz about himself!
How revolting, Tom said, and wasn't lying this time.
I know! Apparently Professor Lupin left him a lesson plan, but Harry said that Professor Lupin would never have put that on there. Apparently the second years got the quiz too, and Fred and George don't have Defence until tomorrow, so I don't know if they'll get it too. I guess I'll just have to wait and see. Tom tried to think of something to say, but nothing came to mind. Ginny beat him to it. Demelza's just come to get me for dinner. I'll talk to you soon, and I promise I won't leave you for a whole week again!
Tom wondered, with no small amount of irritation, if Ginny was beginning to think of him as some sort of pet. He waited for her to write something more, but nothing came, and Tom lowered his quill, and started to think hard about how exactly he was going to handle Ginny Weasley.