Are you kidding me?!
The carriages moved along the wide paths of dirt and stone that cut through the forest, pulled by winged horses, almost skeletal in appearance, their bodies a deep, pitch black. Creatures that, truth be told, not many people could see. But for Harry and his friends, it was already something completely normal.
Thestrals. Magical animals that only those who had seen death with their own eyes were able to perceive.
Well, at least Harry had been able to see them for as long as he could remember. Maybe it was because of his chaos magic, or maybe because of his parents' death. It could also have been Quirrell, or what happened when Luciel killed Dominic. Or perhaps all of it combined. In truth, it did not bother him that much. At least, he did not feel it that way.
Even so, from time to time he watched those horses with a slightly focused gaze, ignoring the rain that poured down like a true storm, one that seemed determined to soak every last corner. The water hammered against the carriages without pause, although, luckily for the students, they had roofs that protected them from the downpour. Through the windows, Hogwarts Castle could be seen slowly drawing closer.
Its illuminated windows shone even through the rain, which fell like a constant curtain, while the sky rumbled with flashes of lightning tearing through the dark clouds.
Finally, the carriage came to a stop in front of the great main doors. The moment the students' feet touched the ground, they began running at full speed toward the inside of the castle to avoid getting completely drenched. Although, being honest, that was rather difficult.
Harry stepped down from the carriage and lightly waved his hand. Instantly, all the water that threatened to soak him seemed to crash against an invisible barrier around him. His friends quickly gathered close, clustering around him and taking advantage of his magic.
"You do remember that you're friends too, right?" he said with a faint smile as he watched them walk almost pressed against his side.
He could have made the rain protection larger, but it was more fun to watch them move awkwardly through the mud, all bunched together.
"This way is more fun," Astoria said with a smile.
"Mmm… if this keeps going, the lake is going to overflow," Luna commented, seeming far more worried about the creatures living there than about getting wet herself.
Just then, Ron Weasley ran past at full speed, bursting into the castle while desperately shaking the water off himself.
They entered barely a moment later, completely dry thanks to Harry.
Suddenly, Harry sensed something red rushing toward him at high speed and, on reflex, deflected it with his hand before even reaching for his wand.
"Plof."
The sound was followed by a small shout from Ron, who was now completely soaked. That red object was nothing more than a water balloon. Another one came flying in, but Harry had already cast a spell that made it explode midair, scattering the water into tiny droplets. A few of them splashed against Harry, making him notice just how cold the water really was.
The culprit was none other than Peeves.
The poltergeist laughed shamelessly as he looked at Ron, drenched from head to toe. Around him, several more water balloons began to fall as if it were a carefully planned bombardment meant to soak the students.
Peeves, with his jester's hat full of bells and his bright orange bow tie, suddenly felt a fixed stare on him. He looked around while already holding another balloon, wearing a wide, malicious grin, until he met Harry's eyes, which were watching him with mild annoyance.
"Oops, the witch's kid," Peeves said, as if suddenly wary of something.
He turned to flee, but not before launching one last attack, throwing several balloons at a pair of fifth year girls.
"Hahaha! You're already wet anyway. These are just a few splashes," Peeves shouted as he sped away, clearly amused.
At that moment, McGonagall entered hurriedly, as if she had heard the commotion.
"Where is Peeves?" she barked angrily, looking around at the students soaked not only by the rain.
"He's gone, Professor," Hermione said at once, pointing in the direction the poltergeist had escaped.
McGonagall adjusted her robes, which had become slightly disheveled from running, and let out a clearly irritated sigh.
"Very well, let's go," she ordered sharply at the soaked crowd. "To the Great Hall."
With that, she turned on her heel and began walking, while the students followed her through slips and stumbles toward the double doors on the right.
Upon entering the Great Hall, it was, as usual every year, already decorated to welcome the start of the school term. The atmosphere was much warmer than in the entrance hall, which helped the shivering students as they took their seats at the four house tables.
Of course, Harry and his group headed toward Ravenclaw, with only Tommy and Neville splitting off toward Gryffindor after saying their goodbyes.
Almost immediately, the students began chatting animatedly, talking about what they had done during the holidays, the Quidditch World Cup, and who the new Headmaster might be this year. After all, it was common knowledge that Dumbledore had been dismissed the previous year due to all the security issues Hogwarts had faced so far, in barely three school years.
Harry shifted his gaze toward the professors' table, which did not seem complete. Several seats were empty, and above all, the main seat stood vacant. The Headmaster's seat. The one everyone wanted to know who would occupy.
The ghosts of the castle were also floating around, as always, excited by the festive day that marked the beginning of a new school year. Even though they could not enjoy the food or many other things, they seemed to have fun meeting the new students, watching which houses they would be sorted into, and chatting with the older ones.
"Hey, Harry!" came a shout from the Gryffindor tables, full of excitement, accompanied by frantic waving. It was a third year student named Colin Creevey, who for some reason had taken Harry as a sort of hero. That was why Harry sometimes had to escape or hide from him, since, for reasons unknown, Colin had the strange habit of wanting to take pictures of him all the time.
Harry could not escape here, so he simply nodded back in greeting.
"Harry, you won't believe this! My brother Dennis is starting this year!" Colin shouted from across the hall, trying to hold a conversation from several tables away. Obviously, he was annoying a few of the students sitting nearby. "I hope he gets Gryffindor. Or maybe Ravenclaw, like you," he added, looking so excited that he was practically bouncing in his seat.
Colin finally stopped shouting when a prefect asked him to sit properly and stop yelling.
Harry let out a sigh as he felt several looks coming from the Slytherin tables, watching him while whispering and snickering, led by Carrow, who wore that familiar, self satisfied smile.
"They really seem cheerful," Harry said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "After all, now that many of them stopped being investigated because the evidence is useless."
"That just proves how our Ministry is still garbage, even with competent people like Madam Bones," Hermione said, sounding just as annoyed.
Everyone knew that the deaths of the officials in charge of the investigation had something to do with the parents of those students, who were now so happy that their families had not ended up in prison. But the Minister himself chose to silence it all, since it would have been a devastating blow to his political career. He rushed the investigation using the evidence they had, which was not enough, and ended up freeing most of them. Only two or three idiots were left in prison, nothing more. Those same three were also blamed for the attack on the officials and the terrorist incident at the Quidditch World Cup.
They were clearly willing to do anything to clean the Ministry's name and avoid being pointed at.
After all the problems they had faced so far, with Pettigrew's escape, the Dementors, and then Dumbledore, it was obvious they did not want even a single more day of public criticism.
"It's better not to talk about it. It really pisses me off," Daphne said, her face clearly angry as she crossed her arms.
The four of them agreed she was right, since it would only make them more irritated. Meanwhile, the Slytherins felt happy and victorious. After all, it was not as if they were completely free. They were still pointed at in the streets, and their parents continued to be watched. Even so, they felt genuinely pleased, as if they had won a victory over Harry Potter and his friends. At least, from their point of view.
The truth was that Harry had lost nothing. On the contrary, he had gained public distrust toward the families of each of them. But they were still just stupid kids, incapable of understanding what that really meant.
Even so, they would surely come up with more stupid ideas to bother him, so it would be better to keep an eye on them.
"Who do you think the new Headmaster will be?" Draco asked, changing the subject.
"With how suspicious our parents and Sirius have been acting, I have a few people in mind," Harry replied calmly, his eyes fixed on the empty Headmaster's seat.
For a moment, Harry's gaze met Snape's, someone he had not seen since the last time he had, well… almost killed him. Snape held his eyes only briefly before looking away first, the guilt now far more evident in his expression. Harry also turned his gaze aside, coldly, toward the doors where the professors entered.
At that same moment, the doors opened and several people walked in.
Harry, Draco, Hermione, and Daphne froze immediately when they saw who they were. But more than that, when they saw the person who stopped right at the Headmaster's place, while the others took their seats at the professors' table.
A seat that looked new was now occupied by Selene, who sent them an amused smile and a wink. That was the seat of the one in charge of overseeing student safety, as well as acting as a sort of psychologist, so it did not surprise them too much.
The position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was occupied by none other than Wanda. The seat that had once belonged to Professor Binns, which he barely ever used, was now taken by Narcissa, Draco's mother. The former Astronomy professor's seat was now occupied by Pandora, who smiled brightly while waving enthusiastically at Luna, who returned the greeting just as cheerfully.
Then, in the seat for Muggle Studies, was Susan, who looked around the castle with genuine interest, her excitement obvious in everything she saw, as if she were living inside a fantasy.
And finally, the most important part.
The new Headmaster was none other than Sirius Black.
"You have got to be kidding me," Harry said as he looked at all of them, now standing as his professors.
Sirius met his gaze with an arrogant, amused smile, but there was something else in his eyes. Something that told Harry, without words, that this year was not going to be like the others.