𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐬 | l. lovegood

xxv

𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐒 𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐃 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐘, 𝐋𝐔𝐍𝐀, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐃𝐎𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐀 walked into the Great Hall. Dessert had started, which Luna was happy about because that was her favourite part of any feast.

Dorothea kept her gaze low as she took a seat next to Hannah Abbott at the Hufflepuff table. She noticed the blonde's lips moving as she said something to her, so she pulled down her headphones. "What?" she asked dumbly.

"What happened? Where were you?" Hannah repeated.

Dorothea pointed to Harry at the Gryffindor table. He was holding a handkerchief to his bloody nose. She reached for a goblet of pumpkin juice. She sipped it slowly as Professor Dumbledore stepped up to the podium for his annual start of term speech.

"A very best of evenings to you all," he began. The chatter in the hall died down, and the students turned their attention to him. "First off, let me introduce the newest member of our staff. Horace Slughorn."

Dumbledore motioned to the new professor. Dorothea clapped politely for him, a small smile on her lips. He had taught her parents when they were students at Hogwarts.

"Professor Slughorn, I'm happy to say, has agreed to resume his old post as potions master. Meanwhile, the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts will be taken by Professor Snape."

The Slytherins were the only ones to clap for him. Dorothea's knee began to bounce anxiously. She was expecting a new DADA professor – she'd been hoping for a member of the Order – but never did she think that Snape would finally get the job. She'd known he'd been after it for years.

Ernie Macmillan slid a bowl of macaroni and cheese across the table to her. She looked at it with furrowed brows. "What?" He chuckled. "You didn't think I was gonna let you starve, did you?"

Dorothea frowned softly at him.

"When he saw that you weren't here, he saved some mac and cheese for you," Hannah told her. "Go on, Thea. It's been a long day, and it's no fun going to bed on an empty stomach."

Dorothea picked up her fork. She slid individual macaroni noodles onto each of the four slots before taking a bite. She hummed quietly in approval. Hogwarts' mac and cheese was truly the greatest she'd ever had.

"Now, as you know, each and every one of you was searched upon your arrival here tonight," Dumbledore continued. "And you have the right to know why. Once there was a young man who, like you, sat in this very hall, walked this castle's corridors, slept under its roof. He seemed to all the world, a student like any other. His name? Tom Riddle."

Quiet whispers filled the hall. Dorothea's mouth went dry, and she had to swallow her food down with a sip of pumpkin juice. She gagged a little; those flavours didn't mix well.

"Today, of course...he's known all over the world by another name. Which is why, as I stand looking out upon you all tonight...I'm reminded of a sobering fact. Every day, every hour, this very minute perhaps...dark forces attempt to penetrate this castle's walls. But in the end, their greatest weapon...is you. Just something to think about."

Their greatest weapon is you? What was that supposed to mean? Was Dumbledore implying that they were somehow a weapon for the Death Eaters to use?

In a way, Dorothea could see how this could be true. Many of the Slytherins had parents that were Death Eaters. She had aunts and uncles that were Death Eaters. It could be tempting to want to join those relatives in the fight for so-called "protection" from the Dark Lord, but taking advantage of a teenager that just wants to please their family could lead them down a path that they want nothing to do with.