THE GREAT Hall was full of noise when they walked in.

The Brockdale Bridge attack had weighed heavily on the students for a while. People were coming up missing, people's parents had fled to Voldemort, everything felt off when they stepped in the school. Everyone seemed bubbly, but she saw the nervous glances and the stressed smiles that went across the faces of everyone she passed.

The younger students were the happiest in the Great Hall. Jade could still feel the nervous energy buzzing off the walls, bouncing off the students that mingled around her.

Luna and Jade sat next to each other at the Ravenclaw table, clapping for the new first-years making their way over to the table. Most of them sat at the left end, closest to the Prefects, who were clapping them on their backs and introducing themselves.

Michael and Terry were on their side of the table, arguing over Quidditch and their bets for the school year. Anthony and Mandy sat across from them, hands intertwined and eyes focused on nothing but each other. Luna was staring up at the head table, looking at the professors scattered around and mingling with each other.

Jade was focused on the Gryffindor table, trying to find Harry among the kids sitting there. Ron and Hermione were whispering to themselves, glancing around the Hall.

She realized that no one knew where Harry was when her eyes met Hermione's and they both shrugged.

Before she could get up to talk to her, a clinking glass diverted everyone's eyes to the head table. Dumbledore stood, walking up to the golden owl podium in front of the table. Jade stared at him, but she couldn't focus on what he was saying. His soft-spoken voice was too calm, it kept her from picking up words.

She glanced back over at the Gryffindor table, where Harry had appeared. He held his hand up to his nose, pulling it away every so often to wipe blood off. Jade tried to catch one of their eyes, but she was unsuccessful.

"We have a returning professor, Professor Slughorn. Professor Slughorn will be taking over Potions, with Professor Snape taking the vacated Defense Against the Dark Arts position."

This sentence had caught Jade's attention. Luna grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly, looking at the floor now instead of the head table. When Jade glanced at Mandy and Anthony, she saw her best friend's eyes cloud over with a darkness she hadn't seen since Cedric died. She couldn't see Terry and Michael's reactions, but she did see their shoulders tense up.

~~~~

"Are you going to change any of your classes?"

They were sitting in the Common Room, Mandy laying upside down on the couch and Jade sitting with her legs draped over the arm of the fluffy blue chair. Most of their peers had gone to the dorms, but they sat in front of the fireplace, listening to the crackle and letting the warmth and orange light engulf them.

Luna and Anthony had already gone to sleep, both heading up almost immediately after they got to the tower. Luna had kissed her goodnight, then walked up the steps, slowly twirling a strand of platinum blonde hair around her finger.

"I don't think I will. I'm fine with my selections." Mandy answered, swinging herself around to a normal sitting position. "What about you?"

Jade sighed, looking up from the piece of parchment in her hand. The parchment had her O.W.L. results scribbled in her father's sloppy handwriting, she could barely tell some of the letters apart.

She could take Potions now, Slughorn would open up the class to those who had received an Exceeds Expectations, but she wasn't too sure if she would like it. Care of Magical Creatures, Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, History of Magic, Charms, and Herbology; those were the subjects she was tackling for her N.E.W.T. levels. Her and Mandy shared three classes, Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Charms, and she knew she had at least one other friend in most of her classes.

Mandy had picked up Arithmancy and Ancient Runes alongside the three classes they shared. Though they didn't like the man, Jade knew that neither of them would be able to take Potions without Snape teaching. Slughorn was a new, comical character, and she didn't know if she liked that about him.

"I'm not going to. Slughorn puts me off." She finally answered, glancing at her best friend.

Mandy nodded, shutting her textbook gently.

"We ought to get to bed, it's getting late."

A bat flew by one of the many windows in the Ravenclaw tower, and the fire was slowly dying out. Jade shrugged, swinging her legs over and standing up. The two of them made the trek up the stairs to their dorm, opening the door to find their three dormmates asleep already.

Jade quietly dressed in her pajamas, staring out the window in their room. The moonlight shone in, illuminating her half of the room. She could see a lump on the bed across from her, Su, and when she turned, she could vaguely see Mandy settling under her covers and Lisa tossing in her sleep.

When she hit her pillow, Jade was scared it would take her hours for sleep to come, but it arrived almost instantly.