The True Half-Blood Prince

Chapter 1: Prologue

Harry, Hermione and Ron sat together at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. Draco Malfoy smirked teasingly at them, gesturing to Harry's bloodied nose. Tonks had found him paralyzed on the train a few minutes earlier and guided him to Hogwarts just in time before the train left. Unfortunately, her Patronus reached Snape and not Hagrid; therefore the potions teacher was intended to take Harry to the Great Hall, teasing him on his lateness.

"I suppose you wanted to make an entrance, did you?" Snape continued, "And with no flying car available you decided that bursting into the Great Hall halfway through the the feast ought to create a dramatic effect."

Harry loathed the Head of Slytherin, partly because Draco Malfoy was one of his favorite students. Harry and Professor Snape reached the Great Hall in silence. As soon as Harry sat down by Ron and Hermione at the Gryffindor table, Ron noticed his face covered in blood from Draco's attack.

"Blimey," he gasped, "what happened?"

"It's a long story," Harry explained, "I'll tell you later."

"Tergeo!" Hermione said, siphoning off the dry blood.

"Thanks."

"You've missed the Sorting Hat, Harry," Ron told him. Harry replied, "It's not like it said anything interesting, right?"

"More of the same really."

Rubeus Hagrid waved his huge, giant-like hand at Harry with enthusiasm. He looked up at the staff table and grinned back as a greeting. He also noticed all the other teachers as well, working his way through the staff. Suddenly, he noticed the exit door near the staff open, allowing two other teenagers to enter and walk right at the edge of the front table: it was a girl with blonde hair and a boy with black hair and green eyes, similar to his own features. However, the teenagers weren't wearing their Hogwarts uniforms; instead, they each wore orange shirts with 'CHB' written on it in an unfamiliar font.

* * *

Dumbledore got to his feet at the table. The talk and laughter echoing around the Hall died away almost instantly.

"The very best of evenings to you!" he said, smiling broadly, his arms open wide as if to embrace the whole room.

"What happened to his hand?" gasped Hermione. She was not the only one who had noticed. Dumbledore's right hand was blackened and dead-looking as it was on the night he had gone to fetch Harry at the Durselys'.

"... To our new students, welcome; to our old students, welcome back! Another year full of magical education awaits you..."

The boy with the orange shirt looked wonderingly at the Gryffindor table. For a second, Harry thought that he was staring directly at him, but it would not be a surprise since he was the 'Chosen One', right? Dumbledore spoke on about Quidditch matters and how Mr Filch asked him to put a blanket ban on any joke items from the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

"We are pleased to welcome Professor Slughorn," Slughorn stood up, his bald head gleaming in the candlelight, "He is a former colleague of mine who has agreed to resume his old post of Potions Master."

"Potions?"

"Potions?"

The word echoed all over the Hall as people wondered whether they had heard it right.

"Potions," said Ron, turning to Harry, "But you said in the train–"

"Professor Snape, meanwhile," Dumbledore continued, raising his voice over the muttering, "will be taking over the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

"No!" Harry shouted loudly enough for the whole Hall to hear, but he didn't care.

How could Snape be his a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher? How could Dumbledore even trust him with that? It was his favorite subject and it was being possessed by his worst teacher! There were cheers and loud clapping coming from the Slytherin table. The whole Hall erupted into conversations about the news. Dumbledore cleared his throat again:

"We also want to welcome two very special guests," he gestured to the teenagers at the edge of the staff table, "They have been sent here to learn the history of Hogwarts and understand the way in which the students here are taught magic. It would be an experience of a lifetime and we thank them for spending their time with us."

Dumbledore gestured for the two visitors to step forward before turning to the audience, "Students, please give a warm welcome to both Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson."