It was nearing the end of October and all three men were busy with their respective professions. Minerva had been made the interim Headmistress after Dumbledore's death, but the public airing of the man's past and various manipulations, which were leaked carefully through sources who could not be traced back to Thomas, Severus, or Harrison, had damaged the man's reputation so much that many were uncertain of whether she should be allowed to retain the post. Many were saying she should have done more as Deputy Headmistress, seen more, or been more involved in some way. Harrison privately agreed, having only seen her in her capacity as Head of Gryffindor twice, once his first year when he was placed on the quidditch team, and once his fifth year for his career counselling.
Minerva was questioning herself as well. Harrison had blossomed in his final year under Severus' watch, and she really couldn't believe she had missed so many signs of his treatment and the threads of Dumbledore's control. She really thought it might be time to start thinking about retirement. Perhaps she would simply teach transfiguration a few more years, and leave being Headmistress to someone else. So it really was no surprise when she was called before the Board of Governors.
Lord Gaunt-Slytherin peered around the Governor's room, taking stock of the members, as well as those who had been called before the board. Severus was there and a smirk touched his lips so fast that anyone not paying attention would never have seen it. Minerva was present, looking rather calm. Pomona Sprout and Filius Flitwick were also present, as the four Heads of House were required to attend, along with the headmaster or headmistress. Thomas mentally shook his head and focused his thoughts, preparing for the meeting which was just about to begin.
They began with all the usual business of discussing problem or excelling students. Nothing new or of note occurred during the budget review. As the first term wasn't even over, there were no exams scores to review, or special tutoring to discuss. Thomas was biding his time for the discussion of the head's position. Once all the usual tasks were complete, the head of the board began the discussion. Lucius had been the head of the board, but while he was removed after Harrison's second year, and subsequently rejoined prior to his fifth, he had not yet worked his way back to the top. Therefore, it was Lord Smith, the father of one of Harrison's classmates who was leading the group.
"It is time we discuss the position of the head of Hogwarts," Lord Smith began in his rather oily, unctuous tone. Thomas thought it was rather telling where Zacharias had gotten his unpleasant mannerisms, based on the descriptions Harrison had provided of his classmate.
"I agree," Minerva spoke up, having thought long and hard since the start of term. "I would like to step down from my interim position as soon as a suitable candidate can be located. Head of Gryffindor is plenty to be going on with in addition to my Transfiguration duties. I will likely be looking to retire in the next 5-10 years anyway, and have no desire to spend the remainder of my time being run off my feet."
"You have clearly given this rather a lot of thought, Minerva," Lord Smith continued. "Have you any thoughts as to your replacement?"
"I discussed the possibility with Filius," she nodded to the half-goblin, "but he is also uninterested in the role. I have had no further time to look, given that I have only been thinking of it for just over a week."
"Fair, fair," the oily man responded, rubbing his chin in thought.
"If I may be so bold," Lucius raised the head of his snake cane in a somewhat bizarre parody of a student raising their hand in class. Lord Smith nodded, he liked his hold on the board, but knew it wasn't worth it to get the Lord Malfoy on his bad side. "I believe we have a rather well-educated member among ourselves who may be appropriate to at least discuss the situation, if not appoint to the headship." The group looked slightly confused, so the blonde lord continued, "Lord Gaunt-Slytherin."
Thomas mentally smirked. Lucius had set things up perfectly for him. "My good lords and ladies of the board, it is true I have much education, but have had no formal experience in teaching. Perhaps I would serve better as a consultant to the position," he prevaricated demurely.
Minerva perked up a bit, not being familiar with the Lord, who was attending his first meeting since accepting the Lordship. "And what are your educational qualifications, Lord Gaunt-Slytherin?"
"Thomas, please, Headmistress," Lord Gaunt-Slytherin replied with a smile.
"Thomas, then," she nodded.
"I set records in both my OWLs and NEWTs, and I have masteries in Defense, Charms, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, and Potions. While I have taken no official apprentices, nor taught in a school setting, I did make rather a study of educational institutions shortly after my NEWTs. Hogwarts' international standing is declining, and many of her students are forced to work for the ministry or find employment in the muggle world. We are losing our young witches and wizards at an alarming rate, and few are being accepted into mastery programs or apprenticeships. It is clear Hogwarts needs a new direction, and possibly some reform."
Several members of the board looked shocked as Thomas handed out small packets showing Hogwarts OWL and NEWT scores compared to several other magical schools, including Beauxbatons, Durmstrang, and Ilvermorny.
"As you can see," He opened his packet to the OWL and NEWT charts, "Hogwarts students are underperforming in almost all areas at OWL level, not terribly, but noticeably below our sister schools. NEWT levels are better, but still significantly lower than other institutions, and in some cases, such as potions and history, so few are taking the exams, one bad score lowers the overall performance exorbitantly."
Severus nodded when potions was called out. He and Thomas had spoken of his desire to leave Hogwarts to pursue his own private brewing and experimentation only a week ago. It seems this was his chance to speak. "I agree with Lord Gaunt-Slytherin. I have made no secret of my dislike of teaching and students in general. Our potions safety scores are much higher than any other school, but my zeal for protecting the students has unfortunately stifled their enthusiasm for the subject," Severus stated the facts baldly. Every person on the board had seen more than one complaint regarding Severus' teaching methods, though they could not disagree with his safety record. "I would like to leave Hogwarts, now that my contract with Dumbledore is concluded to focus on my own brewing. I have a list of masters who I personally know are interested in teaching, and who would also care about student safety, but are concerned with the status of Hogwarts in general."
"Would they be interested in teaching if there was a change in leadership or school structure?" Thomas asked, picking up the lure Severus threw out with no problem, guiding the board to their desires.
"It is likely," Severus confirmed. "I admit my own stories of teaching likely put them off under the leadership of Headmaster Dumbledore, but should a change be made, particularly if an academic rather than a politic were the head, I can see many of them being interested."
"Leave the list, Severus, we will review it and make a determination after the matter of the headship is settled," Lord Smith commanded.
Severus handed over his list with a single nod and returned to his seat.
"Another concern is the falling admission rate," Thomas continued, again referencing the packet of data. "Hogwarts is a castle built for over 1,000, yet we have less than 500 students," Thomas pinned the group with a hard stare. "Many smaller institutions have gotten rid of the boarding school aspect and converted to day schools, which is not an option for us here, but the staffing method they use is able to be replicated. At many schools, similar in size to Hogwarts and both smaller and larger, they are hiring more than one teacher for each of the core subjects, sometimes three or four, and depending on the popularity of elective courses, may have two or three instructors for those as well. This cuts the teaching load, allows for more office hours or tutoring from a qualified teacher rather than having students getting sub-par assistance from year mates or older students, and puts more adults in the castle for supervision."
"I told Albus we needed additional teachers. He kept saying Hogwarts couldn't afford it," Minerva burst out. "Hogwarts used to have at least two teachers for each of the core subjects. One to teach years 1-5 to get students through OWLs, and one to teach years 6 and 7 with extra time for tutoring and the like for NEWTs."
"She is correct," Lucius put in. "It appears that the various wars throughout the 17 and 1800's reduced our population significantly enough that there were not enough students to warrant that many teachers. And when the teachers left, the budget for them was dropped."
"But we still don't have enough students to support it," Lord Smith practically whined.
"Not currently," Thomas spoke in his calm manner. "But there are large numbers of children who are not admitted to Hogwarts either by lack of funds or low levels of magic. If Hogwarts was to take Squibs and offer general muggle education along with what magical applications squibs can participate in, such as Runes, Potions, and Arithmancy, that would add a subset of the young population which has been excluded, and perhaps remove the stigma of squibs, resulting in fewer of them being cast out."
"This is of benefit to the school financially," he continued smoothly, "as pureblood families would have more children in the school, and therefore paying tuition, and keeps the bloodlines in the magical world. There is promising research being completed in the Department of Mysteries, as well as in several other magical governments that point to the theory that muggleborns are not truly muggle born at all, but are rather the descendants of squibs who had been cast out of magical society. There does not appear to be a hard and fast rule for when magic makes its reappearance, but it would behoove us to keep these bearers of magical blood in our world, leaving fewer children to be born to those who do not understand."
He paused, allowing the shock to settle. It was rather groundbreaking for many in the room.
Before he could begin again, Lord Smith was whining, "But we can't take additional students who can't pay, Hogwarts has scholarships, but not that many, and they are for the ones with the most power."
"I understand your concern, but with additional funding from the ministry, and some rather generous donations, Hogwarts could begin the process, and when the positive effects begin, more funding and more donations will continue," Thomas concluded. "I, myself, would be happy to open up the Slytherin coffers to provide more scholarships for students, and I know many of the pureblood families I have discussed things with have also been interested in the program. It is very possible we may have the funding for the initial 10-15 year period very soon, and once it proves beneficial, the ministry will be forced to add to their funding as well."
Many in the room were looking shell-shocked by the research being conducted around muggleborns and the thought of further funding to implement ideas like the one Lord Gaunt-Slytherin was proposing.
"Clearly Lord Gaunt-Slytherin is in a unique position to assist us with this transformative information," Minerva stated after several minutes of silence. "He is highly educated, and though he has no significant teaching experience, as headmaster, he would not be required to teach, merely to lead the school." She pinned all the members of the board, many of whom had been her students and were somewhat afraid of the staunch Scotswoman, with her trademark teaching stare. "I suggest we appoint Lord Gaunt-Slytherin to Headmaster and allow him to guide these adjustments to our school. I know I asked for years for a second transfiguration teacher, and if more students will make that feasible, I am happy to let one who has so much information regarding the process guide us."
"I agree," squeaked Filius. "It would be nice to have more time to spend with the OWL and NEWT students, or to offer tutoring but I just haven't had time between teaching a core class, Head of House duties, and detentions. And more adults would be welcome."
"Agreed," Pomona Sprout added.
"I concur," said Severus.
Lord Smith took in all the nods from the other members of the board and turned to the man in question, "Would you be willing to take on the headship, Lord Gaunt-Slytherin?"
Thomas looked thoughtful for a few moments before he responded. "I think I would, yes," he finally stated. "Since the heads all agree, and are willing to work on the changes, I think we could make something great happen here at Hogwarts."
Severus was smirking internally, knowing Thomas was doing his own personal happy dance in his head. Their plan was working splendidly.
"I would like to begin after the Yule holidays, however as I am getting bonded," Thomas spoke up, "If that is acceptable." He looked to Minerva. "I am happy to begin being on-site immediately, but I do need to assign my Wizengamot seats to a proxy, attend a few more meetings to wrap up my work there, and to observe the school more closely before I would feel comfortable taking over. I would not want my political work to interfere as seems to have been the case with Headmaster Dumbledore."
"Yes, that should be fine," responded the interim Headmistress.
"Wonderful, then," Lord Smith said jovially, "it's settled. Lord Gaunt-Slytherin will become Headmaster in January. Now, about the teaching posts. Before you begin adding new ones, we do need to discuss Potions for Mr. Snape, and that infernal curse or whatever it is that keeps taking our Defence professors every year. It really is getting ridiculous."
"Ah, I had heard there was a curse," Thomas said with a small smile. "No defense professor has lasted more than a year since...what was it… 1961?"
"Unfortunately," Lord Malfoy intoned, "that is correct."
"Disgraceful," Thomas muttered, many of the board nodding. "There have been curse breakers asked? Ritualists? Rune Masters? Anyone who might be able to identify the curse or possibly break it?"
"Indeed," Lord Smith spoke up again, "Many, though over the years, less and less often. The last to look was in 1984 I believe."
"I see," Thomas responded, internally pleased that his curse was still going strong even after so many years and so many attempts to break it. Of course the fact that he had cast it in Parseltongue meant that there were only two wizards currently in the country with any hope of breaking it, and only about 10 in the world, and that was if the other 8 had anything to do with curses. "Well, I will look into any records you have about it and see if I may discover anything of use. I did not get my masteries for nothing, and I would relish a chance against a curse such as this."
Lord Malfoy stood and moved to the cabinets of files around the edge of the room and selected a few, copying them and bringing the stack of copies to his lord. Thomas nodded his thanks, not really needing the records, but making the show.
"As for the potion masters," Thomas said, continuing the discussion, "I believe I will discuss the list with Severus, and work with Minerva to ensure all are contacted prior to the holidays. We will schedule interviews for next term, and will make a decision before Severus' departure at the end of the school year."
Minerva and Severus were both nodding in agreement to the plan.
"Very well, then," Lord Smith stated. "Once you have been instated as Headmaster, we can discuss more of the particulars of this future expansion for both professors and students, perhaps the board meeting in February?"
Thomas nodded his acquiescence.
"Then if there's no other new business…?" Lord Smith looked around the room and seeing nothing, banged the small gavel and announced, "Meeting adjourned!"
The four heads of house swarmed Thomas as they were dismissed, welcoming him to the staff, offering their assistance, and asking a few questions regarding the ideas he had proposed. He waved them off with promises of further discussion at staff meetings and shared a smile with his soon to be bonded before leaving the school to prepare for his "exit" from the Wizengamot. Of course Lucius would proxy his seats and all his followers would vote the way he wanted, but hopefully, with the information coming to light on Dumbledore, others who might have opposed would be swayed to their point as well.
Time moved quickly and soon it was the Yule holiday and time for the bonding of the three men. Malfoy Manor was in a rather frenetic state as Narcissa commanded the house elves in preparation for the bonding and Yule like a war general commanding her troops. Scurrying feet and the quiet pops of house elf apparition could be heard at all times. They would be performing their usual Yule rites, but were also having the bonding in the early afternoon. They were all expecting the magical influx from the rites this year to be huge with the added bonding magic. Thomas, Severus, and Harrison had decided to delay their honeymoon 5 days since they weren't entirely certain what to expect with the additional magic from their bonding. Hopefully that was long enough.
But thoughts of their honeymoon were pushed back as they ate a hearty breakfast in preparation for their hunt for the yule log. Once they finished and were dressed for the cold, the entire family trooped out to the forest to find a likely tree. Again their search was blessed as Severus identified a newly felled maple tree, and they all quietly offered their thanks to Lady Magic for the blessing of their celebrations.
This year, all of them participated in the chanting of the yule log poem, and a more perfect yule log was cut than any had ever seen. The group all lent a hand carrying the log back to the manor. Then they all scurried off to their own rooms to prepare for the bonding which was occurring at 1 pm. The elves were indispensable, making certain clothing was prepared, snacks and drinks were provided, and popping messages between the groups.
At 12:30, Harrison was nervously pacing his room, pausing every few rotations to flop on the bed next to his long-suffering sister. Then he would grasp her hands and stutter out a scared, "What if they change their minds?" She would pat his hand and tuck his hair behind his ears, offer him a smile, and try to reassure him, yet again, that they had courted and been betrothed with this exact result in mind. It was hardly likely that either of the two older men would be backing out now. Harrison would nod, huff a sigh or two, and then bound up to pace around his room again.
His pacing was, thankfully for his sister whose hands were beginning to go numb, interrupted by the arrival of his father and his mate. Sirius and Remus knocked and entered his room, dressed in matching Black Family robes of midnight blue with tiny constellations embroidered in silver threads at the hems and the Black Family Coat of Arms in silver on their chests. Sirius actually managed to look something less than manic or angry at the events and opened his arms to his son, enfolding him in a near-crushing embrace.
"I love you, pup," He whispered.
"I love you, too, dad," Harrison replied.
They stood there wrapped in the warmth of family for a few minutes when Remus gently cleared his throat. Harrison stepped back from his father, and turned to face the werewolf, stepping forward and hugging the man when he also opened his arms wide.
"Blessing on you this day, Prongslet," Remus offered a traditional blessing.
"Thanks, Remy," Harrison sniffed.
Stepping back and dropping back down on the bed next to his sister, Harrison looked around.
"We have a gift for you, pup," Sirius finally broke the silence and Remus offered a package wrapped in blue and silver.
Harrison took the proffered box and made quick work of opening the paper and the velvet box within. His jaw dropped when he saw the contents.
"I know you have the heir ring, and you'll take the Lordship soon," Sirius began, "Merlin knows I never wanted it," he muttered, causing the rest of the group to chuckle, "but we wanted you to have a little something else."
"They're beautiful," Harrison breathed, taking in the gift.
Sirius had given him a set of cufflinks depicting the Black Family crest. The shield was a sapphire nearly as large as his thumbnail and the crest had been etched into the stone and then filled with silver. They were a stunning set and he fumbled quickly with his sleeves, trying to remove the plain silver cufflinks he was currently wearing. Hermione stopped his frantic hands and removed his cufflinks, carefully switching them out for the new ones. He jumped up as soon as she was finished and pulled both men into a hug. Dobby popped in, ending the moment, to announce that it was time.
Harrison knew Narcissa had been planning a large bonding ceremony for the three men, but thankfully Thomas and Severus had instructed her to reign it in, including only those who were necessary. They wanted a bonding of olde, not one of the new marriage ceremonies or even the more traditional handfasting. Once she understood that they intended to bond, she was much more amenable to their desires.
The entire group convened at the ritual room in the top of one of the towers of the manor. Usually it was used only for the Light holiday rituals of Candlemas, Ostara, Beltaine, and Litha, but it was also used for bondings, though no Malfoy had bonded there in some 300 years. Thomas had wanted to use one of the ritual rooms at Slytherin Court, but the castle was in such a state of disrepair, they had decided against it. They also didn't want to use the Dark holiday ritual room because it was situated in the dungeons and lacked any natural light. It wasn't used for the Yule rites since those were done on the grounds and around the fireplace, but it was used for Lammas, Mabon, and Samhain. Lucius was almost certain that two ley lines converged under the two rooms, which were in the same location, separated only by the 7 floors between the dungeon and the top of the tower, but regardless, they would have the natural light which was a blessing for bondings and the power from the ley lines on a holiday, so they were all well pleased.
Harrison looked around at the small group of people present for his bonding to his potion master and the ex-Dark Lord. The ministry official, he thought the woman's name was Roberts though he wasn't certain, looked awed by the splendor she was confronted with. This was the first bonding she had performed since becoming a certified officiant, and the fact that it was being held at Malfoy Manor was intimidating.
They entered the chamber, and Harrison was pleased to see the walls were nearly entirely windows. They could see the snow which had been falling steadily the last several days, blanketing the world in a gown of white. The three men stepped forward into the center of the ritual circle, forming a triangle with Harrison at the point standing a little in front of Thomas who was back and to Harrison's left and Severus who was back and to the right. In the center of the circle was a potted calla lily, not yet in bloom. Officiant Roberts was standing directly in front of Harrison, just outside the ritual circle. Hermione was directly to the right of Officiant Roberts, next to Sirius. Beside him was Draco, followed by Remus who was on the back of the circle. Then Narcissa, and finally Lucius, to the left of the officiant. They were evenly spaced, forming a circle of seven around the three men. Lucius and Draco held green candles, representing the Gaunt-Slytherin family. Sirius held a dark blue candle and Hermione held a deep red candle, representing the Black and Potter families. Narcissa and Remus held black candles, representing the Prince family.
Officiant Roberts raised a gold bonding wand and began to chant quietly. Nagini and Alistair watched from their coiled positions in the corner of the room as magic began to fill the ritual space. And unbeknownst to any in the room, Caesar, the Dark Lord's owl, Hedwig, and Nemesis, Severus' raven, were perched on the roof directly above them. The magic swirled until ribbons began to form out of the strands of magic. The bonding was similar to the handfasting, but the ribbons that bound them were true magic, rather than the cloth ribbons used in muggle handfasting. With bonding, the magic would merge with the participants, joining their lives, souls, hearts, and magic.
The woman plucked a black ribbon from the air and waved it gently toward Harrison. It wrapped around his wrist and flowed to wrap around the wrist of the two men behind him. As the ribbon wound around the three men, Officiant Roberts spoke, "Will you share yourselves freely and generously with each other, making time to be together?"
"We will," the three responded.
"The first binding is thus made with onyx, symbolic of water, that your love may flow and fill you to your depths." She plucked a green ribbon next. "Will you each seek to ease the other's pain and suffering, sharing laughter and joy?"
"We will," they responded again.
"The second binding is thus made with emerald, symbolic of earth, that your union may be fruitful and your happiness abundant." With that, she selected the red ribbon. "Will you strive to keep your romance alive through daily actions and words of encouragement?"
"We will," they replied, magic tightening their words.
"The third binding is thus made with ruby, symbolic of fire, that your love may be bright and passionate." So saying, she pulled the final ribbon from the magic swirling around them. "Will you help each other to grow in spirit and wisdom?"
"We will."
"The fourth binding is thus made with sapphire, symbolic of air, that your love may be as limitless as the sky, steadfast and unbroken."
Once the words were spoken the ribbons wound themselves together forming a strong cord of magic.
The six surrounding them raised their wands and incanted a brief blessing, magic coalescing to form a ring of purest white around the circle.
"May Merlin protect your bond with the purity of power, that your lives be clear in word, thought, and deed, and your union grow anew."
At the end of the benediction, the ring of white magic contracted, merging with the ribbons and sinking into the arms of each of the three, forming their bonding bands. Each man had a wide gold cuff on his left wrist set with a diamond, surrounded by any onyx, ruby, emerald, and sapphire as they had been called in their bonding. Once the bands were complete the magic pulsed and the three men turned to face each other, grasping their cuffed hands together and spoke four words, "So mote it be."
The magic flared and surrounded the men in a near-blinding light, which faded to green before siphoning away into the calla lily resting between them. The plant fluttered in a non-existent wind before the buds blossomed into full bloom, sparkling with the influx of magic.
"So mote it be," the outer circle of seven responded. Magic washed through the room, and as they watched, the three birds who had been perched above them swooped down, circling the tower in full view of the ritual participants, playing with each other in the still gently falling snow. All of them laughed at the birds' antics before exiting the room. Officiant Roberts congratulated them on their bonding and promised to file the appropriate paperwork with the ministry as soon as it was open before she floo'ed away to her own holiday.
The family party remained, relaxing after the burst of magic in preparation for the completion of the yule rites after the dinner feast. After a few hours relaxation, the elves popped in to chivvy them into their cleansing ritual baths and robes for the final part of the rites. Lucius, as the head of the house, lit the Yule log when everyone was present and all paid their respects to Mother Magic. They enjoyed their time of feasting and saved their offerings for the fire. After presenting their offerings, Lucius passed the chalice of mead and Harrison, as the youngest was the last to take a sip and poured the remainder over the log. He was surrounded by a green glow, similar to the light that had enveloped the three during their bonding, but none of them knew what it meant, other than that Lady Magic had blessed him in some way. Resolving to look it up later, the group trooped out to the orchard, made their rounds of the trees and blessed the orchard gates before returning to the fire and a last cup of cider. At midnight, the fire gutted out, and when the log split, each person took their piece. Thomas led Severus and Harrison to his rooms, and they finished the rites by placing the pieces of the log under the large bed. All of them offered a personal thanks to Mother Magic for her protection, and asked that protection be renewed before bowing to the bed three times. Once that was complete, they undressed and slid into bed, Severus and Thomas holding tightly to Harrison between them as they drifted into sleep.
While they slept, the odd green light seen during their bonding and with Harrison's offering returned to surround them. The influx of magic with the boost from their bonding was immense and it was four days before any in the house stirred.