While the teens were working in the potions classroom under the sharp gaze of Professor Snape, even though it appeared he was grading papers and not paying them any mind, the door opened and a first year Ravenclaw girl hesitantly entered. Not surprising Professor Snape was the only one to notice. All the students knew better than to turn away from their potions work to see who entered. Professor Snape followed her shuffling progress and narrowed his eyes at her hunched shoulders and arms folded across her stomach. When the young student reached the imposing man behind the desk, Maggie glanced up from her reading to see the Ravenclaw standing in front of the desk. "Please sir may I have some more?" she murmured before turning back to her work.
It was less than a minute later when the professor was heard from, "Follow me." In a few strides, Professor Snape was standing next to the teens. "Ms. Chang, Mr. Goyle, Ms. Henry, this is Ms. Louisa Bowes. Professor Sprout seems to think she should work with your group." He handed a note to Cho before turning and walking back to his desk.
Cho read the note quickly before she handed it to Greg. Maggie was introducing herself to the young student. "Hello. I'm Maggie. Louisa correct? Or do you prefer something else?"
Louisa cleared her throat but never made eye contact, "My family calls me Lu."
Maggie smiled at her. "Don't be nervous. We won't bite I promise."
Lu let out a breath and gave Maggie a small smile while glancing toward Cho and Greg. "I'm...I'm just not sure how you lot could help me."
"Well," Maggie started, "let's start with what the problem is and we will figure it out. How does that sound?"
Lu just shrugged and looked around her. Before she said anything else Greg said, "I think we can help you." Lu's head snapped up and she looked at him with surprise, then skepticism. So Greg continued, "Honestly it will be a lot of work on your part but with some help from us, you should see improvement. How much depends on you though."
Maggie looked at Greg and then Cho. Cho nodded as Greg handed Maggie the note. It said: "S - Please allow Ms. Bowes to work with Mr. Goyle, Ms. Chang, and Ms. Henry. I believe they can help her. It was signed by Professor Sprout.
"Lu?" Cho gained the young girl's attention. "May I see some of your assignments?" Maggie made room on the work table she was at for Lu's school bag. She pulled out her latest herbology assignment and handed it to the seventh year Ravenclaw. All three older students studied the essay together, pointing out errors. "Lu, may I ask, who taught you before Hogwarts?"
"My Grandmum mostly. Mum and Dad worked." Lu answered.
"The only reason I ask is that I think and apparently so does Professor Sprout that you and Greg here have the same problem," Cho explained.
Lu's eyes grew wide and looked at Greg, "What problem? I don't have any problems!" She mumbled, "except being stupid."
Cho smiled at her, "Greg's work looks or rather looked a lot like yours does. He mixed things up too. He has what's called a learning disability. But he is working to overcome it."
Shooting her eyes to Cho, "A what?"
"A learning disability. It just means that he needs a different way to learn things from what most people do. After just glancing at your essay, I'd say there is a good chance you have a similar problem."
When Lu's eyes shot to Greg for affirmation, Greg answered her with a smile and nod of his head. "You, however, have an advantage, because Professor Sprout recognized the problem and suggested someone to help you." He indicated his companions. "And Lu? You are definitely not stupid. You made Ravenclaw and the Hat is never wrong."
Lu looked at them, "Do you really think you can help me?"
"All we can do is try," Greg replied. "Let's get to work, yea?"
Lu got herself set up at a nearby table as Maggie started writing on a piece of parchment. She handed Lu the parchment and explained what was needed and why. Lu started on the alphabet and number comparisons while Maggie, Cho, and Greg went back to their own schoolwork. At the end of their study session, they made arrangements to take Lu to the Room of Requirement the next night and start working with her.
Over the course of the next month, the three teens worked with Lu as much as they could. Even though Maggie and Cho were her main teachers, it was obvious that Greg was her main support. They had both been through similar experiences and that was what kept her coming back when she got stressed and wanted to quit.
It was during this time that Greg got an idea that he just couldn't dismiss. So after a remedial Transfiguration class, he approached Professor McGonagall to pose his idea, "Professor?"
"Mr. Goyle, what can I do for you?"
"I was wondering if there was a way for me re-sit my O. in Transfiguration and Charms this year?"
"Interesting, may I inquire why?"
Greg paused a moment before answering. He had thought long and hard about why he wanted to put himself through these tests again. Unfortunately, he had yet to come up with the words to explain his emotion in wanting to do so. He tried to play it off, "Why not? I really can't do worse than I did last time."
"Well, that is true. But to what end? What is your goal in retaking the test?"
Not being able to verbalize his reasoning, he stuttered uncomfortably, "I..I want to know if all this work is really helping. I would like to have a….a….I want to have something to point at and say 'this was me but this is me now.' Does that make sense?"
Professor McGonagall smiled at him, "It most certainly does. You are looking for a barometer of your work, a measurement so to speak." She paused a moment, "I wonder if your advanced knowledge of the tests and the magic on which you would be tested would skew the results."
Greg gave a pause and thought, "I don't think so, Professor. I might know a bit more than the other students but it's getting that information down on parchment that I am more interested in. I would also like to use the O.W.L tests to see if it is even worth my taking the N.E. in the other subjects. If I can't get at least an Acceptable on the Transfiguration and Charms O.W.L, there is no way I would be able to do better on the more advanced tests."
"Sound thinking Mr. Goyle," the Professor smiled.
"Thank you, Professor. What or how do I go about getting included?" The Professor just looked at him for a moment before he rushed on, "Do I write to the Ministry or do my parents have to? Or do I make my request of Professor Dumbledore?"
"Mr. Goyle, calm yourself. I have a question for you. Why aren't you planning on taking all the O. ? Why just Transfiguration and Charms?"
This stopped him for a moment, "Um...these are the only two subjects I have been studying."
"That's not exactly correct," she stated.
"Well...um…" He looked very confused.
"From what I understand, you have been re-learning every subject you could for the last several months. Correct?" He nodded his head, "so why not take the O.W.L in each subject? As you said, you couldn't do any worse this time around."
Greg was astounded at what she was suggesting. "Take EVERY O.W.L Professor?"
McGonagall chuckled, "Well, maybe only the ones that would help you in your future career. What is your future career choice, Mr. Goyle?"
"Honestly Professor, I haven't given much thought. I really had no idea I would have many options."
"Well start considering it because those are the O. you should take. Now, about those O. , I don't think you should take them with this year's fifth years. If the professors agree we will set up a special, earlier testing time for you. That way you will get the results back before your N. . But you have to ask each professor and you need to start soon as we don't have much time to get this all set up."
"I understand, Professor. Thank you for your help. I won't let you down."
"Don't let yourself down, Mr. Goyle, that is more important," the elderly professor said. "Have a good afternoon."
Greg nodded his head in thanks before he left the classroom. What he didn't see as he left was the smile on her face and the pride shining in her eyes.
Greg left the Transfiguration Professor to her work and headed to his next class, Care of Magical Creatures. As he was walking he was considering McGonagall's idea. Should he re-take the O.W.L in Creatures? Potions? History? Muggle Studies? What about DADA or Herbology? How many would that be? Six? Eight? EIGHT! Did he really want to do that many? Could he really do that many? Did he want to try even half of them? He arrived at class with nothing but questions still circling his head when one thought overpowered all the others: I need to talk to Cho and Maggie!
Greg made it through the rest of the day without resolving anything. After dinner in the Room of Requirement, Greg asked to speak with Cho and Maggie privately. They walked over to a corner and he brought up his discussion with Professor McGonagall. "I talked with McGonagall today about something." He hesitated for a moment, "I asked her if I could take the Transfiguration and Charms O. again." He had their undivided attention, "I wanted to...I need...look if I can't score decently on an O.W.L, I'm not going to do well on a N.E.W.T. I know what you're going to say. I've been working hard & should do well but I don't want to wonder, I need to know. So, I asked."
He paused to take a breath when Maggie piped up with eager anticipation, "What did she say? Is she going to let you?"
Greg looked at her then Cho, "She was wondering why I wasn't trying to take all them again." Silence thundered through the room.
"ALL of them?" Cho choked out in disbelief.
"That's what I said!"
"Wow. That's what 8 O. ? Do you want to do that many?" Maggie asked.
"No," he chuckled. "But I want to do some of them. I need to know if I can do it. I can't handle more disappointment over this. She suggested that I figure out what I want to do after school and decide which O. would help me the most and take just those."
"That's reasonable. What do you want to do?" Cho asked.
"If you had asked me that two months ago, I wouldn't have had a clue but now..." he glanced over to where Lu was working. He looked at Cho and then Maggie, "I think I want to work with Cho. Maybe not as a teacher but…" he nodded toward Lu, "maybe in some way to help kids like me and her."
"Greg! That's a great idea!" Maggie said. "You have really helped her."
"Well, she and I have had a shite time of it; I understand how she feels." He turned to his friends, "So, the question is what courses do I need in order to work with kids like me?"
Maggie owled her mum and asked for information on what muggle courses were available for the type of teacher or counselor Greg was hoping to be. The owl she received was not encouraging. Apparently, in the English muggle educational system, there weren't classes such as Defence Against the Dark Arts. There were botany classes and science classes and anthropology classes to match Herbology, Potions and Muggle Studies. What the muggle system had that Hogwarts didn't have were classes on how to be a teacher. So what classes could he take that would help him achieve his goal?
At first, they were unhappy until Maggie came through again, "hey, it's not a horrible thing." Their questioning looks had her adding, "now you can invent the position. You don't have to follow someone else's ideas. After all who knows better than you what these kids need?"
"Mags, would your mum have any ideas what muggle courses there are? Maybe there is something, anything that might correlate to our world." Greg asked.
"I'll ask. She is pretty dialed in for this kind of stuff."
"Thanks, until then all I can really do is take what classes we have here, so, again I ask, what are the best classes for helping the kids?"
After much discussion, they realized that he was already taking most of the courses he might need such as Creatures, DADA, Muggle Studies, Herbology. But that he needed to add Potions. In the end, it was decided that he really only needed to take Transfiguration, Charms, and Potions.
His next Transfiguration class had him standing in front of Professor McGonagall again.
"Only three, Mr. Goyle?"
"Yes, ma'am. Transfiguration, Charms, and Potions. The other classes that would be helpful to what I want to do, I am already taking the N.E. in, so there is no point in my taking those O.W.L.s."
"You have decided on a career path then. Good. What have you decided?"
Greg looked down and away before looking her straight in the eye, "I want to help kids like me. Cho wants to open a school for younger children and I want to help her. Then if or rather when we find...if there are more kids like me and Lu Bowes we can help them earlier than Hogwarts."
"How do the classes you are taking now help with that?" The longtime professor was intrigued by his idea.
"I don't know to be honest. From what we've been able to research, what I want to doesn't exist yet in the wizarding world. Which means nothing has been set up to teach me what I need to know to work with these kids. So, I will do what I can with the information I have and my experiences and help who I can when I can."
She studied the young man standing proudly in front of her.
Greg was a bit uncomfortable under such tight scrutiny. He wanted her to understand that he wasn't planning on just jumping in without proper training so he added, "Mags is checking with her mum to see what training is available in the muggle world. If there are classes or what not available, I may go and take those classes."
McGonagall pondered the young man before her. He was so different from the boy he was when school started. "Yes, Mr. Goyle. I think you will do well with that endeavor. I will support your request. If either Professors Flitwick or Snape give you trouble, I will advocate on your behalf."
"Do you think they won't let me?"
"You will be fine." She finished signing his request letter and handed it back to him. "I will start getting the testing times set up. I will give you only 3 weeks to prepare." His eyes widened in shock. "I know it's not much time to revise but if you want those results back before the N.E. , that's the latest available time." He was still shocked when she added, "You can do this, Greg. I have confidence in you." She smiled at him. "Now, if you don't hurry you will be late for your next class."
He thanked her, tucked the letter neatly in his bag and headed out. The elderly professor watched him leave with a smile on her face.
His request of Professor Flitwick was enthusiastically granted. His request of Professor Snape was agreed to but not with Professor Flitwick's enthusiasm. He received a raised eyebrow and an intense stare. "Do not disappoint, Mr. Goyle." He never said whom Greg should not disappoint but he decided it didn't matter; he didn't want to disappoint anyone.
The following three weeks passed in a blur of revising, working with Lu, Cho, and Maggie and trying to remember to eat or sleep. Finally, Maggie had enough, "Greg, you are going to do fine but you need to rest tonight. The tests start tomorrow; three tests in 2 days. Go! Sleep."
"I will, I just want to go over this material one more time. Potions is first and some of these we have never practiced and I don't think they are going to allow "The Key" during the test," Greg replied without looking away from his work.
Cho and Maggie smiled at each other then schooled their features into 'the glare'. "Greg….Greg...Greg look at me!" Cho ordered.
He glanced at her for a second, dropped his eyes back to his potions text just before snapping his neck around to look at them again. The look did it. He sighed and closed his book. He put it in his bag, picked up the bag and said, "fine, you win." He started toward the door before Maggie called to him. He stopped and turned back to her.
She walked up to him and put her hand out, patiently waiting until he reached into his bag and handed over his potions book. She took his book and held out her hand again. He reached into his bag again. This time he pulled out his potions notes and handed them to her. "You can have these back at breakfast. You need to sleep."
Maggie and Cho stood next to each other and watched him leave the Room of Requirement. "Do you think he has duplicates back in his dorm?" Cho asked.
"Oh I'm sure he does but at least we planted the seed that sleep is good before a test. The rest is up to him." She paused. "Do you think he'll do well?" A small amount of doubt and worry crept into her voice.
"I do. He's worked really hard and I think he is as ready as he can be. How are you doing? You have O.W.L.s to take in two weeks."
She snorted, "after working with all of you? I'm more prepared than I ever thought I would be. I'll do great...just great...I mean, I'll be fine."
Cho smiled at her indulgently, "You want me to quiz you on...I'm guessing...Ancient Runes?"
Maggie smiled and laughed, "If you don't mind and have about 30 extra minutes in your day. I can do the same for you in whatever subject you want."
They turned back to their work and continued to revise.
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The next morning saw the trio at a table together. Greg was being quietly quizzed on what might be on the Potions test. At precisely 8 am Professor Snape arrived next to him, "Mr. Goyle. It is time. Leave everything here and follow me."
Greg took a deep breath and slowly exhaled as he stood, "Yes Professor." He looked at the two friends he never thought he would have, "Wish me luck?"
"You don't need it. You are so prepared for this and you'll do great. But good luck!" Maggie told him with a smile.
Cho smiled at him and stood up. She pulled him into a hug and whispered in his ear, "We believe in you, Greg. You will do your best and it will be wonderful. Good luck."
She let him go and smiled at him. He smiled back until he heard the waiting Professor, "Mr. Goyle." Greg squared his shoulder and followed Professor Snape out of the Great Hall. He felt like he was being led to a sentencing where his life was on the line.
The test took over 3 hours but he felt better about it than he expected. The complete sense of failure followed by the dread that he felt the first time he took the O. was absent. It was a hard test though not harder than he expected. Even so, the worry was that if this test was that hard, how was he going to do on the N.E.W.T.s? Pushing that anxiety aside, for now, he focused the rest of his day on preparing for the next two tests.
Even though the potions test made him feel wrung out, the next morning found him eager for the next two tests. He had been studying Transfiguration and Charms all year and felt more ready than he had for the Potions test.
He was escorted to the testing location by Professor McGonagall this time. Transfiguration was first and took up the morning. He had a break between the tests for lunch, then Professor Flitwick escorted him to the Charms test. By the time the testing was done, it was late afternoon and all he wanted to do was sleep.
At dinner that night Greg was sitting with his Slytherin friends and was asked how the tests went. He said he his brain hurt as he had never been so mentally wiped out in his life. "What was different this time from last time," his friends asked. "I am," he said. "I cared this time. When I took the tests before, I knew I didn't have a chance at a decent grade. Now, I have an opportunity and I'm going grab it with both hands."
"And now you get to study for the N.E. and do it all again in 2 weeks." Draco laughed.
Greg dropped his head on to his crossed arms with a groan but only for a moment. He raised his head and smiled, "Bring it on."
The end of the next week had Greg sitting in front of Professor McGonagall waiting to receive his O.W.L scores.
"Mr. Goyle, before I give you your results, I would just like to say that I am very proud of you. Your work this year has been exemplary."
Greg blushed a little under the praise of such an amazing teacher.
"Now, I know you are itching for your results so let's start with Charms." Greg fidgeted in his chair in anticipation. "For Charms, you received an Acceptable."
The shock on his face had the professor smiling, "Yes, Mr. Goyle an Acceptable. You scored an Acceptable on your Transfiguration O.W.L. as well. Congratulations on your success."
Greg was smiling until he realized she had yet to give him the Potions results. "Thank you, Professor. I take it the Potions test didn't go as well?"
"May I ask how long you had to study for the Potions O.W.L?" She asked him.
"The three weeks since we made the decision. How badly did I do?" His spirits had taken an obvious downturn at the prospect of another failed test.
"I think if you had a few additional weeks you would have scored an Acceptable. As it was you did much better than your first Potions O.W.L."
She handed him the test showing "Poor" at the top but a number score was circled next to it. "Professor, what is the number next to the," he sighed in frustration, "Poor?"
"That, Mr. Goyle, shows that you missed an Acceptable by only 2 points. As I recall your first Potions O.W.L was a Troll. Well, all your O. were Trolls. So this, even if it isn't an Acceptable, is a major improvement. Don't forget that."
"Two points, Professor?"
"Two points, Mr. Goyle." She took a breath and braced to tell him some additional news. "I petitioned the Board of Governors to have these three O. replace your original scores. Even with Mr. Malfoy backing my request, they deferred to the Ministry. Unfortunately, the Ministry has refused to allow the change. They don't believe in you the way we do. I am sorry."
"Professor, I...well, I'm…" He stopped, cleared this throat and collected his thoughts before continuing. He looked the Professor square in her eyes, "Professor, Thank You. I appreciate everything you have done for me."
Seeing the young man's crestfallen look, Professor McGonagall, added, "Please remember the reason you wanted to take these tests and why you chose these three to take. You have a measurable example of what getting the correct help actually means." The professor looked uncomfortable before continuing, "for myself, I wish to apologize for not seeing what is now so obvious."
"Professor, no. Please. How could you have known? I didn't even know so how could you? I really do appreciate your apology even if it's unwarranted. I do have to ask, now that you know what to look for and what is at stake for kids like me, that you please try to get them some help."
She smiled at him and nodded her head. Shortly thereafter the meeting ended so Greg could make it to lunch. He really wanted to talk to Cho and Maggie to give them his results. He really wanted to play a trick on them and have a sad expression on his face but every time he thought of getting TWO Acceptables, the smile was right back on his face.
A quick tempus charm and he realized he had only about 10 minutes before lunch was over so he made it to the Great Hall as quickly as he could. He walked in and searched for Cho and Maggie. He found them in a spot he hadn't expected, the Slytherin table having an animated conversation with his friends. He noticed the conversation abruptly stopped as soon as he was spotted.
Despite his best efforts the smile just would not leave his face. He joined his friends and told them the good news. Even the Potions score was worthy of congratulations.
It was Hermione who brought everything back down to earth. "Now we start our N.E. . A week from Monday. I hope you all have been studying as hard as Cho and Greg."
Everyone groaned with either resignation or exasperation. "Relax, Granger. We'll start that after lunch, yea?" Blaise commented.
"Lucky you all have another week. Mine start on Monday." Maggie lamented.
It was Greg's turn to encourage his young friend, "Mags, you are more prepared for these O. than anybody in this school. Probably more prepared than Granger here was when she had to take them. Especially since she had a nervous breakdown!"
Everyone laughed at Hermione's expense. "GOYLE! How did you...never mind." She turned from her laughing friends, "Maggie, I'm sure you are just perfectly ready."
Maggie was saved from further comment when the warning bell sounded.
The next two weeks were a haze of revising and struggling over the tests. Finally, it was over and everyone let out a sigh of relief. Looking around the Great Hall there were smiles and laughter in the place of the stress and tension that had consumed the student body of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
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Six years later Greg, Cho, and Maggie were sitting in the back of the Great Hall watching their first student ever, Miss Louisa Bowes, graduate with Acceptable across her N.E.W.T tests.
Maggie continued to work with Lou for the two years before Maggie graduated including the summer holidays. Maggie would train down to Lu's house 3 days a week. Together they learned amazing things. Lu and her family realized that Lu wasn't stupid and Maggie learned all the things she would need to actually live in the magical world.
When term resumed for Maggie's sixth year and Lu's second, The Headmaster decided that a faculty advisor was needed if they were going to continue to act as a formal study group. Amazingly enough, it was Professor Snape who took over as the faculty advisor for the Room of Requirement Study Group as it was christened by Lu. Having grown up in a horrible home, Professor Snape knew better than anybody what it was like to be an outcast for one reason or another. He was still the intimidating teacher he had always been but he discovered he could change a few teaching methods to benefit students like Greg and Lu and still maintain his status as the most terrifying teacher in Hogwarts history.
Maggie followed in her mother's footsteps and became a solicitor. She and her mother went into a law firm together. It was called Henry and Henry in the Muggle world. But it was called The Owl and Wand Legal Services in the Wizarding world. They became the bridge which spanned the legal gap between the Muggle world, squibs, and the magical world.
Cho opened her school and even though it was not her intent to revolutionize the magical educational system it was slowly turning into that. The Ministry still would not recognize learning disabilities as an actual problem. But with the school's consistent results and the backing of some important families, small inroads were being made. A small Underground movement had been funneling children in need of specialize help to Cho.
Greg, having scored three Acceptables and one Exceeds Expectations, became Cho's top counselor for working with children that had difficulty academically. It turned out that there were no classes for working with children that correlated to current Hogwarts classes. In the end helped Greg get into a muggle volunteering program that helped to teach him how to work with children, then into another program that gave him some basic tools to work with children with learning disabilities. In the end, the tools that Cho, Maggie and he had invented to help him were the foundation he used to work out the techniques he needed to work with Magical children. He never thought he would be doing something so important to so many. He was happy in his career choice.
They called Louisa's name and Greg came back to where he was and why he was there. Louisa Bowes was graduating Hogwarts. She would have a chance at a good life unlike so many before her. She got the help she needed early and if Greg did nothing else, that was of what he was most proud. Watching her stand with her peers, head held high and ready to face life is what he would remember for the rest of his life.
A/N: Well, there it is. The last chapter. Almost 2 years in the process. I have to thank so many for their help over these years. Raye, Sassy and Alexandra. Thanks!