Harry Potter and the Reign of Darkness

Chapter Six - The Sorting Hat Sings

Harry woke with a start. He could vaguely hear Mrs. Weasley yelling from the bottom of the stairs for the boys to wake up, and he could make out Ron's outline hurriedly putting on clothes. Casting his sheets aside, Harry grabbed his glasses and made his way to his trunk, grabbing the same hooded sweatshirt he had worn the day before. Harry thought how glad he would be to get onto platform 9 and 3/4, and then to Hogwarts, where he wouldn't have to hide his face any longer. Ron looked up at Harry as he finished dressing and stuffing a very anxious Pigwidgeon in his cage. "Feels right good to be heading back, doesn't it Harry?"

Harry nodded enthusiastically. "It sure does, Ron. I think I'd go stir crazy if we were cooped up here much longer. I'm starting to sympathize with Hedwig." Ron smiled in return, and then began trekking downstairs with his trunk and Pig in tow. Harry walked over to Hedwig's cage and stroked her snowy feathers twice before hefting her cage, grabbing his trunk and following after Ron, descending the staircase with a cacophony of thuds as their trunks bounced off the steps.

The rest of the morning passed without incident, Mr. Weasley had managed to secure a car for their trip to Union Station. It was another pleasant, sunny day, slightly warmer than the day before. As they entered the station, Harry kept in the middle of the group, his hood tightly drawn. When they reached the entrance to Platform 9 and 3/4, Harry noticed an odd looking individual leaning up against one of the solid sections of the brick, his eyes looking about wildly. Ron leaned into Harry. "An Auror, no doubt," he whispered. Harry only nodded. The Auror made no sign of recognizing Mr. Weasley, nor did Mr. Weasley try to gain his attention, the group simply made their way through the hidden passageway to the platform.

The Hogwarts Express gleamed, steam slowly rising as students, siblings and parents dashed about, checking to make sure their sons and daughters had all of their things. Some were crying, Harry assumed they were parents of first years, and there were more than a few wide-eyed parents who seemed positively astonished at the idea that their child was about to board a magic train to attend a magic school to learn magic. Harry smiled freely as he removed his hood, he hadn't seen a more welcome sight since Hagrid had arrived outside of Privet Drive. All of the unease that Harry had been keeping wound in his chest melted away as he, Ron, Hermione and Ginny began to bring there things over to the baggage car. They were all smiling, even in the wake of terrible tragedy the year before, returning to Hogwarts was as an inviting idea as they came. As the last call sounded out, Mrs. Weasley hugged her children, and then Hermione before leaning down to give Harry a squeeze.

"Harry, I just want you to be very careful, with Dumbledore gone and all...."

"Molly! It'll be okay, let them have their day," Mr. Weasley said reassuringly, resting a hand on his wife's shoulder.

Mrs. Weasley looked up to her husband, nodded in solemn agreement, and then turned back to Harry and smiled. "Have a wonderful year, dear."

"Thank you." Harry smiled, and then turned and boarded on the train.

The four traveled through the cars, finding an empty cabin about halfway through the third car. Hermione stopped at the door way, a look of determination on her face.

"Alright, I'm going to have to go to the Prefect cabin and receive my instructions for the trip." Harry, Ron and Ginny looked very sympathetic, they knew that Hermione wasn't looking forward to starting her Head Girl duties with Malfoy, but if anyone could handle it, it was her. She smiled and waved a farewell and then headed towards the front of the train. Ron, Harry and Ginny all turned to face each other.

"Poor Hermione," Ron said drearily, "I don't know if I could do it."

"She'll just need some extra support his year," Ginny said, with a sly grin, nudging her brother in the arm.

"Ginny! What'd you do that for?"

"Oh come on, Ron. We saw you at the Ice Cream Parlor, since when do you pay for Hermione? Or gaze longingly into her eyes?" Ginny had folded her hands underneath her chin and was blinking rapidly.

"What in blazes are you talking about?" Ron looked incredulous, and turned to Harry. "Can you believe her?" Harry only shrugged, his grin betraying him. "What a load of rubbish," Ron said, sighing as he folded his arms over his chest.

The next hour was spent in relative silence, occasionally a prefect would walk by, looking for students causing trouble, but Harry and Ginny paid little notice as they enjoyed the passing landscape after changing into their robes, Ron had resigned himself to pouting in a corner of the cabin and had begun to doze off. The door to the cabin rattled open, and when Harry and Ginny turned to see who it was, they scowled.

"Two weasels and a potty, so that's why this car stinks."

"What do you want, Malfoy," Harry said menacingly.

"Careful, now, Potter. Just some harmless chitchat." Malfoy turned to Ron and smacked him on the head with an open palm.

"Hey!" Ron cried out as he awoke, looking wildly about for the transgressor. When his eyes settled on Malfoy, he frowned.

"Wake up, Weasley. This is your last time riding in such luxury, you don't want to miss it."

"Come off it, Malfoy," Harry called out, but Malfoy's gaze remained locked on Ron.

"You know, it's a real shame they didn't make you Head Boy, Weasley. A real shame, but then again, with Dumbledore gone, maybe McGonagall's seen what a worthless bunch of wizards your family is." Draco shot a smirk towards Ginny after that comment, and Ron leaped out of his chair, his face mere millimeters away from Malfoy's. "Don't even dream of it, Weasley. Or I'll have you and your hopeless little sister here in a week's worth of detention." Ron was visibly straining to keep his cool, his cheeks turning a brighter red than his hair. Ginny looked an equal combination of furious and hurt, and Harry placed a reassuring hand on hers. "You know Weasley, I had heard that Dumbledore was considering making you Head Boy, but instead of that travesty, they did something even worse...."

"Oh, and what's that, you slimy prat," Ron said coolly. Malfoy didn't flinch.

"They made that filthy, know-it-all MUDBLOOD as Head Gi-" Malfoy didn't have time to finish his sentence before Ron had smashed his right fist right into Malfoy's face and started pushing him back through the doorway against the wall of the train.

"DON'T YOU EVER, DO YOU HEAR ME, EVER DARE INSULT HER OR ELSE I'LL HAVE YOUR HEAD, MALFOY. SHE'S A BETTER PERSON THAN YOU'LL EVER BE!"

Malfoy looked genuinely shocked, and Ron was making no signs of letting go of Malfoy's robes.

"Ron!" A familiar voice called out, and Ron's head slowly turned to its left. Standing there, her hand covering her mouth, was Hermione.

Suddenly regaining his composure, Malfoy pushed Ron's hands away with ease, as his attention was focused on Hermione. Malfoy's reached up with his left hand and grabbed Ron's chin, turning his head back to look at him. "Detention, Weasley. One week, I'm sure Professor Snape will be happy to have you." Malfoy turned his head to sneer at Hermione briefly, before returning his gaze back to Ron. "Consider yourself lucky that it wasn't a month." Malfoy then let go of Ron's chin and, after readjusting his robes, made his way down the car. Once Malfoy was out of sight, Ron let out a deep sigh as Hermione walked over to him.

"What was that all about, Ron? You shouldn't have struck the Head Boy, even if it is Malfoy!" she said matter-of-factly. Ron looked up at her in disbelief and disappointment and, without responding to her, walked back into the cabin and sat down, his head turned out the window. Hermione stepped into the doorway, looking confused. "Ron?" Ginny stood up from her seat and grabbed Hermione by the arm, dragging her from the cabin, letting the door slide shut. Ron sighed once more as Harry leaned forward, resting his forearms on his thighs.

"What is it, Ron."

"Can't bloody win with her, that's what." Ron looked up, his eyes twinkling with tears on the verge of release, his voice shook as he continued, "After all that nonsense Malfoy spat out, she doesn't even give a 'Thank you, Ron', but she's got no problem reading me the lines! She's hopeless!" Ron clenched his fist, the same one he had struck Malfoy with, and drove it into the cushioned seat. Harry stared at Ron, trying to scrape together a worthwhile response, but he was struggling. Ron turned back to the window. "No matter what I say, we always get in a nasty row and one of us storms off, leaving the other one cursing the day we ever met."

Harry watched Ron, as if a solution to his problem would appear if he strained hard enough. "You're, well....It's difficult, I suppose. You're very similar, in some ways, I mean, she's very studious and you're, well, you're more concerned about school then your future then you let on. In other ways, however, well...."

Ron forced a laugh, "Yeah, in other ways she might as well be a bloody alien," Ron paused for a moment, then shook his head. "Girls." Harry smiled and chuckled and Ron turned to look at Harry, the tears still lingering, but a small smile seemed poised to appear on his lips. Harry nodded at him, looking as reassuring as possible. Ron gave a look that conveyed his gratitude, nodded and sat back down, the rattling of the snack trolley grabbing their attention as it rolled by.

Hermione and Ginny reappeared at the cabin as the train was pulling into Hogwarts, but Hermione only lingered for a moment, before making her way back towards the front of the car and the Prefect cabin. She didn't look at Ron. As the three exited the train, hauling their things behind them, Harry scanned the horizon for Hagrid. Towards the front of the train he saw him, towering over a throng of students.

"Firs' years with me, come on now, firs' years this way." Hagrid was motioning with his hand towards the small path that led to the lake, which First Years traditionally crossed on their first night at Hogwarts. Harry rose his hand high in the air. "Hagrid!" he bellowed. Hagrid's head looked up at the mention of his name, and upon seeing Harry, he smiled and waved in return. Harry hadn't seen Hagrid since he had rescued Harry from Privet Drive on his godfather's flying motorbike, and he was a welcome sight. Hagrid nodded once towards Harry before returning his attention to the flow of First Years moving past him. It was then that Harry noticed something peculiar about the full size of the crowd that had spilled out of the Hogwarts Express: it was much smaller than usual. As Harry, Ron and Ginny made their way towards the carts, Harry looked down at the group of First Years. Their number was, at the most, half of what it usually shaped up to be. Voldemort's shadow was spreading, and in the wake of an attack on Hogwarts itself, Harry reckoned that many parents weren't too keen on sending their children back. Harry turned to see if any of his other friends from Gryffindor had not returned when Ron, who had been walking next to him, nearly dropped his trunk on Harry's foot.

"Blimey, would you look at them!" Ron was staring at the carts, and Harry could see that Ginny was staring as well. It struck Harry that Ron and Ginny must be seeing the Thestrals that pulled the carriages to Hogwarts for the first time, after the massacre at Hogwarts the evening before, there were very few members of the D.A. who could have gone through the whole ordeal without seeing someone die in the fighting. "Don't think I'm a nutter now, do you Ron?"

"Or me either," a dreamy voice added. Walking alongside Ginny, Luna Lovegood appeared.

"Hello Luna," each of them said, in varying degrees of excitement to see the girl who, Harry thought, despite seemingly good intentions, was always a little....off.

"Didn't believe us. Should have known better," Luna said confidently.

"Well, seeing is believing, I suppose," Ron said and shrugged as they piled their things into an open carriage before climbing in. Right before they shut the door, Harry heard someone calling his name, and he turned to peek out. It was Neville Longbottom, dragging his things behind him. He quickly unloaded his things and climbed in, taking a seat next to Luna.

"Hi Neville," Harry and Ron said in greeting.

"Thanks for holding it open for me, Harry." Neville said weakly.

"No problem," Harry replied. He was curious to see if Neville's mood had improved any over the summer. Inbetween the murder of his parents at St. Mungo's by the same Death Eaters who had put them there in the first place and the battle at Hogwarts, Neville had gone through a lot during his sixth year. Harry resigned himself to let Neville bring up anything that was bothering him, and instead looked out of the small window on the door, gazing up at Hogwarts as they began to ride towards the school. After Neville had settled himself, he sighed, "Have you heard the news?"

Ron's eyebrows furled, "What news?"

"About Snape!"

Harry's head turned quickly back to Neville. "What about Snape?" he asked.

"I heard Draco Malfoy saying that....that Snape's the new Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher!" Harry's heart sank, and he thought he saw Ron almost choke on the shock. That's what Snape meant when he had said 'it doesn't end there' after McGonagall had told Harry that Malfoy was the new Head Boy. Luna began laughing hysterically.

"What about Potions? Who'll be teaching that?" Ginny asked anxiously. While Harry and Ron had never planned to continue their study of Potions at the N.E.W.T. level, but their drive to become Aurors had compelled them to remain in the course. Still, Harry couldn't fathom why Snape had allowed Ron, Harry and Hermione to remain in his class after five years of torture, despite their surprisingly good O.W.L. grades. Now, the thought of having to spend their final year of Hogwarts being lectured by Snape, in Harry's best class, was very unappealing. On top of that, Snape was an ex-Death Eater, and Harry found it very strange that after such long opposition from Dumbledore for Snape to receive the Dark Arts position, McGonagall would immediately give it to him.

Neville shook his head at Ginny. "I don't know, Malfoy didn't mention Potions, I only heard him say it as he walked by my cabin."

Ron and Harry slunk back into their seats, and Ginny kept up a consistent frown, obviously depressed by the news. Luna still giggled occasionally from behind an issue of The Quibbler, held upside down, for the rest of the trip up to Hogwarts. As the wave of students swept up into the Great Hall, they were greeted by the usual festive markings. The Gryffindor house colors were waving over the hall, and the roof showed a pleasant, starlit evening. Harry, Ron and Ginny nodded a goodbye to Luna, who floated absentmindedly towards the Ravenclaw table, and then moved to take a seat together with the other Gryffindors. Ron took a quick look down the table.

"Where's Hermione?"

Harry and Ginny both took a quick look about. "I don't know, I'm sure she'll be along," Harry said, unconcerned. Suddenly, an out-of-breath, bushy haired Hermione dropped down next to Ron.

"A first year started making a scene, scared that-well, that V-Voldemort would take him away. Ruddy Malfoy only laughed at him, so I had to console the poor boy...." Hermione shook her head in disgust. Before anyone could respond, a thundering boom sounded in the hall. Madam Hooch stepped through the double doors, leading a particularly frightened bunch of first years through the great hall and up to stand in front of the podium. Harry took a moment to look at the seated professors as both Madam Hooch and Hagrid took their seats. Oddly, he didn't notice anyone new who would be taking the Potions position if Snape had really been given the Defense Against The Dark Arts job.

McGonagall appeared out of the door behind the faculty table, carrying a stool on which laid an extremely old, raggedy and worn collection of cloth: the Sorting Hat. A hush fell over the room as McGonagall placed the stool and hat in front of the First Years, before turning to Madam Hooch and handing her a rolled up piece of parchment. Harry looked at the first years, most seemed too petrified to even blink, afraid of what trials the Hat may put them there. When the seam above the Hat's brim tore open, some of the first year's gasped as the rest of the students looked on in anticipation. Wasting no time, the Hat burst into song.

Once upon a waking dream

Long before this old school stood

Four friends came to believe

That their skills could do some good;

Pure of heart

and noble in intention

Four great wizards

made a grand decision;

To build a school of great repute

Where young wizards could learn

All the skills they'd ever use

for a living they could earn;

Thus, Hogwarts came with great promise

Four friends bound by a dream

But even as the students came calling

All was not as it seemed;

Proud Gryffindor saw to it

That the brave would have a home

Under his watchful eyes they learned

To have nerves as strong as stone;

For Ravenclaw the wisest were praised

and taught the secrets of the world

their careful minds cultivated

to make dark secrets unfurl;

To Slytherin arose the purest of blood,

their heritage strong and true,

Bred to believe in the power of family,

Bound to trust in their numbers few,

Hufflepuff would take the rest,

And teach them to give their all,

For her hard work was the reward

To answering justice's call;

Despite their differences

The friends resigned with delight

For Hogwarts was a success

A beacon in darkest night;

So it was for many years,

four friends working for the good of all,

Until pride crept into their souls,

And the summer turned to fall;

Petty arguments and rivalries

Gave the school a dangerous face,

And the students began to go elsewhere

To a much safer place;

Finally, it was Slytherin who left forever

promising revenge on all around

Cursing the wizards of mixed descent,

And storming angrily off the grounds.

The other three refused to see

That their pride had come to divide

And so the houses were formed,

To keep their dreams alive

Now the time has come,

To realize their mistake,

The dangers of mistrust,

Have returned to this treasured place;

Where the houses four must see,

that there can be division no more,

a shadow, dark and black is set,

and without unity shall stay forevermore;

So listen all who hear my song,

For it may well be my last,

If the houses of Hogwarts are to survive,

Then things must change fast;

The days of competition must conclude,

and rivalries put to rest,

lest the students of Hogwarts face their fate,

and fail to pass its test.

Murmurs purveyed the room as the Sorting Hat concluded its song, Harry began to applaud, as did many of the other students, but just as many sounded concerned. The Sorting Hat had sung a song before professing the need for unity among the houses, but even Harry found it hard to believe he could be working alongside the likes of Malfoy and the other Slytherins. With a nod from Professor McGonagall, Madam Hooch unrolled the parchment she had been handed and stepped forward.

"Pierce, Jason!" Madam Hooch called out, looking into the throng of first years. A tall, squirrelly boy stepped out, curly hair clinging to his head. He stepped up to the stool and picked up the Sorting Hat before sitting. Closing his eyes, he placed it on his head.

"RAVENCLAW!" The Sorting Hat bellowed, and the curly haired boy ran over to join the applauding Ravenclaws.

"Kriesen, Darren!" A stocky blonde approached the Hat and placed it on his head.

"GRYFFINDOR!" Harry and the others began to applaud as Darren took a seat at the Gryffindor table, greeting his new housemates.

The process was considerably shorter than years before due to the lack of first years, and soon the lot of them had all been sorted. Professor McGonagall stood from what had been Dumbledore's chair at the faculty table and approached the podium. "Quiet down, everyone. Quiet down." The whispers in the hall quickly died out as everyone's attention turned to McGonagall and her first official speech as Hogwarts' headmistress. "Welcome, everyone, to Hogwarts. Before I make any announcements, I'd like to take a minute and congratulate, and thank, those of you who have returned to school this year in wake of last year's attack. It shows great bravery and dedication and you all should be very proud," McGonagall paused and nodded to the crowd, "Now, I must warn you that the Forest is strictly off limits. A clan of Giants has agreed to assist in the protection of Hogwarts, and has taken residence there. It should be no surprise that the Giants may have few qualms with devouring a student who strays too far from the grounds. Any questions that you or your parents may have concerning the giants can be directed to the Care of Magical Creatures Professor and official liaison to the Giants, Rubeus Hagrid," Hagrid rose his left hand in an identifying wave as McGonagall continued, "Second, I am pleased to announce that Professor Snape has agreed to take on the position of teaching Defense Against The Dark Arts while continuing to be the school's Potions master," Harry's head nearly slammed into the Gryffindor table when he heard McGonagall's announcement. Snape would be teaching both Defense Against The Dark Arts AND Potions! Harry quickly looked at Ron and Hermione, who looked equally displeased. Ron looked as if he had jinxed himself to throw up slugs again. The Slytherins, however, were clamoring with excitement. Harry swung his head around to look at Malfoy, who was wearing a triumphant smile. Harry then looked to Snape, who was smiling wider than he'd ever seen. "Ahem," cried McGonagall, "Finally, Mr. Filch has asked me to tell you that he has added eleven items to his list of items not allowed on the school grounds. You may see the full listed posted on the door to Mr. Filch's office. Now, without further ado." McGonagall rose her wand, and with a swift flick, a grand feast appeared on the tables. Harry stared as the mountain of food before him, but his stomach was still in a twist after the news concerning Snape. Even Ron, who was never one to turn down a feast, looked like his appetite had betrayed him.