~Albus~

The only sound was the tick of my watch, and the sound of the train trundling over the tracks, jostling us slightly as we rounded a turn. I stared at the floor of our compartment, only partly aware of Poppy sitting next to me, hand on my knee, even though she was lost on her own thoughts. Colette was across from us, a book open in her lap. I hadn't heard her turn a page since we'd sat down. And next to her was Rose, who I hadn't seen since the end of June, when her parents had gone into hiding and sent her and Hugo off to tour Egypt with their other grandparents. She was staring out the window, dark circles under her eyes. It was a gray, blustery day, as the mood pervading our compartment had somehow managed to get out and infect the rest of Britain, too.

"Do you think they're all right?" Rose asked, finally.

I glanced up, shooting a look at Poppy and Colette. We hadn't talked about Ciara and Scorpius since we'd heard the news, but now their absence was unavoidable. The clock was ticking closer and closer to a prefect meeting I was going to have to lead alone.

"They got kidnapped by Stillens," Colette said, after a moment. "How could they be all right?"

Rose blinked like she'd been stung. As she took a shaky breath, Poppy quickly interjected with, "I'm sure they're fine. Really. Why would Stillens want to hurt them?"

"Why would he want to kidnap them?" Rose replied.

Of course, none of us had an answer to that. Colette shifted uncomfortably as Rose wiped at her eyes. I sighed. "We don't know how they're doing, yeah. But I'm sure, if Stillens wants something from them, he's not going to hurt them toobadly. And once the DA can rescue them—"

"Oh, as if," Rose cut me off, rolling her eyes.

I blinked at her, seeing red suddenly. That sounded too close to what James had said. "Excuse me?"

"The DA's not going to do anything. I asked Mum. She said there's nothing they can do. Just hope Ciara and Scorpius are still all right when the war's all over." She blinked quickly. "What if they don't have that long?"

I wanted to argue, tell her it wasn't as hopeless as all that, but honestly, I didn't know what to say. What to say that wasn't an obvious lie, at least.

"This sucks, Rose," Poppy said quietly. "I wish I could tell you it'll all be all right, but I don't know if it will. But we're all here for you, and struggling too."

Rose smiled slightly, and I stifled a sigh of relief. At least Poppy knew what to say. At least Poppy could encourage people a little better than I could at the moment. I'd always thought I was pretty good at that, honestly. I'd always been able to cheer up Astra and Wren and James, when I'd needed to, or at least let them know I was there for them. Now, I was just frustrated all the time, and it was like my ability to empathize with anyone had disappeared completely.

"Al, you probably want to be early to the meeting, don't you?" Poppy asked. I pulled myself out of my thoughts enough to blink questioningly at her, which made her laugh a little. "We've got about fifteen minutes, but it would probably be a good idea to go soon, especially if you need to get your thoughts together."

"Oh. Right." I sighed and pushed myself off the seat. "I guess we'll see you two afterwards?"

"I might go sit with Lacy and Iris," Rose said. She glanced at Colette, who was staring at her book again. "You're welcome to come, if you'd like. If you don't want to be alone..."

I braced myself for Colette to say something unnecessarily snarky and hurt Rose's feelings, but to my surprise, she just glanced at her. "Oh. Thanks. I'll think about it. I might join Lily..."

Poppy was at the door already, and I moved to follow her out, content that Colette wasn't going to ruin her relationships with her dormmates today, at least.

We walked down the length of the train, dodging younger students and the trolley lady. Maybe it was just my imagination, but it felt like the whole train seemed more subdued than it had previous years. Like everyone had noticed that something was missing this year.

We were halfway down the last carriage when Poppy stopped abruptly in the middle of the hallway. I was about to ask her what was wrong, but she motioned to a group of first years ahead of us before I could. "Does that boy look familiar to you?"

I squinted at the group that was quickly disappearing into a compartment. The boy I assumed she was talking about was near the back of the group. He was a tall, skinny Asian boy with his black hair spiked up. I'd definitely never seen him before, but something about him did seem a little familiar. I squinted a little harder, until the kid glanced in our direction and met my eyes. He seemed caught off guard to find me staring at him, and hurried into the compartment after his friends.

Poppy was frowning at the empty spot in the corridor, too. "Do you know who he was?"

"No. He did seem familiar, though."

"Maybe he's got a sibling in Hufflepuff?" She shrugged. "Also, maybe we shouldn't go around staring at the first years until they're uncomfortable."

"What?" I asked jokingly. "Is that a bad idea? Are you sure?"

She giggled. "Shut up."

Luckily, we were the first ones to reach the prefect compartment. Poppy settled down in one of the seats, but I found myself pacing, trying to get my thoughts in order. Ciara and I had talked about this, about how we wanted to start the year off. Why couldn't I remember any of this? Why on earth had I said yes to being headboy? This was far too much responsibility. I couldn't do this. Especially not alone. I needed Ciara.

"Just breathe, Albus," Poppy said. I turned around to see her watching me with a concerned expression. "You're going to do great. I promise. Just remember that it's literally impossible for you to do worse than Eris and Emmanuel, okay? Everyone either has no idea what to expect, or already likes you better than them. You can't fail."

I swallowed hard. My stomach had become a nest of writhing snakes at some point, twisting and entwining and making me feel queasy. I could feel my heart beating in my throat. Were the walls closing in? Could I even see them anymore?

"Albus." Poppy was standing in front of me, now, taking my hand in hers. "Deep breath, okay?" She took a deep breath, and my body followed suit, even if I couldn't actually remember how to do that. She smiled. "Good. Just like that. Now let it out." I did, and somehow it seemed like it took a little of the tension in my shoulders with it. For a moment, I just stood there, focused on breathing. The car seemed to come into sharper focus, calm and steady. My stomach was still twisted in knots, but maybe a little less so.

Poppy squeezed my hand. "I promise, you're going to be okay. You've got this, even if you feel like you don't. You're going to be better than you think you are."

I heard the door open behind me; the other prefects were starting to get here. Whether I was ready or not, I'd have to do this. I managed a smile, and let Poppy pull me back to the seats. Even if I was a little too jittery to sit down, I at least wasn't standing in the middle of the room anymore.

Most people glanced curiously at me as they filtered in. Cedric came over to say hello, and ask me one more time if I was absolutely sure I didn't actually want to be the Gryffindor Quidditch captain, and if I really wasn't upset about it. I didn't really want to be headboy just then, let alone adding anything else, and I told him that, which seemed to put him at ease. Elmer and Eviana also came over when they walked in, full of questions about what being a prefect meant that I assured them would get answered during the meeting, at the very least when I opened it up to questions (I was bound to forget something important, after all, and they probably weren't the only ones with questions).

Poppy had been counting heads, which was good, because I hadn't thought to do that. She tugged on my sleeve after about ten minutes to let me know that everyone was here, twenty-one in all. Even though all I really wanted wanted to do was melt through the floor and get run over by the train, I heard myself clearing my throat and calling for order.

The car grew quiet very quickly, more quickly than I'd been expecting. I chuckled uncomfortably, aware of everyone's eyes on me. "Um, hello. Nice to see you all again. Um... I'm Albus Potter, if you don't know who I am. I'm the headboy this year."

"Yay Albus!" Eviana called out.

"Let's go!" Elmer chimed in, pumping his fist in the air.

There was a spatter of weak applause and laughter, and I felt my facing turning red. I shot a smile at Eviana and Elmer, though, who were both giving me a thumbs up. "Right. Thanks. Anyway... uh, some of you might know this already, but the headgirl was supposed to be Ciara Malfoy this year. And, um, unfortunately, she's... well, she's disappeared, I guess. Which is really awful. Um..." I trailed off, suddenly forgetting everything that I needed to say, let alone all the things Ciara and I had wanted to say.

I was saved by one of the new Ravenclaw prefects waving her hand in the air. I managed a probably-awkward smile and pointed to her. "Yes, I'm sorry, I don't know your name, but you have a question?"

The girl nodded unsurely, bangs falling into her face as she did. "I'm Sylvie Li. I was just wondering... does this mean we don't have a headgirl?"

"I..." I sighed. Trying to pretend like I was put together wasn't going to work. Trying to pretend like I knew what I was doing, had any idea what this year would look like, had a plan for what to do now that my coleader had been kidnapped three weeks ago—none of that was going to work. I relaxed my shoulders a little. "Yeah. It does. For now, at least. I suppose Kimmel might appoint someone else, eventually..."

A few of the prefects glanced at each other, eyes wide. They looked worried, frightened. That was fair. I was worried and frightened too. "Honestly, guys, I don't really have any idea how this year is going to go. There's three people who should be here today, and aren't, and I think you all know that it's because of the war. This is all new to me, too. I'm going to do my best, but to be totally honest with you, I really don't have any idea what I'm doing."

The room had grown quiet. Before, there had been whispers as people leaned over to talk to each other, but now they'd all shut up. All eyes really were on me. I swallowed down the urge to turn and run, and continued, "I really am honored to be the headboy this year, by the way. I hope we can all come together and help our school, and lead well. I know it's probably been a really difficult time for a lot of you. It's been difficult for me, too. We're all in this together, okay?" I smiled a little. "Um... anyway, what do I need to talk about?"

"When will patrolling schedules be posted?" Poppy prompted.

"Oh, right." I shot her a grateful look, then turned back to the others. "Those will probably be up tomorrow. Just have to clear them with Kimmel, first."

"And prefect meetings?" Cedric asked. "When are those?"

I chuckled. "Definitely not during Quidditch practice." A few other people laughed, which made me feel a little better. "Ciara and I decided on seven o'clock on Thursdays. If that doesn't work with anyone for whatever reason, though, I'm open to changing it. I'm sure Kimmel has other free times. So definitely come talk to me, if you need. Same thing with patrols, actually. I don't know all of you, so if I paired you up with someone you don't want to be with, for whatever reason, just come tell me. I'll see what I can do." I glanced back at Poppy unsurely. Was I forgetting anything? I felt like I clearly was. I probably should've prepared better, had notes ready or something. Poppy smiled at me, though. Maybe I wasn't doing too horribly. "Well, uh, does anyone have any questions?"

For a moment, the silence remained. A few of the prefects glanced at each other unsurely. I felt the doubt creeping up my throat, that maybe I hadn't done that well, that maybe I really wasn't out for this. Then Eviana's hand was in the air. I just barely stopped myself from sagging in relief, and motioned to her. "Yeah, Eviana?"

"Can we request who our partners for patrolling are?"

I felt myself smiling. "Well, maybe for next term. I think it's already pretty well worked out for this one. But, I suppose it depends on the reason, too..." I glanced back at Poppy. "Kimmel won't let me patrol with my girlfriend, for example, so if you're just wanting alone time with someone you like, then I'm afraid I probably can't help you there."

Another hand was in the air. This time, it was my cousin, Oliver. "Um, out of curiosity, what exactly is patrolling?"

"Have you never been caught out after hours by the prefects?" I asked.

Oliver's eyes widened. "Break curfew? Are you crazy?"

A few people laughed. I almost did, but managed to keep a straight face. "Shocking, yes, but sometimes students do that."

"You'd know all about it, wouldn't you?" Cedric called out. A few more people laughed.

In spite of the fact that my face was definitely red now, I smiled. "Okay, yes, I'll admit, I've broken a fair amount of rules in my day, yes. That just means I know how to stop other people doing it, though." I glanced back at Oliver. "Basically, when you patrol you and your partner will be patrolling the halls after hours, on the lookout for any students out of their common rooms past curfew. Normally, you'll go from nine p.m. until midnight. If you find anyone, you take them to their head of house, then escort them back to their common room. They'll get detention." My eyes widened. "Oh, I forgot about that! That's another prefect duty. You and your partner will monitor detention the afternoon after you patrol. That's only an hour, from four to five..." Most people were nodding, and I smiled. "Yeah, I'm sure everyone knows when detention is. Anyway, those are your most clear-cut duties."

Another pause, then Arthur Longbottom had raised his hand. "Do we still have the same write-up system?"

"As far as I know, yes. Kimmel hasn't said otherwise, at least." I shrugged, then glanced at where most of the fifth years were bunched. "Basically, you have three per term. The first two are warnings, but the third means you lose your position." A few of the new prefects glanced at each other in alarm, and I held my hands up. "Don't worry, it's kind of difficult to get a write-up. I think I only got them last year for fighting with the headgirl. And by fighting I mean actually dueling. Arguing with me won't get you in trouble." I shot them a small smile.

One of the new Slytherin raised his hand. "What exactly can get us write-ups, other than fighting?"

"What's your name?"

"Ethan Young."

I smiled. "Well, let's see. It's generally reserved for violence and harassment, instances where you're abusing your power, or times when you just do something completely out of line, like cuss out a professor or something. You have to really try to get one, most of the time. I think it'll be even harder, now that Eris Prince isn't in charge and there's no one to fight with."

I heard Poppy losing in behind me at that, along with most of the older students. Poor Ethan looked appalled for a second, but after a few moments even the fifth years started giggling. I smiled, genuinely, and when the noise had died down I amended, "Okay, sorry, that was a bit harsh of me. I suppose she wasn't that bad."

"Oh please, mate," said Jackson Eaton, one of the Ravenclaw seventh years. "You didn't have to live with her for six years, did you?"

"You didn't have to patrol with her, either," the other Ravenclaw, Elizabeth Finch-Fletchley, added. "Pretty awful, honestly."

By now, everyone was laughing. Maybe this wasn't the most appropriate thing to bond over, but I was just relieved to see that everyone seemed to be on the same page. They weren't rallying to have me removed as headboy yet, at least. "Okay, well, anyway, does anyone else have questions?"

One by one, questions were asked and answered. I actually got to meet all the new fifth years, most of whom I could hardly remember having ever seen before. Cadence Ridley was from Hufflepuff, Jason Garison and Sylvie Li were from Ravenclaw, and Ethan Young and Charlotte Weiss were from Slytherin. I didn't know if I'd be able to remember their names, but I was determined to try, simply because that was one thing Emmanuel and Eris had had down before the term even started, and I was at least going to be better than they'd been.

Before I dismissed the meeting, I figured I needed to do a little visionary pep talk. That was something leaders did, right? I called back order, because everyone had started chattering once I'd made the fifth years start introducing themselves to me. That was a good sign, right? Everyone was comfortable? Except me, I guess. My face felt hot, and I hoped it wasn't actually very red. "Well... The year's about to start, whether we're ready for it or not. And I think we are." The corner of my mouth turned up. "Our goal as prefects is to serve the rest of the school. We're role models, and leaders, and helpers. And we can only do those things if we're here for each other. That's my goal for the year, to be here for you guys. I hope you'll all make that your goal, too."

I hesitated, unsure if I needed to say anything else. Elmer started clapping, and was quickly joined (very enthusiastically) by Cedric and Eviana. A nervous chuckled found its way out of me, and I waved my hand. "Right, well, that's it. I guess you're all good to go, if there aren't any more questions."

As people started to filter out, I finally sank back into the seat behind me. My heart was beating incredibly quickly, and I don't think I'd ever been so relieved in my life. I could hardly hear Poppy as she patted my shoulder and told me I'd done a great job.

Several of my friends were flocking around. Elmer had appeared in the seat next to me, and was saying so many words that I couldn't take a single one of them in. At least the tone sounded encouraging. Arthur was crouching in front of me, peering at me curiously. "Are you all right, mate?"

"What?" I blinked as my mind vaulted itself back to the present, from whatever relieved haven it had gone to hide. "Oh, yeah. I'm fine."

"You did really well, honestly. I know you and Malfoy had probably had some different ideas, but I thought you did great."

I smiled, finally becoming aware of the fact that Elmer (and Eviana, too, now) were dramatically reliving the highlights of the meeting for me. Elmer nudged me in the side, and I laughed a little. "Thanks, guys. All of you. Could you tell I was about to pass out from nerves the whole time?"

They all exchanged a glance before Poppy said, "I'm sure we only noticed because we know you well..."

"Oh, Merlin." I laughed. "Well, that's all right, I guess."

"You got the main points across, at least!" Arthur said.

"Yeah, and you didn't pass out," pointed out Eviana. "So that was good."

"He's a Potter," Elmer said, rolling his eyes. "Of course he didn't pass out!"

"I thought I was the weakest of the Potters?"

Elmer turned to blink at me. "Oh, did I say that? I'm sorry. I was just madly in love with Astra, and you were a rival for my affections. I didn't actually mean it."

I was already laughing. "No, it's okay. You were probably right, anyway."

"Oh, don't say that," Poppy said disapprovingly. I put up my hands in surrender, laughing again.

A few of the prefects were still mingling around. Some were talking to each other, but some were hovering around the edge of our circle, as if they wanted to ask me something. I took a deep breath, trying to get into the mentality of a headboy, and stood up. "Oh, I almost forgot, here's the Hufflepuff common room password." I handed Arthur and Poppy each a piece of paper. "Kimmel owled them to me yesterday to pass out. And could you find Jackson and Elizabeth? I've got Ravenclaw, too." Poppy took the Ravenclaw papers and slipped off to find them, while I scanned the room, trying to figure out which Slytherins were still around.

Ideally, the task of dispersing the common room passwords went to the seventh years every year. Since the seventh year Slytherins were both gone, though, I'd probably have to find a sixth year. Who were the sixth years, again? Sebastian Styles was the guy's name; I didn't think I'd ever spoken to him before, and besides, he'd already left. Oh, heck, were any of the Slytherins even still here? I didn't really want to dump this on poor Charlotte, the little fifth year who had latched onto Eviana and was peppering her with questions like she had no idea what she was doing.

My eyes fell on Brigitte Myers, and I groaned internally. That's right. Her. She had some problem with Astra, I think, and I'd always felt a little uncomfortable around her. She was a little off, I felt like, though I couldn't pinpoint what it was. And after that story Lily had told us last year, about her fight with Adalyn Lostry in the Slytherin dorms where she ended up not admitting to Lockley that Adalyn was trying to get in with Stillens, I was even more wary of her. She was the only one around, though, talking with Delia Cole from Hufflepuff, so I wove through the room to hand off the password.

She frowned at me as I approached her. "What?"

I held out the paper. "Slytherin common room password. Just make sure your housemates get it."

Brigitte eyed the paper I was holding out to her like it might just be poisoned, but she was immune to poison and only mildly amused at the attack. "How on earth am I supposed to do that?"

"I don't know," I said, rolling my eyes. "However you'd like. I was thinking I'd just go down the table at dinner and have people pass it on."

"Why do I have to do this?"

"If you'd rather pass it off to Sebastian, I really don't care. But Ciara and Scorpius Malfoy aren't here, so I don't have anyone else to give it to." I held the paper a little closer to her. "Don't be difficult, Myers."

She narrowed her eyes at me, then took the paper with a little more aggression than was necessary. "Is that all?"

"Of course." I turned and marched back to my friends before she could say anything else.

The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful. I talked through some scheduling issues with Arthur and Jackson. Ciara and I had been planning on switching off every other week to make up for Wren being gone, but now that there were three prefects gone, it meant I had to come up with some weird rotations to fill the slots. Luckily, all the seventh years seemed to be willing to work with me on that.

Poppy and I found Colette with Lily and Pip, like she'd said. I wouldn't have suggested a group composed of just those three, but they seemed to be getting along pretty well when we showed up. Pip had made it his sole duty in life to get their minds off of current events, which meant that we walked in to him recreating the entirety of the the goblin revolution of 1766 from memory in a one-man show. Lily was in tears from laughing so hard, and Colette seemed grudgingly amused. By the time Elmer and Eviana made it back, he'd roped me into doing his special effects.

At the welcome feast, no one batted an eye when Poppy sat down at the Gryffindor table with us, after we'd both gone to share the password with our Houses. Lacy was too busy sharing stories that her dad had from the Ministry over the summer, where he'd somehow miraculously retained his job in the auror department. Apparently the aurors were being asked to do sketchier things by the day, though, and she wasn't sure how long he'd be able to put up with it. Things like intimidate people thought to be "threats to the Ministry" in order to keep them from speaking out. Poppy said it sounded like the beginning of a muggle dystopia. Or a dictatorship.

The first years filtered in finally. Maybe I was just projecting onto them, but the normal awe at seeing the Great Hall seemed a little muted in them this year. Maybe not. I guess the first years were always huddled together nervously as they came in. Most people weren't paying attention to war, right? My mum was in the DA, and my friends were deeply invested in all of this, but I suppose there were hundreds of less-connected students here, who read the Prophet and didn't know any better than to just take it at face value.

Professor Haverna was waiting for them at the front with the Sorting Hat. Thank goodness she's still here, I thought, then almost laughed out loud. Who would've thought I'd ever be thinking that? But if she wasn't here, we'd be completely cut off from the DA here, except when we could sneak out to Hogsmeade to contact them without being traced or watched by the Ministry. And I knew Mum would've said that was too dangerous. Professor Haverna, as much as I didn't like her, was our one link left to reality.

The first years had lined up in the front, jittery and nervous as always. A hush fell over the hall as the old Hat started to sing.

Once again, here I am!
The Sorting Hat stands here!
Another year to sort some folks,
Give them a home throughout the years.

Dangers come and dangers go,
But now they're on all sides.
Will you rise and stand against,
Or will you just stand by?

Gryffindors may yet be brave,
They must choose, and yet
Cowardice is easier by far
Will the brave so soon forget?
For many have stood where you are
And made a choice so dear
It'll cost you well, I promise you,
But it's the only chance, I fear.

Hufflepuffs may yet be loyal,
But once again, it is to choose,
Choose loyalty to which cause?
To one that's dark, or true?
For centuries past, they've stood the test,
And some have lost it all,
For loyalty to what's wrong will hurt
And only the discerning won't fall.

Ravenclaws may yet be wise,
But let wisdom not deceive,
For wisdom without morals kills
No matter what's achieved.
Choose to think and choose to act,
Choose to do what's right,
For days will come when the choice is hard,
Will you let wisdom win the fight?

Slytherins may yet persevere,
But who's to say they will?
You must choose to press ahead,
Let not ambition be killed.
Cunning cannot win alone,
But perseverance may.
Let pride push you to greater heights,
And you will win the day.

Though all these Houses' virtues
Are how they are described,
I caution not to trust to assumptions
That within these things abide.
For the founders did not assume
No, they chose to pursue.
And so must you, if the light will prevail,
These virtues you must choose.

For the first time since I'd come to Hogwarts, there wasn't immediate applause as the Hat closed its mouth-rip. For just a moment, everyone stared at it. The traits of our Houses weren't just innate inside of us? Then how were we sorted? I glanced at Colette, who seemed deep in thought. Maybe she's have an idea by the time the sorting was over. A few people had started to applaud, and I joined in, even though it remained weak until Haverna stepped forward to start reading off names of the first years.

I tried very hard to pay attention, really. I was a prefect, which meant I had a bit of a responsibility to the first years in my House, to make sure they all settled in well and found there place here at Hogwarts. But I wasn't just a prefect; I was the headboy. I really probably needed to be looking out for all the first years, didn't I? So I tried to memorize every kid's name and face. I didn't do well, of course, and probably the pressure didn't help, but I at least felt like I was getting a good idea of who the new Gryffindors were.

Edwards, Michaelas, had just been sent to Gryffindor, and I was staring at him as he walked over to our table, trying to memorize his face, when Poppy gripped my arm tightly. I looked up, blinking, to see a tiny girl crossing to the stool. I hadn't caught her name, but she seemed entirely unremarkable to me. Brown hair, nervous expression, ridiculously short because she was eleven. I raised an eyebrow at Poppy. "What?"

"Didn't you hear her name?" Poppy asked in an urgent whisper. I shook my head slowly, shooting a look at Colette, who had leaned forward to hear what we were saying.

"Isla Foster," Poppy supplied.

I blinked; why did that sound familiar? Colette's eyes widened a moment before it hit me. "Oh Merlin, she's one of the kids that got erased, isn't she?"

My mouth dropped open. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely sure. I remember her name."

"There's no way it could be a different Isla Foster?" Colette asked in a whisper.

"How many Isla Fosters turned eleven and should've gotten a Hogwarts letter this year?" Poppy hissed. "It's got to be her."

Before we could discuss it more, the Hat had called out, "Gryffindor!" Isla Foster was ushered off the stool by Haverna and started towards our table.

"What the hell," Colette whispered. "Why is she here? How is she here?"

"Stillens must have planned it," I said, "But why?"

"This doesn't make any sense," Poppy agreed, shaking her head. "Why would he risk her just... telling someone that her parents got murdered? And that she was kidnapped?"

"Maybe he's wiped her memory," Colette suggested.

"But there was a classroom at the manor," I said. "They're educating the kids there. He wouldn't have obliviated all of it, surely, if he went to all the trouble of teaching her something."

"Why would they be educating them? What are they learning?"

"I don't know. Maybe... maybe they're brainwashing them? So they can send them to Hogwarts to be spies?" I shook my head. "It could be a situation like Wren was in first year. Maybe they're threatening her so she'll be a spy that no one would suspect. Who's going to suspect a first year?"

Colette shook her head. "Why would they need more spies here? They still have Nico Jasper, don't they? And why risk it with an eleven year old girl? This isn't like Wren. It was her own parents manipulating her, not people who had killed her parents and kidnapped her. Even if Isla doesn't remember that, surely she doesn't have enough loyalty to them to go through with this."

I didn't have an answer to that, and neither did Poppy, apparently. All I could do was glance back down the table, where Isla Foster was watching the rest of the sorting. She looked so normal, it was hard to believe she could possibly be one of the missing children. Well, not missing anymore, I guess. Poppy was right about one thing: Isla Foster wasn't a common enough name for there to be two girls in the same year with it.

The sorting continued, but I couldn't pay attention to it. My mind was swirling, trying and failing to think of a reason Stillens might have wanted this. Why send one of the children to Hogwarts? That would be the last place I wanted to send them. Too many people, too many ideas, too many viewpoints. If the goal was to brainwash them, for whatever reason, why would he let Isla Foster out of his sight, out of his control? It didn't make any sense.

"Albus, I think I know why that boy looked familiar," Poppy whispered after a few minutes, cutting into my thoughts. I had no idea what she was talking about, but looked in the direction she was pointing, up at the line of first years.

Colette cursed in French before I even saw what Poppy was pointing at. Oh, that Asian boy we'd freaked out on the train, the one who'd looked familiar. With the added context of Isla Foster, it clicked where I'd seen him before. "He's another one, isn't he? What was his name?"

"Ryder Portland, right?" Colette offered.

"Yeah, that sounds right." Poppy bit her lip. "This isn't good."

"Is it just those two?" I asked.

"I think? Were any of the other kids old enough to come to Hogwarts?"

"I can't remember." Colette shook her head. "This isn't good."

"Not at all," Poppy echoed.

"Portland, Ryder," Haverna called from the front. The boy walked up to the stool, grinning out at the hall before the Hat fell over his eyes. After about thirty seconds, it called out, "Slytherin!" to rousing cheers from the other side of the room.

"I think we need to make some new friends," Poppy mused and Haverna called up the next student.

Colette sighed as if Poppy had just suggested we get mauled by bears. "I suppose we do."

"Good thing we're prefects, right?" I chuckled nervously. "Maybe they'll listen to us?"

"If they're here because Stillens wants them to be, I'd bet they've been warned off both of you," Poppy said slowly. "Possibly me. Probably anyone else connected with the DA, too."

I glanced at Colette, then back at Poppy. "What do we do?"

Poppy just shrugged. Colette tapped her fingers against the table, then shook her head. "Talk to them. See if they'll tell us anything. I want to know what's going on before we do anything drastic."

"Should we tell Professor Haverna?"

I shot a glance at Colette. My immediate instinct was to say no, because I didn't like Professor Haverna. However, it was probably the smartest thing to do. If missing children were turning up at Hogwarts, the DA probably needed to know. Better to let someone else make that decision, right?

Colette winced, like she'd come to the same conclusion I had. "Let's talk to them first, see what we can find out, then tell her. Maybe there'll be more to tell."

The rest of the sorting passed by with no incident. Apparently, Isla and Ryder were the only missing children who had ended up at Hogwarts, for whatever reason. It couldn't be a good reason. My stomach was twisting into knots again. By the time Kimmel had stood up to make her welcome speech, my appetite had entirely disappeared.

Kimmel gave her usual speech, full of empty words and baseless assurances of safety and unity. She had me stand up when she announced that I was the headboy, and took that as an opportunity to give a moment of silence for Ciara and Scorpius. As if they were dead? We didn't know that. All the good the moment of silence did was make Elcie, halfway down the table from us, start crying.

We had a new librarian, because Madam Pince had decided to retire over the summer ("Or been threatened out of a job," Colette suggested darkly). His name was Alexei Petrov. The most noticeable thing about Mr. Petrov was that he walked with a cane and seemed very against the idea of speaking. When Professor Kimmel gave him a chance to address the student body, what he said basically boiled down to the fact that we'd better obey the library rules or we might find that his cane was for more than simply walking. Kimmel cut him off before he could say anything else, laughing uncomfortable at "such a funny joke, Mr. Petrov."

The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was a kind-looking American witch named Absinthe Rinduli. She had long red hair, nearly the same color as Lily's. During her little speech, she told us that it was a great honor to be stepping into a role so long occupied by a legend, and she would do her best to live up to the standards my father had set for the position. I didn't think she could have been older than Teddy, honestly. Mr. Petrov also looked rather young.

"So, they're definitely both working for Stillens, right?" Colette asked as the food appeared on the plates."

"Obviously," I agreed. "Petrov literally just got up there and threatened to beat us."

"So, if they are, how many is that, now?" Colettte shook her head. "Four of them? Jasper and Cantha and those two?"

Poppy took a deep breath. "I have a really bad feeling about all of this."

I nodded in agreement, then glanced up at the staff table. Petrov seemed to be grudgingly listening to Professor Milligan chatter about something. Rinduli, though... She was staring directly at me. I met her eyes, sure I was just imagining it. But she smirked at me.

Yeah, I had a bad feeling about all of this, too.

~~~~

I got up until the literal moment when Haverna placed the Hat on the stool before I realized I had to write another Sorting Hat song in this chapter. Hope you liked it! I tried to do something a little different with it but I was on a plane (don't shoot me, I'm sorry, my family lives a very long way away from me) and I didn't have internet access while I was writing! Blame any funky rhymes or weird comparisons on that, please (not the fact that I've done this six times and I'm running out of ideas).

Question of the Day: For Americans, Thanksgiving was last week. I know it's been a ridiculously hard year for most of you, because it's been hard for me, too. But I think it's good to be intentionally grateful, even when life is difficult. So, in light of that, what are you grateful for right now?

Answer: I'm grateful for my family. I'm grateful for access to the internet and enough disposable time to be able to write this story. I'm grateful for wonderful friends who have made a very tough semester at college a little better. I'm grateful for a really good God who loves me and died for my sins. I'm grateful for you guys, who read and comment and literally make my day all the time. I love you all! Hope you're all weathering this pandemic all right, too. 

Vote and comment!

~Elli

Word count: 6540