Clue leaned forward onto narrow elbows, pale slim fingers entwined as he took a better look at the new First Years waiting to be Sorted. They looked lost, small and bewildered — for some of them that would never change. Clue was living proof of that. But he was curious about them, as were his fellow Slytherins, though some were twitching for the Sorting Ceremony to be over so they could tuck into the feast.

Beneath the epic sunset in the star-studded sky of the Great Hall, Clue was not very hungry. Merely returning to Hogwarts — his only home — had quenched his every yearning. At least for now.

Irene Fudge