When the group arrived in the Great Hall, they were among the first there. Due to the fact it was a Saturday, there were only a handful of students at each table and only two staff members, Professors Flitwick and McGonagall.
As the group reached the end of the Gryffindor table, both Harry and Hermione saw their Head of House nod and gave a small smile. Soon the group was sitting and had begun their breakfast with more than a little gusto. Harry, pulled another vial of purple potion from inside his robes and drank it before beginning to eat. He did not escape the notice of both Hermione and McGonagall, who both looked at him, but said nothing.
They had been there maybe 15 minutes when a large group of Hufflepuffs, including all the First years, entered. They were led by Professor Sprout who after seeing her Puffs were sitting and eating, made her way to the staff table to begin her own breakfast. They were followed shortly by the Ravenclaw First years, escorted by Roger Davies and several others. All of whom, when they saw Harry, gave smiles and nods. Not long afterwards, the Slytherin First years, escorted by Malfoy and Parkinson, entered and sat down at their own table.
Hermione finished her breakfast first, as Harry seemed to be eating twice the amount he usually did, and sat there watching and thinking. Meanwhile, Professor McGonagall finished her breakfast and came over to where Harry and Hermione were sitting.
"Thank you for escorting our new Lions down to breakfast." She said, giving them another nod and small smile. "What was that parchment several of them were holding?" She asked.
Harry pulled another of the maps from inside his robes and tapped it with his wand.
"An interactive map of Hogwarts Professor." He replied, indicating the map. "I made this one as a charms project over the summer and made enough copies to give each of our new First years. I remember how hard it was to find your way around so I figured I would give them a helping hand. It shows all the classrooms as well as the other public areas, in addition to the Gryffindor common room. Other areas will be added as the individual student finds them. Once activated by someone other than me, it ties into their magic and no-one else apart from me and that person can activate that particular map again." He finished.
"Very well done indeed Mr Potter." McGonagall said, sounding very impressed. "I think 25 points to Gryffindor for thinking of your fellow housemates." She added, her smile widening.
Meanwhile, Professor Flitwick had also finished his breakfast and had followed his old friend over to see what had caught her interest. When he saw the map, he squeaked in surprise.
"I remember your Mother planning something similar while she was a pupil here." He said smiling as he remembered his favourite pupil. "She never got round to actually completing it though." He paused as he looked at the map. "I wonder if I might be permitted to make some copies for my First year Eagles?" He asked.
"Certainly Professor." Harry replied. "Though I will need to make a couple of changes so as it shows the Ravenclaw common room, not the Gryffindor one."
Harry then took one of the unclaimed maps out of his book bag. He laid it on the table in front of him and waved his wand over it, casting several charms under his breath. Soon the map appeared, but without the Gryffindor common room. He then handed it to the Professor.
"You'll need to take this up to the Ravenclaw common room and activate it while you are up there. That will add the common room to the map and you can copy it using a simple Gemino charm. This map has now become one of the master copies so please do not let it fall into any student's hands as it cannot be tied into any person and anyone who might get their hands on it would be able to find their way to your common room with ease." Harry paused. "Once you have made the copies, all the pupils need to do is activate it by giving it a tap with their wands and it will tie into their magic and be unable to be used by anyone apart from them or me."
"Thank you Mr Potter!" Flitwick smiled as he reverently took the map. "I think an additional 15 points to Gryffindor for helping out another house!"
"Thank you Professor." Harry replied, blushing and lowering his head. This caused Hermione, who was sitting next to him, to reach out and give his hand a squeeze.
"Mr Potter, Miss Granger. If you are both finished with breakfast, we can get the meeting out of the way." Professor McGonagall said, seeing Harry embarrassed by the praise given.
Harry nodded and stood up, quickly followed by Hermione. Harry turned to the First years.
"Will you be alright getting back to the common room on your own?" He asked the group.
While most of them looked a little nervous, they all nodded. Somewhat satisfied, Harry stepped away from the table.
"After you Professor." He said, addressing his Head of House.
McGonagall nodded and headed out of the Great Hall with Harry and Hermione close on her heels. They made their way up towards the Transfiguration classroom and Professor McGonagall's office that was next to it. Minerva opened the door and led them inside, closing the door behind them.
"Please, have a seat." She said, waving towards 3 comfy chairs that were round a small table. "Would you like something to drink?" She asked the two teenagers.
Hermione shook her head but Harry asked for a glass of water.
The three sat down and Minerva looked at Harry.
"Are you comfortable with Miss Granger being here for this?" She asked.
Harry nodded.
"It's not particularly secret Professor, I was planning on telling Hermione anyway so this will kill two birds with one stone." He replied.
Minerva looked alarmed when he said that. Hermione, seeing the look was quick to explain.
"It's a muggle expression Professor." She spoke up quickly. "It means to do two tasks with one action." She explained.
Minerva nodded and poured herself a cup of tea from a teapot that had appeared on the table along with Harry's glass of water.
"Well the floor is yours Mr Potter." She said, indicating with her hand for him to begin.
"Well, as I'm sure you are aware, I took and passed 6 OWL's this past summer." He began. Minerva nodded to indicate she was aware. "This means that, of the subjects I was taking, there are only 5 that I've not taken an exam in. Of those, I'm dropping Divination. I have no talent for it and I could use the time more effectively." Again Minerva merely nodded and motioned for him to continue. "Of the other 4, I will continue taking Herbology, Astronomy and Care of Magical Creatures with my classmates. The final subject, History of Magic, my Tutor sees no benefit for me to attend the class due to my difficulty staying awake and the somewhat repetitive subject matter."
Minerva nodded again.
"What do you intend to do instead of attending the lessons?" She asked, taking a sip of her tea.
"I will be receiving weekly assignments by owl. I will return the previous weeks completed assignments by the same owl, receiving the marks and feedback with the following week's assignments. If my Tutor feels I need a one to one session, he will arrange it if and when the need arises. That may change as I get closer to exams, but that is how it will work for now."
Minerva nodded again, taking another sip of tea.
"And what of your NEWT subjects?" She asked.
"Once I have my schedule for Herbology, Astronomy and Care, I will let Sirius know and he will meet with the Tutors to devise a schedule. I expect it will initially be three times a week for Potions, twice for Defence and once a week each for Charms and Transfiguration. Runes and Arithmancy will almost certainly be studied in a similar manner to History." Harry paused, having just remembered something. "Has the classroom requested been provided?" He asked.
Minerva nodded again.
"Yes, it is on the 6th floor of the east wing. It's been fitted out as requested and I'll show you where later." She took another sip of tea. "Is there anything else you need to let me know?" She asked.
"Only that I will need time to attend the exams when appropriate. I will be taking the ICW exams and since the nearest testing centre is in Paris, I may need to be away from school for a couple of days at a time, depending on the scheduling. But, apart from Defence, that will not be until the end of the school year. With regards to Defence, my Tutor will be putting me forward for the exam as soon as she thinks I'm ready for it. I expect it will be sometime before the end of the year." Harry replied.
Minerva raised her eyebrows at that, but said nothing. Harry had always been talented at Defence.
"I can't see that as a problem. I will need the names of the Tutors so we know to allow them admittance to the castle. But other than that, all I ask is that as soon as you know your exam schedule, please let me know."
Harry nodded and took a gulp of water.
"Is there anything else you need Professor?" Harry asked after draining his glass.
"Actually Mr Potter, there is one thing I have been asked to discuss with you!" Minerva said, sounding rather nervous.
"Let me guess, it has something to do with all the Prefects who quit last night?" He asked. "Our esteemed Headmaster no doubt wants me to make it public that I have no interest in the position of Prefect. Which he then assumes will cause all those who resigned to either take their positions back or new volunteers will step forward!" Harry added dryly.
"Well that was one suggestion that was made at the meeting I had with the Headmaster and the other Heads of House last night." She replied. "However, that is not what I have been asked to discuss with you, as it was agreed that the likelihood of those who quit believing any such statement is small."
Harry gave a dry chuckle at that.
"Well, all is not lost." He replied. "So what you need from me?" He asked.
"I have been asked to see if you are interested in being the Fifth year Gryffindor Prefect." She asked, wondering what Harry's reaction would be.
She was surprised to see Harry Laughing. But it was the incredulous expression on Hermione's face that made her think it was unlikely to happen.
"But you don't have a vacancy!" Hermione gasped, before putting her hand over her mouth. Harry nodded in agreement.
"That's true." He replied. "Ron, for all his faults, was named Prefect. What sort of example would it set if a Prefect could be stripped of their job for no reason other than a member of staff has changed their mind?" Harry asked.
This caused Minerva to gasp, she had not thought of the consequences of that action.
"There is nothing you can do with regards to Ron." Hermione said. "While I have no doubt he will be a useless prefect who will almost certainly abuse his authority and do little, if any of the duties required. He has done nothing wrong yet! So you cannot remove him from the job." She added. Harry nodded again.
"The problem this school has is how Prefects and the Head Boy and Girl are selected. It is all very secretive with no fixed criteria and no-way to measure who is likely to get the position." Harry summed up. "To solve the problem, you need a more open way of selecting Prefects and the Head Boy and Girl. I have two suggestions with regards to that." He paused and took another sip of water from the glass that had been refilled. "One is to have fixed criteria. Then you could publish a league table of sorts so all pupils and staff can see who the leading candidates are. The other would be to have them elected by the members of the relevant House." He finished.
Both Minerva and Hermione looked thoughtful at this suggestion.
"The election idea has merit!" Minerva responded. "How would you suggest it works?" She asked, hoping he had thought more deeply than just an idea that had occurred to him.
Harry, who had been thinking quite a bit about how prefects were selected, took another sip of water.
"Well normally the election would take place in the last weeks of the summer term after exams are all finished with. With the soon-to-be Fifth years, candidates must be nominated by at least two other members of the house. You of course, as the Head of House, would have the privilege to nominate two candidates of your choosing and would be expected to explain why you think they are a good choice. As would those students who nominate a fellow student. Then a simple vote would take place. In the event of numerous candidates, they may need to be several rounds with the candidate with the lowest votes dropping out each time." He replied slowly, outlining the thoughts he had had over the summer.
Minerva nodded, clearly Harry had spent some time thinking it over.
"Harry that's brilliant!" Hermione exclaimed.
Harr blushed again and gave her a smile.
"What about the existing Prefects and the Head Boy and Girl?" Minerva asked.
"Well, for the existing Prefects, the House will be asked if they believe each of the 4 prefects who will be at Hogwarts the next year, has done a good job. It would have to be a majority to say not, and of course you would have an equal say in that discussion. If any are voted out, for want of a better term, there will be an election to select the replacement." Harry paused again. "With regards to the Head Boy and Girl, I think that each House should select a candidate for each position using the same process as for Prefects. Then the 4 boys and 4 girls will be brought in front of the school and elected by the whole student body. The Headmaster will get a chance to speak for the candidates of his choice, as will student nominators, but it will be decided by a vote."
Both Minerva and Hermione were nodding in agreement to this.
"But what about the situation we are in now?" Minerva asked.
"We need to have a House meeting." Harry replied. "Either tonight or tomorrow. While our new First years will essentially be clueless as to who to vote for, they should still get the chance to have a say. Then anyone who wants to can nominate any other student, but they will need at least one other student to support it and the candidate needs to agree to have their name put forward. Then we have a school meeting to nominate and vote for the Head Boy and Girl." He continued. "There should also be formal standards set for Prefects and the Head Boy and Girl, both academic and personal. For example, you could say that all Prefects must achieve at least an Exceeds Expectations in every subject. Though certain teachers are not fair in their marking, so that would have to be taken into account. And while they have certain privileges, they should also be held to a higher standard of behaviour. I think there should also be some sort of school council where representatives from each House meet with the staff on a regular basis to discuss issues that students have with both staff and each other." Harry stopped, realising that he was going off on a tangent.
Both Minerva and Hermione were looking at him in something akin to shock.
"That's a very good idea Mr Potter." Minerva managed to reply. "Is there anything else you would like to add?" She asked.
Harry thought for a moment before shaking his head.
Minerva looked like she was going to dismiss them, when something suddenly occurred to her.
"Mr Potter, I saw you taking a potion with your breakfast. Is everything alright?" She asked.
Harry could see Hermione was curious about it to so he decided to come clean.
"When I was checked into the clinic at the beginning of the summer, the healers there did a full check-up on me. I'm not sure how it was missed but I was found to be suffering from the effects of childhood malnutrition as well as rather weak bones. As such, I was placed on a potions regime to attempt to counteract the problem. I have to take a nutrient potion with every meal and another a couple of times a day. That reminds me, I have to speak to Madame Pomfry to let her know. I have enough potions for the next week and more will be delivered before then." He replied, not wanting to see their faces.
"How could Poppy have missed that?" Minerva almost spoke to herself.
Hermione didn't say anything, she just gave Harry another of her hugs. She was rather surprised when he returned it instead of going stiff like usual.
No-one said anything for a little while, then Minerva seemed to shake herself.
"Then in that case, unless you have something you would like to add Miss Granger, I will see you both later." Minerva said, getting up from her chair.
Taking that as a dismissal, Harry and Hermione also got up and left their Head of House's office. Once they were outside, Hermione turned to Harry.
"Is there anything you need to do Harry?" She asked.
"I'm going to take a trip down to the Infirmary and give Madame Pomfry the instructions from my Healer." He replied. "Do you want to come?" He asked.
"If you don't mind?" She replied.
Harry shook his head and the pair of them headed down to the Infirmary. As they entered through the doors, they could see the ward was empty and Madame Pomfry was just coming out of her office.
"This has to be some sort of record for you Mr Potter." Poppy Pomfry said as soon as she saw who it was. "Apart from your Third year when Dementors got onto the train, it usually takes you at least a week to need my services!" She added.
"Oh I'm not hurt Madame Pomfry." Harry replied. "I'm just undergoing long term care and my primary Healer told me to give this to you when I arrived here. I was in no state to do it last night so I came first thing today." He finished, handing the Healer a letter, sealed with green wax.
Poppy looked at Harry with concern before breaking the seal and reading the lengthy letter. By the time she was done, she looked so pale that it look like she was about to pass out. Not wanting her to hurt herself, Harry and Hermione got the Healer seated on one of the Beds. Poppy looked at Harry with pity and real worry.
"I don't know how I missed all this Mr Potter." She said, indicating the letter. "And if it was not from such a world renowned Healer I might be sceptical that they were mistaken. As it is, I can only apologise that I did miss it and I will endeavour not to repeat the mistake in the future!"
Harry nodded, not sure what to say. He looked at Hermione who was thinking hard. He raised his eyebrow and indicated that she should speak up.
"Are you sure you did miss it Madame Pomfry?" Hermione asked. "I mean, with the amount of times Harry has been here, it is really unlikely that you would have missed something as big as that!"
What do you mean?" Harry asked.
"Well." Hermione paused as if reluctant to pursue her train of thought. "There is another option. What if she did see the evidence of it but someone else made her forget it? We know it can be done, look at Lockhart!" She added.
Harry looked at Hermione as if it confirmed a very nasty thought.
"Well if that is the case, there is only one person who has the power in this school to stop it!" He said, looking rather angry.
Hermione looked at him rather questioningly before she seemed to answer her own question.
"No Harry! Why would he do that?" Hermione asked.
Instead of replying, Harry turned to Poppy.
"When you find something severely wrong with a student, who do you report it to in the first instance?" He asked the Healer.
"Protocol requires that I take all issues straight to the Headmaster before passing it on to the Head of House." Poppy said looking mad as she too connected the dots.
"Then he is the only one who could prevent it getting out. You report it to him and he makes you forget about it!" Harry replied, his eyes narrowing.
"I'm surprised my Healer's Oath has not kicked in." Poppy added. "I will have to let him know about a change in policy. I cannot risk it affecting another student, let alone the possibility of be breaking my Oath."
"We'll leave you to it then Madame Pomfry. There should be a delivery of potions for me coming in the next week, if you could let me know when they arrive?" Harry asked.
"Of course Mr Potter." Poppy replied.
Harry and Hermione left the Healer, who looked to be fluctuating between anger and shame, and headed out of the Infirmary.
Meanwhile, in the Headmaster's office, Albus was sitting at his desk wondering what to do next. He had been up most of the night wrestling with the same problem and had yet to come up with a solution. His plan to further show Harry Potter in a bad light by not having him make Prefect, despite him being the clear best choice, had backfired on him. Instead of isolating him, it had caused a display of unity that he had never seen before. He would never have expected Hermione Granger to voluntarily give up her long awaited Prefects position to stand by her friend. Yet she had resigned and very publically too! Now Ronald Weasley, whom he had pushed to be made Prefect, was being isolated for not sticking up for his so called 'Best Mate'! He had been forced to accept that the only solution to the lack of Prefects was to offer Harry the job, but thought he could use it to cause a rift! If only that damn Sirius Black had not managed to spirit Harry out of the country! That combined with getting cleared by the ICW and tying the press up by banning them printing anything that could not be verified. The full page apology had been a masterstroke. He had still hoped that Delores Umbridge could do him some damage until he received the letter telling him that Potter had taken some OWL's already and would be receiving tutoring in most of his subjects. Of the three he was taking through Hogwarts, no-one messed with Pomona Sprout and her greenhouses, Professor Sinistra was too good at what she did and only a fool would put Umbridge in anything to do with creatures! He was still deep in thought when he was interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Enter!" He called.
The door opened and the four Heads of House entered. Albus sighed to himself before plastering on his patented grandfatherly smile.
"Good morning!" He greeted his senior staff. "What can I do for you?" He asked, worrying about what was going on now.
Minerva stepped forward.
"I spoke to Mr Potter this morning as you asked Albus." She began. "However, he pointed out that the Fifth year Gryffindors do not have a vacancy for a Prefect as Mr Weasley was one of the few who did not resign last night. He was uncomfortable with Mr Weasley being summarily kicked out without doing anything wrong. And Miss Granger remarked that it would set a dangerous precedent if we were to do so."
Albus sighed again and waved at the seats,
"Please sit down." He said. "Does any of you have any ideas how we can solve this problem?" He asked after the four of them were seated.
"Actually, Mr Potter came up with a couple of possible solutions." Minerva spoke up. "He suggested either make the selection criteria completely transparent, so no-one could be accused of bias or that we should hold elections for the position of Prefect!"
Snape snorted at that, but the other two looked curious.
"I suppose Potter would put himself forward!" Snape glowered.
"Actually his suggestion was that in order to stand a pupil has to be nominated by at least two of their housemates. Then the whole house votes and the winners are made Prefects. He then suggested that these elections should normally take place at the end of every year so that the new Prefects have a chance to learn how things work. He also suggested that the House could decide if a Prefect had done a good job and if a majority say no then a replacement would be elected!"
Filius was almost bouncing in his seat by this time.
"That sounds like a marvellous idea!" He said. "I assume we, as heads of house, would get to nominate our choice of candidate as well?"
Minerva nodded.
"Yes, and we would be expected to defend our choice by telling the house why we think they make a good candidate."
Both Filius and Pomona were both nodding in agreement to this. Then the other three Heads of House turned to Snape, who scowled in return.
"I suppose it is not an abysmal idea!" He replied. "And since Potter is behind it, he can't complain when he is not chosen!"
"You're assuming he will not be?" Minerva remarked. "I personally believe that, now the facts of what happened last year are known, he will win with a clear majority!"
Albus sighed again, he liked having the power to appoint Prefects and the Head Boy and Girl on his own whim. He often used it to get prospective candidates to do things they would not ordinarily do! But it appeared to be the only solution to the current problem.
"What about the Head Boy and Girl?" He asked.
"Mr Potter suggested that each house make a nomination for each position and the school as a whole vote on it. He also said that you as Headmaster should have a chance to select your favoured candidate and be able to speak on their behalf!" Minerva replied.
"Sounds like Potter has thought of everything!" Snape grouched.
"He also added that he thought that Prefects and the Head Boy and Girl should be held to a higher standard in both their behaviour and academically."
Pomona, who had been silent up to that point, spoke up.
"I've been saying that for years!" She remarked. "Yet we still get those who abuse their positions and get away with it!"
"I agree with you." Minerva added. "And while we are on the subject, I think we should review how House points are given and deducted as well as what detentions are given for and how many!"
"What do you mean Minerva?" Albus asked, his concern growing.
"House points, are both awarded and deducted in a very haphazard way. For example, I tend to award between 10 and 20 House points, for the first person in my class to achieve the lessons objective, dependant on the complexity. But Severus never seems to award House points to any other Houses, except his own. As staff, we should be unified in this!"
"Who I award House points to is my own business!" Growled Snape. "I can't help it if the other houses do not do anything worthy of being awarded house points!"
"That is part of the point I am trying to make." Minerva continued as if Snape had not spoken. "The number of points awarded for a particular task should be fixed and any award higher than 20 and for anything other than a discrete number of circumstances, should be reviewed by the five of us on at least a bi weekly basis. Also a full breakdown on who was awarded what points and by whom, should be available to all students and staff. That way, if there are any complaints, they can be addressed. The same should apply to any deductions of points and any detentions awarded."
Albus wanted to dismiss that idea out of hand as it was a good way to unfairly punish selected students without breaking the rules. However he could not say that and when he saw 3 of his Heads of House agreeing with it, he decided to placate them in the hopes that they would forget about it.
"We can discuss any changes to the House points system later. So does anyone have any other ideas other than the election idea?" He asked.
Seeing the four all shake their heads, he gave another sigh.
"Well then. I will make an announcement at lunch and we can hold the house meetings this afternoon to elect the Prefects and we can vote for the Head Boy and Girl at dinner. Is there anything else?" He asked, mentally crossing his fingers that there would be none.
He was disappointed however, because he was interrupted by the door opening and a very angry Poppy Pomfry stormed in. She walked right up to the desk waking her arms.
"My dear Poppy, whatever is the matter?" He asked, mentally sweating.
"You two-faced whiskered old goat!" She shouted at him. "How dare you Obliviate me!" She ranted.
"What do you mean?" Albus asked, panicking on how she knew and how he was going to keep the fact quiet!
"Mr Potter came to see me earlier with a letter from his primary Healer. In it, it reported the quite severe malnutrition he was suffering from as well as his weakened bones. Thankfully it has been treated by an ongoing potions regime, though he may not ever be as tall as he should have been. When I first read the letter I was dumbfounded that I could ever have missed such obvious symptoms. It was only when Mr Potter and Miss Granger commented that I might have been made to forget, that I decided to see if they were correct. I then took a flushing potion, I had to get my elf to fetch one from the apothecary in Hosmeade since we have none in stock. I woke up 10 minutes ago and realised that I have reported those very same symptoms to you on multiple occasions for the last four years. And every time you have removed the memory of me finding out! Do you know what you could have done?" She demanded. "Are you aware of how close I came to violating my Healers Oath? Are you aware of the consequences of me doing so?" She paused, out of breath in her frustration.
Albus could not say anything. He was now so pale it looked like Snape had a tan compared to his skin. He hoped that he could convince them not to say anything.
"It was for the Greater Good!" He said, trying not to panic. "Had it been confirmed what Mr Potter suffered, he would have been prevented for returning to his relatives house. He must return there, he is not safe anywhere else!"
"I don't care what your motives are!" Poppy replied, still angry though not shouting as loudly as before. "If you want me to continue working here, things will change. You will no longer be informed if a student is seriously hurt or injured. I will notify their Head of House only after I have reported it to either St Mungo's or the relevant authorities. And to prevent my memory being tampered with again, I have instructed my personal elf to get me regular flushing potions form an independent source! You have lost my trust today and I doubt you will get it back! In fact, you'd better start looking for another Healer Headmaster as I cannot work under you any longer. I will stay on until the end of term, but I will leave then and not return!"
Minerva meanwhile had listened to this and jumped up to support her friend.
"I think I had better have one of those potions too Poppy." She said, putting her arm around the still irate Healer. "After all, if he has done it to you he has probably done it to others and I want to make sure that I am not one of them!"
Albus sat back in his chair as all his carefully laid plans crumbled around him. In order to keep control, he needed to make sure certain people did not find out certain things. If they did, it was important that they forget about them. Making a sudden decision, he pulled out his wand. It immediately flew from his hand and was caught by the little charms Master.
"Oh no you don't Albus!" Filius said, scowling at the Headmaster. He then turned to Minerva and Poppy. "I think I had better join you." She said. "While those with goblin ancestry are supposed to be immune to memory charms, I don't want to take the risk."
Pomona got up too.
"I'd better get myself checked out to!" She added before turning to Snape. "Are you coming Severus?" She asked.
"I already dose myself to prevent it happening." He replied. "But I will take another dose anyway." He added, getting up.
The four Heads of House and school Healer headed out of the door and down the stairs leaving a white and defeated Albus Dumbledore sitting in his chair.