"Welcome, our new students." Dumbledore rose to his feet.
He spread his arms wide in a gesture of greeting, his face breaking into a radiant smile.
"And welcome back, our old friends! Now, tuck in and enjoy your meal!"
Delicious dishes appeared out of thin air, filling the empty plates on the long tables.
They feasted heartily. Before long, the golden platters cleared themselves, only to be refilled with fruit pies, chocolate cakes, orange puddings, and other desserts.
"Severus, I don't see Avery." Abbott, his mouth stuffed with food, mumbled unclearly, "Why isn't he at the Start-of-Term Feast?"
On the other side of the table, Mulciber, Regulus, and young Crouch were whispering together.
Snape could already guess the reason for Avery's absence,and that reason was caused by him.
He answered Abbott vaguely, "I don't know either, but it is a bit odd."
Finally, even the desserts vanished, leaving the plates and goblets spotless once again, gleaming as if brand new.
At that moment, Dumbledore stood up once more.
The noise in the hall gradually died down.
"May I have your attention, please." Dumbledore beamed at the students. "I must trouble you to listen to an old man's rambling words.
"I must remind you that students are strictly forbidden to enter the Forbidden Forest at the edge of the grounds. In addition, only students of third year and above may visit Hogsmeade on weekends.
"More importantly, I am very pleased to welcome Professor Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank, who is joining our staff this term. She will be teaching you the subject of Defense Against the Dark Arts."
Grubbly-Plank?
Snape couldn't help lifting his head to look toward the staff table,
Sitting beside Dumbledore, an elderly witch stood up. She had a sharply jutting chin and neatly cropped gray-white hair.
Snape remembered that in the original timeline, Professor Grubbly-Plank had once filled in for Hagrid as a substitute teacher for Care of Magical Creatures.
He had never expected that she would be teaching them Defense Against the Dark Arts this year. Could she be Dumbledore's emergency backup?
"Furthermore, as most of you in this hall already know, outside Hogwarts, a war is raging.
"Voldemort and his followers are still causing turmoil and slaughtering the innocent."
The hall filled with waves of fearful breathing.
Dumbledore waited a few seconds before continuing.
"The current situation is extremely dangerous. I urge all of you to take special care of your own safety and remain vigilant at all times.
"If you notice anything unusual or suspicious, report it immediately to a member of staff.
"Well then, the hour is late. Off to your dormitories. Rest well and be ready for classes tomorrow."
Around the hall, chairs scraped, benches clattered, and the sound of movement echoed.
The students rose and filed out of the Great Hall toward their dormitories.
In the familiar dormitory beneath the lake, Snape still did not see any sign of Avery.
Only Avery's bed stood bare, without a trunk beside it.
His wardrobe, left ajar, held nothing but a few old textbooks from the previous term.
Before falling asleep, Snape wondered if Avery had dropped out.
Would he join the Death Eaters early? And if so, would that cause some unforeseen change to the future?
The next morning at breakfast, the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall was a clear azure, with a few wisps of white cloud drifting lazily across it.
Today was course selection day.
After they finished breakfast, they remained seated at the table, waiting.
"Let me see what you picked," Abbott said, taking Snape's application form.
"I need to make sure our choices line up, otherwise being the only Slytherin oddball in an entire class is hardly a pleasant thought."
He made a few adjustments on his own form, then smiled. "Good thing you're here this year."
"Bah!" Snape spat at him in mock disgust.
The process of confirming sixth-year schedules was more complicated than before.
Each Head of House had to verify that a student's O.W.L. scores met the standard before approving continuation into the corresponding N.E.W.T.-level courses.
Before long, Professor Horace Slughorn waddled over from the staff table, his large belly preceding him.
"Hmm, Potions O.W.L.,Outstanding," Slughorn muttered, double-checking Snape's application against his marks. "You may continue in my advanced class.
"As for the others, let's see... Herbology, Transfiguration, Charms, and Defense Against the Dark Arts,Outstanding. Care of Magical Creatures,Acceptable.
"Very good, Snape. Perhaps you're thinking of becoming an Auror or a Healer?"
"I haven't decided yet, sir. But I believe these subjects, especially Potions, are a precise science and a most fascinating art, worth our passion and continued study."
Slughorn looked at Snape with some surprise, stroking his walrus-like silver moustache as though pondering something.
"All right, next-" He handed the schedule back to Snape.
A few minutes later, Abbott's schedule was also confirmed. In addition to the six courses Snape had chosen, Abbott had also selected Muggle Studies.
"We've got no class now," Abbott said, glancing over his timetable. "First lesson isn't until ten. I'll head back to the common room for a bit. What about you?"
"You go ahead. I want to wander around alone. See you in class later."
All summer long, Snape had been thinking about something very important, and he could hardly wait any longer to see it.
He climbed the stairs up to the eighth floor of the castle, walked through the corridor, and came to a massive tapestry.
The tapestry depicted the scene of Barnabas the Barmy attempting to teach trolls ballet.
When the troll noticed Snape's arrival, it stopped pummeling the ballet instructor and turned to stare at him.
Snape quickly ran to check both ends of the corridor, making sure no one else was nearby.
Once certain he was unobserved, he went to the window at one end of the wall opposite the tapestry, then walked toward the tall vase at the other end.
"I need a place to hide something... I need a place to hide something... I need a place to hide something..."
After repeating this three times, a smooth door appeared on the blank wall.
Snape glanced around one last time to be sure, then carefully grasped the brass handle and pulled the door open.
He slipped inside the Room of Requirement and closed the door.
At once, the sounds of the castle,the birdsong, the echoes,vanished into silence.
The place resembled a vast cathedral, with walls built from the clutter hidden by generations of Hogwarts students.
Piles of broken furniture stacked to the ceiling, magical objects that had nearly lost their power, and filthy bottles filled with congealed potions stood in the heaps.
Tattered hats, cloaks, thousands of books, even rusty swords,all were discarded here in a chaotic jumble.