Luna drifted away from us at the Ravenclaw table, as did Stefan at Hufflepuff. The rest of us found seats together about halfway down the table between Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor House ghost, and Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown, the last two of whom gave Harry airy, overly friendly greetings that made me quite sure they had stopped talking about him a split second before.

"You two got something to say about Harry?" I asked them. "It wasn't hard to tell that you were just talking about him now. Why not say what you've got to say to his face?"

They both blushed and looked away from us.

"Talking shit about someone behind their back is both cowardly and extremely rude!" I told them "Next time, just spit it out in front of him!"

Harry kissed me.

"Thanks so much Gin"

"Anything for you my love"

We looked up at the staff table for Hagrid, but he wasn't there. "He can't have left," said Ron, sounding slightly anxious.

"Of course he hasn't," said Harry firmly. "You don't think he's . . . hurt, or anything, do you?" said Hermione uneasily.

"No," said Harry at once.

"But where is he, then?"

There was a pause, then Harry said very quietly, "Maybe he's not back yet. You know — from his mission — the thing he was doing over the summer for Dumbledore."

"Yeah . . . yeah, that'll be it," said Ron, sounding reassured, but Hermione bit her lip, looking up and down the staff table as though hoping for some conclusive explanation of Hagrid's absence.

"We have to hope that's it" said Amy

"Of course it will be. I agree with Ron here, as crazy as that sounds" Demelza added.

"Who's that?" she said sharply, pointing toward the middle of the staff table.

Our eyes followed hers. They lit first upon Professor Dumbledore, sitting in his high-backed golden chair at the center of the long staff table, wearing deep-purple robes scattered with silvery stars and a matching hat. Dumbledore's head was inclined toward the woman sitting next to him, who was talking into his ear. She looked, I thought, like somebody's maiden aunt: squat, with short, curly, mouse-brown hair in which she had placed a horrible pink Alice band that matched the fluffy pink cardigan she wore over her robes.

"It's that Umbridge woman!" Harry said

"Who?" said Hermione.

"She was at my hearing, she works for Fudge!"

"Nice cardigan," said Ron, smirking.

"She works for Fudge?" Hermione repeated, frowning. "What on earth's she doing here, then?"

"Dunno . . ."

Hermione scanned the staff table, her eyes narrowed.

"No," she muttered, "no, surely not . . .

Demelza appeared to be thinking along the same lines.

"I think we might be having some governmental influence at school this year" she said.

Professor Grubbly-Plank appeared behind the staff table; she worked her way along to the very end and took the seat that ought to have been Hagrid's. That meant that the first years must have crossed the lake and reached the castle, and sure enough, a few seconds later, the doors from the entrance hall opened. A long line of scared-looking first years entered, led by Professor McGonagall, who was carrying a stool on which sat an ancient wizard's hat, heavily patched and darned with a wide rip near the frayed brim.

The buzz of talk in the Great Hall faded away. The first years lined up in front of the staff table facing the rest of the students, and Professor McGonagall placed the stool carefully in front of them, then stood back. The first years' faces glowed palely in the candlelight. A small boy right in the middle of the row looked as though he was trembling. The whole school waited with bated breath.

Then the rip near the hat's brim opened wide like a mouth and the Sorting Hat burst into song:

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 Gryffndor? Unless it was the second pair Of Huffepuff and Ravenclaw? So how could it have gone so wrong? How could such friendships fail? Why, I was there and so can tell The whole sad, sorry tale.

Said Slytherin, "We'll teach just those Whose ancestry is purest."

Said Ravenclaw, "We'll teach those whose Intelligence is surest."

Said Gryffindor, "We'll teach all those With brave deeds to their name," Said Hufflepujf, "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 Hufflepujf she took the rest, And taught them all she knew, Thus the Houses and their founders Retained friendships firm and true.

So Hogwarts worked in harmony For several happy years, But then discord crept among us Feeding on our faults and fears The Houses that, like pillars four, Had once held up our school, Now turned upon each other and, Divided, sought to rule. And for a while it seemed the school Must meet an early end, What with dueling 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 fulfill 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.

The hat became motionless once more; applause broke out, though it was punctured, for the first time in my memory, with muttering and whispers. All across the Great Hall students were exchanging remarks with their neighbors.

"Branched out a bit this year, hasn't it?" said Ron, his eyebrows raised.

"Too right it has," said Harry

"I think it's a good thing" I said "It's telling the school the truth they all need to hear"

"Definitely" said Amy