"Where the hell have you been?" Ron said, moving over to give her some space. "It couldn't have taken you that long to get your scarf, you said you were right behind us, we were so worried." Hermione sat down and helped herself to some pudding."Well, I couldn't find my scarf, and then I realised I had already packed it," Hermione lied."So you missed the sorting for nothing," Harry retorted, shaking his head. "We noticed Malfoy isn't here either, thought he might have kidnapped you."Don't be silly!" Hermione said, exasperated. "Look, I'm here now, what did I miss?" "Snape got his wish," said Ron. Hermione immediately knew what this meant."He never has!" Hermione said, shocked. "How could Dumbledore allow it?" "Search me," Harry replied. "Look at him, he looks less evil." Hermione looked at the table for the teachers, and Snape did look particularly pleased, more so than he did in his previous year at the start of a new term."Well, it's the Dark Arts he wants to teach, really. Not how to defend yourself from them," said Hermione. "You can say that again," said Harry, shooting Snape a bitter look. "So, who's teaching potions?" Hermione asked. "Professor Slughorn," Harry said, pointing to a wisened-looking old wizard next to Snape. "He taught potions at Hogwarts before, I don't know why Dumbledore wanted him back, though." Steering the conversation away from the teachers, Hermione wondered about the Sorting."How was it?" Hermione asked. "Pretty boring actually," said Ron. "You didn't miss much other than the ramblings of an old hat. It was just reminding us to stay calm in these dark and troubled times. Easy for it to say though, it's a hat." Hermione chuckled as she delved into her chocolate fudge cake. She barely took one bite before Dumbledore stood at the podium, preparing to dismiss them off to bed. "Now that we've all been fed, I will take this opportunity to give you some back to school wisdom, if you please. I want you all to ponder your next year at Hogwarts before you undertake it. It will not be as easy as you hope, for every minute there are dark forces trying to penetrate these castle walls. We are not living in a free world, there are more evil doings at work and there's no telling when they occur. So you must stay alert at all times and particularly focus in all your classes, and especially in your Defence Against the Dark Arts classes." Hermione, Ron And Harry exchanged nervous glances. It was no secret that Lord Voldemort was back again and the students did have to be on constantly alert. Hermione supposed that they'd be teaching the younger years more advanced magic than they were used to in these "dark and troubled" times as the Sorting Hat put it. "Now off to bed," Dumbledore concluded. The Great Hall irrupted and walked out towards their common rooms and dormitories. Hermione, Ron And Harry followed the rest of the Gryffindors towards their common room. Hermione learned from Harry the new password "squibblyworm" and after entering passed the portrait of the fat lady, Hermione went straight to her dorm and collapsed on her bed. She stared at the ceiling thinking about the "dark forces penetrating the castle walls" and how they needed to focus more on the dark forces already inside the castle walls. Malfoy.