The Petition
The Slytherin Sixth Years met that evening after dinner in one of the downstairs study rooms. There was a long table of dark wood with a few chairs set around it. In the hearth, a fire burned gaily. The students passed between them a single sheet of parchment. On the table, an inkwell and a long feather quill waited.
The eight of them were rarely together outside of meals. Vanessa spent as much time as she could with her boyfriend, Arnold Brent, while Spencer Osgood kept company with Ronald Reuel and John Dawes of Ravenclaw.
Pauline read through the petition, written in Morwena’s flowing hand, and passed it to Rhiannon. “For the petition to stand, it must be unanimous,” said Morwena. “I’ll need everyone to sign it.”
Spencer stood apart from the others, his arms crossed, his grey tie fashionably askew. “We know what ‘unanimous’ means, Felwich.” The two glared at one another.
Rhiannon set the petition back on the table. “Where do I sign?”
“I want everyone to read it first,” answered Morwena. “If we don’t have unanimity, there’s no point in continuing.”
Spencer took the petition, read through it quickly and then tossed it back onto the table. “What is the point of this, anyway?” he asked, angrily. “He’s not coming back. McGonagall is going to expel him.”
“But he’s still a Slytherin,” answered Morwena, keeping her temper in check. She knew Spencer wanted an out, and that he thought a fight with Morwena would give him one. “As you well know, Cyrus Kane was at Hogwarts for only one year before he transferred to Durmstrang. Yet, he is still a junior member of the Emerald Club. His father has kept the dues current, so that when Cy is of age, he will be a full member of the fraternity. The networking, the job leads, favorable terms on loans, all of it will be at his disposal.
“The same is true for Dennison. His father will keep up with the dues. Roger Dennison knows how important membership is. It was a crucial element to his financial successes.”
“Even though they all hate him now,” added Umberto.
“The Dark Lord himself,” continued Morwena solemnly, “took advantage of his connections to the Emerald Club. He was of course not a member, but he worked through men like Lucias Malfoy to fund and organize his operations. Much of that work in the early days was done at the Emerald Club.
“This is what I want to take away from Reginald Dennison. I want him to lose those benefits before he even knows that he needs them.”
Spencer stood unmoved, his arms crossed over his chest. To force his hand, Morwena picked up the quill and signed her name to the petition. Umberto followed suit.
“I’ll sign it,” said Pauline. “I don’t really understand, but if Wennie says this will hurt Dennison then I’m all for it.” She signed her name. Rhiannon signed it next, followed by Tess.
Vanessa took the quill next, and said, “God knows, this could have been me, except my boyfriend wouldn’t have had the sense to call for Lara Guishar.” She signed her name.
Gordon had held back to let the girls go ahead of him. He took the quill from Vanessa and signed his name.
Morwena would not beg for Spencer’s cooperation, but Pauline set her green eyes upon the boy and said, “Spencer, will you please sign this?”
Under her sweet charms, he relented. “For you, I will sign it.” He took the quill and signed his name.
As soon as he backed away from the table, Morwena swept up the petition. “I will take this to the Council President.”
At the end of the previous term, it was assumed that either Arnold Brent, Blake Ellsworth or Pierce Mageford would take over as Slytherin Council president. Yet, when it came to voting, none of the boys would support the other. After several deadlocked votes, the Seventh Years threw their votes unanimously for Aurelia Hawthorn. Aurelia could be stern like Morwena, but she had a gentle side, too, and cajoled her caucus with teasing and laughter to get her way.
She was sitting with her close confidant in a small alcove. Her long golden hair, tinged green by the flickering ceiling lights, made her look like a merperson. She turned her amber eyes towards Morwena and Umberto as they approached.
“You’re bringing me work to do, aren’t you?” she asked with a laugh. She took the petition from Morwena and read it through. “Goodness. I have no idea of what to do with something like this. I haven’t studied the procedure book like you have, I guess.”
“The next step for us is to bring our petition before the Council,” said Morwena. “We’ll want to loop Professor Gregor in as soon as possible, so he can advise us.”
“That sounds like a marvelous idea,” said Aurelia. She handed the petition back to Morwena. “You loop in the professor. I will order a council meeting for tomorrow night.”
Morwena waited until morning to bring the petition to Professor Gregor. She kept it in a folder in her school bag, protected with charms to keep it from being torn or wrinkled. When she saw Gregor take his place at the staff table for breakfast, she went up and offered him the folder.
“Good morning, Professor. Can you please take a look at this for me?”
He opened the folder and read through the petition. “This is not an unexpected move by you, Felwich.” he said. “The petition is well drafted, as I would expect, coming from you.”
“Thank you, Professor. Hawthorn is calling for a council meeting at seven o’clock tonight.”
“I will be there,” he said. “Please keep the petition with you for now. My First Years have an assignment due today, and I don’t want this mixed up with their papers.”
“Very good, Professor.”
“Be prepared to read your complaint aloud to the assembly.”
“I am prepared, sir.”
“Good day, then. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.”
At the Slytherin table, Aurelia stood and said, “Alright everyone, listen up! I am calling a council meeting for seven o’clock this evening. We will be discussing some important matters, so I need everyone in attendance.”
The Fifth Years groaned in irritation, for any distraction from their pre-O.W.L. workload was unwelcome, but the rest of the table was eager. The younger students were not allowed downstairs at all except for council meetings. Slytherins in general love the pomp and ritual that is unique to their House.
At lunch that day, Liam asked the Hufflepuffs, “Who has won points so far this week?”
Belladonna answered promptly. “I got five points from Longbottom yesterday!”
“Good job.” He offered her a fist bump.
Aylie spoke up. “I earned 5 points from Meadows!”
“Good. Don’t go to that well too often, though,” he said. “We don’t want people to say she’s playing favorites. Make sure you pick up points from other teachers, too.”
Cosmo said, “I got 5 points from Firenze this morning!”
“In Divination?” asked Michael. “How’d you manage that?”
“I asked him about the tidings of a tree growing in the middle of a stream,” answered Cosmo. “He went on for a half hour about it. Told me that was the best question he’d heard all year.”
Liam, laughing, reached over and bumped fists with Cosmo. “Attaboy. Keep it up.” A thought occurred to him, and he said, “Oh, Fourth Years, while I have your attention: the Winter Ball is coming up. I don’t want to see you lads milling about like a bunch of thugs. There are plenty of girls here. I expect you to pick one and ask to dance with her.”
“The boys should also have a clean and neatly pressed shirt and tie set aside for the dance,” added Lara.
“Exactly,” said Liam. “At the minimum.”
The Fourth Years had a study break after lunch before Transfiguration. Ben and the Hufflepuffs met up with Patrick and the Gryffindors in the Entrance Hall. They went outside in the crisp cold air so that their conversation would not disturb the castle classes.
Ben said to Patrick, “Your brother issued us an order to us just now. We are all to have dance partners at the Winter Ball next week.”
“And a clean shirt!” added Cosmo.
“That won’t be a problem for you, Took,” said Patrick. “Your girls will keep you busy, I’m sure. But that’s sound advice for the rest of us. We better have some girls in mind to dance with.”
Matt Duffy spoke up. “I like our girls well enough, but they’re like sisters, you know?” Other boys nodded in agreement.
Patrick looked from boy to boy. “That’s easy enough. You Hufflepuffs dance with oursisters, and we’ll dance with yours.”
“We having a draft?” asked Tim Flannery. “Playing pick’em?”
“That’s right,” said Patrick. “And I’m picking Bell. Unless I can peel off Alyssa Pitchfork from Brother Ben.”
“You can dance with her if she’ll have you,” said Ben. “Oh, and please include Ellie in this.”
“Ellie Boissard? She’s in Ravenclaw!” protested Cosmo.
“She’s Bell’s friend,” countered Ben.
Another of the Hufflepuffs, a boy named Theo, spoke up. “I got Ellie.”
“Thanks, T,” said Ben.
“Do we have to dance with the same girl the whole time?” asked Flannery.
“I bet Ben’s girls will know the answer to that question,” said Patrick. “Ben, you’ll need to do some research for us.”
“I’ll ask Alyssa and get back to you,” said Ben.
Ben left the other boys and went in search of the Little Coven. He found them in the library, dutifully working on assignments. Freya was hard at work on her Arithmancy homework, while Alyssa and Meriko worked on an essay for Divination.
When she saw Ben, Alyssa rose and met him halfway. She took him by the hand and led him out of the library. They walked along the Second Story landing. The kept their voices low, as to not disturb classes, as well as to discourage eavesdroppers. “It’s my time with you,” she said.
“That’s fine. The boys had a question for you.”
“Which boys?”
“Patrick and them. We’re getting ready for the ball, and they wanted to know what the expectations were. So far, we know that we’re to dance with girls and wear a clean shirt.”
“That’s a good start,” said Alyssa with a laugh.
“They want to know if they dance with a girl, will they need to stay by her the whole night, or are they free to dance with other people, too?”
“Of course, I’ve never been to a Winter Ball, either,” said Alyssa. “But I understand that the popular girls, ones without steady boyfriends, that is, have a full card of boys who want to dance with them. They dance with as many as they can squeeze in.”
“I see.”
“From what I hear, many of the girls dance in circles of their friends, while the boys hang around, not doing anything.”
“We’re not to hang about like a bunch of thugs. Prefect’s orders. That’s why we’re asking.” He relayed Patrick’s comments to her, and she laughed.
“Would you be mad if I danced with Patrick?”
“No,” said Ben. “I can’t really dance with the three of you all at once. Not during a slow song, at any rate.”
“Patrick won’t be the only one either,” said Alyssa. “Expect Freya to skip off with her ‘other boyfriend’ at some point during the night.”
“I know about Freya and Thompson,” said Ben. “It doesn’t bother me at all.”
“You’re more forgiving than I am. Oh, by the way, we can’t hang out tonight. There’s a Slytherin Council meeting . Word is, Freya’s sister is on the warpath. She’s found some way to stick it to Dennison.”
“Good for her.”
They had made a circle of the landing and were now back at the door of the library. Before going back inside, Alyssa preened her neck, and Ben gave her a firm kiss.
At dinner, there was great excitement and anticipation at the Slytherin table. This was the first Council meeting of the new year, and the younger students looked forward to their trip to the restricted lower floor. The mood of the House had turned decisively against Reginald Dennison. He had cost them all their hard-earned House Points. They looked forward with relish to see what vengeance Morwena Felwich had devised for him.
The students lingered at the table while the last stragglers finished their meal. Up at the staff table, Gregor was speaking to DeVere. The two men laughed at some joke between them. Finally, Gregor rose and came to the Slytherin table. The students rose in unison and left the Great Hall. Aurelia and the other Seventh Years were at Gregor’s side. Morwena and the other Sixth Years followed right behind, and so on. Prefects Jim and Q walked at the end with the First Years.
They went down the straight stairs, into the common room and then down another flight of stairs to the Council Room. The Sixth Years took the first row, as their issue was pressing, and the Seventh Years filed onto the Council bench, Aurelia at the center. Professor Gregor sat in a chair off to the side.
When everyone was seated Aurelia called the meeting to order. “Are there any concerns here tonight besides the Sixth Year’s petition?” She waited a beat, but no one spoke. “Since there are no objections, let’s proceed to the main event. Felwich, can you please read aloud your petition for the record?”
Morwena stood and moved out of the row into the front space before the Council members. She faced Professor Gregor as the spoke, but her voice carried easily through that cathedral-like space.
“We Slytherins of the Class of 2012 hereby accuse Reginald Dennison of causing acute and permanent harm to his House Sister Pauline Langlet in violation of his solemn and sacred oath. We demand in redress that he be banished from this House, stripped of badge and title, so that he shall be forever more denied the honour, right and privilege of Slytherin men.”
The magic of her words filled the hall, and all who heard her were stirred and convinced that her cause was just. Even Reginald Dennison, hundreds of miles away in his spartan cell in the Department of Social Welfare, felt the echo of her voice and knew that Morwena Felwich had made a move against him.
Aurelia spoke again. “Thank you, Felwich. Mr. Secretary, please note for the record that the petition was presented to the Council for review last night, and that it contains the signatures of all Slytherins from the Class of 2012.”
“Duly noted, Madam President,” answered Arnold Brent.
Aurelia turned to Gregor and said, “Professor, I’m quite out of my depth here. What are we to do next?”
“First, let me add that the petition was properly done in every way, as I would expect from such a model Slytherin as Morwena Felwich,” said Gregor. “The next step for the Council will be to hold a trial. I will be the judge of the case, and the Council members shall be the jury. It will be up to them to render a verdict, yes to convict and expel Reginald Dennison from Slytherin House, or no to acquit and allow him to keep his badge and title.
“And, like any trial, the accused must be afforded a defence. Understand that, for this move to survive appeal to the Board of Trustees of this school and to the Board of Governors of the Emerald Club, the defence should be thorough and robust.
“That will be a matter for me to attend to. It may be some weeks before I can make proper arrangements. I ask that the matter be postponed until I can make further inquiries.”
“Consider the matter deferred, then, Professor,” said Aurelia. “We shall take up the item again upon your signal. If there are no further items, this meeting is now adjourned.”