Originally Posted by Headmistress Cassandra Rae

Rae looked at the staff gathering around her and took a deep breath. She wasn't sure if she was ready to address the student body, but she had to be. She rose and put up her hands, waiting until the students had fallen silent before speaking.

"Thank you. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Cassandra Rae. I'm the Headmistress and the Defense against the Dark Arts instructor. Returning students, welcome back. New students... I hope your term at Hogwarts is all that you hope it will be. There are a few announcements I need to make, and then you can all dig into the meal prepared for you by the house elves."

She touched her hair self-consciously before continuing. "First, I'd like to welcome the new staff members. We have a new professor in Potions, Ancient Runes, Divination, Astronomy, and Arithmancy. I'd like to welcome back to the staff Professor Lainey and Professor Evans, and I'd like to let you all know that Professor Dainsie is now teaching Care of Magical Creatures. Please make every effort to welcome our new professors. As always, there are very specific rules in place in the school, and you are all encouraged to learn them and love them. Our caretaker may be familiar to me... Mr. Borr has returned this year to ensure that all detentions are carried out fully and to the most benefit."

"Last, I wanted to touch briefly on the occurence at King's Cross Station. I know that there are probably already rumors and theories forming," she looked specifically at the Slytherin table before continuing. "I fear that I'm letting you down to tell you that there is nothing sinister in what occurred. Only this morning, we received word that some Muggle construction and renovation at the terminal had accidentally damaged some of the masking wards the Ministry had put in place. Fortunately, the train had not yet arrived, and the Muggles believe they've found an old, unused terminal. The train should be operational again at the end of the term after the Ministry has had time to step in. If you have any additional questions or concerns about this incident, I ask you to seek me out personally, as I'm the one the Ministry has been in contact with."

"While the incident itself it harmless. the outcome is another matter. I've been informed that due to recent events and to the fact that once again the students were put into danger beyond our immediate control, the Ministry wants to close Hogwarts and open several smaller schools within their immediate jurisdiction. They'll be sending a representative here later in the term to discuss this with the staff. I propose..." She looked at the staff. She hadn't run this by them yet, as it was new information, but she felt sure they'd support her.

"I propose we prepare ourselves for the visit in several ways. First, I'm going to put up a suggestion box to welcome student suggestions on unifying the school and making it safer. Second, we're going to offer several in-house competitions this term to make the school more cohesive and more beautiful and to promote house pride. Last, I'm asking you as a student body to come together to make this a term of equity, peace, and unity. We can make this official understand that we are working towards making Hogwarts better than ever and keep our beloved school. Or... we can fail, and Hogwarts will cease to exist. The decision really rests on you."

She took a deep breath and smiled one last time. "I don't mean to scare you. We have plenty of time to worry on this issue, so for now... eat and be happy. Get a good night's sleep. Classes will begin shortly. Have a wonderful term." Rae clapped her hands and food appeared on each table. With a sigh of relief, she sank into her seat.