A/N1: As always, this universe belongs to J. K. Rowling. My bank statement can testify to that.

A/N2: The 'real world' will make an occasional appearance. Any statements made concerning the Royal Family are the views of the fictional characters speaking them and should NOT be considered the opinion of the author.

Albus Dumbledore was not having a good day; of course it was a day in which the Hogwarts Board of Governors met, and those days had not been pleasant for several years.

"It is ridiculous that I should be forced to submit to a physical and mental competency exam each quarter. You seem to forget who I am."

Lucius Malfoy refused to let the blustering impair his composure. "You are the head of the school to which we send our children. It is vital that you prove your fitness and worth, as we are entrusting you with the future of our society."

"When have I given you cause to doubt me?"

Azalea Greengrass drawled, "My family's business manages patents for Nicolas Flamel, and I studied for my mastery under his wife Perenelle, with whom I have maintained a correspondence. Would you like me to share with the board members what you were tinkering around with during my elder daughter's first year?"

"Ah, perhaps you have misunderstood my old friends…"

"I think not."

"Let's not forget last year when my son's class group banded together to ensure that none of their compatriots would fall between the cracks," Lucius slyly slipped in.

"Hogwarts would never–"

"The average grade for those children rose 27 points from their first year. The mentoring students requested assistance and advice from professors, who were more than willing to encourage this endeavour. And what did the esteemed headmaster do?"

Robinson Davies narrowed his eyes. "If you say anything other than give his blessing, I myself will be sorely disappointed."

Lucius looked at him and explained, "You only joined the board at mid-term due to Diggle's move to Brittany. Last year this venerable man did his best to quash the proposal. I am glad to say that the board saw fit to approve it, for I fear my son and his friends would have proceeded anyway, only taken it underground."

Mrs. Greengrass spoke up. "My daughter was one of the tutors and she found that helping others gave her more comprehension in a course at which she already excelled."

"Thank you for the supportive words. I understand that all of those who took on the role of instructor benefited as well. Now, as to this report from three weeks ago," he quickly duplicated and distributed a stack of wood-based parchment (really, there was no need for sheep to die with all of the papermaking advances), "Professor Dumbledore is as physically fit as a wizard can hope to be at a century and ten. Healer Bracken discloses a slight deterioration in memory and mental reflexes, but nothing to be worried about." He set the sheet aside and inclined his head at the subject of the document. "Thank you for your cooperation in this matter."

Eyes glinting, Dumbledore nodded in return. "I live to serve Hogwarts."

"Yes, yes," Lucius replied with a bland smile. "Now, as to the agenda. What is your idea behind promoting the gameskeeper of all people to a professorial position? The man didn't even graduate Hogwarts and cannot own a wand. How does he propose to protect students should one of the animals in his course run amuck?"

"I have the utmost trust in Hagrid."

Madam Zambini interjected, her voice with a lilt of her native Italian, "That does not answer the question."

"Hagrid, as you may know, is descended from a heritage known for great strength; such strength should be adequate enough for proper protection. And his love for and knowledge of magical animals is unparalleled."

Greengrass leaned forward. "Isn't he the one who illegally possessed a Cerberus?"

"Ah…"

With a quick glance around the table, Lucius flicked his wand and a swathe of red ink obliterated the agenda item. "No, Albus. Give the students reading assignments for the first few weeks. If you cannot produce several possible candidates within five days, at that time we will decide either to find a professor ourselves or cancel the class for this year. Next."

"You can't do this."

"We just did. Now, I do not see any cost of living salary increases listed for your contracted instructors."

The headmaster waved a disdainful hand. "That is a decidedly muggle idea, plus it is an honour in and of itself to serve at Hogwarts."

"That still doesn't put food on the table. And before you bleat that they are fed at the school, those who have their own homes aren't during the breaks. Not to mention that they have to fund their own research projects."

Greengrass turned to the head governor. "Lucius, I thought you were going to work on that?"

"All of the projects are not feasible for this year, but I have my firm's number crunchers looking over the past few years' budgets with a fine-toothed comb. They will recommend the ones which we can afford at the present."

"I cannot believe that you would be so foolish as to leave that sort of information and decision in the hands of outsiders!"

"Headmaster, do you personally teach charms, potions, or even," he grimaced, "divination?"

"No…"

"I thought not. You employ those with the skills to do that. I hire people with a niffler's ability to find gold. Unless there are some underhanded dealings in the books which you do not wish aired?"

"Of course not!"

"Very good," Lucius stated with an expression of disbelief. "Now, the rest of these expenditures appear to be replacements of items due to normal wear and tear: bed linens and the such. So, do I hear a motion to approve this budget with the aforementioned amendments?"

Madam Zambini raised a languid hand. "I so move."

"Second," Davies grunted.

"Those in favour? The motion passes. I deem this meeting dismissed."

Dumbledore, a scowl on his face, watched all the board members but Malfoy leave.

"I know what you are doing." He wagged a knowing finger.

Lucius continued to collect and collate the documents. "Pray, enlighten me."

"You are undermining my control or at least attempting to do so. But I will not allow it. Hogwarts is the jewel of wizarding society and I will not permit you to pollute it."

"Au contraire, your poor stewardship has made our school appear not even a jewel which should have been taken in for cleaning decades ago but a mud-encrusted pebble. The Board and I aim to polish it to full lustre so that it can shine as it once did throughout the world."

"Pretty words, Malfoy, but don't think you've won. I read that you have thrown your hat into the Minister of Magic election. You will have to resign your position on this board if you succeed, and, with you gone, the others will soon fall back into line."

"I believe you underestimate the stones of Davies, and even Greengrass. But I shall not worry. A departing member has the opportunity to suggest his or her replacement, and I am nominating a person who will be most pleased to continue on this path."

"Really?" Dumbledore snorted.

"Yes, my wife's cousin, Sirius Black. He is from a noted pureblood family, was a decorated auror, and is currently the darling of society for his ability to survive unlawful imprisonment and retain his sanity and joie de vivre. And," he leaned close, "he has no great love for the Chief Warlock who made no effort to provide him a timely trial. Good day, Headmaster."

Once the door closed behind the Malfoy head, Dumbledore sat down abruptly. "Oh, dear."

"Mum is able to be on the walking machine–"

"Treadmill."

"–for ten minutes straight. Her speech is coming along fine; it's just a little slow now."

Anthony nodded. "How about your father?"

Neville's face fell slightly. "He's not healing as fast as Mum. It's really bumming him out, since he feels like he's letting everyone down."

Hermione tutted at him. "His guilt is a result of that old-fashioned patriarchal attitude to which the magical world keeps clinging."

"You think it's in his head?" Tracey enquired.

"Not so much his, but in his wife's."

"Huh?" Seamus asked in his usual erudite manner.

"Look at it this way. The maternal instinct is one of the strongest forces in nature. Neville's mother awoke and realized that her baby was growing up without her. She is doing her very best to catch up with him."

The boy blushed. "Maybe you're not far off. I will say that it's nice when she hugs me and I know that she knows what she's doing."

"What did I miss?" Justin breezed into the carriage.

"Just catching up on the progress of Neville's parents since we last saw him," Padma informed the late arrival.

"The magic-infused hyperbaric therapy still going okay, mate?" he asked. After noting Neville's quick grin, he declared, "By the way, I know I've said it before, but you guys throw a great party!"

"You helped us quite a bit," Hermione reminded him. Their year group had been invited to the manor which had been their earlier school for all and part-time residence for some. They wanted to share what the nonmagical world had to offer with those who had seldom, if ever, ventured into it. Justin and other muggleborns had been additional resources when purebloods went into shock at what they encountered.

Desiring to have an 'average' instead of 'royal' view of muggle life, the Granger parents had been involved in the planning of the event. At Emma's insistence, food was served buffet-style, and the dentist overlooked the fact that soft drinks were consumed by the case; a pronouncement that the Hogwarts elves should offer cola instead of pumpkin juice was the subject of more than one cultural 'discussion' during the day.

Dan's assignment was the media room, which showed three separate motion pictures, but the visitors were encouraged to select only one, as other activities such as impromptu dances with unfamiliar music and a video game tournament were also offered. The sunny weather allowed for the retraction of the glass roof over the swimming pool, and the excited squeals when the girls tried on the provided swimsuits were a sharp contrast to the silence from the boys' dropped jaws when those females emerged from the dressing area. Draco had earlier explained that bathing attire for magical society had not advanced since the early twentieth century, but the extent of those changes could only be determined by actually witnessing them. And, despite the stated intention of sharing muggle life and experiences with their classmates, there was still no way that the pleasant temperature could keep some from the brooms and a pick-up Quidditch game.

However, no one expected the two non-Hogwarts visitors who stood in line to ride the quad bike trails which circumnavigated the flying pitch. Justin, coordinator of that event, had managed to retract his eyeballs back into their sockets after a discreet nod from an accompanying guard, and the boys took their turn several minutes later. When asked who the youngsters were, the Hufflepuff merely stated they were the grandsons of the manor's owner who wanted to join in the fun. Their identities were eventually outed a few days after the party, and postal owls became so busy that they were considering going on strike.

Justin's presence prompted Pansy and Lavender to grab an arm each and attempt to ferret out details of the 'cute princes', their efforts on the others having crashed and burned. His fervent denials of any foreknowledge of their appearance attracted others to the group, and it was through this crowd that Vince waded with determination as he approached the hosts in the 'Royal Carriage'. "I know you guys have some sort of sneaky 'in' with the Hogwarts powers- that-be. Do you think they could put one of those covered swimming pools behind the castle?"

All those within earshot immediately expressed support for the idea.

Ernie jumped in. "Just think of the exercise possibilities. Exercise that would be fun, not running monotonously around the lake like you plonkers do!"

"Those hot tub thingies would be just the ticket in the winter after wading through the snow for Herbology."

"Don't forget those brilliant muggle swimsuits for the girls!"

Draco laughed when Hermione shot a searing glare towards the young man who had verbalized the last argument. "My father has experts going meticulously through the Hogwarts finances. I doubt if he can pull it off in the next year, but I'll let him know that this should be a long-term goal." He cleared his throat. "Ah, if it happens, each person is responsible for purchasing their own swimsuit."

Spontaneous cheers settled down to excited babble, which continued until a prefect stuck her head through the door and reminded them that the journey would be ending within a half hour. At that point, most people exited the carriage to find their original compartments.

"You don't mind if I stay with you, do you?"

Hermione turned smoothly. "Not at all, Luna. With everything going on, I hadn't seen you. How did your summer's hunt go?"

After a slight pout, the blonde began her tale which included both glaciers and iridescent hot springs.