• Serena Black •

"When people don't believe in you,
you have to believe in yourself"

With a loud hiss, the Hogwarts Express departed from platform 9 3/4. Serena strolled through one of the carriages, looking for Ron, whom she had lost when she had greeted Nate. Being a Prefect with Ron. In her head, she pictured any situations she might have to face: from first graders flooding the bathroom to seventh graders setting curtains on fire. Did she have to punish them all? Lost in thought, she peered into the various compartments and made out a few friends among the numerous students.

Then she spotted a Firebolt that resembled hers leaning against a compartment door and knew immediately; it undoubtedly belonged to Harry.

The compartment door squeaked a little as Serena pushed it open. Ron had made himself comfortable next to Harry and was in the process of decapitating a chocolate frog with his bare teeth. Hermione, meanwhile, was talking to Neville and another girl, who Serena knew from Nate and that her name was Luna, was sitting in the compartment reading a strange looking magazine.

Serena cleared her throat. "Ron, we need to get to the Prefects' compartment." She didn't miss the disgruntled expression that settled over his face like a shadow. To be honest, she didn't feel much like it either and would rather sit with her friends, but since no one probably trusted her to hold the office anyway, she should at least show that she was making an effort.

Somewhat reluctantly, the redhead stuffed the rest of the chocolate into her mouth and also seemed to have noticed Harry's disappointed expression. "We certainly don't have to stay there for the whole train ride," he mumbled and stumbled into the corridor behind Serena.

"All right," Harry muttered, a little disgruntled. "I'll see you later, maybe."

Serena closed the door behind her with a squeak and pushed her way through the carriages with Ron. "Stinks I have to go there," he complained.

"They should have just given the badges to Harry and Hermione," Serena sighed, carefully smoothing down the skirt of her school uniform, on which the first dust had already settled. Nervously, she checked the fit of her ponytail and played around with the end of her tie. She couldn't help but wonder what the others would think if they saw her instead of Hermione.

"I wonder who the others are," Ron murmured, lost in thought.

"I guess we're about to find out," Serena said as they pushed their way through a group of nervous first-year students. Arriving at the front of the train, they found the compartment at the drop of a hat, for already in the corridor they could hear the all too familiar crooning voice. Malfoy.

"I think you're lost," he sneered as Serena carefully pushed open the door. "This is the Prefects' compartment."

"If you're aware of that, Malfoy, then what are you doing here?" retorted Serena, pushing past him without giving him a glance.

"I knew Dumbledore was mad, but he must be mentally ill to make weasel and the blood traitor Prefects."

Serena rolled her eyes as Pansy Parkinson started giggling at his side.

"That's enough Malfoy," Ernie Macmillan admonished, instead taking in the two new arrivals, "Hi Serena, Hi Ron."

"Hi Ernie," the two greeted the Hufflepuff. Malfoy and Parkinson, meanwhile, burst into peals of laughter and whispered excitedly to themselves. Serena rolled her eyes again, should be fine with her as long as they left her alone. Even if she had to admit that it made her quite nervous.

"Father told me all about the Office, of course," Malfoy now boasted loudly, so that the adjoining compartment probably overheard. "He won't be too pleased, though, when he hears how low the standard is for selection this year."

The compartment door slid open again and in stepped a brunette Hufflepuff. "Serena?"

"Hailey!" she greeted her best friend stormily, a Prefect badge on her chest as well. Unlike hers, however, it was in yellow. Suddenly Serena had forgotten the two annoying Slytherins. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"You didn't either", Hailey replied with a laugh, giving Ron a sideways glance. Before the two girls could talk about their holidays, however, two older students had spoken.

"Take your seats," said a slightly shorter Slytherin boy with dark blond hair. "My name is Lucas Vanity and this is Kimberley Sanders." He cast a disparaging glance at the Hufflepuff beside him. "We're the Head Students this year. Fifth years, you please contact the sixth year Prefects if you have any questions, I really have better things to do."

"Where are the sixth year Prefects anyway?" asked Ernie, looking around in wonder at the compartment where only the Head Students and the new Prefects were.

"They already know their job," Kimberley Sanders replied. "Your job today will be to patrol the Hogwarts Express and later lead the new students of your house to the common room and teach them the rules. You are even allowed to deduct and award house points with a good reason. It is an honour to be a Prefect, so please act accordingly."

Ron and Serena were assigned to the rear train compartments to check that everyone was behaving according to the rules. She still didn't feel comfortable with the huge gold badge on her chest and would love to take it off. It was as if everyone they passed looked first at her and then at the badge disparagingly.

As it turned out, the back of the Hogwarts Express was mostly Slytherin compartments, which didn't exactly make their task any sweeter. To make matters worse, they were also supposed to check all the compartments where the curtain was drawn. For Serena this was unmistakable, after all they were closed for a reason. Even after knocking several times, they had already caught at least four couples making out.

"This time it's your turn," Ron said embarrassedly, still pointing with a red head to the next compartment, whose windows were covered with a dark curtain.

Scowling at Ron, Serena knocked once briefly and pushed the door aside without waiting for an answer. By now she had lost all patience and wanted to join her friends as soon as possible.

But when she stuck her head into the small room, she almost choked on her spit. She had almost forgotten Edmund Hall's existence. He did not even look up. Instead, he had his slightly bent nose buried in a book. Serena hoped to make a quick, unseen exit, but he said, "Didn't you make it abundantly clear that you never wanted to see me again?"

"It was only to be expected that the horny little Gryffindor would miss you sooner or later!" remarked Blaise Zabini instead, of whom Serena was only now taking notice. He was sitting opposite his friend in the corner by the window and had his legs crossed.

"Don't call me that," Serena hissed at him, and would have loved to take points off him if it hadn't been the beginning of the school year and Slytherin had already collected some.

"So you missed me?" the blond Slytherin stated slyly, finally lifting his eyes to look at her. Serena would almost have preferred he hadn't. The dark circles around his eyes made his tired turquoise eyes almost glow. But his blond hair had also lost all lustre and hung down over his forehead. This was not the Hall she knew.

"Is there anyone who misses you at all, Hall?" remarked Ron, stepping up beside Serena at the door. Even though she was no more taken with the two Slytherins than he was, she wished he hadn't said that.

But Hall didn't seem to let that statement get to him. At least not visibly. He had his eyes back on his book. "Get out of the compartment, Weasley," he pressed out in an annoyed tone, "And you right after, Black."

The two of them didn't take that lying down. But as they continued to supervise, Serena could hardly concentrate on anything else. It was only when they returned to their friends that she finally got her mind off things.

"I'm starving!" grumbled Ron, dropping down with feigned exhaustion next to Harry, who handed him a piece of pumpkin pie.

To Serena's surprise, Nate had now joined them and was sitting next to Luna Lovegood, who was still reading her magazine. It wasn't long before Hailey also burst into their compartment and settled down next to Ron. "I think I'll quit," she panted, massaging her temples. Then she looked round for help. "Do you think that'll work?"

"What happened?" asked Serena, amused.

"Ernie Macmillan," she pressed out through clenched teeth. The others exchanged confused looks, which made her sigh. "The guy just can't shut up."

Nate snorted. "I'm sure you'll survive this."

"I can't wait to get Crabbe, Goyle, Hall or Zabini on something," Ron said whimsically in response, rubbing his hands together with relish. "I'll get Goyle to write punishment papers, because he hates that: I... must... not... look... like... a... baboon butt."

Everyone laughed, Hailey in particular giggling loudly and giving him long looks as she did so. Hermione abruptly stopped laughing and eyed her sceptically, as if she couldn't believe that someone was paying attention to Ron in that way.

But Luna Lovegood laughed the hardest, her eyes swimming in tears and she had to gasp to keep from choking. "That was funny!" she gasped as the others watched her in amusement.

Eventually the sky outside had turned a gloomy colour and the train gradually slowed down. The usual commotion began to break out up and down the aisle as all the students rushed to gather their luggage and pets. Ron, Hailey and Serena began to sigh at the same time and disappeared from the compartment, as they were supposed to be supervising this very chaos.

In the corridor, Serena felt the first breath of the crisp night air tickle her face and she could hear the already familiar words, "First years over here.... First years over here!", but they seemed to come from a not-so-familiar voice.

"Where's Hagrid?" hissed Serena to the other two as they fought their way out past the students lined up in the corridors.

"I don't know," Hailey muttered, pulling her cloak tighter around her as it was quite cold for September after all. They ran around the track together, guiding confused first-years in the right direction and making sure no one got hurt in the jostling.

"Watch it!" they heard Malfoy yell a few feet away from them. "Do you have any idea who I am?"

"N-n-no," a blonde first-year stammered, seeming so unsettled that tears gathered in her big blue eyes.

"I'm a Prefect," Malfoy informed her unapologetically. "And you're probably just a mu..."

"Is there a problem?" interjected Hailey, giving the Slytherin a dark look. She then turned to the new student and gave her a smile. "It's best if you go back there with the other first years, Professor Grubbly-Plank will explain everything to you."

"Thank you," the first year breathed and walked as fast as her short legs could carry her in the direction Hailey had directed her.

"I didn't know you were the new defender of the weak, Price," Malfoy sneered, and departed with his entourage towards the carriages, where he presumably went in search of a new victim.

"I really don't understand Dumbledore's selection of this year's Prefects," Serena muttered, staring after them in bewilderment. Malfoy had had the badge for just three minutes and already he had provided several reasons to have it taken away from him immediately.

Gradually the station had emptied and most of the students were in the carriages on their way towards the castle. Ron, Hailey and Serena, however, still had to help get the first-years safely and orderly into the boats before they were allowed to set off themselves. Malfoy didn't seem to need this and didn't show his face again.

Exhausted and tired, Serena was helping a black-haired boy into the boat when it was suddenly caught by a gust of wind and threatened to sway violently. Gritting her teeth, she tried to hold on to the first-year and the wooden boat at the same time. But the boat was being driven further and further away from the shore by the current and the storm. Serena's arms ached and she would not last much longer. All she could do was hope that her strength would not give out until the boy was safely in the boat. Otherwise, either he or she would end up in the icy water.

"Careful," someone next to her said, and they too grabbed the boat. Together they pulled it back to shore so that the boy could get in safely. Relieved, Serena turned around, but the thank you stuck in her throat. "What are you doing here, Hall?"

"The same as you," he replied, looking more rested than he had on the train just a few hours before. Serena's gaze travelled down his neck and lingered on the silver badge emblazoned with a snake and a P. "You're a Prefect?" she asked in surprise, raising an eyebrow sceptically because she couldn't for the life of her remember ever seeing a badge on him. "Which poor student did you steal that from?"

"I just didn't want to brag about it," he waved it off and sank both hands into the pockets of his trousers. This was more like the boy she had gone to the Yule Ball with last year. Before she could say anything in reply, he had already turned away from her and was now helping the other students into the boats.

Serena did the same and headed for the next group of first years waiting to be assigned to a boat. As she did so, she recognised one person among the younger students who stood out quite clearly from the crowd.

"Maxon?" she asked in surprise, walking up to the Frenchman who was standing among the younger students, all of whom reached just below his chest.

"Sirena!" he greeted her. I told you I would be back."

Serena noticed how her mouth was still open in amazement and hastily closed it again. Indeed, that rang a bell with her. But she hadn't expected him to actually transfer to Hogwarts. Maxon seemed to have been working on his English as well and spoke to her almost completely without an accent. "And so you've agreed to help the poor new students?"

"I'm a Prefect," she explained a little awkwardly, tapping her badge.

"You obviously couldn't pick anyone better," he said. Serena felt herself blushing to the roots of her hair and hoped it wouldn't be noticeable in the darkness. "Um, I think the next boat is for you," she remarked sheepishly, pointing to the boat that was docking.

He nodded with a smile and ran a hand through his dark hair. "I hope I don't fall in, then."

"Have a good trip," she grinned and watched as the group was waved in by a couple of sixth years.

Being a Prefect was more exhausting than Serena had ever imagined. And even though she could actually relate to the office a little, she couldn't help but settle down at the Gryffindor table half an hour later, groaning and burying her head in her hands. She had never looked forward to the feast more and it was all the more frustrating to still have to wait for the ceremony.

"There you are at last," Harry said, sliding a little to the side to give Ron and Serena more room.

"I just can't believe Malfoy is a Prefect," Ron hissed, casting a venomous glance towards the Slytherin table. "He was horrible to the first years and didn't even think it necessary to help with the boats, right Serena?"

"Mhhhm," was all the girl could manage, wearily resting her head on her right hand.

"Who is she anyway?", Fred drew attention in wonder to the teacher's desk where a woman dressed all in pink sat. There was a sweet yet fake smile on her face as she watched the students. Serena already felt a great antipathy towards her. This year Defence Against the Dark Arts, the only open post, would most likely be terrible.

"It's that Umbridge!" hissed Harry.

"Who?" asked Hermione in wonder, frowning.

"She was at my hearing," he replied. "She works for Fudge."

"Nice cardigan," Serena yawned.

Hermione squinted both eyes and watched the apparently new teacher with suspicion. "But what on earth is she doing here?"

At that moment, the huge front door finally opened and in came a long line of terrified newcomers, including Maxon, and lined up in front of the teachers' desk. The ceremony seemed to drag on endlessly, Maxon was put in Ravenclaw by the hat and would be attending the sixth year. He was given many puzzled looks as he did so, as it was unusual for an older student to be sorted into the houses. In fact, Serena wasn't even sure if this had ever happened before.

Then finally, after half an eternity, the very most glorious dishes appeared on the long table as if from nowhere and Serena reached out hungrily. When all the students had finished eating and the noise in the hall gradually increased again, Dumbledore rose again. The conversations suddenly died down and everyone turned to the Headmaster. Serena was feeling pleasantly dozy by now, she could hardly wait to finally get into bed.

"This year we have two changes in the faculty. We are very pleased to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank who will be teaching Care of Magical Creatures. We are also pleased to introduce Professor Umbridge, our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher," Dumbledore announced. "Now let us move on to the Quidditch..."

But although he now had the rapt attention of almost every student, the headmaster was interrupted by a high-pitched "chrm chrm".

Umbridge had stood up and apparently it was she who had just interrupted him in his speech. Dumbledore was the only one who was still able to hide his surprise to some extent, but the other teachers seemed to feel similarly to the students, who stared at them with a mixture of astonishment and indignation.

"Thank you, Headmaster," the new teacher said primly, "for those kind words of welcome." She cleared her throat before continuing in her habitually high-pitched voice, "Well, it's wonderful to be back at Hogwarts and to see such happy faces looking up at me."

Serena snorted softly, because looking around the hall like, she couldn't spot a single happy face. Neither among her classmates nor the teachers.

"I'm really looking forward to meeting you all," she continued. "I'm sure we'll become good friends."

"No, thank you," Fred muttered, and Serena wasn't so sure the teacher's prophecy would come true either. "I'd rather be friends with Snape, at least he doesn't talk so much," he added.

"The Ministry of Magic has always placed the utmost importance on the training of young witches and wizards. The rare gifts you possess from birth could wither away if we did not nurture and cherish them through careful guidance. The ancient skills reserved for the community of wizards must be passed down from generation to generation if we are not to lose them forever."

"That reminds me quite a bit of the whole pureblood thing," Ron observed, his face contorting. "Wizards are better than Muggles, my arse!"

Secretly, Serena had to agree with him and as Umbridge's speech went on and on, she found it harder and harder to listen to her. Her voice was so monotonous and soporific that the other students also seemed to find it difficult to stay attentive. Most of them were talking quietly or pretending to listen.

Serena let her gaze wander around the hall, Hermione and the teachers alone seemed to be listening intently. Nate was talking quietly with Luna at the Ravenclaw table, Maxon was smiling at her a few seats away, Hailey had put her head on the table so that it looked like she was sleeping and Hall was just staring blankly into space. Well, this could be an exciting year in Defence Against the Dark Arts, Serena thought.

Dumbledore was the first to clap when Umbridge sat down. Slowly, the other teachers joined in, while the majority of the students hadn't quite realised that the speech had finally come to an end.

"That was really enlightening," Hermione murmured as the feast was broken up by Dumbledore and the students stood up.

"That was just gibberish," Ron said, rolling his eyes.

"She explained a lot of things," Hermione retorted grimly. "There were some important clues hidden in that gibberish."

"And what would those be?" asked Serena perplexedly, who had hardly been listening at all.

"To sum up: The Ministry is going to interfere at Hogwarts," she explained and the others fell silent in response. Apparently none of them knew what to do with this information or what it meant.

"Black! Weasley! Over here! Now!" it suddenly shouted across the hall.

"Crap!" cursed Serena, grabbing Ron's arm to pull him behind her. "We're supposed to be taking the first years to the common room!"

The two hurriedly gathered up all the new Gryffindors and led them upstairs to their new home. Ron and Serena fought their way through the crowd of students that had formed on the stairs. Most were chattering excitedly to each other, but others looked rather lost. One boy with a yellow crest on his chest looked around in panic and clung to the banister of the stairs to avoid being swept away by the stream of students. His lower lip quivered slightly and his large green eyes had filled with tears.

Serena nudged Ron and gestured to the little boy. She slowly pushed past the other students while Ron watched over the Gryffindor newcomers.

"Hello, I'm Serena," she said kindly, crouching down in front of him. She hadn't the faintest idea what to say to him or how to deal with him. After all, she had never really had much to do with children. The boy looked at her with similar uncertainty as she felt. "What's your name?"

"Finnley Marx," he replied shyly.

"What a beautiful name," Serena remarked. "Uh... and a nice crest you have on that cloak. You must have come to Hufflepuff, didn't you?"

He nodded and began to whimper slightly. "I-I wanted to go to the common room, but everyone here has completely different crests."

"Here's the Gryffindor common room," Serena explained, pointing to the portrait of the fat lady where Ron was currently trying to explain something to the first years. "But it doesn't matter, the Hufflepuff common room isn't far away and I'm sure we can find someone to escort you there."

Serena leaned over the banister in search of help and looked down seven flights of stairs. Just two stairs below them, she spotted the fortunate group of Hufflepuffs. "Hey Hailey!"

Her best friend turned in amazement, behind her a dozen first years were milling about and it took her a while to realise where the call was coming from. Finally, she looked up.

"There's a first year for you here!" called Serena and Hailey nodded. "I'll be right there!"

"Don't worry, someone will take you to the common room in a minute," Serena said to Finnley, who nodded in relief. A few seconds later, Hailey came rushing up the stairs to them and disappeared back into the crowd with the lost first year.

Serena returned to Ron and the first years who were waiting for her in front of the portrait.
"Aah, there she is," Ron said, relief written all over his face. "Then we can go in, do you have the password?"

She nodded and said clearly, "Flubberworm," so that everyone could understand. The door swung open and the students crowded into the common room.

"Welcome to the Gryffindor common room," Serena said. "All the girls can come with me."

"The rest of you follow me!" said Ron, looking surprised that the boys actually did what he said. Serena gave him another exhausted wave before leading the girls up the stairs to the dormitories. She stopped at one of the lower rooms and held the door open for the first-year girls. "Here is your dormitory."

"Is he your boyfriend?" she was suddenly asked by a blonde girl. Staring at her in wonder, Serena didn't know who she was talking about at first. "Ron?" she asked in surprise. "No, we're just friends."

"Oh," she replied, looking a little disappointed.

"Classes start at eight tomorrow morning. If you need anything, I'll be in the dormitory on the top floor and my name is Serena," she explained, still wanting to finally get into her own bed.

"You're Serena Black aren't you?" another girl then asked, sitting on one of the back beds. "My mum told me to stay away from you and Harry Potter because Sirius Black is wanted by the Ministry. But you're actually really nice!"

"Um... Thanks," Serena replied a little awkwardly, not knowing what else to say to that. "Good night then," she said, finally closing the door behind her. She could still hear the girls starting to whisper and one said loudly, "I told you he wasn't her boyfriend."

Making her way into her own dormitory, Serena had to grin and was glad that she could finally throw herself into her much awaited bed. Once there, she reviewed the day; a new teacher who couldn't have been worse. Hall and Malfoy were Prefects. That meant she had to work with them. The new year couldn't have started any worse.