Eager Anticipation

Harry didn't know what to make of the man's absence, but he dearly hoped that the old wandmaker had not been kidnapped by Voldemort. If Voldemort had decided that he needed a new wand after their graveyard encounter, he could have decided to "recruit" Ollivander's help. That would be ominous indeed.

Growing bored with the conversation as soon as Ron and Hermione started bickering about their prefect duties, Harry left the compartment and made his way to the loo. Seven hours was a long time for 300+ teenagers to be cooped up on a train, and the "toilet car" got quite a workout every year.

As he weaved his way through small groups of students, Harry noticed that all conversation stopped as he went by. He got a few dirty looks, but most of his peers were content to look at their feet until he was safely out of earshot. Harry sighed. These bloody people believe everything they read. At least they're not openly attacking me, he thought.

Harry reached his destination and opened the door to the car just as Padma Patil was about to open the door from the other side. He stepped politely to the side to allow her to pass.

"Thank you. It appears you have some manners after all," Padma nodded to him as she went by.

"Huh?" asked Harry in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Padma crossed her arms and looked at him. "What do you mean 'what do I mean?' You know perfectly well what I mean."

Harry was thinking furiously, but couldn't think of a single time that he had snubbed or insulted Padma Patil. He had only talked to her a handful of times in his entire time at Hogwarts. He looked back at her, still confused.

"The Yule Ball, you moron."

And then it clicked. She was talking about Parvati—that is, his treatment of her at said ball. He hadn't spoken much to Parvati in the weeks after the ball, but she hadn't seemed that angry with him.

"Oh," he said.

"Yeah, 'oh,'" replied Padma. "You were the worst date in the history of bad dates. I didn't really care about the ball, but Parvati did, and this summer my entire family asked her about her date with the famous Boy-Who-Lived. They were so excited about it she couldn't bear to tell them the truth. I had to listen to her pretend she had a wonderful time every time she talked about it. She even told them not to believe that rubbish they're printing about you in the newspaper, which is more than you deserve."

"Right," said Harry nervously. "I was, um, a bit distracted that night. It was a rough year all around. I'll, er, I'll apologize to her later, okay?"

Padma just nodded and moved on, and Harry breathed a sigh of relief at her departure. He seemed to be making enemies left and right, and this one was entirely his fault. There were already too many people who thought him evil or deranged; he didn't need to add people to that list just because he was absolute shite with girls. Harry moved on the toilet car, wondering how to go about apologizing to Parvati.

The rest of the trip to Hogwarts passed without incident. Harry had missed Draco Malfoy's annual pilgrimage to his compartment when he stepped out to use the loo. The blond boy had settled for insulting Hermione's sickly appearance and provoking Ron with jokes about poverty, but he and his goons had departed before a fight could occur.

.....

Hogwarts, Great Hall, The Welcoming Feast

Harry and his friends entered the Hogwarts Great Hall and headed toward the Gryffindor table while Luna Lovegood veered toward Ravenclaw. Harry seated himself and turned to speak to Ron, only to find that Ron had allowed Ginny to sit between them. She glanced up at him and smiled shyly, which Harry found charming. She seems so fragile, he thought. I'll have to make sure she's protected this year too. Maybe I could ask her train with us later. He smiled back at her, but for the life of him couldn't think of anything to say to her. The only "adventure" they had shared had almost cost both of them their lives, and Harry didn't think she wanted to be reminded of having been possessed by Voldemort for an entire year.

So he settled for watching the first years enter the castle. They were looking around wondrously, and Harry noted that a few of them shot nervous glances in his direction. They weren't the only ones. There was a lot of whispering going on, and judging by the amount of surreptitious glances being sent his way, Harry figured he was the topic. He was starting to feel like a funny-looking animal on display in a zoo. It was only a matter of time before they started throwing food at him through his bars. These people are going to feel pretty damned stupid when Voldemort starts killing people again, Harry thought bitterly.

The sorting passed while Harry was brooding over the stupidity of his classmates. Dumbledore made his usual abbreviated welcome to everyone, and soon platters full of traditional British food were being devoured by hungry students.

Harry ate with relish, grateful to have the attention of his peers turned elsewhere. He now took the time to look carefully at Hermione. She looked even worse in the harsh, low light of the Great Hall. Something is seriously wrong with her, Harry thought. I'll have to keep an eye on her. He caught Parvati's eye once during the meal, and smiled at her. She looked confused, but returned his smile. When everyone was finished except for Ron, Dumbledore stood and clapped his hands. The room soon quieted and the food disappeared from the tables.

Dumbledore went through his usual list of prohibitions, and then introduced the newest faculty member, Dolores Umbridge. Harry got his first good look at the woman who had wanted to put him on trial for defending himself.

She was hideously ugly, and almost as wide as she was tall. Harry thought she looked like the result of a magical experiment gone horribly wrong: a combination of human, toad, and troll somehow transfigured into one being. Her appearance was not helped at all by the enormous pink cardigan that she wearing over her robes. Merciful Merlin, Harry thought, what could this woman possibly know about defense?

Harry's opinion of her was not improved by the short speech she gave following her introduction. Her allusions to "tradition," "change," and "pruning" were not lost on Harry. It appeared that Professor McGonagall's warning had been spot on. This woman had come to Hogwarts for one reason: to spy on Harry and Dumbledore, and to insure no one believed them about Voldemort's return. He was going to have to heed McGonagall's advice.

When the feast ended, Harry told his friends to leave without him and walked eagerly to the head table. He had been waiting on this moment all day. Dumbledore was finally going to talk to him about his plans to provide Harry with advanced defense training. Seeing him approach, Dumbledore nodded at Harry and motioned him toward a side exit. Harry could hardly contain his anticipation. Finally, he thought.

.....

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