CH 51

When they heard, "Come in!" from within. Harry opened the door and allowed Daphne to precede him into the office. "Ah, Mister Potter and Miss Greengrass," said the diminutive Charms Master. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Sir, I have been asked by a number of Ravenclaw students to provide lessons on wizarding etiquette and traditions," said Harry. "I've come to ask permission to form a club for that purpose as per student rules."

The professor looked back for a second before gesturing to the other side of his desk and conjuring a comfortable love seat. "Take a seat and we'll discuss it," he said.

The two of them split around either side of the seat and Harry waited until Daphne was seated before taking seat himself. As soon as he did Daphne grasped his hand in hers.

The gestures did not go unnoticed by the Professor. "So," the Professor began. "Tell me about this etiquette and traditions club you want to start."

"Well, after what happened this morning, I was approached by a couple of our 'Claws who wanted to know what I meant with what I said; and it meant, in general. From that discussion, where I gave an overview of the wizarding Houses and how they tiered; the various Heirs and Heiresses, both Apparent and Presumptive; what a betrothal contract entailed, and about the one involving Daphne and I; and hinted at the many more traditions and standards of etiquette within the wizarding world; they, pretty much, ganged-up on me and asked me to teach them.

"If I'm going to teach them then I want to do it properly. I'll sponsor the club out of House Potter funds, provide texts, draw up lesson plans, and formalise the instruction as best I can before I even start."

Professor Flitwick was sitting back in his swivel-type office chair and was gently twisting it this way and that. He leaned forward, placed his elbows on the edge of the desk and cupped his chin in his hands. "Every now and then we get someone who wants to teach the muggleborns about the wizarding world," he began. "More often than not, the club that's formed usually dies a lingering death after a few months.

"Before me I now see a pureblood and a half blood who was raised in the muggle world wanting to do the same thing. Plus, both of you are Heirs to Noble and Most Ancient Houses; and that's significantly different from before; and I'm sensing a sense of Noblesse Oblige at work here." Looking directly at Harry, he said, "I'm also quite impressed by your knowledge of the matter, especially as you were muggle-raised."

With a blush, Harry said, "I'm a very fast learner, sir."

Sitting back again, Flitwick said, "As it is not going to cost Hogwarts any of our limited discretionary funds, we've got classrooms to spare for you to base your club. Based on your little - display - this morning it is clear you have knowledge of at least some of the traditions. As there's also two of you wanting to work together to make it a success, I'm happy to be the staff member to sponsor your club.

"However, I'm going to want to see a decent set of lesson plans that cover the first half dozen at least classes you want to hold, in advance of formal approval. And the club is to be open to all students, including the purebloods." Seeing the look on their faces from having to allow the purebloods in, he said, "I understand you may think there are some individuals among the purebloods who would only attend to - disrupt - the class. However, it is a requirement that such clubs be open to everyone unless age is an issue."

Harry and Daphne both gave the Professor nods of agreement.

"That being said, and as long as you agree to my requirements, I cannot refuse you from going ahead and making an initial start on creating the club," said the Professor. "There, you have my permission in principle."

Very shortly after, they were out the door and on their way to the Great Hall for dinner, before heading on to the library. Both had homework and, besides the Great Hall, it was the only place for students of different Houses to sit down to tackle it together.

Once homework was out of the way, they both moved on to writing up what they needed for the club. Daphne was thinking up subject matter while Harry moved into the stacks to see what books the school library held on the subject. There were actually quite a few. He grabbed them and returned with his arms loaded to the table he and his betrothed had snagged at the back of the library.

As he approached, Harry could see Daphne had been joined by Neville, Tracey, Susan, Hannah, and Hermione. He also had a sense they were becoming such a tight group of seven it would soon be recognised by those outside of their little clique.

"What homework is everyone working on?" asked Hermione. The others replied with what they were working on except for Harry and Daphne. "Daphne and I have permission in principle from Professor Flitwick to advance plan a school sanctioned club allowing us to teach muggleborns and muggle-raised about the wizarding world traditions and customs. We've already completed most of our homework so we're going to be spending a bit of time working out lesson plans and the like."

"And that's what that great stack you've got in your arms and are seemingly trying to hide behind is about?" asked Susan.

"Yeah," replied Harry. "I'm looking to see if there's a book that would be better suited as the text I want to purchase for all those who want to learn, other than the ones I already own."

"You want to pay for them out of your own pocket, Harry?" asked Neville. Harry nodded and replied, "Yeah, I don't want them to have to pay for their own. They've already paid more than enough for the text books for Hogwarts and it would be unfair to burden them with another. Don't worry, though, I think the Potters can afford it." He grinned.

"Oh! that reminds me," said Hermione. She reached into her bookbag and drew out the two books Harry had loaned her. "Thank you for the loan. But I may come back and borrow them again for a refresher some time, alright?"

"Alright, Hermione," replied Harry. "All you need do is ask when you want to borrow them again, you know that."

While the others were working on their homework, Harry and Daphne poured over the texts Harry had brought back from the stacks and started to get a feel for how they were going to proceed. After skimming through the texts, Harry quickly realised he might need two different books; the same two he initially loaned Hermione, 'An Introduction to the Wizarding World' and 'Noble Etiquette'. The only text that could challenge those two was 'Wizarding World Etiquette and You'. But the book looked quite old. He wasn't sure if it'd be still in print and, even if it was, if it had been updated enough to be worthwhile.

So far he was just going to stick with 'An Introduction to the Wizarding World' as the text. Any information he needed from 'Noble Etiquette' he'd provide by way of presentations. The vast majority of muggleborns didn't need to know all the etiquette, such as formal duelling practices, because it wouldn't apply to them.

An hour later and Daphne had compiled a list of subject matters to break down into manageable lessons. And Harry had devised a set of rules for them to abide by in forming those lesson plans.

Switching, Harry picked up what subjects Daphne thought they should cover while she read what he wrote. He frowned down at the sheet and thought about what else to include. He knew the first four of the subjects she listed could be covered by a single hour long session each. Transport and communication wouldn't take all that long, nor would Business and banking. Those two could follow one after the other in a single lesson. The last two could take many lessons, depending on how many such customs they wanted to address. Some etiquette was linked directly to a certain custom, and vice versa.

With only an effective eight months of the school year, it was clear they could not hold the classes on a monthly basis. So, Harry started to think of them needing to be held once per fortnight.

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