Project Management for Beginners

by snuffly22

Harry had never really properly planned anything before. The fact that his first ever plan was risky and filled with assorted dangers was not actually deterring him as much as it should. (This story explores how Harry's third year at Hogwarts might have played out differently if a little project management and an ambitious plan had been thrown into the mix.)

10. Defining stakeholder expectations

All rights to the Harry Potter universe belong to JK Rowling. I don't own Harry Potter.

A/N: thanks so much to everyone who's reading this and leaving comments.

- IIII - IIII - IIII - IIII -

Chapter 10: Defining stakeholder expectations

Make certain that the group knows the status of the project at all times; everyone should either be waiting for input from others, working on activities or gathering information. Leadership should be strong and supportive, in order to encourage commitment from the group.

It was 9.30pm on Saturday night and the entire Gryffindor student body was gathered in the common room, waiting expectantly. Percy, Harry and Hermione, who were all extremely nervous and doing their best to hide it, stood up and faced them.

"Thank you all for assembling here, we won't keep you long," Percy said. "Now firstly, everything you are about to hear is strictly confidential and must not be spoken of outside this room, is that clear?" There was a set of half-hearted nods in response, together with the odd "mmm" or "yeah" or "fine", all of which Percy was clearly dissatisfied with. "I'll have you know that this is an extremely serious and sensitive matter. No mentioning it to anyone outside the common room at all – IS THAT CLEAR?"

"Yes!" the Gryffindors all shouted. Several first-years giggled, earning them a best Percy frown.

"Good. This meeting has been called to ask for your help in correcting an injustice which we Gryffindor students have been enduring for far too long. I'm referring to the unacceptable teaching methods used by some of our Professors, and most especially by Professor Snape." He paused, and there was a ripple of surprise and uncertainty as the Gryffindors looked around the room and murmured comments to each other.

"Don't you just love it?" Fred shouted in delight. "These three are going Snape hunting! Talk about Gryffindor bravery!" There was a wave of laughter, breaking the tension in the room.

"It's nothing like that!" Percy said, with a repressive stare. "We don't want to hunt anyone. What we want to do is raise teaching standards, where needed. Of course, most of our Professors are highly competent teachers already."

"Binns isn't competent," Kenneth Towler called out. "I'd say he's as bad as Snape, in his way."

"Yes, I would agree," Percy replied. "And though we are most interested in the issues with Potions class, the actions that we have in mind could help with other classes - and even deal with problems caused by future Professors in years to come."

"Yeah, like next year's Defence professor, and the next year's, and the one after that!" Katie Bell said, making several people giggle. "But I have to admit, Snape is the worst."

"Exactly. And that's why we want to take action. For several weeks now I have been working with Hermione to support Harry on this issue. Harry, as the leader of this quest and the person whose idea it was, would you like to explain more?"

Harry nodded; it had been agreed in advance that each of them would take it in turns to deliver the explanations. "Yes, sure. Okay, so early this term I decided to set myself a tough challenge. I wanted to do something important and useful, but also very difficult. Well, what I came up with really does fit the bill!" There were some giggles at this. "Although our planned actions will apply to all classes, I initially was focussed on Potions. What I wanted was for Professor Snape to teach us Potions fairly and not spend all of his time taking points, making fun of us, scaring us and being delighted every time we don't get a potion right. He's not a good teacher. He hates Gryffindors and it shows in every lesson he takes. Well, I decided that we shouldn't put up with it any more. It's time for change, and in the last few weeks we've done several things to try and make that happen."

"What things?" Cormac McLaggen said aggressively. "I haven't seen you lot do anything."

"Oh, but we have," Fred said with a smirk. "Tell him all about it, why don't you, Harry?"

"Of course," Harry grinned. "Firstly, I'd like to thank all of the third-years who agreed to help me out by trying an experiment. Over the past few weeks, we've worked twice as hard as usual in Potions and done our absolute best to get everything right and do well. Thanks also to Fred and George who provided advice for anyone who needed it to improve their Potions essays."

"It was a pleasure," George said. "A waste of time as it turned out, but a pleasure anyway."

"I know what you mean," Harry agreed. "A waste of time – yes, that's one way to describe it. You see, we all put so much extra effort in over the last month and what were the results? Did Snape notice – oh yes, I think so. Did he praise us for our hard work or give us better marks – no, of course not! We put in a month of total commitment to doing better in Potions class and he just punished us all the more!"

"He's horrible!" Seamus agreed. "The man gave me a detention two weeks ago for stirring my potion too loudly!"

"And I lost twenty points last week for dropping my quill on the floor!" Parvati said angrily.

"He deserves to be sacked!" Colin Creevey yelled, and several students shouted their agreement.

"I understand your feelings, believe me," Harry assured them. "And personally, I'd be happy if he left – but I've been told that's not going to happen. You see, one of the other things I did as part of this quest was to make a complaint about Professor Snape to Professor McGonagall. She completely agrees with me that he needs to change the way he teaches, so she referred the issue to the Headmaster. Well, recently I've had an interview with him about it. I asked the Headmaster for something to be done about Snape, but he wouldn't agree. My complaint was rejected." There was a murmur of dissatisfaction at this.

"Did Dumbledore think you were lying or something?" Angelina asked.

"No, it wasn't that. He gave me some reasons, which I can't go into here but I don't see them as valid. And he didn't say this, but I think he might have thought I was… exaggerating, I suppose. Making out that Snape was worse than he really is, you know. I told the Headmaster that this was a complaint on behalf of all Gryffindors, but he just pointed out that I was the only person complaining, so…"

"Well, some of us could have come along with you if you'd asked us too!" Lee Jordan said. "I would have, for one!"

"Thanks Lee, and you're right of course. Perhaps I should have taken a group of people with me. The thing is though, I was trying to keep it low-key. I wanted to achieve a quiet process of change without dragging the whole school into this. I didn't want a big fuss, so I asked the Headmaster to do something about it privately. For one thing, Snape's always hated me and if he found out that I started all of this off then he'd be furious. He'd see it as a personal attack, which it isn't. As Percy said before, we're not going to point the finger at Snape, or at Binns, or any other teacher. No, all we want to do is show them the right way to teach. So, we're going to ask for Hogwarts to adopt a Teaching Charter. It's a simple and easy to operate set of guidelines for Professors. It'll protect us from bad teaching practices, and force people like Snape to teach more professionally."

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Fred said with a wide smile. "But what's in this Teaching Charter, and how will you get Dumbledore to sign up to it?"

"Okay, so let's start with the Charter and its contents. Hermione's going to share those with you."

Hermione nodded, looking extremely apprehensive. She unrolled a piece of parchment and began to read it out.

"The Hogwarts Teaching Charter:

Item 1 – Professors should set stretching but fair expectations of their students, and seek to motivate all students to achieve the highest standard of learning that they are capable of.

Item 2 – Professors should speak to students in a professional manner. They should treat students with dignity and never attempt to humiliate or bully them. All Professors should themselves display the same positive conduct and attitudes as those expected of Hogwarts students.

Item 3 – Professors should communicate clear rules and routines for behaviour in classrooms or other parts of the castle to students. They should also take responsibility for putting appropriate safety procedures in place to protect themselves and the students in their class.

Item 4 – Professors should operate a fair, open and honest approach to disciplinary action which is applied consistently to students in all Houses. This includes actions such as verbal praise or criticism, the awarding and deduction of house points, writing lines and detentions.

Item 5 – Professors should closely monitor their students' progress and attainment, developing an understanding of each person's capability and knowledge of the subject taught. They should provide additional learning opportunities for students who would benefit from further support to improve their performance.

Item 6 – Professors should have considerable knowledge and practical experience of the relevant subject(s) which they teach. They should also educate themselves on any significant new developments in their chosen field.

Item 7 – Professors should plan and teach well-structured and informative lessons. They should use a clear framework for the marking of classwork and homework, so that students understand the requirements for achieving each grade.

Item 8 – The Headmaster or Headmistress and their Deputy shall be responsible for ensuring that all Professors comply with this Charter. They should arrange additional support or mentoring for any Professor who is having difficulty with achieving the required standards. Any students who believe that a Professor is not adhering to the terms of the Charter may raise this with them, or with their Head of House, or alternately with any other Professor."

After Hermione stopped reading there was a short silence, which felt almost endless to Harry, but then Neville started applauding enthusiastically. Within seconds, everyone in the room had joined in. Harry glanced across at Percy and Hermione, and could see that they were as relieved as he was.

"Thank you for your support," Hermione said fervently when the applause died way. "I'm glad you like what we've come up with. Well, it was Harry's idea and he wrote the Charter - Percy and I just helped with some of the wording. Now, I want everyone who thinks that this charter is fair and reasonable to put their hand up." Every hand was instantly raised, with much giggling and excitement. "Brilliant! Now, I want everyone who thinks that Professor Snape's teaching meets these standards to raise their hand." Nobody did, and there was even more hilarity. "Our thoughts exactly! We think that of the seven standards which apply to Professors in the Charter, he only fully and completely meets one of them."

There was quite a bit of laughter at this. "You're being too generous to him, Hermione!" Ron shouted. "I vote zero!"

"If there was a lower score than zero, he'd deserve it!" Alicia Spinnet called out, making everyone giggle.

"If there was an OWL for teaching, he'd get a T!" Lavender said, earning the loudest laugh of all.

Harry grinned. "You're probably right. The standard we think he meets is that he is knowledgeable in the subject he teaches. The rest, he's failing in. Now, we don't want special treatment, just fair treatment and good teaching across the board. And my question to you is this, as fellow students and members of the House of the brave – will you work with us to get the Teaching Charter implemented?"

"YES!" people shouted loudly from all over the room.

"That's superb," Harry said, feeling delighted. He looked at Percy and Hermione, who were both smiling widely. "Well then, let me answer the second question that Fred asked before - how we'll get Dumbledore to sign up to it. It's very simple. We're going walk up to him tomorrow in the Great Hall at lunchtime, and present him with a copy of the Charter and a petition supporting it while everyone can see it happening - and we'll ask that the Charter be introduced as soon as possible. We want you, each and every one of you, to join us. On my own, I didn't convince the Headmaster of the need for change – but there's power in numbers. If we all stand together as one group, then that will make it clear that we all want things to improve, and Dumbledore won't be able to sweep the issue under the carpet."

"We're with you, Harry!" Neville shouted excitedly, and everyone clapped and shouted their agreement.

"That's wonderful! Now, after a lot of thought we've decided that as he's Head Boy, and as Snape doesn't especially dislike him the way he does me, that it's better for Percy to be the one to lead the protest and deliver the Charter and petition to the Headmaster. All of us will have a really important role to play as well, though. I've planned out exactly how we'll do this, with advice and support from Percy and Hermione. So I'll hand back to Percy who's going to explain to you the arrangements for tomorrow."

"Thank you, Harry. Before I go into those, are there any further questions?"

"Does Professor McGonagall know about this?" Carl Hopkins asked.

"We decided that it would be better for her if she wasn't told," Percy said calmly, causing a ripple of amusement to pass through the room. "That means, you see, that if the Headmaster or the other teachers ask Professor McGonagall about it, she can tell them honestly that she didn't know what we were planning. However, we are absolutely confident that she will approve, when she finds out."

"Is it against the rules?" George asked eagerly. "I wouldn't mind that myself, but it's hardly your style, dearest brother of mine."

"It's not against the rules, in fact quite the opposite." Percy replied. "Student protests are allowed, and historically there are several of them which have led to great changes within the school. There's a simple procedure in place to confirm their legitimacy. At the start of our planned action, I have to state that I seek the Headmaster's acknowledgement that we're making a lawful protest against an injustice. The Headmaster will then immediately reply that he acknowledges our right to lawful protest. Once that's done then no disciplinary action whatever can be taken against us."

"But what if he doesn't say that?" Neville asked anxiously.

"In the unlikely event of that happening, then as leader on the day I must take full responsibility for the protest and any consequences will be mine to face alone," Percy said firmly. "I assure you however that I'm not expecting any difficulty of that type. I've checked the relevant regulations and I'm sure that our actions will qualify as lawful. As my brother indicated, I'd hardly be encouraging all of you to break rules!"

"Do any of the other Houses know anything about it?" Dean said.

"Absolutely not, and that's how it must continue. We want to take everyone by surprise tomorrow, and we can't run the risk of tipping our hand too early. Make sure you all remember that."

"This won't interfere with quidditch, will it?" Oliver Wood asked suspiciously. Quite a few of the other students giggled and he glared back at them in response, as if it was obvious that it was a question which needed to be asked. "I mean, Harry's our star seeker for a start…"

"There will be no impact on quidditch," Percy said, a tolerant expression on his face. Harry supposed he was used to this sort of thing after years of sharing a dorm with Oliver. "As I said, it's entirely within the rules. Any other questions?" He paused, but nobody else asked anything. "Very well. Firstly, just so that we're clear – participation is optional, and anyone who doesn't want to get involved doesn't have to – but I hope you will all commit to this. Now, Harry has worked out exactly how we'll be going about it. To get the necessary dramatic effect, he thinks we need to practice delivering the petition when we're actually in the Great Hall. We can't do that now because it's already curfew, and for most of each day there are people going in and out of there anyway. So, the only way to have the hall to ourselves for a rehearsal is to get up early and sneak downstairs as soon as curfew ends tomorrow morning. That being so, I want all of you back here, dressed and ready to go, tomorrow at 5.00am."

This caused a massive, universal groan and a wave of protests from the Gryffindors, who were all used to Sunday mornings that were lazy and relaxed. "Quiet down!" Percy yelled. "It's only the one time! You can lie-in every other Sunday morning. I agree with Harry - we have to do this properly, and that means a rehearsal. Now, I want everyone – and I mean everyone – in bed by 10.15pm, and set your alarm clocks if you're planning to join us tomorrow in making a stand against oppression. And anyway, you can always go back to bed for a mid-morning nap or something afterwards."

"For once, Percy dearest, you've come with a relatively bright idea," Fred told him jauntily. "And since I am your relatively bright relative, I should know. All those in favour of a mid-morning nap tomorrow, raise your hand!" The giggling Gryffindors did so.

"Yes yes, thank you for your input," Percy said, looking entirely unimpressed. "Well I think that's everything. Now, it's nearly 10pm. Can you all please sign this petition supporting the Charter and then get your stuff together and head for the dorms. We have great work to do tomorrow. If this goes well than we might all end up getting a mention in the next edition of Hogwarts: A History!"

"WHAT?!" Hermione shrieked, causing Percy to drop the petition and making Harry visibly jump, while everyone else started to giggle. "Really? That would be the most amazing thing ever!"

"Even if my picture gets put on every page and they rename it to Ron Weasley: A History, I'm still never going to read that stupid book!" Ron shouted, generating more laughter.

"Enough!" Percy yelled. "Petition! Bed! NOW!"

- IIII - IIII - IIII - IIII -

Students were usually up late in the Gryffindor common room at weekends but as Percy had insisted, they'd all gone to their dorms by quarter past ten. Harry got changed and settled down but he wasn't ready to sleep; he was mulling over a moral dilemma. The whole event tomorrow was meant to be a secret that only their House knew. That said, if it went ahead without him giving Zabini any advance warning then that could cause problems between the two of them, and Harry didn't want that. He liked Zabini and didn't want to offend him. Eventually he decided to message him and drop a hint about their plans, but not include too much detail.

You there, Zabini?

Yes. Just caught me. How are things in Gryffindorland?

Funny you should ask. That's what I'm writing about. We have something big planned for tomorrow, in relation to my Snape project. Can't give you any details but make sure you're not late for lunch. We're going public.

There was a pause of about a minute before Harry got a response. I'M HEADING OVER.

What? Over where?

OVER TO WHERE YOU ARE. I'M PUTTING ON MY DRESSING GOWN. JUST LOOKING FOR SLIPPERS.

Thanks for the running commentary, but you can't show up here! Only Gryffindors are allowed in our common room!

I'M STILL HEADING OVER. ON MY WAY.

"Oh no," Harry whispered to himself. "Not good, not good, not good." He got out of bed, pulled on his own dressing gown and slippers then headed back to the empty common room. The walk from the dungeons would probably take Zabini around five minutes, longer if he didn't already know where the Gryffindor common room was located. But he'd know, Harry was sure. And it might be less than five minutes, if he ran. He wasn't sure what to do next. One option was to try and intercept Zabini mid-way, but there must be more than one potential route to use and they might miss each other. He could wait on the stairs outside the door and they could talk there, but there was a slim chance that Filch or a prefect might see them during their rounds. In the end, Harry decided that the safest thing was to take a chance and sneak Zabini into the common room. As long as they were quiet it should be okay, and even if someone else came down they'd hear them coming in time to hide. And also, Percy had said that their protest couldn't be talked about outside the common room, so technically then he'd be following orders. The fact that Percy had implicitly meant to only talk about this to other Gryffindors was something that he'd have to choose to ignore.

After three minutes of intense thought, Harry went outside and told the Fat Lady that he'd wedge the door open as he was waiting for a guest and he didn't want them to hear the password. He also begged her not to mention his guest to anyone else. "No business of mine, dear," she said sleepily.

Zabini arrived a couple of minutes later, dressed in comfortable purple nightwear and looking unusually worried. "Where can we talk?"

"Come in," Harry said in a low voice. "Everyone's in bed. Make sure you speak quietly and if we hear anyone else come down, we'll have to hide behind a sofa or something."

They sat down on a sofa by the fire. Zabini took a quick, intense look around him, taking in the whole of the common room and its furnishings, before turning his attention to Harry. "I'll cast a Privacy charm," he said, and did so quickly. "Now, tell me everything you can."

"I can't say much. It's a secret. And you certainly can't say anything to the other Slytherins."

"I won't, I promise. And Potter, if it really was a secret you wouldn't have told me anything at all."

"Well, it totally is a secret and I shouldn't have said anything, really. Nobody else is meant to know. I just didn't want you to feel like I'd deliberately left you out of the loop."

"And believe me, I appreciate that. I'm grateful, but I need to know more."

"You're really worried about this," Harry realised. "But why? I've never hidden my plans from you. I told you right at the start what I was aiming to achieve."

Blaise bit his lip. "I know. I just… I don't want you to hurt Professor Snape."

Harry stared incredulously. "Me hurt Snape? Zabini, in case you haven't noticed from over two years of horrible Potions lessons, it's entirely the other way around!"

"That's why I'm worried," Zabini said seriously. "Because maybe there's more to this than you've said. I wouldn't blame you if there was, but you see - Professor Snape has been a positive presence in my life since I was four years old. My father died young and, in a way, he's filled a gap."

It was really difficult for Harry to imagine Professor Snape as a father-figure, even to someone from Slytherin House. It was just too difficult a concept to grasp. Snape was nothing but menacing, sarcastic and nasty as far as Harry could see. Still, he supposed that even Snape might have his nicer side, although it must be very well hidden.

"Zabini, how exactly do you think I'm planning to hurt Snape? What even gives you that idea? Are you saying it because that's what you would do if you were in my place?"

"That's certainly what my mother would have done, if I was," he replied wryly. "She believes in taking direct action when faced with problem situations."

"Well, it's not my thing," Harry said. "Hurting people, I mean. What we're doing tomorrow is asking for a set of fair and reasonable teaching standards to be brought in, which will apply to all classes. We won't target or name any Professor specifically, and though we're sure Snape will have to improve his teaching methods if these standards are approved, we also think he won't be the only one."

Blaise sighed with relief. "No hurting?"

"No hurting," Harry agreed. "Even for people who really do deserve it. Whoever they might be."

"Thank you," Blaise said fervently, and with a wide smile. "I owe you one, Potter."

"Call me Harry," he said, smiling back. "Unless you have an objection to being on first name terms with a Gryffindor, that is."

"And I'm Blaise," he replied, relaxing back onto the sofa. "So, tomorrow lunchtime then? I'll remember to look properly surprised. You know I won't be able to openly approve, of course?"

"Mmm. Do you think any Slytherin in the whole history of recorded time has ever approved of anything that a Gryffindor did?"

"If they did then they'd certainly never tell anyone. We do have standards to maintain, you know. This is a pleasant common room, by the way. Quite different in décor to mine, though."

"I know," Harry said with an evil grin.

"You know? And how exactly would that be possible, given that we don't allow guests from other Houses in?"

"Well in that case, I can't know, can I? My mistake," he said, smiling impudently.

Blaise regarded him with amusement. "Oh, you are a sneaky one, aren't you? Well, that's an interesting puzzle for me to ponder over. I think I like you, Harry. That is a considerable compliment, you should be aware. Come and stay with me next summer for a few weeks at our country house in Italy. It's beautiful there, and the magical towns nearby are quite fascinating."

"Oh wow, thanks very much for the offer and it sounds great, but I don't think the Headmaster would allow it," Harry said sadly.

"Is he your guardian, then? I heard you lived with muggles."

"Yeah, I do," Harry said glumly. "My aunt and uncle, and my cousin. The Headmaster isn't my guardian, he just... well, he kind of tells me where I can and can't go for summer holidays."

Blaise looked at him shrewdly. Harry could tell he'd picked up on the lack of enthusiasm he had for talking about his relatives. "In that case, I see no reason for the Headmaster to interfere. If he has no legal authority over you then his opinion can be disregarded. I could ask my mother to contact your relatives directly nearer the time to discuss the matter, if you'll give your permission."

Harry's mind boggled at the idea of Blaise's mother meeting the Dursleys. "I would, but I don't think my relatives would agree to let me go."

"Well you know, my mother can be quite persuasive. And you've lost nothing if they do refuse, so surely it's worth a try."

"I suppose you're right. Thanks for inviting me, either way," he said gratefully. Perhaps Dumbledore wouldn't like it, but Harry had never been abroad and the thought of visiting Italy was extremely tempting. "But could your mother use muggle methods to contact my relatives, though? They don't understand much about magic."

"Of course," Blaise said with an easy smile. "We'll settle the details after Christmas. Everything will work out, you'll see. So, does this mean that we're officially friends then?"

"Do you want to be?"

"You know, I rather think I do."

"We will be, then," Harry decided. He held out his hand and Blaise shook it, looking pleased. "But are we going to tell people we're friends?"

"Not for a couple of weeks. I need to put some distance between myself and whatever noxious attempt at reform you're going to make tomorrow. But after that, why not? I can spin this well enough in Slytherin House. One thing I should mention - you know my family never supported You-Know-Who, don't you? I wouldn't want you to think that I'm some kind of Death Eater in training."

"That's reassuring," Harry said dryly. "But your friend, Nott—"

"Theo's father made his choice, many years ago. His son sees things somewhat differently. Theo believes in the old families, the old customs and values, yes – but he also thinks that muggleborns have an important place in our society. They bring new blood in and stop us stagnating. The issue, of course, is that they're not properly prepared for what they find here."

"I certainly wasn't," Harry agreed. "I'm not a muggleborn but I live with muggle relatives so it's basically the same thing. I was eleven years old and getting ready to go to a new muggle school for the next school year, and the next thing I know, all these letters start showing up, which apparently were telling me I was a wizard and asking me to go to some school I'd never heard of. Oh, and then Hagrid arrived and scared my relatives to pieces, then he took me to see Diagon Alley for the first time. That part was nice."

Blaise frowned. "What do you mean, letters showed up telling you that you were a wizard? You must have known that already."

Harry shook his head. "My muggle relatives knew but they didn't explain about it to me. I did accidental magic growing up but I didn't realise that I was a wizard and that there were other people like me. It was a complete surprise to learn that there was this whole other world that I didn't know anything about. I couldn't wait to get to Hogwarts though, once I knew."

"Well, I think you should have been told about your magical heritage much sooner."

"I totally agree," Harry said fervently. "I missed a lot. Even now, there's stuff Ron mentions that I haven't heard of before. Do you have any muggle relatives?"

Blaise laughed. "Only you would ask a Slytherin that question and expect an honest answer! But no, I really don't. However, I do know my way around the muggle world very well and I can pass for a muggle if I want to. Muggle society does have its attractions, you know."

"What's your favourite muggle thing?"

"The culture. Art and music and theatre and opera… all of the entertainments that muggles have. Not television, though - that entirely lacks refinement."

"Have you ever been to a zoo? I went once, it was fun until I accidentally vanished the glass on a snake enclosure and the snake escaped. I got into a bit of trouble for that."

Blaise looked intrigued. "Did you talk to the snake?"

"Yup. It told me that when I got to Hogwarts, after a couple of years I'd meet this really annoying Slytherin boy, and I should tell him that Gryffindor is the best House ever and Slytherin is a total dump."

"Remind me to teach you how to lie more effectively when I have chance," Zabini said carelessly. "I'll be setting myself an easy challenge there - you certainly couldn't be any worse than you are now."

"Hey, I do great at lying!" Harry protested. "I don't need you to teach me how to be deceitful!"

"Compared to me, you're a mere amateur. As is Longbottom, though he's improving."

"You're good for him, I have to admit. He's really starting to gain in confidence."

"He shows promise. Although in contrast, on the subject of less promising Gryffindors… thank you for reining in Creevey."

"No problem. I don't know if he'll go for negotiating with the second-year Slytherins, though. I explained how we'd worked it for our group, and he got really upset when he found out that you Slytherins hadn't chosen to join the group out of the sheer kindness and goodness of your hearts."

Blaise chuckled. "So young. So naïve."

Harry grinned. "Yeah, I suppose so. By the way, will you be able to still get people to come to the third-year group next term? When Neville finishes the Herbology tuition, I mean."

"No problem there," Blaise said airily. "He's offered to continue the sessions for next term as well. By the way, did I tell you that I got E grades for my last two Herbology essays?"

"Really? Well done, you must be making progress."

"Hmm, indeed. I still hate Herbology, of course. Neville treats those plants as if they have feelings or something. Personally, I agree with Professor Snape on the subject - he says that plants and magical creatures are both just potions ingredients waiting to happen."

Harry laughed. "I bet he'd never dare tell Professor Sprout that! Or Hagrid, for that matter!"

"Well, we Slytherins do have rather well-developed survival instincts. Anyway, it's late and I still have to sneak back to my dorm so I'd better be leaving," Blaise said, standing up. "Good luck for tomorrow."

"Thanks," Harry said with a rueful smile. "I think we're going to need it."

- IIII - IIII - IIII - IIII -

By five o'clock the next morning, the Gryffindor common room was again full of students. They were tired, yawning, grumpy, bleary-eyed, messy-haired and complaining – but they were there, and that was all that counted to Harry. Even Ron had come along, which was an enormous relief. Harry had been worried that he'd refuse to participate, but he hadn't dared to ask him about it the night before.

"It is really morning?" Ron moaned as he walked into the common room and joined him and Hermione. "Honestly, I think it's still technically last night."

"I certainly haven't been up this early on a Sunday for quite some time," Hermione said with a yawn.

"It'll be worth it," Harry said. "I'm really glad everyone's here. Thanks for joining us, Ron. You know, with you being neutral about the quest and all I wasn't sure if you'd want to come along."

"Yes, well – neutrality's a bit overrated, as it turns out," Ron said awkwardly.

Harry stared at him. "Really?"

"Yeah. It just leads to you sitting it out and doing nothing to help while your friends are out there trying to make a difference. Turns out that doesn't make a person feel very good about themselves. I think I'll be a bit more positive from now on."

Harry gave him a beaming smile. "Ron, that's brilliant! Thanks for telling us. You know, I'd have hated it if you weren't here this morning."

"I couldn't agree more!" Hermione said, giving him a sudden hug.

"Yeah, okay, less of that!" Ron said, pulling himself away and going red. Hermione giggled.

Harry looked across at his friend, hesitated for a moment and then decided to take a risk. "Ron, there are two things you need to know. Well no, three things. Firstly, you and Hermione are still my best friends and I'm still Harry the Gryffindor, just like always. Maybe I'm doing some stuff a bit differently now, but that won't change the things I believe in or how much I value our friendship. Secondly, I've recently made friends with Blaise Zabini from Slytherin house who's been really helpful with this quest and absolutely, totally isn't a Death Eater, but please don't tell anyone about us being friends because we're keeping it a secret for now. And thirdly, Percy and I have been getting on really well recently and he asked me to be his honorary little brother. That's all."

Ron gaped. "That's all? Honestly Harry, I can't believe it's five o'clock on a Sunday morning and you're throwing shocks like that at me!"

"I wanted you to know. If you mind then now's the time to mention it."

"Well, Slytherins can't be trusted, for one thing. And Percy's more smother than brother. Apart from that, what you said all sounds fine!"

"Good, I'm glad you approve!" Harry said cheekily, causing Hermione to snort with laughter.

Ron looked at him, as if he was about to complain or protest – but then he just shrugged and shook his head. "Too tired to bother," he said. Harry grinned with delight; really, it couldn't have gone better if he'd planned it that way.

"Alright everyone, listen up!" Percy shouted. "I want you all to walk quietly down to the Great Hall in groups of three or four students at a time. It's highly unlikely that you'll meet anyone, but in case you do, just tell them that you woke up earlier than usual and you wanted an early morning walk. Right, let's get going!"

The students made their way out of the common room in small groups, moving as quietly as possible and leaving about twenty seconds between each group. Fortunately, luck was with them; they weren't spotted and fifteen minutes later, everyone was safely assembled inside the deserted Great Hall. Harry closed the doors behind them.

"Okay, let me explain what we're going to do," Harry said. "At lunchtime today, you all need to stroll in here as if everything is normal, but you'll need to sit in the place that you're assigned in a minute. I want seating on both sides of the table to be in height order. So, can you all please choose a side of the table and then arrange yourselves in descending order of height? We'll go from the tallest person being closest to the staff table, down to the smallest person being closest to the entrance, on each side. So, let's get in order!"

Arranging the Gryffindors in descending height order on both sides of their table took nearly fifteen minutes and caused a good deal of hilarity, which an irritable Percy kept telling people off for. Harry was more patient; he went up and down each side of the table several times, moving people around to get them in the correct place for their height. It was clear that nobody else had any idea what they were aiming for here, but Harry could imagine the whole thing clearly in his mind and knew exactly how he wanted it to work out. Finally, they were all in place by order of height, standing by their table and facing each other.

"Great," Harry said. "Right, can each of you memorise where you are standing now and who's next to you and opposite. You need to return to this exact spot and sit there at lunchtime. Now, let's go over to the door." Once everyone was back by the entrance, many of them looking at him as if he was a complete idiot, Harry nodded. "Now, the first thing we need to practice is walking in and sitting down in what will look like a random way, but actually puts all of us in the places you were just allocated. If anyone ends up in the wrong position, just casually move across to where you should be. Right, so next I'll point to people one by one. When I point at you, walk to the table and sit down where your place is." Harry started to select people, varying it by height so that everyone had to sit down at a different time to those who would be next to them. This didn't go as well as Harry hoped. There were quite a few mistakes, and various people ended up in the wrong location and had to go round to another part of the table, which looked a bit too obviously unusual.

"Okay everyone, back to the door," Harry said. "It wasn't a bad try but we'll need to run through it again. I know this may seem like overkill, but we don't want anyone else in the hall to notice what we're up to in advance. If one of the Professors gets suspicious and comes over to our table then they might put a halt to the whole thing."

The Gryffindors went back to the doorway and they had another run through of the 'walking in and casually sitting down in a secretly non-random place' manoeuvre. This time went much more smoothly, but the change arounds when people ended up in the wrong place still looked awkwardly conspicuous. However, after one more attempt they managed to all sit down at their table with just a couple of easily corrected mistakes, and Harry was satisfied with the result.

"Excellent, that's really good. Let's move on to the next stage," he said. "Everyone needs to arrive on time for lunch at 12.30pm. We'll begin our protest as soon as the Headmaster and all four Heads of House are present."

"You know, I have absolutely no idea what's going on," Ron remarked, to a general round of giggles.

"Well, you're about to find out," Harry told him with a grin. "Now Percy, this is where you come in. When you say 'stand', everyone needs to stand up and step behind the benches, then turn to face the doors. Now – stand! That's right, exactly like that. So, this is what we'll do. We're going to march in a kind of a U shape. This table is one line of the U. So, everyone will march away from the staff table and towards the door in two parallel columns, following Percy. Next, we'll do a kind of semi-circular walk at the end to turn us round. Then we start marching up the centre of the hall, still two columns of students side by side, between the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables – that's the other half of the U shape. Once we get to the staff table, then Percy – you'll stop in the middle, right in front of the Headmaster. Everyone else needs to keep going, though. The left-hand column, led by you Natalie; you all need to walk behind Percy to the left, get to the end and then stop and turn to face the staff table. The right-hand column, with you in the lead Jason; you all walk behind Percy to the right - and again, walk to the end of the staff table, turn and face them."

Natalie and Jason were both first-year students who, by virtue of being the two shortest people in Gryffindor House, now found themselves given the entirely unnerving responsibility of leading out each column of students. Harry could see that they were nervous and spoke to them reassuringly. "Natalie, Jason – don't be worried, this is going to work really well and I know you'll do great." They both relaxed a little at this. "Okay, so we'll have our first practice march now. Nobody should talk while marching or after arriving at the staff table. As soon as Percy tells us to march, we'll all turn to begin. When you're ready, Percy."

Percy gave the order and walked towards the door for about six feet before gradually curving around and leading the procession of students back up the room in two columns through the middle tables. He set quite a fast pace. The silence of the large room, broken only by their footsteps, suddenly seemed very solemn and fateful to Harry. A bubbling sense of excitement flowed through him. If all went well, this could really be something tremendous.

However, as it turned out they were not quite at the tremendous stage yet. When Percy was within a short distance from the staff table, he came to a halt as instructed. Natalie led the students on the left-hand side past him, but Jason became confused and suddenly stopped. This made people behind him walk into each other, with much grumbling and complaining. There was even more confusion when Natalie saw that the other column of students wasn't moving and came to a halt as well.

"Keep going!" Harry called out. "Jason, to the right!"

The procession restarted awkwardly, but the two lines of students were now well out of alignment. The two first years walked to their end of the staff table and then stopped, and swung around to face the staff table. Each person following them did the same, although there were gaps in the row of students here and there. More noticeably, there wasn't enough room for the last six or seven people to stand in line next to Percy, so they were all bunched up behind him.

Once the moving had stopped, Harry stepped forward after a couple of moments and turned to face everyone. "Okay people, so we had a few issues there but that's okay – this is what the rehearsal's for, to fix any problems while nobody can see us, so that we'll get it just right when it counts."

"I'm really sorry about stopping, Harry," Jason said, looking embarrassed. "I saw Percy stop and then I just automatically did the same."

"And then I stopped when Jason did," Natalie said remorsefully. "I didn't mean to mess everything up, honestly Harry."

"Don't worry about it!" Harry said reassuringly. "You haven't messed anything up. This is only our first try. The next time will be much better. Now, we don't have enough room for everybody in the row at the moment, so can both of you move nearer to the walls? And everyone else follow them. Good, that's better. The row's still a bit uneven though, so I'm going to walk along and line everyone up. Hang on a minute."

"I feel like I'm about to meet the Queen," Dean joked.

"Well, feel free to practice your curtsy," Harry replied with a grin, making everyone laugh.

Harry went to the centre of the row and worked his way outwards on each side. He carefully moved people backwards, forwards or sideways until everyone was evenly placed and there was a long, straight row of people stretching from one side of the Great Hall to the other. "That's much better. Now, all wait there while I look at how this appears from the back."

Harry went and stood half way down the Great Hall, in the centre of the room. Yes, it was just as he'd hoped. There was a striking effect caused by them being arranged in decreasing height order on each side; they almost looked like a pair of bird's wings stretched out. He returned to the front, well pleased.

"Okay, now this is just right. So everyone, remember just where you're standing now. This is the precise position where you need to be at lunchtime. Natalie and Jason, you especially have to remember the right place, since you're in the lead so where you stop affects everyone else." The two first year students nodded nervously. "Don't worry! I know you'll do well."

"Did you say we'll be trying this again?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, at least once. Probably a couple of times, until we feel like it's completely right. So, the rising and then dropping height order that we're in – which I'm sure you were all puzzled by – is sort of symbolic, but also part of the way that we show how closely this has been planned."

"Yes," Percy agreed. "We're not a group of disorganised students storming up to the Professors, no indeed. Protesting this way, it's almost an art form. These great occasions bring their own atmosphere with them, you know. Everyone in the room will take notice."

"That's true," Harry said. "Now, as Percy explained last night, he'll firstly ask the Headmaster to confirm our right to lawful protest and we'll get that out of the way. Then Percy will read out the Charter and explain why we want it brought in, and finally hand it and the petition over to the Headmaster. Once that's done, and after Dumbledore says anything he wants to say, we'll march back in the same way as we marched here."

"So, we can definitely have another practice after this one?" Natalie asked anxiously.

Harry smiled at her. "Of course. Now everyone, remember, when we do this later on you march without saying anything. If any of the other students speak to you as you pass by, don't acknowledge it, just keep your eyes to the front and go on. Once you stop, hold position – don't even turn your head – until Percy gives the order to go back. Don't look any teacher in the eye; they'll be seated probably, so look above their heads. Oh, and those on the right-hand side, make absolutely sure you don't look anywhere near Professor Snape at all. And nobody is to speak, other than Percy. Silence can be a very powerful tool. Okay, do you want to read out your speech, Percy? I'll pretend to be the Headmaster." He walked over to face Percy, placing himself at the spot where Dumbledore normally stood.

"Fine," Percy said, looking visibly nervous. Harry couldn't help but wonder how bad he'd be when the real thing happened. "Headmaster Dumbledore – I, Percy Weasley, as leader of this group, do seek your acknowledgement of our right of lawful protest against an injustice."

"I, Albus Dumbledore, do acknowledge your right of lawful protest," Harry said. "And by the way, would you like a lemon drop?" he added mischievously, making the Gryffindors laugh.

"I think I'll pass, thank you," Percy replied dryly. He went on to read the remainder of his speech, before handing the Charter and accompanying petition to Harry.

"Thanks, Percy," Harry replied and he passed them back. "That was a really good speech, by the way. Can you slow down the marching a bit, though? About twenty percent slower there and back would be good. Now everyone, it's time to time to try returning to the table. When Percy says march, all turn to the centre and then follow him back."

Harry stepped back in line and Percy gave the command to march. They all swung round to head back down the centre of the hall, with the two columns of students meeting back together in the middle. This went a little more smoothly, although the left-hand line of students lagged behind slightly so the two columns weren't lined up with each other. However, they successfully completed the reverse of their U-shaped march, this time at a more measured pace, with everyone making it back to the Gryffindor table.

"That was really good," Harry said. "I think we learned a lot from the first attempt. Coming back was just the right speed, so thanks Percy. We weren't totally lined up, though. When we're marching in two lines, we all need to keep together, so make sure that you stick right next to your opposite number from the other column. Okay, so time for the second practice. Percy, over to you."

When the command to march was given, the Gryffindors moved more smoothly this time around. Harry was marching next to Neville, who looked absolutely thrilled at the whole thing. And he wasn't the only one, Harry thought with a feeling of pleasure. Now that they understood what he was aiming for, the Gryffindors all looked much keener and more invested in the whole occasion.

In due time, the procession of students made its way more calmly to stand, all in a long row, facing the staff table. Harry stepped out again and smiled at everyone. "See how much better that went the second time!" he said. "Natalie and Jason, you really nailed it – congratulations! And everyone else did well too."

"I agree, Harry," Fred said cheerfully. "Percy, don't you think we deserve a few hundred points for our spectacular hard work and commitment to the cause of justice?"

"I don't think I should say exactly what you deserve Fred, not in front of mixed company," Percy said dryly. Ron snorted with amusement and quite a few people laughed.

Fred grinned, unabashed. "Well, it was worth a try."

They ran through the speech again, and then the march back to the Gryffindor table. Now that everyone could see what was expected of them, it worked out much better.

"Now, one more practice I think, just to make sure it's sunk in – though just the marching, I don't think we need to do the speech again," Harry said. They ran through their march again, moving to the front of the Great Hall and then back to their table, without any difficulties. "Wow, excellent. Well, I think we're ready for the real thing. Any questions?" There were none. "In that case, it's time to head back to the common room, and thanks everyone, for getting up early – I really appreciate it."

"Travel in small groups again," Percy said. "Remember, if stopped, you all went for an early morning walk! Oh, and one more thing – it's still over an hour until breakfast is served and I thought you all might be hungry after getting up so early, so I arranged for some food and drink to be delivered to the common room to tide us over. It should be there when we get back."

"Really? Food?" Ron said, grinning widely. "Superb idea, Perce! I'm starving!" A determined Ron was first out of the door, the others following soon after.

Once back in the common room, the Gryffindors made short work of the food and drink. Harry was one of the last back, as he'd pulled Natalie and Jason aside to give them a quick pep talk and some heartfelt thanks and words of praise before leaving the hall. Most of the food had already gone when he arrived, but he was able to grab a glass of pumpkin juice and two slices of buttered toast which was plenty to keep him going until breakfast. There was an air of keyed-up excitement in the room. Nobody went back to bed; they mostly talked about what would happen that lunchtime when they carried out their protest for real. Harry, Neville, Ron and Hermione flopped down in a bunch of comfortable chairs and discussed it too.

"You know, it's funny," Ron said, "but it really felt – I don't know, powerful. The marching, I mean, when we had it working properly. It was like we were making a big statement or something. Everyone together. All we were doing was walking, but it felt like something more… I don't know how to describe it. But you guys know what I mean, don't you? You felt it too, right?" They all nodded solemnly.

"What gave you the idea, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Well, it was partly that book I read recently about peaceful protests, but I was also thinking about something that happened at primary school a few years ago. We were all taken out on a school trip for the day to watch a big military parade in London. Dudley was ill and couldn't come, though I think he was faking it because he'd been saying the whole thing sounded really boring, and also, he was miraculously better by the time I got back. Anyway, we watched the soldiers marching, and putting a wreath down by a stone statue, and there was a service of remembrance. I was only eight years old and I'm not sure I understood much of it really, but I did kind of feel the power of it. Their silence and their movements, all in a line and all perfectly done, you know. I remember how serious it all was - and being really glad that Dudley wasn't there, because he'd have said stupid things and sneered and made fun of something important, something that shouldn't be mocked. So when I was working on this, I wanted to… I don't know, draw on that memory."

"Do you think it'll work?" Neville said. "I mean, really work? Make everything different, with Professor Snape and all?"

"I hope so," Harry said. "For now, though, I just want the marching thing to be okay when we do it for real."

"Why shouldn't it?" Ron asked, nibbling cheerfully on a banana. "We had no trouble before."

"Yeah, but nobody else was in the hall then. At lunchtime, it'll be full. What if one of the Professors tries to stop us? Or just as bad, maybe Malfoy might try to spoil it."

"You're overthinking it, mate. They won't know what's coming next, and they'll be too taken aback and too curious about what's going on to do anything other than sit and watch."

"I think Ron's right," Hermione said. "The advantage of surprise really will help. And personally Neville, I think this could be the start of one of the most important teaching transformations of recent times. Just imagine, what if we really do end up in Hogwarts: A History!"

"Then we'll all be as famous as Harry!" Neville joked, and they giggled.

"You mean I'll have to share the limelight for once?" Harry said with pretend reluctance. "Oh, woe is me! My life is awful!"

"I can just see the headline in the Daily Prophet now," Ron said, grinning. "Brave Gryffindors, led by handsome Ron Weasley, fight for change! Professors perplexed! Students stunned! Dumbledore dumbfounded! Governors Gobsmacked!"

"That's a very long headline for one page," Hermione remarked. "And of course, you're not leading the protest, Percy is. Nice alliteration, though."

"Nice what?"

"Honestly Ron, didn't you ever learn any grammar? Oh, never mind, it's not worth it!"

"He was too busy being handsome to learn grammar," Harry said, with a mocking glance at Ron.

"I'll have you know I could have done both, if I'd wanted to!"

Neville grinned. "I think it's going to be really good," he declared. "But it's hours until lunchtime. I don't know what to fill up the time with, apart from going to breakfast. Well, there was that nap idea of Percy's but that won't take the whole morning."

"We could go find an empty classroom and practice duelling," Harry suggested. "It'll take our mind off things. After breakfast?"

"Sure, that would be fine."

"Duelling? What for?" Ron asked.

"Neville and I have had a few duelling contests with Zabini and Nott recently. Each time so far, we've been completely massacred. We plan to ask them for a rematch soon and a little practice wouldn't hurt."

"You're duelling with Slytherins now, Harry? Really?"

"Yes, really," Harry said cheerfully. "We've all spent the last two years assuming that every Slytherin is as repulsive as Malfoy, but it turns out that's not the case. It's like assuming all of us are the same, when we're all really different in character. Some of them are horrible, like Malfoy, but not all of them. The duelling's been really good and Nott and Zabini are okay, when you get to know them. Nott's father might well be an evil, pure-blood, murdering Death Eater lunatic, but on the bright side Nott himself seems fine, and I like Zabini."

"Blaise is really helpful," Neville confirmed. "You'd like him as well, Ron, if you knew him."

"I totally doubt it, Neville. And honestly, duelling with Slytherins…" Ron pulled a revolted face.

"You mean, like when we agreed to meet Malfoy for that duel at midnight in first year?" Harry said teasingly. "You were keen enough on the idea then. And at least this time, the Slytherins actually show up..."

Ron sighed. "Life makes no sense at all these days. Anyway, is there any food left? It's ages till breakfast!"

- IIII - IIII - IIII - IIII -

As it happened, the idea of duelling was postponed until another time; Hermione sagely pointed out over breakfast that if they were injured and ended up in the hospital wing then they might not be able to go to the Great Hall for lunch. The four of them settled instead for a trip to the library to combine some work on their History of Magic homework with a search for books about effective duelling spells. Both Harry and Neville were determined to improve enough to present Nott and Zabini with at least a half-decent challenge as soon as they could. Ron and Hermione didn't want to get involved with that, but they liked Neville's suggestion of practicing duelling just between themselves and agreed to join some Gryffindor-only sessions.

The common room was nearly empty when they returned to it at 11.30. Percy, who was busy casting the Geminio charm to make extra copies of the Teaching Charter, told them with a grin that most people had embraced the mid-morning nap concept with gusto and were currently snoring away in their dorms.

"I hope they remembered to set their alarms again!" Hermione said with concern.

"Don't worry, I reminded them. In any case, I'll be checking the male dorms just at around a quarter past twelve and Eleanor will be doing the same for the girls' ones."

"Why are you making more copies of the Charter, Percy?" Ron asked.

"Ah, this was Harry's idea. I'm going to put them in my bookbag when we go to lunch, and then distribute them to students and staff after we've handed the first copy over to the Headmaster. That way, it'll help keep the issue front and centre in everyone's minds."

"Why don't you create petitions for the other students to sign as well, then?" Ron suggested. "If they backed us up then it would give the Charter even more support. Of course, probably the Slytherins won't sign but imagine if we got the majority of the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs! We'd have most of the school on our side then!"

"That's a clever thought," Harry said, pleased at seeing Ron get involved in quest planning for the first time. "I'll get those ready."

"Can I do that for you?" Ron said, looking a little embarrassed. "I haven't done anything much to help with this so far."

Harry grinned at him. "Of course, there's spare parchment in my bag, help yourself. Oh, and Ron – welcome to the quest."

"Thanks," Ron said with a grin. "Should have joined ages ago really, but better late than never."

"Yeah, much better."

"Still an hour to wait," Neville said. "I'm so nervous. I keep imagining all the ways this could go wrong."

"And I keep saying it won't," Hermione said firmly. "Now, what can we do for the next hour that's productive, educational and useful?"

Harry considered this. "Exploding snap?"

"Well, I'm too nervous to study so I suppose it's as good a way as any to take our mind off things," she conceded. "I'd better win, though!"

- IIII - IIII - IIII - IIII -