"You know, being a Head Girl does have some drawbacks," Cho complained, "such as needing to get to the train this early."
"But on the bright side, you have your own room," Harry rebutted, bringing his trunk up onto the train as Lupa led the way to the train compartment at the back.
"True, we won't need the hideout anymore, I can just let you come into my room," Cho agreed.
"Exactly, and at least your Head Boy is rather nice," Harry continued, mentioning the Head Boy for the year which was Sterling Buttons from Hufflepuff.
"Sterling? He is alright I guess, we will find out how good he is later I guess."
"Good luck then," Harry said as he helped Cho to store her trunk, "see you soon, take Lupa as a good luck charm, look after her Lupa."
"See you soon, come on Lupa," Cho said before leaving for the Prefect compartment with Lupa by her side, excitedly howling.
It was finally time for the school year to start again and Cho was heading into her final year at Hogwarts, she was filled with excitement and dread at the same time, mostly due to her N.E.W.T exams which were taking place at the end of the year. While she was pretty sure that they were not needed due to her goal of going professional in Quidditch being on track, she still wanted to have a good foundation to fall back on after her eventual retirement. Due to her being a Head Girl, she had to come earlier than other students and even Prefects to organise the talks with the Prefects together with the Head Boy. Harry had volunteered to come with her and with Sirius accompanying both of them, they headed to Kings Cross station earlier than the bigger group of the Weasleys, Hermione and her little sister. Making her way to the front of the train, Cho opened the compartment to find Sterling sitting in it, writing something on a piece of parchment.
"Good to see you Sterling," Cho said as Sterling looked up, "I'm not late am I?"
"Oh no, I just came earlier to settle some of the admin stuff," he said with a wide smile, "pleasure to work with you Cho."
"The pleasure is mine," Cho said gracefully, "so what are you working on?"
"I'm organising the timetables for the Prefects Patrols to make it easier for the Prefects this year," he replied as he gave Cho the pieces of parchment which had all the Prefect Patrols labelled and colour-coded to each Prefect.
"Brilliant," Cho said in amazement, "though that many colours make it a little messy for the eyes."
"Yeah," Sterling sighed, "any solutions?"
"I think we should just color code it based on the house instead, would be convenient enough for everyone."
"I would fix it then," Sterling said, taking the parchment back before finally realising that Lupa was in the room with them, now on the couch and eyeing Sterling carefully.
"Er why is your wolf eyeing me like that?" Sterling asked uncomfortably.
"Because Harry told him to look after me," Cho chuckled, "relax Lupa, he is friendly."
Lupa howled softly before shrugging (Cho still has no idea how it does it) and lying down on the couch, making itself as comfortable as possible.
"It's crazy that you have a pet like that," Sterling said in awe, "all I have is an Owl which does not seem to like me very much."
"Thank Harry for that," Cho replied, slowly stroking Lupa's fur, in the past few months, Lupa had grown bigger, growing into a size similar to dogs, "he won her over so now she is loyal to him and by extension, me."
"She's amazing, and very beautiful," Sterling said, still looking at Lupa in awe.
"Be careful though," Cho warned, "he can shred a human fatally in seconds."
"S -Sorry what?"
"Relaxxx," Cho replied, "she would not attack unless we are really threatened, she's a protector."
"Remind me to never mess with you two, or your entire group by extension," Sterling sighed, "you guys are actually overpowered."
"Once again," Cho chuckled, "mostly Harry's doing."
Both Head Boy and Girl continued spending their time discussing the Prefect duties this year, theorising the potential fifth-year Prefects and how easy they would be to deal with, however, it was soon time for the fifth-years to arrive and have their briefing. First came Ginny who gave Sterling a nod while she gave Cho a wave before taking her seat, afterwards, the new Ravenclaw prefect and to her surprise, Lila Coil entered, giving Cho a hug before taking a seat. One by one, the prefects started coming in, with most being acquaintances to Cho. When all the Prefects finally took their seats, Cho and Sterling stood up, all ready to give their speeches, Lupa immediately got up from the couch and jumped onto Cho's shoulder, resting comfortably on it. Despite growing in size, Lupa was still rather light and her fur gave great comfort to Cho.
"Alright, it's good to meet all of you," Sterling started off, "we are your new Head Boy and Girl for the year, I am Sterling Button from Hufflepuff and this is-"
"I'm Cho Chang from Ravenclaw."
"We are going to have to work with each other for the rest of this year in order to ensure that the school remain a safe and welcoming environment for all students to learn and grow in," Sterling continued, "as you know, you all were selected by your Head of Houses for your conduct and attitude throughout your last four years in the school, you eight are meant to be the role models for the rest of your school, being a Prefect gives you many privileges, such as access to the Prefect Bathroom and the ability to take points away from other students for misbehaviour, but I must emphasise, this power and privileges comes with responsibilities, you will have to patrol the school at night and you will have to stand up for what is right in your everyday life, I must warn however, all these privileges and your badge will be taken away if you abuse your power or prove to be incompetent at your role."
"And trust me," Cho added coolly, "this can and will happen, this is why I became a Prefect in the first place, because someone was incompetent at their job."
"Exactly," Sterling continued, "it isn't an easy job by any means, it is a rather tough one, but a very fulfilling one at that, I wish you all the best of luck for the year ahead and I hope that we will work together as well as possible, this is your timetables for your patrols, you may switch with other Prefects whenever you like and unless you are excused by a teacher, you must complete the hours assigned to you, your patrols would also be with different Prefects from other houses and even other levels thus I recommend that you get to know everyone because there is a high chance that you will have to work with them eventually."
"And before you go for your train patrols," Cho suddenly added, "many of you would know that we are in the midst of a time of uncertainty and danger, there are dark forces out there who are trying to take control of our wizarding world and control our freedom, while Hogwarts is unlikely to be a battle grounds due to how fortified it is, I have to warn all of you that this year at Hogwarts will be very different from the last, Aurors are being stationed around and in the school and the atmosphere will be tense throughout the year, as Prefects, we are expected to maintain the order and help any student in need, in times like this, our involvement and the students wellbeing is of paramount importance, should you meet any student in distress, help them, if you are unable to provide it yourself, seek help from the many Prefects or Professors in the school, if you see someone getting into activities that may endanger the safety of other students, speak up and get a Professor's attention, that is all."
Cho watched as the eight Prefects gulped and processed what she said, the least fazed was Ginny who already knew the situation they were in due to her entire family being involved in the war. The others however, looked worried but firmly motivated, something that Cho saw as a success. As they each made their exits, in came the sixth and seventh year Prefects, with the first of enter being Harry, Hermione and Daphne. Lupa immediately leapt off Cho's shoulder and onto Harry, snuggling into Harry as Harry hugged it. Smiling at the scene, Cho moved up towards them.
"She scared the shit out of Sterling," Cho joked to Harry.
"Hold on," he protested, "I wasn't scared."
"Oh you should have seen his face when I said that Lupa can kill a person in seconds, he was mortified," Cho said as the group broke out in laughter.
"Oh come on," Daphne said, tickling Lupa, "Lupa isn't that scary, look at her, what a cutie, come on Buttons, try it, she probably would not rip your finger off."
"I would rather not," Sterling said, face turning slightly pale at that idea.
"Alright alright let's stop bullying him," Harry said, putting Lupa down on the couch and giving Cho a peck on her lips, "how were the fifth-years."
"Pretty good," Cho replied, "they look like they would do their jobs well, how's Cheng?"
"She's doing well," Harry replied, "she's sitting together with us in the compartment, Ron, Neville, Blaise and Tracey are looking after her."
"She should go and make friends," Cho scowled, "now is the best time to do so."
"Partially agreed," Harry replied, "I did meet Ron on the train, but let her go at her own pace Cho, she would have opportunities to make friends, I mean my friend group was Hermione and Ron for most of my time here, it's only the last two years where it expanded to include you and everyone else."
"Excuse me," Daphne interrupted, "I'm not 'everyone else', I deserve more than that."
"Fine fine," Harry relented, "Daphne and everyone else."
"That's better," Daphne said smugly, making the group laugh again.
"Ok go back to being a Head Girl now," Harry said, "the other Prefects are coming."
After waiting for a few more minutes, all the Prefects had finally gathered together in the compartment, ready to receive their instructions.
"Ok welcome back everyone," Sterling started off, "we are your Head Boy and Girl for the year, there are no new Prefects among our ranks this year so I reckon I would continue with the instructions, here are the Patrol timetables, we've colour coded it based on your Houses to make it easier for all of you to digest."
Hermione was the most enthusiastic when it came to receiving the patrols, immediately grabbing it and feverishly reading and digesting it. Something that Cho had to restrain herself otherwise she would break out laughing. Harry and Daphne clearly found it funny as well as them three gave knowing looks to each other.
"This year is very important for us Prefects," Cho continued after a short while, "as many of you would know, we are in very uncertain times, Aurors have already been positioned in and out of the school to defend the compound, as Prefects, we have to maintain the order and do our best to lighten the atmosphere because the atmosphere itself is really tense right now, we had a great year last year as Prefects, becoming more united than we ever have and it is crucial that we continue it this year, continue doing your best to assist other students, whether it's helping them get to classes or helping them seek help because they are being mistreated, this will be all, have a good year everyone."
"Pretty good speech there," Harry said to Cho as they left the compartment.
"Meh, my speech to the fifth-years was more epic," Cho commented.
"Trying to scare them are you?"
"Kinda," Cho sighed, "they need to know what they are facing and what their responsibilities are this year."
"True," Harry replied, "we are entering a very turbulent year indeed."
"Just don't get yourself hospitalised again," Cho said, glaring at Harry.
"I would do my best," Harry said jokingly, receiving a smack on the head by Cho.
(Change of POV)
Entering the Great Hall for the start of another year, Harry was greeted by the familiar scene and environment he had fallen in love with over the past fifth years. This time however, the person sitting in the middle of the teacher's table was very different. Rather than a man with a long grey beard smiling as the school cohort entered, it was now a tall and strict-looking woman in emerald green robes sitting there. Behind the strict outlook however, Harry knew a much sweeter and caring person who he had grown to love in the past year. As Harry continued to look at her, their eyes finally met and the strict look softened a little as she gave Harry a nod. The softer look however, immediately vanished again. Looking at the rest of the table however, Harry was greeted by many familiar faces, the new faces however, were new to almost every student in the school except a select few. Looking at Sirius, he was dressed stylishly in long gleaming black robes and his hair styled in his usual fashion, when they finally made eye contact, Sirius's smile brightened a ton, with him raising his glass and toasting Harry from afar. As for the new Transfiguration Professor, Lupin wore a very simple robe, this time however, it was no longer shabby and patched, something that Harry and Sirius made sure of, forcing him to get new robes to look better. Similarly, Lupin gave Harry a nod when their eyes met. Last but not least however, the new History of Magic Professor, Fleur wore a simple and elegant robe, something which turned heads while still being suitable for a teacher. When their eyes met, Fleur gave him a large warm smile, thanking him for helping her to get to where she was now.
As Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Dean and Neville took their seats, the first-years started entering the Great Hall from a separate door, led by Professor Sprout rather than Professor McGonagall seeing as she is a Headmistress now. The students stayed by a side, all clearly nervous about the ceremony. At that moment, the Sorting Hat began to sing.
Similar to the years before, the Hat began to sing and warn about the turbulent times they were in, emphasising the need for unity among the houses. While it seemed ludicrous when he sang about unity in past years, that prospect seemed more plausible and likely than the years before after the stark change in the Slytherin House last year. When the Hat finally finished, the audience erupted into respectful applause.
"We will begin the Sorting Ceremony now!" Professor Sprout announced as the students at the tables leaned in and waited with anticipation for the sorting. The first-years however, looked visably terrified.
Harry did not pay attention to the first few names being sorted, politely clapping for every single one. His attention was solely on one person and one person only, where was Cheng going to be sorted into.
"Chang, Cheng!" Professor Sprout finally announced to the school. At the mention of the surname, many heads turned to Cho. Harry similarly turned to look at Cho who looked nervous. Giving Cho a firm and confident nod, Cho relaxed a little. Turning his attention back to the sorting, Harry saw Cheng walking out from the crowd. To his surprise, she did not look afraid or nervous, she looked as relaxed as one could be, perhaps even excited by the prospect of being sorted. Taking a seat on the stool, Professor Sprout placed the Sorting Hat on her.
To his surprise, the Sorting Hat took far longer to decide where to put her. ten seconds, twenty seconds, thirty seconds, fourty seconds, fifty seconds, one minute, one and a half, two, the wait continued until finally, after five minutes, the Sorting Hat roared.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Harry immediately started clapping enthusiastically along with his housemates, cheering loudly as Cheng excitedly walked to Harry's group and took a seat. Harry's attention however, quickly drifted to Cho at the Ravenclaw table, who thankfully, looked relieved, giving Harry a thumbs up.
"Welcome to Gryffindor," Harry welcomed Cheng, who looked rather pleased with herself.
"That was rather impressive Cheng," Hermione added, "a hat stall, we rarely see that."
"Yeah, that was longer than even Hermione's, her's took four minutes."
"The Hat couldn't figure out whether it should put me in Gryffindor, Slytherin or Ravenclaw," she admitted, "it eventually settled on Gryffindor or Slytherin and I chose Gryffindor."
"Brilliant," Harry congratulated her, "quite similar to mine then, the Hat couldn't decide between Slytherin or Gryffindor for me, I also chose Gryffindor."
"Amazing, but almost getting sorted into Slytherin isn't a bad thing is it?" Cheng asked curiously.
"Oh no it isn't," Harry replied swiftly, "Slytherin is a good house really, look at Daphne, Blaise or Tracey, they are all good people, it's just that some terrible people were in Slytherin who gained it a trash reputation, thankfully however, they are largely gone."
"Oh Cho told me about it," Cheng said excitedly, "she said that they tried to attack you but got embarrassed, they must be some idiots then, picking a fight on you."
"Oh trust me Cheng," Ron roared with laughter, "they really are."
When the Sorting Ceremony finally ended, the Feast quickly began as a wide variety of food appeared on the table. Cheng however, looked slightly disappointed at the selection.
"Upset at the lack of Chinese food?" Harry asked.
"Yeah," she frowned, "the food is decent I guess, but I miss my Char Siu."
"You would have to get used to it," Harry sighed, "your mum might be able to owl you some food from time to time but it would be more for special occasions."
"I know," Cheng replied, stabbing the chips and continued eating.
"You just need time Cheng," Harry added, "it would be hard to settle into Hogwarts at first but with time, you will start to love this place, and at least you have people to rely on already, Cho, me, Ron, Hermione, all of us, we will help you if you need anything."
"Thanks," Cheng beamed, "I'm curious, does Cho go by her Chinese name here? Or does she go by Celina?"
"She goes by Cho," Harry replied, "she prefers to stick to her roots."
"And she doesn't get bullied or anything for it?" Cheng asked curiously.
"No, not really," Harry replied, "she wasn't exactly bullied but some did look down on her, especially after she started dating me, I was rather unpopular at times and I was enemies with the main bully."
"The one that got expelled?" Cheng asked.
"Yep, don't be afraid of getting bullied Cheng," Harry said, "and if anyone does, don't let it affect you, putting someone down just because of their skin tone, ethnicity or blood status is pathetic, and if anyone tries to mess with you, just remember that you are friends with the most powerful group in the school."
"Agreed," Hermione added, "we have four Prefects and one Head Girl among us, they will get into more trouble than it's worth."
"And if they don't get into detentions, we can teach them a lesson another way," Ron said before getting hilariously smacked on the head by Hermione, falling face first into his pudding and leading to a roar of laughter.
"But yeah," Harry said after recovering from the laughs, "we are all here to protect you from anyone intending to harm you."
"Thank you," Cheng beamed, "I was wondering whether I should go by my Chinese or English name."
"Which one do you prefer?"
"I love both," Cheng admitted, "but my English name is really pretty."
"Then go with it then," Harry encouraged, "what is your English name by the way?"
"Caitlyn," Cheng replied, "it's pretty right?"
"Yeah," Harry agreed, "Celina is prettier though."
"Simp," Cheng snorted, leading to more laughter from the group.
"Would not deny it," Harry smiled, "it is your name Cheng, you can use both if you really want to, people who don't know you well can use your English name while people who you are close to use your Chinese name, something like that can work."
"That's brilliant," Cheng replied, "I would go by that then, thank you Harry."
When the Feast finally ended, the attention turned back to McGonagall who now took the podium, ready to give her first address to the school as the office Headmistress.
"Welcome all back to Hogwarts," she announced, "to our returning students, I hope that you have had an enjoyable holiday where you can relax and unwind, to our new students, welcome to your second home for the next seven years, a place where you can learn, grow and develop into a better wizard or witch and most importantly a better person."
"As your new Headmistress, I have spent the holidays working on areas that Hogwarts was lacking in based on the feedback given by numerous students," McGonagall continued, "many of you might find these changes new and refreshing and hopefully, you will find that these changes positively affect your learning experience in Hogwarts, to begin, I would like to introduce the numerous Professors who would be joining our school this year, firstly, I would like to welcome our new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor, Professor Sirius Black."
With this introduction, Sirius stood up from his seat before performing a stylish bow as the audience gave their applause.
"Many of you would know Professor Black here as the falsely convicted mass murderer who has been recently cleared of all charges, he however, have shown immense talent and passion in Defence Against the Dark Arts, with himself being a top student back in the day, Professor Black also has experience when it comes to fighting against Dark Wizards and the Dark Arts, providing you students with his valuable expertise especially in times like this, next, I would like to introduce your new History of Magic Professor, Professor Fleur Delacour."
Similar to Sirius, Fleur stood up from her seat before giving an elegant bow, with the audience giving their applause as well. Harry however, noticed that there were many murmurs among the crowd about this appointment.
"Unlike the other Professors who were filling empty posts, I have appointed Professor Delacour as the History of Magic Professor as a replacement for Professor Binns who after much valuable feedback from the students, I have decided to relieve from his duties due his inability to engage the students effectively during History of Magic lessons, Professor Delacour here might be familiar to some of you here, being a competitor in the Triwizard Tournament two years ago, representing her school, Beauxbatons, many of you here might also be aware that she is indeed a quarter Veela, while it might seem inappropriate to appoint a Veela as a Professor, Professor Delacour have showed immense passion and knowledge in the field of History of Magic, making her suitable for this job, in addition, through an invention by a talented wizard, we have found a way to contain her Veela allure, eliminating the issue of having a Veela as a Professor, however, should any student or parent want to seek clarity or protest this decision, I would welcome you to speak with me and the Board of Governors, moving on, we have a returning Professor who would be taking up the post of Transfiguration Professor, Professor Remus Lupin."
Similar to the two before him, Lupin got up and gave a small and awkward bow as the crowd gave their applause. This time however, Harry could visibly see the mixed reaction from the crowd, with half of them applauding Lupin enthusiastically, happy that he was back, while others looked hesitant.
"As many of you would know, Professor Lupin was the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor a few years ago before resigning from his job, I have however, decided to re-hire him as the Transfiguration Professor after reviewing his time as the DADA Professor, Professor Lupin had shown immense aptitude and passion for teaching, able to captivate his students and teach them efficiently and effectively, however, due to his unfortunate condition, he was forced to resign from his post, with the approval from the Minister of Magic and the Board, we have decided that with some precautions, Professor Lupin would be able to continue teaching at Hogwarts, Professor Snape have agreed to produce Wolfsbane Potions for Professor Lupin monthly for him to consume during the fullmoon which would allow him to transform into a werewolf while keeping his consciousness and his mind, this would ensure that as a werewolf, Professor Lupin would be able to safely quarantine himself in his office without being a threat to other students, as a precaution, an agreement have been reached where his office will be locked magically during his transformations which would protect both students and himself from any accidents, during the times where he is too weak to teach due to his condition, a substitute teacher would take his place and continue his teaching plans, this decision is passed with the approval of the Minister of Magic and her new policies regarding Werewolves in our society, however, should any student of parent have a problem with this decision, I would be once again, open to answer and explain my decisions."
When she completed her introduction of Lupin, McGonagall paused and stared menacingly into the crowd, daring anyone to question her decision.
"She is scary," Cheng whispered to Harry.
"She can be," Harry admitted, "but beneath the strict and terrifying outlook, she is actually very caring and kind."
"Is that why you two are close?" Cheng asked, "I saw her at your birthday party in July."
"Indeed," Harry agreed, "you will start to love her if you spend more time with her."
"How did you end up spending that much time with her," Cheng asked, astonished, "is it because of all the trouble you get into?"
"W - What?" Harry asked confusedly, "What on earth did Cho tell you?"
"Nothing much," Cheng giggled, "just that you have a tendency to get into stupid scenarios which put your life in danger."
"Er… well, she isn't exactly wrong," Harry confessed, "but no, that's not really the reason, you see, McGonagall knew my parents very well before they passed on, and as a result, she is slightly softer to me as long as I don't get myself into trouble, and last year, we started working together a lot as I had many one-on-one sessions with her."
"Because your results were bad?"
"Oh nono," Harry laughed, "it was for additional learning, to become a better wizard."
"Brilliant," Cheng said with her eyes sparkling with excitement, "can I do that too?"
"Yeah," Harry replied, amazed by her passion, "you just need to excel at a subject and show passion for it, the Professor for that subject then might offer you the opportunity to pursue a Mastery, this is rather rare because you have to be excellent at the subject, but if you just want to learn more from a Professor, you can just ask them for consultation."
"Now onto the admin side of changes," McGonagall continued, "I am pleased to announce that Professor Dumbledore will be taking on the new role of Advisor to Hogwarts after stepping down from the Headmaster role last year, as an advisor, Professor Dumbledore will still be a Professor in the school and will occasionally take on the substitute teacher role for any subject, in addition, Professor Dumbledore is also open to speaking and counselling any student in need whenever he is available in the school, his office will be located on the third storey and his presence will be indicated by the owl statue outside of his office, if the owl is sleeping, this means that Professor Dumbledore is currently unavailable and if it's awake, this means that he is open to speaking to any student in the school."
"Another admin change would be the Head of Gryffindor House, due to my promotion to the Headmistress role, I have to vacate the role of Head of Gryffindor House, as my replacement, Professor Black will take on the role as the Head of House, as a Gryffindor himself, Professor Black has exhibited the traits of a true Gryffindor and is thus, the perfect fit for the role."
Looking at the teacher's table again, Sirius's smile grew even larger than before, with him raising his glass to Harry again for a toast.
"Now for information about the highly anticipated Interschool Quidditch Tournament," McGonagall continued as the students started murmuring to each other more in excitement, "the Tournament will take place this year and Hogwarts will be going up against three of the finest institution in the Wizarding World, from France, Beauxbatons, from Nordic States, Durmstrang and from the United States of America, Ilvermorny, throughout the year, all four school will go up against each other in a league format, each school will face each other twice, once at home and once away, this Tournament aims to improve interschool relations while promoting the growth of Quidditch talent around the world, at Hogwarts, our team will be led by Madam Hooch who will serve as the Coach of the team, to select the players, Madam Hooch will be overseeing the Quidditch Tryouts this Saturday at the Quidditch Pitch, players are reminded to dress appropriately for the Tryout and to not bring their own brooms as brooms will be provided for the Tryout."
"We are using the school brooms?" Ginny groaned, "They are just a pile of trash."
"Oh nono," Harry replied, "we are not using the old school brooms, the school got rid of it last year."
"Then what brooms are we using?" Ron asked curiously.
"Nimbus have provided a huge batch of training brooms to the school, they are obviously, not amazing as compared to a Firebolt, Lighting, 2000s or even the best Comets and Cleansweepers, but they are actually not too bad, their handling is quite smooth and they mainly just lack speed," Harry explained.
"How on earth do you even know this?" Hermione asked.
"Because I work with Nimbus," Harry smiled, "I have insider information about their production and all, but Nimbus will be sponsoring the school for this Tournament meaning that every player will get a new Nimbus Lightning, as part of the deal, they are supplying the training brooms."
"Brilliant," Ron said, "this means that I can get a Nimbus Lightning as well?"
"Get into the team first Ronald," Hermione frowned.
"Along with the Interschool Quidditch Tournament, it has also been planned that a new Duelling Tournament will be taking place next year between the same four schools," McGonagall continued as the crowd got more excited, "more information about this Tournament will be given at a later date, but in preparation for it, we have decided to bring back the Duelling Club to train and select potential Duelist for next year, this club will be ran by Professor Flitwick, a champion Duelist, and Professor Black, while the aim of this club is to prepare for next year, we have decided to implement this club to train students at the art of Duelling and defence, as Duelling is a risky and dangerous activity, we have decided to limit the club to only fifth years and above."
"This brings me to my final point," McGonagall said as the crowd quietened down again, "as many of your would have observed, upon your entry to the school this year, all of you have your trunks searched by Professors and Aurors, many of you would have also observed that many Aurors and Hitwizards have been stationed in and around the school, this comes as a precaution do to the current climate we are in, if you are keeping up with the news, many of you would know that we are in the midst of a war against You-Know-Who's dark forces, while You-Know-Who himself was defeated during the Battle of the Department of Mystery, we have sufficient evidence to point to the fact that he is still clinging onto life and recovering from his defeat, currently, his Death Eaters have been commanding his forces in his place, leading and ordering attacks on both Muggles and Wizards alike, both the Minister and I have sufficient reason to believe that Hogwarts, while being a heavily defended fortress, might be a potential target for these forces, this is the reason for the stationing of Aurors and Hitwizards in and around Hogwarts to defend it in the event of attack, while I can assure you that the Professors and them will protect you students even at the cost of our lives, the fact remains that in the event of an attack, many of you will be in danger and be caught in the crossfire, this is the reason that we believe that the teaching of self defence through duelling is of the utmost importance to you students."
"Another point I must bring up is that while Hogwarts can be physically defended, it can be penetrated mentally as well, You-Know-Who has used fear and manipulation as a weapon in past wars and we very much believe that he would do it again, should any of you observe any strange and worrying behaviours among your fellow year mates, I urge you to seek help from your Prefects or Professors, this is all, I wish all of you a good night."
"That was a little bit dark wasn't it," Ron commented as they made their way back to the common room.
"It was necessary," Harry sighed, "we are actually at war now and Hogwarts will definitely be a target."
"You reckon?" Hermione asked, "I mean we still have Dumbledore defending the castle, Hogwarts is very much still the safest place in Britain."
"Yes but I don't think that it would matter," Harry admitted, "you know how reckless the Death Eaters are, I mean they literally showed up with their entire force at the battle last year, I fear that if Voldemort realises that we are doing and what we are storing in the castle, he might get his Death Eaters to go all out and attack Hogwarts, but whatever they do, we will be ready for them."