The New Leader of the Pride

A Harry Potter Fanfiction

by Drauchenfyre

Chapter 2: House Meeting

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

The Great Hall

1 Sep 1994

1723 GMT

"And finally," Dumbledore said, drawing the attention of the Hall, "Our dear Professor McGonagall has decided she has stretched herself too thin, and has stepped down from her position as Head of Gryffindor House." Protests from the Lion's table were waved down by Dumbledore. "Replacing her in this position will be Professor Samuel Glyphs, Professor of Ancient Runes and former United States Marine." The sandy-haired man next to Professor McGonagall rose briefly and waved, then stated, "After the feast, I'm calling a House Meeting in the Gryffindor Common Room. Attendance is mandatory."

Gryffindor Common Room

Same Day

2102 GMT

The gathered house of Gryffindor sat, buzzing about the Triwizard Tournament that the Headmaster had announced that evening. Harry Potter, feeling a sense of dread, sat between his friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, sure that this Tournament would be nothing but trouble. Given his past track record, he was sure he'd become entangled in that mess one way or another.

With a BANG that made half the room jump, the door to the office of their Head of House flew open, revealing a middle-aged man in what the Muggleborn would call a 'detective outfit'- slacks, wing-tips, dress shirt with rolled-up sleeves, suspenders and a fedora. He even carried a trenchcoat over one shoulder and held a toothpick in his teeth. Hermione Granger was one of the few in the room who recognized the man- Samuel Glyphs, Professor of Ancient Runes.

Glyphs cleared his throat, to mixed results.

"YO! PIPE DOWN!"

Whatever else they knew about Glyphs, they now also knew he had a strong set of lungs on him. Gryffindor settled down.

"For those of you who don't know me- which, judging by the confused looks on your faces is most of you- my name is Samuel Jason Glyphs, Professor of Ancient Runes. Over the summer, your former Head of House, Professor McGonagall, came to the conclusion that she was stretching herself too thin, by holding three posts here at Hogwarts. She feels that it is best to hand off the Head of Gryffindor position to someone who has the time to watch out for you the way you deserve."

"Professor McGonagall feels she has failed you, by allowing Professor Snape's blatant bias against non-Slytherins in general and certain individuals in particular-" here several glances were shot at Harry, Neville, and the Weasley twins, but not by Glyphs- "to see far too many of your dreams dashed. To that end, you will be happy to note that, in addition to a Mastery in Ancient Runes, I also hold one in Potions. I also have a non-magical degree in Teaching, meaning I have specific training in how to teach properly, something our current Mastery system does not emphasize. To that end, I will be posting a schedule on my office door here where I will have weekend lessons to help any Gryffindor who is interested learn what that grease-stain has failed to teach in between his bouts of verbal abuse. Remember, when you graduate Hogwarts, your class grades and discipline record aren't looked at by potential employers. Only your OWL and NEWT scores make it onto your CV. If you're willing to put in the time and effort for extra lessons- lessons I'm giving on my own time and initiative- I think we can see a marked improvement in Potion scores in this House."

"My last point tonight is the PATHETIC state of health in this House. You are GRYFFINDORS! YOU ARE THE BRAVE! THE NOBLE! THE HEROIC! YOU CAN'T EVEN SAVE YOURSELF IF YOU'VE GOT A FLABBY BELLY WHILE STILL A TEENAGER! So every person in this House will be dressed in the Physical Education uniform the House-Elves placed on your bed at five a.m. tomorrow morning and gathered here in the Common Room, where I will call roll. Trust me, you don't want me to come drag you out of bed- my Aguamenti charm comes out ice-cold. After a few stretches, we'll start a basic, low-level workout to start whipping your butts into shape. A healthy body is more energetic, more alert- healthy wizards gain clear enunciation, precise muscle control for wand movements, and a more powerful core. The next Dark Bastard that tries to terrify the populace will have a core of healthy, skilled Gryffindor civilians cutting him off at the knees, and if I have to kill half of you to pull that off, that's what's gonna happen. I suggest you all get to bed now, you have an early wake-up call tomorrow. DISMISSED!"

CHAPTER END

A/N: I decided it made more sense to have Glyphs introduced at the Feast, rather than introduce himself cold in the Common Room.