Chapter 16: Making Progress

Perhaps unsurprisingly given the rapidity with which the Hogwarts rumour mill worked at, the story of what had happened in their History of Magic lesson appeared to have been heard by almost the entire student body by dinner time. The main point of discussion seemed to change depending on who was speaking but broadly it was either the fact that a first year, in her first lesson, had managed to sum up multiple generations of dissatisfaction with the subject in such a respectful manner that the teacher had allowed her to finish her discourse without interruption or punishment or the disbelief that Professor Binns had awarded someone house points for the first time in living memory. Whatever the point of view, it seemed to be generally accepted by the students of Hogwarts that it was perfectly acceptable to stare and point at the young Hufflepuff in question whenever it was being talked about.

"They're doing it again." Hermione hissed under her breath as they sat eating dinner.

Harry took a moment, trying not to laugh and replied in a low voice, so as not to be overheard by their classmates. "Honestly, I thought calling Binns out was quite low on our list of 'things to do that will make people point and stare at us'. Think of how bad it's going to get when we get near the top! I mean, let's face it, you'll probably not get to 'The-Chosen-One' or 'The-Boy-Who-Lived' levels but perhaps we can find you a hyphenated name somewhere - that's how you know you've made it. 'The-Girl-Who-Changed-History' perhaps?"

Hermione turned to sharply glare at Harry, who could contain himself no longer and snorted with laughter, resulting in a thump on the arm from his best friend and a muttered "prat".

"Ow!" Harry rubbed the sore spot Hermione had just created in an overly-dramatic way. Anyone watching would have thought she'd mortally wounded him, causing Hermione to roll her eyes as he kept a pained expression on his face. "Anyway, I think it's time I took some of the heat off you. If you'll excuse me for a moment?"

Harry swung his legs over the bench they were sat on and took off toward the Slytherin first years, all of whom had stopped talking as he approached. His movement didn't go unnoticed elsewhere either and there was a general lessening in the cacophony that filled the Great Hall. Surely the boy who defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named wasn't going to allow himself to be surrounded by the children of the Dark Lord's supporters?

"Hey Daph, how you doing?"

"Good thanks Harry, you?" Daphne Greengrass replied with a smile.

"Pretty good – listen, we're planning on setting up a study group if you're interested?" Harry then addressed the rest of the first years who had been listening intently. "If anyone else if interested you're more than welcome to join too." Harry glanced over now at his intended target - Draco Malfoy.

"Draco – you in? It's all the 'Puffs, a couple of Gryffs and I'd think a few of the 'Claws as well once we ask them."

Malfoy looked a little bit like a deer caught in headlights as the focus of Slytherin house turned onto him. He'd been trying to make a play for dominance in the house based on his father's money and reputation, but couldn't work out if this move would help or hinder him. Before he could come up with an answer though, Harry had seized an opportunity he wasn't sure would be presented to him and had begun to introduce himself to the rest of the Slytherin first years individually.

"Hi – sorry, that was really rude of me. You're… Crabbe right? I saw you on the train but we didn't have a chance to speak – and you're Goyle? What are your first names?"

"Vinnie"

"Greg"

Harry leant over and held out his hand to Crabbe, giving him little option other than to shake, before repeating the motion with Goyle. "I'm Harry Potter, please to meet you." He then replicated this action with Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabini before giving a deep, extravagant bow towards the ladies of Slytherin house – Milicent Bulstrode, Pansy Parkinson, Tracey Davies and of course, Daphne Greengrass. At the bottom of the bow, he looked up and winked at Daphne, causing her to snort in a most unladylike way. Rising, he turned back to Draco. "Anyway, the offer's open if any of you want to join us. Just let me know." With a grin and a nod, Harry turned and made his way back to his seat.

Daphne looked down the table at the rest of her housemates and laughed. The boys all looked slightly confused - with the exception of Blaise, the others had all been raised by their Death Eater families with the belief that Potter was the enemy, yet here he was shaking their hands and making an offer to work with them. The girls, on the other hand, all looked a little shell-shocked by the charismatic boy that had just bowed to them.

"What on earth was that?" Tracey whispered to Daphne who had just managed to control her laughter.

"That was Harry Potter," she replied with a grin.

Harry meanwhile, walked nonchalantly back across the Great Hall and retook his seat next to Hermione. He picked up his fork and resumed eating his Shepherd's Pie – god, he loved Hogwarts made Shepherd's Pie. There was something the elves did to it that made it taste better than any he'd had anywhere else. He'd spent hours in the kitchen after he'd left school trying to replicate that flavour but had never managed it. He closed his eyes, savouring the taste and trying to discern the ingredients – Thyme, Oregano… a hint of Worcestershire Sauce perhaps? He gave a small smile as he realised after all these years he could simply head down to the kitchens and ask. He opened his eyes and noticed that no-one around him was talking. He looked around to find that the stares that had been directed at Hermione only minutes before were now firmly fixed on him.

"What?" he asked.

As the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws made their way into the Potions classroom on Wednesday afternoon, Harry motioned for Hermione to continue then stopped, dropped to one knee and pretended to tie his shoelace. He allowed the remainder of the students to filter past Professor Snape who was stood in the doorway and, as Harry entered, he whispered just loud enough for Severus alone to hear "Give me and Hermione detention".

With his usual sneer firmly fixed in place, Professor Snape lectured the students about 'bottling fame, brewing glory and putting a stopper in death' before rounding on Harry and throwing increasingly difficult questions at him, questions that no legitimate first year had any right knowing the answers to. Harry answered some, wanting to establish to the rest of the class that he had some knowledge of the subject before falling back on an old favourite; "I'm not sure Sir but I think Hermione does, why don't you ask her?"

"Detention Potter and 5 points from Hufflepuff for your cheek."

"But Sir!" Hermione piped up, picking up on what Harry was doing. "That's not fair!"

"Very well Miss Granger. You may join Mr Potter in detention. 7 o'clock tonight. You'll be disembowelling horned toads." Snape gave the pair a nasty grin, though Harry could see he was enjoying his part in the charade.

As they left the dungeon at the end of the lesson the other Hufflepuffs, and more than a few Ravenclaws, commiserated with the pair over the unfairness of their detentions, not seeing Harry glance back at the Potions Master, dropping him a wink as he did so. Harry and Hermione had turned in a perfect potion to cure boils at the end of the lesson and the pair had made sure to help as many of their classmates as they could, further enhancing their growing reputations as intelligent, friendly and willing to help others. Without Ron actively driving people away, Harry found the other students to be very understanding and accepting of his wish to be someone other than 'The-Boy-Who-Lived'.

Later that evening, Harry and Hermione made their way back down to the dungeons where Severus was waiting for them. "Potter, Granger, inside." They entered quickly and Severus shut the door behind them, casting locking and silencing charms as he did so. "I assume, based on your display at the welcoming feast, and Potter's insistence that you be included in this detention, that you have something to tell me?"

"Hermione is from the future - my future that is - too. She's my best friend and was with me throughout the war."

"Ah, the so-called 'smartest witch of her age'. I'm glad you're here – some of the plans he's been making could use a little… refinement perhaps?"

Hermione turned to Harry, allowing surprise to show on her face but with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "You've been making plans?"

Frowning, and missing the joke Hermione was making, Harry turned to his friend. "Of course! You don't think I'd just rush into things half-cocked do you?"

Hermione raised an eyebrow, knowing that Harry had repeatedly taken what could only be described as a 'proactive' approach to problem-solving – dive in first and worry about the consequences later. Clearly, he realised the same thing and so cleared his throat in embarrassment.

"I've had helped – Sirius…"

"Oh, Merlin." Hermione groaned. "A Marauder plan?"

Snape smirked at the pair. "I like this one, Harry. You can keep her."

Harry immediately flushed bright red and hastily continued. "…Amelia, Severus, Andi and Ted – and the Goblins! They've all helped! I've not exactly been on my own here."

Hermione reached over and placed her hand on Harry's arm. "I know Harry, I was joking. I'm sorry. From what you've told me you've all done good work so far. Let's just get things sorted and get rid of Voldemort as soon as we can OK?"

Harry nodded and Severus took the opportunity to bring things back on topic. "Right, now that's dealt with, tell me what's been happening. Perhaps start with why everyone is talking about Binns?" As Harry began to speak, however, Severus interrupted. "The barrel of toads is over there, you can get to work while you're explaining."

Harry and Hermione looked at him incredulously, making Severus smile nastily. "This is a detention after all and those toads are not going to disembowel themselves."

The rest of the week passed in a flash and Harry and Hermione soon found themselves back in the swing of things. Their years of experience and knowledge made their first-year homework exceptionally easy, although Harry had to remind Hermione on a number of occasions to dial back the length and depth of her essays as she had a tendency to exhibit comprehension far beyond anything that would be expected of a NEWT student, let alone a first-year in her first week at school. One thing Harry had insisted on, however, was that they take time to relax and get to know their classmates. Hermione had been so focussed on learning and demonstrating her intelligence before that she'd missed out on the simple interactions between friends and Harry was determined that they would experience a relatively normal school year, despite the presence of Voldemort in their Defence classroom.

On Friday evening, as the new Hufflepuffs were sat in the common room playing Exploding Snap, the Professors were meeting in the staff room.

"Minerva – care to start us off?" Dumbledore said, his blue eyes twinkling.

"My first years are settling in well despite the issues getting to breakfast on the first morning. The boys all seem to be quite tired though – I'm having one of my prefects keep an eye on them to make sure they're going to bed on time and aren't just spending all night talking."

"Excellent. Have any of them stood out to you?"

"Neville Longbottom seems to be doing quite well. He's very interested in Herbology from what I hear so one for you to keep an eye on Pomona." Minerva nodded to her colleague who made a note on the parchment in front of her. "From what I've seen so far he's my likely candidate for Prefect in four years."

"Filius?"

"Again, for the most part, they're settling in nicely." The diminutive Professor squeaked. "There have been a few grumbles as they're sharing a lot of their classes with the Hufflepuffs this year and it seems they're being out-performed by two of your Badgers Pomona."

"Really?" said Dumbledore with interest. "Which two?"

"Hermione Granger and Harry Potter. They've already taken it upon themselves to organise a study group but have already demonstrated an incredible grasp of the topics we are covering. As soon as they complete the task for the day they're helping those around them. I don't recall any first-year class picking things up as quickly as these are." Dumbledore looked around the room as all the Professors who had interacted with the pair voiced their agreement with this statement.

"What about you Severus? How have you found Harry and Miss Granger? I understand you had to give the pair detention in their first lesson?"

"Potter gave me cheek and Granger answered back," Snape said with a sneer. "However, their performance in class was not as woeful as I expected. Their Potions ability appears… adequate."

"Merlin." McGonagall stage whispered, ensuring everyone in the room could hear her. "I hope someone has a dicta-quill going. That almost sounded like praise. We need to record this for posterity!" Snape merely turned his sneer on the Deputy Headmistress who smirked back at him.

Dumbledore, however, was not paying attention to the interaction of his staff and was instead pondering what to do about Harry Potter. He'd arrived at the school healthy, happy and surrounded by friends and not, as the Headmaster had expected, shy, nervous and easily guided. Perhaps he'd have to accelerate his plans – get the cloak to Harry before Christmas and 'help' the boy find the Mirror of Erised sooner rather than later? He didn't expect Quirell to make a move for the stone any time soon but he couldn't allow Harry to stray too far from the plan he'd concocted 11 years prior.

"Well then," Dumbledore said, rejoining the conversation. "Has anyone else got anything they wish to raise?"

"I do."

Dumbledore looked in surprise at the ghostly figure of the History of Magic Professor. "Cuthbert, what a pleasant surprise. You don't normally join us for these meetings."

"Well, there's something I wanted to discuss. I was asked a question in my class the other day and I've been considering the answer ever since. I believe the time has come to review the course curriculum with regards to History, making sure to include more recent events." Professor Binns paused and looked around at his colleagues. "I don't think it would come as a surprise to anyone here to hear that most students use my class as a chance to catch up on sleep. To my shame, I have allowed this to occur year after year. I lost my passion and enthusiasm for teaching but as one student pointed out to me, we are in a position of great responsibility – moulding the hearts and minds of the next generation."

Binns paused again and focussed now on the Headmaster. "As such I believe we should be reaching out to Griselda Marchbanks in her role as Governor of the Wizarding Examinations Authority, to ask for her cooperation completing a comprehensive overhaul of the History of Magic curriculum."

"Now Cuthbert," Dumbledore began, a note of concern in his voice – the last thing he needed was the Ministry interfering with Hogwarts, "are you sure that's necessary? After all, the History of Magic course has long reflected the traditions of Wizarding culture in Britain…"

"Do you know how many students have taken my class at N.E.W.T. level in the last 10 years Albus?" Binns interrupted.

"Well, I'm sure…"

Binns now turned to the Deputy Headmistress. "Minerva?"

"Four Cuthbert and two withdrew after the first term."

Binns looked once more at the Headmaster. "A change is clearly needed, Albus. I'm just ashamed it took me this long to realise."

Dumbledore entered his office, slumped down into his high-backed chair and pondered the happenings of the first week of school. Most of his concern focussed on Harry Potter. His arrival was supposed to be the beginning of his plans to finally rid the magical world of Voldemort. Harry was supposed to be a humble, meek boy who was eager to please. Instead, he'd turned up adopted by Sirius Black (how that had happened outright baffled him, he'd turned Sirius away with platitudes of keeping Harry's location a secret to protect him and intercepted any attempts to communicate with the boy by having his mail redirected), surrounded by friends whose families had no interest in bowing at the altar of the leader of the light, and resisted any and all attempts from the headmaster to gain influence with him. He'd even managed to bypass Molly Weasley at the train station, preventing Albus from establishing a link to the boy that way instead.

To then hear that the boy appeared to be an exceptional student who seemed intent on breaking down the barriers between houses before, with the help of Miss Granger, dragging the first years to academic excellence felt like a real kick in the teeth for the headmaster. He needed Harry to be pliable if his plans were to come to fruition. The only thing that would make the situation worse would be if he'd found some way to interfere in the Wizengamot – Albus had used the proxied Potter vote to squeeze a number of laws through in the past.

And then there was the issue of Professor Binns. For years he'd been perfectly happy droning on and presenting the Goblins as an enemy that still need to be carefully watched – why had his stance suddenly changed? Admittedly Albus tried to avoid conversing with the History of Magic Professor if at all possible – after all the man was a dreadful bore – so hadn't seen any indication that something like this was coming, but to go as far as wanting to reach out to the W.E.A.? That simply wouldn't do.

Having decided he'd have to intercept any communication Binns was going to send to Madam Marchbanks, Albus gave the evening up as lost and headed to bed.

The Governor of the Wizarding Examinations Authority was sat in her home, enjoying a relaxing cup of tea when an owl tapped on her living room window. She eased her old bones out of her chair and retrieved the letter, watching the owl flap its wings and soar off into the night sky. Turning the envelope over, she spotted the wax seal emblazoned with the crest of Hogwarts.

"We're a week into the school year. What on earth could Albus want?" Griselda Marchbanks grumbled to herself, making herself comfortable once more in her chair and raising her cup to her lips as she read. The tea, however, remained firmly in the cup and upon completing her second reading of the letter, she placed it back on the saucer and moved to the liquor cabinet for a touch of something stronger. She, along with her colleagues at the W.E.A., had been petitioning Dumbledore for years to do something about the History of Magic curriculum and now the very Professor they'd been encouraging the headmaster to 'move along' was contacting them of his own volition, asking for assistance in preparing a more rounded and relevant scheme of work for the students.

This was the foot in the door she had been waiting for. For too long they'd been forced to provide watered-down examinations, dropping required pass marks in order to cater to the lowest possible denominators. In her heart, she knew British examinations didn't compare fairly with those across Europe or the rest of the World but had remained in her position believing she would be better placed to help with the educational revolution that was so sorely required if an opportunity arose. It seemed that time had come.

Saturday morning dawned and Harry and Hermione headed downstairs to breakfast together. They'd decided that there was no point hanging around and would take care of the diadem today. Harry poured them both Pumpkin juice, while Hermione placed food on their plates – without realising they'd easily fallen back into the habits developed through years of daily contact, knowing each other's routines inside out and almost flowing around each other's movements. This of course had not gone unnoticed by the staff who were already sending each other knowing looks when they saw the pair interacting.

They chatted with their friends as they ate but were interrupted by the arrival of the morning post. Hermione unrolled her newspaper and scanned the articles on the front page.

"Harry?" she murmured as her classmates conversed around them. "Have you seen this?" She pointed at an article that discussed a law Minister Fudge was proposing to allow all children of Hogwarts age to perform magic in their own homes. Magic could only be carried out in front of those who had full knowledge of the Wizarding World and had to be from an approved list taught by Hogwarts but there had been nothing like this in their original time. "This is incredible! It'll mean students can practice over the holidays but also let Muggleborn parents see exactly what their children are learning at school! Not being able to show Mum and Dad what they were paying for me to learn…"

She trailed off as she looked at her best friend who had a slight grin on his face. "Harry?" she prompted.

"It's something I forgot to mention." Harry inclined his head in the direction of the Slytherin table. "Have you noticed that Malfoy isn't quite as arrogant as before and hasn't trotted out the old 'just wait until my father hears of this' line yet?"

Hermione nodded and Harry continued. "When Sirius got his trial, Fudge was pushing to replace Bagnold as Minister. He came out in the papers and said something about how, if he were in charge, things like Sirius' situation wouldn't have happened. When Fudge eventually got the job, Sirius threw his support behind him and told the papers how glad he was that we now had a Minister who would stand for justice – really laid it on thick. Draco isn't so cocky because Lucius Malfoy hasn't been able to get anywhere near Cornelius Fudge. The Minister is taking his advice from people who aren't neck-deep in a pureblood agenda instead."

"That's fantastic! So this law came from one of his advisors then?"

Harry blushed and ducked his head, avoiding Hermione's gaze.

"I talked to Sirius about how unfair it was that not everyone could practice magic outside of school, just the purebloods who used loopholes in the law." He glanced up at Hermione. "I may have mentioned how much you hated not being able to show your parents what you'd learnt."

Hermione looked at him, a strange expression on her face. "You did this for me?"

"Well, technically Sirius did – "

Harry abruptly stopped talking as Hermione threw her arms around him once more and squeezed.
"Her – mi –one – can't – breath!"

"Sorry," she whispered, looking flustered. "I just... thank you."

Harry gave her hand a quick squeeze and smiled at her, his own cheeks flushed with colour. "Don't mention it."

After breakfast was over and having made sure the coast was clear, Harry and Hermione made their way to the seventh floor and the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. Harry paced in front of the blank wall whilst thinking of the room of hidden things and on his third pass, saw the familiar oak door appear.

"I've asked the room to make it so no-one else can enter while we're in here." He told Hermione. "I didn't want anyone to stumble in while Kreacher is here."

The pair worked their way through the towering stacks of objects that had been discarded in the room until Harry stopped suddenly when he saw the spot the vanishing cabinet would end up in.

"I hadn't even thought about the cabinet." He said, glancing at Hermione. "What should we do with it? Hopefully, we'll never reach the point where Death Eaters use it to enter the school but…"

Hermione bit her bottom lip as she considered things. "Let's speak to Sirius about it later. We're not going at this alone this time, why not ask the others for options?"

Ignoring the issue of the cabinet for now, they move deeper into the stacks, eventually arriving at a discoloured old tiara next to a chipped bust of an ugly old warlock.

"Kreacher" Harry called softly. A faint popping noise heralded the arrival of the Black family House-Elf.

"Yes, Master Harry? How can I serve?"

"We've found another one of the items like Regulus stole from Voldemort. Can you get me one of the secure boxes for us to store it in please?"

"Of course Master." Kreacher popped away, only to return a few moments later with a large black box, lined with dragonhide. Harry levitated the diadem into the box and closed the lid, asking Kreacher to seal it using his magic.

"Please take this to Sirius, Kreacher, and ask him to deliver it to the Goblins."

"Very well Master. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"No, thank you. Regulus would be very happy with your service today, as am I."

Kreacher gave a low bow to Harry and popped away with the Horcrux safely secured inside the box, leaving the pair of Hufflepuffs to traverse their way back through the room to the entrance.

"That went easier than I expected," said Harry as he held the door open for Hermione to leave the room.

"Well, well, well…" came a voice from the corridor. "What have we got here?"