Chapter 25: Of Meetings and Plots

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31 September 1991, Hogwarts

It was a chilly October morning at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the Senior staff had gathered for their monthly meeting.

Minerva McGonagall felt exhausted. This has been her most difficult year so far. Neville Longbottom and Draco Malfoy coming to Hogwarts at the same time caused a resurgence in the Gryffindor and Slytherin rivalry that had been slowly becoming dormant after the end of the war.

There was always some tension between the two houses, but never like this. The first years often took it out of their system by Yule. But this year was different. Somehow, Longbottom and Malfoy have stirred their seniors, renewing their interest in the rivalry. It didn't help that Albus was insistent on making sure that Slytherin and Gryffindor students share half their subjects together – especially the practical sessions – to 'mend the rivalry with proximity and friendships.

No one would ever deny Albus' genius, but sometimes, the man simply didn't make sense. She gave up trying to understand his motivations decades ago.

The transfiguration mistress looked around and saw that the other professors looked as tired as she was. This rivalry thing was getting too far. The constant hexing and curing, the pranks and duels that the staff had to deal with, were taking a toll on all of them. And Albus was insistent on not forcing the issue.

Professor McGonagall took her seat at the long table adjusting her spectacles as she surveyed her colleagues. As usual, the room was bustling with conversations, but today there was an undercurrent of tension that everyone carried. This year was simply too different. This was more of an informal meeting that they held every month or so to discuss their students and make certain decisions. It was for Senior Professors only since it was their responsibility to communicate any major decision to their juniors. Even the Defense against the Dark Arts professor wasn't invited because they tended to last very little for them to be comfortable with them during informal meetings. Of course, they are invited to the formal meetings at the end of each term, but not for things like these, with colleagues Minerva had worked with for years and considered many of them to be friends.

Finally, the Headmaster arrived and took a seat at the head of the table, his twinkling blue eyes surveying the group of professors assembled before him.

"Good morning, everyone," he began. "I trust you are all settling into the new school year well?"

The professors nodded and murmured their assent.

McGonagall gave them a glare and decided to force the issue, "Are you all joking here? Albus, we need to do something about the Gryffindor Slytherin rivalry. It's getting too much. Pranks, curses, spells, duels, Hogwarts is turning into a battlefield, and we need to reign our students in."

"They're just boys, Minerva," the headmaster admonished as if she was still a child, "they'll learn to control themselves as they grow up."

"They won't because like it or not, it looks like you're encouraging them. Going over the rules and naming Longbottom as the Gryffindor seeker was over the line, and you knew it and still made me do it. It looks like we're rewarding him for getting into a fight with the Malfoy boy. They need to be disciplined," Minerva protested.

"My dear, I simply thought that Quidditch practice would distract the boy enough to stop this rivalry. You must have seen a slight decrease in the number of pranks ever since you let Oliver Wood mentor him." Dumbledore explained, and Minerva had to admit that he was right. It was still very hectic, and the situation was still worse than the previous years, but Neville Longbottom stopped getting involved in these duels, being too busy to keep up with his studies and Oliver Wood's demanding training.

"This is only mitigating the problem. The boy needs to learn not to attack other people for a war that ended over a decade ago. And like it or not, the boy is setting an example for all the Gryffindors in the school. We need to be more severe with our punishments. Give them longer detentions or more strenuous ones when it's related to fighting."

Dumbledore seemed to age and nod, "Alright, double your punishments when it comes to spell fights and pranks. Severus, how is your house dealing with the heightened hostility."

"Nothing," the man drawled, "The court of Slytherin does not involve themselves in matters of third years or younger. When someone older involved themselves in the rivalry issue, they were punished internally. You will have no complaints from any of my older Slytherins, believe me. I'm afraid I cannot say the same for the Gryffindors."

Minerva winced. She knew very well that a few older students had been getting involved in the duels with the Slytherins, who seemed to be very coordinated. It had something to do with inner-house politics, which Slytherin was famed for. Whenever Severus spoke of any political tensions, conflicts, or decisions inside the house, he always said 'the court' as if that meant anything. Minerva had no idea which students were in this court, only that it only involved fourth years and older, and that they ruled the house of the snakes.

Dumbledore brightened at Severus' response, "Very well, since young Neville has started to calm down, I ask you to convince young Draco to do the same."

"As you wish, Headmaster," Severus answered, "The Weasley Twins need to be handled as well. Their pranks are starting to become more violent and that needs to be nipped in the bud. We do not need another version of the Marauders at Hogwarts, especially at this time."

The man had practically spat out that last sentence. After all this time, the potion master was still bitter about the Marauders' pranks on him. He had a point, of course, but he also tended to escalate things more by using dangerous curses to defend himself.

Minerva ignored his last comment and simply nodded, "I will ensure that punishments are more severe for upper years getting involved. That should calm things down, or at least deescalate slightly. The Twins will behave themselves if I threaten to take away their experiments."

Dumbledore let out a bright smile, "Good, now, with that done, does anyone has anything to add before we begin speaking about the students," he waited for a few seconds while everyone stayed silent and continued, "very well. As is tradition, let's start with the first years. I believe Miss Abbot is first. Pomona, you are her head of house, what do you think?"

What continued was a brief description of each student. It wasn't anything too interesting. Just saying if the first years are homesick, or if they have difficulties with any subject, or if they tended to be in any kind of trouble.

Truth be told, the transfiguration professor noticed that Albus tended to pay attention when the student was the son or daughter of a death eater, of a member of the order of the Phoenix, or of people with promising talent.

For example, Albus perked up at the mention of Hermione Granger, whose professors sang praises at her – other than Severus, of course, who called her an insufferable know-it-all. But the headmaster dismissed Anthony Goldstein entirely since he was an average student.

He actually straightened up when Longbottom's name was announced and looked very thoughtful by the end. As expected, Severus ranted about the boy and his attitude – which is ironic considering his own godson was as much of a brat as the boy who lived, if not more. But what was so surprising to everyone was how normal he was. Oh, he was a good student, talented in charms especially, and a herbology prodigy according to Pomona, but he was just above average in his schooling. He wasn't Merlin reborn, or the second Albus Dumbledore, just a normal spoilt boy who had lost his parents and was hailed as a hero for it.

Everything went well until Albus finished with the Patil twins and took a look at the students' sheet, "Now, Harry Potter. What do you think of him so far?"

Oh, Harry Potter, the son of two of her favourite Gryffindors. His parents were extremely loyal, very talented, and even members of the Order of the Phoenix, having fought and survive the dark lord many times. His sorting was as much a surprise for Minerva as it was for Severus and Albus. They froze in shock when the hat yelled out 'SLYTHERIN' a month ago, having expected him to end up in the same house as his parents.

Still, the boy was the picture of the perfect student. He was respectful, diligent, and didn't break the rules, and now that she thought about it, he was never involved in any of the incidents between Gryffindor and Slytherin.

Minerva was the first one to speak up, "The boy is a prodigy, Albus. In all my years of teaching, I have never seen anyone grasp the intricacies of Transfiguration quite like him. And he's had no other tutelage, I can tell, but the way he experiments with magic, it's breathtaking."

Filius concurred, "It's the same with me. He is blowing past his peers at a ridiculous rate."

The others repeated the same in other words and for some reason, Albus looked slightly pale. He looked directly at Severus who spoke up, "The boy is adequate in Potions."

It looked more like he was forcing the words out of his mouth, wanting to do nothing but praise the son of the man he considered to be his rival.

Still, a stilted silence followed as everyone simply gaped at him. Even Albus had raised his eyebrows. Severus rarely ever praised any student, even his own. For all his favouritism, he was still one of the best potion masters in the nation and his standards were very high.

The headmaster still looked very shocked, "And what about his attitude?"

"He likes being alone but is often seen in the company of Blaise Zabini, Daphne Greengrass, and Tracy Davis. He rarely interacts with any other, except for Draco Malfoy when the latter tries to intimidate him or recruit him. Longbottom seems to try the same, but the boy seems uninterested in the rivalry altogether. His friends tend to be following his lead." Severus elaborated.

"This is very concerning. It's not good to have such a promising young man isolate himself and forget to live. For all that Hogwarts is a school of magic, it's also a place to nurture interactions between peers. Try to partner him with Hermione Granger during the practical sessions. If a friendship blossomed, it could be the first step of inter-house communication. Young Harry's friends will follow his lead, after all." Albus proposed.

It wasn't really an opinion, more of an order. Severus sneered by nodding his acceptance. Minerva knew what Albus was doing, obviously trying to stop any pureblood propaganda from affecting the boy. He wasn't exactly wrong to do so. Slytherin students can be very persuasive, and pureblood supremacy still reigned supreme in this house.

In the end, Minerva didn't protest. She owed it to James and Lily to make sure that their son would grow up to be a good man. And Miss Granger did seem very lonely in Gryffindor since she was the only one that refused to join in on the fighting, disapproving of such behaviour.

"Well, that's enough about Mr Potter. Do keep an eye on him though. A gifted student mustn't be left to his own devices if he gets too bored."

A few professors chuckled and they continued to the next student. Still, Minerva was still unnerved by the odd gleam in Albus' eyes as he was thinking about young Harry. Still, a couple of students later, she forgot entirely about it, dismissing it to be a trick of the light. After all, Albus Dumbledore couldn't possibly be scheming about students as young as young Harry, could he?

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Thank you guys for your support in these hard times.