DISCLAIMER : The world of Harry Potter and associated characters belong to JK Rowling, no copyright infringement intended.

High above the twisting stone staircases of the main entrance hall to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a slender witch in plain black teaching robes leant against one of the wide pillars, biting her lip nervously as she waited for her first glimpse of that years' tender crop of first years. The thirty young eleven year olds walked through the entrance doors under the guidance of the Deputy Headmistress and Transfiguration Professor, Minerva McGonagall.

'Settle down, please,' McGonagall raised her voice in order to be heard over the excited chatter filling the hall; at the sound of her voice, the first years grew quiet. 'Welcome to Hogwarts. Now, in a few moments you will pass through these doors and join your classmates, but before you take your seats, you must be sorted into your houses. They are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Now while you're here, your house will be like your family. Your triumphs will earn you points. Any rule breaking, and you will lose points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup.'

The witch at the top of the stairs listened from the shadows as McGonagall continued her welcoming speech, which had never varied since the first time the witch had heard it for herself as a first year so long ago.

'Have I missed anything?' The soft murmur from behind and the familiar feel of a slender arm pulling her back against a firm chest had the witch's lips twitching with barely suppressed amusement.

'What happened to you not wanting to be bored out of your mind? I seem to recall someone wanting to watch from their lofty position at the Professor's table…' The witch giggled slightly as the wizard tickled her lightly along the ribs and growled playfully against the side of her neck.

'Wench…'

'Minerva's just about to discover a toad trying to make his way under her robes.'

'I didn't mean Minerva,' The wizard hugged the witch closer to his lean chest and together they watched the first years being corralled into order by a few well-placed words uttered in a soft Scottish burr.

'She's over by the statue.' The witch murmured quietly and both of their eyes glanced down at where a slim young witch was listening intently to McGonagall's speech despite having spent most of her childhood within the hallowed halls of the castle. The witch felt the tension suddenly rising in the wizard's frame and saw that the girl they were both watching had already caught the eye of many a young wizard in the hallway below. 'Calm down, darling…she's already got Nick and Peeves joining forces to hex anyone that so much as looks at her the wrong way.'

'Okay, now I'm really worried….those two goats have never agreed on anything since they died; now you're telling me that Juliet has them both working together?' The wizard relaxed a little, safe in the knowledge that his little girl would have two of Hogwarts most famed pranksters protecting her from unwanted advances. He pulled his wife back into the cradle of his arms, her back against his firm sculpted chest. 'Have you seem them yet?' He didn't have to say any names, his wife knowing exactly to whom he was referring.

'Mmm…' His wife murmured gesturing down with her hand. 'Third row, near the portrait of The Weeping Witch.' The wizard followed his wife's finger and saw the messy black hair that adorned the head of one of their dearest friend's young son.

'Ah, I see Weasley's already attached himself firmly to his side.'

'They'll be good for each other.' His wife replied quietly, her eyes tracking the movements below; darting from their daughter to the two boys jostling each other playfully. His finger slowly reached up to capture a stray teardrop that she hadn't even realised had fallen from her sad eyes.

'Sweetheart…I should have realised how hard this must be for you, seeing them like that again after all of this time.' The wizard clasped his wife's hand and raised it to his lips, giving her a look that promised he do all that he could to make things easier for her. The witch accepted his comfort and snuggled into his embrace, her mind drifting back to the tangled past and everything that had brought them both to that point.