E L E V E N
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The Great Hall was a beautiful sight for all to see. Floating candles were scattered across the room, the house banners draped across the walls, but it was the ceiling that was the most show stopping. It depicted a starry night sky, the silhouette of a half moon hanging preciously in the air. If you payed close attention, you could decipher the shapes of winged horses flitting across the ceiling, amongst other majestic creatures.

The magic at Hogwarts never failed to amaze Harry and he couldn't keep the smile off his face as he took his place at the Gryffindor table.

But despite all its glory, no one could disguise the fact that there were more ghosts then usual within the walls of the school. The Hogwarts ghosts bore a range of expressions- from delight to sadness- as they watched the students pool into the Great Hall. Harry felt guilt beyond measure when he recognised someone who would have been alive and well if not for him; Collin Creevey. The young boy carried a transparent camera as he floated past the tables. He caught Harry's eye and gave him a sad smile.

He was just a boy.

He returned the smile and Collin floated away.

"It's weird, don't you think?" Ron asked, taking a seat beside him. "To be back, I mean."

Harry nodded in response without taking his eyes off of the steady stream of students entering the Great Hall. They were all speaking in loud voices, excitement clearly buzzing in the air- minus the occasional solemn witch or wizard.

Once everyone was settled, Professor Sprout of Hufflepuff House produced a stool from thin air with an old, worn out hat perched on top of it.

The doors swung open once more and in filed a second group of students containing a mixture of first years and what were assumed to be the new students. Each of them- mostly the younger students -fiddled with their robes, nervously and had their eyes glued to the ground. A few were sopping wet, presumably form falling in the lake. 

Professor Sprout gave them all a reassuring smile and directed her attention towards the hat. A slit near the brim of it opened up and out of it- to the surprise of many of the new students -came the voice belonging to the sorting hat. In all his time at Hogwarts, Harry had only listened to three of the sorting hat's songs, but this one would be the strangest he'd ever witnessed.

"Trust plays a grave role,
in the story I'm about to tell,
And whilst it may be that I'm just a hat,
listen closely, for I mean well.

A thousands years ago,
Hogwarts came to be,
With a future brighter than most would think,
And one that none would foresee,

The four founders each had different thoughts,
on what they all should teach,
they decided upon separate pathways,
with goals that were out of reach.

Gryffindor decided,
upon bravery and courage.
Then of course there was Ravenclaw
who valued wits and knowledge.

And naturally dear old Hufflepuff
cherished friendship and trust just as much.
Lastly there was Slytherin,
who believed in cunningness as such.

Neither of them could know,
that their traits might mark their doom,
yet the qualities they possessed,
would slowly start to consume.

To Gryffindor's I predict,
Your nerve and daring will be the reason for your end,
If you let your bravery blind you,
You will never makes amends.

To the Ravenclaws I suggest,
that maybe brains aren't all,
Surely there are other important things,
that will not mean your fall?

And what of the friendships you Hufflepuffs will forge?
These cannot all be of good.
Perhaps this is the reason,
You are all so misunderstood.

To you Slytherins I advise,
To be not so quick to judge.
Your suspicion and deceit,
Is the reason the others all hold a grudge.

To you all I will say,
some of you are too quick to trust,
but others not quite fast enough.
It is time now for you ALL to adjust.

I have fulfilled my duty once more,
and warned you of what draws near,
the end is coming faster now,
you're not all in the clear.

Don't say I didn't warn you,
when you find yourself wearing thin,
I have told you, I have warned you,
let the sorting now begin."

The hat fell silent, leaving behind a stunned audience. Even the ghosts looked surprised. Some of them had gone at least three shades whiter.

"What in the bloody hell was that?" Ron exclaimed, flabbergasted, being the first to break the silence.

"A warning," Hermione uttered, her voice quiet but audible enough for the whole school to hear.

The Great Hall broke out into hushed whispers and murmuring. Professor Sprout had gone a starch white; enough to be the same shade as the ghosts. "Quiet!" she shouted. She didn't quite manage to capture the attention of all of the students. "I SAID QUIET!" she roared, her face going red with anger.

All noise immediately ceased.

"We shall now proceed with the sorting," Sprout said, her tone level and unnaturally calm. She took a deep breath and exhaled. "Angelo, Samuel."

A small first year nervously edged his way forward. Sprout tried to give him an encouraging smile but it came out more as a grimace.

Harry still hadn't moved. He'd sat rooted to the spot throughout the whole song and he was willing to bet that his face had turned whiter than Sprout.

A warning. That much had been clear.

But a warning for what?

Ron must have sensed his distress because he quickly provided a distraction. "Doesn't McGonagall usually do the sorting?" he asked.

"The deputy headmistress or headmaster does. That's Sprout now," Hermione answered without skipping a beat. Harry was grateful for the change in topic but it didn't block out the whispers and worry stricken looks on the faces of those around him.

"But where's McGonagall? She's not here," Ginny pointed out.

It was true. The seat that belonged to the headmistress was empty. Others had noticed it too and were pointing at the vacant chair, tossing each other befuddled glances.

Hardly anyone was focusing on the poor first year as he scrambled up onto the wooden stool. Sprout placed the hat on his head and with a booming voice it declared him a Ravenclaw. There was a temporary stunned silence, then the students at the Ravenclaw table began to slowly clap until soon their applause echoed throughout the room.

The young boy visibly relaxed and practically power walked towards the awaiting Ravenclaws.

"Those last two lines, they were odd," Hermione mumbled, leaning over the table so only Ron, Harry and Ginny could hear her.

"The whole thing was bloody odd!" Ron hissed.

"No," she sighed. "I mean those were the same two lines we heard in our fifth year."

Ginny gasped in realisation and Hermione nodded.

"Please, enlighten us," Ron narrowed his eyes. "You obviously know something we don't."

"It's a sign," she said, lowering her voice even more. "That we will all have to unite again, inside these very walls." She let her words hang in the air for a moment before directing her attention back towards the sorting.

"That's just bloody wonderful," Ron grumbled.

Harry couldn't help but to agree.

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Three quarters of an hour was how long it took to sort all of the students into their respective houses. By that time, Harry's stomach was grumbling in synchronisation with Ron's.

McGonagall- who had appeared sometime during the sorting- stood up and addressed the audience.

"Welcome back," were the first words that came out of her mouth. She had composed herself in such a manner that it was impossible to distinguish her thoughts and her expression remained unreadable.

"The past year for us all has been quite gruelling, and it is my hope to provide you with a less eventful year."

The murmuring began again. "Less eventful? The sorting hat didn't seem to think so."

"I'll save you the announcements till after supper but before we dine, I'd ask that you'd all join me in a minute of silence to remember those that we've lost."

And those that we could still lose.

No one said it out loud but deep down each and every student knew the truth. It wasn't over. That had been evident with the sorting hat's prediction. Harry found himself wondering what could possibly be coming. Voldemort was gone- that was for sure, but some other threat was ready to take his place.

"Let us now take a moment to remember all of those who fought and died courageously, those who should not have died but did, and most importantly, those who survived, and will have to go about their lives knowing that others didn't. Remember those we've lost, and don't ever forget them." As she spoke those final words, a long silence settled over the witches and wizards and Harry's guilt set in once more.

It's my fault.

If I had just given myself up at the beginning, no one would have had to die.

Not Fred.

Not Lupin.

Not Tonks.

Not Collin....

"But you didn't," the little voice at the back of his mind told him. "And now you're going to have to carry that guilt with you for the rest of your life."

"And who knows? Maybe they won't be the last ones to die because of you..."

"Stop," Harry told himself.

"Remember them," McGonagall's voice penetrated through the silence. "And never forget."

Suddenly, a loud growl sounded from Ron's stomach. He turned bright red, until his face matched his hair.

Gradually, the students began to laugh. Harry joined in. Ron looked rather sheepish and Hermione just rolled her eyes. "Typical," she muttered.

However 'typical' it was, most were rather relieved. Ron's stomach growl was somewhat of an ice breaker and eased the tension.

Even McGonagall managed a smile. "Well, I doubt much good will come of keeping Mr. Weasley waiting any longer," she said. With a loud pop, platters upon platters of food materialised amongst the benches.

"Eat up."

The students didn't need to be told twice.

***

Percy didn't think he had ever seen so much food in his life. At camp, most of the food was healthy, but at Hogwarts there didn't seem to be a limit to unhealthy food.

And he absolutely loved it.

It never seemed to run out, and if he could, he would eat all day.

Maybe Hogwarts wouldn't be as bad as he'd first thought.

He had already finished his second serving and made to refill his plate when he heard faint sobs from beside him.

A girl around his age had her face buried in her hands and was crying softly. A younger boy who shared the same olive skin, and dark brown hair was patting her back awkwardly in an attempt to comfort her.

"Are you okay?" Percy asked. Stupid question. The girl looked up, rather embarrassed. "I'm fine," she said quietly as more silvery tears trailed down her cheeks.

"Here," he passed her a clean napkin. She took it gingerly and dried her eyes.

"Thanks," she whispered. "I'm okay now." Percy frowned and raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

She nodded in response and looked up to face him clearly.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Percy asked. The girl shook her head. "I'm fine," she repeated.

"Nice to meet you, Fine. I'm Percy."

The girl cracked a smile. "That was pretty lame actually." She hesitated for a moment then held out her hand. "I'm Syrenx," she said as Percy shook her hand, "and that's Polycarpo-" Syrenx pointed to the olive skinned boy next to her. He frantically shook his head. "Sorry, Pol." She made sure to put extra emphasis on his nickname.

He offered Pol his hand to shake but the boy shied away so he settled with giving him a smile instead.

"How long have you been at Hogwarts?" Percy asked. Maybe these people could help him out.

"About a few hours," Syrenx answered, brushing away a few stray tears. "That's why I was crying before, it's stupid, really, but this is my first time leaving home," she hiccuped.

"It's not stupid," he said. "And you've got your brother with you. You'll be fine."

"Are you by yourself?" she asked.

Percy shook his head. "I came with my my uh friend- Clarisse, and my girlfriend Annabeth."

Syrenx smiled. "It must he nice to have your girlfriend with you." She sighed and Pol patted her on the back sympathetically. He observed that her brother didn't talk much.

"Yeah, it is." He smiled and reached over the table for some more drumsticks. In his peripheral vision he caught a glimpse of Pol whispering something in Syrenx's ear. She nodded, whispered something back then tapped Percy on the shoulder.

"I don't remember you being sorted?"

Percy felt himself tense up. "You probably forgot about me," he said, playing it off nonchalantly. "There were so many students, I guess you didn't remember mine."

Pol frowned but Syrenx nodded. "Probably," she agreed, but the uneasy look on her face told Percy otherwise.

He tried to ignore the hesitant feeling, and turned back to his drumsticks. He was about to lift one into his mouth when it vanished. "Hey, where did all the food go?" Percy exclaimed staring at the now empty platters.

"Just wait," Syrenx said. Moments later the platters were replaced with an assortment of desserts.

He grinned. "Now that, is more like it."

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Well would you look at that. The hat knows what's up.

Forgive my poetry skills (or lack thereof) in this chapter. Poetry is not really my strong suit.

Keep in mind, Percy and co. missed the whole hat song so they are clueless. Well in Percy's case- more clueless than usual. I swear he never knows what's going on ahaha ok bye

WAIT NO I'M NOT DONE

This chapter is dedicated to OceansOfSwirlingInk She's written some incredible stories and I'd recommend you go check them out!

Feedback on this chapter?

Okay now goodbye for real.