Chapter 3 (Ava)

Draco sat down next to Pansy, a bit later than everyone else. Pansy put her hands around his arm and rubbed them up and down,

“What were you doing in the train? Is everything alright?”

He nodded,

“Just fine.”

I started to put some food onto my plate. I hadn’t bought any snacks on the train and I was suddenly really hungry. Pansy looked at the food piled up on my plate and then looked at me in disgust. She only had a couple of things on her plate. She was probably trying to impress Draco by showing she doesn’t eat much. I didn’t care though. Draco had seen my weird eating habits throughout the whole of the summer holidays. Some days I’d eaten huge meals, other days I hadn’t been able to face a thing.

For a moment, the Great Hall went silent before everyone started to talk even louder than before. All of the students were looking at the doors of the Great Hall. I followed their gaze and froze. It was Harry, coming in late. He had blood on his face and looked angry as he pushed past everyone to get to the Gryffindor table.

I glanced at Draco, and realised he had a smirk on his face. I kicked him under the table and hissed,

“What did you do? Did you just randomly decide to punch him in the nose when you were on the train?”

He raised an eyebrow,

“I didn’t punch him, I stepped on him.”

I leant forwards,

“You did what?”

He whispered,

“Harry had been in the train compartment with us. I suppose he was trying to listen to what we had to say.”

My stomach twisted with fear, and I pushed my plate of food away. I had very nearly mentioned the job Lord Voldemort had given me. If Harry had heard, I would have completely blown everything.

I ran my finger along the edge of the table nervously and mumbled,

“It doesn’t mean you had to kick his face.”

Professor Dumbledore stood up at the front of the Great Hall, and everyone’s conversations about Harry faded away.

“The very best of evenings to you!”

As Dumbledore raised his arms, everybody gasped. His right hand was blackened and looked shrivelled up. He quickly pulled his sleeve down over it and smiled,

“Nothing to worry about. Now… to our new students, welcome; to our old students, welcome back! Another year full of magical education awaits you.”

I looked at Harry over the heads of the other students. He had his head bent towards Hermione and was whispering to her with a serious look on his face. It looked like a part of him was missing, like a part of happiness he’d had was gone. I realised with a pang in my chest that some of his happiness must have disappeared after Sirius had died.

The thought of Sirius dying made my eyes fill up with tears. My vision blurred, and I looked down at the table. I knew I was going to feel forever guilty, forever hating myself for not replying to Sirius’ letter. Before anyone could notice, I wiped my eyes and looked back up at Dumbledore just as he said,

“Now, as everybody in this Hall knows, Lord Voldemort and his followers are once more at large and gaining in strength.”

I looked back down at the table and started to tap my fingers against the smooth wood. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Draco making a fork fly with his wand.

“I cannot emphasise 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 bed 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 each other’s safety.”

Draco let the fork fall to the table just as Dumbledore finished his speech,
“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 goodnight. Pip pip!”

I thought it was hardly fair for Dumbledore to say something so serious before sending us to bed.

We stood up, and Pansy took hold of Draco’s arm, pulling him forwards. I rolled my eyes and walked ahead of them, trying to walk past the first years without knocking them over.

The common room was buzzing with new students, and I suddenly became self-conscious of the fact that I was older than all of the students there. Staying for an extra year had seemed like a good idea at the time, but I suddenly felt too old- so much older than everyone else.

I made my way to my dormitory and smiled when I saw my owl, Snowstorm. She was sitting on the window ledge, probably waiting for some food.

I had the same bed I’d had the year before, so it should have felt comfortable and familiar. Instead it just reminded me of the horrible nightmares I’d had when I’d been asleep.

As I fed Snowstorm some pellets, I knew I wouldn’t be using her as much as I had the year before, if at all. Last year I’d been constantly writing letters to Sirius at the beginning, but I had no one now.

I got into my pyjamas and climbed into bed. I didn’t hear the familiar crinkle of newspaper and parchment I had grown used to hearing over the summer when I put my head on my pillow. I sat up, wondering where in my trunk I had put the letter and newspaper article.

A couple of other girls walked into the dormitory and I decided not to look for them after all. I didn’t want anyone asking what it was.

As I started to drift off to sleep, I heard one of the girls mutter,

“Potter thought he looked so tough walking into the Great Hall with blood on his face. He’s not as tough as he makes out.”

The other one whispered,

“Shut up! Potter’s sister might not be asleep!”

Her friend didn’t sound very shocked, as if she’d known I was there all along,

“She doesn’t care about her brother anyway. She doesn’t even talk to him anymore.”