Hermione Granger was always too smart. She was quick to learn and quicker to understand. She never fit in quite right. Until she met her friends. They didn't care that she went on rants about subjects that interested her or that she would read for hours without saying a word. They accepted her for who she was. That was the reason she was going to utterly crush Dumbledore today. The school board usually met on Tuesdays but they had graciously moved their meeting to Saturday for her grand presentation. Pansy had braided her hair so it would stay out of her face and Daphne had lent her some traditional dress robes. She had her parents print out transcripts from muggle trials to get a feel of how she should proceed. She looked at Percy and saw that he looked practically feral. The third year had a grudge against the Headmaster for the Pettigrew incident. There was no way an unregistered animagus should have been able to get past the wards. So either the wards were failing or the Headmaster had ignored it. Both were absolutely criminal and Hermione was determined to get answers. She looked around the Ministry and couldn't help her sneer at the statue in the center. It depicted wizards with other creatures but she couldn't help noticing the creatures were beneath the wizards. She was going to do a little summer project about creatures and their rights, she decided. After all, her Defense teacher was a werewolf. They entered the meeting room and she saw Professor McGonagall standing with the Headmaster. She watched people file in. She had decided to make this public so it couldn't be pushed under the rug.
"Are you ready, Hermione?" Percy asked her. She gave him a vicious smile and said "I was born ready!"
Percy Weasley watched his parents file in. He was honestly surprised they came. He knew their admiration of Dumbledore and figured they would not be pleased with what they were about to do. He saw Marcus run in and take a seat in the front row.
"Kick some arse, babe!" He shouted out, causing many people, including Percy's parents to look at him. Percy snorted and couldn't help his smile. His boyfriend had been nothing but supportive of him. They just had their three month anniversary and he had gotten them matching bracelets like the ones Drarry had. The whole school had picked up on the nickname and now used it as slang. Speaking of Drarry, he saw the two boys enter with Professor Snape and the rest of the club. They waved at them and he couldn't help but notice Rita zero in on Harry. She quickly looked away when Lady Malfoy shot her a nasty look from her spot besides Mrs. Tonks. The sound of someone falling brought his attention to the red faced Tonks being carried in by Cedric. It seemed he had caught her and figured it would be easier just to carry her to her seat.
"I will now call to order the School Board Meeting for the month of May!" Mrs. Bagshot said. Hermione's research had determined that she was a Dumbledore supporter. Apparently they used to be neighbors or something.
"We have two students who would like to share their presentation on favoritism and how it affects other Houses." Hermione straightened her shoulders and started handing out papers. He knew she had color coded all of their facts to grab people's attention.
"I would like to thank the board for allowing us this opportunity. My name is Hermione Granger and I am a first year Gryffindor." He stepped forward and said "Hello. My name is Percival Weasley and I'm a third year Gryffindor." Using his full name showed his pureblood roots and he saw some people nod their heads in acknowledgment. Everyone knew the Weasley's.
"The papers that Hermione passed out show multiple charts for different age groups. As you can see, the punishments for other Houses far outweigh the punishments for Gryffindor students." He explained. Hermione picked up where he stopped. "I don't know about you but as a Gryffindor student, I know my House is rather boisterous." People laughed around her.
"Isn't it odd that Gryffindor students seem to get away with more than the average student? Don't we all deserve to get punished and praised the same?"
"I've just gotten into a relationship", Percy paused to let his friends catcall, Marcus being especially loud, "and we were walking around the lake after curfew. Unfortunately we were caught." He gave a sheepish grin. "By my Head of House. I got ten points taken off but my boyfriend got fifteen points and a detention. Rather unfair, I say!"
Hermione watched Percy work the crowd. He was gaining their sympathy. A young couple in love, trying to defy House prejudice, only for the Professors to be the one who had a problem with it? She cracked her knuckles, time to put on a show.
"If you turn to the second page, you will see anonymous surveys. They are separated only by House. I've had ages eleven to seventy eight take them. Out of three hundred participants, ninety three percent have felt unjustly persecuted by what House they were sorted in. After all, how many people remember Gryffindor's having an unfair advantage because they were the "good" House?" She put air quotes around good. "Everyone knows Slytherin's are evil, Hufflepuff is for the leftovers and Ravenclaw is full of know-it-alls." People were muttering around the room.
"Shouldn't the Headmaster be condemning this harmful behavior, not encouraging it? Aren't we all just children trying to learn magic?" She watched Professor Dumbledore clear his throat.
"What a wonderful speech, my dear girl! As Headmaster of Hogwarts, I'm impressed with your dedication to the students. But how am I supposed to change people's mindset? I've been fighting for change in our community for over fifty years." He said proudly.
"That's a wonderful achievement sir. But change has to start small. Didn't you tell Harry Potter he couldn't have a pet snake because you see his Parseltongue ability as a sign of Dark magic?" She questioned. Before he could answer, she continued "You said Hogwarts only allowed Owls, Toads, or Cats but I have a list of over forty two students who have an animal outside of this category. Of course, most of them are in Gryffindor." She tried to fight off her smile as Dumbledore lost some of his spark.
"Like I told Mr. Potter, I cannot check every student." The Headmaster replied sharply.
"That's understandable sir! But if you had checked every student, wouldn't you have found out Peter Pettigrew was disguising himself as the Weasley family pet? After all, if it could happen to a prominent Light family, who else could it happen to?" She gently bumped Percy's shoulder as she passed by. She hated bringing it up. She knew he blamed himself since he had given the rat to Ron but he was just a child. He shouldn't be shouldering the blame due to negligent adults. The crowds murmuring got louder.
"I think it speaks loudly of the famed Hogwarts wards for not flagging an unregistered animagus. How can I trust my safety at Hogwarts when this happened right under the Headmaster's nose?" She argued. Percy took over.
"I'm sure everyone knows of the cursed Defense position. Why hasn't that been taken care of? Generations of Hogwarts students can barely protect themselves, let alone duel! Why are we allowing this type of behavior to continue? Is it because the Headmaster is a prominent Light figure in our community? Because he was a Gryffindor?" He said, speaking directly to the board while walking around the room.
"The Headmaster has done so many wonderful things for our community and yet we're letting children blatantly criticize him? Have we no shame?" Professor McGonagall spoke up, her accent thick due to her outrage.
"You're right, Professor. The Headmaster has done great things for our community! That's why he should be scrutinized even further." Percy announced. The sound of clapping interrupted them. "That's my son!" Mr. Weasley said, his face shining with pride. Percy's face got pink as he shuffled some papers at their table.
"I understand the children's complaints. Perhaps this old man has been unfair. I wish to apologize to anyone I might have wronged in the past. I will ensure from now on, Hogwarts will welcome everyone, regardless of House." Professor Dumbledore looked contrite, his face aged by his sorrow. What a fake! Hermione was just getting started.
Percy watched Herm's eyes narrow into slits. He was thankful she was on his side. The first year girl was absolutely terrifying.
"That's a very nice gesture sir but I'm afraid we will not accept empty platitudes." She said, facing down the old man.
"You need to be held accountable. If Albus Dumbledore is punished for his wrongdoings, it sends a message that no one is above the rules."
"Miss. Granger and Mr. Weasley, you've given us a lot to think about. The School Board will discuss and then decide what to do. Please enjoy the refreshments as you wait." He watched the council leave the room. Dumbledore left with Professor McGonagall trailing behind him. Marcus was lifting him in the air before he could blink. Holding onto his glasses, he hissed "put me down this instant!"
"You were so cool babe! I feel like I'm shacked up with a cold blooded lawyer." He leered at him. Percy felt his cheeks flush again and wiggled out of his grasp.
"Marcus is right! We didn't know you had it in you!" Fred said while George continued "Merlin, Herm! We thought you were going to light Dumbledore's beard on fire with your eyes!" Hermione grinned and said "I was trying to", making the twins burst into laughter.
"If the School Board doesn't vote in our favor, I'm going to move to France." Hermione said. The twins exchanged looks before announcing "if you're going, we'll follow you!"
"How cute!" Harry whispered as he threw himself at Hermione.
"Vice President, Percy, you both did an excellent job. I'm pretty sure this will fuel Father's patronus from years to come." Draco said smugly.
"Thank you President!" Hermione beamed at him.
Percy watched as Professor McGonagall and the Headmaster slipped back in. The side door opened to reveal the board members filing in.
"We have reached a decision." Mrs. Bagshot proclaimed.
