The leaving feast each year was a sumptuous celebration for the seventh years achievements with awards for the year's top student and the best sports person in the leaver's year. In the past two years Slytherin had won both the House and Quidditch Cups. Minerva knew this was due to one factor, Harry Potter. After Black's imprisonment and 'forced' marriage, house censure had made an outcast of Lily's and James' son. Cast from the House Quidditch team, in the year he had been offered captaincy. The team had also lost the only obvious replacement as seeker, Ginerva Weasley, who had been homeschooled for her OWLs by her great-great Aunt. Ronald Weasley had proved to be a disaster as both player and captain; angry, arrogant and far too easily riled by the opposition. It had been Ronald as House Prefect , who had lead the campaign of hatred against the innocent third party. Potter's work had been worthy of top grades, but assignment after assignment had been sabotaged by others in Gryffindor. His fellow pupils could not affect his exam performance nor did they know Potter owled copies of his assignments to the relevant professors.
This year, Potter had Outstandings in all subjects, and Minerva knew this fact was due to Severus Snape's acceptance as Headmaster and was therefore no longer teaching. Twenty three grade points ahead of the favourite to gain top student, Miss Granger. Rather than embarrass himself or the school at the feast, Harry had left school early. There would only be an announcement tonight and no presentation this year for Top Student Award. The Head Girl had not been happy when she had been informed of her status as second place for her final year, after six years of making the top spot. Minerva had been less than impressed with that girl's spiteful attitude and mistaken belief that the Board should automatically award the honour to a non-censured student. Exam scores and all assignments were independently assessed by the Ministry for an assurance that no cheating or potion enhancement was being used in OWL and NEWT years. Hermione Granger was an also ran.
At the last full meeting of the year, all the staff and prefects had observed the Head Boy's obvious mirth at Know-it-All Granger's ultimate humiliation. Blaise Zabini had only trailed Granger by a single mark to be placed third in his final year and as a young wizard of impeccable lineage and connections, he would pick and choose his career path; whereas Granger had made enemies at the Department of Magical Education by her strident attempts to have Lord Potter exam results expunged. In the past year the boy had not once contacted his godfather, but had sought the guidance of the Black Regent. In the political world of the Wizangamot and the Ministry, Hadrian James Potter had been observed to cut all ties to his Godfather after his majority and had acted with all propriety of a young man of his station. With his cool head and stance of being the better man Potter had done much to amend his reputation.
Minerva had never been close to the Potter Heir. The boy himself was extremely quiet, a former underachiever and a brilliant flyer, but she had kept her distance and chose to remain just an educator, when she had been a close friend and mentor to Lily and James. The boy's godfather and legal guardian had proved to be a disgrace, both at school when nearly expelled in his sixth year and as an adult. The Transfiguration Professor knew Harry spent his summer's with his muggle relatives but she had assumed, like all others at the school, that Harry had been a spoilt and pampered child, doted on by his late father's best friend and his mother's sister. As Harry had never spoken to any about his home life, she never knew he had first met Sirius Black during his third year at the school at the Quidditch Cup Presentation to Gryffindor for the first time in nine years. She had not seen the third year student's barely concealed confusion, then anger at being introduced to his magical guardian. Harry had only visited his godfather during the summer after fourth year, when he had stayed at Grimmauld Place for a week, but had been ignored. Sirius had also invited over the Weasley's, Remus Lupin and the Tonk's. Harry as quiet, shy child had spent most of that week in the Black library or being looked after by the house elf, Kreacher.
Harry had not remained friends with any in Gryffindor. In fact, the Head of Gryffindor had not observed Potter spend any time with his housemates in the past two years. If she had looked into it she would have found two students had found their own accommodations at the school, eating in the kitchens and avoiding the library or any of their tormentors. Luna had already made friends with house elves, thestrals and the ghosts and would remain aloof and perfectly happy as an outcast and truly uniquely talented witch.
…
Hermione Granger threw herself on top of her bed in the Head Girl's Suite of Rooms. How was she going to explain the fact she had placed second in her year and in Gryffindor but a not insignificant margin to her very exacting parents. She understood Potter had been excellent in DADA, but he had scored better than her in Potions, Charms, Arithmancy and Transfiguration. He must have cheated somehow, she had always been best student. She had striven for years to be top, proving herself better than those raised in the magical world, only she knew Potter had grown up in Surrey. This should have been her moment of triumph, collecting the Prize as Top Student. Only one muggleborn had achieved this, Lily Evans, Potter's late mother. Well, Hermione Granger would complete her mastery, have a glorious career and not fail. Only with her renewed determination did the bushy haired student begin to prepare for the feast. She had not noticed the Head Boy's scathing distain for her, nor the fact the staff had been shocked by her unseemly and vert rude outburst.
The Magical World was still a very conservative place, ruled by etiquette and unwritten rules of seemly conduct. Rules that the newly Graduated Head Girl would butt heads with. She would find as a apprentice, that her Master's word was law and there was no give and take or place for argument. The only time for any heated discussion was in her final dissertation and viva voce. She had signed the contract for her further education with little preparation for the hard times and steep learning curve ahead of her. Most witches were protected from unscrupulous exploitation by a master by the protection of belonging or being vassal to an ancient and noble house, by entering into a betrothal contract or actual marriage on finishing Hogwarts. Hermione Granger thought her rights and protection were the same as in the muggle world. She was in danger as a woman without a family of good standing, a fiancee or a husband, of being worked like a slave and not have any protection under law until released from the contract by her master, by gaining her mastery or after the term of seven years had passed.
….
Regulus Black waited in his anteroom for the arrival of the young and inexperienced Lord Potter. He was in the strange situation of protecting and education his cousin, having spent the last year undoing sixteen years of mismanagement and neglect by his irresponsible brother. Regulus had fond memories of his godmother Dorea Potter, a daughter of House Black. A woman who had interceded for Sirius, when he had run away at sixteen and disgraced his parents and grandparents and had been a hairsbreadth away from being disowned. In 1979, their father Orion had died, murdered as an opponent of that half-blood, self styled Dark Lord. On the death of Arcturus Black in 1991, Lord of the Ancient and Noble House of Black, Sirius as elder grandson had inherited the title but control of money and property had been left with Regulus. It had been a bitter blow to Sirius, the man had survived the battle that had seen the deaths of his two closest friends and the revelation that a third friend had been a traitor. His brother had been crippled by grief and had passed on custody of his godson, not to Narcissa or Andromeda, but Lily's muggle sister. In the intervening years nothing had changed, on meeting his godson Sirius had been appalled that James' son was nothing like his father. How could a child raised in the muggle world and with no contact with any of his magical family or with any mentors or tutors and without the benefits of wealth and its comforts be like anything like the spoiled, arrogant and pureblood James Caelum Potter.
…..
Ginny Weasley hated married life and her husband in particular. Her only comfort was the private suite of rooms assigned to Lady Black, but the actuality of this at Grimmauld Place was a dowdy, tired and bleak bedroom, dressing room with attached bath, private reception room and small office. As she was still only sixteen, she had her Great Aunt Muriel acting as chaperone. Talk about bolting the stable door once the horse had bolted. She had seduced Sirius in an attempt to get her then contracted fiancee to notice her, but instead of making Harry jealous; she had been forced to marry Black. The man had a miserly monthly stipend from the Goblins and debts that were growing exponentially. As Lady of the House, she was now Manager and Chatelaine in charge of household expenses, dining, entertainment and expected to dress to her station. She could not magic gold out of thin air, she had her own vault and now knew never to lend her husband a sickle. She was at present writing to Bill to see about investing part of her money for financial security, but she would have to gain employment and fast. Her dowry had been a simple box of linens and items in preparation of the large number of children her mother anticipated. God forbid a household filled with awful mini-Padfoots.
