Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, London, 9/1/1995, 06:39
Harry stepped into the kitchen to find Andi and Ted chatting quietly, it would seem that the rest of the house's occupants hadn't woken up yet.
"Morning," Harry said croakily as he took a seat across from them.
"Good morning, Harry," Andromeda said, sounding to be in a very good mood this morning.
"How did things go yesterday?" Ted asked with interest.
"Good. Our book lists finally came in," Harry explained as a plate of breakfast appeared in front of him followed a second later by a cup of coffee.
Walburga may have despised Andromeda but when Andi was in the kitchen, the surly old elf was very attentive to guests... well to guests of the Black family, anyway. Kreacher still wasn't making much effort to attend to the Weasley family and Harry wouldn't trust anything Kreacher prepared for Hermione.
"Took them long enough," Ted chuckled pulling Harry from his thoughts about Kreacher.
"I know. I bet Diagon Alley was a madhouse yesterday," Harry sniggered as he took a sip of his coffee, pleasantly surprised to find it already had sugar and cream added.
"I have been informed that the senior undersecretary to the minister will be your defence professor this year," Andi said, giving Harry a serious look.
"Really?" Harry asked wondering why somebody that high up in the ministry would take a job as a school teacher.
"Yes, now I need you to understand that she has an agenda. So I want you to keep your head down and not provoke her interest in you whatsoever," Andromeda continued.
"Okay, but what do you mean that she has an agenda?" Harry asked in obvious confusion.
"What I mean is that she is being sent there by Fudge to silence anyone who backs the headmaster's claim that Voldemort has returned. Fudge is still denying he's back and wishes to silence anyone who says otherwise," Andromeda elaborated.
"So I should just go along with the ministry's line?" Harry asked incredulously.
"In front of her, yes. I don't want you to say a word otherwise or do anything to draw attention to yourself," Andi said in a firm tone.
"Alright," Harry said, not feeling particularly happy about what she was saying.
"I know you don't like it but consider this, Dumbledore who is arguably the most powerful wizard on the British Isles held two high-ranking positions, one in the Wizengamot and the other in the ICW just two months ago. Since he has started proclaiming the dark lord's return, he has been stripped of both positions, he is hanging onto his position as headmaster by a thread and his reputation is in the gutter. What do you think would happen if you took up a similar position?" Andromeda asked before sipping her tea.
"Well, I don't have as much to lose," Harry said reasonably.
"On the contrary, you have a lot more to lose. Fudge has the board of governors firmly on his side, that's how he got Dolores into the school, to begin with. If you start making waves, the ministry will take measures to silence you and you don't have near the clout Albus does," Andromeda warned.
"But people need to know he's out there," Harry protested.
"They will in due time. Thanks to the Azkaban breakout, every witch and wizard in Britain is already looking over their shoulders in fear that my sister and her ilk will show up at their homes in the dead of night," Andromeda assured him.
Harry thought about what she was telling him and he couldn't argue with her reasoning. People were already terrified of the escaped prisoners which were the ones that would be carrying out attacks for Voldemort anyway.
It wasn't the way he wanted to go about this, it felt cowardly to not speak up when he knew Voldemort was out there. He really did want to scream this from the rooftops, but what would it accomplish to have the might of the ministry focused on him for telling them a truth they didn't want to hear? It would just make his life more difficult and he had enough difficulties as it was.
"Alright, I'll stay out of it," Harry promised in a resigned tone.
"Good, you've already bought yourself some goodwill with Fudge thanks to your taking care of Dolohov," Andi said, looking pleased that he was really listening to what she was saying.
The news that Antonin Dolohov had been killed was splashed all over the Prophet for the entire week after the attack. Strangely, the details had been twisted so it seemed the ministry aurors were responsible for his capture (they neglected to mention he was dead) and Fudge gave a winning speech about how the ministry was working tirelessly to bring these criminals to justice.
"So what's this Umbridge woman like?" Harry asked, hoping to change the subject.
"She's a miserable bigoted old hag," Ted said, speaking up for the first time since the subject of school had been brought up.
"Figures," Harry mumbled as he tucked into his eggs.
"That pretty much sums up Dolores Umbridge," Andromeda agreed.
"She looks like a toad, wears a lot of pink, and has a horribly annoying voice," Ted continued.
"She is also quite vindictive. If she feels slighted, she will do her best to make that person suffer," Andromeda said as she stirred some sugar into a bowl of porridge that appeared in front of her.
"It sounds like you know her pretty well," Harry said curiously.
"Unfortunately I shared a dorm with her for seven years," Andromeda admitted.
"She also pushed Miley Brooks off of the fourth-floor staircase in our fifth year," Ted added, looking indignant at the memory
"They could never prove it but I believe she did it," Andromeda agreed.
"I am starting to wish that I didn't have to go back," Harry muttered, knowing from the way Ted and Andi described this woman that he was not going to enjoy defence class this year.
"Just keep your head down and she won't single you out," Andromeda assured him.
"So how long until the house is rebuilt?" Harry asked, deciding the topic at hand had gotten a bit stale.
"By Christmas, if all goes to plan," Andromeda beamed.
"Good this place is just depressing," Harry said a smile playing on his lips.
"Agreed, it doesn't help that the portrait calls me a mudblood anytime I walk by it," Ted sniggered.
"It does that to Hermione too. She finds it funny for some reason," Harry said.
"I kind of find it amusing as well," Ted agreed.
"I picked you up some cold weather clothes yesterday. I packed them in your trunk this morning," Andromeda said.
"Thank you," Harry said as the kitchen door opened and Molly Weasley entered the kitchen.
"You're welcome, dear," Andi said as Sirius came in behind Molly.
The rest of the morning passed by in a chaotic blur as the Weasley children tore through the house to eat a quick breakfast before they began to do some last-minute packing, or in Ron's case... to get started packing.
"All packed, mate?" Sirius asked as he noticed Harry still seated at the table while the other teens rushed off to finish packing.
"Yep, I finished before bed last night," Harry assured him.
"And I already brought your trunk down when I put away your new clothes. It's in my pocket," Andromeda added as she stood from the table.
"Thanks. Is it bad that I didn't notice my trunk was gone?" Harry asked as he got up from his seat
Harry had laid out his clothes last night and packed a set of outer robes in his school bag so he could change on the train. He hadn't even noticed that his trunk wasn't at the foot of his bed when he got up this morning.
"Did you tell Hedwig to fly to school?" Ted asked.
"Yeah, she seemed pleased not to have to be put in her cage," Harry answered wondering why he hadn't thought of doing that before as it was one less thing to have to carry.
"Then I guess we had better get going," Sirius said before drinking the last of his coffee and setting the empty mug on the counter.
"What about the others?" Harry asked as he threw his bag over his shoulder and followed the others up the stairs.
"It's best if the ministry and whoever else is ignorant to the fact we're staying with the Weasley family. They are known to associate with Dumbledore," Andromeda explained.
"Alright," Harry sighed as he allowed Andi to lead him out the front door, Ted and Sirius taking up the rear.
"Wotcher?" An older woman in a long old-fashioned dress said as they turned the corner onto the main road.
"Nymphadora you've aged. I told you being an auror would suck the life right out of you," Andromeda quipped, an amused smirk playing on her lips.
"I am the advanced guard," Tonks huffed as she fell into step with the other four.
"You do look to be advancing in the years, Tonksie," Sirius sniggered.
"Shut it, Sirius, this disguise wasn't my idea," Tonks scowled.
"Dora, you make me feel even older than I do already," Ted sighed, shooting his daughter a playful wink.
The rest of the trip to King's Cross was made in relative silence, with Sirius and Tonks keeping a lookout for anything while Andi and Ted walked on either side of Harry.
They stepped onto platform nine and three-quarters a full hour before the train was due to depart for Hogwarts. There were only a few families here at the moment and the place felt strange without the chaos and noise Harry always associated with boarding the Hogwarts Express.
"Perfect, we beat the rush," Andromeda beamed.
"Yeah but now he's stuck here for an hour waiting on his friends," Tonks pointed out.
"Yeah and Ron's family always gets her right as the warning whistle sounds," Harry agreed.
Harry turned to look at Tonks, noticing that she had altered her appearance so that she looked to be around Harry's age. Her hair was now a mousy brown with grey eyes similar to Andi's. She was also wearing Hogwarts robes with the yellow trim of Hufflepuff and the Hufflepuff crest sewn over the left breast of her robes.
"Why are you dressed like that?" Harry asked, finding her current look rather attractive.
"I'm running security on the train," Tonks shrugged.
"What do I call you then?" Harry asked.
Wendy McDonald," Tonks answered, giving him a knowing grin.
"You have got to stop reading the Quibbler," Harry muttered, remembering the story she had told him about the origins of Wendy's restaurant the other day.
"This is my new assignment," Tonks beamed as a few more students filtered onto the platform.
"What assignment is that?" Andromeda asked, eyeing her daughter suspiciously.
"The minister wants an undercover auror at the school to keep an eye on Dumbledore and anything he might be up to involving the students," Tonks explained, keeping her voice low.
"Does Dumbledore know you'll be there?" Ted sighed.
"Yes. Albus wants me in the school to teach Harry some proper defence," Tonks assured them, looking amused by the situation.
"Well, it could be useful. This is my O.W.L year after all," Harry said, all for being able to spend a bit more time with Tonks *um* for his education.
"Indeed. The toad won't teach you squat," Tonks nodded, looking very pleased with her assignment.
"And Tonks can teach you a bunch," Sirius chipped in before catching sight of someone on the other side of the platform and narrowing his eyes.
"As long as neither one of you gets into trouble for this," Andromeda said, giving them both a stern look.
"I promise not to get caught doing anything that can get me in trouble," Tonks said in a serious tone.
"I already promised to stay out of trouble," Harry pointed out.
"Thank you, Harry," Andromeda said gratefully before shooting her daughter a calculating look.
"That's probably as good as we're going to get with her, dear," Ted said, looking to be fighting a grin at his daughter's attempt to Slytherin his wife.
"That was a Slytherin answer if I ever heard one," Sirius agreed still looking across the platform at a family of three, all with platinum blonde hair.
"It was, I suppose I will have to try this a different way," Andi said with a put-upon sigh.
"Oh, how's that?" Tonks asked warily.
"Wouldn't it be a shame if your colleagues in the auror department were to find out about the time you ran through Diagon Alley starkers on a bet? That was the summer before your seventh year if I remember correctly," Andromeda said in a casual tone as she decided to play the Slytherin game with her daughter.
"They already know about that. The aurors were the ones who took me into custody," Tonks shrugged indifferently.
"She's just asking for it," Sirius muttered so only Harry and Ted could hear.
"Very well. What about the time I caught you and the Jones girl practising your kissing? Do they know about that?" Andromeda asked, a smirk playing on her lips.
"I don't know about them but I'd sure like to know more about that," Harry sniggered, getting a bark-like laugh from Sirius as well.
"Shut it, Potter," Tonks huffed in annoyance as her hair turned an orange colour.
"Well you see Harry, my daughter had just turned thirteen and was curious about the ways of the world. I walked in to find them-
"Alright mum, I promise to keep a low profile," Tonks exclaimed cutting her mother off before she could get to the embarrassing part.
"Good, I hate it when you make me resort to blackmail, dear," Andromeda said with a triumphant smile.
"I am pretty sure the phrase was coined after your family, Andi," Ted said getting an annoyed look from his wife.
Over the next thirty minutes, more and more people crowded onto the platform, the later arrivals looking quite harried. It was three minutes until eleven when the Weasley family arrived with Mad-Eye Moody trailing behind them levitating Five school trunks.
"I am so glad you guys brought me here," Harry said as he looked over at Andi and Ted.
"Yes, well you had better get on the train," Andi said as the last warning whistle sounded.
"I need my trunk," Harry chuckled, giving Andi a pointed look.
"You wouldn't get far without that," Ted agreed as Andi dug his trunk out of her robe pocket.
"Here, if you need anything, just send an owl," Andi said as she pulled him into a motherly hug.
"I will," Harry promised, feeling a bit choked up for some reason.
When Harry pulled away and accepted his trunk he was engulfed in a bearhug by Sirius and he thought that he felt something slip into his robe pocket as Sirius pulled away.
"Keep in touch mate," Sirius winked at him before Ted stepped forward offering his hand.
Harry grinned before pulling Ted into a hug as well, catching the man' by surprise. Ted returned the hug, all the same, causing Andi to beam at Harry over Ted's shoulder.
"Thank you both for taking me in," Harry said sincerely.
"Thank nothing of it," Ted smiled warmly patting him on the back as they separated.
"Come on, Potter the train's about to leave," Tonks muttered taking Harry by the arm.
Looking back at the three adults one last time, Harry followed Tonks onto the train. He had barely stepped into the carriage before the train started to lurch forward.
Harry had never regretted having to go to Hogwarts before but at the moment, part of him felt that he would have rather stayed with Andi and Ted. True he already knew this year was going to be awful with the ministry interference but a bigger part was that this was the first time in his life where he felt someone actually cared about him.
'This must be what having parents is like,' Harry thought to himself as he waved at the Tonks couple and his godfather until the train turned the first bend and he could no longer see them.
Hogwarts Express, 9/1/1995, 11:38
Harry was sitting in the compartment he had been dragged into by Ginny shortly after the train had departed.
Ginny was sitting sideways on the bench with her back against the compartment wall and her legs stretched out across the bench. She was resting her socked feet against Harry's leg and had a quidditch magazine propped against her thighs. Every once in a while she would turn the page but it looked like she was taking a nap at the moment.
Sitting across from them was Neville Longbottom who holding a disgusting cactus-looking plant with gross boils all over it. He seemed unusually nervous and kept eying the blond girl on Harry's right as if scared she was going to attack him.
Harry wasn't sure what the girl's name was, though he thought he'd heard Ginny say her name was Loony. She was holding one of Tonks' favourite magazines and would occasionally stare at Harry as if she was trying to figure something out. She also kept scooting closer to him as she turned a page and Harry caught the distinct smell of butterscotch coming off of her.
"How was your summer, Harry?" Neville asked, pulling Harry from his observations of the strange girl.
"He means besides returning from the dead," the blonde girl chipped in, not looking up from her magazine.
"A mixed bag, really. I got to go on vacation in the Caribbean but our house was attacked by some of those escaped death eaters a week after we got back," Harry answered honestly.
"Oh," Neville said looking at a loss for what to say to that
"Is it true that there are jarblewomps in the Caribbean?" The strange girl asked, turning to look up at him with large silvery eyes.
"I don't know. I never saw any," Harry said, having no idea what she was talking about.
"Oh poo, Daddy believes there is a colony of them on one of those islands. I'm Luna Lovegood by the way," the girl said in a dreamy tone.
"I'm Harry Potter," Harry said, though he knew it was unnecessary.
"I know who you are," Luna answered before turning a page in her magazine.
"How can you read that?" Harry asked indicating the Quibbler that she was holding upside down.
"It's very interesting, plus my daddy is the editor," the girl answered as if it were obvious.
"Which fast food restaurant are they doing the origin for this month?" Harry asked warily.
"Pizza the Hut," Luna said looking up at him with a mischievous grin.
"I think you mean Pizza Hut," Harry corrected.
"No, Pizza the Hut is using the restaurant as a front to enslave humanity by means of tainted pepperoni and parmesan cheese laced with wood pulp," Luna disagreed.
"I suppose it can't be worse than the Noid conspiracy," Harry sighed as the compartment door slid open.
Harry turned to see Ron and Hermione come in before they took a seat on either side of Neville.
"So, how did it go?" Harry asked looking over at the new arrivals.
"The meeting was pretty boring, but Malfoy made prefect," Ron answered, looking put out about the last part.
"As frustrating as it is, he probably is the best candidate Slytherin had to offer," Harry admitted reasonably
"Greengrass is the female prefect," Hermione added shooting Harry a surprised look.
"I don't know much about her other than Seamus tried to buy a pair of her knickers from Eddie Carmichael last year," Harry sniggered.
"That's disgusting," Hermione exclaimed.
"The pair Eddie sold him were. They had the name Irma Pence written on the waistband," Ron said, causing Neville and Harry to burst into laughter at the memory.
"Serves him right. So what did they tell you in the meeting?" Ginny asked wanting to get off of the current subject.
"Basically they said that since we're the new prefects we get saddled with all the scrub work," Ron said before Hermione could answer.
"We have the late shift on prefect patrols, and have to show the first years to the common room," Hermione corrected.
"We also get saddled with helping Filch decorate the castle on holidays and can be called upon during any emergency to assist the staff," Ron added.
"I hope I'm not a prefect," Ginny mumbled.
"I'm just glad they picked Ron instead of me," Neville said sounding very serious.
"Agreed," Harry nodded.
"You both are a bunch of gigantic prats," Ron huffed, though he looked to be fighting a smile.
It was just before the woman with the snack trolley made her rounds that Malfoy and company paid Harry his annual visit. Malfoy was looking smug enough to put Percy Weasley to shame and was even copying the way Ron's brother used to puff his chest out so that his prefect's badge was more prominent.
"Potter, did you hear the news?" Malfoy asked in a superior tone as he stepped into their compartment.
"Congratulations Malfoy, you managed to orally gratify Professor Snape enough to get yourself a prefect position," Harry said with faux sincerity as he stood up to face the uninvited guests.
"I am a Slytherin prefect, so you had better watch yourself, Potter. Things have changed this year," Malfoy snarled, looking furious that Harry was not reacting in the usual way.
"I know they have. How does it feel to be a house guest in your own home, Malfoy?" Harry asked with a knowing smile and was rewarded when Malfoy's eyes widened in obvious surprise.
"I ha-have no idea what you mean!" Malfoy exclaimed, his voice higher in pitch than usual and his cheeks flushing a deep shade of pink.
"From the look on your face, I think you know exactly what I'm talking about. Daddy is not in his master's good graces. I bet he got moved into the guest wing when your new house guest moved in," Harry taunted, enjoying the way his barbs seemed to be hitting their mark.
"You'll get what you deserve soon enough, Potter. The dark lord will deal with you the same way he dealt with your filthy parents!" Malfoy hissed in fury, seeming to be at a loss for how to handle Harry's calm amusement.
"Well, he can certainly try. Of course, we both know what happened the last time death eaters tried that. How is your aunt doing, by the way?" Harry asked in a cold tone that made Malfoy take an involuntary step back.
"Watch yourself, Potter. Not even Dumbledore can protect you now," Malfoy snapped before turning on his heel and storming off.
"Always the same impotent threats from him, house of the cunning my ass," Harry sighed as he watched Crabbe and Goyle lumbering after their leader.
"Malfoy looked madder than I've ever seen him," Ron grinned.
"I know. He's pretty easy to wind up, isn't he?" Harry chuckled as he retook his seat.
"I'm surprised you didn't punch him after what he said about your parents," Hermione said looking pleased.
"I wanted to but that's the only thing he has on me. He was trying to get a reaction out of me and I denied him that," Harry shrugged.
Hermione was right, he had wanted nothing more than to punch the ferret for disrespecting his parents but he knew that Andi would have his hide if he had, especially after the talk they'd had this morning.
"What did you mean about him being a house guest in his own home?" Neville asked in confusion, pulling Harry back into the conversation.
"Voldemort is living at Malfoy Manor," Harry answered not surprised when Neville flinched enough to nearly drop his cactus thing.
About ten minutes after the run-in with Malfoy, the snack trolley came by and Harry bought everyone a pumpkin juice and some cauldron cakes.
The six of them chatted about lighter topics as they ate, mainly about classes and the upcoming quidditch season.
A little after one, Ginny said she had to go meet up with someone and dragged Luna along with her. It wasn't long after the two fourth-years had left that Harry saw the fifth-year Hufflepuff prefects pass their compartment and he remembered a promise he'd made a few months ago.
"Excuse me," Harry said to the others before jumping up and stepping out into the corridor.
"Hey Abbott," Harry called to the girl's back, causing her to come to a stop and turn to look in his direction.
"Y-yeah?" Hannah stuttered out, her cheeks turning pink when her eyes met Harry's.
"I told you that I wasn't Gilderoy Lockhart," Harry smirked.
"It was you?!" Hannah exclaimed, her eyes widening in surprise.
"It was and I promised I would tell you on the train," Harry smiled before slipping back into the compartment, leaving a flustered Hannah Abbot and a thoroughly confused Ernie McMillan standing in the corridor.
"What was that about?" Neville asked having seen the exchange from his seat.
"Just keeping a promise," Harry shrugged as Ginny and Luna came back into the compartment.
The rest of the trip passed peacefully, well almost peacefully as Harry, Ron, and Neville played several rounds of exploding snap. When Neville's cards exploded in his hands during their third game it triggered a reaction from the cactus thing in his lap.
Everyone in the compartment was coated in a black and pungent goo as jets of the stuff sprayed out of the plant's boils like a fountain.
"Neville," Harry said as he began vanishing the goo he was covered in with a scouring charm
"Yeah, Harry?" Neville said while Ginny vanished the goo from everyone else, one at a time.
"I hate that plant," Harry said deadpan.
The train pulled up at the station just as night was starting to fall and the group quickly got off the train. Harry would have to thank Andi, between shrinking his trunk for him and suggesting he let Hedwig fly to Hogwarts, he was able to get off the train a lot smoother than the others. He still got stuck carrying Crookshanks for Hermione but he didn't mind so much.
Harry found that carrying the temperamental cat ensured the other students gave him a wide berth. Crookshanks had developed a reputation for scratching and the other students were weary of the cat's claws.
By the time he had met up with Hermione near a carriage, Crookshanks was snoring in his basket and the others were boarding the carriage that Hermione was standing in front of.
"What is that?!" Harry exclaimed as he looked at the creature harnessed to the carriage.
"What is what?" Hermione asked in confusion.
"That big winged horse thing standing in front of every carriage?" Harry said slowly.
"Thestrals," a mousy-haired Hufflepuff girl said as she passed by, shooting Harry a wink over her shoulder.
Harry shook his head before following Hermione into the carriage, passing her the basket with Crookshanks in it when she sat down before he took his own seat.
Harry was as comfortable as he could be with six people crammed into a four-person carriage. This meant that Ginny was practically sitting in his lap when the carriage lurched forward and began moving up the bumpy road. He had to force himself to ignore the flowery fragrance of her hair and the feel of her body pressed against his the entire ride up as Hermione shot him knowing looks every time she caught his eye.
'Hope this year is better than last year,' Harry thought to himself as the carriage passed through the gates and the castle's lit windows came into view.
Great Hall, Hogwarts, 9/1/1995, 20:13
Harry took his seat at the Gryffindor table getting a lot of surprised looks when people realized who he was.
Thinking about it, Harry realized it must be pretty surprising to see someone who was supposed to be dead sitting at the Gryffindor table. Harry scanned the head table seeing that most of the staff was already seated with the exception of Hagrid and Professor McGonagall.
Harry knew Professor McGonagall was tending to the first years and keeping an eye on the entry hall as the students arrived.
Hagrid on the other hand was absent on the platform this year, which was odd. Harry had hoped Hagrid was already at the feast and had delegated the task of guiding the first years across the lake for one reason or another. Harry felt a bit of worry for his half-giant friend as it was unlike him to miss the feast. Now that Harry thought about it, he didn't remember seeing any lights from the direction of Hagrid's hut on the carriage ride in.
Pushing thoughts of Hagrid to the back of his mind, Harry continued to scan the staff table.
Snape was seated in his usual spot looking bored and as surly as ever, Professor Flitwick was having a whispered discussion with Professor Sprout.
At the far end of the table, Professor Sinistra and Professor Babbling were deep in conversation giggling like teenagers, both of them looking far younger than the rest of their coworkers.
Passing over the arithmancy professor as Harry didn't know his name anyway, Harry saw Dumbledore seated in the middle of the table. The headmaster seemed perfectly at his ease watching over the students as they entered the hall. Today Dumbledore wore robes of deep emerald green with gold stars and a matching pointed hat.
In the seat to Dumbledore's left was a professor Harry had never seen before but she matched the description Andi and Ted had given him this morning. The woman was wearing a horrible pink cardigan and had a matching pink bow tied in her mousy brown hair. She was very short probably four eleven but very plump. Her squat stature combined with her flabby face, wide, slack mouth, and little neck made her look very toadlike. Her eyes were bulging and pouchy which only enhanced her resemblance to Trevor.
The woman was whispering something to Dumbledore who seemed delighted to hear whatever she was saying though his eyes were not twinkling and Harry could have sworn he saw a flash of Irritation on the headmaster's face.
"Who's that woman in pink?" Ron asked pulling Harry out of his observations.
"Someone named Umbridge. She's the new defence teacher," Harry answered as he looked away from the staff table.
"She looks like a toad," Ron sniggered.
"You got that right," Harry agreed as Professor McGonagall led the first years into the hall.
The sorting hat was soon placed on a stool in front of the head table. The hall soon fell into silence as a tear in the hat near the brim opened wide and the hat began to sing.
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 someday 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, so I can tell
The whole sad, sorry tale.
Said Slytherin, "We'll teach just those
Whose ancestry's 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
Maintained 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.*
Harry stared at the hat completely taken aback by the hat's song like many others in the hall. It would seem the hat's song had definitely caught the attention of students and staff alike.
Harry had only heard two of these songs before due to unforeseen circumstances but the songs from his first and fourth year were both more upbeat. This song seemed rather serious and was more of a warning than an explanation of the traits that the four founders valued.
Before Harry could ponder the song further, food appeared on the table and his hunger took priority. Harry loaded a plate full of anything he could reach (except peppermint humbugs) and dug in with gusto.
"What did you think of the song?" Hermione asked after a few minutes when Harry started to eat at a more relaxed pace.
"That was strange. I thought the hat limited itself to listing off the traits for each house," Harry said thoughtfully.
"It usually does, though it did give a bit of a warning in our second year," Hermione said between bites of her salad.
"Me and Ron missed that sorting, we got a bit tangled up in the whomping willow," Harry pointed out.
"How could I forget that? You two oafs were lucky not to have broken your necks," Hermione huffed.
"True, though Ron did break his wand and we weren't allowed to attend the feast," Harry said between bites of roast beef.
Harry couldn't fight a small smile when he thought about the time he and Ron flew a car to Hogwarts.
"Back to the point, the hat was warning us about you-know-who," Hermione pressed on.
"I know. Though he's setting his sights a bit high asking for school unity. Can you imagine trying to make friends with the Slytherins?" Harry exclaimed as if the idea was absurd.
"No, they hate me on principle," Hermione admitted.
"You do show them up regularly in class. Your heritage just pours salt on the wound for people like Malfoy," Harry chuckled.
"I know," Hermione said and there was no mistaking the smug look on her face.
"The song didn't really tell us anything new. Though it might make things more difficult for Dumbledore when Umbridge reports it to the minister," Harry said reasonably as the main course vanished and the dessert course appeared in its place.
"What are you two plotting?" Ron said suspiciously when he noticed Harry and Hermione talking amongst themselves.
"We were discussing the hat's song," Harry said as he scooped some treacle tart onto his recently cleaned plate.
"It was a bit odd," Ron agreed as he dug into a piece of chocolate cake and a side of ice cream.
"More like ominous," Hermione corrected as she fixed herself a bowl of fruit salad.
The rest of the meal passed with their housemates cutting into the conversation. Lavender Brown seemed usually friendly with him much to Harry's confusion. Harry had never had any interaction with the girl and didn't understand why she kept batting her eyes at him and giggling at anything he said. Harry pushed it out of his mind as he caught Tonks' eye from the Hufflepuff table.
After the last of the desserts had vanished from the table, Dumbledore rose from his seat and began making the usual start-of-term announcements.
Filch had expanded his list of banned items, the forest was still forbidden, and students couldn't use magic in the hallways this year either.
'There really are a lot of limitations on underage sorcerers,' Harry thought in amusement.
Harry listened with half an ear as the headmaster went through the changes in staff. It seemed Hagrid wasn't at Hogwarts but for the life of him, Harry couldn't imagine what the half-giant was doing that was important enough to miss the start of term.
Professor Grubbly-Plank would be taking over his classes until Hagrid returned which was probably for the best since this was their O.W.L year. If Harry were being honest, he would have to admit that Hagrid's lessons were often not on the O.W.L curriculum, the skrewts being a prime example.
The final announcement was that Dolores Umbridge was taking the Defence post but Harry already knew that. He was preparing to get up knowing that Dumbledore was about to dismiss them when the short toad-woman stood up and cleared her throat.
Truthfully she wasn't much taller standing than sitting but when she walked around the staff table to stand in front of the lectern, she caught the attention of the student body.
"Hem Hem"
"Thank you for your kind words of introduction Headmaster, on behalf of the ministry I wish to say a few words," The woman said in a grating little girlish-sounding voice.
"We at the ministry would like to assure you that...
Harry tuned out her speech as there was something about the sound of her voice that made Harry want to tear his own ears off.
Harry could already tell he was going to loathe defence class this year. Between the atrocious book and the professor talking like a ten-year-old girl, the class was almost guaranteed to be a nightmare.
It seemed like an eternity before she completed her speech and the hall broke into chatter as Dumbledore dismissed them.
"Did you pay attention to any of that?" Ron asked pulling Harry from his daydream of running on the beach with Tonks.
"Huh?" Harry asked dumbly as he pushed the mental image of Tonks in a pink bikini from his mind.
"Umbridge's speech," Ron said looking amused.
"Yeah. I think that the ministry is interfering at Hogwarts this year," Harry said as he stood up from his seat.
"I'm surprised you picked up on that. It looked like you were daydreaming," Hermione said sounding impressed.
"Andi told me about her this morning, I couldn't listen to that warbling waffle," Harry admitted unable to contain a smile at the annoyed look Hermione gave him.
"That's cheating, Harry," Hermione huffed.
"Don't you have first years to tend to?" Harry smirked as he saw the new students clustered at the end of the table.
"I almost forgot! Come on Ronald, we have to show the first years to the common room," Hermione said as she got to her feet and dragged Ron with her to the gathering of first years.
Harry walked out of the hall at a more sedate pace, veering off from the crowd and taking a secret passageway behind a suit of armour a little past the grand staircase.
"Come on Potter, we need to talk," a familiar voice called out from behind him in the passage.
"Sure, where are we going?" Harry asked as he waited for Tonks to catch up with him.
"The seventh floor," Tonks said as she led him upwards through the passage.
"So why are you really at Hogwarts?" Harry asked as they continued moving upwards, this passage went all the way up to the fourth floor.
"Because Dumbledore wants you trained and he's under the microscope from the ministry right now," Tonks admitted.
"Yeah, your mum told me about Umbridge," Harry said as they stepped out of the passageway and made their way to another passage behind a tapestry three corridors down.
"Be careful around her, I've heard all sorts of rumours at the ministry about Dolores Umbridge," Tonks warned.
"Andi said that as well," Harry muttered as they slipped into the passage that would take them all the way up to the seventh floor.
"So do you know anything about Hagrid?" Harry asked when they began climbing the spiral staircase inside the passage.
"Yeah but I can't tell you," Tonks said in a flat tone.
"Figures," Harry sighed as they entered the seventh corridor coming out a few hallways down from the Fat Lady's portrait.
"Alright, follow me," Tonks said as she led him down a few hallways into a part of the castle he wasn't familiar with.
They came to a halt in front of a blank stretch of wall across from a tapestry of a bunch of trolls clobbering some bloke with their clubs.
Harry watched as she paced in front of the stretch of wall across from the tapestry. Harry was starting to wonder what she was doing but stayed quiet knowing he would find out soon enough. On her third pass, a plain door appeared in the wall with a soft popping sound.
"Inside," Tonks said as she threw open the door and gestured for him to enter.
Hesitantly Harry stepped inside to find a vast empty room with candles floating about ten feet in the air, casting the room in an orange glow, reminding him of the great hall. The walls and floor were smooth black stone but when Harry stepped on the floor, he felt it give slightly, almost like walking on a mattress. The room itself was rectangular and looked to be about thirty feet wide and fifty or sixty feet long.
"We will meet here every morning at five and every evening after dinner," Tonks said as she dug in the pocket of her robes and pulled out a tattered book.
"Read over this but don't let anyone know you have it," Tonks continued before tossing him the book.
"What's this?" Harry asked as there was nothing on the cover it was just a plain-looking black leather-bound book.
"It's my textbook from the auror academy. Technically civilians are not supposed to have access to that book as it goes over auror tactics and other confidential information about the auror corp," Tonks explained.
"Does it have spells?" Harry asked in interest.
"Yes, some of them are pretty nasty. There is a whole chapter devoted to using the unforgivebles," Tonks answered in a neutral tone.
"The aurors use the unforgiveables?!" Harry asked in alarm.
"Not presently but we still have to learn how to cast them. Back in the first war, the aurors were allowed to use the killing curse in the apprehension of known death eaters," Tonks explained.
"Yeah, Sirius said something about that," Harry nodded remembering when Sirius had told him about Barty Crouch Senior.
"They also approved of the use of the cruciatus for interrogation during that time but that was kept secret from the public," Tonks said a look of disgust on her face.
"That doesn't really surprise me," Harry scowled as he slipped the book into his pocket.
"Yeah well that was during a time of war. When Crouch was transferred out of the DMLE, the unforgiveables were no longer permitted except in life or death situations," Tonks shrugged as she drew her wand.
"What are you doing?" Harry asked in confusion as he saw her moving to the other side of the room.
"I think it's time to get in a bit of practice," Tonks smirked.
That was all the warning Harry got before a punching hex left her wand and Harry only barely avoided it by diving to the floor.
* The Sorting Hat's song was an excerpt from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by: J.K Rowling.