───KEEPING THE LETTER AMONG HIS THINGS, Saros promptly left the Hospital Wing and made his way to the Great Hall with Madam Pomfrey accompanying him. Everything seemed pretty familiar as he walked along, but she wanted to make sure he arrived safely to the feast. They walked in silence, although he could feel that she was probably itching to ask him plenty of questions. In return, he wanted to ask her plenty of questions too, but he wasn't sure if she had the answers he was looking for. Time ran out rather quickly as they arrived at the Great Hall and she allowed him to walk in first. However, shortly after he opened the doors, he wished she had entered first.

It was as if time had stopped for several moments, Saros had entered and all the side conversations came to an end. Suddenly, it was like he was placed on display and everyone was observing him for the first time. He swallowed before Madam Pomfrey ushered him in from behind, trying to get him to move along.

"They're all staring at me," Saros whispered to her, feeling incredibly uncomfortable under the sea of unfamiliar faces staring at him.

"Well, take it as a sign that you are an extremely handsome young man and ignore them if you wish," Madam Pomfrey said, " go take a seat at the Slytherin table, you'll be fine."

With a reassuring pat on the back, she sent him along his way, leaving Saros to bite the bullet alone as he walked along the back of the Great Hall, doing his best to ignore the silence. Eyes travelled with him, following his every move, and soon enough whispers broke while everyone should have been focused on the glorious feast before them. Saros focused on his feet until he reached the table and then glanced up to see the entire Slytherin table looking at him.

It was like being home all over again, everyone whispering or tiptoeing whenever he was around. They were watching his every move, very similar to his parents and Saros how to wonder just how many of the faces that were looking back at him did he know previously? Who was he supposed to recognise outside of his brother and his friends?

Draco wasn't hard to spot, sitting in the middle of the long table, and as soon as Saros was close enough, he started waving him over. However, Saros didn't move to him right away, after what he had uncovered in the Hospital Wing, his mind was swimming with questioning doubts. Who was lying to him and who was telling the truth? Two sides were telling two very different stories and Saros found himself in the middle of the spectrum, afraid to lean towards any direction in case he was wrong.

After a couple of moments of waving him over, Draco seemed to be going impatient, taking to calling Saros by his name and basically ordering that Saros come to sit beside him. But rather than listening, Saros took the opportunity of the first opening on the opposite side, all the way at the end of the table and sat down. He avoided looking up because he was sure that Draco probably looked absolutely furious with his decision.

However, sitting down, he let out a visible sigh of relief, just thankful to be out of the view of some people so that not everyone was staring at him. He stared down at the table quietly, taking in the smell of all the foods around him, and listening as everyone returned to their prior conversations finally.

Initially, when he told his mother that he could handle returning to school, even with plenty of his memory absent, Saros never imagined it would be so stressful. And yet, the term had yet to really officially begin, classes didn't start until the next day and he had already experienced plenty of drama. He couldn't shake the feeling of what Harry had informed him on the train and how everything seemed to match up so precisely when he was in the Hospital Wing.

The sounds of what his parents and brother had said, going along with what he had witnessed with that muggle family, it made him feel such an anger that he didn't even realise how tightly he was squeezing his fists under the table until his thoughts were interrupted by a voice calling out his name. When he looked down, he could see how far his dull fingernails had dug into the skin of his palm, leaving behind little cresent moon shapes. As he looked over, he spotted who called his name, a younger boy that looked awfully concern about Saros' well being.

"Are you alright, Saros?" the boy asked. "You look upset about something."

"I...I...I'm fine," he answered the stranger, feeling a small pang of familiarity ringing inside of his head, " thank you, eh...um..."

"It's me. Malcolm," the boy reminded him, "It's okay if you don't remember me. Luna said you were having problems with your memory over the summer. I have to say it's a bit of a relief to hear that's the only problem. I mean, from the beginning of the summer, I thought you were dead."

A few seconds passed and Saros was thankful that Malcolm spoke in a low enough tone that their conversation didn't attract everyone's attention at the table. It seemed so common that everyone thought Saros was dead for quite some time and once again, Saros' thoughts trailed back to what Harry had told him about the situation in the graveyard. In all situations, Saros should have died according to Harry, he wasn't supposed to have gotten away with his life, but he had managed.

"I'm sorry-" he began, unsure of what else to say, but Malcolm quickly shook his head to dismiss the apology right away.

"Don't be sorry, Saros, you don't have to worry about anything, you're healing right now," Malcolm said, making it hard to believe that such words came from such a young face, " besides, we look after our own here in Slytherin, isn't that right? That's what you told me when-"

"When you were sorted last year," Saros allowed the words to pass through his lips. "Malcolm Baddock."

Suddenly, Saros could remember the tiny first year being sorted into Slytherin, looking quite timid, especially as the Weasley twins had taken to hissing at him from afar. He had made sure to go out of his way to welcome Malcolm to the Slytherin table, so that he felt welcomed.

"You do remember me!" Malcolm's expression lit up as he let out a joyful little noise that warranted the looks of several people in their direction. Among them, Draco seemed to be shooting daggers in Saros' direction, just wondering what his older brother thought he was doing. They were supposed to remain close to each other, Draco had been given strict orders to look after Saros, but it was difficult to do so when Saros was being difficult himself.

With a confirming nod, Saros gave a faint smile in return. "Yes, I remember you," he said, " not a lot but I remember your sorting."

From where Draco was sitting, he could see Saros talking quietly with Malcolm Baddock and he had to admit, he was feeling the same nerves as he did at the same time as last year. Saros had refused to sit with him and had an expression on his face when he arrived that made Draco worry. When the Hogwarts Express had come to an emergency stopped and Saros was removed from the train, Draco demanded that he be allowed to go, not only to monitor what was going on, but to make sure that Saros was going to be alright. However, his request had been denied and he had been told to remain on the train, no matter how much he threatened to get his father involved in the situation.

Upon arrival, he had been informed that Saros was still in the Hospital Wing, resting up, but that he was fine. That wasn't good enough information for Draco, he wanted to know exactly what had happened before Saros had collapsed. The last time he had seen his brother, he had been talking to Angelina Johnson, so Draco assumed that she had something to do with it. But he couldn't question Saros out in the open without things looking suspicious, especially to Saros, who seemed to be on edge.

Perhaps it was too much for his brother to return to Hogwarts, even Draco was feeling all of the pressure. Maybe the trip to the Hospital Wing would be enough for their parents to come and take Saros out of school. They would take him home and everything would work out just fine. But if they were going to do it, they needed to do it soon because Draco didn't like the look that was developing on Saros' face the longer he sat in Malcolm's company.

"Malcolm, do you mind if I ask you something?" Saros began as he watched Malcolm shovel spoonfuls of steak and kidney pie into his mouth.

Almost instantly, Malcolm paused mid-chew and turned to him before nodding his head to accept the question. Saros leaned a bit closer, wanting to keep the conversation private, especially since he knew that Draco had yet to stop watching him since he had arrived.

"Last year, who did you see me spending my time with?" It was the best question that Saros could come up with at the time, thinking that Malcolm really had no reason to lie.

No one had mentioned him as being a source of a problem, in fact, no one had mentioned him at all, whether it was someone to avoid or seek out. Malcolm seemed to be a good outside influence and Saros had to trust that he was making the right decision by seeking some answers from him.

Taking a moment to swallow the food in his mouth, Malcolm proceeded to clear his throat before answering. "Well, in the beginning, I have to say, you didn't really hang out with anyone," he admitted, " you were always kinda by yourself. And then I saw you start spending more time with Luna, that's how we became friends because you know, she was always bringing you food. Oh wait, or maybe you don't know, I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"No, it's fine," Saros said interrupting before the rambling continued, " anyone else?"

"Yeah," Malcolm nodded, " later on, you were always with your girlfriend..."

"Girlfriend?!"

He hadn't meant to blurt it out but he couldn't help it as it came as such as surprise that he had a girlfriend. No one had made mention of it before, not his parents, not even Draco. They had told him that there were outside influences that wished to lead him astray but wouldn't they take to saying something as important as him having a love interest? Of course as he blurted out the word, everyone at the table had managed to look in his direction, leaving him to feel rather small again.

"Well, yeah," Malcolm continued on after letting out a small chuckle, " Angelina Johnson. You were always around her. Wait, hasn't anyone told you that? No one has told you about things from last year? I mean, you know about the Triwizard Tournament? You were a champion and you were amazing, you-"

Malcolm stopped himself from saying anything further when he saw Saros suddenly becoming visibly upset. He didn't look angry, just simply lost as he lifted his head and looked over in the direction of the Gryffindor table before peering back down at his hands that were folded together under the table.

"No one has really told you anything, have they?" Malcolm whispered to him. "What were you doing all summer then, Saros? Wouldn't your family have told you all of this?"

They wouldn't.

Thinking back to how everyone whispered around him at home, stopped talking every time he entered a room or always seemed to be on edge, Saros always wondered what they had locked away in their minds. He had demanded that they tell him everything and it seemed they were only following the advice of the Healers, or that's what they had told him. They had told him a lot of things, but there seemed to be nothing to back up what they said and plenty to back up what the others told him.

Pressing his lips together, Saros was beginning to feel sick to his stomach, his mouth watery with every anticipation to vomit. He was imagining himself as a broken puzzle and everyone around him was holding a piece that was vital in order to complete him. Malcolm had given him some pieces, as did Luna and Harry. But there were others that he needed to speak with, others that he needed to get the truth from in order to get the full picture.

As he looked up and spotted Draco, he was sure that Draco had all sorts of information, but he wasn't going to give up his pieces so easily. There was something that the Malfoy family was hiding, was it their involvement with this so-called dark wizard called Voldemort? Was Lucius actually the one responsible for what had befallen Saros in the graveyard? If so, why were they so set on taking him back and trying to keep him in the family? He had learned about the blood-traitors and all sorts of things, so why were they so set on keeping him close instead of kicking him out?

Was it out of love or something else?

"M-Mal-Malcolm," Saros' voice quivered initially, " I need your help. I need you to help me. Can you do that?"

There was such desperation in Saros' voice that Malcolm couldn't refuse, even if he wanted to. He nodded his head and leant forward a bit more as Saros began speaking in a lower voice.

When the food was cleared away, Draco tore his gaze away from where he had been watching Saros, only to feel how much he had been sweating under his robes the entire time. There was something definitely up with Saros as he had spent all the remaining time of dinner talking to Malcolm. Every so often, Malcolm would nod his head as if he was taking orders from Saros. The entire situation was looking bad but there was little time to focus when Headmaster Dumbledore rose to his feet to start off the yearly announcements before they were sent off to bed.

"Well, now that we are all digesting another magnificent feast, I beg a few moments of your attention for the usual start-of-term notices. First years ought to know that the forest in the grounds is out of bounds to students—and a few of our older students ought to know by now too."

Dumbledore seemed to steal a glance in the direction of the Gryffindor table, leaving Draco to roll his eyes as he spotted Harry, Ron, and Hermione exchange smirks.

"Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me, for what he tells me is the four hundred and sixty-second time, to remind you all that magic is not permitted in corridors between classes, nor are a number of other things, all of which can be checked on the extensive list now fastened to Mr. Filch's office door. We have had two changes in staffing this year. We are very pleased to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank, who will be taking Care of Magical Creatures lessons; we are also delighted to introduce Professor Umbridge, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

Draco sat a little higher at the mentioning of Hagrid no longer being in charge of the Care of Magical Creatures class but his moment of glee was interrupted as Dumbledore started to announce when Quidditch try-outs would be, only to be interrupted by a sharp and high-pitched "hem, hem."

It was the "hem, hem" that was heard around the world as everyone stopped what they were doing to look at the stout, pink decorated woman that actually had the nerve to interrupt the headmaster. Saros didn't need to remember much to figure out that she was not supposed to be speaking, but it seemed the one called Umbridge had taken it upon herself to welcome herself to the castle as well.

"Thank you, Headmaster," she said, "for those kind words of welcome. Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say! And to see such happy little faces looking back at me!"

Saros looked around the room and wondered if the woman had troubles with her vision because certainly no one looked pleased to see her as no one wore a smile on their face, not even the staff behind her. She was a ghastly looking thing that made Saros grimace as he observed her. But it seemed her little "hem, hem" moment was more focused on going about her reason behind being there.

Not that anyone gave an owl's arse feather as to why; no one cared.

However, Umbridge took her opportunity and ran with it, seemingly rambling on into the night and Saros didn't know if it was because his mind was already jumbled with enough going on but he didn't understand a word she was saying. It was like she was speaking a foreign language of some sort and he could only see her mouth moving but everything else that came out of it was like mumbled nonsense.

Eventually, she finally managed to come to an end with her speech and sat down with only Dumbledore following her with a clap.

"Thank you very much, Professor Umbridge, that was most illuminating," he said, bowing to her. "Now—as I was saying, Quidditch tryouts will be held..."

Saros wished he was paying attention as he had every intention of trying out for the Slytherin Quidditch team that year, but he couldn't help but zone out, especially as he caught Professor Umbridge staring in his direction before her gaze shifted and she looked in Harry's direction. Her smile looked pained and forced, there was something behind that made Saros believe that she wasn't happy about them being present for some reason.

Although Saros had never met the woman before ( at least, as far as he knew) so what the hell was her problem?

Finally though, it was time for the students to leave and Saros had to tend to his duties as Head Boy to make sure that the First Year students knew where they were going, but was he even sure as to where he was even going? Before he could say anything, Draco arrived at his side, his expression solemn as he claimed that they were to show the first years to the Slytherin dorms, telling his brother to follow him.

Angelina had a hard time focusing during dinner, especially after Saros entered the Great Hall earlier. She had heard what had happened aboard the train and she hoped that something would come of it but as she watched Saros leave the Great Hall with Draco, her heart sank. That was until she was approached by Malcolm Baddock, who approached her before she could leave as well.

"Sorry to bother you," he said in a shy voice, " but I have a message from Saros for you."

"Y-you wh-what?" she stammered. "A message from...what did he say?"

"He said if you could meet him here tomorrow morning, bright and early, seven o'clock. He wants to talk to you and only you."

Angelina's heart nearly stopped in her chest before it started to flutter rapidly, for some reason she found herself wanting to cry, possibly out of relief or hope? Either way, she nodded her head eagerly to accept the invitation.

"Tell him I'll be there."