The Potions Master's Daughter (Book Four)

Chapter 8

Over the next few weeks before it was time to go back to Hogwarts, we went to one more Order meeting, went school shopping, had to read a lot of articles about Dumbledore and Harry and a couple about me, and learned that 12 Death Eaters or Voldemort supporters had escaped from Azkaban including my mother, but we ignored that fact for now. We didn't know how she would play a role in all the mess but for now I was content with keeping her out of my mind and just being extra alert. The Ministry was still refusing to believe Voldemort was back and was instead putting all the blame on an innocent Ministry official that happened to be in charge of dealings with Azkaban prisoners. We also learned through Dumbledore that Dolores Umbridge would be coming to teach at Hogwarts as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, appointed by Fudge himself. A week after he told us that the Daily Prophet ran an article stating that this was good that the Ministry was getting involved and making sure Dumbledore was doing a good job and wasn't getting too old for this. I could sense that I wouldn't get along with her as a teacher and I doubted Severus would like working with her. My birthday came and passed. We went out to dinner and Severus gave me a snake charm to add to my bracelet. I had gotten pretty good at the concealment charm, it was very hard to see through at this point.

Soon we were ready to go to Hogwarts. Like other years I took the Hogwarts Express with my friends and Severus apparated there. I rode with Harry, Hermione, Ron, Luna, Neville and Ginny. Ginny was seated next to Harry who couldn't stop smiling and blushing. Hermione and Ron were bickering again like they were the whole summer. Neville and I were talking quietly most of the ride talking about our summers. I had missed talking to him. I was disappointed that Blake couldn't be with us but I knew that this was the year that he would have to start being totally separate from all of us if we expected both of us to live through this war. I would have to meet him in secret if I wanted to ever talk to him. I sighed and put my head on Neville's shoulder as we kept talking about the smear articles in the paper and a wide range of other things. I learned that Hermione and Ron had been made prefects and I was glad for them and Harry even seem relieved that he was no longer the center of attention and that his best friends were getting some special treatment. I felt the same way, and I knew I wouldn't have the time to perform all the prefect's duties.

When we got to Hogwarts we all went to the Great Hall to eat like always. The first years got sorted but this year something was different. The sorting hat changed its song for the first time I had ever heard, this song was darker and seemed to be trying to warn everyone about something bad to come.

After the first years were sorted Dumbledore got up and said, "Welcome back to another year at Hogwarts, I am glad to see all of you back here for another year of learning. I would like to introduce a couple new staff members with us this year. We have Professor Grubbly-Plank who will be filling in for Hagrid while he is taking a short leave. It's also my pleasure to introduce Dolores Umbridge, a highly regarded Ministry official that will be teaching all Defense Against the Dark Arts classes this year. Please do treat both of them well, and now we can enjoy our meal."

There was a small annoying cough as Umbridge stood up and went to the front obviously shocking everyone. McGonagall shot her a nasty look, Severus looked annoyed, the other professors looked confused and even Dumbledore was momentarily surprised, no one ever interrupted Dumbledore's beginning of the year speech with their own speech but that seemed to be what she was doing.

She went on for 5 minutes about how this was a great opportunity for her and for the Ministry to become more involved at Hogwarts, and that there would be a few new rules being set in place to help make Hogwarts even better. I hardly listened and at the end none of us were impressed and even annoyed with her.

We all went up and got settled before going to bed. Tomorrow we would get our schedules in the morning and then start our classes. I would again be taking on age level courses so I'd be taking D.A.D.A., Potions, Transfiguration, Ron and Harry convinced me to take Divination with them, we would take Herbology, History of Magic, Charms and I decided to keep taking Hex while my other friends were taking a different elective. We wouldn't be taking Care of Magical Creatures so we wouldn't have to deal with a new professor, but we would be down in that part of the campus once Hagrid returned.