Disclaimer: Professor Dumbledore and his students are the property of J. K. Rowling.

Author's Note:  In PS/SS, we learned that James Potter was Head Boy at Hogwarts, but in OotP, we learn that we was not a prefect.  Sirius tells us, "Lupin was the good boy, he got the badge."  I wanted to explore how Professor Dumbledore came to the unusual decision of making James the Head Boy.

Choosing the Head Boy Chapter One—July

Professor Dumbledore looked over the list of new prefects, nodding as he assured himself that each was the best choice from his or her year and house.  In only one instance had he chosen someone other than the student recommended by the head of his or her house.  There had been ten to choose this year, eight fifth-years as usual, plus replacements for two students who had recently died in tragic circumstances.

            And now just two decisions remained.  He had to choose the new Head Boy and Head Girl, and he had no recommendations to guide him.  Or rather, he had four very different recommendations for each, and so these decisions were his alone.  He had observed each of the sixth year prefects throughout the preceding year, slowly making his choices.  Today should merely require that he make those decisions final.

            "What a waste," Dumbledore said softly.  His probable choice for Head Boy, Virgil Catto of Hufflepuff, was one of those he had needed to replace with a new prefect.  His father, Octavius Catto, was an auror.  While he and several other aurors followed a false lead, Death Eaters had entered the Catto home and killed Octavius's wife and three children.  No one believed it a coincidence that the Death Eaters had struck just two nights after the Catto children had come home from Hogwarts for the summer holiday.  A message to the aurors and to the magical community at large—if you oppose us, you risk the safety of your families.

            Dumbledore leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers against his beard as he comtemplated the other three possible candidates for Head Boy.  None of them was quite right for the job.

            "Severus Snape," he thought, and then sighed softly.  There had been a time, not long ago, when he would have seriously considered the intense young man for this role.  However, that had been before—before the incident with Sirius Black that could have proven fatal for Snape, Potter, and Lupin.  The bulk of the blame lay with Black, of course, but Snape was not completely without blame.  His role in the events leading up to the incident, and his reckless decision to go out of bounds and into the Whomping Willow tunnel, both should preclude his being elevated from prefect to Head Boy.  Even more significant was Snape's behavior in the aftermath of the incident.  He had become more openly antagonistic not only toward the Gryffindors, but to all who were different from himself.  Although it was understandable under the circumstances, Dumbledore could not in good conscience award the role of Head Boy to someone so openly partisan to his own house and to purebloods in general.

            "Remus Lupin, the true victim of Snape's and Black's feud," Dumbledore thought as he rose and crossed to the window where he could look out upon the grounds.  He had no reason to deny him the role of Head Boy, but he had no reason to award him with it either.  Two years ago, Minerva McGonagall had had high hopes that the sensible young man, given the responsibility of being a prefect, could rein in the excesses of his mischievous friends.  Dumbledore had agreed that he was the best choice of the fifth-year Gryffindor boys, but he had also suspected that Minerva was being overly optimistic.  Young Remus had never stopped being in awe of the fact that his friends accepted him, accepted a werewolf, as their friend.  He was unable to find fault with them, even when fault needed to be found.  Their acceptance was far too precious to him.

            Of course, the group dynamic between them had changed significantly in the aftermath of Black almost turning Lupin into a murderer and almost getting him executed by the Ministry.  The friendship between Black and Lupin was severely damaged, and only time would tell if it could be rebuilt.  The pranks had come to a halt, but that was more a result of Black and Potter being shocked into growing up overnight than it was Lupin exerting his influence.

            "Pleamon Tierney."  Although the Ravenclaw Prefect was intelligent and had good enough grades to justify being Head Boy, he was as lacking in leadership qualities as Lupin.  Perhaps in some other more peaceful time, he would be an acceptable choice for Head Boy.  However, Hogwarts was beginning to reel under the tension created by the war being waged in the Wizarding World at large.  They needed someone strong and determined who could help pull the student body together.

            As he began to stroke the warm plumage of his pet phoenix, Dumbledore mentally pushed aside the difficult decision and focused instead on the easier decision of Head Girl.  Lily Evans of Gryffindor and Sophia Sinistra of Ravenclaw were equally matched in terms of grades, but in terms of leadership abilities in this difficult time, Evans was by far the better choice.  She had proven time and again her willingness to stand up for what she believed in, and to lead by example.  On more than one occasion, she had stood up against her own classmates when she felt they were taking their feud with the Slytherins too far.  Given that those same Slytherins students despised her for being Muggle-born, Miss Evans was clearly showing great maturity and a exhibiting a higher moral code.

            His only hesitation in awarding her the title of Head Girl was, ironically enough, the fact that she was Muggle-born.  Death Eaters were killing those with Muggle parentage nearly every day, and the higher profile the victim, the better.  To give Evans the Head Girl badge was tantamount to pinning a target on her chest.  Yet, Dumbledore could deny her neither the honour nor the challenge.  He would make sure that she understood the risk entailed and allow her to make her own decision.  If she did accept—"She'll accept; she's a Gryffindor,"—Dumbledore would do all he could to protect her by keeping the decision secret until September first and by having the Order guard her during school holidays.

            "And if Miss Evans is the Head Girl, she'll need the right person as Head Boy to stand by her," Dumbledore thought.  "Mr. Snape will most certainly not do.  A Muggle-born Gryffindor Head Girl, and a Head Boy with his current attitude toward Muggle-borns and Gryffindors—we'd have open warfare between the houses within a month."

            Dumbledore found himself considering Lupin once more.  "He'd certainly stand by his housemate and stand against discrimination, but—"  He shook his head and made his way back to his desk once again.  "I'd be asking him to be a leader of the prefects and the student body, and he's never even been a leader within his own group of friends.  Potter's always been the leader of that little gang."

            He pulled a sheet of parchment out of a desk drawer and dipped a quill into a frog-shaped inkwell filled with his favourite purple ink.  "Dear Miss Evans," he began to write, but then paused and stared up at his phoenix.  "Potter's always been the leader," he thought again.  And it was true.  James Potter was not only the leader of his gang of mischief makers—"Former mischief makers," —but had also shown leadership qualities as the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team during the past year.  "If I don't see leadership potential within the prefect ranks, perhaps I should be looking at the Quidditch captains." 

            He quickly called to mind the four Quidditch captains of the previous year.  The Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw captains had been seventh-years, but Potter and the Slytherin captain, Philip Wilkes, were both entering their seventh-year.  "Mr. Wilkes would be even more hostile toward Miss Evans than Mr. Snape," Dumbledore thought wryly, and he found himself contemplating James Potter again.

            Less than a year ago, he would not have dreamed of considering Potter for Head Boy.  He was intelligent and had excellent grades—his only true competition for first in his class was his best friend Sirius Black—but Potter's and Black's intelligence and talent had all too often been channeled into less than exemplary pursuits.  "However, much has changed since that nearly fatal full moon," Dumbledore thought as he steepled his fingers against his beard once again.  "I think Mr. Potter grew up that night and in the days afterward."  Not only had the pranks and feuding come to abrupt halt, but on at least one occasion since then, he had seen Potter take the role of peacemaker when the simmering hostility between Black and Snape had threatened to boil over in the Great Hall.  "If you can call telling your best friend, 'Shut up, you stupid bastard!' and physically dragging him out of the room 'peacemaking'."

            And of course, there was his behavior on that night itself.  "How many people would face down a fully-grown werewolf and risk their own lives to save another?  And how many fewer would do it to save someone they detest?  If that doesn't demonstrate great maturity and a higher moral code, I don't know what would." 

Now that the idea had come to him, Dumbledore began to honestly believe that Potter was the ideal choice.  He looked up at the portraits of previous Headmasters and Headmistresses.  A few were absent from their frames, and a few others were taking mid-afternoon naps, but the others were watching him with interest.

"Excuse me," he said to the room at large.  "But I need your advice on a matter."

"It's about time you asked," Niniane Diggory said in an amused tone.  "You've obviously been struggling with some decision.

"I'm choosing the Head Boy and Head Girl for next year."

"Just pick a pair who won't kill each other or—what's the contemporary slang?— shag each other," Philomina Twiggle said.

"Philomina, really!" Armando Dippet exclaimed.

"Don't look so shocked.  I do try to keep current on the latest slang.  How else will I understand half of the gossip I overhear?  And my second year as Headmistress, the Head Girl was pregnant with the Head Boy's child before Christmas.  You'd think that the top students of their year could handle a simple contraceptive charm or sterility potion."

"I think the pair I have in mind will fall in between those two extremes," Dumbledore said with a smile.

"What's the dilemma, Albus?" Rual Goodwing asked.

"The young man I'm considering is not one of the prefects."

"Ahh," Philomina said.  "That is unusual, but not unheard of.  I myself never chose from outside the prefect ranks, but my predecessor," she looked toward an empty frame on another wall, "did do so twice.  Both turned out to be a wonderful Head Boys. One went on to have a very successful career within the Ministry."

Phineas Nigellus Black opened his eyes at this.  "And the other?" he asked with a slight smile.

"Killed in a wizards' duel—by your father, I believe."

"What a shame," he replied in a tone that did not match the sentiment.

"Back to the matter at hand," Dumbledore said.  "So there is precedent for this choice."

"Absolutely," said Niniane Diggory.  "I myself once chose a Head Girl who had not been a prefect.  However, since most people assume that you will choose from among the prefects, expect some backlash against your choice.  Make sure you choose someone who can stand up to the initial resentment the prefects may have."

"I think he's up to that challenge," Dumbledore replied.  He dipped his quill in the inkwell in preparation for continuing the letter to Lily Evans.

"Well?" Philomina demanded.  "Aren't you going to tell us who you chose, Albus?"

"Oh, certainly, if you're interested," he said and put the quill back down.  "You all know him quite well; he's been in here more times than I can count.  James Potter."

"At least you didn't pick the werewolf," Phineas said before closing his eyes again.

* * * * *

"Good news, Prongs," Sirius called across the corridor to his best friend as he quickly read the letter delivered by a Hogwarts owl.  "I just got my list of schoolbooks.  Looks like old Dumbledore hasn't reconsidered letting me stay in school."  There was no reply, so Sirius grabbed a t-shirt off the floor, gave it a quick sniff to make sure it was acceptable to wear, and pulled it over his head as he crossed the corridor into James's bedroom.  He found James sitting on his bed reading his own letter.  "Did you hear me, James?"

"Dumbledore is insane," James said quietly, his eyes not leaving the parchment in his hand.

"Yeah, well, we've always said he's a bit mad, haven't we?"

"No," James looked up at Sirius with wide eyes.  "This time, he's really cracked.  Completely mad."

"Thanks a lot, mate," Sirius said as he sank down on the end of James's bed.  "I was hoping you'd be a little more pleased that I'm not expelled."

"No," James frowned in annoyance and held out his right hand, "this."  On his palm lay a golden badge with the words "Head Boy" embossed over the Hogwarts crest.

"But that's—you can't—he really is mad, isn't he?" Sirius found it hard to tear his eyes away from the golden badge to look back into his friend's eyes.  "The only student less Head Boy material than you, is me."  James nodded in agreement.

"Is this real?" James asked.  He suddenly thrust the letter at Sirius.  "Is this really Dumbledore's writing?"

Sirius scanned the curvy writing quickly.  "Looks like it, but—"

"But if it's a prank, what's the point?"

"You showing up at Kings Cross Station on September first, thinking that you're the Head Boy, but you aren't.  Pretty embarrassing, that."

"Yeah, but it might be awkward for the real Head Boy too," James pointed out, "and I don't think Snape would do that to Tierney or—" James fell silent as he remembered that the Hufflepuff prefect had been murdered.

"But he would definitely do it to Remus," Sirius said angrily. 

 "Oh God, Sirius, what if Snape's the new Head Boy?  Can you just imagine me showing up at Kings Cross with a fake Head Boy badge and seeing him with the real one?"

"Snivellus Snape?  Head Boy?" Sirius growled.  "Over my dead body."

"C'mon," James said as he jumped off the bed and ran out the door.  "We've got to call Remus and find out if he's Head Boy."

"He'd better be," Sirius said under his breath as he ran out the door on the heels of his friend. 

Sirius bit his nails as he watched his friend crouched in front of the fire, his head encased in green flames.  When he was a child, he had asked his Uncle Alphard how the head of a person making a floo call could be in two places at once.  Alphard had explained, "It isn't.  The head is in just one place, in the flames.  The flames are in two places at once."  Sirius hadn't understood the distinction then, and he still didn't now.

"Well?" he asked when James pulled his head out of the fire and sat back on his heels.

James shook his head.  "It's not Remus.  He got his letter today, but the badge wasn't in it."

"You don't think I bollocksed that up for him, do you?"

"Nah," James said as he pulled off his glasses and rubbed some soot from his eyes.  "Dumbledore knows that Remus had nothing to do with it, and I can't see him holding your stupidity against Remus.  Anyway, Remus said that he's glad it's not him."

Sirius sat up a little straighter at that unexpected information.  He couldn't imagine someone being glad to be passed over for an honour.  "Why?"

"He said it's better if he doesn't get that kind of attention.  'Keep a low profile,' were his exact words.  He's probably right.  He thinks that if he and Snape hadn't become prefects, Snape might never have noticed how frequently he was absent."

"Nosy git."  He scowled and slouched down again, wrapping his arms around himself

James put his glasses back on.  "I told Remus that I really, really want to know who the new Head Boy is.  He said he'd call Tierney and find out if it's him, and if it's not, he'll ask Tierney to call Snape.  He says Snape and Tierney get along well enough for that."

"You didn't tell him that you got a badge," Sirius stated.  James didn't reply.  "Why not?"

"It's embarrassing," James said with a shrug.  "I mean, it's probably just a prank, and I'd hate to have people think I got taken in by it.  And—" James fell silent and stared into the now empty fireplace.

"Probably just a prank?  Will it still be embarrassing if it turns out to be real?"

"It'll be even more embarrassing.  Do you remember how hard a time we gave Remus for becoming a prefect?  I'll never live this down."

"Oh, I don't know."  Sirius grinned at James.  "I promise to be your loyal and devoted subject, your High Exalted Head Boy-ness.  I wonder if the Head Girl is your ladylove.  Just think; you might finally get her attention, Prongsy."  

James looked down at the golden badge lying on the floor beside his knee and smiled.

Author's Note—A historical footnote: the real Octavius V. Catto was an important civil rights leader in mid-Nineteenth Century Philadelphia until his murder at age 32.  I happened to read an article about him on the same day that I began this story and so borrowed his name for the brave auror and his unfortunate family.

For all of you waiting for the next chapter of "Cave Canem," I swear that I haven't abandoned it.  It's just that my "Cave Canem" muse took a little vacation while I was writing my R/S stories for my other pen name, and while she was traveling home, she read OotP.  She is now recuperating from the shock in nice hospital in the country.

— July 2003