Chapter 14

September 2nd, 1998.

Night One, complete. Hermione woke up around 6:30 before her alarm went off. It had been over a year since she had spent time in a dormitory, and she had gotten used to having privacy. At least getting up early meant she'd have the bathroom to herself for a little while.

After a shower she pulled her hair back, put on some makeup, and made sure she was ready for the day. When she re-entered the dormitory from the bathroom she saw that her roommates had started to wake up. She changed into her uniform, and started packing her school bag. Thankfully these next few days would be light due to the new syllabus days.

"Are you ready to go down stairs?" Hermione asked Ginny.

"As long as we are headed to breakfast. I need caffeine."

"Me as well. If I don't have tea or coffee there is no way I'll get through the day."

"To breakfast?" Ginny asked.

"To breakfast." Hermione agreed.

They went down the stairs and entered the common room. Surprisingly Harry, Ron, and some firsties were awake. "Good Morning. Are you all ready to head down to the Great Hall?"

"Yes. I need some caffeine." Harry said. "Mione, you got me hooked on morning tea, and now I can't function without it."

Hermione chuckled. "Hey firsties, if you'd like an escort down to the Great Hall you're more than welcome to walk with us."

The small group of first years fell in line behind Hermione. They followed her every move down to the Great Hall. As though they were memorizing the route to not get lost. They made it to the Great Hall just as breakfast appeared on the tables at 7:30.

Hermione, Ginny, Harry, and Ron took their usual seats at the Gryffindor table. They all had the tea they were craving before they engaged in any conversation. Once Hermione finished her tea, she tried to get a read on the tone in the room. It definitely was more quiet, and forlorn than it had been in years past.

"Was it like this last year?"

"Yes, and no." Ginny responded. "It was different. There was fear, a lot of fear. Detentions turned into torture, and with the way the Carrows were running things you could either be tortured, or forced to torture your friends."

"Holy shit."

"Yeah, it wasn't that great of a time. So far things just feel sad. We all know how much death there was. It's like Hogwarts is grieving with all of us."

"You're right. That's exactly what it feels like."

Before the pair could say anything further, Headmistress McGonagall started with her morning announcements. Hermione looked at her watch, 8am on the dot.

"Good morning. I hope you all had a restful night. We have a few more announcements to make this morning. First, as you finish your breakfast, your heads of house will start passing out your schedules. Once you have had time to look over your schedule we will move forward with announcements."

As Professor McGonagall finished her statement, Professor Lupin approached handing out schedules. Chatter increased as everyone started comparing schedules. Hermione began looking over her schedule.

Monday:

(Lecture Day) 9:00-9:45 Defense Against the Dark Arts (Prof. R.J. Lupin) 10:00-10:45 Charms (Prof. F. Flitwick) 11:00-11:45 Transfiguration (Prof. M. McGonagall) 13:30-14:15 Potions (Prof. J. Williams) 14:30-15:15 Herbology (Prof. P. Sprout)

Tuesday: 9:00-9:45 Arithmancy (Prof. S. Vector) 10:00-11:30 Defense Against the Dark Arts (Prof. R.J. Lupin) 13:30-15:00 Charms (Prof. F. Flitwick)

Wednesday: 9:00-10:30 Herbology (Prof. P. Sprout) 13:30-15:00 Potions (Prof. J. Williams) 15:30-16:15 Arithmancy (Prof. S. Vector)

Thursday: 10:00-11:30 Transfiguration (Prof. M. McGonagall) 13:30-14:15 Arithmancy (Prof. S. Vector)

Friday: (Lecture Day) 9:00-10:30 History of Magic and Magical Culture (Prof. A. Tonks) 10:45-12:15 Study of the Non-Magical World (Prof. E. Campbell)

She was thankful she had dropped Care of Magical Creatures, and Ancient Ruins. Her schedule was full enough that she wouldn't be bored, but not so full that she wouldn't be able to relax. The balance she was giving herself this year should finally give her a year without academic stress.

Ginny and Hermione started comparing schedules. They were taking many of the same courses, just in different year groups. The only major difference was Ginny preferred Ancient Ruins over Arithmancy, while Hermione liked the numbers side of things more.

"Now that we all have our schedules, let's discuss how the syllabus days will be managed. This week we will not follow your daily schedule. If you look at the back of the schedule you were given, you will see that you were given a separate schedule for this week." Professor McGonagall started to explain, while everyone turned over their schedules.

Wednesday: 9:00-9:30 Defense Against the Dark Arts (Prof. R.J. Lupin) 10:00-10:30 Charms (Prof. F. Flitwick) 11:00-11:30 Transfiguration (Prof. M. McGonagall)

Thursday: 10:00-10:30 Potions (Prof. J. Williams) 14:30-15:00 Herbology (Prof. P. Sprout)

Friday: (Lecture Day) 9:00-9:30 History of Magic and Magical Culture (Prof. A. Tonks) 10:45-11:15 Study of the Non-Magical World (Prof. E. Campbell)

"Each class will only be 30 minutes long, and there will be an extended passing period between classes. Upper years, please help any lost looking first years. Your professor will use class time to discuss the curriculum for the year, and go through any necessary introductions."

There was a light rumble through the Great Hall as everyone started comparing their syllabus day schedule with one other. The 6th and 7th year students, enrolled in NEWT Courses, were happy to see how light their first week back would be, as they knew their NEWT years would get stressful.

"Settle down. Settle down. There are a few additional start of term notices I need to cover. In order to remove any prejudice in the awarding of House Points, we have come up with a universal points system. This will also be posted on the notice boards in your common rooms.

Answering a question correctly when called on - 5 points

Performing a demonstration in front of the class (when called on) - 10 points

Going out of your way to assist a teacher outside of class - 10 points

Going out of your way to assist another student outside of class - 15 points

Special services to the school - 25 - 50 points, depending on the service."

"When points are to be removed, as part of discipline, it will also be a uniform amount.

Using derogatory slurs, or curse words - 5 points taken

Late to class without a note - 5 points taken

Repetitive use of derogatory slurs, or curse words (3rd+ offense) - 15 points take

Out of bed after hours or caught out of bounds - 15 points taken (1st offense), 25 points taken (2nd offense), 50 points take (3rd+ offense)"

"If you believe points have been taken, or given unfairly there will be an appeal process. Professor Sprout, and Professor Vector are in charge of the house points appeal program, and will inform me of any problems."

Neville looked thankful for how clear the points system was. When he noticed the confusion on Hermione's face, he whispered; "Last year, they would take points from anyone who wasn't a Slytherin for the dumbest things. Once I lost points for breathing too loudly during a test."

"He's not kidding." Ginny added. "I lost points for screaming too loudly while getting crucio'd."

Hermione looked at her friends, and just shook her head. Sure, she saw a lot of messed up things while they were on the run, but she was still in disbelief that anyone would treat children the way her friends, and classmates were treated. One one hand she was glad she missed out on the torture, while on the other, she felt guilty for abandoning her friends.

"One last thing before you head to your first class." Professor McGonagall said. "All Quidditch Captains, plan to meet me in the transfiguration classroom at 5pm for a small meeting."

Ginny, and Harry looked at one another. Usually the Quidditch Captains only communicated with their heads of house. Not the Headmistress. They were curious what the meeting was about, but knew they'd have to wait until 5pm to find out.

Hermione looked at her watch and noticed it was 8:45, she turned to Harry and Ron. "Are you two ready to Head to Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

"Yep." They echoed one another.

"See you later Ginny. Neville, are you coming?" Hermione called. Neville looked at the time, nodded his head, and followed along.

9am - Defense Against the Dark Arts Classroom

"Good Morning Everyone, and welcome to Defense Against the Dark Arts. My name is Remus Lupin, and I'm happy to be back teaching you. You will have class with me two days a week. Mondays will be discussion and lecture day. Tuesdays, your double period, will be the day for practical work. Do we have any questions to start us off?" He asked, looking around the room.

"None? Good." Professor Lupin started passing out the class syllabus.

"If you look at the top of the sheet, you see that we will start with rules. Now, you're all over the age of 17. Which means you're adults, and that is how I will treat you. That does not mean we can ignore safety, which is the biggest rule in my classroom. On practical days, when there's a lot of moving around, all bags and cloaks will be kept at the back of the room. This will minimize the potential for any tripping hazards. Also, do not cast any magic until the safety wards have been erected around the room. This is to keep the observers safe. Do you all understand?"

"Yes Professor Lupin." The class responded.

"I have designed this course with two objectives in mind. One, for all of you to pass your NEWT Exams with flying colors. Two, with the goal of each of you passing an Auror or Hit Wizard entrance exam."

Harry and Ron looked at one another. Even after all they had been through, both still wanted to join the Auror department. Around the room there were a lot of impressed faces, while a few did look hesitant, mostly the Slytherins.

"Now as we move forward in this class, we will have a lot to cover. We will spend our first three weeks doing a review of everything you should have covered up to this point in your education. Then we will have 30 weeks of learning, and two weeks of review before your NEWT exam. Any questions?" Looking around the room again, Lupin was pleased there were not any questions.

"If you look at the syllabus in front of you will see it is currently blank. Before I tell you what you will be learning this year, I want to hear what each of you hope to take away from this class. Please, no need to raise your hands. Let's start discussing."

Harry was the first to say anything. "I'd like to learn about group combat techniques."

Hermione added, "Defense techniques outside of defensive spells."

Now that two people had broken the ice, more students were participating in the discussion. Pansy Parkinson jumped into the discussion with, "I'd like to learn more about proactive defense versus reactive defense, and when to use both."

"Yes! These are all wonderful examples." Lupin said excitedly. "What else?"

"Protection against dark creatures." Neville threw in.

"How to mentally handle your thoughts, and feelings before, during, and after an attack." Everyone in the room went silent, as most of them had forgotten that Malfoy was in the room with them.

"You have all brought up wonderful examples." Lupin said. He then waved his wand and the course material section of the syllabus became visible. "If you look at the syllabus in front of you, you will see that we will cover all of that and more. Please take a moment to look over the paper in front of you. Don't hesitate to ask questions."

Ron was the first person to ask a question. "Professor, I don't see anything on here about proper dueling."

"You would be correct Ron. The reason I didn't include dueling is that when you're being attacked, the last thing you will be worrying about is proper dueling protocol. If there's interest in dueling, I'd be happy to talk with the Headmistress about starting a dueling club."

All around the room, many of the male students nodded. There seemed to be significantly less interest from the female students in the room. "Alright then, I'll ask the Headmistress if we can start a dueling club this year." As Lupin finished his statement, the bell rang, indicating their first class period was complete.

10 am - Charms Classroom

Hermione looked around the room and noticed many of the same faces from her Defense Against the Dark Arts Class. There were a few new additions, but most were the same. She also noticed that if she looked closely, she could tell where the new pieces of the castle were. She remembered this area had taken a pretty hard hit from a bombarder spell, and definitely needed repair. She kept looking around to see what was new, as those involved in the restoration tried very hard to make things seamless.

"Good Morning." Hermione heard Professor Flitwick say, which pulled her out of her trance.

"Good Morning, Professor." The class responded.

"I am happy to see all of you here. Going into this year we have revolutionized the charms curriculum, to ensure you all have the best chance to pass your NEWT exams, and are properly set up for your future."

"I know repeating your 7th year at the behest of the ministry is not what many of you wanted to do. I hope that together, we can use this year to learn, grow, and move forward while honoring those that are no longer with us. Now, in front of you is your class curriculum." Professor Flitwick said as he passed out the syllabus.

"You'll see that we will be starting to cover more advanced magic. We will use next week to review what we covered last year. If everyone still has a firm grasp on what we learned, we will move forward with the more advanced material. Any questions?"

Hermione raised her hand. "Do you happen to have a list of what you covered last year? Those of us who weren't here may want to look it over to see what we missed out on." She asked politely.

"Yes Ms. Granger. Anyone who missed out on last year, please see me after class if you'd like that material." The short Professor blushed, as he realized his mistake.

Charms continued much like Defense. There was some discussion over course material, but it was mostly reading through the syllabus. Hermione was happy to learn that in addition to advanced charms work, they would also cover things like household charms, healing charms, and basic enchantment.

When the bell went off, signaling the end of class, Hermione, Hary, Ron, Dean Thomas, and Justin Finch Fletchly all stayed behind to get a copy of last year's material from Professor Flitwick.

"I'm sorry I didn't have this on hand when you asked for it Ms. Granger. That was very foolish of me." The Professor Apologized.

"It is no problem. I just want to make sure I can keep up." The rest of the group nodded along with Hermione's statement.

"If any of you need any help, please don't hesitate to keep up. I don't want what you had to go through last year to hold any of you back from success in this course." Professor Flitwick said.

"Thank you." The group responded before leaving the room.

In the hallway, Hermione took a deep breath and looked at Harry, and Ron. "One more class. We can do this."

11am - Transfiguration Classroom

"Good morning class." The Scottish professor welcomed her 7th year students.

"Good Morning." They responded.

"I'm not going to waste your time this morning. The curriculum goals are on the whiteboard, and in front of you all there is a class syllabus."

Hermione looked at the sheet of paper in front of her. She was thankful to see that Professor McGonagall broke down the curriculum by week, and included all tests, and homework assignments on the syllabus.

"As you can see by the paper in front of you, our requirements are outlined on a weekly basis. We are not stuck to that weekly schedule. If we choose to move faster as a group, we can use the extra time we have to learn about the things you all have interest in."

This piqued the interest of the room. The students looked around at one another. All were trying to decipher how their peers felt about what Professor McGonagall just said. There was some definite interest in the line about moving faster to learn what you have interest in.

"Our overall goal this year will be advanced transfiguration, on a larger scale. This may include human to animal transfiguration, and environmental manipulation. Of course we will also have to have discussions about advanced theory, but I hope we can keep those entertaining, and instructive. Do we have any questions so far?" No hands raised, the 7th years seemed like they were just ready for lunch and to end their day.

"If we have no questions, I don't see why I need to keep you until the bell rings. I hope you all have a nice day. I will see you on Monday." The Professor said dismissing them.

The transfiguration class, released early, and with most students having an empty schedule for the day made their way down to the Great Hall early. Rather than everyone dispersing to their house tables, they loitered at the back of the hall conversing amongst themselves.

"What do you think Professor McGonagall meant by her statement of moving faster means we can use extra time to learn about what we're interested in?" Hermione asked the group.

The first to answer was Pansy. "I'm hoping she meant exactly what she said. Wouldn't it be nice to learn about the things we want, rather than only the things dictated by the exam."

"You make a good point." Harry added. "Maybe we could even convince her to alter the curriculum in a way that meets the objective but focuses on the practical applications that would apply to us."

"That would be bloody brilliant." Ron added.

"How should we approach her though?" Hermione asked.

"I think the best thing to do would be to talk to her as a group, if everyone is interested." Draco said. To his surprise everyone nodded in agreement. "I think we will have a much more valid argument if we present a united front so to speak."

"That makes sense." Susan Bones added. "Maybe it's as simple as we request that the discussions always include examples of practical application for whatever we are learning."

"Do we want to wait until Monday, or should we ask her now?" Theo asked. To which the group responded with a resounding "Huh?"

Theo continued. "She is right at the front, and there's no one else here right now."

"Fuck it, why don't we just ask her now while we are thinking it." Blaise added.

"I agree with Blaise, fuck it." Hermione said. She was completely oblivious to everyone staring at her like she had lost her mind because she swore.

Hermione started walking towards the front, with the group following. Draco was standing directly next to her, ready to provide the united front they spoke of.

"Excuse me, Professor McGonagall. Do you have a moment?" Draco asked, gaining the attention of all the professors.

"What can I do for you Mr. Malfoy." As she responded, Professor McGonagall realized she was faced with her 7th year class, not just Mr. Malfoy.

"We just had a discussion as a group and we were wondering if you were open to a suggestion for the discussion portion of class."

"What did you have in mind?"

Harry nudged Susan, as she had the initial idea. "We wanted to request that class discussions include examples of practical applications of transfiguration. It wasn't something that was highlighted often in the past, but we think it could help us align your curriculum with the things we want to learn. So rather than feeling like we have to rush through what you have to teach us in order to learn what we want, we meld the two together."

"This is something you're all interested in?" She asked the group in front of her.

"Yes ma'am." They said and nodded their heads.

"Well if the whole class is on board, then let me take some time to see how I can best incorporate your idea."

"Thank you professor!" They all said, now making their way to their house tables for lunch.

Minerva returned to her seat at the head table, where the other Professors who had come down to lunch early were waiting to hear what just happened. Unable to wait any longer, Remus was the first to ask.

"What was that all about Minerva?"

"That was a united front of 7th year transfiguration students asking me to change my curriculum.

"Did I hear you correctly? They asked YOU to change your curriculum?"

"You did. They asked me to add discussions about the practical application of transfiguration to each topic we cover. I'm not even mad. It's a good idea, and they were all on board with it."

"Wow. If that's what they're doing on the first day of classes, I can't wait to see what it's like at the end of the year." Lupin commented.