The Seventh Year

Introductions

When Neville reached the entrance to the Great Hall, he noticed dessert had already been served. That meant he had also missed the hat's new song and the sorting ceremony. He was slightly disappointed that he didn't greet the first-year Gryffindors as he had in past years, but he looked up to find Snape in the headmaster's seat at the front of the room; missing the ceremony was now the least of his concerns. Next to Snape sat the head of Gryffindor house, Professor McGonagall. Beside her was the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher who had introduced himself before the feast. A woman sat next to Professor Carrow, who appeared just as lopsided as he was. Her shoulders sloped unevenly, and Neville noticed she had stubby fingers as she drank something from a flask.

He scanned the room, searching for Ginny, and found her sitting next to the Creevy brothers. Neville took the vacant seat beside her and reached for a cauldron cake. He hadn't realized how hungry he was until then.

"Is everything with Luna sorted out? Is she doing fine now?" Ginny asked. She looked pale and exhausted. Her plate had few crumbs and was not nearly as greasy as any of the other students. Neville grabbed another cauldron cake and set it on her plate.

"Eat. It'll help," he said soothingly but evading her questions. Luna had revealed a lot of personal information. He didn't want to betray her trust, so he decided it would be best to drop the conversation about her.

Ginny understood this as both of them remained silent, so she steered the conversation away from Luna. "Snape will be giving a start-of-term speech, I reckon." Neville stared at her blankly. "I can't imagine he'll have much to say. He never does." When Neville still did not respond, she dropped the conversation and took a small bite from her cauldron cake to fill the awkward silence.

As she finished the cake, the desserts disappeared from every table. Everyone in the room quieted their conversations as they watched Snape walk up to the podium where Dumbledore once stood. His greasy black hair was knotted and looked as though it needed to be brushed. The professor himself looked like he had been up for days on end.

"Good evening. As you all know, Professor Albus Dumbledore is no longer headmaster after his tragic demise at the end of the past year," he said, sounding free of guilt in a tame tone. "Now that we've addressed that, I'd like to welcome the new and returning students to Hogwarts. This year will be... unique." The corners of his lips turned upwards slightly as he said this. "I would like to introduce you to our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Amycus Carrow. His sister, Professor Alecto Carrow, will be your new Muggle Studies teacher.

"Now, then. Professors," he said and turned to the staff table, "you are to report any students who break any rules or act out in any way. I am appointing the Carrows Professors to be in charge of punishment. You do not want to be caught breaking school rules. I wish you all the best this year. Now get to bed, or detentions will be handed out. It would be a shame if that were the case." Snape slowly turned towards the door near the staff table. The students rose and quietly talked among themselves. Neville looked to find Ginny, but she was gone.

All the Gryffindors headed up to Gryffindor Tower, where the portrait of the Fat Lady resided. Ginny was one of the first to make it up the steps. One of the new prefects for Gryffindor was a fifth-year boy called Ingenio Seminiverbius. He made his way to the front near the portrait entrance, followed by the first-years. "In ignotis," he said. The portrait swung open, and everyone filed inside.

Ginny went to sit on the common room sofa. She hoped Neville would find her so they could discuss Snape's brief speech. It took several minutes of waiting, but Neville did join her in front of the fireplace.

"Neville, do you want to try to start up the D.A. again? I doubt a Death Eater will actually teach us defenses for dark magic." She kept her voice hushed in fear of attracting too much attention from non-members who were unaware of the D.A.

Neville did not look up at her. Instead, he looked lost in thought. Ginny remained patient and waited for him to respond. "Yeah, that's probably our best bet for now," he replied, his body stiff as a wood board. "But I doubt many people still check their coins. How will everyone know to meet us?"

"I'll need a few days to come up with something," Ginny said. "My mind isn't as brilliant as Hermione's, but I'll find a way to get it done. I promise." At that, she bid Neville goodnight and climbed the spiraling steps to the Gryffindor dormitories.