Educational Decree Number 24

by merula46

Hermione has a sudden revelation with the way the Educational Decree number 24 is worded.. It goes a bit off the rails at that point! Not too serious but not a crack fic. Rated M for possible future M

Author's Note:

I know as a reader of fanfiction this can be annoying and irritating to read at the top of a new fanfiction… This was a little thought nugget I couldn't get out of my head and I decided to write it out while tipsy. Yes it is not fully serious nor is it fully crack but a bit in the middle. There is a bit of a stretch of things but that is the thing with fanfiction. Its all a stretch from the fanfiction author's mind. I had a thought that if ONE single word was missing from the Educational Decree Number 24 (Student) then it would be… extremely different.

As always, I do not own nor get money from Harry Potter. I'm just playing around with the universe with my little thought nuggets.

Educational Degree Number 24

"All {Student} Organisations, Societies, Teams, Groups, and Clubs are henceforth disbanded. An Organisation, Society, Team, Group, or Club is hereby defined as a regular meeting of three or more students. Permission to re-form may be sought from the High Inquisitor (Professor Umbridge). No Student Organisation, Society, Team, Group, or Club may exist without the knowledge and approval of the High Inquisitor. Any student found to have formed, or to belong to, an Organisation, Society, Team, Group, or Club that has not been approved by the High Inquisitor will be expelled."

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Society Definition per Meriam Webster

: an enduring and cooperating social group whose members have developed organized patterns of relationships through interaction with one another

b : a community, nation, or broad grouping of people having common traditions, institutions, and collective activities and interests

Chapter 1

The so called Golden Trio walked down the stairs to the Great Hall after reading the newest Education Decree. Hermione was lost in thought as she trailed behind the other two, listening to the two male members of the group complaining about possible issue for the Quidditch team.

"No groups? No societies? Technically….." Hermione continued to ruminate while she was trailing behind the two. A plan began to come together. She hid her smirk behind her hand.

"Depending on the Prophet's response and a few things I need to research, this might work…"She though as she sat down at the table, her plan continued to come together. The morning owl post delivered Hermione her copy of the Daily Prophet. Reading over the article and the very blatant support of the Educational Decree, her smirk grew even more and she no longer hid it. Harry happened to glance towards her and did a double glance.

"Ermm… Hermione?" he hesitantly asked, "Are you okay?"

"Of course!" she smiled brightly, "I have an idea. I just need to check something in the library as soon as possible!" She continued to eat her toast with marmalade as she finished making the preliminary plan in her mind. She ignored the grumbling from Ron and Harry's inquisitive stare. As she rushed thru her breakfast, she made note of the day's schedule. Realizing she would need to hurry to get the library before her first class, she wiped her hands on her napkin and took a sip of water. Done with her breakfast, she rushed off to the library to see if her plan would work.

ED#24

As Hermione rushed off, Harry looked towards Ron. Glancing back to the door where Hermione had just exited, in a lowered voice, he asks Ron, "Is it just me or did she seem fairly shifty this morning?"

Ron shrugged, "She did get that look in her eye when she is feeling vindictive." He shivered, "As long as its not directed to me, I don't care what she has in mind."

Harry's neck hair raised as he remembered the last time he saw that look on her face. As he shivered, all he could think was to pray to the gods, Merlin or whoever would listen for mercy and protection for Tsunami Granger.

ED#24

Hermione entered the silent library. The masoleum feeling of the library calmed her thoughts down enough to have her focus on where she needed to go. She passed the librarian Madam Pince to her way to the tiny muggle literature section. Bending her head in acknowledgement towards her, she moved to the dictionary to check the technical definitions of certain words.

"Society- a community, nation, or broad grouping of people having common traditions, institutions, and collective activities and interests….. It is a little bit of a stretch but not as much I had feared. This will work." She copies over the definition to her parchment. She takes a deep breath and starts to write down her plan in more a bit more depth as fast as possible.

ED#24

Ron and Harry sit down in History of Magic after breakfast expecting to see Hermione to have beaten them to class. Surprisingly to the two of them, she was not there. Looking at each other, they sit down at their normal seat and leave the space between them open. As the final bell rings, Hermione rushes in as Binns begins to lecture.

As she is taking heaving breaths to try to calm down from the run, Ron hisses, "Why were you late? You're always early!"

"I… had… an …. Idea… You would …. Not believe…. How stupid …. This decree is for …. The school…." She panted slowly catching her breath. Passing her notes on the definition and her plan, she whispered her idea to the two of them. After she explained her thoughts and ideas, the both were sporting smirks, that had the rest of the class been watching more avidly instead of dozing or otherwise goofing off, would have had them realize that something was about to change in Hogwarts.

ED#24

Once History of Magic was let out, for the rest of the day, the Golden Trio was not seen once. Not for any classes, lunch or dinner. Not a single hair was seen of any of them. Between Snape and Umbridge, they had been assigned detentions for skipping classes (Potions, Divination and DADA respectively) but no one could find them to tell them. As curfew approached, and the time for the detentions came and went, McGonagall was notified about the skipped classes and skipped detentions. After dinner she tried to send them a summons by way of a few Gryffindor students with no response. She left her office and was waiting for them in the Gryffindor Tower until curfew. But when curfew came and went with no sign of Harry, Hermione or Ron, she began interviewing the students. She confirmed they were there for first period but after that disappeared. At that point, as the Deputy Headmistress, she summoned the staff for a meeting.

ED#24

"I called you here to ask if anyone has seen Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley or Harry Potter today? From what I have been able to gather, they came to both breakfast and first period but after that, not a sound or sighting of any of them." McGonagall asked, a bit worriedly. Most of the teachers looked at each other in confusion. They could see Weasley and possible Potter skipping classes but Granger? Not perfect prefect Granger!

"Hem Hem…" started Umbridge with her simpering cough.

"Yes, Delores, I am already aware of them skipping Defense and Potions. I'm not asking who hasn't seen them but who has." McGonagall coldly responded.

"Well Potter is as idiotic as his father. Are we sure he did not just get the two to follow him for another hairbrained so called adventure?" Snape drawled sneering the entire time.

Sighing McGonagall responded, "No Severus, Miss Granger has never skipped a class before. The only time she has missed classes was due to illness. This is very unheard of. Plus Miss Granger would never allow Mr Potter or Mr Weasley to skip classes."

"Well since they have done so then I say that they should receive detention for at least the next few weeks." Umbridge sickeningly smiling, her toadlike appearance becoming more pronounced. "I shall gladly take them to make sure that they understand that this is not appropriate behavior."

The staff meeting continued to argue back in forth but still no answers as to where the three students were. Without resolution, they left and searched separately for the missing students all while never realizing that they would get a partial answer the next morning.

In the meantime, the three students were finishing up their plan and double checking their letters, hard at work with just one singular house elf watching over them, providing them food, drinks and eventually beds to fall into.

ED#24

The next morning, the owl post came as it did every morning but with one exception. Every student received a letter but not the teachers. But the teachers were a bit distracted with their own thoughts to notice the letter the students received. Once classes started though, it became clear that something happened since hardly any students showed up to classes, lunch, nor dinner that day.

ED#24

The Weasley Twins were not overly concerned for their missing brother and friends. Their sister on the other hand was a bit more concerned. She had noticed the three not show up and had been questioned by McGonagall about their absence. Hermione was a good friend of hers especially after spending the summer together at Grimmauld place. She did not tell anyone about the note she had received that morning on her night stand but Fred and George.

~Flashback~

Ginny woke up from her troubled sleep after worrying about the Golden Trio with their disappearance. As she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, she noticed a letter on her side table.

"G,

I just wanted to let you know that we are okay. I have a plan in motion and it will be revealed at breakfast. Make sure that you are there for owl post! Get EVERYONE from Gryffindor there if possible but make sure at least that the Twins, the Quidditch team and any other influential members of Gryffindor see the post and react accordingly. All should be made clear then.

HG"

Hurrying to get dressed and ready, she pondered the note. Shrugging, she thought, "Thinking about it won't make this any clearer. I better get the twins and the team down ASAP."

Pushing into their dormitory, she roused the twins and the team to await the revelation of the prank set in play.

~End Flashback~

Coming out of her thoughts, the mail post arrived. She watched as the swarm of owls arrived with each owl delivering multiple letters. As the present Weasleys all read the letter in its entirety, they eventually caught each other's eyes and smirked at the prank the Golden Trio pulled.

"To the Students of Hogwarts:

Due to Educational Decree Number 24, all Organisations, Societies, Teams, Groups, and Clubs are henceforth disbanded. An Organisation, Society, Team, Group, or Club is hereby defined as a regular meeting of four or more students. Unfortunately for Hogwarts that includes its main reason for existing: classes. The maximum that can be in a class at a time is 3 people due to the scheduled times for each and every class. Sitting in the Great Hall? You are defying the ED #24. Spending time in the common room with your fellow house mates? You are defying the ED #24. Sleeping in your dormitory if you have more then 3 people in your room? You are defying the ED #24.

Per the Miriam Webster dictionary, a society is an enduring and cooperating social group whose members have developed organized patterns of relationships through interaction with one another. Another definition is a community, nation, or broad grouping of people having common traditions, institutions, and collective activities and interests. Both of which fall under all types gatherings in the school.

To avoid being in violation of the Decree, you cannot attend classes, meals nor common areas. If you wish to be in good form for the decree, you should go to the basement, tickle the pear and ask the house elves to se t aside you a place to be able to work, study, sleep, eat, etc. Remember no more then 3 to an area or you will be in violation and expelled!

Sincerely,

Your Neighborhood Ministry Stooges"

ED#24

Dun Dun Dun:

End of Chapter 1!

If you read this, you probably guessed where I was going with it but I couldn't resist this idea that just got stuck in my head! I may or may not expand on this. But if nothing else, it's a one shot here just for the heck of it.