It was the first staff meeting of the new term. Dumbledore sat in his seat and was interested in how the students were faring this year, especially with the dementors around. It had been one month since the term had started and it was time for an overall feedback.
"Well, I think it will be good to start with our utmost concern, how are the students faring with the presence of the dementors around the school?" He asked.
Dumbledore hated that the Ministry dared to go against his wishes in this case. As much as Sirius needed to be recaptured, to ensure that Harry stayed under his control, he didn't like the interference with his power at the school.
"Well, thankfully we didn't have any major trouble so far, but that is only because we give out chocolate constantly with the meals." Poppy told him.
"Well, yes that was a good idea to initiate this as a precaution directly at the start of term feast, Poppy." Dumbledore said smiling appreciatively.
"Thanks, Albus, but it wasn't really my idea to start with. It was Mr. Potter's after Remus gave him and his friends some chocolate at the train after they had the meeting with the dementor." She said.
"Oh, that's interesting. Well, Remus, then I must give you some credit, too, for inspiring Harry." He said benevolently.
He wasn't concerned yet. Harry only had had the idea because he had just seen how people got over the after-effects of a dementor's presence.
"Hagrid, how are your classes coming along? As you are teaching on the grounds, did you have any problems with the dementors coming too close?" Dumbledore asked.
"No, thankfully not, Professor Dumbledore. But ev'ry time I go to Hogsmeade I have ter walk pas' them. Awful things, they remind me too much of the time I was 'n Azkaban las' year." Hagrid shuddered.
Minerva gave him an encouraging smile.
"At least they keep to their assigned positions." Dumbledore said reassured.
"Next point, the development of the students; Remus, what impression do you have of the students? As your subject has been the one that has been taught with the most interruptions, I would like to start with your report."
"Well, Albus, I think there is much work to be done. From what I have discovered, nobody learned anything last year. Lockhart obviously only advertised his books with the students and they had to learn on their own. There is much to work on in all the years except the first years for obvious reasons. Even if Quirrell was a bit more knowledgeable, he didn't seem to have really taught them anything very useful. I really have my work cut out for me." Remus sighed.
"I see, yes. Sadly, we didn't have much selection of qualified Professors for the subject in the last years. I'm glad that you know your subject, especially the dark creatures. I'm sure the students will benefit from your knowledge."
Dumbledore looked around and, except for Severus; nobody seemed to be against Remus' presence.
"Well, Pomona, how are the greenhouses?" Dumbledore went to the next Professor.
"Growing well Albus, I have to say, young Mr. Longbottom is a great help. He volunteered to help me and to learn more in his favorite subject and I am really pleased with his abilities. He will make a fine Herbologist one day, I'm sure." She stated.
Snape sneered at the mentioning of Neville. Everybody had heard of the way Neville had turned his boggart Snape into a laughing stock. The colorful, and embarrassing, way he had transformed him was the top theme for weeks. He had taken a lot of points from Gryffindor after this incident and had been extremely unpleasant to Neville and Harry. Not that Harry gave him many opportunities to pick on him. The damn brat had learned some sneaky tricks over the summer.
"Good to hear. After what happened last year, I want to be able to create antidotes to most possible occurrences."
The others nodded. Dumbledore was pleased with himself. It was so easy to manipulate others if they believed you were the one with the best plan for everybody. Some kindness here, some help there, and they felt indebted to you. Yes, it was easy to guide the others for the Greater Good. With him being the one who defined what the Greater Good was of course.
"Well, what about the others? Severus, anything I should be aware of aside from melting cauldrons?"
"No, I don't dare to hope, but so far Longbottom hasn't managed to melt a cauldron. I believe my Slytherins are betting when it will be happening. I heard some rumors. No wonder, the boy is such a dunderhead. Potter still thinks he is better than everybody. He is as arrogant as his father was. The first years are coming along as expected. At least no security risks this year, but no promising talents either."
Albus nodded, as it was expected. He was complaining about the awful students. Well he was an important tool to keep Harry down. He couldn't let the boy begin to excel. That would be a problem to his plans. An excelling Harry would become too independent. Well, he would prevent this. And he would take care of this Comte de Jarjais, he had been living with. Harry would return to the Dursleys in the summer.
"Good, Filius? Anything special?"
"Yes, Albus, we have quite some impressive muggleborn wizards in the new first years. Thomas Fraser and Bill Hopper are showing real talent at Charms. They will be great one day. The O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. students are also coming along really well. They won't have problems passing their exams if they keep going like they are. I think we will have some very good results this year. I expect really great performance by the Weasley twins. Even if they mostly joke around, they have quite the talent in my class."
"Ah yes, I enjoy their ideas most of the time. Thanks, Filius. Septima, how are the new third years in your class?"
"Very good, Albus; I have no problems with inter house rivalries or such. They are a good bunch to teach. They are all really eager to learn and participate in a constructive way. It's too early to really tell anything about single students. I have only seen them for a month."
"Understandable. Minerva?"
"Nothing out of the ordinary, Albus. Some students seem to have forgotten a lot over the summer holidays, but that is normal for the start of term. They will come around. Nothing out of the ordinary" She reported.
Minerva kept her calm. She had spoken with Filius and Hagrid to not boast about Harry's enormous progress. Hagrid had asked why and she had told him that Harry wasn't one to like the fame he got. He was more a child who enjoyed his success in the middle of his friends. Hagrid, knowing that Harry hated his fame and wanted to escape from this, understood and promised not to tell how well Harry did in his classes. After all, Dumbledore knew everything that went on in the school. No need to tell him.
Filius suspected something more behind Minerva's behavior and cornered her in private. Minerva told him there had been irregularities concerning Harry and that it would be better not to let it get out what the boy was able to do. As only Filius, Remus and Minerva had the subjects where Dumbledore would put his eye upon; it was safe to say that for now they could keep Harry's performance a secret. The others could tell that Harry did well, but had no real comparison for the increase in ability as they hadn't taught the boy for years. And Severus would rather cut his tongue than praise Harry.
The meeting went on and they were able to finish quite early.
Harry was happy. Despite the dementors at the gates, he had a good time this year so far. He was getting good marks in his classes, Snape was getting frustrated that he could suddenly answer his questions and turned good potions in, Malfoy had been pranked in a combination effort by him and the twins, nobody had found out how it had been possible that he was turned bright pink in the middle of the great hall at lunch. It had taken four days for the effect to cease. Malfoy had been a git and deserved this. He had gotten his father to get Buckbeak tried for the attack.
No one messed with Harry's friends and got away with it. The plans for "Ministry Misery", as the twins had dubbed the planned prank, were going well; and turning Malfoy pink had been only the first test. While it would free Sirius if they turned Peter in, it wouldn't satisfy their desire of revenge.
Sirius had spoken with Fred and George the weekend after they had found everything out. The twins and Sirius had hit it off immediately and were now in constant correspondence through owl post. Sirius had a lot of good ideas about what he wanted to do to the idiots that had destroyed his and Harry's lives.
Harry and the twins also found out that Oliver Wood had gotten a desperate streak in his training for the first match of Quidditch. He was in his last year and he wanted the cup badly. The other members of the team agreed with him in this goal and gave everything in their training sessions. They worked like a well-oiled machine. Slytherin would go down was everyone's opinion.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat at the opposite side of Fred, George, and Ginny at breakfast in the Great Hall. When the post owls arrived, Harry spotted Hedwig with a relatively big parcel. He was curious what his father had sent him. Then he spotted the Weasley's family owl, Errol, following after Hedwig. He was slightly lingering in the air. Hedwig landed gracefully on Harry's arm, after he had held it out for her, Errol crashed into Ron's plate and toppled his glass over.
Fred took the letter from Errol's leg when Harry freed Hedwig of the parcel, stroked her gratefully, and offered her some bacon; which she gratefully took. He looked at the attached letter and smiled. This was a book he had asked his father to get to help with his wandless magic. Professor Flitwick had recommended it in their training. He was really getting the hang of wandless magic. He had asked the Professor to keep the amount of his abilities a secret as he didn't want to be the center of attention again; he had enough of that already. Flitwick had readily agreed.
"That is impossible!" Fred shouted out.
Harry looked at the twins, Ron, and Ginny, who sported equal disbelieving looks on their faces.
"What's the matter?" Hermione asked concerned.
"Dad, he is…" Ron sputtered.
"I can't believe it." Ginny murmured.
Harry had a suspicion what this was about. If he was right, the life for the Weasley family would be getting better very soon. He looked at the twins to get confirmation for his thoughts.
"Dad has a new job." George finally brought out.
"Really? Has he been promoted at the Ministry?" Hermione asked, knowing that Mr. Weasley worked for the Ministry of Magic.
"No, I can't believe it; this is what he always dreamed about doing!" Fred said grinning now.
"You're right!" Ginny said now also grinning.
"Come on; tell us what you are talking about." Hermione said getting irritated.
"Dad has been offered a job in the Development Department of Juneur Wizarding Technologies." Fred began explaining.
"That's the company who combines magic and muggle technology, right?" Hermione asked for confirmation.
"Yes it is. Dad always was really fascinated by the things they were able to come up with." Ginny said.
"And Dad has accepted their job offer." Ron told them.
"The best thing is he will earn double the amount of money there in a month as he would at the Ministry. Plus any bonuses he will get for new developments he was involved in that are successful on the market." George concluded.
"That's great. I'm happy for your family." Harry said honestly.
"Yeah, it is. I can't believe it. I don't understand how mum was so willing to agree with this." Ron said.
"Well, she always supported dad in his decisions, except when she thought they were utterly nuts." Fred stated.
"Which they sometimes were, but nonetheless, we all know how the bigots at the Ministry have ridiculed dad for years and stopped any promotion he would have earned. It is the best thing that could have happened for him. He gets to do what he likes, is better paid and now can show what he is really able to do." George agreed.
"You know what this means George." Fred said grinning evilly.
"Yes, we can now plan without getting dad in trouble with dumbass Fudge." George said.
"What are you talking about?" Ron asked.
"We would tell you, but we are not in any position to reveal it at this moment. Let's just say, Percy will be very unhappy with us."
Harry mentally agreed with this. Percy, who wanted to make career at the Ministry, would not appreciate his brothers' plans to prank the Ministry. But they deserved this and more. And he would gladly deliver the blows for more than just pranks. He would thoroughly humiliate the Minister. It had its perks to be the heir of five noble houses.
"What is this commotion about?" Percy asked who had shown up at the table.
"Ah, hello Perce. We just got a letter from mum and dad. Dad has a new job, starting November, 1." Fred informed him.
"Really, has he been promoted?" He asked eagerly.
"No." Ron answered.
"He hasn't done anything stupid to get demoted has he?" Percy asked concerned.
"No." Ginny answered.
"Has he changed departments?"
"No." Hermione answered.
"What the hell has happened?" Percy asked annoyed.
"Dad has been offered a job in the Development Department of Juneur Wizarding Technologies and he has accepted it. He'll earn double his current salary and get bonuses for every invention that is successful in the market." Fred told him, grinning brightly.
Percy was shocked. He didn't understand this.
"But why? Why would he give up a highly respected job at the Ministry?"
"Are you really this dense? Dad has been ridiculed there for years, just because he likes the muggles so much. He has been denied any sort of promotion because of this and has been shoved into the most ridiculous department at the Ministry. He is getting paid the lowest amount they can justify without breaking laws. Isn't it normal for him to want to get out of there? To get a better paid job, where his talents are acknowledged? I would have done it too, if I were in his position." George said irritated.
"But, the Ministry is where our society is ruled." Percy added.
"A society that denies the majority of their members' equal chances to rise in the ranks." Harry said, having enough of Percy's worshipping of their government.
"A Ministry that allows dangerous creatures around a school where helpless children are taught.; that speaks justice as it seems fit without caring about their own laws. That ignores the abuse of a child that they hail as their savior. That thinks muggleborns are lower beings. That treats magical creatures horribly. That makes the lives of those different from them a living hell. Do I need to go on Percy?" Harry asked.
Percy looked at Harry as if he had grown a second head.
"I am serious Percy. First, we have dementors around us, dangerous creatures class 5. Do you really think they care about the instructions of the Ministry when there are none of their members around to reinforce their orders? We are severely outnumbered here. The only ones able to produce proper patroni are the teachers. Perhaps one or two seventh years if they are related to aurors or some other people fit in defense against dark arts. I know personally how hard it is to make a real patronus. And I am more advanced than most seventh years in this area. All I can produce is some strong silver mist. How many students are here at Hogwarts, Percy? I would guess four hundred. We have perhaps twenty adults at the school. There are over one hundred dementors outside. Do you really think that, perhaps, twenty people who are able to conjure a patronus are enough to keep everybody safe when the dementors decide to go out of Ministry control?
"Second, I have checked the papers from 1981, and have done some research about the trials of potential death eaters after the fall of Voldemort-stop flinching, I won't stop using a name that is only a fiction of a mad man. If you like, you can call him Tom Riddle, which is his true name. He told me himself last year, when I met his memory from the diary."
Harry observed Ginny's reaction at the mention of Tom. She paled, but seemed to be ok otherwise.
"He was the one who started all this nonsense of muggleborns and muggles being lower than trash. There have been others, but he drove it to new heights. And the same beliefs that got us in the war haven't stopped. There still are many pureblood families that think they are better than others. Rubbish, I say. Only the things somebody does, decide the person's value. Every human being is worth the same. A rule even the muggles got way earlier than us.
"There were many who were thrown into Azkaban without a trial. It is law in magical Britain that everybody has to get a trial. But no, the Ministry, especially the former head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Bartemius Crouch, thought they were above the law. I don't like the thought of aurors being as bad as death eaters."
By now a small crowd had formed around the group and it wasn't only Gryffindors who listened to Harry. There were many Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws and even the occasional Slytherin.
"Why would an auror need to use the cruciatus curse? Why the killing curse? Aren't they trained to get the evil wizards by other means? The only unforgivable curse I can understand to be used in very limited situations is the imperius curse. If used in very restricted situations you could get a culprit to hand over his wand peacefully and could safely apprehend him. Or you could stop a suicide by stopping the one trying to do it. The other two are just bastardized from their original purposes so that they now are really dark. It's hard to think that both curses have originated from healing, even the killing curse."
Many recognized the difficulty it was for Harry to speak about the curse, as his parents had been victims of it.
"You really think the killing curse and the cruciatus curse could do something good?" A Hufflepuff asked.
"The original versions yes they could. Take the origin of the Avada Kedavra for example. It was developed to give incurably ill people a painless death. When the possibilities of the healers were not as developed as they are today, people sometimes had to suffer for long periods before death came as a saving. Healers were the only ones allowed to use the curse to spare those who couldn't be cured a painful death. Those are the curse's origins. Do you think that was a dark art?" Harry asked calmly.
Many people shook their heads. Most of them didn't even know the origin of the curse, only that it was forbidden and had a life sentence at Azkaban if it was used on another human being.
"What about … the cruciatus curse?" Neville asked quietly.
Harry understood Neville's hesitation. After all he lost his parents due to the curse.
"The origin of the cruciatus curse was developed to check nerve damages. The healer would send a low powered pain inducing spell into the patient and if some areas reacted stronger or weaker to the pain, he could administer treatment easier. Bites from poisonous animals were a common source for this, as a lot of them have neurotoxins."
Seeing the dumbfounded faces of the people around him he decided to explain it easier.
"Poisons that numb the nerves or make them react stronger. Most of the more common antidotes to poison are more recent developments. Even today our healers don't know everything about all the possible cures to the poisons out there. And a few hundred years in the past they knew even less. So the best they could do was locate the problem on the body of the patient and treat it where it hurt or numbed. The cruciatus curse while based on this idea is a hundred times worse and instead of locating nerve damage it produces it. It truly is an unforgivable curse.
"But there aren't that many spells that are truly evil. Magic in itself isn't only light and dark; it is how you intend to use the spells. Ron managed to knock out a mountain troll in our first year, using wingardium leviosa. If that had been a human, it could have been dead when the troll's club crashed onto its head, but the spell is taught to first years."
Many people looked astonished at Ron who they hadn't known had done something that impressive as a first year. Ron blushed at the attention, but was very pleased nonetheless.
"Next point on my list; I find it troublesome that nobody in the wizarding world even cared to show up to check on me while I grew up. I mean, even my teachers at primary school knew something was amiss. They tried to involve the authorities once, but they did nothing. Then they resolved to do what they could to at least spare me the beatings of my cousin at school. And my so-called aunt and uncle said nothing. They encouraged Dudley to treat me like shit. And I only found out about being a wizard on my eleventh birthday, when Hagrid personally delivered my letter for Hogwarts, since I was not allowed to read it, because they wanted to beat the magic out of me. They hate everything magical."
Many had disbelieving looks on their faces. They were always taught how great Harry Potter was. Now they learned he had lived a horrible life and at his relatives for heaven's sake. How could the Ministry neglect even checking up on the hero of the wizarding world? Many Ravenclaws promised themselves to check on this. Especially the Harry Potter books that now made no sense at all. Where did the authors get their information from?
"What enrages me most is that we are taught at Hogwarts, that there is no difference in our heritage. We are equal as long as we have the ability to use magic. And what happens once we leave school? Those of us who are muggleborn are denied jobs that would be appropriate for their talents. I mean, a lot of the muggleborns here are really good at school. They deserve to get good jobs. But the Ministry policy is to push them into low paying jobs or give the jobs in question to lesser qualified purebloods. How is that fair?"
Many of the muggleborns in attendance were furious hearing this. Why should they learn as much as they could, if they were denied equal chances at success by their own government?
"To be fair, there are many at the Ministry who don't think like this. From what I have heard, the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement is very fair and treats all her subordinates equally, be they pureblood, halfblood, or muggleborn. She also dislikes injustice. Several of the halfbloods working there are more or less on friendly to indifferent terms with muggleborns and some of the purebloods also. But those are not in the positions of power. There we only find those heavily prejudiced pureblood fanatics."
"And how do you think this could be changed Potter?" Asked a Slytherin. "It's the traditional way our country has been lead for generations. Why do you think it is a bad system?"
"I don't have anything against traditions as long as they don't discriminate others who have the same gift as those who had the privilege to be born into a magical family. I am, in fact, a pureblood myself. Yes, I know everybody thinks I am a halfblood, but my mother was actually a victim of the wars against Grindelwald and Voldemort. Grindelwald had targeted her family and brought it to near extinction. Later, in the early years of Voldemort's rise, the remaining members of the family declined all offers to join Voldemort and were hunted again. Only my mother survived as an infant. Probably the Death Eaters simply overlooked her or somebody had hidden her really well. We don't know what really happened, it has been at least thirty years, and it will be hard to find out the truth. She was found by muggles and brought to an orphanage, where her muggle parents adopted her.
"She came to Hogwarts, thinking she was a muggleborn witch, proud of it actually, excelled in all of her studies, especially Potions and Charms and was about to have a great career; if not for some idiots in the Ministry who disliked the thought of muggleborns being in positions of power. Tell me, how can you tell a pureblood apart from a halfblood or a muggleborn? Nobody could do it for my mother until she did an inheritance test at Gringotts, shortly before she married my father. And don't we celebrate a muggleborn wizard as the greatest sorcerer to ever live? Why ridicule them now? Magic is magic."
Many were stunned by this argument. He was right. Nobody could tell them apart just by their looks.
"What do you mean the greatest sorcerer of all times was a muggleborn?" A sixth year Slytherin shouted, disbelievingly.
"Merlin." Harry just answered, shocking the Slytherin in question into silence.
"Which family was your mother from?" Another Slytherin wanted to know.
"The Boldon family." Harry replied.
This got many surprised outcries. All the purebloods from important families knew the importance of the Boldon family in the wizarding world, and many were asked by those who didn't know about it, but could tell from the reactions of their comrades, that they were really high up in society.
"Here's another example. I was raised by muggles too. While I am a pureblood, I never knew about this world before I got my letter, does this make me lower than other wizards? I am the heir of more than one noble and most ancient house and I don't think that we should make differences between us. Hell, before my uncle taught me this summer, I never knew how I was supposed to treat members of important wizarding families. By the way, I'm sorry if I have insulted someone because of my lack of knowledge in wizarding customs." He added as an afterthought.
"So, you think we could find a balance between those traditions that are good and have strengthened our society and those new developments that seem to work well for the muggles?" A Ravenclaw girl asked him.
Harry smiled at her. Many of the witches in attendance melted looking at his smile, Ginny being one of them.
"Yes, that nicely sums up what I would like to do. We have lost so many talented witches and wizards in the war against Voldemort, we have to do something so it can't happen again if another maniac rises. I mean, Hogwarts is supposed to be one of the best schools for magic. We can use what we learn here to better our society. We can still cherish good traditions while we make new customs that benefit everybody.
"I like the thought of celebrating important magical days, like summer solstice and winter solstice, where there are powerful old magics influencing our lives. I like remembering the great developments our ancestors achieved. Why should we be ashamed of them? They helped us grow our world. I can fully understand everybody who is proud of the achievements their families have made and strives to follow their footsteps.
"The things I dislike are when those who have been born privileged only show off their families' wealth and don't do anything to be worthy of the respect they demand; if they only use their family's influence to harm others. We are all magical. We should try to see the benefits each of us can give to our society without just casting good ideas aside just because they haven't been thought of by those of "better blood"."
"I think we could start with acknowledging the worth of other magical races like the goblins, the centaurs, the house elves, the giants, and others. Victims of werewolves are not to blame for their fate. I have learned from my uncle that there is a very good potion called wolfsbane. When a werewolf drinks this before the full moon, he is capable of retaining his mind and just waits until the moon goes down again. And they only have this problem once a month. The other time they are normal humans. And they didn't decide to become werewolves. They were bitten and forced to change. I only have no sympathy for those werewolves who actively try to infect more people with Lycanthropy. They are despicable. I have read about the war against Voldemort and how he used Fenrir Greyback to threaten his opponents."
Harry let the thought sink in, as many regarded werewolves, as foul creatures. Then he continued his speech. He had really gotten into this. He wanted to make more people see what possibilities they had. They were the future of their world.
"Would it really be that hard to show some respect to such faithful creatures as house elves? I mean, they really like looking after humans. They would not be happy to be set free, most of them that is. It would be a disgrace. And they like to be challenged. I know how happy it makes the house elves my uncle Orion has if they get a challenging task. But, and I want to address especially those of you who are purebloods or heirs to old families and know of house elves, would it be that hard to thank them for good work? To smile at them and let them know we appreciate their efforts? To treat them kindly? I don't think so. We don't have to really do much there and could gain a lot. As far as I am concerned, a happy house elf would do everything to help his master. And house elf magic is powerful; I mean they can apparate inside of Hogwarts which is impossible for wizards and witches."
Harry thought he had convinced some of them. It was really just a little thing to do. It didn't cost them anything but a bit of attention. That was manageable by everyone. And he really disliked the treatment house elves got by most wizards.
"You're right; this is a perfect example where we can combine the tradition of having house elves as our servants, as they like it, but changing our world for the better. I think we are just too accustomed to the ways things are, that we overlook the obvious in some cases." Earnie McMillan said.
Many nodded their heads.
"I think we should start looking up the laws to make sure what the current situation is. There has to be books in the library about this." A Ravenclaw sixth year boy said.
"Yes, and we can write to our families and see if they can get us more information." A Hufflepuff fifth year girl agreed.
"We can build groups for each topic we find should be changed and work on ways to improve things." A Gryffindor fourth year said.
Soon, a Ravenclaw fifth year boy had pulled out a piece of parchment and they collected their ideas, bouncing ideas against each other.
At the staff table, where Dumbledore was absent today, a lot of teachers were happy to see how students of all the houses sat together and made plans to improve the wizarding world. They would observe and give a helping hand when needed, but they were looking forward to the results of this new development.