Ministry of Magic, Minister's Office
As Albus made his plans Cornelius Fudge was doing the same. He was absolutely furious at the other man.
How dare Albus undermine him by claiming that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was back? It was all just to make him look bad he was sure. Albus was just trying to regain power and he knew it.
Over the last few weeks he had been speaking with Delores and they were both convinced that Albus was just trying to destabilize the ministry so that he could get himself elected minister. They both knew how much the old man liked power.
They needed to do something, that old man was going to destroy what power they had left. James Potter and his little group of supporters had often stood in their way, but they were nothing compared to the damage Albus could do if he put his mind to it.
"Delores." Cornelius called as he pulled out the paper work they had been working on to get Delores into the school so she could keep a closer eye on the old man.
Platform 9 ¾ - September 1, 2005
Once again Hadrian and his family ended up arriving at the platform before the train. After Lily's trial and James subsequently having to reveal himself the press was more of a problem than ever.
As soon as the trial had ended James and Severus, along with Sirius and Remus, had taken their kids to Black Island. Over the next few weeks none of the kids had been aloud to leave. Originally they had wanted to take Hadrian to France so that he could visit with Dudley, but it had been decided to invite him and the rest of his family to the island instead so that they could have privacy. They had even gone so far as to owl order Hadrians school supplies. The only contact they had had with the outside world had been the few times James, Sirius, and Severus had left and when their friends portkeyed in to visit, even for Hadrian's birthday they had stayed on the island.
Sirius had, of course, had to leave for the meeting about the prefects but other than that had remained with the kids. Both James and Severus had ended up leaving a few times to give different interviews, but all interviews were scheduled well in advance and privacy was ensured.
For the most part, the interest in Hadrian's parentage had started to dwindle. It was probably one of the only benefits of the fact that most witches and wizards lacked the ability to focus for any length of time. By now the masses were being distracted with the slandering of the beloved headmaster by the press at the insistence of the ministry and the latest society gossip.
Hadrian knew that he was going to have to deal with the rest of the students gossiping about it for the first few weeks, but he was sure that they would move on after that. It wasn't like it was the first time something like this had happened to him. He had been through this all before.
His family once again escorted him to his compartment, and after smothering him in hugs, made their way home. It was still hard for them to say goodbye to him, but they were slowly getting used to it. Hadrian just worried about how his dads and uncles would react when his sisters started. Sure, both his papa and Siri worked at the school, but he knew his dad and Remus were going to be distraught.
Sitting on his own, Hadrian worked on mentally preparing himself for this year. This year was another one that was going to be unknown this time around. Originally he knew that he had had to deal with Umbridge and the newly returned Voldemort all while teaching defence to almost half the school and enduring torture from a blood quill. But this time he might actually get a calm year, at least he hoped, but being honest he knew something was going to happen, it was just his luck.
Thankfully he already knew that Umbridge wouldn't be teaching defence this year, his dad had made sure of it. She had applied, but his dad had told him Ragnok had made sure that the contract was given to someone else. It was easy to do since she didn't have a masters and it was one of the requirements.
The thing that Hadrian was most worried about was Voldemort. Both he and Barty Crouch Jr. had escaped and Hadrian knew beyond a shadow of a doubt they were working on some new way to return Voldemort to a body. And given the fact that Fudge was trying to stay in control and denying any danger to do so, plus Voldemorts abundance of allies it was more than likely to happen sooner rather than later.
Leaning back in his seat with Nem curled up in his lap Hadrian waited for the others to arrive so they could get this new year started.
It was just after Hadrian's family had left that Hermione and her parents arrived. She was determined to make sure everyone knew just how serious she was taking her position as prefect. Her parents had spent the past few weeks going over and over the rules she needed to follow, like she was some idiot child or something.
Hermione had reread Hogwarts: A History and there wasn't a single mention of any of those stupid rules that Professor Black had given her parents so she knew they were just made up. There was no way they would take away her badge. It wasn't like there was anyone that could do the job as well as her.
Making her way to the prefects compartment Hermione had her dad store her luggage for her before she said goodbye to her parents. Finally she was going back to the magical world. There were times she really didn't understand why she returned to the muggle world, it just wasn't the same.
Molly rushed Ron and Ginny towards the train. She just couldn't understand how the time had gone so quickly. She had made sure to get the two of them up by 10, it really shouldn't have taken them that long to eat breakfast and floo to the platform. She had just forgotten that Ron never really bothered to pack and Ginny generally had a meltdown about wanting to wear a different outfit. Through all that Molly was pleased that they had gotten there with 6 minutes to spare.
Ron huffed as his mum pulled him into a bone crushing hug before he could head to the train. She was acting like he was a baby and she was never going to see him again. Didn't she understand, he was a prefect now, he didn't have time to waste on long goodbyes.
When it was Ginny's turn for a hug she ended up making a big deal about not messing up her hair. Although Molly didn't really see how she could mess up her daughters hair since it was just laying flat, but woe betide anyone who messed with a girls hair she knew.
After their hugs both teens got onto the train, dragging their trunks.
Ginny shoved her trunk into one of the compartments before wandering off. Now that she was 14 she was ready to get a boyfriend. Harry would be so jealous if he saw her with someone else, maybe she should see about dating one of his friends, but who? There was no way she was getting involved with Malfoy or Nott, they were death eaters. Maybe Neville or one of the other Ravenclaws. Yes, that might just be the way to go. If all else failed she knew she could use Zacharias.
Ron slowly worked his way towards the prefect compartment. The letter he had gotten with his badge, and the letters he had exchanged with Hermione in the last few weekends, all said that he needed to go to that compartment, There was supposed to be some kind of meeting that Hermione had told him would give him a more detailed view of what he was supposed to be doing over the next few weeks.
Halfway to the compartment Ron ran into Hermione who had come to get him to make sure he actually did what she told him and came to the prefects compartment. Ron groaned as Hermione started to escort him, lecturing him the entire way about responsibility and how they needed people to perceive them.
Prefects Compartment
The new head girl, Hufflepuff Daisy Rivers, looked around the prefects compartment just as the train started to move. They still had another 5 minutes until the meeting was supposed to start, but pretty much everyone was there. Doing a quick head count she found that only 2 were missing. It didn't take her long to identify the older prefects she had worked with before, that meant it was fifth years. Looking at the three pairs she saw that it was the Gryffindors. This was perfect.
"Can I get everyone's attention for a quick premeeting announcement before the others get here?" When everyone looked to her she continued. "I'm just going to warn you all now the new Gryffindor prefects are going to need watching. For some stupid reason McGonagall insisted on Weasley and Granger."
Their complaints were instant. Every single prefect had had to deal with those two in the past, and the other fifth years had had to deal with them in class. Everyone felt insulted that those two had been honoured.
"I know, I know. I met with Professor Black and he assured me that it was going to be ok. This was an attempt to make them grow up, but there will be boundaries. They are both on probation this term so if you have any issues with them go to Professor Black and he will deal with them. Now, let's start getting ready. The meeting starts soon and those two should be on their way."
As Daisy had said the two Gryffindors arrived less than a minute later.
"Alright everyone, let's get down to business quickly." The head boy announced. "I'm Kyle Hagman, and I'm a Ravenclaw. Obviously, I am this years head boy. Our head girl is Daisy Rivers and she's a Hufflepuff.
Now, Daisy and I have already worked out the basic schedule for patrols and rounds. On the train we only need to do rounds every half an hour, there are enough of us that each of you will only be doing 2 rounds, Daisy and I have the rest, but we will also be working with our new fifth years to show you the ropes.
When we get to school the time of rounds will be the same, but the schedule will be different. Fifth years will have rounds from 9-10 every other week. Sixth years have 10-11, and seventh years have 11-12. After that the teachers take over.
During each of these times you will be working with a team of four teachers so you will need to meet with them before your rounds officially start so you can decide who is walking each area.
Now just cause I say every other week doesn't necessarily mean it will be every other week. There are always problems that pop up and we're just going to have to work through it. You might get your weeks swapped so you can work with a different house from time to time, or there might be an illness or accident. We also take into account any major homework assignments.
I understand that this might be a little surprising since we used to do it every other night rather than a week on a week off, but we decided to try something new this year. As the older prefects could tell you when it's every other day it really messes with your schedule, whether it be sleep or homework. We were hoping by doing it every other week it will allow you to manage your time better."
Daisy stood up as Kyle sat down. "If you have any issues with your assigned times just let us know and we will try to work with you, but that might not always be possible. Everyone needs to realize that by accepting the badge it means accepting the responsibility. You will have to do rounds. We will not change the schedule around all the time just cause someone didn't manage their time properly and is behind on homework. We are not here to coddle you.
A good rule of thumb is that we shouldn't have to change your rounds more than once a term barring unforeseen circumstances.
For our new prefects, during your first month you will never be on your own, a teacher or Kyle and I will be with you just to make sure you fully understand what's what. It also helps having the teachers there because they've generally seen everything so they can tell you how to handle different situations, which can be anything from a fight to a lost pet.
Also, having this badge means that younger years can come to you with any issues. More than likely you will have first years coming up to you in-between classes asking for directions until they get more comfortable with the castle. It is your job to help them. Never turn away someone who is asking for your help, that is why you have the badge."
After that the schedules were handed out and they asked for questions. Hermione of course started asking questions right away and tried to change the schedule to something she had created, but she was cooly shut down in a way that she couldn't argue with.
With that done everyone went off do do their own thing and some started their rounds.
The train was less than an hour outside Hogsmeade when Hermione and Ron joined the head boy and girl to do their second round of the evening. The first time round had just been the basics, Kyle and Daisy had just told them what to do and how to handle the students. This time Ron and Hermione were going to be responsible for doing things and the others were just there to intervene if their were any issues or they had any questions.
About half way down the train Ron saw Ginny sitting with one of the girls from her dorm and it suddenly hit him. "Hey, I haven't seen my brothers yet. Did they miss the train?"
"You're right, I don't remember seeing Fred and George." Hermione added. "Do you think you should send a letter to your dad to remind him that he was supposed to bring the twins to the train today?"
"There isn't a need." Daisy told them. "The twins are in one of the secure compartments."
"Secure compartments?" Both Ron and Hermione said in confusion.
"Yes, in recent years it has become common to ward certain compartments for high risk students. Fred and George are in with Hadrian Potter-Black. As you know he was kidnapped and almost killed last year, and he has always had threats to his life. The train isn't the most defensible position with the students spread out the way we are and with a limited number of adults, so high risk students like Hadrian, and those with titles, tend to be placed in secured compartments.
You can only see and/or enter the compartments if you have been invited in. Other than those that are invited only the head boy and girl, the conductor, and the lady that pushes the trolly can enter the compartments." Daisy explained.
"Generally you don't need to worry about them unless you become head boy or girl, other than that we just ignore them."
"But why do they get extra protection?" Hermione demanded. She didn't like that she didn't have the same protections.
"Because many of them are students that have received death threats." Kyle said like she was an idiot. "It isn't some great privilege. They are stuck in their compartments for the entire ride, they can't go see their friends or just walk around. It is only natural to add some extra protections for them. I mean, no one really thinks the train will be attacked or anything, but it would be stupid to take unnecessary risks.
Come on, let's finish this."
Hermione growled slightly at the unfairness, she was going to have to do something she knew, but Ron really didn't care. Ron had finally come to the conclusion that he didn't really care about the precious boy-who-lived all that much. Sure, it would be better for him if everyone thought they were friends, but he was done chasing after the ponce.
A years worth of potions and mind healer meetings had finally started to teach him not to obsess over the other boy. He was still incredibly jealous of everything he had, he just had better things to do with his time he was sure. He was still going to lord his position over the other boy, especially since he saw that Harry hadn't gotten the badge, but he wasn't going to seek him out to do it, they had plenty of classes together after all.
Hogwarts
Hadrian grinned as he and the twins got out of the carriage and entered the school. After lots of conversations on the topic they had decided that they were going to take their relationship public. It wasn't going to happen over night, they had planned to let it out in stages to hopefully get others used to it, but they were planning on everyone knowing about them before they went home for next summer. He was more than happy about that.
As he was walking into the great hall he froze causing the twins to run into his back.
"What's wrong Hadrian?" George questioned worriedly.
Hadrian just stared at the head table. There, sitting next to Dumbledore in a slightly smaller thrown sat a smug looking Delores Umbridge. What in the seven hells was that toad doing at the school? He knew she didnt have a contract with the board. Looking further down the table he saw both his papa and uncle had furious looks on their faces but they were trying to hide it. Hadrian could only see it because of how well he knew them.
"Umbridge. She's the toad in pink."
"What is that doing in our school?" Fred growled, disgusted just from the colour.
"The bitch with the blood quills?" George questioned in a falsely calm voice.
Hadrian nodded. "We're gonna have to keep an eye on her."
"We will."
"Don't worry love."
"We won't let her hurt you."
"Or anyone else."
"We should go and sit down. More than likely she will make some stupid speech so we can figure this out." Hadrian looked to the twins. "I'll meet you after the feast in the ROR."
The three then went to their tables, none of them taking their eyes off the toad.
The sorting was finished and Dumbledore was introducing the new staff members when he turned to the one Hadrian really wanted to know about. "And lastly allow me to introduce you all to Delores Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic. She has taken up the position of High Inquisitor here…"
"Hem hem." everyone turned as the pink toad interrupted.
Dumbledore sat as the toad stood. McGonagall looked like she was ready to scratch the womans eyes out from her position on the other side of Dumbledore.
"*The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. The rare gifts with which you were born may come to nothing if not nurtured and honed by careful instruction.
The ancient skills unique to the wizarding community must be passed down the generations lest we lose them forever. The treasure trove of magical knowledge amassed by our ancestors must be guarded, replenished and polished by those who have been called to the noble profession of teaching.
Every headmaster and headmistress of Hogwarts have brought something new to the weighty task of governing this historic school, and that is as it should be, for without progress there will be stagnation and decay.
There again, progress for progress's sake must be discouraged, for our tried and tested traditions often require no tinkering. A balance, then, between old and new, between permanence and change, between tradition and innovation because some changes will be for the better, while others will come, in the fullness of time, to be recognized as errors of judgment. Meanwhile, some old habits will be retained, and rightly so, whereas others, outmoded and outworn, must be abandoned. Let us move forward, then, into a new era of openness, effectiveness and accountability, intent on preserving what ought to be preserved, perfecting what needs to be perfected, and pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited.*
Minister Fudge has personally assigned me to conduct a full review of this honoured institution and bring it back up to standard. You will be seeing me in many of your classes as I evaluate your professors to ensure that you are getting the best education we can possibly provide in a safe risk free environment. If any of you have any issues do not hesitate to seek me out."
Hadrian wanted to scream. Of course the stupid minister would put this woman at the school. Dumbledore had drawn a target on himself and now the students were going to pay for it, again. He was going to have to talk to his dads and uncles to see if this was even legal or if there was some way they could force her out before she made more of a nuisance of herself.
Over at the Hufflepuff table Fred and George glared at the woman. This woman had tortured their soul mate last time, they would kill her if she tried it this time. Normally they were more relaxed, but nobody got to hurt their Hadrian and live.
ROR
After the feast Hadrian and the twins went to the ROR. They weren't surprised when they were joined by Severus and Sirius.
"I know, this was a surprise to us too." Severus sighed as he drew his son into a hug. He knew Hadrian was a little old to be cuddled, but he also knew Hadrian would never ask him to stop given his past.
"This was apparently kept top secret by the minister and Dumbledore. They are going to have some stupid big announcement in the Prophet tomorrow morning."
"Can they even do this?" George demanded.
"How could they get her here without going through the board?" Fred questioned.
"Is it legal? Can't we just have her kicked out." Hadrian added hopefully.
"Your dad is going to have to be the one to figure out the legality, but I do think it is legal." Severus wiped his hand down his face, it had been a long day already and it still wasn't over. "Although Hogwarts is a private institution we are still answerable to the Department of Education which is part of the ministry.
They used that department to create this new position. Her contract is through the ministry, so she is answerable to them and not the board. I honestly don't think we can stop this right now. Albus signed off on it apparently."
"But she's out to get him?" Hadrian was beyond confused.
"Yes and no." Sirius said thoughtfully, although he wasn't involved in politics to the level James was he was still raised a Black, and all Blacks were taught how to use politics to their benefit. "Yes, she and Fudge are after him due to the Voldemort issue, but he might see her as useful.
Looking over many of the anti-creature laws that she pushed you would see that most of them were supported or co-authored with members of the light faction. Over the years Albus has used her to get through bills he wanted passed without having to look like the bad guy. He might be trying to do that here.
He's lost much of his power because of us, this might be a way to try and get it back. The DoE can actually overrule the board if they find cause. They may try and use that to change the school to the way they want it. There is plenty of common ground.
Albus and Umbridge both want to keep the students dumbed down. They want to take control out of the hands of the governors. There are plenty of teachers that teach classes they don't approve of. This could be very dangerous."
"You three are going to need to stay out of her line of sight." Severus smirked at the three disgruntled looks. "I'm not saying don't mess with her, I know better than that, just make sure you don't get caught. Always make sure you have an alibi, especially you Hadrian. Albus has repeatedly tried to say you were supporting him in his claims Voldemort has returned, your dad and I have been able to keep it out of the papers so far, but both Fudge and Umbridge know what he has said."
"Self righteous idiot." Hadrian muttered.
"Yes." Sirius nodded. "But it doesn't change the fact that he's still dangerous. I know none of you are little kids, but this is our job, not yours. Hadrian you have your OWLs this year, and Fred, George, you have your NEWTs. You guys need to stay focused on school and not a toad. You can prank her all you want, we won't stop you, but leave the big stuff to us."
"Ok." Fred said as George and Hadrian nodded their agreement. They knew Sirius was right.
"Then we shall take our leave." Severus hugged his son again. At the door he stopped and turned back to the others. "But don't make the mistake of thinking that just because we aren't here you can do whatever you want. I'm still keeping my eyes on all three of you."
Hadrian sighed in annoyance as his papa and chuckling uncle left. Fred and George just looked between each other in slight fear. They had spent too much time with Hadrian's family over the years to think that was just a joke. As much as they loved how well their little soul mate was protected, there were times it was just terrifying.
"Oh will you two relax." Hadrian huffed as he pulled them both towards a couch that had just appeared. "They all know that we've been snogging ourselves breathless for months. They just want to harass you a little as is their fatherly, and god fatherly, duty."
Hadrian didn't give either of them a chance to respond as he sat in George's lap and pulled Fred in for a deep kiss.
High Inquisitors Room
Delores grinned as she looked around her room and it's connected office. It was perfect.
It had taken her the better part of the evening but she had finally gotten things the way she wanted them. Those stupid house elves were practically worthless. They hadn't been listening to her and when she went to correct their failures with a swift smack they had all popped away. A note was left on the desk that said by order of the school governors the elves were to protect themselves. If anyone tried to hurt them then the elves would not answer their call. After that Delores had had to do all the work herself since none of the elves would answer her. Who did they think she was, some kind of mudblood?
But in the end she got it done. Thankfully the elves had gotten the rug down, the walls papered, and the furniture in the room. But she had to do all of the arranging on her own, and then she had even had to hang all of her plates by herself. Although she was glad for that, she didn't want those creatures grubby little fingers on her precious plates.
With all that done she looked over her list one last time before she went to get ready for bed. She was going to have to get up bright and early to make sure she was at breakfast before the students. She needed to observe them to see who she was going to need to deal with.
Smiling she cuddled up under her soft pink duvet, oh yes, soon enough this school was going to be unrecognizable. And Albus Dumbledore was going to have no one but himself to blame for it. She would show him, and that Potter brat with him.
She and Cornelius had seen him leaving the Headmaster's office last year and they both knew that he was at the heart of all this. Dumbledore might have too much power, but it was the boy that could prove to be the real danger. There were just too many people that idolized him for what happened at the end of the last war.
Deloris herself hated him for it. While she had never taken the dark mark, she had agreed with getting rid of the mudbloods. They were nothing and deserved to be stamped out. After they were gone she was hoping that the Dark Lord would move on to the half bloods and creatures that were also polluting their world with their continued existence.
Hogwarts, Potions Class - September 5, 2005
Hadrian was happy as he listened to his papa give them a lecture about what this year was going to be like and how he was going to help prepare them for their OWLs. He knew that this was going to be a tough year, but he was excited for the challenge.
The first month of this year was going to be focused on reviewing everything from the past four years to remind all the students about what they had learned earlier before they started working on new information. That way they would have already reviewed the older information so when they started studying for end of year exams they could focus on the newer stuff more since all five years worth of information would be on the exams.
The thing that made Hadrian the happiest was that now that he was in fifth year he was in classes with his papa and Uncle Siri. He knew it wouldn't really change anything about how he learned and what he was assigned, but he liked that he could be with them. Just being around his family always made him happy.
High Inquisitors Office - September 19, 2005
Delores Umbridge was exhausted. Over the past weeks she had just been looking over the school. Honestly, why did the stupid place have to be so big? There was a part of her that really wanted to move the school.
The ministry could easily build a new, better, school. Once the new school was up and running then they could sell this drafty old castle and use the profit to benefit the ministry. What made it even better was the fact that since it would be a ministry school they would have more control over what was taught and how it was taught.
The only thing that was standing in the way of that was tradition. And Delores did so love her pure blood traditions. It was something she was going to need to think about some more.
Then there was the behaviour of the students. They were complete monsters. Who had let those miscreants think that their behaviour was acceptable? They were loud, disrespectful, arrogant, terrible little demons. One of them had even charmed her favourite pink cardigan to be a disgusting lime. If she ever found out who had done that she would have them expelled, maybe even put in Azkaban if she could arrange it.
As for the classes, she was going to be starting her evaluations during the next week. Her plan had just been to sit in on a few classes with the Slytherins, being a Slytherin herself she knew she could trust them, but that had been stopped. Sirius Black, one of the biggest disgraces of a pure blood, had pointed out that if she was to evaluate a class she had to sit in on multiple classes, with multiple years, and multiple houses. It was apparently some old rule of the DoE from a long time ago that no one had paid much attention to.
Now she was going to have to spend months going to different classes rather than just a few weeks. She had hoped to finish her evaluation quickly and start getting rid of any teacher she didn't approve of and start restricting the curriculum. Once she had the evidence that Dumbledore was incompetent, or more likely plotting to overthrow the ministry, she would have him removed and have the minister appoint her as the new head mistress.
The original plan she had worked out would have had her in charge before yule, but now it was going to take longer. But she had no intention of stopping, she was just going to have to work harder.
There were going to be some big changes starting this year or her name wasn't Delores Jane Umbridge.
Sirius's Office - October 1, 2005
Sirius sighed as he waited in his office for Ron Weasley to join him. He had already done the meetings with the students, but this was a meeting about the prefect badge. After his meeting with Ron he had scheduled an appointment with Hermione to discuss her badge, it was done that way since he was sure that his meeting with Hermione would be longer, that girl just couldn't do anything quickly and easily.
Honestly he was surprise that they had both managed to get through their first month without losing their badges, but it had been a close thing. Both had received detention twice, and Ron was already falling behind on his grades. There had also been a few arguments, but so far no one had ended up in the hospital wing as a result, but Sirius had seen Hermione rubbing her arm and going to the hospital wing saying she was in pain more than once, the last time he had gone to the healers and told them about the potion so that they could explain to her what was going on and so that they wouldn't waste their time trying to figure out the issue.
At the end of the summer Sirius had received a letter from Hermione's parents saying that they had ended up deciding to get her the karma potion. Now, every time she hit someone she would share the pain she caused. The potion was a long lasting one and would stay in her system for 6 months. He hoped the girl would learn something during that time.
Ron Weasley was making his way down the hall towards his DADA professors office. He didn't really understand why he had to meet with his professor again, they had met only a week before about how he was settling into the new year, but at least it got him away from Hermione for a little while.
Ever since the teachers had given their start of year lectures about the OWLs the girl had been battyer than ever before. She tried to make him study almost constantly, the only time she didn't was when they had those stupid prefect rounds, but even then he wasn't safe. Since the head boy or girl was always with them she spent most of their rounds asking them questions about the stupid exams. Even Ron could see how annoyed they were and figured they were more than excited that they no longer needed to chaperone them on their rounds anymore.
This was just another thing that annoyed Ron. He had been so excited about getting the prefects badge, but it just wasn't what he thought. Whenever Bill or Percy had talked about being prefect they had only mentioned perks, like the prefects bathroom, that he really liked, but they never talked about the downside.
He had to spend hours every week doing rounds and other things that Hermione said prefects had to do. With all the work the teachers were heaping on them he had next to no free time. As it was he had skipped a few assignments just to get everything done. And he still wanted to try out for the quidditch team. There was no way he could do everything. It was just so annoying.
If it weren't for the fact that he wanted the position then he would have given the badge back. He enjoyed getting to lord his position over others, but it was just so much work. During the first week he had tried to make Harry jealous since McGonagall had assigned them to sit together in her class, but Harry had just said that he had requested Flitwick not consider him since he was going to be busy this year. It annoyed Ron that he had finally gotten something that Harry hadn't and the other boy hadn't even wanted it. But he had to admit he had a point, Harry had quidditch after all.
Arriving at the office, Ron mentally prepared himself to talk to the professor and walked in without knocking. "What is this about?"
Sirius looked up and raised an eyebrow at the rudeness of the boy. "Please have a seat Mr. Weasley.
This is a check up about your prefect badge. As you know you are on probation so I will be meeting with you each month to let you know how you're doing and get any feedback from you.
Well, so far you are doing ok. I'm going to warn you now though, you need to work harder on your school work, your grades are slipping and if they go much further then you will lose your position. I know that it can be hard in your OWL year to keep up with your homework, but you still need to do it. I would recommend working up a schedule for when you do your assignments, don't just wait until the last minute, start working up an outline when you get it so you can just add things as you go. We do give you a lot of work, but it is possible to do it all, as has been proven by every other student before you."
"There is no way anyone can do all that work." Ron whined.
"Yes, they can, and so can you, you just have to work hard." Sirius had seen the change in the boy's attitude and was sure that the mind healers potions had finally started to take effect, much to his joy. "Like I said, the day you get the assignment work up an outline, it can just be point form. Add to it during your free time, and then write up the rough draft at the half way mark. Go over it and anything else you need to get done and rewrite it a day or two before it's due.
We generally give you two or three weeks to write a long paper, there is more than enough time for that. It is just about time management. That is why I recommended working up a schedule. I know for a fact that you have free slots during your days for the electives you aren't taking. If you were to come to the great hall during that time you will find that it is being used as a study hall. There are always teachers there for if you have questions, and there are limited distractions so you could focus on your work. If you used your free periods to do your work you would find more free time during the evenings."
"But I don't want to." Ron moaned.
"Then you risk both failing your exams and losing your badge due to poor grades and you will have no one but your self to blame. You also won't be able to try out for quidditch.
I am your professor, not your parent. It is my job to ensure you get an education, not coddle you."
Ron just glared, he didn't need to be coddled. The professor just didn't understand how hard it was to be in school nowadays.
"Do you have any other concerns about your position as prefect Mr. Weasley?"
Ron just shook his head petulantly.
"Then you are free to go, but I would recommend going over the rules you need to follow to keep your badge again. You need to work on your temper, you are a roll model for the younger years after all."
Sirius fought not to roll his eyes as the boy all but stomped out of the room, slamming the door as he went. The boy was acting like a petulant 5 year old, but at least he had matured from the toddler like behaviour from the years previous.
Looking at the clock he saw he had 5 more minutes before Hermione showed up. He really did wonder why there was a rule that said teachers couldn't drink before meetings with students.
Hermione made her way towards her professors office trying to figure out what the meeting was about, she hadn't done anything wrong. She had seen Ron when she was on her way to the office but he had been muttering to himself and when she had asked him what the meeting was about he had just ignored her. She had tapped him on the arm, but he had just ignored her.
At the office she knocked and entered when she was invited. "You wanted to see me Professor Black?"
"Yes, please have a seat Ms. Granger." Sirius motioned to the chair, seeing the girl unconsciously rubbing her arm. She must have hit someone on her way down. "This is just a meeting about your prefect probation. At the beginning of each month you will meet with me so we can go over any issues."
"I'm not having any issues, other than this stupid hex that the healers can't find." Hermione huffed.
"That is where you're wrong." Sirius looked at her. "You really need to get your attitude under control. You had two detentions last month for talking back to professors."
"I didn't do anything wrong." Hermione growled.
"Yes, you did. Intellectual debates are one thing, but being blatantly rude and disrespectful is another. To be a teacher the staff has to have a mastery in their subject. I'm the only professor that doesn't but I was hired because of my background as an auror. The point of that is, we know more than a teenage witch that has yet to even finish school.
I'm not saying that we don't make mistakes, because everyone does, but we know more than you. If a mistake is made you could point it out politely, but telling Professor Sinistra that she is a 'no nothing air head who believes in superstitious nonsense' is not something you say to a professor."
"But she was wrong. Only idiots believe in astrology. There have been multiple studies over the past few decades that completely debunk all that garbage." Hermione gave him a haughty look. "She was trying to tell us about how our astrological sign may affect our lives. I merely pointed out how wrong she was and she argued she wasn't."
Sirius raised an eyebrow. "She argued with you because she was correct. While it is true that muggle astrology is incorrect the magical version has been validated repeatedly.
Magical astrology isn't just about the placement of the stars, but how the placement effects the magical resonance of our environment. You will actually learn more about this in arithmancy later on this year because you will be calculating the resonance surrounding your date of birth as a term project. Professor Sinistra was correct, you were wrong and disrespectful. I would recommend you speak with your mind healer about your difficulty with accepting others might know something you don't, it isn't healthy."
Hermione glared and muttered that she was right and they were just being idiots.
"You do know I can hear you Ms. Granger? Like I said, you need to work on your attitude. If you ever spoke to an employer like that you would find yourself unemployed very quickly. No one likes being spoken to like that. I know you want a job at the ministry after school and that means you are going to have to learn to work with others."
"I'm going to be minister of magic." Hermione snarled, her attitude was fine.
"But you are going to have to work your way up, you can't just finish school and become minister. First off, there is an age restriction. To even run for minister you must be 30 years old. You graduate at 17 or 18, which means you will have to do some other job for 12 or 13 years.
Then there is the fact that ministers need the popular vote. I hate to say this to you Ms. Granger, but a politician you are not. A politician is capable of taking all sides of any issue and endear themselves to multiple different groups."
"I represent the muggleborns. That is enough." Hermione didn't like what she was hearing.
"No, it isn't. I would recommend speaking to your politics professor. He might be able to give you a more detailed breakdown of the political situation in our country. But from what I know of our population even if you got the vote of every single muggleborn it wouldn't be enough. But more than that you wouldn't be able to get every muggleborn vote.
Like I said, you need to learn how to play politics if you want to be a politician. But even more so if you want to join the ministry. If you work at the ministry you won't be starting at the top, you start at the bottom, regardless of your grades. You will have to do as you are told, whether you agree with it or not. To move up not only will you have to complete the jobs you were assigned, but you will also have to be well liked and respected by your co-workers."
Hermione had never actually thought about that. She had always just thought about graduating and Headmaster Dumbledore arranging for her to become minister. But with that stupid age restriction then that looked less likely. Maybe she would have to talk to him about how he was going to fix that, she didn't want to have to spend 13 years working for those idiots.
"But, back on track, as you well know if you had gotten any more detentions last month you would have lost your badge so you will need to work on that. So far your grades are fine and you haven't sent anyone to the hospital wing so you have cleared that hurtle."
"And what about the students that have sent me to the hospital wing?" Hermione demanded, thinking of the pain she had felt.
"And which students would that be?" Sirius knew what was coming next.
"I don't know, just that I keep getting hexed or jinxed when I'm talking to different people and it makes my arms hurt. But no one is doing anything." Hermione whined.
"Yes, I had heard you had been to the hospital about pain with no apparent cause. I have spoken with the healers so they understand what is going on."
"And you did nothing. If you knew what was happening why haven't you done anything." Hermione demanded.
"There is nothing that I can do. I had a letter from your parents to explain it. Apparently they have also noticed your bad habit of hitting, but they also realized you don't seem to even realize that you're hitting."
"I haven't hit anyone." Hermione argued as she crossed her arms.
"Yes, you clearly have. Your parents wrote that they gave you what is commonly referred to as a karma potion. It is used to treat unconscious behaviour.
For the next six months, every time you hit someone, you will feel the resulting pain along with your victim."
"How dare my parents give me a potion like that." Hermione shouted.
"Well, given the fact that you have repeatedly gone to the hospital wing with pain, and that you came into this office just now rubbing your arm, it is clear you needed it. If you didn't hit anyone then you would feel no pain. You are only now experiencing the pain that you cause. The purpose of the potion is to teach you that hitting hurts, it also shows that you need to control yourself with your violent outbursts.
Hitting is wrong Ms. Granger, the potion just allows you to understand your actions."
Hermione glared. She didn't hit people, and even if she did then they must have deserved it. Just as she was getting ready to tell the professor off he changed the subject again.
"If you truly are interested in politics I would suggest that you spend some of your time this year seeing if you can make alliances within your house. Then maybe next year you will win the school board spot for Gryffindor."
"What are you talking about?" Hermione was confused.
"Have you not bothered to read the notices on the notice board?"
"Of course not, it's just stupid stuff. Information about different clubs like that stupid gobstone group. The only time I bother to look at it is at the end of the terms so I can see my placement. The only other reason was to see when the Hogsmeade weekends were, but now since it's every other weekend there isn't any reason."
"Well I would recommend that you start looking at it. There is more than just clubs and grades that are listed. Something you seem to have missed is that four students sit on the school board. One student from each house. The heads of house nominate four students from their house and the other students vote during the first week who they want to represent them.
This year both you and Mr. Weasley were nominated alongside Angelina Johnson and Winston Hardin. Ms. Johnson won with a clear majority so for this school year she sits on the board. If you want a career in politics you could consider this year as a campaign for next years election." Sirius thought this might be a way to get the girl to try and play nice with others.
"Why wasn't I chosen? I was the best candidate." Hermione was surprised, she hadn't known that she had had a chance to sit on the school board. But now that she knew the position existed she was furious that the idiots in her house hadn't elected her, she was the best person for a position like that.
"Ms. Johnson is well liked and respected in the house. It would seem that your house mates saw her as the more approachable option. As I have repeatedly mentioned, you have an attitude issue, and that would be off-putting to others. In the end, they felt she would best represent them."
"And how many votes did I get?" Hermione demanded, she needed to know how many people she needed to convince to vote for her next time.
Sirius pulled out a folder and flipped it open, not that it had anything to do with the topic, he already knew the answer but needed to make it look like he actually didn't. "None."
"WHAT?"
"None. You didn't get any votes. Politics is about making friends, or at least alliances. Something you have never gone out of your way to do."
Hermione was furious. No one had voted for her. How dare they disrespect her like that? Getting up, proverbial storm clouds over her head, she stomped out of the office without another word.
Leaning back Sirius let a smirk make its way onto his face. By jumping from topic to topic he had managed to keep the girl off balance and that had kept her from being able to form any of the lengthy arguments that the girl was known for.
Hogwarts - October 10, 2005
Hadrian, Blaise Zabini, and Theo Nott were walking together towards the school when they all noticed Ron and Hermione standing in the front doors, their arms crossed and vicious smiles on their faces.
"Something tells me this is going to get messy." Theo muttered just loud enough as he mentally prepared himself for the oncoming confrontation.
The three of them had spent the day at the judicial meeting of the Wizengamot so they could start to learn how they were handled in reality and not just how they were supposed to work according to books. As all three currently held titles they were able to enter the chambers to view any and all trials, although they couldn't vote.
"And just where were you three today?" Hermione demanded as she stomped down towards them. "You three missed all of your classes. Skipping class is worth a loss of 5 points per class and every class after the third offence gets you detention. So that's…"
"We didn't skip class." Blaise interrupted before the girl could start docking points.
"Yes you did. You weren't in any of our classes. We checked." Ron said pompously. "Plus we just saw you walk through the gate, that means you were also out of bounds which is going to cost you even more." Ron was thrilled at just how many points they were going to lose and how many detentions they were going to serve.
"We had permission." Theo informed the two annoyances.
"Sure you did." Ron said in a mocking voice.
"And just where were you?" Hermione huffed.
"We were at the Wizengamot." Hadrian said.
"Why would you be there?" Hermione squinted at them. "You aren't a member of the ministry."
"We were there because we're all Lords. Come next year we will be able to take up our positions on the Wizengamot if we want. All three of us decided we needed to start attending so that we can learn about our responsibilities." Blaise explained, he knew this was going to set the know it all off.
"But that isn't right. You're just kids. You have no right to make decisions about the government." Hermione's hands immediately went to her hips as she stomped her foot. "Stop this foolishness right now. You aren't old enough to know what is best for our world, I bet you all even have house elves."
"House elves?" Theo was confused.
"It's slavery!" Hermione screamed at the confused boy.
"That is more than enough Ms. Granger." Came the voice of Hagrid, he had been out on the grounds when he had seen what was going on. "You are a prefect, you should act like it. Now, what is going on here?"
"They skipped all their classes today and left the school." Ron announced before the others could speak.
Blaise sighed, did these two never listen. "We had permission from both our parents and heads of house. We had family obligations to attend to so we were given permission to leave."
"I don't understand what the issue is." Hagrid said in confusion.
"They skipped class and left school grounds." Hermione said snobbishly. "They are in trouble."
"No, they aren't." Hagrid said slowly. "If they had permission then they had permission. It's no different then if your family called you home for the day. They had every right to leave if they were given permission."
Hermione drew in a deep breath, getting ready to start a rant, but Sirius arrived before she could.
"Don't start. They have done nothing wrong so you have no right to yell at them, not that you would have the right to yell at them even if they had done something wrong. No one has the right to yell at someone here, you can speak to them, but not yell.
I think you two should be off. I'm sure you have homework waiting for you. We wouldn't want you to do anything to get yourselves in trouble."
Hermione glared, but surprisingly, Ron started to pull her away. Everyone was shocked that Ron had actually managed to control his temper as much as he had. Something was going on with that boy.
Hogsmeade - October 22, 2005
Arthur was still surprised as he made his way through Hogsmeade. Just the day before he had gotten a letter from Ron requesting to meet with him. This had been the first time that he could ever remember that Ron had been the one to reach out.
From what Sirius and Severus had told him recently, Ron had started to respond to the mind healer potions. While he was still childish, he was getting a hold of his temper. He apparently hadn't even gotten into a fight in the past three weeks, while he had argued, it hadn't moved beyond that. Now the issue was his not doing his homework.
"There you are." Ron said when Arthur walked around the corner. "I thought you had forgotten."
"Not at all. Winky just wanted to make sure I had everything. She whipped up some of your favourite treats when I told her I was coming to see you today." Arthur held up the package the sweet little elf had given him before he left.
"Even the double chocolate brownies?" Ron asked hopefully as his eyes went big as he reached out. That was one thing he missed about living with his dad, Winky always made really good snacks.
"Of course, she knows how much you like those." Arthur smiled. The best part about Winky's treats was that she enchanted them so that the children wouldn't want to eat more than two at once. It allowed them to have sweets, but not over indulge and make themselves sick.
They walked a little further into town and sat on one of the benches in the little park. Both were glad the entire area was covered in warming charms so they didn't have to worry about getting cold.
"So, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?" Arthur asked as Ron pulled out one of the brownies.
Ron fidgeted slightly. "It's… I don't want…" Ron huffed out a sigh and looked down like he was expecting to get in trouble. "I don't want to be a prefect."
"Ok." Arthur didn't understand why Ron had such a hard time admitting that. "So just give the badge back."
"What?" Ron was shocked with his dads reaction. "But you and mum have always gone on and on about us being prefects. Now you're saying that I can just give the badge back?"
"Ron. You are my son. Whether you have a badge or not, I will always love you." Arthur reached out to the boy. "If I made you think that I would only love you if you were a prefect then I am sorry. I know your mum and I made a big deal about when Bill and Percy got their badges, but that was just because we were proud.
If you don't want to be a prefect, that's fine with me. Remember, Charlie, Fred, and George, have never been prefects, and they are still loved, you will be too."
"But being a prefect is a tradition in our family." Ron said in shock.
Arthur couldn't help it, he started laughing. "Tradition? I don't know where you got that idea. Up until Bill and Percy, no Weasley had been a prefect or head boy in over a century. Weasleys in general just don't have the prefect gene. We tend to get so focused on what we want that we blunder right past any rules or limits. I can't tell you just how surprised I was when Bill got the badge, Perce I could understand, but Bill was a surprise. And, on your mum's side of the family, the last prefect was Muriel.
That was why your mum and I made such a big deal about it, because your brothers were the odd one's out."
Ron started to relax. "But I thought you and mum…"
"Nope." Arthur shook his head. "Neither your mum or I were even considered. Not that I would have wanted to be. I'm sure you know just how much work is involved with being prefect, and there is even more if your head boy. I liked my free time way to much to want that kind of responsibility."
"I know, it's just crazy." Ron started to grin as he nodded. "There's just so much work, and it's the OWLs this year. Hermione is already driving me crazy."
Arthur smiled down at his son. "I know. During my OWL year I thought I would be working on assignments for the next decade, but, I got through it. The best advice I can give you is something my mum told me, do what you're told, and that's it. If your teacher asks you for two feet, write two feet. Another tip, sometimes, if you ask, a teacher will just let you write in point form on assignments. You should ask your teachers about that. I know Fred and George told me that there were a few teachers that allowed that."
"Really?" Ron was excited by that. He hated having to write out long papers.
"Yup. Now, why come to me about this and not just turn in your badge?"
"Mum." Ron went from happy to depressed instantly. "She has been going on and on about me being prefect, and head boy in the future for as long as I can remember. I don't want to let her down.
I know how much it means to her. I was hoping you could help me make up an excuse."
"If that's what you want." Arthur thought about it for a few minutes before he flicked his wand, sending his lion patronus off to deliver a message. "Come with me, I have an idea."
"What was that?" Ron stared at where the silver animal had been as he got up.
"That was a patronus. It is a high level defensive shield, but it can also serve as a messenger."
"When do we learn that?"
"You most likely won't. It is extra credit on your NEWTs. It is an auror level spell."
"Then how do you know it?"
"It is the only thing that works against dementors. During the last war the dementors sided against us, so a lot of people were attacked by them. There were plenty of us that spent years learning that spell as a last defence. Now, come on."
Arthur lead Ron out of town and towards where the teachers cottages were. When they got there Sirius was waiting out front.
"What can I do for you Arthur, young Mr. Weasley?"
There was a few seconds of silence while Arthur looked to his son waiting for his reply before he realized he was going to need to get this going. "Well, why don't you tell your professor what you just told me."
Ron looked fearfully to his father for a moment, he didn't exactly have the best relationship with this professor, but he took a deep breath and plowed forward. "I don't want to be a prefect. I hate it. But, I can't just give the badge back because my mum won't like it."
Sirius thought for a few moments. "I have an idea. So far this month you have had three detentions Mr. Weasley. One more and you will automatically be stripped of your badge. If you were to say, arrive late, to all of your classes with me this week, I could give you that last detention and no one could argue that it was unfair or retract it.
You wouldn't have to be prefect, and your mum would have me to blame for it. She already doesn't really like me, so that shouldn't be an issue."
"You'd really do that?" Ron was thrilled with the idea, he didn't want to have detention again, but it would be worth it if he could get rid of the badge and avoid his mums anger over it.
"Sure, but try to only be 5 or 10 minutes late if you please. You still need to learn. And, for your detention I'll just let you do your homework rather than the usual detention. I will also speak to Ms. Bell."
"Katie. Why would you talk to Katie about it?" Ron was confused why Professor Black would speak to the quidditch captain about it.
"You most likely haven't heard but the team is going to be holding another try out next week." The original tryouts had been during the second week of school, but Ron hadn't even noticed since he had actually been in detention at the time. "The new keeper that had been selected has decided to withdraw herself because practice conflicts with her charms club and she prefers charms. I will just explain to Ms. Bell that the detention was planned so she won't hold it against you during try outs."
Ron couldn't believe it. He had been so angry when he had learned he had missed try outs, but now he had a second chance. He had never considered that Professor Black could be so much help. Usually, when he went to McGonagall she was useless and just told him to do what Hermione told him to do.
Arthur was glad. Ron would get the chance to make the team, something he actually wanted for himself, and not something he wanted just because Molly made a big deal about it.
That afternoon, everyone left happy.