Amie and the Army (Harry Potter fan-fic) Book 5 COMPLETED

Introducing a pink toad

Harry and Ron finally joined them in the carriage, along with Luna who'd given Pig back to Ron.
"Did everyone see that Grubbly-Plank woman?" Ginny asked, as the carriage started moving towards the castle. "What's she doing back here? Hagrid can't have left, can he?"
"I'll be quite glad if he has," Luna said. "he isn't a very good teacher, is he?"
"Yes, he is!" Amie, Harry, Ron and Ginny said angrily. Only Hermione was silent, so Harry glared at her. She cleared her throat and said, "Erm... yes... he's very good,"
"Well, we in Ravenclaw think he's a bit of a joke," said Luna, uncaring that everyone was glaring at her.
"You've got a rubbish sense of humor, then," snapped Ron angrily. 
Luna wasn't fazed at all by Ron's rudeness, she just watched him for a while, as if watching the television. The carriages slowly but surely made their way up the road. When the grounds came in sight, Harry leaned forwards and looked towards the Forbidden Forest, and Amie understood he was looking for any light in Hagrid's hut.
"Anything?" Amie asked hopefully.
"Nothing," Harry answered, his face glum.
The carriages came to a halt in front of the stone steps leading to Hogwart's front door, and Harry got out first, the others following. Luna immediately left them, heading up the stone steps and disappearing through the doors with the rest of the students. Harry seemed to be watching something in front of their carriage, so Amie joined him and looked at him quizically.
"Are you all right?" she asked.
"Can you see them?" Harry asked in a quiet voice, as if afraid someone would hear him. "I mean, you're a Seer, maybe..."
Amie swung her head to look in the direction Harry was, and then, as if someone had turned on a light switch, she could suddenly see a couple of very weird, skeletal horse-like black creatures with white eyes. They were what was pulling the carriages. Amie gasped.
"They're beautiful!" she said.
"So you can see them?" Harry said hopefully.
"At first, no, but then, they just appeared!"
"Are you guys coming, or what?" Ron, who was standing a few feet away, said. He, Ginny and Hermione obviously hadn't heard their conversation.
"Oh... yeah," said Harry, and they all went into the castle, through the Entrance hall and into the Great hall, sitting down at the Gryffindor table. All the way there people had put their heads together and whispered as they passed, and it was obviously about Harry, but he pretended not to notice. Of course, Amie could see how much it bothered him. Ginny was hailed by her fellow fourth years and left to sit with them. Amie and the others sat by Neville, Sir Nicholas - the Gryffindor house ghost, Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown. The last two had greeted Harry in an overly-friendly manner that made it obvious that they'd been talking about him just seconds before. But Harry didn't even reply more than a 'Hello', he was busy looking over the staff table.
"He's not there," he said worriedly. Amie, Hermione and Ron also scanned the table, though it was rather unnecessary, Hagrid's size would've made him stand out.
"He can't have left," Ron said anxiously.
"Of course he hasn't," Harry said firmly.
"You don't think he's... hurt, or anything, do you?" Hermione said uneasily.
"No, definitely not, I would've seen it. I hope." Amie said immediately. 
"But where is he, then?" 
There was a slight pause, then Harry leaned closer so no one would overhear him.
"Maybe he's not back yet... You know - from his mission - the thing he was doing over the summer for Dumbledore,"
"Yeah... yeah, that'll be it," said Ron, slightly reassured. But Hermione bit her lip and scanned the staff table again, as if looking for an explanation.

"Who's that?" she said suddenly, pointing up to the staff table. Amie spun around to look, and her eyes fell on a squat woman next to Dumbledore. They were talking. The woman had short, mouse-brown hair with a pink alice band in it, that matched her flyffy cardigan she wore over her robes. She had a pallid, round face with a pair of pouchy eyes. She looked very froglike.
"It's that Umbridge woman!" Harry exclaimed suddenly.
"Who?" Hermione asked. 
"She was at my hearing, she works for Fudge!"
"Nice cardigan," Ron smirked.
"She works for Fudge!" Hermione repeated with a frown. "What on earth's she doing here, then?"
"Dunno..."
"This is bad," Amie said in a shocked voice. Hermione's eyes scanned the staff table again.
"No," she said in sudden realization. "No, surely not..."
Professor Grubbly-Plank appeared from behind the staff table and she made her way to the very end and sat down in Hagrid's seat. Seconds later the doors from the Entrance hall opened and Professor McGonagall led in the first years. She was also carrying the stool on which the sorting hat was perched. The buzz in the Great hall faded away, and the first years lined up in front of the staff table, facing the rest of the students. McGonagall put down the stool with the sorting hat and stepped back, and then they all waited, until finally, the hat started singing.