Brown, Bushy Hair.
He could pick it out in any crowd. He loved feeling that hair as he ran his hands through it. He loved kissing the head that it was attached to. The lips that were attached to the face; the cheeks on either side of those lips; the jawline below those; the neck even further down. He loved kissing every inch of her that he had so far.
As he got closer, he heard the people around her talking, "Did everyone see that Grubbly-Plank woman?" Ginny had asked, "What's she doing back? Hagrid can't have left, can he?"
"I'll be quite glad if he has," Luna said, "he isn't a very good teacher, is he?"
"Yes he is!" Harry, Ron, and Ginny had all yelled, rather angrily.
Hermione had been about to speak, when Jake did for her, "I agree with both sides."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Harry glared at him.
"Hagrid is great at explaining things, but when he's very emotional, he loses track of what he's doing, he loses his mojo, and ultimately fails to be productive for his class," Jake said, and if looks could kill, he'd be dead from the look Harry was giving him.
Jake merely looked at Harry with no emotion showing. He wasn't going to concede to him just because they were friends, that was what he honestly thought about Hagrid, and no one was going to change his opinion. He liked Hagrid as a friend, but as a Professor, it went both ways with the giant man.
Jake walked forward like nothing had happened, Hermione right behind him, "So it's not just me who thinks that?"
"No, Harry will just have to get over it that Hagrid isn't as great as he wants him to be. Hagrid is good, but he's far from amazing," Jake said without remorse.
Jake walked with confidence in the Great Hall, which had the side effect of being off-putting for many of his peers. The Prefect Badge on his robes glinted in the candlelight, making for a few surprised faces, equally split between happy surprise, and worried surprise.
He sat down about halfway down the Gryffindor Table, Hermione on his right as always, Harry and Ron across from them. Neville sat down beside Harry, and Nearly Headless Nick was a seat or two away from them, across from Lavender and Parvati, the latter of which gave Jake a smile that Hermione didn't approve of. Lavender at least politely greeted him, then went back to talking to Parvati, 'She never did forgive him for what happened to Trelawney, even though it was her own fault,' Hermione thought to herself.
Harry and Ron scanned the Teachers table, "He's not there... it's hard to miss him," Jake said.
"He can't have left," Ron said anxiously.
"Of course he hasn't, he's just... busy, like Jake said," Harry said firmly.
"You don't think he's... you don't think he got hurt , do you?" Hermione asked.
"No, he's got Giant's Blood in him, he'll have all the resistances a Giant has. Any Witch or Wizard would be hard pressed to harm Hagrid, at least if they are alone," Jake said.
"Like Jake said," Harry reiterated, "He's just busy with something... he told us at the end of last year, didn't he?" His voice was low because Lavender and Parvati were nearby.
Ron and Hermione felt reassurance in agreeing with both Harry and Jake, "Right, that's what it is."
"Who's that ?" Hermione asked, pointing to a short woman up at the Staff table.
"It's that Umbridge woman!" Harry said in an alarmed voice, "She was at my Hearing! She works for Fudge!"
"She works for Fudge?" Hermione looked at Harry, "Then what's she doing here?"
"There is only one reason a government will get involved with educational institutes... and it's not for the betterment of the students," Jake said, snarling as he did.
"She's sitting in the Defense Teacher's chair..." Hermione said quietly, but Jake heard her, "no, no, surely not..."
"Unfortunately yes..." he replied just as Grubbly-Plank appeared in the Hall, which meant the First Years had been brought to McGonagall. She walked along the outskirts of the Great Hall and took the seat Hagrid would usually take; it confirmed that he was indeed not in Hogwarts.
A few seconds later, the doors to the Entrance/Great Hall opened, and in walked McGonagall with a line of scared looking First Years. Professor McGonagall was carrying a wooden, three-legged stool, whereupon was placed an ancient, dirty hat; the Sorting Hat.
The buzz of the Great Hall faded into nothingness as the First Years were walked up the middle of the Hall. Their faces glowed palely in the candlelight, all of them looking frightened or nervous. The Sorting Hat sat there, motionless for a second, before the tear near the brim opened and the 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 learning,
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 the pure-blooded 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 hat became motionless once more; applause broke out as usual, but it was noticed by Jake that there was muttering and whispering. It was obvious what they were muttering and whispering about; the Sorting Hat gave a warning, to try and get people still disbelieving Voldemort's return to band together and unite before discord sets in.
"Branched out a bit this year, hasn't it?" Ron asked as he raised his eyebrows.
"Too right it has," Harry agreed.
"I wonder-" Hermione was about to speak when Jake immediately shushed her. She looked and saw McGonagall staring at all of the whispering students with a scorching look that you never wanted to be singled out by.
With a last frowning look that swept the four House tables, Professor McGonagall lowered her eyes to her long piece of parchment and called out the names of the First Years. Each new First Year walked up, sat underneath the Hat, and it shouted out one of the four names of the Houses.
Jake politely clapped for each House not Gryffindor House, but he applauded loudly for any new Gryffindor that meandered up to the table, looking like they'd rather die of actual embarrassment.
Professor McGonagall soon was picking up the Sorting Hat and wooden stool as Dumbledore rose to his feet, and any sound that lingered was silenced immediately, "To our newcomers," Dumbledore said in a loud, booming voice so the entire Hall could hear him, his arms outstretched and a beaming smile on his face, "welcome! And to our old hands - welcome back! There is a time for speech making, but this is not that. Tuck in!"
An appreciative laugh and outbreak of applause happened as Dumbledore sat back down neatly, throwing his long beard over his shoulder to keep it out of the way of his plate - for food had appeared up from the Kitchens, so that the five long tables were groaning under the joints and pies and dishes of vegetables, bread, sauces, and flagons of pumpkin juice.
"Excellent," Ron said with a kind of groan of longing, and he seized the nearest plate of chops and began piling them onto his plate, watched wistfully by Nearly Headless Nick.
"Oh, Nick, there was something I wanted to ask," Hermione said, getting his attention, which he seemed grateful to find a reason to turn away from Ron, "Has the Sorting Hat ever given warnings like this before?"
"Oh, yes, indeed," Nick said, his heading bobbing dangerously, "the Hat, it feels itself honor-bound to give the school due warning. I've heard it give several warnings before, always at times when it detects periods of great danger for the school. And always, of course, its advice is the same: Stand together, be strong from within.
"Ow kunnit nofe skusin danger ifzat?" Ron asked with a full mouth.
Jake slammed his palm to the wooden table so forcefully, a crack appeared where his palm impacted. The sheer force caused a reverberating sound, causing the usual buzz to soften, and attention to divert, "Final warning. Don't. Do it. Again."
Ron chewed and swallowed, "Sorry..." Ron said and he didn't re-ask his question until the normal buzz returned, "but how can it know if the school's in danger if it's a hat?"
"I have no Earthly idea," Nick said, "Of course, it lives in Dumbledore's office, so I daresay it picks up things there."
"And it wants all the Houses to be friends?" Harry asked, a glance towards the Slytherin Table, "fat chance..."
"Well, now, you shouldn't take that attitude," Nick said reprovingly.
"When was the last time you paid attention to the Slytherins, Nick?" Jake asked him.
"Oh, I'd say it's been-"
"Half a century?" Jake looked right at, or through, the translucent man.
"Well... I - I suppose so, why?" Nick asked, looking quite affronted.
"It's touched upon only briefly in Hogwarts: A History , but there was a sudden shift in Slytherin behavior after Voldemort left Hogwarts. Modern Slytherin, most of them at least, wouldn't bat an eye at the thought of Inter-House cooperation," Jake explained, "watch the Slytherins for a week, you'll see what I mean."
For unexplained reasons, Nick suddenly floated up off of the bench and went to sit elsewhere, "What was that about?" Ron asked, but no one had an answer.
When all the food was eaten, all talking had ceased the moment Dumbledore got to his feet again, "Well, now that we are all digesting another magnificent feast, I beg a few minutes of your attention for the start-of-term notices," he said to the student body. "First Years ought to know that the forest on the grounds is out of bounds to students unless explicitly stated otherwise - and our older students ought to know this by now too," Dumbledore said, his eyes gliding ever so slightly over Harry, Ron, Jake, and Hermione, who were all struggling to not smirk. "Mr. Filch, the caretaker, had asked me, for what he tells is the four hundred and sixty-second time, to remind you all that magic is not permitted in the corridors between classes, nor are a number of other things, all of which can be viewed on the extensive list now attached to the front of his office door.
"We have had two changes in staffing this year: Firstly, we would like to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank, who will take charge of the Care of Magical Creatures lessons; Secondly, we are delighted to introduce Professor Umbridge, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."
There was light applause for both of them. "He didn't say how long she'd be here for, Professor Grubbly-Plank," Harry said in an alarmed tone.
"Worry about it tomorrow, okay?" Jake said as Dumbledore continued.
"Tryouts for the House Quidditch Teams will take place on-" He broke off, looking inquiringly at Professor Umbridge. As she wasn't much taller standing than she was sitting, there was no immediate understanding as to why Dumbledore stopped talking.
It was only when Umbridge said, " Hem hem ," that it became clear to most everyone she got to her feet with the intent on making a speech. Dumbledore only looked taken aback for a moment, then he sat back down smartly and looked alertly at Professor Umbridge as though he desired nothing better than to listen to her talk. Other members of the staff were not as adept at hiding their surprise, or simply didn't care; Professor Sprout's eyebrows had disappeared into her flyaway hair, and Professor McGonagall's mouth the thinnest Jake had ever seen. No new teacher had ever interrupted Dumbledore before, but then again, no new teacher was from the Ministry, either.
"Thank you, Headmaster," Professor Umbridge simpered, "for those kind words of welcome." Her voice was high-pitched, breathy, and little-girlish and Jake hated her from the moment she spoke. She cleared her throat 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 back at me!"
Jake looked around and saw that no one had a look that said, 'happy.' Actually, everyone looked affronted at being addressed as though everyone were five years old.
"I am very much looking forward to getting to know you all, and I'm sure we'll be very good friends!"
"Unlikely," Jake said under his breath.
"I'll be her friend as long as I don't have to borrow that cardigan," Parvati whispered to Lavender, both of whom lapsed into silent giggles.
Umbridge cleared her throat again, " Hem , hem ." Jake wanted nothing more than to just strangle the life out of her for the stupid way she cleared her throat. Her voice suddenly changed to be more businesslike, and the breathy, girlish tone disappeared and was replaced by a dull, learned-by-heart tone, "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 through 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." Umbridge paused and made a quick, little bow to her fellow staff members, none of whom bowed back. McGonagall's dark eyebrows had contracted so that she looked positively hawk-like. Umbridge continued, "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' sake must be discouraged, and our tried and tested traditions often require no tinkering. A balance, then, between old and new, between permanence and chance, between tradition and innovation..."
The longer and longer Jake listened, the more and more insulted and angry he got. With each word she spoke, the sneer on his face became more and more pronounced.
"... 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, and Dumbledore clapped for her. The staff followed his lead, and only a couple of students clapped immediately. Before the rest of them could clap as well, Dumbledore got to his feet. "Thank you, Professor Umbridge, that was most illuminating."
"Yeah, it really was," Jake said spitefully.
"Now - as I was saying, Quidditch Tryouts will be held-"
"You're not telling me you enjoyed it, are you?" Ron asked Jake. "That was the dullest speech I've ever heard, and I grew up with Percy..."
"He agreed it was illuminating , not enjoyable," Hermione said, "and her speech explained a lot."
"Did it?" Harry asked in surprise, "Sounded like a load of waffle to me."
"If you've got top tier comprehensive ability and are able to keep your attention for longer than a microsecond, you'd realize there were lots of things she said, important things," Jake said, casually insulting most of his fellow students.
"Was there?" Ron asked blankly.
"How about 'progress for progress' sake must be discouraged'? How about 'pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited'?"
"Well, what does that mean?" Ron asked impatiently.
"Proving my point, Ron," Jake said, "I'll tell you what it means... it means the Ministry plans to interfere at Hogwarts." There was a sudden clattering and banging around them, meaning Dumbledore had dismissed the students, "Come on, Hermione, let's show the Gryffindor First Years where to go."
"Right," she said in agreement before addressing the new students, "First Years!" She called commandingly down the table, "First Years! This way, please!"
A group of small, terrified looking First Years with Red on their robes walked up to them, "Did we look that frightened in our First Year?" Jake asked her.
"I hope not," Hermione responded, "Alright, follow us, please. We will show you one of the many ways to get to Gryffindor Tower."
"See you both later or tomorrow," Harry said to them as he and Ron walked off.
Before they led the First Years, Jake saw a few of them looking right at him, more specifically, his eye-patch. He and Hermione turned and began to lead the First Years the same route they were led in their First Year, both thankful they managed to miss Peeves. They got to the Fat Lady, who promptly asked, " Password ?"
"The password for the first couple of weeks is, Mimbulus Mimbletonia . Don't forget it, or you won't be allowed entry," Jake said to them and they all walked into the Common Room.
"Boys, your dormitory is up the stairs to the right there," Hermione said to them, "Girls, yours is up the other stairs."
"Any questions?" Jake asked.
One of them, a girl, raised her hand, "How did you get the eye-patch?"
Jake smiled at the young girl, "I lost it to a Niffler."
The look on her face was absolutely horrifying, implying she knew what a Niffler was. Hermione, however, wasn't amused as she shook her head, "Anymore questions?"
"Why do you talk funny?" A young boy asked, directing his question to Jake.
"I got a Kappa Egg stuck in my throat that I've not been able to remove without losing my voice entirely," Jake said, causing Hermione to actually smack him in the chest.
"He's not being serious, he lost his eye to a Boggart two years ago, and his voice sounds like that because he's from America," Hermione informed them.
"Always ruining my fun, aren't you?" Jake looked like it physically hurt him.
"Are you two together?" A random First Year asked.
"No, no we are not together," Hermione glared at Jake, 'but I wish we were... one day, though.'
"Alright, I think it's time everyone goes to bed, classes start tomorrow," Jake said and the First Years split off to their appropriate staircases. He turned to Hermione, "I'll see you tomorrow, Hermione."
"Sleep well," Hermione said, walking up closer to him, "You wanna risk it?"
"Of course," he smirked and they stepped against each other, their lips connected for a moment before they stepped apart, "You sleep well too, okay?"
"Of course, I always sleep well when I know you're okay," Hermione smiled and went up the girl's staircase.
He sighed and went up the boy's staircase. The closer he got to his shared dorm room, the louder some yelling got, that sounded an awful lot like a yelling Irish Madman, and Harry. Jake walked in and saw Ron throttling Seamus, "Hey, hey!" Jake yelled and sprinted over to them. He pulled Ron off Seamus with ease and stood in between them, "What the hell is going on!?"
"Harry was having a go at my mother!" Seamus yelled, holding a bloody, broken nose.
"Only because she started believing every damn word the Daily Prophet writes about me!" Harry fired back.
Jake whipped out his wand and aimed it at Seamus' nose. The Irish Boy promptly freaked out, but Jake said, " Episkey ," and Seamus' nose cracked back into place, causing him to recoil, "Why would your mother believe the Daily Prophet ? They've been known to exaggerate stories, or even outright mislead people."
"That was just Rita Skeeter, wasn't it?" Seamus fired back, "She's not been writing for them for a while now, has she?" Jake said nothing, which Seamus took as him getting the advantage in the conversation, "Exactly, it wasn't the Prophet , it was just Skeeter!"
"Enough!" Jake yelled, causing the candles to flicker out for a moment before they flickered back to life, "You don't want to share a dormitory with Harry? Be my guest, the Forbidden Forest is just back out that window! I'll even throw all of your stuff out for you!" His eye glowed red and all of Seamus' stuff was suddenly levitating.
"Mate, what are you doin'?!" Seamus yelled.
"I'm not your mate , do you or do you not want to share a dorm with Harry?" Jake asked, Seamus' stuff still levitating. Seamus looked angry and he repaired his bed hangings with his wand, before he disappeared behind them. Jake put all of Seamus' stuff back where they belonged, "Everyone, bed, now."
Dean and Neville got into bed without complaint, but before Neville did, he looked at Harry, "For what it's worth, my grandmum believes you, Harry, as do I."
"Thanks, Neville, really," Harry said and then looked at Jake, "Thanks..."
"Yeah," was all he answered and got into his own bed, sighing as he realized this was going to be a long year.