Young Liars

Eleanor hadn’t seen or climbed so many stairs in a long time. They must have just passed the sixth floor as her breathing was heavy and her palms wet. She noted just how tall the castle was when they stepped out of the carriage that pulled itself, but she didn’t expect the Headmaster’s office to be this far up. She would have reasoned just how inconvenient that is if someone were to ask. But her companion was not much of a talker.

The wizard that accompanied her kept his silence and walked in front of her the entire way, stopping frequently only after noticing just how far behind Eleanor was at times. The silence he left was filled with her pants and sighs looking up. She was just thankful they are taking care of her suitcases.

The castle was old and quiet now, but she guessed just how much more lively it would get when all the students were inside, running through hallways, looking for their classrooms.

But none of what she saw reminded her of Ilvermorny, maybe just the paintings on the wall. Hogwarts was too big and too dark to even compare.

Looking over the rail, Eleanor could see some of the stairs below her move, confusing her even more. “I think– think I’ll be lost–” she tried to catch her breath as they finally stepped off the stairs. She looked down at the changing stairs once more before following the wizard to a hallway.

“I will be accompanying you down to the Great Hall.” she imagined him rolling his eyes just by listening to the man talk. The wizard walked fast, his black cloak moving erratically behind him. Eleanor tried her best to catch up, shaking her head in disbelief watching the man show no signs of just having walked up to the top of the castle. She will have to get used to this.

“I mean in general.” she corrected herself more quietly this time, not even waiting for a reply, just strolling by his left side, finally caught up.

The hallway had candles on each side, with big gaps in between, lighting her face up just for a moment before going dark again. She used the few seconds of light to glimpse at the man beside her. She guessed he was a Professor, but she wasn’t sure.

The moment the man moved his head slightly to the side, Eleanor looked away immediately, turning around and pretending to listen for any students. Even if they were entering the castle now, they were too high up for her to hear anything.

The older wizard did not say a thing again until they reached an old gargoyle statue at the end of the hallway. Eleanor squinted at the statue, trying to make out the face with only the light from the candles. It wasn’t pretty but it did remind her of the four statues at Ilvermorny.

“Acid pops.” the older wizard said to the statue. A password. She made sure to remember it just in case.

The statue immediately moved scaring Eleanor as she jerked and took a step back. The moment she could understand what she was looking at in the dimly lit hallway - a swirling staircase, the older wizard had already stepped in first. She followed him before she could sigh at another flight of stairs in front of her, tripping over her robes a couple of times. Ilvermorny robes were shorter. And prettier.

The door at the top was already open when they reached it.

The room they entered was circular with very tall ceilings. Her eyes quickly moved past the line of portraits, that she guessed were previous Headmasters. Her Headmaster at Ilvermorny had something similar in the hallway leading up to the office.

Each portrait stared back at Eleanor. Some whispered and others crossed their arms. She noticed someone yawning too. She had to stop herself from the yawn creeping up on her now. Not the time or place, she thought.

“Miss Somerset,” a tall and very old wizard spoke, moving closer to the desk from the window he was standing near. “Welcome.” he smiled and pressed his hands together.

An ease washed over Eleanor at the calmness of the old wizard's voice before she inhaled and smiled politely, stiffening again as she guessed she was standing in front of the Headmaster. Dumbledore, as her dad referred to him many times before.

The old wizard was wearing robes that glittered in gold and purple. You could stare at it for hours and still find new details.

“Hello.” she took a few more steps before stopping and clasping her hands together behind her back. She tried not to stare too much but she rarely saw wizards that looked like this, wizards who were straight from old fairytales - long silvery beard, colorful robes, and piercing eyes. She wasn’t sure what color they were exactly, as the lighting was just as dim as in the hallways, but they were light.

“Thank you, Severus.” the Headmaster glimpsed at the man that accompanied her. “You can tell the other professors she has arrived.” he smiled and turned back to her.

The man nodded and left the room as Eleanor followed him out with his eyes. The Headmaster sat down in an old chair that made a weird noise. The door closed behind them.

“Remind me,” he gestured for her to sit down too. So she did. “What was your house? And I hope Professor Snape was able to find you easily.”

So that man was a Professor. She would have tried to guess the subject if she weren’t staring at the Headmaster's black hand. It looked completely burned. Even rotten. “Ah– Thunderbird.” she finally spilled out and quickly turned away, pretending to admire the paintings that were staring back at her, as if they knew.

So she moved her eyes over to the bookshelves that reached the ceiling, little magical gadgets that made noise, or others that emitted puffs of smoke. Eleanor could have spent the next hour just gawping around. She wondered what the view through the window was, as they were this high up.

“Do you have an idea where the Sorting Hat will place you?” his eyes left her for a moment and she followed his, landing on a tall brown hat sitting on one of the shelves. The Sorting Hat. It looked worse than she imagined. “I am sure your father must have shared his theories.”

Eleanor’s expression must have revealed her forgetting that Dumbledore was her dad’s Headmaster as well.

“We talked about it this morning–” she exhaled, afraid to be impolite, not knowing how formal she had to be, “Sir.”

The lines around the Headmaster’s eyes multiplied and he let out a small chuckle.

“He bet on Gryffindor, but wouldn’t be surprised with any other House.” Eleanor turned to the door when someone knocked.

“Yes, Severus. Enter.” the Headmaster said calmly. Was he this fast?

The man who walked her here, Professor Snape, entered the room and moved to the wall, quietly watching over them both. Eleanor could see the man’s face better now. He was about her parents’ age, maybe a bit younger.

She looked away when their eyes met.

“Your father is a smart man.” he turned to Severus for a moment before smiling back at Eleanor. “Forgive me– for the rush this evening. If time was of no essence we would talk more– I am quite interested in how Ilvermorny is doing. You see–” he closed his lips shut and chuckled to himself. “Well, that’s a story for another time. Please come visit on Saturday, I’ll send a letter with the time later.” the Headmaster stood up from his chair smiling and walked towards the Sorting Hat. “But we must have you sorted before the Hat welcomes the first years.”

Eleanor nodded at everything he said, listening carefully this time and trying not to look down at his hands. But the way the Headmaster moved had her forget about the soot black fingers - the old wizard, who she guessed passed a hundred several years ago, walked without making noise. Maybe it was the shoes or the flooring. Or maybe it was just how he walked, slightly swaying from one side to the other, but always without noise. Calm.

Eleanor’s fingers were trailing along the hem of her robes. She was nervous.

The Headmaster picked the hat up and walked back to Eleanor. “You must know the importance of sorting– having been sorted yourself.” she nodded. “Your Head of House will answer all your questions– and explain the rest that time has not given me the chance to.”

With that, the Headmaster placed the Hat on her head, obscuring the upper half of her vision. She could still see his hand come down to his side after placing the hat, but she could not look at the desk in front of her without tilting her head back, which she was scared to do - the hat would fall.

Eleanor took hold of both sides of the Hat and pushed it up so she could see more. “Hmm.” she immediately heard a voice in her ear that made her jump. She didn’t expect the hat to talk like this. And that close. “Interesting.” she gripped the side of her chair, running through the small cracks in the wood with her nails.

It seemed like the noises coming from various things the Headmaster owned had gone silent, her eyes were watering just a little bit too. But what was interesting? Was she supposed to talk with the Hat? Say something back?

“A traveler…” the Hat spoke into her ear again. The corners of her lips turned upwards just slightly as the Hat reminded her of the Ilvermorny house manual for a moment there - means Thunderbird wasn’t wrong, “Sometimes too just… but ambitious…” she stayed quiet, hoping the Hat did not require her input vocally. She wanted to be just, and tried to, most of the time. Just not always successful. But ambitious? Was sh– “Adventurer…” the Hat stopped her train of thought before leaving her in more silence. “GRYFFINDOR!”

Gryffindor?

She heard the Headmaster chuckle as he took the hat off. All of the other noises hit her ears again. And when she thought she heard the other wizard scoff, Eleanor turned to him, but by that time, his face was already stiff and not welcoming.

“Very well! Your father was correct.” the Headmaster chuckled before turning to the other person in the office. “Severus, please take Miss Somerset to the Great Hall and inform Professor McGonagall.” Eleanor exhaled as she realized she was holding her breath in for far too long.

When Professor Snape nodded she followed him out of the office. Before closing the door behind her she noticed the Headmaster wasn’t returning to his chair, instead, he walked in small circles before looking at a big clock on the wall, surrounded by more paintings. She guessed he was about to leave for the ceremony himself.

The moment she stepped off the spiral staircase and felt a light breeze touch her neck, she sighed deeply finally realizing she was just sorted. Gryffindor. Her house for a year.

This time, descending the same staircase they had used before (even if she frowned at how she remembered the stairs being in slightly different spots), Eleanor was silent not because she was intimidated by the Professor or the sheer amount of stairs she had climbed, but because of how many thoughts and conversations she was having with herself in her head.

Harry, Hermione, Ron… that boy with the toad, Neville… who else did she know? She thought of the red-headed girl too.

This time Eleanor wasn’t looking around either or carefully listening for distant voices of other students. She wasn’t paying attention to the man in front of her either. Eleanor thought about her dad - she wasn’t a Ravenclaw. But he’ll be happy about getting it right.

“The Great Hall is to your left.” Professor Snape turned around without notice and Eleanor just merely avoided crashing into the wizard as she had been jumping over a few steps after falling behind again. Maybe if the robes weren’t so long, she wouldn’t have to watch every step she took.

Quickly steadying herself she heard students laugh from around the corner, she heard many hurrying footsteps too. Looking up at the Professor, she could tell he wasn’t too happy about this little task he had to carry out.

“Careful.” he hissed before turning his head to the right.

Eleanor guessed he would have said more but after watching his eyes narrow, she turned her head too.

Malfoy.

The blonde boy was strolling down the hallway, hands in his pockets, he looked at the two. From the looks of it, he was the last one arriving, as the distant noises of laughter and hurry had started to quiet down. But he was in no rush to get to the Great Hall.

Professor Snape turned his whole body towards Malfoy, growing even taller than he already was. “Mr. Malfoy,” his brows furrowed slightly. “You’re late?”

The boy didn’t even look at Eleanor as he approached the professor.

“You can go, Miss Somerset.” Professor Snape didn’t look at her either, stepping closer to Malfoy. “Your Head of House will find you after the ceremony.”

Eleanor nodded but after realizing the Professor couldn’t see, thanked him. As she backed away, she watched Malfoy for another moment, seeing him take his hands out of his pockets. But the fear of entering the Hall as someone was giving a speech or the Hat doing its job washed Eleanor away from the two, like a wave returning back to the ocean, taking as much as she can with her - listening carefully.

“My office, tomorrow–” she heard the professor hiss before turning the corner.

The doors to the Great Hall were wide open and lit up the entire hallway. It was pretty quiet, but she could still hear some talking coming from the Great Hall. Two girls appeared at the other end of the hallway, quickly following each other through the door. Eleanor relaxed and slowed down, she won’t be the last one.

Without turning around she walked into the Great Hall. Eleanor immediately stopped to look up at what seemed like thousands of lit candles just floating in the air. She frowned, trying to make out if it was an enchanted ceiling or just glass. Looking back down her eyes quickly rushed through all the four long tables in front of her, trying to make out if students sat by their houses or randomly, like back home.

It was surely by house.

Eleanor did not move out of the way, continuing to look up. She was sure if the other lights were off, the candles would look like stars. This was truly beautiful.

“Oh, sorry–” she moved to the side as she felt someone brush her shoulder. Turning her head away from the ceiling she saw Malfoy quickly push through a few older students still standing and walk over to the long table nearest to the wall, where the color green dominated. The Slytherin table.

Green… blue… yellow… red. That’s the table she walked towards, turning around herself a few times trying to catch all the details of the Great Hall.

In front of all four tables, she saw most of the staff sitting down. By the lack of Dumbledore and Professor Snape, she knew the ceremony was yet to begin. There were more empty seats too.

“Eleanor!” she heard a familiar voice as she reached the Gryffindor table.

Many kids were staring at Eleanor and her regular robes but she was too busy locating Hermione among them all. When she finally noticed the curly-haired girl and Ron, which looked surprised to see her at their table, she realized the empty seat promised was in front of the two, on the other side.

Turning around she quickly walked over to the end of the table and tried to squeeze herself between the wall and the already seated students. While nearing the spot on the bench, Eleanor lifted her head up when she heard the doors to the Hall close and immediately looked to the front, where the Headmaster was about to start.

“Thank you.” she whispered to Hermione and sat next to Ginny.

“You’re a Gryffindor!” Hermione whispered back with a genuine sweetness to her voice before looking over to the front as the Headmaster began.

Ginny smiled at Eleanor the same way Ron did. “Would have bet differently.” he chuckled and turned to the front as well. Eleanor noticed him quickly stare at Hermione’s hair before raising his head a little bit to see the Headmaster better.

Eleanor bit her gums to stop herself from smiling. Excitement rushed over her and she inhaled deeply, not listening to what was being said in the front. She exhaled and let herself wander around the Great Hall with her eyes, still admiring it and studying the students listening carefully, while avoiding the ones, mostly Gryffindor, staring and frowning at her as if their minds were working really hard to remember her.

“...we must begin the sorting…” was all she heard when the doors opened again and a tall witch entered the Hall followed by many little kids.

Eleanor smiled watching over the first years. She was too far away to count exactly how many there were, but it was more than Ilvermorny welcomed each year.

The little kids followed the witch to the front and formed a neat line at her request. During this, the Headmaster placed the Sorting Hat in front of the kids and moved back to his seat in the middle. To Eleanor, this was far too interesting than what the Headmaster had to say, having her use her elbows on the table to lift herself just a little bit higher, so as to see the Sorting ceremony better.

This was clearly the most boring part for the other students - some were whispering to their friends, and others had their heads turned and rested against their fists, stretching their cheeks out and turning them slightly red.

Eleanor frowned when she heard the Sorting Hat start singing loudly.

In the days of old, the four wizards stood,
Their hearts united, brave and good,

“Where’s Harry?” Ginny leaned in. “Just saw Malfoy and that poser Zabini at their tables.” Eleanor tilted her head to the side trying and see the Slytherin table, Ron did the same.

…But united, you'll find your way…

“I don’t understand him…” Hermione shook her head and looked back at the closed door.

…Gryffindor's courage, lion's pride…

“He’ll be here soon.” Ron assured and glimpsed at the door. Imagining Harry walking through seemed more interesting to him than listening to what the Hat had to say.

…In loyalty and friendship's light…

Ron scoffed at the words, his eyebrows moving slightly up. “It’s always the same.”

Eleanor watched Hermione immediately glare at Ron as if to say ‘Think of Harry instead of the Hat!’.

“Is it different each year?” she whispered to Ron. The boy nodded. “Idea’s the same.”

…So put me on, don’t be afraid…

The moment the Hat went silent, everyone applauded. She could tell most of the students were celebrating the end of the singing than the song itself, while many professors looked genuinely happy, clapping their hands together loudly.

Eleanor chuckled to herself. She didn’t expect the Hat to sing, but the Ilvermorny song was still better, even if it was the same each year.

The tall witch unrolled a long roll of parchment and called the first student. “Abram, David.”

A small boy with big curls walked over to the stool in the middle, gripping his robes that looked way too big on him. He slowly put on the Hat which roared as it barely touched his head. “RAVENCLAW!”

One of the tables in the middle shouted, screamed, and applauded. The little boy placed the Hat down and quickly walked over to the Ravenclaw table. The older kids were congratulating the boy, whispering something to his ears, making him laugh and finally relax.

Eleanor was smiling the entire time, continuing to raise herself up by her elbows.

“Anstey, Elizabeth.”

A slightly taller girl, with hair like Malfoy’s, was smiling even before the Hat was put on. This time it did not announce its decision immediately, staying silent for a few moments. “GRYFFINDOR!” it roared but the Gryffindor table roared louder.

Eleanor laughed at the chaos and started shouting and clapping with the others. It took their table a longer time to wind down than the Ravenclaws. They all tried to be louder than last time when new kids were sorted into Gryffindor. At the end of the ceremony, her cheeks were stinging from the smiling.

And when the food appeared out of thin air after Dumbledore’s welcome word to the first years, Eleanor was ready to try everything Hogwarts had to offer. Her cheeks were pink and her fringe in need of fixing in front of a mirror, but she did not see, nor care, stabbing at the roast chicken she wanted to try first.

“Oh wow–” she chewed.

Ginny let out a laugh while chewing the same chicken.

“This is delicious!” Eleanor’s eyes widened as she looked at Ginny. The girl nodded in agreement.

“I always eat it first.” the red-headed girl let out a sound that was a mix of agreement and delight. They both looked like little kids trying candy for the first time. But it was just chicken.

But Ginny’s grin quickly disappeared as she glimpsed at Hermione, who was still looking around. Harry was yet to arrive.

The chicken was coated in a lemony sauce, every bite leaving a tangy feeling in her mouth. After the chicken, Eleanor scooped some of the mashed potatoes into her plate. The mashed potatoes were better at home she thought, these missed garlic.

When she reached out for the salad bowl to her left, she noticed Harry walking into the Hall. “Look,” Eleanor picked the bowl up and brought it to her empty plate. Hermione immediately turned around while Ron picked up a chicken leg. “It’s Harry.”

Ron and Ginny weren’t the only ones that shot their heads up to look at the hurrying boy. Some kids from other tables even stood up to get a better look.

“His nose…” Hermione inhaled sharply and brought her fingers to her partially open mouth. You could see the blood under Harry’s nose even from where they were sitting.

As Eleanor placed the salad bowl back, Harry forced his way between Ron and Hermione.

“Where've you– blimey, what've you done to your face?” Ron asked as he stared with what seemed like the rest of Hogwarts students.

“Why, what's wrong with it?” Harry brought the biggest spoon to his face, squinting and trying to make out the bloody nose.

“You're covered in blood!” Hermione’s eyes were wide. “Come here–” she raised her wand. “Tergeo!” Eleanor watched as the blood came off of Harry.

“Thanks,” the boy rubbed under his nose with his pointer finger to find it clean. “How's my nose looking?” he picked up a glass of pumpkin juice.

“Normal.” Hermione frowned. “Why shouldn't it? Harry, what happened? We've been terrified!” she looked at Ginny, then Eleanor, and lastly Ron.

“I'll tell you later,” Harry answered quietly, looking around he noticed almost everyone listening in. Even the Ghost looked like it was trying to eavesdrop above them.

“But–” Hermione tried again.

Eleanor watched the Ghost carefully, a rarity back home.

“Not now, Hermione,” Harry whispered and looked around, finally noticing Eleanor. “Gryffindor?” he smirked before reaching for some chicken legs and chips. “Brilliant!” he whispered but before he could take any of the food, it all vanished, being replaced by dessert.

“You missed the Sorting, anyway,” Hermione rested her face against her palm, as Ron dived for a large chocolate gateau. Eleanor was still deciding what to try first, feeling like she won’t be able try much more soon, everything looked delicious.

“Hat say anything interesting?” Harry asked Hermione as he reached for a piece of treacle tart.

“More of the same, really… advising us all to unite in the face of our enemies, you know.”

Eleanor took a bite of the pumpkin pie. Chewing it for quite some time, trying to decide if her homemade one tasted better. But she listened carefully too, the bloody nose sparked her curiosity.

“Dumbledore mentioned Voldemort at all?”

The mention of Voldemort stopped Eleanor from taking another bite. She knew her parents were here mostly because of him. Everything seemed because of him these days.

“Not yet, but he always saves his proper speech for after the feast, doesn't he? It can't be long now.”

“Snape said Hagrid was late for the feast–”

“You've seen Snape? He– he took Eleanor for– sorting.” Ron explained as he chewed a big piece of red cake. Eleanor nodded herself as she finished her pie.

“Bumped into him,” Harry took a sip of the juice again.

“Hagrid was only a few minutes late,” Hermione turned to the table at the front. "Look, he's waving at you, Harry."

Eleanor lifted her head up with Harry, seeing a very big man, the same one that was calling for all the first years not that long ago, waving at Harry. The tall witch that called kids for sorting was touching elbows with the giant man and looking disapprovingly at the whole greeting. Eleanor didn’t know any other Professors or staff sitting around the giant man and the tall witch so she continued looking around the Hall.

Harry seemed to notice Malfoy at the same time as Eleanor. The blonde boy was making his friends laugh, pretending to grab at his nose in pain. It was clear who they were making fun of. Eleanor sighed in annoyance and finished her drink.

“So what did Professor Slughorn want?” Hermione asked and looked at Eleanor and Ginny too this time.

“To know what really happened at the Ministry.” Harry answered before Eleanor could.

She would have said something about Professor's interest in kids with famous relations, or great talents, like Ginny, but Harry was right - even she was interested, but tried not to show, hoping she would hear about it soon enough from one of them. Maybe even write and ask her parents.

“Him and everyone else here,” Hermione sighed. “People were interrogating us about it on the train, weren't they, Ron?”

“Yeah,” Ron placed his spoon down. “All wanting to know if you really are 'the Chosen One'.”

“There has been much talk on that very subject even amongst the ghosts,” the Ghost that tried to listen in not that long ago interrupted. He wobbled his nearly detached head next to Harry. “I am considered something of a Potter authority; it is widely known that we are friendly. I have assured the spirit community that I will not pester you for information, however. 'Harry Potter knows that he can confide in me with complete confidence,’ I told them. ‘I would rather die than betray his trust.’”

“That's not saying much, seeing as you're already dead,” Ron observed and Eleanor chuckled to herself.

“Once again, you show all the sensitivity of a blunt axe,” the Ghost glared at Ron, and at Eleanor for a mere second, before rising into the air and traveling to the very end of the table.

At that exact moment, the Headmaster stood up from his seat in the middle. All the noise echoing around the Hall disappeared almost instantly.

“The very best of evenings to you!” the Headmaster said, smiling broadly, his arms opened wide as though to embrace the whole room.

“What happened to his hand?” Hermione gasped.

Hermione was not the only one to notice. Almost everyone was not whispering to their friends, shocked. The hand looked even worse in this lighting than it had while Eleanor got sorted. But the Headmaster just smiled and shook his purple-and-gold sleeve over the hand. “Nothing to worry about,” he inhaled. “Now… to our new students, welcome, to our old students, welcome back! Another year full of magical education awaits you…”

Eleanor had enough of the food, placing her head on her palm she listened.

Harry whispered something to Hermione. “It looks as if it's died,” Hermione shook her head with a nauseated expression on her face and whispered something back.

“Those wishing to play for their House Quidditch teams should give their names to their Heads of House as usual. We are also looking for new Quidditch commentators, who should do likewise.” Eleanor noticed some students light up, clearly excited to try for the position. “We are pleased to welcome a new member of staff this year, Professor Slughorn–” Slughorn stood up and waved at the students while his other hand held on to his belly. “–is a former colleague of mine who has agreed to resume his old post of Potions master.”

“Potions?” was the only thing Eleanor could hear for a good minute. It echoed all over the Hall as kids wondered whether they had heard it right.

“Potions?” Ron and Hermione asked at the same time, staring at Harry. “But you said–”

“Professor Snape, meanwhile,” Dumbledore continued, raising his voice so that it carried over all the chatter, “will be taking the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.”

Eleanor did not quite understand why suddenly the Hall got even louder.

“No!” Harry shouted so loudly that many students turned in his direction. But the boy did not seem to care, glaring at the Headmaster.

“But Harry, you said that Slughorn was going to be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts!” Hermione asked again.

“I thought he was!” Harry sounded just as surprised as everyone else.

Eleanor looked over to Professor Snape raising his hand at the Slytherin table, which was the loudest now, celebrating.

“What’s wrong with Professor Snape?” Eleanor asked but realized she should have figured it out by now when almost everyone around her turned to her at the same time. Hermione was the only one that gave her a more understanding look.

“You’ll find out soon enough.” Ron scoffed while Harry glared at Professor Snape.

“Well, there's one good thing,” Harry sneered, “Snape'll be gone by the end of the year.”

“What do you mean?” Ron raised his eyebrows.

“That job's jinxed. No ones lasted more than a year… Quirrell actually died doing it… Personally, I'm going to keep my fingers crossed for another death…”

Eleanor frowned and sat up straight. Died? A Professor died while working? She thought about the length of the letters she’ll write to her friends and parents. And school hasn't even started yet.

“Harry!” Hermione must have been shocked to hear Harry talk like that.

“He might just go back to teaching Potions at the end of the year,” Ron tried to reason. “That Slughorn bloke might not want to stay long-term. Moody didn't.”

When Dumbledore cleared his throat, the chatter died down. Their table wasn’t the only one that was talking. Almost every kid was buzzing with the news. Eleanor felt out of the loop, not understanding the deal with Professor Snape. Surely he looked commanding and cold, but nothing too out of the ordinary to have her question his character. She had professors like that at Ilvermorny too.

The Headmaster waited before it was completely silent. “Now, as everybody in this Hall knows, Lord Voldemort and his followers are once more at large and gaining in strength.”

Eleanor looked around, it seemed like the mention of Voldemort had every kid, old and young, listening carefully… except for Malfoy. She moved her head slightly to look at the gap between Ron and Harry, with Malfoy in the middle. He looked bored, the same way Blaise looked when Slughorn talked their ears off.

Malfoy lifted a small fork above his plate, moving it slightly to the sides with his wand. He didn’t listen, didn’t raise his head. He just sighed, not giving the Headmaster his attention.

“I cannot emphasize strongly enough how dangerous the present situation is, and how much care each of us at Hogwarts must take to ensure that we remain safe. The castle's magical fortifications have been strengthened over the summer, we are protected in new and more powerful ways, but we must still guard scrupulously against carelessness on the part of any student or member of staff. I urge you, therefore, to abide by any security restrictions that your teachers might impose upon you, however irksome you might find them– in particular, the rule that you are not to be out of after hours. I implore you, should you notice anything strange or suspicious within or outside the castle, to report it to a member of staff immediately. I trust you to conduct yourselves, always, with the utmost regard for your own and others' safety.” Dumbledore's blue eyes swept over the students before he smiled once more. “But now, your beds await, as warm and comfortable as you could possibly wish, and I know that your top priority is to be well-rested for your lessons tomorrow. Let us therefore say good night. Pip pip!”

Eleanor stayed seated while others stood up from the benches. She had to give herself a moment listening to the loud scraping noise of benches moving. Maybe if the was in the back, the Head of House would have an easier time looking for her.

Some students hurried to their friends, and a few older ones that she saw in one of the compartments rushed to the front, at least Hermione did. Ron stayed back as both he and Harry talked. Ginny was already gone, walking in the front with some older boy.

“Hi!” Neville walked passed her. She smiled and waved.

Eleanor couldn’t understand if she was more excited or anxious. The melancholy struck her as she remembered the first days of school at Ilvermorny. You’ll be back, she said to herself. You’ll be back.