Students filed into the great hall one after the other. In pairs and groups, witches giggling and gossiping and the young wizards talking about their summers to one another and rolling eyes at the giggling girls. It was a sight to behold as they all took seats at their respective tables greeting one another.

Albus sat like a king in his overdone chair which was dead center at the staff table up on the platform. He watched the students flow in with his grandfatherly face and twinkling blue eyes that welcomed them in. Behind his mask was a face of worry and maybe irritation. The sorting over the summer had not gone as planned. Harry had not responded to him once and had not stayed out at his aunt and uncle's house. Molly had been popping in on him every ten seconds about the boy and about their arrangement and the order members were not much better.

As the last few students trickled in Albus rose to his feet to give his yearly Welcome Back speech. He had spotted the two students he most wanted to speak with but he knew that would have to wait. Lines needed to be drawn and rules enforced with those two before they got any further out of line. He also needed to have a talk with Severus about his new fifth year. For now, his speech.

Albus spread his arms wide in a welcome gesture and in a signal for silence. "Welcome back to you all, for another year here at Hogwarts. I hope all of your summer's were exciting and you had a good long break from the classrooms and exams."

He paused here to smile down at them all before continuing on. "I would like to remind you all to that the forbidden forest is actually forbidden. There are many dangerous creatures in there so I must impress upon all of you not to go wandering into it.

I am sure this year will be another exciting one. Even with dark forces moving, here at Hogwarts we will always offer safety and sanctuary. Under my reign you will be safe."

His eyes raked over every student in the hall as he held their attention and then they met a pair of emerald eyes for a moment, followed by a pair of violet. Albus was sure they would understand his message. He clapped his hands once, rubbing them together. "Now. Let's eat!"

With those words the food the house elves prepared suddenly appeared and every type of dinner dish was served for the feast. Albus watched them all dig in and then took his own seat again watching and waiting.

Skyler followed the other students in through the doors to the great hall, as she heard others refer to it as. Her purple eyes were bright with excitement and awe as she took in the four long tables with their houses depicted above them and the ceiling that seemed to not be there. Maybe it wasn't. Skyler was prepared to stand their in the entranceway all night trying to figure it out, but a small shiver to her shoulder got her moving.

She had finally slipped her Slytherin robes over her regular clothes and she strutted to the Slytherin table, noting the lack of enthusiasm from her house. For maybe the tenth time she wished she was in the same house as the only two friends she currently had, but still had hope she could make some in her house. Skyler chose to sit toward the end of the table, sliding her legs over the bench easily and watching as more students arrived. This was her first time being here and she was nervous, not knowing what to expect. She didn't know anything about this kids sitting around her who looked at her as if she were an alien. Half of her screamed to get up and leave the hall, food be damned. The other half revolted against anything considered cowardice. In the end she stayed seated but kept her eyes downcast.

When it fell silent she raised her gaze as the Headmaster began to speak, and Skyler was sure for a moment his eyes met hers. Her dark brows furrowed together in confusion and her lips turned down in a frown, wondering what it was about. She became distracted, however, by the mass amount of food now covering the table. No one looked as surprised as she felt by it's appearance other than the first years. She shook her head and decided to just focus on eating for now and filled her plate with some of her favorites as her eyes raked over the hall and it's habitants.