Douglas was genuinely surprised by how long these professors could hold a grudge. More than ten years had passed, and they still remembered that incident as if it were yesterday.
He turned to George and Fred, his tone stern.
"Have you realized what you did wrong?"
The twins replied, utterly deflated,
"We have."
Douglas's lips curled into a cold smile.
"Then tell me—what exactly was your mistake?"
George and Fred sighed in unison.
"We shouldn't have turned those questions into answer sheets…"
"We thought you'd just use last year's exam again…"
"We… we just wanted to make a bit of pocket money."
"But we promised everyone, if the answers were wrong, we'd give their money back…"
"They didn't trust us, though—they actually formed a group to collect the debt…"
Professor Snape stood, his voice dripping with mockery.
"No, your mistake was in your crude methods. Frankly, I think Professor Douglas Holmes should have spotted this on the very first day of class."
The twins shook their heads emphatically.
"No way! We didn't get caught in the first class…"
They could admit their answers were wrong, but they would never concede that their methods were "crude."
Snape pressed on,
"It seems your dear big brother, Bill Weasley, never told you—he and Holmes pulled the same stunt back in their day. Only, their methods were far more sophisticated than yours. If it hadn't been for—"
Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout cut him off sharply.
"Severus!"
Professor Flitwick tugged at Snape's sleeve, shooting him a warning look.
They were here for a different reason today—not to tarnish Douglas's reputation in front of the students. As Douglas's former teachers, they could laugh about the past among themselves, but it was off-limits for students.
After McGonagall's interruption, she turned to Douglas,
"Since this incident involves Defence Against the Dark Arts, we'd like to hear your thoughts on punishment—besides point deductions."
Douglas shot the Heads of House a grateful look, then glared right back at Snape. He honestly didn't understand it—this year's events had made it clear his position as Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor was secure. Snape should have given up that dream by now. Why was he still picking fights? Wasn't his main rivalry supposed to be with Lupin this year?
He caught sight of Harry at the Gryffindor table and cursed inwardly. Clearly, he was getting dragged into this mess by association.
Douglas gathered himself, nodded to McGonagall, and said,
"Professor, I have a suggestion. I'd like to ask Professor Lupin to oversee a nightly detention study hall. From eight to eleven every evening, students who break school rules would serve their detentions there."
Lupin, who had been quietly observing, was caught off guard at being named.
The Heads of House were surprised as well—they hadn't expected Douglas to toss the responsibility to Lupin so directly.
As they considered whether to intervene and suggest an alternative arrangement, Snape's sallow face twisted into a sneer.
"Absolutely not. I'm not comfortable leaving my students with a—"
McGonagall cut him off sharply,
"Severus, we need to trust Remus. Dumbledore believes in him, Douglas believes in him, and I think it's worth considering their opinions. Remus, what do you think?"
Lupin sighed. Truthfully, he wanted to refuse. First he was invited to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts, then he became an assistant for study halls and morning runs, and now, apparently, he was being handed detention duty as well…
Still, he nodded,
"I don't mind, but Professor Holmes knows about my health. If I need to take time off, I hope you'll help cover for me…"
Before Douglas could answer, Snape's demeanor abruptly shifted.
"No need to trouble him. I'd be more than happy to help out a colleague with… health issues."
Lupin gave a wry smile and nodded, gesturing for Douglas to continue.
Douglas nodded back. He'd been keeping an eye on Lupin's state for some time. The truth was, Lupin's malaise came from having too much idle time—years of unemployment due to his lycanthropy had left him with too much room for dark thoughts, which only worsened his mood and health. Keeping him busy might help, and once he was in better spirits, Douglas planned to arrange a meeting with Sirius.
He continued,
"The detention itself is simple. My idea is to have them copy out textbooks. For example, George and Fred will need to copy every textbook for their O.W.L. subjects—years one through five—three times each, or once from memory.
For less serious cases, we can reduce the copying or allow for dictation instead.
And of course, each professor can add their own assignments to the detention class, so students have options."
The Heads of House exchanged glances—this was exactly what they'd expected.
One by one, they produced stacks of magazines from their robes.
Professor McGonagall smiled,
"And not just textbooks. We propose adding four periodicals—Transfiguration Today, Herbology Studies, Ever-Changing Charms, and Potion Discovery.
For every point a student loses, they must copy out one issue from these magazines. So, if they lose ten points, that's ten magazines to copy…"
Douglas stared at the Heads of House in disbelief. Now he understood why such a minor incident had brought all four of them to the Great Hall. This was the real reason—they wanted a system that would let them keep troublesome students on campus and out of danger, using point deductions as a convenient excuse.
He even suspected this was why he'd been summoned to handle things—someone needed to supervise all these detentions. The Heads were busy, the other professors were older, and last year, most detentions had ended up under his watch anyway. He just hadn't expected they'd be so quick to accept his "Lupin solution"—a dedicated detention class, which fit their needs perfectly.
Lupin, meanwhile, was dumbfounded. Dumbledore and McGonagall had mentioned that Hogwarts's teaching style had changed a little since Douglas arrived, but he hadn't expected anything this drastic. If this system had existed in his school days, he and his friends would never have had time for nightly adventures—they'd have been copying textbooks and magazines every night.
But since he'd already graduated, he was all for it.
Unconsciously, his gaze drifted to Harry. He knew the boy had an Invisibility Cloak, and Dumbledore had mentioned more than once how much Harry resembled James at that age. If Harry kept losing points, Lupin could protect him more easily. Others might not know, but Lupin was well aware that an Animagus like Sirius wasn't someone Dementors could stop.
Ever since arriving at Hogwarts, he'd debated whether to tell Dumbledore what he knew about Sirius. But they were friends—even after everything that had happened, Lupin couldn't bring himself to betray him. Now, Douglas's proposal brought a measure of peace to his troubled heart.
At the Gryffindor table, Harry was muttering regretfully to Ron and Hermione:
"Next summer, I'm definitely going to learn that lip-reading trick my great-uncle mentioned. That way, no matter how far away I am, I'll always know what they're saying."
Hermione, reading her textbook as she ate, replied,
"That would be brilliant. It's certainly better than any of the eavesdropping magical gadgets I've read about. There's one spell for intercepting messages, but it's got a lot of limitations—the more people around, the weaker it gets."
Ron ducked his head, looking terrified.
"Why is Professor Lupin staring at me all of a sudden…"
Harry glanced back at the staff table and realized Lupin wasn't actually looking their way.
But then—
"Look at George and Fred—and those other students who got tricked. What's going on with them?" Harry exclaimed.
He wasn't the only one who noticed. All around the hall, students were whispering. The Weasley twins were legendary for their nerve—no matter how many times they'd been caught breaking rules, they always faced detention with a grin. But now, the twins' faces were etched with open despair and fear.
Were they about to be expelled over this? And why did even the "victims" look so hopeless?
Suddenly, Professor McGonagall signaled for everyone to return to their seats. Her voice rang out, clear and commanding across the hall:
"Everyone, please put down your forks and listen.
The four Heads of House have unanimously approved a proposal from Professor Holmes, with Professor Lupin's agreement as well.
This term, the way we handle detentions will be changing…"
The reason for today's gathering was clear: to support Holmes's new system. When Percy had suggested a way to discipline George and Fred, Professor McGonagall had immediately seen a solution to the safety concerns for certain students this year. After consulting with Dumbledore and the other Heads, everyone agreed it was the right approach.
Just as Douglas had guessed, after weighing all their options, they'd chosen him. Originally, McGonagall had wanted to discuss it with Douglas, but Dumbledore had stopped her:
"Minerva, we should let him decide for himself…"
Dumbledore had also mentioned Lupin, though most were hesitant to give him too many duties, aside from Snape's outright opposition. They just hadn't expected Douglas to share Dumbledore's view.
It wasn't exactly how they'd planned it, but it was still within expectations.
Now, everyone could finally breathe a little easier. With so much going on this term, a few more well-behaved students meant a lot less stress for the staff.
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