Selcouth | Golden Trio Era

Chapter 9 - "Yes, because Harry Potter gets on so well with my brother."

Polaris was sat in the Great Hall with Angelina and Alicia, since Katie was sat off with her own friends down the table. Once the three of them had sat down all of their eyes landed on a woman sat at the staff table wearing all pink. "Oh, Merlin, make it stop!" Alicia complained with a scoff of disgust. "There's so much pink, it's blinding me."

"I agree." Polaris agreed as she wrinkled her nose in disgust. "It's making me feel rather nauseous."

Soon the sorting hat was placed upon a stool, and it began to sing its song. Polaris found the hat rather curious, it made up completely different songs each year to introduce the first years to Hogwarts. It was a little bizarre. After a while, it finished and she looked towards the others.

"Is it just me, or did the hat's sing sound like a warning?" Polaris questioned the others with a quirked brow.

"Yeah, it definitely sounded like a warning." Angelina nodded. "I wonder if it's ever gave warnings before."

"Most likely." Alicia shrugged. "Maybe it just wants more friendship to happen between the four houses. Especially after Cedric." She whispered softly to the other two. Angelina and Polaris hummed. The sorting of the new first years was relatively quick and they were all sat down on their new house tables. Hyperion had been sorted into Hufflepuff, and he joined the table and she noticed him speaking with some boy.

"To our newcomers," Dumbledore announced, "welcome. To our old hands - welcome back! There is a time for speechmaking, but this is not it. Tuck in!"

There was slight laughs throughout the hall before they all tuck into their food. Polaris piled some chicken, mash, peas, sweetcorn and cauliflower onto her plate. She began to eat while the Angelina and Alicia all launched into conversation with the Weasley twins, Lee Jordan and Sammie Pettigrew as they were sat opposite them. Polaris wasn't the closest to them so she stuck to just eating her food.

"Oh, Polaris!" Angelina spoke up suddenly, causing her to look up at her and raise a brow. "Alicia plans on giving quidditch a break this year - apparently she's hurt her back during summer while playing-"

"I did." Alicia cut her off. "I don't want to get on a broom with that injury still so fresh in my mind."

"So, I was wondering if you'd want to play chaser for the team." Angelina continued her conversation, and Polaris widened her eyes at her friend's question. Polaris had never tried out and had never really wanted to.

"You want me to play chaser?" Polaris asked her.

"Yeah." Angelina nodded at her. "You'd get on well with the team. I mean, there's me and Katie. And the twins, of course. We'd need a keeper, and then there's Harry. I'm sure everyone would get along just fine." Polaris pulled a face at this.

"Yes, because Harry Potter gets on so well with my brother." Polaris mused to her with an eye roll before she took a drink from her goblet. "Seriously, don't you think Sammie would be a much better option."

"Oh, no." Sammie shook his head quickly. "I don't do brooms."

"Just think about it." Angelina pleaded with her. "Please, think about it. I don't want to have someone take Alicia's place that I don't know well - the teamwork would not work." Polaris let out a small sigh.

"Fine, I'll think about it." She shrugged. Angelina grinned back at her widely. Polaris noticed that the twins didn't look too happy about the possibility of her being on the team, but she didn't care about them and their opinions. She was gonna think about it for her friend.

Soon, all the students had finished their food and Dumbledore soon stood - which caused all conversations throughout the hall to die down immediately. Polaris was eager to get back to the common room and to sleep - she loved sleeping the first day they came back from home to here.

"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." Dumbledore spoke up to the hall. "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."

"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." Dumbledore continued. "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 Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."

There was light applause throughout the entirety of the hall. "Bet Snape hates that." Polaris commented.

"Tryouts for the house Quidditch teams will take place on the-"

However, he stopped speaking as Professor Umbridge was no longer sitting at the table, she was standing. She wasn't much taller standing than she was while sitting. The woman had cleared her throat, and they all saw that Dumbledore looked taken back, along with many other professors.

"Thank you, Headmaster." Professor Umbridge simpered. "For those kind words of welcome." Her voice was very pitchy. "Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say! And to see such happy little faces looking up at me."

No one in the hall looked remotely happy.

"I am very much looking forward to getting to know you all and I'm sure we'll be very good friends." She added and Polaris frowned slightly.

"Yeah, too much pink for me." Alicia mused as she looked at the woman in distaste.

She cleared her throat again. "The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. The rare gifts with which you were born may come to nothing if not nurtured and honed by careful instruction." She told them. "The ancient skills unique to the wizarding community must be passed down the generations lest we lose them for ever. The treasure trove of magical knowledge amassed by our ancestors must be guarded, replenished and polished by those who have been called to the noble profession of teaching."

"Every headmaster and headmistress of Hogwarts has brought something new to the weighty task of governing this historic school, and that is as it should be, for without progress there will be stagnation and decay. There again, progress for process's sake must be discouraged, for our tried and tested traditions often require no tinkering." She continued. "A balance, then, between old and new, between permanence and change, between tradition and innovation because some changes will be for the better, while others will come, in the fullness of time, to be recognised as errors of judgement. Meanwhile, some old habits will be retained, and rightly so, whereas others, outmoded and outworn, must be abandoned. Let us move forward, then, into a new era of openness, effectiveness and accountability, intent on preserving what ought to be preserved, perfecting what needs to be perfected, and pruning wherever we find practises that ought to be prohibited."

The woman sat down and Dumbledore stood again and Polaris shook her head slightly. From what she gathered from the woman's rambling was that the ministry was basically interfering with Hogwarts. Polaris wasn't sure why, but she guessed it had something to with the death of Cedric Diggory last year. Or perhaps the fact that Dumbledore had let a disguised Barty Crouch Jr - a very well-known Death Eater - into the school among students.

Or possibly the fact that Harry Potter was shouting about that Voldemort was back, and the ministry refused to believe that, so they decided to keep a close eye on both Harry Potter and Dumbledore. Polaris didn't blame them honestly - the amount of things that had happened under Dumbeldore's supervision at this school was baffling.

Soon the group of them had began to make their way back to their common room, and Polaris was walking on her own not really talking, until they finally reached the stairs. Polaris looked at the stairs and froze for a moment as she stared at them, as she remembered when Barty Crouch Jr pushed her down them. Polaris slowly climbed up the first set, and the others all looked at her.

"Are you okay, Polaris?" Angelina asked her.

"Just fine." Polaris nodded as she joined them. "It's just...you know the whole being pushed down them thing. Not a very fond memory if I'm being honest."