"Did everyone see that Grubbly-Plank woman?" Alicia asked. ''What's she doing back here? Hagrid can't have left, can he?"

"I hope not," Angelina said, frowning. Their carriage was coming close to a stop in front of the Hogwarts's grand gates. "He was a good teacher, a bit odd, but good."

The Entrance Hall was ablaze with torches and echoing with footsteps as the students crossed the flagged stone floor for the double doors to the right, leading to the Great Hall and the start-of-term feast.

The four long house tables in the Great Hall were filling up under the starless black ceiling, which was just like the sky they could glimpse through the high windows. Candles floated in midair all along the tables, illuminating the silvery ghosts who were dotted about the Hall and the faces of the students talking eagerly, exchanging summer news, shouting greetings at friends from other houses, eyeing one another's new haircuts and robes. Tori glanced over at the Hufflepuff table, all of them looking cheery but a bit pesky as well. She understood why.

She immediately glanced in between two Hufflepuffs to see they were sitting apart, leaving space in between. Cedric's spot.

Tori swallowed roughly, blinking a few times and taking her own seat next to Fred and George. McGonagall had just led the first years into the Great Hall, and Tori watched in amusement as they all stared at the grand ceiling above them.

The whole school waited with bated breath. Then the rip near the hat's brim opened wide like a mouth and the Sorting Hat burst into song:

In times of old when I was new

And Hogwarts barely started

The founders of our noble school

Thought never to be parted:

United by a common goal,

They had the selfsame yearning,

To make the world's best magic school

And pass along their learning.

''Together we will build and teach!"

The four good friends decided

And never did they dream that they

Might someday be divided,

For were there such friends anywhere

As Slytherin and Gryffindor?

Unless it was the second pair

Of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw?

So how could it have gone so wrong?

How could such friendships fail?

Why, I was there and so can tell

The whole sad, sorry tale.

Said Slytherin, ''We'll teach just those

Whose ancestry is purest."

Said Ravenclaw, ''We'll teach those whose

Intelligence is surest."

Said Gryffindor, ''We'll teach all those

With brave deeds to their name,"

Said Hufflepuff, ''I'll teach the lot,

And treat them just the same."

These differences caused little strife

When first they came to light,

For each of the four founders had

A house in which they might

Take only those they wanted, so,

For instance, Slytherin

Took only pure-blood wizards

Of great cunning, just like him,

And only those of sharpest mind

Were taught by Ravenclaw

While the bravest and the boldest

Went to daring Gryffindor.

Good Hufflepuff, she took the rest,

And taught them all she knew,

Thus the houses and their founders

Retained friendships firm and true.

So Hogwarts worked in harmony

For several happy years,

But then discord crept among us

Feeding on our faults and fears.

The houses that, like pillars four,

Had once held up our school,

Now turned upon each other and,

Divided, sought to rule.

And for a while, it seemed the school

Must meet an early end,

What with dueling and with fighting

And the clash of friend on friend

And at last, there came a morning

When old Slytherin departed

And though the fighting then died out

He left us quite downhearted.

And never since the founders four

Were whittled down to three

Have the houses been united

As they once were meant to be.

And now the Sorting Hat is here

And you all know the score:

I sort you into houses

Because that is what I'm for,

But this year I'll go further,

Listen closely to my song:

Though condemned I am to split you

Still, I worry that it's wrong,

Though I must fulfill my duty

And must quarter every year

Still, I wonder whether Sorting

May not bring the end I fear.

Oh, know the perils, read the signs,

The warning history shows,

For our, Hogwarts is in danger

From external, deadly foes

And we must unite inside her

Or we'll crumble from within

I have told you, I have warned you...

Let the Sorting now begin.

The hall filled with the usual clapping, but Tori furrowed her eyebrows. "Is it just me, or does the Sorting Hat seem to be giving out a warning?"

"The song was darker than usual. From external, deadly foes? What does that mean?" Alicia asked, looking in between Angelina and Lee.

Tori glanced at Fred and George, who both shot her an uneasy look. Dumbledore, however, didn't seem alarmed in the slightest.

Professor McGonagall, who was waiting to read out the list of first-years' names, was giving the whispering students the sort of look that scorches. With a last frowning look that swept the lour house tables, Professor McGonagall lowered her eyes to her long piece of parchment and called out the first name.

''Abercrombie, Euan."

The terrified-looking boy stumbled forwards and put the Hat on his head; it was only prevented from falling right down to his shoulders by his very prominent ears. The Hat considered for a moment, then the rip near the brim opened again and shouted:

''Gryffindor!"

Tori clapped loudly with the rest of Gryffindor house as Euan Abercrombie staggered to their table and sat down, looking as though he would like very much to sink through the floor and never be looked at again.

Slowly, the long line of first-years thinned. In the pauses between the names and the Sorting Hat's decisions, Tori could hear Lee's stomach rumbling loudly. Finally, ''Zeller, Rose" was Sorted into Hufflepuff, and Professor McGonagall picked up the Hat and stool and marched them away as Professor Dumbledore rose to his feet.

''To our newcomers," said Dumbledore in a ringing voice, his arms stretched wide and a beaming smile on his lips, ''Welcome! To our old hands—welcome back! There is a time for speech-making, but this is not it. Tuck in!"

There were an appreciative laugh and an outbreak of applause as Dumbledore sat down neatly and threw his long beard over his shoulder so as to keep it out of the way of his plate—for food had appeared out of nowhere, so that the five long tables were groaning under joints and pies and dishes of vegetables, bread and sauces, and flagons of pumpkin juice.

Tori dug in immediately, chatting with Angelina about Quidditch. "We'll need a new keeper, reckon tryouts will be soon."

"I'm sure. Wood's going to be hard to replace." Tori was saying, taking a bit out of the treacle tart.

When all the students had finished eating and the noise level in the Hall was starting to creep upwards again, Dumbledore got to his feet once more. Talking ceased immediately as all turned to face the Headmaster. Tori was feeling pleasantly drowsy now.

"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 began. 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.

''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 a round of polite but fairly unenthusiastic applause, as Tori stared up at the new teacher. She was dressed... rather differently than the other teachers, wearing pink everywhere.

Dumbledore continued, ''Tryouts for the house Quidditch teams will take place on the—"

He broke off, looking enquiringly at Professor Umbridge. As she was not much taller standing than sitting, there was a moment when nobody understood why Dumbledore had stopped talking, but then Professor Umbridge cleared her throat, ''Hem, hem," and it became clear that she had got to her feet and was intending to make a speech.

Dumbledore only looked taken aback for a moment, then he sat down smartly and looked alertly at Professor Umbridge as though he desired nothing better than to listen to her talk. Other members of staff were not as adept at hiding their surprise. Professor Sprout's eyebrows had disappeared into her flyaway hair and Professor McGonagall's mouth was as thin as Tori had ever seen it. No new teacher had ever interrupted Dumbledore before. Many of the students were smirking; this woman obviously did not know how things were done at Hogwarts.

''Thank you, Headmaster," Professor Umbridge simpered, ''For those kind words of welcome."

Her voice was high-pitched, breathy, and little-girlish. Tori gave Angelina a look, almost asking Is she for real? She gave another little throat-clearing cough (''hem, hem") and continued.

''Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say!" She smiled, revealing very pointed teeth. ''And to see such happy little faces looking up at me!"

Tori glanced around. None of the faces she could see looked happy. On the contrary, they all looked rather taken-aback at being addressed as though they were five years old.

''I'm very much looking forward to getting to know you all and I'm sure we'll be very good friends!"

"That's likely." Fred and George mumbled together, causing Tori to hold back a chuckle.

Professor Umbridge cleared her throat again (''hem, hem"), but when she continued, some of the breathiness had vanished from her voice. She sounded much more businesslike and now her words had a dull learned-by-heart sound to them.

"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. The ancient skills unique to the wizarding community must be passed down the generations lest we lose them forever. 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."

Professor Umbridge paused here and made a little bow to her fellow staff members, none of whom bowed back to her. Professor McGonagall's dark eyebrows had contracted so that she looked positively hawklike, and Tori distinctly saw her exchange a significant glance with Professor Sprout as Umbridge gave another little ''hem, hem" and went on with her speech.

''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 progress's sake must be discouraged, for our tried and tested traditions often require no tinkering. A balance, then, between old and new, between permanence and change, between tradition and innovation..."

Tori found her attentiveness ebbing, as though her brain was slipping in and out of tune. The quiet that always filled the Hall when Dumbledore was speaking was breaking up as students put their heads together, whispering and giggling.

Professor Umbridge did not seem to notice the restlessness of her audience. Tori had the impression that a full-scale riot could have broken out under her nose and she would have plowed on with her speech. The teachers, however, were still listening very attentively.

"... because some changes will be for the better, while others will come, in the fullness of time, to be recognized as errors of judgment. 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 practices that ought to be prohibited."

She sat down. Dumbledore clapped. The staff followed his lead, though Lee had noticed that several of them brought their hands together only once or twice before stopping. A few students joined in, but most had been taken unawares by the end of the speech, not having listened to more than a few words of it, and before they could start applauding properly, Dumbledore had stood up again.

''Thank you very much, Professor Umbridge, that was most illuminating," He said, bowing to her. ''Now, as I was saying, Quidditch tryouts will be held..."

"Illuminating my arse," Angelina muttered. "The Ministry's messing up Hogwarts now."

ew umbridge