The Chosen Six

by Tribun

Fate is a funny thing; it doesn't have to be set in stone. When Sirius Black makes a different choice at that fateful night, the ripples from that decision affect Harry Potter and his friends. Yet, they didn't know that years earlier something else was also set in motion, which will also affect their lives and the magical world as a whole.

5. The Evolution of Hogwarts

I certainly have no rights to Harry Potter, but this won't stop me writing this story. However, you probably already know this. As it is my specialty, and as in my other big stories, this shows how things go if something went different right at the beginning. Please note that I'm not a fan of bashing and also don't expect the pairings to differ from canon. However, the path to them sertainly will be quite different. I also want to try and subvert certain plots and things that became common in the fandom over the years.

For now, the story will update every second Saturday, until I say otherwise.

I'll try to answer all my reviews, since I do like the feedback for improvement. So please tell me your thoughts on the story in reviews.

This story now does have a TvTropes page. You can find the link in my bio. Feel free to visit and contribute to it.

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Chapter 5: The Evolution of Hogwarts

Sitting at home, Harry was trying to concentrate on the book in front of him, trying to read it faster. Despite the school year being over, Harry was a bit unsatisfied how well others in class were learning to read. So he wanted to try improving a bit by using the training books during summer break between school years. He didn't want to fall behind.

Truth to be told, school mostly was good.

Harry had not expected to like it that much, but he was positively surprised. However, there was one big 'but' in the whole thing. While most of the other students were friendly enough with him, he did not have any close friends, and the reason for that was Dudley. Clearly, Dudley decided that the best way for himself to enjoy the day was to make Harry's day miserable. Understandably, no one else wanted to get too friendly with Harry with such a threat looming.

Dudley was tolerable in class, where he was on his own and limited in his antics, but to Harry's bad luck, Dudley had made some friends in school. Piers, Dennis, Malcolm and Gordon were all like Dudley, big and stupid, but as Dudley was the biggest and stupidest of the lot, he was the leader. Thankfully, they also were cowards and didn't dare to do anything if a teacher was near by. Thus Harry quickly developed ways to be left alone by them during recess.

However, even at this young age, Harry knew sooner or later his luck would run out. He'd seen Dudley and his friends bullying other students when they were sure no one was watching, and knew the day would come they would catch him as well.

Dudley is really fat. I don't want to imagine him sitting on me. The thought alone was a nightmare for Harry, having seeing Dudley's chair in class strain under the weight put onto it.

"Stupid fatty," Harry grumbled. After all, Dudley was the only one in class still having trouble with the letters of the alphabet.

Looking out of the open window, Harry saw how it was a beautiful summer day and he longed to go out and just have some fun - best without running into Dudley and his friends - but he forced himself to go back to his book. He could go out once he was done with this self-imposed lesson. Though of course he did have another reason he did not want to admit to himself.

"The summer is not running away," Harry told himself.

Downstairs meanwhile, the mood was a bit annoyed as well.

"I'm a bit baffled that Harry is trying to improve his reading instead of being outside like the other children," Veronica told her husband while playing with her son.

Thomas looked up from his crossword puzzle. "Oh, I know why he's doing this. He's not seeing it, but subconsciously he wants to avoid running into Dudley. You know what his teacher told us how things are in school, even if they have no proof."

"Honestly, it's like Petunia trained her brat to annoy Harry, something I could actually see her do," Veronica said while rolling the bright ball to Mark, who caught it while laughing, oblivious to the mood of his parents.

"Sadly, at school they can't prove anything, but the other students don't want to become too close friends with Harry because of that brat. Petunia must be proud of herself." Thomas was not thrilled with what the teacher had told them.

Veronica's opinion of the Dursleys had sunken even lower after hearing it herself. "Harry is such a good and well-behaved student. But now this brat destroyed any chance of him making friends in the near future."

"They certainly can't put him into a different class, unless something does happen they can prove. Despite being not well-liked, the Dursleys do hold a certain influence in the neighborhood," Thomas said in regret.

The teacher had been quite frank with them, that while Harry was a good student, Dudley was not and affected the entire class with his attitude. And while nothing could be proven, he was sure the Dursley boy was already proving to be a hooligan. She added that that would explain while Harry was well-liked in class, no one wanted to become his friend; it was sad.

Accepting the ball from Mark, Veronica shook her head. "That boy won't stop until feeling the consequences of his actions."

"Fat chance, considering who his parents are," Thomas waved the idea off, having no illusions where Dudley's behavior towards Harry came from.

Veronica meanwhile had rolled away the ball again, but this time Mark didn't run to it, and instead held out his hands. After some moments the ball all on its own started to roll to him, before jumping into his hands. His parents watched this in surprise, suddenly realizing that several small displays of accidental magic perhaps didn't come from Harry.

"Did you see that?" Veronica asked her husband.

"I did see it." Thomas was surprisingly calm, considering what he had just witnessed. "Thank all goodness we already have experience with raising a magical child."

"You think we should tell Sirius and Remus?" Veronica asked, knowing this would be important.

Looking at his laughing son, Thomas nodded slowly. "We better do. It's better to be prepared right from the start than stumbling into things."

o

The summer day also was nice in Devon, where the Burrow, the home of the Weasley family, was located. However, the two youngest of the Weasley children, Ron and Ginny Weasley, sat by the pond near the house. The house was a bit too full for their tastes and the weather was good. Also, they both knew Fred and George had way too much pent-up mischief to vent, especially with their parents currently being absent, so they wanted to stay away from that.

"Really?" Ginny asked her brother. She would start school after the summer and thus had asked him many questions about it. His answers however were surprising for the girl.

"Yes, the school stuff is kind of boring, but now I know why Fred and George like to bring Muggle stuff home. That stuff is awesome!" Ron told her. "Learning how to read is worth for these comics. They're nothing like these lame Martin Miggs comics from Diagon Alley."

Ginny wouldn't know what was written in these, not yet having learned how to read, but the characters in the comics Ron had shown her over the months surely looked interesting. A man dressed like a bat fighting crime? A man from outside Earth who can fly and is really strong? A woman from a mystical island with powers from the gods? That certainly wasn't something she would have seen before, especially since Fred and George were not in the habit of sharing their finds, while Ron was.

"Mum lectured you a lot however," Ginny remembered. "She thinks you aren't learning well enough."

"She's always lecturing me. That's no news," Ron waved it aside. In his mind, his mother was holding him to an impossibly high standard. The actual schoolwork was not something he was terribly interested in, despite his mother's efforts.

"Well, OK. It's you who gets yelled at." In fact, Ginny actually felt a bit jealous of her brother, since she felt as being the only girl, their mother was coddling her too much. That, and with so many older brothers, her interests simply were not stereotypically female, despite her mother's best attempts.

"Oh, I remember! I have one comic still in my bag. It's about a superhero witch who speaks spells by talking backwards. Want to see?" Ron then remembered.

Ginny loved it when Ron shared these comics with her, even if she couldn't yet read them herself. "Oh yes!"

And off they were into the house.

Down in the town meanwhile, Arthur and Molly Weasly were talking to Ron's teacher.

"So, to understand you correctly, our Ron is smart but not a good student?" Arthur asked, hoping he'd understood correctly.

They had been told by the teacher that they needed to talk about their son's achievements in school so far. Having already expected this, they had followed the offer. What however had surprised them were the conclusions the teacher had come to. They had not thought of the problem having such roots.

"Yes. Your son is quite intelligent, no doubt about that, but his intelligence manifests itself in a way that is not very practical for the theoretical schoolwork," the teacher explained. "Ron is a good student when it comes to practical things, but topics like learning math he quickly gets bored with. He did not take learning how to read as serious as he should have until being shown a comic book by another student, which he of course couldn't read yet."

Truth to be told, she found the Weasley parents to be a bit odd, especially the father. They both had a somewhat eccentric fashion taste - though that was nothing to three years ago, when their twins had started school. They were nice people, but felt a bit out of place in this environment. They also didn't seem comfortable with being here.

She then continued. "Ron mentioned his oldest brother is teaching him chess and I humored him. Considering how well he plays for a six-year old, that was the moment where I truly understood the real problem, and it's not his intelligence at all."

"What do you suggest we do to give him proper motivation to apply himself? My usual ways have been rather fruitless. Scolding Ron didn't seem to impress him too much," Molly said, remembering the way Ron's eyes glazed over when she did so.

"I would suggest the carrot and stick approach." Seeing blank looks, the teacher felt she needed to explain. "Tell Ron that for good results in school, he gets something he likes, while for bad results he has to do something he dislikes. Then, once that does show the intended results, slowly make reward and punishment rarer, until he doesn't need them anymore."

"So you mean we motivate him to show the correct behavior until he does it on his own?" Mr. Weasley asked, barely managing to keep down his curiosity about all the things he'd seen this day so far.

The teacher knew they had understood what she was trying to explain. "Basically, yes. Children like him don't react well to being forced to do something they don't like. So you need to give him a good reason why he should apply himself on his own accord."

Mrs. Weasley already got several ideas of things Ron liked and disliked. Hopefully, it would work as intended, otherwise she was out of ideas.

o

Sitting in the garden under the shade of a tree, Hermione Granger was trying to read the storybook that would be used next school year for reading competence. It was not that she had trouble reading the book - if anything it was a bit too easy for her - but that she had difficulties to concentrate. That was, because many things were going through her young mind.

Finally setting the book aside, the girl allowed her unhappiness to show itself.

On one hand, school was great as she was learning a lot. Learning how to read had opened up a completely new world to her in books. Books were filled with many interesting things she had not imagined, opening her eyes to a much wider world. The other things she was learning at school also were interesting and came easy to her. That however also was where her problems started.

The other students had started to dislike her due to her being so smart. She had seen their jealous looks whenever she did something easily while they needed more time for the same task, or whenever she answered a question first and then would get praised by the teacher. That dislike in turn allowed them to find other things about her they didn't like, such as her very bushy hair or the overbite she was starting to develop due to her beginning permanent dentition.

This is unfair! They don't like me only because I have an easier time learning than they do! she pouted silently.

On the other hand, she felt hurt that the other students were avoiding her or making fun of her. After all, she still was a six-year old girl and wanted to fit in. However, besides these troubles, she felt it difficult to understand the other girls. They giggled a lot and were so gaga about things like talking ponies or sticker books. She simply felt no real attraction to such things, though her parents seemed a bit concerned about it.

Why are the other girls even liking these things? she wondered, not seeing the appeal.

She felt a bit detached from the other students, like there was an invisible wall between them, which had nothing to do with them disliking her smarts. It was incredibly frustrating for the girl, especially as she watched the friendships formed between the other students. That was something she wanted as well, but had no idea how to get.

Watching their daughter from the open terrace doors, Ian and Jean Granger again felt their concern rise.

"She looks unhappy," Ian said, feeling he had failed their daughter in some way.

"You remember what her teacher told us about how Hermione could have easily skipped a grade? And then how she told us the reason why she didn't even entertain the idea of mentioning this to the administration?" Jean asked her husband.

He grimaced a bit. "Yes, the way she laid it out was quite direct. If Hermione already has such problems in her actual age group, how would the older students react to suddenly have a young 'genius' in their class? That would end very badly."

Truth to be told, Hermione always had been a curious child. She had always wondered what certain things are and asked many questions. Now that she had learned how to read, it looked like she had turned to books to satisfy her thirst for knowledge. However, much to their dismay, Hermione's social abilities didn't seem to grow like her intellect. She'd grown awkward and didn't even seem to notice how showcasing her abilities rubbed the other students the wrong way.

"Yes, and we also know how her reaction would be, should we even suggest moving her to a school for the gifted," Jean added, having imagined it.

"She would never accept it. She doesn't want special treatment," Ian answered, knowing how stubborn their daughter could be. "As admirable as that attitude is, it won't help her with this."

"So there's nothing at all we can do?" Jean didn't like hearing that.

Ian shook his head. "Nothing as long as she insists on not changing schools, which she will never do. I fear the best we can do is to soften the blow and do our best she does not retreat from the world."

It did leave them dissatisfied that there wasn't much they could do to help their daughter though this difficult time in her life. Hermione was different from the other children, she herself had noticed that but was clueless about why the other children reacted badly to it. There were things you could tell a six-year old girl a thousand times, and she still wouldn't follow the advice.

Hopefully, things would get better in the future.

---

...Hogwarts, July 4th 1986...

With all students being away for the summer, a calm peace normally would settle over Hogwarts. However, this summer it was different. The teachers had been surprised when as soon as the students were away, construction crews arrived, turning parts of the school into busy construction sites, which needed care due to all the magic woven into the building.

The noise from the work however did not reach the great hall, its heavy oaken doors closed shut, bright sunlight pouring into it through the big windows. The house tables and benches however were missing from the hall for the time being, instead being replaced by a big circular table, big enough that all of the faculty - and that meant all of the adults working at Hogwarts - could take a seat at it.

"Headmaster, I'm pretty sure this rather unusual meeting is about the construction work going on in the school at the moment?" asked Filius Flitwick, the Charms professor and Head of House Ravenclaw, a man of quite short height due to his ancestry.

"Indeed, my dear Filius. However, while it's connected to my reasons, it's only part of something bigger," Dumbledore told him, looking into the round.

Almost all of the adults working at Hogwarts were present. First of course there were the various professors. Besides himself, Flickwick and McGonagall, there were the Herbology professor Pomona Sprout, the Potions Master Severus Snape, the Astronomy professor Aurora Sinistra, flying instructor Rolanda Hooch, the Arithmancy professor Septima Vector, the Magical Creatures professor Silvanus Kettleburn, the Muggle Studies professor Quirinus Quirrell and the Ancient Runes professor Bathsheda Babbling.

Even Sybill Trelawney, the Divination professor, was present, though she looked displeased with that fact and quite a bit uncomfortable. The only professor missing was Cuthbert Binns, the professor for History of Magic, but that was no problem, since the ghost probably would have been unable to follow anyway, being oblivious of anything outside of what he was teaching.

Besides the teaching staff, also present were the librarian Irma Pince, the school nurse Poppy Pomfrey, the caretaker Argus Filch and the gamekeeper Rubeus Hagrid. The abcence of a Defense professor wondered no one, since the witch who had held the position was now sitting in Azkaban, having been caught doing unmentionable things with underage students.

"Well, call me intrigued. After all, it looks like almost half the astronomy tower is being gutted," Professor Sinistra remarked, having been disturbed by the changes in what she saw as her domain.

"Yes, Aurora, very much so." Dumbledore then turned to McGonagall. "First let me tell all of your that what I will reveal was long in the making and and I confided all the details to Minerva, since having a second opinion is invaluable. To make it short, much change will come to Hogwarts, starting the next school year."

He turned to address everyone. "You all know that I retired from my position as the Supreme Mugwump. That is another part of the bigger picture. Several years ago I realized that I lost sight of my priorities and the school subsequently suffered. However, the further I thought about it, the more I realized that perhaps Hogwarts is not in the good position it once was."

"Is that the reason for your absences the previous two summers?" Professor Sprout asked, the Headmaster's absences during these summers being a big mystery among the faculty.

"Yes. During the first summer I visited various magical schools throughout Europe. It was revealing that the more progressive schools have started to move ahead of us in numerous aspects. To be honest, the visit to Beauxbatons had been especially humbling. However, I learned years ago that humility is perhaps the greatest virtue of all," the Headmaster explained.

There were several gasps when being confronted with the fact that their school had fallen behind. "Not good. Hogwarts always prided itself with being the best magical school in Europe," Professor Babbling pointed out.

"Yes, that would be quite embarrassing, should it become public," the Headmaster agreed. "By that time I was already setting things into motion, talked to the right people and generally freed the needed funding. Which, I have to admit, had been the truly difficult part. The previous summer I took an outside perspective and visited Muggle boarding schools. To say the least, it gave me interesting insights for even more improvements."

"So that is why there are construction crews ripping out walls and building new ones," Mr. Filch said, still looking horrified at the mess it created while petting his young cat Mrs. Norris.

"Be assured, Argus, that the crews will leave everything in pristine condition once they are done," the Headmaster reassured the caretaker, then addressed Professor Sinistra. "Aurora, the biggest construction site is, as you observed, the astronomy tower. You know the hassle Astronomy class is for students and you alike. I was impressed how other schools solved the issue, but what did inspire me was my visit to the London Planetarium."

Professor Sinistra as a trained astronomer of course knew what a planetarium was. "You mean...?" She felt it difficult to ask.

"Yes, it will work a lot like the echantment on the ceiling of this very hall, only that precise alterations are possible. This not only solves many of the problems by making class independent of the weather and moving it to a more convenient time, but also gives our school something new to show." The Headmaster clearly was pleased. "Though, sadly, of course not all things I planned I managed to get approved."

McGonagall sighed. "And it's such a pity that some quill-pushers prevented that of all things. It would have been such a relief for all of us."

Dumbledore sighed, regretting the stubbornness of the Ministry on that point. "Minerva is talking about the fact I did plan for the school to have an full administrative staff to take that burden off our shoulders. Alas, for some reason the Hogwarts Board objected to that point, as well as the school having more than one professor for each of the subjects. They however did approve me having a personal secretary, thus why the corridor leading to the gargoyle guarding my office is rebuilt to an anteroom."

"Such a shame..." Professor Quirrel sighed, clearly speaking for everyone involved.

"Yes, but perhaps I can try again in some years." The Headmaster then decided to get the big one out of the way first. "Now, the biggest change without doubt will be, that the system of house points will be abandoned."

Stunned silence greeted him. That was no wonder, since all of them had experienced said system in their own school years and had given and taken countless points over the years. To see something they took for granted suddenly be gone was almost unthinkable.

Finally, Professor Vector voiced the concerns of the others. "Headmaster, this is quite a substantial change. The point system has been part of Hogwarts for centuries. It also does raise the question of the House Cup, how to award students and to maintain discipline."

"Yes, the point system is an old tradition we all grew up with. However, as I learned, just because something has been around for a long time does not have to mean it's existence is still justified. I leave it to Minerva to explain, as she had a very compelling argument why the point system has become more of a hindrance," Dumbledore said, then nodded to McGonagall to take over.

"Thanks, Albus." She then explained the reasoning. "The point system originally was implemented to foster competition between the houses and create social pressure to behave with the motto 'I won't punish you, no, I'll punish your entire house'. However, by now the system has shown its weaknesses."

McGonagall didn't look happy about her findings, that was clear. "What was intended as healthy competition between houses has devolved into battle lines and only serves to cause friction between the houses. By now there are students who actually see it as a badge of honor to cause their own house to lose points, and they don't care about social pressure. Individual merits no longer shine through; going under in the house points. And as much as I dislike to admit it, the point system is inviting being abused by teachers who dislike certain students."

Snape didn't say one word, but he knew that the final point was meant to mean him as well. He was however at least honest enough to admit that yes, he was misusing the point system for his own ends. As for students not caring for the points, he felt James Potter and his little gang had been prime examples of that behavior, so he did see the point.

"Therefore the hourglasses in the entrance hall will remain purely for historical value. Students will be encouraged to work hard and go beyond what's expected by the fact, that instead of the House Cup, individual merits will be awarded at the end of the year. Group efforts also will be awarded, and are encouraged, especially if the group has members from more than one house," McGonagall explained further.

"Yes, but what about discipline?" Argus Filch snorted, this being his favorite topic. "The punishments you give don't seem to be much effective anymore and now you're robbing yourself of one big way. These little snots get more daring each year ever since you abolished caning in 1973."

"We all know you would love nothing more than to hang students from these chains of yours," Professor Flitwick remarked.

"And you know like everyone else, these are just for show to scare the living daylights out of these little shits! I'm not stupid enough to get locked up for using them," Filch snorted, leaving unsaid he still felt broken over no longer being able to give out canings for misbehavior.

"Then it will interest you, that the disciplinary situation will be addressed next, Argus," Dumbledore said, and got the attention of the caretaker. "You noted that the students not exactly take the punishments seriously any longer. While I won't re-introduce corporal punishment, there will be a new catalog of punishments."

"Excuse me if I'm skeptical," Filch said, scratching Mrs. Norris behind the ears.

"Oh, your skepticism will leave. After all, I decided to make you the school's full-time disciplinarian," the headmaster said.

Filch stopped his attentions to Mrs. Norris. "Headmaster...?"

Dumbledore knew, he now had the man's attention. "Argus, everyone knows you are not happy with your duties, and since you already spend a considerable time with discipline anyways, this will be your full-time job now. This has the advantage that you don't want the goodwill of the students anyway and you get into a position of authority. All punishments outside of detentions will be your responsibility and don't worry about them hexing you, we have prepared something."

"Headmaster, I don't know what to say..." For Filch as a squib to get into such a position of power over magical students was almost surreal. "What kind of punishments are we talking about?"

"Oh, I let myself inspire; some of it is constructive, some simply exists to show the malefactors the error of their ways. One of the harsher ones for example is cleaning the great staircase with a toothbrush for several hours." He knew he got the man hooked when seeing the look of anticipation.

"This is not the only disciplinary problem that will be addressed," McGonagall said. "It has become depressingly common for girls to enter the boys' dormitories." Seeing Flitwick, Sprout and even Snape nod in agreement, she continued "Therefore, from now on the same measures will be used for the dormitories of both genders in all houses, to keep the respective other gender out, plus a little extra to drive the point home."

"Good, this misuse of the trust that was given to the girls to not do it caused countless problems," Professor Sprout remarked, remembering numerous incidents where she had to shoo girls out of the boys' dormitories of Hufflepuff House.

"Well, they certainly will find other places to do what teenagers do. I don't have to remind everyone present of these incidents over the past years when the unexpected results hit them?" Madame Pomfrey asked.

No one answered, as they all knew what was meant. Over the course of the past five years, three girls managed to get pregnant due to blatantly ignoring the rules and also foregoing any kind of protection. That of course did result in the school being forced to expel these girls and the boys who did the deed, if they didn't leave on their own. These were affairs quite damaging to everyone involved - including the school itself.

"Headmaster, with your permission I would take it upon myself to show the students not only why they should be careful and how to prevent 'accidents', but also how these things work. Clearly, their families neglected to tell them these things. Now, normally I should only do this for the third years, but I think this year the older years need a refresher as well," Madame Pomfrey offered.

No one commented when the Headmaster gave his approval. After all, the school nurse would give sex ed and there was nothing to add to that.

"Another change I had to fight for are the new uniforms the students are going wear starting the next school year. I was a bit shocked how some of the bigger schools had abandoned robes some time ago. There also is the fact that a growing part of the student population is openly disliking them. Take a look at the new uniforms." The Headmaster used his wand to conjure the image of two generic students, a boy and a girl, wearing the new uniforms, which hovered above the table.

"You know that these uniforms will be met with the dislike of the pure-blood faction, don't you?" Snape commented, noting the great similarities to Muggle school uniforms. Even he had to admit they were tastefully tailored.

(Ed. Note: These are the movie uniforms from PoA onward, which you should know, only that instead of robes, the students have actual jackets they wear.)

"I know, but change never comes without its problems. The notifications about the change in uniform have already been sent to the parents of our students. We tried to be practical, while the uniforms of Beauxbatons are more tailored to impress others." The picture vanished. "Now however, we have to address the various subjects. Since Astronomy already has been discussed, we start with Divination."

"I do not see what is wrong with me teaching students the ways of the future," Professor Trelawney defended herself after having stayed silent the entire time. She looked especially offended when noticing some other other teachers barely holding back clearly biting comments.

"Sadly, Sybill, the students see that differently. The number of students choosing Divination as an elective is falling and you have a growing number of students leaving your subject. The reputation of the subject under you is not the best," the Headmaster informed her.

Now Trelawney really looked offended. "It is not my fault that they lack the inner sight or openness required."

"I won't cast judgment on you, but the Board sees it differently. They did listen to the complaints of former students about your subject and used me trying to improve Hogwarts to give me an ultimatum. Either the quality of your teaching does improve, or they will remove you. I sadly had to give them that power in order to reach my other objectives," Dumbledore explained to her.

Trelawney's eyes widened behind her thick glasses and she became paler than she already was. Her gift was the only thing she had to herself, otherwise she was a rather mediocre witch with no special talents. Add her alcoholism to it, and it became clear that applying for teaching Divination at Hogwarts had been a final attempt to achieve anything in her life. She had felt very secure in her position, but now it felt like the rug had been pulled from under her.

Deflating, she took off her thick glasses and gave the Headmaster a pleading look. "Please! How can I...?"

Dumbledore held up a hand to silence her. "Thankfully, I already found a solution. Someone from the Ministry will take over the subject for one year, while you will go into seclusion in the divination tower, to be apprenticed under Madame Flan. After that year, your performance will decide your future."

Trelawney was astonished, since Madame Flan from China was a well-known and respected seer. It made her wonder how the Headmaster had convinced her to do it. "I... I understand. I will open up myself to Madame Flan."

"Good. The next point is History of Magic. The complaints about that subject are substantial as well and the grades have suffered greatly over the years."

Everyone knew why that was. After Professor Binns had died in 1969 in his sleep, his ghost simply had went on to teach the subject, completely oblivious of the fact that he was dead. Many guessed this was because he had shown first signs of increased forgetfulness shortly before his death. Him being dreadfully boring and droning on mainly about goblin rebellions had soured many students on History. Ironically, the reason why he had not been replaced was simple: no one ever found it in their heart to tell the man that he was dead.

Seeing the looks he got, Dumbledore decided to be clear. "As cruel as it may sound, it is even more heartless to leave him oblivious of the fact that he is dead. I'm pretty sure, had he been aware of what was happening to him, he would have went on instead of staying. Should he decide to do so after he is made aware of his situation, I can hire a new teacher for the position."

Some looked sad at the fact that it mainly had been their own cowardice of not telling the ghost what happened to him that allowed this situation to fester for decades. Now that they were forced to think about it, actually giving the man the choice between staying and going on was the only humane way out of this situation.

"Good, I will reveal the truth to him after this meeting is over." Dumbledore hoped the truth would finally give Binns peace. "The next subject was brought to me by Silvanus. I give him the word."

"Thank you, Headmaster." The Care for Magical Creatures professor said. "As you all know, I've had an accident this year which cost me my lower left leg. I'm also getting on in years, so I really want to train a successor in time. I do have someone in mind, but there are a few problems..."

"Yes, a few problems..." Hagrid had been told in advance and everyone knew that Kettleburn really wanted the big man to succeed him. Sadly, reality had put some stumbling blocks in the way.

"Don't blame yourself, Hagrid. It's not your fault they wanted a scapegoat when that ugly thing happened forty years ago," Kettleburn reminded the big man.

That didn't cheer up Hagrid much. "Maybe... but I'm still on the books for it, am not allowed to use a wand and haven't even finished Hogwarts. Right now I'm hardly professor material..."

Dumbledore knew of all of this of course. To his great shame, he had never really tried, despite having the means for years, to clear Hagrid's name of the crime he'd not committed. Even more shameful, the idea hadn't even crossed his mind until Kettleburn had approached him. This treatment of a man who'd shown him nothing but complete loyalty reminded him painfully of Sirius' observation that he'd gotten his priorities wrong.

This is a long-term struggle with my errors. Thankfully I can correct this one now, before the old blood regains its prestige, he thought, then addressed Hagrid.

"Please do not worry about that, as I have already taken steps to rectify this situation. Some patience is needed, but I am already collecting evidence to resolve this problem." Seeing how Hagrid's mood visibly improved at these words, the Headmaster decided to announce the next topic. "Now, next, Defense and Potions are connected in the measures planned."

This made Snape look up, now giving the Headmaster his full attention. "Please go into more detail on that, Headmaster."

"Gladly, Severus, and we'll start with Potions first. During my meetings with the Board of Governors, complaints against you also were brought to me, though I was able to deflect them since your competence is out of question. Also, there were complaints that the low output of people with good Potions grades has become highly embarrassing for a school like ours. Still, before I go on, please describe in your own words the problems that you are facing."

For a moment Snape toyed with the idea of simply saying nothing, but the look the Headmaster was giving him made it clear that the time for games was over and the cards had to be put onto the table. "I have no patience for students not up to my standards. I can live with the NEWT classes, since they have the needed discipline, but teaching the younger children is a nightmare to me."

Dumbledore gave him a thoughtful look. "I think what you experience, is a chicken and egg problem. Due to your very high standards and genius, you expect the students to already have the needed knowledge, while as a teacher it would be your duty to first relay the basic knowledge to them. However, that is not the only problem plaguing you."

Snape now grimaced when being reminded of that little fact he now had to reveal to everyone. "The vast majority of House Slytherin does not respect me as its head. Partly it may be because of my age and partly due to my teaching standards, but the actual root cause is, that the parents of my house's pure-blood students - the majority I might add - have poisoned their children's opinion against me. To them I'm a traitor, after all, regardless of all and any facts."

No one added anything to that, knowing how it must have taken Snape real courage to admit it to them.

Dumbledore sighed. "Sadly, I have take partial responsibility that you have found yourself in such an unenviable situation. I had been too optimistic you could fill both positions easily. Thankfully, I'm fully confident that my attempt to get Horace to return will be successful... No, that does not mean I am going to replace you, since I know Horace will want non-monetary compensation for doing so."

That caused everyone to get interested, Snape most of all. "Please explain, Headmaster."

"I know Horace, he will not want to teach all years as the price for his return. Therefore, what I know he will accept, is, that for again leading House Slytherin and become Potions Master, you, Severus, will teach the NEWT classes to lessen his workload. That however also means you have to accept students with an E in their OWL."

Snape needed a moment to think about it. While he disliked lowering his standards, he knew that E-students from Slughorn should still be good. Also, the possibility that he would only have to teach the two oldest years was very tempting, as it meant goodbye to snot-nosed brats who needed an explanation for everything. He knew Slughorn wouldn't be able to resist having available more time to spin his net of favors.

"That would be... acceptable," he finally said.

"Good, and I will approach Horace soon. However, there still is the matter of Defense classes," Dumbledore reminded everyone. "Sadly, as I had to find out after some help from the Department of Mysteries, that position is indeed cursed and I have a good guess that it was by Voldemort himself."

There were some gasps and some of those present paled. Others grimaced, mainly Snape who disliked hearing the name for different reasons. The Headmaster was not happy with this reaction, though he had expected it. His Deputy was the only one not affected, and that was because she had heard it often enough from him to get desensitized to it.

McGonagall found it a bit embarrassing that adult people reacted like that, especially since that had been her reaction as well for a long time. "Honestly..."

"Nevertheless, it means that since the curse is interwoven into the magic of Hogwarts itself, they were unable to remove it. Please note however, that only the position of the Defense professor was cursed, not the subject itself. And no, abolishing that position will only ensure that the curse latches onto the next equivalent at the school."

He left unsaid that there were only two ways for the curse to be lifted: either Voldemort truly dies, or Voldemort removes it himself. That the curse was still active was yet another piece of the puzzle that Voldemort was not truly dead and all the evidence he'd collected up to this point was painting a rather dire picture.

"This is problematic. The quality of the subject has fallen greatly and the professors are becoming worse as well," Professor Vector thought aloud, remembering the fate of the various Defense professors.

That also was an open secret. Defense against the Dark Arts had become a joke in recent years due to the constant accidents or other unfortunate fates its professors suffered near the end of the year causing everyone competent to avoid applying for the position. By now the Headmaster had to resort to rather questionable candidates to keep the position filled. The other magical schools had made it clear they didn't take Defense at Hogwarts seriously.

"Sadly, the best we can do for the Defense position is to offer one-year-only contracts that end a week before the actual end of the school year. Perhaps that will satisfy the curse. It doesn't solve the quality problem, however, so we have to come up with ways that the students do the needed work on their own. However, the Headmaster has one solution to at least ensure our students leave with a good enough grasp of the subject," McGonagall explained.

"Oh yes, I do. Severus, this solution needs you agreement. My plan is, that the Defense professor only teaches the first four years, and then you take over for the final three years. It will not be official, and nominally the Defense professor is in charge, but practically you will have all the freedom to fix the damage done," the Headmaster told Snape.

Snape couldn't believe it. That was the job he had always wanted, and now there was such a simple solution for him to get it. Even better, he would not have to deal with little brats! However, he was careful. "Headmaster, I know there has to be a catch."

Dumbledore knew, Snape would ask that. "Yes, like with Potions, you have to accept E-students for NEWT classes. We can't allow ourselves to create a bottleneck after all the damage done."

While that hurt his high expectations, he could live with it. He then did the math. "I accept! However, without being a Head of House and having a significantly lighter class schedule, what am I supposed to do with so much time on my hands?"

"Oh, I'm sure you can find something. Perhaps you can finally do the potions experiments you never had time for? Maybe write a book to codify your knowledge for recognition?" the Headmaster suggested.

That made Snape remember something. "Can I be excused?"

"Of course, Severus. The details are nothing we can't relay to you later on," the Headmaster dismissed him.

Making his way to his normal Potions classroom, Snape was deep in thoughts. I can't believe I forgot about it. Good that the Headmaster mentioned writing books.

Entering the empty classroom, Snape walked to the corner cupboard. Opening it, he was confronted with a whole stack of Potions books. However, he knew it had be be there, he did remember putting it in there as per custom. Digging through the stack of books, he became more nervous with each book that he put aside. However, after outright vanishing a book someone had barfed on, he finally saw the item he was looking for.

It's still here. No one touched it. Looking through it, he saw all of his handwriting and he stopped at the entry that declared the book the property of the Half-Blood Prince.

Granted, his life would never be the same again, he would always be haunted by the consequences of his actions. He probably never would be truly happy again, but that didn't mean he could get at least get some satisfaction to make his miserable existence more tolerable. This book contained so much unique knowledge from his school years alone...

He still wanted recognition, and extracting all the information from this book was a certain way to gain it.

---

...some time later...

If asked later, those present would describe the confrontation in the teacher's lounge as perhaps the weirdest thing they had ever witnessed. One one side were most of the teachers, on the other most of the ghosts of Hogwarts. In the middle stood the Headmaster and the four House ghosts, and their focal point was the ghost of Cuthbert Binns, who seemed oblivious of those around him while muttering about various things connected to history.

"And it's been like this for each year ever since his death almost 20 years ago?" Dumbledore asked about Binns' strange behavior.

"Sadly, yes," the Grey Lady, the ghost of Ravenclaw, told him. "Unlike poor Myrtle, who simply is difficult, Binns is very much oblivious of his surroundings. He never socializes with the other ghosts, either. Outside of the school year, he is always floating through the castle, muttering about the content of his teachings."

"In fact, him being oblivious that he has died is unheard of. How could you not know you have expired?" Sir Nicholas of Gryffindor added. Everyone knowing him knew of his own death at the hand of an incompetent executioner with a blunt axe.

"It however would explain several things. I always thought that he was punishing himself for something, but to imagine he simply is unaware that the Lord is offering him refuge..." The Fat Friar of Hufflepuff looked very thoughtful at the implications.

"Nevertheless, this can no longer go on. Hopefully, he is still approachable in his current state." Dumbledore than put his attention on the still muttering Binns. "Cuthbert, this is the Headmaster speaking."

At first nothing happened, but after some moments, the ghost stopped muttering and then his eyes cleared up somewhat when he recognized the Headmaster. "Oh, pardon, Headmaster, I was already planning the next lessons and must have lost track of time. It must still be so new to you, having taken over the position mere three years ago."

That was not a good sign of Binns' memory. "Cuthbert, I will not take too much of your time, but there are some questions I need you to answer."

If anything, Binns started to look more confused and uncomfortable. Clearly, he was leaving his comfort zone, but nonetheless knew he had to agree. "Eh... certainly, Headmaster. How... can I help you?"

"First off, what year do you think it is?" Dumbledore asked.

The ghost looked confused. "1969, why do you ask?"

"Sadly, Cuthbert, it actually is 1986." Dumbledore knew, it had to be done, wrong compassion would only prolong the man's suffering. "Now, Cuthbert, would you mind shaking hands?"

"Certainly not, Headmaster. I still ... don't ... under..." He fell silent when his hand simply went through the Headmaster's hand. Now that his full attention was on it, unlike all the other times he went through stuff, he became aware of it. "I... I don't understand."

Dumbledore knew, now was the best moment. "Cuthbert... You died in 1969 and simply went through the motions without even noticing that you have died. No one dared to confront you with that awful truth. You need to make a decision now."

Binns' eyes by now had fully cleared up and it seemed like the first time in almost two decades he became fully aware of his surroundings. "I never noticed... I never wanted it to be this way..." He then put his attention back to the Headmaster, looking surprisingly calm. "Headmaster, it had been an honor to work for you, but now it's time for me to retire... to move on."

"You deserve it, Cuthbert. Good look on whatever awaits you."

"School is out for me... forever." He started to fade away. "Yeeeesssss..." Then his voice faded as well and he was fully gone.

The other ghosts were flabbergasted. Could it really be that easy to release yourself from your existence as a ghost? That caused intense discussion between them and the Fat Friar was especially sought after due to his views on the afterlife. All of a sudden things they had taken for granted were in question. And the Bloody Baron... he looked acutally sad and depressed, as if these news only made things worse for him.

However, the one ghost not discussing was the Grey Lady, and that was because the Headmaster had approached her. "My Lady, there is another matter I need your help with..."

"Certainly, Headmaster. How may I help you?" she asked.

"There is another ghost in this castle that does need help. However, I fear with her it will be more difficult," Dumbledore told her.

The Grey Lady knew who he was talking about. "Oh yes, the poor dear will be most difficult to approach."

o

I thought all the reports on her behavior were hyperbole, but I clearly misjudged how unpleasant she is to others, Dumbledore thought, while noticing that she finally was losing steam.

He had known it would be difficult to talk with Myrtle. From all he had gathered she was prone to emotional outbursts and ripping everything out of context, just so that she could feel offended and imagine herself as the victim. She also was described as really selfish and holding no regard for the feelings or needs of others. He was sure that at least some of it was simply due to the many bad experiences others had made with her.

Today had been a wonderful example, as approaching her, Myrtle had pretty much flown off the handle as soon as he had started the conversation with her and looked at everything through the lens that she was being victimized in one way or another. No wonder everyone had given up on trying to talk to her. Yet, he knew how to get through this massive tantrum of the spectral teenage girl.

It was simple: he had patience and could wait.

Of course it helped that he had used the magic of Hogwarts to isolate Myrtle in her bathroom and locked the water supply, so that she couldn't escape or cause mayhem. However, that still left her rantings, and those were bad enough. Yet, he endured, and after several hours it looked like Myrtle, who was used to getting her way or leaving, started to calm down, clearly being at a loss what to do next.

When Myrtle finally fell silent, looking utterly miserable, he finally spoke up. "You got this all out of your system now?"

While she no longer had a physical body, she nonetheless felt tired after such a long tantrum. Truth to be told, the Headmaster showing so much patience impressed the troubled ghost and she floated next to him. "No one ever showed me this much patience..."

"This is little wonder considering how you just acted is an example of your normal behavior," the Headmaster pointed out, seeing that it silenced her.

"Now, dear, let me ask you a question. What do you think of your current existence?" he asked her.

"I hate it!" Myrtle exploded. "I can't touch anything! I can't eat or drink! I'm unable to sleep! I even would give a fortune to use one of these toilets as intended!"

Listening, Dumbledore stayed calm. "Then, why did you chose to return as a ghost, if you hate it so much?"

Myrtle hesitated for a moment, but then admitted it. "Because I wanted to! That little slag Hornby had to suffer for making fun of me! I had lots of fun with it, until I was banished back here and was left with nothing but my own misery!"

"And what exactly did Miss Hornby do that so horrible, that you would not move on and instead terrorized her for years, until you were banished to Hogwarts by the Ministry?" Dumbledore asked calmly.

"She..." Myrtle's words died when she realized the only reason she had picked Hornby to torment, was, that she had been the last one to bully her before she had died. "She was the first who came to my mind after I died. Because of her I had locked myself in here."

"So, do you blame her for dying in this very place?" Dumbledore asked her.

"Of c..." Myrtle stopped herself and styled silent for some moments, before reluctantly admitting "No. She did not kill me, after all."

"Now, try to tell me: was she still the same after she found your dead body in this very room?" the Headmaster continued.

Myrtle remembered laughing at Hornby's shock at finding her dead body. After that moment, she never had lost a thought to how the girl had changed after that event. The formerly attention-grabbing girl had become quiet and withdrawn - actually a lot like she had used to be. Thinking about it now, terrorizing her for years didn't feel so great anymore.

"No, she wasn't. She became a lot like I used to be." Myrtle now realized something. "I stayed for that? I threw away my peace... for that?"

"I fear so. Also, you hardly did yourself any favors once you were forced to stay at Hogwarts. You would have been in a great position to befriend the students, but instead your behavior made them avoid you," the Headmaster told her, knowing she had to be confronted with the facts.

Confronted with these facts, Myrtle wanted to burst into tears. Yet, instead she just felt sad and depressed. "I'm stuck like this... I pushed them all away... Oh no, no, nooooo..." she sobbed in despair when realizing how she had made herself miserable.

Seeing that she now was ready, the Headmaster with a hand movement turned off the sealing of the room, and the Grey Lady floated in.

"Oh, you poor dear. You finally realized it, don't you?" the ghost of Ravenclaw told Myrtle with compassion.

Myrtle's eyes widened when the other ghost started to hold her. "B-but how?" It not exactly was touch, but it felt close enough for her.

"Oh, you poor girl. We are both ghosts; our natures are the same, so of course we in a way can touch each other. You were so distant from the other ghosts, it never came up." She held the ghost of the teenage girl close. "Just let it all out..."

Seeing Myrtle open up her heart to the Grey Lady, Dumbledore quietly left the bathroom.

Now was not the moment, but later on he would ask Myrtle about the circumstances of her death and if she was willing to help finally clearing Hagrid of these charges. It could be a form of closure to her, after all. He felt a bit ashamed that nothing had been done about Hagrid's situation, despite the whole thing standing on weak legs. It would have been easy to poke holes into the whole story.

Better late than never, though it doesn't lessen the guilt I feel, he thought while walking down the corridor.

---

...July 6th, the house of Horace Slughorn...

"You visiting me is quite a nice surprise, Albus. Make yourself comfortable in my humble domain," Horace Slughorn offered after Dumbledore had entered though the floo.

"Oh, thank you, Horace. I already knew you like to live in style, but this quite impressive," Dumbledore replied, stroking the man's ego a little. After all, he was very familiar with Slughorn's ego after decades of knowing him.

Also, it was not exactly flattery. He'd known for years that Slughorn had developed a taste for a style that had been modern in the Muggle world around 1900. It certainly looked high-quality and not tacky at all, if you exclude the prominent tiger skin on the floor. The most prominent feature of the opulent room however was the big piano - Slughorn always had a fable for playing a piece when he was bored.

"Oho, I did it with some help from someone I vetted who has started dealing with old furniture. You would not believe how much of it you can find on the Muggle market. Of course I only selected the best pieces," Slughorn said with quite some pride.

Watching the ex-professor while he was pouring both of them a drink, Dumbledore observed that his body language was not as energetic as it used to be. Indeed, despite looking pristine on first glance there were small signs that this was only an outer appearance and indeed not all things were great. That Slughorn's belly had grown a bit also was a hint that Dumbledore managed to interpret correctly.

"Ah, thank you, Horace," Dumbledore accepted the drink. "Things have been very busy at Hogwarts, lots of change, you know. So I felt visiting you for a relaxing conversation would do me some good."

"Oh really? I have to admit that I'm a bit out of the loop concerning Hogwarts. Please tell me more, Albus," Slughorn asked, barely managing to conceal his great interest.

And so Dumbledore started to tell him of the changes that were coming to Hogwarts with the next school year. The only thing he didn't mention were the plans for Potions. He did not do this to lie to Slughorn, however. Instead, Slughorn as a Slytherin to the core would have felt somewhat offended, had he told him straight away. No, this was all part of the game that Slughorn loved to play and Dumbledore knew, should he bait the hook well enough, Slughorn would agree.

When the Headmaster was finally done, Slughorn did look impressed. "My goodness, you are literally turning the school inside-out. And to think that these are not even all the changes you wanted to go through with... But of course red tape and bean counters are always an obstacle."

"Certainly, but I'm sure this can be overcome in several years. Though, now I am curious at how you have fared since you have left Hogwarts four years ago," Dumbledore asked, knowing this was the path to the kill.

Slughorn seemed to dim somewhat. "Well, I have done well for myself, as you can see. All my years of running the Slug Club have also paid off nicely and I have lots of time on my hands now..." Slughorn fell silent.

Dumbledore knew he already had him now. "Horace, I can see that you are not as happy as you thought you would be in retirement. Things are not working out as you thought they would?"

Slughorn sighed. "No, they don't. My contacts go far and wide due to decades of teaching them at school, but only now I realize being retired means I can no longer add anyone new. Finding new upcoming talents had always been the fun part. I'll be honest with you, Albus, I'm very much bored as well. Retirement has not worked out in the way I thought it would. If I could, I would take the chance to return to teaching."

Ah, he has pretty much asked me if there is a chance. Now to show him the lay of the land. "Oh, I didn't want to mention it to you at first, but things are not going well with House Slytherin at the moment," Dumbledore revealed, this being the next bait.

"Really? Please tell me, how are things with my old House?" Slughorn asked.

And this was exactly what Dumbledore did. He gave the man an uncensored rundown of the problems that Snape was having with Slytherin, and how essentially it all boiled down to them not respecting him. He also made sure to sprinkle in mentions of how Potions class at Hogwarts had suffered in recent years. This all also was part of the game.

"My dear, I had no idea it could become this bad!" Slughorn said dramatically. "Alright, Albus, you can stop pretending. I knew right from the start that you were here to see if you can tempt me into returning to teaching. Seeing how bad things have gotten and all the exciting changes happening at Hogwarts, I am inclined to agree. Of course with some conditions."

Dumbledore knew he now only had to show Slughorn the final bait and it would be a done deal. "We already thought ahead of this, Horace. Besides a salary raise, You no longer have to teach the NEWT classes, as this will be done by Severus. This should give you plenty more time for your other activities."

Seeing Slughorn brighten up at the idea of more money for less work and more time for his vetting activities, he knew he got his man. "This sounds fabulous! Show me the way to your office, we have to put this into writing right now!"

This is Horace as I know him, the Headmaster mused while throwing some powder into the fireplace.

---

...August 12th, Ministry of Magic...

Hagrid barely held back his joy when the court was dismissed after the final verdict. It had been a long way to this point but now it finally was over and done with.

Granted, the path to this point had been long and hard, as in order to get through the prejudice against him, the Headmaster needed to have to present a very good case. Hagrid was moved at how many troubles the Headmaster went through to do so. That he went through all this trouble, despite the fact he could just have chosen a different successor for Kettleburn, was still somewhat baffling to Hagrid.

The biggest surprise perhaps was the third... person involved with this trial.

Hagrid did not know all the details, but somehow Moaning Myrtle wasn't moaning so much anymore and her attitude had improved a lot. Somehow, the Headmaster had convinced her to speak on his behalf and explain exactly what happened the day she died over 40 years ago. She also looked different - somehow she managed to exchange her spectral school robes for a spectral version of the new uniform that got introduced. Hagrid didn't even want to think about the mechanics behind that.

Nevertheless, it must have been quite a chore for the Headmaster to get them to lift Myrtle's restrictions temporarily so that she could attend the trial as a witness. After all, no one had said that a witness needed to be alive.

The trial itself had been very interesting.

He'd left most of the talking as agreed to Dumbledore, since the man clearly knew what he was doing. Even during the trial there had been lots of opposition to re-open what many saw as already ancient history, not to speak of the underlying racism involved. However, the Headmaster had proven to be very level-headed and made the argument that this can hardly be seen as irrelevant, if two of the people most affected where present.

Of course many had then expected him to use emotional appeals, since many knew of his connection to the Hogwarts gamekeeper. However, they couldn't have been more wrong. Dumbledore had instead first laid bare that essentially Hagrid being blamed for everything had solely being on the word of one student without any evidence at all. It was thus pretty obvious Headmaster Dippet had simply waited for someone to blame the whole mess on.

That had been followed with actual evidence from their own side, that it couldn't have been Hagrid.

First had been a memory from Hagrid that showed everyone what exactly he had bred in the form of Aragog, as well as confirmation from an expert that not only would death by an Acromantula would have meant death by violence - while Myrtle's body had been spotless - but also that Aragog at that time had been way too small to be of any danger to people, not to speak that his venom wouldn't have developed for a whole year. Aragog simply couldn't have killed Myrtle.

Of course some had argued that breeding a dangerous creature was proof enough - even though they fell under no ban - but that was when Hagrid under voluntary use of truth serum admitted that while Aragog indeed had become a good friend, the Acromantula growing bigger had become a problem and he had planned to ask for the help of a professor, before things had gotten out of control.

Myrtle's description of her death finally did it, as she described a rather high-pitched male voice in the bathroom, and that the teenage boy certainly had not been Hagrid, before describing the yellow eyes that caused her to die instantly. She also confirmed when being presented with another memory from Hagrid, that the boy she had seen indeed had been Tom Marvolo Riddle.

The revelation from an expert that it all points to a basilisk being the cause of death had caused unrest, which only grew when the Headmaster revealed that only a snake-speaker could control one, and that Tom Riddle actually was the legal name of Lord Voldemort. By the end there had been no other choice than to clear Hagrid of all charges and return the right of wand to him.

"I still can't believe it's over..." Hagrid said while people started to leave.

"Well, Rubeus, it certainly had been an uphill battle, but now that injustice is finally over and nothing stands in the way of your dream," Dumbledore reassured the big man.

Hagrid liked hearing that, then sighed. "Well, apart from several years of training from Kettleburn and catching up on schoolwork."

"No one said the path to success is easy, yet if you prevail, you will be very prepared." Dumbledore then saw something. "Interesting."

Both men watched Myrtle talking to a witch who they guessed was in her late fifties. Hagrid had no idea who it could be, while Dumbledore made the connection. It seemed that the Grey Lady had done wonders with Myrtle, as the ghost girl's body language spoke of shame and regret. It took several minutes, before the witch gave Myrtle a final nod and walked over to the Ministry officials.

"What was that about?" Hagrid asked while Myrtle waited for the witch to return.

"That's Olive Hornby, the woman that bullied Myrtle during their time in school and in return was tormented by Myrtle after her demise until making the Ministry restrict her to Hogwarts. For Mytrle to be able to attend, her presence was needed as well," Dumbledore explained.

Both men watched Hornby return to Myrtle after a few minutes and after some exchanged words, they parted ways, Myrtle floating to them.

"She did not exactly forgive me... Though she did believe me enough that I won't bother her to tell the Ministry to not renew my banishment." Myrtle hadn't had any illusions that she would be forgiven and it already was a success that her banishment had been lifted.

"The Grey Lady did a small wonder..." Hagrid remarked.

"I still have much to learn from her and I can never repay her enough for her help. Still, I'm off to Hogwarts, exploring the castle while it's still empty." She then whisked away.

"I think all girls will be happy you managed to stop her moping. The things I heard over the years were not exactly encouraging," Hagrid remarked, taking hold of his umbrella before both men left to make their way to Diagon Alley.

"Yes, especially since that bathroom finally can be used by them again without issue. Though it's still puzzling why exactly Tom and the basilisk were there in the first place," Dumbledore said.

Hagrid shrugged. "Don't think we'll ever know."

Indeed, after Myrtle's initial recounting of the events, he had gathered several specialists and fine-combed the bathroom. However, apart from a small snake scratched into the tap of an out-of-order faucet, they had found nothing. Sadly, the stones in that part of the castle were especially laden with magic - not even a ghost could stick their head into these walls. Aside from ripping out all the walls and the pipes in them - something they couldn't do since it would be prohibitively expensive - that bathroom was a dead end for the time being.

Entering a public floo, they both re-appeared in Diagon Alley and quickly made their way to Ollivander's wand shop. Entering, they saw that Mr. Ollivander was already waiting for them. "Welcome. Now this is a visit I did not expect to ever happen."

"I won't ask how you knew to wait for us. After all, we are all entitled to our secrets," Dumbledore remarked. Ollivander was one of the few people who could keep up with him in terms of being an eccentric.

"Ah, yes. Oh, and news travels fast. I do remember the wand I gave to you, Mr. Hagrid. Oak, sixteen inches, rather bendy. Sad, sad that such a specially-made wand would get snapped like that." Mr. Ollivander looked truly sad at the thought.

Hagrid looked unsure, but then saw the Headmaster giving him a nod. Reaching into his umbrella, he pulled out a wand that easily was twice the size of normal wands. He then offered it to the gaping Ollivander, who quickly took hold of it and inspected every inch of the wand.

"I never forget a wand I sell and I recognize my craftsmanship. Oak, sixteen inches, rather bendy. This is exactly the wand I did sell you all these years ago, but it's in perfect condition." Looking up, Ollivander saw Dumbledore give him a meaningful look, and he understood. "But who am I to ask? After all, everyone is entitled to their secrets."

He then returned it to Hagrid. "Now, give it a try to see if it is working properly." Hagrid waved the wand in an arc and a rainbow emerged, which faded after some moments. "Wonderful, it's indeed in perfect condition!"

"Very good, though that also means you have to re-learn many things as well, now that you are allowed to again use a wand," Dumbledore reminded Hagrid.

Hagrid didn't mind. Doing adult education beside his job training was worth it, if it meant getting the job of his dreams.

---

...September 1st...

"Don't worry, Ginny dear, you will quickly get used to school," Molly Weasley told her only daughter while escorting her to the school for her first day.

"If you say so, Mum..." Ginny didn't sound like she believed her mother.

Molly didn't want to show it, but part of her hoped that being around so many girls her own age would be a good influence on her daughter. Even at the age of five, Ginny already was showing signs that growing up with six older brothers was having quite an influence on her. Ginny's interest in things that were seen as traditionally female was rather small. While Molly wouldn't love her any less, the thought of Ginny becoming a tomboy started to bother her.

She is the first female Weasley born in generations, and yet... she wanted to sigh aloud.

Taking a look at Ginny's school uniform, she thanked all goodness they were able to afford it. With the change of uniforms at Hogwarts, Bill and Charlie needed new outfits. Thankfully, the uniforms were rather affordable - actually more reasonably priced than the school robes were. She couldn't have known that manufacture of the uniforms had been given to a Muggle clothing factory, thus the lower prices.

"Are you still uncomfortable in the skirt?" she asked her daughter, knowing Ginny liked wearing trousers.

Ginny grimaced when being reminded of why she didn't like skirts too much. "It's drafty down there."

Molly knew it mainly was simply Ginny being used to wearing trousers because despite her having a number of feminine clothes, she also owned quite a number of hand-me-downs from her older brothers due to the financial situation of the family. She knew, with time Ginny would get used to skirts, but it couldn't be helped right now.

"Oh, look who we have here!"

Ginny's mood brightened significantly when seeing one of her few friends being escorted to school by her parents. Her friend also seemed uncomfortable in the uniform, albeit for different reasons. Ignoring her mother, Ginny dashed to Luna Lovegood, feeling the day had just gotten a lot better. She had not known if Luna would visit the school as well, as the other girl had been frustratingly tight-lipped about it.

"Ah, Xenophilius, Pandora! So you did decide to send little Luna to public schooling after all?" Molly asked the couple, who were one of three magical families in the area, the third being the Diggorys.

"Oh yes, Molly! Xeno and me felt that this is an experience she shouldn't miss after seeing how your children gain from it," Mrs. Lovegood said, not even bothering with hiding her excitement.

Truth to be told, many in the magical community saw the Lovegoods as quite the eccentrics.

The Lovegoods were the owners of the Quibbler, an esoteric magazine that often printed weird conspiracy theories and wild guesses that couldn't be further from the truth. Nobody took the Quibbler seriously, but some saw great entertainment value in it, if your expectation was to read outlandish claims. That they owned a house in the town itself and tried to integrate themselves into the community only added to the picture of a strange family.

Watching Ginny talk to Luna, while the other girl just listened patiently with a slight smile, Molly knew it would be seen as fully in-character for them to send their daughter to a non-magical school. She also was not surprised that the couple was following their example - only in their case it wasn't out of necessity.

"Now, now. You two don't want to be later on your first day, do you?" Mr. Lovegood told the girls.

Some time later, Ginny and Luna were sitting next to each other in the classroom while listening to the teacher welcoming them after the official ceremony. Well, Luna didn't look like she was listening with the slightly dreamy look she had, but Ginny knew better. The blond girl liked to throw off others by appearing disconnected from her surroundings, but in reality she was very observant and intelligent.

Though, that sadly also made it difficult for her to make friends. Ginny knowing her since she could remember was perhaps the main reason why she understood Luna so well. Hopefully, these character traits wouldn't make life too difficult for Luna at school.

Ginny of course did not notice that Luna was observing her friend.

o

The new first years at Hogwarts gaped in fascination at what was waiting for them when Hagrid and McGonagall escorted them into the entrance hall of the castle. They barely listened to the Professor's speech, since, after all, this was for many of them the first time they saw a ghost. To make it even better, this ghost girl seemed to be a student as well when looking at what she was wearing. As soon as the adults had left, their curiosity got the better of them and they bombarded her with questions.

"Easy, easy! I won't go anywhere!" the ghost said. Seeing as it calmed them down, she continued "Hello, I'm Myrtle, and as you can all see, I'm a ghost. I'm here to keep you company until you can enter the great hall. If you have questions, ask me one at a time."

It had taken some persuasion, but the other ghosts had agreed that it would be better to wait in the great hall so that they wouldn't scare the new students, and instead have the now much nicer Myrtle greet the new students. After all, she was someone they could relate to and she didn't look scary at all.

This is a better way at greeting them than that pest Peeves. Thank all goodness he is no longer here. As much as I have decided to better myself, I simply can't get myself to feel sorry for him after decades of him bullying me, Myrtle thought.

The funny thing was, no one had actively aimed to get rid of Peeves. As it turned out, Peeves was a manifestation of some of the castle's magic which had been stuck in some kind of knot. Due to the construction work, this knot somehow got untangled and Peeves just... vanished. No one however was sad about it, considering how much of a disruptive force Peeves had been; if anything, many were relieved that he was gone.

They were right, this feels great, she thought while patiently answering questions. She remembered how confused she had been when she had started school at Hogwarts, thus being helpful felt even better.

Inside the great hall, the older students were waiting.

"You know, Bill, there definitely is more going on than just the new uniforms, though I'm glad they finally got rid of those robes and the hats that no one would wear," Charlie Weasley told his older brother Bill while they both sat at the Gryffindor table.

Bill Weasley could only agree, again checking out his new and very comfortable uniform and the shiny Perfect badge pinned to his uniform jacket. "Yes, I always hated these robes and even went so far to buy some shorts from a Muggle cycling shop, just to feel less drafty down there. Thank all goodness we now have actual trousers. Though some people obviously don't like this change."

Bill's comment clearly was aimed at the children from more conservative - some say outright racist - pure-blood families, who made no secret of how much they disliked the new uniforms. Clearly, they felt offended by the fact that the new uniforms were based on those from Muggle schools. Their bigoted parents after all taught them that people without magic were sub-human.

"Though, you are right. While lots is the same, I noticed that something was wrong with the point hourglasses. They all seemed stuck at half the gems at the bottom," Bill observed. "That, and there seems to be some change with the teachers."

"I know what you mean. There are three new ones; the one that looks like an overweight walrus, the one with the glasses who looks like Percy could look like in thirty years and that nervous witch who looks like she wants to be somewhere else," Charlie observed. "Take three guesses who of them pulled the short stick and got Defense."

Right then the doors opened to start the sorting.

All girls present started whispering when seeing Moaning Myrtle escort the first years inside. Apart from the fact that she somehow now was sporting the new uniform for girls, her presence and calmness was confusing them. Many of them had made bad experiences with her, generally using her bathroom before knowing how awful she was. The girls wondered what this was about.

At the Hufflepuff table, third-year Dora Tonks - she decided to stick with this shortened name and everyone accepted it - felt like groaning. Great, just when I was happy with the new uniform no longer making me look like I'm wearing a potato sack, I'm reminded of her.

Dora's experience with Myrtle in her first year had been worse than that of other girls, as she'd used the very toilet Myrtle had retreated into for one of her moaning sessions. This had resulted in Myrtle following her for almost two hours to complain to her for being peed and shat upon, for many to hear. Dora never before had felt so humiliated, and perhaps that was what Myrtle had aimed for.

What did she expect, spending her time in a toilet? she thought.

Thankfully, the sorting proceeded without any problem and nothing of of the ordinary happened, apart from the fact that the Sorting Hat looked like it had been thoroughly cleaned and repaired. It certainly sounded happier when singing its song. There however was a difference when Dumbledore went to the announcements before the food arrived. Clearly, it had to be important.

To say that everyone was floored when hearing of all these changes was an understatement.

Having listened to all of it, both Wesley brothers couldn't help but to whisper. "Man, I'm glad to have no more Snape for two years. But Filch as school disciplinarian? Yikes!"

"Yes. And no more point system? That will take time to get used to. They are certainly turning the school inside-out- Boy, we do have to write Mum and Dad as fast as possible," Bill remarked.

At the Huffepuff table, Dora was floored as well. "Have I heard this all correctly?" she asked her friends.

Hearing the positive answers, Dora whistled. "OK, looks like we returned to quite a different Hogwarts than the one we left. I can't wait to write my parents and tell them what's going on. Or better, Uncle Sirius."

The starting feast then proceeded.

Hours went by.

At almost eleven in the night, activity happened. Sixth-year Samantha Rogers, wearing little more than a nightdress, felt that now it was late enough that no one else was awake in Gryffindor tower. Her boyfriend had promised to wait outside the door of his dorm room and she just would have to walk up the stairs to meet him - after all, he hardly could meet her at her door.

Walking downstairs, the common room was deserted, only bathed in the orange glow coming from the fireplace. Then walking up the stairs of the male side of the tower, she started to get a strange feeling, that she should not do so. Dismissing it as just nerves, she continued her track - at least, until suddenly the stairs transformed into a slide!

"What the #* §?!" she cursed while sliding down, before landing on her butt.

-riiiing riiiing riiiing-

"Uh-oh!" she gasped when hearing a bell going off, probably waking up the entire tower. She tried to get up, only to realize it was like her butt was glued to the floor.

It was several minutes later, and being surrounded by annoyed, cursing students who got pulled out of their sleep, that Professor McGonagall arrived. Judging by her dressing gown and hairnet, not to speak of her annoyed expression, she clearly was not in a good mood. Then, and only then, could the girl get off the floor.

"You didn't really think you could sneak into the boys' dormitories, do you, Miss Rogers?" McGonagall asked the girl.

"What happened? I thought...?" Rogers was unable to finish her thought.

McGonagall gave her a disappointed look. "That only the girls' side is protected against the other gender? Well, considering how often girls felt they could do the opposite, we decided to treat both genders equally. That, and we wanted to make sure the lesson sticks. Of course we didn't announce that. I'm not exactly happy being woken up by the bell right on the first night, so better prepare to meet Mr. Filch tomorrow for your punishment."

Samantha Rogers felt like bursting into tears at the thought.

to be continued...

Next Episode:

"Times of Growth"

---

Notes:

Here the notes.

As you probably noticed, in this chaper the other characters took a backseat and this one is more about Hogwarts itself and the many changes it goes through. This is another BIG change and will ripple into the future. However, we still see a bit more of the future protagonists and their lives, with Ginny and Luna having entered the story now.

As said in the note in the story, these are the movie uniforms from PoA onward, only with actual jackets instead of robes. I hope this comes over as a believable way to switch to a Hogwarts dress style that's more well known than what's written in the books.

As I said, I'm not into bashing, my treatments of Snape and Trelawney should show that. Hell, I even gave Filch something better to do and show that himself knows there are red lines he shouldn't cross, all without making him less unpleasant

I also used the chapter to plug some really strange plot hole from the original books, I hope I did well with that..