A/N: My online classes officially started today so I'm posting this chapter a little earlier than planned :> Hope y'all like it!

A selected number of Order of the Phoenix members were tasked with escorting Harry and the others to Platform 9 3/4 on the 1st of September. They received a lot of strange looks from muggles as they walked through King's Cross Station; it was difficult to ignore Tonks' bright pink hair, Mad-Eye Moody's glass eye and stumped leg, and of course, the unusual fashion wizards and witches wore in general. The teenagers could have passed with their more normal clothing, but their owls and broomsticks also stood out quite a bit.

"Padfoot! Are you barking mad?" Analeigh turned around at Moody's scolding voice and found a large, black dog trotting happily in between him and Harry. Sirius wasn't supposed to come with them, but he somehow snuck in. "You'll blow the entire operation!"

Sirius — well, Padfoot, as they were ordered to address him whenever they were in public — merely stuck his tongue out playfully at the ex-Auror. He then changed direction and entered a spare room, Harry quickly following after him. Moody and Tonks stood guard to ensure nothing happened to the two while they spoke, whereas the rest of the group made their way onto Platform 9 3/4.

Like every other year, the platform was bustling with students and adults of all ages, noisy with their respective conversations and the meowing or hooting of their pets. The Order members helped Analeigh and the others with their trunks and bags. After they finished, Altair pulled his daughter aside.

"Dad, the train's about to leave," Analeigh reminded him.

"I know, I know, just give me a minute," he said seriously. "I want you to be extra careful this year, Analeigh. I'm afraid things won't be the same at Hogwarts anymore."

Analeigh already knew that Voldemort's return had changed things across the wizarding world, but her father's words still sparked her curiosity.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"There's a lot of reasons why. For one, the Ministry doesn't trust Dumbledore anymore. I know you're already aware that they're trying to make him look like he's off his rocker, so they might be keeping a closer eye on him, Harry, and even you and Cedric."

"But why —"

"You may not have seen He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named after he was reborn, but it's still only the three of you who count as Harry's closest witnesses for that," Altair explained in a low voice.

"I mean, yeah, but Cedric and I are positive You-Know-Who came back," Analeigh tried. "We saw Wormtail holding that thing and everything, and —"

"But the Ministry isn't taking the words of a bunch of children seriously, nor will many other adults and their kids at Hogwarts. It's not that simple."

"So, what am I supposed to do, then?" Analeigh said confusedly.

"Try not do do anything that'll drag your name in the mud."

"That's very helpful, dad."

"I'm serious. Don't get into trouble and stay under the radar this year. Also, about that Malfoy boy..."

"What, does he know we're related?" Analeigh asked.

"I doubt it. The last time I really spoke to Lucius was before You-Know-Who's fall, and he didn't know I had a daughter nor that I changed my last name. But he's been seen in the Ministry a lot recently, and although we haven't encountered one another, I'd like to keep it that way. So, stay away from that Malfoy kid, alright?"

"You don't need to tell me twice," Analeigh chuckled.

Altair managed to crack a faint smile at those words.

"Your mother and I will miss you. Good luck this year."

He kissed the top of her head before shooing her towards the Hogwarts Express. By the time Analeigh rejoined her friends and stepped into the train, Harry and Sirius — still in the form of a large, black dog — had made it to the platform, too. Sirius walked with Harry to the train's door and stood up on his hind legs to place his front paws on his godson's shoulders. It was human-like in Analeigh's eyes since she knew the dog was actually an Animagus, but hopefully, it just looked like a loyal pet to everyone who saw it happen.

"For heaven's sake, act more like a dog, Sirius!" Mrs. Weasley hissed, pushing Harry to the door right after Analeigh had gotten in. Harry stuck his head out of one of the open windows to get one last glimpse of his godfather.

"See you!" he called out as the train began to move. Analeigh, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, the twins, and Cedric waved at the Order members and their guardians from beside him. The figures of Altair, Tonks, Lupin, Moody, the Diggorys, and the Weasleys shrank rapidly as the Hogwarts Express picked up some speed. But the black dog ran alongside the train, wagging its tail and barking wildly. Some people on the platform were even laughing as they watched it chase the train until it reached the end of the platform and it couldn't do that anymore. Finally, the Hogwarts Express turned the corner, and Sirius vanished from their sight.

"He shouldn't have come with us," Hermione said disapprovingly.

"Oh lighten up," Ron said. "He hasn't seen daylight for months, poor bloke."

"I'm sure he wanted to see Harry off, too," Analeigh added, seeing how happy Harry was after that scene Sirius caused.

"Well, can't stand around chatting all day, we've got business to discuss with Lee," Fred announced, already backtracking away from them. "See you later."

He and George left their group and disappeared down the corridor to the right.

"I've got to go, too, Analeigh," said Cedric, pulling her aside gently. "I have to go the prefects carriage to speak to the Head Girl before the others get there."

"Of course," Analeigh nodded. Cedric leaned down to give her quick peck. Just when they separated, someone wolf-whistled behind them.

"I'm proud of you, Ced." It was Alden Brown, one of Cedric's best friends and roommates from Hufflepuff.

"Shove off, Alden," Cedric pushed him playfully before turning to Analeigh one last time. "I'll see you at the feast, okay?"

He left as well, and Cedric could be heard telling Alden to hurry and find their other friends because he still had Head Boy duties to fulfill. Analeigh turned around and walked a few paces down to meet Harry, Ron, and Hermione again.

"Shall we go and find a compartment, then?" Harry was asking them.

"We're — well —" Ron started.

"Ron and I are supposed to go into the prefect carriage, too," Hermione finished awkwardly. Ron wasn't looking at Harry, almost as if he was afraid to see his reaction.

"Oh," said Harry. "Right. Fine."

"I don't think we'll have to stay there all journey," Hermione said quickly. "Our letters said we just get instructions from the Head Boy and Girl and then patrol the corridors from time to time."

"Fine," said Harry again.

"It's alright, Harry. We'll go find a compartment," Analeigh tried. She could sense his change in mood even when it wasn't directed at her.

"Yeah. Well, we might see you later, then."

"Yeah, definitely," Ron nodded, glancing at him anxiously. "It's a pain having to go down there, I'd rather — but we have to — I mean, I'm not enjoying it, I'm not Percy."

"I know you're not," Harry reassured with a smile, but it was forced. He suddenly felt like he had lost something. Although Analeigh would be with him, he still felt strange because he had never ridden the Hogwarts Express without Ron.

Fortunately, Hermione and Ron joined Harry and Analeigh about half an hour later. It lifted Harry's mood a bit as they chatted away and ate the sweets they purchased from the trolley. A few minutes after they arrived, Analeigh needed to go use the lavatory and left the compartment to do her business. She was walking down the corridor quietly when she spotted two other Gryffindors in her year that she hadn't seen in a while.

"Dean, Seamus," she greeted excitedly. They both looked up at the call of their name, but only one of them responded with the same energy.

"Hi, Leigh!" Dean beamed. "How was your sum —"

Seamus cleared his throat loudly, shutting Dean up. Analeigh raised her eyebrows at that odd action and tried to make eye contact with Seamus, but he wouldn't look at her.

"Come on, Dean, let's go," Seamus muttered. Analeigh frowned as he already began walking away without so much as a glance in her direction.

"Sorry, Leigh. Let's talk later, yeah?" Dean said apologetically. However, he didn't give her much time to reply either because he quickly followed his best friend down the hall.

A horrible feeling settled in the pit of Analeigh's stomach. It made her feel uneasy that one of her friends already didn't want to speak to her when they hadn't even arrived at school yet. Was this what her father meant earlier? Was Seamus one of those wizards who didn't believe Harry, and by extension, Analeigh, too? She hoped she was only overthinking, but little did she know that things were going to get a lot worse once they reached Hogwarts.

★ ★ ★

It was dark and rainy when they arrived at Hogwarts, but just seeing the castle filled Analeigh with a warmth she missed while she was at Grimmauld Place for majority of her summer. Analeigh, Harry, Hermione, and Ron were one of the lasts to exit the train since their compartment had been on the farther end of it. The four of them walked in a comfortable silence — at least, it was until Draco Malfoy and his posse strode past them.

"I'm surprised the Ministry's still letting you walk around free," Malfoy said loudly. "Better enjoy it while you can. I expect there's a cell in Azkaban with your name on it."

Harry lunged at Malfoy, but Ron held him back before he could do any damage. Malfoy jumped away, clearly caught off guard.

"What'd I tell you? Complete nutter," he told Crabbe and Goyle.

"Just stay away from me!" Harry shouted. Analeigh and Hermione exchanged worried glances. They knew Harry never backed down whenever he was confronted by Malfoy, but it was still startling to see him act so rashly just because of one comment.

"It's only Malfoy," Ron said slowly. "What'd you expect?"

Harry roughly shrugged Ron's hands off of his arms with a scowl on his face. He walked ahead of the other the three, and it was almost like they could see a stormy cloud above his head because of how sour his mood had become. He was already quite cranky during the train ride, but it seemed to have gotten worse after seeing Malfoy.

They continued on their way down the path until they reached the carriages that would bring them from Hogsmeade and to the castle. The one just before them was filled with Ravenclaws, including Cho Chang and Marietta Edgecomb. Harry's gaze lingered on Cho, who met his eyes and gave him a small smile before the carriage rolled away.

"Hi, guys." Analeigh looked over her shoulder to find that Neville had approached them. Aside from the fact that he had grown much taller, the strange cactus-looking plant he held in his arms was what caught her eye.

"Hey, Neville," she and Hermione chorused.

"Hey there, Neville," Ron said at the same time. They lapsed into silence again as they waited for the next carriage to roll in. Suddenly, Harry felt as if something or someone was behind him, so he turned around. He was met with the sight of a tall, black, skeletal horse.

"What is it?" he asked.

"What's what?" said Ron.

"That. Pulling the carriage."

The four Gryffindors saw nothing but a carriage like they did every year.

"Nothing's pulling the carriage, Harry," Hermione frowned. "It's pulling itself, like always."

But Harry knew that something was there. He continued to stare at the space where the creature stood as he walked around the carriage. Before he could board it, he noticed a girl with bright blonde hair reading a magazine called The Quibbler upside down.

"You're not going mad. I can see them too," she said in a dreamy voice, lowering the magazine to expose her face. "You're just as sane as I am."

Harry observed her for a moment before finally stepping up into the carriage. His friends followed after him and got comfortable in their seats. It seemed that none of them knew who this blonde girl was except for Hermione.

"Everyone, this is Loony Love —" she began before catching herself. An embarrassed blush found its way to her face. "Luna Lovegood."

Trying to ease the awkwardness in the air, Analeigh decided to strike up a conversation with her.

"What an interesting necklace," she told Luna.

"It's a charm, actually," the girl replied, fiddling with the pendant. "Keeps away the Nargles."

None of them knew what Nargles were.

"I'm hungry. I hope there's pudding," Luna added, mostly speaking to herself. Finally, the carriage started to move and roll down the road to take them to the castle.

"What's a Nargle?" Ron muttered.

"No idea," Hermione whispered.

The welcoming feast brought a smile to Analeigh's face. It always felt good to be back at Hogwarts, even if she had only entered it in her third year. Beauxbatons was a good school as well, but she found that she fit in more at Hogwarts, and she couldn't be more grateful that she transferred there because of her dad's job offer at the Ministry more than two years ago already. In retrospect, though, she wasn't sure if it was all that great anymore since the U.K.'s Ministry of Magic wasn't exactly performing its best what with their denial of Voldemort's return...

All those thoughts flew out the window when the piles and mounds of food appeared at the table. Analeigh helped herself to whatever was within her reach, feeling quite hungry since she had only eaten a few chocolates back at the train. Too busy stuffing herself, she didn't notice that there were a number of students from different houses gossiping about Harry, and even her and Cedric. Analeigh's father was right — it was too naive to think that every witch and wizard would automatically believe them when they said Voldemort was back. It seemed that a lot of them didn't believe them one bit, and they were only going to see more and more of that throughout the entire school year.

When all the students had gotten their fill, Dumbledore stood up and walked to the podium. Everyone quieted down at once to listen to him.

"Good evening, children," he welcomed them. "Now, we have two changes in staffing this year. We're pleased to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank who'll be taking Care of Magical Creatures while Professor Hagrid is on temporary leave."

Analeigh and her friends shared puzzled looks. They all had the same question in mind: why was Hagrid on leave?

"We also wish to welcome our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Dolores Umbridge, and I'm sure you'll all join me in wishing the professor good luck. Now, as usual, our caretaker, Mr. Filch, has asked me to remind you —"

"Hem hem."

A short woman clad in an awful shade of pink clothes and accessories stood up. She had a sickly sweet smile plastered on her face as she walked around the staff table and made her way to the front. Analeigh couldn't help but think that she resembled a toad. Unfortunately, this was Professor Umbridge — their new teacher.

"She was at my hearing," Harry gasped quietly. "She works for Fudge."

"Thank you, headmaster, for those kind words of welcome," she smiled. "And how lovely to see all your bright, happy faces smiling up at me."

Analeigh sneaked a look around her — nobody was smiling. She caught Cedric's eye at the Hufflepuff table and made a face at him. He mirrored her reaction, also finding Umbridge quite sickening already.

"I'm sure we're all going to be very good friends."

"That's likely," Fred and George said sarcastically.

"The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. Although each headmaster has brought something new to this historic school, progress for the sake of progress must be discouraged. Let us preserve what must be preserved, perfect what can be perfected, and prune practices that ought to be prohibited."

What kind of speech was that? Analeigh thought incredulously. She didn't like the tone Umbridge used, almost as if she had some hidden motive behind that fake smile of hers. Hermione, Ron, and Harry seemed to think similarly because they all had their eyebrows furrowed by the time the pink toad had stopped speaking, even finishing it off with an annoying giggle.

At last, she returned to her seat. Dumbledore clapped for her, though it was obviously done only out of politeness. The staff and students followed him to be respectful, but it also looked like none of them wanted to do it. It certainly was a thousands time softer than the applause Dumbledore always received after his speeches.

"Thank you, Professor Umbridge," he said. "That really was most illuminating."

"Illuminating? What a load of waffle," Ron scoffed.

"What's it mean?" Harry asked.

"It means the Ministry's interfering at Hogwarts," Hermione said.

Umbridge's speech considerably dampened their spirits. They tried to ignore it as the feast eventually ended, and then they were finally allowed to head to their respective houses. Since Hermione and Ron were prefects, they were in charge of guiding the first years to the Gryffindor Tower. Analeigh and Harry made their way there on their own — that is, until somebody grabbed Analeigh's arm and pulled her away from the crowd of older Gryffindors exiting the Great Hall.

"What the —"

"It's just me."

Analeigh let out a breath when she realized it was just Cedric.

"Do you always have to be this dramatic when you want to speak to me?" she said in amusement.

"You're pretty stubborn, so this is one of the only ways to get your attention," Cedric grinned.

"Shouldn't you be doing some Head Boy things?"

"I've got prefects to boss around for that."

"I knew you'd abuse your authority once we got here."

"So? Granger's doing a good job at it, and Weasley seems to be enjoying it."

Analeigh spotted Hermione and Ron leading the first years out of the Great Hall. Hermione had this air of authority that she carried very well, but Ron... well, let's just say Analeigh couldn't help but laugh when he referred to the eleven year-olds as "midgets" a bit too loudly. A little further down the hall, Analeigh saw Harry's messy mop of black hair surrounded by people whispering and pointing at him, but he blended into the crowd within a few seconds.

"Have you been hearing what everyone's whispering about?" Analeigh changed the subject when she couldn't contain her curiosity.

"A little bit," Cedric said quietly. "I sort of expected it, but everyone's talking about You-Know-Who being back and that they don't believe Harry."

"Disappointing, but not surprising."

"I've heard some things about us, too," he then admitted. "They think the maze just got to our heads and that's why we were so quick to back Harry up when he announced You-Know-Who's return."

"You really do have a knack for eavesdropping and gossiping, don't you?" Analeigh teased him, but he could only shrug.

"I like to refer to it as me being a good listener."

"I should've known it wouldn't be this easy to get everyone to believe that he's back," she mumbled after a brief pause. "Even if we saw Wormtail and that disfigured body, even if we nearly got killed, and even after Harry himself saw You-Know-Who in the flesh..."

Analeigh trailed off, not knowing what else to add. Cedric let out a sigh and grasped her hand comfortingly.

"People like to deny things when they're afraid," he said. "I don't know how, but I'm sure everyone will realize soon enough that Harry was right all along. What matters is that we know the truth, right?"

The couple exchanged a few more words before separating and calling it a night. Cedric headed downstairs to the Hufflepuff basement while Analeigh climbed up the numerous flights of stairs to get to her common room. The halls were a bit emptier since she had spent those few minutes with Cedric, so it didn't take her long to reach the portrait of the Fat Lady. Thankfully, a seventh year Gryffindor prefect was outside and announced the password just as Analeigh arrived. She hurried after him and climbed through the portrait hole. She wanted to bask in the warmth and coziness of the common room, but instead, she was met with the sight of Harry and Seamus in the middle of a fight.

"The Daily Prophet's been saying a lot of things about you, Harry. And about Dumbledore as well," Seamus was saying.

"What, your mum believes them?" Harry challenged.

"Nobody else was there the night He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named supposedly came back. Leigh and Diggory didn't even see him, yet you expect everyone to trust what you say?"

"I guess you should read the Prophet, then, like your stupid mother. It'll tell you everything you need to know!"

"Don't you dare talk about my mother like that!" Seamus said threateningly.

"I'll have a go at anyone that calls me a liar!" Harry raised his voice. Analeigh took a step forward instinctively, but somebody else beat her to it.

"What's going on?" Ron said. He had come down from the boys dormitory after hearing all the commotion.

"He's mad, is what's going on," Seamus pointed a finger at Harry. "Do you believe the rubbish he's come out with about You-Know-Who?"

"Yeah, I do," Ron replied right away, making his way to stand next to his best friend. "Has anyone else got a problem with Harry?"

When nobody made a move, Harry turned on his heel and retreated to his dorm. Ron sent one last look at those watching before hurriedly following him the stairs.

So, this was why Seamus didn't want to even look at me back at the Hogwarts Express, Analeigh thought. She didn't know whether to feel irritated, angry, or hurt. They weren't the best of friends, but she thought she was close enough to him to know what kind of person he was — the kind that wouldn't be blinded by the propaganda the Daily Prophet and the Ministry were releasing nowadays. And yet, Seamus became exactly that person.

Analeigh had been standing by the portrait hole during Harry and Seamus's fight, but now that it was over, she walked deeper into the common room. Because of the silence that fell after that ruckus, her footsteps seemed louder than usual. A few heads turned to look at her, but Analeigh could only make eye contact with Seamus.

"I didn't know you and your mother felt that way," she started.

"Harry's clearly gone mad since that tournament, spitting out all this nonsense about You-Know-Who," Seamus retorted, still seething from that argument.

"My gran says it's the Daily Prophet that's rubbish," Neville piped up. "She's cancelled our subscription."

"Glad to know some people still have some sense in them."

"Don't insult me and my —" Seamus started, but Analeigh cut him off.

"I'm not looking for another fight. I'd rather spend my time listening to people who've got something worthwhile to say," she said coldly.

She averted her eyes from Seamus's, catching a glimpse of Dean's conflicted face. Then, she realized that everyone in the common room was looking at her. She cleared her throat awkwardly at the attention. It was way different from the kind of attention she received during the Triwizard Tournament — that one she enjoyed it, even basked in the glory of it, but this one made her feel like she was being judged for her every move.

Analeigh managed to send Neville a grateful smile before heading to the girls dormitory and away from all that drama. She had a lot to tell Hermione.

A/N: Ahhh this was one of my longer chapters but yay, they're finally back at Hogwarts :> Also, I know you can only see thestrals after witnessing and accepting a death, but it'd be too big of a plot hole to not make Harry see them in this book even if Cedric didn't die here 😅  I'll explain how Harry can still see thestrals a little later on but I'm not gonna lie, I didn't really think this through HAHA I legit forgot that thestrals were a big thing in OTP for a while :') Dumb author moment from me LMAO