Storm Over Hogsmeade

On Saturday morning, the sky outside Hogwarts hung low and gray, heavy clouds pressing down as though they might collapse at any moment.

It was the first Hogsmeade visit of the term.

Over the past few weeks, security around the school had grown increasingly strict. Students had long been whispering about it in private, and many had assumed they would not be allowed to visit Hogsmeade at all this year.

Until the notice went up, and a long-suppressed cheer nearly erupted through the common rooms.

Being able to leave the castle, even for only a few hours, was an almost luxurious relief for students who had spent so long under such tense conditions.

A longer queue than usual had formed before the oak doors.

Filch—whom Dumbledore had invited back after being reinstated—stood at the entrance with his back ramrod straight, his expression balanced somewhere between smugness and vigilance. The Secrecy Sensor in his hand emitted a faint, piercing buzz. Whenever a student stepped before him, he deliberately lingered for a few extra seconds, sweeping the sensor from head to toe as if he wished he could inspect every loose thread in their socks.

"Name."

"Daphne Greengrass."

"Stand still. Don't move."

The Secrecy Sensor was held so close that it nearly touched her clothes. Daphne did not change expression, merely raising an eyebrow as a faintly cool, mocking Slytherin smile touched her lips.

"He's more neurotic than before," Cho Chang murmured behind her.

"Dumbledore probably brought him back precisely because of that suspicious nature of his," Astoria replied quietly.

When it was Luna's turn, the Secrecy Sensor suddenly let out a sharp little shriek.

Filch immediately tensed. "You—"

"Oh," Luna said thoughtfully, "it's probably my radish earrings. They sometimes absorb stray noise from around them."

Filch stared at her for several