Disclaimer: Harry Potter and his world belong to J. K. Rowling

Chapter 23:

Harry had his reply Friday morning, just a brief note from Brandon that they were consulting, and meantime, he was to do the best he could. And yes, they agreed with him, he was to avoid being alone with Snape.

But that Friday's Potions lesson passed without incident, to his relief. Snape was picking on Neville instead, and Neville was therefore quite unable to complete his work, but that was standard.

He still had not managed to talk to Hermione. Whenever he tried to approach her, she would quickly back away or seek refuge in the library or the girls' dorms where he could not go. He didn't know what he'd done wrong, aside from returning to school perfectly healthy when she'd been convinced that he would not. He guessed he should not harass her when he was not wanted. But it was a sadness.

Two hours of Quidditch practice on Saturday. The team was exactly the same as it had been the previous year, with the addition of backups for each of the players. As well as allowing for accidents and illnesses, it meant they could have practice matches without involving other House teams. It seemed to Harry that it should always have been that way. And only one organised sport played at the school, and so few matches during the year. Wizards were certainly not much interested in sport. And the all but universal passion for Quidditch nearly always meant watching, not doing.

A lot of the Muggle-borns missed their sports as well, but then Dean Thomas announced that he was starting a fitness club, and said that McGonagall had given him permission to use a disused classroom for exercise equipment, whatever he could manage to find. So all of the 2nd year boys were fully occupied on Sunday morning cleaning up the room, and then assembling several makeshift weights they could use. "Not like a real gymnasium," Dean said, "But we can build muscle lifting these, and use this step to exercise legs, and we can run around the school."

Ron said, with a slight sneer, "Sort of a Muggle thing to do, isn't it?" but Dean shrugged and said, "Who cares? I want to have a body like Sean Harris - he's a football star - and so I can be strong and fit and so I can more easily find a girlfriend."

Harry laughed and said that it sounded good to him, and Ron shrugged and said that he guessed he'd do it too then.

He and Ron visited Hagrid that afternoon, but Hagrid was behaving oddly, and told Harry he should come and see him alone. 'He had something to show him,' he said. Harry thought he'd best stay away from Hagrid, and wondered if he should be checked for Dumbledore's influence as well, though he was yet to know if the Greaves had managed to do anything about that. He'd heard nothing since the note that said they were 'consulting.' He guessed he'd mention it in his next letter.

Hagrid, who seemed so kind, and always had. Not the brightest of course, thoroughly irresponsible even. Fancy allowing a couple of 1st years to be up in the middle of the night to try and smuggle his baby dragon out of the castle, a dragon that had already put Ron in hospital. And yet it was hard to believe that Hagrid would deliberately hurt him. Maybe he'd just take a bit of care and not visit him alone. Or maybe not visit him at all. He was the one who'd made a tail appear on his cousin, after all. He'd attacked an eleven-year-old child.

xxx

There was a meeting of the school board. McGonagall was there, and so was the school inspector, Trevor Landen, who'd been studying the school's finances for the past fortnight rather than watching lessons.

First on the agenda was the urgent need for a new headmaster. It had been offered to McGonagall, but she had declined. She'd had far too much faith in Albus Dumbledore, and he'd rewarded her by interfering with her mind. Carl Perlkins, of the Department of Mysteries, had confirmed it. There were things that she had forgotten and would stay forgotten. It was too dangerous to reverse an obliviation, and Perlkins had told her that there could have been multiple obliviations. Not just that, but that he'd said she'd been influenced to brush off student concerns, especially about Snape, and to feel a total loyalty to him, Dumbledore. For now, the school couldn't do without her, but she intended to resign at the end of the school year. She felt old and very sad.

Second was the need for a new Potions teacher, as Snape was no longer even in the country. He'd been reluctant to be examined, had finally complied, and then had been boiling with fury at the ex-headmaster. Like McGonagall, he'd been subject to obliviations, but more seriously, he'd been given instructions not just to hate the Potter boy, but at the first opportunity, to kill him, though Perlkins thought that that instruction had been very recent. He'd felt it necessary to report that to the board and the aurors, even though he was confident that he'd been able to remove it. And since it was so serious, every other member of the teaching staff had also been required to submit to an examination, as well as some of the general staff, such as Pomfrey and Filch. Filch hated all students, but there was no suggestion that it was a result of outside influence. Madam Pomfrey, the nurse, had been subject to some obliviations, but no enduring instructions that Perlkins had been able to uncover. She would be permitted to stay in her post, as, despite her severe manner, she was very skilled, very competent.

The headmaster's position. Landen said that too little money had been spent on the school for decades and that the savings had mounted up to a very large amount that could now be spent, so that long overdue improvements could be made.

Lucius Malfoy asked, "Any suggestion he intended to take that amount for himself, Landen?"

"Knowing what we know now, I have to acknowledge that it's possible."

"You know about the tampering with minds, but did you know he's also wanted for attempted kidnap?"

"He is?"

"Indeed he is. It was done stupidly. So very stupidly, I think that he must be going senile."

"Who was the intended victim?"

"Young Harry Potter. The headmaster thrust a portkey into his hands, but luckily, there were protections in place. It was in front of several very credible witnesses including myself."

Landen shook his head. "I hadn't heard a thing about that."

McGonagall said, "He was concerned that that the boy might not return to school, though that hardly explains attempted abduction!"

"I saw something in the paper, I think. There was a Prophecy, which made it seem he was important."

A very old man said querulously, "Never mind about that. You said you had a good man in mind for headmaster."

"I do indeed," Landen said. "In view of the expertise needed to sort out the finances, I am recommending my brother-in-law, Hildebrande Pucey. He is extremely clever, and is experienced in all aspects of business dealings. He even lived five years in the Muggle world. He told me that it is essential for a well rounded education."

"In the Muggle world?" someone said with a sneer. "He is pure-blood, though."

"Of course he is pure-blood. Pucey is one of our oldest families as you must know. But he points out that we live in a Muggle world, and every year, we have Muggle-born students. So it is important that we have someone who is familiar with that world as well as our own."

"Hildebrande Pucey. He's never even been a teacher, has he?"

"No, but it is not as if teaching is required."

The old man said, "No suggestion he was ever involved with You-Know-Who?"

"Ask to check his forearm, if you want. And I have sounded him out already. He says that he was getting tired of running Bagster Constructions and needs a new challenge."

"Rather exceeded your authority there, didn't you, Landen?" someone said.

Landen said tersely, "The matter is urgent, Mr. Steinway. Hildebrande can start next week."

McGonagall put in, "We have two Pucey boys attending at the moment. His sons?"

"Nephews."

Someone said, "I know Hildebrande. I don't think we could do better."

"And I know him as well. I agree. Let's offer him the position."

The matter was put to the vote, and confirmed. Hildebrande Pucey, pure-blood, but with experience in the Muggle World, businessman rather than teacher, would take over as headmaster.

Malfoy said, "And to replace Severus Snape as Potions Master?"

McGonagall said, "I was expecting difficulties with that. There is so much more money to be made in the creation and sale of potions than in teaching the subject. But word must have spread, and I have had an application. A woman, highly qualified. She is not young, but that is an asset rather than a hindrance. She has not been a teacher before. That is the only potential problem."

She handed around the letter, and each had a quick look, only a few reading more closely. The name on it was Miss Alinta Prewitt. There were some subtle spells on the letter. It made it so that a reader would not question dates of qualifications, but would check the reference supplied - the name of the referee was Perenelle Flamel, a name that reeked of ancient respectability. But there were few who would know what she looked like, and she had ensured there was no photograph taken of her for the last four hundred years. Perenelle Flamel had found her new challenge. She thought she might teach Potions for a year or two, and get to know her correspondent in person. She would be a hidden protector for Harry.

A vote was taken. If the referee checked out, then McGonagall had the authority to hire Alinta Prewitt.

One said idly, "I thought the Prewitts had entirely died out. It's good to hear there is still one around."

Malfoy asked, "Any problems with other teachers, Landen?"

"The teacher of Muggle Studies is totally ignorant of Muggle life, and is using an outdated textbook. He should be replaced. As for Divination, it should be phased out. A Seer is a Seer; it cannot be taught, especially not by a fraud who likes to wear an air of mystery and whose pleasure it is to predict death and disaster."

"So no new students for Divination and a new teacher in Muggle Studies."

There was a little more discussion and the decisions were made. Divination would be phased out, and the Muggle Studies teacher would be replaced. That was Thomas Zeller, who came from a well connected family of pure-bloods. He didn't need a job, or so he always said. He claimed that he did it out of altruism.

But McGonagall wondered what she would do with Sybil Trelawney when the time came. She was quite unsuited to independence. House Mistress? She wouldn't cope with her rowdy Gryffindors, but she did need someone for that role. Even before Dumbledore had gone, she'd had far too much work to bother much with them. So maybe she could find a teacher for Muggle Studies who could also fill the role of House Mistress - kill two birds with one stone. Aurora Sinistra had been appointed House Mistress of Slytherin, but after just a week, had begged for her to find someone else. It had become known she was Muggle-born, and was not treated with any respect.

Her musings were interrupted by Lester Steinway, who said, "Remus Lupin, Trevor. Dumbledore appointed him, didn't he?"

Landen said, "I did sit in on a few lessons. He's very good indeed."

McGonagall nodded. There was something about Lupin that she felt she should remember, but it was probably only that she'd had to convince him to accept an advance on his salary to ensure he was suitably dressed. He'd appeared positively shabby when she'd first seen him. She didn't know why he'd not had work for so long, except that he seemed sickly, and twice, she'd had to arrange a replacement for a couple of days. But he was clever, and he was knowledgeable. He was a very good teacher. She wondered why she hadn't thought of him for Gryffindor's House Master. There was something, something she should remember...

She shook her head and brought her attention back to the meeting - a few more items discussed, and a new meeting set for the following week, when, hopefully, there would be a new headmaster and a new Potions master.

xxx

Sirius asked his friend, Dobby, if he thought that his godson might reply if he wrote a letter, and Dobby said, "He is the great Harry Potter, Sirius Black sir. I think he will answer."

"Then I will write. I want to get to know him."

"Sir, we needs another elf here to become a Black family elf. There is one. Her name is Miffy, and she is a Greaves elf, sir. She belongs to Head of House, Lyall Greaves."

Sirius looked up and said, "You ready to mate, Dobby?"

Dobby said with dignity, "I scarcely know her, sir. Maybe one day we might consider marriage."

Sirius raised his eyebrows. Dobby sounded a lot like a human, not a mere House-elf who might be thinking of breeding. He said, "Sorry, Dobby. I will speak to Mr. Greaves."

"Her name is Miffy."

Sirius nodded. "Miffy."

Lyall Greaves was agreeable, "We must foster breeding among the house-elves. We need them," and so Miffy joined the Black household.

xxx

Doris Crockford had always taken pride in being an old friend of the great Albus Dumbledore, and was thrilled that he had asked to stay with her for a few weeks - some very important business to accomplish, business that was to do with the final defeat of 'You-Know-Who,' and was both confidential and sensitive. He'd told her that he depended on her discretion.

Unlike Aberforth Dumbledore, she did not resent that he expected to be waited upon, and she did not begrudge the money she spent on his meals. She felt it an honour to run messages for him, she gathered information, and she happily provided him with everything he requested. She was a widow, and had little money aside from the small wage she earned as a cleaner at the Leaky Cauldron. Her savings were dwindling.

To Albus Dumbledore, her adoration was an irritation, but she was useful. There were others who regarded him as the undoubted fount of all wisdom, and he was working to gather them as his allies again, using the threat of a reborn Lord Voldemort to unite them. There was Sturgis Podmore and Hestia Jones, for instance. He was sure they would be honoured to do as he asked. Dedalus Diggle? But he was one who found it very difficult to keep his mouth shut, and Emmaline Vance had never treated him with quite the unquestioning loyalty he looked for in a follower.

He'd forgotten that he'd left Snape with the command to kill Harry Potter, and was now planning on working on Sirius Black. All he needed was the chance to get close enough, and then he could work his magic. Remus Lupin was to assist. It was why he'd recruited the werewolf as the History of Magic teacher. He was sure his gratitude would be enough to keep him loyal. Sirius Black had to claim Potter as his ward, and then, in due time, he would pretend a victory over the spirit of Voldemort, and then the public would think him a hero again. Maybe another Order of Merlin. Had anyone ever been awarded two Orders of Merlin?

xxx