It May Be Raining

Chapter Four

Diagon Alley and the Hogwarts Express

"come down from your fences..."

The rest of the summer passed pleasantly but quickly. Anni made Harry´s confinement at number four far more than bearable. The two spent their days mostly in the Dursley´s garden avoiding Dudley. Anni chattered away about her school and the practical jokes that she had planned for her return as Harry trimmed and pruned his Aunt´s prized plants.

"Anni," said Harry, kneeling in front of a large azalea. He looked around to make sure there were no other Dursley´s around. "You know that last letter I sent to Ron?"

"Yeah." She was absent-mindedly picking apart a leaf.

"Well, I said that I would try to meet him, Hermione, and the others at Diagon Alley on Friday, but that was before you got here and ...we don´t have to go if you don´t want to."

"Diagon Alley?" she said, dropping the mangled remains of the leaf, and gave Harry a quizzical glance. "Where´s that? What´s that?" She scrunched her nose again in that manner that was uniquely hers.

"Oh. It´s a street in London. Every wizard´s shop you can imagine is there." Harry explained with wide eyes and an excited expression.

"I´ve been to London lots of times and I´ve never heard of such a place. I guess you´re going to tell me it´s secret and protected by magic?" She wore an expression similar to that which Hermione affected when being particularly condescending to Ron.

"Yes. You´re such a Know-it-all!"

Anni smiled proudly. "Of course I want to go, but are, er, Muggles allowed?"

"Sure. Hermione´s parents got there somehow. I think you just need a wizard there with you." Harry pondered this thought a moment until he was satisfied he had reached a logical conclusion.

"Lucky me!" she giggled. "I´ll have six!"

Harry smiled. He enjoyed her enthusiasm for something that must strike her as very odd and foreign. Indeed, sometimes Harry still felt out of place in the wizarding world. It had been only five years ago that he was informed of the very existence of witches and wizards. Anni seemed very pleased with the prospect of a visit to Diagon Alley.

"Great!" he exclaimed. "Now, the only problem is how to convince uncle Vernon to let us go to London."

"Oh yeah." Anni´s smile faded.

***

That night at dinner the opportunity they had been waiting for finally presented itself.

"Tomorrow´s Friday, Vernon, remember?" Petunia chirped as her husband gave her a confused look.

"Remember what?" he scoffed.

Petunia shot him an exasperated glance. "I´ve only told you a hundred times in the last week!" She stopped to make sure the curly, pernicious girl next to her was not harassing Dudley. Both appeared to be paying no mind to the conversation and eating quietly.

"You promised to take Dudley into town to pick out a very special present to take with him to school." This time she turned her glance on the pudgy boy, surveying him with weepy eyes. "I´m going to miss my Dudders," she whimpered, patting him on the back as he shoveled large amounts of food into his face.

"Oh, yes," Vernon said with sudden recollection. "How´s that sound to you, Dudley, my boy?"

The boy lifted his fat face and grinned through a mouthful of food without answering.

"London? Can we come too?" Anni´s voice rang with a tone of angelic sweetness. Petunia shot her a warning glance, which she ignored, looking pleadingly at her uncle.

Harry knew Anni was good at persuasion, but somehow he didn´t think it would work this time.

"Both of you?" Vernon replied to Harry´s amazement.

Anni nodded. "Of course Harry will come." Harry kept his eyes averted to his plate but listened intently.

"Yes, why not?" Vernon muttered after a short silence. Anni squealed with delight as Dudley inched away from her.

"Oh, thank you, Uncle Vernon!" She grinned widely at her red-faced uncle.

"We´re all set then, Harry," said an excited Anni as they trudged upstairs after dinner. They had made a habit of confining themselves to Harry´s room during evening hours to discuss all aspects of life as a wizard. Anni seemed curious about everything that went on at Hogwarts and Harry was delighted that she had taken such an interest in the wizarding world. He still missed his friends, but having her there made it seem less grim.

The two were excited about their adventures to come in the wizard´s shops in Diagon Alley as well as seeing Hermione, Ron and the others again.

***

Between two ordinary London storefronts stood the entrance to Diagon Alley. A shabby pub, called the Leaky Cauldron, was nestled between two normal Muggle shops. Harry watched as witches and wizards of various kinds slid past the heavy wooden doors of the pub and out of sight. Vernon, Dudley and Anni didn´t seem to notice this at all.

"Alright then, you two," Vernon pointed an accusing finger at Harry. "Dudley and I are going to look around a bit. We´ll meet you back here in two hours. And no funny business."

Harry nodded in compliance as Anni checked her watch.

They both stood there and watched the retreating forms of their uncle and cousin.

"You sure have a way with Uncle Vernon." Harry turned to Anni as soon as the others were out of earshot. "I was sure he would make us come with him and Dudley."

"Yes, I know," answered Anni in a proud sort of way. "He´s trying to get in good with my dad. Why not make something of it if I can?" she added, shrugging her shoulders. She looked all around her, apparently not finding what it was that she was looking for. "So, which way is your wizard street?" she asked finally.

Harry didn´t reply. He had been watching Vernon and Dudley continue down the street and turn into a video game store. As soon as they were out of sight, Harry grabbed her hand and pulled her into the Leaky Cauldron.

The air inside the pub was clouded with smoke and filled with the sounds of people talking vibrantly. Anni looked all around her, jaw dropped in amazement. She turned to Harry and whispered, "Harry, are these people wizards?"

"Some of them," Harry replied, adding, "Some of them are witches, hags, goblins." He pointed at a table full of short, vicious-looking creatures. Anni gave a small gasp and tightened her grip on Harry´s hand.

"Harry! Good to see you again, mate! It´s been..." Tom, the bar tender and innkeeper of the Leaky Cauldron called, then stopped to recall how long it had actually been since Harry was in his shop last.

"Two years," Harry finished for him, coming over to the bar, pulling Anni behind him, who was still staring at the goblins. "Don´t stare," he warned her under his breath.

"How ya doin,´ Harry?" Tom asked as they approached.

"Fine, and you?" Harry asked politely.

"Never better, my boy. Aren´t you going to introduce me to your lovely friend?" Tom replied with a suggestive wink at Harry and a nod in Anni´s direction.

"This is Anni, my cousin." He said the last part with emphasis.

"It´s a pleasure, miss," Tom said warmly, taking Anni´s hand. "What do you think of my little establishment?"

Anni looked around with an appraising eye. "Never seen anything more interesting in my life," she answered enthusiastically. Harry noticed that she was impressed by how these wizards and witches dressed in cloaks and robes. He saw her staring at a wizard in the corner wearing a great pointed hat.

"Well, see you around, Tom," Harry said with a wave, pulling Anni along after him, who still appeared to be stunned, blatantly staring at the elderly wizard.

Harry and Anni proceeded through another door and out into a deserted alleyway. They made their way to a brick wall at the back of the alley.

"Where--," Anni started to say, but stopped as she saw Harry bring a wand out from under his shirt.

"Smuggled it!" He answered Anni´s questioning look with a grin. She hung back and watched as Harry tapped at the bricks with his wand. They began to move.

"It worked!" Harry exclaimed.

"You weren´t sure if it would?" Anni said, trying to sound off handed. Harry smiled. Her attempts to appear unsurprised were amusing.

"I only saw Hagrid do it once, you know, when he brought me here before my first year." Anni nodded, remembering Harry´s story about when he first found out he was a wizard. He took her hand again as he stowed his wand and led her through the opening in the brick wall.

Shop windows lined both sides of the cobblestone street. Anni gawked wide-eyed as they passed Eylope´s Owl Emporium, Olivanders Wand Shop and Madam Malkin´s Robes for All Occasions.

Harry was nearly dragging Anni down the street. He was eager to see his friends, whom he´d promised to meet at Florean Fortesque´s Ice Cream Parlor. Anni was shuffling her feet as her head darted in every direction, not knowing which sights to take in first.

"This is amazing!" she said, oblivious to the fact that her mouth was hanging wide open. Harry smiled to himself--her reaction was close to what his own had been when he first saw this place five years ago.

"Harry! Oy, Harry, over here!" Ron was waving at Harry and Anni from a table at the ice-cream parlor. Only Hermione and Ginny were with him.

"Anni, it´s nice to see you again," Hermione said with a smile. "So, Harry, you figured out how to get Anni through the Leaky Cauldron. I thought about owling you in case you didn´t know. I wasn´t sure if you were going to bring Anni along."

"Oh, yeah" Harry stammered. "Well, I didn´t realize there was a trick to it. I just grabbed her hand and pulled her in when uncle Vernon wasn´t looking."

Hermione smiled and nodded. "Yep, that´s the trick!"

"Hi, Ginny," Anni said, releasing Harry´s hand and taking a seat next to the small red-headed girl holding an ice-cream cone. Ginny blushed at being addressed and murmured a quiet hello in return.

"How long have you been here?" Harry asked Ron as he took the empty seat between him and Anni.

"Not long," Ron said, shrugging his shoulders and looking over the list of supplies he would need for the upcoming year. Harry pulled out his own list as well and read:

Standard Book of Spells, Grade Five

By Miranda Goshawk

Intermediate Potions Theory

By Wolfgang VonBrewer

Advanced Charms

By Aphena Levator

Dark Arts: A Guide to Self-Protection

By Arabella Figg

On top of the books that he needed for fifth year, Harry also needed to refill his store of Potions ingredients as well as ink, parchment and quills. His list was surprisingly short compared to those of the past four years.

"We´ve got a lot to do," Hermione sighed.

"Yeah, and we only have two hours," explained Harry. He added, "Uncle Vernon let us come to London with him and Dudley."

Ron giggled and Hermione elbowed him. Harry continued. "He doesn´t know we´re here."

"Don´t worry, Harry," Hermione assured him. "I´ll make sure you´re out of here by then." They all stood up to leave.

"Where are Fred and George?" Anni asked Ron. Harry thought he saw her blush a little. Ron shrugged.

"I think they went down to the joke shop. We´re supposed to meet them at Flourish and Blotts later, but knowing them, they could be in there all day." Ron smiled cheerily at Anni, who tried to hide her disappointment behind an equally cheerful grin.

"I thought we should all go to Gringott´s first," stated Hermione. "And then get our books before doing anything else."

But as she ticked the tasks off on her fingers, she realized she was only talking to Ginny. Harry, Ron and Anni had stopped in front of a large window bearing yellow letters that read Quality Quidditch Supply. Harry noticed Hermione march up to the window with her hands on her hips.

"Honestly. We´ll never get anything done if you two stop to drool over every racing broom you see." She said these words with a frustrated look at Ron and Harry.

"What kind of broom do you have, Harry?" Anni questioned, staring at the sleek racing broom displayed in the window.

"A Firebolt!" Ron and Harry both answered.

"Do you play Quidditch too, Ron?"

"Yeah," Ron answered her question. "But I´m not on the house team, yet. The Keeper position is open this year and Fred and George think I have a good chance at it." Ron sounded so enthusiastic Harry wasn´t surprised that Anni´s face displayed the same animation at this answer. Or was it the mention of Fred and George that lit up her face, Harry wondered.

"If you two aren´t coming, Ginny and I will just have to go by ourselves," Hermione warned.

"Okay, okay. We´re coming," Ron relented. The five made there way down the street towards the large and imposing building that bore the name Gringott´s.

***

As they emerged from the gleaming building into the warm August sunlight, Anni continued to chatter excitedly to anyone who would listen.

"I´ve never seen anything so amazing in my entire life. That was like a roller coaster. I didn´t know banks could be that fun. Gee, your money sure is odd." She examined a knut in her palm. "So, where are we going next?" she inquired, hopping up and down excitedly next to Hermione.

"To the book store, and we´d better hurry. We´ve only got one hour and thirty-four minutes left," she said, checking her watch. They crossed the cobbled streets. Some children loitering in front of a candy store were whispering and pointing at something. Harry heard the sound of running feet. As he turned in the direction of the noise, he saw Fred and George running frantically down the street. Everyone else had turned as they approached.

"Hi, Harry, Anni" George said with a mischievous grin on his face.

"Hi, George" Harry said.

"What are you running from?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Fred accidentally tripped Marvin while he was carrying a box filled with dung bombs," George explained. Harry glanced over his shoulder and saw a red-faced man. He stood in front of Marvin Mirth´s Magical Mischief Maker´s Market. He was wiping a large quantity of brownish muck from his face. He looked up and Harry noted the look of fury on his face as his eyes settled on Fred and George.

"And don´t come back!" the man shouted.

"It´s a good thing his dung bombs are rubbish," George stated.

"Yeah," added Fred. "If they were as good as the ones at Zonko´s, he´d smell like that for at least a week." The man turned and stalked back into the shop.

"Let´s go before you two cause any more trouble," Hermione quipped impatiently at Fred and George. As they turned in the direction of Flourish and Blott´s, Harry noticed that Anni´s expression contained avid admiration as she listened to George relate the entire story with animated gestures.

They all left the bookstore with arms loaded full of books and other packages. Anni was still chattering on about how amazing it was to see a cage full of biting books.

"Harry, it´s nearly time, have you gotten everything you need?" Hermione asked as she shifted an armful of books to check her watch.

"Yeah, I think so," Harry answered, checking his list one last time. He glanced around and found Anni nowhere near. George was also missing from the group.

"Where did she go?" Harry looked at Ron and Hermione, who pointed at a shop across the street with a variety of owls in the window. George and Anni were standing in front of the shop window, deep in conversation.

"You write to me first, that way I can just send my reply with your owl," Harry heard Anni say, handing him a piece of paper with writing on it.

"That´s my address at school," she continued as Harry approached her.

"We have to go soon or Uncle Vernon will be angry." He watched as the smile faded from her face. "You´ll see everybody at the train station on Monday," he added, hoping that would brighten her mood.

"Yeah," George added. "We´ll all see you off to school and I´ll write soon, I promise." This had its intended effect and Anni cheered up almost instantly.

"Alright then, see you on Monday." She flashed George a smile as she retreated down the street with Harry and into the Leaky Cauldron.

Back on the noisy London street, Charing Cross Road, Harry and Anni stood waiting for Dudley and Vernon. Not long after they had stepped out of the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron, their uncle and cousin appeared, loaded down with several large parcels each.

"What´s all that?" Uncle Vernon grunted as he pointed to the books and other packages in Harry´s arms.

"I picked up a few things for school," Anni answered him coolly. "Harry is just carrying them for me." The two eyed each other with a look that seemed to say, "That was a close one."

***

It had been easy enough getting Vernon and Petunia to take Harry to King´s Cross Station to meet the school train on September the First. Anni was also to take a train to her school, St. Sophia´s School for Girls, on the same morning.

At the station, Vernon unloaded Harry´s trunk and several smaller pieces of luggage that belonged to Anni. Harry noticed with much dismay that Anni wasn´t acting like her normal chattering, pranking self. The entire car ride to London, there were no looks of panic or squeals from Dudley that usually erupted from him when Anni was nearby. She hadn´t even shot him so much as one dirty look the entire way.

"Anni, we´ll write to each other, I promise." Harry had hoped this would cheer her up a bit. She just gave a solemn nod and kept her eyes on her shoes. She was just about to speak for the first time all morning when she stopped. Her mouth was open and she was staring over Harry´s shoulder. He turned around to see what had caught her attention.

Vernon and Petunia were already making their way to the platform where Anni was to depart. She and Harry, meanwhile, made their way over to the object of their distraction. George Weasley, wearing corduroys and a knitted sweater with a large `G´ emblazoned on it (obviously one of his mother´s infamous creations), was standing a few feet away from them with a big grin on his face. In his hand he held up a large brass cage. Perched inside was an owl, only slightly smaller than Hedwig, sleeping.

"It was the silver one that you were looking at in the window, remember?" George said still grinning.

"Of course. I remember him. He´s beautiful, George." Anni eyed the bird with wonder.

"Well, I´m glad you like him, `cause he´s yours." Harry watched with a grin of his own, pleased at the improvement of Anni´s mood.

"Mine?" she said with shocked elation. There was an awkward moment of silence as Anni stared at the owl asleep in its shiny cage. The silence was broken by a shriek as Anni threw her arms around George´s neck.

"Oh, thank you George! Now I can keep in touch with all of my new friends from Hogwarts, and Harry." George shot Harry a knowing glance. Harry smiled back then looked over his shoulder at the disapproving glares of his aunt and uncle.

"Uh, Anni, I think you´d better board the train before it leaves without you," Harry warned as the whistle of the train blew a warning of its own.

"Oh, right. Thank you again, George. You get the inaugural delivery for being so sweet." She said, pecking him on the cheek. George blushed slightly at Anni´s gesture, but he quickly recovered.

"What are you going to name him?" he asked in what he had hoped sounded like an off-hand sort of way.

"Thomas!" she replied instantly, turning to Harry, giving him a kiss goodbye on the cheek as well.

"Good name, it suits him," George replied as Harry nodded his agreement. Anni turned and gave her aunt, uncle and Dudley a wave goodbye and then retreated from view on board the train.

"What was that all about?" Uncle Vernon questioned with some agitation as Harry and George approached to lug the trunk and Hedwig to Platform 9 ¾.

"I have no idea what you could mean?" Harry answered innocently as he and George carried his things to the wall between Platforms 9 and 10. Anni´s train moved slowly out of the station as they watched. George let out a dejected sigh, Harry was almost sure of it. He smiled to himself.

"See you next summer." Harry waved almost sarcastically at the three retreating forms of his family--well, sort of family. He chuckled quietly to himself. They hadn´t even bothered to say goodbye to him.

"Well, all set then?" George turned to Harry who smiled and nodded. The two disappeared behind the barrier and onto Platform 9 ¾.

The two of them made their way to a compartment near the front of the train where Hermione and Ron were having another argument while Ginny was staring out the window, obviously trying to ignore them. Fred was nowhere in sight. Deciding not to interrupt their fight, George and Harry crept into the compartment and stowed the trunk and the owl´s cage with little noise, trying not to attract attention. This caution came from five years experience of witnessing the now famous rows of his two best friends. Harry was always careful not to get dragged into them. Instead, he took a seat next to Ginny while George sat on the other side of him.

At the appearance of George and Harry, Ginny took her attention from the families seeing off their children on the platform and turned to George.

"So, did she like him?" she questioned her older brother as Harry listened curiously between the two.

"Yep," he said with a smile and a look on his face that was clearly an indication of how smitten he was. Ginny smiled in turn at her brother´s expression and giggled.

"I knew it. The two of you are perfect for each other."

"Yep, my baby sister´s a smart one," George laughed and sat back for the long train-ride to school. Ginny kept the smile on her face. Apparently the owl was her idea, by the pleased look she gave as she turned to the window once again.

"But George," Harry had to know one thing that was bothering him about all of this, "that looked like a pretty expensive owl, how did you, I mean, with the joke shop plans and all?" Harry trailed off, having wished he hadn´t said anything. He didn´t want to appear rude or nosey. George just smiled, his eyes closed and his head resting back on the seat.

"Actually, Zonko´s has bought a load of our creations. We want to start a joke shop of our own, you know, but this is a very lucrative side business." He opened one eyelid to look at Harry and smiled. "She´s worth it." He went back to his nap and Harry sat there quietly between him and Ginny and listened to Ron and Hermione as they argued.

"Well, we all have to start sometime," Hermione said in a dejected tone as she plopped down into a seat opposite the sleeping George, with a large book Harry recognized as the OWL´s preparation manual in her lap. Ron took a seat on the opposite side of the compartment and stared at his shoes with a scowl on his face.

They all passed several minutes in quiet before they were interrupted when a green-haired Angelina stormed through the cabin door.

"Where is he? I swear I´ll kill him," she screamed, startling George out of his sleep. The other four stared at her with identical looks of surprise on their faces. George was the first to speak.

"Who are you looking for, Angelina?"

"Your wretched brother. Where is he?" she fumed.

"Ron is right here. You look good in green," George answered with amazing composure.

"Not that brother. Where is Fred?" Angelina screamed. She was getting a little scary, Harry thought to himself.

"Oh, him. I don´t know. Haven´t seen him," George said casually, closing his eyes and leaning back to resume his nap. Angelina stomped her foot, frustrated by George´s answer and stormed from the compartment.

"Looks like Fred´s been taking prank pointers from our lovely little Anni," Hermione said as soon as Angelina had left. She shot a sarcastic glare at George. He in turn pretended not to hear this and kept his eyes shut.

Only moments later the compartment door swung open with a thud to reveal a very winded Fred.

"Did she come by this way?" he panted as he tried to stifle the huge grin playing at his face.

"Just missed her," George replied passively, eyes still closed.

"Good!" Fred returned, shutting the door and taking one of the several empty seats between Ron and Hermione. Ron turned and eyed his brother suspiciously.

"So what did you do to Angelina?" he questioned.

"Nothing," Fred countered, putting up his hands defensively. "She did it to herself." He smiled mischievously. The looks on the rest of the faces in the cabin suggested that no one believed this story one bit.

"I´m not lying," Fred protested, but the disbelieving looks continued. "I put one of my newest creations-"

"Our newest creations," George corrected him.

"Our newest creations," Fred consented, "on the seat in their cabin. I didn´t know it was theirs, none of them were in there at the time and I saw Neville coming out of it earlier." Here, Hermione cut him off.

"Honestly," she began, "you need to find someone new to pick on." Fred held up a hand to silence her and continued.

"I was just testing it. I thought Neville would look handsome in green." He used his most innocent voice. "And really, she should know better than to pick up suspicious pieces of candy with George and me around."

"Don´t bring me into this," George said in a warning tone. "You are going to wish you hadn´t done that when she catches up to you."

"It´ll fade out before we even reach the school," Fred replied unconcerned.

"Yeah, but she´s not likely to forget it any time soon, Fred. You had better watch your back," George cautioned. Fred said nothing in reply. He just leaned back in his seat with a satisfied look on his face. Harry shook his head. He couldn´t even imagine what Angelina might do to Fred when she finally got her hands on him. He let out a slight chuckle at the thought.

As the train came to a halt outside of the station in Hogsmeade, Fred poked his head out of the compartment door, apparently looking for any signs of the irate Angelina. He leaned back and said in a comical tone, "The coast is clear, I´m going to make a run for it." And with a grin, he disappeared down the corridor.

"Alrigh´ no shovin´. Firs´ years this way. Firs´ years over here," a familiar voice called out over the crowd of students issuing from the train. "Harry, how ya been, mate? `Lo Hermione, Ron." Hagrid clapped Ron on the back, knocking him off balance and into Hermione. Harry found it quite amusing when Ron´s face turned an obvious shade of red as he muttered an apology to her.

"I´m fine, Hagrid, how´ve you been?" He smiled up at his giant friend.

"Oh, can´t complain. Can´t wait ter show yeh what I got fer Care of Magical Creatures class this year. It´s amazin´." Harry shared the startled looks of Ron´s and Hermione´s that seemed to say, "Oh no, what sort of horrid, dangerous beast has he created this time?"

"Can´t wait," he said with mock excitement.

"See yer up at the school," Hagrid replied with a wave as he corralled the first years onto the docks for the trip across the lake. The three waved back ominously.

"I hate to think what it might be this time," Ron said in a forbidding voice.

"Oh, honestly Ron," Hermione snapped back, stepping into the Great Hall for the first feast of the school year. Hermione continued the argument that she and Ron had started on the platform. "You don´t know that. He could have some really nice animals for us to study this year."

"Yeah, nice and dangerous." Ron took his seat next to Harry and Hermione sat on his other side.

"You are supposed to be his friend, Ron," she said finally and, to Harry´s relief, this ended the conversation.

Through the duration of the sorting ceremony, Harry watched the silent dialogue between Angelina and Fred. It was rather amusing to see her glare at him while mouthing the words "You are going down." Fred answered almost instantly with a pleading look, "It was meant for Neville, not you." But Angelina would have none of it.

"I am going to get you good. Just you wait!" As Angelina finished, Professor Dumbledore, with his usual purple robes and half-moon spectacles, called for everyone´s attention.

"May I make a few announcements before we begin the feast?" He paused as the chatter died down. He looked more solemn than usual, probably the added strain of Voldemort´s return, Harry thought absently. "First of all, some housekeeping rules," Dumbledore said, looking as grave as a statue. "The Forbidden Forest is, as always, forbidden to any and all students." His eyes fell on Fred and George as he said these words. "A revised list of contraband items has been issued listing several new items. You can view this list in its entirety in Mr. Filch´s office if you would like," Dumbledore continued dryly. "As of this year, security around the school has been tightened considerably. Hogsmeade visits will not be permitted this year. I will strongly stress the importance of students remaining in their dorms at night, no one is allowed to wander the halls or grounds after curfew. Punishment for breaking these rules will be severe, I remind you. Your safety and education are our number one priority." At this point, his tone changed into a softer, friendlier sound. This was the Dumbledore that everyone knew. That first act, Harry thought to himself, was a little disconcerting.

"This brings me to a point of introduction. I have invited several members of the Ministry of Magical Law Enforcement to act as an extra measure of security around the school and grounds. May I introduce Chief of our security team, Mr. Amos Diggory."

No one clapped for the newcomer, they all knew who he was--Cedric´s father. Harry stared blankly at his empty plate and all of the memories that he had happily forgotten over the latter part of the summer flooded back in an instant.

Cedric´s father stood up from the table at the end of the hall at which was seated all of the professors. Harry looked down the row at the familiar faces, but when his eyes came to Professor Snape´s place next to Professor McGonagall, it was empty. Harry nudged Ron with his elbow and nodded in the direction of the teachers´ table. Ron saw immediately what Harry was pointing out.

"Where is he?" Ron mouthed. Harry just shrugged. Hermione leaned over.

"What´s going on, you two?" she inquired. They both pointed at Snape´s empty seat. Hermione looked questioningly at them but said nothing.

"Also, we have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher to welcome," Dumbledore continued. He motioned a witch seated next to Professor Vector. "May I introduce Professor Arabella Figg." The students applauded courteously, all that is except Harry, who stood gaping at Moody´s replacement.

"Are you all right, Harry? What is it?" Hermione asked with a look of concern.

"It´s nothing," Harry stammered. Professor Figg, however, caught his startled look and returned it with a kind smile.

"Well, that´s it for introductions and now on to some news that I hope all of you will enjoy," Dumbledore said as he cleared his throat. "The inter-house competition for the Quidditch Cup will resume as normal. Voldemort may have returned, but that does not mean we should not carry on as we always have." Shocked whispers echoed through the hall at the mention of the name, but were ignored by the Headmaster as he continued. "Besides, in these times I believe a diversion would do us all some good." The old wizard smiled as his eyes settled on the Hufflepuff table. After a pause, he continued. "Also since many of you will be staying at school over this Christmas Holiday, we have arranged a tournament of Wizard Chess. There will be eleven competitions with a final showdown of the two champions left standing on Christmas, before the usual feast." His eyes twinkled as he said this last part. "There will be one member of each house selected to compete against the other houses. The houses will play each other and the two victors will play each other on Christmas. The players from each house will be selected later this month. Now, as I am sure there is no more business to be discussed, let us enjoy the feast." And as the Headmaster took his seat, the tables filled with food and the room burst into excited chatter.

"I am going to enter that tournament," Ron stated excitedly as he shoveled piles of potatoes onto his plate.

"Of course you are, little brother. You´re the best chess player in this school. We´re sure you´ll win!" interjected Fred amid glares and threatening gestures from a scowling Angelina.