This chapter had to be put up. I know it's not very good, and I haven't given up trying to write a good story, but I needed to talk about the students' arrival to the great hall, and I wanted to put Dumbledore in. Look at this story as filler, until I finish a better chapter that will come out next. And I promises the next one will be loads better. Really:) Back to the style that interested you guys in the first place. But really, I had to do this, and I'm really sorry.:(
Black's Phoenix: Thanks again for letting me know about the correction on the last chapter.
Chapter 12: Addressing the students.
Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville said goodbye to Ginny as she went down to the rear of the Hogwart's train platform to ride to the school with some friends of hers in the same year as she was. Gloria Kingston had stormed out of their compartment as soon as she had collected her broom, and steamer trunk, glad to be away from Harry and his fellow Gryffindors. Harry looked on as the coaches arrived to carry the students to the castle that was their school. Suddenly a small boy near Harry let out a horrifying shout and started pointing to the carriages and screaming that they were being pulled by monsters. Harry went over to him, bent down and put a hand on his shoulder. "Those are not monsters. Their Thestrals. They pull the coaches every year, but you can only see them if you've seen someone die. Didn't you learn about them in care of magical creatures last year?" Harry asked.
"No! This is my first year at Hogwarts. I didn't know about them." The little boy said, a little more calm, but still apprehensive.
"Well who did you see die?" Harry asked. The boy looked up at him. I saw a man crossing the street get hit by a bus last year."
"That will do it. Well don't worry about the Thestrals. Their very amazing creatures. You might learn about them in care of Magical Creatures class. Suddenly Harry and his friends heard a familiar voice yell "First years this way!" And Harry excused himself from the boy to greet a missed friend.
"Hagrid!" "The trio yelled in unison. The gentle half giant smiled at them with a big toothy grin.
"Harry, Ron, Hermione, How are ya all." Hagrid stated joyful, as the three of them gave him a group hug.
"Okay. How have you been? What have you been doing?" Harry asked. Hagrid leaned in low, and whispered.
"I've been doing secret stuff fer you-know-what, so we can defeat You-Know-Who, before he does you-know-what to the magic world. But we'll have to talk about that later. I want the three of you to have tea with me your next Saturday. We'll have some things to discuss. Hagrid raised a bandaged finger to his lips to let Harry and company know that he could not say anything more. Harry noticed that in fact both of Hagrid's hands were bandaged up.
"Hagrid what happened to your hands? Were you hurt on a mission for the You-Know-What?" Harry inquired. Hagrid held up his hands to look at it.
"Oh that, no. Just a bit of frostbite. Madam Pomfrey will fix it up soon enough. I just haven't had time to go to 'er about it yet. But she's got some potion that will fix it right up, keeps it on hand for me for whenever I come in with it." Hagrid said.
"Madam Pomfrey keeps an anti-frost bite potion on hand for when you come in? How often could you come in with frostbite?" Ron inquired.
"Oh a lot lately. I'll explain later. But if you'll all excuse me, I've got ta get these first years across the lake." Hagrid finished, and excused himself to take care of the first year students.
On the trip to the castle Ron and Hermione explained what had happened in the prefect carriage to Harry in great detail. He could hardly believe his ears, but took in every word of it. He listened intently to their story, in silence. After awhile Harry finally spoke.
"I can't believe it! Marietta Edgencombe? Head Girl? How?" Harry asked not believing his ears.
"I told you, she became a prefect at the start of the summer last year, before they chose Head Girl. Apparently the female, Ravenclaw prefect in her year wasn't returning to school this year for some reason. I don't exactly know why she was chosen as Head Girl, but being a prefect before the selection certainly qualified her to be in the running. I didn't talk to her, just walked into the prefect carriage, and saw that the jinx had been removed from her face, and she was wearing the Head Girl badge. Ron and I were in to much shock to say anything, and when she saw me, she just gave me a look of deep hatred and stormed off. I asked Bill Hailey, the male, seventh year Ravenclaw prefect what the deal was, and he informed me what had happened. Oh! Also Allen Miller is the Head Boy. He's in Slytheren. Harry reflected on this new dilemma. Great, he thought. Malfoy was a prefect, and now another Slytheren was Head boy, and the girl who had betrayed his DA classes last year was Head Girl. Why would Dumbledore let people like this ever get positions of such authority in the student body? Was it a plot to make his life miserable?
"Well…I'm sure that Marietta won't be a problem. She's just a stupid git who's probably going to stay far away from us, and will likely be afraid that if she comes close to us that Hermione will give her another jinx. But Malfoy and Miller are another problem. Surly they will be looking for an excuse to deduct as many points as possible from us. Oh! Who chooses Head Girl and Head Boy anyway guys?" Harry reflected. Ron just shrugged his shoulders at the question. But Hermione was as usual, ready with an answer.
"Well Harry. According to Hogwarts: A History, Head Boy and Head Girl are chosen by the Masters of the school, based on several criteria. The criteria are Good conduct, extra curricular activities, extra credit, recommendations submitted by staff, points won for their house and most important of course, the student's marks. The staff's recommendations are submitted to the Head Master, and he makes the final decision."
"Hogwarts: A History has a section on how the staff decides Head Boy and Head Girl?" Ron asked surprised.
"Of course. Really Ron you two should try reading the book some day. I'm writing my own book about it to give credit to the house elves that are so neglected in it. But aside from it's biased to magical creatures, Hogwarts: A History is very informative." Hermione finished happily.
"You're writing a book? An actual book that you intend to put into print? Harry asked impressed.
"Well, yea. I'm just doing some ruff drafts for now, but over the Christmas Holliday, and next summer I plan to finish it and talk to a publisher."
"Wow. That's really impressive Hermione. Is that what you're going to do after school…become a writer?" Ron asked. Hermione seemed pleased by Ron's interest.
"No. That's just something on the side. I plan to take the S.P.E.W. out of Hogwarts and into the mainstream, magic world. People need to know about the plight of House Elves, and other magical creatures. That's going to be my main job." Hermione said.
Harry and his mates sat in the great hall awaiting the speech from the Head Master, Dumbledore, who had not yet arrived. The sorting hat, ceremony had already been completed, and everyone was chatting about the new members of each table. The staff was also chatting amongst themselves, and Harry noticed a couple of new teachers amongst them, as well as the two divinization teachers, Professor Trelawney, who co shared the Divinization class with Professor Firenze, a centaur. One of the new teachers was a man who looked to be in his fifties, who was wearing a lime green wizard robe with hood, and yellow crescent moon designs printed on it, wearing large glasses, and a wide smile, who was chatting it up with professor Sprout, who seemed very interested in, and very confused by what the man was saying. Another new face belonged to a serious looking woman who looked to be in her seventies, wearing a black robe, and green velvet witches hat, and oval glasses. She had a stone faced look not displaying any emotion, and Harry thought he saw her look at him a few times.
The door behind the staff opened and Professor Dumbledore stepped out. Harry was not glad to see him. Dumbledore had kept him in the dark about everything that was going on around him, and it had driven Harry mad to not have any news about what was going on in the order. He had also managed to again convince Ron's parents, and the other order members to keep vital information from him. Harry was tired of being left in the dark, and he wanted answers. Dumbledore owed him answers. Harry wasn't going to be rash, or full of rage, like on the train, when he would try to get Dumbledore to speak with him in private, but he was going to make it clear to him that he was owed an explanation, and he didn't appreciate Dumbledore keeping things from him. The conversations of the students stopped as Dumbledore, came up to the podium to speak.
"My dear students. Welcome to another glorious year at Hogwarts School, and welcome to our new students this year. I'm sure your going to enjoy your first year with us. I would like to just say what a wondrous privilege it is to have such a wonderful rewarding job, as I do. There is nothing more satisfying to me than being able to mold young minds, and help the young people of today set their sights on the bright futures that lay ahead. I know that since last year their has been some bad news about You-Know-Who returning, supported by his Death Eaters. But I can tell you happily that most of the Death Eaters were captured at the Battle of the Ministry, thanks, in no small part to some of your fellow students. Most notably, Mr. Neville Longbottom… stand up Mr. Longbottom" Dumbledore paused to allow the cheering of the students to die down, as everyone clapped and cheered at his name being called, as Neville, embarrassed bowed his head to everyone. "Also present were Mr. Ron Weasley…" Dumbledore continued. Ron stood up, and looked at everyone equally embarrassed at the applause, and his face turned crimson red when Luna Lovegood and Padma Patel both blew him kisses from the Ravenclaw table. "Miss Hermione Granger…" Hermione stood up and curtsied to the crowd, and several cheers, shouts and whistles, came from all the tables, mostly from the boys. "Miss Luna Lovegood…come on now Miss Lovegood, don't be shy." Luna stood up hesitantly, and smiled at everyone, and Harry noticed Cho Chang give her a congratulatory hug. Didn't I see Cho on the train? Harry thought to himself. He couldn't remember exactly. "And last, but certainly not least…Mr. Harry Potter." Dumbledore finished. The crowd went wild with a huge roar from almost all the students, except for a few people at the Slytheren and Ravenclaw tables. But he noticed that Cho Chang was clapping for him very enthusiastically, but not making direct eye contact with him. A tear looked like it was forming in the corner of her eye. Harry started to remember that he had yelled at her on the train, because she had brought her friend Marietta Edgencombe to his DA classes, and Marietta had betrayed the DA, and almost gotten him expelled. Why did he do that he wondered? He had done that last year to Cho when she had tried to apologize to him for Marietta, and also yelled at Ron and Hermione when they had tried to apologize to him for other things when he arrived at Grimald Place. Harry was getting several pats on the back and the cheering lasted for a while. Oh well, I'll apologize to Cho later for the whole thing on the train. I'm over it now. I just wish I could remember why I was suddenly so mad at her.
When the cheering finally died down Professor Dumbledore continued. "Although the You-Know-Who has lost a lot of his minions, he is still out there, and I hope that the third years and above will take great caution when visiting Hogsmead this year. The Ministry has a few Auras stationed there, and we don't expect him to be there, but it would be better if everyone kept on alert. Constant vigilance as my friend Alastor Moody would say. I would also like to say that we have a few additions to our staff this year, and we are honored to welcome them, and I know that they will be a great asset to our school. First is Professor Mike Jittlov from Hollywood, in the United States, who will be in charge of the Special Effects magic class. He has shown me some of his work, and I will allow a few field trips to Hogwarts for the students not in his class to view it, as I'm afraid that his electronic equipment will not work here at the castle. But believe me your going to be impressed. Professor Jittlov, would you like to say a few words to the students who will be attending your class?" Dumbledore finished. The man in the lime green wizard robe with the hood stood up and gave a bow. Professor Jittlov smiled even wider, and adjusted his green rimed glasses.
"I would just like to say that I think were going to have a lot of fun in my class, and were going to learn a lot about muggle magic, and putting it all on film. I look forward to having many of you in my class this year." Professor Jittlov said in a pleasant voice. He than sat back down, as the rims of his glassed flashed neon green. Dumbledore than turned to the old witch with the green velvet robe. And also I would like to introduce Professor Timina Penfield, who will be teaching Potions class this year." Dumbledore stated and invited her to give a short speech of her own. A felling of great dread came over Harry as he looked over at Professor Snape who was listening to Professor Penfield talk about what an honor it was to be at Hogwarts, and how she had given up her job in the ministry of Magic to become a teacher. Ron leaned over to Harry and asked him a question.
"Hey Harry, who do ya thinks teaching Defense Against Dark Arts this year?" Harry didn't take his eyes off Snape.
"I've got a bad feeling that with our luck it'll be Snape." Ron nodded his head. Yea that would be our luck." He admitted. Dumbledore shook Professor Penfield's hand as she left the podium and thanked her for the speech. Suddenly his face became grim and his voice became very serious.
"And now I need to bring to everyone's attention some very tragic news. I'm sure many of you have heard that one of our students will not be returning to Hogwarts this year. Iris Foxmead, who was a Hufflepuff prefect, was tragically killed over the summer out side her home in Dover, in a vampire attack. Miss Foxmead was a very hard working, very intelligent young girl, who showed a lot of promise before her tragic, untimely death. She was respected by students and masters alike, and we shall all greatly miss her. Let us all bow our heads, and have a moment of silence for her memory." Dumbledore finished. After a brief silence Dumbledore reminded the students who were interested in Charms Club, that Professor Flitwick would be having the first meeting, and sign up on Saturday at eleven PM sharp. He than gave the ever famous warning that the Dark Forest outside the school was off limits to students.
"Oh! One more thing, Mr. Filch asks me to remind students that his office is off limits to anyone who does not wish to die a most horrible death." Dumbledore stated. "Well, all the news finished. Again welcome back to Hogwarts, and now let the feast begin." He finished.
The tables filled up with large helpings of multiple varieties of food, and drink. And as Harry took the first bite of his steak, and kidney pudding he happened to catch Cho looking at him. When she realized he had seen her, she quickly glanced away and started talking to a curly brown haired girl next to her. Did she still have feelings for him? Did he have any feelings left for her? Well maybe if she wouldn't cry all the time. No he thought, Cho Chang, did not support him in the end last year. She chose her friend instead. Besides he thought… Cho was bits of an emotional wreak, and who wants sobbing wet kisses when he had girls clamoring for him. Harry turned his attention to the Slytheren table and eventually spied Fiona, sitting near the end closet to the exit. I wonder what she's doing for the first Hogsmead, weekend he thought.