Harry patted his thigh nervously as he rode along in the carriage with his friend.

"Honestly Harry, she'll be alright." Hermione griped with a roll of her eyes.

"Yeah, mate. And Hagrid is with her, remember! She'll be fine!"

"Yeah but remember when Dennis fell in?" Harry demanded worriedly.

"Lucy has got much more sense than the Creeveys," Hermione assured him.

" 'spose," Harry murmured. He still didn't like it though. He felt responsible for the girl. He wanted to show her that she wasn't alone, that she could count on him. It felt weird to have to send her off on her own. "God I hope she's a Gryffindor."

"Why?" Hermione demanded with a frown.

"Well… so she's not alone," Harry argued.

"She'll make friends," Ron argued. "You did."

"Yeah… but Lucy is new to magic! And her transition hasn't exactly been what I'd call smooth. Death eaters attacked Diagon the day we went shopping."

"Oh right…"

"You were there?!" Neville cried in horror.

"We all were actually." Hermione clarified. "I was visiting Ron at the time. Tom took us into the leaky cauldron with a bunch of other families."

"My family hid in an alcove between two shops," Harry said quickly. 

"Blimey." Neville exclaimed worriedly. "you weren't kidding about not having a very peaceful summer."

"Decidedly not." Harry agreed.

"Well, there's no need to worry now!" Hermione insisted as the carriage pulled forward through the gates of Hogwarts. A shudder ran down Harry's spine as they crossed the threshold. "We're safe at Hogwarts."

"Safe as we can be anyway," Ron argued with a snicker. Hermione scowled and smacked his arm. Harry frowned again. There certainly were a lot of potential dangers lurking around Hogwarts. 

That settled it.

Harry was officially Lucy's protector.

Nothing was going to hurt her in any way. 

Not without going through him!

Emmeline tried very hard not to stare. It was EXTREMELY difficult. Not only was the woman dressed in flashing pink but that ridiculous bow on her head was like a homing beacon. She huffed.

"I hate not being part of the start of term staff meeting." She complained.

"Core subjects only," Charity muttered.

"Well, that's unfairly biased if you ask me!" Rolanda gripped.

"We know Rolanda," Batsheda muttered with a roll of her eyes. Charity chuckled and leaned over to give her wife a quick peck on the cheek. Aurora twitched and picked up her goblet.

"Don't look now, but the woman is staring at you two."

"What?" Charity questioned and tried to turn, but Rolanda stopped her.

"She said don't look!" She hissed.

"Why shouldn't I? How was the look, Aurora?"

"Decidedly not friendly." The astronomy professor muttered. Charity scowled.

"Oh? Well, what's her problem? Has she never seen a happy couple before?"

"Probably not," Severus grumbled as he slid into the empty chair at Emmeline's right. Rolanda turned to Filius with a frown.

"What is her deal anyway?" The flying instructor demanded bitterly. The short charms professor let out an exhausted groan, while across from Albus and Minerva’s chairs, Pomona busied herself pouring a very tall glass of wine. Then she snapped her fingers twice. That made the colour drain from the normal pretty stoic woman's face. "Oh, bollocks."

"Rolanda!" Charity hissed with a scowl.

"It's another bloody Lockhart isn't it?" Was her response. 

"I wish," Severus muttered darkly as the doors opened to admit the students. His eyes immediately gravitated towards Gryffindor and watched as Harry settled in with his friends. Then he frowned.

"Where are Finnegan and Thomas?" Emmeline piped up under her breath. Severus smirked lightly before a quick scan found the boys. The dark-skinned one looked a touch nervous, sitting next to the positions left open for first years. He relaxed somewhat when Granger came to join him. But the minute she sat Finnegan rose and sullenly marched off to sit with a few thirds years.  Severus' eyebrows knotted slightly before Dumbledore called the hall to attention before sitting down again. Then Minerva appeared with the sorting hat and her trailing of first years. Both he and Emmeline quickly squared in on Lucy who was looking up at the ceiling in wonder and delight. He tried not to be too impatient as the sorting began, making sure to clap for all of his new Slytherins. But it seemed to be taking forever!

"Mathers, Lucy." Minerva intoned. The little girl sucked in a breath before she stepped forward. Under the table, Emmeline fished for his hand. The family held their breath and waited as the hat grumbled.

"Hmm… yes… yes I see… Right… Right! Better be… HUFFLEPUFF!" It finally cried with a flourish of its brim. Lucy jumped up with a smile as Minerva took the hat off and skipped over to the cheering Hufflepuff table with a bright smile. Severus let go of a breath he didn't even realize he was holding.

"Well! I expected Gryffindor myself…" Emmeline remarked with a somewhat shocked expression.

"I thought Ravenclaw personally " Severus muttered "but Hufflepuff…"

"Latest addition to your little family I take it? Well, I'll be sure to keep an eye on her Severus!" Pomona piped up with a gentle smile and a wink. Albus raised an eyebrow and sent his potions master a smile as he opened his mouth to comment, but a firm glare from Severus kept him silent.

"Oh well she's not technically-" Emmeline piped up nervously.

"Thank you." Severus cut her off with a smile. "That would put us all at ease." Emmeline blinked and turned to Severus with a curious frown. "Later," Severus muttered as the sorting finished and Albus rose to deliver his start-of-term address. It was very typical of his usual addresses. Nothing truly worth paying attention to. Especially not the announcement of the new defence professor, which by now was so engrained it was practically a Hogwarts tradition.

"Hem hem!"

Severus blinked and leaned over the table slightly, along with Rolanda and Charity to peer at the woman perched at the other end. She was notably contrasted with the very stiff-looking Poppy and bug-like Sybil. Minerva looked like someone had just closed her tail in a door and was trying very hard to keep a straight face. Hagrid was absent, though his chair remained. Septima was the only one managing to fully maintain her composure. Which she seemed to be doing by simply pretending that the pink woman was invisible. That was of course until she stood up and began to trot her way around the table. That made even Septima stare in shock.

"Thank you, headmaster, for those kind words of welcome." The woman purred, sounding so saccharine Severus had a sudden urge to remind Harry and Lucy to brush their teeth. "I simply cannot express the joy I feel to see such lovely young faces smiling up at me."

"Is she being serious?" Rolanda demanded in slight horror to Filius.

"Unfortunately." The man responded back with an ill-looking expression. Severus made a quick scan of the Great Hall as the woman continued to deliver her monotonous and heavily propaganda-filled speech. Not a single face in the hall was smiling (with the exception, somewhat worryingly, of Filch, who was staring at Umbridge as if Christmas had come early).

"Good lord this year is going to be a nightmare…" Charity complained bitterly.

"Do you think we'd be able to take a leave of absence? Maybe let one of the ghosts take over for a spell?" Rolanda complained.

"Probably not." Filius piped up, though he too looked as though he desperately wished they could. 

"Maybe we should push the wedding up, then we could go for our honeymoon." Emmeline injected.

"What?! In the middle of the school year?!" Charity piped up in horror. "You can’t spring that on me! I need time to prepare!"

"We haven't agreed on the date yet," Severus assured the muggle studies professor, who sighed in relief. "Besides, You honestly think we should leave Lucy and Harry alone with her running about?" Sweet Merlin, she was still going on! All this talk about best practices and the excessive alliteration was going to put the children to sleep!

"Oh right." Emmeline drawled bitterly before loudly clapping as the woman finally finished her god-awful speech. Albus seemed to have glazed over as she was speaking and was still standing in a daze until Minerva cleared her throat with a cough and startled him.

"Thank you professor for those rousing words!" Albus cried, with a touch more enthusiasm that was really warranted Which finally did put a few smiles on the sleepy faces. "Now! Let's eat!" The amazed cries of the first years made a smile grace Severus' lips before he began to fill his plate. 

Harry yawned as he left the Great Hall with Ron in tow.

"Merlin, I'm tired," Neville said sleepily.

"It was that Umbridge!" Ginny complained. "She just kept talking and talking!"

"Said some weird stuff too," the twins injected with matching frowns.

"All this talk about the school being outdated."

"Rubbish."

"Well said.

"Harry!" came a cry. The boy turned and then sucked in a breath as Lucy barrelled into him with a tight hug.

"Hufflepuff! Can you believe it?!" She cried happily. Harry grinned.

"Well, it's the house for the hardest workers and the nicest people so I can." He assured her with a grin.

"Mathers!" Came a bark as Susan Bones marched up with a huff. The second she saw Harry her expression softened a fraction. "Oh. Hello Harry."

"Susan," he replied cordially. "Lucy was just seeing me off." He peered down at her. "Have a good night."

"You too! Can I see you tomorrow?"

"Course! You can come eat lunch with us if you like!" Harry offered.

"Excellent." Lucy declared before she turned to Susan with a bright smile. "Now! Let's go see this common room! I've heard all sorts of rumours that I don't believe for a second!" Susan stared after the girl who was moving rather confidently in a direction that likely wasn't at all accurate before she turned to Harry with a mirthful grin.

"Your sister is adorable!" She declared before scampering off to catch the girl before she stumbled somewhere she shouldn't. Harry blinked.

"Why does everyone think she's my sister?" He asked his friends curiously.

"Because you act like it?" Ginny argued with a chuckle.

"You really do." Neville insisted to his blinking face. Harry's expression softened and he puffed up his chest.

"Well, you know what? Good! I'm glad!" He turned to the twins with a suddenly stern face. "If you do anything-"

"Wouldn't dream of it, my fellow comrade in brotherhood." The right assured him

"We too have a solemn duty to protect our little sister." The left agreed. Ginny harumphed.

"I can protect myself, thanks!"

"And we'll be there for you when she too enters that despicable teenage phase and casts you away without a care!" The right moaned pitifully.

"Yes, woe is us! Cast aside by our dearest sister! How ever will we recover?!"

"Something tells me you'll manage," Ginny replied in a deadpanned tone. 

"Harry!" Hermione called from the top of the staircase.

"Hermione! Congratulations on becoming a prefect!"

"Yes sorry I couldn't meet you on the train. I had a meeting…" the girl trailed off before giving the teen a worried frown. "I think something is up with Seamus. I asked Dean, but he was really cagey about the whole thing."

"Well I'm sure whatever it is we can sort it out," Harry insisted. Hermione nodded and turned to the portrait of the fat lady.

"Mimbulus mimbletonia." She declared.

"Are you serious?!" Neville cried with a beaming grin. "Brilliant! Finally, a password I won't forget!" 

“Something tells me we won't either.” Harry joked merrily as he climbed into the portrait hole. Then his smile fell a bit as he saw Dean and Seamus sitting on the couch cushions. He took a deep breath. “Hey, guys. How was your summer?”

“Alright,” Dean muttered nervously. “Better than his anyway…”

“No shit.” Seamus cursed bitterly. 

“What happened?” Harry asked worriedly. The teen scoffed.

“My mum tried to ship me off to a military academy.”

“Blimey are you joking?” Ron demanded in horror. “Why?”

“Because of Dumbledore.” Seamus spat before he fished a daily prophet out from somewhere and slapped into on the table in front of him.

DUMBLEDORE: DAFT OR DANGEROUS?

Is Albus Dumbledore stirring up trouble to push his own political agenda? Interviews inside TELL ALL!

“Don't tell your mum actually believe that rubbish!” Harry scoffed with a roll of his eyes. Seamus saw red.

“Don't you dare talk about my mother like that!” he spat before he tried to shove Harry away. The teen jumped back and scowled.

“Hey! Don't bite my head off! All I'm saying is that what he's saying makes sense!”

“You actually believe it?! That You-Know-Who is back?!” Seamus demanded. Harry growled.

“Yeah, I do! Only an idiot would think this sudden increase in death eater activity is a coincidence!”

“What did you just say to me?” Seamus said coldly. Harry growled.

“I called your mother an idiot.” he sneered. Seamus roared and rushed forward, fully intending to beat him to a pulp. But everyone jumped between them, including the twins, who each grabbed Seamus’s arms to hold the Irish teen back.

“That's enough!” Hermione shrieked, shoving Harry back, who looked just as ready to fight Seamus.

“Just go, Harry!” Dean begged helplessly. 

“Go!” Neville agreed, shoving him toward the portrait hole

“YOU'RE DEAD POTTER!” Seamus screamed after him furiously until the portrait closed behind him.

“What on earth? In trouble already dear?” the fat lady demanded with wide eyes.

“I didn't do anything!” Harry insisted furiously. “Seamus was the one who-”

“Harry…”

“No really!” Harry insisted to the fat lady, not really looking at her, just ranting to the various portraits in general. “He's angry at me because his mum is angry at Dumbledore! Like it's somehow my fault!”

“Harry.”

“I mean how am I supposed to stop Dumbledore? And never mind that he's right!”

“Harrison!” Harry jumped and spun around.

“Mum!” he cried sheepishly. The history professor chuckled slightly before frowning. 

“What happened?” Harry groaned.

“Seamus is angry at the world, so he's taking it out on everyone else… and I may have made it worse.”

“Oh?” Emmeline demanded with a raised eyebrow. “How so?”

“I er… might have called his mother an idiot,” Harry admitted sheepishly. Emmeline frowned at him in disappointment which made his insides wiggle nervously.

“You're going to apologize to him in the morning young man.”

“Yesmum,” he murmured, peering at his shoes. Then Emmeline sighed skyward.

“Come along. You can sleep on our couch for tonight.” Harry smiled and followed his mother when suddenly the woman huffed. “But honestly Harry! That must be a record! You've only been at the school for a few hours and already you're in trouble! You couldn't wait a day?”

“I once got six detentions before I even arrived,” Harry admitted to her candidly with a slight blush. The woman froze and turned to him in shock. “I flew an electric blue flying Ford Angelina from King's Cross Station to Hogwarts without a license and a faulty cloaking device.”

“And did not receive nearly enough punishment, if I do say so myself.” Severus drawled from behind the pair. Harry jumped and turned to his father with a sheepish expression. Emmeline just rolled her eyes and shook her head indulgently. “What did you do this time Harry?”

“I er… insulted my roommate's mother. He was really upset." Harry admitted wearily. Severus took a deep breath and muttered something under his breath. It sounded almost like a prayer.

“Lamb’s quarters.” he declared to the portrait guarding the pair's quarters, which was a young woman on a bench with a single rose. Her counterpart and partner, a tall knight in burnished armour, was absent at night, used as he was for patrols. Harry stepped in and settled on the couch and turned to sleep when Severus cleared his throat. "Just a moment Harry. I wanted to speak to you." The teen turned to his father with a curious frown. "I'm sure it hasn't escaped your notice that there are certain… changes… coming to Hogwarts."

"You mean Umbridge is actually going to change things?! We thought she was just blowing hot air!" Harry cried in horror.

"Unfortunately not." Severus drawled bitterly. "It is likely that she will do just about anything in her power to take over."

"Take over… you don't mean…" Harry began, growing weary.

"It seems to be the minister's end game to have Albus removed, yes." Severus declared. At this, Emmeline sat on the armrest and gripped Harry's shoulder in a slight panic.

"Severus if that happens-" Emmeline began, going terrified.

"Hogwarts' defences will hold," Severus assured her sternly.

"For how long?" Harry demanded, face hardened. Severus sighed heavily before he shook his head.

"This is not the point I was trying to make." He insisted firmly. "Umbridge is going to be saying anything and everything to discredit Dumbledore. So please Harry do NOT do anything to provoke her."

"I won't," Harry promised.

"Like you didn't with Mr. Finnegan?" He demanded with a stern expression. Harry blushed.

"That was… different. He was coming after me for nothing!" Severus's expression remained unchanged and he slumped. "You… you think she'll do that with me too?!"

"It's likely."

"Bollocks."

"Language." Both parents admonished quietly. Harry sighed before he nodded.

"Okay. I'll try to keep my mouth shut…"

"Just remember your occlumency training. Deep breaths. Clear your mind. Control your emotions."

"Right," Harry said. But despite his best efforts he hadn't seen any improvement in his occlumency with all the practice he'd been doing each night. The physical effect of his weird visions had lessened somewhat. But they hadn't gone away. And when he tried it tonight his swirling thoughts, whether Umbridge, Seamus, or what the year had in store, made any attempt a lost cause.