Welcome to Hogwarts... Once Again
At last, the day to return to Hogwarts had arrived, with every student excited to see the new Hogwarts. Some were eager to explore it, wandering through every room they could find, both the obvious ones and the secret ones—if there were any. And if there weren't, they were determined to discover them anyway. Especially the Weasley twins, who had already decided they were going to make a map of the entire castle.
It was impossible not to feel the students' excitement as they crossed the great entrance doors, their eyes never stopping as they took in every corner, remembering what the school had looked like when they first came to Hogwarts.
And that same excitement returned to them once again, regardless of their age. Even the professors couldn't help feeling amazed, astonished, and just a little concerned by its new size.
And, of course, Sirius looked prouder and prouder as he glanced at Harry and his group, since they seemed incapable of appreciating how wonderful it all was, unlike the rest of the students.
Which only made Harry and the others roll their eyes.
The Great Hall had kept almost the same layout as always, though it was now considerably larger.
The four House tables remained exactly where they had always been, as did the teachers' table, making it feel like Hogwarts despite all the changes.
Though, of course, the differences were impossible to miss.
Students chatted among themselves, pointing toward different corners of the Great Hall. Some commented on the enchanted ceiling, while others admired the enormous windows and floating lights that had replaced the candles and torches, like little stars drifting above their heads.
Even several professors continued looking around curiously, as though they still hadn't grown used to the new castle.
While almost everyone else remained fascinated by the new Hogwarts... Harry and his group seemed interested in something entirely different.
Young, unfamiliar faces were now mixed among the professors, especially Fleur, who was sitting beside Madam Pince, the librarian, who seemed to be explaining her duties very seriously.
Fleur seemed to feel Harry's gaze, so she looked up until their eyes met and, for a brief moment, gave him a sweet smile before returning to her proud expression, raising an eyebrow at him.
Knowing her, Harry could almost hear what she was saying.
Now I'm your teacher, so you'll have to respect me.
That made Harry smile.
And he answered with a slightly threatening look of his own, as if saying:
Make me.
"What is he doing here?" Daphne nearly shouted when she spotted another new face sitting beside Madam Hooch, the Flying instructor.
It was none other than Viktor Krum, who at the moment seemed to be getting completely overwhelmed by the Flying professor, who was far too excited to be sitting beside him. At the same time, Viktor was doing everything he could to maintain his usual composed expression while replying to her. Though, for a brief moment, he couldn't help glancing toward the Ravenclaw table, where Harry and his friends were sitting.
The instant Daphne noticed, she tried to hide behind Hermione like a frightened little rabbit.
Which earned her a mixture of confused and amused looks from her friends.
Ignoring the other unfamiliar faces, there was one person they did recognize, especially Draco and Hermione, who had seen her only recently.
"Umbridge?" Hermione said immediately upon noticing Fudge's Undersecretary sitting at the farthest end of the table, scanning every student with her eyes until they landed on Hermione. Then her gaze slowly moved over each of Hermione's friends.
Finally, once the Sorting Hat had called every first-year and sent them to their respective Houses, Sirius stood up from his seat as Headmaster.
"First of all, I'd like to welcome our new students, as well as those who aren't exactly new anymore, because, as you've probably noticed, Hogwarts has changed quite a bit," Sirius said with a smile. "But besides that, you already know what my speeches are like," he added with obvious delight. "Dig in."
He waved a hand dismissively, and dinner instantly began appearing on every plate before the students, filling the tables with food.
Many of those who already knew Headmaster Black couldn't help laughing at his usual antics.
Everyone eagerly began eating, delighted by the great feast that, by now, had become something they all looked forward to every single year.
"It's a good thing the Sorting Hat survived too. You all owe the kitchen house-elves a huge thank you," Hermione said while looking at several decorations that stood out quite a bit against the castle's new appearance. Decorations from the old Hogwarts that should have been destroyed by the Fiendfyre that had consumed the previous castle.
The welcome feast continued peacefully as students chatted excitedly, talking about everything that had happened over the holidays, as well as all the gossip surrounding the pure-blood families who had ended up in Azkaban after attacking the old castle.
The only ones eating in complete silence were the Slytherins.
Several of them even looked nervous, glancing around in every direction as though they were now careful about every little thing they did.
They were the heirs of those now serving sentences in Azkaban, and they knew they no longer had the protection of their families, families that could no longer even be considered influential after selling nearly everything just to survive.
But in the past, they had caused plenty of trouble thanks to that protection.
And now that it was gone...
This was what they looked like.
Even several half-blood Slytherins, who had always been looked down on and forced to put up with those rich kids, shot them looks of contempt.
When all the students had finally finished eating and the noise inside the Great Hall began to rise again, Sirius stood up once more.
Immediately, every conversation came to a halt as everyone turned toward their Headmaster.
"Well, now that everyone seems to be nice and full," Sirius said with an amused smile at the now round-bellied students, who couldn't help stuffing themselves as though there were no tomorrow, "it's time for the beginning-of-term announcements."
"First of all, and as always, the Forbidden Forest is forbidden to students. Especially if you don't want to attract those little chaotic troublemakers along with you, because believe me, the headache they'll give you is far worse than any danger you'll find in there. Though, as a follow-up warning, there's a very good chance those little chaos gremlins will come close to the castle. If that happens..." Sirius paused, his expression turning unusually serious. "Run."
For a moment, the students couldn't help feeling uneasy.
But Sirius offered no explanation, simply leaving them wondering just what on earth could come out of the Forbidden Forest that would make the Headmaster tell them to run.
"Try not to use magic in the corridors. Some of the new decorations are rather expensive... unless, of course, you'd like to pay for them yourselves," Sirius added with a grin. "Well, Filch has a few more rules you can read outside his office."
Even Sirius himself sounded as though he couldn't care less about that part, like one of the very people who had broken every one of those rules in the past. He was only saying it because, as the new Headmaster, he was supposed to... and because Professor McGonagall wouldn't stop glaring at him threateningly.
"Also, this year there are some important changes among the staff. Since the castle is much bigger than before, which naturally means the professors will probably have more work, we've opened several Trainee Teacher positions to assist the full professors with their daily duties. They may not be fully qualified teachers yet, but that doesn't mean they don't deserve the same respect you'd give any professor, because they could very well become professors in the future. So keep that in mind."
Sirius gestured toward the newcomers, including Fleur, Viktor, and four other young witches and wizards around the same age, who looked rather nervous as they sat beside each Head of House. Fleur and Viktor, however, looked somewhat unnecessary, considering the library and Flying lessons hardly needed as many assistants as the Heads of House did.
After saying that, Sirius's expression turned irritated—almost disgusted—as his eyes landed on the last new face in the castle.
Umbridge.
"That is Dolores Umbridge," Sirius said in a flat, cutting tone. "The Ministry sent her here to be a nuisance."
The students couldn't help exchanging confused looks.
Umbridge, who had just begun to rise from her seat, froze halfway up at Sirius's words.
"You may go to your dormitories," Sirius added with a smile, ending the announcements there.
It was obvious Umbridge wanted to say a few words, so the students hesitated, unsure whether they should leave. After all, Sirius had just said she'd been sent by the Ministry.
"You may leave," Sirius repeated, this time more firmly, speaking with the authority of the Headmaster.
The students obeyed immediately without hesitation.
Seeing that, Umbridge seemed flustered for a moment but stood up anyway. She began speaking loudly in that sickly sweet, monotonous voice of hers, as though she'd memorized every word and absolutely had to recite them in front of the students, even though they were already walking away.
"The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of the utmost importance. The remarkable gifts with which they are born may amount to nothing if they are not properly cultivated..."
"Does she always talk like that?" Terry muttered quietly.
"I don't know, but let's hurry before she tries to stop us," Michael Corner replied at once.
Umbridge kept raising her voice as she watched the students continue walking away instead of stopping to listen like she'd expected. It grew so shrill that even the nearby professors discreetly covered their ears.
"The ancient skills of the magical community must be nurtured from one generation to the next so they are not lost forever. Magical knowledge... magical knowledge...!"
Several students even picked up their pace, trying to get farther away from that piercing voice.
Some quietly covered their ears as they walked.
Seeing that, Sirius couldn't help smiling with satisfaction.
Those brats really had learned from him.
Harry glanced at her for a second.
"Well... looks like we found the only ugly part of the new castle," he murmured calmly before leaving with the others.
Only Professor McGonagall looked toward the Headmaster and shook her head in exasperation.
Yet at the same time, a small smile formed on her lips as she watched the students.
However, her expression became serious again when she turned toward Umbridge, who now stood there speechless with rage, while several other professors also cast cold looks toward the Ministry envoy sent to watch over and control the school.
One by one, the professors rose from their seats and headed back to their quarters.
By the time Umbridge realized what was happening, she was the only one still standing in the Great Hall, trying to finish the speech she had painstakingly memorized from beginning to end.
Her face turned bright red with fury, and her breathing quickened, as though at any moment she might pull out her wand and blow something up.
"The Ministry will correct these little excesses very soon," Umbridge said, glaring at the Headmaster's chair before turning around and finally marching away herself, her footsteps echoing through the now silent Great Hall.